Author: RebeccaBehrEvans.
Title: Shower Reality (or Show her reality depending on how you want to see it.
)Category: AU. No aliens. Max and Liz. Mention of Kyle and Liz, but nothing graphic.
Rating: In case you haven't guessed yet, ADULT.
Disclaimer: Don't own them, just love them.
Summary: Max. Liz. And a shower. That pretty much sums it up, so if you want to know more I'm afraid you'll have to read.
You maybe just need to know that in this one Liz and Maria are not best friends with Alex.
Author's note: This is just a little something I came up with after a dream (yeah can't say I haven't the coolest dreams sometimes
) and I just decided to write about it while I was having some major writer's block on my other stories. It will only be a two-parter though, so don't expect too much of it. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated though 
Oh yeah, for those who watch One Tree Hill, you'll all recognize Coach Durham… Don't know why him, but he just seemed to fit here… so okay this is not basketball, but what? Can't a man change his mind?
To Angie and Tiph, for always being there when I need you, even if it is just to hear me rant non-stop about the world sometimes
Love you girls And a big, big thank you to Marteloise (yeah, the same Angie
) for the amazing banner. You know how much I love it!! (damn, isn't Jason the hottest guy??! )I can't believe I'm writing this once more, moreover when this was supposed to be a one-parter originally
,but I'm gonna post in two due to length. Now someone told me that my chapters were too detailed and that it made the stories hard to read, and I swear I try to get to the point, but that just seems like impossible to me… nonetheless if it is really too much, just let me know and I'll try to work on that! Harder! That said, on with the story:
* ~ *
Slamming the door behind her, Liz Parker stomped inside the girls' changing room, cursing all the way to her locker.
Damn Tessa Harding. Damn her, she could say it a million times and she still would have not said it enough. If it weren't for her, she would have been out of there and home a long time ago, like anyone else. But no, that little witch had to pull another one of her dirty pranks on her.
She was so fed up with her. With all of this in fact. So tired of always being the butt of the rest of the team's stupid little jokes. If it weren't because cheerleading was something she actually enjoyed doing, she would have given up a long time ago, because let's face it, no matter how unfair it could be, the cruel reality was that even after almost a year with the cheerleaders, she was still considered an outsider by most of them, all because their captain hated her with a passion Liz had never even been able to understand so far.
Of course there was no love lost between the two of them, and Liz could honestly say that coming from Tessa and her bunch of stupid minions, it wasn't really so surprising, but as far as she was concerned that was not reason enough to be locked up into the equipment room for almost an hour. Nothing could justify that.
She should have been more clever this time though. She should have known something was off when Tessa and Courtney Banks had offered to help her put everything away after practice. She should have understood that there was no goodness in those girls and that there was necessarily something behind their sudden willingness to help and their pretended good intentions.
It had taken her to hear the click of the door being locked behind her and their evil mocking laughs however to realize just how stupid she could be herself sometimes. But at least she could use the excuse that she was spending too much time with them and they were starting to rub off on her as well apparently. What was theirs since they were always like that?
She could never be so cruel though, no matter what, she at least knew that. Yet she had no doubt that if Mr. Rodriguez, the janitor, hadn't passed near the premises while she was screaming at the top of her lungs for someone to come and get her out of the damned place, she would have probably spent the night in there alone, and Tessa would have certainly not lost sleep over that fact, that was for sure.
She and the West Roswell High biggest tramp had never gotten along, that was actually an understatement, but this time Tessa had really gone too far and she would have to pay for this, Liz promised herself as she pulled her shirt over her head and kicked off her shoes.
As she tried to find something that could really hit Tessa where it hurt, she wiggled out of her skirt, and once she had gotten rid of her undergarments she gathered her shampoo, her hair conditioner and everything else she would need, and stepped inside the large common shower stall.
Her parents would probably wonder where she was and what she could be doing since she usually went home directly after practice, but after her little misadventure, she couldn't care less. A shower was just what she needed, and she had every intention to make a long one out of it, she thought as she turned the tap on and stepped under the not even tepid yet water.
