"Liz" Maria's weak voice broke the uncomfortable silence, "I don't feel so good again. Can I stay here tonight?"
Everyone turned to focus their attention on Maria again. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was red and sweaty. Liz sighed and nodded. "Of course Maria. And one more thing, don't think that you are getting out of working tomorrow morning girly, cause you left me in the lurch. Granted on accident but still Maria, drinking?"
Maria only laid her head back down on the couch and glanced back at Michael with guilty eyes. Michael was unconsciously tracing over the hickey on his neck. Right now, he wanted more than anything to remember how it happened.
Max, Isabelle, Alex, and Liz also wanted to know what happened. They wanted to know exactly how Michael and Maria got caught in the bombshelter to begin with. Max was finally the one to ask.
"Michael, what happened? Did you attack Jose? Cause he sa-" The rest of Max's words were cut off by force of anger resonating from Michael's reply. Hearing Jose's name rang like a shot through Michael's brain and he wanted to crush it under his boot like a bug.
"That little shit was spying on Maria as she was changing! He was watching her! What did you want me to do, let him!" Michael was furious, not at Max, Max was simply who was in front of him as her anger expressed itself.
"Michael" Max continued with the usual calm in his voice, "We are just asking because Jose had said that you attacked him. We couldn't find you and didn't know what to believe. I'm sorry, no one meant to accuse you. Of course you couldn't let him watch Maria but" Max paused not sure how to continue, "but just be careful next time okay?"
"Oh, I can guarantee that there will not be a next time." Maria replied her voice sounding stronger with her own anger. She placed the back of her hand on her head as her pounding headache tried to force her brain out of her skull. "I will personally kick his ass."
"Maria, maybe I should talk to him first. Maybe Michael misunderstood and it was just an accident. I mean he did say that he wasn't doing anything and that Michael just attacked him without knowing." Liz was trying to help but her words only made Michael and Maria angrier. This time it was the two of them that shared a knowing glance.
"No Liz. I mean let's be realistic, who could resist me anyway?" Maria laughed and then groaned as her head punished her for the levity of the situation.
"Alright guys. Let's all go to bed and meet back here in the morning for breakfast. Okay? We can solve it all then by asking Jose himself." Dang, twice in one night Alex was actually the one in charge and calming the group.
They all nodded in agreement as Max and Isabelle left with Alex walking closely behind Isabelle. Michael stood for a moment not feeling like he should leave Maria.
"Michael?" Is's voice called out to him, "Let's go."
Michael glanced at Maria as Liz now smoothed her hair away from her sweaty face. *Sweaty face. Hmmm, that seems somehow familiar* Michael thought before shaking the thought off and crossing to the door where Isabelle, Max, and Alex were waiting.
"Let's go Maria. Upstairs. And whew, thank God that you have a toothbrush here. And another thing, you need to shower. But don't worry Dad fixed the shower head so it doesn't leak anymore."
Maria turned to look at Liz with a curious look on her face. *Hmmm, now why does fixing showers seem familiar?* Maria shook off the thought as she followed Liz up the stairs, moving slowly so as not to jar her majorly suffering body.
The next morning-
Everyone had gathered at the Crashdown, even though it technically didn't open for another half an hour. Alex and Isabelle sat across from one another and Max and Liz did as well in the regular booth in the corner. Maria was laying with her head on the counter, hoping, wishing, praying that the Aleve would kick in any minute now. She still had on her shorts and Michael's shirt because that is what she had slept in. Maria had been too tired last night to change and besides, Maria liked the feeling of Michael's shirt so close her body. Michael sat on the counter near her, he wasn't sure why but he felt like he should be staying close to her. Of course it probably didn't help that Liz thought he had been wrong about Jose. Last night in the Jeep on the way to the Evan's even Max was questioning if Michael was right about Jose.
Finally Maria sighed and gave up on the Aleve working anytime soon. "Okay, I'm gonna get ready for work. And Michael thanks for the shirt. I'll wash it before I give it back to you."
"No, no that's okay. Don't worry about. I can take care of it." Michael spoke quickly hoping she wouldn't argue. In truth, he didn't want her to wash it because he wanted it to smell like her and to feel like her.
Maria only nodded her tired, pounding head in response. Before crossing behind the counter and into the back. Just as Maria walked into the back door, Jose walked in through the front.
Jose stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Michael sitting on the counter. Jose thought that Michael looked like a vulture circling in for the kill. Jose swallowed nervously and his eyes darted around the room at the expectant faces.
"Jose-" Liz started to speak but was cut off by Michael.
"Tell them." He demanded.
"What? What are you talking about? Liz I don't know" Michael interrupted him now but not with words with his movements. Michael leapt off the counter and stood staring down at Jose. Michael had a good five inches and about twenty pounds of muscle on him.
"Okay so I mighta saw something that I shouldn't have. I swear I only saw for a second. Really Liz!" Jose had started to form beads of sweat on his forehead at the close proximity of Michael to him.
Liz looked from Michael to Jose to the door to the back before speaking. "Okay Jose, here's the deal. You get one more chance, but if you mess up in any way-"
"Then I will personally see to it that you never mess up again." Michael finished Liz's sentence. He had not backed down on his posture at all during the conversation with Jose.
Jose nodded and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He walked around Michael, back behind the counter and into the kitchen. Michael's eyes followed Jose until he couldn't see him through the opening to the kitchen.
"Now does everyone believe me?" Michael barked back to his friends, when less than thirty seconds later everyone heard Maria screaming from the back.
