"Michelle! Michelle!" Michelle was woken up to the sound of someone yelling her name and jumping on her.
"Umph." Michelle said as she moved on the bed. Bed? Michelle thought. I was sleeping on the couch last night. Michelle thought as she sat up on the bed.
"Mia?" Michelle asked groggily.
"I want to go to the park!" She yelled as she wrapped her arms around Michelle's neck.
"What time is it?" Michelle asked as she looked around the room. "Where am I?"
"You're in Lavi's room." Mia said. "Hurry, let's go! I want to go to the park!" She said as she pulled on Michelle's arm.
Michelle laughed and got up.
"Okay, okay, you little monster. Let me get ready first." Michelle stifled a yawn as she went into the bathroom to freshen up.
"Hurry!" Mia yelled through the door.
Michelle freshened up in the bathroom and then walked out into Lavi's room again.
"Mia. I need to change out of my pajamas." Michelle said as she pointed to the pajamas that she was wearing.
"Wear this." Mia said as she pulled out an outfit from behind her.
Michelle took the outfit, which was just a t-shirt and short, and changed. As she was tying up her hair into a messy bun, she asked Mia.
"If I slept in Lavi's room, where did he sleep?"
"He slept with me last night." Mia said happily. Mia loved her brother dearly and it was so cute to see her so happy.
"Oh," Michelle said. "That's nice." She said as she gave Mia a smile.
She then took Mia's hand and they both walked out of Lavi's room. Out in the kitchen sat Allen and Kanda.
"Good morning." She greeted them.
"Morning." Allen said. Kanda just nod his head.
"What kind of greeting is that?" Michelle nudged him.
He ignored her and continued with his breakfast.
"Is there any for me?" She asked as she looked at the table.
"There's cereal." Allen said.
Michelle scrunched her nose. "I guess."
"Michelle, I want to go to the park." Mia said as she pulled the sleeve
"Mia, can't I eat breakfast first?" Michelle asked as she looked at the little girl.
"No." Mia said. "I want to go to the park."
"Okay," Michelle laughed. "How about we go out to breakfast and then we go to the park and then maybe the movies?" Michelle asked as she looked at the girl.
Mia thought about it and said. "Okay!"
So Michelle and Mia went to get some breakfast and then Michelle took Mia to the park.
Mia ran happily to the playground with a big smile on her face.
"Yay!" She said as she ran up the stairs of the play station.
"Michelle!" Mia yelled. "Come here!"
Michelle laughed as she walked over to where Mia was.
"I'm coming." She said. She walked up to the playground but Mia was nowhere to be seen.
"Mia?" Michelle called out. "Mia. Where are you?"
She heard a giggle to her left and behind a blue pole, a small foot was sticking out. She smiled slyly as she slowly approached the blue pole.
"I wonder where Mia could be?" Michelle said as she slowly crept up to the pole. "Mia?" Michelle asked again before she popped her head to one side of the pole, "Found you." She said.
"Hahaha." Mia giggled again before she dashed off to find another hiding spot.
"Miiaa." Michelle said as she followed the girl. This time, Mia hid behind a tree.
"Mia?" Michelle asked in a little girl's voice, "Where are you, dearest?" She skipped over to the tree and shouted, "Boo."
Mia giggled loudly. "You found me."
"Yes, I did." Michelle said as she picked up the little girl. "What would you like to do now?"
Mia looked around the park and there was an ice-cream cart coming their way.
"I want some ice-cream." Mia said as she looked at the ice-cream cart.
Michelle carried Mia all the way over to the ice-cream cart.
"What do you want?" Michelle asked.
Mia looked at the choices and then pointed to one.
"Can I have one of that please?" Michelle asked the man.
The man handed Michelle the ice cream.
"Here you go, Mia."
"Thanks." She said as she opened the ice cream and took a lick.
"Welcome baby boo." Michelle said as she watched Mia licked her ice cream. They walked to a bench by the playground as Mia ate her ice cream.
She looked around the park. Kids were there with their parents, some were on the playground, and some were just sitting in the park, enjoying the sun.
There were some teenage guys who were running around in the grass playing football.
Michelle turned her attention back to the girl that was eating ice cream next to her.
"Mia, you're dripping." Michelle said as she took a napkin and wipes her mouth.
Mia giggled and pointed to the football that landed near them. Michelle walked over to where the football laid and picked it up.
She turned around to give it to someone that was running towards her and came eye to eye with a guy with blue eyes.
"Hi, thanks…" The guys trailed off as he got a closer look at the person who picked up the football.
"Michelle." He said.
"Damon."
Damon was Michelle's first boyfriend in middle school. They hit it off really well but then Michelle caught him cheating with another girl.
She was really upset, and Lavi had gotten suspended because Lavi had beaten him up.
Some time later, he moved away without any words.
Looking at him now, brings back memories and emotions that she had thought were long forgotten.
"How are you?" He asked as he looked at her.
