Author's Note: I know it's been a while, but I didn't even realize I hadn't post Ask and ye shall receive! For anyone noticing certain... differences in the character of Michael, I decided to infuse his character with some much needed, but missing aspects of his personality. I felt the need to MURDER Sonny Jr. with EXTREME prejudice, but that ALSO means reviving Mr. Man in all his Spencer-Morgan glory! This will be a TRUE Jarly child! There will be Spencer, Morgan, AND Quartermaine traits before this story is over... BWAHAHAHAHA! The possibilities!
Chapter 14: 'Hope For The Future' Tanking in Key Demographics
Michael sighed as he played with his drink and thought back over the past few weeks.
His family seemed to be finding its groove here. Joss was really bonding with the new nanny. Things could never go back to the way they were since losing Leticia, but with Lupe, the family was closer than it ever had been with Mercedes. And her clear sense of loyalty seemed to give his mom a peace she hadn't felt since even before he'd been shot... it made LA feel more like home. Even Terrance seem to fit in perfectly, reminding him of his few childhood memories of Reginald at the Quartermaine mansion and with Leticia.
He'd been pretty worried about Spencer at first-and blowing their secret as he relearned his brother's name. He'd been especially concerned after they'd been introduced to that little douche, RJ, but meeting Alexandria had solved that. While she hadn't quite championed RJ, she'd managed to show he wasn't all bad and help bring out a better side of the kid when not following his mother's example. Lately, Alexandria, RJ, and his brother had been thick of thieves, with Spencer spending all of his free time with them or talking to Molly back home... and even Molly seemed to have joined the ranks, thanks to the magic of Skype and FaceTime. The dynamic seemed to work for them even as the teens showed the beginnings of inter-group romance. RJ appeared to be head over heels for Molly despite the long distance, meanwhile the same could be said for Spencer and Alexandria, who were so virtually inseparable that their mom had to make his room off-limits when only the duo were together without an interloper/chaperone to keep things platonic.
Michael often found himself chuckling as he thought of his mom, who was currently having her regular lunch with the women of the Forrester family: Stephanie Sr., Taylor, Steffy, and occasionally Steffy's Aunt Felicia. As busy as he knew his mom was with the expansions, she seemed to easily make time for the Forrester women. Michael, for one, was glad. His mom hadn't ever had many friends and he could only remember two of them being women: Courtney and to some lesser extent, Olivia. Without Jason, it had been one of Michael's greatest fears that she'd bury herself in work until she burnt out and made herself sick. However, while she often had her trusty PDA at hand or was Skyping with one of her many onsite overseers, she was finding a balance between 'family, friends, and firm', as she often referred to it. Whether it was family time as a group or individually, she managed to make sure he and his siblings never felt neglected even as she was renewing old connections and building friendships, old and new. She'd even started bouncing ideas off of him and showing him the ropes in business.
His thoughts turned inward as he completed that thought and he found himself facing the same dilemma he'd been struggling with for some time. He sighed in annoyance at his own indecision. It had started shortly after a conversation with Abby. He'd been so excited to share the great news about how well he and his family were settling in-which had proven a challenge... offering good things and sharing anecdotes without revealing their location as to keep off his dad and Uncle Sonny's radar-and she'd suddenly seemed so excited. Somehow she'd taken from the positivity of his stories about his family's transition that he would be going back to Port Charles soon. She had even asked point blank about when he planned to return if everyone had settled in so quickly. He'd been shocked having forgotten that the move was only supposed to be temporary for him. In that moment, he'd realized he hadn't even considered leaving a possibility almost since the day they'd arrived. He'd rushed her off the phone with some vague response after that, but to this day, had been debating if going back to PC was what he really wanted.
Sure, he had family there and he really missed Jason, Kristina, Molly, his Grandma Bobbie, and his Uncle Lucas-who was home for summer, but he had family in LA now, too. And as much as he knew he'd made a commitment to his Great Grandfather to give ELQ a try, that had been more about helping Abby get a job than any real interest he had in the company. Plus, he couldn't forget he'd enrolled in PCU for the fall, but that was months away and there were colleges in California, too. Steffy had shown him around the campus at UCLA, where she'd been thinking of going back for her MBA. It was incredible, and with all he was learning from his mother, he'd begun thinking of maybe following in her footsteps with the MetroCourt. He'd been surprised by how much he'd enjoyed learning about the hotel business. And working with his mom had proven even better than just the knowledge and experience gained from it. Away from Port Charles, everything about their relationship had grown and changed for the better until she was one of his best friends.
Friends.
