Title: California, Here We Come

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Princess Diaries belongs to Meg Cabot and her publishing company and well, not me……

A/N: WOW! Long time, no write, huh? Well I was thinking about P.D. the other day and was like omgosh! I never finished my story! I've been so busy. At least I warned everyone at the beginning of the story that I would be busy though. But still….work, school, SATs, vacation, grandma having heart surgery……stuff just likes to pile up. I don't know when my next chapter will be out, but at least theres one for now! So here you go! Enjoy! Oh, and PLEASE leave me some tips. I feel some HORRIBLE writers block. I feel like this chapter is not going to be so good. Maybe I'll make it more like 2 chapters so I can make it good. I know how I want the end to go but I'm having trouble getting there……so leave me comments and tips in the review pleeeeeease! Thanks guys! You're great!

MIA'S POV

I ran as fast as I could. I couldn't take the comments. I couldn't take the looks. I was so embarrassed. I wished that I could disappear. Why couldn't I just be invisible like I used to be? But no, I have to be a complete idiot and a complete dork and everyone gets to see it on TV because I'm a PRINCESS! Did I ASK to be one? NO! Did I WANT to be one? NO! But do people care? NO!

My cell phone kept ringing, but I didn't answer it. I knew it was Grandmere. Even though she doesn't watch MTV, I know the word has gotten around to her already. She's going to be so furious. I don't think I can handle it.

I want to leave California, but the only place to go is home. And Grandmere's there, so that narrows my choice down to………..nowhere.

A few paparazzi had somehow managed to get inside the building. Did the paparazzi get training from the CIA or something? Because they seem to be able to find anyone anywhere.

"Mia!"

"NO COMMENT!"

Why won't those paparazzi leave me alone? Don't they think I've had enough?

"Mia!"

"I SAID NO COMMENT!" I screamed as tears poured out harder. Someone grabbed my arm and I was pulled into a room.

"LET GO OF ME!" I screamed as someone placed a hand over my mouth.

"Mia, it's ok. It's just me," the male said as he turned me around to face him. Then he just held me.

"Mia, it's going to be ok."

"How? How is it going to be ok? Just because you say it is doesn't mean it will! My grandmother is going to kill me! Everyone is going to laugh at me. They're going to think I'm an even bigger dork then before. I hoped that I could come to California and finally be someone else. I thought maybe I could have a fresh start here. Maybe I wouldn't be one of the biggest dorks in the world. But I can't even do that here. My boyfriend dumped me for another girl and it was broadcast on nationwide television! How am I going to show my face out there? How am I going to talk to my grandmother? And my father? How am I going to explain this? I hate being a princess. It's not fair! What am I going to do!"

"We'll think of something, I promise"

"Thank you, Ryan. Thank you for everything. For staying with me last night. For helping me. You don't really even know me, yet you're already protecting me."

"It's no problem, Mia. I love to help you. You're an amazing girl," Ryan said smiling.

Then his voice lowered and he spoke softly into my ear. "You may not be glad you came here, Mia, but I'm glad you did. You're very special. You're amazing. You're sweet. You're funny….."

He moved his head slightly so he was looking me in the eye.

"You're beautiful…." he finished off, whispering. I could feel his breath on my face. He looked me in the eye and gazed at me. His eyes were beautiful. They were like the ocean. He glanced at my lips and back up at me and then he did it. He brought his lips down to meet my own. At first I was startled, then I began to kiss back, but my mind snapped back to reality and I pulled away.

"Ryan, we can't do this."

"Why? You didn't like the kiss?"

"That's not it. It's just that I just broke up with my boyfriend. You hardly even know me. I hardly even know you. It's just not right."

"Alright. I understand. Whenever you feel that we know each other well enough, let me know." He smiled and peeked out the door.

"I think they left. You want me to walk you back to your dorm? You're probably safest there."

I just nodded and smiled. I was so confused. Michael's kiss…… Ryan's kiss…….. Kenny's new girlfriend………. All of this was just too much. I mean Ryan's kiss was nice. It was amazing. He's a great kisser, but there's just not as much spark as Michael's. I mean don't get me wrong, there's a lot of lust there. He's gorgeous and his kiss is amazing. Why wouldn't a girl want him? But Michael's kiss was different. I felt passion but I also felt something more. Something that I've never felt before. Something that I think only could come from Michael.

