DreamerM&L – Thanks . Yeah, Liz is trying to convince herself that she hates him because she can’t deal with the alternative .
Yep, Michael and Maria – I’m almost wishing I hadn’t set the story in the first person now, because it means I can only show their relationship from what Liz sees firsthand. And yeah, Michael should make his bed, but then again, he’s 18, living on his own for the first time and he’s Michael!
Congrats on finishing your exams . I bet you’re glad they’re over – now you can relax (P.S. Which exams were they?). It’s been a big couple of weeks with my family – my youngest brother has just finished his AS modules and now he’s off to university open days all this week and my other brother is getting his final degree results this week too!
begonia9508 – Thanks . Yeah, Liz seems to be getting confused between love and hate right now .
Lairabehr4 – Thanks . The question is: Is Max following her around or is it just a coincidence that they keep running into each other? I’m still sticking with my opinion that he’s not creepy though .
roswell4life – Thanks . I think it will be good… but it could be a while before Liz starts to come round, judging by the way she thinks she feels about Max right now.
Tamashii – Thanks – I had to look up what you meant about Miss Congeniality then because I haven’t seen the movie since it was released (I couldn’t even remember the storyline, lol).
sarammlover – Thanks . Lol – she was getting herself overly worked-up there wasn’t she?
Twilight – Thanks .
Now we know why Maria was so eager for Liz to go to the pub instead of coming home .Michael and Maria going at it hot and heavy, which is so like them to do. I can imagine Liz's reaction to seeing them together. That was hilarious!
Yeah, I think you might be right about that . I’m also pretty sure that Max understood the arguments against beauty pageants, but where would the fun have been in agreeing with Liz?While both Max and Liz brought up two very good points beauty pageants I'm sure they could have come up with a compromise but I think they both enjoy arguing with each other much more than they should. Well more than Liz wants to admits so she covers it up with hatred but who is she kidding we all know hating Max is the last thing on her mind.
That’s a good question actually – I didn’t really think about the different possible interpretations of Liz’s thoughts until you mentioned them. Liz isn’t putting up a façade, although perhaps there could be something that she’s hiding (just a possibility), but it’s just that rather than just taking her at face value, she feels that Max can see right into her – like he knows exactly what she’s thinking or feeling inside.I thought that was interesting because it made me question what it meant. Liz feels that Max can look right through her but what I would like to know is Liz hiding something or does she put up a facade up to people and she finds it unnerving that Max can see right through her.
roswell3053 – Thanks . Yes, there’s a good possibility it’ll be explosive , although with the way Liz is feeling at the moment, it could be a while before that happens.
ladylou – Thank you .
I made a couple of friends from Australia when we were all on study abroad in the US – it was cool that we could mention British pop culture and they would know what we were talking about (unfortunately they weren’t similarly impressed to hear that we actually watched Neighbours, . I thought it would be cool to have the story take place in a completely different setting – and Jools Holland did actually play at my Fresher’s Ball (back in 2001). I can’t believe that I didn’t twig that it was Richard Armitage who married Dawn French in The Vicar of Dibley! It must be the different hair, .The British perspective, as opposed to the US, makes for a refreshing change. Being an Aussie, I find myself picking up a lot of the Brit-slang easily as there's a lot of BBC on our tv - Jools Holland (saw him last week on Top Gear!) - Robin Hood (husband's favorite show even though my daughter is still cringing that "Sir Guy of Gisborne" ended up marrying "The Vicar of Dibley"!
That’s interesting to know – we don’t have any extra laws for new drivers/first-years. Once you’ve passed your driving test, that’s it; you can drive at any time of the day with anyone in the car, regardless of age (I’ve read that here in NM, if you are under 18, I think, when you pass the driving test, you cannot drive at all between certain hours of the night for the first few months) and the allowed blood alcohol measure is the same as for everyone else (0.08).Our legal drinking age is 18, so I can relate to first years and drinking games. Even though our P-plate (first year) drivers must have a zero blood alcohol measure and can only carry one person between the age of 16 and 25 in the car with them
The international language and customs discussion is almost as fascinating as the fic!
