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emadaps: Liz is definitely trying to be Maria, but like you said, Maria has layers. Right now, Liz is trying to make herself very one-dimensional (although I assure you, Liz has layers, too.) I can understand why you hate her right now, though.
irene:

Maybe it was the mouth-to-mouth... A few slipped in and etc. Hmmmm..

lmao! Don't feel inadequate about your feedback! I love it!
Luluzita: Yeah, Liz is that kind of girlfriend. And yes, if Maria was pregnant with Michael's baby . . . hmm, that might be so horrible.
tequathisy:

and not just one of those easy peasy 26mile marathons. It's one of those marathons where you have to traverse the Sahara desert carrying all your equipment on your back - barefooted and without sunscreen.

lol, yes, one of those marathons! I promise M+M sexiness, though. (You like the avatar, huh? Me, too! I couldn't resist it.
Adara: I've scared you? Uh-oh. Well, you'll find out in this part whether Maria is or isn't pregnant.
Lume: Thanks! I'm glad you like the flawed characters, and I'm glad they seem real.
Zoya: Well, this should make you happy . . . there's no Liz in this part!
Mag: Yes, karma karma karma. You know it's going to come back to bite Liz in the butt, just like it's currently biting Maria. I agree with you that Maria is taking too much responsibility. Even though Liz is naive, she is old enough and should be smart enough to know when she is making mistakes. Nobody is going to hold her hand and lead her through life, so if she does something wrong and/or bitchy, it's ultimately on her and not Maria. Still, hopefully it makes sense why Maria would feel guilty.
Favorite Fashion Class: Definitely created a monster!
Lysee: The matress mambo? Oh my goodness, that is hilarious! I've never heard it called that before! Michael probably should shut up about that. In the past, though, they have discussed and bragged about their sex lives with each other without restraint. Michael doesn't realize anything has changed.
Mercedes: I'm in total agreement with everything you've said. It's interesting that you can relate to Liz. She is most definitely insecure and not happy. And as for the family thing . . . Maria's friends are definitely her family.
mezza911: Alex is in this next part! He and Isabel will continue to be a sub-plot (and a very cute one at that, I think!)
Lino84: A new feedbacker, I believe? Yippee! Now you just have to wait for the M+M love and settle for the M+M love disguised by pure friendship for awhile.
Steffi:

Can you answer me one question April: will Michael and Liz break up soon? at least in the next 10 updates?

I hate to say it, but . . . no. Sorry!
Nicola: I need to kill Potty Parker for the sake of your sanity? Uh-oh, looks like we can expect you to be going insane soon!
aquasixio: Drop the AK 47! lol



IMPORTANT: Okay, so here's the deal: Some of you already know that I have this situation with the new dorm room I'm living in. (If you don't know, don't ask. It's just horrible.) Anyway, I was feeling MAJORLY down in the dumps yesterday, so I've decided that I need to go home for awhile before my summer classes start and spend some time with my dog and my mom. So what that means for Passion is that, once again, I'll be home in the land of no Internet access and I won't be able to update. I really apologize for that, but like I said, I just need to take some time to de-stress. It will be a week at the most, possibly less. I really hate to do this, because I pride myself on my every-other-day-updates, but hopefully you guys understand. Sorry!








Part 56

Maria skipped class and went incognito to the drug store that day. She didn't want anybody to recognize her or notice what she was buying, so she put on a pink hat, a pair of overly large sunglasses, baggy sweat pants and a t-shirt, and even a fake brown hair-piece to make herself look brunette. She was positive no one would recognize her.

Trying to be invisible, she slipped past the condoms and found what she was looking for: the pregnancy tests. She pretended to be all absorbed in looking at a box of Tylenol when, in all reality, she was casting her eyes downward, looking at the selection.

Which one do I get? she wondered. Contrary to what her mother and everyone else believed, she'd never actually done this before. She knew nothing about pregnancy and babies except that she couldn't handle it.

