The Moment I Saw You Cry (Maria POV,YTEEN) 1/1 - 4/25/05

[katrina]

Title: The Moment I Saw You Cry
Author: Katrina
Rating: YTEEN
Disclaimer: I do not own “Roswell” or its characters. I also do not own the lyrics to Mandy Moore’s “Cry” although it is a very pretty song. No infringement intended. You do not want to sue a poor college student anyway, do you?
Summary: This is a one parter with Maria’s POV set during the summer after the episode “Destiny.”
Author’s Note: I got inspired out of the blue and just had to write this then debated for quite a while whether to post it or not. Obviously, I decided to do so. There really isn’t much coupling to it, which is why I posted it in the AA. It’s just a little blurb about that summer that we really don’t know much about besides the facts that Liz ran to Florida, Michael broke up with Maria, and Max and Maria bonded. Please tell me what you think!



<3<3<3<3<3



The Moment I Saw You Cry


I'll always remember
It was late afternoon
It lasted forever
And ended too soon
You were all by yourself
Staring up at a dark gray sky
I was changed

The brightly shining sun was starting to dip towards the horizon and massive clouds were gathering above it. She stepped out of the Red Jetta and lifted her sunglasses toward her forehead in order to scrutinize him carefully. He stood five feet away from the paved road with his hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans studying the bright hues painting the sky. She didn’t step towards him yet; she took in the scene before her while giving him the space she knew that he had come here for. It was a good mile away from the Roswell city limits and the land around them was deserted because cars seldom used this road. She knew he was hurting. The love of his life ran to Florida after declaring she loved him for God’s sake. She was surprised that he was even coherent enough to make it out this far on his own.

Determined not to let him wallow alone, she slowly walked up beside him. Instead of looking at him, she studied the beautiful scene in front of her. The different streaks of pinks, oranges, reds, and yellows were breathtaking. She had never seen a prettier sunset. She wished Liz were here to help her. Hell, she wished she were here because then neither she nor Max would look so lost. That’s what they were – lost. Her best friend had run as far away as she could from the love of her life, and consequently, she ran from her best friend. What were they without her? Certainly not friends. She snorted silently. A single person connected Max and her and now she was gone. Could they move on without her? The two stood together in silence just looking at the colorful sky.

In places no one would find
All your feelings so deep inside (deep inside)
It was then that I realized
That forever was in your eyes
The moment I saw you cry

The moment that I saw you cry

After some time had passed, she glanced at him wanting to search his face for some sort of emotion. She didn’t have to look hard. He was crying. Upon realizing this, she spoke his name.

“Max.”

He turned away from the sunset and toward her but said nothing. Her heart went out to this broken boy. She wanted to strangle the girl known as her best friend for turning him into mush. After everything that had happened in the past year, Liz had merely kissed him and fled far away leaving him in her dust. “I could kill her,” she mumbled to herself before impulsively taking him into her arms. They stood in the embrace as the sky let in the darkness of the evening.

It was late in September
And I've seen you before (and you were)
You were always the cold one
But I was never that sure
You were all by yourself
Staring at a dark gray sky
I was changed

In places no one would find
All your feelings so deep inside (deep inside)
It was then that I realized
That forever was in your eyes
The moment I saw you cry

<3<3<3<3<3

She blew at a stray hair in frustration. The summer was beginning to draw to a close and the restaurant was packed with early dinner goers. She was ready to snap. If one more customer stopped her to demand for food they thought was going to get cold before it reached them… grr, she fisted her hands tightly while wishing the day would just end. And then the bell dinged.

She tensed at the soft sound and growled while she trudged toward the pick up window.

“Max’s Space Fries,” Michael stated simply before returning to the stove. She looked toward the ceiling in irritation. Why did they have to work during the same shift? Since he took that step away from her, they had not worked in sync with one another at all. They just didn’t click. Had they ever clicked? Maria picked up the basket of fries and headed towards Max’s usual booth.

“One order of Space Fries. Anything else I could get ya? Cuz it’s not like I have any other customers to attend to.” Maria dropped the fries in front of Max who just looked at her in bewilderment.

“Rough day?” he asked gently.

