Author: Steffi
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything but the idea of the story.
Rating: Teen
Cast: Michael/Max/Kyle (a bit of the girls as well)
Summary: Boys night this time.
See what our boys have to say about their girlfriends.Category: AU wo Alien
A/N: This is a sequel to my fic “Girlfriends”. We take a look at our boys this time. The scene happens a few month after “Girlfriends”.
Here a short summary, for those who haven’t read the fic or forgot, lol:
Michael and Tess are siblings. Max and Liz are engaged. Tess has a new (and finally serious) boyfriend (Kyle). Maria and Michael are together just for a few month.
Well, it’s not necessary but I would suggest you read the other fic first, lol. Click here to read: GIRLFRIENDS
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“Did you meet him before?” Max leaned on the counter at the Crashdown, speaking with a full mouth while he chewed on a couple of chips. It was already after closing time and he was waiting for Liz to get ready so he could take her out to a movie.
“Evans, you are such a pig.” Michael rolled his eyes.
“What?” He swallowed the food. “As if you ever had manners at all.”
“I’m not getting married in a couple of days.”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“I doubt Liz wants to marry a guy who spits food while he talks.”
Max glanced along the counter, checking it for any stray pieces of food. “I didn’t spit.” He looked at Michael when the other man glanced at his cell… for like the tenth time in the last hour they had spent together. “So?”
“Huh?”
“Did you meet him before?”
“Who?” Michael looked at his friend, puzzled.
“Your sister’s boyfriend,” Max groaned. “What the hell is wrong with you these days, Guerin?” Since he had arrived back home in Roswell to get married in late autumn, his friend hadn’t been acting like himself.
“Nothin’,” the other boy shrugged. “I met him earlier when they arrived. Just briefly though.”
“And?”
“Hell, I don’t know, Max. Tess is keeping him away from me so I can’t intimidate him.” He snorted with a shake of his head.
“Seems like maybe she’s not anymore,” the dark-haired boy said and pointed at the double doors at the entrance to the Crashdown, where Tess was waving to get their attention.
Michael walked over to unlock the doors. “What’re you doin’ here?”
“Oh, I thought it would be nice to show Kyle around a bit,” Tess grinned and walked further into the room. “Max, this is Kyle, and Kyle… this is the fiancé.”
Max rolled his eyes at the blonde girl and shook the other man’s hand. “Hi, and you can just call me Max instead of ‘the fiancé’.”
Kyle grinned and nodded. “It’s just because she can’t think of anything but the wedding.” He covered half of his mouth and added quietly. “You’d think it’s hers.”
Tess smacked the back of his head. “Shut up. One of my best friends is getting married, so I’m allowed to be excited. Not that you men would know anything about it.”
“Owww,” he rubbed his head and looked at Michael. “Your sister can be very violent.”
“Tell me about it.” Before he could duck, Michael got the same smack as well. “Hey, what the hell was that for?” He glared at his sister.
“That’s for being an ass to a certain person,” she looked at him meaningfully and placed her hands on her hips.
He just rolled his eyes and flipped her off.
“Where’s the holy bride, Max?”
“Upstairs,” he told her and grabbed her arm when she was about to leave through the back door to join Liz. “Hey, we have a date so don’t hold her up with your wedding stuff.”
“MY wedding stuff?”
Max groaned. “Just don’t get into all the details again tonight, would ya?”
“You have no clue what kinda work it is to organize the perfect wedding, Evans,” she said and left to join her friend.
“See what I’ve been through the last month? Choosing flowers, colors, table cloths, menus, cakes, rings, wedding presents, tuxedo fittings…”
“Hold on, Evans,” Michael made a face.
“Yeah,” Kyle laughed. “I got the same program since Tess is the wedding nazi.”
The other man laughed at that. “That would be my sister.”
Max grinned. “Sorry that my wedding is causing you so much pain. I doubt Maria’s been any different than Tess,” he looked at Michael questioningly.
He just shrugged. “Sometimes.”
Kyle looked at his girlfriend’s brother closely. He didn’t know the details Tess had rambled on about the last few days, but there was definitely something wrong between his girlfriend and him from what he had overheard.