Glancing around cautiously to make sure no one was watching, Maria bent down and picked up a box labeled First Response. She had just started reading over the back of it when, out of nowhere . . .

"Maria?"

She quickly hid the test behind her back and looked up at Alex. "Alex, hi," she said, her heart pounding nervously. Had he seen the test? Did he care? "How did you recognize me?"

"Oh, uh, you're wearing a dance team t-shirt."

"Oh." Stupid, she thought. Stupid, stupid. "Right."

"Did you . . . dye your hair?"

"No," she said. "It's-it's fake. I was just, you know, trying out something new, seeing if people like it."

"It's cool," he said. "I'm used to you as a blonde, though."

"Yeah, me, too." She grasped the test tightly behind her back. If she dropped it . . .

"Hey, so I'm kinda glad I ran into you," he said. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask?"

"Yeah. I don't know if you've heard about that new club opening tonight. It's right off Main, real close to The Lightning Strike."

"You're asking me out on a date?" she asked in horror. Alex was a nice guy, but so not her type. "I have a boyfriend, Alex."

"Oh, I know. That's why I'm not asking you. I was actually kinda wondering if . . . if, I don't know, if you think maybe Isabel might need someone to go with."

Oh, no, she thought. He wants to start talking about Isabel. I could be standing here for hours. "Um, I don't know," she answered honestly.

"She's probably going with Kyle. She is dating Kyle, after all."

"No, I think he's working tonight, though, so she probably doesn't have anyone to go with. You should ask her," she suggested hurriedly. "Now. You should go . . . do that now." She patted his shoulder with her free hand, trying to encourage him out the door.

"Well, do you think she'd say yes?"

"Sure."

"Sure?"

She sighed impatiently. "I don't know, Alex. But you might as well try. If she says no, oh well. It's not like you're proposing marriage."

"I know, but it's a big deal."

"Hmm." It occurred to Maria in that moment that, perhaps it was a good thing Alex was fixating on Isabel. It kept him from noticing the fact that she was oh-so-obviously hiding something behind her back.

"What should I say?" he pondered. "Can I practice on you?"

"Oh, no, actually I have to, um . . . pee," she blurted. And since she was going to be taking a pregnancy test, technically that was true.

"Oh, well, I wouldn't wanna keep you from that."

She smiled a fake smile. "No, you wouldn't."

"Alright, well, thanks for that tidbit of info. I might seize the moment."

"You do that."

"Alright. See ya." He waved as he walked away.

Still smiling, she waved back. Once he was gone, though, she removed her hand from behind her back and stared down at the pregnancy test she was holding. It was supposed to be ninety-nine percent accurate, so if it said she wasn't pregnant, she wasn't. But if it said she was . . .

She couldn't think about that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria planned on going straight home and taking the test that day. Usually she was a procrastinator, but she was determined not to procrastinate on this. However, when Max called her and asked her out to lunch, she couldn't exactly say no. They met at the Garden Café, where a full-course meal left Maria feeling even chunkier than she had that morning. In the back of her mind, of course, she worried that she was gaining weight due to pregnancy.

Oh god.

She wolfed down her dessert when it came and realized that, over the past few weeks, she had been craving ice cream. She always craved it, but it had just gotten excessive. Food cravings, weight gain, and a late period, she thought bitterly to herself. Just throw in a little breast tenderness and I'm really screwed.

"You're awfully quiet today," Max remarked.

"I've just . . . got a lot on my mind," she replied.

"Anything I can help you with?"

She shook her head, thinking how this would affect him, too. "No," she said. "Um . . . you know, I think I'm just tired, mostly."

"Yeah, you were tossing and turning last night."

"Yeah." She sighed, trying to think of a way to get out of there and get home. If she didn't take that pregnancy test within the next half hour, she probably was going to psych herself out and end up not taking it at all. "I'm gonna have to go," she said.

"Oh, gotta get to class?"

"I think I'm just gonna go home, actually. I've gotta . . . you know, study."

