With Max, it had been easy. He had seen her soul, for goodness sake. There was nothing about him that she didn't know. And vice versa. But with Kyle, there were secrets. Secrets that she had to keep. She could never tell him the reasons behind her breakup with Max. She knew that he thought that she didn't talk about Max because it was too painful. But that wasn't it at all. She wished that she could tell him about Max. She wanted to share everything with him, to let him know every part of her. But she couldn't.

She had never intended to fall in love again. Ever. She was finished with that. Besides, she didn't really believe that she could fall in love with anyone else. But she had. And it was different from what she felt for Max. But it was stronger too. With Max, there was an emptiness. He didn't mean for it to be there, but it was there nonetheless. There was a part of him that was hollow, that was waiting for answers. And so there was a part of his love that was hollow. But with Kyle, he loved her completely. Utterly. He made her feel like a goddess sometimes.

Kyle had never loved anyone else. She knew that it bothered him that she had. That there were parts of him that he could never know. And as she lay there, studying his profile, she wished for the words to tell him that she loved him. Completely and utterly. But her lips made no sound. And she knew that the words would never come.

*****

Maria had wondered for days if Michael had remembered telling her that he loved her. He certainly didn't act like it. He was the same old Michael. She held onto the knowledge that he had like a secret. Every time he looked at her, her brain screamed out, he loves me!

She could have kissed Kyle for beating him up. She found out all about it the next day at school. Kyle looked far worse than Michael did. Michael never told her what the fight was about though, and Kyle wouldn't either. But she really didn't care. Michael loved her and that was all that mattered.

The next picture in the album was taken right before the prom. It was of eight people. She smiled. It was the only picture that had Kyle in it with the rest of them. It was taken at her house. Jim and Kyle had moved in a few weeks before. Kyle and his date had come to have their pictures taken at the moment Michael arrived. Soon after Alex and Isabel had shown up, and then Max and Liz. Jim had insisted that they all be in a picture together.

The prom had been fun. Michael had worn a tux and everything.

>>> "Looks better in reality, doesn't it, Maria?" Isabel had asked, laughing. Maria blushed at the memory of her old dream.

"What is she talking about?" Michael asked.

"Nothing," Maria answered, sending Isabel her iciest glare. Isabel had just laughed harder. <<<

Michael had even danced to a couple of the slow songs that night. She didn't know what had gotten into him. But her night had been perfect.

After the prom, everyone was supposed to go to the bowling alley.

>>> "Alex, I do not bowl," Isabel said firmly. Alex looked around for help, but he found none.

"Come on, guys," he said. "It's one last thing that we do together as a class."

Liz took pity on him. "It could be fun," she said, looking at Max. "They have pool tables there."

Max's eyes lit up. "Yeah, I guess it could be fun."

Alex turned his head toward Maria. "I don't care what we do," she said. The night had been perfect. And Michael Guerin loved her. They could do anything they wanted.

Alex turned his attention back to Isabel. One look at those puppy dog eyes and Isabel was a goner. "Fine, I'll go, but I will not bowl," she said. Alex smiled. Maria laughed. How weird was it that Alex Whitman was the only person that could get the ice princess to back down?

They were all supposed to go home and change and then head to the bowling alley. Michael insisted that they stop at his apartment first. She thought that it was ridiculous that he wouldn't take her home to change and then go to his apartment. After all, it was going to take her a lot longer to get ready. But he refused, saying that this would just take a minute.

He had been gone for half an hour when she finally decided to see what was taking so long. She climbed out of the car and started up the stairs to his apartment.

"Michael!" she yelled when he didn't answer after her repeated knocks. He was doing this on purpose. The whole night had been perfect and now he was trying to make her mad. Suddenly her mind twisted to another thought. Maybe he had passed out or something. It had been a few weeks since the fight, but still. She began to pound even harder on the door.

"Michael!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Finally, the door opened. "Shh," he said, smiling. "You're going to wake the neighbors."

She flew into his arms. "Thank God," she whispered.

"Thank God for what?"

"That you're okay," she said, looking up at him. Then she realized that he was still in his tuxedo. "Michael! You haven't changed at all! What have you been doing all this time?"

He grinned and pulled away from her. It was then that she saw the candles. He must have lit thirty of them. And there were pink roses everywhere you looked.

"Well?" he asked, taking her hand in his.

"It's beautiful, Michael. How did you..." her voice trailed off.

"Isabel helped," he said. "I mean, she told me what to do."

Maria nodded. She looked over at him and smiled. "Well, I guess you were pretty sure that you would be getting some tonight."

He returned her smile. "Let's just say that I thought that this couldn't hurt."

She moved toward him and allowed him to capture her lips. He kissed her slowly at first, but his kisses grew more urgent.

"Wait a minute, Michael," she said, pulling back. His eyes looked startled. But she needed to tell him and she couldn't wait. "I love you."