Simplicity/Beginnings-M/L**[COMPLETE]**

[hoLLyBEHRy]

Chapter 16: Part 2

{Michael}

“Are you sure you want to come in?” I asked. “I don’t even think you’re allowed to.”

Max stared at the diner’s huge sign that was in the shape of a spaceship. After a minute of thinking about it, he nodded. “Yeah, I want to see how she’s doing.”

“I don’t know if she’s working,” I told him.

Maxwell shook his head like he didn’t care and got out of his car. We walked towards the front entrance as I fastened my bandana on my head. Another day of working the grill and smelling like grease. I loved my job.

I held the door open for Maxwell. He stood in the doorway scanning the restaurant. I had to open the other door to get in since Maxwell didn’t move. Liz wasn’t around. When Max realized that, he finally walked in and strayed off to a booth while I headed for the kitchen. Mr. Parker was already at the grill.

“Hey, Mr. P,” I smiled.

He focused on the grill and flipped a few burgers. “You’re late, Michael.”

“Sorry, Mr. Parker,” I apologized. “I had a study group after school.”

Liz’s father nodded and walked towards me, putting a spatula in my hand. “Get to work,” he ordered.

I nodded obediently and stood in front of the grill. Something was wrong with him. Maybe I should’ve warned Maxwell, let him know that maybe he should find another way to see how Liz is doing. Mr. Parker strode out to the dining area and caught site of Max.

“Get out!” Mr. Parker shouted.

I ran to the pick-up window and saw Max slide out of the booth and stand in front of Mr. Parker.

“I’m just here for some food, Mr. Parker,” Max claimed.

Liz’s father shook his head. “You’re not allowed in here, Max.”

The few customers in the diner watched Mr. Parker and Max like I did.

“I just want to give you some business,” Max said.

“I don’t want your business.”

Max looked at Mr. Parker with narrowed eyes. “You’re refusing my money?”

“That’s right.”

Then Max and Mr. Parker just stared at each other. I guess that was my cue to join in. I stopped leaning against the window and started heading towards the door.

“Just leave, Max.”

I rushed back to the window at the sound of the new voice. Liz was standing just a few feet away from the two. They were the two most important men in her life. She was telling one to leave.

“You’re not supposed to be here, Max,” she told him.

Both Max and Mr. Parker looked at Liz.

“I’m just here for a meal.”

Liz simply shook her head. “You’re not welcome here.”

I watched as Mr. Parker’s eyes widened. Last time Max tried to talk to Mr. Parker, Liz defended Max. Now, she was on her father’s side.

“Liz…” Max pleaded. He didn’t mean for things to be ugly between them. But it happened. I told him it was going to blow up in his face.

“Get out, Max,” Liz said more harshly. I had never heard Liz use that tone of voice with Max.

Finally, Max nodded and turned for the door. Liz watched him leave the dinner, so did her father. When Max was completely out the door and out of site. Liz whipped around and walked to the backroom. Liz’s father looked to the swinging back door and then to the front door and back and forth, wondering what the hell happened.

[hoLLyBEHRy]

*thanks everyone for the feedback! i hope that this is enough for Max to redeem himself.*

Chapter 17: Part 1

{Max}

To identify gene expression changes along progression of bladder cancer, we compared the expression profiles of early-stage and advanced bladder tumors using cDNA microarrays containing 17,842 known genes and expressed sequence tags. The application of bootstrapping techniques to hierarchical clustering segregated early-stage and invasive transitional carcinomas into two main clusters. -Gene discovery in bladder cancer progression using cDNA microarrays. Division of Molecular Pathology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

That’s what I would have been listening to right now if I was at B&A, but I couldn’t go to my pathology class when I desperately needed to find Mr. Parker. Liz hadn’t gone to school for a couple of days, wanting to avoid me at all costs. I couldn’t blame her.

She did go to school today, however. Right now, she was busy in our economics class I suppose. It was the only class we shared together, but sometimes I wouldn’t even be there because a lecture or lab would be scheduled at the same time.

I sped over to the Crashdown. It was almost ten, and the breakfast rush was over, but the lunch rush would happen in half an hour to an hour. The problem with my first attempt to talk to Mr. Parker was because the diner was busy and I wasn’t able to steal a minute with him. But now, the timing was perfect. The diner would practically be empty.

I slid into a parking slot, stopping abruptly and leaving short skid marks. I jogged into the empty café and saw Mr. Parker sitting at the end of the counter. He turned to me with a smile on my face, ready to welcome a deserving customer.

“Max,” he said warily. His smile had vanished. “What are you doing here?”

I panted slightly and tried to catch my breath. “I need to speak with you.” He started walking towards me, ready to push me out of his diner, but I resisted and stood firm. “Please, Mr. Parker. I made a mistake and I’ve been paying for it everyday of my life. I’m not leaving until you give me a chance to talk to you and explain.”

I got his attention, stopping him just a foot in front of me. “What do you want, Max?”

I sighed in relief and regained my composure. “I can’t go into detail about that mistake,” I said to Liz’s father. “But there’s nothing I can do about it now. I can’t go back in time and erase it. I wish I could. I want to so bad, but I can’t. Instead, I pay for it everyday of my life.

“Everyday of my life I have to wake up each morning and see the way that people look at me. I have it in my head, a memory, that I was arrested and I got Liz arrested. There’s this constant reminder hovering over me that there was a possibility I could have gotten Liz hurt or maybe worse. But I’m done, sir. I’m done looking for trouble. I don’t want to hurt Liz or put her in anymore danger. You have my word, Mr. Parker. I love your daughter and I can’t risk losing her.”

He stood unyielding with his hands on his sides. “But yesterday? You and Liz aren’t together…You—”

“That’s right, sir,” I told him, “but I planned it that way.”

Mr. Parker gave a small mocking laugh and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Explain why you broke my little girl’s heart, again.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to moisten my mouth. “Liz and I were engaged. I know that’s something you don’t want to hear, but I didn’t think it was right that we were getting married without the consent of both our parents. So I put on an act, which resulted in Liz and I breaking the engagement.

“I did that so we wouldn’t be engaged, so that I could ask you first for her hand in marriage. I wanted to ask you for your permission because I want to make things right between all of us. I want to show you that I’m not a bad guy, that I want what’s best for Liz. I want to give Liz a proper wedding with her parents present, and I want her father right next to her to walk her down the aisle and I want you to be ok with giving her away.

“I keep on saying ‘I want’, but it’s because I want this all for Liz. She deserves nothing but the best and what’s right. I love her. I wanted to propose at the homecoming dance. My parents, my sister and her husband are chaperoning and if you allow me to marry your daughter, I’d love it if you and Mrs. Parker were there at the dance that night too.”

I just kept going on and on. I wanted to make sure that everything needed to be said was said. With his mouth closed, Liz’s father rolled his tongue over his teeth and stared hard at me. I could feel my knees buckle. A chair would have been really great right now. Maybe it would have been best if I sat both of us down before I spoke. I wonder how that bladder cancer lecture was going. Not really, but I did have to use the bathroom real bad. I waited for a response as I felt my heart pound in my head. When I didn’t get one, I continued on.

“I want your permission, sir,” I told him. “I respect you, and that’s why I broke off the engagement, because I want your permission. I wanted you to know first, and I know that Liz and I were already engaged and that you’re really not the first to know, but this is better than nothing. I don’t think that Liz would expect me to go to such extremes. I think she believes that I broke things off for good, but it was all a plot. Now, it’s like we weren’t even engaged, and that’s why I’m here asking for her hand in marriage. So now I’m doing this the right way. I hurt Liz in the process. I went about this the wrong way. Please let me make it right, let me make it up to her. You have to let me make it up to her. Let me marry her.”

Mr. Parker bit down harder and his jaw muscles tightened. “You’re a noble kid, Max,” he finally said. “Valenti was right about you.”

I nodded my head, but I think all I did was lower it. “Th—thank you,” I stammered.

“I know that you love Liz, and I don’t mean what I said to you that night. I do give a damn about your love because it concerns my daughter. She loves you, Max, and I know you love her, but you and Liz are too young,” Jeff sighed, and I knew his answer. “I can’t give my daughter away…not yet.”

As my heart began to fall from my chest to the floor, I could feel my tears rise to my eyes. No, he wasn’t supposed to react this way. He was supposed to give me his permission.

“Mr. Parker, you have no idea what I have gone through!” I said angrily. “I need Liz! I can’t picture my future without her.”

Liz’s father sighed heavily as he watched me practically beg for his daughter. He slowly bobbed his head up and down in understanding I assumed, then he gradually stopped and stared at me once more. “Calm down, Max. You’re 18 and so is Liz. You’ve got so much more to live for.”

But I shook my head. “I live for Liz.”

“Max, you have to understand that I have my daughter’s best interests at heart. I know she loves you and I know that I should let you marry her, but I just feel that she just shouldn’t be tied down, not at eighteen.”

Finally, I nodded my head the same way Mr. Parker did. I’d have to find another way or I’d just have to keep trying another day. I reluctantly stuck my hand out to Mr. Parker. “I understand,” I replied as we shook hands. “At least I know where you stand, and I’m grateful. So…thank you, sir.”

I turned to walk out the diner but Mr. Parker halted me. “Max,” he called. “Listen, I’m not completely opposed of you marrying my daughter. You love her and she loves you. It makes sense. However…if you were going to ask my daughter to marry you because you wanted to prevent her from going to Vermont, I suggest that you think about that twice.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Mr. Parker,” I said. “I love your daughter more than anything in this world. If I didn’t love her the way that I do, then I don’t know where I’d be right now. I told her that I fell in love with her the moment I saw her, which was in third grade. I’ve loved her ever since, and you may think that’s odd, but she’s my soul mate. No matter what happens in our lives, I’m going to be with Liz. By asking her to marry me now, we’re getting a jump start on our life together. Yes, I’ll admit it, I don’t want her to go Vermont. With all due respect, sir, when I ask her, her staying in Roswell is a benefit. It’s not my objective. I love her.”

I let that sink into Mr. Parker’s head and walked away.

TBC

[hoLLyBEHRy]

*thanks everyone for the great feedback. here's the conclusion of chapter 17.*

Chapter 17: Part 2

[Liz]

“Eat up, honey,” my mother smiled. “It’ll be the last time you eat your father’s Surprise Casserole.”

I gave a little nod and started to shovel some Surprise Casserole onto my spoon. It really wasn’t much of a surprise, just some beef, cheese, sour cream, and a few other things. It was like taco filling. I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

Most of the dinner was silent. Just scraping of forks and chewing of food. It was a solemn time. I was leaving for boarding school the next evening. Both my parents had decided to send me to Vermont the night after we got back from Salina a few months ago. They just held off sending me. They didn’t want to have to send their daughter away, but they knew they would have to if Max and I continued seeing each other. Yet, it was my choice, this time, to actually go even thought Max and I…I didn’t know what we were, but I don’t think that we were together.

