| Michael plopped down beside her on the grass. Maria looked up and then started gathering her book. "Please don't leave." She picked up her bag. "Maria, we need to talk about this." "There's nothing for us to talk about," she told him coldly. She stood up and tripped over the long hem of her skirt. She fell onto her knees but quickly got up again. "Maria, what the hell is that?" Michael was poiting at her clothes in horror. She almost laughed out loud at his expression. "These are respectable clothes, Michael. Decent girls, girls who don't get left or cheated on, wear this," she snapped. He shook his head. "It's not you," he retorted. After it slipped out, he realized how it must have sounded. "No! I didn't mean that you weren't--" "Shut up, Michael." He could see the hurt glittering in her beautiful eyes. "Maria..." "Hey, Maria!" Both of them turned towards Max Evans as he sprinted across the lawn. "You're late," Maria told him. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. The principal was talking to me about a proposal I left on his desk. I brought you your favorite." Max unzipped his bag and drew out a brown paper bag and handed it to Maria. "Guerin," he addressed the boy in front of him, wrapping his arm around Maria's shoulders and drawing her close. "He was just leaving." With one long look at Maria, Michael left. He would have to catch her another time. He heard faintly Maria's happy exclamation. "Oh Max, triple chocolate fudge cake!" "You can have it after we eat lunch," he heard Max say. Michael's hand fisted at his side when he heard the Evans boy continue, "That looks beautiful on you! I told you you'd look perfect in that. You and Isabel didn't believe me, did you? But I was right. Once you stop wearing those clothes, people won't see you as..." "A slut?" "Umm.." "You can say it, Max. You were thinking it." "No--" "It's okay. I know my life was messed up before we got together. But I'm going to fix it. I promise. I won't give you a reason to leave me, Max." ~~ Liz Parker was fuming when she parallel parked her car in the grocery parking lot. When she got Maria and Michael to break up, she thought she was successful already in getting back at Maria. What she didn�t count on was the fault that the Slut Duo would be super best friends and that Maria would stay over at the Evans a lot. She could only imagine what plays Maria had put on to get under Max Evans� skin. It was time to pull the ace out of her sleeve. She hated grocery shopping, but it was the only way. She grabbed her wallet and rushed into the building. Just as expected, there was Dianne Evans in the fresh food section. She hurriedly grabbed a basket and stood beside her. �Little Lizzie Parker?� �Oh Mrs. Evans, I didn�t know you did your shopping here!� Liz tiptoed and kissed the older woman on the cheek. �I was just getting some cauliflowers for my special chicken flavored caulis.� �Oh you make that? Max adores it.� Mrs. Evans took a few other items and placed them in her cart. �So how is school, Liz?� �It�s just wonderful, Mrs. Evans.� �Please call me Dianne, dear. I�ve known you since you were in your diapers!� �Oh Dianne then. It�s going alone wonderfully. I might even graduate early.� �Your parents must be so proud.� Liz blushed. �They are. How are things with Max and Isabel?� �Oh you know kids� they don�t tell me anything really.� �Oh.� �Liz, honey, what is it? Do you know anything?� �I really don�t think it�s my place, Dianne.� �Please tell me. I know you�re only thinking about what�s good for them, Liz.� Liz took a deep breath. �I really feel weird telling you this, Dianne, but they�re my friends. It�s just that I think that Isabel�s Isabel, you know. She�s more flighty now with her best friend Maria, because Maria doesn�t exactly feel that getting great grades are top priority. I�m more concerned about Max because he�s got this top place at school already. Now with Maria as his girlfriend, he�s changing. He�s taking more time off. Usually he�d be at the principal�s office discussing proposals for the council. Now I see him hanging out at the school yard with her, talking, laughing. He�s not much into extra credit now either. He doesn�t stay as late in school to help out, because he has to walk or drive her home. She lives in this dangerous area of town.� �Maria is the girl without the father, isn�t she?� Liz nodded. �But her mother has all these boyfriends though.