Behind the
Music…….
Maria put the dishes down. “So he’s not taking it well,
huh?”
“Alien Defcon 5,” Liz answered. Max was freaked beyond
control. His father had his entire life mapped out on a special storyboard, a
board that had everything. Liz. Tess. The Jeep.
“First, I think you mean Defcon 2 or 1 … maybe 2 since
1 is full-scale world annihilation. The numbers work backwards, the smaller the
number the more severe the situation. So Defcon 5 would be … um, peace?”
“Fine, Defcon 2 then! Maria, you’re spending way too
much time with Michael.”
Maria squeezed Liz’s arm. “It'll be ok, I hope.”
“Let Max talk to Michael.” Someone had to talk sense
into Max.
Maria glanced over at her partner in crime. Sense?
“Right,” she sighed. This was so not going to work.
Michael peered through the order window. “So, when does
Billy get here?”
Maria glanced at the clock. “I don't know. I thought he'd
be here by now.”
“Billy who?” Liz asked.
“Billy Darden.”
“First-kiss Billy?” Liz actually smiled. “He's coming
here?”
“Yes.” Maria picked up an order. Placing it in front of
Kyle, she leaned a hip against the counter. “He's on his way to
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Your ex-boyfriend's coming
to visit? That's not legal.” Kyle said quickly glancing at Michael.
“He's not my ex-boyfriend. We kissed once four years ago.
I was thirteen, and I’m single, so no harm, no foul.”
Kyle shook his head. “You know about this?” he asked
Michael.
Michael shrugged. “Yeah, we're all going to dinner.” He
was okay with it; he had to be. Technically, he and Maria weren’t a couple,
and he was just slowly getting her to think about dating him. He wasn’t going
to mess it up by coming down all heavy and jealous.
Liz took her order, watching Michael finish it up. “No.
No mayo on that one.” She turned to talk to Maria. “Um, so, where's he gonna
stay?”
“At my house.”
Kyle lifted a brow at that. “Your mom's ok with this?”
“My mom's out of town.” Maria reminded Kyle, who should
remember that fact, since her mom and his dad were no longer seeing each other.
Thank god.
“What?” Kyle looked at Michael in disbelief. Michael
saw the look.
“It's fine.” Michael shoved the plate at Liz.
“There's your no-mayo.”
“Michael, Michael, Michael,” Kyle moaned, needing to
shake some sense into Michael. “Let me explain something to you. Here on the
planet earth we have this thing called jealousy.”
“Kyle, relax. I have nothing to be jealous about.”
Maria made a face at him. “We keep telling all of you … Maria and I are
friends. Friends, and they were 13-year-old geeks at band camp.”
“Ok, first of all, it was a, uh, songwriter's
workshop,” Maria informed him. “And, uh ... Billy wasn't a geek. He was just
a little skinny. He had a little acne on the face, but …”
“… and braces,” Michael added.
“We all had braces.” Maria informed them, but then
seeing Michael’s look she gave up. “All right, fine. He was a little bit of
a geek.”
“And you kissed him?” Kyle smirked.
“Would you shut up?” she asked Kyle, glaring at Michael
who had started this conversation.
“Shut up.” Michael told Kyle before he got him in
trouble.
Maria gave him a thankful smile as she went to tend to a
new customer. “Hello. Table or booth?”
“It's me.” The young man was attractive. Maria looked
him over.
“Billy?”
“Yeah.”
Maria couldn’t believe it. He was … not awful.
“No.”
“Yeah.”
“Come here.” Maria hugged the guy laughing as he
literally picked her off her feet. “Oh, my god.”
“Ohh.” Billy put her down, looking her over. “God,
look at you.”
A dozen eggs sitting next to Michael on the counter,
suddenly exploded. Maria glanced at him sharply, a frown pulling at her face.
She quickly led Billy away before he could get curious. “Oh. Um, let's go this
way.” She glanced back again.
“All right,” Billy let Maria led him to the outside
tables in front of the Crashdown.
Kyle watched them go, smirking at Michael. “I guess the
braces worked.”
Michael growled at Kyle as he mopped up the egg mess. He
was okay with this. He was.
~~~
“God, last time I saw you, you were like thirteen going
on thirty.” Billy’s eyes kept moving over Maria.
“And you were like ninety-eight pounds going on this.”
Maria checked him out as well. She would’ve never guessed that he could turn
out so well. “You look great.”
“Now don't take this the wrong way, but have you looked
in a mirror?” Billy couldn’t take his eyes off her. “I mean, you went from
the girl no one wanted to dance with to the prom queen.”
“Now, how am I supposed to take that the wrong way?”
Maria rolled her eyes. Her gawky youth was best left forgotten. “And shut
up.”
“I'm serious, really. You look great, Maria.”
“Thanks. Ahem. So …” Maria was suddenly uncomfortable
at his regard. “Uh, how long are you staying?”
