(Bloody hell. I'm so sorry. It's been a while, huh! In my defence, I've got these exams on now that I've been preparing for, for like 2 years and a boyfriend whose band I have to promote and etc etc. I know I could give you a thousand excuses, but I'll bet anything that they wouldn't be as good as … A NICE NEW CHAPTER! Yeah. :-) And not just any new chapter. But the FINAL chapter. So hows about you show me you don't hate me by just pressing that nice little button at the top there and leaving me a lovely review. :-) Thank you!

Now, read, review and enjoy!)

'Mia, what did he ask you?' Lilly asked again, only this time with a note of impatience in her voice, coupled with amusement at the whole idea of her big brother actually telling Mia how he felt for once instead of giving her lingering looks whenever she passed in the corridor or sneaking into her room late at night whenever Mia was staying over and staring at her while she slept, which was more than a little creepy.

'Well, … just. It's not important or anything, or a big deal or- well, let's just forget it anyway! Ok, see you, Lilly!' And with that, Mia tried to make a mad dash for the door. But with Lilly being her best friend since they were little, she yawned and grabbed Mia by the ankle, pulling her with one loud bang to the floor, where she curled up into a ball to escape Lilly's nagging voice.

'What … happened.'

'Ok, fine.' She gave in and started explaining the whole story as quickly as she could, hoping that Lilly wouldn't be concentrating enough to pick up what she actually said and would just nod and smile. 'Your brother just cornered me in the bathroom and told me he loved me but I think he was joking around with me but it's not funny because well it's not and I was just wondering if maybe you put him up to it and if you did then maybe he meant it or maybe not if you put him up to it and I don't know what to do now.'

'Ok, thanks to my excellent intellect, I got every word of that. So what you are going to do, is avoid him for … ooh, about 12 more hours. That's how long you have left on the dare, isn't it?' Lilly leaned back, resting her head on the couch and sighed with contentment.'

'But … Lilly, didn't you hear a word I just said? Your brother told me he loved me but he was joking and he hurt my feelings because- ooh. Never mind.' Mia stopped herself just in time. Another second and Lilly would

'Hurt your feelings? Now why would what he said hurt your feelings, Mia.' Lilly looked at her with a knowing smile on her face.

'Oh, … just. W-well. N-n-no reason.' She stuttered and gave a nervous smile, not meeting Lilly's eyes. Lilly shuffled over so she was sitting next to Mia and put an arm around her.

'Oh Mia. Mia, Mia, Mia. How stupid do you think I am? My parents are psychologists! I can see the signs, man.' She said, waving her arms around in what Mia supposed was meant to be a spooky I-can-read-your-mind way.

'I don't know what you're talking about, Lilly. I gotta go. Bye.' Mia said hastily and stood up quickly, dodging Lilly's fast hands and heading for the door. Turning around and giving her one last cheery wave, accompanied with a false smile she hoped would put Lilly off following her, she disappeared through the door and down to Lars waiting in the limo.

The next day at school was awkward for everyone. With Michael doing everything in his power to catch Mia alone so he could tell her the truth, and Mia doing everything possible to avoid that, including actually hanging around with Boris after class so he could not speak to her alone.

But there had to be a time when he finally did manage to catch up with her, and that time came a few hours later, when Mia had needed the toilet so badly, she had to ask for a hall pass. Coincidentally, Michael happened to be out of class too.

Of course, there was no real coincidence about it: Michael had taken to leaving all of his classes 5 minutes early so he could wait outside Mia's classroom and try and talk to her when she came out. But on this occasion, he wasn't paying attention until it was too late and Mia was already inside the girl's toilets.

Now Michael faced a dilemma. Did he love Mia enough to face the dark dank chasm and the ridicule he could face for the rest of his life for her? Did he dare enter the girl's toilets?

Hell yeah.

He moved silently towards the door, just in case Mia's hearing was better than she let on, and then stopped an inch away from the door. Taking a deep breath, he placed one hand on the door and pushed. 'One small step for mankind, one giant leap for me.' He muttered to himself, and in one go, stepped straight into the room.

'Mia?' He called out, cautiously just in case there were any other girls in there who no doubt wouldn't stop for one second to hear him out before running to a teacher, telling them that he was perving in the girl's toilets.

A gasp and a bang was his reply and he walked to the cubicle the noise came from. 'Mia, are you in there?' When no answer came, he tried again. 'Mia, please. I just want to talk to you.' Still no answer. So, she didn't want to face him. At least she couldn't escape him now.

