July
April looked at the two different dresses hanging up in her closet, trying to decide which dress matched her better. "I pick the pink one." Megan spoke, lounged on her bed.
"You know how I feel about pink." She spoke, looking to her best friend in the mirror.
"Okay," Megan spoke looking around at the room. "Your entire room is pink."
"Yeah," Mike spoke, walking into the room. "She didn't pick it."
April immediately shut her closet doors, not wanting him to see her dress options before turning around. It had been super awkward since she had realized her true feelings for Mike. She didn't want to see him or talk to him because every time she did, she remembered how ridiculously in love with him she was and when she thought about how it could never happen, it was like cupid himself gave her a blow to the gut. Megan sat up, looking back and forth from the two, wondering how this was going to play out.
Mike didn't know what to think about any of this. It all happened so fast. One day she was normal, happy April, but now she was just…different. He missed his best friend. "Umm," Mike put his hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it self-consciously. "Dinner will be ready in an hour."
"Cool." Mike didn't know why she was being so short, but he wasn't going to question it. Megan continued to look back and forth between the two. "Thanks." Mike gave her a slight smile, and walked out, shutting the door behind him.
"Dude!" Megan exclaimed. "The sad thing is that wasn't even the most awkward encounter you two have had this week."
April groaned, throwing herself down on the bed with her face in her hands. "I know!"
Megan sat up as April rolled onto her stomach, letting out desperate whines. "You need to tell him."
April sat up immediately, almost hitting Megan in the lip with her head. "Yeah, ruining his entire career and marriage in the process." She threw herself back down on the bed after her sarcastic remark, whining again.
"Well," Megan spoke, not really knowing what to say to her in that moment. That's when something clicked. "Okay, what if there was a way to for you to, in a way, get Mike out of your system?"
April sat up, looking at her best friend with a confused glance. "How?"
Megan sighed, giving her a bit of a shrug, the idea still just swimming in her head. "I'm not saying you're gonna fall out of love with him, but if you sleep with someone else, maybe it will settle the feelings just a little bit."
April propped her head up on her elbow, looking up at Megan in the eye. "So, you want me to have meaningless sex?"
"I mean," Megan spoke, getting closer to her, not wanting to talk too loud in fear that anyone else would hear. "It might balance it out." She shrugged, not sure if she was pushing April in the best direction, but she just didn't want her to hurt anymore. "It'll take out the awkwardness."
April bit her lip, mulling the idea over. It would kind of make sense. She looked Megan in the eye, wondering when she expected for her to get this done. "When?"
"Tomorrow."
"At the Independence Day Ball?" April almost chuckled out.
"When are you going to meet tipsy people willing to sleep with the President's daughter anytime soon?"
April looked at her blankly for a few seconds. "You do realize we're in college, right?"
"Do you want it to happen fast or not?"
She let out a deep sigh, knowing that she was right. The quicker they got over this awkwardness, the faster she could move on with her life. "Fine. I'll do it tomorrow."
Mike fixed his bow tie in front of the mirror, looking over his suit again. No matter how many times he ran the security procedures or exits through his head, his mind kept going back to one thing. April and how weird she had been acting this past week. He was hoping it was just the nerves of her first Independence Day Ball going perfectly and then after that, she would go back to normal.
"Hey," Leah spoke, appearing right behind him with an American flag shirt and white shorts. "You should get going."
She was wondering what was going on with Mike. Ever since April started acting up, he did. "Yeah." He sighed, hating how his tie was ending up, but was just tired of fixing it. Leah was worried about him, but she didn't want to ask him about it either. "Don't wait up." He spoke simply as he walked out of their bedroom.
"Be careful." She settled on.
Mike heard her, but he just didn't have the energy to respond. So, for the first time, he left the house without telling her he loved her. That didn't really register to him, though. The only thing that was running through his mind was April. Was she okay? Would she get back to normal ever again? He didn't know, but he knew that seeing her happy and smiling today would be the best part of it.
April looked over her dress one more time, wondering if she really did make the right decision. This was her first Independence Day Ball. She wanted it to be a success. She also thought back to what she had to do tonight. If she was going to be able to continue her friendship with Mike, she was going to have to do this. She didn't want to, but she knew she needed to.
There was a knock on her door, but she just kept looking at herself. She wasn't proud and because of that, she found herself almost disgusting. "Come in." She called, her voice obviously weak.
Her mother opened the door, peaking her head in, her mouth dropping when she got a full view of her daughter. "Look at you." She commented, moving towards her daughter, April looking up at her amazing mother in the mirror. "Every guy is going to want a piece of you." Maggie's hands went on her daughter's shoulders as April let out a light chuckle. "And your father is going to hate that."