Another thing that was so different here than in Port Charles. Back there, Abby, Krissy, and Jason to an extent had been his only friends. Now, he'd met Steffy, who he was awed would be interested in him for friendship or anything at all. And Steffy had introduced him to Liam Spencer that first night. He'd nearly humiliated himself at first over his reaction to Liam's resemblance to his cousin, Dillon Quartermaine. He'd been about to introduce him to Steffy when she corrected him, but it was really uncanny. Liam was basically a leaner, very slightly more polished version of his favorite Quartermaine relative. He'd almost been ready to call Lulu, but had caught himself and just shown them a pic on his phone that had left them both shocked and understanding. They'd seemed to bond pretty quickly after that. While visiting Forrester with Steffy a couple of times, she'd introduced him to her brother, Thomas and her ex-boyfriend-turned-friend, Marcus.
It hadn't taken long for the five of them to start hanging out pretty regularly. Occasionally, Madison or Dayzee would tag along, but it was always a whole lot of fun. He was now a part of a standing surfing date with Liam and Steffy, weightlifting workouts at Forrester a couple mornings a week with Thomas and Marcus, and a regular pickup game of basketball with the 3 guys followed by lunch most days. It was so normal... more normal than he'd ever dreamed his life could be after waking up from his yearlong coma, killing his crazy stepmom, and spending time in jail for it. Then again, none of his new friends knew-except Steffy, whom he'd confided in some about his own childhood after she'd admitted to her own childhood traumas-anything about his past beyond the fact that his parents were independently wealthy and he was incredibly close to that family. No more being the child of the mob. No more being the convicted felon. No more being the brain-damaged kid with anger management problems.
He felt like he, too, was getting that fresh start his mom had promised this move was supposed to be. Even now he sat with his boys for their usual post-game lunch... Well, not exactly usual, he sighed mentally in disgust as he fought yet again not to roll his eyes at the inane, self-absorbed fluff he was being 'treated' to under the guise of discussing work.
Guess Momma is right, he groaned inwardly as he wished he hadn't brought his car so he could order something harder than this tea he'd settled on before she arrived. Gotta be more careful what I wish for. It had started out as planned. Lunch with the guys at Bikini Bar, hanging out, talking smack, and just having fun. As usual, he and Liam were the first to arrive and ordered the appetizers the winners had agreed upon while they settled into wait. He'd been distracted by a random 'I love you' text from Abby and Liam had called him on it. He'd just confessed the little tidbit his sister, Krissy, had spilled about Abby and Johnny Zaccharra possibly getting a little too cozy under the guise of friendship. And he was just about to confess that he was considering ending things and staying in LA for a while longer when Thomas and Marcus arrived.
"Gentlemen," Marcus announced with his usual fond, but friendly voice. "Look, who we ran into fresh from Paris."
"Hope?" Liam had goggled slightly not showing excitement so much as surprise over his fiancee's arrival. "What are you doing here? I-I mean, I thought your flight wasn't coming in until tomorrow."
As Michael had watched his friend rise to greet his fiancée, he tried to get her measure. He'd been curious about the 'paragon of virtue' as Steffy called her often with a roll of her beautiful blue eyes. He'd seen the pictures, an interview Liam had forced on him and at least one half thought out press conference and he found his first impression hadn't been great. But he could see what they were going for with the pretty blonde virgin, who was the face of Hope For The Future.
Hope Logan certainly seemed like that sweet, old-fashioned, girl-next-door type at first glance. She should have been perfect to stand as a beacon of goodness, self-respect, chastity, morals, and values. She should have been. And on paper, she was in Michael's eyes. However, every word she spoke and move she made bled an insincerity, pomposity, and condescension that made Michael want to run screaming in the other direction. She brought to mind a Stepford Wife, only without the full programming.
And if he'd thought it was just Steffy whispering her own insecurity, this lunch had proven otherwise. Not only was this chick self-absorbed and annoying... she was incredibly, mind-numbingly boring. She managed to turn every conversation back to her and her stupid line. Michael found himself checking the time on his phone every few minutes or so when he wasn't drifting off completely or fantasizing about gouging his own eyes and ears out from that giggle.
"Michael!" Thomas called with a raised eyebrow. "You okay, man? We called you a few times."
"Sorry, man," he replied feeling bad for having missed his friend's words out of sheer boredom with the twit. "What did you say?"
"Well, Hope was just asking about what you think of her line," Liam answered.
Really?! That's all! Michael thought in frustration having to fight not to roll his eyes, sigh, groan, or scream. "Well, I guess, it's not really anything I've ever really thought about," he admitted as neutrally as possible. "Not like I could wear it."