“Uh, just a couple days. Uh, is it cool with your mom, me
staying over?”
“Sure. Yeah. And anyway, she's, uh,” Maria cleared her
throat, so maybe this wasn’t the greatest idea, “she's actually gonna be out
of town for a couple of days.” A week. Months. Forever. Maria didn’t want to
go into detail.
“Oh.” Billy smiled sitting back. “Well, uh, I can’t
wait to hear what you've been working on.”
“Working on?”
“Your music.”
“Oh.” Maria was suddenly uncomfortable.
Billy didn’t seem to notice. “God, I can still remember
some of the lyrics you wrote back at band camp.”
“God.” Maria hid her face. “Yeah, most of it was
crap, anyway.”
“Oh, come on.” Billy smiled even more charmed by
Maria’s reaction.
Maria looked around leaning in conspiratorially, “Look,
if anyone asks, it was a songwriters workshop.”
“Oh.”
Michael was watching Maria and her friend from behind the
order window. He barely glanced over when Max came in the door after entering
the Crashdown by the back.
Max whispered loudly. “Michael!”
Michael glanced at Maria again. “What are you doing in
here?”
“When do you get off work?”
“Ten minutes. But I've got plans with Maria and Billy Bob
Thornton out there.” Michael made a face at the other man talking to Maria.
“Something came up. Cancel them.”
Michael watched Maria laughing with Billy. “Forget it.
Whatever it is can wait. I’m busy.”
“My dad knows,” said Max.
Michael frowned as Max quickly outlined his father’s
investigation. Michael had heard this in
Maria and Billy were still talking in front of the
restaurant as Michael slowly made his way towards them.
“That is so funny.” Billy said to something Maria told
him.
“Hi.” Michael said interrupting them.
Billy glanced up at the larger man. “Hey.”
“Michael,” Michael said, introducing himself. “I'm
the other friend.”
“Hey. Billy.” The other guy introduced himself. “Nice
to meet you.”
Maria smiled at Michael. “Ready to go?”
“Gotta cancel.”
“Wait a minute.” Maria quickly looked into Michael’s
eyes. “We were gonna cook.”
“Something came up.” Michael said cryptically, but
Maria caught the tone.
“What?” She glanced at Billy frowning.
“It's work-related.”
“Oh.” Maria caught the look. Alien stuff. “Of
course.”
“Steve's wife, Cheryl,” Michael quickly explained to
Billy, “she got the flu on my other job, so I gotta cover for her …”
“Oh. Him.”
“Yeah.” Michael met Maria’s eyes. “Sorry, Billy.”
His tone was anything but sorry.
“Oh, no. You gotta do what you gotta do, you know?”
“I'll make it up to you. I promise.” Michael said to
Maria, kissing her quickly on the mouth, but something made him pause, holding
the kiss longer than usual. Michael looked pointedly at Billy. “Nice meeting
you.”
“Yeah.” Billy got the message. Michael had just put up
a huge ‘Keep Off’ sign around Maria. “He seems nice.”
“Oh, yeah.” Maria said distractedly. “He's a
peach.” She smiled quickly. “Hey, I need to get my things. Can you wait for
me here for a moment?”
“Sure.” Billy frowned as Maria quickly went into the
Crashdown.
“Hey!” Maria caught up with Michael before he could
leave with Max. “What’s going on?”
“Excuse us for a moment?” Michael asked Max.
“Sure,” Max glanced between the two. “Make it
snappy.”
“Always a prince,” Maria said sarcastically. “Spill,
buddy, and make it quick since we’ve both got people waiting.”
Michael quickly told Maria what Max wanted to do. Maria
nodded listening.
“Liz told me about his new alien DefCon 2 strategy. Think
you can talk some sense into him? Maybe calm him down?”
Michael and Maria both looked over at the jittery Max.
“Not a chance in hell. Look,” Michael took her arm, “I’m really sorry
about dinner.”
“No problem. Just come by when you can, okay?”
“You okay alone with him?”
“Who? Billy? Sure he’s fine.”
“Maria, four years is a long time. He might not be nice
old Billy anymore. Just be careful, and I’ll be there.”
Maria nodded. “If you aren’t there for dinner, I’ll
leave a window open for you.”
Michael kissed her cheek, quickly taking off before he
changed his mind.
~~~
Maria and Billy were in the DeLuca kitchen cooking dinner.
“I can’t believe you're doing it.” Maria said tasting
the sauce. “Moving to
“Yeah,
“Playing seedy bars and coffee shops,” Maria mused,
smiling at their youthful plans.
“Well, that was the plan.”
“Yeah, but there are plans and then there are plans.”
Maria continued cryptically.
“Well, I guess this was the plan.” Billy was confused
by Maria’s lack of enthusiasm, something she had in abundance when they were
younger.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Maria added some more garlic to the
pot. “So, what are you gonna do for money?”
“As long as I make enough to get by, I'm fine, you
know?”
