High and Dry - AU/Adult/CC - Ch 34 - 8/3/15

Fics using the characters from Roswell, but where the plot does not have anything to do with aliens, nor are any of the characters "not of this Earth."

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HIS-&-HERS
Enthusiastic Roswellian
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:11 am

Chapter 20

Post by HIS-&-HERS »

keepsmiling7: Of course there were sparks? Did you expect something else for M&L? lol

M&M will deliver the drama for sure.

begonia9508: We will bring light into the M&M situation eventually.

Sleeping arrangements… oh they will be… interesting. ;)

HypnotiqBlueEyes: Steam for M&L and drama for M&M? Hm, yeah, you might be onto something here. ;)

xilaj: Out characters will enlighten their stories a bit further towards each other today… also some very important facts seem to be still missing, lol.

sarammlover: Lol, that’s going to be a painful vacation for Max, huh?

LovelyPOM83: Thanks! M&L have some work to do before they can be together, lol.

CandyliciousLovah: Well for now, lol.

LuckyMiss: We will bring light to the M&M situation and their past in time. You just have to wait a bit longer.

No doubt, the group is going to discover some secrets from each other and this might put them through drama, chaos and also a lot of fun…

Alien_Friend: His plan is to leave and yet it has to be seen if anyone / anything can hold him up. ;)
Things are settled down for now, but just so much… they won’t stay this comfy for all too long. hehe


MERRY CHRISTMAS!



Chapter 20

“I think dinner in an hour would be good,” Liz stood in the kitchen area with one of the crew to hand out the list of menus everyone had chosen in the front. The flight had lasted for several hours now and everyone seemed to still be testing the water with each other, which really wasn’t a surprise after the length of time that’d passed since they’d seen each other. She glanced over her shoulder when everyone behind her suddenly broke out into laughter.

Kyle was waving his hands around and it looked like he was telling some big story. With the distance between them she couldn’t hear all of it, but she did make out a few words like Jamaica, after shoot party, stripper, banana, and ... totally vanished.

Alex had his hand over his eyes and was shaking his head in disbelief, Isabel had her head thrown back doing that pig snort thing she only did when she was extremely tickled, Maria and Max were both leaning into each other as tears rolled down their cheeks from laughing so hard, and Tess, ...well, Liz couldn’t help but smirk at her tiny blonde friend.

Ever since the whole Kyle male model secret had been let out, she had noticed that Tess had been more and more drawn to him. She followed his every move with her eyes, tried to have flirty conversations with him, and was always shifting closer to him.

Only problem was, Kyle seemed to take no notice of it and was completely ignoring her. And it was driving Tess up the wall!

It had been a good idea to bring him, she thought. He fit so much better with everyone than Dean ever would. Guilt washed over her right after that thought. Was she relieved he had cancelled this trip with her?

Even though everyone had changed, it seemed like the group still had its easygoing dynamic from high school. They had yet to catch up with the past few years, but one thing was certain: Dean most likely wouldn’t have liked any of her old friends. He was the type who was always too busy to let his hair down in order to have fun and be crazy.

Yeah... Dean’s idea of acting ‘crazy’ would be wearing a tie to the office that didn’t match his Armani suit.

That thought was enough to make her mood sink for a moment until her thoughts were interrupted.

“What’s with the passenger in the back?” the stewardess asked as she glanced over the list and recognized one order was missing.

Liz looked at the closed curtain uncertainly. Michael hadn’t come out since they had left New York City and he most likely wouldn’t until they landed. “I’ll go to check on him,” she told the woman and walked over to the separating curtain. As she pushed it open slowly and carefully she could almost hear the narrator to one of those nature shows she liked. “When dealing with a wounded, cornered animal speak very softly and don’t make any sudden movements.”

He was sitting at the very end of the aisle, arms crossed over his chest, posture slouched down and feet propped up on the seat across from him. His head leaned against the oval window, but he wasn’t sleeping; he was staring out into the distance. Liz couldn’t help but feel more guilt.

From the corner of his eye he caught movement and the hope that Maria would approach him died down when he recognized the dark hair. Who was he kidding? Maria would never come to talk to him. Not after the way he had ended things with her. She probably didn’t have any interest in him anymore because there was a new good looking guy at her side. Just the thought alone made him clench both of his hands into firsts.

“Hey, Michael,” Liz greeted him and stopped a row in front of him to kneel on the seat and look over it. Maybe a safe distance wasn’t a bad idea since he still looked pissed. She swallowed when he didn’t respond and held a menu card out to him. “I’m here to ask what you’d like to eat.”

He barely glanced up to look at the menu, but still didn’t say anything.

“They um… have lasagna or something like chicken with potatoes and veggies.” It’s like talking to a wall, she thought in frustration and let herself sink into the seat, facing away from him. Michael had always been a character she didn’t know how to handle, but it had been a different story with Maria. It was like one day she had gotten the manual ‘How-To-Handle-A-Guerin’ and she had just known what to say or do with him. “I told her you were tricked into this trip and that you weren’t trying to mess with her on purpose. She’s not mad or anything.”

Yeah, why would she be? She was over him, he thought.

“I understand that you don’t want to see her-”

“You fuckin’ don’t understand anything, Parker, so just let it go.” The problem was that he’d wanted to see her every damn day for the last few years, but after all the shit in his life he had no right to just walk back to her and confuse her again. When he’d made the decision to leave her alone, he’d known it had to be for forever. His sister had no right to mess with that!

If his voice hadn’t sounded so broken she would’ve been offended by his words, but obviously it was mostly hurt speaking out of him. “Yeah, you’re right, maybe I don’t.”

“I’ll take the chicken,” he said after a long silence, hoping that she would leave him alone again. In a mood like this, he preferred his own company.

