Right In Front of Me

Author: Janet (SkyGirl5)

Genre: S/V, AU

Summary: Sydney and Michael have never been anything more than neighbors and close friends, but when they're dared to kiss at a friend's party that all may change.

A/N: This is the sequel/companion to a J/I fic White Flag; however, this fic can be read (and understood) without reading the J/I fic.

Disclaimer: Sydney, Vaughn, etc are properties of JJ Abrams and ABC.

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Chapters 1-10 // Chapters 11 - 20 + Epilogue

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Chapter 11

“Jeez, you women have a lot of crap,” Michael muttered from the doorway to Sydney’s bedroom as she was busy unpacking him. She hadn’t even noticed him until he spoke and then she jumped slightly before her face relaxed into a smile.

“Heyyy, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“Just got home and threw my crap down the stairs of the basement before coming over,” he grinned.

“Nice,” Sydney laughed. “How’d you get in?”

“Well, if you nudge the window on the first floor- kidding,” he laughed at the look on her face. “Your mom was leaving so she let me in.”

“Oh,” she smiled. “Nadia’s at school,” she told him, knowing that he was wondering if they were alone and free to be ‘girlfriend/boyfriend-y’ or not.

“Well then…,” he grinned as he walked in the room and kissed her. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she giggled. “So we survived the first semester, hmm?”

“I guess we did,” he laughed softly as he sat down on her bed. “Jeez Syd, you’ve got a lot of laundry,” he commented upon seeing the basket near his feet that was overflowing.

“Well, I didn’t do any since Thanksgiving,” she shrugged.

“Hey me neither,” he smiled. “So anyway, when are we going to tell our parents?”

“Well…I had a thought on that,” she said as she walked over and sat beside him. “What if we don’t tell them?”

“Ever?” he laughed.

“Well… no, not ever. I mean, okay you know what’s going to happen if we tell them?”

“Well…,” he thought for a moment, picturing that scenario in his mind. “Our mothers would hug and cry and then go buy some bridal magazines…. Your father would give me a threatening speech…. And we’d never hear the end of how pretty our babies will be,” he said seriously.

Sydney laughed, “EXACTLY! That’s what I mean. I mean, we’d never hear the end of it and every time they’d see us together they’d squeal and it would be horrible.”

“That’s true… so what do we do? When will we tell them? Our wedding day?” he suggested with a laugh.

Sydney’s heart fluttered slightly. “I dunno Vaughn, I think you’re getting ahead of yourself.”

“Oh really Bristow? You gonna dump me?” he asked with a smile.

She shook her head. “No… I’m just saying that’s in the future. Besides, I was thinking we wouldn’t tell them until they got their first grandchild. Then they can focus on the baby and not us.”

He laughed loudly. “So they’ll just think your pregnancy is…”

“Eh, we’ll keep ‘em guessing,” she shrugged.

“You’re insane.”

“I know,” she grinned. Michael leaned over and kissed her and Sydney rolled back on her bed so that they were lying side by side with their legs below their knees hanging off the bed haphazardly.

A few minutes into their kisses, Sydney started giggling so hysterically that she couldn’t stop. “Good lord, what happened?” Michael asked her.

“Your hand was on my stomach…. And it tickled and then I was like oh my god your hand is on my stomach!!” she explained in between laughs.

“You’re insane,” he told her seriously.

“I know. I can’t stop!”

“This will make you stop: you know I have to leave for Detroit soon, right?” he asked.

She stopped giggling and whined, “NOOOO,” as she clung to him. “Why Detroit?”

“My dad has a business thing there and apparently we all need to go,” he sighed.

“But Detroit in winter is like the worst place to go!” Sydney groaned.

“I know,” he sighed. “Hopefully it’ll only be a week though.”

Sydney frowned. “You’ll be gone for Christmas.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “But I’ll be back for New Years.”

“Oh,” she said hopefully. “That’s good.”

“Definitely. Soooo, I had an idea for when I get back,” he said.

“Hm?”

“Well, we should go on a day trip,” he suggested.

“A day trip in the middle of winter?” she asked softly.

“Well yeah, but it’s going to be the only way we can spend a whole day alone together, right?”

“Yeah,” she sighed sadly. “Maybe this sneaking around isn’t such a good idea.”

“Oh I dunno… it’s kinda fun,” he smiled.

“Yeah, it is,” she smiled.

“Besides, I mean, when have we ever done anything remotely bad? Not that this is bad… I mean, it’s not like we’re Romeo and Juliet and your father’s going to shoot me if he finds us together… well, he’d still shoot me but for an entirely different reason,” Michael said.

Sydney laughed and rolled over on her side so that her head was on his shoulder and her arm was across his stomach. “That’s true. But when my mom finds out she’s going to say that Nadia had a bad influence on us.”

“Why’s that? We haven’t obtained any extra piercings,” Michael told her.

“That’s true,” Sydney sighed. “Oh, speaking of piercing, Nadia wants to get her tongue pierced…”

“Dear god, why!?” Michael gasped.

“No idea,” Sydney shrugged.

“That would hurt soooooo badly,” he shivered.

“I know! But she wants it and asked me to go with her, claiming that I was her guardian,” Sydney sighed.

“Oh yeah, you totally look old enough to be her guardian,” Michael rolled his eyes.

“Yeah well…. Anyway, I told her that there was no way I was going and having to inevitably face the wrath of my parents, who probably know how to kill me in seventeen different ways before stashing the body where it will never be found – not that Nadia knows this,” Sydney added.

“They haven’t told her yet?” Michael asked.

“Nope,” Sydney sighed. “They won’t until she turns eighteen or displays some reasonable sense of maturity, which if they’re going by the ‘whatever comes last’ rule, they’ll never get to tell her.”

He laughed, “Way to be a supportive sister, Syd.”

“Well… I really don’t know what’s with her. I just have this horrible sinking feeling that in ten years she’s going to be coming to us after her sleazy boyfriend has dumped her and she needs to sleep on our couch for a few months and steal money for drugs.”

“Sydney, that’s awful!” Michael exclaimed.

“Okay well, maybe not the drugs part, but you have to admit I have a point about the sleazy boyfriend part,” she said to him.

“Yeah true,” he grumbled. They fell back into silence for a few more minutes as Michael gently stroked her arm while they lay together on hr bed, until they heard a door slam downstairs.

“That’s Nadia,” Sydney sighed when she sat up.

“Wanna go to a movie?” he asked, sitting up as well.

“Gotta finish unpacking, then we’ll go,” she said.

“I’ll help you,” he smiled proudly as he bent over towards the duffle bag she had been unpacking but she snatched his hand back.

“Not so fast, mister. I have very delicate items in there,” she told him.

“Syd, your thongs don’t freak me out,” he said with a cocky smirk.

“Michael!” she screeched and smacked his chest as her cheeks turned slightly rose colored. “How do you know I wear thongs, anyway?”

“Uhh,” he said while pointing down at the laundry basket where a few of such items were visible. Sydney blushed deeper. “You’re so cute when you do that.”

“Shut up and get out of my room,” she groaned as she shoved him.

“No, come on I’ll stare at the ceiling, I swear,” he said as he looked directly up. “See.” Sydney laughed and shook her head.





Chapter 12

Much to Sydney’s happiness, she found out that the Vaughn’s would be joining them for lunch on New Year’s Day. She was still slightly sad that she wouldn’t get to spend New Year’s Eve with Michael, but in speaking to him over the phone, he promised her that having the first kiss of the New Year was the same thing as kissing at midnight, except you weren’t as tired from staying up all night the next day.

While she was painfully waiting for the New Year to arrive, Sydney began to think about how exactly she and Michael were going to achieve that coveted first kiss of the New Year under the watchful eye of their parents. Her house wasn’t like Michael’s, where they could easily slip into his basement room for a few minutes alone. While Michael was technically allowed up in Sydney’s room, as was imaginable, her father wasn’t overly thrilled with the idea. Plus, Michael being up there usually involved some type of purpose, such as, Sydney being too sick to move from bed, or Sydney insisting on showing Michael her prom dress or the new colors the walls had been painted. Randomly going up there would have caused suspicion.