Maria laughed smiling at him. “Oh, god, that is so
romantic, I could just scream.”
“Come on.” Billy leaned up against the counter next to
her. “It was your idea.”
“I know, but I mean, I was thirteen and talkin' about
going to the big city. Even then I knew it was just talk. Michael and I’ve
been talking about it, but until it’s a done deal, I really can’t say where
I’ll end up.” Maria held out some sauce on a spoon. “Here, taste.”
“That's pretty good.” Billy said tasting the sauce.
“That's not how I remember it. I mean, even back then you were pretty dead
serious about your music. I mean, you're the one that gave me the bug. If I
hadn't met you, I'd still be playing ‘Stairway to Heaven’ in my mom's
garage.”
Maria shrugged, not wanting to care too much about this.
“Well, I guess for me music was just more of like a passing thing.”
Billy went to the refrigerator taking out some cream,
pouring a some into the sauce. “Well, I find that very hard to believe.”
“What are you doing?” Maria asked frowning at the cream
he added to the sauce.
“The sauce is just a little thin, so I'm gonna show you a
little family secret.”
Maria stared into the pot, her mouth open. “In my sauce?
You're putting creamer …”
“Shh.” Billy offered her a taste of the sauce now.
“Come on. Try it.” He shoved the spoon at her, tempting her. “Try it. Try
it.”
“Ok.” Maria took a taste. “Mm-hmm.” It was good.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Not bad.” Maria tried another taste. “Wait until I
tell Michael. We spent forever perfecting this sauce.”
“Michael?” Billy frowned at the other man’s name
being mentioned yet again.
“Uh-huh. He’s turning into a pretty good cook … well,
except for cookies. He eats the dough before he can cook it.”
“Michael.” Billy resolved himself to a night of
‘Michael did this’ and ‘Michael did that.’
Billy and Maria finished eating, and Billy produced
something Maria prayed no longer existed. Pictures. They were like a stroll down
a long nightmare.
“No! Oh, my god! No!”
“There she is.” Billy said cruelly, amused by her
reaction. “Right there.”
Maria stole the picture, hating the image of herself.
“Look at my hair and my eyes. Ugh!”
“Come on. It was your late 90s retro Annie Lennox phase.
You know, you were experimenting.” Billy bumped into her playfully. “I think
it was cute.”
“Right,” Maria shoved the pictures at him. “Burn
those now.”
“Oh, no--oh, no.” He snatched them back, away from her
questing hands. “These are goin' to the Big Apple where they'll be prominently
displayed in my guitar case where people will be throwing money.”
“Look at that!” Maria stared at another picture, the
horror was endless. “Look at-- this hair spray alone could choke a horse.”
“Ok. Well, look past the somewhat flammable hair and see
what I see.”
“Which is what? Bad eyeliner?” Maria asked, squinting
at the picture, horrified that her eyeliner actually looked like Liz’s recent
trip into Goth. At least she had the excuse of being thirteen, but Liz …
“Nah. Dreams.” Billy took back his picture. “Look.
This girl … she has beautiful dreams. And she makes beautiful music.” Billy
was suddenly serious. “So, what happened to her?”
“Nothing.” Maria shrugged. “She just grew up.”
Maria hated that young girl in the picture. She had more than dreams … she
didn’t have nightmares and fears that weighed down her life. She had a future.
“Right. Right.”
~~~
Max and Michael were digging a hole in the desert. Michael
was irritated at Max, and the canceling of his evening. “Is this deep
enough?”
“Almost.”
Michael wiped a tired arm across his forehead. “Max,
we've been up all night collecting every conceivable alien artifact that ever
crashed in this god-forsaken planet, including all of Tess's stuff. I'm
tired.”
“All right. That's deep enough. We still need your
healing stone.”
“I think it's at Maria's.”
Max couldn’t believe it. “You think it's at Maria's?”
“Yeah.” Michael didn’t see the big deal. It wasn’t
like they needed them anymore. “I don't know. Most likely.”
“I bet if it was one of your Metallica CDs you'd know
where it was.” Max said sarcastically, knowing how possessive Michael got over
things he considered his. Living in his apartment for the past few months was an
eye opener.
“Hey! You wanna bring that up again? The reason I got
pissed is you put And Justice For All before Master of Puppets.”
“Yeah. Alphabetical order.”
Michael’s body stiffened in outrage. “They go in order
of the release date.”
“And you don't know where your healing stone is?” Once
upon a time, the healing stones and alien artifacts meant everything to Michael.
Since he decided to stay on Earth, Michael found other things much more
important.
“You still wanna sleep on my couch?”
Max’s cell phone rang, saving him from another
confrontation with Michael. “Hello?”
Isabel’s voice was worried and frantic. “Jesse is
asking all kinds of questions about you, Max. You're right. Dad is out of
control. We have to do something.”
Max looked at Michael who was listening. “Isabel, calm
down. Just tell me what happened.”
