Title: All's Fair In Love And War
Author: Sarah Marie
Couple: Dreamer. No, seriously! Things aren’t always as they appear to be! You gotta have faith, people!
Genre: AU, No Aliens. Written in Liz POV.
Rating: I’m gonna be safe here.. Mature-Adult. With me... you just never know.
Disclaimer: I own nothing! All rights belong to Katims, Metz, and the head people at the networks. The only thing I can claim is the idea. Also…any name or content similarities are purely coincidental. I mean no harm here...Just tryin to have a little fun!
Summary: Max Evans and Liz Parker were high school sweethearts. They got married right after high school and moved to New York. After two years of marriage, things changed and they separated. Now, something’s come up causing them to come face-to-face with the past they’d left behind.
Authors Note: Special Thanks to Tanya and Melyssa for reading this and listening to me obsess about it for, like, ever!!! I love you both so much!!! *MUAH*
Chapter One
I think I need to have my ceiling repainted. I mean, this isn’t the best apartment in the world...just a little one bedroom right off the NYU campus, where I’m currently going to school, but it’s enough. I do live by myself after all, so I don’t need a mansion.
I glance over at the clock, seeing annoying red glowing numbers telling me that its 2:28 AM. I should be exhausted. I had an assload of homework and reports to do for almost every class this week, not to mention that I still had to work every night...but I can’t fall asleep. All I can do is stare at the aforementioned ceiling.
I take a deep breath, willing my mind to just shut down so I can go to bed, when I start hearing snoring from the left side of my bed. Groaning, I roll over and shake the offender. “Steven” I say in a loud stage whisper, then roll my eyes at myself. We’re the only two in the apartment, and I’m trying to wake him up...why am I whispering? “Steven” I say, louder this time, and start shaking him a little harder.
He slowly opens his eyes, looking over at me. “What, Beth? I was fuckin sleepin.”
“Are you serious?!” I fain ignorance. “I had no clue!” Then I give him a slap on the chest and sit up, the sheets falling to my waist, exposing my naked breasts. “I was trying to wake you up. You were snoring, you keep stealing the blankets, and you’re kicking. I think you should go back to the frat house and sleep there.”
Judging by the fact that Steven’s eyes have been glued to my boobs every since I sat up, I’m confident that he hasn’t heard a single word out of my mouth. I cross my arms over my chest, effectively cutting off the peep show. He looks up. “Sorry babe, did you say something?”
“Typical.” I mumble. Then repeat myself, nice and loud so he understands me. “I said go back to the frat house!”
“But baby...” he whines out like a two year old who just got his toy taken away from him. “I don’t like it there...it’s loud, and there’s a kegger goin on.”
“Steven...it’s a frat house! There’s always a kegger! If you don’t like it, get your own apartment. I can’t sleep with someone else in the bed. You know that! That’s why you never stay the night.”
Although it’s dark in the room, with the moonlight shining through the slits in the blinds I can see him giving me the ‘kicked puppy’ look. And at the moment, I can do nothing but stare into his amazing baby blues. He’s my total opposite. Tall and muscular, while I’m petite and have never even seen the inside of a fitness center. He has short blonde hair and bright baby blue eyes, as opposed to my long brown hair and plain brown eyes. I’m about to give in, to just let him stay the night and deal without sleep, when my cell phone starts ringing. I reach over on the nightstand and grab my phone. I check the caller ID, but it says the number has been blocked. “Hello?”
“Liz?” The voice on the other end asks. I’m taken aback for a second. I’ve gone by Beth since the beginning of the new school year. After the events of last summer, I needed a change, so whoever this is...I haven’t talked to them in awhile.
“Um...who is this?” I ask, glancing over at Steven, whose lounging in bed, his eyes once again glued to my breasts.
“It’s Maria.” I think my heart honestly stopped beating for a second. I haven’t talked to Maria DeLuca in forever. We used to be inseparable, the best of best friends…until Max. But we’ll get back to that later, cause if she’s calling me...there has to be a good reason.
“Oh my God, Maria…it’s been forever! How are you?” I ask, hoping that my heart returns to a normal rate once we’re done with the pleasantries.
“I’m fine, but we have a serious situation here, Liz. I know it’s late, but you know I wouldn’t call unless it was important.” Well, hell. There goes the small talk. Typical Maria...just dive right into the conversation. I don’t think that girl could conduct a conversation that consisted of her beating around the bush if she was being paid.