She looked at him and all the emotions and nights that she had cried herself to sleep came back.
"Good. Here is your football. Mia let's go." Michelle said hurriedly as she handed Damon the football and pulled Mia from the bench.
"Michelle, wait." Damon called after her but she kept on walking and walking.
"Who was that?" Mia asked as she looked behind her at the guy.
He looked after her for a few more seconds before returning to his friends.
"No one." Michelle said, her voice shaking. "No one important."
They were soon at Michelle's front door. She stopped in front of it and touched the doorknob.
She took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Michelle?" Mia asked as she looked at the girl.
Michelle took another breath. "I'm fine." She said as she gazed at the little girl, giving her a smile.
"Are we going to the movies?" She asked innocently.
Michelle chuckled and looked at her apologetically, "I'm a little tired right now, Mia. Some other time?"
Mia bit her lip but nodded slowly.
"Michelle?" A new voice asked.
"Ahhh." She screamed as she turned to glare at the person that was standing behind her. "Lavi, don't do that." She said as she whacked his arm.
He held up his arms into the air in surrender. "Sorry." He smiled sheepishly at her. "How was the park?" He asked as he picked Mia up.
"It was fun. Michelle got me ice cream!" She said happily.
"That's good to hear." Lavi said.
"Michelle met someone." Mia said.
"Someone?" Lavi eyed her.
"Just an old friend." Michelle said as she waved her hand to show that it was no big deal.
"A friend?"
"Yes." Michelle said.
"Just a friend?"
"Yes." Michelle said as she opened the door to her apartment. "I have a headache, I'm going to take a shower."
. . .
The weekend went by fast, and as the weekend went on, Michelle forgot about Damon.
Monday morning as they walked to school like usual, there was a big crowd in front of the school.
"What's going on?" Michelle asked as she observed the crowd. "This looks like the day that Lenalee was new here."
"Maybe there's another new kid." Lenalee said.
"Maybe." Allen said.
"Let's go see. Maybe its another cute girl." Lavi said as he took Michelle's ran and ran toward the crowd. Michelle laughed as she let Lavi pulled her to the front of the crowd.
"Excuse me. Excuse us." Lavi said he tried to push through the crowd. As soon as Lavi was in front where he got a good view of who the new kid was, he stopped short.
"Who is it?" Michelle asked as she peeked from behind Lavi's shoulder.
Her breath came short as she was faced with the person that she had met at the park.
"Damon." She said.
By now Allen, Kanda, and Lenalee were behind them.
"Michelle! Hey!" Damon gave her a big smile and tried to reach for her but Lavi pushed his hands away angrily.
"What are you doing here?" He hissed, anger flashing in his eyes.
"I just moved back." Damon said, giving Lavi a smile. Lavi did not return it so Damon shrugged and turned to Michelle.
"Michelle, we didn't get a chance to talk last time, you ran off." He said, smiling at her.
Michelle stared at him but before she had a chance to say something, Lavi took her by her hand and pulled her behind him.
"You stay away from her." He said before he stormed away angrily, pulling Michelle with him.
Lenalee, Allen and Kanda watched as the two walked away. They turned back to Damon to see him chuckling, and laughing with another girl.
"So that's Damon." Allen said.
Kanda grunted.
Lenalee looked at the spot where Lavi and Michelle had walked of.
"Why was Lavi so mad?" Lenalee asked.
"Damon and Michelle were an old couple but I heard that he tried to advance on her, but she didn't agree to it, so they broke up. The next week or so, he wouldn't talk to her and when she went to his house to talk to him about it, there was another girl." Allen explained. "Or that's what I heard. We weren't there when it happened."
"Or else he would have gotten a beating not only that stupid rabbit." Kanda said as he glared in Damon's direction.
"Lavi beat him up?" Lenalee asked.
"That's right. They got suspended for a week." Allen said.
"Lavi was really mad." Kanda said.
"We found out about when we came back but it was too late, Damon moved away. His dad got a job overseas."
"Maybe he did it as to avoid a bad breakup with her?" Lavi asked.
"Doubt it." Allen said.
"There was something off about him." Kanda said, shaking his head.
"Lavi!" Michelle called as Lavi continued to pull her. "Lavi!" Michelle yelled as she struggled to free hand from his grip. She pulled it free, and massaged it.
She stared at his back before she called him.
"Lavi?"
"Why?" He asked as he turned around to face her, his voice loud.
"Why what?" She asked.
"Why did you lie to me yesterday?" He asked as he looked at her. "Why didn't you tell me that it was Damon that you saw yesterday at the park?" His voice grew hostile as he said his name.
"I thought that it was going to be the only time that I see him. I didn't know that he was going to be at this school." Michelle explained.
"But you still lied." He said, his voice hurt.
Michelle was going to say something but the bell rang then, indicating that class was about to start.
Lavi looked at her one more time, before turning around to go to class.
