Summary: You know, I've always wondered, after watching 17 Again, thinking 'Zac Efron and Michelle Trachtenberg look cute together.' And an idea popped in my head: What if this was different, and Mark Gold was real and was actually Ned's son?' So, this is what I think the scene where Mike/Mark was comforting Maggie after Stan broke up with her would've gone if he wasn't really her father. And I don't know this scene by heart, so I might get a few things wrong.

Disclaimer: I don't own 17 Again. Burr Steers does.

The Sun Rises and Sets With You

Mark was looking for Maggie O'Donnell, daughet of his father's best friend, Mike, to tell him about the party he was throwing while his dad Ned Gold was on a date with his principal, Ms. Masterson. As if his dad wasn't weird enough. He looked around and saw her on the bleachers facing the track. "Maggie." He walked over and saw she was crying. "Maggie?"

He put his bag down and sat next to her. "Hey, Maggie." She glared at him. "Go away." He didn't move. She looked away from him. "Hey, what happened?" She glared at him again. "What do you want? Rub it in my face? Say 'I told you so?'" He shook is head. "No. No, I don't. Just tell me what happened." She looked away, and looked back at him, all anger gone from her eyes. "Stan dumped me."

Shock went through him. "Stan dumped you? Stan dumped you? What?" She looked away from him, tears still streaming down her face. "What happened? How did this?..." He then got the strangest feeling that Stan wouldn't have dumped her for no reason. "What did he do?" She wouldn't look at him. "What did he do?" She took a breath. "After the game... We... He took me behind the quad, and we..." He shook his head in disbelief. He felt anger rise in him. "I can't hear this. You didn't. No, Mags." He leaned his head back. "No," she said. He looked at her. "No. That's why he dumped me." He felt relief rush through him. He sighed.

A wave of fresh tears left Maggie as she leaned her head in his shoulder. He oput his arm around her. "Mags, hey. Hey, hey, it's okay. You know...when you're young, everything feels like the end of the world. It's not." She looked at him. "Right." He caught her sarcastic tone. "It's just the beginning." She leaned her head on his shoulder again. "You might have to meet a few more jerks, but one day you're gonna meet a boy who treats you the way you deserve to be treated." She looked up at him curiously. "Like the Sun rises and sets with you." As he said that, Maggie felt like Mark was looking right through to to her heart, and that she always knew mark was an old soul. And as Mark said it, he felt that what he was saying was coming straight from his heart, and that he really did feel the way he thought he did.

"You really think so?" she asked. "I know so.." She smiled. "That's so sweet." He smiled. "You're the sweetest. Thank you." She leaned towards him, and he felt a sensation go through him. Her lips touched his, and it was almost as if this was his first kiss even though it wasn't. He realized he had wanted this for a long time and just didn't know it. He kissed her back. She smiled into it and pulled herself closer to him.

She pulled away to look at him. "Did you really mean that, or did you just say to get me to kiss you?" He shook his head. "I meant every word." She smiled and kissed him again. And everything felt right again. Any thought of her being with Stan left and never came back. All there was was Mark.