Playing Cupid (CC/TEEN) [WIP]

[Comet]

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Title: Playing Cupid
Disclaimer: The characters of “Roswell” belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB and UPN. They do not belong to me, and no infringement is intended. Jessica Thorne and Jordan Connor belong to me.
Pairings: AU. M/L, M/M, A/I…although the M/L will take a while.
Rating: Child to Teen
Summary: No aliens. Liz Parker and Max Evans are the best of friends. For four years, this is all they’ve ever been, but when one of them falls for the other, things become complicated. Especially when there’s Cupid Duty involved…
Author’s note: Trying to complete some unfinished business. This is a reposting of older chapters, which have been revised, and new chapters following.

1. Cupid Duty Begins

Have you ever been in a situation where you are so completely, entirely bored that watching paint dry suddenly seems painfully exciting?


If your answer is yes, then hello, kindred spirit, come with me, and let’s huddle in misery together. I turn away from a very appealing poster depicting an octopus tentacle dragging a barely clothed, busty woman towards a flaming fire pit, and sigh.


I could really use some paint right now.


“ Liz, how about this one? What do you think?”


I glance over at the horrendous monstrosity of a sticker my companion, and the sole reason I would enter a store like this, is holding up. It’s disgusting, a flaming skull, snake, and rose combo. I roll my eyes and turn away, looking longingly outside the sticker shop straight towards the pizza parlor I should be in right now.


“ I think it’s even worse than the last two hundred you’ve shown me,” I reply over my shoulder, making it clear that I am dying of boredom by my tone of voice.


He picks this up and rolls his eyes too.


“ Come on, be serious for once, tell me what you think.”


“ I’m always serious. Ask my teachers they’ll vouch for me,” I reply flippantly. Seeing the pleading look on his face, I shake my head and trudge over to where he’s standing, “ It’s better than that,” I point to a sticker of yet another busty woman, this one in a playboy pose.


He narrows his eyes in concentration.


“ You’re right.” He finally says.


He adds the flaming skull to the other nine stickers he’s collected. He frowns at me.


“ You could try to act more interested. It’s your investment too,”


I don’t answer this. I simply scowl as he wanders over to another wall. Before he can look up any more monstrosities, I grab his arm and shove him in the direction of the counter.


“ Please, Max, for the love of god, that’s enough stickers. I’m tired, we’ve got an assignment to do, which means I have an assignment to do, my shift starts in two hours and if I don’t get a slice, no, make that several slices of the pizza you promised me for coming along with you, I’m going to get very violent.”


He laughs, totally unconcerned, which in turn just irritates me more.


What?


When I’m hungry, I’m very irritable. I glower at him and he steps back in surrender.


“ Okay, okay, I’ll pay for them now. And what do you mean, YOU’VE got an assignment to do? I always help,” He protests.


“ Yeah, you help by taking credit for half of it when you didn’t even do a quarter,” I say, smirking.


“ You’re funny, you know that? Besides, the reality is just the exact opposite.” He retorts loftily.


Not having the energy to think up a witty rejoinder, I simply stick my tongue out at him.


“ Really mature, Liz,” He chides before he does the same thing, and then saunters over to the check out counter with a smile.


Copycat!


Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you the wonderful world of Max Evans and Liz Parker.


Best buds since the age of thirteen, since he and his twin sister Isabel moved to Roswell.


Classmates.


Lab partners.


Co-workers.


Partners in crime.


My stomach growls, letting me know just how much it hates me right now and I groan. Max is talking to the sticker shop owner. Apparently, he’s trying to talk my misguided best friend into buying MORE stickers. Why does he want them, you ask?


Let me explain.


Summer vacation has just ended, heralding the beginning of Junior Year. Max and I worked together all summer at the CrashDown Café, a fine establishment that capitalizes on the alien craziness, which happens to be owned by my aunt and uncle. Normally, I would frown at this blatant exploitation of unfounded claims, but the CrashDown keeps me well in supply of the essentials, such as Honey Nut Cheerios and milk, with the bonus of a roof over my head, so I cannot really complain. When the conventions are in town though…oy vey. Now that summer is past, we have emerged from this potentially damaging experience a little frazzled, but flush with money, and while Mr. and Mrs. Evans made Max save the majority of his earnings for that little trifle known as college, there was enough left over for him to buy something for himself. This is Max, though, and so he chose to spend his money not on a crazy outing or a crazy fabulous gift for his favorite best friend (ME, cough, cough), but some equally crazy bid for independence in the form of a barely functioning motorcycle.


Which, you know, is negated by the fact that he was short, and had to borrow money from said best friend in order to afford the damn thing. He then promptly put my name down for joint ownership. Having actual assets to my name aside, the gesture is sort of, well, stupid, because one, I don’t know how to ride a motorcycle and two, I really have no desire to learn.


Three, I don’t even like them very much.


....okay, let me just clarify a little on that point. I DON’T like the motorcycle Max bought. I do, however, adore one other bike and if any piece of machinery is going to make me want to learn how to ride, it’s going be that one.


We are in here because now that he’s fixed up the old clunker, he wants to decorate it. I could care less, but the combination of begging, pleading and puppy dog eyes from Max plus the bribe of free pizza were too much to resist. He glances over his shoulder now, obviously hoping I’m not watching and I shake my head at him firmly.


We need to leave immediately. I have been staring at naked women silhouettes for far longer than should be allowed.


My sour face seems to effectively communicate this, and he sighs in surrender, handing the guy some bills. Satisfied that he’s not buying anything else, I head out of the shop and make a beeline for the pizza parlor. Smell that pepperoni… heaven! I’m almost inside, I can see a waitress delivering a platter of hot, delicious pizza to the table directly in front of me, when someone grabs my arm. I frown and shrug away from whoever has it. Then I turn and glare, fully prepared to lash out and the person standing between my pizza and me.


Oh.


It’s Max.


He’s staring at me with a perplexed look on his face but he’s smiling slightly at the same time.


“ Would it have been so hard to wait for me? I am paying for this little snack after all,”


My furious look disappears and I smile weakly.


“ Damn straight you are. I just… I just thought I’d go ahead and grab a table.” There’s an empty one right inside. I flash him a grin. “ There’s one. You coming?” Without waiting for an answer, I amble over to the table and plop down, opening my backpack and pulling out the notebook where I record all the list of papers we still have to go through for our project. Max slides in opposite me and heaves a huge sigh. I look up at him and raise an eyebrow.


He says, “ Talk to me.”


I blink. “ About what?” I return my gaze to the notebook and try to concentrate. He sighs again and reaches over, closing the book. I roll my eyes and fix a glare onto his face. “ You know, you’re really starting to annoy me, Max. Could you at least wait until after I’ve eaten? I argue much better on a full stomach,”


“ Liz, what’s up with you? You’ve been weird all week.”


“ What’s up with YOU?” I fire back. “I have not been weird all week.”


This is a lie. I have been weird.


Why? Well, look at it this way.


When all of a sudden, you start developing ‘more than friends’ feelings for a guy who’s been your buddy for FOUR years and he one day asks you to help him land a girl, and not just any girl, no, a girl you happen to despise (and who despises you right back, mind you) you would probably act weird too.


“ This is about what I asked you to do for me, isn’t it? About Jessica?”


And here we go.


Jessica Thorne is the very new, very surprising object of Max’s affections. She is the stereotypical Queen Bee, you know, the type that every school has. She is the totally perfect, preened bitch who has the majority of the male population wrapped around her little finger. It’s been rumored that said girl has been harboring an unrequited longing for Max for years.


I guess it wasn’t so unrequited after all.


I suppress a groan. He’s looking at me with that penetrating stare of his. I have one too, and it’s far better than his but unfortunately, his works just as well sometimes.


“ No, Max, it is not about your… request.” I answer primly. I turn away from him and wave my hand energetically at a waitress. “What’s a girl have to do for food around here?” I mutter. I chance a glance at Max.


He’s still staring.


“ You think it’s a bad idea,” He ventured.


Actually, I think it’s the worst idea ever but I don’t say that. I say,


“ Max, I don’t know what to think, alright? This is just so… out of character for you. I mean, YOU of all people asking someone to help him out in the romance department? It’s… it’s,” I wave a hand in the air as I search of the appropriate word. “ Surreal.”


“ But you think it’s a bad idea don’t you?” He presses.


I turn away, resuming my waving. I feel like on of those extras in Titanic, the big ‘bon voyage’ scene. Didn’t that big love boat sink?


Yeah it did.


Like my heart is sinking right now.


“ God, the service here is terrible,” I mutter again. The waitress, who seems more interested in flirting with her customers, finally sees me and frowns a little. I subject her to my death glare and shift it sideways to Mr. Rosetti, the owner of the pizzeria and one of my Uncle’s closest friends. She gets the message and begins to walk over to our table, whipping out her order pad.


“ Evil.”


I grin at Max, nodding my head in agreement, glad of the reprieve. “ I know.”


He looks like he’s trying not to laugh and I try to tear my eyes away from his, and try not think about how my heart suddenly flutters as his gaze meets mine.


This is very unfair. Four years, and nothing, and now, my traitorous heart is fluttering at such a simple thing?


I think…I am in serious trouble here.


Thankfully, the waitress comes, still wearing her little frown but trying valiantly to cover it up with a perky smile. I smirk. It takes years to perfect the ‘I’m-a-happy-waitress’ look and this girl so obviously has not perfected it. She takes a deep breath, preparing to launch into her speech.


“ You order,” I say to Max quietly.


“ I live to serve,” He throws back, grinning. I crack a smile. Normally, since I worship pizza so, I wouldn’t trust anybody else to order it for me. They might bungle up and order anchovies and I HATE anchovies. But I trust Max, as years of friendship means that he knows exactly what I want.


In terms of pizza, I mean.


If he had any inkling of what I really wanted, he’d be up and running like a shot in the opposite direction, screaming.


Or you know…something like that.


Whatever it actually might be, I don’t think there is any chance that acting on those these very irrational feelings won’t destroy our friendship as we know it. Because I read Cosmo, you know, and I know that once you leave the ‘friend zone’ there is no going back.


I lower my head and flip the notebook back open.


“ Hi, welcome to Rosetti’s pizzeria. May I take your…”


The waitress sputters off and I smirk again, knowing what’s happened. It’s what always happens when some girl who hasn’t seen Max before sees him for the first time. They kind of…stop functioning. True, until a few weeks ago, I never knew what it was they saw…


It would be a very safe bet to say that I certainly see now.


Smirk still firmly in place, I glance up at the waitress. She’s staring at Max, completely shell shocked and her feeble attempt at that ‘I’m-a-happy-waitress’ smile frozen in place. It’s changing though. The little frown under it disappears and it widens, morphing from the fake smile to a wide, flirtatious grin. I shake my head a little. It’s almost automatic. Girl sees Max. Girl freezes. Girl turns into femme fatale who’s sole purpose is to drag Max back to her den.


Back when the world made sense, and it was a complete mystery to me why he has this effect on girls, I used to try to catalogue what exactly it was about Max that turned them into piles of mush. He’s ridiculously good looking, which, you know, I’m sure accounts for some of the madness, but there are plenty of good-looking guys. Now the world is topsy-turvy, I have yet to determine what it is about him that suddenly makes my knees quake, my throat dry, and have this overwhelming urge to blush every time he so much as looks me in the eye.


It is very annoying.


I take a sideways peek at Max, wondering if he’s going to pull his usual ‘I-don’t-notice-anything-strange’ act or smile back and keep those flirting skills sharp. I blink, as I realize that he’s not even looking at the waitress. Rather, he seems to be looking at…me? My eyes catch his, and I quickly look away, as I feel my cheeks begin to burn.


See what I mean?


Annoying.

I clear my throat, choosing to focus on the waitress instead. She’s still staring at Max. I clear my throat again. She manages to tear her gaze from him and turns to me, a slight scowl marring her features, a calculating look in her eyes. She’s obviously trying to figure out if I’m his GIRLFRIEND or something. I know I am definitely NOT his girlfriend so that puts me in the ‘or something’ category. Still, I’m not going to take being scowled at lying down. I throw her my patented cocky smile, guaranteed to infuriate even the most serene of people.


“ You were saying?”


Her eyes flash in annoyance and I wipe away the smile and give her a bored stare. She glances at Max once more, sees something she doesn’t like, pouts and begins to finish her sentence, rattling off their specials. I’m not even going to risk finding out what Max did to displease her. When she is done, I smile blandly.


“ Ice cream soda. Chocolate and Vanilla. Extra ice. He’ll have a Cherry Cola with whipped cream,”


It’s automatic. It’s what I always order, it’s what Max always orders. Whipped cream with Cherry cola, his favorite. The guy has one hell of a sweet tooth. I return my gaze to the notebook and Max clears his throat.


“ One medium pizza, half pepperoni, extra cheese and the other half, pineapple pizza, extra spicy tomato sauce.”


“ Got it. Be right back with your drinks.”


She leaves and we’re alone. I finally glance up at Max and he’s still watching me, the most peculiar look on his face. I stare back. Normally, if you’d put me in a staring match with anyone, even a complete stranger, I’d win, hands down. But I don’t normally have a staring session with Max and I won’t lie, it’s very, very unsettling. It is an uncomfortable feeling, and I find myself growing antsy.


“ Max, what is it? Is there something on my face?”


He shakes his head.


“ No, of course not. You just…I just…” He pauses and rubs a hand over his face. “ You never answered my question.”


Crap.


Are we back here again?


“ What question would that be?” I ask, playing dumb in an effort to buy myself more time. I’m not usually this chicken.


I am not.


“ Do you think it’s a good idea for me to ask Jessica out?” He says patiently, clearly not wanting to play games.


I sigh. “ Do you really want the truth?”


“ I do.”


I open my mouth, about to tell him that no, I think it is a tremendously bad idea and that what he should do is run far, far from the girl, but I can’t do it.


So I go about it in a more roundabout way.


“ Well, have you talked to Iz and Michael about this? What do they say?”


Max pins me with a knowing look but answers all the same. “ Izzy’s horrified at the idea and Michael thinks I’m crazy. I’m not sure they know I was being serious though. ” He gives me a wry grin and tilts his head to the side. “So what do you think?”


“ I think… I think that Jessica isn’t really a nice person, Max.”


He doesn’t look devastated. He doesn’t look surprised. He doesn’t even look mad. Shouldn’t he at least be mad that I’ve practically insulted his love interest? He looks like…he’s waiting for something else. I press on.


“ But that’s just my opinion of her, and an opinion which I have made not based on any real facts at all, you know? Because, I don’t really know Jessica. Underneath that I’m-above-you-attitude of hers, and our deep, deep, mutual dislike of each other, she might be a really cool person.”


I’m babbling.


Max is staring at me again.


I take a deep breath.


“ Look, Max, I know you want advice on what to do here but I really am not the right person to give it to you. I mean, I’ve never even had a serious thing with anyone before. All I can say is… do what you think is right for YOU. Not for anybody else okay? If Isabel can’t stand her, if Michael thinks you’re a lunatic, it won’t matter if she makes you happy.”


I could have told him that he shouldn’t do it. I could have said I agree wholeheartedly with Michael and Isabel. No guarantees that he still wouldn’t date her really, but in the end, I wouldn’t be telling him those things out of concern for his well being, but for my own selfish reasons. It would be one thing if the only reservation I had about his dating Jessica would be the fact that I do not like this girl, and the girl certainly has no love for me, and his dating her would bring us into much more contact than should be allowed. As it stands, however, the main reason I would be warning him off pursuing this would be the fact that it feels like I suddenly woke up one day, and realized that Max wasn’t just Max anymore, but was somehow just…more. I suppose the irony of this all is that he seems to have undergone a similar transformation in how he sees Jessica.


So I cannot tell him not to go for this, because, if there is even the slightest chance that she’ll make him happy…then that’s good. Of all people, Max deserves to be happy.


His face shadows a little and he seems almost…disappointed?


I frown at this.


Did I say something wrong? Probably. But that’s as close as I’m getting to the topic without completely breaking down. I cannot even ASK him how this all started, because I’m too afraid of what he will actually say.


“ Max?” I pause, studying his suddenly hard to read expression. “ What’s wrong?”


He opens his mouth, looking like he’s on the verge of revealing forbidden information, but then he stops, clearly deciding against it. He looks away, obviously taking a minute to compose himself. When he finally faces me again, he’s smiling.


“ Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. Okay. So… will you help me?”


