What Real Life's Like (AU,CC,MATURE) Thread #1

[Sternbetrachter]

great part ... I love how you write Michael and of course all the other characters too!


ALEX

I nod when Michael says we have things to discuss. "True. We need to discuss something desperately. Time is ticking away, so to speak."

Michael nods seriously at that. Wow, I didn't think he'd take Liz's birthday that serious.

"I guess we should wait for Maria though, after all, she lives in Miami." I add, realizing that maria probably knows some other in-clubs or restaurants.

"Maria?" Michael echoes confused. "Why should we wait for *her*?"

"Well, we should be planning it perfectly, if we do it and Maria could help us." I explain.

"You think so? The chick is weird and ... I'm not sure if she'll be on our side." Michael answers absently.

The Chick's weird and ... not on our side? What the hell does he mean with "our side" and why is Maria weird when they obviously got closer together last night?

And why is everybody but me and Isabel getting closer? Why? Why? Why? And why can't I get my priorities straight and concentrate on Liz's birthday?

"Don't want to appear stupid but ... what are we talking about?" Kyle asks from the corner. "If it is about me being locked in the closet, that's not a biggie - after all, I started the whole childish ..."

"No, not that." Michael and I say at the same time - he annoyed and I amused. Wonder what havoc those two will cause while we are living together.

"Uh, good." Kyle nods confused. "Uh, what are we talking about then?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Michael asks, running his hand through his hair - again. Hm, Michael is rather ... uh, fond of his hair. Always touching it and checking if it's all right. Oh great! Now Larry got me all paranoid and I won't be able to stop looking if Michael is touching his hair - I'll have another person here thinking of me as a freak!

"Sorry, but ... I really don't know what we are talking about." Kyle says embarrassed.

Michael sends me a frustrated look and I just shrug.

"We are talking about Liz's birthday on Friday/Saturday"??? I say, just as Michael says,

"We are talking about Max being an idiot who's getting all the girls."

"Huh?" Kyle cries.

"WHAT?" Michael and I say, looking at each other.




**********
hope you are okay with the turn of the events ... or would you prefer them talking about different topics for longer?

[isabelle]

*MICHAEL*

Liz's birthday? What's the big deal with Liz's birthday? On Friday, we buy a keg, maybe a couple of six packs and we have a blast. It doesn't take any planning. Max is the problem here.

I turn to Kyle, because Alex is no help at all. "Kyle, the guy is a menace. All the girls are falling over him and it's just not right."

"Michael," Alex begins sounding like he's going to disagree. I quickly interrupt him.

"Listen," I tell Kyle, moving so I block Alex a little. We got some really nice girls here on the show. Are you interested in any one in particular?"

"I dunno," Kyle says, but just the way he says it makes me sure he does have someone in mind. He looks back and forth between us as if he's afraid to say the wrong thing. "There are two of them that I wouldn't mind getting together with ..." He trails off without specifying which girls he's thinking of.

"There! I knew it." I say, victoriously. "But they're not gonna look your way if they're looking at Max all the time. The three of us gotta do something to rain on his parade. Give him a black eye, ya know."

Kyle tilts his head to one side and gives a little smile. "Didn't Alex try that already? I don't think it worked."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I'm not sure if this one really worked. I may have gone too far. Let me know if you have a suggestion and I'll be happy to edit.
btw - I believe the two girls that Kyle was interested in were Isabel and Tess, but since they're both 'taken,' he didn't mention them by name... Hope that's okay.

[Sternbetrachter]

okay, now *I* hope that I don't take things too far!


ALEX

Max? Max! he wants to talk about Max! getting all the girls! the nerves of that guy. True,

I was pissed at Max too at first but after learning that he isn't after Isabel, I feel

better ... but what if he would be after her too? What I be okay with him then?

"Michael" I start but he immediatly interrupts me and turns to Kyle, asking if he's

interested in a girl of the house. Kyle likes two? Wonder whom .. Isabel? hmmm, he better

not cause that would really cause problems.

Kyle tilts his head to one side and gives a little smile. "Didn't Alex try that already? I

don't think it worked."

I groan. Of course the talk would turn to this.

Maybe I should try my dad's tactic. "GUYS!" I say in an authoritive voice, almost

speechless when they both turn to me in surprise. I quickly continue though before Michael

starts talking again. "First of all, yes, I hit Max and apoligized for that because that

was STUPID!" I say the last word directly to Michael.

"Secondly, if you hit him, then what? The girls would turn into mother hens and you would

never have a chance with them. Some even less than others." Again, that's directed at

Michael.

"What the hell is that suposed to mean?" Michael asks angrily, talking a step towards me.

Show no fear, Alex. YOu survived three older brothers, you surely will survive "Mickey"

here.

"No offense Michael but ... "You are going to scream my name tonight?" I didn't see one of

the girls hanging around your arms after that line. Maybe you are just not their type." I

end matter of factly.

