Such Great Heights
Chapter Seven
The Art of Loneliness

"My smile's an open wound without you, and my hands are tied to pages inked to bring you back."
-Homesick at Space Camp; Fall Out Boy

"And I have to speculate that God himself did make us into corresponding shapes like puzzle pieces from the clay. True, it may seem like a stretch, but its thoughts like this that catch my troubled head when you're away when I am missing you to death."
Such Great Heights; The Postal Service

[Michael's POV]

I have never been this confused in my entire life. I don't think I really understand it. Why didn't she tell me? Was it that she didn't find me important enough? Well, that really shows how much our relationship meant to her. She probably saw it as some sort of fling. How could I be so stupid? I didn't think it would hurt this much. To know that someone I was entirely honest with from day one was keeping this gigantic secret from me the whole time, and the only explanation I can come up with is that she didn't think I was important enough, or even trustworthy enough to know. Did she not trust me?

But do I want to go through the troubles of dating a princess, anyway? I mean, talk about baggage. There's so much to consider!

Who I am kidding? I can barely survive one day without her.

I love her.

Lilly walked into the room, already knowing that she wasn't welcome. Michael groaned and slammed his journal shut, throwing it into the corner of the room and giving Lilly the evil eye. But then she responded to his pathetic excuse for an evil eye with her own trademarked version, which scared the hell out of Michael every time. Especially since that one time when a swift kick in the nether region followed it.

"Spill it, Moscovitz," Lilly demanded bluntly, her hands on her hips.

"Why?" Michael asked, making an attempt at a conversation, something that Lilly and himself hadn't shared in a while.

"Why what? Michael, honestly. Remember, I can't read your mind." Lilly rolled her eyes.

"I mean...why didn't she tell me?"

"Well, what do you think?" Lilly said, frustrated with her older brother. Was it really this hard for him to understand the way Mia thinks?

"She didn't think I was trustworthy enough?" Michael shrugged. Lilly's eyes widened and she let out a chuckle. What they had was one serious case of miscommunication that could easily be fixed with a little damage control. Why was it always her responsibility to fix things between these two? She didn't mind, of course. But it was kind of frustrating when two people blatantly refuse to realize that they're perfect for each other, even after everything seems to have come together. They were both so full of doubt when it came to their relationship that it could be scripted into a comedy.

"Michael, honestly, by the way you're talking right now it seems like you don't even know the girl. This is Mia we're talking about."

"Wait...what?" Michael asked, now even more confused than he was 10 minutes ago.

"Michael...are you really that thick? Mia, the queen of fearing confrontation. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell you, it's that she was terrified of your reaction."

Well, that was a revelation. But was it true? Michael was still a bit skeptical. Lilly could always be wrong. It would be a first for her, but it was always a possibility. But then again, this explanation seemed so much more acceptable than the one he'd come up with himself. And besides, Lilly was usually right when it came to psycho-analyzing Mia.

Michael stood up abruptly and started towards the door, grabbing his Metro card and keys. He needed some clarity from the only person that could give it to him.

"Where are you off to?" Lilly asked. What a stupid question, Michael though and chuckled to himself.

"To go see Mia," he replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world...which it was.

"Well, Michael, first of all you're still in your boxers." He looked down and realized that this was, in fact, true. "And did I forget to mention she just left for the airport?"

[Mia's POV]

It didn't take long for the public to find out about our little split. I was constantly being mobbed by the paparazzi and reporters, wanting to know what went wrong. The tabloids now read, "Michael and the Princess: No More?". Lord knows how they got their information, but I wasn't about to argue with them... because it certainly did seem like my 15 minutes of happiness, and fame, had ended. I could do without the fame, surely, but the happiness I wasn't sure I could live with the lack of.

I guess it was kind of a rash decision to ditch college and move off to Genovia, but I was convinced it was the right decision. For once I was taking Grandmere's advice, which was rare for me. It thrilled her to pieces. But Lilly and my mother, on the other hand, were completely against it. They'd tried so hard to change my mind. Apparently they thought the only reason for my moving was my recent break-up with Michael.

Which of course, it wasn't. What a silly conclusion.

I thought back to the look at Michael's face and felt a wave of sadness wash over me. It seemed to be all my fault. I had been the one to hurt him, though I didn't know how. But the look on his face was forever implanted in my mind. It was a look of hurt. Not anger, just plain hurt. At this point I was pleading for him to be angry with me. I couldn't stand the thought of him being hurt by me, and I didn't even know how. I didn't really understand it, but maybe I was just thick. All I wanted to know was how he felt. Sadly, I do not have mind-reading abilities.

