Falling Away

Chapter Fourteen: i gotta run

A/N: I should die, die, die. Die.

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Stop kissing him…Stop kissing him… No, don't stop…It feels so good…

Michael and Mia stood in the small, dimly lit room, kissing without breathing for air. Michael's lips tasted of the cranberry vodka he had been sipping just minutes before, both sweet and tart. Mia mentally slapped herself for thinking about how Michael's lips tasted when she was so clearly cheating on the love of her life. But she couldn't pull herself away from Michael.

And by the time she finally did, it was already too late.

"Holy shit!" Suddenly, the room was filled with artificial light. Lilly Moscovitz stood at the doorway, champagne in hand, her mouth gaping open. Michael and Mia pulled away from each other, reluctance on Michael's part. Mia turned to face Lilly, shielding her eyes with her hand from the bright lights. Her pink lip gloss was smeared all over Michael's cheeks and chin, as well as Mia's chin.

"What the hell do you two think you were doing?" Lilly said, one of her hands on her hip. Her eyes narrowed at the two. Mia felt partly shocked…and partly confused. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. There was, obviously enough, no good excuse for what they had just done. Her eyes lowered in shame.

Michael ran a hand through his messed up hair, rolling his eyes. "We were just kissing. Didn't know that was such a crime these days." Mia looked up long enough to shoot him a glare, knowing that they had been doing more than "just kissing." Michael licked his lips, which tasted like cherry chapstick.

Lilly leaned forward and smacked Michael's forehead. "What was that for?" Michael asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he gently massaged his forehead. "It's for being such a complete and total douchebag," Lilly said bitterly, tipping her champagne into her mouth. "And, Mia, don't get me started on you. You have a boyfriend for God's sake. What were you thinking?"

"I-I-I wasn't thinking," Mia said somewhat sadly, a single tear emerging from her dull gray eyes. "God, Lilly, I'm drunk. I haven't been this drunk ever since graduation. I-I'm a horrible drinker, anyway. I'd make an awful drunk." And now she was just rambling. Lilly shot her an incredulous look.

"God, Mia, don't stand there and take Lilly's bullshit," Michael said, shaking his head. He put a hand on his hip, his shaggy hair over his eyes. Mia could feel them on her either way. If one thing had changed since high school, it was that Michael was more confident than he had ever been now.

"Oh, fine, let me leave you two alone to your little fuck fest," Lilly said nastily. With a swish of her dark curls, she walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Mia stood there, feeling about ready to cry. Michael thought to scream something at the closed door, though he knew Lilly probably wouldn't be able to hear him.

"WE WERE NOT FUCKING!" Michael yelled angrily.

"I should go," Mia whispered loudly, tears spiking her sullen eyes.

"Mia," Michael said urgently. He stepped forward, grabbing her shoulders. "We were just kissing. No harm can come from kissing."

No harm at all.

Mia stuffed her face into her pillow, tears falling from her eyes. Horrible things always seemed to happen when she got drunk. Once, in her freshman year of college, she had gone to her first "keg party" and ended up tripping over James, the really cute, tall guy with blonde hair from her biology class, who had been sitting on a couch, talking with a short redheaded girl. He had been rather sympathetic about it, probably because he hadn't been so sober himself. After her college graduation, she had gotten drunk and ended up throwing up on Adam. He had been polite about it, though, not angry or as disgusted as most guys would've been. And for that, she had been grateful.

She had cheated on Adam. With her ex-boyfriend, Michael Moscovitz, the same man who had broken her heart six years before. "Goddamn it!" Mia hissed into her pillow. How should she tell Adam? How could she tell Adam? She hated it. She hated the situation she had created. She hated herself for hurting Adam. She hated Michael for kissing her. She was absolutely hating her life at that moment.

But most of all, she hated herself for kissing him.

And liking it.

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He had the biggest fucking headache he had ever gotten before from drinking. Drinking, Michael knew, was bad but once an ice cold beer hit his tongue, he couldn't help himself from drinking more and more until he became positively incoherent. Drinking was the cause of all of the wrong that happened the second the hand struck midnight. Michael himself had tried to convince Mia that it was "just kissing."

Who the hell was he kidding? He knew—God, did he know—that it was way more than kissing. Just minutes before they had begun kissing, they—he, mostly—had confessed everything they had kept bottled up for so many years.

"I've always luh-luh-loved you…"

She still loved him. After six long, painful, lonely years, they were still in love with each other. Weren't they? He missed the taste of her lips, her cherry chapstick lips. She had revealed that she adored the way his hair fell in his eyes, the way he smelled of soap. Michael kept a mental note of that.

He had basically helped her in cheating on Adam. What was he now? A cheatee? The other man? The guy who broke up Genovia's power couple? If news spread, he might even become some sort of leper! This could ruin his entire music career! Well, actually, now that he thought about it, that all seemed highly doubtful. So, he drank a glass of water and downed an Aspirin with pride.

He walked to the bathroom. He stood in front of the sink, looking at his face in the shiny mirror. His eyes were red, his hair disheveled. He looked like he needed a long, hot shower. He quickly shut the door and stripped himself of his clothes. He walked into the bathtub, closing the shower curtain. He turned on the faucet and pretty soon, water was cascading down his pale, thin body.