She deserved that much after this, and soon Tessa would get what she deserved as well. And more.
Now in any other case or if it had been any other girl, Liz would have just gone for what she desired the most but had never managed to have so far, but she knew all too well that this would be like completely impossible with that blonde ho'. If Tessa wasn't able to get it, who was she to pretend she could, huh? And that wasn't even a matter of not really wanting it as well, because God knew she did herself. She had motivation and yearning in spades for that, she was just lacking in some other departments.
Liz wasn't ashamed to admit that, at least to herself. She would probably not say it out loud though. She would even go so far as denying it openly if anyone confronted her, but the truth was that the main reason she still put up with all the crap she was forced to go through regularly despite everything, could take up in two words. Max. Evans.
Ah, Maxwell Donovan Evans. Captain of the school football team, who trained just at the same time she did and who she could spend her life watching.
There would be so much to say about him that she could probably write a book and make it a best-seller. And believe it she would just need to put a picture of that guy in the front cover to make sure the sales exploded. He had enough charisma for that. But if Liz had to sum it up, she would just say that Max Evans was one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen. A tall, dark-haired, amber-eyed mystery every girl wanted to solve. Manliness and sexiness all combined in one to reach perfection, and… well, she could go on and on, and on about all his qualities. He was simply beautiful from the inside out, even if she had never really had the opportunity to verify that for herself. It was just something she instinctively knew. Sensed. You just had to look at him to know that much.
Max Evans was in fact every girl's fantasy become reality, hers included. He was the modern version of that Prince Charming every little girl dreamt about when they were young and their illusions about the world and the way it worked were still untainted. But most of all he was the love of her life, even if he didn't know that, probably never would, and what was more definitely wouldn't care.
Squeezing a generous amount of shampoo into the palm of her hand, she proceeded to lather her long dark mane, as she took a walk down memory lane. Once more.
She could still remember clearly the day she had realized she was in love with Max Evans. Or rather the day she had acknowledged that fact because if she was honest, part of her had always known it was him.
It was the first Saturday night off they had had in more than a month, her father, the proud owner of one of the only local restaurants, having scheduled them to work every one of them till then, and she and Maria, her best friend, had actually planned to go and see the last Josh Harnett's movie at the drive-in theater.
Of course they had been excited to go but beside their usual cries and giggles when Josh had appeared for the first time on the screen, everything had been really normal. Or at least it had been until Maria had felt the sudden urge to pee, and after making her promise to pay extra-careful attention and tell her everything she would miss afterwards, had left her alone in the car.
Now Liz had not minded at all since there were several vehicles around Maria's and everyone seemed to be concentrating on the movie anyway to really pay attention to her. But when she had realized that Maria was really taking too long in the bathroom, she had started to get worried.
At first she had given her a few more minutes, thinking that maybe she had stopped on her way back to buy something, or maybe just met someone when coming out and that she would be back soon, but when there was still no sign of her about another good five minutes, she had locked the car and left in search of her.
After trying the bathroom first and seeing that she had already left, she had gone to the stands sure that she would find her there, but Maria was still nowhere in sight, which of course only increased her anxiousness. The craziest kind of scenarios had popped into her mind then, one more terrific than the other, but still she hadn't been prepared for the reality, sure that she was only overreacting like she usually did when she was nervous.
She didn't remember what had compelled her to turn around then and go back to the girls' restroom once more before going back to her car, but just as she was making her way there, she had heard Maria's unmistakable angry voice, and she had almost immediately run in that direction.
She had been stopped in her tracks however when she had noticed two guys she recognized as belonging to East Roswell High School trying to drag Maria to their car. They had obviously been drunk as far as she could tell by the way they had slurred and kept telling her that it wasn't very nice to not want to share her candies with them, but once the first shock passed, she hadn't given a damn about their reasons. She could see Maria's frightened face though she tried to appear brave and fought against them, and that had been the only thing she could think about.
She didn't know anymore what had been going through her mind then, or what she had planned to do, if she had planned anything of course, but she hadn't even taken two steps in their direction that one of them had spotted her, brought the attention of his friend on her and ruined the element of surprise, however slim it had been.