I’m glad you’re finding it interesting – I’m having fun answering everyone’s questions.
You know, you’re the first person to mention the possible meaning of the title – although I’m not gonna say anything about it just yet cos I don’t want to give anything away .I can't wait to discover if the title refers to text books or bedsheets!
Or both!
lockheart -
Yeah, I don’t think the attitude towards alcohol here does much to help the situation – I tend to be of the opinion that the more you do to stop people doing something, the more they’ll rebel and do it even more. I think that the Continental European attitude is much better – by allowing people to drink a small amount (e.g. watered-down wine) on a regular basis (with meals) from a young age, there is very little of the social stigma/novelty attached to drinking that there is in the US (and the UK, although the laws are not as strict). As a result, in places like France, binge-drinking among teenagers is almost non-existent – they don’t really have the need or desire to ‘drink to get drunk’.hehe yea we spend an awful lot of time telling people not to drink here. I think that just makes it more dangerous for people but that's neither here nor there.
I just had to put the ‘Adam’s apple’ part in – I could just imagine it happening as I was writing . Yep, I think Max will have his work cut out for him if he wants to change Liz’s mind about him.Liz's denial is so cute hehe. That girl has got it baaaad. But she's fighting it so hard! Max has certainly got his work cut out for him. He's going to have to bob his adam's apple quite a few times hehe TOO CUTE!
behrlyliz – Thanks . No problem – I just I kinda set it up as if something would happen with the guy, but then didn’t follow through
***
Part Eleven
I turn over in bed, hugging the covers tighter around me as I flick through the channels on Maria’s TV. It’s one-thirty on Friday afternoon and all my lectures are done for the day, so I’m taking the opportunity to catch up on the latest episode of Neighbours – except it doesn’t start for another ten minutes and there is nothing else on the three other channels we get here.
I sigh as I turn the channel back to BBC1 and watch the weather forecast while I wait for the show to begin. There’s no one else around to talk to ‘cause they all apparently have lectures at the moment and it being Friday afternoon, I’m not in the mood to do any kind of work at all.
The episode finally starts and I’m just getting stuck into watching the latest in the saga that is Karl and Susan’s relationship, when I hear a knock on the door, which I’ve left ajar. I look up to see James pushing it open and taking a step inside.
“Hey, Liz, mind if I join you in some Neighbours-watching?”
“Sure,” I shift a little, making room for him to sit down.
He joins me on my small bed, resting his back against the wall and stretching his legs out in front of him so that his sock-clad feet are hanging over the side.
“So, what’s going on?” he asks, his eyes glued to the screen.
“It’s only just started, but I think they’re gearing up for big Kennedy family scene in a minute,” I tell him as I get comfortable under the covers again, careful not to kick him as I do so.
“Oh, okay, cool,” he nods, not looking away from the TV.
I rest my head on the big pile of pillows and cushions that I like to keep on the bed and the room goes quiet again. James is totally engrossed in Neighbours, so as it gets toward the end of the episode, I take the opportunity to study his profile. I smile as I think about what a nice guy he is to hang around with. He’s laid-back and funny and very easy to talk to… and it certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes. What… he might be my friend, but I’m allowed to look, aren’t I?
“What?” he asks, turning his head to glance at me as the ending credits start to roll, a small smile playing on his lips.
”Nothing,” I shake my head, returning the smile.
He looks back at the screen, and then back at me, a knowing look on his face, “Ah, I get it, you’re in awe of my good looks and can’t take your eyes off me.”
I chuckle, extracting my hand from the covers and reaching out to swat him on the arm, “If you say so.”
“Oh yeah,” he nods with a grin, as he rubs his arm. “You want me.”