"AAAAAAH! What the hell is your problem?" Maria's shrill cry echoed throughout the Crashdown. All five in the front of the restaurant ran to the back. Michael was the closest and reached the door first.
He was greeted with the site of Maria in her shorts and a bra only grabbing onto Jose's back while swatting him with an old menu. Before anyone could do anything, Jose had pulled Maria off and was running from her around the room. Michael quickly joined the pursuit of Jose.
Isabelle burst out laughing as Alex, Max, and Liz stared on in amazement at the ridiculous scene played out in front of them. Isabelle was laughing so hard that tears had started streaming down her face. Trying to catch her breath, Is tried to speak but her words were too muffled and rushed to understand.
"Her dream...oh my God, I can't believe it." Isabelle had finally caught her breath enough to speak semi-coherently. "Maria topless, Michael chasing, and oh God Jose!!!" The thought sent another bout of hysterical fanfare from Isabelle before everyone else caught on and began joining in her laughter. Turning to go back out front, they decided that Jose's punishment would be handled best by Michael and Maria personally.
Michael caught up to Maria and grabbed her around the waist. "Michael! What the fuck! Let me at him! Because I will rip his beady little eyes out of his head!" Maria was irate and struggled as Michael held her high in the air.
"I know you will but first Jose is going to listen and deal with me." Michael spoke in cool even tones that scared Jose more than Maria's maniacal ravings.
"What are you going to do?" Jose wrung his hands and the beads of sweat from his forehead were now rolling profusely from his nervousness.
"Well, now that depends on you. I am going to have to put Maria down eventually. Now, I can either so that while you're standing here trapped or after you are gone. Which would you like to choose?"
"Umm, gone, I would like to be gone." Jose kept glancing at the door hoping that he could reach it before Michael or Maria came at him again.
Almost as if Michael could read his mind, "I don't think so Jose. You are going to listen to me first. Got it?" Jose nodded jumpily in response.
"Good. Now first off I am not going to make you quit your job." Maria started to protest but Michael continued before she could get very far. He still held her off the ground in one arm.
"I am not about to take away someone's job. But I will be watching you and I will be around." He said these words with such venom than Maria shivered even while under his arms and pressed tightly to his body.
"I will not hesitate again and my wrath is *not* pretty. Got me? I will *not* tolerate fuck-ups." Michael was practically spitting his words they held such force. Then with a dismissal gesture of his head, Jose ran to the kitchen looking at the floor the entire time.
Michael kept his part of the bargain and waited until Jose had left to put Maria down. Maria whirled around to face Michael, hands on her hips. "I could've taken him."
"Yeah, I know Maria. I'm sure you could." Michael looked at her with amusement.
"Why did you tell him to keep working here? Huh, pally? Explain that one to me!"
"Think of it this way: He will never even look at you again, and this way it's almost a guarantee. If he quit then who knows, but this way I do know. Because I will be watching."
"Watching him or watching me?" Maria looked at Michael with a mixture of curiosity and desire in her eyes.
Michael looked at her and felt his resolve begin to crumble. *NO! The wall remember the wall!*
"Michael, if you are here watching him then that makes it pretty damn difficult for you to be alone now doesn't it?"
"Whatever" Michael mumbled. He still hadn't learned.
"Whatever? Whatever! That's all you can say! Whatever!" Maria started to raise her voice.
"Look I'm the one with the love bite on my neck after we got drunk, so what does that tell you?!" Michael spat out the words. He loved watching her fight with him. Maria reached up with her hands and put her arms around his neck.
"Well, what do you want it to mean?" Maria purred into his ears. Her body pressed dangerously close to Michael's.
Michael allowed his hands to caress her lower back as he leaned down to take her neck in his mouth, gently suckling on her collarbone. Maria moaned in pleasure. Michael directed Maria onto the couch in the back and laid down on top of her. Maria loved the feeling of his weight on hers, and every ounce of her body burned against his. Maria grabbed at the thin t-shirt Michael was wearing. She wanted to feel his chest against hers. Maria roughly grabbed the shirt and flung it over her head. The t-shirt hit the lamp on the table behind them but Michael and Maria were so engrossed in their two bodies that they didn't even register the crash of the lamp as it fell onto the floor.
Out in the front of the Crashdown, however, were two humans and two aliens who did hear the crash. This time they didn't hesitate to run back. Liz and Max reached the door mere seconds before Alex and Isabelle, but this time no one knocked or hesitated because there was no way in hell that they were going to lose their friends again! At least not so soon anyway!
All four pairs of eyes wished that they had knocked. Isabelle had already seen an eyeful of Maria and Michael in dreams, and of course Liz felt a sense of deja vu tingling over her. Max and Alex now understood Isabelle's trauma from the night before. The last thing that the two boys wanted to see was Maria grabbing Michael's ass, as Michael kissed down her shoulders to her breasts.
"AAAAAAAAH!" Max and Alex startled Michael and Maria with their screams and they quickly pulled away from each other. But something in that scream opened up a simultaneous flood of memories for both Maria and Michael, or maybe with all the little hints they had been getting from last night and today their brains decided to share a certain dream with them.
Maria and Michael both pushed away quickly and stared down at the floor.
*Thank God Michael doesn't know about my dream last night*
*Man Maria would die if she knew what I had dreamed about last night*
Michael walked over to the door and walked passed everyone. Calling back to Max he said, "Hey c'mon I'm starving! Now where's a waitress to help me?"
Maria smirked, pushed everyone back out the door and changed quickly into her uniform. Well, as quickly as can be, considering she started changing two days ago. Laughing to herself Maria went out the door to wait on her first impatient table of the day.
THE END