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  I smiled. "I would like that."

  "Even if you're with Collier?"

  I nodded my head. "Even if I'm with Michael. Derrick, you're one of my good friends and that will never change. Even though we're not together, I do want you to be a part of my life."

  "What about Michael? You know he's not going want that if you two get back together."

  "That's something we have to face when that time comes," I said as I looked over at Michael. It seemed like he was having an intense conversation with Chris.

  "You want to dance?" Derrick asked as he was about to get up.

  "Sure," I said as I took his hand.

  As we were about to walk out to the dance floor, Ashley and Chris walked over to us with huge grins on their faces. Since those two started dating, they became really goofy together.

  "What's up guys?"

  "Derrick is there any way we can take your beautiful date away for a second?" Ashley said in a sugary tone.

  I looked at the two with a 'something- is-going-on look.' I know because Ashley usually used her sugary voice to get what she wanted.

  Derrick looked at Ashley and Chris, and then at me.

  "Okay," he said as he went over to the refreshment table.

  I looked at the two as they took both of my hands and pushed me toward the hotel terrace.

  "What's going on?" I asked as we were heading outside.

  "We thought you might like to watch the view of Houston from the terrace. We know you like that sappy, romantic stuff so what better place to see the entire city than on the terrace," said Chris.

  "I have been on the hotel terrace before and the view is not that exciting," I said.

  "You'll love it this time around," Ashley said as she put me outside.

  "What the..." I said as I turned around. When I did, Ashley and Chris were nowhere to be found. I sighed as I went to the door. I tried to open it, but it wouldn't open.

  "I know they didn't," I said as I tried to open the door. Ashley and Chris must have locked me out on the terrace.

  "Great," I said as I kicked the steel door. The effect of the door hit me with a vengeance as my foot started to throb.

  "Damn it!" I said as I started to hop around on my foot.

  "That looked like it hurt," someone said as I heard footsteps coming my way.

  I looked up and noticed it was Michael walking up to me.

  I looked at him as he handed me a single red rose.

  Just looking at Michael in his tux made me forget all about the pain in my foot.

  "What's going on?" I asked as I looked at Michael.

  "You'll see," he said in a sexy tone as he put his hand behind my neck and pulled me close to him. We looked at each other with a passionate stare as he put his lips to mine. I started to melt into Michael's arms as we stood on the terrace in a warm embrace. Just his touch on me made me wish that things between us were back to normal. As he lowered his lips to my neck, I wanted so bad to throw him against the brick wall and have my way with him. But even if we made love right then, nothing would change the fact that things would never be the same as before. Before I lose control, I pulled myself away from Michael.

  "We can't do this Michael. As much as I want to, we can't."

  "I know you still have feelings for me Char, so why are you fighting them."

  "I'm not Michael. It just that one minute we're upset with each other and then the next we're all over each other. We can't keep doing this."

  "I agree. That's why I got Ashley and Chris to get you up here so we could talk."

  I looked at Michael and shook my head.

  "I should have known. They were too happy for a reason."

  Michael walked up to me and took my hand.

  "Charlie, I need to know what is going on with us. This constant tug of war with our feelings is getting out of hand, so I need to know where we stand."

  I looked into Michael's brown eyes with a puzzled look.

  "To be honest Michael, I don't know where things stand. I want to be with you and I know you want to be with me, but every time we try to talk about our feelings, there always seem to be some sort of miscommunication."

  "Well, we're both together now, so whatever you want to say you can say it now."

  I smiled as I put a hand on Michael's shoulder.

  "First, I want to apologize for all the pain I've caused you. I feel bad about that and I will never forgive myself for it."

  "Charlie, it not your fault why we broke up. We both had our share of lies and betrayal. If we are going to work things out, we have to try to get over our past mistakes and move on."

  "I know Michael, but I can't forgive myself for not telling you about Derrick. If I didn't become so wrapped in the past, then me and you would have been at the prom together instead of going with people we didn't want to go with."

  "So what are you saying is that you never cared about Derrick?"

  "I think I was still living in the past. When I saw Derrick, I thought about all the memories we had at Parker and it made me want to go back there. I know it sounds crazy, but my past at Parker was like a comfort zone for me. There I was the popular girl who got along with everyone."

  Michael laughed after my last comment. "Don't you mean the majority?"

  I smiled as I playfully hit Michael on his shoulder.

  "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I had everything going for me there. I guess I wanted to relive that moment when Derrick came back in the picture."

  "But you knew that would have cause problems in our relationship. Why risk doing that when you were in love with me?"

  I shook my head and sighed. "That's the question that's being bogging my mind ever since. To be honest, I don't have an answer to it. But what I do know is that it has always been you. You have been the one I want to be with and I never stopped loving you."

  Michael smiled as he looked into my eyes. He reached up and swept a fallen curl from my eye.

  "Have you stopped loving me?" I asked as I looked at Michael.

  He laughed softly as he pulled in closer to me. "What do you think? Charlie, I have never stopped loving you. I love everything about you, from your soulful brown eyes to your beautiful heart. You're all I think about each and every day. You made me happy while we were together and I am miserable when we were apart..."

