CARMEN ; m.c.

et je mourrais sans toi

(A/N: italics are a flashback)

005

Carmen started her summer with plans to go to a party every night; every space on her calendar was filled with scribbles of addresses and times. She didn't imagine, even once that'd she'd spend time at home, much less with her family and neighbors, instead of roaming the streets at the crack of dawn.

That's what she did, though. The summer dwindled down, and Carmen had been ungrounded, and Carmen and Michael wasted the days with video games and TV dinners, and Carmen was happy. 

She didn't have to worry about making a function worth while or keeping everyone's spirits high. She didn't have to pretend to listen to conversations or smile at fifty different strangers, and it was so easy to just be herself around Michael, so why put herself back in situations she doesn't always enjoy?

Carmen didn't stop going to parties completely; Ashton, who was actually more of a friend to her, had a couple of mild get togethers, nothing that Carmen couldn't handle. For the most part, though, she felt like she could go a while without a rave, so she did. 

On the second to last morning of summer, Carmen wakes up, well rested and ready to start her day. 

"I feel like I sound like those actors in those ninja bullet commercials," Carmen laughed at herself, leaning into the boy next to her. "Like, I miss one party and now I'm a new person." 

Michael laughed along with her, covering his face with his hands. They were sat on the worn out sofa in Michael's basement, switching between many of the Xbox games that Michael has, until he'd asked Carmen what it felt like to be rager free.

She'd told him that ever since the night that he caught her on the roof, she's been waking up with a bounce in her step. He told her that it probably had to do with the fact that she's not drinking every night anymore, which, Carmen also thought was true. 

Carmen also thought that it was mainly thanks to Michael, but, she figured she could tell him that later.

"Morning mom, dad." Carmen says as she comes downstairs, speaking louder when she greets her dad so he could hear her from his room. If this had been a few weeks earlier, she'd have come down to the kitchen in an entire outfit and would have been saying goodbye so she could go and have brunch with some randoms, instead of her sleepwear.

Her mother smiles at her, pouring her husband a cup of coffee. "Morning, Carmen. How did you sleep?" 

Carmen's mom was especially happy about the change in Carmen. Both of her parents had been secretly waiting for the phase to die out, but expected it to last Carmen through high school. They would excitedly report to each other whenever they'd pass Carmen's room and hear her talking—mostly to Michael, either on the phone or in person—or watching a show.

"Very well," Carmen answers, taking her dad's mug from her mother's hand, then quickly and carefully sipping the brew. She glances up at the wall clock and grunts, handing the cup back to her mom. "Gotta go. I'll be at Michael's." 

Pecking her mom on the cheek, Carmen rushes back towards the staircase. Carmen's mother furrows her brows with a smile as she calls to Carmen. "What are you going there so early for?" 

"Michael's going to his aunt's house tonight, so I wanted to hang out with him while he has time." Carmen explains, jogging up the steps. 

"His Aunt Julia? Why don't you go with him?"

"It's kind of a family party thing," She says, hopping back down the stairs until she's no longer hidden by the wall. "And I don't really do parties anymore." Carmen winks as her mother playfully rolls her eyes and turns to open their refrigerator.

Going up the last few stairs, Carmen power walks to her room and into her bathroom. She would write essays about how nice it is to not have to do more than freshen up when she goes to see Michael. There's no pressure to look her best, and sometimes Carmen glares at her heels at the thought of wearing them just to complete a look.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Carmen tucks her laptop into it's case and lifts open her window. She gingerly climbs out and navigates her way down to the lawn between her house and Michael's.

Carmen grabs the ladder they always leave outside and slides it across the gutters until it's under Michael's bedroom window. She thinks to herself that her and Michael are like something out of a cheesy teen movie as she makes her way up and onto his roof.

She knocks on the glass panel and casually looks around as if she's not on top of someone's house. Carmen's about to knock again when Michael's face appears in front of her.

Grinning, he opens the window. "Car, you know I have a front door, right?" Michael teases, raising a brow at the girl.

Carmen shrugs, stepping into his room and backing him up with her body against his. "It's more fun this way." She smirks, putting her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his lips. He lets off a chuckle as he pulls away, interlocking his fingers at the small of her back.

Michael had asked Carmen to be his girlfriend two days after they'd had their impromptu Anaconda night, while they were in his mom's car on the way to the store. Carmen was proud to announce that she went to the market to get a carton of eggs and came back with it, plus a boyfriend. 

"Yeah, yeah," He says, smiling down at Carmen. "Why are you here?" 

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Carmen pretends to be offended and puts a hand on her chest. Michael, in turn, pretends to think.

"Nope." Michael jokes, sloppily planting a kiss on Carmen's forehead and laughing at her grossed-out groan while he walks around her and closes his window. 

Carmen unzips her laptop case and presents the silver computer in one hand. "Wanna play WoW?" She bounces her eyebrows and pokes Michael with a corner of the laptop. He shakes his head at her, smiling and taking the laptop from her hands.

"Honestly, how didn't you have a boyfriend before me?" He asks, sitting at his desk and pulling the chair that she'd picked out for herself up next to his. 

Carmen giggles, settling next to him and watching him start up the game. "How do you know I didn't have one before you?" Carmen joshes. Michael gives a jocular sigh, sitting back and putting an arm around Carmen's shoulders.

"Because, I just know." 

"Do you, Michael?"

"Yes, Shining Star. Yes, I do."

A/N: word count: 1135 

awwww it's over oh man this literally went by so fast 

this wasn't super great considering i wrote the chapters without really planning them out and doing them in the span of like two hours but i did like it and i'm glad i did it and if you enjoyed it feel free to vote and comment y'know express yourselves

this fdc was a wild ride but i think it actually helped me as a writer even if it was just a little bit so i'd recommend all writers to do a challenge like this

lots of love xoxo