“Are your things all packed?” my mother wondered.

I nodded again and went back to my food. My mother was the only one making an effort to make conversation. My father had remained silent since stepping foot into the dining room. I didn’t know what he was thinking if he was doing much thinking. My father could be easygoing most of the time, but he was also a stonewall at others.

My mother appeared content, but she placed her fork down and looked at my father and me, noticing our stillness “What is going on?” she asked. “What is wrong with you two?”

“Nothing,” my father and I said at the same time.

“Right,” my mother said doubtfully. She looked to my father who stared at his food, then she looked to me and sighed. “Liz, I’m going to tell you the truth.”

I took my eyes off a puddle of sour cream and looked at my mom.

“I don’t want you to go to Vermont,” she admitted. “I really don’t.”

I shook my head in confusion. “So, why did you guys come up with the idea?” I wondered.

Again, my father remained introverted.

“It’s because of Max,” my mother replied. “You told us earlier that you broke up with him, which we were glad to hear, yet disappointed. Disappointed in the sense that you continued to go behind out backs to see him and glad that you two aren’t together now. I just want to know what happened. Why are you willing to go to Vermont?”

Why did they have to be so nosy? “Mom,” I sighed. “It’s complicated and it’s something I really don’t want to share with you two.”

“Don’t talk to us like that,” my father finally said to me.

I stared at him in disbelief. “Why are you getting angry at me? Why are you angry at all? I thought you would be glad that I was going to Vermont.”

“Liz,” my mother said.

“What?” I wondered. “I thought you guys would be. I mean, this is what you wanted, right? Max and I aren’t together, and I’m going to Vermont to get away from him.” Damn it. Just spilled the beans.

“What did he do to you, Liz?” my mother questioned.

Her interrogation triggered flashes of Max and I in the eraser room, when Max told me he didn’t want to fight for us anymore. The tears started to sting my eyes as I shook my head.

“Nothing, Mom,” I said firmly. “Please, stop asking me. Just let me go.”

I glanced at my father. His stonewall started crumbling when he noticed the tears in my eyes.

“May I be excused?” I finally asked.

My mother nodded and I left the table.

*~*

“Think of something. What do you want to do tonight?” I asked Kyle.

He sat hunched over the counter in my father’s diner. Once Maria decided to arrive, the three of us were going to spend my last night together. But I really didn’t feel like doing much of anything. For the past few weeks, I felt less than normal and dinner tonight was exhausting. Right now all I wanted to do was rest before my flight tomorrow.

Kyle wasn’t paying much attention to me anyway. I think he was angry because I wasn’t going to homecoming. And I apologized for that, a few times actually. But I couldn’t stay here any longer. There was nothing really worth staying for. I know that’s a horrible thing to say, but it’ll be just like going away to college. I’ll see Kyle when he visits Valenti during the holidays and I visit my parents, and I’ll always see Maria since she’s so set on us going to schools in the same city. I just needed time to myself, I guess.

“How about I convince you to stay until Sunday?” Kyle wondered. “Let’s do that tonight. Come on. The homecoming game’s tomorrow night. You have to be there.”

I sighed and took a seat next to Kyle. “I’m sorry,” I apologized. “But Kyle, you know why I cant stay.”

He bobbed his head. “Max,” he answered. “Listen, he won’t be at homecoming, and you can avoid him until you leave.”

“I don’t want to bring you down at homecoming.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “You never know, you might have fun.”

“I doubt it,” I replied.

“Liz Parker!”

I swung my seat around and saw Maria walk in, owning the room. All eyes were on her, and the diner was pretty full. She marched herself over towards us and slapped a slip of quality, glossy paper between Kyle and I on the counter. It was blue with a comet streaming across the slip and a few words in script writing.

“What is it?” I wondered. I’m pretty sure I knew what it was, but I didn’t want to pick it up and find out, so I asked Maria.

“It’s your homecoming ticket,” she grinned.

I glared at her hard. “Maria, I told you I’m not going. I can’t, ‘cause I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“No, you’re not,” Maria smiled again. “You’re leaving Sunday, like it was planned. Your dad and I discussed it.”

I saw a big, pleased smile stretch across Kyle’s face, but me? Not so much. “You did what?” I asked. “Maria, you had no right to—”

“Oh, I think I did,” she disagreed. “Liz, this is our last homecoming together. Max isn’t going to homecoming, you won’t see him there. Come on, please? I bought you a ticket, you can’t skip out when I shelled out big bucks.”

“Maria, aren’t they like fifteen doll—”

“Kyle,” Maria interrupted. “Shut up.”

He nodded obediently. “Sorry,” he apologized.

“I can’t believe you did this,” I said. “When did you talk to my dad?”

“Ten minutes ago,” my father said.

I caught him popping his head out of the kitchen window, obviously eavesdropping. I looked at Maria and then Kyle who held up his hands in defense. My father had went back into the kitchen to continue eavesdropping. So I hopped off the stool and cornered him in the kitchen, where there were knives and other pointy utensils.

“What are you doing?” I demanded to know.

He flipped a round of burgers and turned to me. “What do you mean?”

I knew when my father played dumb. It wasn’t very appealing, or fun for that matter, especially when I didn’t feel like joking around.

“I thought I was leaving tomorrow.”

My dad shook his head and flipped the burgers once more. “Nope,” he replied. “You’re going to stay to attend homecoming, then Sunday you’ll leave for Vermont.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I love you,” my father answered, “and because I don’t want you to leave just yet.”

Was there something I should know about? Everyone was acting weird, everyone except for Kyle. I thought my dad would be pleased with me leaving early. I guess I was wrong.



{Michael}

“Alright,” I said, snapping my phone shut. “Maria’s on her way to tell Liz, and she’s got Liz’s ticket and everything.”

Max bobbed his head. “Good,” he sighed.

“You know, I thought that Mr. Parker turned you down.”

“He did,” Max replied sadly. “But I’m going to try again.”

“You’re not giving up, are you?” I grinned.

I can’t remember a time when Maxwell gave up, except when it came to his son. But with his son, there was physically nothing he could do. But with Liz, Max was going to do anything to make everything right.

“I can’t. Not when there’s something I can do about it,” Maxwell replied.

“Your parents, Iz, and Jesse still chaperoning?” I asked.

Maxwell nodded his head. “Yes, so, I need to make sure that Mr. Parker will let me ask Liz. Otherwise, it’d be a waste for them and for you because—”

“It won’t be a waste, Maxwell,” I told him, “because he’ll say yes because you want to make this right and why would anyone turn that down?”

Maxwell stared at me for a minute and I nervously wondered if I was supposed to be looking at him in the eye. “Why are you helping me?” he asked. “Why is it that everyone is helping me out? It’s like everyone’s world revolves around Liz and I.”

“You are king,” I answered.

“Michael,” Maxwell scolded.

I nodded in a serious manner and cleared my throat. “Maxwell, you’ve had to work your way through more shit than any of us. I thought I had it bad with Hank and all, but I could always escape, but you…” I sighed, “…you can’t because you’re obliged to us. And if you do try to escape, you end up in even more shit. You deserve a break and Liz deserves the best. So, we all want that for you two.”

It was the truth. Max and Liz had it hard. Granted, sometimes it was their own fault that things were hard, but it was always them versus the world. Maxwell was my brother, not technically, but he is. I love the guy.

“Thank you, Michael,” Max said.

“Yeah, well...um...don’t tell anyone I poured out like I did.”

Max laughed and playfully punched my shoulder.

[hoLLyBEHRy]

*hope you like this update *

Chapter 18

{Max}

The West Roswell Comets beat Lincoln High’s Mustangs in last night’s homecoming game. Kyle was MVP, throwing three touchdown passes and running another, leading the Comets to a 45-17 victory over our rival school. I was there, hoping to see Liz. She wasn’t, though. But tonight West Roswell High was going to celebrate our win at homecoming, and I was going to make sure I made everything right.

I pulled an already tied tie over my neck and slid up the knot. “Let’s go over this one more time,” I said to Michael. He was rummaging through my closet looking for a suit to borrow. “Maria’s helping Liz get dressed right now. You’ll pick them up at five, which is soon, and take them to dinner at Señor Chow’s. That’ll get them out of the Crashdown and it’ll buy me time to talk to Mr. Parker. I’ll call you when everything’s a go.”

“You better hope he grants you permission,” Michael said.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Then I won’t ask her tonight. I’ll just keep on trying. I’ll fly to Vermont and ask her if I have to.”

“What if she says no?” Michael asked. “You did kind of screw
her over. Maria said she was really hurt.”

“I’ll explain it to her. It’ll all make sense,” I clarified. I had thought this thing through. It sounded complicated, but I wanted it to be this way. The only way for Mr. Parker to truly accept me was if I was upfront and honest. One way to do that would be asking for his permission to marry Liz, and that’s what I was going to do tonight, then I’d be free to ask Liz. “It’ll work,” I assured Michael. “I’ll explain it in my proposal. Would you hurry up and get dressed already?”

He poked his head out of my closet and rolled his eyes, finally pulling out one of my suits. “Why are all your ties already tied?” he wondered. He hopped into my bathroom and I could hear him jump out of his clothes.

“I never learned how to tie a tie,” I answered Michael by raising my voice. “So, Isabel came over one day and tied them all for me.”

I heard Michael laugh. “You know everything about quantum mechanics, but you can’t figure out how to tie a neck tie?”

Dense wrinkles formed in my forehead. “Yeah,” I realized. “I guess so. Look, are you almost dressed? You need to go pick up the girls.”

My bathroom door opened, and Michael emerged donning one of my slick Tommy Hilfiger suits. He rolled his eyes as he stood uncomfortably. “One wise crack and tonight you’re on your own.”

I hid my smile and nodded in agreement. “Fine,” I mumbled out. “Hurry up and head out before I say something I’ll regret.”

Michael rolled his eyes again and walked out of my apartment without another word. He was going to arrive at the Crashdown in five minutes. The girls would make him wait for another five or ten minutes, and Kyle would meet with them at Señor Chow’s. I’d give them ten minutes of leeway, and then head over to the Crashdown myself. So basically, I had about half an hour to kill.

I was already dressed in one of my favorite suits, and I always wore it for a special occasion, and tonight was special. The blazer and slacks were black, the dress shirt was a royal blue, and my silk neck tie was a lighter shade of blue. My crew cut hair was styled and held up with some hairspray. I missed my old hair, but everyone preferred the shorter cut, even Liz.