“So Kyle, ya play football?” Max asked.
“Taking a break right now,” he pointed at his chest. “Got a broken rib that needs to heal up first.”
“Happened in a game?”
“Yeah, two weeks ago.”
“Next time you’re here we should have a little game. Guerin’s pretty good on his college team too.”
Michael glanced up when he heard his name, not sure what Max was talking about. “Huh?”
“Damn, can’t you just put your cell away for a while? Are you waiting for a call or something? We were talking about football.”
“I saw you play,” Michael said to Kyle.
“Where?”
“We visited my sister on campus a while back. It was probably before the two of you even knew each other. You’re the quarterback, right?”
Kyle nodded.
“Good game from what I remember.”
“Just great,” Max suddenly muttered and nodded at the windows. It had just begun to rain and it was getting heavier with each passing second. “That’s just what I need today.”
“You got your jeep with you?”
“No, we were planning to walk to the theatre,” Max sighed.
“Well, I doubt your girlfriend will be down anytime soon anyway,” Kyle shrugged, knowing Tess would still have a lot of wedding stuff to discuss. He had felt a bit awkward to be in the same room with his girlfriend’s big brother, but somehow the guy seemed to be too distracted to even bother him with uncomfortable questions. He was sure they would follow though.
“Hell, what is taking so long?” Max complained, walking to the back door and swinging it open with one arm. “Liz, babe?” he shouted.
“Yeah?” It came back muffled through a closed door upstairs.
“Are you gonna be ready anytime soon?”
“Shut up, Max,” Tess answered instead.
“Don’t listen to her. I’ll be done soon,” Liz voice followed.
“Great,” he muttered and went back to his seat at the counter. “We will never leave if Tess stays up there.”
“I’ll get some beers,” Michael decided and walked into the backroom. He had worked shifts at the café during high school and hoped Mr. Parker hadn’t decided to store the drinks in a different place now. He opened the door to the small storage room and smiled slightly when the bottles were still in the same place. He crouched down to grab three bottles before returning to the back room again. His steps stopped abruptly when he saw another person there.
Maria’s hair was wet as well as the jacket and jeans she wore. Stunned, she looked at the man in front of her, unable to say anything. What the hell was he doing here? Tess had called her only two minutes ago for an emergency wedding situation and since she had been on the road anyway, she had stopped by. Now she wondered if it had been a set up. Tess would be mean like that.
“Hey…” Michael said quietly.
“Where are the girls?” she asked coldly instead of greeting him.
He gestured up the stairs dumbly.
Her eyes followed his movement and without saying anything else, she hurried up the stairs to see her girlfriends. Michael stared after her, feeling the same numb feeling in his chest that he had felt the last few days, before he shook himself out of it again and joined the other boys in the restaurant again.
“Was that Maria?” Max asked.
“Yeah.”
“Nooo,” he groaned. “Now it’s official, we will never leave this place tonight.” He took the beer from his friend, frustrated.
Michael and Kyle smirked at each other slightly. “Suck it up, Evans,” his best friend said. At least your girlfriend is talking to you at all, he added in his thoughts.
They opened the bottles and tapped the bottoms against each others. Max took a sip of his and shrugged out of his jacket now that he was pretty sure the date with Liz was over before it had even started. “I can’t wait for the wedding to be over.”
“Agreed.” Kyle nodded. “Maybe I can have a normal conversation with my girlfriend again then.”
“Hell yes,” Michael muttered. The thought of spending the whole day together with Maria while she was the bridesmaid and he the best man… It made him sick to his stomach.
Max lifted his eyebrow. “What’s up with you, man?”
“Nothin’.”
“Seriously? Because you’ve been moping around all day.” Michael was many things, but usually mopey wasn’t one of them. “Something wrong with you an’ Maria?” His best man had just arrived from New York the day before last, but somehow he had been acting weird since then and normally Maria was around him all the time.
“How the fucking hell am I even supposed to know that?” Michael suddenly exploded. “She’s not even talking to me.”
Max looked at his friend, surprised. “Okaaaaaay…. Do you have an idea why she isn’t talking to you?”
“No, Max, I told you she’s NOT talking to me at all.”