“Okay,” she got out of her seat and glanced at him again. “You wanna join us for dinner or…,” she trailed off when he sighed. “I’ll have it brought back here then.” With that she went to leave and was glad she had survived with no further yelling. She went through the separating curtain again but this time ran smack into Tess.

“How’s he doing?” she asked, her eyes full of worry.

“What do you think?”

The curly blonde sighed. “I didn’t do it to hurt him.”

“Don’t tell me that,” Liz said and glanced up when Isabel waved them over.

“Come on ladies, it’s time to lay your cards on the table.”

Tess glanced at Liz with a half hearted smirk. “I’m not sure I like what she’s suggesting.”

They made their way over to the rest of the gang and took the seats in the booths located around tables, four seats, two left and two right of one table. “Almost like back at the Crashdown,” Liz smirked when they sat there with their drinks.

Maria rolled her eyes. “No, this is like 100 times more luxurious and we have Star Trek Valenti with us,” she winked at Kyle.

“Was that the only nickname you gave me?” he grumbled.

“Well, if you’d looked like you do now back when we were in school we’d have called you Captain Steel Abs.” Maria smirked as she leaned over and used her hand to pat Kyle’s stomach.

Tess’s eyes narrowed as she watched Maria touch Kyle. She shouldn’t be touching him like that! She has a boyfriend!

“That was the only one that can be said out loud,” Tess countered with a good bit of jealous anger tinting her voice. And all it earned her was another glare from Kyle.

“So,” Isabel interrupted. “Since we have new people around and we also haven’t seen each other in a long while, Maria and I thought it’d be good to just get it over with and say where we stand in life right now. This tiptoeing around each other is no fun at all.”

Kyle watched Tess out of the corner of his eye as Isabel spoke. He had noticed how her face, which was wrapped in cute blonde curls, fell and went pale. Seems like someone’s not so proud of her life, he thought and smirked. “Sounds like fun. Who’s gonna start?”

“Why don’t you?” Tess suggested. “We all know you got the shiniest story already. So tell us how Star Trek Valenti transformed into super model Valenti.”

“Yeah fine, whatever,” he narrowed his eyes at her before turning back to the group. “Not long after we graduated I knew I wanted to change how I looked. So I started watching what I ate and when I got to school I joined a gym close to campus. Every day after classes I’d go there and lift weights and do cardio.”

“What kind of cardio? “Alex asked.

“I tried my hand at all kinds at first: stairmaster, stationary bike and even aerobic classes,” a big smirk spread across Kyle’s face. “But I tried that last one mostly so I could see the hot ladies in the skimpy leotards bend over in front of me.”

While everyone else laughed at his comment, Tess only rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, one day I got on a treadmill and gave it a shot,” Kyle continued. “At first I could barely half walk half run a mile. But I stuck with it and as the days turned to weeks, then months and then years I lost all my weight.”

“Yeah, but how did the whole underwear model thing come about?!” Tess suddenly blurted out and then blushed profusely when everyone started smirking at her “I .... uhhh ... mean ... I’m sure everyone else here was wondering. “

Maria turned in her seat with a fake serious look on her face and asked her best friend: “I wasn’t wondering.... were you wondering, Max?”

“It was eating me up inside,” Max put a hand over his heart. “I knew I’d never be able to have any fun on this vacation until I found out how some guy I never met before became an underwear model.”

“Ohhh, bite me,” Tess muttered under her breath at the snickering pair.

“After a year or so of heavy jogging you could already see a real difference,” Kyle nodded. “From there it just all worked out in my favor I guess. One day around my junior year, Matt – my dormmate – made me take a part in a casting for underwear modeling job that some ad company was hiring for. I thought it’d be a funny distraction after my girlfriend broke up with me and well, I got the deal and from there I got booked for shoot after shoot. I actually had to drop out of school, because modeling was starting to take up too much of my time. And suddenly before I knew it, I seemed to be famous. End of story.”

Liz laughed and bumped his shoulder gently. “There’s more to you than just being famous now. How about all those charities you’re always promoting in between shoots?”

He winked back at her. “Shhh, don’t ruin my new bad boy reputation I worked so hard for.”

Tess snorted loudly, but really the only thing she could think of was how sexy he had turned out and how cruel destiny had to be to throw it right in her face.

“You wanna be next?” He looked at her challengingly.

“I’m next,” Isabel interrupted though, because she wanted to get it off her chest as soon as possible. “Okay, so soon after moving to LA I met a lawyer. His name’s Jesse Ramirez.”

“Your husband, right?” Liz asked.

“Yes, yes,” the tall blonde nodded. “Soon to be ex though.” She paused a moment when the brunette gasped in surprise. “He’s the biggest asshole in the world. I’m not sure how or why I got married to him in the first place now.” She shook her head helplessly.

“Sometimes people you think you know just turn out different,” Maria told her and placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder.

Isabel smiled slightly and placed a hand over hers. “Yeah, I guess they do.”

Tess clenched her fists under the table. She knew Maria was referring to Michael and based on what the girl knew, it was no surprise she thought that way; it just killed her that everyone was getting a picture of Michael that wasn’t him.

“Anyway,” Isabel went on. “At least one good thing came out of my marriage.” She pulled out a little photo and placed it on the table. “That’s my two year old daughter Maya.”

“You have a daughter?” The question came from several sides and everyone craned their necks to have a look at the picture.

“She looks like you,” Liz smiled and blinked a tiny tear away. Her friend’s story was totally getting to her.

“Wow,” Maria leaned back in her seat and looked at her friend. “That’s just about the last thing I expected.”

Isabel chuckled. “Yeah, I know, right? For a girl with totally different dreams… but I wouldn’t change anything because Maya’s the best thing in my life.”

“Is she with her father now?” Liz asked.