That would be nice if the mysterious type is for once not the ladies man but ... I doubt

that's the case.

"Not ... not their type?" Michael asks shocked, as if he never considered this to be

possible.

"So, we do nothing about Max then?" Kyle asks unsure.

"Yes, we will." Michael says absently.

"No." I say. Great, we differ again. I throw up my arms in defeat. "Do whatever you want -

just leave me out of this, okay? I have already more than enough troubles with some room

mates."



*****
I'm not really happy with that *shrugs* ... shouldn't the others come downstairs too?

[isabelle]

yeah, the others SHOULD come downstairs, but we need posts from Bre and Ruby and Sugarplum! I can't do much with Max until I know what's happening with the girls!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*MICHAEL*

"You IDIOT!" I yell at Alex. "I was talking figuratively. Do something to damage his rep, not actually hit him again. GEEZ!" This guy is thicker than I imagined. What a loser!

"I don't care. I want nothing to do with it," Alex says again, but I'm barely listening.

Not their type? Man, I'm every girl's type. I'm Michael Guerin!

"You losers do what you like, but I'm not going to take this lying down." I tell them. I drink down the last of my coffee and throw the cup in the sink. "I'm gonna go catch my teams," I add before leaving the room.

Maybe I was too quick. Maybe I shouldn't have included Kyle with the wimp. I'm about to call out to him, but I hear Kyle ask, "So, what about Liz's birthday, then?"

I roll my eyes to the ceiling and then stalk the living room to turn on ESPN. I'll catch up on the scores and somebody will let me know when they're ready to go.

I watch the screen and then I remember what Liz told me on Sunday night about my approach. Could that idiot Alex possibly be right? That just can't be, I frown. Maybe I'll have to talk to Liz again. I liked talking to her. Maybe she can help me figure out what to do about Maria and Tess.

[Sternbetrachter]

ALEX

What an asshole! Just because he has issues and a low self esteem doesn't mean he has to try and make Max look bad because he won't be getting any attention from the girls otherwise.

Thank God that he left the room!

I just hope that he couldn't convince Kyle to help him! "So, what about Liz's birthday, then?" kyle asks just then and I say a little prayer.

"I was thinking about dinner in a restaurant so we could all be able to talk with each other and get to know everyone better." I'm not so sure if getting to know Michael better is such a great thing. "And afterwards, we could go to a club ... maybe another one than the first night and ... well, dance the night away."

"Sounds like fun." Kyle agrees. "I take it we need Maria to figure out where to go?"

Finally someone who understands me! Thank you God!

"Yeah, I hope I .. I mean, we get a chance to talk to her before work or at least sometime today."

****
sorry that it's so short

[Sugarplum7]

Hi all! It’s not much, mostly just glossing over what “happened” upstairs and giving Kyle and Alex another person to play with. Like I said, it’s not much, and I know it isn’t great or anything, but hopefully it’s enough. I didn't know what to do without an active Maria and Tess, so I just kinda swept over what might have happened. If there are any objections, I'll change it and just take that all out and have Liz go down to clean out her cup.

~Sugarplum

<center>~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Liz ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~</center>

“Hey,” I say as I walk back into the kitchen. Alex and Kyle were talking and abruptly halted their conversation as soon as I came in. Alex seemed occupied with the counter while Kyle was absorbed with his coffee. I shrug it off as I walk into the sink to wash out my cup.

I finished my coffee when I was upstairs with the girls and Max. We talked about which cars to take in as well as what happened with Kyle, Michael, and the closet.

Tess and Maria were almost ready to get going, and the morning escapades were told before the car situation was handled. Because Isabel and Maria were going shopping after work the two of them were going to be heading in to work together in Isabel’s car. Maria agreed to that as long as her car wasn’t used.

And Max already offered to take his car in. He and Tess were going in together, and Alex was going with them. If I went with the three of them, that would leave Kyle and Michael together in the van. After what has been named “the closet incident” by Maria, that didn’t seem particularly wise. I said that I would go in the van with both Kyle and Michael, or with either of them, if one of them wanted to go in Max’s jeep.

“What are you two up to?” I ask, hoping to start a conversation because neither of them said anything since I came in.

<center>~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ End Liz ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~</center>

[isabelle]

Sugarplum, I hope you don't mind if I cover the same tracks. I had most of this written already...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*MAX*

Liz and I walk over to the room shared by Maria and Tess. I can hear then talking as we approach the open door and I’m happy to see they look almost completely ready as we look inside. Thankfully, Maria doesn't look nearly as hungover as she did yesterday, either. “Hey, ladies,” I say. Tess looks up and smiles at me, and I can’t help but return it. She looks so very happy. “You all ready to go downstairs?”

“Sure,” Isabel says. “Maria’s going to be riding into work with me. Liz, you can come, too, if you like, but you’ll have to come home a different way because the two of us are shopping together afterwards.”

