I apologize, not a continuation of the story. Only chapter 5 from Micah's POV

Please read the author's note in the next chapter to know what's going on.

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Micah felt stupid. He rarely felt stupid in life. Though at times in class when called on and he couldn't answer fast enough then he did feel like the dumbest person in existence. But those moments were rare. Right then, he did feel stupid. He felt stupid because he couldn't stop smiling. And smiling simply because Max had smiled at him and laughed at something he'd said earlier that day.

But maybe feeling stupid for smiling wasn't the worst thing in the world. Besides, no one was around him, the school had emptied ten minutes before and it was him, a parking lot, and...

And a girl laying on a bench.

A girl he knew on a bench.

Though he didn't know if he could say 'knew her' with complete certainty. The more he interacted with Courtney Hart the more he felt like he didn't know her at all despite knowing of her for a long time.

Micah wavered between the parking lot and the curb. She was laying on a bench. Was she waiting for someone? Maybe she was? He didn't think she could drive with her ankle. But something about her posture made Micah take a step closer to her.

But who was he to check in on her? This was Courtney Hart. Yes, they'd interacted in the golf course cafe. Yes, she'd said she'd help him. But that didn't mean they were friends. It didn't even mean he had the right to approach her. Or did it?

Micah internally swore. He wished he was Denzel. Denzel would have walked up to her right as he saw her and said something to help. Well, Micah wasn't Denzel but maybe he could ask if she was okay. That was okay, right?

Moving cautiously, Micah approached Courtney on the bench.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She looked... He didn't know exactly how she looked. Simply that she didn't look like the vibrant girl that seemed to draw attention whenever she went. She seemed... Normal.

"I don't have a ride home," Courtney said.

Micah relaxed. That at least was an easy solution. He could do this. He could help.

"I can give you one."

"All my problems are solved then."

Courtney said it so causally Micah almost believed that was her main problem but something about it didn't ring true. But he wasn't going to comment, it wasn't his place.

When Courtney sat up, Micah grabbed her crutches and handed them to her.

As they drove, he periodically glanced at her. Courtney Hart sat in his car. Yes, he'd already given her a ride home before but still, it felt foreign. On top of that, she was someone who'd helped him earlier by complimenting his shirt. A tactic that had Max responding as well. Why was this girl completely baffling to him? It wasn't that most girls weren't a complete mystery to him, they were but... There was something about Courtney that felt more...

He didn't even know what the word for it was.

Courtney met his glance and raised her eyebrows. Micah felt his face warm realizing he'd been glancing over a lot. Say something, you idiot!

"After you left," Micah said. "Max said...well she said my shirt did look good on me."

"Yay! One point for love!" Courtney said. She threw her arms out and Micah could almost picture the pompoms in her hands. "Did she go on to confess her love to you?"

Micah blushed and hated how his face betrayed him.

"No," he said. "She didn't. But...I was wondering if you could help me. With...clothes."

He'd asked. He'd done it. Did he feel stupid for asking? Yes, but he'd already felt stupid today that he might as well keep it going.

"Can't go shopping because Coach told me to go home and rest my ankle."

Micah deflated. Maybe he shouldn't have asked. Obviously, she couldn't cheer and that's why she was on the bench. He should have thought of why. If he'd had he'd realize he was touching on a sore subject. Wait, did he just make a pun about her pain? Stupid and cruel. Great going, Micah. Denzel would be rolling his eyes at you.

"But, if you have somewhere I can sit and prop up my ankle, possibly an ice pack as well then I can tell you what works and doesn't work in your closet."

"Really?"

He hadn't expected that. She still wanted to help him?

"Yeah, I love telling people what to give away. I feel like I'm doing the world a favor. And the person I'm helping." 

Strange view on clothes but maybe Fee felt the same way and that's why she always badgered him.

"All right," he said, with a soft laugh. "Sounds good."

When he drew his car up to the front of his house, he saw Courtney gaping at it.

"Yeah...I know," Micah said. He didn't understand the need for such a big house. There were only seven of them. Had three stories really been needed? "It's...something."

"And your dad is just a realtor?" Courtney asked.

"He also buys run-down houses, fixes them up, and sells them again."

Okay, he did kind of understand why his father chose this house, it had been a pet project. But still... Couldn't he have sold it and they move somewhere that wasn't so... Flashy?

Jumping out of the car, Micah worked to extricate Courtney's crutches from the back. It was better to get inside. At least the interior didn't look as overwhelming. When Micah got to Courtney, she sat with her legs dangling over the side of her seat, waiting.

Micah guided her into the house and watched as she took in the vaulted ceilings, large archways connecting rooms, and the twisting staircase. Maybe the interior was just as flashy as the outside.