“Yeah,” her tone went sad, but she suddenly felt a bit better when Alex reached down and placed his hand over hers. She smiled at not only the concerned look in his eyes, but the way he was slightly blushing over their contact with each other. “The judge decided she lives one week with me and then one week with him from now on. It’s all pretty new and it’s the reason why I couldn’t give you a straight answer until shortly before the trip.”

“That’s tough. I’m sorry you had to deal with all of that.”

“It’s okay,” Isabel put on a brave face. “I’ll get through it eventually.”

“Alright, I’m next,” Liz decided. “As you know I have a fiancé. His name’s Dean and we live together in a house in San Francisco.”

“House?” Kyle asked. “It’s a palace.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not. It is pretty big, too big for my taste, but well… it’s a nice place.”

“Her fiancé is stinking rich,” he added.

“He works hard for it,” she countered and placed a hand over Kyle’s mouth to shut him up. “Like you’ve got room too talk Mr. I Live on a Big Yacht.”

“Yacht?” everyone heard Tess ask under her breath, her eyebrows raised in shock.

“Anyway, I work at the San Francisco Medical Lab and was just promoted to floorwalker. Other than that, I’m afraid my life’s pretty boring.”

Tess snorted. “Are you kidding? What’s not perfect? Money, fiancé and a job you wanted.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

Max studied the brunette while she laid out her past but somehow he wasn’t buying the smile she wore. Her eyes told a different story and he was pretty sure there was something she hadn’t mentioned. “So, when’s the big wedding?” he asked.

“Oh,” Liz said, not prepared for that question. “I don’t know, we haven’t set a date yet.” If there would be one at all, she thought, but she wasn’t ready to share that with all of them together.

Uh-huh, that hit home, he thought but let it go for now.

Maria studied her former best friend and couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something she wasn’t telling, but maybe this wasn’t the time for the whole truth. She glanced at Max and felt the guilt inside. Obviously her friends weren’t all as happy as she had thought and now she felt like an ass for pretending she had something with Max that wasn’t true. The show was already on though and coming out with the truth now would just be too embarrassing.

“So what about you guys? What’s your story? How’d you meet?”

Maria was drawn out of her musings by Liz’s questions, but before she could even get a word out, Max had already opened his big mouth.

“Well, you see it was a dark and stormy night......omphhhh!”

“Don’t listen to him,” Maria took her elbow out of Max’s side. “He likes to joke a lot.”

“Okay, so I live in New York obviously. I moved in with a pretty cool guy, which turned out to be my new best friend and later also boyfriend in the big city.” She smirked at Max and squeezed his hand. At least the best friend part was true, she thought. “I work in a bar and get the chance to sing there now and then, but it’s not what I want. Well, what can I say, things in New York aren’t so easy to handle, especially when you’re not swimming in money.” The little detail about her job taking place in a strip bar wasn’t important, she decided silently.

“She handles herself pretty well in the city,” Max said supportively. “She had to take breaks from college now and then to work, but she’s not giving up.”

“Yeah, but it means I’m still not finished with my education.”

“You will be soon,” he told her.

“I think you can be very proud of yourself,” Liz told her with an encouraging smile. “You went after what you wanted and you’re still sticking with it even if it’s hard.”

“Thanks,” Maria nodded and her heart clenched tightly because lying about Max felt wrong and because of the man who sat only a few feet away and had no clue how much she still missed him. “I had a lot of help from Max. He’s a social worker and because of that he can read people really well. He’d always know what to say or to do to make me feel better.”

Liz looked at the man in question and felt a hint of jealousy. So Max didn’t only look like a god, he also had a good heart.

When the silence grew all eyes landed on Tess. “So Harding,” Isabel said, amused, “the ball’s in your hands.”

“Well,” she squirmed in her seat, while she tried to decide what to tell them. Her story really wasn’t anything fancy, but after the mess she had created with Michael more lies would probably cause a disaster. If only Valenti wouldn’t listen, she thought, frustrated.

“I lived in LA for a long time after high school and went with the sports degree I wanted. I met a guy in a sports club where I was working out daily. He turned out to be the owner of several studios along the West Coast and we started to date and got more serious. I moved in with him, took classes or went to the studio, my goal and his promise was to take over one of the studios in LA after college.” She looked at the other faces and swallowed hard, her memories still so fresh they hurt. “That was until one day an 18-year-old supermodel requested personal training from him and he decided he’d rather fuck her than stay with me anymore.”

She tried to play it cool. Kyle watched her closely, but it had obviously rattled her little world big time. “You at least castrated the guy before you left?”

Tess snorted and couldn’t help but smile at his attempt to lighten the mood. “I wish.”

“There are always some assholes beneath the good ones,” Isabel squeezed her shoulder.

“I suppose that’s true.” She straightened, determined to stay out of the depressed mood she’d been in for a while after that. “I didn’t know where to go so I showed up at Michael’s door in Seattle pretty unexpectedly.”

“He lives in Seattle?” Before Maria knew it the question was out. Damn it!

Tess nodded. “He was pretty cool about it and let me use his couch. That was a few months ago and I’m still staying with him. It kinda works out pretty good right now, but I guess I should finally look around for my own apartment.”

“You plan to stay in Seattle?” Liz wanted to know.

“I thought about it. The city’s nice and Michael and Jay are like family to me.” Tess looked at Maria, who was practically boring her eyes in her. “He works at his father’s car repair shop a lot and has a second job at a bar. He’s also taking evening engineer classes.”

Silence broke out again and went on when everyone seemed to be withdrawing into their own little world of thoughts.

Liz blinked and then shook herself out of her musings. She forced a smile and lifted her glass to everyone. “To the return of the Roswell girls and a fun vacation.”

“But we’re not all girls here,” Kyle pointed out while Alex nodded and Max seemed to be trying to puff his chest out a bit in a sort of macho way.

