Chapter 4

"Hi." She smiled at him, her eyes meeting his.

"Hey, Francie invited me over for dinner…" He started to explain, as judging by the look on her face she wasn't exactly expecting him.

"Sure, come on in." She stepped aside as he walked into the apartment. The smell of his aftershave washed over her as he walked past, making her smile to herself. She had always believed that you could tell a lot about a guy by the aftershave that he was wearing, and she had to admit that so far he was doing well.

He turned around to look at her, and found her smiling brightly to herself. He didn't want to disturb the moment that she was having, so he just stood patiently beside her.

She could feel his eyes on her and quickly shook herself out of her gaze. God, he's gonna think I'm crazy!

"Can I take your jacket?" She offered, smiling at him, hoping that her smile would be enough for him to forget her strange behaviour.

He nodded as he took off his coat and handed it to her. "Thanks." She hung it up on the coat rack beside the door and walked towards the kitchen; Michael following close behind her.

"Michael! You came." Francie greeted him as he walked into the kitchen. She ignored the glares that Sydney was giving her and focused all of her attention on their guest. "Let me introduce you to everyone. This is my boyfriend, Will Tippin." She wrapped her arm around Will's waist as he shook hands with Michael. "And this is my roommate and best friend, Sydney Bristow."

Michael smiled at her. "It's good to finally put a name to a face!" Sydney mirrored his smile, her cheeks reddening slightly. "Oh I almost forgot!" He turned back to Francie and handed her the bottle of wine that he had bought. "I couldn't decide on red or white…"

"Red's perfectly fine!" She reassured him. She handed the bottle of wine to Will who had taken four wineglasses out of the cupboard. Sydney leaned back onto the kitchen counter, slowly shaking her head at Francie, not that Francie noticed. Ever since Michael had arrived, Francie had avoided making eye contact with Sydney. Will handed a glass to everyone and the kitchen filled with silence, except for the sound of the bubbling water in one of Francie's pans.

"Will, why don't you take Michael into the living room and talk about sports or whatever it is you guys talk about!" Sydney suggested. "I can help Francie with the dinner." She smiled. Francie sighed, she knew that Sydney was telling them to leave the kitchen for one reason and one reason only; she was gonna yell. Michael followed Will into the living room, where they started talking about hockey.

"Francie! I can't believe you didn't tell me that he was coming!" Sydney tried to keep her voice low, as the guys were only in the next room, and she definitely didn't want Michael to hear what she was saying.

"It slipped my mind!" Francie told her, although they both knew that that wasn't the truth. Sydney stared back at her, her left eyebrow raised. Francie bit her bottom lip hoping that they could talk about something else, but Sydney's eyes remained fixed on her as she waited for the truth.

Finally Francie broke down. "Ok, fine it didn't slip my mind." She stated quite matter-of-factly.

"Really? Because for a minute there I was starting to believe you!" Sydney replied sarcastically, folding her arms infront of her chest.

"Now really isn't the time for sarcasm!" Francie added, as she shook her head at her. She turned the stove off and served the pasta onto the three plates. Sydney took an extra plate out of the cupboard and handed it to Francie.

"So why didn't you tell me he was coming?"

"Because, I knew you would react like this. And then you'd probably make me cancel tonight, and it's just too good to cancel!"

"But if I had known that he was coming, I could have least made an effort!" Sydney looked down at her jeans and sweater that she was wearing. Half of her hair was tied back, and she had only put on a coat of mascara; the rest of her face was bare. She was being to wish that she had dressed up a little.

"Sydney, you and me both know that you look gorgeous no matter what you wear! So let's stop pretending that your beauty is an issue here." Sydney looked down at the floor. She didn't see why she was making such a big deal about this; after all Francie had arranged all of this for her.

"So why don't you just relax and get to know this guy. You might just end up liking him more than you already do…" Francie told her, placing the plates down on the table.

Francie shouted the guys back into the kitchen and told them that dinner was ready. Sydney smiled at Michael as she took a seat beside him. Francie watched their interaction, and knew that she had made the right decision in inviting him over.

Silence came over them as they started eating. Francie kept kicking Sydney under the table and shifting her head slightly towards Michael; indicating that Sydney should start a conversation with him. After about the fifth kick, Sydney took her hint and started talking.

"So Michael, Francie tells me you moved from New York?" Sydney asked, although she already knew that answer.

"Yeah, I've lived there for most of my life, but it was time for a change." He took a bite of his meal and smiled. "Francie, this is delicious!"

"He doesn't know what you do?" Sydney asked her curiously. If Michael knew what she did for a living, he probably wouldn't be so amazed by her cooking. Michael looked at the two women, wondering what they were talking about.

"No, it never came up in conversation!" She shrugged, colour filling her cheeks.

"She's a chef." Will informed him. Michael realised that was why the food was so good; this woman cooked for a living.

"I see. Well it's great anyways." Francie smiled at him, thanking him for his compliment. "What is it you guys do?" He asked, his eyes moving from Sydney to Will.

