Mikey Way- The Trick Is To Keep Breathing - Eight

The next times he can Michael goes to the library, finding Rachel sitting in the exact spot he usually does. He smiles as he walks up to her and she pretends not to notice, hiding her own smile behind the book she reads. He halts infront of her and holds out his left hand, so its back is facing her. She looks at it and then his face curiously.

"I lost your number," he declares.

"Oh, I forgot all about that," she lies. She'd spent the last two days wondering why he hadn't called and if that 'Gerard' person had actually given Michael her message like she'd made him promise he would. She pulls a pen out of the pocket of her cargo pants, grabs his hand and re-writes her phone number. "There you go."

"Thank you." Michael goes to pull his hand away and sit next to her but Rachel holds on tight to his hand and uses it to hoist herself up. Still holding his hand, she leads him off into the aisles.

A while later, they sit in between two bookshelves reading here instead of in the reading section with the tables and chairs. It has been quite a long time since either of them has spoken but Michael is glad that it is a comfortable silence. For the past couple of minutes, as Rachel's eyes scan the words on the pages of the novel she holds, he has been sneaking glances at her. He notices the dragonfly pendant hanging on the chain around her neck, which then draws his attention to the curve of her neck. He raises his hand to brush some soft-looking hair from her shoulder, obstructing his view of her neck, but realises what he is almost doing and stops himself. However, the movement of his hand captures Rachel's attention and she looks over at him.

"Tell me something."

He hesitates and then blurts, "You're beautiful."

She blushes but shakes her head. "No, not something stupid. Something important."

"That is important, not stupid."

"Michael, come on."

"Um ..." He thinks, "Okay ..." He laughs nervously, "I don't know. Like what?"

"What about something from that book?" She pokes the cover of the book he'd stopped reading a considerable time ago. "Or what your first job was. Or what your favourite animal is. Or whether you like me or not... because the library's going to close soon and I don't want to be wasting my time."

Michael drops eye contact with her and coughs. "Well, uh ... in celestial mechanics a circular orbit," his voice lowers increasingly as he continues until he coughs and consciously speaks louder, forcing himself to meet her eyes again, "is known as a 'Keplerian ellipse'. Uh, my first job was ... was at McDonalds. I was fired in my first week because I spoke too much to the customers and got people's orders mixed up when I was rostered for drive-in. My favourite animal is cat and ..." In one movement which, when planned in his head, was meant to be much more fluent and less obvious, Michael moves closer to her, their faces inches apart. She looks up at him, her face angling slightly towards his "...and yes."

"'Yes' what?"

"I do like you." He moves even closer still. "And no, you're not wasting your time. At least, I hope not."

He finally closes the gap between them, pressing their lips together but leaving his hands awkwardly in the air, not knowing what to do with them. Rachel smiles against his mouth and guides them to the sides of her face, then placing her own at the nape of his neck. The kiss is chaste and simple, and ends very soon when Michael pulls away and rests his forehead against hers. She smiles.

"I don't think I'm wasting my time either."

"So, you like me too?" Michael asks nervously, holding his breath after having asked it.

Instead of answering, she kisses him again, involving her tongue this time because she knows he lacks the confidence to deepen it himself.

"So that's a 'yes'?"

Rachel grins and, while kissing him again, murmurs, "Shut up" fondly.

"I met someone. I think she's special."

Dr Headlam starts scribbling furiously in her notepad. "Are you two romantically involved?"

Michael narrows his eyes, wondering whether his shrink is really asking whether he is sleeping with Rachel or not. "Um, in a sense."

"How long have you known her?"

"About a month, or so. We haven't been on an official date or anything yet but, uh, I did kiss her the other day." He starts blushing furiously but, thankfully, Dr Headlam is too busy writing to notice.

"That's good, Michael. What gave you the confidence to do that?"

"Well, Gerard and a dream, and she kind of hinted that I should."

Dr Headlam looks up. "Would you like to tell me about this dream?"

"Okay. Well, I was in the desert again and I find the bomb ... I cut the wires and the bomb disappeared. In its place was left a lake, only bigger than the one I saw that first time."

"Did you have a reason exactly for deciding to risk cutting the wires?"

"It just seemed like the right thing to do. You know, to take the risk and hope it's worth it rather than to wait for time to be over and have nothing to show for it in the end."

There is a long silence as Dr Headlam writes more and more. Eventually she looks up. "Are you going to ask her on your first official date soon?"

"I - I guess... Yes, actually. I will." Michael drops eye contact with Dr Headlam and stares at the number on the back of his hand, and then nods once determinedly.