� �This girl that my children are associating with� Is she the one who showed up in Iz�s birthday party in that awful see through pink blouse?� �Yeah, she�s the one.� She didn�t mention that the blouse was Isabel�s. ~~ �Hey man. I think you�ve had enough.� Michael peered at the other guy standing beside him. �Who the f-uck are you?� �You�re already drunk!� Kyle announced with disgust, looking at the bottles on the table. �How many you had, two?� Michael scoffed at that. He pointed his thumb in the direction of the eight other bottles at his feet. �Wait a minute. Valenti! What are you doing here? You�re the root of all evil!� Michael spat out. Kyle raised his hands abruptly in mock surrender. �Hey hey let�s not be too hasty! Tell me, Guerin. Why do you think I�m the root of all evil?� �You�re the reason why Maria started to get all chummy with Evans. Because you had to go make a fight.� �You punched me first!� �You punched back! You weren�t supposed to. You were staring at my girlfriend. You deserved the punch.� �Guerin, my man,� Kyle said as he patted Michael�s back. �If that�s your logic you�d have to beat the crap outta half the population of Roswell High.� Michael stared blankly at Kyle. And then he grinned drunkenly, �Yeah she�s pretty, isn�t she?� �And hot, man. Really hot.� Michael made a move to punch Kyle, but decided against it. He needed someone to talk to anyway. And he�s drunk, according to Valenti. He didn�t stand a chance against a Greco-Roman wrestler. �She�s really nice to you know,� he said sadly. �Hurricane Deluca�s the best thing that�s happened to me. And I screwed it up.� �Yeah. You totally screwed that one up, Mike.� �Drink with me, Kyle.� Kyle chuckled. When Michael started addressing anyone other than Deluca by first name, that meant he was gone. �Can�t, Mike.� He was going to repeat that nickname over and over tonight. Who knew when he was going to get a chance again without getting smashed to bits? �Mike, one of us is gonna have to be sober to drive home.� Michael sighed deeply. �I miss her, man.� �I know you do, Mike.� �That Evans kid is no good for her. Did you friggin see what she�s wearing today?� �Yep, Mike. Deluca�s losing her sparkle all right. The team�s disappointed.� Michael glared at Kyle. �She�s still hot!� he snapped. �Oh yeah yeah,.� Kyle agreed. �Maria�s hot even with nothing on!� he answered hastily, and then realized his mistake when Michael glowered. �I mean with a sack on, with a sack on. Deluca with nothing on� that totally never enters my mind. Never, Mike!� Never ever screw with Guerin, especially a drunk Guerin. If he�s a berserker when he�s sober, who knew what madman he was drunk? �Anyway as I was saying, it�s not that she�s not hot. But that style wasn�t her. If she looked happy, I�m totally for it, Kyle. But she looked like she was drowning in all those cloths!� �Well at least Evans seemed to really care for her,� Kyle said slowly, not wanting to set Michael off but needing to get that in. �He�d be a fool not to. Maria�s great. I don�t have the thesaurus to say it in so many ways but,� Michael started giggling a bit before he became serious again. Man was he out of it! �She�s really cool.� �What you gonna do?� �I�m gonna get her back.� �How?� �Beats me, man. Maybe I�m gonna pull an Evans.� �Pull an Evans?� �You�ll see, you�ll see. Now you cool to drive me home?� Kyle nodded. �Come on.� Michael stood up, and wavered slightly due to the inebriating effects of certain liquid substances-in this occasion San Miguel Pale Pilsen. Hey, Miguel�s like Spanish for Michael� Shuddup sober up, Guerin! Kyle grabbed his arm when he stumbled a bit. Michael smiled at Kyle and said, �You know, Kyle, you�re not such an ass after all.� Kyle sure hoped Michael remembered this tomorrow at school, so he�d be spared the nerve wracking experience of waiting to see if he�d just beat the crap out of him. And oh, he sure hoped even more fervently Guerin didn�t try to kiss him in the car. Drunk people tend to do stuff like those. Hell, one of his buddies told him he, Kyle Valenti, made the move on Jack Thompson three months ago after the team victory party. It wouldn�t hurt to make things clear though. �Hey Mike?� �What Valenti? And don�t call me Mike.� Uh-oh, he�s sobering up. Actually that might be good. �I�m not Maria, okay?� �What the f-uck you talkin� about, Valenti?!� Good. Safe. TBC |
| Part 4 |
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