“Ok...” I say, the confusion evident in my voice. “What’s goin on?”
I hear her take a deep breath. Oh shit...this is bad! It’s totally unlike Maria to not spit out whatever she knew right away. “Max is engaged, babe.”
I know she didn’t just say what I think she said. There’s no way in hell. It’s simply not possible! Am I breathing? Nope, I’m not. Damn, gotta remember to do that! “Wh- How...I...” I take a deep breath…there, I’m breathing again. Yay me. “What are you talking about?”
“Well...Max invited me and Michael over to his house for a party tonight.” I literally cringe at the mention of Michael Guerin. I’m sure that if I’d moved back home, Michael Guerin would have killed me by now. He thinks that everything that happened between Max and me is all my fault. Michael immediately took Max’s side when we split. When Maria tried to reason with him, that it could be Max’s fault...he dumped her. So, Maria either had to give up the love of her life...her fiancé, or stop talking to me. I pretty much made the decision for her. I wouldn’t answer when she called and wouldn’t call her back. I know her and Michael are meant for each other, and I wasn’t gonna stand in the way of my best friend’s happiness. Oh shit, she’s still talking! “So...we go over to his house right? We figure, just a typical Max party...little drinking, little fighting, a good time, right?” I roll my eyes. Only Maria would think that would be a good time. “And in the middle of the festivities, he just announces that him and his...arm candy are engaged!”
“His arm candy?” I have to ask. I knew nothing about this bitch until just now...so I need the basics.
“Yeah. His girlfriend…Well, fiancée now! Tess...blonde, blue eyes, big boobs, dumber than a post. Ya know…the anti-you.” Ouch! That one’s gonna leave a mark, people. I think she caught onto her mistake. “Oh, Lizzie! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that!”
“No, Maria, it’s ok. I know what you meant.” I reassure her. Yeah, I know what she meant, but that still hurt. “But I don’t get it, what does any of that have to do with me?”
“You can’t be serious, Liz! Think about it!!!” She practically screams in my ear, but I do what she says...I think about it. It hits me about two seconds later.
“Oh shit!” Is all I can get out of my mouth at this particular moment, so that’s gonna have to do.
“Exactly!” She screeches into the phone. Good Lord, I think she just busted my eardrum. I jerk the phone away from my ear, trying to rub the pain away, before I cautiously bring the phone back to where it was. “What are you gonna do, girlfriend?” She asks.
I can practically feel her pity for me oozing through the phone, but I ignore it. I know exactly what I’m gonna do, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. A string of curses come out of my mouth that would have made a sailor blush before replying. “I’m coming home. I gotta pack, and call into work, and call the airline.” I sigh. Great, just what I wanted to do. Fly all the way across the damn country to deal with a mistake I made when I was in high school. “Are you with Michael?”
“No. Michael, Max, Kyle, Alex and all the guys took off for Albuquerque about a half hour ago to go bar hopping to celebrate. He won’t be back for a good day or so, why?”
“I’ll call you back when I know when I’ll be in. Can you pick me up at the airport?” I pull the sheets back, and get out of bed before grabbing my pajamas and throwing them back on. I could pack naked, but I’d just rather not.
“Yeah, of course.” She’s silent for a minute. “I’m so sorry, Liz.”
Wow, do I NOT want her sympathy right now. “Don’t worry about it, ‘Ria. I’d rather hear it from you than anyone else. I’ll call you later.”
I hang up with Maria and grab my suitcase from under the bed. Only then do I look up and notice that Steven is silently begging for an explanation. “I’m sorry, Steven. I have to go home for a few days. There’s been a family emergency.”
He scoots to the edge of the bed. “Everything ok?” How cute, he’s concerned. Oh well, can’t make myself worry about that right now.
“Yeah, I just need to go home for a few days and take care of some stuff.” I don’t even look up, but just keep making trips from the closet to the suitcase, throwing in my cutest clothes.
“Ok, do you want me to drive you to the airport?” I stop packing and look over at him. Damn it, now I feel bad! Steven’s a great guy, but I can’t be in a serious relationship. He knows that. We’re just...friends with benefits. He knows that too...so does half of the NYU campus. Once the frat boys got a hold of that news, it was all over. Not that I care, but apparently everyone else does.