He smiled. "The new, more studious you."

She laughed nervously. "Not really." If she was pregnant, she wasn't going to have a lot of time to study, what with doctor visits and shopping for maternity clothes and puking her guts out every single morning.

Oh god!

She pushed her chair back and reached down to grab her purse. When she unzipped it to take out her sunglasses, she spied the test inside as well. There it was in all its pregnancy-predicting glory, a stupid little pink box.

I should tell him, she thought. He could have fathered a child. He deserves to know. "Max, I . . ." she started, but then she stopped. What was she supposed to say that wouldn't give him a heart attack or a brain aneurism? I might be pregnant? I might be with child? I've got a roast and it's on slow cook. Nine months slow cook.

"What?" he prompted.

I won't say anything until I know for sure, she decided. Which I will soon. 'Cause I'm going to take this test. I'm going to.

"I just wanted to thank you for buying me lunch," she covered.

He smiled. "Oh, well, spending time with you is thanks enough."

She smiled a little, too, despite the emotional turmoil inside of her. You'd be a good dad, Max, she thought. Too bad I'd be a horrible mom.

"I've gotta go," she said, closing her purse again to make sure he didn't see anything he wasn't supposed to. "I'll see you."

"Yeah, it'll be later. I'm tutoring again."

Even better, she thought. Now she could take the test and have a little time to react to it before she had to spill the beans to him. "Bye," she said, neglecting to even give him a kiss on the cheek on her way out. She was in too much of a hurry.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Man, my ass is numb, Michael though as he shifted around in front of his computer. He'd been sitting there ever since he'd woken up, trying to put together a decent enough movie for his Videography class. He was done now, but he wasn't completely satisfied.

Maria walked in the door, looking tired, and said, "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Yeah, but I had to work on this movie today, remember?"

"Wasn't it due today?"

"Yeah, but my professor has office hours 'til 4:30. I just gotta get this thing burned to a DVD and run it to him."

"It's already 4:15."

"Why do you think I'm burning? Don't worry, I'll make it," he assured her. "I was a track star in a former life."

She rolled her eyes. "If you say so."

"That's right. If I say so." He chuckled, watching as the program burning his DVD counted down to zero from thirty seconds. "So where have you been all day?" he asked her. "I thought you were supposed to be done with class at 2:00."

"2:30," she said. "Max invited me out to lunch. Plus, I've been . . . postponing something I don't wanna do."

"What, studying for an exam or something?" he guessed.

"Or something." She set her purse down on the couch and sat down beside it, sighing heavily. "I think I'll watch some TV first." She aimed the remote control at the television and turned it on.

"Lazy. I like it," he commented as he ejected the DVD from his computer once it was done burning. "Righteous." He put it in a case and closed down the programs he'd been running on the computer. "Alright, I'm outta here. Wait, I'm not outta here. I gotta label this. We got any markers around here? Any markers in this joint?"

"Nope."

He went into the kitchen and rummaged around through the junk drawer for a permanent marker. There wasn't one. "Crap," he muttered. He was supposed to have that disc labeled before he turned it in. It was automatic points off if he didn't. "Fuck it," he decided, taking out a bright yellow Post-It instead. That would work well enough. "Now I need a pen," he said, rummaging through the junk drawer again. "We don't even have a fucking pen? What the hell's wrong with us?" He shoved the drawer shut and headed over towards the couch. "You got a pen in here?" he said as he grabbed Maria's purse and unzipped it.

"Michael, no!"

The minute she said that, he understood why she said it. Because that was the moment he looked into her purse and saw precisely what she didn't want him to see: a pregnancy test.

"Sorry," he said, zipping up the purse again and handing it back to her. "Sorry about that."

"Oh my god," she said, raking one hand through her hair. "You weren't supposed to see that."

"So I gather."

She aimed the remote at the TV again and shut it off this time. Michael could see the worry in her eyes, the stress on her face.