I glanced at the clock on the wall. Only five minutes had passed and I couldn’t spend another minute in my apartment. I grabbed my keys off the counter and headed for the door. I reached for the gold painted doorknob when knocks on against the wood made me jump. I looked through the peephole and wasn’t sure if I should open the door. After taking a quick breath, I pulled the white wooden door open.

“Mr. Parker?” I said. I tried to make myself sound calm and cool and not so shocked. “I was just about to see you…in half an hour.”

“Can I come in, Max?” he asked, getting straight to the point.

I nodded and pulled the door open. “Sure, sure,” I insisted.

He marched his way into my apartment and waited for me to close the door. I quietly did so, taking my time, wondering why he was here at my apartment. I joined him in the living room and started picking up dirty dishes off the coffee table.

“Um…is there something I can do for you, Mr. Parker?” I asked.

I jogged into the kitchen, dropping the dirty dishes into the sink. I walked out the other end and found myself in the foyer, facing Mr. Parker. I watched him as he hesitantly slid his hand into his pocket. I, in turn, backed away nervously. I began to feel warm and I could feel the sweat just waiting to seep through my pores. Mr. Parker’s hand retreated from his pocket, and my eyes were glued to a small box that expanded his fist.

“Actually,” Liz’s father began, “there is something you can do.”

I looked at him questionably and walked towards him. “Sir?”

Mr. Parker held out the small gray box between his index finger and thumb. “Take it,” he said.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nervously grabbed the box. I prayed that he didn’t notice my hand shake. “Should I…?”

Liz’s father nodded. “Go ahead, open it.”

I nodded and lifted the lid to the box. Resting in a crevice was a white gold ring with a princess cut diamond set in between two square cut diamonds. The diamond was huge and the gold shined like it was new. My eyes bounced off the ring and onto Mr. Parker.

“What is this?” I asked, shaking my head in wonderment.

Mr. Parker cleared his throat. “My father gave that ring to my mother when he proposed to her.” My heart suddenly pressed hard on the accelerator and was beating a hundred times faster than normal. “It was Liz’s Grandma Claudia’s,” Mr. Parker clarified.

I never officially met Liz’s grandmother, but I was there the night she died. Liz loved her so much.

Mr. Parker cleared his throat again, and that’s when I realized Mr. Parker talked to me with his head slightly downward. “Now…it’s yours to give to Liz.”

I looked at him and then the beautiful ring in my hand. I went back and forth between the two for a few moments, blinking my eyes hard, trying grasp the reality.

“I—I…” I stuttered. I didn’t know what to say.

“That is…unless you have a ring to—”

“No!” I snapped, and realized my abruptness. “Sorry…I mean, no, this is beautiful. I didn’t have an engagement ring for her yet. I wanted to have your permission first.”

I saw Mr. Parker’s Adam’s Apple jump as he swallowed the lump in his throat. “Well, you do have my permission and you do have a ring. Mrs. Parker and I will be at homecoming tonight.”

My jaw danced, trying to process words or some sort of response. “Thank you so much,” I finally managed to say. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“This means a lot to me too,” Mr. Parker told me. “So, make sure you take care of her.”

I nodded dutifully. “Of course.” I continued to stare at the ring in my hand. "Not that I'm not grateful or anything, because I am, but why are you giving me your permission?"

Liz's father cleared his throat and sighed. "Because I have my daughter's best interest at heart," was all he said.

I nodded apprecuatively and pocketed the small box.

“There is one condition,” Jeff warned.

“Anything.”

Mr. Parker looked up and sighed. “You need to officially ask me first.”

My lips broke away into a grin. “Mr. Parker,” I said firmly. “May I have your daughter’s hand in marriage?”

Jeff stared at me for a moment and slowly bobbed his head. “I’d be honored if you married my daughter, Max.”


[Chapter 19

[Liz]

Kyle opened the door to Michael’s rented car and helped me out. “M’lady,” he grinned.

“Thank you,” I said, taking his hand and putting on a weak smile. I really wish Maria hadn’t conned me into going out tonight, much less go to homecoming. It was another one of those days where my brain felt like it was trying to break its way out of my skull. It didn’t help that Max was brought up tonight. During dinner, Michael’s phone rang, and apparently he had to take the call, because he stopped mid-meal to answer it. Michael never stops at anything when food is involved. But anyway, on the other end of the phone call was Max. They spoke quickly. Michael nodded his head and said “yes” a few times, then hung up. After that, he went back to eating without a word to any of us.

We arrived at the school where the homecoming dance was being held in the gymnasium. The night practically just started, and all I wanted to do was go home.

“Let the party begin,” Maria cheered.

My best friend linked arms with me and dragged me into the dark gym. Only a few lights illuminated the room, and of course, there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling. Blue and gold were decorated all around the room, to further illustrate our school’s school spirit.

“Come on, Liz,” Maria sighed. “Cheer up. This is our last high school homecoming.”

She kept on saying that, and as much as I wanted to enjoy it, my head still hurt and I just wanted to fall. Maria ordered Michael and Kyle to get us some drinks as she pulled me out onto the dance floor.

“I don’t feel like dancing,” I shouted over the loud blare of music. “I’m going to use the bathroom.”

“Ok,” she shouted back. “I’ll wait for you at the table.”

The two of us went our separate ways. I pushed my way through the crowds of people who had shown up. For a small town, we had a big school, and tons of school spirit. That didn’t make my head feel any better.

I could see the fluorescent lights from the bathroom light up the bathroom entry. I looked along the wall, and took notice of all the chaperones. There was Mrs. Hardy, Mr. Rosales, and Dr. Forrester, the principal. Others were parents, and at the end of the wall was Jesse and Isabel. I stutter stepped and marched over towards them.

“Isabel? Jesse?” I called. There heads went from off the dance floor to me. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked.

“I told you we should have hid,” Jesse whined.

Isabel back handed his stomach and he cringed in pain. “Shhhh…” she hushed. “Hi, Liz. We’re chaperoning.”

I caught that much. “Yeah, I can see that, and Maria already told me,” I replied. “But why?”

“Community service,” Isabel claimed. “It’s always good to have some volunteer hours under your belt.”

“Right,” I nodded skeptically. “Is there something going on?” I asked.

Jesse opened his mouth to speak, but Isabel grabbed his arm and began to push him away. “We have to go,” Isabel said. “We’ll see you later, Liz.”

I looked over my shoulder as they passed me. Instead of going into the bathroom like I intended to, I turned back around and walked to our table. I didn’t know which table we had, but I searched for Maria’s dirty blonde hair and made my way to my destination.

“Maria,” I called. “Just saw Isabel and Jesse.”

She shrugged her shoulders and looked at me innocently. “Ok.”

I rubbed my forehead hard and closed my eyes, blocking out the excessive noise. “Maria,” I sighed. “I’m really not in the mood. Can you just please tell me what’s going on?”

Maria shook her head. “There’s nothing goin on,” she said.

“Then why is Isabel and Jesse here? Is he here?”

Again Maria shook her head. “No, he’s not here. He was supposed to come but didn’t because he knew that you wouldn’t want him to be here.”

“Maria…”

“What?” she smiled. “I’m telling you the truth. Kyle’s looking for you. Dance with him. Have a good time.”

How was I supposed to have a good time at homecoming without the one person I wanted to be here with?


{Michael}

Maria and I danced to every slow song played. I wanted to make sure that she enjoyed the night. So, once there was a song that we could slow dance to, I grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. I was going to try to give Maria everything she deserved. Maxwell was sure rubbing off on me.

“You having a good time?” I asked Maria.

She nodded as she continued to rest her head on my chest. “I’m having a wonderful time,” she said. “Thank you, Michael.”

I kissed the top of her head. “No problem.”

We continued to sway our hips to the rhythm of the music. The night was perfect for her and me. I didn’t know if I could say the same for others.

“How’s Liz holding up?” I wondered.

“Still angry that I made her come,” Maria replied.

“She’s still here, right?” I wondered.

Maria nodded. “Yeah. I told Kyle to keep an eye on her.” She took her head off my chest and looked up at me. “Have you seen Max? Is he coming?”

“He’ll be here,” I told Maria.

Maxwell called me during dinner, letting me know that he didn’t even have to work up a sweat to ask Mr. Parker for permission. Mr. Parker had gone to Max's apartment on his own. I bet that Maxwell worked up a sweat; he must’ve been scared out of his mind when he saw Mr. Parker through his peephole.

“He better get here soon,” Maria warned. “The dance is over in an hour.”

I looked around the gym, wondering just where Max was. I didn’t understand why he hadn’t arrived yet. He called at dinner, two hours ago. That was the last I heard of him. Had he chickened out?

TBC

[hoLLyBEHRy]

*once again, thanks everyone for the feedback. scarletlily, i loved what you said. thanks everyone!*


Chapter 19: Part 2

[Liz]

“I’m really sorry about the whole Max thing,” Kyle sighed. “And I’m sorry that you’re not having such a great time.”

I shook my head and kissed Kyle’s cheek as we continued to dance. “I’m having a good time, Kyle. Really.”

“Yeah, and Michael’s the lead in Swan Lake,” he laughed.

Surprisingly, I gave a little giggle. Tonight was not how I imagined it. Max and I had never gone to a formal together. Prom didn’t count. I didn’t want it to count. To me, West Roswell High prom 2001 didn’t happen.

“So, what happens next between the two of you?” Kyle wondered.

I blinked my eyes back into reality. “What?”

“Between you and Max? What happens next?” he repeated.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m going to go boarding school, graduate, come back here to pack up the rest of my things, and head off to college.”

“And Max?” Kyle wondered.

I shook my head. “Max is Max. He’s going to do what he wants.”

Kyle sighed. “What did he do to you, Liz?”

I rolled my eyes in disbelief. “Why does everyone keep asking me that? He didn’t do anything.”

“Then why did you want to leave so early?” Kyle asked. “I know for a fact that you love this town. So, why would you want to leave it? There is nothing that would make you leave besides going off to college, but see, it’s not that time yet. So, what else would make you leave? Max,” he answered. “He had to have done something.”

The past few days were hell, and it was because of Max Evans. I wasn’t going to let anyone know the truth though. He gave up on me, but Max was supposed to be a leader. He was supposed to fight until the death. Since he didn’t want to fight for me, it made him appear weak. I didn’t want the others to have no one to look to anymore if they found out just how weak Max really was.

“Kyle, I don’t want to talk about it,” I told him.

