A/N- I can only say, yes, this chapter is looong overdue.

Disclaimer: These things usually go at the beginning of fanfictions, but whatever. I don't own Princess Diaries, but I am waiting for the king and queen of a distant country to come to me and inform me that I am actually the princess and one day Michael will be mine. Eat your heart out.

Oh, and I also don't own "Sway" by Vanessa Carlton.

Chapter 4
Mia

I took a deep, steadying breath and dialed Kenny's number from memory. After three rings, he picked up. "Hello?"

"Kenny? It's me."

His voice grew warm. "Hey, Mia. What's up?"

I took another breath because the one I took before dialing just didn't seem to do the trick. "I'm sorry, Kenny, but…" I gulped. "But…"

"But what, Mia?" he encouraged. And that was what killed me. The hope in his voice. That stupid, naïve, innocent hope that just crushed my will.

"I have to accompany Prince Michael at the ball this Friday," I finished, somewhat lamely. "So, I can't let you take me."

It could have been the static on the phone, but I could've sworn he growled. "Mia, I don't like him," he said grudgingly. "Something about him just…rubs me the wrong way."

I rolled my eyes, glad that we were speaking over the phone. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't want to accompany him."

"Just a little," he said, though I could still hear the annoyance in his tone.

After an awkward silence, I finished, "So…I guess I'll see you later, okay?"

"Um, Mia?"

"Yes, Kenny?"

"I love you."

In retrospect, I realize that my reaction wasn't exactly comforting to Kenny, but my primary concern at the time was my own comfort. As soon as I gained control of my mind, I hung up and threw the phone across the room like it was infected with leprosy.

What does he mean when he says he loves me? Does he love me like the little sister he never had, or does he love me like he'll never let go, love me? If it's the latter, then I need to move back to New York.

Deciding to break my resolution to not talk to Tina after her bout of stupidity, I picked up the phone and dialed her number with lightning fast fingers. This was definitely an emergency and only Tina would realize the extremity of the situation. As soon as she picked up the phone, I shouted, "He loves me!"

"Who?"

"Kenny! He just told me he loved me!"

"Wait, am I supposed to be happy for you or completely grossed out?"

"This is horrible! I can barely stand him! Why am I going out with him?"

"I'm guessing the latter."

"What do I do?"

"Break up with him."

"I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because he loves me!"

"Um, Mia, I can almost guarantee that if you break up with him, he won't love you anymore. It might take him a while, but he'll get over it."

I groaned. "I never meant for it to go this far." I threw myself facedown into my pillows and muttered, "I swear, 'Oops, I did it again' should be playing in the background."

"I could put it in right now if you want," Tina said helpfully.

I sighed and after a few moments of silence, I asked her, "So, if I break up with him he'll stop loving me?"

"Like I said, it'll take him a while to get over it, but it'll happen eventually."

"What do I tell him?"

"Well first, you have to do it in person."

I groaned again. "Why can't I just tell him over the phone?"

I could practically hear her nose wrinkling on the other end. "Because that's tacky and cold-hearted, and you, Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo, know better than that."

"Alright, alright. What do I say?"

"Make it incredibly clichéd, that way he knows that there is absolutely no chance in your mind that the two of you can get back together. Say stuff like, 'it's not you, it's me', or 'we're better as friends'."

"Tina?"

"Yes, Mia?"

"I don't want to break his heart, but I'm afraid I will."

"I know you don't. But you're not happy, and if he really loves you, then he'd let you go."

"That's so idealistic."

"But it's so true."

Michael

The next day at breakfast, Prince Philippe suggested that Mia take me out on the town so we'd get to know each other better. Surprisingly, Mia didn't object. She just nodded and went back to her eggs.

I was practically shaking with excitement. Mia was taking me out on the town. It was just us, some quality alone time. Insert waggling eyebrows here.

So after breakfast, I met Mia in the foyer. She was standing there, looking clean and beautiful and impatient all at once.

"What took you so long?" she demanded crossly. "I've been waiting for ten minutes."

"Sorry," I apologized cheerfully. "My socks were trying to eat me."

"Too bad it didn't work," I heard her mutter under her breath as she turned and opened the door.

We walked down the palace steps when one of the servants brought around a bright red Camaro. Now, I'm not one of those guys that has engines and jumper cables between the ears, but even I could tell that this was a nice car. "Wow," I breathed.

Mia nodded appreciatively. "Yeah, I like it too. My dad got it for me when I moved here, as a sort of compensation for the whole princess thing."