Courtney paused when she saw the staircase. This Micah understood, he'd seen Fee's first reaction to them when she'd gotten home from the hospital and walked with crutches. The image of her having to climb up them and down they still scared him at times.

"Please tell me this house has an elevator?"

Micah cringed because... Yes, they did. An elevator? Really? What were they? Batman's family? The only plus of it was that Fee had never had to take the stairs. And now Courtney didn't need to either.

"Oh thank goodness!" Courtney said.

As they passed through rooms to the back of the house, Courtney gazed over the family portraits. Micah tried to keep them moving since he looked like a runt compared with Denzel and his father. She already knew Denzel, why remind her that he was nothing in comparison to his brother?

"Courtney," Micah said, urging her on.

At his bedroom door, Micah hesitated, remembering what state he'd left it in. He could never tell his mother this, but he should have cleaned it this morning. Okay, fine, he should have cleaned it the past weekend but he hadn't, and now... He cringed. Not good.

"Ummm...could you, wait one second?" Micah asked. "I have to make sure it's...decent."

"Micah, if you don't get me to someplace I can sit down I'm going to swoon on you."

Micah felt his internal embarrassment and panic halt. "Swoon?"

"Yeah, it's like collapsing except gracefully. And if I do that you'd have to carry me inside and I'm not sure that's a step we're ready for in our friendship."

Friendship? She thought they were friends? Not that he wouldn't mind being friends with her. He would love to but... Well.. he'd never thought that she... That she'd think of them as friends. After all, he was only Micah.

"We're friends?" he asked.

"It's that or Master and apprentice, employer and employee, Wise ole sage and idiot adventurer."

Not relationships he would have thought of... They were weirder than friends.

"Friends then." A tiny smile played at the corner of his mouth. "Okay...I'm sorry for the mess."

He pushed the door open and Courtney crossed to his unmade bed. Before she could sit, he hurriedly straightened the covers. When she sat, he noticed she completely relaxed. He had to wonder how tense she'd been to be so relieved to be sitting down.

Realizing that his room looked... He winced. Looked like a disaster, he raced around, collecting discarded clothes then disappearing into his closet.

There was nothing he could do about his desk since he was in the middle of three projects, but at least the floor was clean.

"Okay," Micah said, clapping his hands together. "That's..taken care of. What now?"

"Do you have an ice pack?"

"Yeah."

In the kitchen, Micah dug through the freezer until he found the ice pack created for ankles. It was buried deep and frosted over but he wiped it clean, then ran back up the stairs. Outside his room, he took a deep breath, not wanting to come in sweaty looking.

When he helped Courtney with the ice pack, she let out a breath. How much pain had she been in? And how had she not shown any sign of it? When Fee had been hurt, she'd willingly let the whole world know how she was feeling every few minutes. But Courtney had said nothing, hadn't let on at all that she hurt.

"Okay," Courtney said, dragging Micah from his thoughts. "First things first, we're going to narrow down your style. Are you a crew neck or a v-neck guy?" Micah stared at her blankly. "Do you like shirts that have a v at the collar or a not?"

Right. Today was the day to make him feel stupid it seemed.

"Oh! Uh, not."

"From what I've seen you wear I would say you're a graphic t-shirt type of guy, correct?"

That pulled Micah up short. She knew what he wore? Half the time he barely knew what he wore. "You know what I wear?"

"I notice what most people wear," Courtney said. "I like playing this game where I take the essence of what they're wearing and redesign it so it works better for them."

That was... What? "So you've redressed me in your mind."

"You make it sound weird but yes. Now I get to do it in real life. So, you're a graphic tee guy?"

"Usually, yeah."

"Okay, and what size is this shirt?"

Micah shrugged. She motioned him forward and she tugged on his shirt so she could see the label. That close Micah could smell the scent of flowers on her. He only hoped he didn't smell terrible from his sprint up the stairs.

"A small," she said.

Micah flushed. Yeah, a small and nowhere near the size of Denzel. Small. Why did that one word seem to sum up a lot of who he was?

"Great now we have our starting pointing," she said. "I want you to go into your closet, find all the larges, and take them down. Before you do, try on a medium and I'll judge if that size is worth keeping."

"Okay," he said.

Why had he thought this was a good idea? Small. Scrawny. Weak. Unathletic. Could be easily picked up by half the guys she hangs out with. This had been a terrible idea.

Still, she was sitting in his room, on his bed, might as well get it over with. Then die of humiliation later on.

"This is a medium," he said, holding out his arms.