April smiled to her, but she just went to thinking about Mike again. She looked to her mother, hoping that she could talk to her about the topic without really telling her what was going on. "Mom," she spoke slowly. Maggie looked to her, hoping this would be the moment that she would finally tell her what was going on. "Do you remember the moment when you fell in love with Dad?"
She chuckled a little bit, while looking up in memory. "Your father and I were in college and we had just ordered a pizza."
April's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "You fell in love with him over a pizza."
Maggie lightly tugged on her daughter's hair to get her to look up. "I'm not done yet." April looked back to the mirror, watching her mother's face as she thought back on the moment. "They forgot the ranch, which you know I can't have pizza without."
"Obviously." April spoke with a shrug, inheriting that habit from her mother.
"I told him it was no big deal and we went to go watch a movie, but your father disappeared a little bit into the movie."
April shrugged, looking at her mother. "Where'd he go?"
Maggie looked to her daughter, hoping that one day she would be able to find a guy as great as her dad. "He walked through the stinging snow to the pizza place to get me ranch."
April's mouth dropped a little, looking at her mother's face. Maggie nodded, sharing her impressment. "Go Dad." April commented.
Maggie nodded a little more. "And that's when I knew that if he was willing to go out into practically a blizzard for me, I had found the right guy."
April thought back onto her realization, remembering how amazing it felt, but she thought back on the panic as well. "You weren't scared that he didn't love you back? Or maybe something would happen and you two couldn't be together?"
Maggie looked to her daughter, not getting a confirmation, but she somehow knew exactly who she was talking about. "Honey, if you're meant to be with someone, no matter how long it takes, you're going to end up with that person."
April looked at herself, completely rethinking her plan for the night. How could she sleep with someone when she was in love with Mike? She hated feeling like this, though. She wanted that feeling gone.
"Now," Maggie spoke, clapping her daughter on the shoulders. "Let's get down to the party." She smiled at her mother, but honestly April had never been more confused.
Mike was standing towards the back of the lawn, keeping an eye on everything around. The hedges were cut high enough so no paparazzi could get pictures of the party while lanterns scattered the floor and strands of lightbulbs were hanging from the nearby trees. Everyone around was dressed in a sea of elegant red, white and blue except the Secret Service men. Even Lynne Jacobs was dressed up in a little red dress.
Mike gave Lynne a polite nod as she walked past him, but when his eyes went back to the front, he saw April walk into the party. His mouth practically dropped. She was wearing a blue, backless halter dress with a long red bow at her waist. Her hair was up in a loose, but well done bun while diamonds decorated her neck and ears. Her face was made up to perfection, finishing it off with a bright red lipstick.
She seemed to turn all the heads when she walked in, but Mike felt like he had been looking in that direction before everyone else had found it. She walked down the first few steps, showing her white, strappy heels causing Mike to smile just a little bit. He was finding it hard to believe that she had found her bearings in those things.
April was looking around, trying to measure all the people who had showed up, but mostly to find out how she was going to entertain herself through this whole thing. That's when she saw Mike looking at her, and for the first time since she had found out her true feelings, she didn't look away or try to run off to avoid the awkwardness, she was filled with happiness. A big smile spread across her face. When she looked at him, she felt like she had her best friend again. In that moment, she didn't care if her and Mike could never be together, but as long as she had him by her side through it all, it was just as good as having him as her lover.
She snuck away from all the people surrounding her, weaved her way through the crowds and ending up hurrying to stand right next to Mike. "You couldn't have helped me escape?" She asked, standing to his right, trying to blend in next to him as best as she could. "I was dying over there." When Mike looked at her, he saw someone completely different. Someone a little more than a best friend.
The party dragged on, April finding it all mind numbingly boring. At the moment, her mother was showing her off to some of the more important members of Congress. "April has always been a marvelous singer." April smiled just a little bit, completely annoyed with all these people she was meeting. "April," she spoke, bringing April back into the conversation. "Why don't you audition for the school choir?"
"I don't know why I don't audition for the school choir." April spoke in a bland voice.
Her mother gave her an irritated stare before going back to talking to the senator. She looked around, measuring the look on everyone's faces. Everyone looked so bored. To be honest, this wasn't how she expected the ball to go. She thought it was going to be fun, but then again, this entire presidency wasn't exactly what she thought it was going to be. Especially the music.
Her eyes widened at the wrong key the violin was playing for the twelfth time. She was keeping track and it was exasperating. That's when she got an idea. She looked to the conversation that was going on with bright eyes. "If you guys will excuse me, I will be right back."