“Can’t you guys just go with it just this once? “ Liz asked.

Kyle rolled his eyes but raised his glass “Fine, but only this one time.”

“To a fun vacation! “ Everyone clinked glasses with those around them, but Maria’s eyes shifted to the closed curtain at the end of the gangway.
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HIS-&-HERS
Enthusiastic Roswellian
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:11 am

Chapter 21

Post by HIS-&-HERS »

CandyliciousLovah: Yep, Michael is not taking it well. ;)

keepsmiling7: Liz is starting to realize, but it’s going to be a slow process.

Kyle’s the one with nothing to hide, because his life actually is nice and has turned for the better. lol

begonia9508: Thanks. This trip will definitely be a start to a lot of realizations / surprises / decisions for everyone, including Liz. They don’t know yet what kinda roller coaster they are about to hit. Muhaha

We will learn about Michael’s reasons later.

K&T are up for some (funny) chaos!

Max and Alex are people from the outside “looking in”, so maybe they can help the friends to deal with all the truth and confusion, which is going to come.

Natalie36: Thanks and welcome back!

LovelyPOM83: Well, this fic is featuring all CC couples, so you can be sure there are going to be a few dreamer scenes included. ;)

xilaj: This trip will definitely help Liz in one way or the other. Her realization about her not so perfect boyfriend Dean has already started… and Max Evans is the right one to bring on the doubts, lol.

Hm, how Max gets of his fake-boyfriend / Liz-attraction dilemma has yet to be seen…

No worries, Michael’s background will be revealed in time (or later, lol).

Alien_Friend: Very true, and lying can be so exhausting!

A conversation is coming up soon!

Thanks!

sarammlover: No more lies! We told them, but they weren’t listening! *tzk* :)

HypnotiqBlueEyes: Truth has the tendency to come out eventually. ;) Thanks!

LuckyMiss: The original plan of M&M was to live together in NY, but Michael decided against it. Why? We will find out. ;)

Lol, the group better enjoys their drinks; they don’t know that they’ve just taken a seat in a roller coaster.




Chapter 21

The quiet monotone hum of the plane’s engines was the only thing audible after everyone had withdrawn to the larger chairs with integrated sleep function. To Maria’s ears the sound was comforting; keeping her sane while all she could think of was the man in the back. What was she supposed to do with this situation? Stay away from him or try to confront him about their past?

With a deep sigh, she pushed the soft plush eye mask up and turned her body sideways. The blanket around her rustled slightly with the movement and a moment later Liz turned her head towards her from across the gangway. “Can’t sleep?” Her voice was hushed so they wouldn’t wake up the others.

“No,” Maria whispered back and got the strangest feeling in her chest when the situation felt a lot like one of their sleepover nights back in Roswell. How had they grown apart after the strong friendship they had shared in high school? There were new friends in New York, but they didn’t feel as close. Not even Max – but maybe it was because he was a guy and certain things girls just didn’t discuss with boys.

Maria internally snorted at that thought. She remembered the very first time she and Max had ever gone grocery shopping with each other. He had been chattering along like a chipmunk hopped up on caffeine. He was going on and on about this or that as they pushed their buggy up one aisle and down another. Well, that was until Max had suddenly realized that they were standing in the middle of the tampon section of the store. The memory of him turning bright red, muttering about how he'd forgotten to grab some light bulbs four aisles back and running away like his butt was on fire still cracked her up!

“Me neither,” Liz admitted and turned her body towards her as well.

“Something bothering you?” There was a frown line on her brunette friend’s face and she knew it all too well.

There was something and if they were still in high school there wouldn’t be a doubt she would pour her heart out to Maria, but things had changed. Or had they? But how could she talk about her problems with Dean, when she didn’t understand them in the first place? “I guess there was just a lot of stress lately and I just shut the thoughts in my head out to rest.”

“A familiar feeling,” the blonde nodded with an encouraging smile. “Is it just work?”

“Not alone,” Liz admitted. Her gaze drifted out of the oval window behind her friend for a moment. “Do you think it’s possible, that sometimes reaching your dreams just isn’t enough?”

A heavy question, Maria thought and wondered what was behind it. Obviously, she had doubts about her life or the content of her life, but which parts? “Although I’m far from reaching my goals, I do believe it’s possible. People change over the years and so do the goals they set for their lives, right? Maybe what you wanted back in high school just isn’t what you want now.”

“Yeah,” Liz mused and focused her eyes back on her friend. She forced a smile and shook her head. “I don’t think I have anything to complain about. Everyone reaches a point in life where they wonder if that’s all or not.” Maybe it really was just that and everything would go back to normal.

“True.” Sounded like she didn’t want to talk about what was bothering her in detail and she wouldn’t push. “I know a lot about wondering, believe me.” Her tone turned bitter while her eyes shifted to the curtain at the end of the gangway.

“Maybe it’s bad timing, but do you think Max would be bothered if you went to talk to Michael?”

“Why would he be bothered?” Maria asked a bit confused. Max was probably the most even keeled person she had ever met. The only time he ever got bothered was when he had to deal with his parents.

Then she felt stupid and wanted to smack herself when she realized where Liz was going with the question. Because no boyfriend wants his girl to talk to her ex, dumbass! “Oh, you mean like would he get jealous?”

Liz nodded. “A lot of men would, ya know? I’m sorry we brought you all this old pain.”

“Don’t torment yourself with it too much. If we're going to blame it on anyone, we’ll blame it all on Tess. She's the one who brought him," Maria smirked, getting a smile from Liz in return. "Look, I can't say I'm all that comfortable with him here, but I’ll get over it. An’ Max would be cool about it, I think. He’s jealous at times, but he knows that my past with Michael is still a thing that I can’t let go of completely.”