  I put a finger up to Michael's lips as Justin Timberlake "Mirrors" came on from inside. As we were listening to the music, I smiled as I pulled my hand towards Michael's.

  "Care to dance?"

  Michael smile as he took my hand. "Of course,"

  As we were dancing to the music, everything that I was thinking about earlier was a distant memory. Just being in Michael's arms was all I needed.

  "I missed you so much," I said into Michael's ear.

  "I missed you too, and later I will show you how much."

  I couldn't believe this moment was actually happening. Michael and I were back together. Nothing could break us apart now. Or so I thought. Just saying the next few words caused everything I'd been praying for to fall down around me.

  "What about our dates? We should tell them that we back together."

  "What does it matter? They will know in time when we disappear from here."

  I smiled as the music changed and another song started to play.

  As we pulled apart, I went over to the railing and looked out onto the stars.

  "This is the perfect ending to a beautiful night."

  "Who says the night is over? It just the beginning for us,"

  "Yeah, it is."

  As Michael was about to reach in for another kiss, I gently pull him away so he could look at me.

  "What's wrong?"

  "There's something I need to tell you."

  "Alright,"

  "What I'm about to say you might not like, but I need you to understand that whatever decision I make is up to me and that you have to accept it."

  Michael looked at me with a concern expression.

  "What
's going on Char?"

  "Well in order for us to be together, you have to accept who I decide to be friends with, and even though Derrick is not one of your favorite people, I think you need to get to know him a little better. "

  Michael looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. He started to walk over to the other side of the terrace with an impatient glance.

  "You're not telling me what I think you telling me. You want me to accept Marberry as your friend? Are you crazy?"

  "Please hear me out. You already know that I don't have feelings for Derrick, so it shouldn't be a problem that we are friends."

  "Charlie, the guy is your ex. Why would I accept the fact that you want to be friends with him, especially since you two had such a history."

  "I know Mike, but you have to realize that Derrick has been there for me when we broke up. He has comforted me when I was down about you. He kind of lifted me up. That's why I feel like he should be a part of my life. He was there when you weren't."

  "Yeah, but I'm here now. You don't need Marberry in your life anymore. He's where he should be, and that's in the past."

  "I understand that your feelings for Derrick is not going to change, and I accept that, but in order for us to be honest with each other, I have to tell you that Derrick will be a part of my life, whether you like it or not."

  Michael started to laugh as he was walking toward the door. He turned around and looked at me with an angry grin.

  "How would you feel if I decided to be friends with Danielle? What if I told you that you have to accept her in my life no matter what? Char, why do you want to do this? Why do you want to be friends with someone who you had feelings for? People who were together don't become friends."

  "Michael, just understand where I'm coming from."

  "I understand exactly where you're coming from. You're doing the same thing you were doing before, but this time it's not going to work," Michael said as he pulled open the door and went back inside.

  As I watched Michael go inside, my heart was slowly leaving me. I couldn't believe after we found our way back together, the few words that I'd just uttered caused us to break up again. This time, I didn't think we could find our way back. And the only person to blame for that was me.

  Michael

  I can't believe Charlie played me again! As I walked back into the ballroom, Chris and Ashley were by the door with all smiles. Their expressions changed as I walked right pass them without saying a word.

  "What happened Mike?" Chris asked.

  "Did you talked to Charlie?" asked Ashley.

  But I just kept walking. I really didn't want to talk to anyone at this point. All I wanted to do was find the closest liquor store.

  As I was walking towards the exit, Danielle blocked the door with her arms folded across her chest. The look she had on her face made me jump back for a second.

  "Where have you been? We're supposed to be on a date."

  "Last time I checked, this wasn't a date. In fact, this is a night from hell."

  Danielle laughed. "I'm going to really make it feel like hell if you don't shape up and start acting like you're happy."

  "Get out of my way Danielle," I said impatiently.

  Danielle blocked the door even more with her body.

  "Where do you think you're going?"

  "I don't know, but it would be better than here."

  "You're not going anywhere. Especially since the prom king and queen haven't been announced yet."

  "I don't care about who's prom king or queen or who's with whom. In fact, I don't give a damn about this prom or this school. I just want to go."

  "You'll being a real jerk Michael."

  "Tell me something I don't know," I said as I pushed Danielle so hard, she nearly fell on the ground. As I went outside, I had to catch my breath. As tears were slowly forming inside me, I shook my head to clear my mind. I couldn't cry now, especially not over Charlie. She has hurt me so many times, and to be honest, I don't know if I can take another beating. I dug into my back pocket and took out my wallet. I looked inside and noticed my fake ID.

  "At least I have this," I said as looked for the Hummer limo that Danielle and I rode in.

  I noticed it sitting by the hotel entrance and I ran over to it. I turned around and saw Danielle and Charlie run outside.

  I walked over to the driver's side and noticed the driver wasn't in the car. But he left the keys sitting in the ignition.

