A/N: This is directly from Michael's thoughts and isn't in diary form.

By the time I walk into the doors, I'm anxious, very confused, and more than a little pissed off with the world at large.

Honestly, life used to be so simple before I fell in love with Mia Thermopolis.

I notice Lars first. Kinda hard not to, seeing as how he is the tallest person in the room.

I jog up to them. Not a good idea, 'cause now I'm out of breath.

Mia turned around, her eyes wide.

She looks gorgeous, first off. Which didn't help, seeing as how the last time she looked like-well, a princess, I could hardly get two words out. (See Rocky Horror night when Kenny stole the girl of my dreams. Not a good night, overall.)

"I didn't think you were coming," I manage to get out. If I had, I would have at least made an attempt to look halfway decent, instead of looking like something regurgitated by the Hellmouth.

Mia is red for some reason. "Well, I almost didn't."

"I called you a bunch of times," I said. "Only you wouldn't come to the phone." And I had to try to explain to Mr. Gianini and your mom why you had locked yourself in your room. Your mom is SCARY when she's mad.

"I know," Mia said softly, staring down at the floor like it had the mysteries of the universe written on it.

"Mia, I started, "With that thing today. I didn't mean to make you cry." Or make you run away screaming as if I'd just sprouted warts, horns and a tail.

She is still staring at the floor. Hello, Mia, I'm up here? A little eye contact, please?

"It didn't," she said quietly. "I mean, it wasn't that. It was something Kenny said."

Ah, yes, Kenny. The bane of my existence for the past three months.

"Yeah. Well, I heard you two broke up." Best damn news I've heard all day.

I dimly remember the scripts I'd made up on my way here. And decide to throw them all out the door.

See, all of them have me being all suave and debonair like James Bond. I don't do James Bond well. Maintaining any semblance of normalcy around Mia is hard enough.

I take a deep breath. Here goes…everything.

"The thing is," I say, "I knew it was you. Who was leaving those cards."

Even at this bombshell, Mia still doesn't life her head. Instead, staring at her toes, (evidently I am too hideous a creature to gaze upon) she goes in this soft, quavering, little-girl voice that makes me go weak in the knees, "You did."

Oh. God.

She's going to cry and I can't stand it 'cause she should not be crying and especially not over me and-

STOP.

Just stop it, Michael, and get through this, because ANYTHING is better than the endless waiting you've been doing for so long.

And all of this is running through my head and all I know now is that I'm in love with Mia Thermopolis. And I'm tired of doing nothing about it.

"Of course I did. Lilly told me."

Finally-FINALLY-she raises her eyes. There are no tears in her eyes, just pure and complete shock.

"Lilly told you?" she shrieks. "How did she know?"

I wave my hand, not really caring how Lilly got her information. "I don't know. Your friend Tina told her, I guess. But that's not important."

Mia's not looking at me. Instead, she's glaring at Lilly and Tina, muttering something about killing the both of them.

I reach out, grab both her shoulders, and give her a little shake. My God, Mia's got a short attention span.

"Mia. It doesn't matter," I tell her. "What matters is that I meant what I wrote. And I thought you did, too."

Mia's staring at me as if I've escaped from the mental ward. "Of course I meant what I wrote."

I can only shake my head at this. The girl is going to kill me. "Then why did you freak out like that today at the Carnival?"

Mia's gaping at me, her mouth forming an O. "Well, because…. because…I thought…I thought you were making fun of me."

Oh. My. God.

So that's what's going on. Everything suddenly clicks, and I feel like laughing, and jumping on something.

"Never," I manage to get out.

But most of all I just want to kiss her.

And I do.

I thought that getting into Columbia was the high point of my life. I was wrong.

Kissing Mia Thermopolis is.

And believe me, if this is insanity, I'm not going to miss normalcy one bit.