Her long blonde hair blew loose around her as the wind beat against her body. But despite the fact that she was barely wearing anything – only a singlet and cut-offs – she didn’t feel cold. If anything she felt warm. Sitting on her rock at the edge of the cliff, gazing down at the sea as it frothed and crashed against the rocks below, she felt safe.

The breeze caressed her skin and she almost felt like she could just take off and fly away. When she was younger she used to dream that if she jumped off she would be caught in the wind and would be able to fly. Fly far away from Roswell Bay.

She never tried to though. Even back then she knew it was a lie, just like everything else. At seven she was too old to believe in fairy tales.

But that didn’t matter. Even though the cliff wasn’t very high, sitting here, on her rock, she felt like she was on top of the world.

Sure, it was only her, the sea, the wind and her rock, but it was the only place she didn’t feel alone.

***

Michael regarded his new school warily as he and his sister Liz followed the lanky brown haired guy who’d been told to show them where their first class was. He’d realised immediately that the guy was a geek – why else would he have been hanging around the office before school? And he was eagerly telling them about how great the school was, something that was definitely not evident to Michael at this present moment. Even Liz looked like she was willing to do anything to get the guy to shut up. Alex, that was his name – Alex.

As ‘Alex’ raved on about how lucky they were to have snagged lockers where they had – something about the cafeteria? – a flash of blonde hair caught the corner of his eye.

Turning he caught a glimpse of the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Long blonde hair cascaded almost all the way to her waist, dead straight. The paleness of her hair contrasted sharply with the bright fuchsia top she was wearing, her shoulders bare bar two thin spaghetti straps.

Allowing his gaze to travel downwards his eyes roamed her long, tan legs beneath the frayed edge of her short, denim cut-offs. He swallowed hard, willing his gaze away from her.

Turning towards the other two he noticed that Liz was also watching the blonde girl curiously. When he was certain his voice was working again he asked, “Who is she?”

Alex’s gaze followed his for a moment as the girl shut her locker, disappearing down the corridor without a word to anyone. Alex shook his head as he turned back to him.

“Maria Deluca. She’s strange. Keeps to herself.”

Michael frowned, turning in the direction she’d left in, but she was long gone.

“Don’t even try,” Alex told him. “Do you think people haven’t tried? They have. God have they tried. She doesn’t want any of that. She’s happy being by herself. I think she even wants it that way.”

Michael nodded as Liz glanced between the two of them. They continued down the corridor to their first class, Michael’s mind focused on only one the thing.

On the girl. On her long blonde hair. On her long tan legs.

On Maria Deluca.

***

Maria sat perched on the wooden waist-high wall that surrounded the front porch of the house she and her mother had lived in for the past ten years. It was the last house of the beachfront strip in the smallish bay not far from the town’s centre and main beach, and unlike most people, who longed to live in an exclusive house overlooking the main beach, Maria knew no place in Roswell Bay she’d rather live. A small beach curved round the point not far from the house, and from there there was a trail leading to the top of her cliff.

But today she was simply contemplating doing her homework. She probably should, after all she was already part way through her senior year and she needed to get decent marks to get out of this town, but right now she couldn’t be bothered. And besides, she always had time in the morning before school started.

“Maria?”

“Amy,” she replied in the same tone as her name had been said.

Her mother walked out onto the porch scowling. “I’m your mother. How many times have I told you not to call me Amy?”

Maria rolled her eyes. Like she ever really acted like a mother anyway. She’d acted like she was Maria’s irresponsible big sister ever since…

She shook the thought away. She wasn’t going to go there again. Not today. Not ever. Too much time spent thinking worthless thoughts.

“Maria, shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Not today Mum.” She stressed the last word. She’d been working at the Coastside Café for a while now, providing them with a little more money than what her mother earned running her gift shop.

“Homework then?”

Maria raised her eyebrows. Was Amy Deluca being motherly? What was going on?

“Soon.”

“Now.”

“Soon,” she repeated, turning her gaze to look out at the ocean.

Her mother sighed, heading back into the house. Glancing after her mother Maria stood up. She walked down the porch steps and onto the warm sand, loving the feel of it between her toes. Without another look back she headed to the rocks that lead to the small beach around the point.

***

The wind hit Michael as soon as he stepped onto the rocks down the far end of the beach their new house was located on. Unperturbed he continued around the corner, surprised to find a small beach.

And not just a small beach, but a small beach on which the blonde girl was sitting on. Maria Deluca.

He’d watched for her the rest of the day but hadn’t seen her. He hadn’t been able to spot her in the cafeteria during lunch either.

He walked closer to her and she looked up, her eyes following his moments as he neared her.

“Hey.”

She gave him a slightly annoyed look but smiled nonetheless, pushing stray strands of her loose long hair off her face. “Hi.”

“I’m Michael Guerin,” he told her. “We just moved here.”

She raised her eyebrows, curiosity flickering in the depths of her emerald green eyes. “In the middle of the year?”

He nodded. “Yep. Middle of our senior year. We weren’t impressed.”

“We?”

“I have a twin sister. Liz.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” He nodded too, unsure of what to say next. Luckily she spoke first.

“Like it here?” The curiosity was back.

“Honestly?” Michael asked. “No. I guess it gets better though.”

“It doesn’t.”

He stared at her but she merely shrugged. Right…

She stood up and he noticed that she was still wearing the cut-offs and singlet. In this wind? “Aren’t you cold?”

She ignored the question. “This is a town where everyone loves Max Evans – the football captain,” she added, obviously sensing his confusion. “And his ‘popular’ sister Isabel and their ‘perfect’ family.” She gave him a disgusted look and he could tell she didn’t dislike them only for their popularity but for something else. “Let me tell you one thing, perfection is deceiving.”

Michael stared at her. Alex was right, she was strange. But in a unique, wanting to know what’s going on in her mind way.

“Is Max dating that girl.. Tessa?” he asked, trying to piece together what he’d heard that day in school.

“Tess.” She nodded. “Of course, unbeknownst to Max, she’s seeing Kyle too.”

“The quarterback?”

Maria nodded again, walking down the beach away from him. Michael followed. As he neared her he thought he heard her mumbling something that sounded like ‘At least now he might have an idea of what it’s like.’ What that meant he had no idea. This Maria Deluca was one confusing girl.

She stepped up on a log lying at the edge of the beach, the wind whipping through her hair as she did so, and Michael was struck once again by how unbelievably beautiful she was.

“Yep, the whole female population seems to lust over either Kyle or Max, or both, and Tess has both of them.”

“Who do you lust over?” he asked, curious.

She took a few steps down the log, turning to meet his eye. “I, Michael Guerin, lust after no one.”

“No one?”

She nodded. “No one,” she repeated. “I’m perfectly happy being alone.”

“Isn’t it lonely?” he asked, feeling slightly like a hypocrite. After all, he’d never had many friends, he didn’t want many. Of course, he’d never had none either. And through it all he’d never been totally alone because he always had Liz.

She watched him a few moments before speaking. “You can be lonelier in a crowd than by yourself you know.”

Watching her turn and walk away from him Michael realised that Alex was right.

Maria Deluca was all alone because she wanted to be.

Over the next few days at school Michael realised something. Maria Deluca wasn’t unpopular, she was unapproachable.

The guys regarded her with lust while the girls were in awe of her confidence and grace. Well, most of them anyway. He had noticed some girls gossiping about her while some guys watched her snidely with disgust. But as a whole Maria Deluca was someone to be admired, and that’s what made her desire to be alone even more confusing.

What had happened to this beautiful girl to make her want to be left alone like that? One girl who had seen him watching her as she made her way down the corridor only the day before had whispered to him “Don’t bother. She’s accepted now, only she doesn’t want to belong anymore. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with the high school scene.” Michael had just looked at the girl in confusion. She’s accepted now. What did that mean?

His sister was also intrigued by Maria, he knew. Of course, not because she found her irresistible and beautiful like Michael himself did, more because she wanted to get to get to know Maria because Liz claimed she seemed like just the kind of girl she wanted to be friends with. He knew that Liz was annoyed at the way some so-called ‘popular’ girls kept following her around and trying to make her a part of their group.

The conversation he’d had with her that first afternoon stuck in his mind, and to his disappointment he hadn’t been able to have a conversation with her since that day. Conversation? He snorted. He hadn’t even said one word to her since. He was never able to find her to talk to at lunch and as she walked through the corridors she seemed so unapproachable.

