He opened the door to her apartment, and Christina immediately saw Michelle pacing in the doorway.

"Where the hell have you been?" She nearly screamed.

"Uh, I don't' feel so good." Christina said.

Taylor led her over to the couch where she collapsed in to a deep sleep in minutes.

"Will somebody please tell me what happened?" Michelle shrieked.

Taylor explained what happened at the supermarket, and again apologized for not calling.

Michelle was now thankful to be awakened from her sleep.

"really, I want to thank you for bringing her home. She looks trashed. I didn't even think you guys would make it this far."

'what do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"Oh, nothing. Forget it."

"No, what do you mean?"

"Oh, it just has to do with her, well, and you. You'll find out later. "

"Um, okay."

"So, like when did you guys meet?" Michelle was starting to get a grip of what she thought was going on here.

" We met formally in class the other day."

"Oh, so, like where is this going? I mean, Chris is not just a one-night stand. She's my best friend, and I look out for her, cause' she sure as hell looks out for my ass. I mean, you can date her, but be careful, because she is different from all of those other girls. She's special. At least make it last a while. For her sake"

"wha…..whoa, slow down. We're not dating yet-"

"yet?"

"uh, I meant to say that we just met, and we are not dating, and I don't do things that scum bag-like."

'So you want to date her?"

"Well, I don't know, I just met her, but I mean, she seems pretty nice, and….Oh, forget I said anything." Taylor said, throwing his hands up.

"no, really I want to hear what you have to say." Michelle was milking him for all he was worth.

" I don't know! It all depends on her."

"Well, just give her a chance. I mean, she's really shy and all, but once you get to know her she can really open up like you wouldn't believe"

"Really?"

"I know how that is…being shy, I mean."

"Really? You're shy too?" Michelle said with a secret smile. This just might work.

"Yeah. She's had some tough times with guys. She really needs to get out and have some fun, and I really hope that maybe you can help her do that."

"Yeah well so do I. I had better get going. It's like one already. Nice talking to you Michelle"

"Yeah, same here"

"Bye!"

Michelle stood out in the hall for a moment while she listened to Taylor's clunky boots clump down the four flights of stairs.

"Uh, Talor?" Michelle called down the stairs.

She saw him poke his head up and he replied "What?"

"We'll be hearing more from you I hope?" She said winking at him with a smile.

"Yeah, you will."

"Good"

"Hey Michelle?" he called.

"Yeah?"

"Tell Chris I'm really sorry"

"Ok, I will"

"And-"

"And what?" Michelle prompted.

"And tell her I'll see her around and that I said goodnight"

With that, he clumped down the stairs, and into his apartment.

Michelle raised her eyebrows, but said nothing and went back inside.

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

Later that night, Michelle walked into the TV/dining/living/lounging room, and saw Christina fast asleep on the sofa. Michelle gently sat down being careful not to wake her, but Chris was a light sleeper and immediately woke up.

"Where's Taylor?" She asked, looking around, squinting.

"uh, he left, and several hours ago" she said.

"oh"

"oh, so you already can't have him gone from your side? This really could be serious."

"What do you mean, 'already'?"

"Well," Michelle began, "He said he really liked you and that He hoped he would see you around. And he also said goodnight."

"Man, he's really nice. I mean, he helps me home, he brings me up here, and says goodnight. Not all guys would do that, right? I think we'll really get to be good friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I might be wrong, but I saw him look at you."

"so he looked at me. Big deal"

"no, I mean he Looked at you."

"Oh, god, Michelle, I know for a fact that he does not want me for his girlfriend." She said, standing up and heading for her room.

" Why is that?"

"Because no boy, and especially him would like me and put up with me."

"Oh, you need to lighten up!"

"Well It's true!"

"Chris, you're a great girl. What kept you from dating in high school was the fact that you're so shy. I know for a fact that Zac Kennel wanted to go out with you for a year."

"Really?" Christina asked, looking up over her glasses.

"Yeah."