I really don’t want to. On the scale of one to tremendously bad, I feel like this is perhaps a bit closer to the tremendously bad end of the scale. But maybe this is for the best. Maybe in doing this, I’ll be able to get rid of all these feelings I’m having. So I nod, smirking to cover my grimace.


“ You got yourself a cupid, Maxwell.”


He smiles slowly in that heart achingly gorgeous way of his. I want to hurl myself on the floor and pound my fists on the ground, cursing the unfairness of it all. I swallow.


“ Now where’s that pizza?”


I’m so lame.


TBC.

Author's Note 02/12/13: Following a suggestion from feedback (thanks, Michelle in LA!) I have decided to include chapter overview/summaries/things to watch out for in all previous parts of the story and all future chapters to help keep track of my tangled little pet project. Hope it's useful!

Cupid Duty Begins overview
- Introduced to the wonderful world of Max and Liz
- We find out that Liz has developed (realized?) a problematic crush on her best friend Max
- We also find out that Max has decided to ask out Liz's arch enemy, and asks Liz to help him romance the girl
- Liz accepts. Playing Cupid begins

[Comet]

nitpick23, keepsmiling7,mlwtbird, begonia9508: Thanks for reading and the feedback, everyone. It's definitely been a while, and the board posting conventions have changed also, so I apologize if the thread is a bit haphazard. I would love to hear what you guys think, as this part underwent significant changes. Enjoy!

2. Bathrooms and Breakdowns


I woke up today with the kind of eagerness and excitement usually reserved for momentous events, such as going for a root canal, or the first day of school. I was bright eyed, and bushy tailed, and ready to take over the world. Or you know. Ready to hand over a letter.


Same thing.


I won’t go into very specific detail the number of times I picked up the phone to call Max and tell him I changed my mind and that the whole thing was off (twenty seven). I also don’t really remember the number of times I considered just not going to school today (nine). Suspiciously enough, this sort of reflected the number of times I snoozed my alarm clock and my aunt yelled at me to get up (also nine). At the end of all this hazy considering, I made it to school and managed to keep hold of the letter, even though it almost mysteriously disappeared into a trashcan several times (thirty two).


I’m walking towards one Jessica Thorne now, and it is taking a tremendous amount of effort to keep putting one foot in front of the other. She is sitting with her friends, and inexplicably, my reluctance to do this grows even more. It could have something to do with the fact that I was not kidding about our mutual animosity. It’s an accepted fact of this school that Liz Parker and Jessica Thorne do not get along. We are oil and water, fire and ice, everything that is the opposite of the other. Jessica is larger than life, loves being the center of attention, is commanding and sure and can cut you to shreds with her words in five minutes flat. I have never seen the girl back down from anyone or anything, and she uses a mix of her unnatural good looks, charm and a good bit of intimidation to sail through and ultimately rule the high school pecking order.


This goes down really well with my friends and I, as I am sure you can imagine. For some reason I have never understood, even though she always seemed to dislike us all equally (read: DID) she has always seemed to have a particularly sore spot for me. I do not respond to intimidation well, and once Thorne girl figured this out, she switched tactics and decided that making me the worse off in every one of our encounters was now her favorite little side project. Now, Roswell is sort of a one horse town; this means I have been in school with Jessica since I was barely old enough to walk. You would think some of this would dull the dislike, right?


Sadly, you would be very, very wrong.


Five feet away, and people are starting to notice this very unusual turn of events. Absently, I notice that my own friends are clustered underneath the big tree in front of the steps, as they usually are before school starts. Max is conspicuously absent, and because I didn’t want to have to explain to them why I was leaving and going over to talk to Jessica Thorne, my Uncle was the one who gave me a ride to school today. I can hear my best friends calling out my name, but I ignore this and continue towards the group standing by the bannisters leading to the school. Those on the outer edges notice me first, and there is a mixture of surprise and then anticipation on their faces as I excuse myself, and they give way so I can pass. By the time I reach the middle, only Jessica and her very closest of friends are still chatting.


I know she’s seen me goddamnit. The silence that falls as even her core support group stop paying attention to her to gawk at me is not something you can just ignore. She just wants to be difficult on purpose.


Ugh.


I roll my eyes at this, and prepare to cut her off in the middle of her fascinating, I’m sure, discourse on whatever it is she’s talking about, when someone does it for me.


“ Liz Parker. Defecting to enemy lines? I knew you’d see the light one day.”


My gaze immediately latches on the speaker, and as the light laughter greets his statement, I cannot help but smile back at Jordan Connor, school heartbreaker. He possesses the dubious honor of being Jessica’s best friend, and questionable decisions such as these aside, he and I are actually on very decent terms. We have history, of course, because this is Roswell, and everyone has history with everyone else, but that is a story for another day. I am on a mission right now, and thanks to his very opportune interruption, one that came with the bonus of infuriating Jessica as she is currently glaring at Jordan (not that he notices, or perhaps cares?), I actually have the chance to get this over with.


“ Not today,” I answer back breezily.


Never missing a beat, Jordan shrugs at me, still with that little grin on his face. “Oh well. I can keep hoping, right?”


Before I can puzzle out that cryptic statement, Jessica lets out a huff of irritation and stands, shooting Jordan a quelling look, which makes him laugh and then raise his arms in surrender. I am glad to see that he doesn’t let her stomp all over him, but the apologetic look he sends me now seems to indicate that I have woken a sleeping dragon, and that his assistance ends there. I give him a last, grateful look, before facing Jessica head on.


“ What do you want?” She asks.


“ What, no hello?” I smirk at her, and as this brings a scowl to her face faster than you can say ‘shoe’ I drop it and stare her right in the eye. “ We need to talk.”


Her lip curls and she smirks back in kind. “ You know, I’m really sure we don’t. So you can just run back to your litt-”


“ It’s about Max.”


Three words. That’s all it takes to stop her in her tracks, and the mood around us to prickle with so much tension the air almost crackles. Jordan, who had fallen into conversation with one of the other kids once Jessica and I started our piss-each-other-off-as-much-as-possible contest, looks back at me so fast, I hope he doesn’t get whiplash. Jessica is gaping at me like a fish out of water right now. I would laugh and point this out, except that I have just realized that I have taken the first step on this plan of mine, and I can no longer take it back.


“ Wh-what?”


Yeah.


Jessica Thorne just stuttered. I should run back to Max and tell him he really does not need me. At all. At the mere mention of his name, the girl is already unraveling. Fighting the urge to do just this, and wondering why it is that Jordan Connor is suddenly analyzing me like I am the most fascinating thing on earth, I raise my eyebrows at Jessica.


“ I need to talk to you about Max Evans,” I say slowly, making sure there is no misunderstanding. “ Is that something you’d be interested in, or should I just run back to my little friends?”


What?


Max never said I couldn’t antagonize her.


Recovering fast, Jessica is scowling once more and I smile brightly at her. “ Suit yourself.” I glance around at the gob smacked audience and grin. “ Have a good one, guys.” Jordan is still staring at me, so I wink at him as make my escape. “ Jordan, always a pleasure.”


I have to hand it to him. He blinks once, and that glimmer is back in his eye. “ Feeling is mutual, Parker,”


I turn, and walk away, ignoring the fact that I am walking from one storm into the other, as my best friends are staring at me like I have completely gone around the bend. My heart is beating fast, the implications of my actions are just now starting to really sink in.


Shit.


I can still fix this right? I can turn around, tell her it was a huge joke, and then scamper off into school? Max will understand, won’t he? I mean, he is my best friend, shouldn’t he know by now that I am prone to fits of the crazies and he should disregard what I say?


“ Hey!”


I freeze. That sounded terribly like Thorne girl. A glance over my shoulder shows this to be true. She looks a bit breathless, like she jogged over to catch up to me…or maybe it’s just nerves? Whatever she is warring with seems to get resolved, because she determinedly lifts her chin, and that ice cool façade snaps back into place.


“ I’m interested. Meet me on the fourth floor bathroom at free period. We can talk there.”


Blonde hair swinging, she spins and heads back towards the school. It’s not a moment too soon, because the bell rings, and taking my lucky breaks where I can, I decide to scamper off into the crowd rather than face my best friends. As I shimmy my way through the milling crowd, my one reverberating thought is:


What have I done?


********


It’s not even lunch time, and I am already exhausted. This is mostly because I have had to dodge four very determined individuals all morning. I do not think I can discuss with them what I am up to, because one, Max and I agreed to keep it under wraps, and two, if I talk with them, they would probably get it out of me anyway, and then promptly convince me that it is the worst idea ever.


Which, you know, they could actually have a point about.


But I digress.


Avoiding them, sans Max, because I am not exactly sure where he is at the moment, (you would THINK he would be hanging around, desperately awaiting the results of my mission, or at LEAST running interference for me, so I wouldn’t look like an utter idiot diving into classrooms every 15 feet. That last one wasn’t even empty!) is turning out to be more difficult that expected, also because of the fact that my group of friends happens to wield some very formidable social clout. And you know, even though it is now widely publicized knowledge that Liz Parker and Jessica Thorne will be having a conversation about Max Evans today, social clout definitely went a long way into getting into this damn bathroom.


That and, I think I’m actually I’m pretty likeable. It is the only reason I can come up with for why I was voted homecoming queen in junior high. I actually think this is about the time Jessica ramped up her campaign against me, as I beat her out for the so-called privilege. I really don’t even know what she was so pissed about, all I got was a fake crown and scepter and had to endure several hours of torture while everyone stared at me. The only saving grace of that night was that Max got voted as King, and together, as we stumbled our way through the damned dances and picture taking, we also got all we could eat vouchers to the pancake house. Score!


That however, would not be enough social standing to matter in this school. I’m also a member of a band that was formed by my other best bud, Alex Whitman, and is fairly popular. I play the drums and I’m pretty damn good if I do say so myself. The other members are Alex himself, he plays the bass guitar and co-writes the songs with Maria DeLuca, my best friend, who’s our lead singer. Then there’s Michael Guerin, he plays the electric guitar.


Three, I hang out with what people term the ‘elite’ group, mainly:


Isabel, certifiable hottie by male standards, Alex’s girlfriend, a volunteer at the Roswell homeless shelter, prominent member of the student’s council and organizer of the annual Roswell Christmas pageant. She may have that Ice Queen thing down pat but beneath all that beats a heart of gold. You just have to go through a few layers of manic obsessiveness and a frightening fixation on the perfect pot roast to find it, first, but really, Isabel’s a gem.


There’s Michael, school rebel, eye candy to the masses, Max’s best friend, Maria’s boyfriend, plays the part of the eccentric artist and part time worker at the Roswell Animal Shelter, when he's not slaving away at the CrashDown like the rest of us. He has this totally raging motorcycle (the one I adore) that he keeps promising to let me ride so I can learn but I know hell would freeze over first. Of all the group, he is the only other solo child, and because of this, he and I have a bond on a completely other level as well. He might come off as all badass, but inside, Michael’s a big softie; unless you touch his hair. Then you just…die.


I’m not kidding.


Alex, class clown, computer junkie, extremely talented bassist, dodge ball champion and a gym coach’s worst nightmare. Best guy friend a girl could ever have. One day, he’ll be the King of the Computer Software industry. I swear on this. The programs he designs? Phenomenal. No other word to describe them. And when he does conquer the software world, you can kiss Bill Gates goodbye. This however, is contingent on if he chooses not to go on the musician route, and simply take the world by storm that way too. Alex has a bright future ahead…all he has to do is survive gym class.


Maria, free spirit, waitress, gifted singer, avid ‘save the earth’ campaigner and president of the junior class. Bestest girlfriend in the world. Everyone’s favorite sweetheart. A couple of years from now, the name ‘Maria DeLuca’ will be a household name, because all bias aside, the girl has the most amazing voice I’ve ever heard. She is also stubborn, loud and utterly frustrating sometimes, and lord help you if she ever gets bored, because in order to entertain her, you might find yourself scaling the sides of Roswell’s tallest building in order to determine what exactly is on top of the wind vane. It’s a space shuttle, by the way. I hope you appreciate that information, because collectively, it cost Maria, Alex and I ,a broken arm and three scabbed knees to boot. But again…a story for another time.


Then there’s Max. Certifiable hottie by female standards, captain of the basketball team, co-captain of the track team, works the grill at the CrashDown and owner of the meanest lay up I have ever seen. I could go on and on about how he’s the greatest guy ever. He’s the guy who’ll add an extra burger to an order if I’m late delivering it so the customer won’t give me grief. He’s the guy who’ll give anyone a nice smile even though he’s had a shitty day. He’s the one who doesn’t mind you coming to his window in the middle of the night cause you needed a friend. He’s the type of guy to tell the senior guys to leave the freshmen alone. He…well, you get my drift, right?


And then there’s me. I’m just plain old Liz Parker, honor student, drummer, waitress, track team member and… orphan. My parents died in a car crash when I was twelve. I cried for days, weeks, I don’t even remember. And then I went numb. I just sort of began to forget what they looked like after a while and that made me infinitely sad. Alex and Maria slept over at my Aunt and Uncle’s for however long I cried so I wouldn’t be alone. I owe them. I… I don’t think we should get into this right now. So that’s it. That’s the group. No, we are not snobby, no we do not think we’re better than everyone else. We’re just… looked up to for some reason. There are perks that come with having social clout.


I glance at my watch. I hear footsteps outside the door.


Three.


Two.


One.


Jessica Thorne waltzes in.


“ Well?”


“ Hello to you too, Jessie.” I tilt my head to the side at her. “ You know, if you don’t start greeting me, I’m going to get a complex.”


“ What do you want Parker?” She snaps. “ And haven’t I told you enough times to stop calling me Jessie?”


Too easy. I have a talent for getting under Jessica’s skin. I could shoot barbs at her all day… but right now I’m on cupid duty. She glares at me.


“ Is this about Max or not?”


Ah. Knew we were getting there sooner or later. I eye her carefully. She’s practically bouncing on her heels.


“ Yep.”


A huge smile threatens to break over her face, and I know that she is fighting very hard to show off an unaffected expression. I’m sure if I give her two minutes, she will actually begin hopping up and down.


Oh boy.


“ Well?” she asks again impatiently, though her tone is a lot better. “ What does he want?”


I’m tempted to make something up but I just cannot deal. I simply reach into my pocket and pull out an envelope and present it to her with a flourish plus my usual sarcastic smile.


“ He wanted me to give you something.”


Trust Max to think of this. Asking a girl out through a letter? I don’t know if he’s just old fashioned, or trying to be original or…romantic. I don’t have time to dwell on this last word because she snatches it from me and tears it open and pulls the letter out in a matter of seconds. She begins to read and then glances up at me.


“ This is sort of private.”


Hmm. Snotty voice is back. I smile blandly, refusing to look at the letter.


“ Yeeees. Which is why I chose to give it to you in here. I’m supposed to stay and monitor your reaction and ferry your reply back to him.”


She narrows her eyes.


“ What if you don’t tell him my real reaction or what I really said?”


Oh pft.


I may not like this girl, but a liar I am not.


“ You mean lie?” I raise a hand to my chest, affecting a hurt expression. “ Now you’re really hurting me.”


“ Why did he send you in the first place?” She asks haughtily.


I raise an eyebrow at her and wonder if she’s being obtuse on purpose. “ Well, we’ve only been close friends for four years so gee, I’m as lost as you are.”


She doesn’t look convinced, staring at me with narrowed eyes.


I resist the urge to sigh. I think she is being difficult on purpose. Deep breath. I can do this.


“ Look,” I begin, trying to sound as non-confrontational as possible. “ I know you don’t trust me, but Max does. He’s my best friend, and I’m his. Best friends have each other’s back and I would never lie about something this i-important to him.”


Okay so I stuttered a little. And, yes, I’m not sure just how important this is to Max…and this perhaps showed, because she still doesn’t look convinced. I’m getting annoyed. I poured out information about my and Max’s friendship in front of her of all people and…and.. this is so not fun. What on earth possessed me to tell him he had a cupid?


I frown and shrug unconcernedly.


“ Fine. I’m leaving.”


I’ve taken two steps before she calls out.


“ Wait!”


I turn around. She doesn’t look too happy that Max sent me, but she schools her face into a grudging acceptance.


“ Okay.” She sits down on the counter and begins to read. I see this and feel like…well…hell would actually be an apt description right now.


“ Yeah, make it quick, alright? I’ve got a class.”


This is a lie.