I frown a bit at that, wondering why they wouldn’t have just invited Liz to come along, but then I remember that Liz’s birthday is coming up and figure it might have something to do with that. I guess I gotta find some time to shop, too.

“I’ll just ride in the van,” Liz smiles.

”You could ride with me,” I tell her.

She turns and looks at me with a strange expression. “I thought you were riding with Alex and Tess?”

I look over at Tess who is beaming at the thought, although I hadn’t actually mentioned that yet. Perhaps Isabel did. I'm certainly not going to tell her no. She comes over and stands beside me, wrapping her arm around mine. “Sure,” I agree. “But there’s still room for one more.”

“That’s okay,” Liz says. “After what happened next door, I don’t think we want Michael and Kyle riding alone, anyway.”

“What happened?” Tess asked.

I try to keep from laughing as Liz explains how Kyle got blocked into the closet by Michael. Maria rolls her eyes, and Tess giggles. We really don't know what started it, but Maria clearly thinks it was all Michael's fault. Heck, she's probably right. Isabel looks less amused about the whole incident. She turns to me. “Are you sure you want to ride with Alex?” She asks. “After yesterday morning, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“It’s okay,” I assure her. “Alex and I have worked things out.” She really seems to have something against the guy. It’s not going to be easy to come up with a plan to get the two of them together. I glance at the clock. “Listen, girls, we’re running out of time. If you want any coffee before we leave, you better hurry downstairs.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Maria promise.

“I’m good,” Isabel says. “I’ll wait with Maria.”

“I’m ready,” Tess smiles.

“Okay then,” I tell her, nodding at Liz. “Guess we’ve done our job. Let’s head back downstairs.”

That’s what we do. I’ve had all the coffee I want, and Tess says she doesn’t need any, so all we have to do is find Alex and we can probably go. We follow Liz into the kitchen where Alex and Kyle seem to be strangely silent. I can’t help but wonder what just happened here and where Michael disappeared to.

.

[Sternbetrachter]

ALEX

I sigh in relief when Max comes in. The silence that hung between Kyle, Liz and me was slowly turning uncomfortable. I just hope that Liz didn't hear me and Kyle talk about her upcoming birthday party.

"Alex." Max adresses me. "If you don't mind, Tess and I are ready to go, so are you finished?"

"Yeah sure." I grin back, shoting a glance at Liz who stares at her hands. Poor girl, I know how she feels. Turning back to Max, "Well, lets go. See you at work." I tell Kyle and Liz.

I can't even start plotting to get Max and Liz together since both Max and Tess seem to enjoy each other's company.

"So, you looking forward to another day of work?" I ask the two after we got into the car.

******
Question: after everyone gets to work, do you want to jump forward to lunchtime or to the

evening when they all get back?

[isabelle]

Definately, let's jump ahead later, Sternbetrachter. I don't care if it's lunch or after, 'though. In the meantime, we still have the ride to work. I love the fact that Alex still doesn't know that Max likes Liz. He does seem to be the secretive type. lol.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*MAX*

I'm glad that Alex is ready to go. We do have a little more time before we're absolutely need to be on the road, but I don't want to be late again like yesterday.

'Yeah," I say to answer Alex's question. "I think we're actually going to be allowed on the air today. That'll be fun."

"Of course, we're already on television," Alex notes. "Is it really going to be that different to be on the radio, too?"

I shrug and Tess answers, "It's different. We've got actual stuff to do there, not like the show where we're just being ourselves."

"I guess that's true," Alex says.

"How about you," I ask. "Are you enjoying your jobs there?"

[Sternbetrachter]

I'm okay with "meeting up" after work before the after work activities start (shopping, clubbing,...)


ALEX

I think about Max's question for a moment.

"Yeah, I like it. It's differently than I expected it to be and I have to get used to some ground rules. I mean, I almost changed the logo of the radio station without checking if I'm allowed to do that so I have to be careful and get my enthusiasm in check but otherwise ... they have a great computer system and working with their sound system and everything else that has to do with the music is like a dream come true. I feel like a kid in a candy store." I tell them with a smile.

We sit in comfortable silence for a while before I remember something.

"Can I ask you two questions?"

Both and Tess nod. "Well, I wondered what you are doing tonight cause I wanna go out but don't know where and wanted to ask whether you are on a date again or if I can join you and I think we need to plan Liz's birthday party." I say, then add, "And I'm pretty sure that Michael won't be any help."

Tess looks a bit confused at that but doesn't say a thing, while Max looks thoughtful.

"Sure, I'll help with the party planning and about tonight ..." he trails off unsure, looking over at Tess.

Damn! They probably want to be alone - I'm so stupid!

"Hey, forget it! When you want to be alone,that's fine, I'll go out with the others. ... well, maybe not with Isabel but with the rest." I quickly say, hoping that I didn't ruin things for those two.