Author's Note: Wow, you guys definitely rule. Kudos for reviewing. Now on to my insanely long AN

Lyra: I'm not gonna have a billion conversations. They are hormonal kids. Michael is currently at his sexual peak. But they do talk.

LOTR: Aren't I? Don't worry, I get more evil.

Handsoff: Yes. It's all about balance. Wicked balance

Carrie: You have a fascination with threesomes. I'll tell you in advance: no threesomes in this story.

Evilloveberry: Thanks. I try to think of ways to drive you guys crazy with my cliffies.

Poisonibe: Oh, the Pats did kick the Eagles asses.

Ahhhh: I always wanna put an exclamation point next to your name. Anyways, Tommy Brady is quite a nice looking young man. My mom is friendly with his sister. I'm trying to get the introduction. But I'm only going after him since my Adam V. is taken and has a baby and stuff. Otherwise I'd be all over that. (um, not really but you knew that). Anyways, Tom Brady is kind of how I pictured the Schilling character to look like.

Aphi: Schilling is his first name. His last name is Davies.

8sperson: I loathe the letter E. Just kidding. Thanks for the review.

Don'taskeme: You are saying Dude again

Amazingotter: Serena just sounded like a bitchy name to me. I never liked the one in Gossip Girl though. Maybe it was just something that seeped out of my subconscious. You know, saying her name. Schilling is a lovely name. It's not like I named him Jeter or something equally lame (but keep an eye out for references). You haven't noticed a pattern of the character names? Of the characters I've made up that is.And here's a hint: I made up Schilling his first start against the Yankees. I write based on moods. My attitude changed at some point and you'll see when that is. And that wasn't necessarily a burn to Tina. She just…well, Mia was just blabbering on and forgetting that she was saying everything out loud. But I do hate Tina as well. She will get hers soon. I forget how soon, but soon enough. Wow, you got a long response.

I dunno how many of you watched the Superbowl, but I was pretty upset. I mean, yeah, my team won and there is a parade and rally thing where Tommy is going to be with his ugly coat and stupid hat, but c'mon. There was no man nipple from Paul McCartney. I was totally bumming over that.Patriot's parade tomorrow, is Kristin going? NO. Kristin has school. Oh wait, that's right, my school campus is the parade route. Silly me.Sorry to all the Philly fans out there. Great game.But uh, did anyone else notice that they said "Pinkston is out with a bad case of the cramps'. How terribly embarrassaing for him. Midol should get him to be their spokesperson. I'm kidding. But I'm still serious about Hambuger Helper getting A-Rod to be their spokesperson. For Real.

You wanted to read a story? Oh, okay, I guess you can stop reading my stupid comments. I'm giddy though.


MICHAEL:

Oh shit. She didn't want me to say I loved her. "I love you," I replied softly and quickly.

She shook her head. "No, you said Serena."

"Why would I say-"

"Ugh, forget it," she snapped, jumping up and getting all of her clothes back.

"What?" I snapped. "Mia I'm-"

"Forget the whole damn thing," she snapped, putting her jeans back on. "Seriously."

I watched as she stormed out of the room. Why had I said Serena when I seriously meant Mia? Do I have tourettes when it comes to female's names?

She slammed the door shut so fast that my framed picture of me with Mia from graduation party shook and fell. Smashing into a million pieces. How's that for symbolism for you?

I sunk into my bed, a shell of a man that I should have been. That I fully planned on being after tonight. I was going to tell her that I loved her and I wanted to be her boyfriend if she'd just let me. But no. I have to see that skank Serena who then seeped into my subconscious.

I had meant to say Mia. I swear I did. Which is why I padded out into the kitchen the next morning in nothing but my plaid boxers. I knew she'd be in the living room sleeping with my sister and her friends on the floor. Along with empty bags of potato chips and ice cream cartons.


I slipped a note into her backpack and then poured a bowl of cereal. I had a plan.

I was going to have her meet me here and then I'd play a medley of her songs. The songs I wrote with her and only her in mind. Then I'd explain the mess up. How Serena had been telling me earlier in the evening about a time I said Mia's name instead of her. And that somehow my subconscious was making up for it. But hopefully she'll stop me with kisses before anything else could be said.

I mean, I think we have a good thing going. We goof around when we go out. We have a gazillion inside jokes. But we can talk about totally inane things as well. Like how to get back at Lana for whatever it was that she was doing to Mia.