I have a free period but I need some time to recover before I go to Max and report everything. I try very hard to not look at Jessica but one stray glance, and I suddenly, for the life of me, cannot tear my gaze away. The play of emotion across her face is sort of…arresting. She looks equal parts charmed, and touched and excited all at once.


I don’t blame her.


That letter is a work of art.


I would know. I helped write it, after all.


I’m starting to feel a little sick and tear my eyes away from her ecstatic face. Everything I contributed to that letter is what I would like to say to Max but am too afraid to. I put part of ME into that letter. And everything he wrote was so…beautiful. It’s not hard to see why Jessica is so blown away by it.


I was.


Still am.


Does he really feel that way about her? Did he mean everything he wrote? Because if he did…


Sick feeling is intensifying now.


Why did I agree to do this? Something about friendship, loyalty, doing a friend a favor… and the whole situation of watching him go after someone else helping to cure myself of these ridiculous feelings.


Yeah.


That about did it.


Okay.


Now I am going to just sit here and stare into space.


This, I manage to succeed in without too much difficulty and the next thing I know, Jessica is poking me in the arm. I blink and scowl at her.


“ Do you mind? ” I growl. She takes a step back. I push off the counter against which I was leaning against and say, “ Why didn’t you just call me instead of doing the poking?”


“ You looked zoned out. I doubted it would do much good.”


I shake my head. She’s doing the English teacher impression again. I clear my throat.


“ All done?”


She looks over the back of the letter, where, I guess, she’s put her reply. She stares at the letter once more with a soft smile on her face, and then as if realizing she is not alone, it vanishes.


“ Yes.” Looking hesitant, she says, with a light trace of a frown, “ You won’t read it will you?”


My turn to raise a brow.


“ No, I won’t. It’s for ol’ Maxwell to read, not me.” I say, using Michael’s nickname for him in a desperate attempt to remind myself that we’re just buds.


She relaxes.


“ It’s a bit old fashioned,” She says appraisingly.


Rolling my eyes here..


“ But it’s really original too.”


Or not. I blink at her. She doesn’t notice but continues perusing the letter.


“ But you want to know what’s weird?”


That Max is even asking you in the first place? But of course, I don’t say this. What’s the point?


“ What?” I ask dully, sitting at the counter and training my gaze on the linoleum.


“ It’s almost like it was written by two different people,” She says, looking up at me. I choke but she’s already looking at the letter again.


Does she know?


“ Um, w-what do you mean?”


“ Well, it’s as if they were having a conversation of some sort without even realizing it. You know, two parts of a puzzle they don’t even know they were putting together.”


My mouth drops open in shock. Partly because, I find it hard to believe that we had a conversation without insulting each other for a few minutes and because I can’t believe Jessica Thorne really was saying all that. She looks up at me, sees my shocked look and realizes she’s said too much. Clamming up immediately, she glares at me, lips pursed as if saying I better not tell anyone about her dishing out pearls of wisdom or this newfound perceptivity. She doesn’t have to worry. I can’t believe it myself and even if I did blab, I don’t think they’d believe me either. She begins folding up the letter and hands it to me.


“ You better not open that.” Back to her dismissive tone of voice, like I’m wasting her time.


I have recovered enough to reply.


“ No worries, Jessie. I have no intention of doing that.” Cocky grin back in place, weird moment over. I salute her and walk out. “You have a nice day.”


I hear her infuriated little gasp and I smile to myself. Even being nice, I manage to annoy people. Hey, when you got it, flaunt it, baby.


And I have a hell of a talent of annoying people.


But we’re not going into that.


Oh no. Right now, I want to find a nice deserted classroom and remind myself of all the reasons I’m doing this. Because if I don’t, I may just scream. And it certainly won’t be pretty.


*********


There he is.


Correction, there they are.


My best friends. It’s lunchtime now and they’re sitting at our usual table.


Maria, Alex, Isabel, Michael and of course, HIM.


See, during my long talk with myself, I’ve decided that saying his name only reinforces this hold he has over me. So now, he’s just…HIM.


I arrange a nice, bright smile onto my face before I march over there, but rather unfortunately, this is the precise moment that he catches sight of me. He frowns the minute he sees my smile. Maria looks over her shoulder at me and ends up frowning too. Alex follows suite. Then Isabel. Then Michael. And there I am, bright, happy (fake) smile over my face while my whole group of friends are frowning at me. Some of them look worried, others puzzled, others disapproving. And…I’m still smiling.


Oh well.


I put on my usual indifferent face and trudge over there, and as soon as I reach the table, Maria and Alex clear a space for me in between them, directly opposite him. I smile, genuinely this time.


“ Thanks.”


I slide into the seat and remove my lunch, painfully aware but pretending that I’m not of the strained silence. I open my pack of spicy cheese chilli nachos and begin munching, looking around at my friends. They’re all looking back at me.


“ What?”


Isabel is frowning heavily. Michael looks confused. Maria looks like she’s going to blow a gasket and Alex looks worried. HE looks… apprehensive?


Oh. I get it. He’s worried about Jessica’s reaction. I chew some more, waiting for the impending explosion. And it comes.


“ WELL?” Maria demands, staring hard at me.


I blink at her.


“ Well what?”


“ Liz, what happened in there?” Isabel asks, leaning forward.


“ Yeah, we heard you and Jessica had a smack down in the bathroom,” Alex adds.


“ Did you use that right hook I showed you, Liz?” Michael says eagerly. Everyone stares at him, me included. “What?” He asks cluelessly.


“ What happened Liz? What did she say?”


This is HIM talking. I swivel around from Michael to face him. I frown. We agreed yesterday that my role as Cupid would stay between the two of us for now, in order to avoid unpleasant situations. Such as the one we’re currently in. He picks up on this silent signal and shrugs sheepishly, having read my frown correctly.


“ Izzy and Maria beat it out of me right after they saw Jessica go into the bathroom.” He confesses a bit reluctantly.


Well. I’m sort of glad to know I’m not the only one who’s susceptible to these things!


“ Oh.”


Maria huffs. “ ‘Oh’? That’s it? ‘Oh’? Liz, babe, we want details!”


“ Yes Liz,” It’s Isabel talking now, she does not look pleased. “ Especially after your little disappearing act in the morning. Were you hiding from us?”


“ Why would I do that?” I shrug nonchalantly, like it’s no big deal. Because it isn’t, and I shall keep telling myself this until I believe it. “ What can I say? Mission accomplished. The objective was achieved.” I grin. “I come bearing gifts.”


I offer out the folded letter to HIM.


Everyone just stares at me, then at it.


But not him. His head whipped up to meet my gaze at the words, ‘Mission accomplished’ and for a second there, I could have sworn I saw a glimmer of surprised horror in his eyes. He stares at me, and keeps on staring at me. Soon, our friends notice but don’t say a word. I raise an eyebrow at him. He blinks and reaches out and takes the letter, unfolding it and taking a long time in reading it. We’re all quiet.


And then, without looking up from the letter…


“ She says yes.”


Yep.


That’s HIM.


And this is us…excluding me. I resume munching as everyone around us explodes.


“ WHAT?” Isabel shrieks.


“ Max! She’s a witch!” Maria groans, as if we didn’t already know this.


“ Oh crap.” Is Alex’s sparkling contribution.


“ You seriously ASKED her?” and that’s Michael, looking incredulous.


Me: Munching, munching, munching.


Um, did I mention that we aren’t really Jessie’s biggest fans? It’s the way she treats people you see. Her group of people tend to treat the kids who actually dare to be super intelligent or quiet or just be themselves, like dirt. Like they aren’t allowed to be themselves, and high school is difficult enough as it is. Making others lives more complicated and awful on purpose just isn’t right.


Maria turns to me now, her blue-green eyes flashing. Unprepared and unwilling to deal with her at the moment, I shift my gaze over to Alex. He’s gaping at me too. Isabel’s STILL frowning and Michael looks totally exasperated but thank goodness, he’s staring at HIM and not me.


Good.


Wait.


Now he’s turned to me and staring in the exact same way he was staring at HIM.


Oh hell.


I sense another explosion.


And, as always, they don’t disappoint.


“ Lizzie, how could you even consider DOING this?” Maria yells.


“ I know you can’t stand her Liz, why DID you do it?” Isabel looks very confused now.


“ It’s a prank, right? It has to be a prank,” Alex insists, looking to me for affirmation I cannot give.


“ This is such bullshit.” Michael proclaims. He glances at HIM, who’s still engrossed in the letter. Michael frowns and then looks at me. “ Liz,”


I glance at Michael.


“ - the only reason Max is doing this is because-”


Did I miss something? Why is Michael explaining Max’s actions to ME of all people? Unfortunately or fortunately, if you look at it from another perspective, someone goes,


“ Michael!”


That was him.


I stare. He never yells. He’s scowling at Michael right now and then he scowls at everyone else. When his eyes meet mine, the scowl fades and his face becomes contrite and he begins to speak, still maintaining eye contact. It’s like he’s trying to tell me something with his eyes. I just can’t figure out what. Maybe that he doesn’t REALLY want to go through with this?


“ Guys, I appreciate that you’re voicing your opinions and everything but- it’s done. I asked her, she accepted…” He pauses, swallows and looks away from me. “ We’re going on a date. I want to date her.” He says simply.


So much for that theory.


Now I REALLY want to hurl myself to the floor and pound my fists, cursing the colossal unfairness of it all. I don’t, of course, do this but you already knew that, right? Instead, I crumple up my now empty nacho packet, lob it over the top of Alex’s head into the trash can, wipe my hands and mouth on a napkin and take a swig of my water. It is at this point that I see everyone apart from HIM is staring at me. I rest my chin in my hand and grin at him.


“ Good for you,”


There is a shocked silence. Everyone else stare at me disbelievingly and I look around at them.


“ What?”


I mean, what else did they expect? I am not going to start sobbing here, no, I refuse to do it. So I’m doing this instead. Being the supportive friend AND cupid that I am.


Or, am trying to be at least.


Isabel drops her head into her hands and groans. Maria has crossed her arms over her chest and is looking away from Max, staring almost accusingly at me. Alex looks exasperated and Michael is mutinous.


“ Bullshit, Maxwell.” Michael lashes out. “ What about all that stuff you told me about-”


“ Michael!” HE interrupts again. He looks frustrated.


“ Maxwell,” Michael begins again, looking at me again first and looking as frustrated as HE does. HE… oh who am I kidding? This HE and HIM stuff is doing nothing but confusing me. MAX jumps up and shoves the letter into his pocket.


“ I’m leaving.”


And he does too. He takes two steps away from the table… and then he turns back.


“ Liz is leaving too.” He announces.


“ I am?” I blurt out.


“ You are.”


He runs around the table, grabbing my hand and all but yanking me up from the table too, snatching my backpack. He begins pulling me away from the stunned group.


I’m very confused. What the hell is he doing?


“ Max!” I yell, but we’re already about halfway out of the quad going God knows where. “ Max, where are we going? Max!”


People are gaping at us, including a very not pleased looking Jessica.


I could care less.


He drags me all the way down to the football field, and right up to the very top of the bleachers. I’m breathing hard by the time we eventually stop. You’d think that being on the track team I wouldn’t be so out of breath but when you’re being dragged along, you don’t really have much of a chance to work on your form, you know. I plop down and glare up at him.


“ Now that you’re through dragging me around like a lifeless bundle,”


He looks sheepish and sits down next to me. I blow a strand of hair out of my face and continue.


“ Would you mind telling me what exactly it is we’re doing here?”


“ So…what happened in there?” He asks seriously.


Oh yeah. Go ahead. Torture me some more, why don’t you? I put on my happy smile and don the cupid cloak.


“ Um, let’s see. There was no carnage, no verbal battles, I was VERY nice to her and for a bonus, she’s still alive! How great of me was that?”


I glance at him. Max looks tense, he’s grinding his jaw slightly like he does when he’s thinking hard.


“ Liz,” He begins, and clearly, Max is in no mood for games.


I sigh.


“ Okay, I’ll be serious. She was over the moon. She loved the letter. Adored it. Was blown away by it.”


My throat kind of wants to stop working now, so I shut up. I try desperately to think of another topic but curiosity is a curse, wouldn’t you know it, guess what I say:


“ So what did she write?”


GAH.


And what’s worse, it comes out all eager and happy like.


He doesn’t respond. He simply hands the letter to me and I unfold it quickly, ignoring Max’s side. My eyes widen when I look at Jessica’s reply.


It’s really simple. Just one humungous YES!!!! Surrounded by hearts. I frown at him.


“ It took you ten minutes to read that?”


Max sighs and leans back, staring at the sky.


“ Guess everyone’s really… not happy about this, huh?”


I lean back too, and nod ruefully.


“ That would be an understatement, Max. They’re more…how do I put it. Oh yes. Shocked, horrified, appalled, sickened, dis-“


“ I get the point, Liz.” He mutters dryly.


That should be the end of it, but I suddenly cannot stop my mouth. The words keep spilling out.


“ I mean…its not as if you can really blame them. You sort of…did this out of the blue. Hell, I was shocked the first time you told me of your newest crush, too. I didn’t even know you guys spoke, much less that you had spent enough time with her to actually-” I cut myself off, and take a breath, for any more, and I may give in to the temptation to shake him and demand that he reject Jessica’s letter. “ Just…they’re probably going to need a little time to adjust.” I finish lamely, cringing. Did he pick up how I really feel about this? I look at him, prepared to take the glare he so obviously MUST be sending my way but lo and behold, he’s not. He doesn’t even look mad.


Instead, he sighs again. After a lengthy pause, he says,


“ What about you?”


I press my lips together, determined not to answer. People get away with not answering questions by simply keeping quiet, right? So I won’t do it. I won’t. As I war with myself, Max begins to move and before I know it, he’s kneeling on the bleacher below me, gazing up at me with those expressive eyes of his.


“ Liz?”


Hm.


All right.


I may have died and gone to heaven.


The way he said my name…


I close my eyes, memorizing sound. When I open them again, he’s still there, and he’s… holding my hands in his. I stare at our entwined hands, where they’re lying on my lap. God, what is he doing to me?


“ What about you?” He asks again.


“ I…”


I have no idea what I want to say. None at all. So I just open my mouth and let the words spill forth, hoping against hope, that somehow, I’ll find a way to prevent sticking my foot in it.


“ I want you to be happy, Max.”


Okay. Good, because this is true. What now?


“ And if you really want to be with Jessica,” I swallow. This is so hard. “ Then… I’m happy for you.” I look him straight in the eye and smile although I really just want to cry at this moment. “ So what’s the plan?”


“ Liz…”


He just stares at me for the longest time and I can’t take it. I look down at our hands again and I realize how utterly wrong it is. Here I am, telling him I’m happy he’s going after someone else while enjoying the fact that he’s holding my hands. Not that it hasn’t happened before, but that was different. That was before I started having these ‘feelings’. So I do the right thing. I pull my hands away. Nothing happens for a while. I continue to stare at his hands and then I hear him exhale slowly and he stands up. When I look up, he’s smiling. I crack a grin. He offers me his hand and hauls me up so that we’re standing eye to eye.


“ I think,” He says, “ It’s time for the wine and dine stage.”


Grin some more, Liz.


Bring on hell.

TBC.

Bathrooms and Breakdowns overview
1. Liz makes contact with the object of Max's affection and her biggest fan (not): Jessica Thorne
2. We are introduced to Jessica's best friend, Jordan Connor
3. The rest of the gang makes their entrance

[Comet]

3. Closets and Close Calls

Today has been a very long, very trying day. I want nothing more than to slink up to the apartment, collapse right into bed, and remain there until I absolutely have to get up again.


Or until my Aunt hauls me out to dinner.


Whichever comes first.


Cheered slightly by this prospect, because, let’s face it, in my world, there is very little that a few hours of sleep and a belly full of yummy delicious food cannot fix, I manage to prod my lethargic body into motion. All I have to do is make a stealthy, speedy entrance, navigate the restaurant and then scamper upstairs before anyone (Maria) is the wiser. Easy. As I am congratulating myself on a well thought out plan, opening the door to the CrashDown causes the bell above to tinkle, announcing my arrival. I cringe. So much for a stealthy, speedy entrance.


“ Yo! Jose! Where’s that Will Smith?”


I recognize Maria’s voice at once, and my immediate reaction is try to inconspicuously back out of the Café without attracting her notice. What? Have you not met Maria De Luca? She’s scary when she wants to be. And right now, she really, really wants to be. I am still slowly backing out, and in hindsight, perhaps the back entrance would have been better, but with any luck, she will be too busy to spot me.


