Title: The Right Way: Simplicity/Beginnings
Author: hoLLy BEHRy
Rating: MATURE
Category: Conventional Couple- Max and Liz
Disclaimer: Of course I do not own Roswell the book series or the television series. Sure wish I did, though.
Author’s Note/ Summary:
So...this story takes place a little after "Interruptus". Let me give you the gist of it all. Liz's father still forbids Liz to see Max. They see each other anyway. Liz wants to move in with Max and Max agrees that they should. On one condition: the two of them discuss it with the Parkers. When they do, Jeff gives Liz an ultimatum--move in with Max, she's no longer his daughter and if she decides to stay her father's daughter, then she's off to boarding school in Vermont. Max can't let any of that happen. So he asks Liz to marry him. They'd be able to be together and stay in Roswell and Mr. Parker would have to accept the two of them together, and that's just the beginning of the story. Will they get married? And if they do? Will they really be happy especially when the past comes to haunt them? Read the whole story to find out how it goes.
If you've got something to say, please, give me the FB.
-hoLLy
The Right Way: Simplicity/Beginnings
Chapter 1
{Max}
These past couple weeks, I had completely forgotten how cold it was in the desert. After living in the same small town for twelve years, you’d think that I would have remembered that a desert breeze at midnight was nearly enough to freeze boiling water at an instant.
Ok, so maybe it wasn’t that cold, but it was near close enough. I ran back into Michael’s apartment and grabbed my leather jacket off the couch. I was in California twice in the past few weeks and I had gotten used to not grabbing something to keep me warm.
It was Michael’s and my first night back from La Jolla to save Isabel from Khivar. We didn’t think we could do it, but we got rid of Khivar—well, Isabel got rid of Khivar. But anyway, it was so easy. If he ever came back, we knew that we could defeat him and even Isabel warned him that she would kill him herself. For now, I had to be happy with knowing that my family and friends were safe. However, there was that FBI agent that approached me in Salina, but as long as we didn’t look for trouble, trouble wasn’t going to look for us.
I threw my jacket on and jogged back over to the door before Michael called to stop me.
“Maxwell, we just got back fifteen minutes ago,” he said. “Where you off to?”
I looked over my shoulder, gave small grin, and I could tell that Michael already knew. I told him anyway. “I’m going out with Liz.”
“One of these days,” Michael sighed, “you and Liz are going to get caught and her father’ll ship her off to the boarding school.”
“Mr. Parker’s warming up to us,” I smiled. “I’m going to show him how much I love her.”
Michael shook his head. “How will you do that?”
I shrugged my shoulders and headed out to my car. I grabbed the brims of my jacket and tugged them closer together to protect me from the cold. It really wasn’t that cold, I guess maybe I was nervous for some reason. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had a decent moment alone with Liz. When I got back from LA, where I managed to ruin the life of one of the most famous producers in the country, I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Liz. I was too busy worrying about Isabel’s marriage and Jesse. Then she and Jesse got married and they were off to La Jolla with Khivar on the loose. And so there I was, back in California, without Liz. I just got home to Roswell, home to Liz.
I didn’t even realize that I was doing 60 in a 30 mile per hour zone. There were no other cars in the street anyway, and there would be none for the rest of the night. Roswell was that small of a town. Sheriff Hanson and Deputy Valenti (that’s right, Valenti started over at the police department as a deputy) wouldn’t even be patrolling around. Roswell was a safe town, despite what’s happened to my friends and me these past few years.
I turned into the plaza just behind the Crashdown building with my headlights turned off. I wasn’t going to risk getting caught. I didn’t want to lose Liz. Her father was still threatening to send her away to boarding school if he ever saw us together again. But I think we had been doing a good job so far, she’s been sneaking out of her room almost every night, and, luckily, we haven’t been caught.
Like every night when I’d come in the darkness to pick up Liz, I sat in my car, controlling the motor with my special gifts so that the roar of my classic Chevelle didn’t wake anyone. Then I would wait patiently, but not too long. Liz always knew when I was waiting here. She was intuitive like that. Tonight was no different, I stared at the ladder that led to Liz’s balcony and saw that Liz appeared. She cautiously climbed over the ledge and maneuvered down the ladder as I ran out of the car to meet her at the bottom. I was standing right under the ladder and while Liz climbed down, she looked beneath her and smiled. At first, she stepped down slowly but when she saw me grinning at her so giddily, she started skipping a few rungs and rushed down, falling into my arms.