'Look what we have here, another sweet treat' one of those pigs had said when seeing her, and she had barely refrained from rolling her eyes at the stupidity of the sentence. Whoever had assured the guy that he could have any girl with something like that obviously didn't know women very well and surely didn't score!
She hadn't really felt threatened at first considering their state and all, but when she had seen them advancing to her then and noticed that as always whenever you needed a hand, there was never anyone around, that was when she had started to panic slightly . The parking was completely deserted at that moment of course, and she would have actually considered running for help if it weren't for the fact that she hadn't wanted to leave Maria alone, but in the end she hadn't even needed to.
A tall figure had stepped in front of her, shielding her from them and when she had heard him ordering them to let go of Maria and had recognized whom the voice belonged to, she had instinctively known that she had nothing to fear anymore. She had been sure right then and there that Max would not let anything happen to them.
Liz had known he was there, too, before that of course, since she and Maria had seen him arriving with his sister a moment ago, parking his old jeep not too far from their car actually, but she had no idea how he had known they were in trouble now, or even where he had been coming from. He had just appeared out of nowhere and before they could even really think about what could have happened, it was already over, fortunately.
Though she knew Max wasn't exactly the type to throw the first punch, those guys, as brave as they had looked a minute ago, didn't seem to want to mess with him or be the firsts to start a fight with the Captain of the West Roswell football team either, and so after promising them that this wasn't over and that they would see them again soon, they were gone.
Liz was actually impressed with Max's ability to scare them off so easily since only one of his looks had been enough to make them run away like frightened rabbits, but she wasn't utterly surprised. There was something about Max Evans that even when you hated him, you couldn't not respect him or even sometimes fear him for all that.
Well, normally. She could never be afraid of him though. Just incredibly intimidated.
At that moment, even Maria who usually could talk a storm had been left speechless as well, probably because she had been more scared than Liz had had time to be herself, but once she had found her voice again, she of course couldn't thank Max enough.
That was actually when the strangest thing happened. Almost completely dismissing Maria once he had made sure she was really alright, and after repeating about a million times that there was nothing to thank him for, he had turned to her and had asked her if she was okay. How ironic when they had not even really had time to come anywhere near her. Thanks to him.
So yeah, it could seem stupid to hold on such an insignificant question, but some times Liz could swear she could still feel the brush of his fingers on the soft skin of her elbow where he had touched her when he had asked. That and the jolt of electricity that had accompanied it and had set on fire all her nerve endings at that moment.
She remembered that her eyes had shot up to his face then and her breath had gotten caught in her throat at the sight. She remembered wondering how she could have gone all her life without realizing just how truly beautiful Max Evans could be, and how amazing his eyes could look. But most of all she remembered the true expression of concern on his perfect face and the way his eyes had never once left hers like she was the center of his universe and he would only breathe again once he would be absolutely sure she was indeed okay.
Still now she was convinced that they could have easily spent the entire night just losing themselves into each other's eyes if it weren't for Maria coughing near them and pulling her of whatever fantasy land her thoughts had suddenly taken her to.
And at that moment it had been obvious to her that Max had not been able to control his reactions more than she had been, if the blush tainting his cheeks then and that had surely matched her own had been any indication. Or even the way he had stuttered a barely audible 'that's great… g-good' before informing her that he should better go because his sister was probably waiting for him.
She had watched him leave without saying a word, but she had known then that she wouldn't look at Max Evans the same way ever again, because in the two minutes he had been standing near her, he had managed to do something she had always thought impossible till that instant: he had captured her heart… and then run away with it. Just like that, after nothing more than three words and a look.
It was not surprising then if she had barely been able to walk back to the car, and even less to act like nothing had happened, but the task had been made even more difficult with Maria rambling on and on about what she would have done if Max hadn't arrived precisely at that instant.
Still, that wasn't what had marked her the most. No, Maria had been full of praises for Max and what he had done, sure, but most of all she had made hers the mission to try and convince her that Max had probably not been there only by chance. She was certain herself that it was not because of her persona or because he had been observing her, but more because every time he was around he couldn't take his eyes off her best friend and that he had most likely followed her there when she had come looking for her.