"Thanks for everything, Ryan," I said as we reached the dorm.

"Any time, Mia. Just call me if you need anything. Anything at all. Or if you just want to get to know each other," he said as he winked and walked away.

I opened the door to find everyone in the living room.

"MIA! We were so worried about you!" Tina squealed as I walked in the room.

"I was only gone for like 20 minutes……"

"Well you've gotten like 200 calls in 20 minutes," Tina said pointing to the phone left off the hook and lying on the floor.

"Lilly kept picking them all up and saying 'Princess Amelia has no comment' but the phone kept ringing over and over and over……I don't know how they even got this number…."

"Thanks guys. Sorry about just leaving like that. I just had to get away."

"Are you feeling any better?" Tina asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I ran into Ryan and we talked about it. He said he'll think of something. So I'm hoping he thinks of something soon. Hopefully I can take care of this before I Grandmere decides to come up here and take me back to New York. I'm sure she's already thinking about it…"

"Why don't you sue them?" Lilly suggested.

"Riiight. And I'm going to win, how?"

"Because you never signed a contract. You never said you'd be on the show. Did you?"

"NO!"

"Well then…."

"I never thought of that. I'll see what I can do. I guess it's time to face the music," I said grabbing my cellphone and dialing Grandmere's number.

"AMELIA! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHAT IS GOING ON? WHY WERE YOU OFF WITHOUT YOUR BODYGUARD? I WILL NOT HAVE YOU GALLAVANTING AROUND CALIFORNIA LIKE THAT! DO YOU WANT ME TO COME THERE AND GET YOU RIGHT NOW? BECAUSE I WILL!"

I cringed at the screaming and walked into my room. Hopefully I'll have a solution by the time I come out.

MICHAEL'S POV

I wish I could help Mia right now, but I don't even know how. She's hurting so much. I still have to talk to her about saying that I was just joking. If she's talking about the kiss, then obviously it meant something to her. I have to figure this out. But first, we have to solve her problem.

She just walked into her room on the phone with her grandmother. I can't believe that Ryan was the one who got to help her again. Why is he ALWAYS there? How is he always around? I find it a little weird that he always shows up when Mia's in trouble. Why can't it be me who comforts her? I want her to know that I'm the one who wants to protect her. This Ryan guy really ticks me off. I don't even know why. I don't like him. I just don't like him. I don't trust him. He doesn't even know Mia like I do. He doesn't deserve her. Not that I do, but I deserve her way more than he does.

"So what are we going to do?" Lilly asked, turning around to look at everyone.

"What can we do, Lilly?" Tina asked. Everyone turned to look at her expectantly.

"I don't know. That's why we're supposed to think of something!"

Then there was silence. Everyone sat and waited for Mia to come out of her room. Finally, after 20 minutes, she came out. Everyone's heads popped up at the same time as they sat and waited for her to say something.

"Well Mia! Speak up already! What did your grandmother say? Can we sue them? We didn't sign any contracts!"

"Apparently, we did sign them. I guess the stack of papers we signed, along with the waivers and insurance and permission to attend a different school, there was an MTV release form. It was slipped in and we didn't pay enough attention. So unless my Grandmere gets us out of this, I'm stuck on MTV for a while," she said sighing.

"Well don't worry, Mia. Just don't do anything to draw attention to yourself. Maybe if you act normally, they'll think there's no story and they'll get bored and give up," Tina said trying to comfort her.

"My life is NOT normal. I'm NOT normal. Nothing about this is normal!" Mia shouted and started to cry again.

"We'll think of something, Thermopolis. Don't worry," I said, trying to sound casual yet comforting simultaneously.

She looked up at me and let out a small smile.

"Thanks guys."

MIA'S POV

The rest of the day, I just stayed in, trying to avoid gaining any more attention than I already had.

Sunday came, and I had forgotten all about my Algebra and my French project with Ryan. So Tina called Ryan and Seth to come over so we could get our projects finished up.

I quickly brushed my hair once more and put on some more cherry chapstick. I mean, I didn't want to look any worse than usual. I had just finished when I heard a knock at the door. I check to see who it was and then let them in.

"Hey Ryan. Hey Seth. Tina's in her room if you wanna go on in," I said pointing to her door.

