Always Will Be - Chapter 3
Title: Always Will Be
Fandom: Roswell
Pairing: Michael/Maria
Rating: Adult
Summary: Maria returns to Roswell on her national tour, but will she have a reason to stay?
Disclaimer: They're not mine.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three - Your Life
“Do you think he’ll back out?”
“He might try, but there’s no way he can.”
“All bases are covered.”
“There are no feasible excuses left for him to use.”
Alex, Isabel, Kyle and Tess stood at the edge of the car park, watching out for the familiar jeep Max drove, hoping that Michael would be in it when it arrived. Eventually Max pulled into a space a few rows away, hopping down to give Liz a hand out while Michael jumped out of the back reluctantly.
After greetings had been exchanged all around, the gang headed into the concert.
* * * * *
Maria sat in her dressing room, drinking hot mint tea to ease her vocal chords and, hopefully, calm her demented nerves. It was strange that she had sung to packed stadiums all across the country, serenading hundreds of times the number of people sitting out there tonight, and been only slightly nervous. And yet now, back in her hometown, with an audience of barely five hundred, she had butterflies the size of houses, and her stomach was turning cartwheels.
She pushed the notion that the possibility of Michael’s attending the concert had anything to do with it aside. After all, she was over him, wasn’t she?
* * * * *
Michael followed the rest of the gang into the auditorium, ticket in hand. Seat Z9. That sounded good. That sounded like a seat at the back. He was upset to see his friends heading towards the front. He started reading the letters of the rows as they passed them. Damn. They were going up as they went forward. That meant row Z was exactly where he didn’t want to be. Right smack dab at the front. And seat nine was slap-bang in the middle. Just great. Reluctantly he made his way to his seat and sank down into it. His only hope now was that it would be dark enough that he wouldn’t be visible from the stage. Before he had time to voice his complaints, the lights dimmed. Maria appeared on the stage. Michael looked up, and thought he had never seen a more beautiful woman in this world, or any other.
* * * * *
Maria took a deep breath as she stepped onto stage for her final song. The lights were bright in her eyes as the band started up behind her.
I know you think that
I shouldn’t still love you
Or tell you that
As her eyes grew accustomed to the lights she finally spotted her friends sitting on the right hand side of the front row. Including Michael. Her eyes were drawn to him like a moth to a flame.
But if I didn’t say it
Well I’d still have felt it
Where’s the sense in that
Michael looked into Maria’s eyes and noticed that she was looking right back. She had noticed him. He’d been optimistic when she hadn’t appeared to recognise him through the rest of the concert.
I promise I’m not trying
To make your life harder
Seeing him there, watching her with those intense eyes of his made singing the song that much harder. Did he know that it was about him? Had he figured that much out?
Or return to where we were
Seeing her up there, so happy, made him that much more sure that he’d done the right thing, letting her go. But it hadn’t made it any easier. It hadn’t stopped him from missing her more and more every day, every week, every year.
But I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up
And surrender
As their eyes met and caught, Maria knew with sudden certainty that she had been deluding herself for over 4 years.
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love
And always will be
She was nowhere near over Michael. Not now, not then. And she didn’t think it was likely she ever would or could be.
I know I left too much
Mess and destruction
To come back again
As she sang, Michael thought back to the first time he’d heard her sing this song. It had been only a few months after she’d gone, a few months after they’d broken up. It had been played on the radio all the time. He’d listened to it every time, still mourning the loss of their relationship.
And I cause nothing but trouble
I understand if you
Can’t talk to me again
It came to him suddenly. Some of these words sounded scarily like their situation. She must have written the song right after their split. She’d written it about him.
And if you live by the rules
Of it’s over then
I’m sure that that makes sense
Maria thought back to where she’d been when she’d written this song, which had been her first big hit. She had been hurting over the whole Michael situation. Wishing it wasn’t over. She’d had a hugely successful career, but she still wished the same thing. She wished she hadn’t needed to give up on their relationship in order to succeed.
But I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up
And surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love
And always will be
As she sang, her attention kept drawing back to Michael. Maybe a part of her hoped that they could have something again.
And when we meet
As I’m sure we will
All that was there
Will be there still
Michael realised that deep inside, a part of him hoped that she was still feeling the emotions that she was singing. That they still had a chance for their happily ever after.
I’ll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I’ve moved on
Both recognised the reality of these words. They had convinced the world that they were over each other, that they had moved on, but it was all just a façade.
I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up
And surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love
And always will be
Michael stayed seated in a daze as the song ended and the house lights came back on.
“Michael!” Liz’s voice finally permeated the haze.
“What?”
“Come on! We’ve got backstage passes, we can go see Maria!” Liz was very excited at the prospect of seeing her best friend face to face for the first time in 5 years.
Michael unwillingly tagged along behind his thrilled friends.
Chapter Four