Bad Girl

Author’s Note: Lyrics are in ‘ ‘. Song titles and artists will be listed at the end of the chapter in the order they appeared. Feedback is the stuff fluffy dreams are made of.


The next day passed in a blur and soon Michael found himself knocking on Sarah’s door to see if she needed a ride to Max’s for dinner. It was Saturday and he hadn’t seen her yet.

“Who is it?” He heard her voice ask.

“Sarah? It’s Michael. Do you need a ride to Max’s?”

She opened the door and Michael thought his jaw would hit the floor. She was wearing skintight black leather pants and an equally tight black halter-top with the words ‘Bad Girl’ written in red glitter.

“Great timing, I was just about to call a cab. Come on in. I’m almost ready.”

He walked into her apartment and looked around. The set up was the same as his but her furniture was drastically different. In the center of the main room she had a leather couch which was folded out to reveal a king-size bed covered in black sheets. The room’s two end tables were black and atop each one sat a red lava lamp. There was a recliner off to one side, also black leather. Against one wall sat an entertainment center with a 45-inch television complete with VCR, DVD player, and Digital cable box. Right next to it sat another smaller entertainment center with a state of the art sound system. All this sat atop a plush red area carpet.

“You must have been really popular in New York.” He called to Sarah who had disappeared into the hallway leading to the bathroom. “This stuff must have cost a fortune.”

She walked back into the room with her long hair piled stylishly on top of her head. “Well I spend 90% of my life at home so I figured I better like my surroundings. Most of this stuff I bought when I got emancipated. My parents both had good life insurance policies. I didn’t even know about them because wasn’t supposed to get the money until I turned 18 but since I was on my own I got it then.” She walked to the bed and folded it up then retrieved the cushions from behind the recliner. She glanced around the apartment making sure nothing was out of place. “You ready?”

He nodded and they headed out. “Do you sleep in the living room?” He asked as they walked outside.

“Yeah, I’m using the bedroom as a storage place for the band. My band mates needed all the space they could get. The three of them share an apartment so I just keep everything there and sleep on the foldout.”

They rode in silence for a few minutes until Michael broke it.

“Is Jess gonna be there?”

“Naa, she had to go to her Aunt’s house for the weekend. Do you know who will be there?”

“Well, Me, You, Max, Isabel, Alex Whitman, Maria Deluca, Kyle Valenti, and Liz Parker. They invited a few other people but they couldn’t make it.”

“Cool.” She said.

“Do you have a lot of friends in town?” Michael asked.

“Nope. Just Jess and the guys from the band.”

Michael nodded and pulled into the Evans’ driveway.

Dinner passed uneventfully. Sarah was surprised to find herself liking everyone. Normally she hated people. The first time she’d talk to Max she instantly liked him. There was something about him that just commanded her attention, like he was a born leader. She and Alex had a lot in common due to their mutual love for music. Isabel was just so nice; it was really hard to not like her. Liz was smart and really sweet, a regular Mary Sue. Kyle seemed nice but he kept throwing her these strange looks, suspicious almost. Maria was so bold and outspoken Sarah knew they would be friends despite her odd and ever growing feelings for Michael, who Maria obviously wanted. Michael. She still didn’t know what to make of him. Roswell seemed to be full of surprises. Pleasant surprises, mostly.

The group began to break up around 11:00, Michael and Sarah were the last to leave. Sarah made plans to go shopping with Isabel the next day and she walked into her apartment feeling better than she had in a while.

The good feeling lasted even in sleep leading to good dreams, which were interrupted by a knock on the door. She rubbed her eyes and switched on a lava lamp, the soft glow created enough light for her to see that her watch read 3:12 AM. She opened the door to reveal Michael.

“What is it?” She asked worriedly taking in his ragged appearance.

“Flashback. They’ve been coming more often lately. It just keeps getting worse…” He trailed off and shook his head as if trying to shake the nightmares from his memory.

“Come in.” She said softly.