“In your dreams, mate,” I laugh, shaking my head at him.
“Aww, Liz, you wound me!” he exclaims holding his hand to his heart, a distraught expression appearing on his face.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll get over it in no time,” I soothe.
He sighs, dropping his hand down to the bed and casually leaning back on it, “I guess you’re right; it’ll be a long, hard road, but I’m sure it’ll get better eventually… Oh, that reminds me, I need to call Shelley later to confirm our date tonight.”
“Yeah, you’d better do that,” I agree solemnly, “Wouldn’t want two rejections in one day now, would you?”
“Ha ha, you’re so funny, Lizzie,” he quips good-naturedly.
“I know, James, I know,” I grin.
The next show, Doctors, begins on BBC1, and we lounge on the bed, watching in silence for a few minutes, until he turns back to face me again.
“So, this Michael and Maria thing… Mike’s not talking; did you get any more out of Maria about what’s going on with them?”
I shrug, “I asked her about it the morning after I, uh, walked in on them in here, but she got all embarrassed and tight-lipped about it and wouldn’t tell me much more than that she and Michael have been getting closer the last couple of weeks and that they’re together now.”
He nods, “Yeah, I figured as much. Mike’s been going around basically pretending that nothing’s changed and that we don’t know about them. It’s weird.” He glances up toward the door then and gives me a nudge, “Oh, speak of the devil.”
“Hey, guys,” chirps Maria as she breezes into the room, a shit-eating grin on her face.
I raise an eyebrow, sharing a speculative glance with James. I wonder what… or should I say, who put that smile there?
“Hi Maria, what’s up,” I ask casually.
“Not much,” she says evasively, opening her wardrobe and rummaging around for something.
A moment later, she pokes her head around the wardrobe door and looks at us thoughtfully, “Hey, maybe I should be the one asking you what’s up?”
“Huh?” she’s only been here for a minute and already she’s confusing me.
She looks from me to James, who is now relaxing beside me on the bed, propped up on one elbow, and back to me again, before giving me a pointed look.
“You two seem awfully comfortable over there.”
My eyes widen at her implication and I feel my face growing hot as I squirm uncomfortably beside James. I open my mouth to speak, but James beats me to it.
“Hey, what can I say … Liz has a comfortable bed. Why watch TV on mine when hers is so much better?”
“Hey!” I exclaim, giving him a playful smack on the shoulder.
“Ow!” he returns, bringing his free hand up to rub the spot where I hit him.
“Right… okay,” mutters Maria, giving us a funny look before returning her attention to the wardrobe.
James settles back into watching the TV again, while I watch as Maria begins gathering up clothes and throwing them into her laundry bag.
“Good lecture this morning?” I ask.
She shrugs, grabbing her university sweatshirt off the floor and depositing it in the bag, “Yeah, well it would have been if I’d actually had enough sleep last night.” She stops and turns to face me, “Ugh, Liz, I think I’m scarred for life!”
I frown in concern, “Why? What happened?”
“Well, it started when I needed the loo in the middle of the night. I heard the shower running as I was walking to the toilet and at first I didn’t think anything of it – probably just one of the guys taking a drunken shower, you know – but then… and this is the worst part… then I hear a giggle," she stops for a moment and pauses for effect. “Liz, someone was having sex in our shower!”
“Oh, eww,” I wrinkle my nose, as beside me James perks up.
“What? Really?” he asks. “So, who was the lucky bastard, then?”
Maria just shoots him an appalled look before continuing, “And that’s not all; when I got up for my run at six-thirty this morning, I had the pleasure of seeing some random guy come out of Tess’ room and head for the toilet. And all I could think about all morning was that he and Tess defiled our shower last night. I was so disturbed, I couldn’t concentrate on anything in my lecture!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Maria,” I sympathise, before shuddering at the thought of what must have happened in the shower last night.
God, don’t people have any decency anymore?