Her attitude and her comments confused and intrigued him. And he knew it wasn’t just his sister who wanted to get to know Maria. He did too, and not just because she was gorgeous, although she was, but also because he wanted to know the truth behind the unapproachable Maria Deluca.

***

Tess ambled along the jetties of the marina for a moment before entering the Coastside Café, the local hangout located on the shore side of the marina of Roswell Bay’s main beach. She sauntered in, noticing as she did so that there were barely any high school students in the café and none that she considered her friends, so she made her way to the counter and sat down.

“Hey Maria,” she called to the girl who was currently manning the cash register.

“Hey Tess,” Maria replied smiling, walking over to her. She looked around quickly, lowering her voice. “How’s the Max thing going?”

Tess sighed. “Not good. Not good at all.” She glanced around too making sure there wasn’t the faintest chance someone had heard. Maria was the only person who knew about what was really going on with her and Max. She was able to trust Maria with stuff like that, knowing she wasn’t going to spread it to anyone.

Tess had a feeling she was Maria’s closest friend – not that they ever really spent time together out of school except when Tess dropped by the café without her friends when Maria was working. Maria refused to sit with Tess and her friends at lunch. She had a feeling it was to do with Max. Maria and his sister Isabel had this weird hatred vibe thing going for some reason and she knew Maria wasn’t too fond of Max either.

Of course she also had a feeling that Maria’s refusal was actually because she wanted to be alone. She wouldn’t let anyone, not even her, get close or discuss anything personal with them. Why, Tess had no idea. Maria had been like ever since Tess had met her four years back when she moved to Roswell Bay. There seemed to be some long-standing grudge between Maria and the other teenagers of Roswell Bay, although in the past few years that grudge had seemed to disappear, except for a few people who still continued to hate her for something no one would mention.

“So?” Maria prodded, pulling Tess out of her thoughts.

“Not here,” she replied. “People could hear. You’re the only one who knows.”

“And Kyle too I hope,” Maria replied with a grin.

Tess nodded. “Of course.” She sighed. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Tell him.”

Tess raised her eyebrows. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?” She paused. “I know I should but… I don’t know how.”

Maria nodded as she turned to ring up someone’s order on the register. When she finished she turned back to Tess. “You’ll have to tell him eventually.”

Tess shut her eyes with a sigh. “Yeah.”

***

Maria was lounging against a tree during her lunch period when the sound of footsteps alerted her to the fact that someone was nearing her. That was a rare occurrence, most people just let her be at lunch, even the guys who were always trying to get something from her. Looking up warily she came face to face with the new girl.

“Hey,” the pretty brunette said smiling. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

She just shrugged, confused at why the new girl would be wanting to sit with her. Surely Isabel and Courtney had told her stories. “Hi.”

“I’m Liz,” the girl said as she settled down onto the grass.

Maria nodded. So she was right. It was Michael’s sister.

“The twin, right?”

Liz blinked. “Yeah. How did you know?”

“Met Michael.” She glanced around, noticing Isabel and Courtney staring at them and wondered again why the new girl was sitting with her and not them as she had been the past few days. “You know,” she said softly. “Being seen with me won’t do wonders for your reputation. I think they’d rather you joined them.”

Liz followed Maria’s gaze and to her surprise she laughed. “Oh I’d rather not. They’ve barely left me alone since I got here. I’d rather hang out with someone who isn’t a shallow bitch thank you.”

Maria couldn’t hold back a laugh and she could feel the two blondes glaring at her as she did so. Maybe this new girl was actually normal, unlike most of the people in this town. She certainly seemed to have no problem speaking her mind.

“Are you sure?” she asked, a small grin on her face. “They seemed to like the idea of molding you into another one of their little followers. God knows that this town needs more Izzy and Court followers.”

Liz gave her a curious look. “Too many of them already, huh?”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Hell yeah. They think they rule the school, especially since…” she trailed off, biting her lip. What was she doing? Why was she being so friendly to this girl? She didn’t know her at all.

“Especially since what?” Liz asked curiously.

Maria shrugged it off. “Since ever actually.”

“So what, they just suddenly became popular overnight?”

“Not exactly… Look, it’s not really something I can explain. Anyway, they’re not really popular… I mean, they think they are and have their little group of followers, but most people prefer Tess and her group because at least she’s friendly and kind. She’s so much more loved than they are. Of course they don’t like her because she hasn’t been here all along.” Maria studied Liz for a moment. “You know, maybe that’s why they’re being so friendly to you? They don’t want to make the same mistake twice, and dissing Tess when she moved to town probably wasn’t a good move of theirs.”

Liz nodded. “Okay then, so that’s the school politics of this place. So what about you?”

She looked at her warily. “What about me?” she asked slowly.

“Well, tell me a bit about you. I mean, I’m nothing too exciting. Just, I have a twin brother, I actually like school – well the science side of it anyway, I hated the idea of leaving my friends to move here and want to study molecular biology next year. But you, you have so much to say about these shallow popular people that its obvious you don’t like, so you must have a lot to say about yourself too, right?”

Maria just shook her head, dodging the question. “No, not really. I’m just your typical teenager.”

Isabel raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow as she stared at Maria and Liz. “I can’t believe Liz actually went and sat with her.”

“I know,” Courtney agreed, casting a disdainful look in Maria’s direction. “Especially after we told her that Maria was a loser. Does this new girl have no standards?”

“You know, I have to admit I’m surprised that Maria let her,” Isabel added. “When was the last time she actually let someone befriend her? Ever since that whole thing went down years ago she’s been completely friendless. Although Tess hangs around her at the café for some insane reason.”

Courtney nodded. “I don’t understand that girl at all. And how did she end up so popular anyway? No matter what she does she’s never going to be a true Roswellian, although I guess that’s why she actually talks to that… thing. But really, why does anyone like her?” She frowned slightly. “Why does your brother like her?”

Isabel shrugged her shoulder. “She’s not too bad really. Actually I quite like her. I just don’t understand why she talks to Maria.”

“True,” she murmured, her brow furrowing when she saw the look Isabel gave her.

Isabel sighed. “Okay, Tess I can understand, she’s nice to everyone.” Courtney nodded in agreement, that was true and it was sickening. “But Liz, she’s knew here and she doesn’t have the luxury that everyone knows her and loves her, I just don’t understand why she would risk her reputation like that.”

Courtney just nodded in agreement. It was simply amazing.

***

Maria slammed her locker shut as the bell rang, the corridors quickly emptying of people. Shouldering her bag she began to make her way down the hallway, groaning inwardly when she saw Courtney staring at her a few metres away.

She walked past, planning to just ignore the shallow girl, when she heard Courtney’s whispered insult.

“Trash.”

Maria spun on her heel, turning to face her. “Are you sure,” she asked tauntingly. “Because you know, that didn’t stop your boyfriend from trying to grope me the other day.” She shrugged innocently. “But then, maybe he’s used to it.”

“B-itch!”

Maria suppressed a smile. “Wow, so aggressive. And without your other half here either. She’ll be impressed.”

Courtney moved closer to her, her eyes narrowing and her voice a low hiss. “You should have left when he did. No one wants you around here.”

She glared at her, barely able to keep her emotions under control. “Did you ever think that maybe none of it had anything to do with me?” she asked, her voice conveying some of her barely veiled anger.

“Humph,” Courtney replied, stalking off down the corridor. Maria glared after her.

***

“Hey,” Liz said as she flopped down on the grass next to Maria with a smile.

“Hey,” Maria replied, smiling back. “So you decided to join me again?” She had to admit she was surprised. Surprised that Liz actually wanted to be around her, and surprised that she actually didn’t mind.

Of course, Liz wasn’t really like the rest of the people in Roswell Bay. She wasn’t prejudiced and shallow, or at least it didn’t seem that way. Tess wasn’t either even though she’d lived there four years. Maria supposed it was because Tess hadn’t been around for Elementary School either, unlike everyone else she knew.

“’Course I did,” Liz replied with a grin, nudging her slightly. “Why did you think I wouldn’t? Were you trying to scare me off yesterday? If so it didn’t work.”

“No,” Maria replied, laughing softly. “I just thought maybe you’d decide to sit with them again,” she said, tilting her head in Isabel and Courtney’s direction. Courtney’s even more mean-spirited than usual insults yesterday had clued her into the fact that they weren’t happy Liz seemed more interested in her than them.

Liz’s brow furrowed. “No. Why? Do you want me to?”