Courtney surveyed him critically. Who knew such a cheery face could look so intimidating? "Keep the mediums but gather them and put them in their own separate part of the closet. You won't ever wear them. Unless you decide to take up weight lifting."

Self-consciously, Micah tugged at the bottom of his shirt. She saw it, she saw how he was completely weak. Why was he doing this? A different shirt wouldn't hide the fact that he lacked muscle, it would only heighten the fact. "Should I take up weight lifting?"

"That's entirely up to you."

"But girls like buff guys, right?" 

"Most do, sure. But you have to think about what's best for you. Maintaining a buff body takes work. Is that something you want to start? Because once out of high school with college, jobs, and responsibilities it's not an easy thing to keep up. What is the lifestyle you think you can continue for the next five years, the next ten?"

That was... unexpected.

"Uh....I hadn't thought of it in those terms."

"It's okay, some people don't."

He understood that. The thought was that Courtney did. "But you do."

"Force of habit with my parents. I see life through the scope of how's this going to affect my future, how will it affect my life now, and how can I maintain the life I've worked to create."

"Oh."

Why was this girl so confusing? She seemed one thing then would appear to be another but then that one view wasn't all there was and there was another layer and yet all the layers were wrapped up in a really pretty, blonde cheerleading package. Who was this girl?

"What do your parents do?" Micah asked.

"They do what your dad does with houses except with companies. They give them media and branding makeovers so they attract investors and customers. They even helped a Senator's campaign a few years back. 'You control how the world perceives you'. One of their many slogans."

Micah pulled at his curls. That sorta helped...Maybe... He honestly didn't know. She was... He didn't even know. "That's interesting."

"Definitely makes for unique snippets of advice." She clapped twice. "Now, back to work. Go collect and move all the mediums."

This time Micah happily accepted the task, it was easier to handle than trying to make sense of Courtney because she didn't make sense. At all.

Once finished, Courtney instructed him to bring out a pile of graphic tees and they'd start to go through them. He dumped a mass onto the bed and Courtney told him to sit where she could see him.

He sat there watching her as she methodically inspected each shirt, holding it up to Micah. He had no idea how she was deciding what shirts went in one pile and other shirts went in another. But she seemed to understand.

And for some reason, the task seemed to make her content. It struck him then that she didn't look like the girl he'd seen outside the gym the previous day. A girl just broken up with. How did that work?

"How are you doing with your break up...and everything?" Micah blurted out before he could stop himself.

Courtney eyed him over a classic Marvel comic t-shirt and he wanted to hide under his bed.

"Is there a reason you ask me? Because it will be the second time you have. Do I give off a brokenhearted vibe or something?"

No, she didn't and that was the strangest part. "No, it's just..."

"Say it all fast and in one breath, go!"

The command seemed to smack the words out of Micah. "It's just that you don't seem brokenhearted and I was wondering if there was something someone said or did for you that helped you not be so sad because my younger sister broke up with her boyfriend about a week ago and she's sad I want to help her but I have no idea how."

He sucked in a huge breath and Courtney softly applauded.

"Knew you could do it. And I'm sorry for your sister. And...Honestly, I don't know why I'm not brokenhearted."

"But you dated for a long time, right?"

"Six months."

"And you loved him."

"No."

Micah stared at her. What? But... Six months. That was a lifetime. And she didn't... Woah...Okay. That was... interesting.

But what was more interesting was watching as she sat there, frozen, locked in something he didn't know. He waited but when she didn't even blink Micah started to be worried. And yeah, kinda freaked out.

"Umm...Courtney, are you...okay?"

Courtney blinked. "Of course. Why?"

"You haven't moved or said anything for the last five minutes and it was starting to freak me out."

"Sorry. I don't have any advice for you about helping your sister. All I can suggest is being there for her and listening to her."

"Okay, thanks." 

Courtney went back to sorting through Micah's shirts, leaving Micah more confused than ever before. He couldn't even begin to guess what she'd been thinking about. But then again, it wasn't his place to guess. But she hadn't loved her boyfriend. That was... That was... Something.

"Now," Courtney said. "All of these can go back." She hit a smaller stack. "And I want you to try on these shirts because I'm not sure if I like them or not."

Laden with his narrowed-down wardrobe, Micah stumbled into the closet, dropped the pile onto the floor, and quickly came back. He disappeared into his closet again with the smaller pile of try-on-and-see shirts. Tugging his shirt over his head, he reached at random for the top shirt on the pile. From outside his open door, Micah heard someone calling his name.

His mother. He raced out of the closet, still holding his shirt. What did he do? Courtney was in his room and this had never happened before. A girl being in his room. What would his mother think? Would she believe a denial of anything happening?

"Oh no," Micah said.