I should have known better.


Luck really hasn’t been on my side these days after all.


Maria catches sight of me out of the corner of her eye, and zeroes in, marching right over, Will Smith burger forgotten.


“ Dina!” She yells, calling for Dina Adams, our fellow waitress and a freshman from school, one who worships the ground Max walks on and since Maria and I are in his presence so much, she worships us too.


“ Yeah?”


The younger girl sticks her head out of the kitchens, sees me and waves enthusiastically.


“ Hi Liz! Heard about-“


“ Dina could you do me a favor and cover my tables for me?” Maria interrupts, still advancing on me.


“ Oh, sure!”


Maria’s reached me by now, raising a questioning eyebrow at my awkward placement of being half in and half out of the café. New customers pop up behind me, and I sigh, entering fully once more so they can pass. She stands there, hands on her hips, foot tapping impatiently.


“ Well?”


“ Well what?” I blink, feeling a sense of déjà vu. “ Haven’t we already had this conversation?” I ask with a slight frown.


Maria rolls her eyes and grabs my hand, dragging me to the back room and towards the stairs to the apartment. I sigh, and let myself get hauled around for the second time in a day. Really, I do have some will of my own you know. I am pretty certain that I used to be quite capable of getting from place to place by myself something two of my best friends seem to have forgotten. As we climb the stairs, Maria still doesn’t speak, and the anxiety I’m feeling spikes up a notch.


A quiet Maria De Luca is never good.


At the door, she pauses, and waits for me to unlock it. I briefly consider refusing, and sprinting as fast as I can from what will undoubtedly be another grueling conversation, but I don’t, and I unlock the door, reluctantly. She opens it and marches right in, pulling me along after her and sitting me down on the couch. She doesn’t join me.


I fidget, noting that my Aunt and Uncle aren’t home.


Maria still doesn’t sit down.


When I finally gaze up at her, I almost cringe. She has her no bullshit expression on, the one she wears when she’s making the speech that could tip the votes in her favor. I sigh. I’m in for one hell of talking to.


I can tell.


I’m going to go with the ‘act like you know nothing route’. It seems like the safest option.


“ Maria? What’s up?” I ask innocently.


The blue-green eyes flash and she crosses her arms over her chest.


“ Alright, Liz, spill!”


“ Spill what?” I’m going for a beguiling mix of innocence with a side of what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about here. From the exasperated look she levels at me, its clearly not working very well. .


Maria groans and finally flops onto the couch next to me, pursing her lips.


“ Liz, you know I can tell when something’s up with you. I mean, we’ve been best friends since we were five! What’s wrong?”


“ Nothing’s wrong.” I deny quickly. I hope I’m just imagining that hurt look on Maria’s face. In case it is really there, though, I say, “ Well, ‘wrong’ isn’t really the word I’d use.”


Raising an eyebrow at me, she turns to stare. “ Then what word would you use, Liz?”


I don’t say a thing. I’m thinking that now would be a good time to mention that no one knows about my little, um, situation, with Max. Yes, not even Maria and Alex know. And I know that they’ve been feeling kind of upset that I haven’t told them what’s been bothering me.


How could I have explained something that I really didn’t even understand myself? Something that I hadn’t even truly acknowledged until a few weeks ago at most?


I look at Maria to see her watching me carefully. I grin apologetically.


“ Look, don’t worry about me, Maria,” I shrug and attempt to soothe her. “ It’s nothing, really.”


She frowns, clearly not buying it. “ If it’s nothing, then why won’t you tell me about it?”


This time I am not imagining things.


She IS hurt.


I bite my lip. If I’m honest with myself, I know that if any of my friends, especially Maria and Alex, were keeping something from me, I would be hurt too. I’m feeling guilty already.


“ Because… because, it’s really no big deal. It’s actually kind of stupid, even.” I fudge, hoping to get her off my back.


It doesn’t work.


A stubborn look appears on Maria’s face, one I recognize well. Sometimes, she can be like a dog with a bone. When she latches onto something, she’ll hold on for dear life.


“ Let’s hear it, then. I could use a good laugh, especially after the whole Max and Jessica thing.” She declares while shuddering slightly.


In spite of myself, I start feeling a little sick once more. Really, how much torture do I have to endure in one day? Right after school, Max and I headed over to Senor Chows, to brainstorm. He hasn’t even asked Jessica out on a date officially yet and we’re already setting the scene. He is giving this ‘wooing’ business the strategic care and consideration one would give to a highly secret military operation.


I wasn’t aware dating had gotten so dangerous.


I was especially unaware that helping to plan Max’s romantic rendezvous would make me so queasy.


Some of my thoughts must’ve been reflected on my face because Maria narrows her eyes, eyeing me in speculation.


“ That’s it, isn’t it? It’s the whole Max and Jessica thing. It bothers you too.”


I shake my head quickly, feeling an impending sense of doom. Maria cannot find out. I will no longer have peace if she does!


“ Of course it doesn’t,” I insist, trying to keep the panic in my voice to a minimum. “ Why would I have agreed to playing matchmaker if it bothered me?”


“ Yes, exactly!” She bursts out in exasperation. “ Why would you? Are you going to tell me or am I going to have badger it out of you?”


I flinch. My choices, for lack of a better word, suck. On one hand, telling Maria would be a relief because I’d finally rid myself of this guilty feeling. Maybe she could help me find another way to get through this, too. If I DO tell her, however, she’ll freak.


Maria, for your 411, has been trying to get Max and I together for years. She’s constantly sighing about what a wonderful couple we make. And if she knows about this, she’ll drop all sorts of suggestive hints all over the place. Wear her eye out by winking at me. Bruise my ribs by nudging them. Probably ship Jessie off to Siberia so she won’t be in the way. Like I said, no peace…I can just imagine the torture.


Well, the last one does have it’s attractions…


But it’s not like I’m not being tortured now, right? And if Maria starts ‘badgering’ me as she so nicely put it, that torture will increase ten fold. I wonder if I can handle that.


I probably can.


Probably.


…


Who am I kidding, I can barely handle all the pressures that come with this job I’ve agreed to.


But, I’m sucker for punishment, and I try for one last-ditch attempt.


“ There is nothing to badger out me of me. I’m telling you, Maria, it’s no big deal. Just give it a rest and drop it, all right?”


Ouch.


I did not mean to be so… frigid. I swear, I didn’t. This thing with Max is screwing me up, it really is. She just stares at me for the longest time, that hurt look back on her face. I look away uncomfortably; I hate hurting my friends. I’m just about to apologize when she says,


“ O-okay then.”


Was that a wobble I heard in her voice? But…but she never gets those, unless…I glance up at her and my heart sinks.


Oh no.


Maria’s lip is trembling.


“ Don’t cry,” I beg.


Her large eyes fill with tears.


No, no, no, no! If there’s one weakness I have, it’s my huge guilt complex. And Maria knows just how to bring it on. I am generally a very unflappable person, but tears, I just cannot cope with. I have absolutely no idea how to comfort someone who’s crying, I never have. The sight of them is enough to make me become unhinged. Maria knows this too. And she uses it to devastating effect.


It’s official.


I’m sunk.


“ I just… I just thought that y-you could tell me anything because I’m your b-best friend. Because you t-trust me,” Maria hiccups, looking completely distraught. The thought crosses my mind that those might be crocodile tears but as a fresh wave makes an appearance, this thought is quickly overshadowed as I try to prepare myself for a tsunami.


Here it comes. Buckets and buckets of guilt, as if I wasn’t already feeling guilty.


I hate feeling guilty as much as I hate hurting my friends.


“ Maria, I trust you, you know I do!” I say desperately. I look on in horror as one tear drops onto her face. She swipes it away. Another one follows.


“ Maria, please! Don’t,” I plead.


Tears are streaming faster down her face now.


Shit.


I look frantically around for the tissue box that usually sits on the coffee table. I see it on the easy chair and realize Aunt Nancy’s been watching soaps again. Grabbing the tissues, I hold a wad out to Maria, who snatches one and blows her nose loudly.


“ I’m s-sorry I bothered you. I’ll just go…”


I sit in helplessness as she stands up and heads for apartment door.


Ugh. Guilt, guilt, go AWAY.


“ Maria!” I call after her, my voice sounding strangled. “ Wait!”


She stops but doesn’t turn around.


“ I’m sorry.” I say in a rush. “ I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately, I’m just… come back, please? I’ll tell you everything.”


She turns around, eye still wet.


“ Everything?” she repeats, her voice still wobbling slightly. She’s twisting the tissue around in her hands.


“ Well,” I begin.


The idea of me admitting that I’m crazy, head over heels for Max is embarrassing, even if it is to Maria. I could barely admit it to myself without blushing till a few days ago. What’s worse is that I’m always proclaiming that I don’t need anyone in the romance department, that I’ll be independent and happy until I die. Or you know. Something to that extent.


HOW, how am I supposed to do this?


“ Um, well. You know…maybe just the major stuff? It’s not a big-”


This is not the right thing to say. Maria’s bottom lip begins to tremble once more and her eyes fill up again. I stand, and hold my hands out, as if this will stop her tears.


“ Okay, okay! Everything! I’ll tell you everything, alright?”


“ You promise?” She sniffs.


I bite my lip. She draws in a deep breath and looks prepared to start BAWLING. I step forward.


“Yes! Yes, I promise! Can you… can you… stop crying now? Please?”


This seems to satisfy her. The tears magically disappear, a bright smile appears on her face and she runs over and hugs me, squealing. I hug her back, sighing in part relief and part resignation.


How does she DO this to me? How does EVERYONE manage to do this to me? They all have their little guilt inducing tricks to use on me. How did they all find out about my issues with my tremendous guilt complex anyway? I’m sure I never told them. It is completely unfair.


She pulls back.


“ So. What’s up?”


Was this the girl who could barely talk straight a few seconds ago? My, that was fast.


“ What about your shift?” I say, trying to buy just a smidge more time.


Maria waves a hand carelessly through the air. “Dina and Sharon will handle it. We don’t have much of a crowd anyway.” She heads to the fridge, looking for the ice cream. “ Now tell me.”


I sigh. There’s just no avoiding this, as reluctant as I am to delve into the idiocy that has brought me here. “I have to call Alex first, and tell him to come over. ”


If I’m going to spill, I should at least do it when he’s present so I don’t have to tell the whole thing twice. I may not survive the second telling.


“ No need,” Maria says, bringing the ice cream and three bowls and spoons over to the kitchen table. “I told him to be here by five. I said I’d have beaten it out of you then.”


I groan.


“ Were you planning this all along?”


Maria grins mischievously.


“ I wouldn’t put it that way, Liz. Let’s just say I was counting on you to see reason.”


Why am I not surprised? I glare at her.


“ You’re evil. You know that? Pure evil. How can you even call yourself my best friend?”


Maria shakes her head at me as she scoops liberal portions of the vanilla flavored ice cream into the bowls.


“ Not working, hon. Lizzie, I’m sorry to say, your skills in the guilt department need serious working on. Besides, it’s BECAUSE I’m your best friend that I did it.”


I shake my head at her, unable to follow the logic that has brought her to this conclusion. “ And you figured this out how?”


“ You’ve got a secret, chica. And it’s eating you alive. We’ve all seen it.”


This grabs my attention. What does she mean ‘we’ve all seen it’? Surely,
surely, I haven’t been that obvious? Hell, I wasn’t even obvious to myself!


“ What do you mean ‘we’ve all seen it’? We who?”


I try very hard to keep my tone of voice as politely inquiring as possible. Maria continues scooping out ice cream. I eye the growing mound apprehensively.


“ We, as in, me, Alex, Izzy and Michael.”


Maria finally stops scooping and begins flitting around, grabbing whipped cream from the fridge, a jar of walnuts and a nut cracker from a shelf, chocolate sauce and a pack of wafers, setting them down on the table.


Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a LONG talk?


“ And what have you guys supposedly seen?”


Maria looks up at me and I look back, keeping my expression as innocently curious as I can. She opens the jar and scoops out several walnuts, beginning to crack them quickly and efficiently, sprinkling the finished nuts onto the ice cream and throwing the shells into the bin. I’m beginning to get dizzy watching her. She’s definitely on a roll.


“ There’s nothing supposed about it, Lizzie. You and Max have been acting weird for weeks.”


I open my mouth to deny this when the doorbell rings. I glance at the kitchen clock.


Five o clock exactly.


“ That’s Alex.” Maria says, now dousing the ice cream with chocolate sauce.


“ Hold the whipped cream on mine!” I call back as I run to open the door.


Yep.


It’s Alex.


“ Hey Liz,” He greets, looking slightly uncomfortable, craning his head around me, obviously looking for Maria. “How’s it going?”


I cross my arms over my chest, scowling slightly. Alex steps back. See? I’m scary when I want to be too.


“ Alex.” I nod curtly. “ If you were going to ambush me, you could have at least started out with a better line than that.”


His eyes widen and then he grins.


“ Did it work?”


I sigh.


“ Yes, unfortunately.”


Relief spreads over his face. “ You mean she’s done it? You’re going to talk?”


“ In a manner of speaking.” I say, dropping the scowl and smiling, waving him in. He makes himself comfortable on the couch.


“ You don’t know how relieved I am to hear you say that,” He declares, propping his feet up on the coffee table. I sit down next to him and prop my feet up too. Maria’s still rattling away in the kitchen.


“ How come?”


“ Because,” Alex begins, grimacing, “ She told me that if she hadn’t broken you down by the time I got here, I would have to cry too.”


Shaking my head, I shoot a maddened look in Maria’s general direction.


“ God, how long did she spend planning this?” I fume.


Alex shrugs and flips on the TV, grinning at me. “ Oh, since Max dragged you off at lunch. Hey DeLuca!” He calls. “ Where’s my ice cream?”


“ Hold your horses, Sir runs-at-the-mouth!” Maria calls back. “ It’s coming!”


“ Alex, be serious. Would you have cried?”


Alex begins stroking his chin pensively.


“ Y’know, I once told Izzy that she was the only girl that I would ever cry for, but for you, Parker, I’ll make an exception. I’ll just have to tell Izzy that she’s the only girl I’ll ever BLEED for, then I’ll be free to cry for you all you want,”


In spite of myself, I laugh. Trust Alex to come up with something like that. It’s just a measure of how totally he cares for Izzy, cause the sight of his blood makes him pass out, no lie. He is definitely the sweetest guy on the planet and I just hope Isabel knows how lucky she is.


“ You are the greatest, Alex.”


He preens a little, giving me his patented double thumbs up sign.


“ I know.”


“ Hey!” Maria yells. “ Aren’t you forgetting someone, Alex?”


Alex shifts in his seat and turns his face to the kitchen, smiling.


“ Don’t worry Ria. I’d cry you a river too. Just give the word.”


An answering chuckle is the response, and I focus on Alex once more, a mock disapproving look on my face.


“ But you know, great or not, I’m still disappointed in you.”


“ Why?”


“ Because this is exactly the type of loony plan I’d expect from Maria, not you.”


“ I heard that!” Comes the resounding yell from the kitchen. “ You better watch it, Lizzie, this is your food I’m handling you know.”


“ The truth hurts Maria!”


Beside me, Alex sighs and shrugs. “ What can I say Liz? She roped me into it.”


Maria now comes bustling in from the kitchen, three bowls and a pitcher of water on the tray. She sets it down on the table and hands me and Alex our bowls, knocking the remote out of Alex’s hand and switching the TV off. Alex frowns in protest.


“ I was watching that,” He tells her.


“ You can watch it later.” Maria sits down next to me, effectively cutting off any escape. “ Okay. Let’s hear it.” She commands.


Alex and I sigh in unison. I glance at him sorrowfully.


“ I don’t blame you. You realize we never had a chance right?”


I am, of course, referring to Hurricane De Luca.


Alex nods, patting my hand comfortingly. “ I know. But that’s just the way it is.”


“ Guys!” Maria whines. “ You’re forgetting why we’re here. Liz. Chica. Start talking.”


I take a deep breath and dig into my ice cream. Oh well. At least the food’ll be good.


After a good hour or so later, I have discovered that I was completely right about Maria freaking out. I seriously think she shattered Aunt Nancy’s best crystal with that shriek and I’ve been fighting the urge to jump up and check ever since she let it out. My bowl is sitting on the table in front of me and it has been reduced from a masterpiece to a bowl of ice cream soup with walnuts, soggy wafers and chocolate swirls in it.