Liz had found that ridiculous of course, but Maria hadn't wanted to hear about it, going so far as saying that he had probably not done it for her anyway or because he feared they could really hurt her, but more because of who she was, that is Liz Parker's best friend.
Liz knew she couldn't be more wrong however because Max just didn't seem like the type to sit down and watch when something got wrong. Therefore she was sure he would have done just the same for any girl who would have found herself in such a situation. Yet she had to admit that when Maria insisted that it couldn't be just a coincidence he had been there when she needed him and moreover when it was obvious he hadn't come to buy anything or use the restroom himself, she was half-tempted to believe her.
What had gone wrong then and why was she so helplessly in love with someone who not only didn't know it yet, but probably wouldn't care anymore now, if he had ever of course?
Well, the answer was easy. Serena Lawson and Kyle Valenti happened.
Now if she had any advice to give all the women out there, she would say never, ever make any decision when you were depressed, angry at the world and heartbroken because you would always end up doing a very stupid thing and regretting it afterwards. Believe it, she could talk by experience.
After that night and the little shy smiles they had started to exchange, and after realizing that she would do about anything to get to know Max, she and Maria had been racking their brains to find a way for her to go and talk to him without looking like an idiot or like she was suddenly going to start and stalk him, and after many efforts and stupid ideas as well, they had surprisingly come up with what they had been sure was the perfect plan.
Liz was supposed to go to him and tell him that they had truly appreciated what he had done for Maria and that to thank him, they wanted to invite him and his friend Michael for dinner. Easy right? And that way they would get a real opportunity to talk and she would see if he was interested as well. Michael of course was only there for security since Maria was sure that Max would be too shy to accept to spend an evening with two girls he hardly knew at all, and so he would surely be more at ease with a friend there, too. Beside, the fact that Maria was finding Michael rather attractive wasn't unpleasant either naturally, and with that settled they were sure that everything would work out for the best.
Only their perfect plan was definitely not after all, and they had surely not counted on external forces to come and screw everything up. Liz had chickened out one too many times, and by the time she had finally worked up the nerve to go and talk to him it had already been too late. She had merely been a couple of hours from taking that huge step, only waiting to actually come across Max in the school hallways to finally talk to him, when she had heard the rumor that changed everything.
Serena Lawson and Max Evans had been caught in a heavy make out session in the eraser room. And everyone knew that making out in that room didn't only consist in a few kisses. Far from it. There were tongues, hands, and what else involved in there.
At first she hadn't wanted to believe her ears of course, not just because she had felt like her heart would just shatter into a million of tiny little pieces if the rumor were indeed true, but mostly because that just seemed so unlike Max that she had been sure there had to be a misunderstanding somewhere.
But after hearing it about half a dozen of times, what could she do beside facing the truth? Max Evans was obviously one more of those guys who only went for big breasted blondes and who was she to compete with that, huh? That was the only conclusion she could come to then.
Now if she hadn't been so disgusted to the point of getting physically sick at the thought of Max's lips anywhere Serena, maybe she would have learnt the truth sooner and things would have turned out differently, but she had missed the two most important school days of her existence and that changed her life for what she was sure would be forever.
She couldn't remember exactly how everything had happened, the only thing clear in her mind actually being that during those two short days she had certainly cried more than ever in her life before, but by the time she was back at school she had a date with Kyle Valenti.
Now any girl with brain and a little of common sense would have known that that guy was the last one on Earth you should get involved with and even less trust, but she had been so desperate then than when he had cornered her at the Crashdown and asked her out, she hadn't cared about a thing anymore and was ready to say yes to anything people asked her, as long as they would let her wallow in her self-pity and pain afterwards.
The next day in fact she had almost already forgotten all about it, when Kyle had come to her asking her if she was still in for a movie that same night and that was when she had heard the rest of the story.
