Asking Mike Out

Tuesday morning I woke up early and got ready quickly. I had my truck back so there was no need to hurry. I sat down at my kitchen table, nibbling on the end of a granola bar. I rocked back onto the back two legs of the chair, thinking.

"Hello Bella!" Mackenzie materialized in the doorway.

"Ah!" My chair tumbled backwards. "Stupid freakin Mackenzie!" I had said it so many times in my head but this was probably my first time out loud.

He appeared, hovering above my head. "Hey, I was going to ask if you are okay but then you insulted me. Now I couldn't care less." He tried to look away. It lasted barely a second. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking concerned to the point of panic.

"I'm fine." I told him. "What are you doing in my house?"

He grabbed my arm, lifting me upright.

"I was waiting outside for you but I got impatient. So I thought I'd knock but then the door was open so I just came in...Sorry."

"You were waiting outside...?"

"Yeah. I wanted to say sorry for yesterday and to offer you a ride."

"You have no reason to be sorry." I told him.

"Reguardless, I still am. Now let's go! We're going to be late!"

"No we aren't." I glanced at the clock. "We're going to be early."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. You are just funny when you panic."

I tried to push him but ended up only hurting myself. "Ouch." I muttered.

"Sorry." He apologized like he could help that I had gotten hurt trying to hurt him.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay. Let's go."

As soon as we were both in his car he asked, "How was Charlie after I left?"

"Fine." I told him. "A little tense, but other than that he was okay.

He smiled. "I'm glad. I was worried to leave you alone but I was sure that I was only making it worse by hanging around."

"You were really good at the ...erm ...lying thing." I tried to compliment him.

He laughed. "You, however, are not at all blessed with those skills."

"No." I muttered.

He laughed some more. "You sound disappointed."

"I am. "

"Well, I know what will cheer you up! Do you know what today is!?" He smiled hugely

"Erm...Tuesday?"

"No! Wait! Yes!" He changed his mind. "But I'm thinking of something else..."

"Can I have multiple choice?"

He rolled his eyes. "Today is that glorious day that we get to ask Michael out!"

"Sounds like fun!"

He chuckled at my enthusiasm. "That's one way to think of it."

He pulled into the parking space and got out.

I got out also walking carefully around to meet him. I did not want to trip and give him another chance to make fun of me.

He was standing perfectly still at the back of his car, hands dug deep into his pockets, staring out at the school. He was obviously listening to what everyone was about to do or already doing. It was quite unnerving.

"How bad is it?" I muttered to him.

"Disasterous." He replied, eyes unfocused.

I held out my hand and he took it, sighing. "Let's get this over with."

People stared. People whispered. And suddenly I knew what Mackenzie had been talking about. It was like a huge spot light had been placed on us.

For the first part of the day Mackenzie seemed quite happy to flaunt that he had me. He smiled at the staring people and wrapped his arm possessively around my waist.

Then, as the day progressed he became more tense and started snapping things like "Take a picture! It will last longer!".

Mackenzie sat at my lunch table for the first time since his first day of school. He had been sitting with the group of boys across the cafateria.

He approached out table, looking adorably nervous. "Hey." He glanced around to see who all was there. Jessica, Angela and I smiled back at him. Mike, Erik, and Ben gave him half hearted grimases. "Can I sit here?"

The guys at the table looked apprehensive but I said sure and Angela quickly moved to a seat on the other side of the table so Mackenzie could sit next to me. Unfortunately that seat happened to be across from Mike.

Mike glared at Mackenzie. Mackenzie smiled at Mike. Mike glared. Mackenzie smiled. Mike tried to intensify his glare by squinting. Mackenzie's smile widdened, becoming radient. Mike looked away. Mackenzie laughed at him.

After a few moments Mackenzie stopped and looked at Mike thoughtfully. I knew what was coming.

"Hey Mike. I heard a rumor that you're going out with someone. Is it true?"

"What?!" Mike looked shocked. "Who?"

Jessica also looked afronted. Obviously she was wondering how she missed this juicy tid-bit.

"I'm no good with names." Mackenzie covered smoothly. "I'm guessing it's not true."