His mother strode into the room, and paused, taking in Courtney on Micah's bed and Micah standing frozen in shock, shirtless. Shirtless. He was shirtless! What was he thinking?! Frantically, Micah stuck his hands through the shirt and yanked it on.

"Hello, Mrs. Jackson," Courtney said, easily. "I'm Courtney Hart, a friend of Micah's. It's nice to meet you. I'm helping your son pare down his wardrobe. Micah, your shirt's on backward."

Blushing, he struggled to right his shirt. Why had he agreed to this! This was so stupid. No, he was stupid. Today had proven that over and over again.

Courtney smiled at Micah's mom with nothing but ease and politeness in her manner.

"It's nice to meet you too. Call me Mae," his mom said.

Call me Mae? His mom wasn't upset? Or didn't think anything was happening... Right. Why had he even worried? All anyone had to do was look at Courtney and look at him and instantly they'd know that nothing was going on. Great, he'd freaked out for nothing and looked like an idiot doing it too. But still, it could have looked like...

"What happened to your ankle?" his mom asked.

"Cheer. Didn't land my backflip. Micah valiantly carried me to the Coach's office."

"I didn't carry her," Micah said, breathing hard, his panic and embarrassment leaving him exhausted. "I just...helped."

His mom smiled. "Still, I'm proud you helped. I'm sorry you hurt your ankle."

Courtney carelessly waved away her concern. "Perks of being an athlete. Epic battle wounds. By the way, where did you get this ice pack? I'm in love!"

"Amazon. A year back, Felicity hurt her ankle."

"Oh, do you have any tips for helping the process along?"

"I do. I have a cream that's for inflammation and it's all-natural. I'll be right back."

"Thank you!"

As his mom left, Micah slowly turned to Courtney. A minute max and Courtney had won over his mother. "How did you just do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make it seem like we weren't doing anything we shouldn't have been."

Because asking how she won over people seemed like a stupid question. Though with his current track record seemed like something he would ask.

Courtney beckoned him forward with one finger. "I'll tell you a secret." He leaned forward. "It's because we weren't doing anything we shouldn't."

Micah blushed. He really needed to stop doing that. "True. I just thought she might think...And your extremely hot so it's not like any guy wouldn't want to...and..."

Shut up, Micah! You stupid idiot! Shut up. Stop talking. Walk into a wall. Just stop!

"Here you go," his mom said, gliding back into the room and saving him from having to knock himself out to stop himself. "It's best to put on once all the swelling has gone down. Also, keep that ice pack, we've got plenty of others."

"Thank you," Courtney said. "That's kind of you. And I'm going to go. Micah, I think your closet is in a good enough place that you shouldn't have any fashion disasters from now on."

She was leaving. Right now? Was it because he'd called her hot? He cringed. Why had he done that? Maybe it was better she went home now, he fully believed in his capability of making everything worse if she stayed longer.

"You need a ride home, right?"

Courtney laughed. "Yes, I do."

His mom saw them out to Micah's Jeep offering up more tips she had for ankle pain. Courtney smiled and gratefully accepted his mother's words. Totally at ease with someone she just met. How? How did someone do that? It took Micah a long time to really feel comfortable with someone. Well, usually. Some people he felt comfortable with right away. Like Max.

But not Courtney, she was too confusing and honestly, pretty and intimidating. And nice. How was she that nice? She hadn't needed to help him but she did. Why?

Micah didn't have a clue about the answer to that question by the time he pulled up in front of her house. 

"Thank you for today," he said, walking her to her front door. "It helped."

"We didn't get to those few uncertain shirts," Courtney said. "Sorry."

"Maybe another day."

What? Why had he said that? He already admitted this girl confused and intimidated him. Why? Why would he suggest that? Man, he was stupid.

"Okay, another day. After all, it's what a wise ole sage is supposed to do for her idiot adventurer."

Micah headed back to his car. Putting himself in a place to interact with a girl he constantly felt stupid around. Yeah, idiot was right. That's exactly what he was.

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Hey there, Butterscotch!

Go ahead and tell me what you thought of our adorable Micah and his endless stream of hilarious thoughts.💭💬🗯

It's going to sound stupid and like a 'duh' statement but Micah is insecure.

Told you it was both stupid and a 'duh' statement.

Yes, I knew this logically. But when I got into writing him and his thoughts, I fully understood the depth of his insecurity. Honestly it surprised me. Though why it did is still baffling since I know he's insecure.

I think it's because I never imagined it to permeate all of him.

But that's the life of an author, you learn something new every chapter.

Like I said at the top, there's an author's note following this, please read.

Vote, comment, follow.

What was the book you cried over the most?

Me: the third Mistborn