"I teach English Literature at a school, a couple of blocks from here." Sydney told him, taking a sip of the wine that he had bought.

"I'm a journalist."

They continued talking whilst they ate, and anyone would have thought that the four of them had been friends for years. Sydney found that Francie was right; she was starting to like Michael more than she did when they first met. He had a great personality and she was falling for him more and more as they talked. She wasn't the only one feeling this way; Michael was finding that Sydney was much more than just a pretty face. She was intelligent and fun to talk to.

After they had finished eating, Francie had volunteered herself and Will to wash the dishes, giving Sydney and Michael the opportunity to talk on their own. Sydney got two beers out of the fridge and smiled brightly at Francie, before going to join him in the living room.

"Here you go." She handed him the bottle of beer and sat down beside him on the couch, her legs tucked underneath her.

"Thanks." He took a sip of the beer. The room was dark, the only light coming from two lamps that Francie had left on. Even through the dim light, Michael could tell that she was looking at him, her eyes studying his face.

"What?" He asked.

She smiled, noticing how he his cheeks had reddened slightly, making him look cuter than before. She liked that she had that power of him, although she had only known him for a short while; just the thought of her watching him embarrassed him. "Nothing." She shook her head, and he smiled back at her.

"So what does Michael Vaughn do when he's not checking for cavities?" She teased, resting her elbow on the back of the sofa, propping her head up.

" I play hockey."

Sydney was surprised by his answer. "Hockey?"

"Yeah, why are you so surprised?" He asked, turning on the coach to face her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess you just don't seem the hockey type, you know. Most guys that play hockey are really rough, always getting into fights and you just don't seem to be like that. I know I've only known you for a couple of hours, and I may be wrong about this, but I'd say that you were more caring and gentler than that." She drank some of her beer, her eyes raising to meet his. "If that made any sense at all."

They both laughed, as he nodded his head, agreeing with her. "Yeah, I don't do the whole fight on ice thing, I tend to skate in the other direction!" He joked. They fell into a comfortable silence, as they both drank their drinks. They kept glancing at each other, but as soon as they realised that the other was watching they would look away.

When they had finished drying the dishes, Will grabbed a beer and was about to walk into the living room when Francie stopped him.

"Where are you going?" She asked, although the answer was obvious.

"To the living room…"

"Will! You can't go in there, what if they're like making out or something!" Francie shook her head at him, as she moved to stand infront of him and the doorway.

"Francie come on! This is Sydney we're talking about; she only just met the guy. I doubt they're making out."

"You never know! Besides, do you really want to disturb them?"

Will dodged past Francie and turned to face her. "I'm sure they'll both be so annoyed when my presence interrupts their conversation." He took hold of Francie's hand and led her to the living room.

"What are you guys up to?" Will asked, ready to prove his point to Francie.

"We were just talking." Sydney replied. Will looked at his girlfriend and raised his eyebrows, a look of pure shock on his face.

"Really?" He asked, more for Francie's benefit then anybodyelse's. Sydney looked at her two best friends, wondering what was going on. She looked back at Michael and shrugged, letting him know that she had absolutely no idea what that was all about. Francie and Will sat down with them and they continued their conversations. Francie spent the whole time observing Sydney and Michael, looking for any sign that would indicate that they could be more than just friends. Will knew what he was doing, and shook his head, deciding that he would just let her get on with it.

An hour and a half later, Michael decided that it was time he left. Sydney stood up with him. "I'll show you out."

Michael thanked Francie for her invitation and said goodbye to Will. Francie told him that they could hang out again, and he smiled at them as he agreed. Sydney walked into the hallway and took his jacket off the rack, and handed it to him.

She opened the door and they both stood in the doorway, leaning back on either side of the doorframe. "I had a great time tonight." He told her, a smile on his lips.

Sydney nodded, her smile matching his. "Yeah me too. It was fun."

Vaughn knew that if this was a date, he was supposed to kiss her round about now. But the truth was, this wasn't a date; he had just had dinner with them, and as much as he wanted to kiss her, he knew that it would best if he didn't. Sydney could tell that he was thinking about kissing her. She didn't know if she was imagining it or not, but his eyes looked like they were slowly drifting down to her lips. She dismissed this thought, telling herself that she was just trying to make something happen, when she knew that nothing would.

He stepped outside the house, and any chance of him kissing her was gone. She smiled at him, trying to not let her disappointment show.

"Bye Syd."

"Yeah bye Michael." She watched him walk away and then shut the door, walking back into the living room.

"So…did you kiss him?" Francie asked, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Francie!" Will and Sydney shouted at the same time. Francie looked at them both, confused at what they were shouting about.

"Well did you?" Sydney rolled her eyes.

"No Fran, I didn't." Francie looked down at the floor, disappointment in her eyes. "I'm gonna go to bed, goodnight guys." She kissed them both on the cheek and headed towards her room. She put on her pyjamas and climbed into bed. She lay there, staring up at the ceiling and that's when it hit her. She was just as disappointed as Francie was that he hadn't kissed her.