- anonymousarfan ~I'm glad you like it!! Thanks a bunch for the feedback!
Maxsgurl ~I see what ya mean. It's weird how I'm like "call Liz, Alex!" and I'm the one writing it. I'm glad you like "my" Max. I've always wanted to say that!!! Thanks for the fb!
poisoned_muffin ~I figured that no one would mind a long-ish part all that much. I'm definitely glad you found it funny because I work hard to add that humor in! Thanks for the fb!
Earth2Mama ~Parents...can't live with ?em, can't live without ?em. If parents weren't interrupting a little one-on-one time for the younger generation, teens wouldn't be getting into trouble so much!! I'm glad you caught up, and thanks for the fb!!
RASaero611 ~Those damn insecurities are always getting in the way! You should definitely try a James Bond roll sometime...I guarantee that it is a bundle of fun. Thanks for the fb!
hazz ~The grounding will certainly be over soon. Next part, in fact. TThispart will include some punishment for Maria, so I hope you enjoy lol! Thanks for the fb!
kismet ~Lol, Maria is definitely so very...Maria! I'm glad you found it funny, and thanks a lot for the feedback!!
dreamer destiny ~Yes, trust is something she should've used. I'm glad you think Max and Liz are cute ?cause I try to make them seem like a young, innocent couple in love. Thanks for the fb!!
Lizza ~Lol, Maria has a tendency to hinder more than help. Things will most definitely be worked out this part. Thanks for the fb!
Sternbetrachter ~You just got to love a DeLuca/Parker team!! Thanks so much for the fb!
Topy458 ~Welcome to the story!!! Everything will be sorted out in the next part, so I hope you enjoy that! Thanks a bunch for the feedback!
. Anyway, parts may be a little farther apart, but I am trying! Hope you all like the next part and thanks again for the fantabulous feedback!PART 11. . .Canoodling at the Lab Table
"We need to start some major damage control!" Maria shouted as soon as I got in the Jetta Thursday morning. I sighed, not really ready to deal with this crap this early in the a.m., but I made a promise to my friends. God only knows why.
"How about I talk to Alex and try to sort things out. I would ask you to accompany me, but we all know how that would turn out," I told her. She shot me a quick glare which I promptly ignored. We sat in comfortable silence for a bit, mulling over our own thoughts.
"Thank you for helping, Lizzie," Maria said out of the blue.
"Well, you guys are my friends, and I don't like to see everyone fighting," I told her honestly. It really sucks when the people you are close to are bickering like angry hens. Not to mention the fact that I always get put in the middle of their squabbles.
"I told Iz that we would pick her and Max up as part of my punishment," Maria told me, and I nodded. Max lost privileges to his Jeep for a week after the whole Eraser Room fiasco, and Isabel doesn't really like to drive stick. Probably because she could break a nail.
A couple of minutes later, we arrived at the Evans' house. Maria honked the horn, and Max and Iz came out the front door. I was about to hop out to sit in the back with Max so we could get in a little before school cuddling, but then, I realized that Isabel and Maria weren't on the best of terms. Having them sit together would be very dangerous.
Instead, I just rolled down my window and popped my head out to give Max a good morning kiss. My, what a kiss that was. As soon as our lips touched, Max nearly pulled me out of the car to get closer. We only broke apart when Maria and Isabel started clearing their throats really loudly.
"Guess that's our cue to stop," Max panted, pulling away and resting his forehead against mine. I nodded silently before I slipped back through the window. Max got in the back, and then, we were off to school. Woohoo.
"Are you going to talk to Alex today, Liz?" Isabel asked in a pleading voice.
"Uh huh. I planned on going to his locker before first period," I told her.
"Good because I can't stand being as single as a pringle!" she cried. Well, now I know that Iz has finally cracked. Single as a pringle? Ok then.
Silence ensued as Maria drove the 4 minutes to West Roswell High.
I'm not quite as confident about talking to Alex as I seem. In fact, I'm pretty damn nervous. I know Alex is going to be mighty pissed at me for going along with Maria's idiotic idea, even if I give him the excuse of alien's invading my body. Alex can be slow, but not that slow.
