The next three days were the epitome of mundane life at the Moscovitz house, minus one factor: Michael Moscovitz was nowhere to be found! Mia wondered how on earth it was that the one person she wanted to really see was M.I.A. And last time she checked, that was HER name, not anyone else's.
The Drs. Moscovitz said that he was just really busy lately whenever she found a good entrance to drop a hint, and when her questioning about him got to the point of drawing questions, she guessed that she had just better lay low for awhile. Maybe he would free up before she had to go home and something interesting would happen, but given her luck so far, Mia strongly doubted it. She had been hearing a lot about this karma idea, and supposed that maybe she had done something to merit a small chest and lack of love life. But she doubted it. Nothing she could have done would be that bad!
Mia walked into Lilly's room with a glass of ice water in her hand. "Here, Lil," she said. "The water you wanted. Now you have to tell me where Michael is!"
Lilly tipped her head back, downing the glass within seconds as Mia watched in awe. That girl sure had a big mouth. "Why do you want to know where my brother is all the time? It's a bit creepy!"
"Is not!" Mia exclaimed indignantly. This would be a great opportunity to finally lay her feelings out on the hypothetical table, but as she was still afraid of totally being bashed by her best friend, she decided to only tell a part of the truth. "I was just wondering!" she said, "It's just that he's gone all of a sudden!"
"I guess he finally took my advice," Lilly said with a shrug. "And he went out for pizza with this girl, Judith."
Mia didn't know what to react to first, so she decided to do things in order. "What do you mean, your advice!" The first question came out with an angry expression on the side. "Did you tell him to back off or something?"
Lilly gave her an odd look. "I only told him to stop prancing about without a shirt, but he's never taken me seriously before, so it has to be something else. Why does it matter?"
"Well maybe I like seeing him without a shirt!" Mia yelled angrily.
Silence ensued for a second as Lilly stared at Mia, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "Did you just say what I think you said? That you actually LIKE seeing my brother shirtless?"
Mia managed a laugh. Somehow she had to save the situation! "Of course not, you freak!" She threw a pillow at Lilly, beaning her on the side of her head. "I was only joking!"
Lilly gave her a sidelong glance. "Okay, whatever you say..." She let the sentence trail off for emphasis. "You've just been acting funny lately. You're PMS-ing, aren't you?"
Mia sighed, more out of relief than annoyance at the rudeness of the question. "Yeah," she replied. "You wouldn't happen to have a Midol by any chance, would ya?"
"Who doesn't?" Lilly said with a small laugh, grabbing a bottle off her desk and throwing it to Mia. "Go to the kitchen and get water. And get me another glass while you're up." She held out the glass to Mia, making it totally obvious that she wasn't even willing to get up to give her the glass, much less make the long and treacherous hike to the kitchen.
"What are you, an invalid?" Mia laughed. Lilly could be a pain sometimes, but she wasn't always that bad.
She made her way out into the long hallway and was almost in the kitchen when she heard the front door open and shut quietly. She turned around and found herself face to face with Michael. "Hey!" She exclaimed, probably a little too happy than she wanted to appear. "Long time, no see. Where have you been lately?"
Michael flushed. Despite his attempts to ward off his feelings for Mia, he was as intoxicated as ever by her face, maybe even more so after not seeing her for what seemed like so long. It had taken every ounce of willpower in his body not to watch her as she slept, so the only way to really stay out of her way during the day was to make himself unseen to the whole house. It was just easier that way, for everyone. That day had been spent with Judith Gershner, a fellow member of the Computer Club. She was a nice girl, and easy to talk to, but was nothing like Mia. "Um, I've been busy." Michael thought he at least owed it to Mia to talk to her. Just because they couldn't date didn't mean they couldn't retain some form of a friendship, did it?
Mia frowned. To her, that wasn't a suitable answer, but it was his prerogative. "Okay, I was just getting a glass of water, do you want one too?"
"No thanks," Michael said quickly, before any other answer could come out. He couldn't let her know that the only thing he wanted to do more than drink water with her was kiss her until both their lips hurt. "I gotta do something in my room."
"Oh." Mia was crestfallen, but tried not to let it show too much. "Well have fun with whatever you're doing."
"Yeah," Michael said, "I will." And then he left. Mia couldn't believe all the tension that had resulted from this one little minute-long conversation! Michael had basically rejected her almost innocent offer, and made it perfectly clear to her that he didn't want any part of her. She tried to analyze his every move as she refilled the two glasses from the sink, watching the tiny stream of cold water tumble down and twirl the cluster of ice cubes around, then finally gave up and walked slowly back into Lilly's room, noting how Michael's door was closed with his "Trespassers Beware" sign looking quite foreboding.
"Here ya go," Mia said sullenly, passing the glass to Lilly. "Sorry it took so long." Mia didn't offer any explanation as to why it took ten minutes to fill up the glasses, but Lilly, who had her head buried in the most recent National Geographic magazine, merely grunted in reply and took a swig from the tall glass of water. "I'm just gonna hang out on the balcony," Mia said.
"Mmhmm, sure." Lilly said, barely looking up. "Go ahead."
Mia walked across the cluttered room, opened the glass sliding door, and stepped out onto the balcony. She closed the door, immersing herself in the sights and sounds of New York City. Finally letting the massive sigh escape her body in a whoosh of air, she sat down on the grungy concrete floor and pulled her knees in towards her body. A single tear ran down her face, but as her ears became acclimated to the outside noises, she began to notice an unfamiliar sound. She strained her ears and heard that it was the sound of a guitar softly strumming. And it was coming from the room of Michael Moscovitz. She stood up and leaned over the edge of her balcony, her forearms resting gently on the railing of the balcony adjoining Michael's room. Listening, she was able to pick out Michael's mellow voice singing the final verse of a song he had obviously written himself.
"We hide our feelings
Like you hide your face
Behind that dark brown sheet of hair
Don't you know I love you?"
Mia listened as he struck the final chord of the song and let it die, a long resounding note. She withdrew back onto her own balcony, pushing a strand of hair from her eyes. Once more she sat down, but this time with a different expression upon her face. She recalled the words that she had just heard with wonder; to her, it sounded just like he was writing that song for her and her alone. She had dark brown hair, and even though it might not be considered a sheet, it definitely hid her face. And he could be hiding his feelings for her! Maybe that's why he had seemed so cold all of a sudden. Yes, that was it, she decided. He definitely liked her, but didn't want to show it. So it was up to her to make the first move. It was just a matter of building up courage...