“What's going on?” Michael asked. He didn’t want to
be exposed. He had a life … sort of, but it was the first real time he had
one.
Max held the phone away from him. “My dad's recruited
Jesse into this crusade of his.”
“Ok, Max, you need to talk to your father. Keep your
friends close …” Michael said pointing at Max, “and your enemies
closer.”
Isabel heard Michael. “Our father is not the enemy,
Max.”
“Talk to him. Make nice. Get close. Find out what he
knows.” Michael handed Max his shovel. Looking at his watch, he winced. It was
late, real late. “I’ve got places to be. Let’s go.”
Max finished talking to Isabel as they packed up the
shovels into the Cheville.
They missed a man behind a rock taking picture of them
burying the alien artifacts.
~~~
Michael entered Maria’s room through the window. He
could’ve gone through the door, but he didn’t want to use his powers in case
Billy saw him. The house was dark, and more than likely everyone was asleep. Max
had kept him out real late.
Taking off his shoes and stripping down to his usual sleep
attire of boxers and a t-shirt, he gently moved Maria over and got into bed,
sighing in relief as he sank into the bed.
“Michael,” Maria said softly. She moved into his body,
making a noise from the feel of his cool skin. “You’re late.”
“Max is freaking, and now Isabel has joined the alien hit
parade. Mr. Evans is out of control, and he has Jesse asking questions.”
“And you? How are you holding up?”
“I told Max to go talk to his father … to get
information.”
Maria sat up a little in the bed looking down at her tired
friend. “Okay, you sent Max? Damn, it’s official, Michael. The infection has
reached your brain. We’ll have to put you down.”
Michael reached up and pulled her down on top of him. “Go
back to sleep. I’m too tired for your list of possible antibiotic regimens to
cure me of early dementia.”
Maria giggled softly against him, burrowing into his skin
that was finally warming.
“Can I confess something to you?” Michael asked softly.
“If I say no, will that stop you?”
“Not likely.” Michael kissed the top of her head. He
slept with her practically every night … since Alex died and when he wasn’t
working. “I was afraid to come over in case I found you sleeping with
Billy.”
“Seriously?”
Michael nodded.
“You are suffering some type of alien sickness. You
should know by now that you’re my only sleeping friend. I think I slept with
Alex when I was younger, and of course, I shared a bed with Liz at times. Not
recently, not since …” Maria paused. Not since Alex died. Michael knew that.
He tightened his hold on her as they both slowly succumbing to sleep.
Maria was already gone when Michael woke. He had been so
tired. Scratching his stomach, Michael went to the bathroom to tap his bladder
and splash water on his face. Heading into the kitchen, he hoped Maria left
coffee.
Nope. Worse.
She left Billy.
Billy seemed genuinely shocked at seeing Michael,
especially in his attire. “You haven't left yet?”
“Oh, no, man. Late night.” Billy looked at the larger
man. “Sorry. I'm leaving later today.”
Michael shrugged filling a cup mug with the black brew.
Maria had to have left a while ago, it looked really black. “How was
dinner?”
“It was good, man. It was good.” Billy watched as
Michael got out the creamer adding it to his coffee, and started making himself
breakfast, obviously knowing where everything was. “How's Steve's wife?”
“Who?” Michael asked.
“Steve's wife, with the flu. You covered for him.”
Billy frowned at Michael. “Remember?”
Michael made a face at forgetting his lame excuse. “Yeah.
She's great. She's fine. Is Maria around?” Anything to distract Billy Bob.
“No, man. You just missed her. Just missed her. Can I
leave her a note or a message or something?”
“No. I’ll run into her soon enough.” Michael looked
at the wall clock. “I’ve gotta get dressed for my shift at the Crashdown.”
Remembering the healing stone, he smiled at Billy without warmth. “I'm needing
to find something I left here. I wonder where Maria put it.” He had no problem
with letting Billy think his relationship was something else with Maria.
“Can I help you look?”
“No. That's ok.” Michael took his coffee back to
Maria’s room.
Billy followed. “What are you looking for?”
“Something I need.” Michael wasn’t above being petty.
“Hey, can you pull me out a fresh shirt from that top drawer? There should be
a Metallica tour tee in there.”
Billy opened the drawer finding Michael’s shirt that
Maria had confiscated to sleep in. Michael quickly pocketed the healing stone.
Billy tossed the shirt at Michael.
“You have a lot of clothes here?”
Michael shrugged. “Not as many as Maria has at my place.
I have my own apartment, have had for almost two years.”
“Two years?”
“Yeah I was emancipated at sixteen. Normally Maria stays
with me when her mom’s out of town, and we would’ve invited you to sack at
my place … except our friend Max has been sacking on the sofa. So there was no
room.”
“Where does Maria sleep?”
Michael gave Billy a penetrating look. “In my bed.” The
‘of course’ was understood. Michael walked out of the room smirking slightly
as Billy followed him.