"Holy shit, Maria," he said, taking a seat on the arm of the couch. "Are you really pregnant?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know. That's why I got the test."

"Holy shit," he said again, trying to wrap his mind around it. Maria and child? It was a strange thought to say the least. "Maria, didn't you get the sex lecture as a kid? ABCs, remember? Abstinence, birth control, condoms. You gotta do at least one."

"Look, this isn't funny, okay!" she screeched.

It wasn't. It really wasn't. When serious stuff happened, though, his natural reaction was to try to make light of it. "Sorry," he said again. He could see the tears shimmering in her eyes as she tried to blink them away.

"I'm really scared," she whispered. "I don't wanna take this test, but I have to."

He slid down onto the cushion beside her and said, "What makes you think you might be, uh . . ."

"I'm late," she blurted. "Two weeks late."

"Oh. Well . . . well, that's not so bad," he said, trying to be as encouraging as he could.

"It's not good." Her voice cracked as a few tears fell over. "As crazy as it sounds, I've never actually been late before. My period's like clockwork, you know. Like down to the hour, even. It's ridiculous; it never fails. And now I just feel stupid for not noticing it until now, but . . . I've just had a lot on my mind, and I forgot to take some birth control pills."

"Why?"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not the world's most responsible person."

He felt pretty bad for her. Very bad. "Maybe it's just stress," he reasoned. She had definitely been stressed out about something lately, and she'd just said it herself: she'd had a lot on her mind.

"I hope," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

He found himself staring at her stomach, trying to tell if she was knocked up or not. But he didn't see any difference. No bump. It would be too early. "Is it . . . I mean, would it be Max's?" he asked hesitantly.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Yeah? Well, that's good at least."

"Nothing about this is good," she said, wiping the tear-tracks from her cheeks.

"No, but . . ." He trailed off, figuring that she was right. She was an young, unmarried college student. Things did look pretty bleak.

"I can't be pregnant," she said. "I can't be."

He wasn't sure whether she was just saying that or saying it literally like in terms of an abortion. He didn't really have a strong stance on the abortion issue, so he didn't ask about it. He'd support her no matter what.

"Do you want me to . . . stay?" he asked.

"No, you have to go turn in your movie," she reminded him.

"Oh, fuck that," he said, tossing it onto the floor. He couldn't have cared less at that point about a stupid grade.

"Michael . . ."

"No, you want me to stay? I'll stay."

She shook her head vigorously and said. "No. No, no, don't stay. Just go. Go away. Go away."

Although he thought she would benefit from having somebody by her side, he decided to do as she asked and give her some space. He stood up and had just taken a few steps when she said, "Where are you going?"

He spun around, confused. "You just said--"

"Stay."

Go away. Stay. Talk about mixed messages, he thought. He didn't get it, but he chalked it all up to the fact that she might just be a crazy pregnant lady and let it slide. He sat back down beside her and decided to just be quiet for awhile.

She slowly unzipped her purse and took out the pregnancy test. Her hands were shaking. She could barely hold the box. Michael had never seen her look so pale and afraid before.

Trembling, she took the test out of the box, along with a sheet of instructions. She unfolded the sheet and rubbed her eyes, but apparently they were too tear-clouded to read anything, because she handed the sheet to him and asked, "What do I have to do?"

Hell if I know, he thought. "Uh . . ." The side he was looking at was in Spanish, so he flipped it over to the side with the English instructions. "Alright, remove the wrapper . . ."

"Duh."

". . . then remove the cap around the stick," he read on. "On this end of the stick you will find the absorbent material, which should be placed under the urine stream while you hold the test by the thumb grip on the other end." He glanced at her. "You got that?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, then you . . ." He lost his place in the small print instructions and had to find it again. "Okay, you place the First Response stick between your legs and hold it directly under the urine stream for five seconds. Afterward, replace the cap and place the stick on a flat surface, result window side up."

"Okay," she said. "I can do that. That's not too hard."