In the end, she decided the best place was the laundry room. Not exactly the most romantic spot in the house, but it was near the downstairs bathroom and thus and excusable place to walk towards and slip into unnoticed for a few minutes.

While waiting for the Vaughn’s, Sydney was literarily pacing around her foyer and she lunged at the front door when the bell rang. “Hey, how was Detroit?” Sydney smiled at Michael when walked in behind his parents.

“It snowed. A lot,” he grumbled.

“Aww,” she said sympathetically.

“Oh Michael it wasn’t that bad,” his mother sighed.

“Shocking coming from someone who was born and raised on the beaches of France,” he commented. She rolled her eyes.

“Sydney, will you please take everyone’s coats upstairs?” Irina asked her daughter.

Sydney smiled; even better than her laundry room plan. “Sure,” she said while collecting Amelia and Bill’s coats and then wrenching Michael up the stairs with her.

She had barely set the coats down on the long bench in their upstairs hallway when Michael pounced on her. “Happy New Year,” she giggled after their kiss.

“Mmhmm,” he sighed with his forehead against hers. “You know what would have made Detroit perfect?”

“Hmm?”

“Sitting by the fireside, all wrapped up in blankets with some hot cocoa,” he whispered to her. Sydney got chills thinking about how perfect that would be. She simply nodded and kissed him again quickly before they both went back downstairs, knowing that their absence would be noticed.

“So, Sydney, your mother told me about that boyfriend of yours. Are you two still together?” Amelia asked her casually during their meal.

Sydney nearly choked as Michael’s eyes widened at her across the table. “Uhhh,” she stammered.

“What was his name again… it began with a J didn’t it?” Amelia asked.

Sydney tried desperately to remember the name she had made up until her mom said, “James, wasn’t it?”

“Uh yeah, that’s it,” Sydney said quickly.

“Dating someone? Really, that’s… interesting,” Michael said to her.

“You mean she didn’t tell you?!” Amelia asked in shock.

“No,” Michael said, sounding slightly miffed. “She didn’t.”

Sydney shrank even more, but defended herself by saying, “Well, do you tell me about your college girlfriends?”

“Well, they’re not so much ‘girlfriends’ as they are… social acquaintances,” he smiled proudly, but only for a moment because his mother smacked him on the back of his head and he cowered away from her. Then, she muttered something to him in French, which Sydney didn’t understand because she had never taken the time to learn the language, despite Amelia’s persisting.

“Sydney, why didn’t I know about this boyfriend?” her father asked sharply.

Sydney gave a frustrated groan. “He was never really a boyfriend, exactly. I mean…. We went on a few dates, but we decided we were better as friends.”

“Well that’s alright, dear, there are plenty of other better fish in the sea, as they say. Unfortunately, it would seem my son isn’t one of them,” Amelia said with a sideways glare. Michael gaped indignantly as Sydney snorted slightly. “Social acquaintances, honestly,” Amelia muttered.

“Jeez, you can’t even make a joke around here…,” Michael muttered. “But that’s good though, I’m sick of you trying to get me with this loser,” he said as he gestured towards Sydney with his fork. She gave him a shocked look before kicking him under the table. He yelped and everyone laughed.

Later that afternoon, after their meal was finished, Sydney and Michael went out for a walk just as the sun was beginning to set. “Social acquaintances, huh?” she smiled at him.

“Well, who the hell is James?” Michael asked in returned.

“I don’t know,” she laughed. “It was the first male name I thought of when my mom was grilling me about boyfriends and Nadia was saying how I was pining over you.”

“Pining?” Michael laughed.

“Yes, that’s the word she used too,” Sydney smiled. Then her face fell serious as she asked, “You don’t really have social acquaintances, do you?”

“Unless social acquaintance means ‘just friends’, no I don’t,” he smiled.

“How sad for the ladies that must be throwing themselves at you,” she teased.

He laughed. “Well… I do beat them off with a stick occasionally.”

“I bet,” she smiled. “Hey look… it’s snowing,” she pointed to the white flakes drifting down around them.

“Great,” he grumbled. “Like I haven’t had enough of that in the past week.”

“It’s romantic,” she smiled at him.

“Yeah, I guess… we’re a bit too close to the houses to be romantic though,” he pointed out.

“So let’s walk a bit further,” Sydney suggested with a smile. Michael nodded in agreement and they both walked a bit faster until they were around the corner, away from their parent’s homes. Michael leaned down and kissed Sydney softly. She giggled, “Perfect.”

“Definitely,” he agreed as he gently brushed some snowflakes off her face.



Chapter 13

Three days after New Year’s, Sydney and Michael managed to slip away for their ‘road trip’. It was a relatively warm day (warm for the middle of winter, that is) so they decided to drive to Washington, DC, which was about an hour away. Once there, they visited some of the touristy spots and spent the whole day together holding hands and hugging with a few kisses in between, which both of them loved. Sadly, only a week after that, they were forced to return to school to begin their second semester.

For Sydney, that semester was surprisingly better than the first one (academically anyway), but for Michael it was far worse. His original major had been bio-chemistry, but only two weeks into his second round of classes, he knew he was in far over his head, so he decided to switch to business, a drastic change that everyone mocked him for. He was fine with it though, knowing that it was much better to get mostly A’s and a few B’s in business than flunk all of his chemistry and biology classes, which, obviously, would have resulted in him flunking out of school entirely.

Finally, their spring break came and both Sydney and Michael welcomed the temporary academic relief as well as an opportunity to see one another. As usual, Sydney bounded over to the Vaughn’s the moment she arrived home and was able to give Michael a hug, but that was all since Amelia was hovering over them. Once they noticed Sydney’s mother had left their house, however, they made up a lame excuse and switched dwellings.

They had barely made it inside the door when they started kissing but Sydney stopped them. “Wait, wait,” she sighed. “Your mother can see through the windows..”

“Yeah, if she has binoculars,” Michael rolled his eyes.

“But still, if someone walks in…”

“Okay; good point. Upstairs it is then,” he smiled a wicked grin.

“Not quite,” Sydney laughed softly at him. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Sorry, sorry I’ve just been influenced by my mother, who forced me to go to the mall with her and look at baby clothes after which she proceeded to cry about how much she wanted a grandchild,” he sighed.

“Oh no,” Sydney laughed softly. “But she did have a point. Every time I see those adorable clothes I want a baby too… until I remember my age.”

“Right,” He laughed softly. “I guess it’s a girl thing. Not that I don’t want kids, I just think we should wait.”

Sydney smiled at him. “You said we.” He shrugged and looked at her questioningly. “Well, I mean, do you think it’s weird that we do that? Mention the future like weddings and marriage and kids and stuff?”

“No… do you?” he asked cautiously.

“No I don’t, but other people probably would,” she told him.

“I guess… but I figure this isn’t just some stupid fling of a relationship. It’s… you know… we’re…,” he let his voice drift off.

“Yeah, I know,” she smiled. “And I love you.”

“Well, I love you too,” he grinned. Then he kissed her softly. That soft kiss turned into heavy, passionate kisses as they rolled back on Sydney’s bed, Michael lying on top of her.

“This is new,” she mumbled.

“Bad new?” he asked.

“Definitely good,” she giggled.

Unfortunately, during these kissing activities, they failed to realize that Nadia had come home and was making her way upstairs to her own room, which unfortunately meant she had to walk past Sydney’s room. As she did this, she glanced briefly into it and thought she saw Sydney lying across her bed. But upon closer inspection, she saw that Sydney was pinned beneath another figure. She nearly screamed until she realized who the figure was and then the noise she made was a half-scream, half-laugh. Then she continued laughing until she was practically doubled over on the floor while the two figures on the bed looked horrified.

Sydney looked up at Michael in horror as he scrambled off of her and they both sat up. “Nadia… this isn’t what it looks like,” Sydney said breathlessly.

“Really?!” Nadia choked, still laughing. “So then he was just checking your teeth for cavities… with his tongue.”