That was weird. “So you didn’t fight? Not even a suggestion?”
“No! One day we were okay and the next she just told me she needed some time, and shit… I have no clue what’s going on.” Michael ran his hands though his hair. His imagination had gone wild with him since then. Did she have someone new? Was she just bored with him? She was the first girl he let close to him and now she was just doing with him what he had done to so many other girls. Maybe this was something like his punishment for it.
“Have you tried to talk to Tess? Maybe she knows something? I doubt Liz knows anything, Maria might have left her alone since she’s busy with the wedding.”
“My sister claims she knows nothing,” he rolled his eyes. “But she is sure whatever it is, it’s my fault.”
Max turned to look at Kyle. “If ya know something, then you gotta say it now. It’s no mystery your girlfriend has the biggest mouth of all.”
He lifted his hands up in defence. “Nope, no clue. I know that the girls were talking about it, but from what I heard, Tess didn’t get it out of Maria either.”
Michael took a long drink of his beer. “Ya know, I’m sick of asking her what the fuck is wrong with her. Either she comes to me or she doesn’t,” he said stubbornly.
Great, Max thought, the last thing he needed was an ugly fight between best man and the bridesmaid during his wedding. Normally he would agree with Tess, if Maria was mad then it was probably Michael’s fault in the end… but on the other hand… his best friend had changed a lot during the time he had been with the girl.
The boys were interrupted when Liz and Tess walked in. “Ready to leave.”
Max turned around surprised. “Seriously? Already?”
Liz smiled. “Is that sarcasm in your voice, hubby?” Her arms came around his neck while she leaned against his side.
“Ya got everything figured out?” he asked, nuzzling her neck to smell her scent.
“No, but I told Tess to delay everything until tomorrow because I have a date with Mr. Evans.”
Tess made a gagging sound at the flirting of the couple but smiled sweetly. “Aren’t they just cute?”
Kyle laughed and pulled her closer for a quick kiss. “Wanna leave?”
“Yeah,” she looked at her brother, feeling sympathy wash over her when she saw how lost he seemed. She had no clue what was wrong with Maria during the past few days, but she could tell that he was hurting as well. “She left through the back door again,” she told him gently.
Michael pressed his teeth against each other, making his jawbones appear while he just shrugged.
“Go after her.”
“What? No!” he said defensively.
“Michael…” Liz tried as well.
“No!” he said again. “I tried like a million times, okay? I’m done.”
Tess was about to say something, but he silenced her. “I did nothing wrong, and if she thinks I did then she should at least have the guts to tell me.” God he was so mad at his girlfriend for not talking to him. Could he even call her his girlfriend anymore?
The other couples glanced at each other helplessly. They couldn’t form an opinion because neither of them had a clue what was going on between them.
“What could it hurt to give it another try then?” Tess suggested.
“Yeah, Guerin, whatever’s going on, you need to fix it before our wedding. We don’t want a war,” Max told his friend.
“What do you not understand when I say she is NOT talking to me?” Michael was frustrated.
“Go before she leaves,” Tess gave her brother a little shove.
“I’m sick of this,” he muttered and grabbed his jacket to leave. “Tell her I’m not going after her anymore. Either she comes to me or we’re done.” His words hurt himself more than anything, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. With that he stalked to the double doors and pushed them open to leave.
It was still raining lightly but constantly outside. He sucked in the fresh air, hoping it would help to cool his boiling blood. Only one girl could do that to him and he hated it. Pulling the hood of his pullover over his head, he headed across the street, ready to go home and lock himself in.
He stopped immediately when he saw Maria’s Jetta parked in the little parking lot in front of the supermarket only a street away from the Crashdown that she just had left. Hesitating, he considered his options. Maybe Tess was right, what would it hurt to give it one more try? He knew whatever it was he would feel better when he at least had a reason. He jogged the short distance to the car, smiling when it wasn’t locked and the key was in the ignition. Yeah, that was so Maria, he thought and snagged the key, shoving it in his pocket and walking over to stand under the awning over the front of the supermarket while he waited for her to get back.