Not even the beautiful Genovian landscape that we were now flying over could cheer me up as I sat there in my window seat trying to keep the tears from coming. Lars handed me a tissue, but I shook my head and pulled off some sort of smile to confirm that I was okay. He sighed and returned to reading his paper. "Stop thinking about him, princess. You're only depressing yourself more. Everything will work itself out, I promise," he said, flipping the page.

"How can you be so sure?" I sighed. "Everything's all screwed up."

"And moving to Genovia permanently is supposed to solve all of your problems, right? I don't understand the way you think, princess."

I didn't reply.

"Amelia!" Grandmere greeted me as I entered through the huge double doors of the palace. She wrapped her arms lightly around my shoulders into some sort of hug that made me highly uncomfortable. Why was she so nice all of the sudden?

"Hello Grandmere," I said tactfully, adjusting my posture to her liking and smiling politely.

"Oh, it's so nice to see that you've finally come to your senses!" Grandmere exclaimed, obviously referring to my moving to Genovia, and maybe also to my recent split with the rockstar. "Francois will bring your things up to your suite. Your father's in the middle of a meeting with Parliament, but you will see him at dinner. I have tea with the Prime Minister's wife in an hour, so excuse me as I go and get ready. Why don't you go off and greet your cousin, Prince Rene?"

Almost as if on cue, Rene came prancing down the stairs, a mischievous smirk on his face. He spotted me and the smirk widened as he greeted me with the usual, "Amelia! My favorite cousin! How are you, lovely?" I smiled. I'd missed Rene while I was in New York. I guess over the years, after all of the balls where he was assigned as my escort and all of the times Grandmere had tried to pass us off as a couple, we had formed some sort of bond. Grandmere left with a smile on her face, apparently pleased that we were getting along.

"Just peachy," I replied.

"Oh, I bet. How's that wonderful rockstar of yours?"

"No longer mine," I said softly, staring at the floor.

"Really? But you two seemed so..." he saw the expression on my face and stopped mid-thought, "I'm guessing you don't want to talk about it." I nodded.

"Has your pimp lifestyle died down yet, or are you still on the prowl?" I asked him, quickly changing the subject.

"I don't know if I should be insulted or not!" he said. I laughed.

"What brings you here, my dear cousin?" he asked me.

"I decided it's time to stop putting it off and take up my duties." I said, not entirely truthfully. Rene chuckled.

"No, really, Mia. What's the reason."

"That's it!"

"Mia, I can read you like a book. You're nostrils are flaring. Let me guess, it was an ugly break-up with Michael, no?" I didn't doubt it. "So you decided to run away to Genovia so you would never have to see him again. Oh Mia, I thought you were braver than that..." he stopped himself. "Well, actually, no...It's what I would expect from you. So why don't you do something unexpected and go home and face your problems, hm? Besides, you shouldn't base your decision on whether or not you go to college on a guy."

I said nothing.

"Well, I'm off. I have a hot date that I can't miss. I will see you at dinner, my naïve little cousin."

I couldn't deny that he was right.

[Author's Note]
I have't done any shout-outs for a while, so out of boredom, and also out of appreciation for all of my reviewers, here you go:

Shinaynay: Well, I happen to agree with you, because Michael is, in fact, the hottest fictional character in the world. And I'm glad that this fanfic doesn't ruin your perception of the book.
Moonstone209: Well, yes, she should have but you know how dense Mia can be at times. And if she did tell him, then this story would be awfully boring, wouldn't it?
ariane16: You're just going to have to keep reading to find out what happens :D
Contraversial-roses: SEPERATION ANXIETY! Haha, I miss you too, hun. Yes, very angsty, I know. But...my stories are always angsty, aren't they? I should work on avoiding that. Sorry for the ramble, I have the tendency to just keep talking and talking and talking...
hgill: Go ahead and check my other stuff out, I would greatly appreciate it. And thank you.
Ekrith: Actually, when I first wrote the chapter it was more along the lines of anger/hatred, but I changed it to make it more...realistic? I'm glad that you prefer my final version.
Ahhhh: Here I am updating!
PeaceBabe: Michael and Mia never got together in high school, so the band was never named Skinner Box because Mia never came up with the idea. I haven't captured Michael's personality? Well then, I guess that gives me something to work on.
SoCalSurferGirl: That's ok. I've been spending the summer at my best friend's house, so I understand. Hahaha. Actually, Contraversial-roses house.