He stepped inside and shut the door. They stood silently for a moment and Sarah could see he was shaking. She wasn’t really an affectionate person since she’d hadn’t received any growing up but if felt natural when she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

“It’s okay.” She whispered. “Come on.”

She led him forward and into the small kitchen, he watched as she put some water in a kettle on the stove and then went back into the living room where she folded up the bed and replaced the cushions. When the kettle whistled she got out two cups and tea bags then handed one to Michael.

“Here, it’s chamomile. Not the greatest tasting thing in the world but it’ll help you to relax.” She told him while preparing her own cup. She moved into the living room and motioned for him to follow. Once they were settled on the couch she looked over at him.

“You can’t talk about it, huh? It’s still to fresh in your mind.” She said.

He nodded.

She smiled softly at him. They sat together and finished their tea. She took the cups to the kitchen and when she returned Michael spoke.

“Does it ever get better, easier?”

She nodded. “It takes time. I know that’s the last thing you want to hear but time is the worst and best thing in the world. It’s the best because believe it or not time eventually does heal everything and it’s the worst because of the eventually.”

“I just wish…” He trailed off.

“I know. You’re so confused and hurt.” She murmured moving closer to him and once again wrapping her arms around him. “I know.”

Michael wasn’t even sure why had come over. When he had started awake drenched in sweat his first instinct was to go to Sarah. Calling Max or Isabel hadn’t even registered. He held her like she was a lifeline, afraid if he let her go she would disappear and he would be alone. She seemed to know exactly what he was feeling and just her very presence made him feel better.

Sarah listened carefully until she heard Michael’s breathing become deep and steady. She knew she should get her sleeping bag and crash on the floor but she was so comfortable and content lying with him that she finally allowed herself to indulge and drifted to sleep.


**********


Michael woke up disoriented. The first thing he noticed before opening his eyes was a very soft, very female body pressed against him. Then it came back to him. Sarah. He was at Sarah’s. He opened his eyes and looked into her sleeping face. One of her hands was between them resting on his chest while the other cradled his neck. His arms were wrapped securely around her waist. He knew he should get up but he couldn’t make himself. It just felt right to be there with her. After a few minutes he finally managed to force himself off of the couch. He went into the kitchen and saw that it was 10:30. When he entered the living room he saw Sarah sitting up.

“Hey. How are you?” She asked when she saw him.

“Better. Thanks.” He said.

She just shrugged. “What time is it?”

“10:30.”

“Shit! Isabel will be here at 11:00. I have to go get ready, hang around if you want. Coffee’s above the sink.” She told him as she darted down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Michael made coffee while he heard the shower running then the blow dryer. When she emerged from the bathroom her long hair was loose around her body and she wore black Capri pants and a black baby tee with the New York skyline in silver. They sat in companionable silence drinking coffee and eating toast until there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Sarah called.

Isabel opened the door and her eyes went wide. “That’s it, I’m moving in with you. I’m in love with your furniture.”

“You like?” Sarah asked with a grin.

“Oh I love! Hey Michael. What are you doing here?” Isabel asked.

“Sarah and I were just talking.” Michael said.

“About what?” Isabel asked.

“My band.”

“Her band.”

They both said.

Isabel’s eyes narrowed a bit but she let it go. “Cool. You ready, Sarah?”

“Sure.”

“Wanna come Michael?” Isabel asked. “Max is in the car.”

“Naa, but you guys have fun.” He said

“Kay. See ya.” Isabel said.

“Bye Michael. Make your self at home just lock up when you leave.” Sarah said.

When he nodded she followed Isabel out the door.

“Hey Max.” Sarah said with a bright smile as she and Isabel stepped outside.

“Sarah. How are you?”

“Good, you?”

“Good. So where we headed?” Max asked. “The mall?”

“Yep.” Isabel said.

They’d been walking around for about an hour, stopping here and there to look at things or buy something.

“You guys hungry” Max asked.

“Always.” Sarah said.

“A little. You wanna hit the food court?” Isabel asked. Her companions nodded and they started to the second floor where the food court and arcade was located.

