Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I don’t own Roswell or it’s characters,
nor do I own ET, MTV or any of the lyrics written.
Rating: PG/R
Spoilers: None, its AU
Pairing: Michael/Maria with some Kyle/Tess
Summary: A stalker wants her dead. What will she do when she
finds out that the killer is actually a close friend? Secrets from the past
are revealed and a new love is born.
Distribution: Belit’s site, Kraving Candy, Candy is Dandy,
Aliens love and Roses, Second in Command, Fanfiction.net, Roswell Desert Skies,
Ally’s site, and if anyone else wants it, all you have to do is ask.
Author’s note: This is in response to a challenge issued
at Belit’s planet called Bodyguard. As I was reading it all these thoughts
just entered my head so I couldn’t not write it. Remember when reading
this that I intend this fic to have a sequel so there will be many questions
but all with eventually be answered. This is in no way related to the movie.
Feedback is appreciated, as is honesty. Challenge can be found here:
http://pub10.ezboard.com/fbelitsplanetfrm110.showMessage?topicID=54.topic
Email: sezza43@hotmail.com
****
Michael followed Liz into the kitchen where he found her pouring a couple of pills from a bottle on the bench top. “What are you doing?”
She turned and gasped in surprise, not having heard him enter the room. “Oh, Maria has a headache so I’m taking her these pills. She gets them a lot when she’s stressed.” Michael nodded and walked around to sit on one of the stools. Liz’s eyes followed him the entire time trying to work out what it is that he was doing there. “Is there something I can help you with? I mean, shouldn’t you be with Kyle doing… I don’t know, bodyguard things?”
“Bodyguard things?” he smirked and shook his head. “No, Kyle can handle all of that on his own for now, I wanted to talk to you.” Liz placed the bottle back on the bench and waited for him to continue. “Why did you take the job of Maria’s manager? I heard that you had a chance to go to Harvard. Why turn that down just to sit back and watch your best friend gradually get famous?”
Liz narrowed her eyes at him. “You think it’s me don’t you? You think that I’m the stalker.” Michael remained expressionless. “Well I’m not. Maria is my best friend. I didn’t go to Harvard because when it came down to it, being a scientist isn’t what I really wanted to do. When Maria offered this to me I took it because I wanted to. It’s a great opportunity and I hope to one day manage other stars besides Maria.” She stopped talking and reached under the bench to retrieve a glass. “Plus, if I wanted her dead, I would have done it by now.”
“Still, I’m keeping my eye on you,” Michael said as he considered what she had said. It all did make sense but he still had a nagging feeling that wouldn’t go away. Liz rolled her eyes as she poured water into the glass and placed the jug back in the fridge.
“You do that then.”
*~*~*~*
“Who was on the phone?” Kyle said as he entered the dining room behind Courtney. The maid jumped in surprise and turned to look at the person behind her.
“Excuse me? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said as she picked up a nearby duster.
Kyle crossed his arms over his chest. “I heard you on the phone and I want to know what’s going on… now. I heard you say that Maria will never suspect anything and that you had ‘plans’, so I’ll ask again, what’s going on?”
Kyle watched as Courtney placed the duster back on the table and looked around the room. She walked closer to him and bit her lip. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but you have to keep this quiet ok? No one else can know, especially not Maria,” she asked with pleading eyes and Kyle nodded, although thinking she was a complete nut job—as if he wouldn’t tell anyone. Courtney surveyed the room once more before whispering, “The staff and a few others are planning a surprise part for Maria. Sort of a … congratulations on the tour, kind of thing.”
Kyle blinked. ‘What the hell?’ he thought. “Party?”
The maid nodded. “Yes, a party. The person on the phone is in charge of the decorations. He delivered some today but we don’t want Maria getting suspicious so I was told to ask him to hold off on bringing any more for a few days.”
“A party, you’re planning a party,” Kyle laughed. He couldn’t believe he thought she was a killer. She looked way too innocent to be a killer anyway. “Ok, I won’t tell Maria,” he said and Courtney smiled. Before leaving the room, Kyle asked her one more thing. “Oh, do you recall seeing anyone by the mail when you went to pick it up?”