"No he didn't. he just liked to talk to me."

"Yeah, I know. Told you."

"Well he never asked me out."

"Well if a guy usually talks to a girl, that means that he wants to go out with her." Michelle said, almost exasperated.

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'."

"Well, he wasn't that cute anyhow."

"Well, my dear, you have no excuse to be picky!"

"I'm saving myself!" Christina defended herself.

"Yeah, but you could have at least gotten some experience."

"True, but I didn't really like him."

"Chris, this isn't about him, is it?" Michelle said walking over to her.

She looked up at her, taking off her glasses.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're scared."

"Scared?"

"Yeah."

"Scared of what?"

"Not what."

"Huh?" Christina was confused.

"Scared of him."

"Taylor?"

"Yes."

"No I'm not, I just don't think he would want to date a girl like me."

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Don't make me answer that, Michelle."

"Well, it's true."

"Okay, whatever"

"You hardly dated in high school."

"I know, and I don't care."

"but my point is, most of the time, you were miserable, watching all of our friends run around with their boyfriends."

"So?"

"So don't make the same mistake in college."

"I'll try."

"I'm just saying this to make you happy."

"Okay, okay."

"I'm going to bed now. I've had a long day. And I've got some thinking to do." Christina said.

She got up off the couch, took her quilt with her, and then shuffled down the hall to her room, closing the door quietly behind her.

"geez." With that, Michelle stood up and headed to finish unpacking the groceries that Taylor had brought up earlier.

As she reached down into the bag however, she frowned.

"They forgot the cheese in the can." And stomped out of the kitchen.

Christina walked into her room, and flopped down on her bed. She had put bricks underneath the bed frame like she did when she was little, so she could run and jump to make the bed. Being only 5'1", she almost still did.

She looked around her room. It had her bed up against one wall, her door to the small bathroom, a closet, her dresser, a bedside table, and a small unit of shelves to hold a few books, CDs, and magazines. Her room was fairly small, at 14 feet X 12 feet, not including the closet or the small bathroom. Her bathroom, was the one that had the bathtub, a sink, and a toilet, while Michelle's only had a toilet, shower, and sink. She was happy with their house, and couldn't wait until they painted it next week.

She went over to her dresser, pulled out a tank top and some flannel pants to sleep in, then went into the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. When she emerged from the bathroom, she pulled back the covers and sank into bed. She decided that she wanted a cat for Christmas.

Back home, she had had at least seven cats in her house all the time. Her parents were very wealthy, but had to work many days and long hours in order to stay that way. They had bought her a new cat for Christmas for at least the past eight years, so she had accumulated around seven.

She reached onto her bedside table, switched on her lamp, and then opened the drawer in it, pulling out her pen and journal. She made a point of writing in a journal at least five times a week, and had done that since the third grade.

She had at least fity notebooks from now back until then, and she sometimes read through them. They often helped her deal with problems she faced now, or sometimes they just reminded her of how wonderful it was to write about childhood and experiences.

Christina pulled it out, and wrote for nearly an hour that night, trying to sort through the emotions that were swirling around her.

Dear Journal,

Today I had a little run in with Taylor at the supermarket while I went to go get Michelle some things, because she was 'sick' again. Gosh, that's been the third time this week. Anyway, to make a long story short, he ended up having to bring me home because I bumped my head pretty bad. Well, apparently Michelle had a little talk with him, and as you can expect, that didn't make me very happy. I know she said something to him, but I'm almost afraid to know what it was. I'm so confused. I don't know how to act, what to say, or how to look when I'm around him. This is major, I just have a feeling. I don't want to screw this up. Knowing me, and the luck that I usually have, I know I will. I really wish Michelle wouldn't have said anything to him. I guess some things aren't worth tampering with. Like people's emotions, and feelings. I wish she would learn that I'm not like her, as much as she would like me to he. Believe me, her life looks a lot easier than mine, but there's nothing I can do about that, is there?

Email: morisstories@hotmail.com