Guides for the Pre-Engagement Life

"Author Note: This chapter is in two perspectives.
It starts with Michael first, and Roxanne in the second half, and written in first person."

******

Michael Phelps

I've attempted to put up with her, but lately, she's been acting way off.
Roxanne's doubted me, she's been on my case since that tabloid posted a picture of what I supposedly done in London. I've stuck by her through thick and thin, and she's done the same, but just lately, she wasn't herself. She wasn't that same girl that moved in, that girl I met in Ann Arbor, the one I fell in love with.
I really didn't know what was going on. I've been on my own for two weeks and still haven't heard much from her, only indirect information from Lia, who's been keeping tabs on her since I returned to Baltimore. Roxanne's been staying with one of the journalists in New York, and some people I knew told me that she had been spotted hanging around the son of her boss as well as Ryan Lochte, though I don't actually know how Ryan got into the picture, since I thought he was headed here in Baltimore so we could have a friendly training session before we fly to Irvine.

"Yo, Mike, get your head out of the gutter and bloody concentrate!" Derek splashed water towards me. I shook my head and wiped the water from my face and moved the goggles from my eyes, I ignored Derek and pushed myself out of the water and to the benches. I sat down and looked down.
I was worried.
"Mike, it's not fun if you're not serious," The other Swimmer yelled as he pushed himself out of the water and sat beside me. He took off his swimming cap and goggles while wrestling his fingers with his tangled hair. "We have a few minutes left before the girls take over, what's your problem?"
I shook my head and took off the cap from my head. I combed my fingers from front to back through my hair, over and over as I sat there in silence.
"Do you want to know what Lia told me about Monkey?"
I turned my head towards him, yet leaning my forehead against the palm of my hands. I blinked and mouthed, "What?"
Derek leaned back against the wall and looked up to the ceiling. "Lia said that Anne's acting up because she's scared that you might leave her, since the anniversary of her Parents' divorce is coming up," He calmly explained followed by a sigh. "Lia said that every August, near her birthday, she would get emotional and moody because she blames herself for her Parents' divorce, considering that on her seventh birthday, both of them argued and then split up."
"Shouldn't I know about this?" I asked. Roxanne hardly talked about the sad parts of her past, and I could see why. "How come she's extra moody now though? I've been with her for nearly five years and she's never acted this weird."
"Women are pain in the asses," Derek commented as he slammed his hands on his thighs and stood up. "But we can't resist falling in love with them," He added as he suddenly waved towards the door. I peeked and saw Lia walk in with a few of the other female swimmers. "I love Lia, and she has her episodes too. I think Anne just needs time away to figure out that she's not moving too fast since that was one of the reasons her Parents' split in the first place. She probably just doesn't want to repeat history."
I let out a heavy exhale as I pushed myself to my feet and mumbled, "If she doesn't turn up in Irvine, I don't know what the hell I would do."
"She'll turn up," He grinned. "Anne loves you so bloody much that in Ann Arbor, she once cried because of it," He revealed. "I was there because I think it was just me and her. I think you and Lia had a training session with Bob for the Olympics. Anyway, I waited for Lia at their apartment, and Anne said she doesn't want you to leave because she loves you too much. I never want to see her cry like that again, Mike, so you two better sort out your problems." Derek's voice went from cheerful to a sudden threatening tone, and he didn't even let out his signature smile as he wandered off to his wife. I watched them interact from a distance. I wanted to be like that with Roxanne.
I really hoped she'd turn up.