“Nadia!” Sydney groaned while turning slightly pink.

“Oh, Mom is gonna love this,” Nadia sighed, seeming to have regained part of her composure, at least enough to get off the floor.

“NO! You cannot tell her,” Sydney insisted. “Nadia, please, don’t.”

“Why? Are you two just… in it for the sex?” she asked quietly.

“NA-DI-A!!!!!!!” Sydney groaned. “We’re not having sex. We’re in a relationship.”

“Since when?” Nadia asked in a shocked tone.

“The summer,” Sydney cringed slightly.

“SERIOUS?! You’ve been hiding this from Mom for like nine months?!” Nadia gasped. Sydney nodded. “Wow… I have to admit I’m impressed.”

“Thanks,” Sydney sighed. “But you know what would happen if we told Mom and Amelia.”

“They’d have you married by the end of the summer,” Nadia said seriously.

“EXACTLY! Which is why you cannot tell them!” Sydney practically begged her sister.

“Fine,” Nadia sighed. “But only because no one deserves to be subjected to that kind of insanity.”

“Thank you, you’re a good sister,” Sydney smiled, walked forward and hugged her.

“Yeah, yeah, just don’t let me walk in on that kissy crap again or I’m liable to throw up on you,” she told them.

“Deal,” Sydney laughed.

Later that evening, after Michael had gone, Sydney walked over to her sister’s room, intent on thanking her once more.

“Did your lover leave?” Nadia teased quietly.

“Shh,” Sydney hissed at her as she carefully shut the door behind her. “I just wanted to thank you again for… you know.”

“Eh, no problem,” Nadia waved her hand casually. “Besides, this gives me something to hang over your head for later,” she smiled innocently. Sydney rolled her eyes. “So uh, you and him are serious, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess we are,” Sydney laughed softly. “I mean… I’m kinda worried about it though, because we’ve never had a whole block of uninterrupted time together… it’s just bits here and there.”

“It’ll work out,” Nadia told her. “I mean, you’re friggin’ perfect for each other.”

“You think so?” Sydney asked in surprise.

Her sister nodded. “I mean, obviously not as psychotically as Mom and Amelia… but yeah, it’s obvious.”

“Thanks Nad,” Sydney smiled at her.

“No problem – but I was serious before. I cannot see you guys you know… mauling each other again,” she shivered.

“I promise, you won’t,” Sydney laughed.



Chapter 14

Both Sydney and Michael were very excited at the prospect of the quickly approaching summer. In their idealistic minds, they thought the summer would be the perfect time for them to explore their relationship to it’s fullest extent, not in the physical sense (a subject which they had yet to discuss), but in the way that they’d be around each other practically uninterrupted. Unfortunately, they both became consumed with their summer working schedules, which didn’t exactly mesh perfectly together. However, they were able to see each other at least every other day, which was far better than every six weeks.

During their together time they would often go down to Michael’s room where they had the freeness and privacy to kiss whenever they wanted, however that behavior was so uncharacteristic of them in recent years, it began to draw suspicion, which they didn’t notice until Amelia asked if they were building some type of nuclear weapon she should know about. After that, they tried to limit their time in the basement and were forced to find other places to make out. Luckily for them, Sydney’s mother was teaching two summer courses so she wasn’t around as much as she usually was during the summer. This meant that they could use Sydney’s house as a place to be themselves because even though Nadia was there (and nauseated by them) she already knew about their relationship status so they had nothing to worry about.

“OH! I almost forgot to tell you,” Michael said to Sydney as they were walking back from the baseball field (one of their hideaways) late one evening in August.

“They’re extending summer until October so we have more time together?” Sydney asked hopefully.

“I wish,” Michael laughed softly. “No, my parents told me to today that I can take my car back to school with me, which meaaaaaans….”

“You’re going to visit me!” Sydney squealed.

“Precisely,” he smiled. Sydney jumped up and hugged him around the neck.

“This is going to be the best semester ever!” she grinned.

“I know and I looked on a map and I think it’ll only take me like forty-five minutes to get there,” he told her.

“That’s excellent,” Sydney beamed. “Oh, I’m so excited now,” she said with an excited little clap of her hands.

“You are too cute, you know that?” he laughed softly at her. She grinned broadly. “Alright, alright we’re getting close to home. Start acting normal.”

“I am normal,” she insisted.

“Suuuuure,” he rolled his eyes. She smacked him. “Kidding,” he laughed. “You go ahead; I’ll wait tonight,” he said, referring to the ingenious plan they had created. They had thought that, even though they were best friends, the two of them spending every waking free moment together would arise suspicion, so they only let their parents see them walking together once or twice a week. Instead, whenever they snuck off to some location, they would go home separately so that no one would be any the wiser.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she waved to him as she continued on her way, practically skipping from how excited she was about being able to have Michael visit her at school.

“Hey Mom,” Sydney sighed, still unable to wipe the smile off her face, when she walked in her house.

“Hello,” her mother said in an unusually short tone.

Confused and taken aback, Sydney’s brow furrowed and she asked, “Is there something wrong?”

“No nothing,” Irina said while continuing to scrub the kitchen sink. Her tone indicated that there was quite obviously something wrong, something big in fact.

“Seriously, what is it?” Sydney asked as she walked towards her. “I mean, you’ve been kinda weird around me for a few days… did I do something?” she asked, clearly having no idea what she could have done.

“No, Sydney, you didn’t do anything,” Irina sighed. Then she looked over at her daughter, who clearly looked concerned that she may have done something wrong. “It’s just… you used to tell me things Sydney, and I guess… I guess I’m just hurt that you stopped talking to me like you used to.”

Sydney had to laugh softly at this. “Seriously, what are you talking about? I tell you stuff.”

“You haven’t told me what boy you’re sneaking out to see,” Irina told her pointedly. Sydney went slightly pale as her heart rate sped up. “I’m not stupid, Sydney. I was young once. I understand that you… need to… you know, date. I just don’t understand why you can’t be open about it and why you’re using Michael as an excuse,” Irina told her exasperatedly.

“Michael as an excuse?” Sydney asked slowly.

“Yes, your sister keeps telling us you and Michael went to the movies or you went to the book store and you yourself say that. You two haven’t spent this much time together since you were infants!” Irina exclaimed. Sydney cringed.

“It’s fine, Sydney, you don’t have to tell me,” her mother said sadly. “But you don’t have to hide it anymore either.”

Sydney felt absolutely horrible. The guilt was eating her up inside and the sad tone her mother was using only made it worse to the point where she was nearly in tears. Finally, she decided it was best to give in. “Mom, you can’t tell anyone, not Dad, not Amelia, not anyone,” Sydney sniffed. Her mother looked at her curiously. “It is Michael,” she said in a very quiet whisper.

“What is?” Irina asked in confusion. Sydney gave a rather suggestive nod of her head and her mother’s eyes welled with tears. “You….you and Michael?”

“Yeah…,” Sydney laughed nervously. Irina flung herself onto her daughter and hugged her so tightly, Sydney could hardly breathe. “Mom… you’re killing me,” Sydney croaked, but Irina didn’t let go.

After a moment she did let go and then sobbed, “When did this happen?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Well, isn’t that obvious?!” Sydney practically laughed. “I didn’t want to have THIS reaction. You and Amelia would have gone out and bought wedding invitations and we would have felt so pressured and smothered!” Sydney exclaimed.

“Oh Sydney, we wouldn’t have done that,” Irina said. Sydney gave her a look. “I won’t deny that we would have been excited, but wedding invitations is slightly extreme. You know Amelia and I are mostly just teasing you and Michael.”

“Yeah,” Sydney grumbled. “But that’s why we didn’t tell you… not at first anyway,” Sydney sighed.

“So tell me how it happened?” she asked excitedly. “Was it this summer? A few weeks ago?”

“Actually,” Sydney said cautiously as she bit her thumbnail. “Tomorrow’s our one year anniversary.”

“ONE YEAR!” Irina exclaimed loudly.

“MOM SHHH!” Sydney hissed at her.

“You’ve been sneaking around for a year?!” she asked more quietly but still in the same stunned as ever tone.