“No, that’s ok, I can drive myself.” He looks hurt, until I grab his hand, making him look up at me. “Thank you.” I say, genuinely thankful that I have him in my life.
He looks slightly surprised. “For what?”
I sit down on his lap, giving him a soft kiss on the forehead. “For being you. For being so caring, and understanding…and for not pushing me into something that can’t be.”
He nods, giving me a quick kiss before I get up and then walk him to the front door after he’s gotten dressed. A half an hour and three phone calls later, I’m on my way to LaGuardia airport.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Airports are really, really boring at night. I could have stayed at my apartment. Then driven here later, since my flight isn’t until 6 AM, but I couldn’t just sit in the apartment and stare at the ceiling. I’ll have to make a note to call about getting it repainted. It really does need it.
I can’t believe this shit. I don’t wanna go home. I haven’t been home in almost 3 years. I bet by now you’re just on the edge of your seat, wondering what the hell is going on, right? Ok, ok. I won’t hold out any more...let me break it down for you.
I met Max Evans my freshman year of high school. He was the big man on campus from the minute he moved to town, and absolutely every girl in school was tripping over themselves to get him to notice them. Except for yours truly. Somehow, I managed to snag him, and we were together the rest of high school.
Almost right after graduation we did what we thought was the best thing to do at the time...we got married. Seems totally romantic, right? Marrying your high school sweetheart. It was, for a minute. We’d already decided to go to NYU, so we got a little apartment off campus...yup, the same one I’m still currently living in.
Max was...in a word, perfect. He was the ideal of the perfect man, the kind you dream about finding when you’re a little girl. He was my everything. I’d never been with anyone else, and I mean that in the literal sense. Max was my first everything. My first boyfriend, my first kiss, my first love, my first lover, and now...he’s my first husband.
I can’t stop myself from looking down at the double diamond bands that circle around my middle finger. Yes, I still wear my engagement ring and wedding band, just not on the right finger. I know what you’re thinking too. If Max was so perfect...why the hell aren’t we together right now, and why the hell is he engaged to another woman?
The explanation to that is both really simple, and completely complicated at the same time. Both of our parents warned us about getting married so young. They told us that we needed time apart, time to grow up, and time to live a little without each other, to figure out who we were. But...we were young and stupid, and were certain that we had the answers to everything. So we went ahead with the marriage. Two years later, it turns out that we should have listened to our parents. We didn’t have that time to grow up and find ourselves. To know what it was to just be...us without the other being there. I caught Max out with another girl one night. I shut down, stopped talking to him, basically turned into a psycho bitch from hell and we eventually grew to resent each other. I never told him that I saw him that night... never explained to him why I shut down, I just let it eat me up inside. After living in hell for three months, at the end of his sophomore year, Max dropped out of NYU and moved back to Roswell. We haven’t spoken to each other since, and now he’s engaged.
It’s not that I don’t want Max to move on…hell, I’m thrilled that he found someone else. I did! I have Steven, and while we aren’t serious, I know that it could be. I don’t want to be tied down again though. And I don’t want to tie Steven down. He knows about Max. He knows that we were serious in high school, and college, but no one there knows that we were married. Somehow, we managed to keep that a secret. Probably because I was enrolled in school under my maiden name, and since me and Max had each other, we didn’t talk to anyone else.
Steven knows how hard the ‘break-up’ was on me, so he understands why I need to be free to do whatever I want and not have to answer to anyone. I’m finally getting my time to grow. To find out who I am, and I’m loving every single second of it.
But it would only figure that fuckin Max Evans would come out of nowhere and ruin all that for me. We would’ve had to deal with each other sooner or later...I’m still partial to the ‘later’ part, because even though I haven’t talked to Max since he left New York almost a year ago, we have some serious unfinished business. What kind of unfinished business you ask? Well, to put this as simply as possible...technically, we’re still married. We never got a divorce. We just separated. I’m still Elizabeth Louisa Evans (middle name courtesy of my mom’s mom, thank you very much)!
I hear the beat of “Hey Mama” by the Black Eyed Peas suddenly begin, signaling me that my cell phone is ringing. I reach into my purse and grab it, seeing that it’s my parents. Damn it, Maria must have called them. I don’t want to answer it, but I know I’m gonna have to face them sooner or later, so here goes nothing. “Hey Parental Unit.” I say into the phone, knowing whichever one it is will definitely comment on that.