“Hey, when did Maria stop writing music?” Billy asked.
Michael shrugged. She hadn’t done much since Alex died.
“She messes around with it once in a while.”
“Well, how often does she mess around with it?”
Michael stopped, looking back at Billy. “Is this goin'
somewhere?”
“No.” Billy scratched his brow. “I mean, maybe. I
mean, I don't know. I'm just … I'm just wondering if she's given up on writing
and singing altogether.”
“I really wouldn't know.” Michael stared at the other
man, unhappy with the questioning, the implication that he was neglecting Maria
in some way.
“Well, listen, man, she's really good. I mean, she's
really good.” Michael appeared to be looking around the living room not
wanting Billy Bob to know he already found what he was looking for.
“Yeah, I'll keep that in mind.” Giving up his search,
Michael was more than ready to get out of there. “I guess what I'm looking for
isn't here.”
“Well, I'd tell her you stopped by, but I got a bus to
catch.”
“Yeah, well good luck in
~~~
Maria put an order up in the window and stretched over,
watching Michael mix a sauce.
“Hmm, you know what? That sauce looks a little thin. You
should put half and half in there.”
Michael glanced at her, stating an obvious. “It's not
coffee.”
“It works. Billy showed me. It gives it heft.”
Billy? Michael made a face. “I don't put dairy products
in my meat sauce. It's not kosher.”
Maria shrugged looking at her order that was up. “Ok. I
said no cheese in the nebulae salad.” She started picking it out.
“Forgot. Listen, I was thinking about skipping out on
bowling tonight, and maybe we could make up for last night.”
“That is so sweet,” Maria smiled at him, “but I kind
of have plans. I just assumed you would be destroying poor little defenseless
pins. Just …”
Michael paused in his cooking. “Plans with who?”
“It's nothing … Big.” Maria said. “Just me and
Billy were gonna go and …”
“Billy?” Michael eyes narrowed. “Isn't he on the
bus?”
“He missed it. He's staying another night.”
“Another night?!” The salad bowl that Maria was
extracting cheese from exploded in front of her, barely missed hitting her.
“What did you do that for?” Maria asked Michael,
stepping back her hand going to her face. “You could've hurt me.”
Swearing, Michael left the kitchen, going to Maria.
Checking her for injuries, he held her head in his hand. “Sorry. I'm not sure
what happened.”
Maria looked at Michael, worrying entering her eyes as she
searched his face. He looked pale. “What is going on?” she asked softly.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.” Maria’s
hands tightened on Michael at his tone.
Taking his hand, she led him into the back room.
“You’re not sick are you?”
“I don’t know... my powers … they’re shorting out
or something. Or surging. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Her hands moved over him in comfort, a flurry of activity
heightened by worry. “We’ll figure it out.”
~~~
Worried about Michael, Maria was suddenly wishing that
Billy had already left. She needed to go spend more time with Michael, but they
couldn’t afford to have Billy see Michael lose control of his powers.
“Billy, I hope you're ok with hamburgers 'cause that's
what you're getting.” Maria called out as she entered the house with
groceries.
Billy didn’t look up from his task. “Hamburgers are
fine.”
Stopping in the door, in shock, Maria’s eyes couldn’t
stop looking at Alex’s guitar, the guitar that his parents had given her after
he died. “Why is that out?”
“Michael was searching for something earlier today. This
ended up on the bed, so I am tuning it for you.”
“Why?” Maria asked huskily, tears thick in her throat.
“It's out of tune, darlin'.”
Maria rushed into the room tossing the bag of groceries on
the sofa. “Put it back.”
“In just a second.” Billy missed how upset Maria was,
he was still tuning the guitar.
“You know what? Forget it.” Yanking the guitar from his
hands, she hurried towards her room. “I'll put it back.”
“Hey, what's wrong?”
“I invite you into my house and you go through my
stuff?” Maria was on the verge of tears.
“Where's all this coming from?” Billy asked confused.
“It's a guitar, baby.”
“No, it's not.” Maria slammed her bedroom door in his
face, sitting on her bed with the guitar, crying. Wiping her face, she picked up
her cell phone.
~~~
Michael and Liz were closing the Crashdown alone since
Maria was off with Billy. Michael was too distracted to go bowling so he worked
an extra shift. He and Liz rarely talked unless others were there, but Michael
made an effort.
“Pretty busy night, huh?”
“Mm-hmm.” Liz said distractedly.
“How much money do you think we'd pull in on a night like
tonight?”
Liz finally looked up. “You know that you really suck at
small talk? Why don't you just tell Dr. Parker what's on your mind?”
Michael shrugged. Nothing. He was fine … just fine.
“Hey, tell me … do I need to be worried about this Billy guy?”
“No, you don't. He's completely harmless.” Liz looked
at Michael, interest sparking in her eyes. Both Michael and Maria swore they
were just friends, but by all outer appearances, there was a hell of a lot going
on that neither seemed willing to admit to.