“Crystal!” Sarah called when they reached the first eatery. A shorter girl with pink hair turned toward them.

“Sarah! What’s up?” Crystal asked her friend.

“Not much. Crys, this is Max and Isabel Evans. Guys this is Crystal, she’s the bassist in my band.” Sarah said.

“Hi.” Crystal said smiling at them both but letting her gaze linger on Max.

“Did you eat yet?” Isabel asked Crystal.

“Nope, I was just about to.”

“Wanna join us?” Isabel asked.

“Sure.” Crystal said.

They headed over to Wendy’s and got their food. Max and Crystal finished first.

“Hey Crystal, do you play pool?” Max asked motioning toward the arcade.

“No, but I always wanted to learn.” She said.

“Come on.” He said pulling her out of her chair. “I’ll teach you.”

When they reached one of the arcade’s two tables he racked the pool balls then picked out a queue for her. He showed her how to hold it then positioned her at the end of the table. He moved behind her and placed his hands over hers. Crystal turned her head slightly to look back at Max and their eyes met. She cocked an eyebrow and he smiled. He turned his eyes back to the table and told her how to shoot. He guided her hands the first few times but then stepped back and watched as she sank a hard shot perfectly.

“Good. You’re a natural.”

“Thanks.” Crystal said and smiled.

Max almost melted, she had the most beautiful smile.

Isabel and Sarah had joined them at the table and Sarah grinned when she saw the dazed way Max looked at her friend. This could have possibilities.

After the three girls had exhausted their cash flow and Max they headed back to Sarah’s.

“Max, why don’t you go get Michael?” Isabel suggested when they arrived.

“Sure.” He said and headed down the hall.

The girls went into the apartment and Sarah went to the kitchen to get drinks. When she came back in she was humming.

“That’s really pretty. What is it?” Isabel asked.

“Oh, just a song I’ve been working on.” Sarah told her.

“Will you play it for me?” Isabel asked.

“Yeah, come on, Sarah.” Crystal said.

“Alright but only if you sing with me, Crys.”

“Kay. But I only know the chorus.” Crystal said.

“That’s cool.” Sarah said as she got up to get her guitar from the spare room. She came back and
sat down.

“Ready?” She asked.

“Sure.” Crystal said with a nod.

Sarah started strumming her guitar. The song was really beautiful but it struck Isabel as really sad too.


‘Your life has been so hard
This dried up Angel can’t keep guard
And I’m trying to reach your hand
But I’m on fire I never meant to fade away
Wait for me
So just stop pretending
When they say you’re nothing’

Crystal joined her in the chorus but sang in a lower note.

‘Are you sad?
Are you holding yourself?
Are you locked in your room?
You shouldn’t be
Are you sad?
Are you holding yourself?
Are you locked in your room?
You shouldn’t be’

As Sarah began the next verse alone Max and Michael came in unnoticed by the girls.

‘I’m drowning inside your head
Help me to answer, help me understand
Why it’s been so long since we’ve talked like friends
Oh please forgive me I’m just a woman who’s made mistakes
Wait for me
So just stop pretending
When they say you’re nothing

Are you sad?
Are you holding yourself?
Are you locked in your room?
You shouldn’t be
Are you sad?
Are you holding yourself?
Are you locked in your room?
You shouldn’t be
Are you sad?
Are you holding yourself?
Are you locked in your room?
You shouldn’t be
You shouldn’t be
You shouldn’t be’


“Wow.” Max said.

“Yeah. That was amazing. Who wrote it?” Michael asked.

“Sarah did. She writes all of our songs.” Crystal said.

“I loved it. You both have great voices.” Max said, but Sarah knew he was only talking to Crystal.
There was definitely something happening between them, and she knew just how to help them along.

“Are you guys going to the dance on Tuesday?” Sarah asked.

“I hadn’t really thought about it.” Max said.

“I’m going.” Isabel said.

“With who?” Michael asked.

“Um, well, you see I’m kinda going, wellI’mkindasortofgoingwithKyle.” She said, the end of her sentence muffled by her hand.