“Uh huh,” Sydney nodded. “I mean, not the whole year because obviously we were at school but...”

“Well, this does begin to explain some things… but you’ve been with him for a year!” Irina exclaimed happily.

“Yeah,” Sydney giggled. “He’s just… I mean we’re…well, you were right,” Sydney told her with a smile.

“Of course I was,” Irina said proudly.

Sydney laughed softly. “But seriously Mom, you can’t tell Amelia. I’m not even going to tell Michael that you know.”

“Why not?” Irina asked. “Can’t you just tell us all?”

“Well… no, I mean, we still don’t want everyone scrutinizing us… we’ll tell everyone eventually, but for now please just keep it to yourself.”

“Fine,” Irina sighed, knowing there was nothing else she could do. “At least I know.”

“And Nadia knows,” Sydney told her.

“Did she figure it out?” Irina asked in shock.

“No,” Sydney laughed. “She caught us kissing.”

“Oh,” Irina laughed. “I’m sure she appreciated that.”

“No, she really didn’t,” Sydney sighed.



Chapter 15

Because of their equally busy school schedules, Sydney and Michael were unable to plan a visit until the last week in September. Michael planned on driving to Sydney’s school on Saturday afternoon, after a morning meeting with a group he was doing an assignment with, then he and Sydney were going to spend the day and afternoon as well as the night together, before he’d return to his own school Sunday around lunch time.

The next step in achieving their brilliant plan involved Sydney talking to her roommate about having her boyfriend sleep over. Her roommate, Aimee, was someone she met through one of her classes the previous year. They weren’t best friends; they simply coexisted quite harmoniously. Aimee often spent the night in someone else’s room, so Sydney figured asking her if it was alright for Michael to come over would be no problem for her.

“It’s perfectly fine,” Aimee said. “I’ll just crash someplace else. Oh and you can even use these candles I haven’t gotten a chance to use yet.”

“Candles?” Sydney asked curiously.

“Yeah, you know, for some mood lighting,” Aimee said suggestively.

“OH!” Sydney gasped, realizing her implication. “No, no see, Michael and I aren’t…like that,” she finished rather weakly.

“Haven’t you two been together for over a year?” Aimee asked with confusion.

“Yeah… but we’ve also known each other since we were babies,” Sydney explained.

“Oh I see,” Aimee nodded. “Stuck behind that ‘friend’ barrier… well from what I’ve heard, that makes it better,” Aimee winked.

For the rest of the time before Michael’s visit, Sydney’s excitement was partially masked with anxiety. She and Michael had never even come close to discussing that aspect of their relationship. It wasn’t as though it was a prominent issue either. They barely had a few minute alone to sneak a kiss let alone any other sort of activity. Also, Aimee had a point. Sydney and Michael were still partially stuck in that ‘friend’ area. She would definitely have trouble thinking of him as her ‘lover’, then again, the more she thought about it, the more she realized she’d have trouble thinking of anyone that way, since she wasn’t as sex driven as some people she knew, namely her roommate.

Finally, when Michael arrived and Sydney went out to greet him, he noticed her strange attitude. “What’s up with you?” he asked.

“Just, um, something… we can talk about it later,” she assured him. He looked slightly concerned but nodded anyway.

After his arrival, Sydney took Michael to meet some of her friends, who had been dying to meet her infamous boyfriend. Then, they walked around campus for a bit before grabbing dinner and returning to Sydney’s room, which had been vacated by Aimee.

“So, um, the reason I was so freaked out before was… well, Aimee mentioned something about us needing ‘mood lighting,’” she said with air quotes. “And… well… you know we never really talked about that,” Sydney cringed as she began to sweat slightly from nerves.

“Well, I know… but it wasn’t really an issue I mean, what are we going to do? Do it in my basement during the five minutes my mom thinks we’re playing video games? Or worse… in the dugout,” he cringed.

“Exactly!” Sydney laughed. “It’s not exactly conducive to passionate romantic evenings.”

“Not summuch, no,” he laughed. “It’s not an issue… I mean unless you had plans to strip me right now –then it might be an issue.”

“I didn’t,” she laughed softly. “I just like us being like this,” she sighed and hugged him.

“Me too,” he said as he kissed her head. “So… this bed…. You know it looks smaller to me, somehow.”

“We’re gonna be like on top of each other,” Sydney laughed.

“That’s okay… it’s not like we haven’t spend the night together… in the same bed,” he added.

“Exactly,” she smiled.

The two of them then curled up on the bed with their backs against the wall as they watched the television across from them. “You know, your dorm is so much better than mine,” Michael sighed.

“Why’s that?” Sydney asked.

“Well first, it doesn’t smell… there aren’t drunken people stumbling around the hallway…oh. and no one’s set off the fire alarm yet,” Michael told her.

“You live in a hole, Michael,” Sydney said seriously.

“I know,” he laughed. “It’s really bad.”

Later that night, when they were both getting ready for bed, Michael looked over at Sydney, who was shoving her dirty clothes into her laundry bag, and asked rather randomly, “Hey Syd, where’s your birthmark?”

“What?” she laughed.

“Yeah, remember you told me about that heart shaped birthmark…”

“You remember that?” she asked with a smile.

“Well yeah. It intrigued me. So where is it?” he asked with a grin. She shook her head and ignored him. “Come onnnnnn, where is it? Come on, tell me, come onnn,” he whined.

“Fine, it’s on my butt,” she laughed.

“Oh?” he asked, sounding even more interested. “Lemme see it then.”

“I’m pretending you didn’t say that,” she told him seriously.

“Eh, can’t blame me for trying,” he shrugged. Then he looked at the bed from a few different angles before asking, “Okay, how are we doing this?”

“Well… I’ll get up against the wall and then you can get in beside me,” Sydney said. She then turned off the lights and they attempted to execute this plan while laughing the whole time. “Okay, we have a problem.”

“What?” Michael asked.

“The wall is freezing,” she told him.

“Fine, we’ll switch,” he sighed.

“Easier said than done,” she giggled.

“No, I got it, hold on,” he said. Then he pulled her down so she was laying flat on her back and tried to crawl over her, which resulted in him lying on top of her. “This works,” he laughed.

“Except you’re crushing me,” she groaned.

“Right, okay, got it,” he said as he flattened himself against the wall. “Good?”

“Very,” she sighed. Then she kissed him softy. “’night.”



Chapter 16

Michael was only able to visit Sydney twice more at school because of academic obligations and conflicts, but they were both glad for that much, since when he visited, they weren’t looking over their shoulders or carefully listening for approaching footsteps; they were free to simply be in love with each other.

Finally, winter break arrived, and because of their differing final exam schedules, Sydney came home two days before Michael, meaning she moped and sulked in front of the TV until the day of his return arrived. He wasn’t scheduled to be back until at least dinner time because his exams ran into the afternoon, so in the morning, Sydney volunteered to help her mother organize and staple packets of information for the four week class she was teaching over winter break.

“This will actually work out well for you, Sydney,” Irina said, referring to the fact that she’d be teaching over break. “I’ll be out of the house so you and Michael can… spend some time before he leaves.”

At first, Sydney rolled her eyes slightly at this. Ever since she had found out the truth, Irina made it a habit to make comments like that whenever she and Sydney were alone. Sydney suspected she was simply proud that she actually knew the truth and enjoyed showing it off. Then, Sydney realized exactly what her mother had said and asked, “Wait, what do you mean ‘before he leaves’?”

“You know, before he goes to France for the semester,” Irina said casually. Then, she looked up and noticed the half-horrified, half-furious look on her daughter’s face. “Which… apparently, he didn’t tell you about,” Irina cringed.

“WAIT!” Sydney screamed, practically frantic. “Go back. Explain.”

“Well… Amelia told me that she talked Michael into spending a semester abroad. He decided to go to France since he’s fluent in French… I’m so sorry Sydney, I had no idea that he wouldn’t discuss it with you especially since… well…”

“He’s going to France… for the entire semester,” Sydney stammered, entirely livid. Her mother nodded slowly. “So… when does the little liar leave?”