“But you think he's good looking right?”
Liz shrugged, not wanting to go into the attraction of the
renegade musician. “Uh, well, yeah, if you like that sort of thing, I
guess.” Damn, poor Michael, he was competing with a musical poet.
“The good-looking sort of thing.” Michael asked needing
confirmation. Dammit, Brody last year was bad enough, then Larek … but now
this? A millionaire. An Alien King. A bard. Hell, couldn’t she pull in
something boring like say a lawyer or tax auditor?
“Michael …” Liz cleared her throat.
“Do you really think he missed his bus?” The suspicion
in Michael’s eyes was hard to miss. Liz quickly intervened before it went out
of control.
“Yes, I do. Haven't you ever missed a bus before?”
“No,” Michael said with a lot of emotion, “'cause I
don't take the bus, and I don't write songs. And I don't cook with freaking half
and half.” The sugar dispensers that Liz had been refilling exploded next to
him. Liz literally jumped in fright.
“Hey! Hey, Michael!”
“Sorry.” Michael stared at the mess he made with a
certain amount of confusion and chagrin. “My powers are out of control.”
“Would you look at this mess!” Liz was beyond knowing
how to clean it up. “My dad is gonna freak.”
“Relax. I'll fix it.” Michael reached out a hand and
tried to repair the damage, restoring the sugar jars back to their pristine
condition. It didn’t work. His powers wouldn’t respond to even the slightest
push.
“Please. Michael, you need to calm down, ok? Everything's
gonna be fine between you and Maria, trust me.”
“She cooked him Italian food last night.”
“Oh.” Liz face held a bit of shock and wonder.
“I knew it. That's a problem.” Michael sat back
dejected. He knew it. She was … she didn’t need him anymore.
“No, no, it's not a problem. It's just, um … It's
food.”
“No, Liz.” Michael said tragically. “It's Italian
food. They changed our recipe.”
Michael couldn’t take much more. He couldn’t even get a
handle on his emotions, all he knew was he felt … unsettled inside.
“Michael, please don't do anything stupid or alien or both, please?!”
Liz cell phone rang. She quickly answered frowning at
Maria’s voice.
“It’s Maria. She wants to talk to …” Michael
snatched the phone away from Liz. “… to you.” Liz finished to herself.
Michael talked in a low tone, and Liz’s brow lifted when
suddenly Michael’s voice went soft and even, as he talked to Maria slowly,
with great care. Disconnecting he gave Liz back her phone.
“I’ve got to go. Maria needs me.”
Liz didn’t even get a chance to respond before Michael
was out the door. Shaking her head, she never imagined she would ever see a
jealous alien before, or specifically that it would be Michael. Holding that
thought, she sat back wondering why when she was hanging with Maria’s cousin
Sean, Max never exploded anything. He seemed to care, and despite him being with
Tess, shouldn’t he have shown some display of out of control jealousy? Liz
sighed, unwilling to think about it any longer. She had a mess to clean up.
~~~
Billy was playing his guitar when Michael entered the
house. Going through the living room he paused to look at the intruder.
“Where’s Maria?”
Billy seemed shocked to see Michael. “She’s in her
room, but …”
“What did you do? She called me upset and crying.”
Michael’s height and size were suddenly threatening. Billy held up his hands.
“Hey! Nothing, okay? I was tuning her guitar, and she
totally wigged out of me.”
“Guitar? What guitar?”
“The one you left on her bed.”
The confusion cleared from Michael’s face. Swearing, he
went down the hall entering Maria’s room without knocking. Shutting the door
firmly behind him. Billy stared at the closed door.
Michael stood with his back to the door. She sat on the
bed, still crying over the guitar. Making a soft sound in his throat, Michael
went over and took the guitar from her. Putting it away, where he had taken it
earlier in the day before placing it on her bed, he sat down on the bed next to
her.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I was looking for
the healing stone, and I put it on the bed.”
Maria nodded.
“Tough day?” He asked.
“Tough life.” Her voice was thick with tears. “I
think I’m getting over it, and then …”
Michael held open his arms and Maria moved into them. Her
arms went around his neck, holding him tight. Michael scooted her along the bed,
so he could sit against the headboard with her in his arms. Closing his eyes, he
let himself feel things he shouldn’t feel, and for a moment, want things he
couldn’t have. Things he didn’t know how to get.
“Am I becoming too dependent on you? Too clingy since
Alex?”
Michael whispered ‘no’ against her temple. He liked her
clinginess. A lot. “My turn. When we first met, it was always you doing for
me, supporting me. I think this makes me feel better, like we’re equals.”
“We are.” Maria searched his face, and suddenly they
both looked away. Maria cleared her throat. “I totally lost it on Billy. I
don’t know. I was … hearing someone else play Alex’s guitar … I wasn’t
ready for that I guess.”