Maria mock-shuddered in horror. The idea of this friendly, bubbly girl associating herself with them was horrible. She was just worried that Liz… Well, she didn’t know. She was just worried.

“Good then.” She paused. “I think they weren’t too happy about yesterday though,” Liz commented. “Courtney gave me these evil looks all through English.”

“They don’t take rejection well.”

Liz laughed. “And why am I not surprised.”

Maria grinned, taking an apple out of her bag and taking a bite out of it.

“Speaking of evil,” Liz said, leaning backwards slightly using her hands to support her. “I can’t believe I moved here right before midterms! Is that some evil twist of fate or what?”

“Didn’t you say you liked school?”

Liz looked at her like she had grown an extra head. “Not exams! Do I look insane to you?”

Maria shrugged. “Just checking.”

Liz gazed curiously at her. “Why don’t you look worried?”

“They are still two weeks away you know,” she replied as she munched on her apple. Yeah, she knew they were coming and she really should try hard if she wanted to get out of this town, but two weeks away was still a while… wasn’t it?

“Two weeks! That’s barely anything! Especially if you’ve just moved to town.”

Oh yeah, Maria supposed that was true. “Definitely sucky timing,” she commented.

“Yes. So what am I supposed to do?” Liz wailed. “Damn parents.”

Maria just shrugged. She wasn’t the ideal person to be going to for school advice. Actually, she wasn’t the ideal person to go to for any sort of advice. Although Tess had told only her about her Max and Kyle predicament, so maybe she wasn’t so bad at advice, although she’d certainly never been in that kind of situation before.

Speaking of Tess though… She liked Tess, and Liz seemed really nice too, so maybe getting to know Liz, someone removed from it all, wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

***

Maria was relaxing on her bed that evening when her mother breezed in, her brow furrowing when she noticed her daughter’s lack of schoolwork.

“I’m going away for the weekend,” Amy told her as she surveyed the room. “You’ll be okay won’t you?”

Maria raised her eyebrows. Of course she would be, she’d been fine by herself before hadn’t she? “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

Amy turned to her, her eyes settling determinedly on Maria’s. “I do worry about you Maria. I worry about you a lot. Why don’t you act like a normal teenager?”

She rolled her eyes, standing up so that she was level with her mother. “You mean like having sex and getting pregnant? Well that worked out so well for you didn’t it?”

“Maria,” her mother warned.

“Amy,” she echoed in the same tone. What was the big deal anyway? It was the truth.

She shook her head, sighing. “I’m going out.”

Michael grinned when he noticed that his sister was sitting with Maria, talking away as they ate their lunch. Once again Maria was wearing simply cut-offs and a singlet, only it was a baby blue one this time, with her hair lose down her back. She looked absolutely beautiful – so natural-looking, yet breathtakingly gorgeous as well. He made his way over to them realising he finally had a reason to have another conversation with her.

“Hey Maria,” he said, smiling at the blonde. “Hey sis,” he added, dropping down next to her.

“Hey,” Liz said, lightly shoving him. “Who said you could join us?”

“I did,” he replied with a smirk, taking a bit of his sandwich.

“Rude much?” Liz said with a frown. “We could have been in the middle of an important conversation.”

“So?”

“Well, hello?” Privacy?” she asked, hitting him lightly on his head.

“Geez, you’re my twin, we live together. Why do we need this privacy thing?”

“God Michael, like you tell me anything you’re thinking. Can’t I have a conversation with a friend without you appearing?”

Michael just rolled his eyes as he continued to munch on his sandwich. “I’m sure Maria doesn’t mind, do you?” Looking at Maria he was surprised to see an almost wistful expression on her face.

Maria glanced at Liz quickly before replying. “No.”

“Maria!” Liz exclaimed, but he could tell that she really didn’t mind he was there.

“So what have I missed?” he asked.

“What?” Maria asked, an amused look on her face.

“This important conversation I interrupted. What was it about?”

Maria shrugged. “Honestly? Nothing important.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Then why aren’t you telling me?”

Liz sighed. “Oh god. Honestly Michael do you even care?”

He just shrugged in reply. He had to admit that he didn’t, but it was amusing to see how they acted.

“I take it you weren’t discussing how wonderful Max Evans is,” he asked with a smirk. Maria responded by rolling her eyes exaggeratedly.

Liz looked between the two of them with confusion. “What?”

“Honestly Liz do you even care?” he said with a smirk, mocking her previous comment. His smirk faded into a grin when he heard Maria laugh. She really had a beautiful laugh, although he had a feeling she didn’t laugh much.

Liz scowled at him, shoving him again. “Look what you did! Now my only friend in this school is siding with you, of all people.”

“I’m not siding with him,” Maria said with a grin.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, ignoring Liz’s triumphant smile.

“I’m not siding with anyone,” she continued, placing her hand lightly on his arm, amusement still apparent in her eyes. He tried to ignore shiver that ran up his spine at her touch. “I was simply laughing at a joke. Are siblings always this petty? Maybe it’s a good thing I have none.”

Michael frowned. Petty? Liz seemed to be sharing his thoughts. “Hey, who says we’re petty?” she asked. “We’re not petty!”

Maria just shook her head. “Yeah, sure, whatever you say.”

***

She watched as the water swirled around the rocks below from her position perched on her cliff. The sea was barely moving today and the breeze was almost nonexistent too. Leaning back on a large rock she stared out towards the distant horizon her mind floating back to what had happened during her lunch period earlier that day.

She may have said that it was a good thing she had no siblings, but in fact she envied the Guerin twins and their obviously easy and joking relationship. When she was younger she’d always longed for a brother or sister so she wouldn’t be so lonely. But she’d gotten over that around the time she’d started school and now she didn’t care if she was alone or not. But still… it must be nice to have someone who could be close to like that without worrying that they might judge you or push you aside.

She’d decided not to push Liz and Michael away, there was no reason to. After all, they didn’t know. But she wasn’t going to let them get close either.

She wasn’t going to let anyone get close. Not here. Not in this town.

***

Michael’s shoes clumped against the wooden decking in front of the Coastside Café as he made his way towards the entrance. Apparently this place was a hangout for the high school kids in Roswell Bay and Michael wasn’t surprised. The café looked out over both the ocean and the moored boats at the marina, and the long sandy main beach. He knew that due to its location right at the main beach that the place would be exceptionally busy in summer.

The door chimed as he entered and scanning the café he noticed Alex look up at him and smile. He smiled back but didn’t go over to say anything to the guy, as he seemed to be enjoying himself with friends of his, all of which didn’t look like the kind of people Michael associated with.

Walking over to the counter he was aware of two blondes following his every move. He ignored their blatant interest and sat down at the counter.

Michael was shocked when Maria appeared behind the counter wearing a waitress uniform, her long hair tied down her back in a plait. Michael realised it was the first time he’d ever seen her with her hair tied up. And not wearing cut-offs and a singlet too, he might add.

She smiled at him. “Hey. What would you like?”

He glanced at a menu sitting on the counter in front of him. “What’s good?”

She shrugged. “Depends on your tastes really.”

“Well,” he said with a smirk. “What do you like then?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Why?”

“Just wondering what you’d consider good.”

She smiled. “Well I work here so I consider everything good.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “Yes, but what is the best?”

She shook her head. “I’m going to serve those people,” she said, gesturing at a group of people who’d just walked in. “Maybe by the time I’m back you’d have decided?” Michael frowned as she walked away from him.

“I’d recommend the squid rings,” one of the blondes who’d been watching him earlier said with a smile as she sat down next to him. He heard a stool scrape against the floor and turned to see the other blonde sitting down on the other side of him.

“I’m Courtney,” she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a smile.

“Isabel,” said the girl who’d first spoken to him.

Michael nodded, looking at them warily.

“What’s yours,” Courtney asked, laying a hand on his jean-clad knee. Michael fought the urge to swat it away.

“Michael,” he answered, shifting in his seat and dropping his knee so that Courtney no longer had a hold on it. He ignored her pout.

Michael turned back to look at Isabel just in time to see her narrowing her eyes at Courtney. Realising he was watching her she smiled, looking just slightly uncomfortable. “So I hear you’re new in town.”

“Yeah, I’m-“ The sound of Maria dropping something down hard on the counter near him interrupted his train of thought. He looked up to see her glaring at the blondes.

“Courtney, I just thought you’d like to know that Doug just entered the café,” she said in a sugary sweet tone, a fake smile plastered on her face.