“Maybe if you had answers…”

“Yeah, maybe that would help.”

“Then you should go and talk to him,” Liz encouraged her friend. “It might hurt, but right now he can’t go anywhere and to be honest, I don’t think he’ll stay much longer once we landed. Based on his reaction he’ll take my offer and fly back home the next day with the crew.”

“Yeah, that’s most likely what’ll happen,” Maria mumbled with a heavy heart. How could you feel relief and angst at the same time in combination with the thought of Michael leaving again? “And I doubt I’ll ever see him again afterwards.”

“It’s still about an hour before we land,” Liz mused after checking her watch.

“You really think I should?” A few hours ago she had been determined to avoid him. He left without so much as an explanation! He owed her answers! He should’ve to come to her! But he wouldn’t, realization settled in. Yeah..., he'd rather cut out his own tongue with a dull butter knife than talk for two seconds about anything dealing with emotions! Why would he want to give her answers now? Liz was right, if she wanted clarity, she had to tackle him about it. And this – as unexpected as it was – could he her last chance.

“I can’t really tell you if you should or not and I have no clue how he’s going to react,” Liz admitted. “But maybe it’ll help to let go finally.”

“You’re right, it’s the most logical thing to do,” Maria agreed and sat up. With the decision to go and talk to her ex came the fast heartbeats, but she ignored it and swallowed the lump in her throat along with her nervousness down. “Don’t worry if you hear screams coming from back there; be alarmed when it gets too quiet.”

Liz chuckled – that was something old Maria would have said. “Good luck,” she called after her and then her eyes widened and she nearly jumped out of her skin when she glanced behind her to see Max’ eyes focused on her from his sleeping position.

He had listened quietly to the conversation while pretending to sleep. Liz’ words were exactly the ones he would’ve given his best friend as well, but he had the feeling she wouldn’t have listened to him as she had to her. “Good advice, Roswell babe 1.”

“Oh,” she blushed slightly when he called her by her nickname on Maria’s cell. “I didn’t know you were awake.”

“Why the shocked look?” he chuckled. “Would you have given her different advice if you knew I was listening?”

“Well…” she moved up slightly to rest her head against the pillow and didn’t look at him. “Are you mad?” she finally asked without answering his question.

“No.” He moved and grunted slightly when his muscles hurt from the uncomfortable sleeping position. Luxury jets weren’t for sleeping either, he mused as he started stretching his arms a bit to get the kinks out.

His deep sleepy voice, not to mention the way the muscles on his arms stood out as he stretched, went straight to her core. Damn it, the man was getting a reaction from her with a simple word and some body movements! Got to remember he's your friend's boyfriend! So wrong, Wrong, WRONG! Down girl, DOWN!

“It was good advice.”

Liz frowned and glanced over her shoulder again, regretting it when he sat up and smacked her with the perfect view of his toned bare upper body. HOLY MOLY MACARONI, Liz brain screamed at her. He and Kyle could be modeling buddies!

“You... uhhh... I mean..." Shit, it was hard to talk when her mouth was suddenly dry and her tongue was hanging out like a dog on a hot summer day! What the hell had she wanted to say anyway?

He grinned at her flustered face and tightened the muscles in his chest in response. Normally he wasn’t so comfortable with attractive woman around, but the fact that he wasn’t under pressure to flirt because they thought he was taken made it easier to act normal. And obviously the delicate brunette – and engaged, he reminded himself – woman in front of him was reacting towards him the way he had always hoped a woman would in his presence. “What were you about to say?”

“Um,” Liz snapped her head back to the front. She closed her eyes to breathe and concentrated. “You’re not jealous? Or I don’t know, uncomfortable that her ex is around?”

Max looked out the window, detecting nothing but water below them. “It’s weird,” he said after trying to imagine how a real boyfriend would feel. “No guy wants to see his girlfriend involved with an ex, but it helps that we were best friends before. I know how her mind still gnaws at the breakup. She wants to understand his reasons and as long as she doesn’t have that she’ll never be able to let go completely.”

“She’s lucky that you understand her so well.”

That’s what friends are for, he mused. He was pretty sure that he wouldn’t be half as calm if this whole relationship wasn’t a big fat make up. He’d be worried about the possibility of losing her to her ex, an ex who was tall and strong and probably not afraid to use fists if he had to. “No one is free when there are unresolved things in the past. It haunts you and at some point it catches up with you.”

“Speaking from experience?” Liz asked, but regretted it when she looked at him again and saw the shadow crossing his features. It was gone in a blink though. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that.”

“We all have our crosses to bear, don’t we?”

“No doubt,” she agreed.

“But life gets easier when you have someone to share things with. The good and the bad.” It wasn’t a lie, Max thought, even though he and Maria weren’t a couple she had made his life much more enjoyable during the last years.

“I suppose,” Liz mumbled. How much did she really share with Dean other than a bed and a house? He wasn’t interested in her job or in the things she did while she worked. Coming to meet her old friends from high school to lean about Liz Parker before they met hadn’t been high on his favorite-things-to-do-list otherwise he would be here now.

Another hint at a less than perfect relationship, he thought when her answer sounded more like a deep sigh than a convinced fact. “What kinda things does Liz Parker enjoy in her free time?” He grabbed his tee shirt and pulled it over his head.

“You sure you wanna hear that boring stuff?” she teased.

"Liz, I know we just met and all, but I doubt there's anything about you that's boring," Max gave his best come hither smile, but than clamped down a bit when he remembered he had a fake girlfriend he was in a supposed relationship with! So ease up on the fliting there, Kemosobe! “Wouldn’t have asked otherwise,” he told her seriously.

