It was the morning that my mom came in from her business trip and I had to be at the airport at 8AM to pick her up. Annabel, Lue, and Michael were all over to help get a few things in order. Luckily, the drive was only about 25 minutes. I was leaving at 7 since I knew there would be traffic and because I had to figure my way around to get to her gate in time. The time was currently 6:45 and I'm pretty sure we were all exhausted.

"Maddie?" Lue called from upstairs.

"Yeah?" I yelled back from the kitchen. Lue popped her head around the corner and Annabel followed shortly after.

"We're heading off to the store to pick up things for breakfast. Do you need anything else besides the list you gave us?" I groaned at her question, completely forgetting that I planned for her to come home to a nice, home cooked meal, which I'm pretty sure she missed. "I'll take that as a no." They both exchanged laughs at my incoherent response. "What about you Michael?" We turned his way simultaneously.

He was sprawled on the couch, half asleep, phone in hand. Something I'd seen a numerous amount of times. A groan sounding similar to mine came from his mouth as he was probably just as discouraged to do anything as I was.

"It's too early." He muttered, completely ignoring her offer. His eyes already revealed his statement well enough.

"Alright, well we're off." Lue sighed. "We'll probably pass you on the way back in." And with those words, my front door shut loudly. A sound that wasn't too pleasant in the time of the morning where the sun hadn't even come up yet.

I continued to get this meal together from where I had left off when I was slightly interrupted. My hands were digging through baking ingredients, pulling out what we had and leaving an empty space on the counter for what they were going to bring back. I stood on my tip toes so I could reach the glass plates that were an inch too high. I jumped and finally got a hold on a plate which only came tumbling down from my lack of grip and shattered on the floor around my feet.

"Shit." I mumbled. I crouched down carefully, picking up the pieces one by one. The sound of Michael running into the kitchen stopped me from my actions.

"What happened in-Oh." He immediately took notice of the scene and realized what had happened. He dropped down next to me without warning and started the same process of picking up the sharp edges.

"Hey, I made the mess, so I'll pick it up."

"Not when it's broken glass. I'll take care of this, you can get ready to head out." He strictly said as he nodded his head towards my door. I rolled my eyes, not liking the extremely protective manner he had towards me. I ignored him as I stood up and stepped over the mess. I had a handful of glass that I threw under the sink without a care. I felt a prick on my finger and I jerked my hand back. My hand now hand a fresh slice on the inside of my finger.

"Dammit Maddie." Michael grumbled as he too stepped over the glass.

"I'm fine. It's just a cut." I protested. He hoisted me up onto the counter by my waist despite my fight. He moved my legs so he could stand in between them to get as close to me as he could. My hand was flipped over by his and by this time the small wound had stopped bleeding. As he picked his head up we both became aware of just how close were.

"Tell me where it hurts." He whispered, his breath tickling my neck.

"It doesn't-" I cut myself off when I felt his lips attach on to me.

"Here?" He started right above my collar bone. He slowly let his lips drag across my skin as he made his way up higher. I tilted my head to the side, giving him more access.

"Here?" He planted another soft kiss which made my breath hitch.

"Or here?" His lips pressed once more right below my ear, a soft spot on me that he found during the multiple times he has done this.

I drowned myself in his affection and adored every second of it. The gentle feeling of his hand on my waist snapped me back into reality. My eyes shot open to read the clock on the microwave in front of me that read 7 o'clock on the dot.

"Michael." I softly said, him continuing his trail of kisses. He stopped what he was doing and met me face to face, peering into my eyes. "I have to leave."

His hands cupped either side of my face as he pulled me to him. Not like there was very much space between us anyways. His lips pressed just as carefully against mine as they previously were on my neck. He lingered for a few seconds as I kissed back. He pulled back and removed his hands that were just on me to his hair. Also something I've picked up on. He does it far too often, but it's something that would never get old.

I hopped off the counter and onto my feet and rushed towards the door. I slid on a pair of shoes as Michael followed behind me. He opened the door for me and let me exit first. He leaned in the door way with one hand still attached to the door knob.

"Please don't burn my house down." I puffed. He grinned and gave me another quick kiss before shooing me off.

"We'll be fine!" He shouted once I started my car. He gave me a silly wave before closing my door. I exited my neighborhood and just as Lue said, I passed them on their way back. They honked as they passed by and we exchanged a quick serious of ridiculous faces. I laughed in quiet as I watched them pass through my rear view mirror. I picked up my phone once I reached a stop light, texting my mom and telling her I was only a few minutes away. I was practically wiggling in my seat from excitement. I was finally able to wrap my arms around the most important person in my life after a whole month.

-

I pulled into my driveway as my mom's laughter began dying down. I was telling her a few stories of what she had missed over the months time.

"God, I'm so happy to be home." She confessed as she unbuckled her seat belt. I stopped her before she continued just as I began to remember the breakfast I had planned for her.