'Mia, I just wanted to say that I wasn't making fun of you the other day. I … well. I meant what I said to you. … Oh please, Mia, this would be a lot easier if you would come out so I can say it to your face. Please?'

As the seconds ticked by, Michael was beginning to think that it was hopeless. Maybe he was wrong about the look he saw in her eyes when he told her he loved her. Maybe he was wrong about everything. Maybe she just felt sorry for him because he was Lilly's geeky older brother who had no friends. Maybe-

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a toilet door unlocking. He spun on his heel and saw the most beautiful sight in the world; Mia Thermopolis. She stepped out of the toilet, wringing her hands and staring at her feet. 'You wanted to say something to me?' She said, quietly.

'Mia … Mia Thermopolis. I wasn't kidding around when I said what I said the other day. The truth is, Mia … I love you. I've loved you from the moment I saw you. I can't get you out of my head and I don't want to, either. I just … well, I never thought there was a chance that you would feel the same way, and now I've given up, I just thought that maybe you should know that there is at least one person who thinks you're perfect as you are, even if you do trip up when you walk down the street, have hair like a triangle and are taller than most girls 10 years older than you.'

Having said his piece, Michael turned to go, but was stopped on the spot by the three little words, which escaped that beautiful mouth of hers: 'But I do.'

'You do … what?' He asked her, nervously.

'Michael Moscovitz,' she said, looking up from her shoes at last and into his eyes. They were sparkling with happiness, and something else – but could it be? 'I love you.' And with that, she walked straight to him and as if it was the most natural thing in the world, reached up and kissed him with all the love she'd felt for him all those years.

When they walked into G&T holding hands later on that day, Lilly looked up from the book she was reading and smirked at them. Getting up casually and sauntering over to them, she said 'So … realised how stupid you both are finally?'

Lilly … you knew?' Mia asked her, the surprise obvious in her voice and facial expression.

'Might have guessed.' Michael said, grinning at his little sister. Maybe she wasn't that bad after all. Who knows, he might just like the little twerp.

'Duh. What do you think my IQ is? I've known for years. Now, to business.' She cackled evilly at the confused expression on both their faces.

'What business?' they both asked her simultaneously.

'The business of your dares.' Seeing that they were becoming even more confused, she decided to elaborate. 'I dared the both of you to do specific things. Michael, your dare was to tell Mia you love her, which you appear to have done. Mia, your dare was to avoid Michael: at all costs.'

Seeing the look of outrage that Michael was now giving her, she stopped her explanation long enough to say 'Well, you deserved it, Michael, for not telling her sooner. Now, if you'll let me finish.'

Seeing the nod from both of them, she continued. 'Now, I believe the length of time was one week, am I right?' Again, seeing them both nod, she carried on. 'Now, Michael, I believe, and of course I am right, that I dared you exactly one week and 13 hours ago. As I am sure you have worked out, this means that you have lost the dare.'

As the full impact of what she said hit Michael, he groaned and started protesting, but was silenced at once by Mia's laughter. Lilly was right, the prize he got at the end was far worth having to go one day dressed as a chicken. But Lilly wasn't finished.

'Now for Mia. Mia, I dared you exactly 6 days and 4 hours ago. This means that you have also lost the dare and must go one day dressed as an egg.' Lilly smirked and did a little jig, displaying her obvious glee at the chance of both of them being totally and utterly humiliated.

Now it was Mia's turn to look horrified. 'But Lilly, I have a public image to keep! The press-'

-Ah ah. Should have thought of that before you accepted my dare.' Lilly smiled wildly and turned her back on them, then skipped over to her table and began to read again, with a smug smile planted on her face.

'Don't worry, Mia. At least you're not the only one making a public spectacle of yourself.' Michael whispered into her ear with a smile. Mia nodded. 'You're right. I worry too much.' And with that, she turned and kissed him again. Boy, it sure felt good to do that, she mused.

The next day at school was a day no student would ever forget, nor half of America either. As the limo approached the school as usual, many heads turned out of habit, but they weren't greeted with the usual sight of a triangle haired princess and a signpost-toting Lilly. Instead, what looked like a chicken and a giant egg emerged.

But the most unusual sight came when the chicken turned to the egg, pulled it close to him and kissed it, whispering 'I love you, my little fried egg.' And then two seconds later when the egg pushed the chicken to the floor, laughing and saying that of course, the egg came first.

Lilly watched all this from a safe distance, and shook her head. 'What am I going to do with them.' She thought, as the chicken and the egg started play fighting on the street outside the school. 'What am I going to do with them.'

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