Courtney looked to be thinking for a moment before nodding. “Yes, actually, I do. I saw a man; he had this gruff look with brown hair, cute though. I asked him what he was doing there and he said that he was the new gardener.”
Kyle nodded, taking in all the information, thanked Courtney and walked out of the room. As he walked down the hall he couldn’t help but think that Courtney still had some kind of connection to all of this. Sure she looked innocent, but looks could be deceiving. He’d have to check with Liz to see if this party was for real.
He stepped into the kitchen and saw Michael sitting at the bench in thought. Kyle clapped him on the back, bringing him back to reality. “Hey Michael, you seen Liz?”
Michael shook his head. "Why?"
“I just need to check something out with her. Oh and I think I have our lead suspect, well for now anyway.”
“Me too,” Michael said with a half smile. So he thought that Liz had something to do with it too.
Kyle nodded. “Yeah it’s Courtney,” he said, just as Michael said, “Liz.”
The two men stared at each other. “You think its Liz?” Kyle asked. “It can’t be, I know its Courtney. Well I don’t know, but the evidence is piling up, trust me.”
Michael shook his head. “No, it's Liz. She’s our number one suspect. I know she’s in on it. And who the hell is Courtney?” Michael asked, confused. He picked up the list that Kyle had placed on the table and scanned it. “She’s not even on this grudge list.”
“She was the maid who brought in the mail.”
Michael thought for a moment then nodded. He remembered her now. He caught this weird vibe off her but just thought that it was the burrito he had for lunch.
Kyle took out a pen and wrote her name in the grudge list. “Well she’s our number one suspect now.”
Michael shook his head and grabbed the pen and paper off him. “No, Liz is our number one suspect,” he said as he scribbled out Courtney’s name and wrote Liz’s.
Kyle grabbed the pen and paper back. “No, it’s Courtney,” he said re-writing her name.
Michael pushed him and tried to grab the pen away but Kyle held it to his chest. “Go away Michael, it’s Courtney and that’s final,” he said giving Michael a push back.
Michael saw red and charged at him bringing them both to the ground. Kyle let go of the paper and they both watched it float to the ground. Kyle looked at Michael who glanced at him before both tried to shuffle themselves closer to the paper.
“The killer is Liz,” Michael growled out when Kyle had managed to get his head in a headlock. Michael punched him in the gut. Kyle let go but before Michael could get the paper, Kyle tripped him.
Kyle smiled in triumph as he picked up the list. “The killer is Courtney.”
Michael was about to charge at him again when Maria entered the room. She took in their messy appearance and sighed, “I’ve hired immature morons.”
Michael smirked at her while Kyle pocketed the list.
“You know you love us,” Michael said.
Maria smiled at him seductively and brushed past him. He shivered at the slight touch and ignored the glare that Kyle was shooting him.
“You wish,” she said as she walked over to the far door.
“Every damn night,” Michael called out and heard her giggle as she left the kitchen. He looked over at Kyle who was looking at him in disgust. “What?” he said, the list temporarily forgotten.
“Do you have to flirt with my sister?” Kyle said angrily. He wasn’t sure why the two of them flirting affected him so much, but Maria was his baby sister and Michael had a reputation for not being able to commit to anyone. Maria deserved someone who could give her a future.
Michael sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I was not flirting with your sister,” he lied. He knew what he was doing but also knew that Kyle was getting pissed off with it. Michael knew how much Kyle loved his sister, he talked about her enough, but Michael also couldn’t deny that every time he saw her he felt something go through his body. He tried changing the subject. The last thing he needed was to have his best friend angry with him. “The killer is Liz.”
Letting out a small laugh, Kyle shook his head. “No it’s not,” he said and smiled. “It’s Courtney.”
“How much do you want to bet?” Michael said with a smirk.