I slid my arms off his shoulders and walked off the dance floor. I needed some air. I marched through the gymnasium, maneuvering through the tables and around students. The metal doors were just ahead of me, but as I glanced around, the Evanses caught my eye. Max and Isabel’s parents were here? Isabel and Jesse were here? It was a whole family outing. Why?

I turned back around and started on my search for Maria. Last time I saw her, she was with Michael on the dance floor. So, I retraced my path and found Michael and Maria just about to head back to our table.

“Hold it!” I ordered.

Both of them stopped mid-step.

“I'm tired of this!" I told them. “You guys are going to tell me what is going on. Why did I have to come tonight? And why are Isabel, Jesse, and the Evanses here?”

Michael kissed Maria’s cheek. “I think you better handle this,” I heard him whisper into her ear.

The he sped off. Maria glared at him angrily as he ran away.

“Maria,” I said. “Tell me what is going on or I’m not talking to you for a very long time.”

“Nothing’s—”

“Going on,” I finished for her. I closed my eyes in frustration. “Look, Maria. I’m really not in the mood. Please just tell me what’s going on.”

I opened my eyes to see the grin on her face. If I was in a better mood, and if I wasn’t so in the dark about things, I wouldn’t have wanted so bad to slap that smirk off her face. She jolted her chin forward and pointed towards the stage. The music had stopped and most of the lights had gone dimmer than they already were. There was one bright light, however. It was a spotlight pointing to the stage. Pointing at Max.

TBC

[hoLLyBEHRy]

Chapter 19: Part 3

[Maria]

I knew Liz wanted to literally rip the smile off of my face, but I couldn’t help but feel happy for her. I wanted to jump out and say that Max really wasn’t an asshole, just a jackass, but I knew Michael and Max would have my head if I spoiled their plan. So, instead, I smiled and gestured towards the stage. Max was already set, standing tall and handsome. The spotlight was on him, reflecting of his smile.

The DJ cut the music and gave Max a mic, which he held in one hand, and in the other, he concealed a box. I knew what it was and I knew that it was in his hand, but from my view on the dance floor, no one would be able to see it.

Max stood on stage looking down at Liz. He took a deep breath and waited to speak into the mic until she turned around. Once she did, she stared at him for a while, just like everyone else. At first, everybody complained about the music stopping, but quieted down when they saw Max standing on the stage, glancing at Liz in the crowd. He looked at her like she was the only person in the room. No one else mattered.

“Could you come up here, Liz?” Max said.

My best friend looked over her shoulder at me. I shrugged and pointed my chin at the stage once more. “Go on,” I told her with another wide grin on my face.

Liz rose an eyebrow and hesitantly started walking towards the stage. The crowd of people standing on the dance floor got out of the way so that Liz could get through. Max kept his eyes on her while Liz tried her best to hide her face. If she only knew what was going on, she’d be the happiest person in the world.

Liz stomped up the steps and walked towards Max. I quickly jogged over to the side of the stage where Michael and Kyle were watching. Well…Michael was watching and Kyle was busy pestering him.

“What’s going on?” he asked. “What’s Max doing?”

Michael did an excellent job of ignoring him, but I couldn’t. “He’s going to propose,” I said.

Kyle’s eyes widened. “But…what about…I thought he—huh?” he babbled. “I’m confused.” He pulled up a chair and took a seat.

“Max, what are you doing?” I heard Liz say.

He held up the mic to his mouth and cleared his throat. The speakers around the gym transmitted the muffled sound. “I’m sorry, Liz,” he said. “I know this is something I wouldn’t really do, but I want everyone to know. I want them to know that I’m sorry for ever hurting you and I want them to know how important you are to me.”

He paused for a bit as he unceasingly stared into Liz’s eyes. I sure wish I had a video camera.

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I wanted to break off the engagement because it was all part of my plan.” Not everyone knew what he was talking about, but they were going to figure it out sooner or later. “When I asked you to marry me the first time,” he continued, “it didn’t feel right, because it wasn’t.

“Our lives are…different from everyone else’s. Look at us, I was estranged from my parents and you’re estranged from yours, and I wanted to make everything right. I needed to ask you properly with the permission of your father. It didn’t seem right without our parents knowing. So, I had us break off the engagement. That way, I could ask your father, and I’d ask you again, and we’d be engaged officially. Odd thing is: your father came up to me and gave me your hand.”

Everyone stood in awe. Max had gone to school with these people since elementary school. A lot of people knew him, but they knew him as the quiet kid. Now, here he was, standing on stage, declaring his love to his soul mate.

“Liz, I lied,” Max admitted. “I told you that I was tired of fighting for us to be together and that I was sick of having to deal with it all. I said that I was done making sacrifices and that I hated waiting for others to come around. But I lied,” he said again. “Liz, I would fight the whole universe if it got in my way of being with you. I would fight to see your beautiful face, even if it meant only being able to catch a small glimpse. I would deal with it all every single second of every single day of my life if that’s what it took to have your voice bless my ears just for a second. I would give everything I own—all the money I have, the shirt off my back, everything—to have you in my arms, to feel the touch of your skin. And, Liz, I would wait forever for you. We are meant to be together because, yes, you are my destiny. You’re my soul mate, my everything.”

God, Max was such a romantic. He had the power to break hearts and then mend them to make them even stronger. My heart melted and I know that all the other girls in the building felt the same way. And I know for a fact that even some guys were growing envious.

Max finally got down on his right knee and lifted up his other hand that held a box. He opened the box and revealed a ring to Liz. “I love you, Liz Parker,” he said. “Will you marry me?”

People shouted and whistled, and some tried to quiet those shouters and whistlers to hear Liz’s answer. It was a serious matter, but it was kind of funny actually.

I looked over my shoulder at that chair Kyle sat in but found it empty. He was standing next to Michael who watched Max and Liz like some enthralling movie. Kyle was doing the same, leaning against the stage trying to get a closer look. At the other end of the stage, I saw Jesse holding Isabel in his arms. They both smiled, reminiscing the time they got engaged. Behind Max's sister were his parents. They proudly watched their son on stage. It was hard to believe that Max told them his secret and that they seemed ok with it. I think they were more disappointed than angry that Max didn’t tell them sooner. Jesse was the same way too. He was still with Isabel. He wasn’t angry. He only wanted to help out. And the three of them stood by Isabel, and watched what we all hoped would be a momentous occasion.

I wish I could say that the Parkers were just as thrilled, but I don’t think they were. Mrs. Parker was teary-eyed, and I wasn’t sure if she was happy or sad. Next to her was Liz’s father. Max had called Michael, letting him know that the proposal was a go because Mr. Parker had finally granted Max permission. But it didn’t look like Mr. Parker did. He didn’t look like much of anything. He stood still with his arms crossed in front of his chest eyes on his daughter.

The whole room continued to watch center stage. The spotlight still on my two best friends. It was silent. The suspense was killing us. We were all on the edge of our seats. I could see Liz’s face as she looked at Max. For the first time I couldn’t tell what she was thinking and I was worried about it.

Finally, Liz bent down and everyone started to whisper. They were all probably assuming what Liz’s answer was. She grabbed Max's hand and pulled him up off his knee. I noticed she still held his hand while they stood in front of each other, but they stood a good distance apart, and I tried to get a reading but the two of them just weren’t working with me.

“You should have told me,” Liz finally said.

A loud of wave of “aws” came from the crowd. Everyone assumed the worst, so did I.

Max's face went pale. “I wanted to do this the right way,” he replied discouraged. “It’s what you deserve.”

“I know,” Liz nodded. “And you know what? I should say no, Max.”

More “aws” came in a loud uproar. I rolled my eyes, getting slightly angry at the “audience”. Liz was saying something, and I tried me best to make out the conversation.

“Shut up!” someone had shouted to quiet the crowd down.

“Why did you have to go about it this way?” Liz asked Max.

Max looked down at the crowd nervously and swallowed the lump in his throat. “Because I didn’t want to tell you what I was doing. It wouldn’t have been a surprise, and I wanted it to be.”

“You really hurt me,” Liz said softly. Her brown eyes twinkled as her tears gathered. “What if I say ‘no’?”

Maybe Max shouldn’t have done this in public, ‘cause now, the whole school watched as they cleared things out on stage.

Max stared up at Liz in disbelief, hoping that her answer wouldn’t be negative. “But I lied about all of that stuff, Liz. I never meant it, it was an act. Look, I don’t want to hurt you anymore,” Max told her. He was getting nervous, worrying if she really was going to say “no” or not. “I want to give you everything. I want to make you happy. And if you do say ‘no’…then…I guess I’ll have to let you go, but I don’t want that to happen.”

Liz sighed heavily, her shoulders rising and her chest expanding. After staring at Max for a moment, she shook her head. Was that a ‘no’?

“I don’t want that to happen either. So I guess that’s why I’m going to have to say ‘yes’,” she smiled.

As soon as the word left Liz’s mouth, the whole room clapped and cheered, creating one large uproar. Max breathed heavily while a huge smile stretched out on his face. Liz smiled the same. She had us all on edge. The two of them met in a kiss and then Max's hand nervously pulled Grandma Claudia’s ring out of the box and then he slid it onto Liz’s left ring finger. Max and Liz were finally officially engaged.



{Max}

Hearing Liz say “yes” was like a breath of fresh air. As soon as I slid the ring on Liz’s finger and kissed her sweet lips, we made our way off stage. I wanted to talk to Liz. We easily maneuvered through the crowd. They parted for us and as we walked through, people congratulated us. Liz got hugs and I got a few pats on the back and handshakes. It took us a while to get through the crowd. It was like we were celebrities in some big, town celebration. I really didn’t intend it to be that way, I’m a quiet guy, but I wanted to make sure Liz knew that I was serious and that I really did want to be with her.

Outside, I helped Liz onto a bike rack and we talked things out. I asked Liz how she was these past few days we were “separated”. She was bluntly honest, revealing her anger and feelings of depression. She spoke for a while and I listened closely. It pained me to know that I hurt Liz that much, that I angered her. We spent the rest of the dance out on the bike racks talking everything out.

It was a quarter to three and the dance was a more than two hours over. Kyle won homecoming king and so we all went out to celebrate his win, and mine and Liz’s engagement at dinner/breakfast. Everyone was probably still at Señor Chow’s, but Liz and I decided to leave. She wanted me to take her home. Her parents left the school gym right after cleanup and were probably already in bed. So, I parked behind the Crashdown.

“Do you want me to help you to your room?” I asked.

Liz was under my arm, resting her head against my chest. That might have been why Liz wanted to leave the group, she was tired. She took a moment to answer, I assumed she was just taking her time. I knew how she would reply anyway. She always said the same thing: she’d be find doing it herself and that I didn’t have to ask every time.