A week later, at Irvine, California, the tabloid blogs online had released photos that the paparazzi caught. It was the moment Roxanne and I had a disagreement at Central Park, and when I walked away from her, the photos showed that she took notice of my small chest in the bag and she looked like she was on the way to tears. I closed the window on the screen and threw my phone into my backpack. I leaned back on my seat with a groan. Ryan sat next to me, and he had been listening to his music the whole time we were in the locker rooms of the Swimming Centre.
"She'll turn up," Ryan suddenly mumbled as he pulled out his earphones and looked at me with a smirk. "I took good care of her while I was in New York. She's always tired though. I think she hasn't been sleeping well while she was there, and I swear she's been headed to the bathroom way too much. She wouldn't even eat properly when I bought her food. Didn't you say that she loved those apple pies in McDonalds?" He reported. He went on to explaining the things he noticed different with my girlfriend, and he ended it with, "Oh! And she got a haircut, and I have to say, she's pretty smokin'."
"Shut up," I reacted. But, to be honest, I was surprised with that, since the many years I've been with Roxanne, she's constantly said that she's never wanted short hair and she's kept it long for as long as I knew her.
"Here, I'll show you," Ryan went on to say as he pulled out his phone and went through his photos and stopped at one. Roxanne, she sat there with her pink cheeks and wrinkled nose when her bright cheesy smile was on her face, and her hair was snipped to about her jawline, which exposed most of her neck, with her usual side bangs. However, I did notice what Ryan meant about her being tired, she looked tired from just smiling for the picture.
"She looks like she's doing fine without me," I sighed. I missed her.
"No, actually, I think she's more of a wreck. Personally, from my experience, Anne's having a moment of a rebelling teen, since she probably didn't haven't one when she was young."
"For as long as I've known you, Ryan, you've been that rebelling teen," I teased as I gave him a playful jab before I dashed to the Event Manager, who had been calling my name. I tossed my backpack over my shoulder and followed the instructions given to me, since that day was the first day of our heats, and I had held up hope that Roxanne would turn up after I told her that it would be a response to figuring out if we would go further or not.
I think I might partially be to blame, since I've been talking about getting engaged and getting married, and recently, children, that I forgot that she was the type to get easily overwhelmed. She must've been pressured too.

August 18th was her birthday. Roxanne was 24 years old, and she wouldn't even reply to my birthday greetings that I sent through text. She didn't even answer her phone. It went straight to voicemail, which made me wonder what was going on. I reached into my pocket and got a good hold on the small key attached to a chain. If she turned up, I could give it to her and she would be able to open her birthday present.
I wasn't sure if she was even there. All I saw was my Mom, Hilary, Whitney and my niece, Taylor and my nephew, Connor, at the stands when I took a peek. They waved frantically towards me when they saw me, but I had to hide again because I wasn't allowed to go out just yet. I leaned against the wall and plugged in my earphones, the sounds of Lil' Wayne rapping into my ears had somehow relaxed me.
Then I felt my phone vibrate in my grasp. I blinked and stared down, and on the screen was her face and underneath it was her message. She replied to me, finally.

"I'll always be cheering for you, Michael," She texted. My heart began to race. I wasn't nervous. I was more excited as a smile curved on my lips. I knew what that meant. She was there. Roxanne was in those stands.
I couldn't wait to see her.

Roxanne Miller

I inhaled and exhaled in a steady pace as I sat on a yoga mat. Mrs Fulton took me with her to a yoga session after I bumped into her at the office the day before, and she worriedly told me that I looked way too stressed for my frame. I had stayed in New York after my dispute with Michael, and I had been there for a few weeks.
I took custody of an ex-co-worker's guest bedroom in her apartment while she was off being a journalist, following a scoop in Russia. I took care of her home while I was there, and because I was alone in her apartment, it felt more depressing and lonely. I missed Michael, and it was sad how we ended a dispute.
I was incredibly rude to him. I knew and learned from that after I saw his things were no longer in the hotel room. I cried, of course, and Fulton Jr. took care of me for two days at his apartment before he complained that it was inappropriate for someone with a boyfriend to be getting consoled by a guy who was once attracted to that certain someone.
I attracted way too much attention from men. I guess Michael learned how I felt since he also attracted way too much attention from women too.