Kyle thought for a moment then a small smile crossed his face. “If it turns out that Courtney is the killer, you have to stay away from Maria,” he said mimicking Michael’s smirk.
Clenching his jaw Michael contemplated Kyle’s side of the deal. Could he stand to stay away from Maria if he was wrong? No he couldn’t, although, he had never been wrong about a case before. Not being one to chicken out of a deal, he agreed. After all, if he did lose, then he’d just find a loophole around it.
“Fine, but if I win and Liz is the killer, then you have to take over the Reynolds case.” He smiled as he watched Kyle’s jaw drop and shudder. Mrs Reynolds was an elderly woman in need of a bodyguard when she went out, she was very wealthy but had a sickening crush on both men, and every time they went around, Mrs Reynolds tried to make a pass at them.
Kyle nodded after a few moments, although somewhat reluctantly. Like Michael, he was never one to chicken out on a bet. After all, Kyle had never been wrong about a hunch either.
*~*~*~*
Courtney broke out into a full-fledged grin as she entered Michael’s room. He had obviously made the room his own, even though he had only been there a day. His clothes were thrown on the bed and his wallet was lying on the mantel above the fireplace. She walked over to the bed, picked up a black t-shirt and held it to her face. After inhaling the smell of Michael she let out a content sigh.
Ever since seeing him in the lobby as he and Kyle arrived, she had felt an instant attraction towards him. He had the longish brown hair that she’d just love to run her fingers through and the most deep, intense chocolate brown eyes that she could get lost in forever. She placed the shirt over her arm and walked over to the mantel. She picked up the wallet and started going through it. “Credit card, credit card, video card, Photos, bingo!”
As she reached the photos, she started seeing red. There was a photo of Michael with two gorgeous women hanging off his arms. She pulled the wallet-sized photo out of its sleave and read the names on the back. “Isabel and Laurie,” she said to herself as she turned the photo back around and glared at the two smiling faces. Placing the wallet back on the mantel, she walked over to the bin, ripped the two women’s heads off the photo and threw them in the bin. Smiling in satisfaction, she then left the room and walked down the stairs to the servant’s quarters. After waving at a fellow worker she continued down a long corridor until she reached her room.
Courtney walked over to her closet and ruffled around until she found a plain box. Taking out a permanent marker, she wrote ‘Private’ on top and then took off the lid. Taking the shirt off her arm, she carefully placed it into the empty box. “The first addition,” she said to herself with a smile. After seeing Michael that day in the lobby she knew that he had to be hers. She had come up with a plan earlier that day to try to make Michael see her as more than just a maid. She would sneak into Michael’s room, steal some of his things, then when he reported them missing, she would come in, say that she had found them, and then he would see her in a different light. It was the perfect plan, what could go wrong?
She then reached into her pocket and fished out the ripped photo she had also taken from him. This she wouldn’t be giving back, this she would keep. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out an old photo album. After flicking through the pages, she spotted a picture of herself and an old friend and knew it would be perfect. Taking out a pair of scissors, she cut the old friend out of the photograph then took the other photo and cut carefully around Michael’s body and glued it to the picture of her self. She held it up to her face and admired her work. It now looked as if Michael had his arm around her. She brought the photo close to her face and kissed the picture of Michael. “You will be mine, I’ll make sure of it,” she said as she placed the photo under her pillow.
*~*~*~*
One week later
Liz smiled and congratulated herself on a job well done. The ballroom looked perfect. Tonight was the night of the surprise party for Maria. Liz had managed to get Kyle to take Maria out of the house and into town for a while until the ballroom had been completely set up. She was due back an a few hours and all she needed to do now was get dressed.
“Good job,” someone said behind her. Liz smiled and came face to face with Michael. Lately she couldn’t seem to shake him from her presence. He had been very true to his words when he said that he’d be keeping an eye on her. Hopefully though, Maria could keep him company for a while so she could at least have a few hours to herself.
Michael surveyed the room. Liz had gone with a metallic blue, silver and purple colour scheme. Balloons and streamers were hung everywhere, a buffet table was situated in the corner ready for food to be placed on and many tables and chairs littered the area surrounding the dance floor.