“Would you?” she finally said.

I took a double take and nodded. “Of cour—yeah, sure,” I stammered.

I was slightly shocked and slightly nervous. I eased over Liz and shut off the engine. The two of us walked over to the ladder on the side of the building. Liz could easily reach the ladder, but I gave her a boost anyway. As soon as she was on the ladder, I backed away.

“Aren’t you coming up?” she asked.

I nodded but kept my head relatively lowered. “Ye—yeah,” I stuttered, “but um…I think it’s best that I meet you up there. I don’t want to accidentally look up your…yeah…” I wasn’t like that. I was still a gentleman.

Liz caught my drift. “I’ll see you up there,” she smiled.

I nodded again and kept my head down, staring at the asphalt. I listened to the sound Liz’s shoes made when it hit the metal and counted the steps. I think I counted twenty.

“Ok, I’m up,” she called down to me.

I looked up at Liz and smiled. “I’m on my way.” I made a little vertical jump and grabbed a few bars up. I made it up the ladder faster than Liz and easily jumped over the ledge onto the balcony. “Alright,” I sighed. “Um…”

Liz gave me a sly grin. “Come on in,” she said.

“Uh…” I nervously sounded. “Your parents…”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed the lapel of my jacket and started pulling me to the window. Liz climbed into her room first and I apprehensively crouched down and started to wipe my palms on my thighs.

“Max, come in.”

I nodded and crawled into Liz’s room. It had been a while since I was in her home, in her room. It was homey and her aroma floated in the air.

“Um…now that I know you’re safe,” I began, “maybe I should go. I’ll call you later today.”

I leaned down to kiss Liz, and as soon as our lips touched, flashes of us together came to me, and I’m sure to her too. It happened every time we kissed and almost every time we touched. I meant to kiss her goodnight, but Liz took over and absorbed me. I started to kiss her back, passionately and hard. We had to catch our breath every time our lips briefly parted.

She eased us towards her bed and I held her warm body tight. I’d been on her bed quite a few times, very comfortable. We never went farther than making out. Tonight, I knew what she wanted to do, I wanted to do it too. We wanted to take “us” a physical step farther.

I lied Liz down on the bed and then threw off my jacket. Liz grabbed hold of my tie and undid it for me. I’d need to ask Isabel to retie it for me. Back to Liz, not my sister. I kissed Liz again. My lips were moist as I kissed Liz’s cheek, neck, and then bare shoulder. I loved Liz and this felt so right. My fingers held the strap to her dress and I started to slip it off her shoulder when I felt Liz undo my shirt. I looked below me and I watched her fingers work the buttons. She moved slow, taking her time, and I caught a glimpse of the ring I put on her finger hours earlier.

I went through all the trouble to break up with Liz and the engagement to properly ask Mr. Parker for Liz’s hand in marriage, and Liz deserved to be loved the way I wanted to love her. I should just do it right now, but I couldn’t just do “it” right now, because it wasn’t just “it”. Sex was making love, and I wanted to make love, the right way. I wasn’t about to spoil Liz’s first time. I wanted it to be special. I swallowed the lump in my throat and slid Liz’s strap back onto her shoulder. I kissed her lips softly and backed away.

“I—I’m sorry, Liz,” I said. “It’s not that I don’t…I—I can’t.”

She sighed heavily and got off her bed. “Um…ok.”

I saw the disappointment on her face. “I’m sorry, Liz,” I apologized once more. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I do…I want you so bad.” I grabbed her and kissed her. “I really do, Liz. It’s just…you waited for me…you saved yourself for me, and you don’t know how grateful I am. I want your first time to be on our wedding night, the way it’s supposed to be. It’ll be that more special. I…I don’t want to ruin it for you.”

Liz started to button my shirt back, which brought a smile to my face. “You could never ruin it for me, Max. You would be the only one that could make it special.”

My cheeks blushed immediately. “Thank you for saying that, Liz,” I said. “And thank you for understanding. I just want the best for you.”

“I know,” Liz nodded. “I appreciate it.”

I rubbed her bare upper arms and kissed her one more time. “First thing after a night’s rest, we’ll start planning the wedding. When do you want to have the wedding?”

“Soon,” Liz smiled. “I don’t want to wait much longer.”

[hoLLyBEHRy]

*A/N- Now you guys have the wedding to look forward to. But of course, stuff has to happen until then. As you read on, you might be able to tell what’s going to happen because you’ve seen it before. ; )*

Chapter 20

[Maria]

I lugged about ten bridal magazines over to the cafeteria table. I had more stocked in my locker, but I could only carry ten, maybe eleven, at a time. These mothers were thick as hell. Once I was at the table I unloaded the stack of magazines.

“Let the planning begin!” I smiled.

Liz looked at me and grinned. She was sitting on Max's lap and they were sharing a basket of fries. It was so great to see them all lovey-dovey again.

“Plan for a wedding in mid-December,” Max said.

I grabbed a seat. “Are you guys serious?”

Liz nodded affirmatively. “Yeah, December 15.”

“That’s only a little more than a month away,” I realized. The both of them nodded. “Well, that means we’ve got seven to twelve months of planning to do in four weeks.”

“Maria, we can handle it,” Liz assured me. “We did Isabel’s in less time.”

I sighed and started to flip through the magazines, throwing out ideas that I had. I searched all the magazines for a dress that I knew would be perfect bridesmaids outfits. Even Max was interested in the wedding planning, but Liz didn’t seem to be.

“That sounds great,” she said. “But uh…um…can we do this another time?”

I looked up at Liz. Her face was pale and glistening with sweat. Max didn’t notice, he was too busy looking at one of the bridal magazines, but when she stammered, he took notice of Liz too.

“Are you ok?” I asked.

Max felt her forehead with the back of his hand. “Liz, you’re really warm.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I think I’m catching a cold, but I’ll be fine.”

“No,” Max said, shaking his head. “We should take you to the nurse, have you sent home.”

He was still feeling her forehead, but Liz pushed his arm away and Max took his hand back, embarrassed. He looked at me, hoping that maybe I didn’t catch a glance, but I did, and he continued to feel embarrassed. Liz got off his lap and shoved her books into her bag, pushing away the bridal magazines that covered them. If Liz said she was fine, Max and I weren’t going to push it.

“I’ve got to go,” she said. “I’ll talk to you two later.”

She kissed Max on the cheek and left the two of us at the table. I exchanged looks with Max, and we just shrugged shoulders and went back to looking through the magazines. I pointed out a few things to Max as a few people around me rushed out of their chairs, but I didn’t take notice at first. More and more people got up, and I finally wondered what the big stampede was about. A few more people got out of their seats and this time I followed them with my eyes. They joined a huge crowd near the doors.

“Max,” I said.

He lifted his head from the magazine and looked at me, but he was distracted by what I disturbed him for. Realizing just what was in the center of the crowd, Max jumped to his feet, and his chair fell behind him. He rushed over to the group, pushing his way through.

I moved over towards the crowd and stepped up on a chair for a better look. I watched Max push through the big crowd, asking people what was going on. No one could give him an answer. Max stopped at one of our classmates and I saw his face just drop. He looked over more students’ heads and looked back at our table, I assumed he was looking for me.

“Max,” I called to him. I caught his eye. “What is it?” I asked.

“It’s Liz.”

[hoLLyBEHRy]

Chapter 20: Part 2

[Maria]

As soon as he told me, he frantically pushed his way through and finally made it to the center of the circle, and I jumped off the chair and followed Max. In the center of the crowd, Max knelt over Liz’s unconscious body, and my heart sank.

“Oh my God,” I gasped. “Max, is she ok? What the hell happened?”

“She was walking towards the door and fainted,” someone said.

“Max?”

I kneeled beside him as he searched for a pulse and then lowered his ear to her mouth and observed her chest as it rose up and down, a sign that she was still breathing. Max slid his hand behind Liz’s neck and lifted it slightly.

“I’m getting the nurse,” someone announced.

Max's attention quickly went to the person. “No!” he ordered. “It’s ok. I’ve got her. Liz?” he whispered. “Open your eyes. Liz?”

Slowly, Liz regained consciousness, blinking her eyes a few times before opening them completely. I could tell she knew where she was. Liz looked up at Max and smiled wearily, but then looked at the dozens of people also standing over her and staring at her. Her faint smile died away completely and her cheeks blushed.

“What happened?” she asked.

Max and I exchanged glances of worry. “I think you fainted,” Max replied. “You don’t remember?”

Liz shook her head as her response.

“Do you remember your name?” he asked.

I watched Liz roll her eyes as she got to her feet. “Yes, I know my name,” she replied. “If you said I fainted, all I did was faint, Max. I don’t think I have amnesia.”

Max got off his knee. “Ok, sorry,” he apologized.

“Alright!” I said loudly. “Show’s over! Go back to eating, or trying to eat. Good luck with that! Enjoy!”

The crowd separated and our classmates looked over their shoulders at us as they did, mumbling things under their breath.

“Are you ok, Liz?” I asked.

Liz nodded and started to pat her disarrayed hair down. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Come on,” Max ordered. “I’m going to take you home.”

My best friend stared at her fiancé and shook her head. “No, Max, I’m fine. We’re in the middle of a school day.”

“You’re obviously sick,” Max pointed out. “You should be in bed.”

“Max, I’m fine.”

Max looked to me for help. “He’s right,” I finally said.

“You guys, I’m ok. I just got a little dizzy,” Liz claimed.

But Max shook his head and grabbed Liz’s arm, ready to pull her. “Let’s go,” he demanded.

“No!” Liz shouted. Some people at nearby tables looked our way, and yet again, we were the center of attention. “We’re engaged and we’re going to get married, and I love you, Max, but you have no right to order me around like your subject.”

Max brought himself closer to Liz. “Don’t fight me on this, Liz.”

They glared into each other’s eyes and conducted an unintended staring contest. Neither of them showed signs of backing down. My eyes darted from one to the other. Finally, Liz heaved a heavy sigh and just shook her head in defeat.

“Ok,” she said succinctly. “I’ll go.”

“Thank you,” Max replied, relieved. He took her bag off her shoulder and carried it like the gentleman he was.



[Liz]

I was scared, but I wasn’t going to admit it to any one. I thought I was coming down with the flu, but a part of me knew that it was something else. It was something definitely less than normal. Something was happening inside of me.

Max took the back of his hand off my forehead and sighed. “Well, you’re not running a high fever,” he told me. “Have you been feeling sick lately?” He sounded like a doctor asking me preliminary questions.