Or how she hates elevators. And the John Tesh crap that plays in them (okay, who DOESN'T?).

Or how I am actually a teensy bit afraid of clowns. And one time she hid with me when there was a clown at a carnival we all went to.

Or about global warming. It's random and totally weird, but we talk about it.

Or…. about a new song or story she's working on. I'm her sounding board for all that stuff.

And I know that if I'm having a bad day I can just give her a call or talk to her at practice and she can put it into perspective for me. She doesn't suck up to me. She tells me off when she knows I need it.

Serena was never like that. We never joked around. We talked about getting married and about our individual goals, but never had one together. Mia and I did; we wanted to get a record deal.


Mia came into the kitchen as I stared at my Capn' Crunch—letting it get all soggy. If I eat it before it becomes soggy it rips the roof of my mouth. I looked at her meekly, but she didn't acknowledge me. She just took the orange juice from the fridge and put it in front of her place at our table. That's how often she's here; she has her own place at the table. Then she went to the cupboard and got out the bowl she uses for breakfast (a pink one that Lilly used when she was a kid). She quietly poured some Capn' Crunch in the bowl and then some milk.

I stared at her bowl as she ate without saying a word. She didn't even make eye contact with me. Maybe she was embarrassed about the night before. I know I sure as hell was.

"Mia…." I started after I threw my dish in the sink. "We need to talk," I continued, placing my hands on the back of her chair.

She turned slightly "I don't think so. I think you spoke very clearly last night," she replied, finally realizing I was only wearing my shorts. She turned bright red and let her attention turn to the bowl again. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't wear those when Tina is around."

I looked around, "She's not," I replied. "She's sleeping. You are here. I don't think we have room to be embarrassed anymore about our apparel." I liked how flustered she was getting.

She looked up at me sadly, "I guess not."

"Mia…..well…see, last night I went to a party at the Warehouse."

She gave me a bored stare.

"And I bumped into Serena."

Her cheeks turned a bit red. "Oh and you guys hooked-"

"No," I started. "It's not like that. I just…she told me this story," I said with a nervous laugh. Okay, I can totally tell Mia this story. She'll laugh and then kiss me and tell me she loved me back.

"I'm listening," she prodded.

"When I was with her this one time-"

"Hel-Lo Michael," Shameeka greeted, coming into the kitchen, "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

As we both started saying yes Tina emerged from the living room as well. "Hey Michael," she greeted. "You are up early."

She was staring at my boxers.

Mia stood up and stood in front of me. "He forgot that everyone else was over this morning. I guess he likes to prance around naked when no one is around. Michael, why don't you go get changed?"

I blushed and ran off to get dressed. She'd come back later on. I know she will.


That day I ran to the public library to grab some books for school. I had a paper due in two weeks and I had no research done. "Hey Michael!" a semi familiar voice called out.

I turned and saw my old friend Aimee. The girl from Harvard.

"Oh, hey there Aim," I replied. "What's up? Why are you home?"

"I came back to get some sweaters. Columbus Day weekend. We have Monday off. What are you doing here?"

"Getting some books out," I replied, stating the obvious.

She smiled, "Oh, of course. How've you been?"

"Great. I'm back in school."

"Dating anyone?" she asked. I knew what she was asking.

"Yeah," I lied. "Me and Mia. Well, I mean, I'm dating Mia. Not Me and Mia. Just Mia. Remember her?"

"Oh."

"Yeah. Since January," I lied. "Thank goodness for that Weezer concert or we may never have realized we were in love."

She turned scarlet, "I thought that maybe…you know, that you guys had… you know, just been having a fling."

"How would you know? I haven't even talked to you since then."

"Word gets around Moscovitz. You two aren't always so secretive. I talk to Manny."

That Gossip Whore. "Oh. Well, you know."

She nodded. "Why don't we go get some coffee? Catch up? Or would Mia not like that?"

I shrugged. "Sure. Why not? Let me just go home and drop these off." Of course Mia wouldn't mind. She's not my girlfriend, but she would have been totally cool with me hanging out with girls who were friends. Unlike Aim who was totally the opposite of Mia. Even as friends. She was way possessive and jealous.