"What if he doesn't want to talk to me?" I asked, voicing my fears. They all turned and stared at me as if I had a lobster crawling out my ear, even Maria. Wait...Maria's driving.
And that is when I felt the swerving of the car.
"MARIA!" we all screeched at the top of our lungs. Why, oh why, do we let her drive us?! God save us all, Maria DeLuca will end up getting us all killed...or worse.
"Stop YELLING, I can't CONCENTRATE!" Maria snapped back at us, regaining control of the car.
Cripes, I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes. Unfortunately, it was quite boring. Fortunately, I saw a lot of Max. Now, that is a nice picture to die to. Whoa, that sounded rather creepy...and stalkerish. Eh, oh well.
Where was I before I so rudely interrupted myself? Oh, right. Everyone was staring.
"Why the hell were you all gawking at me?" I asked, slightly perturbed at the fact myself.
"Liz, Alex loves you the most. Well, besides Isabel," Maria added when she saw that Iz did not look to happy about this new found information.
"What makes you say that?" I asked. Hey, this is news to me too, you know.
"He is always looking out for you! Remember that day when Tommy Jackson was all over you? Alex totally saved your ass," Maria pointed out, and I could've sworn I heard Max growl from the back seat.
Who the hell is this Tommy fellow?!
I decided to humor Maria because I really didn't want to throw off my karma before I talk to Alex. I seriously need to lay off the spiritual guidance books.
"I'm still going to talk to him, I'm just not sure how he'll receive my words of wisdom," I told them. They all nodded silently, which really was a blessing in disguise. No time to deal with Maria's and Isabel's world of teen angst! I've got scheming and planning to do!
"Ok, you guys need to lay low while I have a chat with Alex," I said to them as we got out of the car at school. They nodded like the obedient little children they are. Good job.
"There he is!" Maria whispered rather loudly, pointing at Alex's figure stepping out of his car. Well, this certainly makes things easier.
"Ok, do not under any circumstances come over to us whilst I am having this little heart-to-heart with Alex," I told her and Isabel. They nodded, of course. I gave Max a quick goodbye kiss, which got kind of heated until Iz and Maria broke it off with a loud throat clearing (again), and ran off to catch up with Alex.
"Hey Alex!" I said a bit too cheerfully as I finally reached him, panting like no tomorrow. I really should get into shape. I blame it on the fact that I live above a diner.
"Liz," he said in a cold voice as he pushed through the doors into school. Well, it's nice to know my fears were for nothing...not.
"Oh come on, Alex, don't be that way. I didn't really want to go with Maria. I was just there to stop her from doing something stupid!" I told him as I walked beside him through the halls. That really was part of the reason. I know how Maria can get while she's on a power high, and let me tell you, it is not pretty.
"Uh huh," he said in a bored tone. You know, if he didn't have a valid reason to be angry with me, I'd slap him upside the head.
"You know I'm your favorite," I said with a sweet smile. He looked at me with his eyebrows raised. "Remember that time when you saved me from Tommy what's-his-face?" I asked, even though I still didn't have the foggiest idea who that was.
"Yeah, he was all over you, and I punched him," he stated proudly. I can't believe I can't remember this Tommy fellow. Max seething with jealousy, and Alex showing off the muscles and I MISSED IT?! What the heck is wrong with me?
"Well, that just proves I'm your favorite," I said. Alex looked at me strangely again. Ok, this is the last time I let Maria and Iz tell me that I'm his favorite because this isn't working. "Come on, Alex! I want to help you here! I believe that you would never cheat on Iz."
"Finally, someone who believes me. I can't believe Izzy would break up with me like that. She didn't even bother to ask me if it was true. Well, now that she made her bed, she has to sleep in it," Alex said, letting the cool façade melt as we reached his locker. He spun the combo on his lock, and I leaned against the locker next to his.
Oooh, I think this is Max's locker. It even smells like him. Oh, that's nice.
Getting sidetracked! Focus Liz!!
"I tried to tell her to talk to you, but she just wouldn't hear any of it," I said, and he nodded. Oh wait, I don't think this is helping Isabel out any. New tactic. "I think maybe you should talk to her. I mean, Isabel feels really, really horrible about it all."