I hated feeling weak, even though that’s what I had been for the past few weeks. The bouts of lightheadedness I felt two weeks ago continued to come at me, along with migraines and nausea. I could’ve sworn I was coming down with the flu or feeling the stresses of being engaged and then not being engaged, but then weird stuff began to happen. Everything I ate became too sweet or too sour. My hearing became impaired. Sounds would become inaudible to me. When someone spoke, I only got parts of sentences or parts of words because ringing would occur. If that wasn’t enough, sometimes I’d hallucinate, but I wasn’t going to tell that to anyone. I wasn’t going to tell anyone anything.

“No,” I finally answered, or more like lied. “It’s just today, I guess.”

Max sighed lightly and looked at his watch. “Ok, well, you stay in bed. I’ve got to get to class at B&A. I’ll check on you later. Want a ride back to school, Maria?”

Maria and I made eye contact and she knew what answer I wanted her to say. “No,” she replied. “I think I’ll just hang out with Liz; make sure she’s ok.”

Max nodded and kissed my warm forehead. “Ok, I’m off then.”

Maria and I watched as he climbed out of my window. He could have used the door and then the stairs, but I guess that Max was just used to the ladder.

“Ok, so, what do you want to do?” Maria asked me.

I reached under my mattress and pulled out a few bridal magazines.

“You’re kidding me,” she laughed.

“This is my wedding,” I smiled. Though, I think it was the wedding which amplified my migraine and caused me to faint, it was still my wedding. “I’ve been looking at wedding dresses and—”

“You know, I bet Max wouldn’t approve if you were worrying about the wedding when you fainted all of ten minutes ago,” Maria pointed out. “But I set an appointment on Wednesday for you to try on some dresses at the bridal store in Clovis.”

I looked at my best friend and smiled. “You’re the best, Maria.”

“I know,” she shrugged. “Max is trying on some tuxes on Wednesday also.”

“You’re our very own wedding planner,” I smiled. “And you’re free, right?”

“How could I charge my two best friends?” Maria rhetorically asked. “But donations are greatly appreciated.”

I smiled and flipped through the pages of the bridal magazine I had pulled from under my mattress. “There’s enough money in the budget to pay you something,” I insisted. “My father set up my wedding fund when I was four.”

Maria smiled up at me and grabbed her planner out of her notebook. “Ok, well, at least we know we have a good budget,” she said, and checked something off in her planner. “We still have so much to do. There’s location…the florist…picking your wedding party, including maid-of-honor and best man…”

“Maria, I promised you my maid-of-honor position to you when we were seven,” I reminded her. “So, how could you tell me that we still need to do that?”

My best friend blushed and checked off another thing. “Ok, well, then I assume Michael is Max's best man. I’ll just tell Max to take his groomsmen to his tux fitting.”

“Make Isabel and your mom bridesmaids,” I added.

“My mom?” Maria chuckled.

“Yeah,” I said. “You’re mom’s great, and I want her to be a part of my wedding party.”

Maria smiled and scribbled down a few notes in her planner. “Ok, well, that’s taken care of. What about location?”

“Max and I decided to go for traditional and have it in the church,” I answered. Max didn’t believe in God, because how could he when he knew who created him? Max was fabricated by other worldly beings. Yet, he knew it was what I wanted.

“Great,” Maria said cheerily. “Valenti’s great friends with Father Kelly, and that’ll help us so much, ‘cause it says here,” she said, pointing to a wedding planning guide, “that you should meet with the wedding officiant six months before the wedding, and since we don’t have that kind of time, Valenti’s connection will definitely help us.” That was the best part of living in a small town. Everyone had connections.

“The church is already beautiful as it is,” I told Maria. “So, I think all we need to do is add a few flowers and decorate the pews.”

“Mrs. Evans has that book club with Mrs. Wise.”

“And Mrs. Wise is the florist,” I caught on. “See? Not so hard.”

Maria shrugged and jotted down more notes. “Ok, what kind of flowers?”

“White roses,” I immediately replied, “and those light yellow tulips.”

“Sounds great,” she said, reading off her list. “Oh, wedding rings; those are a check.”

“Wait a second,” I ordered. “What do you mean? Max and I haven’t even gone shopping for them yet.”

But Maria shook her head and checked something, which I assumed was “get wedding bands”, off the list. “No, he got them the day before we left for Santa Fe.”

“Well, come on, tell me what they look like.”

“No way!” Maria laughed. “Max wanted it to be a surprise. Ok, on to other things, wedding’s in four and a half weeks, but we got a lot done today. It’s pretty much planned out, now all we have to worry about is rehearsal dinner and the reception. Oh! Before I forget: guest list. How many and who?”

“I’m not sure on the exact number,” I answered. “But I think Max said something about his cousins and aunts and uncles.”

“Do you remember how many?” Maria inquired.

I nodded. “I think 25.”

“25?” Maria said with raised eyebrows.

“That’s just his dad’s side,” I informed her. “He’s also got his mother’s parents, but she’s the only child,” I said. “So, 27”

“That’s a lot for family,” Maria chuckled.

“Yeah, well, I’ve only got Aunt Reese in Florida and her son, Patrick.”

Maria laughed. “Liz, your side of the wedding is going to be pathetic.”

“Hey!” I said in a somewhat playful offensive way. “I’m inviting people from school. The sides will even out.”

“Are you implying that your fiancé has no friends outside our little circle?”

I rolled my eyes. “No,” I sighed. “Max is also inviting people from B&A, like his boss and classmates.”

“Ok,” Maria said skeptically. “We need to make that guest list right away and send out invitations.” Her words became inaudible and a high-pitched ringing was what replaced the words. Her mouth continued to move, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. I stared at her lips and tried to form words through the movement, but it was no use. It was too hard, luckily, my hearing gradually came back. “We’ve got plans and ideas, now all we have to do is execute them.”

I rubbed my ears and tried to get focused. “That’s great, Maria,” I faltered. The shrill ringing came back and I closed my eyes for a moment. I could tell that my voice was slightly louder. I tried to bring it back to normal level. I realized that I needed to rest. “Do you think you can work on that by yourself for now?”

“Not feeling good?” Maria asked.

I shook my head and got underneath my covers. “Not really.”

“Ok,” Maria agreed. “Go ahead and rest. Max will probably kill me if I over work you.”

I gave a little smile and rolled on my side so that my back faced Maria. My aches and pains were worse. I was scared, and my tears showed it.

[hoLLyBEHRy]

Chapter 21

{Michael}

“So, Liz just fainted?” I asked. I hadn’t seen Liz since Sunday when I saw her at work and I hadn’t seen Maxwell either. I didn’t have classes with any of them. That and, these past few days I had been so stressed with schoolwork—which was a first—and I didn’t have time for friends or Maria.

The saleswoman helped Maxwell with the bow tie as he stood on a platform that was positioned in front of three mirrors. “Pretty much,” was Maxwell’s reply. “She had a slight fever. It might just be the flu, but maybe not.”

“What do you mean?” Kyle asked.

Max shrugged his shoulders and thanked the woman for her help as she went back to the front of the store. “Liz…she’s stubborn,” he said. “We both are. So, when it comes to things like this, she’s going to try to act strong.”

“You think it’s something alien-related?” Jesse asked.

“Hey!” I barked. “The ‘a’ word!”

Jesse’s eyes widened and he immediately held his hands up. “Sorry,” he apologized. “Do you think it’s Yugoslavian-related?”

“Czechoslovakian,” Kyle corrected with a laugh.

“Sorry,” Jesse apologized again. “I’m still getting acclimated to this whole thing.”

Maxwell grinned slightly at the slipups and started to undo the black bow tie when his grin faded away. “I’m not sure,” he sighed. “I think that maybe it just caught me by surprise. No bow ties,” he said, changing the subject. “Don’t like ‘em.”

I walked over and grabbed a few items of clothing off a display table and handed them to Maxwell. “Try these,” I suggested.

He nodded and started to take off the previous ensemble except for the slacks and the dress shirt. “But it happened two days ago,” Max continued on. “She was fine yesterday.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about, Maxwell,” I insisted. “Liz is a big girl. If she says she’s ok, then she’s ok.”

I helped him tie the Victorian gold neck tie that matched the same colored vest. Jesse helped him put the jacket back on, and the suit was complete. I looked in the mirror and watched a smile on Maxwell’s face grow.



{Max}

I paced nervously in front of the Roswell church. Our town was diverse religion-wise, but we only had one church, which was to be shared by all religions. In my whole Earth life, I think I had been to the church three or four times, not including now. My mom and dad took Iz and I to church on our first Christmas and Easter and one Sunday after that, but I never went back except for last Christmas, with Liz. It was the only time I enjoyed church. The other times, I didn’t enjoy it at all. Isabel was another story. During the holidays, she would turn into what Michael liked to refer as the “Christmas Nazi”. I didn’t believe in God, but our parents did, that much I knew. They weren’t practicing religion. Liz didn’t either. I think she only went to church every Christmas and Easter.

But Liz wanted a traditional wedding, and so the church is where it’d be. I’d be lying if I said that being in a house of worship didn’t make me uncomfortable, but Liz wanted a church wedding, so I was going to have a church wedding.

“Wait long?” someone shouted.

I stopped and looked down the pathway. “Only a couple hours,” I smiled to Maria and Liz. I hopped down the three steps and met my fiancée with a kiss.

“I can’t believe you waited that long,” she said to me. “We should have called.”

I shrugged my shoulders and grinned. “It’s ok, ‘cause I was actually only here for fifteen minutes.” Maria and Liz slapped both of my arms and I could only laugh. “Did you find a dress?”

Maria and Liz shot each other glances and nodded. But that’s all they did, they wouldn’t tell me more.

Maria quickly changed the subject as she stared at my left hand. “What’s that?” she asked.

I followed her stare down to the black, miniature rubber band around my left ring finger and quickly slid my hand in my pocket. “Nothing,” I replied.

Liz caught on, too, and pulled my arm out. “What is this?” she asked.

“It’s just a rubber band,” I replied.

“What’s it doing around your finger?” Liz wondered.

“He wanted to see how it would look,” Maria started to tease.

“How what would look?” Liz asked.

I sent an evil glare Maria’s way and sighed. “It’s nothing, Liz.”

“He wanted to see how the wedding band would look there, but since he can’t wear it yet, he used a rubber band,” Maria ratted out.

“It’s just so I could get used to something being there,” I finally admitted. I didn’t wear jewelry. Having a wedding band on would feel awkward and would tempt me to take it off, but I didn’t want to do that, ever. So, I used a rubber band to put around my ring finger so that I would get used to having something there. “It’s just a substitute until I get the real one on my finger.”

“Well, I think it’s a great idea,” Liz announced, kissing my lips.