“Right after New Year’s,” Irina told her quietly.

“New Year’s!? I cannot believe he didn’t tell me!” Sydney exclaimed as she threw up her hands in anger. “Why wouldn’t he tell me?!”

“I don’t know,” Irina said truthfully.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Sydney muttered bitterly.

“Well… he might have a reasonable explanation…I can’t think of one, but maybe,” Irina said hopefully. Sydney growled.

For the rest of the day, she fumed. She paced her house and cleaned everything in sight (something she did when she was trying to get out excess emotion of some sort). Finally she saw Michael walking up to her house with a smile on his face, and she could have killed him right there. She opened the front door and stared him down.

“O-okay…,” he said slowly. “What’s with the look, Syd? You look like you’re going to kill someone.”

“I am!” she grunted. He looked even more confused until she smacked him on the back of his head and shouted, “YOU JERK!”

“Wha-” but Michael was unable to finish his thought because Sydney smacked his arm and then hit his other arm and the back of his head again. “WOULD YOU STOP THAT!?” Michael shouted as he ran away from her and into the family room so that the couch was in between them. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What the hell is wrong with you!??? YOU’RE GOING TO FRANCE!” she screamed.

Michael’s face fell and he looked sheepishly down at his feet. “Sydney, I can-”

“France! FRANCE!” she cut him off. “That’s an entire ocean away. And I found out from my mother, my mother, who was told by your mother. But do I find out?! Me? Your girlfriend? Noooooo, of course not. Why would you tell me? What did you plan on do?! Slip out in the middle of the night and send me a postcard?! ‘By the way honey, I’ll see you in May’. OR. were you going to shout it out as you left for the airport?!”

“Stop it,” Michael cut her off. “I was going to tell you now.”

“Two weeks before you left?!” she asked in an obviously hurt tone.

“I know,” he sighed. “I’m sorry. I was going to tell you sooner but I didn’t want you to be upset.”

“OHHHHH, I’m sorry you didn’t want me to be upset? You didn’t want me to be upset then, unlike now, when I’m not upset at all!” she wailed.

“Syd, I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to ruin the happiness we had,” he sighed.

“Well, too late,” she snapped. “Just go. Leave,” she pointed towards her front door.

“Syd, come on,” he pleaded as he walked towards her.

“No, just go. Go to France, Michael. See if I care,” she said before walking up the stairs and into her room, where she slammed the door and flung herself down onto her bed.

It was about ten minutes before Michael slowly walked up the stairs and into Sydney’s room. “Go away,” she mumbled when she heard her bedroom door squeak open.

“Come on Syd, talk to me,” he sighed as he sat down on her bed.

“No,” she mumbled. “I don’t like you.”

“Yes you do. You love me.”

“Yeah, but I don’t like you,” she retorted. He rested a hand gently on her back and she rolled over and looked up at him with her tear stained cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want to face having to say goodbye to you,” he admitted. She sat up and looked at him. “I mean… we’ve been together our whole lives. The longest we were ever apart was when I went to summer camp that one year and it was awful. And now…. I really don’t want to leave you,” he sighed as he reached out and brushed away a fresh tear that was running down her cheek. “Can I put you in my suitcase and bring you along?”

She laughed softly and sniffed back her tears. “I hate that you can make me smile even when I’m pissed at you.”

“It’s my gift,” he smiled.

She gave him a look. “You’re not getting off that easily. You should have told me.”

“I know,” he sighed. “And I meant to tell you half a dozen times, but I knew it would bring down the mood and we were alone together so rarely that…. Well, I just didn’t want to make it suck.”

“Yeah,” she said sadly. Then she leaned into him and he pulled her into a hug. “I’m gonna miss you so much.”

“I’m gonna miss you more,” he sighed into her hair.

“I’m coming along in your carry-on bag, okay?”

“Okay,” he laughed.



Chapter 17

For the two weeks before Michael left for France, he and Sydney were nearly inseparable and neither of them cared if their parents found out about their relationship or not. Not that they were casual about kissing in front of them, they didn’t do that, they simply hugged a lot and refused to be separated. Finally, when it was time for Michael to leave for the airport, Amelia and Irina literally had to pry the two of them apart while Sydney cried and cursed at Michael for being ‘a big, dumb half-French person’.

While he was away, Sydney emailed Michael no less than three times a day, but since he had no internet connection available where he was staying, he was only able to check his email on weekends, which meant he had a lot of catching up to do. Despite missing Sydney, though, Michael actually had a good time in France, but he was definitely ready to come home at the end of his semester there.

The seventeen weeks and three days that Sydney and Michael were apart were the longest of her life. She never realized that it was possible to miss someone you loved that much until Michael had gone an ocean away. She missed just being able to pick up the phone and call him. She missed talking to him on a regular basis and she missed seeing him during her spring break. By two weeks before his return, she was counting down the hours. She also rearranged the schedule for all her final exams so that she could come home on the same day as him. She could barely force herself to study; she was so excited to see him.

Finally the day arrived and Sydney didn’t even bother waiting in her house; she waited on the Vaughn’s front porch and stood up immediately when she caught sight of the car. Michael had barely put one foot on the ground when Sydney tackled into him with a hug. He laughed and stumbled backwards so much that if he hadn’t been leaning against the car, he would have fallen; that was how forcefully she hugged him. “I hope this is Sydney,” he laughed softly as he hugged her back.

“It is!” she cried, her voice muffled because her face was buried in his shoulder. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” he whispered and kissed her head. He went to walk forward, but she was weighing him down. “Syd,” he laughed softly.

“Nooo, no,” she whined and clung to him tighter.

He ended up walking into the house, still wearing his ‘Sydney necklace’. Once inside, Sydney removed her arms from around his neck and moved them to around his waist. “You’re not letting go anytime soon, are you?”

“No, I’m never letting go, ever,” she told him seriously.

“I think she missed you, Michael,” Amelia laughed softly.

“Yeah, thanks,” he rolled his eyes at her.

“You’re never allowed to go again, okay? Not unless you take me too,” Sydney sighed.

“Deal,” he laughed at her.

After clinging to him for another solid hour, Sydney finally begrudgingly left when she had to go and pick up her work schedule for the following week, but she promised she’d be back in a few hours so that she and Michael could spend the evening together. Once she was gone, Michael carried his suitcases directly to the laundry room where he began separating the items that needed washed. While he was doing this, his mother came in and smiled at him.

“What’s with you?” he asked her.

“Come now, Michael, I am not blind,” she said knowingly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said seriously.

“You and Sydney. The way she hugged you,” Amelia said.

“She’s insane and she hasn’t seen me for seventeen weeks,” he said casually.

“Mmmhmm,” Amelia said in a tone making it clear she wasn’t buying into what he was saying. She stared at him for ten minutes before he groaned loudly.

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you to admit that you and Sydney have finally become more than friends,” Amelia told him.

“Fine,” he grunted. “We’re together romantically. Happy?”

Amelia squealed and hugged her son tightly, kissing both of his cheeks with a loud smacking noise. “I am so happy for you!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled as he wiped his cheeks where she had kissed with the palm of his hand.

“So, how did it happen? Did you write her a letter? Or no! Was it right before you left for France?” she asked excitedly.

“Actually, in a few months, it will be two years,” he told her.

If Amelia hadn’t been leaning up against the washer, she would have fallen over. “TWO YEARS!”

“Yep,” he smiled proudly. “Two whole years and you didn’t find out.”

“Michael, you are a horrible son,” Amelia pouted.

“What?! Why?” he laughed.

“Because! You kept this from me! I am insulted!” she spat.

“Mother, you know that if I had told you, you would have freaked out and run next door and grabbed Irina and gone to the nearest bridal shop and gone… nuts, basically. Sydney and I didn’t tell you because we didn’t want that type of insane reaction,” he told her.

“Well…,” Amelia began, but her son gave her a look. “Alright well, I understand why you didn’t tell us at first, but TWO years, Michael.”

“I’m sorry,” he told her. “We’ll tell you guys eventually, but until then you cannot tell anyone that you know, not even Irina. Not until I talk it over with Syd. Promise me.”