The blondes both glared back at her while Michael watched on in confusion. Then Courtney got up, muttering something about the quality of customer service, and made her way over to a tall blond guy who’d just entered the café. Isabel raised her eyebrows at him before brushing a hand over his arm and standing up. “I’ll see you ‘round.”

Michael looked at Maria. “What was that all about?”

Maria’s eyes hardened while her lips smiled at Michael. “So did you decide what you wanted?”

“What was that all about?” he repeated, this time louder.

She frowned at him. “Nothing. I just thought Courtney would like to know that her boyfriend was here. You know, seeing she was hitting on another guy,” she added with a shrug.

Michael nodded, not buying it. Suddenly he remembered the first conversation they had had and how much she seemed to despise Max Evans and his sister Isabel. And that was Isabel… so there was definitely something more going on.

“So did you make up your mind?” she asked.

“Uh,” he glanced at the menu. “Just some fries thanks.” He certainly wasn’t going to follow Isabel’s recommendation. No way was he going to eat something with squid in it. Maria merely nodded and walked to the kitchen to place the order.

***

Maria walked out the back door when her shift ended not bothering to change. As she walked around the front of the restaurant she was surprised to come face to face with Michael as he left.

“Hey,” he said, looking surprised. “Your shift over?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, looking out at the water shimmering in the almost-darkness.

“Heading home?”

She bit her lip. “Uh, yeah.”

“Want to walk together?”

She hesitated for a moment. “Sure.”

They walked in silence as Maria wondered about what had happened earlier. Only a few days before she had decided not to push Michael and his sister away, and she hadn’t, after all she had sat with them during lunch every day since. Not that she was letting them in, not at all. She didn’t think she’d even told them one thing about herself, not even the fact that she worked at the Coastside Café, which of course Michael knew now though. But she wasn’t pushing them away.

But what if Michael liked Isabel and Courtney? What if one of the people she was letting be around her actually liked them. She couldn’t let that happen. Couldn’t let herself be associated with someone who did.

“Um,” she said, biting her lip. Michael turned to look at her. “Do you like them?” she asked softly.

His brow furrowed. “Isabel and Courtney?” he asked. She nodded. “No. They’re shallow and superficial, and according to Liz they’re really annoying too.”

She nodded, feeling relieved. “But they’re…”

“Beautiful?” he asked. She nodded but he shook his head. “You’re far more beautiful than either of them.”

Maria laughed. “You know, that’s not gonna get you anywhere.”

He stopped, turning to look at her. She stopped too, meeting his gaze. “Who said I want to get anywhere?” he asked. “And it’s the truth. You are far more beautiful than them.”

She bit her lip. He couldn’t be serious, could he? She dropped her eyes, ignoring his probing gaze. She could feel him studying her but refused to meet his eyes. She still couldn’t believe he had said that.

“Should we continue?”

She nodded, still avoiding his eyes, and the continued walking.

The breeze picked up as the followed the road and once again Michael turned to her. “Aren’t you cold?”

She was cold. So very, very cold. The night breeze whistled through the leaves and chilled her skin as the branch moved slightly under her weight. Her eyes were squeezed shut. But she would bare it. Anything to prevent going back inside and hearing them fighting again.

“No,” she replied softly. She was immune to it now.

“Hey.”

She smiled. “Hi.”

“Why aren’t you-“

“With Max and the others,” she finished. “I don’t know. It’s just…” she glanced at the other two. “You know.”

Maria nodded. “Yeah.”

Tess glanced back at the twins. She knew they were new in town and seemed really cool but had been too busy to talk to them even though she’d meant to. She had to admit she was surprised that they both seemed to be hanging out with Maria a lot. Well, by a lot just during lunch, which, considering Maria’s determination to stay away from everyone, was a lot. “I’m Tess,” she said with a smile.

The pretty brunette nodded. “I’m Liz, and that’s my brother Michael,” she said, gesturing at the gorgeous guy next to her.

Tess nodded. “I’ve been meaning to say ‘hi’ but-“

“You’ve just been busy?” Liz interrupted with a smile. “You’re in my Biology class and you always seem so, I don’t know, rushed?”

Tess laughed. “That’s about it. But hopefully my life’s less frantic now. Miss Sellers was on my case about the school play,” she explained. “But that’s all over now,” she added, sighing with relief.

“Why are you ignoring your boyfriend?” Liz asked curiously. Tess glanced at Maria for a moment, noticing Michael giving her a curious look as she did so. Tess wondered for a brief second if maybe he knew, if maybe Maria had told him, but quickly brushed it aside. These twins may have convinced Maria to let them be around her but it was apparent they hadn’t convinced her to let them get close to her.

“I’m not really ignoring him,” she said. “It’s just I can’t be bothered sitting and talking to him today.” She ignored the laugh Maria tried to stifle.

“Right,” Liz said. “How long have you been going out anyway?”

Tess bit her lip. “Almost two years.” And she’d been cheating on him for almost a month now.

“Wow,” Liz murmured. “My longest relationship’s been only about seven months.”

Tess shrugged. “That’s still long. I still can’t believe I’ve been going out with the same person for almost two years. So who did you go out with?”

“Oh, just this guy Sean back home.” She turned to her brother with a smile, obviously trying to draw him into the conversation. “The longest Michael’s been in a relationship for is about a week.”

Michael scowled. “They weren’t ‘relationships’.”

Liz turned to Maria, nudging her slightly. “Hey, you’ve never told me. How long was your longest relationship?”

Tess’s eyes widened slightly as she turned to Maria. She hadn’t expected Liz to ask that question, what with the fact that Maria so obviously tried to keep herself apart from everyone, but then she’d probably seen the looks most guys gave Maria and had just assumed.

“I don’t really do ‘relationships’,” Maria replied, complete with air quotes.

“Oh,” Liz said softly. “Then that’s probably why you never told me,” she said with a weak smile.

“So,” Tess said, frowning when Maria lay back on the grass obviously not caring whether she was a part of the conversation or not. Her eyes widened in realisation when she noticed the way that Michael was trying to stop himself staring at Maria’s smooth tanned skin where her singlet had risen, and failing miserably. He liked her.

“So?” Liz probed, a grin on her face.

“So why’d you move?”

“Dad’s job,” Liz replied with a shrug. “For some reason they wanted him in the Roswell Bay office so we were forced to pick up in the middle of our senior year and move. We weren’t happy.”

Tess nodded. “I can imagine.”

***

Maria groaned as Doug suddenly appeared beside her in the hallway. What was wrong with the guy? Why couldn’t he take a hint? The guy was so stupid you could probably tell him to leave you alone and he would think you liked him. Actually… she had, and he did.

“Hey babe,” he said, smirking at her with what she was sure he thought was a gorgeous grin, when in fact it just made him look ugly. “You doing anything tonight?”

“Not with you,” she retorted quickly.

He grinned. “Come on, don’t tease.”

She sighed loudly through her nose. “I’m not. Run back to your precious Courtney. She’ll put out for you, and every other male in the school too,” she added, lowering her voice but knowing he could still hear her.

“Yes, but you’re special,” he said, moving to put an arm around her shoulders.

She whacked his arm away, cursing the moment that Doug Sohn had decided that he should make her a conquest of his. Why wouldn’t he leave her alone?

“Get lost. I could sue you for harassment, jerk!”

He snorted. “Sure. With who and what money? You’re daddy’s not here anymore.”

Jerk! She narrowed her eyes at him. What right did he have to bring her father into this? She swivelled her foot slightly, raising it so her heel was directly above Doug’s foot, before stomping down hard. She gave him a satisfied smile before walking away.

“B-itch!” she heard him yell behind her. She smiled. Well, at least that was better than ‘babe’.

***

“Hey.”

She turned to look at him with a smile. “Hey Michael.”

“Heading to class?” he asked, making small talk. Not that he was any good at it, he’d never really felt the urge before.

Maria rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. “Yes. And I’m trying to figure out just why I decided to take Maths. At the moment I’m pleading temporary insanity.”

He smirked. “Not good?”

“Hell no!” she exclaimed, shaking her head emphatically. “I mean, god, when am I going to need surds or logs or, god, binomial theorems ever again in my life? Who comes up with these things?”

He grinned. Thank god, she seemed to hate school just as much as he did. Finally someone who wasn’t like his school-loving sister. Maria Deluca was looking better and better with every passing moment. Of course, he still had to figure out how to convince her to spend time with him. Well, at least because of his sister he had an excuse to eat with her at lunch everyday.