“Thank you Michael, It does look rather good doesn’t it? Are you going to get ready anytime soon?” she asked, then raked her eyes over his body. “Oh and I suggest you wear a tux, you do own one right?”
He glared at her before placing a smirk on his face. “Yes I own a Tux but why on earth would I want to get ready now? There’s still two hours before anyone gets here,” he asked confused. All he needed to do was throw on his suit and stick a bit of gel in his hair.
“Well don’t you want to look good for Maria?” Liz asked with a small smile and tried not to laugh at the exasperated look on Michael’s face.
“I do not like Maria ok! Anyway, she’s Kyle’s sister, like anything could happen,” Michael said as he shook his head. Over the past week, when not watching Liz, he had been sneaking glances at Maria and with every glance he had fallen even further for her, but kept telling himself that nothing could happen. Firstly she was Kyle’s baby sister and he didn’t want to ruin their friendship and secondly, she probably didn’t even like him. She had so far shown no interest as all.
Liz rolled her eyes. “Keep telling yourself that Michael and maybe one day you might actually believe it.”
Michael glared at her again before she started walking off towards the entertainment area. Michael stayed standing rooted in that spot for a while thinking about what Liz had said. Sighing, he pushed his hands in his pockets and walked in the direction of the stairs. Maybe he should start getting ready.
*~*~*~*
“You know, it has been really good to spend some time with you sis,” Kyle said as they walked through a park. Liz had made him get Maria out of the house while she set up the party. It turns out that Courtney had been telling the truth, but still, over that past week that girl had been acting even stranger. Not only that but he kept catching her staring at Michael. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary seeing girls stare at Michael, only the looks she gave him were more of an obsessed look. It was somewhat frightening at times.
“Yeah it has, hasn’t it? So how is everyone back home?” Maria asked looking up at the stars as they sat down at a nearby table.
“Well Amy and Dad are still acting like they’re newlyweds and it’s quiet disgusting.”
Maria shuddered at the mental image that created. Her mother had married Kyle’s Dad a few years ago but they still acted like horny teenagers.
“Ah, Tess and the kids are great, Tess actually wants to try for another but I don’t know…we’ll see. Max misses you like crazy as does Laurie.” Kyle paused for a moment then smiled. “I never told you this before but Laurie is actually Michael’s sister.”
Maria creased her eyebrows. “Really? I wonder why I never met him before. But then again I only knew Laurie for a few months before moving here,” she said in wonder. She wondered why she didn’t notice it before. Both of them had the same eyes and scratched their eyebrows when they were confused about something… not to mention having the same last name. Laurie had been Maria’s roommate when she was in college. In high school, Maria had actually completed all of her courses early so took the chance to leave and start college earlier than all her friends. She attended the University of Las Cruses and while there, her and Laurie had become great friends until Maria was discovered and moved out to LA.
“Yeah, apparently Laurie had no idea I was your brother either until Max mentioned it,” Kyle said as he stood. “Come on, we’d better get back to the house, it’s getting late.”
Maria nodded and followed Kyle. As they walked Kyle remembered something that Courtney had mentioned but he had forgotten to ask Maria about it. “Hey, who is your new gardener? That maid Courtney said that she saw the new gardener around the mailbox the day you got that letter. Only I haven’t been able to find him.”
Maria furrowed her brows in confusion. “I don’t have a gardener.”
Kyle paused slightly and filed that information away for later. Either Courtney was lying when she had mentioned the guy near the mailbox, or there was someone else in the running for the number one suspect.
*~*~*~*
Michael rolled his eyes as yet another woman invited to the party made their
way over to him. He had been hit on three times already and the party had only
been going on for an hour. Michael just hoped that Maria got there soon. Maybe
if he stayed near her then all the other women would leave him alone. Another
few minutes passed when Liz’s voice came over the microphone and told
everyone to be quiet because Maria had just entered the house. Silence engulfed
the room and a moment later, the door opened and everyone yelled out, "Surprise!"