April didn't even wait for a response before hurrying off. She immediately hurried to Mike, but before she could ask him a question, she grabbed him by the hand, pulling him into the house. "I need your help." Was all she said before pulling him up the stairs and into her bedroom.
"April, what the hell are you doing?" Mike asked as she fished out her iPod and the speaker for it.
She looked to him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm livening up the party, what does it look like I'm doing?"
She hurried past him as Mike just watched her hurry off. "April," he spoke in a warning, whispered tone before hurrying off after her.
"Oh, come on, scaredy cat." She taunted, turning around to look at him before hurrying to the steps.
Mike smiled, rolling his eyes at her before following her down the steps. They went through a less conspicuous door into the garden, closer to the stage so they could set everything up. Once they were done, April scrolled through her iPod, found the perfect song, plugged it in and hurried away so no one would suspect it was them.
Shortly after, the music came blasting through the speakers, making her giddy. She looked around at the crowd that surrounded her, convincing them to get to the dance floor. "Come on," she encouraged while pulling her heels off. "Take off your shoes."
A lot of people around her followed along while others looked confused. As soon as the ones who followed her got on the dance floor, they were all laughing and obviously having fun. Conner pushed his way to get to his sister, dancing with her. April crouched down so he could twirl her and she twirled him, causing Ben and Maggie to smile. They all knew this was April's doing, and they didn't totally approve of her going behind everyone's backs to change the music, but just the song made the party exponentially better. Mostly because it wasn't off key.
As everyone saw them dancing, almost the entire party was on the dance floor. Senators all over were dancing like they were kids, even her parents were lost in each other dancing and the song wasn't even through the chorus yet. April looked around, feeling like something was missing. That's when she noticed Mike off to the side just watching everything.
She rolled her eyes at him, hurrying to his side and grabbing his hand. "Come on."
"No." He protested trying to pull against her.
"Oh my gosh, Mike," April scolded, getting into his face. "For once in your life, have fun just once."
Mike let out a flustered sigh which she just smiled to as she pulled him onto the dance floor with her. They were in the middle of the floor, April grabbing Mike's hands, swaying with him, trying to get him to loosen up just a little bit. Mike was laughing the entire time, making April think back to her feelings for Mike. This could work out. They could be friends while she was in love with him. It could really work out.
Once Mike had finally gotten looser without her guiding him, she let go of his hands, the two still dancing in almost perfect synch. April began twirling in front of him, making Mike smile. She just didn't know how bright she shined. She knew how important she was, it was hard not to when you were surrounded by body guards, but she just didn't know that she was the absolute light of Mike's life. This whole week was completely agonizing to him, it led him to think about what life would be without her.
That's when he pulled her to him, gliding across the entire dance floor with her. He twirled her around, even put in a few complicated dance steps, taking April by surprise. She was almost out of breath when his arm ended up around her shoulder and the two were side to side. "Where the hell did you learn how to dance?"
Mike shrugged, giving her that signature Mike Banning smile. "My mother enrolled in ballroom dance lessons."
April laughed, making him even happier in that moment if it was possible. He twirled her out of his arms, and as soon as he pulled her back in, they locked eyes and the music just seemed to fade into the background. They shared a millisecond of passion before fireworks exploded above their head. April looked up in wonderment as an array of red and blue showered over her head. Mike was also distracted by a sight, but it wasn't the fireworks. It was the way April was looking up at the fireworks. She had so much excitement and pureness on her face.
And that was the moment it hit Mike. He was in love with her. He was insanely and undoubtedly in love with her. There was no other explanation. What he was feeling all week, that was heartbreak and when he finally got her back, he was feeling love. But this, right here in this moment, this was the most euphoric feeling around. He knew why she was every thought surrounding his mind and why he was so attached to her from the moment she got there. This entire time, he was trying to piece it together, but it was right there in front of his eyes. He loved her.
Her eyes went from the fireworks, back to him, resulting in a big smile on her face, making Mike's heart melt just looking at her. She laughed a little, making him so happy he felt like he could cry. Why did it take him so long? They could have saved so much time. Did she even feel the same away about him that he did about her? It was a scary thought, but to be this close to her and to have that moment of her wonder filled face burned into his memory for the rest of his life, it was all worth it.
Mike slowly walked into his house, removing the blazer he was wearing and hanging it on the coat rack while working on getting his tie undone. As he was doing that act, his mind just wondered. Everything felt so different now. It was like he was woken from a dream and harshly thrown into reality.