“Please tell me you didn’t just say you were going with Kyle.” Max said.

“Well, he asked and…” Isabel trailed off.

“Okay, moving away from that disturbing topic, you going, Crystal?” Michael asked.

“Probably not, considering the fact that I’m not a student at Roswell high.” Crystal said in a disappointed voice.

“If you want to go, I mean, do you want to go with me?” Max asked.

Sweet, kind hearted PREDICTABLE Max. Sarah thought with a barely concealed smirk.

“Sure.” Crystal said smiling.

“How about you, Sarah?” Isabel asked.

“Yeah, but being the horrible dateless monster that I am, I’m going stag.” The singer told her.

“Michael?” Crystal asked.

“Maybe.” He said with a shrug.

“You should go, we’ll have a ball!” Crystal said throwing a glance at Sarah.

“I’ll think about it.” Michael replied.

“Bitchin’. It’s late, I’ve gotta get home. You guys mind giving me a lift?” She asked Max and Isabel.

“No problem.” Max said.

They said their good-byes leaving Sarah and Michael alone.

“You staying awhile?” Sarah asked.

“Sure.” He said.

“Cool. I’m gonna go change, why don’t you pick out a DVD or something. Movies are in the drawers under the TV.”

Michael sorted through Sarah’s collection of DVDs and picked out The Crow. Sarah returned a few minutes later wearing black silky pants and a black tank top.

“How’s this?” He asked holding up the movie.

“Great. It’s one of my favorites. I have the sequels somewhere too.” She said.

They settled down on the couch and started the movie. After it was finished Sarah found the second one and put it in. Half way through she got up to get some chips and on her way back to the couch she tripped over one of Michael’s shoes and landed in his lap.

“Sorry.” She murmured.

“It’s ok.” Michael said pulling her closer to him.

She looked into his eyes and their lips came together. She wasn’t sure who kissed who and at the moment she didn’t really care. Sarah sighed as she felt Michael’s tongue trace her lips and she moved her arms around his neck. Michael had just tangled his hands in her long hair when it happened. A flash. He remembered hearing Max and Liz talk about them after they’d kissed.

He saw Sarah as a child. She was in the back seat of a car. Then a coyote ran across the road, the car swerved to miss it and flew headfirst into a tree. He saw a bloody, dying Sarah crawl out of the car and collapse on the side of the road. She looked up and called out to someone he couldn’t see.

“Please. Help me.” She said, her words coming out as a gurgle because of the blood rising in her throat.

At that moment someone knocked on the door and they broke apart. Sarah looked at the door then at Michael.

“I, uh, I should get that.” She said and moved from his lap.

She opened the door to reveal Jess.

“Hey, hon.” Jess said entering the apartment.

“Jess. What’s up?” Sarah asked her mind a little fuzzy.

“The usual. Hey, Michael.” Jess said.

“Hi Jess, I was just about to go. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” He said and got up to leave.

“Night Michael.” Sarah said.

“Bye Sarah.” He said giving her a small smile.

“See ya, Michael. Oh, and Sarah’s lipstick really does look better on her.” Jess said with a smirk as she shut the door behind him. “Well?”

“Well what?” Sarah asked.

“Tell me what you and Michael were doing before I interrupted.”

“Nothing. It was just one little tiny absolutely mind blowing bone melting kiss.” Sarah said with a groan. “Shit, Jess. What am I gonna do now?”

“Um, I’m really not seeing the problem here. Michael’s hot.” Jess said.

“Jess, I can’t get involved with Michael, or anyone else for that matter. Relationships are based on
honesty and I can’t tell him the truth.” Sarah said sadly. “I like Michael. A lot. And I adore his friends but it wouldn’t work. You know that.”

“Sorry. So what are you going to do?” Jess asked gently.

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“We’ll figure something out. We always do.”

“Yeah, I hope so. You staying the night?” Sarah asked.

“Duh. Of course.”

“Good. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long sleepless night, for me at least.”

Song:
Are You Sad? – Our Lady Peace