“Fine,” Amelia grumbled. “But you know I cannot keep secrets long!”

“I know,” he laughed softly.

“So you and Sydney, hmm? Two years,” Amelia smile grew larger with each word.

“Mom, don’t be nosey,” Michael sighed.

“If you tell me something, I’ll be more inclined to keep my mouth shut,” she told him.

“That’s blackmail,” he laughed. She looked more serious. “If I allow you to come with me when I’m shopping for rings, will that keep you quiet?”

Amelia burst into tears and flung herself on her son, who simply stood there helpless, patting his mother’s back softly. “Wow, okay, it’s okay…,” he said awkwardly.

“It’s perfect. You two are going to be so happy! You’re going to have the prettiest little chubby babies!” Amelia sobbed.

“Yeah… I know Mom,” he sighed, coming to the full realization of why he and Sydney hadn’t told her in the first place.



Chapter 18

When Sydney returned to the Vaughn’s after picking up her work schedule, she went immediately down to Michael’s room since Amelia told her he was taking a nap to attempt to recover from his jet lag. Sydney found him still asleep, so she crawled in bed beside him and hugged him tightly. It was a solid twenty minutes before he woke up and noticed her. “Well, this certainly is a wonderful way to wake up.”

“Mmhmm,” Sydney smiled before rolling over on him and kissing him.

When Michael finally pulled out of the sense-shattering kiss she had given him, he squeaked, “Well… if that’s how you’re going to greet me, I’m gonna go away more often.”

“Nooo, you’re not allowed,” she whined and clung to him.

“Don’t worry, I don’t want to,” he smiled at her.

“Okay,” she giggled. “So, what are your plans for summer?”

“Ummm, being with my pretty girlfriend… being with my loving girlfriend… being with my sexy girlfriend… those are all different people, you know,” he told her with a smirk.

She laughed loudly. “Oh yeah? Which one am I?”

“None of them,” he told her. She gaped at him. “You’re my Sydney girlfriend and she’s the best one.”

Her heart fluttered slightly as she leaned over and kissed him. “Good answer.”

“I’m glad you approve,” he smiled. “What about you?”

“Being with my really hot and sexy boyfriend… but that’s not you,” she smiled.

He rolled his eyes. “Uh huh.”

“Yeah, compared to him you’re ugly,” she said, unable to hide her giggles at the end.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked.

“Because I can’t imagine you being ugly.”

“Oh,” he smiled. “I’m glad.”

“Uh huh,” she sighed as she laid her head down on his chest. “I told my parents I wouldn’t be seeing them until tomorrow,” she told him casually.

“Oh really? And how did your dad react to that?” Michael asked.

“Not very well… but my mom managed to get him to give me a sympathy approval by saying ‘Jack, you watched her cry her eyes out for four months, give the girl a break’,” she said with an attempt to mock her mother’s accent.

“You’re so cute,” he laughed softly.

“Well… I could have said it in Russian like she had, but then you wouldn’t have understood,” she told him.

“See, you’re just a smartie pants,” he poked her side.

“No, you just chose not to pay attention when she was trying to teach us,” Sydney pointed out.

“I was six! What kinda freak six-year-old wants to learn Russian?”

“Hey!” Sydney gasped. He just smiled at her.

~*~

As the summer continued on, Sydney and Michael fell back into their routine of the previous summer. Neither of them brought up the subject of telling their parents the truth about it, because, deep down, they still didn’t want to face the insanity that would cause, but Michael had a plan of his own. When he mentioned the engagement ring shopping to his mother, it hadn’t just been to shut her up; he was serious.

When he was in France, he decided that he was going to propose to her on the second anniversary of their kiss up at Sydney’s favorite lookout point. He also decided that he would propose in that exact spot. He ended up taking his mother along with him to look for rings, much to his dismay. Amelia nearly broke into sobs when she saw the ring Michael wanted, much to his utter mortification, of course. She was so thrilled at the prospect of Sydney as a daughter-in-law, something that, in her words, made her life complete, that she actually managed to talk the jeweler into reducing the price of the ring, which he appreciated greatly since his budget was limited.

Finally the big day arrived and Sydney was none the wiser. Michael tried to be as casual as possible when he mentioned going to the lookout with her, but his nerves showed through a bit, causing mild suspicion from her. Once at the lookout, they got out of his car and walked over to the railing.

“Can you believe it’s been two years?” Sydney sighed as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Nah, it feels like forever. But then again, it really has been.”

“Yeah,” she laughed softly.

“Syd,” Michael began nervously as he fumbled into his pocket for the ring box he had placed there before picking her up.

“Hmm?” she sighed contently.

“I, um, I got you something,” he told her.

She lifted her head from his shoulder and turned around. “What? Like an anniversary present?”

“Kinda…,” he said as he handed her the black jewelry box with a trembling hand. She took it with a grin and opened it. Immediately her grin disappeared and she looked up at him utterly shocked. “Syd….”

“Oh my god,” she breathed.

“Syd, I love you so much… we’ve practically been together since we were born and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you because no matter if we live ‘til we’re fifty or we’re eighty, no amount of time short of eternity would be enough to spend with you. So, will you marry me?”

Sydney nodded her head and her voice came out as barely a whisper as she said, “Yes,” before hugging him tightly.

“Also, I really think we should tell our parents now,” he added while they hugged.

Sydney pulled back and laughed softly. “We’ll tell them tomorrow, I promise. Oh my god Michael, I love you so much,” she sniffed as Michael removed the ring from its box and slid it on her hand. Sydney closed her fist tightly and felt incredibly calmed by the cold feel of the ring on her hand. Then she leaned up and gave Michael a very passionate kiss.

After a few moments, he pulled back and smiled at her. “So, do you think we should,” he said as his eyes darted towards his car and then back to her.

“Oh my god Michael, we’re not having sex in your car. That’s disgusting!” Sydney exclaimed.

“What?!” Michael choked. “That’s not what I meant… I meant, do you think we should go because I just noticed a rather unpleasant looking bee’s nest behind you.”

Sydney yelped and jumped. “Where?” she screamed. Then she saw it and ran around behind him to hide. Then, they both quickly climbed in Michael’s car, laughing all the way. Sydney buried her face in her hands and whimpered, “God, I can’t believe I just said that about the car…”

“It’s fine. It was hilarious,” he assured her.

She rolled her eyes. “I bet.” Then, after a moment of silence she added, “Hey Michael…you should come over tonight.”

He looked over at her to see if she was serious. When he saw that she was he asked, “What about your parents?”

“Mom’s dragging Dad to some play in DC she wants to see,” Sydney explained. “They won’t be back until at least midnight.”

“And Nadia?” he asked cautiously.

“I’ll pay her to go away,” Sydney said very seriously. Michael burst out laughing. “I will!” Sydney exclaimed.

“I know you will; it’s just funny,” he laughed. She blushed slightly and looked down at the glittering ring on her hand. He reached over and tilted her head up slightly. “If you want me to come, I will.”

She nodded. “Be there at seven.”



Chapter 19

“Hey sis, what’s up?” Sydney attempted to begin a casual conversation, but the butterflies that filled her stomach made it difficult.

“I’m solving world hunger,” Nadia mumbled dully as she flicked through the TV channels.

“Okay, um, well you think if I give you fifty bucks you can go to the mall and not come back until after ten?” she asked hopefully.

Nadia turned around and looked at her suspiciously. “Fifty bucks? What exactly are you and Michael doing tonight?”

“Doing? We’re not doing anything!” Sydney said quickly as she crammed her now ring clad left hand into her shorts pocket. “It’s just our anniversary and we’re going to… do stuff that would make you gag.”

“Fine, I’ll go,” Nadia sighed.

“Thanks,” Sydney smiled and handed her a wad of cash. Then, she walked towards the stairs, but Nadia, already suspicious of her sister’s behavior, followed her after a moment.

She got upstairs just in time to see her sister shove something into the top drawer of her bureau. “What was that?” she asked loudly.

