part9

As the week went on, Michael spent all his time either at the library or at his job. Maria was being understanding that he was busy trying to keep a roof over his head and finish high school. But lately they hadn�t spent more then 15 minutes together and when he did show up he didn�t even kiss her properly.

And why?

Well because the time he wasn�t working, he spent with Miranda and Maria didn�t like it; she didn�t like it at all. Sure they were studying, and Maria was proud of him for making such an effort to do well in school but did he have to do it with her?

The truth was that Miranda made her nervous. She was everything Maria wasn�t. Miranda was a straight �A� student, unlike Maria. She was independent, and she was opening a club that she owned all by herself, while Maria was still living at home and only was a simple waitress. But that didn�t even come close to the fact that Miranda was (and lets be honest) an incredible super sexy, simply drop dead gorgeous model.

She had that thick curly hair, beautiful eyes with what it seemed to be like a zillion perfect eyelashes, wonderful skin, sexy lips and a body like Cindy Crawford. Plus the fact that she was cool and nice towards everyone.
She was with a lack of a better word �PERFECT � and it made Maria feel completely out done and beaten in every way.

Even Liz liked her, and the two of them seemed to have so much in common. Kyle was always drooling over her. But the worst part was the fact that Michael was spending so much time with her.

Isabel hadn�t met her yet, but Jessie liked her. He was her lawyer and apparently Miranda had gotten control of her inheritance and was more or less a millionaire. Not only was she hot but she was loaded too, and just to make things worse she liked Maria and wanted her to sing at her club. It only made Maria feel even lower for thinking so badly of her.

Maria couldn�t take it anymore. She missed Michael and wanted to see him, but he was at the library with�of course�Miranda.

�Agghh!� Maria growled. She couldn�t take this anymore. The day was hot and she was all sweaty from all the moving around she�d done in order to rearrange her room.

That�s when she heard the doorbell. With heavy steps Maria went to the door and opened it.

�What?� she barked before she saw Isabel standing in the doorway.

�Hi. It�s so nice to see you too. And, oh by the way, I�m so sorry for standing you up at the mall Isabel,� Isabel said sarcastically and walked passed her. Then Isabel saw the way Maria looked and got all worried.

�Hey are you ok? You look like a mess,� Isabel said and led Maria over to the couch and sat her down.

�Oh gee thank you very much Isabel, now I fell so much better,� Maria whined. Isabel raised an eyebrow at her. �I�m sorry Isabel I didn�t mean to bite your head off. I�m just tired that�s all. Sorry for standing you up,� Maria apologized.

�Its ok I had some company anyway,� Isabel told her.

�Oh really did Liz come with you?� Maria wondered.

�No I just met a new girl Miranda,� Isabel said and saw Maria frown. �I�m telling you Maria this girl is great. She and Michael were on their way to the library. Do you know her?� Isabel asked. Tears gathered in Maria�s eyes. Now even Isabel liked her.

�Yeah I know her, how could I not now her?� Maria said with a low voice.

�Isn�t she great?� Isabel cheered. Maria couldn�t hold it anymore; she exploded.

�Yeah you�d think that now wouldn�t you? I mean of course you would. Everyone just loves Miranda and why wouldn�t you? She�s rich, she�s funny, and she�s cool and smart. Everybody loves Miranda. Liz likes her, Kyle likes her, you and Jessie like her and Michael�� Maria trailed off, the tears dropping faster as she cried her eyes out�all of her anger coming out then. Isabel stared at her in shock and then hugged Maria.

�Shh it�s ok. I�m sorry Maria, I didn�t mean to make you cry,� Isabel said rocking a crying Maria in her arms. After a while, when Maria had calmed down, Isabel helped her into a nice hot bath. An hour later they were sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea.

�Now tell me why does Miranda bother you so much?� Isabel asked.

�I think Michael�s in love with her,� Maria said and fresh tears fell from her eyes.

�What! Oh Maria get serious, you know Michael loves you,� Isabel yelled.

�Yeah, but this is different Isabel, he�s ether at work or with her, and you should�ve seen the way he stares at her. It�s like she�s Venus or something,� Maria complained.

�No he isn�t,� Isabel tried to comfort Maria.

�He hasn�t even kissed me in the past week. This is Michael we�re talking about. He doesn�t even talk to me anymore�it�s like he found himself a new best friend or something,� Maria said; getting more and more loud.

�Maria even if that is true�which it isn�t�it doesn�t mean anything. He�s not in love with anybody but you. I know Michael, and he�s just not that type. He loves you, and he would never do anything to hurt you,� Isabel said; not believing Maria�s words.

�I know, I know,� Maria said a little calmer. She shrugged her shoulders and wiped her tears away. �I know, its just that this whole week has been so�and I know that he's trying his best to graduate, I just miss him so much that�s all,� Maria said feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. �Thanks Isabel, for listening I mean. I didn�t mean to drag you down,� Maria apologized.

�Oh shut up, that�s what friends are for right?� Isabel joked. Deep down inside Isabel had a feeling that something just had to be wrong. Michael never befriended people like that, and Isabel didn�t like it one bit.