Why, you ask?


Well, honestly, once I started and with Maria and Alex interrupting every two sentences, did you really think I’d have time to eat?


I sigh and look sadly at the ice cream, refusing to look at my two best friends.


“ Liz,” Maria says, causing me to jump. She’s been silent for almost ten whole minutes, a new record. I cannot wait to tell Michael but you can bet everything you own that I won’t be mentioning the cause. I don’t look at her; I can hear the grin in her voice and it sounds like it’s a mile wide. This is the same grin that has been on her face for the past ten minutes and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon.


I take a swig of water, my fourth or fifth. I know I’m probably as red as a stoplight and I certainly feel that way too. I don’t think I’ve stopped blushing since my admittance of being totally head over heels for Max.

I feel my cheeks grow even MORE hot and I duck my head. This is the end. Alex hasn’t spoken for even longer than Maria. I think he’s gone into shock, he’s just sitting there looking stunned, with the beginnings of what looks like another megawatt grin starting to break out over his face.


I look away.


I cannot take more grinning.


“ All I have to say is,” Maria continues, “ it’s about damn time you noticed!”


And I go,


“ Huh?”


Maria gives me a half exasperated, half affectionate look.


“ Liz, you must’ve been the only single girl in school who didn’t drool over Max or think he was hot. I have NO idea how you managed to stick your head under the sand for so long and keep seeing him through best bud vision. I mean, Liz, the guy’s a stud! A total hottie! A babe! A-“


“ Maria!” Alex interrupts. “ I think she gets it.”


Oh I get it alright. Complete with accompanying images.


If possible, I blush even harder.


Maria giggles. “ I think you’re right. So, the first thing we’re going to do is tell thorn girl to back off-”


“ Wait just one second! ‘We’ are not going to do anything. I need you two to PROMISE me that you will not under any circumstances tell Michael or Isabel about this.”


Maria’s face crumples and Alex scratches his head.


“ What?” I ask warily.


This does not look good.


“ Well, I kinda told Izzy we’d be getting the truth out of you today and she wants a full report…”


“ And I tell my Michael everything.” Maria announces.


I stare incredulously at her.


“ Since when?”


Maria turns crimson.


“ Since he said that the only way in the universe he would tell me what Max said when he and Izzy interrogate him is going to be under the condition that I tell him what you said when Alex and I interrogate you.”


My eyes actually cross for an instant and Alex covers his face with his hands.


“ God… Maria!” He admonishes. “ She wasn’t supposed to know that!” He frowns. “ Whatever that was,” Alex adds in a mutter.


“ What you made the same deal with Isabel too?” I demand, staring hard at him.


Alex turns crimson too.


What is this? The blushers club?


“ Kinda.”


“ Were ALL of you planning this attack on me and Max?”


“ Sorta.” Maria answers.


I groan.


They are crazy. All of them are crazy. So much for best friend solidarity.


“ Okay, you know what? You’ll probably do it even if I make you promise you won’t, so you might as well do it while I’m aware. I just want you to promise me these things: One, Max never knows of this, ever.”


Maria opens her mouth to protest and Alex shakes his head.


“ I mean it,” I say. “ He does not know about this.”


“ But Liz!”


“ Maria, please. And don’t cry, even tears won’t make me budge on this one. Promise!”


“ I don’t think it’s such a good idea,” Alex says.


“Alex, I’m begging.”


I wanted the earth to swallow me whole when I was admitting it to my friends. I’ll probably combust if Max ever knows.


Maria frowns but nods and Alex does the same.


“ Okay. Two, you do nothing to Jessica.”


Maria sits straight. “ Okay, what? No. Not agreed.”


Alex sighs. “ Izzy’s on the verge of tearing her hair out. She doesn’t WANT Jessica as a sister in law.”


“ Guys, Max isn’t going to marry her, okay? For gods sake, we’re only JUNIORS in high school.”


“ But she’s going to be insufferable!” Maria wails. “ Her ego is already too big. It’ll probably increase ten times if she gets Max. It’s only been her number one priority since he moved here!”


“ Just don’t do anything okay? Max… really likes her.”


Okay where did THAT come from?


Alex and Maria stare at me in disbelief.


Alex shakes his head. “ Liz, even you don’t believe that.”


“ Well he does, okay?” I insist. He does. I think. “ Anyway she’s done nothing wrong.”


“ Lizzie, everything about her IS wrong! She uses way too much hair dye, that accent thing is terrible, she wears too much make up, she treats people like crap…need I go on?” Maria bursts out, frowning at me. “I don’t understand why you just can’t ditch this match-maker deal and get him for yourself.”


“ Because there is no way Max will ever feel the same way about me!” I retort, voicing my biggest fear. “He sees me as his best buddy. A pal. Almost like a kid sister. And if he finds out that I like him in a more than friends kind of way, it’ll get…weird. I’m not going to lose a great friendship over some stupid feelings.” I cross my arms over my chest. “ I’m not doing it. The best thing for everyone is for me to get rid of them as quickly as possible and then everything can go back to normal.”


Alex and Maria are both staring at me again. I can practically hear the wheels in their brains turning. I know what they’re thinking.


“ Thirdly, you will not under circumstances try to push me and Max together.”


Maria’s mouth drops open. Alex looks away guiltily.


Ha. I swear, sometimes, I think I’m physic.


“ We weren’t thinking of doing that,” Maria says, trying to look nonchalant. “Were we, Alex?”


“ Course not.”


“ Good. Promise?”


I lean over and grab my glass. Out of the corner of my eye, I see both of them tuck a hand behind their backs, obviously crossing their fingers.


“ We promise.” They answer in unison.


Right. And I don’t like Max Evans.


I groan again.


“ Okay, do me a favor, alright? Don’t ever talk to me about this again. Whatever you hear, whatever you’re planning to do, I don’t want to know. I’ll stay sane longer.”


“ But-”


“ Liz-”


“ Guys! I don’t want to know. And no winking, or nudging ribs or hinting.”


I stand.


“ Is this interrogation over?”


Maria and Alex glance at each other.


“ Yes.”


I almost wilt at the affirmative. “ Thank god.”


The phone rings. I look at it, knowing who it is and pick it up.


“What’s up Maxwell?”


“ Hey Liz. Did they get you too?”


I glance over my shoulder at Maria and Alex who have somehow managed to creep up behind me, obviously trying to listen in. I shoo them away with my hands and walk to the other side of the room, glaring at them intimidatingly, warning them to stay away.


“ Yep. Maria opened the floodgates from heaven. And I cracked.”


“ You okay?”


He sounds concerned. He knows what tears do to me.


“ I’m fine, Maxwell. How about you?”


A sigh of frustration from his end.


“ I’m just…” He trails off. “ I’m fine too.” He answers a moment later.


I frown. He does not sound fine. But then again, I probably don’t sound too hot myself either.


“ Max? You sure you’re okay? What happened?”


“ Probably the same thing that happened to you. I got roasted. I now have a list of no less than twenty three reasons why I shouldn’t be with Jessica, courtesy of Isabel, a list twenty five from Maria and a life time of scowls from Michael. What’d you get?”


I bite my lip, searching my mind for something that can match the level of torture he seems to have gone through without revealing what had really gone down.


“ A lecture of how I’m leading you straight to the gallows,” I improvise quickly, causing Maria and Alex to exchange matching looks of surprise. “ And promises of dire retribution if I continue. You know, working double shifts every day for a month, courtesy of Maria, doing all Alex’s algebra homework for the rest of the year… they said they’d spill all my deep dark secrets and publish then in the school paper if I didn’t comply.”


“ That does sound bad.” He sighs sympathetically.


Maria and Alex are flabbergasted, I’m sure I gave them ideas but who cares? No way am I going to embarrass myself MORE than I already have.


“ I’m sorry Liz.”


And he DOES sound sorry. I’m confused.


“ For what Max? You didn’t do anything wrong.”


“ I know… but everyone’s giving you a hard time about…being there for me… and I’m sorry you have to go through that.”


I smile as a rush of affection overwhelms me.


“ Max… it’s okay, really. It’s not your fault.” I reassure him.


I glance up and see Maria and Alex staring right at me. I’m shocked that
Maria’s face hasn’t cracked because that grin…is that even humanly possible? And Alex, dear old Alex is making… are those KISSY faces?


I stare at them incredulously. Maria starts winking at me (didn’t I just say NOT to do that?) and Alex continues his facial contortions.


I glare at them and turn away.


“ I’m apologizing anyway.” He says stubbornly. “ Oh, and I have to warn you. Any time you see Izzy tomorrow, run. Hide. Do anything. Just make sure she doesn’t get her hands on you.”


I smirk. Isabel’s ice princess deal doesn’t bother me but she CAN be a pain in the butt when she wants to be. She’s as bad as Maria sometimes.


“ I could say the same thing to you. Maria’s out for blood.”


Maria rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at me. Alex’s face muscles apparently couldn’t keep up with the strain as he’s now massaging his cheek.


“ I’m not looking forward to that,” Max says ruefully. “ How about you and me hide out tomorrow?”


I move a little further away from them, a conspiratorial grin beginning to break out over my face.


“ What? You mean cut class? I would never-“


He laughs disbelievingly and that puts an instant smile on my face.


Did I mention I love his laugh?


Wait. Bad thoughts. Bad, bad thoughts.


“ Yeah right Liz. This is me you’re talking to remember? You can’t fool me.”


I grin too, twirling the cord around my finger. Okay, so maybe I HAVE skipped a few school functions before but I swear, it was never anything important. Just a few seminars about ‘Career Choices’ and speeches on topics like ‘ Time is running out. Are YOU planning your FUTURE?’. Deadly boring.


“ Okay, okay. So I am capable of it. But as appealing as it sounds, we can’t. We have a History test tomorrow, remember?”


“ Right. I forgot. Is Mrs. Grant still on your case?”


“ That would be a great big yes. I just don’t get the woman. YOU of all people
are her favorite student. What does that say about her?”


“ That she has excellent taste and I am an excellent history student?”


I frown, because the latter part at least is true. “ Try again.”


“ Okay, uncle. What does it say about her?”


“ That she favors you unfairly! You’re a teacher’s pet.”


“ Way mature, Liz. We’re not in third grade anymore you know.”


“ Max, we were never in third grade together,” I remind him.


“ We weren’t? Funny. I’ve got this image of you stuck in my mind…” He clears his throat and after a lengthy silence, says, “ So… are you still going to
help me?”


One-track mind.


I let a big smile break out over my face, for Alex and Maria’s benefit though inside, I’m screaming.


“ Course I am,” I reply flippantly. “ What are friends for?”


Ales shakes his head at me and Maria scowls.


Guess she’s getting started on giving me a lifetime of those too.


Oh well.


Life just sucks sometimes.

************************************************

“ Do you see them?”


“ Max, I can barely breathe with you standing there, let alone see. Move it and I’ll tell you!” I hiss back. This is true. He’s practically draped over my back, fighting to see through the keyhole and it’s driving me crazy. Not to mention the fact that I really can’t breathe too well at the moment anyway because of the chalk swirling around in the air.


It’s fifth period, and we’re supposed to be in the assembly hall attending yet another ‘productive’ future seminar. We decided to cut and are now being hunted by our friends. So we’ve taken refuge in the one place that is sacred to all students.


“ Achoo!”


“ Liz! Keep it down.”


“ I can’t help it,” I whisper. “ You know I’m allergic to chalk dust. I don’t even know why I agreed to go in here with you in the first place. I hate it here.”


“ That’s exactly why I chose it. They’ll never think of looking for us in here. Now are they there or not? Let me see!”


“ Give me a second. And stop shoving!”


“ Quit being such a baby!”


“ Oh grow up!” I snap.


“ You first.” He retorts, grinning that little grin which says he’s happy he’s annoying me.


I open my mouth to retort but have to turn away at the last moment, not wanting to sneeze right in his face.


Umm… we both drank coffee this morning. Caffeine has this weird effect on Max and I, it reverts our psyches to fifth graders.


I’m guessing you already know where are right?


That’s right.


The eraser room.


And I’m here.


With Max.


Alone.


Half the girls in school would give their eye teeth to be here right now.


“ Are they there?” He whines again.


Although at this moment, as my irritation rises, I wonder why. He shifts closer and I snap. Enough with the front part of his body pressing against my back, already! I can’t take it anymore. I move away abruptly, causing him to stumble but I grab his arm and steady him.


“ Gee thanks,” He says sarcastically.


“ You’re welcome,” I reply in the same tone. “ Since you’re so eager, you check it out.”


He stares at me for a moment and then nods.


“ Better hold your nose.”


I frown at his back but do so anyway, not wanting to give our position away. The Principal promised any students found in here doing more than cleaning erasers two weeks of detention. Not exactly my idea of fun. Max teases the door open just a fraction.


“ They’re not there…” He trails off. “ Wait! I see Isabel. And Maria. Oh shit…” He backs away and grabs my hand, pulling me to the floor and in a flurry of arms and legs he somehow winds up on top of me.


“ What are you doing?” I ask in shock, my voice coming out all squeaky. Max simply puts his hand over my mouth and as I won’t be able to breath if I keep holding my nose, I release it, hoping I won’t sneeze. I prop myself up on my elbows and as Max half lays over me, I barely even have time to properly freak over THAT when I hear Maria and Izzy arguing.


“ Where do you think they could be? The parking lot?”


Isabel sighs. “ We might as well go check there after. I’m going to kill Max for this, leaving me high and dry without a ride to school, I swear, it’s treason!”


“ Lizzie isn’t going to be let off that easy either,” Maria grumbles. “ I was going to try to talk her into forgetting about this whole absurd notion of hers. How can she possibly consider going through with this, especially after what she told me and Alex yesterday?”


At this point, I think Max feels my heart practically jumping out of my chest because he looks down at me in concern. His eyebrows lift in silent question, worry filling his eyes and I can still hear Izzy and Maria outside the door. I shake my head at him, signaling that I’m just darn peachy. He frowns slightly but nods anyway.


“ Iz, they’re not going to be in there!” Maria’s protesting. “ Liz hates that place and you know she’s allergic to chalk dust. She kicked Max’s ass so thoroughly the last time he dragged her in there, I don’t think he wants to risk it again.”


We’re both looking up at their silhouettes against the stained glass pane on the door. Isabel flips her hair over her shoulder.


“ We have to check.”


“ Well I’m not doing it.” The Maria shaped figure crosses her arms over her chest. “ Someone in there might be performing mating rituals.”


“ Fine.” Comes the irritated reply. “ I’ll do it.”


Exchanging panicked glances, we immediately look back to see the Isabel size shadow bending over to look through the key hole. The doorknob then begins to turn.


I wonder what’ll happen if they find us in here, like this. Figures on the one day I actually wear a skirt it rides up to mid thigh when I’m thrown to a floor. Maria’ll probably shriek the school down. Isabel will probably claim she’s gone blind. And I’ll… die of mortification. I feel Max tense in anticipation on top of me.


On…top… of… me.


My heart begins to pound erratically. Oh no. Any moment now, they will see us tangled up on the floor, and then Maria’s going to spill about what I said and then, and then… I close my eyes. This is it. Goodbye self respect. Goodbye dignity. Goodbye Max.


“ Damn, it’s Mrs. Grant,” I hear Isabel whisper to Maria. “ We gotta move!”


Then all we hear hurried footsteps streaking quickly down the hall and then there’s silence. I’m lying there, just reveling in the fact that my secret is still safe, enjoying the feel of my heart going back to it’s normal pace, when I realize Max is still lying on top of me. And it feels… nice… All sorts of images rush through my head, all kinds of thoughts are whirling around in there too. No, it’s nothing you’d need to be 18 and above to witness.


Do you want know about it? I’m warning you, it’s enough to make you over dose with sap.


It’s simply me and Max, together, and doing normal couple stuff. The works. Picnics in the park. Dinner in a classy restaurant. Going to the movies. Fooling around on a beach. Feeding each other pizza on a couch while watching TV. A brief image of him giving me white roses, my favorite, complete with one of those heartbreaking shy smiles crosses my mind’s eye and I sigh unconsciously. Wishing for things that haven’t got a million in one chance of happening.


I glance up at Max and find him staring down at me. All too aware that my eyes were clouded and hazy with all the things that could never be and that my sigh wasn’t entirely quiet, I bite my lip uncertainly.