Sydney jumped a mile. “What?” she croaked.

“What’d you just shove in there?” Nadia asked, approaching the bureau.

Sydney stood in front of it. “Nothing… nothing at all. Well, socks, it is my sock drawer.”

“Uh huh,” Nadia said suspiciously. Then she reached for the drawer and Sydney blocked her path. She tried to reach around the other side of her sister, but Sydney was too fast and blocked her again. They continued this odd dance for a few minutes until Nadia wrenched the drawer open, pulled out what Sydney had stashed and mocked her mortified sister.

“Sydney’s gonna have seeex!” she taunted.

“What are you? TWO?!” Sydney growled as she snatched the box back.

Nadia snorted with laughter. “Oh what would mom think of this?”

“I’ll give you fifty more dollars to forget this happened,” Sydney offered desperately. Nadia smiled. “Come on Nad, that’s all I have!”

“You could always sell your pretty engagement ring for more money,” Nadia smiled.

Sydney looked down at the hand that was holding the box and noticed it obviously displayed her ring. Quickly, she hid it behind her back and looked up at her sister.

“I saw it when you walked in the house smiling like an idiot,” Nadia added quietly.

“Why didn’t you say something?” Sydney asked.

Nadia shrugged. “I figured it was either a matter of time before Mom and Dad noticed it too, or you and Michael are gonna tell them soon, so there was no point in ruining that fun surprise.”

“We’re telling them tomorrow,” Sydney told her.

“Uh HUH,” Nadia smiled as she backed out of the room.

“Wait! Where are you going?! Fifty bucks!! That’s a hundred in total for doing nothing but keeping your mouth shut!” Sydney called after her.

Nadia returned a moment later with a smirk on her face. “Eh, keep your money, but take some advice,” she said. She pulled the box away from her sister and handed her the foil packet in her hand. “These are better,” she said with a wink.

Sydney was convinced she’d had a stroke. She leaned against her bureau for support as she wailed, “WHAT?!”

“Just some friendly advice between sisters,” Nadia said casually. Then, pretending that incident never happened, she said, “I’m going to the mall; see you at ten.”

“WHAT?!” Sydney wailed after her, but Nadia had already gone.

~*~

When Michael arrived at seven, the door was open and he found no one on the first floor, so he decided to go up and see if Sydney was already in her room. When he walked in, he saw her sitting on the floor next to her bureau, staring down at the floor. “Umm… whatcha doin’?” he asked casually.

“Nadia!” Sydney said in a frazzled tone.

“O-kay….,” he said slowly, having no idea what she was saying.

“She gave me these,” Sydney whimpered and showed him.

He choked on a laugh and approached her slowly. “Are those-?”

“Yeah!” Sydney cut him off with a whimper. “And she said – AND I QUOTE- ‘these are better’. How does she know they’re better Michael?! HOW?! She’s my little sister!!! She’s not allowed to know about sex or have condoms- SHE SHOULDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE!!!!!!!”

“She really said that?” he laughed. Sydney nodded but failed to see the humor in the situation. “Well… she is nearly seventeen…”

“Great!,” Sydney groaned. “She lost her virginity before us!! OH GOD, she’s having sex!” Sydney wailed a she flopped back on the floor and shoved her face in the carpet.

“Okay… so clearly you have an issue with this,” Michael said slowly. Sydney gave another whimper, but it was muffled by the carpet. “So, um, does that mean you’re going to obsess…or…”

“Oh no!” Sydney gasped as she sat up quickly. “Oh, I’m sorry… I got distracted and freaked a bit.”

“Yeah, just a bit,” he teased her with a smile.

“No, no I can forget about it,” she said with a deep, calming breath. “I can.”

“Need a little help?”

“Yes please,” she sighed helplessly. Michael leaned forward and pulled her into a kiss so passionate Sydney was shocked her clothes didn’t shed themselves. When he pulled back, she said in a very hazy, sluggish tone that was rather squeaky, “That worked.” He laughed.

~*~

Later, Michael’s watch, which was unfortunately located close to Sydney’s ear began to beep and in her half-asleep state she groaned, “Why is it beeping at me?”

“Because I have to go,” he sighed sadly. “It’s ten to ten.”

“Noooo,” she groaned. “Don’t go; stay. Pretend you fell asleep.”

“Without my clothes on?” he laughed softly.

“Pretend they fell off,” she sighed while still clinging to him.

“Sorry Syd. I don’t want to go… but just think, tomorrow we can tell them the truth,” he smiled at her.

“Yes,” she sighed, rearranging her pillows so she could prop herself up slightly without having to actually sit up. “But then they’ll be even less inclined to let us stay together.”

“That’s a good point,” he laughed softly as he slid out bed and tried to distinguish between their clothes in the dull lamp lit room. He separated them, putting his on and throwing hers at her. “But there is a bright side… at least I got to see your birthmark,” he winked.

She laughed. “You’re awful.”

“I know,” he sighed. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”

“Yeah… but only from eight to one. You?”

“Eleven to four,” he told her. “I’ll come over after… and we’ll tell our parents when they get home from work?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” she smiled.

He leaned over and kissed her softly. “Goodnight, I love you.”

“’Night… love you…,” she mumbled sleepily.

“Oh and don’t forget to hide that ring; your mom will see it for sure,” he added before leaving.



Chapter 20

Michael barely made it in the door at four the following day before Sydney was in his arms, her legs around his waist and kissing him so forcefully that he was knocked back against the front door he had just come through.

“You two are sick,” Nadia, who was the house’s only other occupant, groaned. “I don’t want to watch you have sex against the front door.”

“Oh you’re one to talk,” Sydney retorted as she slid down from Michael.

“I never had sex against the door!” Nadia raised her hands in defense.

“No but – well at least I assume – you did with Dan, the lip ring guy,” Sydney shuddered.

“Actually,” Nadia began with a sly smile. “The lip ring is-”

“NO!” Sydney and Michael both cut her off quickly. Nadia just laughed and walked into the family room, where she flopped down on the couch. “That’s sick; no sharing,” Sydney told her.

“Yeah, yeah,” Nadia waved her hand casually. “So when are you telling everyone?”

“Tonight,” Sydney sighed.

“Oh ok, I’ll bring my camera,” Nadia smiled. Sydney and Michael rolled their eyes at her.

~*~

“Mom, Dad, can you come with me to Bill and Amelia’s real quick?” Sydney asked them around seven that evening after she had helped her mother clean up their dinner. Immediately, Irina smiled broadly, but Jack looked wary.

“Why?” he asked.

“Please Dad, it’s really important and it will only take a few minutes,” Sydney said with an innocent smile. Her father didn’t move until her mother grabbed his arm.

“Jack, just get up,” Irina groaned.

“Fine, I’m up,” he grumbled as he got up. Then he followed his daughter over to their neighbor’s. Sydney fumbled in her pocket to retrieve the ring she had put there only a few minutes earlier when she had removed it from its hiding place under her bed. Once it was secured on her finger, she opened the Vaughn’s front door and found the three of them waiting.

“Good lord, what is this?” Bill asked with a laugh.

“That’s what I’m wondering,” Jack said gruffly.

“Well,” Sydney sighed as she walked over to Michael and took his hand. “There’s not use in dragging it out. Michael and I are getting married,” she smiled. Irina let out a tiny squeal as her hands shot to her mouth and she looked across the room to her best friend, who was beaming.

“Excuse me?” Bill laughed.

“Yeah, we’re getting married,” Michael laughed as Sydney held up her left hand to show her ring. The older women could hold themselves back no longer and they rushed up to Sydney and Michael and pulled them into a four-way group hug. Amelia kissed both Sydney and Michael’s cheeks and both she and Irina were nearly in tears.

“Wait, wait hold on,” Jack said. “Since when!? You two are… you’re not even dating! This is madness!”

“Actually, we’ve been dating in secret for two years,” Sydney told him.

“TWO YEARS?!” Bill and Jack gasped together.

For a moment, Sydney wondered why Amelia wasn’t as shocked, but then she figured she was just too busy crying and hugging her mother to react. “Yes,” Sydney said sheepishly.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Bill asked.