She followed me. I expected her to say she'd meet me in an hour, but no. She came back to the apartment with me and looked around. "You were such an adorable baby," she cooed at a picture of a three year old me holding Lilly. "Yeah, I guess," I replied from my bedroom. My wallet fell behind my desk.

"What's wrong?" she asked, poking her head into my room.

"I dropped my wallet down between the desk and the wall," I replied.

She came in and crept underneath the desk. I leaned over it with a flashlight.

"Got it!" she screamed.

"Thanks," I replied, plopping down on my chair and starting to roll back. But she pulled me toward her. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Mia doesn't have to know," she replied, unzipping my jeans. I turned and heard voices in the hallway.

"My sister is home-"

"So?" she asked, fighting with me over ownership of my zipper.

I gave up on the zipper and tried to push myself away by pushing her head away from my crotch. PROBABLY not the best idea.

MIA

Mia- Sorry about last night. I'll make it up to you tonight. Come over after you and Lilly tape the show, kay?

-Michael

I re-read the note over and over again. I know I should just toss it aside and blow him off, but I couldn't. I liked his hand writing. It was so different from mine. His was neat and clear. Mine was bubbly and all over the place.

"Trying to catch shoplifters in Ho's Deli isn't exactly hard hitting," Shameeka said, looking at her nails.

"It will be when I catch someone famous do it," Lilly replied.

I rolled my eyes. "What famous people shop at Ho's?"

"You."

"I'm hardly famous. Plus, Grandmere would have a heart attack if she…maybe it is a good idea," I teased.

"I'm kidding. This is boring. Let's go back to my house," Lilly replied, getting her stuff together.

We stopped in a music store. Shameeka wanted to pick up the latest Destiny's Child CD to listen to later. Lilly was over looking at posters, so I snuck off to see Shameeka alone. I needed advice. "What?" she hissed as I pulled her toward the clothing racks in the back of the store.

"I need help-"

"Are you pregnant?" she asked wide eyed. "Does Michael know? I mean, it IS Michael's, right? You havent' slept with anyone else?" Another customer looked at us funny.

"Of course not," I hissed.

"Of course not he doesn't know, or that you aren't?"

"I'm not," I hissed. "Look, last night we were….well…"

"Fooling around," she replied. "I know. I woke up while you were gone. Well, I assume you were with him. You were gone for awhile."

"Did Ti-"

"No, Tina didn't notice. Go on."

"Anyways, he said it."

"What?"

"The L word-"

"Oh my gosh! Congratulations! Right? It's a good thing, right? I knew he'd finally say it. Was I interrupting the first post love admittance kiss this morning? You said it too right?"

"With Serena's name at the other end of it," I finished.

She raised her eyebrows. "Say WHAT?"

"He said 'I love you Serena', all the while kissing me. Can you believe it?"

She bit her lip and stared off to the side. "Well, has he even mentioned her name lately?"

"No. But this morning he was starting to explain I think. He was saying he saw her last night at some party and she told him some story. Do you think he deserves a chance to explain?"

"Uhm…well, yeah. First of all, he's Michael Moscovitz. The star of your dirty dreams for the past….well, since you started having them-"

"Shameeka!"

"Oh please, you know it's the truth. Secondly, maybe Serena was just on his mind because he saw her. I mean, who knows, maybe he even called her your name before. Maybe she just got into his head. We all know how conniving she is. And plus, it's obvious to everyone that he's warm for your form."

"Well, when we drink, yeah."

"I would give him a chance-"

"What are you guys doing back here?" Lilly asked, coming up behind me.

I was I saw a shirt that made me laugh. It was a Dropkick Murphy's shirt that said "KISS ME! I'M SHITFACED". I thought it might be funny for Michael to have it. Since we only kiss while intoxicated. "I was gonna buy this shirt," I replied quickly.

She rolled her eyes. "Gee, I wonder for who."


We joked and laughed as we entered the apartment. "Oh, Michael was getting me a new guitar string today," I lied. "I'll be in his room and working on a song."

Lilly looked skeptical. "I'd love to hear a new Glass of Water original," she said cheerfully, unwilling to allow us to be alone.

Shameeka interrupted, "Maybe we'd just be hindering the creative process."

"Shameeka, there is nothing creative about those two," Lilly replied, passing me and going directly to Michael's door.

I gave a pained face to Shameeka. She had to get Lilly away. I had to be alone with Michael. "Lilly, I really don't-"

"OH MY DEAR GOD!"