Maria gave a little laugh and rolled her eyes as she started walking up the steps as Liz grabbed my hand. We stepped into a spacey vestibule and I immediately smelled the church aroma. It was that smell of old pages in books, the good kind of smell, and aged, varnished wood, which were probably the pews. Upon stepping into the actual church, a scent of vanilla reached my nose. It smelt so good and with the white roses I knew Liz would pick to have, the church would have a great aroma on our wedding day.

Outside, the sun was setting, but its beautiful, faint light came in through the church’s wide, clear windows, making the church look even more appealing and attractive. I started to picture the lighting on our wedding day, the candles, the people in the pews, the flowers, Liz…

“Ok,” Maria said as we waited. “Now, Father Kelly…great, great guy, but he’s…kind of critical.” I remembered him from the times when I went to church. He really was a man who could put the fear of God into someone. “He’s one who judges a person by the first impression, and well, he heard about the incident in Utah, so the first impression of you, Max, is the one where he thinks you’re a criminal.”

I gave a little smirk. That’s just great. The person whose marrying Liz and I dislikes me. I wonder how that’ll work out.

“Luca!!!” someone laughed.

The three of us—Maria, Liz, and I—snapped around and saw a man come out of a hallway and into the front of the church. He wore all black. It was a short-sleeve, black dress shirt, a black leather belt, and black, ironed out slacks. Underneath the collar of his shirt was the white band, letting people know he was a clergyman. He was in his early twenties and he was what Maria would probably describe as “dreamy”. He was definitely not Father Kelly, and he looked familiar.

“Huggy?” Maria replied.

The guy nodded and jogged down the main aisle and grabbed Maria and spun around. “How have you been?!”

I looked down at Liz and assumed that she would have the same shocked expression I would have, but she didn’t. Liz looked just as happy as Maria and seemed to wait for her turn.

“I’m good,” Maria replied as the man put her down.

The man nodded and caught his breath. His eyes diverted away from Maria and drifted to Liz. “Betty?!” he laughed out like when he called out to Luca, who was apparently Maria. Liz rolled her eyes and the man picked her up like he picked up Maria, but he didn’t spin around. He just gave one big bear hug. “I can’t believe it! You look great!”

I noticed Liz’s cheeks turn red. “What are you doing here, Danny?” she asked.

He had already put her down, and I stepped forward to stand by her side and made myself known to the man.

“I’m the new minister,” Danny answered. “Father Kelly announced his retirement this morning, and I was called in from Santa Fe.”

“I can’t believe you really became a minister,” Maria chuckled. “I didn’t think you would do it, but I guess you did.”

Danny nodded proudly. “Yeah, well, when I saw Liz go into that janitor’s closet with Kyle the summer after I graduated, I joined the ministry.”

“Shut up, Danny,” Liz laughed.

I continued to stand next to Liz, but I don’t think she remembered I was there. I don’t think anyone knew I was still standing there, trying to figure out who this new minister was. Apparently, “Luca” and “Betty” were too busy catching up with Danny, or “Huggy”…whatever his name was.

“You know I’m just messing around with you,” Danny smiled. “What about you guys? What are you doing here? I’m supposed to be meeting with a couple trying to get married. You should hear this, this couple wants to get married in a few weeks. I hate these people who try to rush this thing. It’s such short notice.”

Liz and Maria looked at each other and smiled. “Sorry,” the two of them apologized.

But Danny shrugged and shook his head. “It’s not your fault.”

“Actually…” Liz grinned. “I’m one-half of the couple.”

Danny’s eyes grew wide. “You’re getting married?”

Liz nodded happily, and I was relieved that she actually remembered me.

“To who? Kyle?”

“We broke up years ago,” Liz informed him. Then Liz finally turned to me and smiled into my eyes. “Danny, this is Max, my fiancé.”

Danny looked at me and smiled. His teeth were pearly white and his smile was just as wide as mine. “You’re the lucky guy?” he asked.

I nodded and held out my hand. “Yes, sir.”

The man only a few years older than Liz, Maria, and I laughed and shook my hand. “Drop the ‘sir’, will ya? Name’s Danny Hughes. I used to go to West Roswell High. Class of 1999.”

That’s where I knew him from. I remembered seeing him at school. Girls pined over him, and he and Kyle were great friends. He was popular, good at sports, smart, and had the rugged good looks. He was another All-American boy, now turned clergyman. If I let memory serve me, Danny “Huggy” Hughes had a thing for Liz.

“Yeah,” I finally said. “I went to West Roswell High also, still do.”

“Really?” Danny asked. “I don’t remember you.”

Maria gave a little snicker, and I glared over at her, and she stopped.

“Yeah…well, I was pretty quiet,” I replied.

Danny nodded in understanding. “You must’ve done something to catch the eye of Liz Parker,” he said. I gave a little nod and remembered the time when I removed a bullet from a dying Liz. “Congratulations, you two.”

“Thanks,” Liz smiled. I nodded again.

“Sorry if I offended you earlier,” Father Hughes apologized. “It’s just that this will be my first wedding, I just got in today, got the news of this wedding, and I wanted to be prepared.”

“You didn’t know,” Maria sympathized. “And it is our fault, these two wanted to get married soon.”

Danny’s smile that had never died away finally did. He smirked sadly and nodded his head. Maybe he was really serious about losing his chance with Liz, my fiancée. “That’s great for you two,” he sighed. “So, how long have you two been together?”

I slid my hand into Liz’s and our fingers entwined. “About three years,” I replied.

A dense wrinkle formed in Danny’s forehead. “Three years?” he wondered. “That’d mean you two got together during sophomore year…but what about Kyle?”

Why did he want to know all of this?

“The thing with Kyle was a fling,” Liz answered, and it was an answer I wanted to hear. Love Kyle, but I am Liz’s fiancé and it’s natural to feel jealous of the ex-boyfriend. “Still great friends with him. He’s actually one of Max's groomsmen.”

Danny tried to show enthusiasm that he really didn’t feel and lifted up a corner of his mouth, bulging up his cheek. There was a moment of awkward silence, which was quickly broken by a ringing phone.

“I better get that,” Father Hughes announced.

The three of us nodded and Danny walked back the way he came in. The ringing stopped mid-ring and we knew Danny picked up.

“This is great,” Maria smiled. “We’re definitely going to be able to get the church for December 15.”

“Great,” I replied unenthusiastically.

Liz gave my hand a little squeeze. “Something wrong?” she asked.

I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. “No, I’m fine.”

Liz stared at me for a moment. She looked into my eyes, into my soul. I knew she could tell that I wasn’t completely honest. “Maria,” she finally said. “I’m going to have a little chat with Max. If Danny gets back and we’re not here, just fill him in on what we want and get the info we need.”

“Sure,” Maria said.

Liz grabbed my arm and pushed me down the aisle, back into the vestibule. I looked over my shoulder and noticed Maria doubtfully watching us leave the church. Once in the vestibule, Liz shut the doors. She held them shut for a moment, her head bowed down, and I looked on from the side. Finally, she turned around and stared at me.

“Don’t lie to me, Max,” she ordered.

I shook my head. “I’m not,” I lied.

She stared at me hard. I hated when she was angry or angry at me, and I definitely hated that look she gave me.

“Max,” she scolded. “You’re upset about something. I want to know. What is it? And don’t lie in the house of God,” she said half jokingly.

I looked at her incredulously, bringing a grin to my face. She retracted that remark and waited for my reply.

“Ok, fine,” I sighed. “It’s Father Hughes.”

“Danny?” Liz wondered. “What about him?”

“He used to like you, Liz.”

“What?” Liz laughed. “Max, no. Danny jokes about liking me or having liked me, but doesn’t and never did.”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest and took up a solid stance by spreading my feet a shoulders length apart. “Are you sure? Have you asked him?” I interrogated.

Liz looked me. “Max, that jealous trait all significant others have? Yeah, it’s not very attractive.”

I clenched my jaw, flexing out my masseter muscles. “I’m serious.”

“And so am I,” Liz retaliated. “How would you even know if Danny liked me or didn’t, Max? You kept tabs on me back then?”

My stance was deflated and Liz instantly knew that I kind of did. “I didn’t stalk you or anything,” I explained. “I just wanted to know who else liked Liz Parker.”

“Did you get a lot of names?” Liz smiled. I rolled my eyes and stared at Liz, waiting for her to get serious. She gave a little laugh and walked towards me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “I’m kidding, Max. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Liz, he liked you, that’s all I know.”

“Max, you have nothing to worry about,” she repeated. “Danny Hughes is an old friend whose now a man of the cloth.”

“That’s the thing,” I pointed out. “He’s an old friend, who used to like you, and now he’s going to marry us. It’s…weird.”

Liz sighed. “It’ll be ok.”

I shook my head and unwrapped Liz’s arms from around me. “It’s won’t, Liz. I’m uncomfortable with it, so it won’t be ok.”

“Don’t do this, Max,” Liz warned.

I had no idea what she was talking about. “Do what?”

“Don’t find some stupid reason to get out of this because subconsciously you have cold feet,” Liz tried to convince me. “You love me, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then you’ll deal—”

I shook my head. “I don’t want him to marry us.”

“You’re kidding.”

“You love me, right?” I said, using her words. I wanted her to understand how I was feeling and why I was feeling the way I was. “Liz, I just got you back. Please?”

Liz sighed and dejectedly let her usually beautiful posture disappear. “We might not get the church without Danny.”

“We’ll find a way,” I said.

Liz rubbed her forehead, wiping the sweat away. It was actually pretty cool outside, but maybe Liz was still feeling sick. “Max, this is such a great opportunity,” she argued. She had put her foot down. “We’re keeping Danny as mini—”

She fell forward and her body slouched in my arms. I collapsed with her to the floor and lied her down. “Liz?” She had fainted again. “Oh my God. Liz? Open your eyes.” My hand moved her hair away from her face, and in the process, my hand brushed her forehead. It was burning hot. “God. Liz, please wake up.” My fingers touched her neck and searched for her pulse. Her heart was racing. I picked up Liz’s frail, petite body in my arms. She was so light and her whole body was burning up. I shoved the church doors open with my foot and found Maria sitting calmly in a pew. She jumped when the church doors were rammed open. “Maria!”

Her eyes went straight to Liz. “What the hell happened?”

Apparently, neither of us cared that we were still in a church.

“She fainted again, Maria,” I informed her. “We have to go.”

“What about…?” I knew who Maria was going to mention.

“Maria!” I shouted angrily.



[Maria]

I opened the door to the seventh level in the stairwell and Max rushed in. The elevator was too slow to take, so we rushed up six flights of stairs. Max was drenched in sweat. It reminded me of when he had sprinted from his house to the Crashdown to tell us that Nasedo was killed.