“Well, this is me,” she said with a wave, entering the classroom. Michael stared after her, scratching his eyebrow in annoyance. Just how was he going to get her to open up to him?

***

The water below shimmered slightly in the twilight, barely moving at all. It was one of those days when the water was almost dead calm and the wind non-existent. Maria loved those days, looking down on the wondrous expanse of water as it barely moved, yet she also loved the stormy days too. It felt so freeing to stand there, the wind blowing her hair around her body as the sea crashed uncontrollably.

She never felt free in this town, except during storms. When everyone was inside, sheltering, leaving her alone. Every other moment of the day she was never free. Not from the others at school, her mother, not even from her thoughts.

She was so sick of high school and its trivial problems. She was sick of Doug Sohn and his endless quest to try and hook up with her. Sick of Isabel and Courtney and their insults, and Max and his judging eyes. While he didn’t hate her like his sister he still couldn’t stand her either. When most of the school got over it Max Evans didn’t. She guessed that it was understandable though, she’d never gotten over it either. At least he didn’t openly taunt her like his sister.

She longed for a storm, longed to give herself away to the wind, for a few moments at least, letting it blow her problems away. She was just so sick of everything!

Nothing good came from this town. That was probably why the only people she could actually stand weren’t from Roswell Bay originally. Like Tess…

And Liz, with her long brown hair and innocent eyes, who was actually friendly and funny, the kind of person Maria wished she had as a friend for all these years.

And then there was Michael... with his spiked brown hair and intense brown eyes… Who as much as she tried she just couldn’t get out of her head.

Michael flopped down on the couch in the living room, absently noticing that Liz was sitting at the table doing her homework. A month had passed since they’d moved to Roswell Bay and while he and Liz hung out with Maria every day at school they still didn’t really know anything about her at all.

Alex was right in what he’d told them his first day there. She did keep to herself, and despite the fact that people tried to get to know her she refused to let anyone in. He understood that, he was a private person too, but Maria shared even less than him. While she seemed to talk a lot it was never about herself. Never. Michael couldn’t even remember one thing she’d said that related to her and not someone else.

“I don’t get her,” he murmured out loud. He didn’t think he had said it very loudly but obviously he had as Liz looked up.

“Maria?” she asked. “I know. She’s-“

“Weird.”

“Yeah,” Liz replied with a nod. “I mean, we talk and stuff but its always about me or something trivial.”

“Yeah,” Michael agreed. So Liz had gotten the same impression as he had. “So while she actually talks to us, which with most people she doesn’t seem prepared to do either, she still doesn’t want us to know her at all. So effectively she’s still alone.”

“I wonder why,” Liz said softly. “I wonder why she wants to be alone. Why would anyone want to be alone?”

Michael shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Liz turned back to her homework but Michael couldn’t stop thinking about Maria. Why did she let them get close, when in reality she was still pushing them away? She never saw them out of school, unless they ran into each other or when she was working, and Michael decided it was time to put a stop to this. He was going to go see her, out of school, right now.

“Where are you going?” Liz asked as he left.

“For a walk,” he replied, shutting the door behind him.

He walked down the beachfront strip and past the many houses. After a few minutes he caught sight of what he knew was Maria’s house from the few times he’d walked her home after work, he’d never been inside though. It was the last house on the long beach, close to the point and the cliff.

Maria was sitting on the wide railing of the porch, legs pulled to her chest, in the shadows of the late afternoon sun. She seemed to just be staring out at the sea, her fingers idly plaiting together a few strands of hair. Michael just watched her for a moment taking in how natural she looked. How incredibly beautiful. He hadn’t lied when he’d told her she was more beautiful than Isabel and Courtney. Without a doubt she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.

“Hey,” he said, walking closer. He didn’t want to be caught staring.

Her gaze flickered away from the water to him and she looked surprised to see him. “Uh, hey. What are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “I had nothing to do so I thought I’d come see if you were doing anything.”

“Oh,” she said, smiling slightly. She dropped her legs from the railing as he neared her, sitting so that she was still perched on the railing with her legs hanging off it, barely reaching the ground. “I’m not doing anything either.”

“That’s okay,” he replied.

She tilted her head, giving him a perplexed look. “Okay. So… what are you doing here? What do you want us to do?”

He shrugged. “I really don’t care. Whatever you want. We could just talk if you want.”

She looked surprised. “Um,” she said, biting her lip. “Do you want something to eat, drink?”

He was about to say ‘no’ but then stopped himself. That way that would still be standing here not knowing what to say. “A glass of water would be nice.”

“’Kay,” she said, pushing off the railing and dropping to the ground. She disappeared through the larger of the two open doors and he quickly followed her.

***

Maria glanced up when she heard Michael follow her into the house. He was now standing in the doorway as he looked around her living room. Seeing her staring he quickly walked over to the bench that separated the kitchen from the living room. Really it all was the same room as there were no walls separating the two, but the bench meant that the kitchen wasn’t completely open to the living room.

“Here,” she said, holding out the glass she’d filled with water. He murmured his thanks and she wondered just what he was thinking of her small house. It was nothing like his, she knew. She’d seen his huge house with its beautiful bay windows and two floors, it was one of the best on the beach. Especially compared to hers, the smallest on the beach. Not that she was ashamed of her house, she loved it and its close proximity to the point and her cliff, but for some reason she was worried about his impression of it.

“Do you wanna show me around?” Michael asked, taking a sip of his drink.

Maria hesitated before realising that it would probably seem rude if she didn’t. “Sure.” She walked out into the hallway hearing Michael’s footsteps behind her. “Well, that’s the front door obviously,” she said, gesturing down the short hallway towards it. “And it’s pretty much just my mum’s bedroom, the bathroom, laundry and storage room and then my bedroom,” she finished as they entered the bedroom which, like the living room, opened out onto the front deck.

“How’d you fluke the main bedroom?” Michael asked curiously. She guessed the fact that it was supposed to be the main bedroom was obvious due to its size and position at the front of the house as opposed to the back like her mother’s.

Maria shrugged. “Just happened I guess,” she lied. She knew her mother had given her it because she’d felt guilty.

They walked through her bedroom back to the front deck, and Maria had to admit it felt strange having a guy walking through her room. Actually, it would feel strange having anyone in her room, no one had ever been in her bedroom apart from her and her mother.

They sat back down on the porch steps, basking in the afternoon sun. “Do you miss your home?” she asked.

He turned to look at her. “I don’t know. I mean, sure, I miss it and the people there but… it doesn’t seem like home anymore. Although I don’t really feel like I’m at home here either.”

Maria nodded. She could understand that. She never felt at home anywhere. Well, on her cliff, but that was it.

“Things here aren’t really that different from how they were back there. The people are different, yet there’s still the same kind of people. There were people like Isabel and Courtney who think they rule the school, and then people who are actually are popular for less superficial reasons.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking intently at her. “There wasn’t anyone like you back there, though.”

She laughed slightly. “Really? I guess I’m one of a kind.”

“Yeah…” he murmured. “Tell me something about you.”

She looked at him for a few moments in shock, surprised by the question, before looking down and focusing her gaze on her hands. So he’d picked on the fact that she didn’t tell him or his sister anything really, not about herself. She bit her lip. She didn’t owe him anything, she didn’t have to tell him anything.

But she wanted to.

Looking up she meet his gaze. “I don’t have a father.”

His brow furrowed. “How come?”

“He left when I was younger,” she said, surprised no one had told him. She looked down at her hands. “Doesn’t matter though.”

He lifted her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. She was surprised by the familiarity of his touch and the warmth that it spread through her.

“Doesn’t it?” he asked, dropping his hand.

She didn’t answer, just stared at him. He stared back, searching her eyes. When he turned to look back at the water she stared at his profile for a few moments before following his gaze.

“It’s beautiful here isn’t it,” he murmured, breaking the comfortable silence.

“Yeah,” she said softly as they watched the sun set over the water. “Beautiful.”

“Where have you been?” Liz asked as soon as he entered the house later that evening. The sun had set completely but it was obvious that their parents still weren’t home. Their father Michael wasn’t surprised about, he was always out working, but it was surprisingly that his mother was still out doing whatever she did. She’d never used to be this disinterested. Not that it mattered to him, he couldn’t stand it if his parents actually fussed over what he did.

Michael shrugged in response to Liz’s question. “For a walk down the beach. Didn’t I tell you that when I left?”

Liz smiled knowingly. “For that long? You went to see her.”

He looked at her with barely hidden shock. How did she know?

“Come on, it’s obvious that you’re infatuated with her. It’s all over your face. So what did you do?”