“It’s okay. Put it away again, until you’re ready.
It’ll be there, Maria. I’ll be there.”
“I know.” Maria wiped a hand across her face. She
really needed to face some home truths about herself, but only one thing at a
time. It was all she could handle right now. “Are your powers still on the
fritz?”
Michael laughed. “Yeah. I just blew up sugar dispensers
at the Crashdown.”
Maria sat back away from him worry etched on her face.
“What’s going on?”
“Power surges. I think I lost hold of the powers and then
‘poof’. I’ll figure it out. Maybe I’m going through alien puberty?”
“What, so this is your version of acne?” Maria could
hear the music from the other room. Taking a deep breath, she smiled slightly.
“Guess I should go take care of that, huh?” Maria asked gesturing to Billy
and the music in the other room.
“Yeah, I guess. He was wondering what he did wrong.”
Maria started to get up from the bed, Michael helping her,
setting her firmly on her feet. She hugged him for a moment longer. Pushing
away, she left her hand on his chest.
“You should go home for a while. Check up on Max or
something.”
“Anywhere but here, huh?”
“Yeah. I don’t know how we would explain things if you
lost control in front of Billy. I’m better. Thanks for coming when I called. I
just needed someone who would understand.”
Michael put a hand on her face. Him. She called him, not
Liz. It was a hard thing, but Maria and Liz were still divided on Alex. It would
take time, a while before they found a way to talk about him without it getting
clouded with Max and Tess, especially Max.
“Okay. You want me to come over later?”
“Sure. You can come in the front door. That’s if you
and Max don’t find something interesting to do.”
“Like that is going to happen.” Michael made a face.
“I guess I should go check my mail, the groceries, and make sure Max hasn’t
alphabetized my life.”
“Are you going to do laundry?”
Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“My red sweater is over there, dirty. If you wash, could
you …”
“Right. Sure.” Michael led Maria out of her room. “I
thought it was your turn.”
“Michael.” She gave him her patented sad look.
“Yeah, yeah. You look pathetic enough. I’ll do it, if
… and I do mean if I get to it tonight.”
Michael ignored Billy, taking her face in his hands, he
kissed her on the mouth holding the kiss longer than usual. “Call me if you
need me,” he whispered meeting her eyes. She nodded.
Maria waited until Michael left before turning to Billy. He
was still holding his guitar.
“Try going to an F major 7th, please. I can’t listen to
you anymore. Just trying going to an F major 7th.”
Billy recognized a peace offering when he saw it, and he
tried her suggestion. “Not bad.” He said in surprise.
“Oh, please. I totally fixed it for you.”
“Ok. Now let's see if you remember this one …” He
started playing another song glancing at her. “So what about earlier?”
“Yeah, I'm sorry that I went off on you.”
Shrugging, Billy continued to play. “Gonna tell me about
it?”
Taking a deep breath, Maria tried to smile, but couldn’t.
“That guitar belonged to a friend of mine. His name was Alex. He died last
year. Actually … .last spring.”
Stopping his playing, Billy suddenly understood a lot
especially Michael’s over protectiveness of her. “I am so sorry. I am so
sorry. I had no idea.”
“His parents wanted me to have this guitar, but I just
couldn't bring myself to play it.”
“Bad memories?” Billy asked.
Maria nodded, refusing to cry. “He was only seventeen. He
had his whole life.” Choking back the tears, she closed her eyes for a moment.
“His whole life.”
“Did you and Alex write songs together?”
“Not really.” Maria smiled at that. Her and Alex were
artistically opposite on music at times. “We tried once, but I just don't
partner well.” Maria smiled at him, needing to make amends. “I don't know,
you're, like, the only person that I've ever trusted in that way.”
“So if you guys were writing songs, then that means you
was singing up until …”
“Until his funeral.” Maria never saw Michael standing
in the kitchen. He had come back. He forgot to take out the garbage, and he
promised Amy to do it before trash day. Listening to them, he leaned against the
wall. He missed that. She sang at the funeral, and not since … not even at the
bachelor party though she used it as an excuse to go. “Yeah, that was the last
time.”
Billy patted the sofa next to him. “Well, then I guess
tonight's a special night.”
Maria smiled as he strummed a song she wrote long ago. It
was flattering that he should remember it.
“How did you remember that?”
Billy smiled. “Believe it or not, Maria, there is little
about you that I don’t remember.”
Michael straightened at that. Maria was singing. Listening,
the words actually meant something to him … something he didn’t want to
admit to or think about.
I wish I could read your mind
words don't mean a thing
I've given you all my time
all you do is leave
and if you were standing here in front of me
I know you would say
there's nothing oh, so precious
as something that's gone away,
and if there is a reason
I just don't want to know
why you feel the need to love me so
only when you go
only when you go
It could’ve been a song written for her father, Alex or
even him. All of them in some way had left her, and remembering her fear that
something would take away her mother, Michael watched from the kitchen for a
moment, before quietly letting himself out. Upset, Michael walked down the dark
streets of
“What happened?” Max asked sitting up when an angry
Michael entered the apartment.
