I bet it had to do with finally finding a girl that he could stomach. As for me, and this is a little known fact, I’m not as immune to the female populace as I try to act. Every night I remember every detail of nearly every provocatively clad classmate that I carefully and decidedly don’t react to during the day. Let’s have a round of applause for a photographic memory. Needless to say, I walk around a lot, at school, with my hands in my pockets. I’m tired, wonder if he’s still in my apartment. It would be just my luck for him to be there wanting to talk about it.’ Michael looked over to his apartment window as he turned the corner. The light was on and he could see Max’s silhouette in the window. "Damn it! It’s MY place! Go home! Take the hint." He swore other obscenities under his breath. ‘I think I’ll show up at Maria’s for the night.’

It wasn’t until an arm snaked around her waist, pulling her tightly to him and their bodies fit together like pieces of a puzzle, that she whispered,

"Michael have you been spying on me in my dreams or is you’re arrival at this time strictly coincidental?"

"Coincidental, why? Should I be patrolling your dreams?" he asked in a solemn tone.

The sound of his voice made her turn around.

"Michael, what happened? You look like hell."

"Nothing, it’s just been a really long day I don’t want to talk about it."

Sitting up and totally facing him she spoke honestly, "Bullshit, if that were true you wouldn’t have come to me."

"Look Maria, please. Let’s just sleep and talk in the morning"

"OK, but excuse me I need to take care of something." And she scooted out of bed.

She proceeded to her desk and dresser selecting several items, placing them in a strategic, domino-type, locations under the window.

Once she completed and inspected her work, she glanced toward the fast asleep alien whispering, "Don’t even think about leaving unnoticed tomorrow buddy-boy"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael woke while Maria slept soundly beside him. He quietly dressed and proceeded to the window and tried to figure out how he could quietly dismantle this contraption.

After studying it for a moment he looked to Maria and silently applauded her intricate design and fully functioning creation.

He was impressed with her hidden talent and ability.

She woke without stirring. He was totally unaware that he was not alone. Until he heard her chuckle, "Face it, buddy-boy. You trapped, so spill."

He walked to the bed unsure of how to proceed. He didn’t want this revelation to alter her support of their cause in any way. Sitting on the bed, he simply said, "Max and I…uh...We had a misunderstanding that never should have happened"

"And…" she pushed.

"And what?...and that’s it" Michael insisted.

"Look. Michael, I know you’re not a proponent to talking it out, but sometimes it really helps" Maria tried persuading him.

"I wish I could just forget the whole thing. Pretend that it never happened. Go back to last week." He said with such great emotion that she could only translate as disgust and disbelief.

She sat up next to him and pulled him close, "Sounds pretty earth shattering. I’m sorry it happened"

He pulled away, " Yeah, Me too… The worst… The absolute worst part is that it was Me. ME! For crying out loud! I still can’t believe it. What was he thinking?"

To Maria all her life-long suspicions about Max had been confirmed. She immediately understood the turmoil Michael was feeling. She wasn’t going to make him relive the incident by repeating it. Instead, she just picked up the conversation as if she already knew. She basically knew. She didn’t need to hear the grizzly details.

"So, I guess he must have been really stressed or something to act that way, huh? I wonder if he’s OK?" She tried to imply that aside from the issue at hand he was probably dealing with more than they knew about, y' know beside the Liz and being king and alien hunter problems. Hoping Michael's concern for his best friends well being would overshadow his reaction.

"You know, it’s bad enough that Iz and I have always been aware of this side of him and have tried to privately deal, but he always respected my space and never pulled this before." He paused then turned to her asking; "Do you really think he might be hurt somehow or something ?"

"I hope not, but I understand if you don’t want to approach him just yet, so I’ll find out for ya." Maria sat straight up and said, "Michael, I believe it’s around this point that the gay person would ask, ‘What is it about me that terrifies you’"

He just looked at her incredulously, "Terrified? Please. Try disgust. The thought of two men going at it is sick. Plain and simple."

~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple hours later in the De Luca’s kitchen, Maria was trying to fix. Michael breakfast.

Michael walked in from the living room and grabbed the skillet from her, "Give me that. How do you want your eggs?"

"Sunny-side up, please"

"Sure, unless the yoke breaks, then it's scrambled"

" Yeah, whatever"

" Go sit down, I’ll be there, in-a-minute." Instructed Michael.

Obeying him, she waited in the Dining room. Moments later he appeared carrying two plates. He first put his plate down next to the open bottle of Tabasco.

Then place a plate arranged in a happy face in front of her.

A piece of link sausage was divided into 3 pieces, for the eyes and nose.

The egg, sunny-side up, was the mouth. The plate appeared to be saying, "OH!"

Eyeing him carefully, "You seem to be OK, how are you?"

Looking up from his Tabasco soaked breakfast he asked, "What you were expecting me to go mental then ballistic on him?"

She slowly nodded, "Something like that, yes."

"Maria, listen to me closely. He’s my best friend, my brother, and my only family ‘well besides Iz’. I don’t know what’s going on inside his head. He KNOWS I’m NOT like that. So why’d he do it? Don’t know. But I do know I’m going to at least hear him out,

just to make sure everything is really OK with him."

"Michael, just remember that gay people claim they can’t deny the impulse to be attracted to the same sex, Supposedly, it’s the way they were born."

"Bullshit, the mere existence of bisexuals, blows that theory out of the water. It’s choice. They are just people who entertain sick, abnormal and perverted ideas. They are a selfish, self centered, self-involved bunch. They care nothing about how they’re tearing up society…

Although the mental images I can sum up, are enough to fuel my disgust, what really gets me is that they don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves. It’s not enough that we have to stomach their lifestyle but they expect public acceptance of their spectacle."

"And I thought you were being so open minded about this. Just tell me are you gonna hit him?"

"Of Course not. Well not unless he keeps asking for it. Tell me, why weren’t you surprised when I told you?" He leaned back to listen to her explain.

"Well, I always kinda suspected it.

#1) He has that look.

#2) He doesn’t walk like a guy.

#3) He’s like hypersensitive and not absolutely

Clueless!

Is that enough or shall I continue?"

"No. That’s OK, but I should go talk to him." Michael rose to leave. "Hey, maybe I can catch him at work before it opens. See ya."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are you doing here?" Max asked, while avoiding eye contact.

"Before, this has chance to create a life of it’s own, we should talk and clear the air"

"Why Michael? I’m sure I already know what you think. Must we do this?"

Michael was losing him. If they let this build, it might escalate and make it impossible to work together, to get home. Think fast…’He’s walking away! Say something,,,’ "Max, I love you" well that did it. He stopped in his tracks; He turned to search my face questioningly so I continued with a small smile, "just not that way. Yeah…um… I love Isabel, your mom & dad and there’s probably a small psychotic portion of me that even kinda loves that shit Hank"

Max just kinda smiled and let out some tension with a sigh. "I figured you’d hate me and avoid me like the plague."

Michael closed the distance between them saying, "No, not hate. It was never hate. I was just shocked, disappointed and… and… nothing, we’ll go with shocked and disappointed.

Eyeing me his head tilted. ‘Shocked because …?"

Michael looked at him like he was an idiot. " Because it was me!"

"Disappointed because…?"

"Because it was ME!!! Before you ask that’s also why I was angered and repulsed. How could you? You know I’m not like that."

"I know and I’m sorry I just…"

"It’s OK. It’s over, but never again right?"

"Yeah, Definitely"

"So how about we get a bite to eat before you open?"

"No time"

"Come on, it’s right across the street"

They kept arguing about whether or not there was anytime until the first tourist entered & Michael left.