He’s breathing kind of funny and there’s this weird light in his eyes, something I can’t quite describe. He reaches up and slowly tucks one of my wayward strands of hair behind my ear.


“ What were you thinking about?” He whispers.


You, of course, would be the automatic answer if all humans had fail safes to keep them telling lies. But we’re not made that way. And so, it’s up to my sharp mind to get me out of another mess my heart has landed me in. I blink.


“ Nothing.” It comes out a little too quickly and fiercely and he frowns a little, knowing that I’m lying. He tilts his head to the side so that his bangs fall into his eyes a little. My fingers are itching to return the favour he did for me, but this thought is obliterated when he shifts slightly, bringing more of himself into contact with me.


This is impossible. I cannot think, lie and speak at the same time if I’m in this position, with Max practically smothering me. For God’s sake, he’s my best friend, what am I DOING? I tense up and he notices this, immediately shifting his weight off me. I just lie there for a while, half up on floor, propped up on my elbows, looking up at him while he looks down at me. Blinking, and opening and shutting his mouth, he shakes his head a little and offers me his hand.


I accept it and he hauls me up and lo, we’re back to full body contact again. I frown as I realize every muscle in his body is coiled and wound up. It sets off a chain reaction and I go tense and we simultaneously back off from each other.


“ You look stressed.”


The smile he levels at me looks as forced as my voice sounds.


“ Things have just been a little edgy lately.” He replies.


“ Yeah, I can imagine.”


Silence. It’s weird. We’re standing the entire length of the room apart. As if in a final show down.


“ Liz, I really need you to tell me something.” He blurts out suddenly.


“ What?”


“ This thing with Jessica… I… I need to know that it won’t bother you.” He stammers.


“ Would it…” I swallow, finding it suddenly hard to wrap my tongue around the words. “ Would it matter if it did?”


“ Of course it would.” He immediately replies.


I don’t believe this. Is he actually saying I have a say in the way things go down between them?


“ Why?”


“ Because…because…” He falters and looks away. “ Because I know you don’t exactly like her. And because…” He trails off and rubs his face frantically, his hand falling away and pinning me with that serious stare of his. “ I don’t want to lose you…” He says softly. My heart leaps. “ As my friend, I mean.” He adds quickly a moment later.


Why couldn’t he have stopped at the ‘lose you’ part, I wonder despairingly. He’s just reinforced the fact friends is all we’re ever going to be. Okay. I can take this. This WAS the plan after all. I toss my head, sending my hair flying over shoulder and I grin brightly at him.


“ Maxwell, no worries, there, okay? You would never lose me as your friend… just like I’d never lose you, right?”


Please give me this one thing, I plead silently, willing him to hear me. I swear, I’ll find the strength to go through with this if he would just tell me that he will always be my friend. If I can’t have him, at least I’ll have PART of him. Does that make sense?


His eyes are shrouded and unreadable as he continues to stare at me. I’m getting nervous but I put on a little smile.


“ Maxwell. You in there?”


Max jumps a little and grins that half-grin of his. “ Yeah. I’m here. And yeah,
Liz. You’ll never lose me as your friend.” He looks a little sad. I wonder why.


“ Good.” I answer.


“ Yeah.”


We’re quiet again. Then he says,


“ Liz?”


“ Yeah?”


“ What’s with the ‘Maxwell’ thing?” He asks, puzzled look on his face. “ You’ve been calling me that a lot lately.”


I shrug, moving away from the rack of erasers that is making my nose tingle.


“ Michael calls you that all the time.”


“ Yeah, but he’s Michael. And you’re…Liz.”


Oh God. He’s lumped me in right next to his almost brother. He really does
think of me as his sister!


“ I guess it just kinda grew on me.” I smooth my knee length white skirt down nervously. This is another sign that I’m not myself, at least it is to me…am I unconsciously trying to dress more like a girl now, to entice him?


Ugh.


This thing with Max is really, REALLY screwing me up. I mentioned this, right? I’m feeling this burning in my eyes, it’s not a familiar sensation and it’s irritating the hell out me.


“ Um, okay. I just… liked it when you called me Max better.” He says, tugging on his earlobe.


“ Okay then. Max it is. But don’t mind me when I go lapsing into Maxwell land okay?” … Maxwell Land? Oh Jesus. I flinch as I realize how that sounds. “ Um, you know what I mean,” I fudge, waving a hand in the air. Get it together, Liz! “So can we get out of here now? My eyes are beginning to water.”


This is true. The burning feeling is intensifying with every passing moment.


But it’s not because of the chalk dust.


Nope, it’s because right now, for the first time in years, I really want to cry.


Moisture begins to seep out from my eyes and I sneeze three times. My lungs are beginning to seize up. Max hurries over and hands me a handkerchief, cursing himself under his breath as he gently leads me out of the room, to the nurse’s office.


I sneeze again. I’m gasping for breath. Tears are blurring my vision.


I’m not sure this ache in my chest has to do with my lungs or this Max thing but I suspect it’s the latter.


God help me.

***************************************

I walk into the band room at lunch hour, sighing deeply. Max has been driving me crazy, asking me if I want to go home every few minutes cause he feels guilty about my allergy attack. And of course, Maria and Alex picked up on this too, their worry overshadowing the fact that we were hiding out in the Eraser room of all places.


For now, at least, I’m finally alone. I managed to shake them off just as the last period bell rang, by running off into the crowd and I fully intend to make good use of this small reprieve from all their stares and questions. Seating my self behind the drums, I pick up the sticks and twirl them around quickly, loving the smooth feel between my fingers. It never ceases to amaze me how much energy and music two small instruments can produce when hit on the tight surface of a drum in just the right way. I close my eyes and give them one final twirl, glad that the band managed to get the principal’s permission to use the room to practice.


And soon I’m so absorbed in the music that I’m creating that I don’t see a person slip into the room and quietly hook up his guitar. So I almost drop my sticks in shock when I hear the familiar lilting sounds Michael’s guitar produces mix with my solo. My eyes open and he’s there, nodding at me.


“ Liz.”


“ Michael!” I frown at him. “ Knock much?”


“ Quit yapping and let’s play,” He says with a smirk.


Scowling slightly, I comply but before long, this disappears and about ten minutes later we’re rounding off with a spectacular finale. As Michael strums his last notes, I begin twirling the sticks again, feeling exhilarated and yet still kind of wired. I glance at Michael casually as I stand and start walking around the room.


“ What’s up?”


“ Nothing much. Just participating in a man hunt for you.” He wipes distractedly at a spot on his guitar. “Thought you might be in here, so I came over.”


“ Right.” I cross my arms over my chest. “ Don’t you know it’s not NICE to sneak up on people like that?”


“ Yep.” He replies, carefully putting his guitar down. “I also know it’s not nice to push your friends into something that isn’t right for them.”


I freeze up.


“ Michael, if this is about the Jessica thing-”


“ Of course it’s about the Jessica thing,” Michael interrupts. “ What else COULD it be about?”


“ It’s what Max wants,” I insist. Am I going to have to keep on explaining this to everyone?


“ That’s just it, Liz. I’m not all that sure that it is what he wants.”


“ What’re you talking about?”


“ I’m talking about-” He cuts himself off abruptly. “ Liz, you obviously feel something more than friendship for Maxwell so-”


“ Wait just one damn minute! What I may or MAY NOT feel for Max is completely none of everyone’s business! No matter what I said yesterday or last week or last month. I can change my mind you know, things change all the time and…and…would you all just stop trying to control me?”


Michael’s brow furrows. He and I have always had a bond as the only ones in our little group who don’t have siblings. Maria and Alex both have an elder brother and sister respectively and Max and Isabel have each other so we kind of play at being each other’s sibling. Its nice at times.


This is not one of those times.


“ We’re not trying to control you, Liz. We just want what’s good for you.”


I roll my eyes. “ Do you realize how much like a parent you sound?” As the word ‘parent’ crosses my lips and as a sympathetic light flares up in Michael’s eyes, I run a frustrated hand through my hair knowing full well this is territory best not explored. “ God, what is wrong with everyone? I’m just helping Max out. What is so wrong about that?”


Why can’t they just leave me be? I have enough to deal with without having my actions being cross-examined every few seconds.


“ Nothing’s wrong with that. But what you’re trying to help him do isn’t good for him.” Michael says again.


Michael Guerin. Mr. in-touch-with-his-feminine side. I could laugh at how reversed our roles have become. Usually I’m the one who has to traverse between Michael and Maria after one of their famous spats, practically cajoling Michael to just smash that wall down and let Maria in more often. Now Mr. Emotionally Unavailable is dishing out romance advice to ME of all people? Like I said, I could laugh…if I didn’t feel so pissed at the moment.


I stare back at Michael coolly. “ Don’t you think he should decide that?” Michael looks away and I sigh in exasperation. “ Look, Michael. We all have to do things that we just HAVE to do. And right now… I need you all to just… please let me do what I have to do.”


“ Liz, there is another way to do this, you know.”


I know what he’s talking about. It’s what Maria and Alex WANT me to do too. But you and I both know that once I go down that path, there’s just no turning back.


“ I don’t want to do it another way, Michael,” I maintain. “ Can we just drop this? Please?”


He’s staring at me searchingly and then finally sighs. “ Okay.”


“ Okay?”


“ Yeah.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and begins to walk towards me. “ Now how about we go grab some chow?”


“ Seems like a good idea to me,” I smile at him. We set off but when we’re halfway down the hall, he says,


“ Liz, I just want you to promise… the moment what you’re doing starts… hurting… you stop, you hear?”


I refuse to look at him, staring stonily ahead of me.


“ It wont hurt me, Michael.”


He glances at me doubtfully.


“ Humor me.” He deadpans. “Promise?”


I look over at him and sigh.


What can I say? The guilt complex thing is a curse.


“ I promise.”


TBC.

Closets and Close Calls overview
1. Liz confesses her secret to Maria and Alex
2. Max and Liz hide out in the Eraser Room- hilarity ensues
3. Michael makes Liz promise Cupid Duty won't hurt her. She agrees (silly girl )

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Hi everyone! Thank you all for reading. To my new readers, I hope you're enjoying the story, and to those that remember the story from before-thanks for giving it another shot!

4. Romeo and Juliet, Knights and Daze

“ Order up!”


I swivel around and narrowly avoid smashing into Dina who manages to swerve around me just in time, keep her tray of food from wobbling and proceed with a smile on her face. We waitresses could be gymnasts you know, with all the body contortions we do. I march over to the pick up window and Max is there, the bandana decorated with an alien motif covering his hair, worried look still on his face. It’s been there ever since he deposited the hyperventilating mess that was me to the school nurse, stayed there all through school, and it got old, really, really fast.


You would think four years of friendship would be enough to convince people you’re not a china doll.


“ Christ Max!” I groan. “ Would you quit staring at me like I’m going to break or something? I’m fine. I’m really, seriously, fine. ”


“ Well you sound more like your normal self, that has to be a good thing,” He mutters more to himself than to me. “ You sure you’re okay?”


“ARGH!” I quickly pick up the burgers and fries and stalk off before I’m tempted to throw them at him. ‘You sure you’re okay?’ ‘ Are you okay?’ ‘ Do you feel okay?’ If I hear these words one more time…


“ Waitress! We want to order!”


As the familiar voice registers, my first reaction is to cringe. Of course my hellish day wouldn’t be complete without a dose of the thorny Ms. Thorne. I have successfully managed to avoid her since our little tete-a-tete yesterday, because quite frankly, the amount of time we spent together in the bathroom was practically our year quota outside of mandatory class time. I do not relish the thought of spending even another second with her.


A quick glance around shows Dina and Sharon busy in their own sections, and although I briefly entertain the notion of simply ignoring her and sauntering off to the next table, I know that the momentary victory from that would quickly be negated by Uncle J’s reprimand. He’s well aware of our mutual animosity, and therefore keeps an eagle eye out any time she sits in my section. He says dealing with those we don’t get along with is a valuable lesson in life, and if you can get money while you do it, even better. Plus, she knows I heard her; if I walk away on purpose she might think I’m avoiding her, which I am, but she doesn’t need to know that, does she? So with my ‘I’m-a-happy-waitress’ smile firmly in place, I spin around and march over there.


“Welcome to the CrashDown. What’ll you have?”


Jessica smiles in satisfaction, as this is one of the few times I actually have to do what she says. Her eyes rake over my appearance, and inwardly, I sigh. When I was younger, I had thought that the sea foam green uniform with silver accents was the height of fashion and coolness; as with many other things in life, I now know that I was very, very wrong. Although I can kind of see the whimsical, small-town-diner-in-the-50’s charm my uniform holds, right now, with thorn girl looking like she walked off the cover of Seventeen, I am maybe a little self conscious.


Maybe.


“ Nice antennas, Liz.” Jessica finally drawls, eyes locked on the two shiny globes bobbing on top of my head. “ I think it really makes the whole outfit even…cuter.” Her cronies snicker, correctly understanding that to Jessica, the uniform is just a step above a chicken suit. My smile doesn’t waver, and I don’t miss a beat.


“ Yeah, they always have been a big hit with a certain type of people.” I say, leaning forward as if in confidence. “Small minds you know, easy to distract.” Jessica’s smirk immediately disappears. “ Your order?”


The cold blue eyes flash and her cohorts go quiet. She glares up at me and I simply turn up the wattage of my smile, adding just a hint of a smirk to it as well. I’m practically daring her to bring it on, Uncle J will understand if I end up throwing milkshake all over the girl.


…I hope.


Our game of chicken ends abruptly, as Jessica has sighted something past my shoulder and instead focuses on that. In a split second, she’s dropped her gaze to the menu and is now speaking. “ I’ll have a Neptune Salad with low fat dressing and a diet coke.” She says, her friends adding their eerily similar orders shortly after.


“ Be right back with your drinks.” I announce chirpily, moving away before something else happens. I notice that the order window, the kitchen, and therefore one Max Evans is directly behind me, which could account for thorn girl’s sudden cease fire. I smile grimly. Potential girlfriends can’t be too antagonistic towards the best friend of their object of affection after all. Or at least, not when said object of affections can directly witness this. Oblivious, Max is busy flipping burgers when I go over to bring the order in. There is a brief moment or two when I just stand there, appreciating the sight of a good looking guy who knows his way around a kitchen.


When that moment passes, there are several moments when I kick myself and attempt to bring my rebellious inner self to heel damnit, because I am supposed to be playing cupid right now-not appreciating the sights.


“ Hey Romeo!” I call as I stick the order onto the metal bar and spin it to him. “ Your Juliet is here!”


Walking forward to see what I’ve written, Max is suddenly beaming, the worried look he’s been wearing all day vanishing in an instant. In spite of my very recent pep talk, my heart sinks, just a little. So he’s that happy to see her, huh?


“ Liz, I thought we talked about how sharing is important. How long have you been Juliet now? Isn’t it my turn yet?”


Eyebrow cocked, I am prepared to reply to this statement with a very eloquent “Huh?” when I realize what he is referring to. I laugh and share his grin. Over the years, Max and I have developed the habit of randomly lapsing into a favorite (or much ridiculed) scene from a book, a movie, or even the soap opera’s my Aunt is so fond of. The majority of these usually involve he and I in some sort of hero, heroine role, and we’ve put on countless spoofs of them. They never fail to reduce the others, especially Maria, to hysterical laughter. It’s been a very long time since we did one. As I recall, Romeo and Juliet always was our favorite. Except most of the time, I played Romeo. And in our version, there’s a ‘night from the living dead’ twist at the end when both Romeo and Juliet wake up.


I smirk at him as he reads the orders that have accumulated and turns back to the grill.


“ You sound seriously demented, you know that? I wasn’t playing Max. Your Juliet has arrived.” I announce with a flourish, trying and failing to curtsy.


Okay. Why are his eyes brightening like that? Has he developed some sixth sense when it comes to Jessica, so he can feel her wherever she is and that’s what’s causing his eyes to go all misty? I might as well confirm it for him. I am still officially on Cupid Duty after all.


“ Yes, that’s right Maxwell Evans!” I announce in my best game show host voice. “ Your dream girl, Jessica Thorne is in the building!”


We’ll talk about how much it stabbed to say those words later. I wait for the appreciative laugh and smile but it doesn’t come. Instead, I watch in shock as that same (horrified?) look from lunch a while ago breaks out (…at least I think it did) over his face and the burger that he was expertly flipping flops onto his wrist causing him to yelp with pain.


“ Shit!”


“ Max!”