It turned out that Max Evans had never been anywhere near Serena Lawson, but Matt Stevens surely did, yet when she understood what the problem had been, Kyle was already looking at her with what she was sure could only be hope shining in his large blue eyes and she hadn't had the heart to tell him no. Even though she was also sure he was still wondering why hers were brimming with tears when she had given him her answer.
Of course the news of their date had spread faster than Tessa Harding's thighs and by the time she realized that she was making a huge mistake, there was no backing off. Beside the damage had apparently already been done considering Max's attitude from then on.
The worst was that since she actually found out that she could enjoy Kyle's company and she knew all too well that he would never be able to break her heart, therefore she wasn't taking some major risk, one date turned to several and soon they were going steady. Well, more or less, because Liz didn’t think they had ever been that serious about each other.
In any case, it was a stupid thing to do if you considered that she was in love with someone else, but when you had managed to convince yourself that you didn't stand a chance with said person -and she had succeeded quite well on that one- it didn't look so bad after all.
That didn’t mean that she could stop herself from seeking Max out, if only with her eyes, because clearly asking her that would be like asking her to stop breathing, she just couldn't, but she had at least tried to be more discreet about her attraction for him and act like it actually didn't matter anymore. Only Maria was not fooled by her attitude.
Well Maria and Tessa, for a reason she couldn't understand though. One time, while she was still going out with Kyle, she had even confronted her.
'Stop looking at him, you're only wasting your time… Do you really think he would go for a mousy flat-chested girl like you?' she had told her as venomously as she could, and Liz had just stood there, with her mouth hanging open, wondering once more what she could have done to Tessa to cause such opened animosity.
It wasn't so much the fact that she had caught her that shocked her, but more that she had even dared comment at all. That surely proved the nerve of the girl and what type of person she was, didn't it?
No matter what, Liz knew that she would never be able to go to another girl and basically tell her that she didn't stand a chance with the boy she obviously liked. If only because it was not only totally unbecoming, but who was she to pretend she knew what could go on in anyone else's mind anyway?
Tessa didn't have that problem apparently however, but Liz shouldn't be surprised. After all she had more or less staked claim of Max Evans a long time ago and she knew she would stop at nothing to scare any girl who would just as much as think about approaching him or taking a chance. It wouldn't be a first and definitely not a last.
"Slut!" Liz muttered under her breath, remembering how many times that shameless hussy had thrown herself at Max or how many times she had claimed that she would be the first one to make him cave and that once he would know what being with a real woman was, he wouldn't be able to get enough of her.
Right, maybe in her dreams. The only thing that comforted her was the fact that Max had never given her the time of day, no matter how hard she tried to get his attention. That only reinforced her opinion of him in fact. She knew all too well that any other guy would have jumped at the opportunity to get to know Tessa better, and by better she meant biblically, but Max wasn't one of them apparently.
Liz had of course tried to act like she didn't care at all about what she could say, but nonetheless the words had hurt her more than she was ready to admit, and had definitely stuck with her.
After all Tessa could be stupid all she wanted, but she wasn't completely blind. Though she was not as 'flat-chested' as she said she was or wanted to make her look, what could she have to offer to Max that about half the girls of Roswell couldn't anyway, huh? She was nothing special, so why would he even bother to look at her twice?
Then again, as miffed as she had been by Tessa's remarks and everything else, Tessa and Kyle weren't the only reason she had stayed away from Max even once she and Kyle had broken up. Max himself had done his part.
Though it was really tentative, Liz had really thought that they could maybe get somewhere after the drive-in incident, or at least she had until the false rumor of his relationship with Serena had spread. They weren't talking per say, far from it, but every time he would see her, he would smile at her and maybe even mouth a soft 'hi' sometimes, and that was enough to give her some hope. The couple of weeks it had lasted had actually meant the world to her, but all that changed when she accepted that first date with Kyle.
She hadn't seen Max the few days immediately after, and if she didn't know better she would have even thought that he had been avoiding her, but when she finally came upon him again, she had only needed one look at him to sense something was different.
It was as if unexpectedly they had taken a huge step back and returned to where they had been before that night. Or maybe even worse in fact because at least then he would still meet her eyes occasionally, but after that he couldn't even look at her, though Maria kept affirming that he still did stare when he thought no one noticed.
