“Sorry for dragging you like that,” Maria said once they were at Isabel’s house. It was when they stopped at the front porch that she noticed Tess for the first time. “Hey Tess,” Maria said with a bright smile she didn’t feel. “I’m really sorry that you guys had to witness that over there. Hell,” she said with a rueful laugh at her own expense, “I’m sorry I had to witness that over there.” “Well,” Isabel said with a grin as she threw an arm around her oldest and dearest friend. “No one ever said that Michael was the easiest person to get along with.” “You can’t get along with him,” Maria snorted. “All you can do is suffer through the coldness.” “He didn’t seem so cold just now,” Tess said more to herself than to the others. “That’s for sure,” Isabel said as she looked at Maria in shock. “Michael’s my twin and I know him better than anyone, and he’s never been like that before. He didn’t even yell like that when you broke his nose when we were in 7th grade.” “I guess he’s a little upset,” Maria said as she realized just what had been going on over at the Whitman house. She had been so caught up in the moment that she didn’t realize until just then exactly how odd the whole thing had been, from a Michael standpoint that is. Then she started laughing hysterically. “Oh my God,” she gasped out, “did you see the look on his face when I punched him.” Isabel began to giggle as well, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look like that before.” Her laughter ended abruptly and she turned to her friend, “You are going to forgive him aren’t you?” “I…” Maria's voice trailed off and the rest of her thought was made to herself. “Do I really have a choice? He’s my everything, and as much as I hate him at times, I love him more." "I’ll forgive him…eventually," she finally answered outloud. “So,” Maria continued with a grin as she plopped down on the porch swing, “What was that last night between you and the non-founder?” She asked Tess with a teasing grin. “Already asked,” Isabel grinned as she sat in the rocking chair and motioned for Tess to sit beside Maria on the cushioned swing. “Seems that our little Tess is growing up and connecting instantaneously to outsiders. “Funny Isabel,” Tess said with a grimace. She knew she should have kept her mouth shut earlier. Now with Maria in on it, she was never going to live it down. “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to have a chance once Pam or Courtney get wind of him.” “Speaking of the bitches,” Isabel said as she turned a narrow gaze down the road, “here they come now with Courtney’s sister in tow.” “Why the hell is she going to Alex’s house? I know that Courtney Boyd is not heading over there to see my Michael,” Maria said as she stood up and walked over to the edge of the steps. “Probably is,” Isabel said innocently as she shared a wink with Tess. Maria and her idiotic brother weren’t fooling anyone. Especially after they had basically attacked each other on the dance floor at Prom last year. “But then, you haven’t actually claimed him as your Michael,” Isabel added with a wiry grin as she walked over to the smaller girl. “Well,” Maria said as she started down the steps, “I’ll go remedy that right now.” “Wait up,” Isabel said as she grabbed Tess and drug her with her. “We don’t want to miss this.” At least it wouldn’t be a boring incounter. Tess knew what the beautiful girl was doing and she didn’t mind at all. In fact, she hated Courtney almost as much as she hated Pam Troy. Plus, she was honest enough to admit it, she was curious about the whole Maria-Michael situation. The guy always seemed cold and withdrawn, but Maria seemed bring his stonewall come crumbling down easily enough. At least she wasn’t bored and at least she wasn’t brooding over being left home alone yet again by her mostly absent father. She thought that she spent more time in the Deluca and Guerin households than she did her own. “Hello Pam, Courtney,” Maria said with a fake smile. “Hello Lauren,” she said to her nemesis’s little sister who was growing up to be just as bad as the older Courtney. “Maria,” Courtney said in a sugary sweet voice, “Isabel. Tess. Lovely to see you all.” Beside her Pam and Lauren snickered at the sarcasm. “Hey guys,” Maria called out to the group out back that consisted of Ryan, Trent, Alex, Michael, Kyle, Jessie, and Leigha. “Hey Ria,” Leigha called out happily to her cousin. Maria couldn’t help grinning