“Look what happened, an angel fell from Heaven and into my arms,” I smiled.
Liz rolled her eyes. “Max,” she scolded.
“I know, I know, corny.”
Liz nodded in utter agreement and then grabbed my jacket, dragging me back to my car. “Where we off to this time?” she asked.
I was behind the wheel and wrapped my free arm around her. “To the desert,” I whispered.
[Liz]
We drove on a route all too familiar to me. Max steered us down an open stretch of highway, and all of sudden, he ran off the road and turned into the desert. He knew exactly where to veer off. Even though we’ve driven through the desert so many times, we haven’t done it enough to have worn a path. So the car jumped at every bump and it forced me to grab hold of Max's jacket. I knew he smiled every time I gripped tightly.
Max had driven deep into the desert and stopped at the foot of the Pod Chamber. He helped me out of the car and walked to the trunk. I leaned against the door and looked up at Max's birthplace while Max rummaged through his trunk.
We had all been to the desert at night and to the Pod Chamber several times. The only thing to be scared of were the coyotes, and I hadn’t seen one in all the years I’ve lived in Roswell.
The Granilith destroyed much of the Pod Chamber and none of us have been in there ever since Tess left. For some reason the rock formation scared me, and I jumped at Max's touch.
“Sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean—”
I nodded. “I just—it was nothing. What are we doing here, Max?”
Max just nodded his head away from the car and walked in that direction. He stopped a few feet away and held his palm over the desert floor. Using his powers, Max swept the dirt away, creating a little pit and then he threw in a few branches and started a fire. He carried a blanket under his arm and tossed it on the ground, offering a seat to me first.
“Thank you,” I said kindly.
I sat down and then Max sat behind me. He pulled me back, and I ended up lounging in his arms. There was no feeling better than this. He smelt so good and he felt so comfortable. The fire was so bright, and I could feel the warmth touch my face. I don’t think that I needed a fire. Max was enough to keep me warm. I just wanted to relax in his arms forever.
“How are things with your parents?” Max finally asked me.
I guess relaxation time was over. “At Isabel’s wedding, my father was somewhat great, but he still doesn’t want me near you. We talk and stuff, but, like I said, he doesn’t want me to see you.”
“Liz, I’m so sorry that things are this way. I wish that I could show up at your front door instead of you sneaking down that ladder. I—I screwed things up.”
I shook my head and grabbed a hold of his hands. He was always blaming himself. I couldn’t let him.
“I didn’t have to walk into the convenience store with that gun,” I said, “but I did because I wanted to. I wanted to because I wanted to help you.”
“But I’ve screwed up everything,” he replied, looking down. “I messed up your family, I’ve totally screwed up mine, and now I’m pissing off Michael. You have to sneak out of your room every night. I walked out on my parents, and Michael and I don’t know how to go a day without arguing about something stupid.”
I gave a sigh. “Max, you’re going to have to start resolving these issues. You should start with your parents.”
I still hadn’t told him about the board in his father’s office. Maybe I was being selfish. I know I was, because Max and I had spent so many weeks apart from each other. For at least one night I wanted to be with him, just him. If I told Max about that board, I knew that he would want to check it out right away.
Max retreated his arms from around me. “Liz, no. If you’re implying what I think you’re implying, the answer is ‘no’. We’re not going to tell them about Michael, Isabel, and I. We let anyone else in, they’re at risk.”
“Max, if they keep prying into your life they way they are,” I warned, “they’ll end up hurting themselves.”
He didn’t respond in any way, and I got scared. Maybe I offended him. I was just glad that I had my back to him. I wouldn’t be able to bear the sight of his anguished or angered face.
“Liz, we’re dropping this.”
No argument there. His voice was harsh. He was irritated and angered, and I couldn’t help but feel stupid. But he made me feel better when he forgivingly pulled me back into his arms.
“Ok, well, maybe we can at least solve this Michael problem,” I suggested. “Let’s move in together.”
Max sighed. “Liz, we’ve been over this. Your parents—”
“My father’s grown even more suspicious of you, and he’s joined your father on inquisition. This will put my father in his place.”