“Talk,” he replied.

“About what?”

He shrugged. “Nothing really.”

She raised her eyebrows. “They why don’t you seem as annoyed as you did earlier.”

He frowned. “Annoyed?”

She shook her head. “You know, about how she doesn’t really talk to us.”

“I guess I realised I don’t really talk about myself either.”

Liz snorted. “You got that right. When you think about it your whole ‘she doesn’t tell us anything’ speech was a little hypocritical.”

“It wasn’t a speech.” And besides, he told her things. Not as much as Liz probably did, but then again his sister was always pretty open with her life, but he certainly told Maria more than she told him.

“Sure sure,” Liz replied as she shuffled around the kitchen. “Do you want to help me with dinner?”

Michael groaned. “Do I have to?”

***

“Hey,” Michael said as he approached Maria in the corridor the next day, taking in her usual outfit of a singlet top and cut-offs. This time the top was green and brought out the colour of her sparkling emerald eyes.

“Hey,” she said with a smile and he was relieved that she seemed to have no qualms over telling him her father had left. Not that she had elaborated on what had caused it or anything like that, but he knew that even telling him that would have been hard as she never told anyone anything.

“Going to History?” he asked as he fell into step with her.

She looked at him, rolling her eyes. “Unfortunately.” She opened her mouth to comment further but suddenly saw someone and shut her mouth. Michael followed her gaze to she her looking at Isabel and Courtney.

“Hey Maria,” Courtney said in a sickly sweet voice, waving at her. It looked like Maria was just going to ignore them both until Isabel spoke.

“Don’t you ever wear proper clothes?” she asked with a sneer. “Or are you trying to show the whole world that you’re easy access.”

Michael watched as Maria’s eyes narrowed as she flicked Isabel her middle finger. “If you want to talk about sluts then take a look at your best friend – or your family.”

Isabel’s eyes narrowed. “Is it really my family you should be trashing? What about your own?”

Maria snorted, holding her head high. “Don’t bring my family into this.”

“Isn’t that what it’s all about?” Isabel retorted.

“No, what it’s about is the fact that you and your family and your friends are trash and sluts and whatever else you want to call them.”

“Oh puh-lease,” Isabel began, but Courtney interrupted her. Michael didn’t know whether the girl was clueless or whether she did it because she thought Isabel wouldn’t win against Maria. Michael was slightly disappointed that they hadn’t continued as he had no idea what they were talking about but he had a feeling it had to do with why they hated each other so much.

“So Mikey G,” she said, linking an arm through his. “What are you doing with her?”

“Whatever I want,” he replied, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

Isabel smiled at him. “Yes, you can certainly do whatever you want without people telling you what to do,” she said, ignoring the look that Courtney gave her. “The question is, what do you want?”

Michael looked at Maria, catching her rolling her eyes exaggeratedly. “To get to class actually,” he said, grabbing Maria’s arm and pulling her away from them with him. “Bye.”

Maria frowned at him as she pulled her arm lose. The walked down the hallway in silence until they were out of sight of the two blondes.

“The girl wants in your pants,” Maria told him, flicking a finger through one of the belt loops on his pants. Michael assumed it was to illustrate her point and tried not to show her how much it affected him.

“Which one?”

Maria shrugged, stopping in place. Michael turned to look at her. “Both,” she told him. “And word of advice, you don’t have to shell out much, they’re both easy.”

“I don’t want in their pants,” he replied.

“You’re a guy yet you don’t want in anyone’s pants?” she asked, a skeptical look on her face.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Then whose pants do you want in?”

Their eyes locked, each daring the other. Maria was the first to look away.

“Whose pants do you want into?” Michael asked.

“No one’s,” Maria replied as she started walking again.

“Are you sure?” Michael asked as he caught up.

She turned to look at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

***

Maria lent against the counter of the Coastside Café, her shift barely over. “I think I can trust them,” she told Tess, looking to her friend for reassurance. “Do you think I can trust them?”

“I do.” Tess paused. “You can trust me too,” she said softly.

Maria bit her lip, looking at her friend in shock. “Oh Tess, I know that! I trust you.” She gave her friend a hug realising that it was the first time she’d ever done that.

Tess smiled. “Really? I always thought…”

“Geez Tess, why do you think I even talk to you?”

“Well I knew there was a reason that you didn’t treat me like you do Isabel and Courtney, but I always thought… I guess, well most people…”

Maria bit her lip. “I’m sorry. It’s just I…”

“You don’t talk about yourself,” Tess finished for her. “I know that. I’m fine with that. It makes it harder to get hurt that way.”

Maria looked at her in shock. How did she know?

“It’s just, you seem to get on so much better with the Guerin twins than with me. I mean, you’re actually seen associating with them more than just here.”

“At school. Tess, that’s all. And… they’re new,” she finished lamely. They didn’t know anything.

“You don’t have to be alone Maria,” Tess said softly.

“I know,” she replied, her voice a whisper. It’s just… that’s what she was used to. That’s how she felt safe.

***

“Where have you been?” Her mother’s voice echoed through the house startling Maria out of her sleep.

“Out,” her father’s voice replied.

“Out? Out where?”

“Does it really matter?”

“Yes Brian it does! You can’t just stay out for hours without telling me when you know I’m expecting you home. Maria asked me again tonight when she went to bed ‘Where’s Daddy?’ and I had to tell her once again that her Daddy was busy at work when in fact I don’t know where the hell he is.”

Her lower lip trembled and she clutched tightly at her sheets.

“Keep your voice down. You don’t want to wake her.”

“Like you care!”

“Amy! You have-“ the voices lowered and Maria could no longer hear them. She could still hear her parents moving around downstairs though. She clutched her teddy bear tight to her body, squeezing her eyes shut. She’d never heard her parents like that before. Why did Mummy care so much if Daddy had to work late? She’d seemed so cheerful about it before.

Eventually the murmurs she could hear floating up the stairs stopped and she could here the stairs creak under someone’s weight. Her mother opened her bedroom door, peering in, but Maria kept her eyes squeezed firmly shut pretending that she was asleep.

“Maria, honey,” her mother whispered. “Are you asleep?”

She kept her eyes shut when her mother walked closer, running a hand through Maria’s hair. With a sigh she then disappeared, shutting the door behind her. Maria once again fought to keep her lower lip from trembling.

What was happening? Why did her mother sound so sad?

“Hel-lo,” Liz said as Maria joined her at a table at lunch. “Look, I managed to snag us a table.”

Maria just laughed. “Go Liz,” she said sarcastically.

“Hey! Don’t harass,” she said smiling as she leant forward on the table.

“Liz if you think that’s harassment…” Maria said, laughing slightly. “Well I have to say you’re pretty naïve.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “So what’s new with you?” she asked, not expecting too much of a reply.

Maria groaned. “Doug Sohn just cornered me. Again. You know you’d think he’d be getting enough with his slut of a girlfriend, but apparently not.”

Liz tried to hide her shock. She couldn’t believe Maria had actually just told her something about herself. “He does it a lot?”

“Oh yeah,” Maria replied, rolling his eyes. “I don’t know why.”

“Maybe he likes you,” Liz suggested.

“Oh god, please don’t go there. And I don’t want anything that has touched Courtney. Ick.” She shuddered.

Liz bit her lip to keep from laughing at Maria’s reaction. “Okay then, subject change?”

“Gladly.”

***

“How old were you when he left?” Michael asked her, his voice soft.

She looked up at him. They were sitting on the edge of one of the marina’s piers filling in time before Maria’s shift started. “Who?”

“Your father.”

“Oh.” She was surprised he’d brought it up. “I was seven.”

He nodded. “That’s-“ he trailed off.

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “It’s better this way.” Just as long as he didn’t ask ‘why’.

She swung her feet back and forth where they dangled off the pier as they sat in silence for a few moments, both staring at the water calmly swirling below.

“I don’t really know my father either,” he said suddenly. She turned to look at him. “I mean, he’s around and all but I still don’t really know him at all. Work’s his priority, not us. Always has been.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, placing her hand on his.

He shook his head. “I didn’t say that so you’d feel sorry for me. I just thought you’d want to know that not all father’s are great.”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

Silence reigned over them again and Maria had to admit she was surprised at how comfortable she felt with Michael. Silence with him was never uncomfortable, it was accepting. She almost felt like he understood her.

“Do you have to go to work soon?”