Liz didn't know what was the matter however. If he was just avoiding any contact with her because she was going out with Kyle and didn't want it to look like he was actually coming on to some other guy's girlfriend, or because seeing her with someone else actually hurt him like Maria suspected.
The main point anyway was that whatever the reasons, it had surely not helped the situation, if of course there was a reason behind his sudden strange behavior. After all, she could have read too much into those few smiles and only been deluding herself all the while. That theory seemed more reasonable actually if you considered that she had been single again for almost three weeks now and he had never tried to approach her in any way for all that.
Yeah, she knew, hard to believe, but after five months and she had not counted how many days, she had had an epiphany at last and told Kyle Valenti to get lost. Even harder to believe actually was that she had refused to listen to that inner voice that told her that everything she had been hearing about him during all the time she had been with him was true, and that for so long.
Fact was that Kyle had never treated her badly, that was not it, so apparently she had no reason to doubt him, but more than once she had found his behavior a little strange to be honest. If you didn't even count all the times he had tried to convince her that they were made for each other, and that usually people who felt that way tried to show their feelings in a more physical way, there were also all those looks some different girl every time always seemed to give him after those long weekends he said he couldn't see her because he had too much to do.
Yeah, too much to do, right! Too many would probably sum it up better, but as long as she hadn't had any solid proof of his unfaithfulness she had preferred giving him the benefit of the doubt.
The list of his supposed conquests was long, she knew that but it wasn't until Maria had caught him shagging another one of those brainless bimbos West Roswell was all too famous for, on the couch of his living room, that she had accepted to finally face the truth. No need to say of course that the shock had been actually greater for Maria, who gone to look for her mother who was currently dating Kyle's father had stumbled upon the scene, but she wouldn't have had it any other way.
She would have probably not known how to react if it had been her catching him, but Maria had definitely taken care of that like it had to: Sally Whatever-her-name-was had been slapped silly by an infuriated Maria, called all the names in the book and would most likely never come near an already taken guy ever again, and Kyle probably still had some indelible marks of her heeled-boots somewhere in his right ass cheek.
Liz in the end didn't care one way or another about what had happened since she had never been naïve enough to truly believe that Kyle had suddenly become a saint just because he was dating her, but she surely regretted not having gotten rid of him sooner.
Anyway, all this was a long time ago and it wasn't as if she could do a thing to change the situation now. What was done was done and Kyle Valenti was only a page of history in her life, one that had never really mattered anyway and therefore one that was definitely not worth wasting her time remembering.
She had already wasted too much of it as it was and the water was slowly starting to turn colder which meant that she had at least been under the stream a good ten minutes and had only managed to wash and untangle her hair in the meantime. She didn't know what to do to get back at Tessa either yet, but she realized that if she wanted to really enjoy the rest of her shower, she should better not think about her anymore right now. She would probably find something later on, and if not, she would just ask for Maria's help. If she couldn't herself, she would certainly come up with something.
Reaching for her vanilla soap, she started taking care of her body when her thoughts drifted back to Max. She wondered if he had already finished himself, knowing that the guys had been done with practice not so much longer before she had been allowed out of her momentary prison.
She still couldn't understand how they managed to not hear her when she was vociferating in there, but she guessed that with the distance and Coach Durham's all too famous shouts on top of everything, she could have cried herself to death and they would have still not heard a thing.
Nonetheless during all the time she had been locked in there, and that even when she had perfectly known it was absurd, she had still hoped that if any of the footballers had to come and rescue her, it would be Max.
She could perfectly picture herself throwing herself into his arms and kissing him senseless in thanks. That would have been the least she could have done, wouldn't it? Of course it would have been the right thing to do, but now that didn't mean that she had come any close to that with Mr. Rodriguez, only Max was worth of such gratitude on her part naturally.
He would have been shocked that was a given, but maybe not enough to not answer back she hoped. Or even if he had not, she could always have passed that for a lapse of judgment on her part, an impulsive gesture only done in the heat of the moment. Yet again, this was only wishful thinking on her part… and one more opportunity that went up in smoke.