Max shook his head. “If we move in together, I want to do it for the right reasons.” He’s said that before. “Not to spite your dad.” He was silent for a moment and then he sighed. “And I don’t want to have to rent an apartment.”
Ever since I learned about Max, Isabel, Michael, and what they were, I’ve had a whole list of curiosities. Hopefully I was going to get the answer to one of those right now.
“I know it’s not ethical,” I began, “but have you transformed bills? Say like morphing a one-dollar bill into a twenty-dollar bill?”
I hope I wasn’t being more selfish and putting myself out there. But Max answered almost at an instant.
“Yes,” he said, almost ashamed. “While I was in LA I needed some money.”
“Then you can afford your own apartment, Max.”
But Max shook his head. “Right now, it’s not a necessity. I piss Michael off, but he’s not kicking me out. I just don’t think it’s right to do it, Liz. It’s not my hard earned money.”
“What about Brody?” I kept on suggesting. “You haven’t worked there in ages, but Brody still has that job for you. He’s a millionaire; he must pay you enough to support yourself.”
Max was silent. He must’ve been thinking about something. I could feel it. I didn’t turn around. I didn’t want to seem eager, even though I was. Even if Max wouldn’t let me move in with him, his apartment would provide me with a place to escape from my parents.
“Liz, I can afford an apartment,” Max assured me. “Money’s not an issue.”
My eyes narrowed. “One,” I started, “how is money not an issue? Second if money’s not an issue, then why don’t you just get your own apartment?,” I turned around and stared at Max, eagerly awaiting an answer.
“Liz, what I’m about to tell you is going to be a little farfetched and a little hard to believe, but I promise you, it’s all true.”
I worriedly stared into his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Money’s not an issue,” he said, “because I’ve got enough of it.”
“What?” I laughed. “Your dad’s a lawyer, I know that, but you moved out willingly. I don’t think that he’ll get you an apart—”
Max shook his head. “No, not like that. I’ve got my own money.”
I shook my head in confusion. “How—how is that possible?”
“Like I said, this is going to be hard to believe, but it’s true.”
“Just tell me, Max.”
I watched his Adam’s apple shift. “I was never really in high school. I was just there for elective classes.”
My eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”
Again, he swallowed the lump in his throat, making his Adam’s apple dance. “Humans use only a percentage of their brain. Humans could be much smarter if they only could use their whole brain…”
“Ok, you’re supposed to be explaining the money issue and not insulting my race.”
“Sorry,” Max laughed nervously. The he took a moment to himself to think of the right words. “Being what I am, I can use my brain to its fullest capacity, and I have.”
“What does that mean?” I asked him.
Max cleared his throat. “Liz, I can do things from reciting country capitals in alphabetical order to explaining Dalton’s atomic theory to playing Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, and, Liz, I’ve never played an instrument in my life.”
“What are you saying?” I scoffed. “You’re talking in riddles here. Are you some kind of genius?”
Max lowered his head. “I prefer the term, ‘not of—” I stared at him with a raised eyebrow and Max gave an apologetic smirk. “Sorry,” he laughed. “Not the time to joke.”
I rolled my eyes in a playful manner. “Ok, so you’re a genius. Why are you still going to high school?”
“I’m not,” Max said. “Kind of. It’s all really hard to explain.”
“Well, start explaining.”
Max nodded obediently. “I showed signs of being exceptional a few years before middle school. My parents took me to some specialists and they told me that I was some sort of…” He searched for the right word.
“Prodigy?” I guessed.
“Yes, that’s what they said. Anyway,” Max continued, “I got bored with elementary school and my educational level was way past high school, so my parents signed me up to take some college courses. I have been ever since.”
I sat absolutely exhausted, and I wasn’t even the one explaining. It was so much to take in. “Where?”
“Roswell Community and online courses, both.”
“So, where are you in your educational career?”
He gave a sly grin. “I’m in medical school, Liz.”
My eyes had to have jumped out of their sockets. “What?! You want to be doctor?”
Max nodded.
“Talk to me, Max,” I told him.
He chuckled and kissed my forehead and then pulled me on top of him as he lied down. “Last Christmas,” he began, “when I healed those children, I did it ‘miraculously’, and that was wrong. But I had given them a whole life to look forward to, cancer-free. I won’t do it again, but I wanted to do something to help them and others. I want to become a doctor.”