"Alright. Cool. Thanks," he said heading to her room.

Ryan and I walked over to the couch where he pulled out his books.

"So, I guess we should get started," he said smiling at me and tossing me my book.

After about an hour of working, laughing, and Ryan "accidentally" grabbing my hand, we were finally finished.

"Hey, do you wanna come over tonight? We could watch some movies. Get some Ben and Jerrys. Get to know each other. Whatever you want."

"Well, I still have Algebra to do," I said, looking down at my bag.

"I can help you with your Algebra," he offered.

"Well, Michael usually helps me with my Algebra…"

"It's just this once, Mia. Pleeeeeease?" he said, giving me the puppy dog eyes. I hate when guys do that. How are you supposed to turn down that look.

"Well, how about I just come over after I do my Algebra?"

"Alright. It's a deal. So, be at my place around…7?" he said, as we got up and walked towards the door.

"Alright. I will. See you then."

"Goodbye, Princess," Ryan said kissing my cheek and walking out.

I turned around to see Michael standing behind me, looking a little disappointed.

"Hey Michael, I was just about to come find you. I was wondering if you could help me with my Algebra….." I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, whatever. Go get your books. We can work in my room. Kenny and Boris went out. Lars and Wahim are watching a game, but we can always kick them out."

"Alright. I'll get my stuff. Thanks Michael," I said smiling and grabbing my stuff and heading into the guys room where Lars and Wahim were just getting up to leave.

"Thanks for letting us have the room, guys," I said smiling at my wonderful bodyguard.

"No problem, Princess."

"The name's Mia," I said smiling up at him again.

"Right. Well if you need anything, Mia, just let me know," he said walking out the door.

(A/N: Ahhhhh this chapter is soooo boring. I hate writers block. If I can get through this chapter, I can get to what I want to get to, so please be patient!)

We pulled out our books and we started working. We didn't start up conversation, but neither of us knew what to say. I couldn't bring up the kiss. Obviously he didn't want to talk about it. So if he wasn't going to bring it up, I definitely wasn't. Get my heart broke intentionally? No thanks.

"So……you and Ryan. Are you like….you know…… a couple now?" he asked, not looking up from the book.

"Umm not really. Just really good friends. I don't really know him well enough," I said, not looking up from my book either. I just couldn't look him in the eyes, because I know I would get lost in them.

"What about you and Krissy?" I asked while still looking down.

"Nope. We're not dating."

"But you want to date her?"

"Nope."

"Oh, why not? I mean she seems…………..energetic," I said trying to think of a positive characteristic. I wanted to know what was going on with Michael and Krissy. If he doesn't want to date her, why would he be by her? Why would he kiss her?

He stopped writing and looked up, so I decided to do the same.

"Because she's not………" What? Not what?

"She's not what?"

"She's just not the girl I want," he said looking back down.

"Oh. You mean she's not Judith?" I said sadly. So Michael really does love Judith. I bet he misses her right now. The same way I miss Michael, even though he's right next to me. Things have been so weird between us since we got here. We haven't hung out like usual. We don't talk like we used to.

"What?" he said as if he was trying to comprehend what I said.

"You mean, she's not Judith. You know, the girl you want. I get it. It's ok, Michael," I said standing up.

"What are you talking about, Mia?" he said looking at me confused.

"It's fine, Michael. I won't tell anyone. I'm just going to finish this on my own," I said grabbing my books and walking out of there.

I walked to my room and knocked quietly, just enough to get Tina and Seth's attention before I went in. Tina answered the door a little disheveled, while she smoothed down her hair. Her hair was a little messy and her lips were swollen. It seems as if Tina and Seth were working on French alright, French kissing, that is. If I wouldn't have been sad for myself, I would have been ecstatic for Tina. I just smiled at her.

"Oh, hey Mia. Did Ryan leave already?"

"Yeah, we finished up our work a little while ago. I'm actually about to go over there now to watch some movies and stuff," I said grabbing my purse and a few other things.

"Alright, well have fun," Tina said smiling at me.

"You too. Just don't have too much fun," I said as I walked out giggling.

Well I guess all my chances with Michael are gone. He really does love Judith. If he didn't, he would have said something.

I called Ryan to let him know I'd be coming early. Then I told Lars where I was going.