"Yeah, well, it's not like I was the one who broke up with her because I thought she was cheating!" Alex said, slamming his locker closed after getting all his books together.
"I know, I know. I just think that maybe you should talk this out. Besides, the whole thing is Maria's fault. You know how she gets, wanting to add a little excitement to life," I said, and he nodded knowingly. Maria's going to be majorly pissed if she finds out that I'm shifting all the blame on her, but you just can't have everything work out in everyone's favor.
"I don't know, Liz," he said unsurely.
"Please, Alex? For me?" I asked, giving him my own personal puppy dog eyes. I could see him crumbling like London Bridge...whatever bridge that was.
"Ok, I'll talk to her. Now, go. Report back to your people," he said with a laugh. I swatted him on the chest for good measure and scampered off to go tell Maria and Iz the good news.
I ran through the hallways, dodging kids left and right. When I finally reached the hallway where our lockers were, I saw that Maria and Isabel were standing there with Max. You know, if I was the jealous type, I'd be a little P.O.'d at seeing my boyfriend with two other girls. It's a good thing I'm not.
"Liz!" Isabel shouted when she looked up and saw me. Max and Maria turned around, and Max gave me his patented half-smile. He is just way to sexy for his own good. I think he should have a warning label! Shoot, I'm getting sidetracked again.
"Ok, what's the 411?" Maria asked as soon as I reached the group. I took a moment to catch my breath because the school is quite large. Max wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side. I smiled up at him, and he leaned down to kiss my forehead.
"Alrighty, Alex said that he'll talk to you, Iz," I reported. Isabel and Maria were instantly all over me like frosting on a cake, squealing in an ungodly pitch. Our fellow students gave Max the thumbs up sign when they saw that he was the center of a group hug with 3 girls. Max just smiled at them, and he was rewarded with a slap from each of us. Teach him to act like Mr. Studly.
"Liz, you are the best!" Isabel squealed when we broke up the hug fest.
"No problemo, mi amigo. Alex was pretty cool about it," I replied.
"How did you get him to agree to talk to me so fast?" she asked with curiosity.
Hmm...how to reply to this question? Tell Maria I blamed her entirely and then head for the hills, or make up some extravagant story? Decisions, decisions.
"Uh...well, see, it's a rather interesting story," I started. They all stared at me in silence, hanging on my every word. Normally, I'd like that, but not at the moment. "I sort of...blameditallonMaria," I blurted out really fast.
"Huh?" they asked at the same time.
"I blamed it all on Maria," I sighed. Isabel looked happy, Max amused, and Maria mightily pissed.
"WHAT?!" she screeched. My ears are now bleeding. Were those dogs I heard howling in the distance?
"It is your fault, Maria," Isabel supplied. Oh, not the right tact to take with Maria. Poor girl.
"Excuse me, but was I the one who broke up with him?" Maria asked, turning on Isabel. Catfight, catfight!
"No, you're just the one who pushed me into it!" Isabel replied angrily while Max and I just watched silently. Hey, interfering could be very harmful.
"Oh, because you always listen to me!" Maria returned.
"I did once, and look where it got me!" Isabel countered. It's getting interesting now.
"Alright, ladies, let's just say it's no one's fault for the moment and end the fighting," Max intervened. Poor boy, he never saw it coming.
"Shut up!" Maria and Isabel yelled turning on him. He held his hands up in surrender, but then placed one back around my waist.
"Um, maybe we should head for the hills," I whispered up to him. He nodded, so we slowly, very slowly, started to back away from the scene. As soon as we were a safe distance, we turned around and ran like the wind.
~*~*~
"Alright class, get out your equipment and start the lab," Mr. Slinger said in Chem class causing the class to go back and forth, gathering the supplies for our next lab.
"I'll go get the water," I told Max, and he nodded. Grabbing a beaker, I headed to the back of the room where the sinks are.
As I waited and waited for the slow people to fill up their beakers, I looked across the classroom to find Max. I watched as he sat up the equipment on our lab table, his muscles rippling under his navy blue t-shirt. As he started to fiddle around with the burner, a cute little scowl situated on his face. Am I that far gone that a freaking scowl is cute? Oh yes.