  I didn't know where the limo driver was, but he was pretty stupid for leaving the keys sitting in an unlocked car.

  As I got into the driver's seat, I started up the ignition and drove out of the parking lot. As I looked through the rearview mirror, I saw Charlie, Danielle, and the limo driver staring helplessly at me as I continued to drive off into the night.

  Charlie

  "Great!" I yelled as I ran into the ballroom. Chris and Ashley were standing by the door with angry looks on their faces.

  "What happened, Charlie? We gave you a fool-proof plan to get you back with Michael."

  "I know Ash, but something kind of interfered with that plan," I said as I tried to push past Ashley.

  "No, you're not following him until you tell us what happened."

  "I have to follow Michael so he won't do anything stupid."

  "Chris can go after him. Besides, I think you've done enough damage for tonight," Ashley said.

  I shook my head and sighed. I didn't have time for Ashley and her angry spats. I knew what I did was wrong, but I thought Michael would understand.

  Who am I kidding? Michael had the same reaction as any guy would, I thought as I put my hand over my eyes.

  "Listen Charlie, maybe Mike went somewhere to release some stream. Just let him be for now."

  "You're probably right Chris, but I'm worried. I know you saw Michael that night at the party. He was drunk and angry. How do you know he's not going to get that way later on tonight?"

  "I'm concerned too, but Michael's a big boy. He can take care of himself. Now, what happened between you two?"

  "I said something to Michael that I should have thought twice about before saying."

  "Whatever it was, it couldn't been that bad."

  "I told Michael that I was going to remain friends with Derrick."

  "Okay, that was bad."

  "Why would you tell Michael that? To be honest, why would you still be friends with Derrick? He's a jerk," said Ashley.

  "You don't understand Ash. Derrick is a really nice person; you just have to get to know him to see it. It's not like I told Michael that I wanted to be with Derrick romantically. I just want us to be friends."

  "It seems like you the one who doesn't understand. Now I see why Michael left."

  "Thanks so much for your encouragement Ashley. It means a lot to me."

  "Oh quit being the victim, Charlie. You basically put that boy through the ringer from the time you two have been together. The only person you were thinking about during that time was yourself."

  "I couldn't have said that better myself," Danielle said as she walked over to Chris, Ashley, and me.

  "Shut up Danielle."

  "She's right Charlie. You can't have everything your way."

  "What's going on? People are staring," Derrick said as he walked over to us.

  I turned around and noticed that people were pointing and whispering. At this point, it didn't even matter if people were staring. This just put the icing on the cake to a wonderful evening.

  "Do away Derrick. You've done enough," said Ashley.

  "What is your problem with me? What have I done to you that made you hate me?"

  "I don't hate you. I just dislike you."

  While Ashley and Derrick were arguing, I slowly started to slip away and head toward the exit. I'll straighten out the beef Ashley has with me later, but now, I had to find Michael.

  As I was heading out to the lobby, I noticed Danielle was already there.

  "You think you're slick, don't you?"

>   "Get out of my way, Danielle."

  "Or what Charlie? You'll beat the crap out me like you did that girl at Parker? That's the reason why you're at this prom, right? Why don't you do everyone a favor and disappear. That way Michael would forget you."

  "Why do you like torturing people Danielle? Is your life that pathetic that you have to look at others for entertainment? Michael will not, and never will, want you, so why don't you have a relationship with a man that will love you for you. Why waste your time on someone who doesn't have feelings for you?"

  Danielle looked taken back at what I said. She gave me a strange look as she went up to me.

  "Why do you care who I want to be with?"

  "Because you need to find someone that will appreciate you for the person you are. I'm not saying that because I'm in love with Michael, I'm saying it because you deserve better. Everyone, including you, needs someone to love them."

  Danielle looked at me.

  "I really don't care what you think I need. If I want to keep wishing that Michael and I can be together, then let me; because the last time I checked, he wasn't yours either."

  So much for me being nice, I thought as I pushed past Danielle and ran outside. As I went through the revolving doors, I almost tripped and fell on my dress. I went outside and saw Michael going towards a Hummer limo. He looked inside the driver's seat and opened the door. Danielle ran outside and looked over at Michael.

  "What the hell is he doing? That's our limo!" she screamed.

  As Michael was leaving the parking lot, Danielle was arguing with the limo driver that was supposed to been in the car.

  "I have to follow him," I said.

  "No you don't," someone said.

  I turned around and saw Chris, Ashley, and Derrick behind.

  "This is really getting annoying."

  "During our argument, Ashley told me what happened. Michael is not your problem anymore; so let him be," Derrick said.

  "No, I'm not going to let him roam around Houston in a stolen car. There's no telling what he might do."

  "Stolen car. What's going on?" asked Chris.

  "Danielle and I witnessed Michael take the limo that he and Danielle came to the prom in. Listen, I know I shouldn't be following him, but we have to."

  "No, we don't. In fact, why doesn't Chris look for Michael, since that's his friend?" Derrick said while looking at Chris.