Pulling the keys out of her pocket, she walked to the driver's side of the car. Being the courteous little Prince I am, I asked, "Do you want me to drive?"

She shook her head. "Nah, that's okay. Besides, you don't know where we're going."

"Okay."

Two minutes later, I was regretting the fact that I didn't pin Mia to the ground and wrench the keys from her hands.

"Mia," I asked through gritted teeth as I grabbed what I like to refer to as the Oh-Shit handle attached to the roof of the car, "you do know there's such a thing as a speed limit, right?"

I swear I saw a manic gleam sparkle in her eyes. "Cha, for losers without diplomatic immunity," she sniffed as the car zoomed forward and I was once again thrown back into my seat. I think the imprint of my body is still embedded in the leather.

When she finally came to a screeching halt, I slowly opened my eyes and looked around warily. "We're here, right? We're not just stopping at a red light waiting for it to turn green, then speed off to my death again?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, we're here."

Cautiously, I sat up in the seat and opened the door and looked around. She brought me to downtown Genovia, littered with quaint little porcelain shops filled with lace doilies and cutesy stuffed pink kittens with jewel bright eyes. Very kitschy.

"You took me to look around at a bunch of granny stores?" I asked incredulously. Did she really hate me that much?

She gave me a withering glare and said, "No."

She said nothing else but merely walked into one of the stores. Fighting the urge to growl impatiently, I followed her inside.

The place itself looked more nauseating then a Hallmark store. Shelves ran around the walls of the inside holding delicate little figurines. Racks of cards for every occasion lined the aisles and cute and cuddly little stuffed animals with bright silky ribbons tied around their necks were piled together on a large table in the corner.

"Uh, Mia, this looks like a granny store to me," I said resentfully. I know she might not like me that much, but geez, was she trying to make my stay here as miserable as possible?

"Michael, I know this might be weird for you to hear, especially since the day you were born, everything was handed to you on a silver platter, but if you wait, you'll realize that there's more to this place than meets the eye."

At that point, a plump and good-natured attendant popped up from the backroom and waved at Mia from behind the glass case filled with ornaments made of crystal. "Hello, Your Highness! To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"Hi, Karen. Is Owen in?"

Karen the attendant winked and said, "Of course! Go right on in!"

"Thanks," she said with a warm smile and gestured for me to follow her.

I followed her through a door that led to the bathrooms and was greeted by a hallway with three more doors: two bathrooms and one unmarked. I glanced at Mia questioningly but she simply continued on through the unmarked door and I followed. The sight that met my eyes made my jaw drop.

I walked into a teeming…nightclub? I guess you could call it that. There was a huge, circular bar with two bartenders juggling bottles and pouring their contents theatrically into glasses. Surrounding the bar was a dance floor and on the far side of the expansive room was a gigantic stage with flashing spot lights in the dim room. Teenagers were crowded on the dance floor, moving to the wild techno beat.

Out of nowhere, Mia reached behind her and grabbed my hand. I assumed that she was making sure I didn't get lost in the crowd of people, but the gesture made my breathing stop. Just the touch of her skin made my heart beat faster and my fingers tingle at the contact. She led me to the bar and she took the seat right in front of the blonde bartender.

"Princess!" he shouted. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked as he poured a clear liquid into a martini glass.

She smiled. "Hi, Owen. Just showing Prince Michael around."

Owen's glance was redirected to where I was sitting. "Hey, I'm Owen, the bartender and welcome to GiGi's underage club. Music for all tastes and the best virgin booze in Europe."

I continued to take in my surroundings in awe. "How did a place like this end up behind a granny store?"

Owen gave me an amused look and replied, "Karen owns the lot behind her shop and I wanted to run a place where teens could hang out and just be. She thought it was a good idea, so in exchange for a few odd jobs in the store and five percent of what we earn, she rents out this spot to me."

"Wow."

"Want anything?" he asked us.

"Um, I'll just have a water," I said. He pulled out a bottle of water from underneath the bar and slid it over to me while I handed him a dollar.

"Strawberry Daiquiri, please," Mia said daintily.

He winked one of his ocean blue eyes at her. "Coming right up."

Sudden disdain for the man in front of me began to flow through my veins. I disliked him greatly for simply winking at Mia, although I'm sure she wasn't the first or last girl who would receive a wink.

Mia

I sipped on my glass and glanced around at the crowd dancing in the fluorescent lights. I wanted to join them, but I was afraid that I would take out several people with my dancing skills, or more accurately, lack thereof.

Like he was reading my mind, Michael grabbed my wrist and I swear he could have felt my pulse quicken underneath his fingertips. "Let's go dance," he said with a gleam in his eyes.