"Um, Liz, do you think that you could get your water sometime today?" a kid behind me asked. I turned around to glared at the guy behind me, not really knowing who it was.
"Hey, Tommy, what's holding up the line?" some other guy asked that was standing at the end. OHHH, so this is Tommy Jackson. Go figure. I looked over his blonde hair and blue eyes, thinking that he definitely couldn't hold a candle to Max. Sure, he was good looking, but not as sexy as Max.
"Sorry, guys," I said walking over to the sink and filling up my beaker. Once I had the required 150 ml, I headed back over to my lab table.
"Have a little run in?" Max asked, turning to face me. By the way his jaw and fists were clenched, I could tell he saw Tommy talk to me. Somebody's jealous. Ooh, I could have fun with this. Insert evil laugh.
"Yeah, I kind of zoned out back there, and Tommy was kind enough to snap me back to reality," I said casually, hopping up on my stool. I could feel Max's eyes burning into my side as I took out my spiral notebook to take notes.
"Oh, and what did you guys talk about?" he asked, barely restraining the rage inside him.
"Green is not a good color for you, Max," I said, looking over at him with a slight smile.
"I am not jealous. You were just talking," Max said, probably trying to convince himself. Ok, ok, I don't want to be mean to him.
"He told me to get moving, and I said ok. That's all that went on, Max," I said, grabbing his hand in my own and squeezing it in reassurance. He nodded stiffly.
"I know that," he said, looking thoroughly unconvinced. Well, there's only one way to fix this.
I slipped off the stool, stood on my tip-toes, and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. I knew Max was shocked because it took him a while to react. Once he did, however, his arms were quick to come around my waist, pulling me tighter against him.
"Miss Parker, Mr. Evans! Save the canoodling for after school!" Mr. Slinger exclaimed angrily, causing Max and me to break apart. Through my lust induced haze, I realized that the entire class had erupted into catcalls, whistles, and laughter.
"Sorry," we both mumbled as we sat down in our stools. I nervously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and picked up my pen and started to write some random notes in my notebook, probably stuff about how sexy Max is. I couldn't pay attention for the life of me because my body was still humming from that kiss. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Max was frozen on his stool. His arms hung limply at his side as he stared over at me in amazement.
"Uh...I think maybe we should, uh...get to work on the...experiment thing," I said, stumbling over my words. Max nodded silently beside me.
We set to work setting our experiment up in silence. I refused to look at Max. Instead, I opted to look down at my notes.
Mrs. Liz Evans. Liz and Max Forever. Liz <3's Max Evans.
Oh my GOD! I can't believe I wrote that! What am I in the third grade again? I gasped and slammed my notebook closed, nearly upsetting the beaker of water.
"You ok?" Max whispered in my ear, causing me to jump in surprise. His hot breath on my ear combined by the feel of his hand resting on my arm made me shiver. Holy hell, he is going to be the death of me!
"Ummmm...yeah....I'm cool," I said, nearly laughing out loud at myself. Cool my bony butt
"Ok," he said, rubbing my arm soothingly. At least it should of been soothing. Instead, his touch left a path of fire up and down my arm. Keep it together, Liz. Keep your cool.
"Ok," I parroted..
"You sure you're ok?" he asked, looking at me in concern. Probably because I was standing stiff as a board, not even looking at him. I can't even imagine the look that was probably on my face. A cross between dreamy and horrified.
"Yep, I'm cool. Cool as a cucumber. That's me. I could be dipped in Ranch dressing and used as an appetizer. Yep...I'm cool," I rambled on nervously. Great way to keep it together. Insert internal eyeroll.
"Ok then. Will you hand me the water?" Max asked me, removing his hand from my arm to point to the beaker on my left. I nodded mutely and reached over to hand it to him. As I did, he gripped the beaker over my hand and leant over to whisper in my ear, "You've got me all hot and bothered now after that kiss."
If it wasn't for his grip over my own, I would've dropped the beaker. My jaw dropped in shock at what he just said. He really is going to be the death of me.
