Surprisingly, it didn't take us too long to pack up my things. Turns out not much of the stuff in the apartment was mine in the first place. I slammed the trunk door shut, turning around to face Adam. I shivered slightly, wrapping my arms around my torso.

"This is goodbye, I guess," I said softly.

Adam shoved his hands into his pockets, squinting up at the afternoon sun. "I guess."

"I didn't want it to be like this."

He shrugged slightly. I bit my lip, knowing I could never say anything that would make up for it.

I took a few steps forward, raising my arms for a hug. He ducked away from me, and finally looked me in the eye. "Just go, Maria," he said tiredly. His pain was nearly tangible in the air around us, and I backed away slowly, finally leaning against the car door.

"I hope you find someone who loves you back, Adam," I said, just loudly enough for him to hear, and pulled open the door.

***

This time Liz didn't seem too surprised to see me. "Maria."

"Liz." I looked at her placidly for a moment, and then gestured inside. "May I come in?"

She blinked. "Yes."

I entered the apartment, flopping down onto the sofa. "Liz, we need to talk."

Liz sighed and dropped down next to me. "I know. I wanted to call you. I'm sorry, Maria -"

"It's okay," I interrupted her. "I mean, I know you had my best interests at heart. At least you thought you did. You -- you and Max thought you were doing what's right, and that's what counts. I might still not like it, but you weren't trying to piss me off." I took a deep breath. "And I'm sorry for being such a bitch about it. You were just looking out for me."

I watched as Liz's lips formed a huge grin, and finally she threw her arms around me in a hug. I hugged her back tightly.

"So what are you doing here again?" she teased, pulling away.

"I um, I was kind of wondering if there's maybe some apartments up for rent around here. Not necessarily in the building, I just mean, in the general area."

Liz shrugged. "Yeah, I'm sure there's plenty. Why?" She gasped lightly. "Oh! Are you and Adam moving here?"

"Not exactly Adam and I," I admitted, looking down at my hands. I played with my fingernails for a few seconds before lifting my left hand to hover in the air between us.

Liz frowned. "What -"

"I broke up with Adam." Her face remained blank for a long moment.

Then she gasped again. "Oh my god! Why!? He's your soulmate!"

"I think I'm in love, Liz," I sighed, leaning my head against the back of the sofa.

"Is that why you left him? You're scared of love? Oh, Maria, you've got to give it another chance..." She trailed off slowly as I turned my head towards her and shook it slowly. "...Oh." She finally seemed to get my train of thought.

"Yeah," I squeezed my eyes shut and sighed. "Do you think I'm a horrible person?"

"I don't know," she said thoughtfully. "Did you cheat on him?"

"Kind of...yeah," I said meekly.

"But you were up-front about it in the end."

"Uh huh."

"And you're really, truly in love with this other...non-soulmate guy."

I nodded slowly. "...Yes. I think so," I added quickly. Who could be sure about that sort of thing?

Liz sighed. "Well, whatever it exactly is you did, it wasn't good," she mused. "But Maria DeLuca, you've been my best friend since I was six, and I find it pretty hard to believe that you'd ever intentionally hurt someone."

I smiled at her softly. "Thanks, Liz." I squeezed her hand gently.

"So what's his name?"

My smile grew wider at the thought of him. "Michael."

***

I smiled idly to myself as I pulled into the parking lot. Liz had been a mixture of shock and "I-told-you-so" when she found out the mystery guy was Michael. "I knew you had a thing for him!" she'd announced gleefully. Though I somehow wasn't quite convinced that she'd known it was a two-way thing between us, I gave her the benefit of the doubt.

I took my time up the steps, but this time it wasn't because I was apprehensive. I was excited, really. Michael's door opened just seconds after I knocked.

I smirked. "Expecting me?"

Michael returned my smirk with his own. "Maybe. What's up?" He leaned against the doorframe casually.

"I..." Oh, screw it. This really wasn't the type of thing I could put into words. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him hard, pushing him back into the room. I kicked the door shut with my foot.

Michael responded immediately, wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, running my fingers through his unruly hair. I pulled back breathlessly, panting slightly. "No, wait."

I nearly cracked up at his look of confusion as he gently lowered me to the floor. "Okay, here's the deal. It's over with Adam. It was over before it began. But before you ask -- or assume -- I'm not just...jumping into your arms."

Michael raised one eyebrow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that exactly what you just did?"

I flushed. "Couldn't help it. Instinct," I supplied quickly. "Look, Michael, yes, you were part of the reason I left. But there's so much more to it."

He dropped down onto his couch, grabbing my wrist and pulling me down beside him. "Such as?"

"I want to sing," I said sincerely, grabbing his hands. "I want to be my own person. We grow up thinking that we're never complete until we get that soulmate, that other half...but that's wrong. I want to be happy because I'm doing what makes me happy, not what makes someone else happy. I don't want to be 'MariaandAdam' or 'MariaandMichael'...I want to be Maria."

Michael nodded slowly, never breaking eye contact, and slowly drew my hands up to his lips. "I understand."

I bit my lower lip, trying to hold in the giant grin that threatened to take over my face. "But that doesn't mean I don't also want to be with you," I added in. "I want my own apartment, and I want to make my own money, and everything...but I still want to see you. A lot." I giggled, edging closer to him on the cushions. I pecked him quickly on the lips. "That sound good to you?" I teased, nipping lightly at his bottom lip.

"I can handle that," he responded, his eyes already darkening. I groaned lightly as his moved to my neck, exploring the soft skin. Michael began to push me back on the sofa, his hands edging up beneath the thin cotton of my shirt.

Yep...life's starting to look pretty damn good. And maybe, just maybe, I'll be a lot more than satisfied.