“This is where the money issue comes in,” I realized.
Max bobbed his head. “When I healed those children in that cancer ward, I knew that I wanted to help others like them. So, I started to focus my studies on cancer, oncology, radiology, and all that sort of stuff. I did my own research and found out that one of the leading cancer research corporations happens to have a branch in Roswell.”
“Behr&Appleby,” I said.
“That’s right,” Max replied. “So, I went to check it out. I took the tour, answered all the questions the tour guide threw at my tour group, and a scientist there took notice of me. I was offered a job on the spot, part time of course.”
“As what?” I wondered.
“Assistant director of medical affairs and clinical research,” Max answered simply.
I laughed. “What does that mean?”
“I just manage the work in one of the labs and create the lab reports for the director of medical affairs and clinical research and the manuscripts.”
“Oh,” I said like I understood. “How does it pay?”
Max shrugged and stared up into the dark sky, calculating the numbers. “Um…I think it’s about $60—”
“Per week?” I laughed. “Max, that’s noth—”
“Per hour,” Max finished.
My eyes bugled out. “$60 per hour,” I repeated, shocked beyond belief.
Max chuckled.
“That’s $115,000 a year if you were to work full time,” I told him.
“I know,” Max nodded. “But I don’t since I only work 15-20 hours.”
“You’re incredible, you know that?” I smiled.
His cheeks turned red as he boyishly shrugged his shoulders.
I shook my head, still confused by everything. “Where the hell are you finding the time to go to medical school, and where?”
“B&A’s an instructional corporation,” Max answered, “meaning that they also offer classes. They have a program where the interns who wish to pursue a career in the medical field can take classes at B&A that count as medical school credit. It’ll be like going to a regular medical school, except you’re also working there. When it’s time to start working at the hospital, they’ll limit our hours at B&A and send us to Roswell Memorial. It’s great, easy and quick, and convenient.”
“How did you find time to go to those classes?”
“I ditched classes at West Roswell,” Max grinned.
“Those times you missed classes or were late for others,” I realized. “Just to think, all those times you ‘needed’ help in biology, you knew what you were doing the whole time.”
Max smirked. “I loved all the attention you gave me.”
I kissed his chest and sighed. “Max, what are you doing wasting your time at West Roswell? You should be at John Hopkins or somewhere great.”
Max shook his head and wore that serious expression on his face as he stared into my eyes. “It’s not wasting time if I get to see your face or hear your voice everyday.”
My cheeks turned redder than Max's had. We went silent as I rested my head on Max's chest. But then I got to thinking about much of Max's life I didn’t know about and how I was looking forward to still getting to know him. And I got to thinking about Michael and Isabel.
“Max, how come Michael’s still in high school and Isabel’s taking community college classes? Aren’t they geniuses like you?” I wondered.
“They chose not to be,” Max told me. “Michael’s just lazy. He doesn’t want to do all the learning stuff and Isabel…she…she didn’t want to be some sort of freak.”
I nodded in understanding, rubbing my cheek against Max's pectorals. I could hear his heart rhythmically beating. “Max, what about the apartment? You can afford it.”
“Liz, getting my own apartment,” he began, “really isn’t a necessity. I have a place to stay. Michael’s not kicking me out. And besides, getting my own apartment,…I don’t know how that’ll look. Everyone is going to know who I am and—”
“Max, everyone already knows who you are,” I smiled.
How could they not? As quiet and shy as Max was, people knew the Evanses and the children they adopted and the story behind them. Max was also infamous for the stint we pulled in Salina. The town of Roswell knew Max.
“Still,” Max sighed, “I don’t want to draw anymore attention.”
I rolled my eyes. “You have to stop being so paranoid and quit looking over your shoulder, giving people a reason to be suspicious of you,” I told Max. “Dare to be great, Max, because you are.”
His face lit up and a smile appeared. “Thank you for saying that, Liz.”
“It’s all true, Max. So, start looking for an apartment,” I told him.
Max nodded. “I’ll start looking for my own apartment.”
I smiled, grabbed his face, and kissed his lips.
*~*
After Max hit me with surprise after surprise, we relaxed in front of the fire and got a little comfortable. Max lied on his back and I rested my head on his stomach. You’d think that because his abs were well defined that they weren’t soft and comfortable, but they were. Max was well built, his muscles were toned and he was in great shape. Yet, he was the perfect candidate to lie against. It was harder to lie against his leather jacket than probably his bare skin.