Mike shook his head.

"Why don't you date anyone?" Mackenzie asked. So maybe he wasn't being very subtle...but it was better than I would have been doing. If I had been argueing on Mackenzie's side of the conversation, I probably would have had five dates with Mike already.

"Practically any girl in the school would be dieing to go out with you." His foot nudged mine as he said the word 'practically'. It was a little message to tell me, yet again, how unique I am.

I had to give Mackenzie kudos. He was even using the flattery card.

"I don't know..." Mike looked pressured.

"No girl caught your eye yet?"

Mike shrugged.

There was barely a pause. "What about Becka?"

Mike stared at him. Apparently he had not been thinking in that direction at all. "Becka...?"

"Becka Richards. She is the pretty girl with the long black hair. She's really cute and has really great..." He noticed me staring at him and changed the word at the last moment. "...hair." He must have felt my glare because he suddenly coughed and looked away uncomfortably.

"I know who Becka is but...she definitly isn't interested in me."

"You can't know that for sure until you ask." Mackenzie said wisely.

Mike was silent, lost in some sick train of thought.

So was Mackenzie...although his was hopefully less sick. Suddenly he said, "I think you should ask her out after school. That movie with the female president. This friday."

Mike looked suddenly vunerable. "What if she turns me down?"

"I got turned down about fifty times before Bella...kinda sorta...almost said yes."

I glared.

Mackenzie quickly began damage control. "Okay, she never really did say yes. But Becka will say yes. How can she say no, you hunk, you? You have the face of a baby angel!"

I could not help it. I burst into full out laughter. I quickly tried to disguise it as an ill timed coughing fit.

I was not the only one. Ben spit out his water onto Angela, who was giggling silently, too hard to notice at first. Jessica widdened her eyes at Mackenzie, holding her breath to keep from laughing. Erik murmered something about a bathroom before running off.

Mackenzie made a strange noice that might have passed as a cough if he had not been smiling.

Mike blushed, but seemed oblivious of everyone's laughter. "Yeah. I might try..."

"Just be calm, stand up straight, and bat those baby blues at her. She won't be able to resist your..." He was groping in the dark. "Your shmexy self. Then she'll be like putty in your...artistic hands."

It was extremely hard not to laugh while listening to Mackenzie discuss Mike's 'baby blues' with such as casual tone. He barely even cracked a smile.

"Yeah, okay. Hey, would you and Bella like to double date this Friday with us? You know...if she says yes." He was obviously feeling very confident.

Mackenzie looked to me for the responce.

"Yes." I sighed.

Mackenzie smiled hugely. "She finally said yes!" He made a small triumphant gesture.

Suddenly he looked over at Angela, who was dabbing water out of her hair, and Ben, who was apologizing profusely. "You two are coming too, right?" He asked them.

"W-what?" Ben stuttered.

"Movie. Friday night. Female president. Me and Bella. Mike and probably Becka. You guys in?"

Angela glanced nervously at Ben.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Angela, will you go out with me?"

She blushed and nodded happily.

We all turned our gaze to Jessica.

She blushed. "That's okay. You guys can go without me. You'll just have to fill me in on every detail. "

Mackenzie frowned, unsatified with his match making. Suddenly a boy from Mackenzie's old table looked up. Mackenzie motioned for him to come over and he did obediently.

He was cute and blonde with surprisingly green eyes.

"Jessica, Drew. Drew, Jessica." Mackenzie waved his hand back and forth in time with the names. "Drew, we're all going to the movies next Friday but we've got a problem because Jessica here doesn't have a date."

"How unfortunate." Drew muttered. "May I offer my assistance?"

"S-sure." Jessica stuttered.

"You kids get to know each other." Mackenzie muttered, turning away from them.

The bell rang and everybody jumped up. Drew offered to walk Jessica to class. Ben and Angela walked away with linked arms. Mike seemed to be searching the crowd.

Mackenzie took my hand and nearly dragged me to the lockers. He grabbed his book and waited, hopping impatiently, for me. When I finished he led me into an almost deserted hallway, grabbed my arm, and pulled me into the empty anatomy class room. He set his book on top of my armful.