Michael looked at their sobbing mothers and laughed softly. “Isn’t it obvious,” he said with a slight gesture towards them. Bill gave him a ‘good point’ look.

“Well the point is, we’re in a serious, committed relationship and we’re getting married,” Sydney said with a smile towards Michael.

“You’re getting married?! WHEN!?” Jack boomed.

“We haven’t set a date yet,” Sydney assured him.

“Yeah, we’re not getting married at least until after we graduate,” Michael added.

“Well, that might be the most sensible thing I’ve heard all evening!” Jack grunted.

“Jack stop being so bitter and be happy,” Irina sniffed while glaring at him.

Jack growled. “We need to go home and discuss this. Come Sydney,” he said as he walked towards the front door.

Sydney sighed and kissed Michael softly, which caused more sobs from their hugging mothers.

“Honestly you two,” Bill shook his head at them while laughing.

“Irina,” Jack said sharply while holding the door open for his wife and daughter to follow him. She reluctantly released her friend and then the four of them walked back to their own house while Nadia snickered. Sydney elbowed her.

“Dad, I don’t understand what the big deal is. You like Michael,” Sydney told him once they were inside.

“Of course I like Michael, but you’ve been lying to us for two years. I have a major problem with that,” He told her.

“Dad, I haven’t been lying,” Sydney told him. “You knew I was spending time with Michael.”

“That’s exactly my point!” he snapped. “I allowed you to go over and spend time with him thinking that he was no more than a friend to you, but now I find this out! This… this is despicable. You two have… have been having relations for years under my roof, haven’t you?!” he demanded. Nadia snorted with laughter.

“Jack!” Irina scolded him while Sydney shrank and turned pale.

“No, I deserve to know what’s been going on in my house for years,” Jack said with fury.

“Dad, it has not been years. It’s only been two. Michael’s and my first kiss was exactly two years ago yesterday,” she sighed exasperatedly. “I’ll admit the secrecy got a bit out of line and went too far, but that’s just the way it is. We can’t go back and change it now,” she shrugged.

“You’re avoiding the question, young lady,” Jack snapped at her. “You took advantage of our trust and took… that BOY up to your room while the rest of us… the rest of us-”

“God, Dad that’s sick!” Sydney exclaimed while cringing. “Not that it’s any of your business but nothing happened until last night and if you ask me, you’re yelling at the wrong daughter,” she snapped.

“HEY!” Nadia exclaimed from her position on the steps.

“Sorry,” Sydney muttered as she stomped her way up the stairs. She flopped herself down on her bed and began to twist her engagement ring around on her finger thinking about how much her life had started to suck. It was supposed to be the happiest time of her life, but like usual, her father had sucked the fun out of everything. Worse, she had gotten her sister in trouble unintentionally. She hadn’t meant to blurt that out, it just happened during her angry outburst.

“Sydney?” her mother knocked softly on her bedroom door a few moments later. Sydney grunted in acknowledgement. “Sydney, I’m sorry your father is being so… himself. You know he doesn’t have anything against Michael, he’d be like this even if he knew about your relationship all along.”

“I know,” Sydney sighed as her mother sat down on her bed and stroked her hair. “Would this be a bad time to mention that I know Michael’s father worked for the CIA?”

Irina laughed softly. “As long as you’re sharing I assume Michael knows the same about us.”

“Yes,” Sydney said quietly.

“That’s alright; I knew you’d tell him,” Irina smiled down at her. “Come on, why don’t you come downstairs and we’ll finish our talk. Your father is calmer now, I promise.”

Sydney rolled over and looked up at her mother. “Do I hafta?”

“Yes, you hafta,” Irina told her. “Besides, we need to save Nadia.”

“Oh god, Nadia,” Sydney grimaced.

“Don’t feel bad; I already knew,” Irina told her. Sydney looked at her mother curiously. “Let’s just say Nadia isn’t discrete about throwing away her garbage.”

“Ew,” Sydney grimaced.

Once downstairs, Nadia pushed past Sydney while giving her a death glare before racing up to her room and slamming the door. Sydney felt awful.

“Sydney,” her father sighed. “What I meant before was that… I’m just concerned. You’re so young and Michael’s all you’ve ever known. You don’t even know what it’s like in the real world.”

“But I don’t want to face the real world without him,” Sydney told him.

“That’s my point. I think the two of you need some time apart,” he said in a concerned way.

“No, Dad, we don’t,” Sydney said firmly. “I know Michael is the perfect guy for me, so I’m not going to waste my time dating losers until I inevitably come back and marry Michael anyway. Who cares if we’ve been together forever? Who cares if we’re comfortable with each other? Isn’t that what marriage is supposed to be anyway?”

“Can’t argue with her there, Jack,” Irina said softly.

“Fine,” Jack grunted.

Sydney smiled, knowing that was the best she was going to get out of him, and then ran out the front door and over to Michael’s. She wasn’t surprised to find he was waiting outside for her. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her close.

“Do I need to start moving to Mexico?” he asked softly.

“No,” she laughed. “You’ll survive.”

“Good… ok, so I have a tiny confession to make,” he cringed when she pulled out of their hug. “My mother knew I was going to propose to you.”

“Really?” Sydney laughed.

“Yeah… she figured it out right after you attacked me when I came home from France. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he said sadly.

“It’s okay; my mother’s known for a year,” she smiled at him.

“A year?!” he gasped.

Sydney nodded. “Last summer she caught me coming in late… and she almost started to cry because she thought I was lying to her! I felt so awful that I had to tell her. Sorry I didn’t tell you,” she frowned.

“It’s okay… I guess we really can’t be mad at each other, can we?” he laughed. Sydney shook her head. “Good,” he kissed her softly.

“Hey Michael… you ever regret not dating other people?”

“What? No. Do you?” he asked curiously.

She shook her head. “Why would I date anyone else when I already have the perfect man?”

“Well, I don’t know about perfect…,” he said casually. She giggled. “You’re perfect, so perfect in fact, that I can’t believe the perfect person has been right in front of me all along.”

She smiled and kissed him. “Well… it’s good we didn’t figure it out sooner, or we probably would have been married in high school and then they really would have killed us.”

“Too true,” he laughed. “But my mom has already mentioned grandkids.”

“Oh no,” Sydney laughed.

“Oh yeah… by the way, just so you know, she wants them to have green eyes and your smile,” he told her.

“Okay,” she laughed. “We can try to give her that.”

“Let’s try a lot,” he said seriously. She laughed and hit him playfully. “I was serious!”



Epilogue

“Isn’t he just the most precious, most adorable, most perfect little angel ever in the world?” Sydney cooed over her barely twenty minute old son.

“Yes,” Michael said softly as he kissed his wife’s head. “But I have to get him out there to see the crazy ladies or they’ll kill me.”

“Okay,” Sydney laughed softly.

Michael gently scooped up his son from her and cradled him tightly to his chest. “Hey buddy, you ready to go meet all your insane family members?” he asked softly. He rocked the baby gently as he walked out of Sydney’s delivery room and into the waiting room.

Immediately four ‘aww’ing adults surrounded him as they admired their new grandchild. “What is it? A boy or a girl?” Amelia asked in an impatient tone.

“I’m not sure,” Michael teased them.

“You are so cruel to us!” his mother hissed.

Michael laughed softly. “This is Brian.”

“Oh a boy,” Irina choked slightly. “He’s gorgeous,” she sighed as she took him gently from her son-in-law. “Oh and heavy!”

“Nine pounds even,” Michael told her.

“Oh poor Sydney,” Amelia laughed softly.

The grandparents took turns holding Brian before giving him back to Michael so that he could return his son to the bassinet beside Sydney.

“Did they cry?” Sydney asked softly with her eyes shut and a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Yes, of course,” he laughed softly. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Almost,” she sighed.

He picked up her hand and kissed it softly. “You need to rest.”

“What about you? You were up all night too,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but I had coffee; I’m good,” he told her with a soft laugh.

“Mmhmm. I love you…”

“Love you too Syd, always.”

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