"Dear, I'm happy that you came with me today," Mrs Fulton wrapped her arms around me into an embrace. She gave my back a pat before she parted and added, "You're glowing now compared to when I saw you in the office. I hope to see you again one day, okay?"
I nodded and smiled. She disappeared amongst the other women in the room as I walked away. I didn't have much to do as I had a week left before Michael expected me to be at Irvine, California, to watch him swim and support him like a girlfriend should.
His Family probably wasn't pleased with me, but they sent me messages to report on how Michael was doing. Lia was the one who kept calling me in random hours of the day just to make sure I was alive, and the occasion phone calls from my Family added to the top of the list too. I haven't heard from Michael, well, maybe because I didn't reply to his texts either. I was snobby, immature and was certainly not myself.
"Heck, Fox, did Mom talk you into this?"
I looked up from the floor and met eye to eye with Fulton Jr., and he seemed as surprise as I was to be reunited after the awkward situation at his apartment.
"How are you doing?" He asked.
"Oh, same old," I replied with a half-smile. "Your Mom thought I needed time to relax."
"With the recent photos up, I assume so."
I rolled my eyes. The photos of my fight with Michael at Central Park were everywhere, and I was being talked to about it by random people on the street. "Yeah, don't remind me," I displeasingly moaned. "But I suppose I can deal with it. I suddenly earned fame for myself."
"Maybe you should get a haircut," Fulton Jr. randomly suggested.
I laughed at his random comment. "Have you been staring at my hair for a while?' I quizzed as I flicked the end of my ponytail. "I guess I should though. Maybe that's why Michael's been bored of me, because I look the same as when we first dated."
"Isn't it your birthday next week?" That guy was really changing the topic so much.
"Don't remind me. I'm 24 next week, I feel like I'm not getting any younger."
"You look the same," He complimented as he gave me a tap on the shoulder. "I'm not here next week, and I assume that you won't be too, so why don't we go to the salon and I'll pay for your new hairdo as a birthday gift." He suggested as he beckoned to the door.
"I don't mean to get a haircut now. I was planning later on in the week."
"But I'm not here," He whined.
"Why are you being nice to me?" I crossed my arms in preparation for a debate.
"Fox, you need to look good for your reunion with your boyfriend-"
"-Junior, I don't really need your help though-"
"-It's the least I could do. I tried sabotaging your relationship with my strong opinions, but I know you love him too much to let him go, so I don't want to be a pain in the ass anymore since I don't have any chance with you, whatsoever. So hurry up and decide if you want to come or not, because I'm willing to change my mind." Fulton Jr. sounded agitated.
"I don't know if I should be mad at you or not."
He shook his head and kept pointing towards the door. "Quick, before Mom realizes I'm here and I can't pay for your haircut!"
I couldn't help but laugh at him once more. The man was older than me, and yet, he acted like we were the same age. It wasn't long before he practically pushed me to the door and into the company car.
"I can't believe you're ditching your Mom!" I pointed out as I looked out the window to see the building disappear. I turned back to him and shook my head. "God, Junior, you're so-"
"-Hey, I want to spend a decent last day before I'm sent to London for work."
My lips parted as my jaws dropped from the news.
"Dad's sending me to London, since we're opening a branch there. I would've hired you to work for me and Dad would've loved that, but we all know that you're tied down," Fulton Jr. sighed and brushed his hair back. He didn't look at me either. "I won't see you again, Fox, so I want to hang out before my flight tomorrow."
He paid for my haircut, it was the least I could do for him. He was a sport.