"That's not too hard," he agreed. "It's kinda gross, though."

She smiled and laughed a little. Just a little.

"Knew I could get a smile," he said, feeling for her. This couldn't be easy. In a few short minutes, her life could change. Her life could have already changed.

She looked back down at the test in her hand, staring at it for at least ten seconds before standing up and announcing, "Okay, I'm gonna do this."

"Okay. Good luck." He watched her head towards the bathroom, feeling worried himself, even though he wasn't the one who had potential parenthood in his future. "Pee well."

She slipped into the bathroom and closed the door.

Oh, man, Maria, he thought, setting the instructions on the coffee table. I hope you're not pregnant.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, looking like a nervous wreck.

"What took you so long?" Michael asked her.

"I couldn't pee," she replied. "I was too nervous to pee. I did, though."

"Good job."

She dropped down on the couch and brought her knees to her chest, hugging them tight. "How long do I have to wait?" she asked.

"Uh . . ." Michael picked up the instructions again and looked for the answer. "Three to five minutes."

"Oh my god, that's forever."

He chuckled a little. It probably seemed like forever in her situation.

"And what am I hoping to see?"

"Uh, one pink line."

"One pink line."

"Yeah. Not two."

"Not two," she echoed. "Oh god, it's gonna be two. It was already turning pink when I set it down."

"I think it's supposed to."

"I'm so worried," she admitted. "This is not for me, you know? And babies are so big. Do you remember the birth video freshman year?"

"How could I forget? The placenta . . ." He shook his head. That video had almost been enough to get him to swear off sex. Almost.

"I'm not meant to have big things come out of there," she went on. "I'm meant to have big things go in there."

He nodded slowly and said, "Okay. Okay, well, in the interest of that . . ." He reached down and started to undo his jeans.

"Michael!"

He stopped teasing her and said, "Just tryin' to lighten the mood."

"Yeah, well, I don't think that's possible." She bit down on her bottom lip and repeated, "I'm so worried. I'll be, like, the worst mom ever. Excluding my mom, of course."

"No, you'll be a good mom, Maria," he assured her. "And you'll have a good-lookin' kid, so . . ."

"Yeah, that's true." She shook her head. "I still can't do this."

"You can. And you'll have Max to help you. He's Mr. Responsible."

"Oh god. Max." She ran her hands through her hair and said, "Please don't tell him, okay?"

He shrugged. "Well, you're gonna have to eventually, if you are."

"Just don't tell him anything, Michael."

He nodded. It wasn't his place. "Okay."

"Thank you." She sighed heavily and glanced at the clock on the microwave. "How much longer?"

"Uh, about two more minutes."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

She groaned. "Oh, this is so unfair."

"It does suck," he agreed. "Remember sophomore year when that girl I did in the bathroom thought she was pregnant?"

"Yeah, but she wasn't."

"Still, I was scared shitless."

"Probably not as scared as her. You know, guys have it so easy. They just get it hard and stick it in. Girls actually have to be pregnant and go through labor and do all the hard stuff. Guys do the knocking up; girls get knocked up."

"Hey, don't underestimate the terror of fatherhood. I fainted when that girl told me she was late."

"What's your point?"

"Oh, I don't-I don't have a point. I was just talkin' to take up time."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Keep talking. It's making me feel better."

"Really?"

She shook her head. "No. But keep talking anyway."

"Well, shit, now I don't know what to talk about."

"Think of something," she begged.

He stared at her, a bit mesmerized. She was so beautiful, even when she was afraid like this.

"Come on, Michael. You're never at a loss for words."

He glanced at the clock again. They still had over a minute. He decided to blurt out the first thing that came to mind, and when it did, it surprised even him. "I actually wanna have kids someday."

She looked just as surprised. "I didn't know that."

"I didn't really, either. Until now." He laughed a little. "I guess I'm talkin' a few years down the road, you know. But . . . it'd be kinda cool. I mean, I know I wouldn't be the greatest father in the world, but I wouldn't be an absentee one like my dad is, either."