"Wait, stay here. I'm just going to go inside and, um, use the bathroom then we can haul of your luggage back inside." I gave her a beaming smile.

"Well...alright." She said somewhat confused. I hopped out of the car and ran towards my front door, letting myself in. I jogged into the kitchen only to be greeted by my three friends, rubbing flour off of their faces and hands. The whole meal was placed perfectly along our dining table and actually looked good.

"I would compliment you on your display, but you've got a minute." I spoke up. They all turned around to me, getting my message of 'I'm not letting you greet my mother after a flour war.' They fumbled with dish rags, paper towels, and the running water from the sink. Just as I spun back on my heels to go get my mom, she was already standing in front of all four of us with a radiant smile.

"Surprise?" Annabel said, shrugging her shoulders. We all started laughing at the unexpected situation, completely losing seriousness. My mom walked over to Annabel with wide arms and brought her in for a hug, as she did for Lue. 'I've missed you's and 'How are you's were exchanged and she reached Michael who she also pulled in for a hug. His eyes caught mine and I grinned at the scene in front of me, which he easily returned back.

"It was going to be a nice surprise," I began. "But these three weren't taking it." I pointed at the three of them as I giggled. They all started small bickering between us all, putting blame on each other and defending themselves. It was all pointless banter, but that's what made us all get along so well together.

"How about we stop bickering and enjoy this food, yeah?" My mom butted in. We all agreed at once, washing up whatever ingredients were on them. We settled around the table, scooping and piling things on our plates. "So where's Julia?" She questioned. "I figured she would be here too."

"Oh she's on her mission trip." Lue replied instantly, taking a bite of her pancakes. My eyes widen and I quickly looked at Michael, thinking we were about to be busted. My mom glanced up at me with furrowed eye brows.

"I thought she got back early?" My mom looked around, not noticing my stare at Lue that told her to keep her mouth closed. "Didn't you say she stayed the night here a few days ago?" She pushed around a few things on her plate with her fork, waiting for an explanation from me. I cleared my throat, spilling out some ridiculous excuse.

"Um, yeah." I smiled nervously. "She's just really jet lagged from the time zones and stuff so I told her it was okay if she didn't come." I noticed the confused look Annabel an Lue shared, but my mom just nodded her head.

"I feel her. I'm feeling pretty jet lagged myself." She pushed herself away from the table. "I don't even know how many hours of sleep I got, but it was definitely not enough." I watched her intently as she carried her dirty dishes to the sink. "So with that said, I'm heading back to my room to catch up." She leaned down and kissed the top of my head. "Thank you guys so much. It was all wonderful. And you can all stay as long as you want, just don't cause too much ruckus." She made her way around the corner and I finally let out the breath I didn't even realize I was holding in. We waited for the sound of her door shutting to finally break the silence.

"What the hell was that all about?" Annabel whispered somewhat angrily at me. I glanced over to Michael once then I exhaled roughly at the thought of having to tell the about Michael and I's nights that we've stayed together.

"Michael was over and my mom called and woke us up and she heard his voice in the background. You guys know she would kill me if she found out I let a guy stay over by ourselves. So I just said it was Julia." I whispered back sounding more guilty than anything.

"Wait, you slept over?" Annabel asked, now turning her attention to Michael. "Did you guys-"

"That's not the point, Annabel." I snapped. "The point is that my mom can never find out about this." They all nodded in agreement and soon the house fell silent.

"So what did you guys do?" Lue asked, wiggling her eye brows. I always knew she was blunt and wanted the facts, but I would never think she would ask about it right in front of us.

"Lue!" I raised my voice at her. "You can't just ask things like that!" I turned to Michael in slight shock. His subtly tinted cheeks were buried in his hands.

"But you aren't answering my question! I need to know if you're being safe, Maddie!" She shot back, laughing as she finished her sentence. I covered my face as my mouth hung open, also joining in on her laughter.

"Oh my God." Michael mumbled through his muffled laughs. He pulled himself together rather quickly and picked his head up. "It wasn't like that. I swear." He spoke through his normal smile.

"I'm innocent." I butted in, throwing my hands up in defense.

"How long has this been going on?" Lue interrogated.

"And why weren't we invited?!" Annabel added. They kept switching from me to Michael then back again. I sighed and looked at Michael before answering.

"Basically the past month and a half." I plainly said, not wanting to make it a big deal. Michael sneakily reached out and placed his hand on my thigh, not minding their questions they threw at us. They looked at each other once again then back at us.

"So, are you guys, like, a thing? Like are you together now?" I opened my mouth to answer, but in reality, I didn't have one. I didn't really know what we were titled as.

"Um.." I started off.

"We're just going with things." Michael squeezed my leg once, making my stomach erupt with butterflies. My eyes met his and I seemed to know exactly what he meant, even though by the look of Annabel and Lue's faces, they didn't completely understand.

An exchange of glances was enough for Michael and I. We could explain and understand things all with one subtle little look. We could read each other and see right through each other at the same time. Michael was a lot better at it, though. After all, he did say he had me figured out. Which was something I still hadn't quite done.