“Oh, okay…” she bit her lip while she tried to come up with something. “I like things like the ocean and I don’t mean the cool stuff like surfing or diving, no, I’m talking more about taking walks along the piers of San Francisco, going on a boat, having dinner near the water… I’d take a quiet evening at home over a disco night and I’d rather watch the Discovery Chanel than some exaggerated movie.” Way to go, Liz. Why don't you tell him you also like to go with your grandma to sewing circles or something else that sounds as equally boring!

“You sure Maria an’ you were best friends in Roswell?” He smirked. “Sounds like you’re polar opposites. I don't think the word quiet and Maria have ever been used in the same sentence before. ”

Liz laughed quietly. “We were, yes! That’s why we counterbalanced each other so perfectly. Opposites attract they say.”

“An’ your fiancé? Opposite or the same?”

The man had a habit of asking uncomfortable questions. There were times she had thought they had a lot of things in common, but now those seemed to be superficial. Most of the time, they just coexisted rather then lived together, but that wasn’t anything she could tell a stranger. “A little bit of both I guess.”

He checked her face and found a lot of emotions in there, but happiness seemed to be missing. “Same with me an’ Maria,” he told her to make her feel better. Opposites attract fit for them as it did for Liz and Maria, but she didn’t need to hear that right now.

“You’re a cute couple.”

“Cute?” He made a face. “No man what’s to be mentioned next to the word cute.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. You’re good for her.”

“And you know that after the short time since we met?” he asked, amused.

“Just a feeling,” Liz smiled at him. Maria was really one lucky girl. No matter how rough things were going to be back there with Michael, this man would be there and sure as hell be able to take the aftermath away from her.
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Chapter 22

Post by HIS-&-HERS »

LuckyMiss: Thanks! Fireworks? Definitely! Nothing’s calm with the Candy couple, right?

Oh, we are pretty sure Mr. Max Evans is going to show Liz one or two missing things in her relationship, lol.

keepsmiling7: Thanks! We are glad you are enjoying this and the “fun” only begins now.

Many unanswered questions, only time can tell the answer. ;)

HypnotiqBlueEyes: Expect fireworks in this part, lol.

begonia9508: Lol, well we hope our gang makes it down to the ground in one piece and still breathing.

Max and Liz have chemistry right from the start, it’s going to take a while, but at one point someone will come out with the truth about Maria and his relationship.

LovelyPOM83: Thanks, the dreamer couple is in for some trouble during their vacation time. ;)

zaneri1: Lol, well she’s always been a stubborn character and for now she doesn’t see the potential of Max and Liz, which of course we know is already there. ;)

sarammlover: Oh, she will get answers. Wanna see if she likes them?

CandyliciousLovah: It will take time, but ‘things’, which attract one another, can’t stay separated for long. ;)

Roswelllostcause: Thanks and welcome ‘on board’!

Alien_Friend: There is no doubt, you will get more in upcoming parts! ;) The drama just stated, lol.



Chapter 22

August 27th, 2013

Man… I should’ve said no to those last few drinks before bedtime! Kyle rubbed his head as he quietly shut the door to the bathroom and used the dim lights on the floor to help guide him back to his seat.

Halfway there, he stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed Tess asleep in one of the large sleeping chairs near the aisle. From just the few seconds he watched her, he could tell she was a tosser and a turner while sleeping. She had already knocked her covers off of her and it laid scrunched up on the floor by her feet in a twisted bunch.

Just keep on walking! Kyle’s mind screamed at him and he turned to do just that, but after only two steps he quickly stopped and turned around to look at Tess again. A second or two passed before he rolled his eyes, but yet he still reached down and picked up her blanket. Quickly, before anyone could witness, or worse – Tess woke up and caught him – Kyle spread her blanket back over her as she slept. It was just a nice thing to do and I’m a nice guy. That’s all there was too it, Kyle thought to himself.

Just as he made it too his seat, he collided with Maria, who was storming down the aisle like a charging bull.

“Excuse me,” Maria gently sidestepped Kyle.

“Going to talk to the beast?” Kyle asked as he noticed her heading towards the curtain that divided their section of the plane from the one Guerin had been hiding in since the start of the flight.

“Yeah,” she smiled nervously.

“Good luck,” he patted her shoulder and sat down.

“Thanks,” she muttered. With a heartbeat as fast as a sledgehammer and a tight feeling in her throat that almost choked her, she pushed the curtain aside to come face to face with the man who had trampled her heart a few years ago.

He didn’t look up at the sound and when she took another brave step into the cabin she knew it was because he was sleeping. “Of course,” Maria muttered under her breath. One thing she remembered about her ex was that he slept like the dead. No amount of loud alarms, screaming in his ear or shaking him would wake him up before he was ready. She walked over and sat in the booth of two seats across from him, pulling her feet on the seat and hugging her legs while she tried to decide if she should at least try to wake him or not.

What would he do or say? He had avoided her five years ago, he could just do it again and tell her to leave him the hell alone. At least then you’ve done the utmost to find out the truth and won’t feel like you’ve failed afterwards, her conscience taunted.

Her eyes landed on him and travelled over his face. Despite the new hairstyle nothing had changed. He still wore casual jeans and shirts, he still had that silver ring on his finger… sniffing the air, she was pretty sure he was still using the same aftershave as well. It was funny how much she was still attracted to him – or how much she still wanted him to be that Michael from high school.

He had never been the perfect boyfriend – to be honest – he had been as far away from being the perfect boyfriend as possible, but there was something about him. He hadn’t been scared off when her infamous temper had gotten the better of her. Nope, in fact, when she had lost her temper he had stood his ground and gave back as good as he got. In the end he had reached her in a way nothing or no one else had in her life. Too bad he hadn’t felt it as well.

His body still radiated a mixture of aloofness and loneliness, but the last seemed to be more significant nowadays. His own fault, she shook her head and turned her gaze towards the window, sighing deeply.

