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Perspective: Michael and Alex

Michael tapped the steering wheel impatiently, what was taking them so long? He had been sitting in Maria's mom's car for at least half an hour waiting for Maria to re-appear from the Crashdown with Liz.

It was Alex's birthday. Michael wasn't particularly looking forward to hanging around a swimming pool for hours on end with a bunch of geeky kids, he would much rather be a home watching TV.

He pressed the horn on the car and turned up the volume, so his Metallica CD blared out of the speakers. He looked at the watch Maria had given him, engraved on the inside was a short message written in an italic scrawl. 'I love you, M". Michael smiled; it was the best gift he had ever received.

Finally Maria came running out of the Crashdown; Liz shuffled behind her looking slightly downcast. Probably had a fight with Max he decided.

"I was about to set up camp"

Maria ignored him and climbed into the front seat; she turned down the music and looked at Liz who had settled in the back seat.

"Got the present?"

"Mmm hmm" Liz nodded.

"Right, we are ready to roll Spaceboy".

"Thanks for coming, thanks for coming"

Alex stood on a chair and addressed the crowd of people before him; in his right hand he held an instrument which he used to flip the burgers on the barbecue. He beamed; everyone seemed to be having a great time.

"Strip!" He heard someone yell.

"Now, now, I don't think you could afford it, I'm in high demand now you know!"

The crowd laughed and applauded Alex who took a deep bow and smiled.

"I really appreciate you all coming, it's time to celebrate my 18 years of life...with burgers and hotdogs. So uh...party on!"

Everyone cheered and the volume of the music slowly began to rise again.

"Great speech, you should run for president".

Alex chuckled and turned around.

"Isabel!"

She looked more beautiful than usual, her blonde hair was tied messily back into a clip, she wore a white bathing suit, covered by a silky blue sarong. Her skin glowed.

"Happy birthday Alex, sorry I'm so late"

"No, no, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you came"

She smiled and embraced him warmly. Alex closed his eyes, cherishing the moment; he could faintly smell traces of lavender, she must be wearing the cream he had made her in science class.

He had personally found it a constructive way to use the lesson; Mr Anderson didn't and proceeded to give him a detention slip. Now it felt completely worth it.

"So can I offer you some of my meat Miss Evans?"

Isabel exploded with laughter and grabbed Alex's shoulder.

"I meant from the barbecue" He laughed and took her hand, leading her towards the table of food. She was most definitely the best birthday present he had received.

Michael sat grumpily in the corner next to Liz, Max was working at the UFO centre and couldn't come to party, and he had asked Michael to keep an eye on Liz. They sat in silence; Michael's attention was focused entirely on Maria, she was sitting on edge of the pool in a bright orange bikini laughing with James Dentley from the year above.

Michael shifted in his seat; Liz must have sensed his jealousy.

"It's okay Michael, she loves you. And besides…" her voice dropped into a deep whisper "James has a boyfriend." She got up and walked towards the patio where Alex was chatting to some friends.

Michael sighed and tried not to look too pleased, his shoulders relaxed and he stretched his feet out in front of him. He was wearing black shorts that came above the knee and a white wife-beater, it was a bright, warm day he stretched his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Michael…Michael!" Maria was walking towards him; the water from the pool was glistening off of her body. Michael squinted and raised his hand above his eyes to shield his face from the sun.

"Come into the pool with me!" she sat on his knee "It will be fun" She poked his stomach "Please!"

"Nah, I'm fine here"

"No your not, your as bored as hell, plus your burning up in the Sun." she felt his face with her hand "Come and cool down." She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the pool.

"Maria. Wait!"

She turned around to face him. He swallowed quickly.

"I can't swim"

"What do you mean you can't…"

"Yeah, I can't swim. Hank threw me in a lake once when I was little. Never liked water much since then" He cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to the other.

Maria squeezed his hand tight and said in a soft voice

"I'll be right there with you Spaceboy"

Michael looked at her face and she looked back at him earnestly, he nodded and took a step towards her. She lifted his arms up and took his wife beater off for him; he was frozen to the spot and couldn't quite manage it himself.

"It's okay"

She took his hand and led him to the pool; it was a long, wide, blue pit of death. Luckily it was deserted, most people had moved off to the patio where the barbecue and jacuzzi were.

Maria sat at the edge of the pool, her feet dipping in and out of the water, she patted the spot next to her and Michael bit his lip. He couldn't do it; he would fall in and drown. His face must have portrayed what he was feeling because Maria looked up and extended her hand towards his.

He grabbed it and sat down next to her. Their shoulders were touching; Maria rubbed his back, in small circles with the tips of her fingers, he found it very soothing.

"It's very shallow, it will come up to your waist and then we can move a bit deeper if you want to or you could…"

Michael wasn't concentrating, he watched her lips move, forming comforting words, and he wanted, more than anything, to make her proud. He slipped easily into the water. Fast. Quick. And it was over and done. Maria laughed.

"Always one step ahead aren't you?"

She jumped in next to him and grabbed his hands under the water. Slowly they moved deeper and deeper into the pool, next to the ledge of course, and Michael felt strangely relaxed. The water splashed gently against his skin and Maria couldn't stop smiling, he couldn't believe he had done it.

"I'm so proud of you Michael!"

They floated around the pool a couple of times, he felt like he was gliding. Once in the shallow end, he planted his feet firmly to the ground and pulled Maria close. She wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Thank you" he whispered and planted a gentle kiss on her mouth.

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