Max ran down to the end of the hall with Liz still in his arms. I still had trouble keeping up with him. Max opened his apartment door with his powers so that he wouldn’t have to fish his keys out of his pocket. He rushed into the bedroom and put Liz on the bed.

“What do we do, Max?” I wondered. “She hasn’t woken up.” The whole ride over to Max's apartment, Liz remained unconscious. It scared both Max and I. When Liz fainted in the cafeteria, she sprang back up. This time, we weren’t so lucky. Something was wrong with her.

“I know that,” Max said, irritated and started to worriedly paced back and forth. “She’s breathing, but she’s got that racing pulse and a dangerously high fever, way too high. We have to cool her down.”

“Just tell me what to do.”

He ran his hands through his hair. “Go into the kitchen and grab all the Ziploc bags you can find. Anything that will hold water. Fill them up.”

The two of us glanced at Liz who was lying motionless on Max's king-size bed, then I rushed out of the room and into Max's kitchen. I trashed his kitchen searching for Ziplock bags and bowls. Instead of filling the containers in the kitchen, I brought everything back to Max's bedroom.

I ran in and saw Max sitting next to Liz on the bed. He watched her intently and didn’t even look over his shoulder at me. I pushed on through to the bathroom and put the bowls in the tub and let the water pour into them. I moved to the sink and held one Ziploc bag after another under the faucet. I had a few dozen bags quickly filled and rushed back to the bed with my arms full of bags of water.

“Here,” I said, rushed.

Max got up without taking his eyes off Liz until he stood up completely. He looked so stone cold. He wasn’t going to let his fear or worry show. Max had accepted that he our natural leader, which meant giving up all rights to show emotion. He couldn’t show any signs of weakness. He was required to be strong physically, emotionally, and mentally.

He took each bag from my arms and placed them on and around Liz’s body, blanketing her. With his hand over each bag, Max turned them into solid blocks of ice. When he went back over them again, the blocks became crushed ice. I watched in amazement, and realized I had more to grab.

“Max, we should call someone,” I suggested, handing him more bags of ice. “This can’t be normal.”

“And that’s exactly why we can’t call anyone,” Max replied.

Liz needed help. We had to cover her with bags and bags of ice. There was something wrong with her.

“Max, we have to call a doctor.”

“No,” he said calmly. “Maria, something is wrong with her. We don’t know what it is, and whoever we call won’t know either.”

I stared off to the side as Max continued to take the rest of the bags of ice from my arms. “It’s Czechoslovakian, isn’t it?”

Max didn’t answer.

[hoLLyBEHRy]

Chapter 22: Part 1

{Isabel}

"Isabel, it’s Maria. Get over to Max's as soon as possible.”

Her message sounded so urgent. I had just gotten out of my night class when I checked my voicemail. I rushed right over to the Reino. After letting myself into my brother’s apartment, I found Maria in the living room, standing in front of Michael, Kyle, and Jesse who were on the couch. They all looked at me with despondent, worried faces.

“What’s going on?” I asked immediately. “Where’s Max?”

“He’s in his bedroom with Liz,” Michael said.

I laughed. “You called me over for th—”

“It’s Liz,” my husband told me. “There’s something wrong with her.”

“What?” I turned to Maria for answers.

And she nodded in reply, confirming my fears. I had grown to care for our human family. They weren’t just friends, they were family. Liz was the maid-of-honor at my wedding.

“Max says she’s got a 110° fever,” Maria finally informed me. “And we’ve tried cooling her down with ice, but it isn’t working.”

I fell into a chair and Jesse came over to comfort me. “What happened?”

“She fainted at the church,” Maria began, “three hours ago, and she hasn’t woken up. Max thinks it’s alien.”

“Can I see him?” I asked.

Maria nodded.

I got up from the chair and Jesse walked me to the master bedroom. “I’ll be fine,” I told him when we reached the door. He gave one nod of the head and went back to the couch. I stood in front of the door, staring at the gold painted doorknob. I was frightened of what I might see on the other side. I was scared I was going to see Michael. What Maria had just told me, it sounded like what had happened to Michael two years ago. I was scared that I was going to see Liz like that also.

But I finally grabbed hold of the knob and turned it. The darkness of the room immediately caught my eye. It wasn’t pitch black, but it was close. I could make out shapes, and on Max's bed, where I thought I’d see Liz, I saw a mound of something, which I assumed was the bags of ice. And I knew that underneath the mound was Liz. It was a horrible sight.

I opened the door only wide enough for me to slide into the room. I closed it slowly and quietly without looking back. My eyes were glued to the bed, like staring at a coffin. I instantly thought of Alex. Alex’s funeral was the first funeral I ever attended. It was the first time I saw a casket. With the current feelings outside in the living room and situation, it was almost as if it were another funeral.

A muffled sound off to the side caught my attention. It was Max. He was sitting in his sitting room/library on his black, leather Sharper Image recliner. He had the chair turned towards the wall instead of the window, and on the wall was a painting. I walked over to him without looking at Liz on the bed. For a brief moment, the thought of her being dead crossed my mind, but the low rustle of the ice bags slowly rising told me Liz was still breathing.

I was in the sitting room/library, standing behind the chair, finding myself fascinated by the painting Max was staring at. “The Creation of Adam, right?”

Max nodded slowly. “By Michelangelo.”

There was an awkward silence between us as we both stared at the painting.

“Apparently, he depicts the creation of life by a single touch,” I realized. “Life was created by a single touch.”

“Ironic, isn’t it?” Max asked. “It’s almost the same thing with Liz and I. I brought Liz back to life with a single touch.”

I shook my head. “You didn’t bring her back to life, Max. You saved her life,” I corrected. “You can’t heal the dead, you can only heal the sick.”

“Same difference,” Max sighed.

“Have you tried to heal her again?”

My little brother shook his head. “I can’t. I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” he started to explain. “I have to get to the source of the problem, and I don’t know where that is. If I try to find the problem and heal it, it’ll take too much energy from me, and I’ll hurt myself. The effect of Michael’s power resulted in Cadmium X. We don’t even know the effects of either of our powers, Iz. I might hurt Liz even more.”

I didn’t know what to say. Max was right. He could hurt her even more and himself. It was too much of a risk for us to do anything, and it was too much of a risk for anybody else to do anything.

“I’ll give you some time alone,” I said after a moment. “I just wanted you to know that we’re all here, and we’re not going anywhere. She’ll be ok, Max. She’s strong.”

Max nodded and I heard him grit his teeth. He did that when he was angry or scared. I turned and started to walk away.

“Iz?” Max called.

I turned around. “Yeah?” I asked.

“Want to know something else ironic?”

I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. “What is it?”

Max cleared his throat and continued to stare at the painting. “Michelangelo died of a high fever.”

I exhaled sharply and returned back to Max's side where I pulled up a chair. “You did the right thing to bring her back here and cool her down. She’ll be ok.”

“She’s been covered in 60 pounds of ice this whole time, but her temperature still rose…from 110 to 118 even with the ice,” Max informed me. “That’s not normal. Yes, Iz, Liz will be just fine.”

My jaw dropped down in shock. “118?” I whispered to myself.

“I don’t know what to do, Isabel,” he said softly. “I can’t even heal her. That’s the one thing I know how to do. But I can’t do it. All I can do is sit here and wait until Liz wakes up or doesn’t…We just got engaged, Iz.” He paused for a bit and swallowed the lump in his throat. “It’s our fault.”

I didn’t want to sound selfish or hateful, but…“How is this our fault?” I wondered. “Max, Liz fainting is not our doing.”

“It’s always our fault,” Max said. “Every bad thing in our lives and their lives has been our fault…well, mostly my fault, but still. Topolsky comes into town. Tess comes to town. Kyle gets shot. Alex di—”

“Ok!” I snapped. “I get it.”

“It’s because of us,” Max went on. “If Liz dies, it’s going to be our fault. We’ll find out what was wrong with Liz, and it’ll be our fault.”

“No,” I refused to believe. “Liz is going to be fine. You’ll take care of her. You always have.”

“The highest body temperature ever recorded was 115…Liz is laying unconscious in there, possibly dying, three degrees hotter and rising. For some odd reason, she’s still stable. The body’s internal organs begin to fry when the body reaches 109 degrees. Now, Liz’s organs haven’t…I checked it out. But, tell me that this is human. Those ice bags are melting faster than they can cool her off. I don’t—”

“Just stop!” I demanded. “Liz will be fine,” I tried to assure him. “We’ve gone through something like this before with Michael and the—”

Max jumped to his feet and moved over to the bed.

“What are you doing?” I wondered.

He studied Liz, felt her forehead, and jumped off the bed. My brother still hadn’t answered me. Instead, when he knew that Liz still wasn’t going to wake up, Max ran out to the living room.

“What’s going on?” Michael asked.

I was still wondering the same thing. Everyone rose to their feet and we all stood dramatically around Max's apartment.

“I know what we can do to help Liz,” Max finally answered.

Maria stepped forward eagerly. “What?”

“I’m going to treat whatever’s going on with Liz as if it was what happened to Michael,” Max explained. “We’re going to restore the balance.”



[Maria]

“The what?” both Jesse and Kyle wondered.

The two of them weren’t there when Michael fell into a weird comatose state a few years ago. He had participated in a Sweat, which was an ancient Mesaliko cleansing ritual. It disturbed Michael’s balance and caused him to fall into a coma where he had a rising fever.

It was on my top ten list of scariest moments in my life. We didn’t know what could happen to Michael, but we were able to restore the balance using healing stones that River Dog had from Nasedo. Our energy brought Michael back, and now, Max had the same idea for Liz.

“Is it going to work?” I asked Max.

He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, but we can try.”

“Wait,” Jesse demanded. “What are we doing? What is the balance?”

“I’ll explain everything later,” Max replied. “Kyle, I need you to hurry down to the basement,” he ordered. “Find some rope or cord.”

Kyle gave a nod and ran out of the room.

“Jesse,” Max said next. “Start moving the furniture against the walls. We need an open space. Michael, help him after filling a bowl full of water.”

The two men dutifully nodded like Kyle did and started to work.

“What can I do?” Isabel wondered.

“Go into my bedroom,” Max replied. “To the sitting room and lift up the bench of the bay window. Find a loose floor board, lift it up, and you’ll find the healing stones. Bring them here.”

Isabel nodded like the men before her and ran back into Max's room. Then it was just Max and I as Jesse worked around us.

“What about me?” I wondered. “What can I do?”

Max looked at me in need. “Stay with me, please.”

TBC