Back in the front, the idea of talking to him had sounded great coming from Liz’ mouth, but now she doubted it. Nothing could change the past and how much would it really help to learn about his true reasons for leaving her?

Shit, I can’t do this! She quickly stood up to make a fast exit, but that was when fate...or her notorious bad luck... stepped in. Just as she made it to her feet they must have hit a pocket of turbulence, because the plane pitched forward amongst some beeping lights going off around her. Unable to keep her balance, Maria went tumbling over into the seat in front of her, landing right smack on top of her ex!

Michael may have been a notorious deep sleeper, but having your ex girlfriend suddenly fall right in your lap, knees and elbows landing in uncomfortable places, was enough to wake up anyone! Now suddenly nose to nose and both sets of eyes wide open they stared at each other.

“Well, this’s a ... new way you’ve found to wake me up,” Michael greeted her with a lump in his throat that he quickly covered up with a smirk.

Maria’s eyes narrowed in anger as she quickly scrambled out of Michael’s lap as fast as she could. Once she was safely back in her own seat across from him her glare intensified full force.

Upon seeing that oh-so-familiar glare Michael couldn’t help but to inwardly sigh. Why was she here? Why did she want to have anything to do with him after the past? “Hey,” he managed a gentle greeting.

Goosebumps spread over the larger part of her body at the sound of his softly spoken words. It had almost sounded like a peace offering, but she couldn’t be too sure about it. “Hey,” she replied quietly and turned her eyes back to the window, folding her now sweaty hands in her lap.

Damn you, Tess, Michael thought, frustrated when awkward silence filled the room. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment while he went over something… anything to say to her. “Damn long flight.” Lame!

“It won’t be much longer. Liz said we’re landing in about an hour.”

“Good.” Good? What the hell was good about that? You’ll grab the first chance to get back home, which means another 20 hours or so of flying back!

Maria kept her gaze locked on the water beneath them, not able to enjoy the view of a few small atolls beneath them – a sure sign they would arrive really soon. How was she supposed to approach this subject without it hurting all over again? Would he maybe start with an explanation on his own? She dared a quick glance in his direction, but his face was turned to the window as well. Damn it, say something! Just get it out and over with!

Inwardly, she counted to three… starting four times from one again before she had collected enough courage. “Was there someone else?”

Her whispered words caught his attention and in spite of understanding her perfectly fine, he asked “What?” to gather some more time for an answer.

She bit her inner cheek painfully. “Was there someone else in Seattle five years ago?”

Michael had felt helpless only a few times in his life – and the times he remembered weren’t things he wanted to remember. He could feel the same helplessness again now and it made him uncomfortable as hell. “Just let it go, Maria.” He shook his head slightly, unwilling to go back to that chapter of his life.

“I can’t,” she fell back in her seat with her hands gripping the armrests tightly. How could she explain to him that she needed to know the true reason for his breakup, no matter how much it might hurt?

“Why? You’ve moved on, we don’t have to heat that old crap up again.”

She let out a frustrated grunt. “You don’t close a book before you finish it, no matter if the ending is good or bad. Our story is missing the last chapter and I can’t just put it on the shelf and forget that it ever existed.” She was proud of her metaphorical simile. “I wanna know the end and then decide if it was worth the read or not.”

All he could think was how that was a total Liz thing to say, but he knew she wanted an answer. “There wasn’t anyone else.”

Relief washed over her, but she wasn’t exactly sure why because it didn’t change the outcome. “Then why did ya just stop… us? I mean, I know it was just high school and most of those relationships are doomed to fail, but I really believed you wanted us to work out at the end of our last year.” She brushed away a tear. “What changed so suddenly when you were in Seattle? Or was it even before?”

Michael had no clue what to say to her and was glad when she went on without waiting for an answer from him.

“If you knew that you didn’t want to come to New York with me when you made the decision to spend the summer with your dad why’d you leave me clueless for months? Months, Michael! I didn’t know what was suddenly happening and just hoped you would keep your promise and come later, but you just…” More frustrated tears blurred her vision, but she refused to let her feelings get the best of her. “You just stopped calling. With no explanation.”

His own feelings assaulted him harshly when he was taken back to that summer and the memories connected with it. Nothing he’d say would ease the pain or erase that time.

“Why?” Her voice was louder and angry now. “Fuck, Michael, just get it out so I can move on and forget about you for good!”

You have to give her something, Guerin! Now! And he gave her the stupidest possible answer. One that he knew would hurt her and make her hate him even more. “You know what? YES, there was someone else,” he snapped. “You’re right about high school shit, it mostly doesn’t work out so I went to my father’s over the summer to clear my head and figure out if New York was really what I wanted. I met someone at his shop, we hooked up, and the reason why I didn’t tell you immediately was because I’m an ass and kept you both for a while to see who I wanted more.”

Maria was taken aback by his harsh answer and she just stared at him with wide eyes. The world didn’t seem to move for several seconds until she was able to snap out of it and the words he had spoken finally settled in. His features were tense, giving little more than his own anger away. There was something else though and she hoped it was disgust over his actions. “Well, then,” her voice wavered, but it sounded stronger than expected and she even forced a smile in his direction to downplay the hurt, “I hope it worked out for you.” She got out of her seat and ready to leave.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered and ran a hand over his face, feeling like shit after the words he had thrown in her face. That’s what you wanted, his conscience taunted. She’ll never give you the time of a day again.

Maria stopped, but didn’t turn around. She just tilted her head in his direction slightly, so he would have a good look at what she hoped looked like a stony face. “I’m not. I wish you’d had the balls five years ago, but I’m at a good place now and I would’ve never met the man I’m with now if things had gone differently. I’m able to close that book now and ya know what my review will be?” A meaningful silence was left before she went on. “Wasn’t worth the read.”