"Lavi!" Michelle called as he walked away. "Lavi, can we talk about this?" She called after him. Whether he heard her, she did not know.
She sighed and walked in the opposite direction to her classroom.
She walked into her classroom and sat down at her seat.
She propped her elbow on the table and put her head in her hands. She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Why is this happening to me?" She whispered as she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
"What is happening to you?" Someone asked as they sat down next to her.
She opened her eyes and gasped as she looked into the brown eyes of Damon Evibergs.
"Damon." She gasped.
"Hi there." He said as he gave her one of his dazzling smile.
"Are you in this class?" She asked.
He nodded his head.
Michelle struggled to control her breathing by giving him a small smile. "That's nice." She said as she turned around to face the front of the classroom.
"Annnaaa!" Lenalee called as came into the classroom but stopped short when she saw the seat next to Michelle taken.
She walked by Michelle's desk and gave the two of them a smile. Lenalee sat behind her friend.
Class went by slower that day and it was awkward with Damon sitting next to her.
Finally, the bell rang indicating that class was over. Michelle quickly packed her bag and left the room.
"Michelle." She heard Damon called after her but she kept on walking. Outside, Allen and Kanda were waiting for her. Michelle quickly walked past them and into the restroom.
She went into a stall and tried to slow down her breathing. She sat down and quickly thought everything through.
"Michelle?" Allen called through the front door of the restroom.
"I'll be out in a second." Michelle yelled out. She walked out of the restroom and tok a deep breath.
"You okay?" Allen asked.
"Of course." Michelle said as she put on a smile.
The rest of the day went by slowly and finally, the last bell rang.
Michelle sighed as she walked out of her last class.
Allen, Kanda, and Lenalee were waiting for her at the front gate.
"Where's Lavi?" Lenalee asked as she looked around the campus.
Before any of them answered, a car speed up to where they were standing and a head popped out of the car.
"Michelle! Allen! Kanda!" A man called to them. He was handsome with his dark skin and long dark hair that was tied into a ponytail.
"Tyki!" Michelle said as she ran to the car. She gave him a big smile. "What's up?"
"That time is coming up and I wanted to give you these invitations personally." Tyki said as he handed her four invitations. "And you all can bring someone." He said.
"Is it really?" She asked. She thought about it and it was!
Tyki was Michael's old college friend and every year, the Mikk family would hold a party for his birthday. The party was always extravagant with people dressing up in dresses and tuxedos with tons of food and dancing.
"This year, it's special." Tyki said. "Everyone has to wear masks. To make it more fun." He said.
"Oh," Michelle said, "That sounds wonderful. I can't wait." She said as she took the invitations.
"Well, I shall see you then!" He said and then got into his car and sped off.
Michelle walked back over to where her friends were.
"What was that?" Kanda asked.
"Tyki's birthday invitation. There's only four." She said as she handed out one to Allen and Kanda. "And this is for Lavi." She said as she looked at Lenalee. "He said we each can bring someone, so I'm going to make sure that he is to take you to this party that is happening in a month." Michelle said brightly as she handed Lenalee the invitation.
Lenalee blushed and gave her a smile.
"I can give it to him." Lenalee volunteered. "But I don't know where he is right now."
Allen thought about it. "He's probably in the library." He said.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Michelle gushed happily.
And in the library, Lavi was. He was sitting in a chair with books surrounding him. She thought back to what Allen had said; when Lavi was upset or stressed, he would come to the library to read.
Lenalee walked over slowly to where Lavi was sitting and saw that he was sleeping.
She stood there and observed him for a while.
He looks so cute while he's sleeping, she thought to herself and smiled. He was snoring lightly, and she smiled as she looked at him.
She took a book that was lying on the side, and sat down and read it. Soon after, she also fell asleep.
Later, Lavi woke up groggily and rubbed his eyes. He looked around the room and noticed that there was someone else next to him. He peeked from the side and looked at the sleeping girl.
Her head was to one side and she was holding a book in her lap. He smiled and lightly shook her.
"Lena." He whispered. "Lena, wake up."
She stirred slightly and her eyes opened, little by little.
"Hmm?" She asked.
"Lena, what are you doing here?" Lavi asked.
She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room, trying to remember where she was.
"Where am I?" She asked.
"You're in the library." Lavi laughed. "What are you doing here?"
"In the library?" Lenalee asked. "Oh yeah!" She said as she suddenly remembered the reason that she was in the library.
"I came looking for you. A friend came and dropped by this invitation for his party." Lenalee said as she handed the invitation to Lavi.
He took the invitation and looked at it over.
"A masquerade party?" Lavi asked. "This is going to be fun." He said, smiling.
"That's what Michelle said too." Lenalee said.
"She did?" Lavi asked as he sat back on the chair.
Lenalee propped her elbow onto the seat and nodded her head. "Yup."
"Well, we need to go home." Lavi said as he stood up and put out his hand to Lenalee.
She took it and he pulled her up.
Then they both exited the library and headed home for the day.