-

I crawled into my empty bed that I had been dreading all day, but my exhausted mind couldn't resist the warm sheets. I tangled my body in my fleece blanket and fell into my pillows. It was completely silent, the only thing I could hear was my heartbeat in my ears. My eyes stayed open and soon enough adjusted to the darkness. I tossed and turned becoming suddenly bothered by my noiseless room. I gave up and closed my eyes, hoping that if I at least tried to fall asleep I would.

My thoughts in my head jumped from one to another then were suddenly shattered by the sound of something hitting my window. I sat up uneasily and waited for it to happen again. I jumped when I heard what sounded like a tapping on the glass. I wrapped my blanket around my shoulders and walked towards the curtain covered window. I pulled the cloth back lightly and suddenly realized what was making the noise. I opened my window slowly so I wouldn't make any loud sounds and I poked my head out, hovering over the figure about 20 feet below me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I scolded quietly. The person looked up and I caught a glimpse of the familiar eyes that glowed even at midnight. "Michael?"

"Hi." He said quietly. He hand a hand full of small rocks and I realized the 'tapping' on my window were actually the rocks being thrown at my window.

"Weren't you just making fun of me for being too cliché last week?" I watched him as he began climbing up the tree that grew beside my house. He carefully stepped each and every branch as if he had done this a thousand times before. Which I wouldn't be surprised if he had.

"Probably." He answered, stepping a foot easily onto my roof. Even though he was a few feet away, I reached my hands out to him as if I was controlling his balance.

"Please be careful. I don't need to wake my mom up to tell her some boy fell off our roof trying to act out a scene from Romeo and Juliet." He was now close enough to where his outstretched hand caught mine. I helped him steady himself as he stepped closer to my window. "Oh Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" I said through giggles.

"I'm right here." He replied back in the same tone I did. I hung my head down at his cheesy statement then held out my other hand so he could grab on.

"That's not even what the line means, but good try." I carefully watched him as he came closer and stopped right in front of me.

"Doesn't matter." He muttered, leaning in swiftly. I rejected his attempt to kiss me, knowing that my mom could wake up any second and catch us. "What?" He tilted his head to the side in a worried manner.

"It's just I don't want to get caught." I whispered. He stayed close enough to feel my breath on his lips.

"We won't." He leaned in once again, but I put a hand on his chest to stop him.

"Michael..." I trailed off. He looked down and sighed, not satisfied with my actions.

"Alright, alright." He ducked his head down and sat on the frame of my window. I stopped him once he swung a leg around and into my room.

"No way." I firmly said. "We'll definitely get caught if this goes any farther." He rolled his eyes at me and swung his other leg in and stood up. His tall frame hovered over me and I stayed put, not wanting to make a single sound. He silently sat on the chair that was in front of my desk and kicked his feet up. I cocked my head to the side and he immediately got the message. "Get your dirty shoes off my desk." I teased.

His feet clunked to the ground loudly and I hit his shoulder in a playful yet serious manner. He scowled at me yet remained silent. I watched him as he stood up and began riffling through a few things in my room. I sat on the edge of my bed at watched my feet tap nervously on the floor.

"What's your favorite?" Michael suddenly asked. He twisted around slightly and caught my eye. He eyes didn't leave me as I got up and trailed to his side. We were standing in front of my massive shelf full of books and it surprised me that he showed interest.

"They're all my favorite." I truthfully spoke. "I've read them all, and I love them all." I scanned the spines of the books reading as many titles as I could. "I can't pick just one."

His hand found mine and he watched as he locked our fingers. I looked down with him and he eventually pulled me onto my bed. I sat with back pressed against my wall and his head laid in my lap. All we did was trace our hands. It was such a simple yet meaningful gesture. In a way it seemed like he was trying to know me like I know the back of my hand, literally. He drew the same pattern over my fingers every once in a while, but for the most part it was all at random. The tips of his fingers tickled by palm ever so lightly, but just enough to get a smile out of me.

We kept this up for about half and hour, just giggling over each other's presence and whispering little nothings to each other. By the time 1am rolled around I found myself in his arms and cuddled up to his side. He was humming a familiar song that I just couldn't out my finger on, but it was alright with me.

"It's getting late." I tilted my head up to him. He kept trailing the pads of his fingers under my shirt and on my waist, a feeling that I would never overcome.

"I know." I muttered. He pressed a single kiss to my forehead and lingered there for a second before pulling back. "You'll be fine." He then moved down and kissed the tip of my nose which made me release a small puff of laughter.

"But what if-"

"You'll be fine." He assured me. "Go to sleep." I batted my eyes a few times before I nodded and rested my head back on his chest. He pulled my blanket over us as I began to yawn. I eventually fell asleep, letting the worry of being caught fade.

-

A/N:

i hope you're liking this because i like writing it hehe keep voting if you want some more :~~)