back at her. She was happy to see her cousin laughing. Having her parents die in some mysterious accident that no one could explain had evidently done quite a number on her usually cheerful baby cousin, according to her social worker anyway. Now Leigha was quite and withdrawn, but Maria wasn’t seeing a trace of that girl at the moment. “Are you guys going to hang out here too?” “Well,” Maria said as she walked to stand closer to Michael without his noticing that she was trying to closer to him, “I thought that maybe we could all play volleyball. Since Jessie’s the only one with the net, that means we have to play here. Kinda to get Kyle introduced to the neighborhood in all its competitive glory.” “I’m not one for volleyball,” Courtney said with a lustful look in Michael’s direction. “I just came over to see if you wanted to go catch a movie with me and maybe eat some pizza.” “I’d love to,” Michael started out, but when he saw Maria’s hand ball into a fist he quickly finished what he was going to say, “but I don’t think that I can fit it into my schedule today.” Courtney didn’t even let his dry tone and easily apparent scowl deter her. She didn’t even blink when he added, “I’m going to stay here and play volleyball.” “Well,” Courtney said with a shake of her long bleached blonde hair, “then I’ll just hang around too. I know that Lauren wants to hang out here with Jessie and the twins, so Pam and I will just stay until she’s ready to go.” The girls shared a sly look with Lauren. All of them knew it would be a while before they were ready to go. “Well,” Isabel said as she sat on the sidelines, “I’m horrible at the game so I’ll just sit on the sidelines and cheer you all on.” “I’ll sit with you,” Tess said as she sat down on a wooden bench beside the girl. “I’ve never been good at it.” The two of them sat and watched as the others split into teams, Maria and Michael ended up on the same one and Courtney and Pam, due to some sneaky maneuvering by Alex, ended up on the opposite team. Twenty minutes later both girls on the sidelines were laughing hysterically. “Wow!” Tess exclaimed as Michael easily blocked a sloppy spike by Courtney and Maria set the ball for him and he in turn spiked it and made a perfect point, everyone moving out of the way of the ball. “Aren’t they great at volleyball,” Isabel said as she looked at her friend and brother with pride. “Of course with attitude like those two have, who wouldn’t be good at it?” They both looked at Maria, who grinned when Kyle responded to the point by sticking his tongue out at her. There was a big shout from Alex and Tess laughed loudly at his exclamation. “You guys cheat,” he yelled playfully at Maria and Michael, “you two are too good together to be allowed on the same team.” “Oh get over it Alex,” Jessie called out to her brother. “You’re just mad because all of us are better than you.” Alex laughed and nodded his head. He couldn’t deny the truth of that statement. He sucked at the game, give him dodgeball any day. “Well, everyone but Pam, Courtney and Lauren,” she added in an undertone to Trent and Leigha who were on her team along with Michael and Maria. The two other teenagers tried not to laugh at her. “Just look at Lauren all over poor Ryan. Too bad your brother isn’t like you,” she said to Trent, “he’s too polite to tell her to get off.” “Maybe he likes her,” Leigha said in her soft voice as she gazed at Ryan with undisguised interest. “Yeah right,” this time Trent laughed loudly, “and maybe the Red Sox will win the World Series this summer. Believe me,” he said to the nice quiet girl that he could tell liked his brother, “Ryan does not like Lauren. For once Jess was right, he’s just too nice to tell her where to go.” “I’m right about a lot of things Trenton Guerin,” Jessie said as she pushed him to the ground and darted away laughing. “You’re just too stubborn to admit it.” “There they go again,” Ryan said from behind her. Leigha turned away to see her own personal knight come stand beside her with a grin on his face. “When the two of them realize that they like each other it’s going to get really interesting around here.” “Almost as interesting as it is right now with my cousin and Michael,” Leigha said as she watched her cousin with the now relaxed Michael Guerin, well as relax as any of them had ever seen him. “Good game,” Maria said to Michael as she pulled her hair out of its ponytail and began to re-pull it