"Hi." Maria said, draping her arms around his neck. She placed a kiss on the back of his neck and slowly worked her way around to his mouth.

Michael lost all sense of reality. Screw the stonewall bit. Every kiss from Maria always caused it to come tumbling down.

"Miss me?" She asked, pulling away and sliding into a chair.

"Were you gone?" He asked, a smile forming across his face.

"Very funny, spaceboy." She flirted back. "I guess there is no need for a reunion then."

Michael stared at Maria. He was trying to figure out if she was just messing with him or was actually telling the truth, something that he had a hard time distinguishing.

"Relax, Michael, it was a joke." Maria said, noticing Michael's reaction. "God.I swear, sometimes I just don't get you. I mean I was gone three whole days and missed you like crazy. But did you miss me? NO! To think I insisted on coming back because I missed you and you just." Her voice trailed off as Michael's lips came down on hers.

It was a long and passionate kiss. When Michael finally pulled away there was a look of shock on Maria's face. "If you would have just shut-up for a minute," he said. "I would have told you I missed you."

Maria smiled. Sometimes she was so insecure around Michael. She always felt like she was going to loose him. That maybe explained why she got so defensive around him sometimes. She didn't know what else to say to Michael. She felt like such a hag for coming down on him so hard. She decided to change the subject.

"Tess wants to meet us at the Crashdown tonight after school." She said, smiling at Michael.

"Why?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"I'm not really sure." Maria began. "She talked to Isabel and I this morning and said she had some information about our father. I think she's going to tell us about it." Maria looked down. It hurt every time she used the "f" word. "She's spent more time with them then any of us have. Maybe she knows something. It can't hurt to see what she has. Besides, this isn' t the old Tess. I trust her. She's so different and everyone sees that. Are you going to be there, Michael?"

Michael contemplated what Maria had just said. It was true that the Tess they knew had been horrible. But this girl, the one that was the real Tess, seemed nothing like the old. She had been with their fathers for several years. Maybe she could help shed some light on a few things. "Yeah," he said. "I'll be there. I'm riding with you."

"Don't you mean 'Can I ride with you?'" She asked.

"Nope, I meant what I said." He smiled.

Maria loved it when he was a pain. That was one of the things that attracted her to him. She looked at the clock. Lunch was almost over. She looked back over at Michael. "Did you really miss me?" she asked.

Michael smiled. "Yeah," he said. "I mean, why wouldn't I?" He reached over and grabbed her hand. "Come on," he said, pulling her up. "I'll walk you to class."

Maria shot him a look. "Walking me to class? What next, flowers?"

"You never know." He said, heading into the halls. "Maybe Michael Guerin has turned over a new leaf."