Speaking of a sport, I was assigned to a quick journalistic job by Fulton to interview a certain someone for the Sports Magazine. I wasn't sure who, at first, but then when I heard that familiar voice yell, "Smokin' Roxy is in the house", I knew exactly who it was.
"Ryan Lochte." I shivered.
"Geez, you say that with a lot of poison," The Olympian pulled me into a bear hug before he dragged me around to be introduced to the people that he was talking to the whole time he waited for me. I knew most of them because they were the same people who entertain Michael whenever he had to go to New York for interviews and what not.
"I know them," I grumbled against his chest. I had a bit of a struggle to get out of his hold, and once I did, I straightened my clothes and adjusted my visitor's ID.
Ryan's eyes looked up and down as he was inspecting if there was something new about me. And he noticed quite a few. "The new haircut is nice, making you have that cute factor. Hmm... Did you suddenly lose weight? We need to get some food into you or else Michael will have nothing to hold onto," He blurted out as he turned to one of the assistants and requested for McDonalds, and he specifically mentioned apple pies.
I loved apple pies.
"I'm fine," I croaked before I covered my mouth and excused myself to the bathroom. Lately, I've been vomiting, and I didn't know why. My medications stopped and I've been taking birth control pills to help with my hormone balance since my operation.
I wandered back to Ryan after a few minutes and had to gulp down water to get rid of the after taste. I tapped on my stomach and cussed. "Ugh, this is a pain," I complained as I reunited with the Swimmer, who had been flirting a bit with the assistant.
"Here, Roxy." He handed me the apple pie, but just staring at it made me run to the bathroom. It was frustrating!
Though the interview was delayed a few times by my many trips to the bathroom, we managed to make it through and finished. I prepared myself to leave as soon as I said my farewell to Ryan, but he had other plans, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and took me with him to wherever he wanted to go for the rest of the day.
I wasn't impressed, but I guess I had time to spare.
The Swimmer talked highly of Michael throughout the whole time, and even expressing his jealousy of seeing his friend-slash-rival being in love and having such a "babe of a girlfriend", which I didn't take too lightly. We wandered around the streets for a while, stopping every few blocks so I could use the bathroom at the nearest store, or he had to pose for pictures and sign autographs. When I complained that I was tired, we entered a diner and took a seat at the furthest and most secluded booth.
"Why are you, all of a sudden, getting sick and going to puke every few blocks?" Ryan asked as he stared at me with a lot of focus. "If I didn't know any better, you're preggers."
"What? I can't be, I had an operation two months ago and they said I have a one in a million chance," I denied. I couldn't be.
"I'm just saying, chill." He waved his hand in front of him as he lifted up the menu. "If you puke one more time, I'm telling Michael-"
"-I'm not," I interrupted him. "And if I was, I'd much prefer telling him myself."
"Are you going to Irvine?"
I paused. I licked my lips and turned my attention the menu to avoid answering him.
"You know that he'll be really upset if he doesn't see you there."
"I know, but-" I choked on my words.
"Just go, because I hate seeing you like this," He commented with a serious tone. "I'd much prefer that curvy Roxy in that photo in that lingerie," His tone changed and he winked at me the moment I met eyes with him, and I knew exactly what he was on about.
"Oh God, erase that from your head!" I reached over and playfully slapped him on the arm.
"Yeah well, my flight isn't until two days from now. So I have a lot of time to convince you to go to Irvine, even if it's not on the same flight as me, because I have to stop by Baltimore and train with your fish of a lover."
I began to fiddle with my ring and focused on it. I really wanted to go, but I wasn't even sure how people would react when they saw me there, let alone Michael's Family.
They must dislike me because of the way I've been treating their only boy.
The thought made me cover my face and groan.
"Roxy, I'm going to say something really cheesy," Ryan said behind the menu. He appeared to have been fiddling with something behind the paper, and when his eyes looked back up to me. He slightly lowered the paper to reveal his mouth as they parted and said, "I watched this movie on the plane ride here, and I learned this: if you find somebody you can love, you can't let that get away."
My expression, right then and there, started from a confused to a frown then ended with a cheesy smile on my face when I realized what movie he got it from. Before I could say anything, Ryan pulled out his phone from behind the menu paper and snapped a photo of me. He smiled when he approved of it and turned his phone around to show me.
"Now I have something to show to Michael to cheer him up if you don't turn up," He grinned as he tucked his phone away so I couldn't reach for it.
I placed my hands over my tinted cheeks and hid away from the embarrassment of that cheesy photo. I stomped my feet on the ground as I closed my eyes and let out another groan. "Sneaky ass," I hissed towards the grinning Olympian opposite me.
"Michael would much prefer seeing the real thing though."
I knew he did, and I knew what I had to do.