That got some laughs and Michael was hoping he was free to go back to his own thoughts... but just as he was preparing to check out again...
"Yeah, I guess not," she chuckled with an edge of annoyance no one else seemed to notice. "But there are other women in your life. You have eyes. I'd love to get feedback from someone who isn't a fashion insider. You know... the common man."
Michael's jaw clenched at the condescension clear in her voice that no one, but him seemed to catch. "Well, I don't know what to tell ya," he replied. "Clothes are clothes for the most part to me, I guess. Besides, except for my little sisters, I don't tend to pay attention to girl's clothes. The women around me are either professionals who dress for business or they're Steffy and Abby, who have their own unique styles. Joss is way too young for your line and I don't think it's quite my sister Krissy's style. I don't know. I guess I'm more drawn to the members of the fairer sex who are adults and dress the part."
"Are you calling my line immature?" she challenged eyes flaring.
Not unless you consider my Grandma Monica and Aunt Tracy childish, he thought. Which ironically enough most might. But not what they wear. Not unlike this bimbo, only they have a brain and taste.
"No," Michael replied hiding the amusement he found in her annoyance.
"Because I would think that with us being about the same age," Hope attempted, almost as if trying to bridge the distance between them.
"Oh, honey," Liam chuckled as Thomas and Marcus shared an amused, male laugh. "Michael prefers older women. Like the woman he dates now. He's not likely to pay much attention to girls in your age group, or to the girls within your demographic."
"There's something really sexy about an educated woman with the life experience to know what she wants, how to get it, and doesn't need anyone else to help her get there," Michael added explaining. "Girls my age are usually too busy playing dress up and trying to attract some guy to give them status. I'm trying to teach that to my sister. Hopefully, when she graduates, she'll go on to Princeton like her mom wants and finally understand that."
"I had considered going to Boston University on a full scholarship when I graduated from high school," Hope replied preening. "But I followed my heart and turned it down. I can really reach so many girls as a role model for Hope For The Future."
Michael choked on his tea. "Are you kidding me?!" he gasped in shock, looking at the poker faces on his friends. "You turned down a full ride to Boston University for some guy and a clothing line and you think that makes you a better role model than going to Boston, getting your education, and working part time for the line. Being a spokesmodel trumps higher education?"
"Michael," Liam said quietly as everyone else stared at him in awe.
"What did I say?" he asked as tears began filling the princess's eyes. "Look. I'm not trying to judge. It's not like it's my place. I'm just thinking in big brother mode since we mentioned my little sister while we were talking. I'd be more than tempted to beat the crap out of any guy who thought he was more important than my sister's future. Knowing Dad like I do, that guy's chances of survival in general would likely suck beyond the telling of it, and her brilliant attorney mother would likely nag, debate, and harass them into both going instead if she didn't just go all psycho Cassadine on him."
The tension level dropped a little from the guys, but not from the blonde who clearly felt slighted that she wasn't seen as every guy's ideal. "So you prefer someone like Steffy. Oh, she's college educated, but she has a job walking around in her underwear and messes with taken men as a hobby. What a role model for women!"
Michael's eyes frosted over and he noticed the way Thomas's jaw clenched.
"Sounds like what people say about your mother," Michael snarled coldly. "Look, little girl, you try to talk a decent game, but, for all your talk, you clearly know very little about life. If you want to win friends and influence people, insulting their friends and girlfriends... not the way go about it. See, my girlfriend was a stripper to put herself through college and is currently a gainfully employed as more than a pretty face. She's a paralegal at a major conglomerate. The hobby, though, not so much. As for Steffy, she is gorgeous, brilliant, funny, and multi-talented. While you're spouting these ridiculous high school educated platitudes about morals and values you don't seem to have beyond your precious chastity and preening about having your picture taken so people can adore you, some people like Steffy have actual worthwhile principles and values and wisdom gained through life experience. Did she make some bad decisions along the way? Sure, but so have you or you'd be working your way to a bachelor's degree at Boston University. Meanwhile, would I rather spend five minutes in her presence than have wasted my lunch hour being condescended to with you? Absolutely. Not only does she have a degree and a much better clothing line, she's going back for her MBA while maintaining her position as Head of Marketing and PR. A job that forces her to spend most of her time cleaning up after a certain self-absorbed, condescending, attention-whoring, know-it-all TWIT and making her look as good as possible! And she does such an incredible job that she has you drinking your own Kool-Aid. I'm sorry, guys! I'm outta here."
Without further ado, Michael jumped to his feet, slamming his chair back and stormed out of the bar and grille.