Michael opened the passenger door for Mia and helped her into his car. Then he ran around to the driver's side and hopped in. He grinned over at Mia.

"I missed you Mia." He said, leaning over to kiss her.

"I missed you too Michael." She turned her head away from him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, sitting up again.

"No! It's just—you know we're sitting in front of Lilly's apartment and she's staring right at us—you know?" She blushed and gave his hand a quick squeeze. Michael waved at Lilly and she smiled and waved back, then closed the curtains. He started the car and they drove down the road to the Mia's apartment.

"How about now?" He asked, and before she could answer, he planted a kiss on her lips. He reached up and started to unbutton her coat but she pulled away and shook her head.

"You have really bad timing." She smiled and got out of his car. Groaning, he jumped out from the other side and came around to the front of the car.

"I can't help it. I haven't seen you for two months, and I can't even touch you when I come home!" He said, putting his arm around her waist.

"Are you very mad?" She asked, letting her arm slip lower on his back so that it was almost on his butt.

"Never." He grinned and chased her up the stairs. They stopped in front of the door and Michael put his arms around her.

"G'Night Thermopolis." He whispered and kissed her softly. Mia blushed again, and slipped her arms around his waist. Michael backed her up against the wall and pinned her there. He growled and started kissing her neck. All of a sudden, the door to the apartment swung open and Mr. G stood there, looking shocked and staring at Michael and Mia. Without realizing it, Mia had hit the doorbell. Michael jerked back and blushed just as deeply as Mia. He mumbled a "Hello" and "Goodbye" to Mr. G gave Mia a quick wink and practically sprinted towards the elevator. When the elevator doors closed, Mr. G stepped out of the doorway and let Mia in.

"Mia, since when are you and Michael—"He started to ask, but Mia interrupted him.

"Don't ask me any questions, and I won't be forced to tell you any lies." She said, throwing her scarf and coat on a chair by the door and walking into her room, slamming the door behind her. She threw herself on her bed and reached under it.She extracted a journal, an envelope, and a pen from under her mattress. She opened the journal, placed the pen over it, and started to write. Within five minutes, she dropped her pen and picked up the envelope. She undid the clasp and pictures, newspaper clippings, and letters fell out of it. She looked through them all with a soft smile on her face. She stopped to read a letter Michael had written to her last year. As she read, she played with the snowflake charm dangling at her throat. Michael had given it to her as a birthday present three years ago, and she'd worn it ever since.

Mia,

I don't know why I'm writing this, or even if you want to hear it. I know we said that we'd stop seeing each other because of the stress it was putting on you and your grandmother, and me and---well, everyone. But I can't stand this anymore. It's torture having to go over to Lil's apartment with the gang and not being able to look at you. Everytime a sneak a glance in your direction, you're laughing and smiling, but you don't look happy. I wanted to know if you're unhappy for the same reason I am. I miss you Mia, I can't stand knowing that you're sitting next to me, but I can't put my arms around you. I miss us sneaking off an hour earlier than everyone else so we can get ice cream and walk through Central Park at night. I know it'll be hard, but I wanted to ask you, can we give it another try? I'm willing if you are. Meet me at Ho's Deli tomorrow night and we'll talk about it. I'll be there at eight waiting for you. I still love you.

-Michael

Mia giggled and ran her fingers over the letter, and then she kissed it and returned it to the envelope. She and Michael had been secretly dating again since the night she'd met him at Ho's Deli. It was fun with nobody knowing they were together again. The sneaking around, the danger, the looks they exchanged when they were with friends, all made it even more exciting. Mia flipped through the pictures of Michael, Lilly, Boris, Tina, and herself and smiled. Life was sweet. For the first time in quite awhile, Mia was happy. Suddenly, there was a knock on Mia's door, pulling her out of her daydream. She shoved the journal and envelope under her mattress and the photos under her pillow. The door opened, and Mia's mother stuck her head in and smiled.

"Sweety? Can we talk?" She asked. Mia knew what was coming. She sat up on the bed and pulled Fat Louie into her lap. Her mom shut the door and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Frank just told me that he saw Michael outside." She said, pulling on the hem of her skirt. "And he said that you and he were—um—yeah." She brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes and went on, "So I was—um, wondering if you guys were back together—maybe?" Mia scratched Fat Louie's back and shook her head.

"Nope." She said, crossing her fingers under Fat Louie's big stomach. "We're just friends."

"But—" Helen started.

"No Mom. We aren't. It was just a misunderstanding." Mia said, smiling. Helen just shrugged and resumed messing the hem on her skirt. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Mia yelled. Mr G pushed the door open and stepped in, holding Rocky, Mia's three-year-old brother.

"We've come to say goodnight." Mr G said, looking at his son and smiling. Rocky had a chocolate chip cookie in one hand and his other arm was around his dad's neck. Mia smiled and stood up. She went over to Mr G and scooped Rocky out of his arms.

"Come 'ere Rocks." She said, jiggling him and kissing his forehead. "Goodnight." She said, smiling.

"G'Night." He said, mumbling through his cookie. Mia kissed his forehead again, and Helen took Rocky from her.

"Goodnight Sweety." She said, kissing Mia's forehead, and then walking out to take Rocky to bed.

"Goodnight Mia." Mr G said, and they high fived before he walked out, leaving Mia alone again. She shut the door behind them, then flopped back onto her bed, pulling the pictures out from under her pillow and kissing Michael's picture before stuffing it in the envelope with the others. Then she put the envelope under her mattress again and went to change into her pajamas.