Maria grabbed his arm, pulling it so she could read his watch. “Yes!” she exclaimed when she saw the time. “Like now!” How did the time pass so quickly when she was with him?

Michael stood, helping her to her feet. “Come on then.”

She smiled at him. “Good thing you remembered huh?”

***

Michael followed her inside to café, going to sit at the counter while she went out back to change.

She returned after a few minutes, handing him a cherry cola. “You know you don’t have to hang around here just because I’m working,” she told him as she leant against the counter and surveyed the café.

“I know,” he replied. “Liz said she’d show up here later so it probably wouldn’t be a good idea if I just left.”

“Oh okay. I just didn’t want you to feel obligated.”

“Why would I?” he asked, confused.

She shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s just you seem to be here by yourself a lot.”

“Do I crime you for being by yourself?”

“No…”

“Besides I come here for the food and the atmosphere. Not just for the waitress.”

“Waitresses,” she corrected.

He shook his head, smiling slightly. “No, just one.”

Their eyes met and Maria bit her lip, turning away. Michael wondered if she had any idea how much he cared for her. It wasn’t just physical, although she was the most gorgeous girl he’d ever seen. He also loved her personality, her attitude, her sense of humour, and the way she seemed to be opening up to him in these past few days. He wasn’t a friend with her because he wanted her, although he did want her. He was friends with her because he loved being around her, getting to know her.

Of course while doing so he’d fallen for her. Hard.

***

“Every night this week Brian!” her mother’s voice shouted, breaking through the silence of the night. “Every night this week! What am I supposed to think?”

“You’re supposed to trust me! A successful marriage is based on trust.”

“Well you’re making it hard for me!”

“If you would just-”

Maria clamped her hands over her ears but it didn’t work. The angry voices of her parents still broke through. They’d been doing it every night for a week now. For the past seven days they had woken her up every night with their yelling. The first few times her mother had always come in to check on her but she’d pretended to be asleep every time so now her mother didn’t bother.

“Amy! Don’t jump to conclusions!”

“If you think-“

“No,” she whispered, wanting it to go away. She clutched her teddy bear tight, her gaze flitting around the room before finally settling on her window. That might work.

She got out of bed walking on tiptoes towards her window. She lifted it up and glanced outside for a moment before crawling through the window and onto the sturdy tree branch situated right outside her window.

To her relief she could barely hear their voices anymore.

But it was cold out here. So very, very cold. The night breeze whistled through the leaves and chilled her skin as the branch moved slightly under her weight. Her eyes were squeezed shut. But she would bare it. Anything to prevent going back inside and hearing them fighting again.

***

She couldn’t sleep. Sometimes it just happened. The memories would flood over her without warning and for no reason, often when she was just drifting off to sleep. And it pretty much wrecked her chances of getting to sleep when it happened.

Over the years they had become less and less frequent but they still came. Just like they had tonight.

She groaned, sitting up in bed. It was too much. She didn’t want to lie in bed and relive the past.

She got out of bed, her feet treading lightly on the carpet as she made her way over to the window. Quietly she eased it open and jumped through it and onto the deck.

Thankfully the moon was almost full, as was the tide as it covered most of the shore. Silently she crept her way around the rocks using the moonlight to guide her.

This wasn’t the first time she’d gone to visit her cliff at night – of course she only went when it was a fine night and the moon was well lit.

She supposed it was just another thing left over from her childhood – sneaking out of the house during the night to get away from things.

“Hey,” Maria said one afternoon when Michael suddenly appeared at the small beach round the point on which she had been relaxing for a while.

“Hey,” Michael replied. “What’s with you and this beach?”

“Nothing,” she said as she stood up and walked over to him. “What’s with you and this beach?”

“Nothing.”

Maria sighed. “Okay then.” She flopped down in the sand right at the water’s edge, the salt water lapping over her toes.

She frowned when Michael suddenly turned around and began walking away in the direction he’d just come from. “Hey!” she called to him. “You don’t have to go.”

Michael turned and gave her a searching look before walking back to her and sitting beside her in the sand.

“So,” she said, nudging his body with her own.

“So,” he replied, nudging her in return.

“I always wondered why the ocean was so huge compared to everything else,” she murmured, staring out to sea as the small waves crashed and foamed over their feet. “It can be so ferocious at times and at others so calm, and it’s just so huge. Bigger than all the land on earth combined.”

“I must have been great growing up on the coast,” Michael replied.

“I wouldn’t say great,” she said turning to look at him, surprised how close his face was to hers. She didn’t know what she expected though, their shoulders were almost touching anyway.”

“No?” Michael asked as he turned to face her.

She laughed slightly, shaking her head. “My childhood? What do you think? I always loved the ocean though.” She paused, swallowing hard. “It’s always calmed me,” she added softly.

He nodded. “I can understand that. It calms me too.” He paused before continuing. “It looks so peaceful as it washes against the shore.”

“Yeah,” she murmured in agreement, wondering what he’d think if he knew that storms calmed her too.

“Could you ever move away from it?”

“The ocean?” she asked. “No. I want out of this town though.”

She was surprised when clasped her hand in his causing shivers to run up her arm. “So do I.”

“Still don’t like it here?”

“No… I like some things here, but I don’t want to be here forever. I don’t even want to be here next year.”

“Me either.” She bit her lip. “Ever since I was… little I always hoped that there was something better out there for me than Roswell Bay.”

“There will be.”

Maria smiled, looking down at their still joined hands.

“Do you still want to go back there?” she asked. “Leave the coast?”

He stared at her intently. “I don’t want to leave the coast.”

“Oh.”

***

“Oh my god!” Maria exclaimed suddenly. “What did you just put on that?”

Liz burst out laughing as she glanced between her brother and Maria as the three of them sprawled around their living room one Sunday afternoon. The look of disgust was apparent on Maria’s face as she saw Michael take a huge bite of tabasco covered chocolate.

“Tabasco,” Michael replied when he’d swallowed the bite. “Makes it sweet and spicy.”

“My brother has bizarre tastes,” Liz said between giggles, watching as Michael simply smirked at Maria.

“Oh my god,” Maria murmured again, shaking her head as she turned to look out the window. “I can’t believe that you would…” She shook her head.

“There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Tabasco sauce? On chocolate? Uh, yeah, I think there is.”

Liz shook her head, those two together were just so entertaining.

“Do you see me judging what you do?” Michael challenged Maria, who simply rolled her eyes, lying back on the floor in the patch of sunshine that came through the bay windows.

“Liz?” her brother asked, turning to her for help.

“Well I’m used to your strange habits,” she told him. “But I have to admit that to other people they’ve got to be pretty weird.” He scowled at her.

“Fine,” Maria called from the floor. “I’m sor-ry Mich-ael,” she sing-songed. “But even you have to admit it’s strange.”

Liz watched as Michael stared at Maria for a few moments before shaking his head. “I’ve got to go,” he said suddenly, standing up.

She looked at him in confusion. “Go where?”

He just shrugged. “Out.”

***

Maria and Liz exchanged confused expressions as they watched the door shut as Michael left. “What was that all about?” Maria asked.

“I have no idea,” Liz replied.

“Weird. Does he really do that all the time?” she asked curiously.

“What? Leave for no reason?”

Maria laughed. “No. Actually eat chocolate and tabasco sauce together.”

“Yes,” Liz replied. Maria just had to shake her head in disgust. Who ever heard of someone eating hot sauce with chocolate?

Liz sighed. “He better not disappear for too long, I don’t want to be stuck making dinner by myself again.”

Maria raised her eyebrows. “He can cook?” she asked, shocked.

Liz rolled her eyes. “No, not really. But neither can I. Back home Mum used to always cook for us but now neither of my parents seem to be around. I mean, I’m used to it with my Dad, he’s worked late and during weekends as long as I can remember so he’s never around. But Mum, she always used to be around, but since we’ve moved she’s never around much either. And I’m fine with looking after myself and all, but,” she sighed, “I just can’t cook!”

“Why isn’t she around anymore?” Maria asked confused.

Liz shrugged. “I guess maybe there’s lots for her to do here or something? I don’t know, are you parents like that?”

She shook her head. “No, my Mum works seven days a week in her gift shop so she doesn’t really have too much spare time.”

Liz nodded. “Yeah…” she said, obviously waiting for her to continue. Maria was surprised. Hadn’t Michael told her? She figured he would have seeing she was his twin.

“My dad left when I was seven.”

Liz’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my god, I didn’t realise. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said, but Liz still looked skeptical. “Really.”

“You sure.”