I regained my ability to breathe while I shook my head. "I'm not a good dancer."

"Neither is anyone else out on that dance floor," he insisted as he gestured to the crowd. "No one will notice. Come on, let's dance."

Reluctantly, I slid off my barstool and let Michael lead me through the throng, his long, cool fingers still gripping my wrist. He took me to the center and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him. We didn't let the beat of the music dictate our own; instead, we swayed gently, back and forth with our bodies pressed against each other.

I would never actually admit this to Michael himself, but dancing with him was really nice. Maybe it was because he didn't expect me to shake and gyrate for him like the rest of the girls on the dance floor were doing, or maybe because he held me firmly enough to show everyone that I was with him, but gently enough to show he wasn't demanding anything of me.

Dancing with Michael was so much more different than dancing with Kenny. Whenever I try to dance with Kenny at school dances, he tries to show off his sense of rhythm, or lack thereof. Even at formal balls, he keeps stepping on my feet, and no amount of ballroom dancing lessons can remedy that. Michael, on the other hand, has a very soft sense of rhythm and dance. He's not boasting about it, he just wanted to make me feel comfortable. And it was very sweet of him.

The song changed to something piercing and dark.

My heart, your hands, gentle my friend
Break me neatly, numb me sweetly

Halfway through the dance, I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Those piercing, dark brown orbs were like peat bog; they sucked me in. I couldn't look away, but in hindsight, I don't think I wanted to.

Say you would, say you could
Say you'd come and stop the rain
Say you'd try and hold me tight
And you just give me away

The rest of the dance was sort of a haze. I couldn't remember anything else going on around us, just what Michael was doing to me. I remembered that his face was close…so close. I could have counted his eyelashes.

Make me high on lullabies
A melody for me to sway
Say you would, say you could
And you don't do anything

His fingertips were emanating their warmth into the small of my back that made my skin tingle at the contact. I twirled my fingers through the silky locks on the base of his neck, gently brushing his warm skin and feeling the electric pulses run up my arms and raise goosebumps.

Come down heavy, try and steady
Precious ladies, love you, love me…

Soap mingled with his distinctly masculine scent that contributed to the fog pulled over my brain. I inhaled deeply, loving the smell of him.

Say you would, say you could
Say you'd come and stop the rain
Say you'd try and hold me tight
And you just give me away
Make me high on lullabies
A melody for me to sway
Say you would, say you could
And you don't do anything

He was intoxicating. And he was dangerous.

Hold my head up to the lies that you feed me
I'll fall under the spell you cast as you let me down

Dangerous because he made me forget that I was a princess. Because he made me forget I had a boyfriend. Dangerous because he made me want something I never knew I wanted.

Say you would, say you could
Say you'd come and stop the rain
Say you'd try and hold me tight
And you just give me away
Make me high on lullabies
A melody for me to sway
Make me high on lullabies a melody for me to sway

I rested my head on his shoulder and felt his breathing in my ear. I shivered and I felt him press his body closer to mine at my reaction.

Say you would, say you could
Say you'd come and stop the rain
Say you'd try and hold me tight
And you just give me away
Make me high on lullabies
A melody for me to sway
Say you would, say you could
And you don't do anything

His lips grazed across a sensitive spot under my ear and I almost fell limp in his arms. I turned my head and watched his lips.

Say you'd come and stop the rain…
Say you'd come and stop the rain…
Say you'd come and stop the rain…

The song drifted away and quite suddenly became the techno beat from before. Good thing too. A few more moments of that and I would have been kissing him. Though now, I don't know if I would have regretted it.

Michael

I don't care what Mia says, she's an amazing dancer. After that sensual song, we both decided to leave GiGi's and go back to the palace. Even after we left the intoxicating atmosphere, I was still shaking and I could barely walk.

We didn't talk on the car ride home, which gave me time to think and examine my feelings. I kept thinking about how she felt in my arms. She reminded me of a feather, soft but delicate. She was innocent, yet full of passion. She was warm and sweet and I didn't want to let her go. She just seemed to fit in my arms. It was perfect.

When we got back to the palace we each went to our separate rooms and I lay on my bed until it was time for dinner. Mia was suspiciously absent, but I informed the royal family with utter sincerity that I had a lovely in downtown that day.

And the loveliness came from Mia.

A/N- Michael's bit at the end is short, but I thought it was important to show how Michael felt about the dancing before the next chapter. Next chapter is going to be Michael's welcome ball, but I wanted to show a little sensuality before then. (wink)

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