I hop onto the counter of the window and swing my legs over it, landing on the other side without breaking a sweat. It’s a well practiced move, I’ve been doing it for years. I all but run to him and gently take the hand he’s cradling into mine, examining it worriedly.


“ You’ve burned it…” I look up into his eyes, ignoring the look there. “ Does it hurt?” I immediately reach on top of the shelf for the first aid kit and begin tending the wound. Max winces a little.


“ Not much.”


“ Hold still for a second.” I bite my lip in concentration and smile in satisfaction when I’m done. “ There!”


“ Thank you.” Max says softly when I’m through. I suddenly find myself falling headlong into his eyes and I swallow.


Uh oh.


I’m in trouble.


Clearing my throat a couple of times I manage to drag my gaze away from his eyes and I shrug, smoothly saying,


“ No problem,”


And then I look at him again.


Which is a BIG mistake.


We stay quiet, me looking up into his eyes, he looking down into mine. Know that feeling you get when the air just seems to wrap around you and another person, like a cocoon? Like in that space, that place, there’s no one else but you two and nothing can reach you?


But you know the truth though.


Something can always reach you.


“ Max! Liz! Get it together guys! We got a room full of hungry people out here!”


I jerk away from him immediately, cursing under my breath as I hop up and over the counter in the window and land behind the serving counter gracefully.


“ Got it Uncle Jeff!” I yell in response to my uncle’s light scolding. I turn and smirk at Max. “ Juliet got you that on edge huh?”


Max is still standing exactly where I left him, staring after me with an unreadable expression on his face. He looks… Nah. Couldn’t be. Why should he? I frown slightly.


“ Maxwell? Max!”


“ Yeah?”


“ Did you hear me? She’s out there.”


“ Who is?” He sounds kind of dazed. And he’s still staring at me. I dismiss this with a shrug of my shoulders.


“ Jessie.” I state. He remains quiet. Oh, right. He probably doesn’t want me calling her Jessie. “ I mean, Jessica.”


His eyes immediately snap back into focus and he turns away towards the grill again.


“ She is?” His voice sounds funny. Strained even.


“ Yep.” I turn and head back to the main area. “ Better have her salad ready or else she may keel over right there,” I say.


Max doesn’t reply. A huge crowd of kids from school suddenly burst in through the door and I groan, whipping out my order pad and running to get their orders. The next time I actually have time to take a break, Max’s shift is over. And… he’s sitting with Jessica and her friends. Who are all giggling and touching Max’s arm every few minutes. Jessica looks so smug, so delighted, it should be against the law. My grip around the glass I’m drinking from tightens reflexively, so much so that if I don’t let go, it’s liable to break.


After that one, accidental glance in their direction, I avoid that place at ALL costs. I’ve temporarily removed it as my section and asked Dina to cover that area while I cover hers, because I am not going over there even if my life depended on it. Soon, I sink into this place where I’m just indifferent to it all. One by one, Jessica’s friends take their leave and eventually it’s just her and Max in the booth and I’m absolutely okay with it. Being indifferent is bliss.


When Maria, Alex and Isabel walk in about an hour or so later, Isabel turns a nasty shade of green causing Alex to seat her in a booth triple over time and Maria to scowl darkly. Her shift starts in a few minutes to relieve me and when she catches sight of me she comes right over.


“ Okay, please tell me you didn’t serve them!”


“ I didn’t serve them,” I reply, rubbing down the counter.


“ Good! Cause I’m not going to either.” She sends a glare in their general direction and eyes me in concern. I’m humming along with the radio, occasionally glancing up to the clock to check if my shift is over. The moment it is, I drop the rag, wash my hands and step into the back room to change, Maria hot on my heels.


“ You okay, Lizzie?”


“ I’m fine,” I reply, my voice coming out muffled as I pull on my shirt. As I slip on my skirt and sandals I frown at her, because she is still staring at me. “ What?”


“ You just…” Maria trails off. “ Max and thorn girl are sitting outside.”


“ I know.” I say calmly, sweeping a brush through my hair.


“ As in sitting TOGETHER. Did you not see that?”


“ Of course I did.” Right now, I’m not sure what to do. This is the way things are supposed to go, right? And even though I’m screaming somewhere inside, this indifference that has taken hold of me refuses to let me show any emotion other than ‘normal’.


“ And…that doesn’t bother you?” She says hesitatingly, choosing her words carefully. I smile.


“ No, it doesn’t. This is all in the plan remember?”


Maria groans and starts changing into her uniform.


“ Liz, babe, you’re honestly not going to go through with this are you? I mean, come on-“


“ Maria.” I interrupt. “ You know where I stand.”


She huffs. “ Liz, I’m not, like, trying to tell you what to do here or anything but-”


“ Funny,” I interrupt again with a small smile to show that I’m not mad. “ It sounds like that’s exactly what you’re doing.”


My best friend just looks at me and sighs. She carefully arranges her alien antennae on her head before speaking again.


“ Okay. So maybe that is what I’m doing to some extent but it’s only because… I don’t understand why you feel you have to go about it in this way.”


I sigh as well. Maybe I was a bit too hasty in explaining stuff to her and Alex yesterday. So I try again.


“ He’ll never feel about me the way I feel about him. Do you know what he did today? He practically told me to my face that he considers me as a sister. He’ll never-”


It is at this point that Maria snorts in disbelief. “ Chica, you really have had your head buried in the sand haven’t you? How could you not have seen it?”


“ Seen what?”


Maria purses her lips. “ Liz, Max has-”


“ Ahem.”


We both whirl around. Max’s head is sticking around the door and he says,


“ Maria, Mr. Parker wants you outside five minutes ago.”


Maria grimaces. “ I’m coming, I’m coming,” She grumbles. “ Liz, I hope you know your uncle has the makings of a true tyrant.”


I smile. But as she passes by Max, Maria’s lips curl up into a wicked grin. “ Oops, my mistake. The true tyrant is sitting outside right now.” She smiles sweetly at Max. “ How is Jessica by the way?” And with that she flits out of the door, leaving Max rolling his eyes at her and me trying to stifle my laughter.


I give my hair one last final brush and turn to go out into the diner when I see that Max is still hovering in the doorway, watching me silently.


“ Hey. Did you want something?”


He shakes his head quickly.


“ No! I, uh… I just wanted to ask you something.”


In spite of myself I freeze up. Okay, the last time he said that it didn’t exactly bear pretty results. But I relax my stance and give him a small encouraging smile.


“ Sure. What?”


He hesitates. Takes a deep breath.


“ I’m not going to be able to meet up with you tonight to work on our assignment.”


My smile never wavers. I’m really good at that.


“ Let me guess. You going out?”


I already know the answer to that. I already even know who he’s going out with. But you know me, I’m a sucker for torture so I add,


“ With Jessica?”


He nods, eyes unreadable.


“ Yeah.”


Yep. There it is. That flash of pain thing.


“ So...you need me for what exactly?” I ask, hoping my voice sounds normal. The indifferent feeling seems to be wearing off as I begin to realize how serious this really is.


“ I just…I don’t want to leave you high and dry. Will you hand in this part of it, and I’ll take care of both our parts for the next section?”


At this, I laugh.


“ Geez, Maxwell. Is that it? I thought you were going to ask me for a kidney or something.” I smirk at him, ignoring the leaden feeling in my stomach, because it has always been tradition that we work together. “It’s fine, I’ll handle it. Go on. Get out of here. The more time you spend here, the greater the chance of Isabel or Maria losing control and doing something awful to Jessica.”


Max smiles.


“ Yeah.” But still he stands in the doorway, seemingly unable to move. After a few minutes of feeling like bug under a microscope, I take a hesitant step forward.


“ Maxwell. Jessie and the door are that way.” I say pointing him in the right direction.


He starts. “ Right. Right. Okay, I… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”


“ Yep.”


“ So…bye.”


“ Bye. Have fun.”


“ Thanks.” He looks like he’s going to say something but after battling with himself, he seems to veto the idea and stuffs his hands in his pockets. “ Call you later?”


“ Sure.”


“ ‘Kay. Later.”


“ Yeah. Bye.”


And this time, he does go.


By the time I’ve composed myself enough to leave the break room and go outside, the place is hopping. I see Maria breezing back and forth, weaving among tables and the pick up window, Sharon scrawling down the orders of a large group of football players and my Uncle stopping by tables, making small talk with the customers. I head over to Izzy and Alex’s table where Isabel looks to be talking a mile a minute and Alex is rhythmically patting her hand and soothing his unsettled girlfriend.


“ Izzy, honey. We’re only juniors in high school. I don’t think Max has marriage on his mind, okay?”


I smirk, realizing that those words are almost the exact same ones I had uttered yesterday. Was that ONLY yesterday? It feels like ages ago.


“ He definitely doesn’t have marriage on his mind,” I say as I slip into the booth opposite them.


Isabel turns her gaze on me.


“ There you are! I’ve looking for you all day!”


“ So I hear.”


“ Are you okay?” She asks, I suppose, in reference to my attack in the morning. I wave a hand in the air dismissively.


“ Yep. I’m just peachy.”


“ Good! Now that that’s out of the way, do you mind telling me exactly why you’re pushing my dear misguided brother into the jaws of that… that monster man eater?”


Alex rolls his eyes and I stifle a giggle.


“ Because he asked me to.” I answer.


Isabel sighs.


“ Look, Liz. Alex told me about your conversation yesterday,” I shoot a pointed look in Alex’s direction and dear Alex is suddenly very interested in the menu and mutters something about going to help Maria before he bolts. Isabel’s still staring at me and I feel myself beginning to blush. Oh well. I knew he was going to do it anyway.


“ Yeah, I gathered he would.” I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “ Um, listen, Iz, I’d really appreciate it if-”


“ If Max didn’t know?” She finishes for me knowingly.


“ Yeah.”


“ Why?”


I suppress a groan. I wonder if I can stand to explain all this again.


“ Because… because of all the reasons I said yesterday. Okay?” I rub my eyes frantically. “ I’m sorry, Izzy, but I don’t think I can go into details right now. It’s been a really long day…” My voice trails off pathetically but I don’t care. I’m exhausted right now, truth be told. And it must have shown on my face because Isabel reaches across the table and squeezes my hand.


“ It’s okay. I don’t really approve of this thing Max and Jessica have going on but…” She trails off and looks at me, her expression saddened. “ You really didn’t know did you?”


Hmm. This could be interesting. Or destructive if you look at it another way.


“ Know what?”


Isabel sighs and runs a hand through her hair.


“ I’ll…tell you another day Liz. You should rest. You look exhausted. Do your Aunt and Uncle know about your allergy attack?”


I frown at her abrupt change of topic but I let it go. Resting doesn’t sound like such a bad idea anyway so I smile at her.


“ Nope. And I don’t plan on telling them either. For thing they’ll want to know where I was when it happened and I don’t think it’d look good if I told them I was in the eraser room.”


Isabel laughs.


“ Yeah that would sound bad.”


My Aunt and Uncle went to WRH too, and know all about the infamous little room. Heaven help me if they knew I went in there. Then again I was with Max, who they trust so much, they consider him a second Alex, so they probably wouldn’t mind. I stand up.


“ I’m just gonna head upstairs. You wanna come with?”


“ No, it’s alright. Alex and I are going to a movie right about now. I just wanted to stop by and see if you were okay. And possibly talk you out of this insanity,” At this, I wilt and am about to whine my way out of it, dignity be damned, but her brown eyes, so like Max’s soften. “ But you look like you are about to keel over right now…so you get a free pass.”


I smile in relief but as I stare at her, my curiosity what she avoided telling me increases. I shift from one foot to the other uncertainly. “ Isabel… what is that you have to tell me another day?” I cannot shake the feeling that somehow, whatever it is, is of utmost importance. She gazes steadily at me for a while before finally sighing.


“ I can’t tell you right now. But I will. After I do a few things.”


Things,huh? Why do I not like the sound of that?


I raise an eyebrow at her. “ Do I even want to know?”


She grins mischievously, the same scheming light that was in Maria’s eyes yesterday now occupying hers.


“ I don’t think it’d be a very good idea.”


“ Right. I didn’t think so.” I laugh. “ See you tomorrow. Tell Alex to call me later on so we can set a date to practice.”


“ Sure thing. Good night Liz.”


“ Yeah. You too, Izzy. Enjoy your date.”


On the way I wave at Alex and Maria and once I enter the apartment, encounter my Aunt sprawled on the couch watching TV, steaming tea on the table next to her.


“ Hey Aunt Nancy.”


“ Hi sweetheart. Have a good day?”


Hm. Yeah. That would be a negative. I shrug tiredly.


“ Not exactly the words I’d use to describe it… but yeah, it was okay.”


“ Good. Any plans this evening?”


I wonder if torturing myself with images of what Max and Jessica might be doing right now qualifies as plans? On second thought... I don’t think my stomach is quite up to it just yet.


“ No. I’m just going to get started on an assignment for school.”


“ Wasn’t Max supposed to help you with that, sweetie?”


I grin. “ You know Maxwell, Aunty N. Busy social life. No, I’ll be handling this one alone.” Alone. “ Call me for dinner?” I garble, my throat tight all of a sudden.


“ Sure Liz.” Aunt Nancy looks concerned. “ Is everything alright?”


“ Yep. Everything’s just fine.”


I turn and quickly run for the sanctuary of my room, wishing that that particular lie was true.

***********************************

At school the next day, I make my way to my locker with a smile on my face, and if not a skip, at least a definite jauntiness in my step. I feel much better today. No really, I do. I had a very long, stern talk with myself last night and now, I’m ready to take on the world. Uncle Jeff was even headed to Artesia this morning, and therefore gave me a ride to school, during which I used the time very wisely and began repeating to him my list of the 88 greatest reasons Liz Parker should get her own car. When I started this list, I was 9 years old, and there were only 14 reasons then. I think my Uncle keeps saying no on purpose just to see how long I can go for.


Ha!


Little does he know I already have 23 more all lined up and ready to go.


I’ve reached my locker now, and after the requisite dial spinning and good, hard thump, it pops open and I deposit my belongings into the cool, dark space.


“ Ah, Liz Parker, just who I wanted to see. How goes the morning, my lady?”


At Alex’s voice, I smile and turn to swat at him playfully. He frequently dons the English accent and gallant attitude to breathe life into his childhood dream of being a Knight. And being Alex, he comes pretty damn close to being one too.


“ It goes just fine Sir Whitman,” I tease back, rummaging around in my locker. “ I’m all new, feeling good, and ready for anything.”


And you know, I really am.


Except it seems, for the sight of Max and Jessica walking hand in hand down the halls causing everybody to gawk and murmur.


I balk.


Isn’t it too early for this?


Beside me, in mid speech reply to my statement, Alex is staring at the sight in open mouthed surprise. Gathering up every determined molecule in my body, I regroup. I can take this. This is part of the plan, after all. I take a deep breath and continue my conversation with him as if nothing of importance just took place.


“ We all set for practice tonight?” I ask as I shoulder my backpack and books.


He is still gawping at Max and thorn girl as they come towards us down through the hall, being greeted left and right like celebrities.


“ Alex. Alex!”


“ What?”


“ Are we set to practice tonight?” I repeat.


“ Um, yeah we are. But…did you see that? Did you? ” He shakes his head. “ They’ve had one date, a weekday date at that, and they’re already wandering around the halls together? You don’t do that after one date. After one date, you should be agonizing about when a good time to call the other person is! You should be agonizing over if the other person even WILL call.” Alex looks properly affronted on my behalf and although I agree with everything he just said, my first reaction is to laugh a little.


He stares at me, clearly of the opinion that I have lost my marbles.


“ I-sorry Alex. It’s just..” I giggle again. “ Maria and I really did a number on you, huh?” All the years of she and I dissecting every new couple and every nuance of every date she and I, and every other person have had seems to have sunk into him via osmosis, considering that he whined and complained every single time we did it, saying that his testosterone was being sucked out. Alex mouths soundlessly at me again and then decides to settle on a very mature,


“ Shut up,”


And I laugh.


“ You just won’t admit it.”


He rolls his eyes at me. “ I don’t know what you’re talking about. But even if I did…this is practically the same as announcing to the whole school that…” He trails off here, reading from my suddenly sour face that I know what this means: High school + public displays of affection =Blah & Blah forever. Or at least for as long as forever lasts in high school. They may as well have taken out a front page billboard ad, because this is Roswell, and when two of the most popular kids in school come together…it’s a big thing.