***
“Here you go,” I smile, handing Isabel a vodka and orange and taking a seat beside her on the bench next to the wall in the hall bar later that evening.
“Thanks,” she smiles, taking a sip of her drink.
“So what’s up?” I ask, relaxing back against the soft cushion of the seat.
She shrugs, “Busy week, you know.”
“Yeah, me too,” I reply, glancing round the sparsely populated room as I lift my glass of wine to my lips. “God, how sad are we, Iz? Everyone else is out having fun and we’re stuck in here for the night.”
It’s true as well; James is out on his date with Shelley, Michael’s taken Maria to see a film at the arts cinema in town, Alex has gone home for the weekend and Tess and Amanda went clubbing with some people from their course – they’re both studying English and share all the same lectures.
“Yeah,” she says, her tone kind of glum. I turn to find her staring grimly into her drink.
“Hey, you okay?”
She shakes her head, “It’s just… I feel like I’m in a bit of a dilemma.”
“What’s wrong?” I wonder, unaccustomed to not seeing her as happy and full of life as she usually is.
“I think… no, I know… Liz, I have feelings for someone,” she admits softly.
“Really?” I breathe an internal sigh of relief; I thought it was going to be something bad. “Who is it?”
“The thing is,” she continues as if she hasn’t heard me, “I have no idea if he feels the same way. I mean, we’re pretty good friends already and I don’t want to risk ruining that by saying something to him.” She sighs, “I just don’t know what to do about it. It’s like, every time I’m around him, all I can think about is how much I want to kiss him.”
I nod, trying to conceal a small smile; even though she hasn’t told me yet, I have a feeling I know who she’s talking about.
“You know what, I think you should just talk to him, tell him how you feel,” I suggest. “After all, you’ll never know if you just keep quiet and don’t say anything.”
She shrugs, turning her head to face me with a pained expression, “But what if he doesn’t feel the same? What if he laughs at me?”
I smile, shaking my head; I’ve never thought of Isabel as being insecure around guys. She always seems so cool and collected when it comes to the opposite sex.
“I’m sure he won’t, Iz,” I tell her. “In fact, I’d bet he’d be happy.”
“Happy?” she frowns. “Liz, do you know something I don’t here?”
“Well…” I start, unsure how to phrase this, “this guy… it’s Alex, right?”
Her eyes widen, “How did you know?”
“Just a wild guess,” I shrug, trying very hard not to betray Alex’s confidence and reveal that he has been practically panting after her since the day they met. “Look, Iz, talk to him, okay? I’ve got to know Alex pretty well lately and I’m positive he won’t laugh at you.”
“Really? You think?”
“I know,” I nod.
She nods too, a smile tugging at her lips, “Okay. Okay, I’ll talk to him – when he gets back from his parents’ house.”
“Cool,” I smile, picking up my glass of wine again. “Great.”
We sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, Isabel with a goofy grin on her face, while I take regular sips of wine, until I feel someone take a seat beside me.
“Hey, Liz.”
I look up in surprise to find the last person I expecting to see, sitting next to me.
I cough, shifting uncomfortably on the bench a little, “Jake, hi.”
My heart starts pounding anxiously in my chest; I was really hoping I wouldn’t bump into him again, although I guess that was kind of a stupid idea, since we live in the same building and eat breakfast and dinner in the same hall every day. In fact, life has been pretty kind to me so far, considering that this is the first time I’ve seen him since that really awkward meeting before breakfast the other week.
However, as I watch him lift his pint glass to his lips, his arm muscles flexing beneath his T-shirt as he does so, his strong jaw working as he takes a drink, I find myself remembering why I found him attractive in the first place. Before, I was so mortified about what had happened between us that all I wanted to do was get away from him as quickly as possible, but now I feel terrible that I made such a mess of things afterward.
“Look, Jake–”
“Liz, I wanted–”
We speak simultaneously, the atmosphere between us a little awkward.