"What are you doing?" I sighed.

He punched the air and started doing a dance that reminded me of some obnoxious football player after scoring a touch down. I tossed his book into the air and watched as he caught it, without even blinking.

"We did it, baby!" He told me estatically. "I am a matchmaker! They should pay me money! They should give me an award! I am so good! Pound it!" He reached out his fist and I touched it lightly.

He frowned slightly. "That was kind of wimpy...but we'll work with it. I thought I was going to fail there for a second. How gay did I sound?"

"Very."

"I was kind of struggling to think of good stuff to say about him." He admitted.

"Yeah, you kind of lost it there before you came up with sexy...something."

"Shmexy self, I think I said." He corrected. "Or was it shmexy body...or shmexy hair? I just know that it was a goal of mine to use the word shmexy."

"What is the difference between shmexy and sexy?" I asked.

He smiled. "Well, Bella," He started to explain, moving closer with slow, deliberate steps. "Michael Newton is shmexy..." He looped his thumbs through my belt loops. "And you are sexy. ¿Comprende?"

My brain seemed to have cancled out how to do the trivial stuff...like breathing, to make way for new and more important pieces of information. Like how close we were. Like how Mackenzie was trying to pull me even closer. Like how he was touching my hips. Like how he was smiling even as his lips pressed against mine.

"In Anatomy class you do not actually study each other's anatomy." Mr. Banner's voice came from the doorway.

We both leaped away from each other.

"We were just discussing English, Mr. Banner." Mackenzie told him, not quite pulling off the innocence he was striving for.

"Discussing it very, very closely?"

"Yes. No." Mackenzie frowned, confusing himself. "Erm...goodbye, Mr. Banner."

Suddenly Mr. Banner walked away.

Mackenzie chuckled.

I scowled. "Stop doing that!"

"But it's easier that trying to explain to the creepy teacher why we were making out in the Anatomy classroom, right?"

"Easier, yes. Nicer, no. Let's get to class."

The rest of the day went alright but by the end of last period I was exhausted. All this mental stress was killing me.

As we headed toward Mackenzie's car Becka appeared, a huge smile on her perfect lips. She grabbed our shirts, pulling us both behind a large truck and then leaped at Mackenzie. She squeeled, hugging him tightly around the neck. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Mac, you're an angel! I love you more than pizza!"

He smiled sheepishly, prying her off his neck easily. "Wow, more than pizza. That's big. You're welcome. Bella helped."

"No I didn't!" I said indignantly but Becka leaped at me too.

"Thank you so much, Bella! You are heaven sent!" She released me. "We're going to the movies with-" She blinked, momentarily distracted by a shiny dime on the gound."you two?" She picked up after a few seconds.

"And Ben and Angela. And Jessica and Drew."

"This is so awesome!" Becka was easily excited. "It's a quadrupal-date! You guys are so cute together! It's supposed to be a really good movie! I have to go shopping for an outfit!" She started to run away before remembering that she forgot to say goodbye. "I'll see ya guys later!" She yelled back to us.

"Wow." I said carefully.

"Yeah, wow." Mackenzie agreed.

"She's...always like that?"

"Pretty much, yes. But I still like her. She is a fun person. Very...friendly."

"Yes. Friendly." I agreed. "And she loves you more than pizza."

He smiled but only for an instant. Then he glanced at me nervously. "You're not jealous, are you?"

Justify it! "She said she loves you more than pizza! I'm your girlfriend and I don't even love you more than pizza!"

He faked a hurt look. "You don't love me more than pizza?"

My heart reacted painfully. "Okay...maybe I do love you as much as I love pizza. I love you more than I love chicken wings but not as much as I love brownies."

He nodded. "That's understandable. Not many people can love each other more than brownies."

"Hey!" It was Mike walking towards us. "I asked Becka out and..." he stopped, looking confused. "Were you just talking about brownies?"

"Yes." Mackenzie verified. "But what did she say?"

Act surprised, I reminded myself. "She said yes. She was actually really happy." He looked thrown.