As she felt her own hands running along her sides, soaping her body up, she couldn't help wondering nonetheless if she would ever have the chance to know what it felt to be caressed by his hands. If their touch would feel that different from hers, or if they would ignite the same fire in the pit of her stomach hers did whenever she imagined he was the one stroking her skin.
How many times had she thought about him that way? She didn't know, she had lost count of them a long time ago, but sometimes she felt he had always been a part of her fantasies. She actually didn't remember anyone being able to make her feel any way remotely close to what he only could.
Of their own volition, her hands drifted to her firm breasts, cupping them gently and massaging the flesh briefly, then down her stomach to the place where she ached for his touch the most, and she found herself sighing softly at the instant and anticipated pleasure.
It was the sweetest caress really, but unexpectedly images of a dream she had had not so long ago popped into her mind and before she could stop the word from escaping her lips, she ended up moaning a name.
His name.
She wasn't even aware she had said anything at all actually until she heard the audible 'oh, fuck', the sound making her eyes fly open and her jaw hit the floor.
OH. DEAR. GOD.
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Half an hour earlier.
"Alright guys… that's enough!" Coach Durham shouted at the top of his lungs, announcing the end of practice much to many of the players' relief.
With the big confrontation with East Roswell coming this weekend, he had made them sweat even more than he usually did if that was possible and most of them had only one thing in mind now, getting out of there as fast as possible.
Max Evans wasn't one of them apparently however, if the way he seemed to drag himself out of the field was any indication. Practice was usually fun for him and definitely not a big deal, but today everything had gone wrong and if he had touched a ball it was only by sheer miracle, if he said so himself. Therefore he didn't really feel like hurrying and being ribbed by his co-players even more than he had already been.
Now if he could avoid the coach as well that would be even greater of course, but he hadn't even taken two steps out of the turf that he understood he wouldn't have such luck.
"Evans!" the other man called out to him and Max just knew he was going to have it now. The strange thing was he hadn't heard about it sooner actually, considering all the week he had played like a mere debutant, or at least like he had suddenly forgotten most of everything he had been taught so far.
"Yeah?" he stopped and answered, turning around to wait for him, but hoping he would be the only one to stay behind. The last thing he needed was to be humiliated or scolded like a little boy in front of everyone else.
"You were out of it again!… Should I ask the cheerleading team to train somewhere else or at another moment to be sure you don't get too distracted by all those beautiful ladies?" Durham reprimanded him but though there was no real anger behind his words and he could actually sense the joke, Max didn't doubt that part of him was slightly annoyed by his lack of concentration lately.
He was wrong however. All "those beautiful ladies" as he put it, didn't impress him or distract him in the least. They didn't turn his head or affect him in any way.
Only one actually did.
Max could honestly say he nearly died the day his brown-haired beauty joined the cheerleaders a year ago and he had to see her almost every freaking day in that little tiny uniform, doing splits and whatsoever just in front of him.
To add that he had been surprised would be a major understatement as well given that she was actually the last person in the world he thought he would see joining the team. She was nothing like the other girls, mainly brainless bimbos, who were so superficial and completely interested, in his opinion, but he would lie if he said that part of him hadn't been elated when hearing the news. Or at least he had been until she had started practice.
If he had never paid any attention to what the cheerleaders could do at the other end of the field before like all his teammates had, he surely started from that point on even when he knew it would impact on his playing.
After a month he had almost all her choreographies memorized, even if he had never thought it would be possible for him to remember any of those moves cheerleaders made. He could even tell what she was going to do before she even started doing it, and he almost constantly kept an eye on her and everything she did, even when he well knew he should concentrate on anything but her. But still he had always managed to force himself to ignore her when he needed to so he could at least act like he was actually into the game nonetheless.
It had become more and more difficult as the year progressed however, truly boarding on the impossible at times, and gradually her constant presence had taken its toll on him. Even more actually after he had rescued her and Maria at the drive-in that night a few months ago.
four… due to length. (got to be proportional to… uh… never mind! 
boy it does feel weird, seeing those two words 