“Sorry,” he apologises with a small smile. “You go first.”
I exhale heavily, “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for how I acted the other week. I shouldn’t have left without a word that morning; actually, I probably shouldn’t have slept with you at all.”
“Really?” he raises his eyebrows. “’Cause I thought that part was pretty good.”
I blush, lowering my eyes to my drink. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Isabel unsuccessfully trying to hide a smirk and I turn my head to glare at her. Luckily, she takes the hint and stands up.
“I think I’ll just go get another drink,” she announces, making a quick exit.
I watch her leave until I feel a hand on my arm and I turn back to face Jake again.
“Liz, I know we rushed things a bit that night, but I enjoyed spending time with you. You were fun to talk to and… well, I can’t deny that I find you attractive–”
“Jake,” I shake my head, not really knowing what to say in response to his confession.
He smiles a little, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d like to start over; you know, forget what happened when we were drunk and get to know each other properly.”
“I–”
I’m a little taken aback by this whole unexpected exchange, I wasn’t planning to ever see Jake again – after all, he was just a stupid one night stand… wasn’t he? As I mull over his words, I remember that I enjoyed spending time with him too. I also remember thinking how cute he was that night and how well we hit it off together. Before I can think rationally about it, I find myself replying.
“I’d like that.”
“Really?” he says again, his smile widening into a grin.
I nod, giving him a small smile, “Yes, really.”
“Great,” he grins. “So, um, you free tomorrow night?”
“Sure,” I reply, my smile widening. “What were you thinking of?”
“Well, my friend’s band is playing down at The Tavern in town, you fancy coming to support them with me?”
“Okay,” I nod. “Sounds like fun.”
“Great.”
He’s wearing a shit-eating grin and I can’t help but chuckle as he nods appreciatively, before taking a large gulp of beer and then making a show of placing the glass firmly down on the table.
I let out a thankful breath as I realise that the awkwardness that was between us earlier has now completely vanished and we begin getting reacquainted, settling into a comfortable, relaxed conversation, similar to the one we shared that night at the floor party. It a few minutes later that I notice Isabel has not returned to her seat. I take a quick glance around the room as Jake relays a funny story to me about one of his lecturers and finally see her standing near the door, chatting to a couple of girls I recognise from the main wing of our hall. She raises her glass to me, and nods toward Jake with a grin.
I roll my eyes at her blatant encouragement before turning my attention back to Jake again. As we continue to talk, I find myself recalling exactly why I ended up in his bed that night. Sure, I was drunk as hell, but I’ll admit that I still knew what I was doing. There’s just something about his soft-looking, sandy hair and that twinkle in his bright green eyes that draws me in. As I watch him gesturing with his hands as explains his love of old 90’s Britpop to me, I find myself remembering how I felt when I was in his bed; how his lean muscles flexed as he drove into me, how he made me shiver as he dropped feather-light kisses to my neck and how his warm fingers danced over my skin, from my breasts down to…
“Liz?” his voice brings me out of my memories. “You in there?”
I shake my head.
“Yeah, sorry,” I apologise. “I think this wine’s going to my head.” Well, that and other things, I add silently.
He nods, taking the almost empty glass from me and placing it on the table, before standing up and holding out his hand to me, “Well, then, you fancy getting out of here?”
“Okay,” I nod, standing up too.
He walks me out of the bar, one hand resting on my lower back, guiding me through the small crowd and past Isabel, who just grins and raises an eyebrow, and we start walking around the hall grounds, making small talk until we reach the A and B block buildings and decide to call it a night.
He walks me up to my room and presses a chaste kiss to my cheek as he tells me he’ll come and find me at seven pm tomorrow night for his friend’s gig. Then he heads over to B block and his own room and I watch his retreating back with a smile. Maybe spending time with Jake will keep my mind off a certain arrogant bastard who seems to have made it his mission in life to piss me off.
Here’s hoping, at least.
TBC…