She collapsed into the seat across from him. “Ha. I’ve been working for eight hours. Would you call that peachy?” She grabbed one of his fries.

“I guess not,” Max shrugged as he also grabbed a fry. “So have you…”

“No, Max. I have not heard from Liz today.” Maria rolled her eyes yet let a smile form on her lips. “I didn’t hear from her yesterday or the day before that or the day before that… I’ll tell you the moment I hear from her, okay?” She grabbed one of his hands and tightened her grip around it in promise.

Max nodded as his back drooped into the seat.

Maria snorted. “You’re such a puppy. You come here everyday wagging that tail of yours hoping for news about her and everyday you leave with said tail between your legs and your head down.” It’s worse than how Kyle was back when he and Liz were dating.

“She just did what she thought was right, you know? Even though it’s like the stupidest thing she could ever do, she believed in what she did. And you just have to accept that.” She looked into his eyes, which were shining, and wondered not for the first time why Liz had left him in such a state. How can someone leave the person she loved in so much pain? And now she, Maria, was the one picking up all the pieces.

I wanted to hold you
I wanted to make it go away
I wanted to know you
I wanted to make your everything, all right....

<3<3<3<3<3

She stared at the sunset in front of her. She would never tire of the beauty that lit sky above the desert. There was such perfection about it, like nothing could ever go wrong or could ever grow ugly with such a sight. If only her life were the same way. She sighed while deep in thought. The summer was over and Liz had yet to show her face in Roswell. She couldn’t help but wonder if she ever would return. Maria certainly couldn’t blame her. After everything they had been through during their sophomore year of high school, she shuddered in fear of what may happen during their junior year.

Will evil aliens come to Roswell? Will Tess prove her blonde witch status? Would something happen to her or to one of the people she cared for? What if the FBI tracked them down because they had taken Max from their clutches? More importantly, would she be able to handle it if any of this happened? By knowing this secret, she was a part of the abyss no matter what the future held.

I'll always remember...
It was late afternoon...
In places no one would find...

Maria looked into the wondrous sky searching for some answers to her worries and questions. There could be a sign in it all, couldn’t there?

“Maria?”

She jumped at the sound of her name then turned toward the source of the voice before letting the breath she had been holding out. “Geez, Max. You really know how to scare a girl.” She smiled weakly at him. He didn’t return it.

Instead he looked up at the sky and said, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? So pure and perfect. Those colors, that sky, they have no enemies.

“It lights up day after day without a care in the world. Even when awful things happen to people, at the end of the day, the sky lights up the same way.” She followed his gaze above the horizon. “Sure, the colors may change shades slightly and their swirls may alter mutely,” he continued, “but the sunset is still beautiful and flawless. Nothing else is as peaceful as that. And it doesn’t run away; the clouds may cover its colors sometimes but that light, that color, comes back. It comes back fearlessly.”

Maria let her gaze linger on him for only a second before returning her eyes to the sky. “Is that what you see at every sunset?” she asked him softly. He made it sound like the colorful streaks were these all powerful beings held a dominance to show the world its colors day after day. Was it really that powerful?

Max looked at the sky thoughtfully and nodded. “Yeah, I started thinking about it back in the beginning of the summer. And I wonder why most people can’t be the same way. People become so fearful and they run away and hide yet the sky, which sees every horror on Earth, returns.” He looked at her with eyes she felt that she could fall into. Was this how Liz felt every time she gazed into Max’s soul?

“You’re like the sunset, Maria,” he continued not letting his gaze into her eyes falter. “You’ve gotten scared I don’t know how many times and sure, you panic. But you just take that oil of yours out and you keep going. You don’t run away and hide. I have no idea why you keep coming back or why you have been this amazing friend to me, but I’ll always be grateful for it.”

Her eyes welled at his poetic words as she looked at the painted sky in disbelief. He just compared her to this remarkable sight in front of her. She was the sunset in Max’s eyes. She wanted to make a crack about that, about how he always has to do her one better since she had compared him to an innocent puppy earlier that summer. Yet she could not release a word. Choked up, she could see his sincerity in his eyes and she wept letting her tears fall silently down her cheeks.

In places no one would find
All your feelings so deep inside (deep inside)
It was then that I realized
That forever was in your eyes
The moment I saw you cry