“Something too terrible to talk about,” Michael
answered.
“What, my dad found something?” Max voice rose in
concern. “What?”
“No, it's not that.” Michael made a face. Of course it
would have to be about Max. “I saw Maria and what's his name, Billy,
together.”
“Oh, together as in …” Max’s face suddenly
lightened as a thought hit him, what Michael could be saying came clear. “Together?”
“Worse.” Michael threw himself tragically into a chair.
Max didn’t get that. Michael walking in on Maria and
Billy in bed … that was … “What could be worse?”
“They were singing together.” Michael said morosely.
“So you're jealous.”
“I'm not jealous!” A lamp over Max’s head exploded.
“My powers are slightly out of whack.” Michael explained.
"Out of whack?”
Max repeated in disbelief. This was not ‘out of whack’, it was a full
scale disaster.
“I've been blowing things up all day.”
“Get them under control.”
“I can’t.”
“Michael, get yourself together.” Max looked around the
room as items began to shake. “What if this happens in front of my father?”
“I don't care about your father or his stupid
investigation.” Another lamp exploded and a plate off a counter flew across
the room to hit the wall.
“All right, look, I'm sorry.” Max quickly tried to get
Michael calmed down. “We're part human. We're supposed to have feelings. You
keep them bottled up like this, they're gonna get out somehow.”
“I’m not bottled up.”
Max made a sound of disbelief over that. “The hell you
aren’t! Fuck, Michael. Did you even tell her why you stayed? Walking around,
in love with her, unable to tell her, but you go even further, you sleep with
her in your arms practically every night. Close, but so damn far away.”
“I told you, Maxwell … I do not want to talk about
it!”
“Just tell her, Michael! What if she feels the same? What
if she’s holding it all back, because she is afraid to wreck her friendship
with you?”
“I can’t. After tonight, I don’t know. I want to, and
at times, I think she knows, but …”
“What happened? Was it really this Billy? Is she falling
in love with him?”
“He’s giving her her music back. We … this whole damn
alien crap, you, Tess, and Alex, it took it from her, and now …”
“She’s singing again, because of this Billy person.”
Max guessed. “You need to tell her, Michael. You owe her at least that much,
to tell her why you stayed, and give her the chance to decide.”
Michael shook his head. He held it all inside for months
and months. There were risks he took in his life, big risks, but this was too
great. “What if I tell her, and even if we decided to try … I’m more
afraid I’d fuck it up. There is a big difference between being a good friend,
there and supportive, and being more. If we were more, she’d expect things
from me, want things, things I might not be able to give her, or not realize she
needs. What if we break up, and this friendship … it ruins it?”
“It means that much to you?” Max asked quietly. Once
Michael was his best friend, his and Isabel’s, but numerous times, Michael had
walked away from them with hardly a glance back. The last time had almost been
forever. It was hard to realize that Michael could walk away from them, but not
Maria.
“It means everything. I never knew how alone I was until
I wasn’t. I never knew how much I needed someone to look at me, believe in me,
trust me, and think I’ll do what’s right, even when I’m wrong.” Michael
sat back dejected. “I don’t know when it happened, but one day I woke up,
and what and who I wanted to be was the person Maria saw, the person she
believes in. It’s hard to take chances with that image, because it’s all I
want too. I can’t risk losing that. I can’t.”
“You can’t live your life in love with her, upset and
afraid she’ll fall in love with someone else.” Max shook his head.
“Repression is killing your control, and as fast as it kills it, it will
expose us … get us all dead.”
Michael glanced over at Max. “What should I do?”
“Talk to her.”
“That's it?” Michael snorted in disbelief. He talked to
her all the time. “Just talk to her?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok, sure.” Michael sat back on the sofa, suddenly
spent. Talk to her. Tired of his own life and problems, he finally asked Max
about his father. “You talk to your Dad?”
“Tomorrow. We’re going fishing.”
“Hope that goes well,” Michael said. He couldn’t even
think. He should go back to Maria’s, but he couldn’t trust himself with
Billy there. “My life is sucking again. How did that happen?”
~~~
Michael found Maria working at the Crashdown. Coming up
behind her, he leaned in to talk into her ear.
“Hey.” He said softly.
"Hey back.” Maria smiled at him. “I missed you
last night.”
“Couldn’t take a risk on my powers working while I was
asleep.” Michael glanced at the dead Crashdown. There were only a few
customers. “Can I say something?”
“Back room.” Maria took his hand leading him to the
back break room. “Do we have a problem?”
“No, we don't. I do.”
He was serious. Maria’s eyes roamed over his face,
concerned. “How can I help?”
“Be patient with me.”
Her hand went up his arms rubbing in comfort. “Always.”