“Have you started applying to colleges?” Max asked me. He continued to stare up at the starry sky with his arms crossed behind his head.
I shrugged and rolled onto my back. “I’ve requested an application from Harvard, but my grades have been slipping.”
“Liz, you’ll get in.”
I shrugged again. “I’m bound to get into one of the school’s I’ve applied to. There’s Boston College, Brandeis University, and Tafts University.”
Max gave a little laugh and cranked his head upward slightly. “You’re really set on Massachusetts, aren’t you?”
“Not necessarily,” I playfully sassed. “If I don’t get in there, I’ll attend whichever school will take me, and then just transfer into Harvard later on when my grades get better. So, why not just attend a school in Massachusetts? But I have applied to other schools too.”
“Care to share?” Max asked.
“Pepperdine University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara.”
“So, it’s either one side of the United States or the other. I like California, but I bet I could grow to love Massachusetts.”
A smile came across my face, and I tried my best not to grin. I’m pretty sure I wanted Max to follow me to school, but maybe we were thinking too far ahead.
“Max, I think we’re planning ahead too fast.”
“This is coming from you?” Max questioned. “You, who suggested we move in together?”
I blushed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
We went silent, and let the cold desert breeze blanket us. A cold chill ran up my spine and I remembered that there was yet another important issue that we didn’t cover tonight.
“Max?” I said.
He hummed a reply. “Hmmm?”
“What are we going to do about your dad and his questions about Tess’s disappearance? He’s gotten to my dad.” It was such an important issue. I don’t know how I let it slip my mind.
I could hear Max swallow a lump in his throat as he sat up and gently moved me away. “I’ll take care of that. You figure out how your dad’s involved and avoid my parents.”
“Do you think this could be dangerous, Max?” I wondered.
Max glared at the fire, and the image of flames reflected in his eyes. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid.
“If my father continues to investigate, he might bump into the wrong person. I don’t want to think about it.”
“Max, maybe you should just tell them.”
His jaw clenched tight and the muscles in his jaw bulged. “I can’t, Liz. It’s too dangerous. I don’t want to risk their lives. I’m already doing that with yours.”
“You’re capable of protecting us, Max. You’ve protected all of us so far.”
“Some job I did,” he laughed sadly. “Alex was murdered and I slept with the enemy. I only get us into more danger. You shouldn’t even be with me, Liz.”
I turned around again, like earlier, and looked fiercely at Max. “Don’t say that. You can’t push me away. Haven’t you learned that by now?” I grinned.
Max exhaled heavily and then leaned forward to give me a kiss. “Let’s go. It’s getting late.”
He had extinguished the fire with his powers and we headed back to the Crashdown. It was nearly four o’clock in the morning, and Max and I had spent a good four or five hours out at the desert. It was just so good to be with him.
He stopped the car in the plaza and looked up at my balcony, and then me. I was curled up against his chest with a tight hold of his jacket.
“I don’t want to, Max,” I said childishly. “Let’s just run away.”
“I think you’re a little too tired,” he laughed at me. “Listen, I’ll start looking for an apartment tomorrow, and I’ll think about this moving in together thing. Ok?”
I was tired, but Max gave me energy to smile. “Alright. I better go in. My father’s probably getting ready to open up the diner.”
He nodded and lowered his lips to mine. “Do you want me to help you up to your room?”
I gave a little grin. “No, I’m fine,” I insisted. “And you don’t need to ask me every time.”
“I just want to make sure you’ll be ok.”
I kissed him again and got out of the car. It was instinct for Max to look out for me and the others. He was always putting us before himself, and he always felt ashamed when he thought about himself. I love him so much, but we were going to have to change that attitude of him. I’ d have to teach him to stop beating himself up, which was going to be hard, because Max would always find a way to blame anything on himself.
I had reached the ladder and looked over my shoulder at Max, who was still sitting in his parked car, waiting until I was safely up in my room. So I climbed up the ladder as quick as I could so that Max would go home to bed. I jumped over the ledge and looked down at the street. I waved and the corners of his lips stretched up to his cheeks. His half smile was enough to melt me into a puddle of mush.
*and that was the first part, please, tell me what y'all think! thanks!*