She nodded. “Yes, definitely, it was years ago.”

Liz nodded. “Okay.” Maria had a feeling that she wanted to ask why but was too polite to. Well Maria certainly wasn’t going to offer up any of the details.

“You know,” she said. “I could help you with dinner if you want. I’m used to fending for myself.”

“Really?” Liz gave her a grateful look. “Thanks.”

***

He’d had to get out of the house.

He loved being around Maria and he could normally control himself, but seeing her all sprawled out on the floor with her arms stretched out behind her causing her top to rise, revealing a thin sliver of smooth skin… well, it was just too much. Any longer and not even his sister’s presence would have deterred him.

He longed to pull her into his arms and kiss those soft, pouty lips and run his hands through her silky hair.

It wasn’t just physical. The more he got to know her the more time he wanted to spend with her, even just as friends. And the more time he spent with her the more he wanted her. It was a vicious cycle.

He loved touching her. And she seemed to enjoy his touch too. In fact, she had touched him first, the first time he sat down with her and Liz. Maybe she did it because she was a touchy-feely kind of person, but by the way he’d seen her act with everyone else he seriously doubted it. Maybe it was just him.

Maybe she felt the same way about him as he did about her? If only she wasn’t so hard to read.

He sighed as he dropped down on the sand, running his hands through his hair.

He knew her, kind of. Knew that she wanted to be alone, knew that something that had happened in the past was haunting her.

Yet he still couldn’t stop feeling this way, couldn’t stop falling even more in love with her the more he got to know her.

If only he could tell whether she felt the same.

“So you’re seventeen and you’ve never been kissed?” Liz asked as she stared at her friend in shock. How could that be? Maria was beautiful and the fact that guys were attracted to her was obvious.

“Nope,” Maria replied as she shook her head. She stretched, sitting up on Liz’s bed. “Well… there was this one time when I went to this party for some unknown reason and Doug Sohn stuck his tongue down my throat. But that was disgusting and I don’t think it counts.” She made a face.

“I can’t believe it,” Liz murmured.

Maria gave her a skeptical look. “Is it really that big a deal?” She bit her lip, a smile crossing her face. “What’s it like?”

Liz laughed. “You know I’m pretty sure you can find someone to see for yourself instead of me telling you.”

“Nah,” Maria replied with a shrug. “And I don’t want details or anything, just is it as great as everyone makes out?”

“See for yourself! Don’t you like anyone?”

“No.”

“No?” she replied, raising her eyebrows skeptically. She looked at Maria intently, noticing the way she squirmed slightly under her gaze, before blinking and looking away.

“No.”

“If you say so,” she told her, not entirely buying it. The way Maria had acted was making her think that maybe Maria did like someone. But who? Her brother maybe?

After all, it was incredibly obvious that Michael liked her, and who else did Maria spend time with?

***

“Why do they do that?” Michael asked her as they made their way along the piers in front of the Coastside Café.

Maria looked in the direction that he was, sighing. “Courtney and Isabel? I guess because they’re sluts.” She rolled her eyes as the two blondes gave Michael their best ‘come hither’ looks. “You know, I’m sure you could still have them if you wanted.” She almost laughed at the look of disgust that crossed his face.

“Do you ever listen to me?” he asked as he jumped off the end of the pier where it met the sand, helping her down after him. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Courtney and Isabel gave her evil looks as he did so.

She reluctantly let go of his hand, hating the loss of his warmth. “I don’t know,” she said, smiling innocently. “What did you say?”

“That you were far more beautiful than them. That I don’t want in their pants.”

“If I didn’t know better then I would think that you wanted me,” she said teasingly, her breath catching in her throat when she saw the intense look that came into his eyes as she said that.

He cleared his throat. “Yes, but you know better, don’t you?” he said teasingly, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her down next to him on the sand. She couldn’t believe how relaxed she was with him. She wasn’t a person who liked being in close contact with others, but with Michael she loved it when he touched her, just spontaneously like that.

“I-“ she began, trying to shake off the sudden unknown feeling that washed over her.

“You what?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.

“I don’t know,” she replied, flopping back into the sand, her hair framing her face.

He tilted his head so that he was leaning over her, smirking. “If I didn’t know better I’d think you were about to say you wanted me.”

She laughed, sitting up, barely missing hitting his head with hers. “Someone’s sure of themselves.”

He smirked. “But you do feel something for me.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he beat her to it. “Why else would you tell me about your father’s leaving and actually let me spend time with you? And Liz too of course.”

She sighed in relief. He meant as a friend. Although he was right, she did feel something for him, something that let her want to relax and joke around with him, to spend time with him. She just didn’t know exactly what it was that she felt.

“Do you feel something for me?” she asked, nudging his shoulder, surprised by how nervous she was while she waited for him to answer.

He smiled, adjusting a strap on her tank top that had moved out of place. “Of course I do.”

***

Isabel shook her head as she watched Michael and Maria disappear together down the beach, collapsing to the ground as he tackled her. She narrowed her eyes as she took in how comfortable they seemed with each other. Why was Michael spending time with Maria, the social reject? Didn’t he realise his time would be better spent with someone like her?

“It’s insane,” Courtney murmured, turning to walk into the café.

Isabel nodded in agreement. It was. So incredibly insane. Why was this gorgeous interesting guy hanging out with Maria Deluca, town trash?

His sister was one thing. Liz actually seemed to like school, so maybe that explained her incredibly bad taste in friends. But Michael had to ability to become popular if only he’d associated with the right people. He was hot, mysterious, and had the whole ‘bad boy’ thing down, so why was he wasting it trying to get close to Maria?

Isabel sighed as she walked into the café, moving to where Courtney had sat down moments earlier. Sometimes she really didn’t understand some of the people in this town. How could they forget? Sure, Michael, Tess and Liz didn’t know, but everyone else in this town knew the truth about what happened with Maria’s family and now they seemed to want her to be a part of their lives, no matter how much she turned them away.

***

Tess smiled as she entered the Coastside Café on Sunday, making her way over to where Maria was standing behind the counter. “Hi.”

Maria quickly surveyed her. “What’s wrong?”

Tess sighed as she flopped down into a stool, quickly glancing around. “I think Max might suspect something?”

“Why don’t you just tell him?” Maria asked, looking confused. “It’s obvious you don’t want him anymore.”

She ground one hand into the palm of her other, feeling annoyed and frustrated. “I don’t know. I just don’t know how!” she exclaimed. “I mean, god, it’s been about two years. Two years. That’s a really long time. And for it to just be over…”

“It’s already over,” Maria pointed out. “You cheated on him. Cheating destroys a relationship.” Tess was surprised by the conviction in her voice.

“Yeah…” she agreed. “But still,” she ran her hand through her curls. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

Maria shook her head. “Trust me, cheating on him is hurting him. It always hurts. Always.”

“I know…”

“And you don’t want to be with him anymore so you have to break up with him, even if you don’t tell him why.”

Tess nodded. Maria was right, of course. She shouldn’t have even let this go on as long as she had. Kyle wasn’t too happy about it, but he accepted it. But Max… if he ever found out he would be crushed, Tess knew it. So she had to break up with him gently so as not to hurt him. And maybe soon after he could accept her ‘starting’ to date Kyle.

She just wished that she had broken up with him in the first place, before ever starting anything with Kyle.

***

She woke up to the sound of a door slamming. She immediately tensed in her bed, knowing what was coming. What had come every night now for the past few weeks.

“You said you’d be home for dinner!”

“I had to work!”

“Late? Every single night for god knows how long? This is a small town, there’s not that much for you to do.”

Her lower lip trembled as she made her way over to the window, crawling out onto the branch that she had gotten to know quite well at night for these few weeks. The sounds of their arguing lessened considerably when she was outside, and on windy nights it was even better because the wind drowned it out.

She caught her bottom lip in her teeth as she stared straight ahead trying to clear her thoughts. Happy thoughts, calm thoughts, stupid thoughts… anything to take her mind off it.

They seemed to have forgotten about her. After the first few days her mother never checked in on her and they didn’t seem to care that their arguing was certainly loud enough to wake her.

She hated this. So much. She was helpless. She didn’t understand. Why were her mummy and daddy doing this? She’d never heard of anyone else being woken up in the middle of the night by fighting. If it was someone like Gracie then she’d probably even be crying over it.

But Maria didn’t cry, she wouldn’t. It wouldn’t help.

All she could do was sit in her tree and clear her thoughts. And hope that her parents would stop fighting soon.