Surprise, Surprise

Three days before my Birthday, I went home to Baltimore. Michael had already left with Bob and the other Swimmers, so it was a chance for me to sneak in and grab a few things before I chased after him. However, I needed to make a formal apology to Michael's Mom, for breaking my promise of taking care of his son. Fortunately, she and her daughters and grandchildren haven't left yet. The Phelps Family planned to fly off later that night, which was coincidentally, the same time as my flight.
I took the cab to Debbie's home, and was nervous enough to drag my feet across the concrete pathway all the way to her front door. My hands shook about when I clenched them to a fist and tapped them against the wooden door.
The wait killed me too.
When the door opened, Hilary was the one to answer. Her face brightened up at the sight of me and she pulled me into a hug before she took my by the hand and tugged me all the way to the living room, where the rest of the Family was. I gulped when Debbie stood up, and I thought she would say something, but instead, she smiled and gave me a hug too.
Everyone was giving me a hug. What did I do? Did I miss something?
"Dear me, Anne, you nearly gave us a heck of a panic," Debbie stated as she sat me down next to her. She handed me a cookie as she added, "Whatever is going on between you two. I'm hoping it's fixed. With your surgery then all these media outbursts and Michael's stress with his upcoming Championship, I'm sure you two were just stressed."
I was hoping that was the case.
"Anne, you look a bit pale," Whitney pointed out. "Are you-"
"-Excuse me," I mumbled as I covered my mouth and dashed to the bathroom.
The moment I got back, all three women stared at me oddly. I was about to ask if there was something on me, but Hilary stood up and said, "We can't tell Michael that you're coming to Irvine. I think it'll add more pressure, so we think that you should lay low when we land."
"And I think you should be the one telling him what's happening," Whitney added.
"W-What's happening?" I stuttered.
"We know Anne," Michael's eldest Sister sternly said. Debbie's smile was the brightest out of all three, and if I figured it out properly, they found out my secret.
I agreed to fly with them and they pretended during their meet up with Michael that I wasn't there. They made me stay in the hotel, or at least wander around in a subtle manner, though I didn't even make it out the door without feeling nauseous. I stayed back for the remaining day before Michael's swimming heat.

On my birthday, on the dot of midnight, Michael texted me a greeting, and the following day, he called, but I couldn't pick up because I was in the bathroom. When the time came that I had to go, Hilary volunteered to be the one to go late and accompany me, just in case I faint or something like that. The Phelps women were very worried of me.
It was like I had a life-threatening problem!
"I saw MP this morning," Hilary started a conversation as we walked closer and closer to the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center. There were so many people that Hilary kept a close hook around my arm so that we wouldn't be separated. "You know, he kept asking about you. If we've seen you or heard from you, and nice job on not picking up the phone," She complimented, even though I didn't even intend to miss that call.
"So how is this going to work?" I didn't know how they planned it out.
"Mom and Whit should be there already and MP would know where we're seated, and he's probably at the back with the rest of the Swimmers anyway, so the plan is to sneak you in and when MP walks out and looks our way, BAM, he'll smile and see you."
"What about after the event?"
"MP's got a night session for the finals, you can speak in between."
"How do I break out the news?"
Hilary went silent for a few seconds before she shook her head. "I was thinking of you telling him here, but that would expose it to everyone else," She sighed. "Alright, how about you wait to see him until later tonight?"
"I guess that'll work?"
No, I didn't have a clue if it'd work or not.

As the plan fell through, I saw couldn't help but smile when Michael walked out and his expression was priceless. Ryan, Derek and Lia's expressions were just the same. I supported them, yelled, cheered and got smothered in hugs by the Phelps women when they liked the results. It was typical of Michael Phelps to ace what he did best without a sweat. However, from time to time, I disappeared and missed a few heats and finals because I went to the bathroom to do what I did best at that moment - puking.
By the end of the night, I was exhausted, but I really wanted to see Michael and talk to him again. Debbie, on the other hand, sent me back to the hotel because she didn't want to take any risks, and she told me that she'd send her son my way after they meet up.
So I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
I fell asleep waiting for him. I wasn't aware of how long I waited and had fallen asleep, but the sound of knocking woke me up. At first, I wasn't in the mood to get out of bed, but after the tenth knock, reality came crashing in on me and helped me realize that the person on the other side was - "Michael!" I yelped, and just like that, our lips were pressed onto each other like we haven't seen each other in a long time.
Oh, well, we haven't, but... Erm, you get me.
"Anne," Michael whispered while stroking the side of my face. "I'm glad you're here."
I nodded and smiled. "I have something important to tell you."
"What?" He questioned as I sat him down on the edge of the bed. I stood opposite him and tapped my stomach, a grin on my face as I revealed, "I'm pregnant."

Yeah, when I returned to Baltimore, the first thing I did was to go to the Doctor and asked what the hell was up with all the vomiting. So, thanks to three different pregnancy tests provided by the Doctor, it was confirmed, signed, checked and whatever else there was to prove that there was miracle baby on board.
One in a Million chance, my butt.
What made my night was Michael's expression, it was priceless.