"I'll walk you there Princess," he said. "I mean, Mia. I won't have you walking around alone with all the press running around everywhere."

"Alright, well let's go," I said walking out the door and heading to Ryan's.

"Call me when you want to come back," Lars said, heading back down to our room.

"Alright, I will. Thanks Lars," I said walking into Ryan's room.

"Hey Mia! I rented the movies. They're over on the table. And I'm waiting on the vegetarian lasagna to finish cooking," Ryan said rushing around with oven mitts on. I couldn't help but giggle.

"How did you know I was a vegetarian? I never told you that."

"Oh, well I, uhh saw it in a magazine somewhere," he said as the timer went off.

"Oh, I should have known," I said looking in his cabinet for plates and forks. I found some and I set them out on the table as he pulled the lasagna out.

We got ourselves some food and plopped ourselves down on the couch. I picked up the movies to look at them.

"Pretty in Pink, Sleepless in Seattle, and the O.C. Season 1! Nice choices! I love the O.C! Ryan is so gorgeous!"

(even though the seasons wasn't even finished at this time in the story but oh well)

"More gorgeous than me?" Ryan said looking at me and batting his eyelashes.

"Maybe…." I said giggling.

"Hmph. Fine. No lasagna for you," he said grabbing my plate.

"Hey! Give it back! I'm hungry!" I said jumping up trying to get it.

"Nope, not until you say I'm more gorgeous than Ryan from the O.C. and you give me a kiss right here," he said pointing to his cheek.

"Come on. Give it back!" I squealed.

"I'm waiting," he said, watching his watch.

"Fine. You're more gorgeous than Ryan from the O.C," I said smiling.

"Ok. Now where's my kiss?"

"Ok Ok fine," I said as I quickly kissed him on the cheek and blushed.

"That's better," he said handing me back my lasagna and sitting back down on the couch.

"Now what do you wanna watch first?"

"The O.C., of course!" I said grabbing it and popping it into the DVD player.

We talked as we watched a few episodes. We laughed. We cried. Well more like I cried when Marissa went to visit Ryan and he kicked her out, but come on, it was sad. I'm so emotional sometimes. It was nice though. I loved finally being able to relax and enjoy myself. It finally started to get late. I noticed how late it was when Seth walked in and said that Tina had some stuff to do before getting some rest.

So Ryan and I got up and I grabbed my stuff to go. I called Lars and Ryan walked me to his room door.

"So, do you think we know each other well enough yet, Mia?" Ryan asked, looking into my eyes.

"I'm not sure. There's still so much I don't know," I said, unsure in my mind. I liked Ryan, I did. No, I didn't love him like I love Michael. But Michael will never love me back. So I can't live my whole life waiting for someone who doesn't want me too. I needed to give up on Michael, and Ryan was an amazing guy. He was sweet, kind, funny, adorable, and oddly enough, he liked Vegetable lasagna, Lifetime, and The O.C. too! Maybe I should give him a chance.

"Isn't that part of it, Mia? We'll get to know one another as we're together. That's the excitement of it all."

"Alright," I said smiling. "I'm in."

Ryan smiled at me, then closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss me. It was nice. He's a great kisser. Although it's nothing like Michael's kiss, but I shouldn't be thinking about that. I have to get over Michael. I'll never have him. But I have Ryan, and Ryan's kisses are nice. They're well…..they're just nice.

I kissed back until I heard a knock on the door, signaling Lars was there. I pulled away and smiled at Ryan as I walked out the door.

"See you later, Ryan," I said, still smiling.

"Goodnight, Princess," he said as I walked away. "Sweet dreams."

I smiled. Ryan makes me happy. As long as I can get over Michael, this could be a great thing.

A/N: I know you're thinking…..what? Mia is STILL not with Michael, but my writer's block finally went away near the end of this story. Hopefully I can keep writing chapters this week so I don't get writer's block again. I know where the story's going now and I should be able to get there soon. The ending will be great, at least I think so, and I hope that you will think so too. Just let me get there. Don't worry, it won't be too much longer. Please review. Leave me comments, criticism, tips, compliments, whatever you feel like. Just leave reviews, pleeeeeeeeeease! Thanks to everyone who always reviews and thanks to everyone who are about to review this chapter! You are the ones who inspire me to write more! Thank you so much! Now, go on, click the button! Review!