up. “Nice set at the end there,” Michael returned. Now that she was speaking somewhat sociably to him he didn’t want to say anything to ruin it. “Are you going to play this year? Cause I’m sure the team will feel sorry for you and let you on in pity.” “I was going to,” she said with a shrug. “But I decided to expand my athletic horizons. Isabel and I joined the Cheerleading Squad with Tess, and I’m the captain this year of the Dance Team. And what do you mean they’d let me on in pity? Tell me you don’t feel sorry for the girl who broke your nose?” Maria joked back as she elbowed him this time. “I always knew that you were delusional.” “I think we can safely say that you’re the one who’s made me certifiable,” Michael remarked with a smirk as he grabbed her around the waste and threw her over his shoulder. Maria shrieked and began to half-heartedly hit him on the back with her open palms. “Put me down you idiot,” she yelled in his ear. He laughed and swung her around so that he was carrying her in his arms. “OK,” he said as he loosened his hold and made like he was going to drop her. Maria shrieked and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, which is just what Michael had hoped she would do. When he laughed she glared at him through narrowed eyes. “Oh you’re going to pay for that,” she thought to herself as his arms tightened around her again. She loosened her grasp on his neck and moved her hand into the hair at the nape of his neck. Suddenly her idea didn't seem so funny anymore. Instaneously she was back in the gym months before at the Prom when they had danced, when he'd held her almost as close as this, and when they had damned themselves to an eternity with each other in front of God and everyone. Evidently Michael wasn't finding the situation funny either. His laughter had abruptly stopped and he was looking at her with wide questioning amber eyes. Her own eyes darkened to a piercing green as she pulled his lips down to hers. Both forgot about their audience as the world flew away. "Yep," their thoughts were one together in their collective mind, "just like April." Then there was nothing but the emotions of their dual conciousness and their thoughts were silent as they drank in each other, oblivious to everything but the moment and each other. “Well,” Alex said as he and Kyle dropped down on the bench beside Isabel and Tess. “It’s nice to see that they’re back to normal.” “I don’t believe it,” Courtney said as she looked at Michael and Maria in shock. “Since when does Michael go for the loser type?” “Since he danced with her at the Prom,” Tess said with a malicious grin. “You remember the dance that he left you stranded at? After basically doing that to her on the dance floor.” “One of these days princess,” Courtney said as she glared at Tess, “you are going to find that tiara of yours shoved up your ass where it belongs.” “And one of these days,” Maria said as she and Michael walked over to the group both blushing furiously, “you are going to find yourself in intensive care after I put you there. Why don’t you leave, you, Pam, and your sniveling sister aren’t welcome here?” “We don’t have to stay and listen to this,” Pam said as fire flashed in her eyes. “It was nice meeting you Kyle,” she added to the guy she had already decided to pick as her new challenge. “Since you’re new, we’ll give you some friendly advice. Stay way from these guys. The Royals are not something you want to even think about associating with.” “Thanks for the warning Pam,” Kyle said with a confused but still friendly smile. “I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m fully capable of making decisions on who to hang out with on my own.” “Suit yourself Valenti,” Courtney said as she glared at Maria, Isabel and Tess. “But be warned, the freak squad will make your popularity plummet. I mean, letting Maria into its depths certainly did it for the rest of them.” Maria took a step toward the girl when Isabel’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Get out of here Courtney,” Isabel said coolly, her eyes solid pools of ice. “You weren’t invited here. I think that makes you and your friends the freaks who have worn out their welcome. Do you really want to stick around with us Royals now that we aren’t concerned with playing nice? Don’t forget what we would and could gladly do to you. At least, what you outsiders seem to think we could do to you anyway.” Pam and