He massaged some shampoo into his hair and pretty soon, the bathroom was filled with the scent of flowers and ylang ylang. He found it oddly calming. He looked down, inspecting his body. He was extremely thin, now that he took the time to look at his body. His chest was pretty much hairless, with the exception of a few dark hairs. His abs weren't built but were nice and…strong?

And, hey, his package wasn't so small. He was pretty well-hung, he guessed. More than the average guy. Just not as big as a male porn star's. And that was perfectly all right with him. His legs were slightly skinny, kind of hairy. He looked down at his feet, which seemed to be more well-groomed than a guy's feet should've been, which he may or may not have been proud of. Probably the former.

He rinsed his hair thoroughly before putting some raspberry conditioner into his hair. Even the wonderful smell filling the bathroom couldn't make him feel any less hung over. Maybe it would help if he sang a bit.

"Our love!" Michael exclaimed, even adding a little hip shaking in. "Our love! Is the best love! If it were up to me. Yes, our love—Our love!—is real love! So just let it be-e. Well, your mother likes my smile, and your father likes my lifestyle…"

Yes, new song. "I…am thinking it's a sign. That the freckles in our eyes are mirror images and when we kiss they're perfectly aligned." The second he sang the word "kiss," he thought of Mia. Beautiful Mia with her slender limbs and soft gray eyes. He could easily pierce him with a single glance. She had the deepest, most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. He scrubbed himself vigorously with Dove soap, his eyes closed.

It was probably around one by now. The last rehearsal before the day of the tour kickoff would be in three hours. He may have been rich and famous now but that didn't make him feel any less nervous. So, as he thoroughly rinsed his hair of the raspberry conditioner, it was safe to say he was anxious.

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Michael's To-Do List

Do vocal warm-ups before practice

Get Shayne to get tuna from the grocery store

Get David to pick up the dry cleaning OR ask him to ask Bob to get it

Re-write chorus to "Alfred Pumpernickel"

Break off "relationship" with Shayne

Call Mia and ask her if she wants to go to the Raydan show

Don't be too disappointed when she declines

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Mia stared at the phone on her desk, contemplating the best way to inform Adam that she had cheated on him. She felt sick to her stomach imagining what would happen when he found out. "Adam…Yeah, you know Michael Z? Well, of course you do but…well, we used to date in high school and I just cheated on you with him," Mia murmured, smoothing her hair down with her hands. She gently slapped her forehead, her stomach twisting and turning.

She had always promised herself that she would never cheat on a guy. That was the one standing rule that she had set for herself. And now she had broken it. What the hell would happen now? She gnawed unknowingly on her pinky nail, lying back onto her bed.

But, God, did Michael's lips taste good.

I am so going to Hell, Mia thought, staring up at her ceiling.

The phone rang suddenly, surprising Mia. She jumped up and grabbed it.

Please don't let it be Michael…Please don't let it be Michael…

"Hello?" Mia said awkwardly into the phone.

"Mia, is that you?" said a female's voice.

"Yesssss. Lilly?"

"No, this is Tina. I heard all about what happened last night! Er…this morning."

"Tina, please don't tell me you called just to tell me what a bitch I am and how I'm going to Hell."

"Uh. No, actually. I just wanted to say how excited I am that you and Michael got back together! I knew you two were always meant to be together!"

"Tina! Michael and I are not—I repeat, not—together!" Mia said.

"Then, why did Lilly find you two in a closet making out with each other? God, I wish Boris and I could do that every once in awhile…" Mia really didn't want to imagine Boris in a closet with Tina, a hand up her top.

"I was…We were…We were both drunk!"

"But does that really explain anything?"

"Well, uh…it should! Because we were! And I have a boyfriend! A boyfriend that is not Michael! A perfectly gorgeous, intelligent, witty, charming…boyfriend. So. Why would I willingly kiss another man when I have the perfect boyfriend? The boyfriend that I've wanted my entire life?"

"Maybe Adam's not the one you've been waiting for all this time," Tina said almost timidly.

"No! Of course he is! And don't you dare say that I've been waiting for Michael…Because I haven't!" Mia exclaimed. Tina did reply. So, Mia did the best she could to fill the silence. And it hurt. "Tina, how am I supposed to tell Adam that I cheated on him with this amazingly famous, talented rockstar that he practically idolizes? The same guy that I first fell in love with?"

"I-I dunno," Tina said softly, sadly. "But you're going to have to tell him sooner or later. Before he finds out from someone else…"

"I will…soon."

"Okay. Well, Boris and I are going to go out to lunch now. Call me later?"

"What's your number?" Mia said, grabbing a pen and notepad.

"555-5239. Talk to you soon, Mia. Bye."

"Bye, Tina." Mia hung up the phone and set down the notepad on the nightstand beside her bed. Mia stared once again at the phone. She closed her eyes, picking it up. She began dialing Adam's cellphone number, the number that she could always reach him and only him at.

The dialing tone was slow and slightly irritating. Mia was about to hang up when someone picked up.

"Hello?"

It was a female voice.

Mia suddenly felt like she was going to throw up all over again.

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A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know: short, bad chapter for such a long wait. Sorry, sorry.