If I have to go, I will be thinking of your love. (arcady) wrote in qaf_coffeeclub,
He didn't flatly tell her not to go. He did his grumpy "I don't want to" mode. Michael frequently gets that stubborn "leave it alone!" tone of voice, and then Brian, Debbie, or the gang ignore it, continue the conversation, Michael stops protesting, and is often better for it. He tends to have this first-level defense that no one respects and he doesn't always really want them to. The problem, though, is that it diminishes the impact when he actually means it. By going to the party, Debbie responded how she (and Brian, and sometimes the rest of the gang) usually does when Michael gets huffy and stubborn. She didn't realize how serious he was – and neither did I, the first time I saw it. I generally like Michael a lot, but his outburst at the party was a rare, serious asshole moment. No one saw it coming, including his mother, and that's why she was easily swayed into party crashing.