Everyone in the room watched as Maria jumped back, then smiled. By the look
on her face, she really had no idea that this was happening. Michael stayed
in the corner and watched Maria mingle and converse with a small group of friends
before moving onto the next. He couldn’t help the jealous feeling that
ran through him as a man about the age of 20, placed his hand on the small of
her back and asked her to dance. Pushing himself off the wall, Michael walked
over to the bar. He needed a drink.
“Not dancing tonight, Michael?” a female voice asked from next to him. He looked over and saw Courtney smile at him. He internally groaned. ‘Great, will these women never leave me alone?’ he thought as the girl trailed a finger up his arm.
“Shouldn’t you be cleaning or something?” Michael asked and she shook her head.
“Nope, Maria gave me the night off. Do you want to go somewhere to… I don’t know… talk?” she suggested with a wink and Michael knew that what she had in mind had nothing to do with talking.
*~*~*~*
Maria smiled at the guy who asked her to dance and politely refused. Sure he was cute but there was only one man that she wanted to dance with right now and he couldn’t be found.
“Did I do good, or did I do good?” Liz asked from behind her. Maria laughed and gathered the brunette up in a hug.
“Oh you did good, I can’t believe that you orchestrated this, it’s amazing, I don’t know what to say,” she said still beaming.
Liz laughed and shook her head. “No need to thank me sweetie, you deserved this. Oh I have to go over and talk to Randle, I’ll see you later?”
Maria nodded and watched as Liz made her way over towards the producer of her album. Shifting from one foot to the other, Maria smiled when she spotted Michael sitting over at he bar but then a feeling of possessiveness coursed through her when her maid, Courtney, ran her hand up his arm. She walked closer to see if she could hear what they were talking about.
“Do you want to go somewhere to… I don’t know… talk?”
Maria’s jaw dropped at how unbelievably forward Courtney was being. Before Michael could give her an answer, Maria walked up behind them and tapped Michael on the shoulder. “Michael, there you are,” she said, placing her hand on his arm. She glanced at Courtney and smiled. “Oh Courtney, Kara called in sick so you will have to work tonight after all. I need you to clean all of the bathrooms.”
“Can’t I just do it tomorrow?” Courtney asked with a fake smile. She was sure she was making progress with Michael until she came. Maria shook her head.
“No, and make sure that the toilets really sparkle.”
Courtney stood with a huff. “Fine,” she said then licked her lips and winked suggestively to Michael. “See you later, Mickey G.”
Michael didn’t pay any attention to the obvious tension around him; the only thing he could feel was Maria’s hand on his arm. She was touching him and it felt good. He could feel electricity shoot up his arm as Maria slightly started to caress his forearm without even realising it. He hadn’t even noticed that she was speaking to him until she moved her hand away. “Michael?”
“Ye-ah?” he chocked out and cursed himself for such a stupid reply.
Maria tired not to giggle and pointed to a door that led to a balcony. “I said, did you want to go out and get some air?” Michael nodded dumbly as Maria lead him out the door. She shivered slightly as the wind hit her bare arms and Michael shrugged off his jacket and offered it to her. “Thanks,” she smiled as he helped her put it on. She walked over towards the stone railing and leaned on it, looking out into the distance. “Beautiful isn’t it?”
Still staring at her he nodded. “Yeah, beautiful.”
Maria turned her head to look at him and gasped at their closeness. Their faces were merely a centimetre apart and she could feel his warm breath on her face. Gazing into his eyes, she placed a hand on his chest as his arms circled her waist. Maria caressed his cheek with his other hand and drew their faces closer, their lips barely touching. She knew he was finally going to kiss her, and licked her lips in anticipation.
“Maria you out there?”
Michael jumped out of her embrace and cursed under his breath. Kyle sure had impeccable timing. He glanced at Maria who looked flushed and out of breath and he knew. He knew that she wanted to kiss him just as much as he wanted to kiss her. He once again dammed Kyle for his existence.
TBC