Her words were designed to hurt him just like he had done to her moments ago, but she didn’t turn enough to look at him before she left. Otherwise she would’ve seen his face slip as if he’d just been sucker punched.

“Fuckin’ nightmare,” he muttered and banged his forehead against the oval window a few times until it started to hurt. Using his hand to rub the now sore spot, his fingertips came into contact with a scar there. A scar, which of course held memories of him and Maria.


~~~

“Don’t be such a baby, Michael,” she hissed when he flinched at the antiseptic stick she pressed against the small cut on his forehead for the second time.

“Baby, my ass,” he growled and smacked her hand away to meet her gaze evenly from where he was sitting on the edge of the tub in her mother’s house.

“You know, if you would’ve just let me handle the situation your forehead would be fine now.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“No guy let’s his girl handle the situation when some other punk paws her,” he declared and used one large hand on her hip to bring her closer against him.

“It wasn’t pawing,” she denied, but she knew it was a hopeless attempt. Michael was pretty territorial and the guy at Tess’ birthday party had just overdone his flirting attempts a little too much.

“Please,” he snorted and gave her a short but heated kiss on the lips. “The guy didn’t get the memo that you’re mine!”

Even though she wanted to be mad, a small smile slipped across her lips when he declared her as ‘his’. “You okay other than this cut?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing. Wouldn’t even hurt if that prick hadn’t cut me there with his ring.”

“Let me finish cleaning it up so we can head to bed.”

“Hurry up then,” his hand moved lower to cup her ass, “I’ve got some plans for-”

~~~


His thoughts were interrupted when the curtain was ripped open again and his sister walked back in, her face pissed. “What the hell is wrong with you, Michael? What kinda bullshit did you tell her?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he snapped defensively.

“It does,” she protested. “She needs to know the truth!”

“She needed something,” he corrected her. “An’ I gave her something to move on. Now leave me the fuck alone.”

“You’re making a mistake, Michael,” her voice was gentle now. “She’s here. Why not give it a try since you’re here as well?”

Did it slip her notice that she was here with another man? “I’m just here because I was tricked, not because I wanted to be here. You thought this would go differently?” He made a mock shocked face. “I’m really sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not one of those people who like to be manipulated. I made my decision five years ago and I swear to God, Tess, if you fuckin’ tell her anything your things will be packed when you get back home and you can get the hell out of my place.”

She gripped the headrest before her tightly to stay upright and forced her anger down. “I promised you I wouldn’t tell anyone and I keep my promises.”

Good, he thought, but he wasn’t able to relax. His whole body felt like it was stretched and tensed like a bow, ready to shoot the arrow. This feeling wouldn’t go away until he was back home inside his own four walls and he couldn’t wait to get away from this situation. If he had ever thought of seeing Maria again it would’ve happened in Roswell during a short visit at Tess’ mother’s place, but not in a plane with only a few people and nowhere to go.

“I’m sorry. I guess I was too convinced it was a good idea to pay any attention of how you might feel about it.” Tess tried to apologize, but right now, she couldn’t reach him. His face was closed up, his body taut, and his mind somewhere between devastated and angry. Despite knowing better, she reached out to touch his crossed arms.

Michael flinched. “Fuck. The. Hell. Off.”
Last edited by HIS-&-HERS on Sat Feb 22, 2014 11:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Natalie36
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Re: High and Dry - AU/Adult/CC - Ch 22 - 2/22/14

Post by Natalie36 »

oh my, this did not goes as planned. :(
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Re: High and Dry - AU/Adult/CC - Ch 22 - 2/22/14

Post by CandyliciousLovah »

No it did not, but I hope it does get better for them! :D
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Re: High and Dry - AU/Adult/CC - Ch 22 - 2/22/14

Post by keepsmiling7 »

Bring on the fireworks......I'm ready!
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Re: High and Dry - AU/Adult/CC - Ch 22 - 2/22/14

Post by xmag »

Oh, my !!! It started so well. Maria gathering her courage to go and talk to Michael. The funny way she awoke him by falling on his lap.

Then asking for closure and comparing their love story to a book? I approve. Michael at first saying it wasn't because of another woman. Great. Well, good.

But then he screwed up, big time. What the hell is he hiding? Was he in jail or something that he would rather have hurt Maria by telling her that he had cheated on her?

I really don't understand. Obviously, something happened, something that Michael couldn't share with Maria, to the point where he would rather have her hating him for "so-called cheating", than telling her the truth.

And apart from landing in jail, I don't see what could be so horrible that he wouldn't want Maria to know.
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Michael : From day one, I knew you were the girl for me, I never wanted anyone else.
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Re: High and Dry - AU/Adult/CC - Ch 22 - 2/22/14

Post by HypnotiqBlueEyes »

Loved the update! So Maria finally got to confront Michael (yay her!) But I can't believe that he changed his reason to actually involve cheating! Why in the world would he do that!?! All it did was destroy her a little more. What can he be hiding? Hurry back soon with more!

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Liz to Future Max: Don't you realize what you are to me... what you're always gonna be? You're the love of my life. Everyone else is gonna be second best. There will never be another you!!! (The End of the World)
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Re: High and Dry - AU/Adult/CC - Ch 22 - 2/22/14

Post by begonia9508 »

Poor Maria! She got a answer which isn't the truth but at least, she knows once and for all, what for an ass he is! Telling the truth must be too much to deal with... But I guess she already knew it.
Let see how things go on on the Island...

Thanks waiting for more impatiently! EVE :mrgreen:
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Re: High and Dry - AU/Adult/CC - Ch 22 - 2/22/14

Post by Roswelllostcause »

Micheal really needs to tell Maria the truth. He isn't helping himself with lies. Hurry back!
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