“Lizzie, can’t you find another way to answer our phone calls?” My dad asks, and then proceeds to explain to my mother what happened after I hear her in the background talking.
“Daddy, focus please.” I say, bringing him back to the conversation with me. “What’s up?”
“Maria called us at 1 AM to tell us that you were coming home. Is that true?” He asks, his voice both hopeful and there’s something else there that I can’t quite put my finger on. Resistant maybe? He probably knows about Max and what’s-her-slut, so he probably knows that’s why I’m getting on an airplane shortly to fly all the way across the country when I couldn’t manage to make that happen for any holidays.
“Yes, Daddy.” I reply, waiting for the lecture to begin.
“Lizzie...” He starts. Oh, here he goes! Major lecture!!! “Please tell me that it’s to get Max Evans the hell out of your life for good and then get right back on a plane back to NYU.”
I’m literally sitting in the middle of the airport with my mouth hanging wide open. People are staring at me. Oh, I should probably close my mouth then! DUH! Oh yeah, on with the conversation! “I hope so.”
I hear a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone. “And Maria’s picking you up at the airport?”
“Yes, Daddy.” This conversation is going the complete opposite direction I thought it would! Not that I’m complaining.
“Ok, you come here as soon as you get into Roswell, you hear me? Then once you’re settled in we can deal with that bastard husband of yours.”
Whoa there! I can’t not laugh at my dad. Not really polite, but sometimes he’s funny without even trying to be. “Sounds like a plan, Daddy. I’ll see you and Mom later today. I love you both.”
After we say goodbye, I hang up the phone and then proceed to stare at it. That didn’t really just happen, did it? That was insanity. Not one single snarky comment about missing holidays...that’s a record. Thank God you were here to witness it!
I place my phone back in my purse, once again returning to twirling my rings around my middle finger. Since there’s absolutely no way in hell I can just sit here without going insane, I grab my purse, that being my only carry-on item, and head to the souvenir shop. I’m gonna need some serious trashy tabloids…Cosmo, Vogue, a beverage...ooh…and a snickers!
Once I’m comfortably situated back in my chair in my terminal with my magazines, snacks and sodas, I pick out one of the tabloids. Let’s see who Paris Hilton is dating this week!!
These tabloids never cease to amaze me with the crazy shit they put in them, it’s amazing the people pay for this crap! Wait a tic...forget I said that! I check the time on my cell phone, it’s a little after 5 AM. My flight should leave in an hour, and I’m bored out of my skull. I can’t read anymore. Due to my lack of sleep, my eyes keep going fuzzy every time I try. I can’t take a nap, cause there’s no way in hell I’d wake up to get on my flight. I’ll sleep on the plane, that’s not a big deal, the only thing is...I have absolutely nothing to do.
Just as I’m about to reach in my bag to call Steven, knowing he’ll still be awake because of the party, it starts ringing. Weird...maybe I have ESP or some cool shit like that. I pick it up and look at the caller ID, it’s a blocked number. Man, caller ID really isn’t that helpful, is it?? Oh well, I answer it anyway, “Hello?”
I can hear music, loud music playing in the background on the other end of the line, yet no one says anything. I repeat my ‘hello’ thinking whoever it was might not have heard me over that racket. The reply I receive is “Hey, Angel.”
My heart stopped. Breathing, oh I’m definitely not doing that right now. I can’t even blink. There is absolutely NO way in hell this is who I think it is. “Huh?” Is about all I can manage, and it comes out in nothing more than a squeak.
“How’s my Angel doin?” Comes from the person on the other end. It’s a little hard to decipher at first, being as how they’re obviously drunk as a monkey because they’re slurring horribly, but there’s absolutely no mistaking that Maxwell fucking Evans is on the other end of this call.
“How did you get my number?” I ask, unable to keep the disdain out of my voice. I had my cell number changed immediately after Max left, wanting absolutely nothing to do with him. The only people from Roswell that have my new number are Maria, Alex and my parents. Which can only mean one thing...Alex gave him my number. I think I just growled. Yup, by the way the guy in the fancy suit a few seats down is looking at me, I definitely growled. Excellent.
