A/N: How much do you all love me that I did the research and the movie they go see actually came out on March 19th, 1999 which was a Friday…I totally rock ;-) Also Portofino's is an actual restaurant in Roswell although whether it was there in 1999 or not I have no clue.
Chapter Ten: Turning Tides
March 19th, 1999
Michael had arranged for his Friday shift to end half an hour early so he would have time to interrogate Nick before Lyn finished her last tutoring session and they left for the movie. The tall sandy haired boy was lounging on the front steps, several hallways away from the library where Lyn was.
For a moment Michael just stood on the path and waited for Nick to notice him while he loomed as only big brothers can loom.
It only took Nick a few seconds to realize that he wasn't alone and when his eyes reached Michael's broad frame and saw just who was standing there, he raised an eyebrow. "Hello, Michael right?"
"Hello Nick," Michael said with a disturbingly pleasant smile, his voice hiding just the barest hint of menace. Allowing the smile to drop, he stalked over to the other boy, standing in front of Nick's slumped frame with his arms held loosely at his sides. "What are your plans for this evening with my sister?"
Nick just smiled before he rose casually to his feet. "I'm taking Raelyn to see 'The King and I', we're going to Portofino's for dinner first, and if we have time we'll stop by the Crashdown for milkshakes afterwards." The whole sentence was said with a calm and steady voice and the polite smile remained on his face; Nick refused to let the bad tempered hulk intimidate him.
He genuinely liked Raelyn and he was not as much of a bad boy as his reputation suggested, and while Michael certainly looked scary enough and had an interesting reputation to say the least, as far as he knew he had never actually hurt someone.
Liz seemed of the opinion that he was just a scary looking teddy bear. Of course, he thought with the first beginnings of nerves as Michael's left fist clenched, no one had ever asked out his sister before.
As Michael opened his mouth to speak again, a voice interrupted him. "What do you think you're doing Michael? I told you not to threaten him," Raelyn said as she came through the doors, her voice light and teasing although her eyes burned into her brother's for a moment before she turned to Nick with a smile. "Good thing my tutee had late Cheerleading practice."
While she was speaking out loud to Nick, mentally she berated her brother, 'Leave him alone Michael, or so help me I will tell Liz you like her!' When his mouth gaped slightly before he could control his reaction she had to hide her grin.
Taking Nick's offered hand she gave Michael a quick smile. 'You can't hide things from me Michael, and I won't tell Max but I think you should ask her out.' Out loud she said, "Nick is going to drop me off between nine and ten. Don't forget to eat dinner."
Michael scowled at her, partly in answer to her silent lecture and partly at her blasé treatment of the date and his concerns, so when he snapped at her it was his frustration talking. "Yes, Mom."
Her eyes first widened in surprise and then narrowed slightly. "I'll meet you at your car Nick. I'll just be a second."
Nick darted a glance between the two of them, but nodded and walked down the steps.
As soon as his footsteps had receded, she stepped forward until there were bare inches of space between her and her brother. "I know you're worried about me and I know you're afraid of how you're feeling about Liz and what it could mean for Max and for you, but don't take it out on me."
She smiled and continued silently, 'I mean really, Michael, if I can read your mind when you're trying to block me, do you really think Nick could hide anything from me?'
Michael's shoulders slumped and he sighed before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. "Just don't go falling in love on me, okay?"
Hugging him back she grinned into his chest, knowing that his words were as close to an apology as she was going to get. "I won't," Pulling away, she headed for the parking lot and threw a parting shot over her shoulder. "Not before you anyway!"
He growled, but let it slide and then followed her down the path. Maybe Max was free; he was in no mood to head home.
Later that night…
Raelyn thanked her lucky stars that Hank never came home before three in the morning on Friday nights as Nick's old green Honda pulled up in front of their battered trailer. When he looked doubtfully at the unlit structure, she flushed in embarrassment until he squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"I had fun tonight Lyn. I'd like to take you out again but for now, how about lunch on Monday? I have a free period right before and can go get some burgers from my Uncle's restaurant so we don't have to eat cafeteria sludge."
Lyn blushed and nodded, cursing her fair skin. "I'd like that too."
When he lightly touched her chin and leaned towards her slow enough to give her time to pull away, she chose not to and let him kiss her, his lips warm and dry against her own.
A sudden thud startled them and she turned her head to see that Michael had appeared in the doorway of the trailer and was glaring fiercely at them.
She shook her head and grinned, then turned back to Nick and gave him a kiss on the cheek before opening the car door. "I'll see you Monday." Closing the door behind her, she walked up to her brother and smiled at the familiar scowl on his face. She really did love him.
April 5th, 1999
Spanish was the one class Michael had with Liz that his sister did not also attend; Lyn had whizzed through Spanish in Jr. High with the help of one of their neighbors in the Trailer Park and was taking French that year.
It was the one hour a day he could watch her freely since their other classmates were far too intimidated by him to notice where his gaze strayed other than not them, and the rest of his family had other classes.
The petite girl had lost her usual glow in the past few weeks and was looking decidedly pale and distant. Her class participation had dropped and he had actually seen her nod off a few times, never for more than a few seconds, and she had always jerked awake before anyone else noticed, but still often enough for him to see it and wonder.
Liz Parker was not the type to fall asleep in class and he could not help but be concerned, especially since he wasn't the only one worried. He didn't mean Max, as he had a feeling that Liz was more awake in science, but he had seen Liz's sister shooting her concerned glances in the halls and even going so far as to snap at their friend Maria when her chatter reached piercing new heights.
So for the first time in his school career, he abandoned his back row seat to sit just behind Liz Parker in the second row. To say people that were shocked would be an understatement of magnitude comparable to people calling New York 'kind of big'.
The students first stared, and then hurriedly looked away at his fierce scowl, while the teacher just raised an eyebrow before continuing with class as usual.
Liz for her part looked back at him with one of her expressive eyebrows arched in curiosity. "Why Michael, did all that glaring damage your eyesight? Finding it hard to see the board?"
He chuckled, unreasonably glad that she was not the least bit intimidated by him. "Your snoring was distracting me so I figured if I was here to poke you awake I might be able to go back to not paying attention."
Something flickered in her large dark eyes, but then she smiled, the expression just a touch brittle around the edges. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that little old me had the power to distract such an impressive brooding machine. I will do my best to be quieter in the future."
The words were teasing, but the tone lacked bite and did nothing to allay his worries. He could feel the 'Are you ok?' hovering on the tip of his tongue but wasn't sure if he could or should say it.
Before he could choose, the teacher interrupted them and they both turned to face the front of the class, Michael unable to decide if he was relieved or angry that the teacher had prevented him from speaking.