�You know what Maria I think that you should make Michael a study snack and bring it to him,� Isabel suggested. �Guys love that stuff, and besides he�ll be thrilled to se you,� she said.

�You really think so?� Maria asked.

�I know Jessie does. Come on I�ll help you pack,� Isabel said in a fake cheery voice. They scouted into the kitchen, and got started. Isabel needed to go and see Max. What Maria had said had really disturbed her.
This was so uncharacteristic for Michael. She had to talk to Max right away. He would get through to Michael.

If anyone could it would be Max!

*

What was the last place on earth that Michael Guerin thought he�d never find himself sitting in? The public library, that�s where! Sure, looking up stuff was one thing, but to actually be sitting here, studying none the less was one of the situations that Michael never saw himself in.

And why? Why the hell was he trying so hard to make himself comfortable in these godforsaken squeaky things that didn�t even deserve to be called chairs? It was all because of the girl sitting across the table from him. Miranda Harper!

She had literally taken him by storm. Anyone who could sweet talk Mr. Seligman, and get away with it deserved his respect. But that wasn�t the only reason why Michael was here with her. It had to do with suspicion� precisely�suspicion.

It was his second nature, after all. Miranda and her new arrival and not to mention the strange impact that she had on him rose a lot of questions that needed answers. So what�d he to do? He checked out everything there was to know about Miranda Ivy Harper. And what�d he found out freaked him out and raised even more questions.

Apparently Miranda was the adopted daughter of admiral Daniel Harper, and not just any Harper, but the Harper Oil, Harper's. Her old mans father was the owner of one of Americas largest Oil productions, but later on the old man Scott had sold off his company piece by piece. It left Miranda the only heir to his wealth after his death; talk about a rich eighteen year old.

Her father Daniel was THE man within the air force, up until a few years back when he had taken his military career higher up to the federal state of defense in DC. That creeped Michael out; it made his head spin.

Then there was Miranda herself. According to her school records, Miranda had been moving around for the past two years, and during those two years she had been to a total of 12 different schools. To Michael that could only mean one thing, she was on the run, but from what? And why would girl like her be running from anything? And why the hell would anybody with that kind of cash want to move to Roswell N.M.? Buying a nightclub wasn�t exactly what Michael would call holding a low profile, so maybe she wasn�t on the run. But most importantly, how come she always made him feel like�he didn�t know what she made him feel like, only that there was some kind of connection between them.

Miranda had a strange way of understanding him, even the things that could easily be misunderstood and she got them. It was like they had some kind of telepathic connection or something and for some reason Miranda seemed so familiar to him. It was her eyes and the way they always seemed to sparkle when she looked at him. They seemed to hold the key to everything. Was it possible that she could be an al�?

�Michael? Earth to Michael!�

�Huhh?� he looked up at her. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn�t even heard her calling him.

�Did you say something?� he asked her.

�I was just wondering, should we put the piece about the black whole theory in the end or not?� she asked him with a sigh.

�Yeah that sounds pretty good, it gives closing to the whole thing,� Michael said, and watched her as Miranda spread all the parts of their science report across the table and then put it in the order they had agreed on.

�All done!� she sighed, and stretched out in her chair, played with her hair and then put it up in a high ponytail. She looked a little bit tired, but despite that, Michael saw this as the perfect opportunity to try to get some answers to the questions he needed to know.

�So???� he said while slouching in his chair.

�So what?� she asked.

�Why�d you move here Miranda?� Michael asked her. He figured he�d skip the chitchat and go straight to it. She looked at him in shock.

�What the hell kind of question is that?� she asked him smiling, thinking that he was joking.

�You heard me,� he said casually, �why�d you move here, cause I can�t figure it out"

�What can�t you figure out, Michael?� she wondered. This was getting really weird.

�Well why would a girl of your means and opportunity�s possibly want to move to a little tourist trap like Roswell? Did you have a fight with daddy, or something?� he teased.

�Why would a�� she paused. How did he know? And then it dawned on her. Michael had checked her out. She didn�t know why she hadn�t seen it coming. No matter where she went someone always did this and asked her that precise question. Usually it would be the gold diggers around town, but she never would have thought that Michael would step that low. She�d thought that he was different; she thought that they had some kind of special connection, and that he understood her. But seeing him sitting so smugly and smirking at her like that, made her realize just how wrong she�d really been. �Boy did he do a number on me,� she thought. Miranda felt her anger building up.

Michael watched her expression as she realized what he�d done. He thought that she would curl up and spill everything, but now, he wasn�t so sure anymore. The smile on her lips had dissolved and the sparkle in her eyes disappeared. Instead he could see the disappointment in her eyes, and the warmth he saw in them not too long ago was now replaced with a shivering cold and he could actually see the ice wall rise around her. It scared the living crap out of him, and he found himself wondering if this was such a good idea in the first place. Then he saw a smile spread across her lips. Only it was a sarcastically cold and numb smile. Miranda looked at him with dead eyes and said:

�Oh!! You mean what would a rich brat like me want to move here??�

�Yeah,� he said in a faked nonchalant voice, hoping he could piss her off. He knew that angry people always said more then the wanted to when they felt attached. �I mean to me it just seems like�

�Like what exactly,� she asked him with a sharp tone of voice. �Please indulge me,� she spat.