Maria walked back to her car with large steps, throwing the few items she had bought on the backseat and climbed behind the wheel. She frowned when the key wasn’t there and started to search her bag and pockets for it, but nothing. Did she leave it in the market? Sighing deeply, she climbed out again to go back.
“Lookin’ for something?”
Maria turned around when the familiar voice spoke up from behind her. Her eyes locked on Michael’s figure. He was leaning against the wall of the supermarket, arms crossed over his chest. There was no doubt he had her keys.
“Give them back, Michael,” she said without any strength in her words.
The rain was falling faster again, soaking their clothes even more while they walked towards each other. “You get them back when I get some answers.”
“Michael…”
“No, Maria, I wanna know what the fuck is wrong with you and I want to know now.” His eyes locked on her face sternly.
“I… I just need to figure something out.”
“Figure something out?” he asked in disbelief, making her taking a step back when his voice was loud. “What could that possibly be, Maria?”
“Don’t yell at me,” she begged.
He could swear she was crying, but with all the raindrops on her face it was hard to tell if he was right. “Then talk to me, for God’s sake!”
She stared down at the ground when he wasn’t giving so much as an inch. The serious look on his face and his determination made her sob in despair.
“Just get it out. We can stand here all night or you can just finally say it. I am not leaving until I have an answer.” He feared the answer, because he had no clue what it was. Not even the slightest idea.
Maria knew it was now or never. She couldn’t hold the truth back from him and waiting wasn’t making things better. “I’mpregnant,” she whispered.
Her words were muffled by the sound of the rain and he had to repeat them a few times in his head before they finally made sense. His heart seemed to stop beating for a small eternity when the meaning of the words hit him. “You’re…” he said breathlessly.
She lifted her gaze up to him slowly, trying to figure out how bad his reaction to her news would be. “I… I just found out two weeks ago and went to the doctor today to make sure the test wasn’t lying.”
Michael didn’t know what to say. His mind was running over so many things that it was hard to think straight. “Is it mine?”
She frowned at him. “Of course it’s yours,” she told him angrily. “Do you think I slept with several guys or what? I’m not a slut.”
“Hell, Maria, I don’t know what to think, okay?” he snapped back. “You’d think if it was mine you would’ve told me earlier. I think I have a right to know if I’m the father.” God, she was pregnant. Now what?
“I was planning to tell you,” she screamed, definitely crying now.
“So? What stopped you? Didn’t feel like it?”
“No, I wanted to tell you, but you were going on and on about how kids would just ruin any future plans when we saw those young parents in Central Park.”
“What?” He frowned, trying to remember what she was referring to and sighed when he finally realized what she meant. Wincing when he remembered what he had said about kids that day, he pulled her up in his arms, trying to calm her down since this situation couldn’t be healthy for her or the baby. “M’ria, the couple we saw probably wasn’t much older than 16.”
“It still hurt to hear you saying that,” she cried, her body quivering from her sobs.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled into her wet hair, tightening his arms around her.
Maria held onto him, endless relief washing over her now that he finally knew the truth. “I should’ve told you right away,” she mumbled. The last days had been horrible for her and it probably would’ve been better if she hadn’t made this big secret out of it.
“Don’t worry about it anymore,” he told her. And he really didn’t care anymore. “Let’s get in the car, Mama.”
The edges of her lips tucked, trying to form a slight smile. She looked up at him, blinking against the raindrops. “What’re we gonna do, Michael?” They had only been together for about 8 months now. Were they ready for a kid so soon?
“We’ll figure something out,” he told her, sounding calm. He knew he needed to be strong for her, instead of freaking out.
“I’m scared,” she admitted.
Hell, he was too. His hands came up to frame her face while he stared down at his girlfriend. At the mother of his future child. Wow. His lips brushed against hers in a whisper. “Don’t be.”
She looked at him. “Aren’t you?” This was kind of untypical for him. She had expected him to react…. Like heavily react. “No freaking out?”
He chuckled slightly and hugged her one more time tightly, burying his face against her wet neck. “Expect me to do that later and forgive me then, okay?”
“Okay,” she said softly. “You’ve got the right to freak out. I did!”
His right hand moved slowly to rest over her belly protectively. “I bet it’s gonna be a boy.”
The End