She smiled. "I could see you being a total push-over."

"What?"

"Yeah. Like, you'd act all stingy with money and stuff, but the minute one of your kids gives you the puppy dog look, you cave."

"Yeah, probably," he admitted. "What about you? What kind of parent would you be?"

She shrugged. "We might find out sooner than we think."

"We might not," he reminded her.

She sighed. "God, it's just, like, the hits just keep on coming, you know. The dance team and the alcohol poisoning and my mom and now this. I just want it to stop."

He felt bad for her. He did. She hadn't had an easy couple of months. "Maria," he said. "If you are pregnant . . . can I be the kid's uncle?"

She smiled at him and said, "You can be a wrinkly grandparent."

"Wrinkly? Are you saying I'm old?"

"Your words. Not mine."

He shook his head. "You're crazy, baby."

"Don't say that word," she snapped. "Baby . . . I might have one in my stomach. Oh . . ."

"Wow, that's unreal," he thought aloud, reaching out to touch her stomach.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she said, swatting his hand away.

"I wanna see if I can feel anything."

"Michael, if anything is in there, it's just a fetus so . . . oh god." She cringed. "I really am pregnant, aren't I? I know I am. That's just my luck."

He glanced at the clock again. Three minutes had passed. "Well, let's find out," he said. "Time's up. You can go look."

She let out a shaky breath and rubbed her hands on her legs. "Oh my god."

"It'll be fine," he assured her.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Her eyes filled with tears again, and she didn't move. It was ironic since she had been so anxious and eager a minute ago.

"I can't do it," she blurted finally. "You have to do it."

"Me?"

"Yeah, I can't."

"Wait, I have to touch the stick you peed on?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, you don't have to touch that part. You don't even have to touch it at all. Just go in and look and . . . come out and give me the bad news."

Oh, how did I get myself into this? he wondered. If he was the one who informed Maria she was pregnant, she would hate him forever. But he didn't really have a choice. "Alright, moment of truth," he said, standing up. "I'll be back."

When he stepped foot in the bathroom, his own heart was pounding a mile a minute. Why am I so nervous? he wondered. It's not my kid. He could only imagine how Maria felt. This was life-changing.

He stepped up to the sink and peered down at the test. He wasn't sure if he was seeing it right at first, so he picked it up by the thumb grip and looked closer. There it was. Plain as day. He had to tell Maria.

He walked out of the bathroom with the test in hand and leaned against the wall. Maria looked up at him, her face full of fear. "Well?"

"Well," he said. "Break out the baby food."

Her face contorted and she said, "Oh my god. I'm pregnant." She shook her head vigorously. "No, I can't be pregnant. Oh my god."

He smiled. "Just kidding."

"What?!" she shrieked. "Oh my god, you ass!" She threw a pillow at him as he laughed it up. "Kidding? You were kidding? Oh thank God, you were kidding!" She jumped up and ran to him, throwing her arms around him. "I'm not pregnant?"

"You're not pregnant. Here." He showed her the test. "See? One pink line. That's what you were hoping for."

"Oh, I'm so happy!" she exclaimed.

"It's probably just stress, like I said."

"Oh, thank God! But you! Did you really think that was funny? I could have had a heart attack!"

"Then I would've revived you. That's what I do."

"You're a jerk!" she said, whacking his shoulder. "But I'm not pregnant! Oh my god, thank God, I'm not . . ." Her elation changed a bit then, and she actually started to cry again. "I'm not pregnant." But this time, tears of joy and relief rolled down her cheeks, not tears of fear and anxiety. "I'm not . . ."

He let her fall into him, and he held her close as she cried. Soon, her tears began to soak through his shirt, but he didn't mind. She was his best friend. And she wasn't pregnant. He was relieved, too.








TBC . . .

-April (Alright, keep checking back for updates. One could appear either in a couple of days or a week.)