It was scary and exciting, but he mostly didn't know how to handle any of it. He spent a moment just standing there after he had gotten his tie off, mulling it all over. He loved April and he didn't know what to do about it.
He shouldn't be spending as much time with her, but if they were apart, he didn't know what he would do with himself. He wouldn't be able to do his job and life would just be a useless empty space of crippling hurt. But he was married. Leah was waiting in their bed for him right now. He rubbed his hands to his face, his brain still processing this monumental revelation. Now that he thought of Leah and April side by side, there was no comparison. Leah had just become a routine. She had been for a while now. He didn't love her. Well, not like he loved April.
"Mike!" he heard from the bedroom. "Is that you?"
He took a very deep breath. How was he supposed to lie in bed next to her when he just found out he didn't love her like they both thought he did. "Yeah." He spoke, knowing he had to say something back. "I'll be in there in a sec."
He continued to stand there, knowing what he had to do. Tonight, he couldn't do anything, but tomorrow, he had to tell April. Talk to her. Find out if she felt the same way he did. Right now, he had to pretend everything was okay. Go to sleep. Be haunted by beautiful dreams of April.
Mike hurried down the hallway to April's bedroom door. One of the night agents was still there. The sun hadn't even come up yet, but Mike couldn't waste one minute. He had to talk to April. There was no way he could wait, mostly because he knew he would try to talk himself out of it.
He took a deep breath at her door, pacing in front of it, the agent standing there not wanting to listen, but couldn't help but overhear. "April," he whispered, rehearsing what he was going to say. "Last night was amazing and while we were close, I really wanted to keep that closeness…" He trailed off, shaking his head, hating how that sounded. With another deep breath and a turn, he started again. "April, last night when we were close, I realized I wanted more of that, and I think we should try having more of that."
Mike took another deep breath and settled his antsy feet before finally knocking on April's door. All these emotions were running through his mind and he felt like he couldn't breathe for a moment.
When April finally opened the door, she looked flushed…almost panicked, and just like that, he could breathe again. "Mike?" she questioned, out of breath. "What are you doing here?"
"Are you okay?" he asked immediately.
She had a big smile on her face, proceeding with a nod. That's when he noticed that she was holding her quilt that went at the bottom of her comforter to her body. "Yeah."
He got a smile on his face, almost mimicking hers. "Why are you so happy?"
She moved her head from side to side before opening her bedroom door all the way. Inside was a guy sound asleep in her bed. Mike's face completely dropped. He couldn't tell her. Not now. Not today. Not after this. April was just nineteen. He was in his late thirties and married. He was ready to walk in there and break off his marriage for her, but he suddenly couldn't. He couldn't tie her down like that. He wanted her to explore every inch of being young, and she couldn't do that with him.
"It's totally crazy." she spoke with the shake of the head as he nodded, trying not to show his heart was breaking at every word. "We just started talking last night after you left and we both just really needed to let off steam." She shook her head, thinking about last night all over again. Mostly, she was happy that the awkwardness between her and Mike had simply melted away. Megan really was right. "Will you help me sneak him out when he wakes up?"
Mike gulped while looking down. He had never felt this bad before. It was like someone had taken a sledge hammer and with all of their strength, threw it into his gut. "Yeah." he finally spoke as best as he could.
She turned her head to the side at his reaction. "Are you okay?"
He finally looked up at her, giving her a slight smile. That was all he could manage at the moment. "Yeah, just let me know what he wakes up."
Mike began to walk off, April watching him as he went. "Thank you." she called to him in her sweet voice, but Mike just kept walking. Usually, he would have something to say back to her, but he was too busy to think about how to help his aching heart.
With a confused face, April walked back into her room. When she thought back on his reactions, she perceived them all as sad. She had to talk to him later to see if he really was okay. April was sure, though, she had never seen Mike like that.
MisfitCarter: Ugh, I know! You don't understand how good it felt to finally write that. Also how good it was to write Mike realizing it too in this chapter! Hope you enjoyed, love!
Mrs. HappyAnarchy: I agree, we could all use a Megan.
Bih Lupin, Guest: I honestly can't write the movie! I'm getting there as fast as I can. We should get to the accident in the next few chapters, so there's something. Thanks for reading!
Kagome409: Thanks for the review and the read, love!
I told you guys I would get these up a lot quicker! Nothing is going Mike and April's way these days. Hopefully that will change soon. The next chapter is going to experience a bit of a time jump, so just warning you guys before you read the next chapter and it's suddenly November. I hope you all enjoyed and I hope you guys don't hate me too much after this chapter, I promise you it will all be reprimanded in the next. Remember to review and thanks so much for reading!