"Wow! That's great" I burst out then reigned in my false surprise. Don't want to over-do it.

"Yeah." Mike agreed, looking blissful.

Mackenzie looked distracted. "Yeah. Good stuff. Good times. Well, we had better be going, right Bella?"

"Yup." I agreed. "We'll be seeing you, Mike."

Mike nodded, also distracted.

Mackenzie and I both got into his car. He pulled out without even a glance behind him and then out onto the road.

"If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound?" He asked me.

"Erm. Why is it falling if no one was around to knock it down? And where are they finding a tree with no one around it? The rainforest, maybe, but there are still animals around to hear it...So where else?" I answered his question with several questions.

"Hm..."

"If you had a million dollars," I began. "What would you buy first?"

He started laughing uncontrolably. "What would you buy?" He asked when he finally had enough breath.

"I asked you! What's so funny?"

He stopped laughing and tried to keep a straight face. "Nothing..."

"Seriously."

"You don't want to know. You'll think I'm stuck up."

"Why- Oh my God. Do you already have a million dollars?"

He hesitated. "No...I don't have a million dollars."

Something about the way he said 'a' confirmed my suspicions. "You have more than a million dollars, don't you?" My voice was weary.

His hands fluttered over the dashboard, looking for something to occupy them besides the steering wheel. "I've never really counted..."

I sighed, looking out the window. Stupid rich vampires.

"Does this change something?" He asked, nervously.

"No." I told him. I wasn't lying; it really didn't matter to me what kind of money his family makes. But it's just one more thing that is uuneven between us.

"What would you do if you had a million dollars?" He asked, glancing over at me teasingly but with a hint of worry also.

"I'm not sure..." I answered.

"Do you want a million dollars?"

"Don't you dare!"

He chuckled. "Okay! Okay! Jesus! It was just a question."

"If you just started giving out your aunt and uncles money, I think they would be a little pissed."

"I wasn't offering you their money..." He hedged.

I stared. "Wait, we were talking about just you having a million dollars? Are we having a Bruce Wayne moment here?"

He coughed uncomfortably. "New subject! Which came first the chicken or the egg?"

"I think that the goose came first. Now, can I ask you a hero question?"

We pulled up outside my house but I did not move. He nodded, twisting in his seat so that he was facing me.

"How did you become a hero? Are you born one?"

Mackenzie stared off into space over my head. "No. I- We are changed. It must be done by one of our kind..." His eyes flicked to my face with a scared expression.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, touching his hand.

He wrapped his fingers around mine. His thumb rubbed gently into the back of my hand in smooth, comforting circles.

"I don't know what to do, Bella." He whispered miserably. "I don't want to have to leave you."

My heart nearly stopped at the word leave.

"Then don't." I hoped he didn't hear the desperation in my voice.

"I have a confession to make." He muttered. "I can't stay with you forever. I'm not ageing, Bella. I haven't aged in...a while."

SURPRISE!! Act surprised, I commanded myself. I don't think I pulled it off right.

"I don't want to watch you get old and die, Bella. I don't want to continue to live without you."

"How old are you?" I asked him, in a very quiet voice. In my mind I was betting that Edward had him beat by at least thirty years.

"Old enough that I shouldn't have to be alone anymore. Old enough to have seen too many people I care about die. I don't want to let you go...but you won't want to become like me. I'm old enough to know too much about life." He gazed at me with ancient, tired eyes.

"How do you know I don't want to be like you?"

"Who would want this? You don't know all that it implies. You don't want to know."

"I do." I said in a strong voice, touching his face gently with my free hand. "I want this."

"Now that you know I'm a multi-millionaire, you mean?" He joked.

"Yeah, that's why." I rolled my eyes.

"Let's not talk about this anymore today. I will pick you up for school tomorrow, if you would like?" He made it into a question.

"I would like that."

"Terrific!" He smiled. "I'll see you then."

I nodded, getting carefully from the car. I stood in the doorway watching him drive away.

Time to talk to Charlie about movie night.

Disclaimer- Hey, guess what! I don't own Twilight! Yes way! I know, unbelievable right? Well believe it!