�Like you running away from something perhaps? But what I don�t get is� why leave the happy home? What? Daddy didn�t get you the Jaguar you wanted, so you ran away?� he smirked at her.

Miranda was getting pissed. She wanted to wipe that stupid grin off his face. She just couldn�t believe how he could fool her like this; she was a pretty good judge of character, and Michael really gave her the impression that he was a good decent guy, sure he had that "bad boy look", but deep down he was a good guy. How could she been so wrong about him?
�Bastard,� she thought. Miranda wanted to throw up on him and the way he was looking all smug, feeling so good about himself.

�You�re so right Michael�

�I�m what?� he asked feeling totally confused by the look on her face. He expected her to scream his head off, not to tell him he was right.

�Yeah, you�re quite the reporter Michael, but you missed some things though,� she said.

�Oh yeah, and what is that?� he asked her. Michael wasn�t backing down, not until he got some answers. Too much depended on it.

�You are right I am rich, I�m VERY rich, but I didn�t run away from anything. I left. It�s as simple as that"

�But why?� he started.

�Why would I leave? Yeah that is a good question; I mean a rich chic like me should have a great life. Sure I was adopted but, hey, I had got it made in life compared to you? I mean for all you care I should just put up and shut up right?" Miranda spat at him like a snake. Michael didn�t like where this was going. He was getting angry himself.

�Yeah I guess you should,� he said grinding his teeth. Narrowing her eyes at him, she leaned forward a little.

�Yeah I guess your right yet again, why would anybody want to leave their parents? I mean my mother cares more about her social standard then my grades. And my father, the great admiral, cares more about his soldier�s than his own daughter, leaving everyone else to do his job for him. I guess spending Christmas all alone wasn�t so bad when there were so many presents under the tree. Hey that�s life,� she told him sarcastically. �Why would I leave, my life was soooo great.� she said and grabbed her books, �thanks for the chat Michael I really enjoyed it. You can turn in the paper tomorrow. I don�t think I�ll be able to make it,� she said and started leaving.

Michael didn�t know what to say. Hell, he was speechless. For some reason hurting Miranda made him feel ashamed of himself and his actions.
He had always hated people who would judge, and treat him like he was nothing, just because he had been in foster care. And now he had treated Miranda in the exact same way as all those people had treated him. He felt like scum, and that made his inside squirm. He couldn�t let Miranda leave, not without him apologizing first.

�Miranda wait,� he called after her.

�Fat chance Michael,� she said and walked on, forcing him to run after her.

�Would you just hang on and let me explain,� he said and grabbed her arm, turning her around to look at him.

�Why so you could feel better about yourself, forget it,� she spat and tried to pull her arm free.

�No, look, I didn�t mean to make it sound like that,� he said.

�Oh no then how did you want it to sound like?� she stared at him.

�Look I just wanted to know why you moved here that�s all I didn�t mean to sound like a jerk. Or piss you off I just needed answers�

�Then why didn�t you just ask me, instead of going behind my back like that?�

�God, I thought that you knew me better than that?� she said.

�That�s just it, I don�t know you and�� Michael stopped himself. If he wasn�t careful he just might spill his guts to her, and that was exactly what he felt like he could do.

�Michael, who do you think I am, an undercover cop or something?� she asked him; joking, but then when she looked at his face as she had said those words. She began to realize that that was exactly what Michael was afraid of.

�What! Why would you think something like that?� he avoided looking at her. The anger that she had felt just a few seconds ago was gone, instead a wave of curiosity and concern had popped up. She took Michael's hand and led him back to their table, sat down and looked at him.

�Michael are you in trouble, because if you are all you have to do is tell me and I�ll help you�

Michael just stared at her. Was this girl for real? Just a few minutes ago he had called her a spoiled rich brat and now she was telling him that she would help him get out of trouble.

�Look I know that my father is high up, but believe me he won't find out. I have some connections of my own so you don�t have to worry, I�ll help you just say the word,� she told him as she looked at him, her eyes filled with concern.

�I�m not in any trouble, I swear it�s just that weird stuff has happened; people have turned out to be someone they�re not. Look it�s not important, I'm just sorry for hurting you like that. I didn�t mean to be such a jerk, and I didn�t mean that about your parents. I didn�t know that it was like that,� he said hoping she would accept his apology.

�Its ok, so my parents don�t love me, can�t really blame them. We can�t have it all,� she said with a weak smile trying to joke it away, then turned her head away as to try to hide what she really felt.

Michael took her hand in his, �Well at least it got you here. If your parents weren�t such screw ups we wouldn�t have met, that is if you don�t regret coming here after the way I offended you?� he tried, smiling his crooked smile.

Miranda smiled at him. "I�m letting you of the hook this time, but try that again, and I�ll kick you ass! Got that?� she joked.

�Loud and clear!� Michael smiled at her, still holding her hand. Little did he know that someone else had witnessed his and Miranda�s reconciliation? And to her things didn�t look the way they were. So she ran out of the library leaving the picnic basket that she had dropped far behind.

TBC

Part 9