“What? You ain’t happy to hear from me?” Max asks, giggling like a little girl. Ugh, I loathe him.
“Of course I’m not happy to hear from you. Why the hell would I want to talk to you?” I spit into the phone, hoping he either gets the hint, or just gets pissed off and hangs up on me. Either one would be just fine by me.
“Baby, such hostility.” Max purrs into the phone, making me growl again. Great, that guy got up and moved. Max screws me no matter what. “I just called to see how you were doin, ya know? Touch base and all that bullshit. How’s your fuck-buddy?”
I see red…lots and lots of red. “His name is Steven, and he’s not my fuck-buddy.” I was about to tag a title onto Steven, but I’m not really sure what he is. Well, I know he’s a friend with benefits, but that’s just a fancy phrase for fuck-buddy. Damn Max all to hell.
“Oh, he isn’t?” Max asks, sounding genuinely interested. “What is he exactly?”
I’m so kicking this kid in the face when I see him. And since I have no reply to that, I simply turn the conversation another direction. “Why are you calling me? Do you want something? Or are you just calling to make sure that I know you’re still the prick you always were?”
Max imitates a cat, meowing then hissing into the phone “Retract those claws, kitty. Just called to see how my girl was doin.” I’m speechless! This guy has a lot of balls! He’s fucking engaged, and he’s still married. There’s no way he could know that I’m gonna be home later this morning, or that I know he’s engaged...so he really did call just to be a prick.
“Yeah, well, as touching as that is...I have no desire to talk to you ever again. So I’m just gonna hang up now, ok?”
“Can’t let you do that, sweet cheeks.” If I kill him, I can claim insanity, right??
“Really? And why is that?” I ask, not really caring what the answer is.
“Cause I miss you, Lizzie Lou.” Huh? He really sounds like he means it. If I didn’t know him better, that would have been really believable. Unfortunately for him, I’m hip to his games. So, I decide that he’s given me the perfect opportunity to completely fuck with his head.
I sigh, making it sound like I’m actually falling for that lame line of his before replying. “I miss you too, Maxie Poo.” Yeah, we were quite nauseating when we were together. We even made me wanna puke on occasion due to the over-whelming cuteness of it all.
“Really?” He asks almost immediately. Oh yes, you fell right into it Max. I’m laughing inside my head at how funny this is going to be. You ready for it? Ok, here I go...
“Yeah, I miss you for about a minute...and then I realize that I shouldn’t miss a piece of shit like you when I now have a guy who’s sweeter, sexier, and a million times better in bed. So,” I pause for dramatic effect. “as soon as that realization hits me...yeah, I don’t miss you after that. In fact, after I realize that, I get down on my knees and thank the Lord that you’re gone.”
Not too long after my award-worthy speech, I hear a click on the other end, then nothing. He hung up. Oh yeah, point for Liz! HA! Don’t write me off as a heartless bitch yet, because I’m really not! But seriously…put yourself in my position! You get a phone call at 2 something AM from your ex-best friend telling you that your estranged husband is engaged to another woman. Then you pack, drive to the airport, buy a ticket, and sit in a terminal for over 2 hours after having almost no sleep all week. If that’s not enough to get a sane person thrown in a white padded room, then said estranged husband calls you outta the blue and acts like nothing’s going on. Now, can you honestly tell me you wouldn’t have flipped the bitch switch too? That’s right, I didn’t think so!
So now what am I doing? I’m staring off into La-La Land, having mock confrontations with Max in my head. Going over every scenario I can think of. I wonder if I’ll get to meet that...what the fuck is her name?! Oh well, doesn’t matter. I wonder if I’ll get to meet the dime-store hooker he’s engaged to. I bet she doesn’t even know I exist. Ok, so now I’m going over mock confrontations with her in my head.
Apparently, with all the fun I was having confronting Max and his bitch in my head, I didn’t notice that it wasn’t only amusing, but helps to pass the time, because before I know it, they’re letting me board the plane.
Now I’m safely buckled into my seat next to the window, and isn’t it just my luck I get stuck next to the guy in the fancy suit that I scared off when I growled. I try to give him a small smile, but he quickly looks away. I can’t really make myself care though, because before they’re even done boarding the plane, I’m drifting off to sleep...
Roswell, New Mexico... here I come.
TBC...