"Uhhh...umm...I'm sorry?" I stuttered out, mentally slapping my forehead. Sound like an idiot, why don't I.
"I wish we weren't in class right now," he whispered back, nipping lightly on my ear lobe. Oh my.
"Uhhh...me too," I said quietly, praying for some strength. I cannot let him get to me! How about Liz in control this time? "It's too bad that Mr. Slinger is in here, or we could work out that little fantasy you had of taking me on the lab table," I said boldly.
Max's hand dropped away from mine instantly as his eyes widened in shock. Point for Liz Parker. I gave him my best come hither look as I set down the water. His eyes had darkened so that they were almost black, and he reached over to me.
"Miss Parker, half the class is already half way through their experiment, and your group has yet to start. Why is that?" Mr. Slinger asked from the front of the class, causing the entire room to turn around and stare at Max and me. Again.
"Um, because we wanted to talk it out first?" I said, making it sound more like a question instead of a statement.
"Wrong answer. The correct one is that you two haven't been paying attention. Now, I want the experiment done, and I want it done by the end of the class period. If it isn't, then maybe it's time for a reassignment of lab partners," Mr. Slinger said.
NO! No new lab partners!
"We'll get it done, Mr. Slinger," I said, and Max nodded next to me. Mr. Slinger just gave us one last glare and seated himself at his desk.
"Uh...we should get this done," Max said, not meeting my gaze.
"Yeah," I agreed, looking down at my shoes.
"Wouldn't want to have to have a new partner," Max said.
My eyes shot up to meet his gaze, with a look of horror. The next second, we sprung into action, quickly trying to get our lab done.
I'll tell you that by the end of the period, Mr. Slinger had no more doubts about pairing me and Max together.
~*~*~
"Sooo, how did your talk with Alex go?" I asked as I sat down at our lunch table in the quad across from Isabel. We were the only ones there since our companions are rather poky.
"It went great," Isabel said as a dreamy look crossed her face. Looks like there is no more fighting in the world of Alex and Isabel.
"Are you guys together again?" I asked as I took my lunch out from my book bag.
"Uh huh. I apologized about a million times, not to mention the fact that I blamed everything on Maria," she replied. See, blaming Maria works every time!
"Well, as I always say, all's well that ends well," I told her as I took a bite of my PB&J.
"When have you ever said that?" Isabel asks, giving me an odd look. Jeez, you can't say anything around here without out it being criticized to death.
"I started today," I responded, rolling my eyes. She just nodded.
Maria, Micheal, and Max came to the table just then, preventing further discussion of the many phrases of Liz. Max plopped down next to me, kissing me quickly before digging into his lunch.
"How did your talk go with Alex?" Maria asked as she made herself comfortable on Micheal's lap.
"It went good," Isabel said simply. I hope those two have gotten over their little catfight this morning.
"Speaking of, where is Alex?" I asked the group. Everyone shrugged at me. Well, it's nice to see how they treat one of our own!
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. What did I miss?" Alex said, plopping down next to Isabel.
"Not a lot," Isabel said, giving him a quick kiss.
"Hey, Liz, Jamie from your AP Chem class told me that you and Max were caught canoodling at your lab table," Maria said with a smirk. My sandwich halted on it's path to my mouth, and Max started to choke on his soda. Everyone turned to stare at us.
"Uh...really? I wonder where she got that idea from," I said, trying to play it off.
"She said that Mr. Slinger got mightily pissed at you two because you were about to do the nasty on the table!" Maria exclaimed. Max started choking again, his face nearly turning blue. I patted him on the back as everyone stared at us in varying degrees of amusement.
"We were not about to do the nasty on the table. We just got a little...carried away," I explained after Max finally stopped choking.
"Uh huh," Maria said, plucking a Dorito from Micheal's chip bag.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, glaring at her.
"I mean that when you say carried away, it usually means a whole lot more," Maria explained. Oh, she's one to talk.
"Whatever, Maria, I don't want to fight about this. I know the truth, as does Max, so I don't particularly care what you believe," I said, going back to my lunch.
"Yeah, and so does the rest of your class," Maria said under her breath, and this time, I was the one to choke. Friends can be so nosey.