Lauren visibly paled when they caught the hostile looks everyone but Kyle was giving them, but Courtney just glared at them fiercely before she walked back up the road toward the Boyd house three lanes over. “What the hell was that all about?” Kyle asked after they had left. “Don’t worry about it,” Michael said darkly. “It was nothing big.” “Let’s just say that us founder’s kids stick together and the others at school don’t like that,” Tess said, her baby blue eyes still flashing in anger. “Founder kids?” Kyle asked in confusion. “Now I’m really confused.” “Founder as in the original families that founded the town back in 1693,” Maria told him with a smile. “The Hardings, Delucas, Guerins, Whitmans, Harpers, and Coughlan’s all moved here, to this street, in 1693. Our houses are all the original families places redone. There aren’t any Coughlan’s left, so the city owns their place and gave it to you and your dad while he’s employed by the county. We,” she pointed to herself and her friends, “are the descendants of the founders. There are Harpers too,” she added, “but like the Coughlan’s they moved away after time. But Isabel and Michael’s mom, Aunt Georgia, didn’t want to give the house up to the city so it’s in her name.” “Can we save the history lesson for later?” Isabel asked as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Note to self,” she thought, “don’t ever get Maria started on local history, she’s too much like her mom.” With a toss of her head and a soft smile on her lips she returned her attention back to the others. “I’m sure that Kyle isn’t that interested in our boring history.” “Yeah,” Tess added with a grin. “Plus school starts tomorrow and we have to go shopping.” “Run,” Alex told Kyle and Michael seriously. “She said the ‘s’ word. We had better get out of their way before all hell breaks lose…oww!” Alex’s commentary was cut off when both Tess and Maria whacked him upside the head. “What did I say?” he asked as he rubbed his head. “Uh oh,” he thought as he glanced at Isabel and visibly paled. The beautiful girl was giving him the full death glare that only she had. “Man,” Kyle whispered to Michael. “I wouldn’t want to trade places with him right now for anything, not even 50-yard line tickets to the Superbowl.” “Me either,” Michael agreed as he smirked at Alex’s discomfort. His smirk widened into a wicked grin when he noticed Alex paling under Izzy’s glare. “Jesus,” he thought to himself, “Whitman is so whipped when it comes to my sister.” “Did we ask if we wanted you to come Mr. Whitman?” Isabel asked coolly with one perfect eyebrow arched in mockery. “I don’t seem to recall Tess saying we wanted boys – I’m sorry – Neanderthals, to come with us.” “Yuck,” Tess wrinkled her nose in distaste in unison with Maria. “Who in their right minds wants to go shopping with boys?” “Yeah,” Maria chimed as she started in with an infamous Deluca rant. “I mean, all they do is complain the whole time, they have no concept of fashion-bargain-shopping, and they can’t even give you an honest opinion on what you’re trying on.” “That’s because there’s no winning when a girl asks, ‘do I look OK in this’,” Kyle responded without thinking of the consequences. “And why girls have to go in every single store…” “Is a complete mystery that guys do not want to touch with a ten-foot pole,” Michael finished with a grin. “Kyle,” he added as he clapped the other guy on the shoulder in the typical male-primate fashion, “I think you will go far among us.” “Yeah,” Maria said with a dry look at both of them. “You’ll get along perfectly with the other apes.” Both Isabel and Tess began to giggle while Alex, Kyle and Michael glared at the petite girl. “We’ll catch you guys later,” the pixie said with a superior grin. She knew she’d gotten them that time. “We,” she linked arms with Isabel and Tess, “are going to the mall.” With that and one unified flouncing turn, the girls were gone, leaving Alex, Michael and Kyle standing in the Whitman yard alone with the twins, Jessie and Leigha. “Basketball anyone?” Michael asked as he picked up the ball and headed toward the goal. “Alex is at least half-way decent at this game,” he added to Kyle with a smirk. “Oh you’re just a riot,” Alex said as he effortlessly stole the ball from the bigger boy and made a perfect three-pointer. “You’re still bent because I hold the school record for three-pointers and free-throws.” The game was on. TBC

Part 6