Alex touches my arm gently. “ Liz. You okay?”


I try to smile, but I’m pretty sure what I manage to come up with is simply a weird quirk of my lips.


“ Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?”


“ Um…” His gaze strays back to the approaching couple. I shake my head at him.


“ Okay, don’t go there Alex.” I say, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. “ I know this situation will take a little getting used to but-”


“ A little?” He says, dragging his attention from the couple to look at me. “ That is a gross understatement.”


“ Just-whatever.” I huff, rubbing my forehead.


Alex’s eyes bug out.


“ They’re coming this way! What do I say?”


The exact same thought is running through my mind and I’m at a complete loss. Simultaneously, we both whirl away from them and try to compose ourselves.


“ Liz! Isabel’s going to freak if she sees them! And she’ll demand to know why I didn’t separate them! What am I going to tell her, huh?” Alex murmurs to me in a panicked hiss.


“ Alex, just calm down, okay?” I pat his arm jerkily, more to soothe myself than him. “ What were you supposed to do? Tackle them? Izzy knows you’re not football player material-”


“ Gee thanks.”


“ Let me do the talking-”


“ Oh, right, so I’ll just be standing there looking like an idiot! Isabel will love that, ”


“ No you won’t, she loves you anyway and just… just be Alex!”


“ What?” He cocks his head at me. “ What kind of advice is that?“


“ Hey, I’m running a little dry in the advice department these days, okay?” I hiss. “ Give me a break!”


“ Hey guys.”


Immediately, our hushed conversation stops. Once more, we swivel around as one, identical smiles fixed on our faces.


“ Max! Jessica! Hi,” Both of say in unison in response to Max’s greeting. We glance at each other and I fight my insane urge to laugh. Alex looks lost, and slightly demented with that unnaturally bright smile on his face. He doesn’t know WHAT to do. So I take over.


“ Yeah…um… how’s it going?” I start lazily, still smiling, totally in contrast to what I feel inside. With that sparkling opening statement, the tension increases, as Jessica merely stares at me, face blank. She doesn’t reply to me.


Which you know, none of us are really THAT surprised about.


“ Good, good. It’s going great.” Max says automatically, filling in the awkward silence. I don’t look at his eyes. I look at his forehead instead, fixing my gaze there. No looking into his eyes, Liz! Be strong!


“ Yes.” Jessica says, looking up at Max. “ It’s going absolutely fantastic.”


The accent thing rears it ugly head and Alex elbows me slightly and out of the corner of my eye, I see him valiantly fighting back a chuckle.


“ Jessi-Jessica, you know Alex right?” I say, knowing full well she doesn’t have an iota about who he is other than him being a member of the most popular band in school.


“ Yes, yes, of course,” she says anyway, ignoring my lapse into her hated nickname. “ Alex Whitless, right?”


I blink and Max winces. True to form, Alex takes it all in stride, his real grin breaking through.


“ It’s Whitman actually.”


“ Oh. Right.”


We stand in silence for a while. Jessica waves at her fellow cheerleaders as they pass by, her arm still wrapped around Max’s. My gaze latches on to that, and now I’m fighting another insane urge. This time, the urge wants me to slap away that hand and, and…Alex starts to fidget beside me, looking at his watch. Izzy’s due to arrive any moment. Max is… I don’t actually know what he’s doing cause I’m not looking at him. After I dismiss the crazy inclination, I wrack my brain for ideas and coming up with nothing, I decide it’s time to ditch this little shindig. I go,


“ Well, it’s been nice chatting with you two. We’d stay longer but we have a killer Chem. Quiz in first period so we have to bounce, don’t we, Alex?”


“ Chem. Quiz?” I glare and he cottons on quickly and nods his head. “ Yeah that’s right. Chem. Quiz. We gotta jet.”


“ Don’t let us keep you then,” Jessica says graciously but with a glint in her cold blue eyes. “ Goodbye.”


“ Um…yeah.” Alex says. “ Goodby- I mean, later.”


Biting my lip at the look on Alex’s face I manage to say,


“ Later!” And I run after Alex barely hearing Max’s goodbye.


The moment we turn the corner we glance at each other.


“Well that was-” I start bracingly, and then I grimace. “ Terrible. That was just…argh.”


“ It wasn’t great.” Alex nods.


We share another glance. He snorts at my queasy expression, and I roll my eyes at him and then chuckle. And then his snort develops into an guffaw, and then I’m laughing too, and before I know it, we suddenly can’t stop. I’m leaning against the wall, laughing hard and Alex is doubled up next to me. I don’t know what’s come over us. It’s so stupid that I guess it’s funny. Like the time Maria, Alex and I spent hours discussing what sort of animal that the wig this lady was wearing came from. To this day, we all still have different opinions on what it was made out of. Maria swears that she used the hair of a…hmm. Maybe it’d be better if we didn’t go into this today.


“ What’s going on?” We hear Maria’s voice ask. I look up and see her standing there with Michael and Isabel.


“ Max…Jessica…walking…hand…in…hand,” I manage to choke out in between my uncontrollable giggles. Alex is still chortling and clutching at his stomach. I see Isabel’s mouth drop open.


“ What?”


“ And this is FUNNY?” Maria demands.


“ It’s true,” Alex gasps out. “ She…she…called me……Whitless!”


I erupt into another bout of laughter.


“ Oh my God. You… You should’ve seen his face!”


“ The accent thing…” Alex rasps. “ Terrible!”


“ Wait a minute! She called MY Alex ‘WhitLESS’?” Isabel snarls, looking furious.


“ Yep!” I say.


I see Michael shaking his head.


“ They’ve gone round the the bend.”


Maria frowns at the tears running down our cheeks.


“ Maybe you had to be there for it to make sense.” She mutters back to him.


“ Alex! Stop laughing!” Isabel is all but shrieking now. “ Alex!”


After one or two more minutes, we finally begin to wind down. Isabel looks very annoyed.


“ It’s about time! What are they just…making out in the hallways now?”


I shrug, feeling as if a metal ball has taken residence in my stomach. Alex and I exchange uneasy looks and our laughter stops completely. We’re not smiling anymore either. “ Maybe. We didn’t hang around long enough to find out.”


“ You didn’t…” Isabel trails off. “ How can you be so calm?”


“ Are they just…so they’re together now? Is that it? I mean, that’s what this means right? They’re walking the halls together now for God’s sake, you might as well run in a circle and scream it at the top of your lungs.” Maria throws in at a rapid clip. With his stewing girlfriend by his side, Alex is nodding along to Maria’s words, and then seeing Michael’s raised eyebrows, he clears his throat.


“ Ahem. Well. If I knew what all that meant…I’d agree.”


Maria groans. “ I’m going over there, I have to see this for myself. ” And she would’ve too, except that Michael has snaked his arms about her waist holding her firm.


“ Maria, Iz, it’s Max’s business and besides, we talked about this, remember? We’re going to let this play out. For now.”


“ Oh.” Isabel says, calming down a great deal. She takes a deep breath. “ Fine.”


Maria frowns unhappily, but relaxes in Michael’s embrace. “ Fine,” She echoes. “ But this plan better work.”


The hairs on the back of my neck immediately stand up.


“ Plan?” I say apprehensively. “ What plan?”


“ You don’t want to know, Liz,” Alex says with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. “ Trust me.”


I swallow. That’s just it. I DO trust Alex. So whatever ‘plan’ this is, I’m sure he’s right. I REALLY don’t want to know. I take a quick glance at Isabel and Maria, whose expressions mirror the purposeful, pensive one on Michael’s face.


God, they’re scary when they’re like this. I need to get out of here. Immediately.


“ Uh huh. Okay. I’m just gonna go now,” I run away from the four and don’t stop till I’m in my real first period class, which happens to be study hall. As I saunter down the aisle to my usual seat someone makes me stop dead.


Can you say, ‘Idiot’?


Say it with me: IDIOT!


I am, without a doubt, the biggest one on the planet.


In the stress of everything I’ve been going through lately, plus the totally hysterical laughing session from a few minutes ago, I conveniently forgot that I have this class with Max. He’s right there, sitting next to the empty desk that is reserved for me, talking to Cameron Johnson from Math Class.


And so while I’m frozen in place and debating on whether I can discreetly back out of the class without alerting him to my presence or just take it like a woman, I don’t notice Mr. Brice, the oldest teacher in school, come in.


“ Miss Parker.”


The class quiets down and I whirl around to face him.


“ Yes sir?”


“ Please take your seat,” He says in his thin, reedy voice.


I nod and turn back to face the rest of the class, my eyes frantically searching for another empty seat, one preferably as far away from Max as possible. No such luck. The only thing I get is another request to sit down and a questioning gaze from Max.


Trudging over to the desk, I weigh my options and realize that my best bet is to go the extremely busy route. So as soon as I slide into my seat, I remove the notebook where I’ve been writing stuff for the assignment in and remove the thick volume I’ve been using as a guide and promptly begin scribbling. A piece of paper thrown onto my desk grabs my attention and without lifting my head up to look around, I reach for it and open it up. Two words are written on it.


Chem. Quiz?


I wince. Okay, so that wasn’t one of my best lies ever but give me a break. I was under pressure! I roll my eyes and jot down words that better damn well change the subject…or else.


How’d it go?


‘It’ of course, is referring to his little unscheduled date with Jessie. I toss the note back over to his desk and resume scribbling. He takes a long time to answer. When the paper finally does come back, this is what’s written on it:


I need to talk to you. Can you ask for a bathroom pass? I’ll meet you at the bleachers.


Umm…I really don’t want to talk to him right now, truth be told. I need… I need a little TIME to compose myself, god damn it! He can’t just go around dragging me off places to talk, I’m not… I’m not prepared!


So I write this back to him:


Really busy with the assignment right now.


As soon as I deliver the note, I dive back into my work. A couple of minutes later the paper is back on my desk, the ball back in my court. I reach for it and open it up.


Please.


Okay. There are two ways to handle this. One, I remain strong and avoid looking at him at ALL costs and write my simple reply of ‘No.’ or two, I cave, look at him, be powerless to resist those wretchedly mesmerizing eyes and even though the thing to do is say no, I’ll write ‘Yes.’


So I’m not going to look at him.


I am not.


He’s not there.


I’m not here either.


So there’s really no one to look at.


Nope.


Not gonna…


My head begins turning to side. Wait! What am I doing? My eyes are following suite. STOP! And now, they’re meeting his eyes.


He’s pleading.


I feel myself begin to melt and desperately try to stop it but it’s too late. I’m scrawling an, Okay. on the paper and tossing it back to him before I know what’s happening. The next minute I’m shaking Mr. Brice awake and asking for a bathroom pass. Five minutes after that I’m on my way to the bleachers. And after another five minutes, Max joins me there.


“ Hey.”


“ Hi.” I reply. Words end there. I cross my arms over my chest resolutely, determined to not say anything.


“ It was okay.” Max says suddenly.


My head snaps up. He’s staring right at me. I’m at a loss for words so I nod mutely, trying to bide myself more time. The beginning of a grin starts to play at the corners of his mouth.


“ Actually, it was more than okay. It was great.”


My vocal cords become accessible to me once more. I smile brightly, my face muscles screaming in protest.


“ That’s great!” I enthuse. “ Did you have fun?”


“ Yeah. Yeah, we did.”


We.


Twist the knife in a little deeper why don’t you? And I mean, I don’t know what I was expecting. They arrived in school hand in hand for god’s sake. That isn’t something you do if you had a miserable time on your date. I square my shoulders, remembering the talk I had with myself and the ultimate goal to be reached. Bring it on. Liz Parker ain’t no quitter.


“ So what did you do?”


He sits down.


“ We went to that little bistro on the corner of Main Street. You know the place, right?”


“ That French joint? I thought we vetoed that place as a potential date spot.” I wrinkle my nose, glancing down at him quizzically. “ And…you hate French food.”


Max shrugs. “ Yeah, well, Jess convinced me to give it a try. It’s actually not bad. You should try it sometime,” He says with a smile.


Jess, huh?


I stare.


“ Yeah, I don’t think so. ” I manage, un-sticking my throat. “ Frog’s legs don’t really appeal to me.”


“ We’ve got to get you out more.”


“ Just to eat frog legs?” I make a face at him. “ I think I’ll pass. So what’s up?” I ask briskly.


“ Do you get the feeling you’re being conspired against?” Max says, getting right to the point.


I raise an eyebrow. He can’t possibly have noticed our friends’ mission against us, stuck in Jessie Land as he is. I shrug, answering in all seriousness.


“ Every single day. I swear, the lunch lady has a personal vendetta against me.”


He cracks a grin, standing up and punching me on the shoulder lightly.


Could we get any more buddy-buddy?


No, that is not a shriek of misery I’m keeping in. Thankfully, he distracts me from my undoubtedly non-existent struggle.


“ That’s not exactly what I meant.”


“ Oh?” I frown, feigning confusion. “ What exactly did you mean?”


“ That our best friends seem to be launching a vendetta of their own.”


Hmm. Maybe he isn’t as lost in Jessie Land as I thought. That isn’t relief I’m feeling. It’s not. And if it is… it’s not my business to feel it.


“ So what do you think? Seen anything weird lately?” Max presses on, all business.


You and Thorn girl walking down the hall hand in hand? I bite back my not-so-subtle response and narrow my eyes, seemingly in thought.


“ Nothing particularly weird.” I begin. “But… they did mention something about a plan. I didn’t stick around long enough to find out what it was. I figured it could be detrimental to my health, y’ know?”


Max stares off into the distance.


“ Michael mentioned something about that too.” He turns to me, amber eyes full of puzzlement. “ But he wouldn’t tell me what.”


I lift my hair away from my face in frustration, glaring at a practice dummy that happens to be the only thing available to glare at.


“ I don’t think I want to know what it’s all about anyway. We’ll know soon enough. Besides, whatever it is CAN’T be that bad. They are our best friends, right?”


He gazes at me penetratingly.


“ Right.”


He doesn’t sound convinced. To tell the truth, I’m not either but I just don’t have energy to spare with worrying about this little ‘plan’. I expel my breath in a noisy huff.


“But just in case…I don’t know, keep an eye on Jess okay?”


I finally give the dummy a break and glance at Max, startled when I find that he’s looking at me in that certain way that completely unnerves me. He’s been using it a lot lately. And it really, really, spazzes me out. It’s like he’s seeing me for the first time and now that he finally lays his eyes on me, it’s as if he’s never seen anything quite like me before. I don’t know if this is good or bad but I know one thing.


It’s very unsettling.


I avert my eyes, nervousness spreading through me as fast as my blush does.


“ Maxwell,” I mumble.


“ Yeah?” The tone of his answer is breathy and I’m suddenly aware that we’re
really close to each other.


“ Was that all? I kinda want to head back to class now.”


“ Liz.”


Once more he’s using that tone of voice, the one that sounds like the voice he used in the CrashDown the other day, when he was telling me he had a date with Jessica. Like he wants to say something. Something Big. And I… I just cannot deal with any more Big revelations, especially if it’s one about Jessica as I suspect.


“ Max, really. I have to go. Anything else?” I still don’t look at him but I’m using my ultra serious voice now. I feel him tense beside me.


Mustering my courage I glance up at him, flipping my hair over my shoulder. As I bring my gaze to meet his he quickly swings his gaze away.


“ Yeah. I…no, I think that’s all.” He seems to be regaining control of his facilities now and I am thoroughly relieved. It’s not the usual order of the day for me to be embroiled in a staring match with Max, something I’m sure I mentioned before. It totally unnerves me. “ Thanks for the warning about Jess.” He says, his voice taking on a distant quality.


“ No prob. So. I’ll see you back in class.”


I don’t wait for a reply. I simply turn around and head back to class, settling into my seat five minutes later.


Max never comes back.

**************************************

I’m first to arrive at the school that night for band practice. Mr. Carter, the night guard, let’s me in with a warm smile and greeting.


“ Hello Liz.”


“ Hey Mr. Carter. Tell the others I’m already setting up?”


“ Sure thing.”


I leave him standing at the door and walk down the dimly lit corridors by myself, twirling my sticks casually with my fingers, my footsteps echoing loudly around the walls. I know lots of kids would loathe coming back here after the last bell rings but not me. You just learn to appreciate things more when it’s all quiet and you’re alone, even if it is school.


I stop by the trophy case and look at the various trophies WRH was managed to accumulate over the years, ceasing my habit of twirling my sticks. The name ‘Max Evans’ makes numerous appearances and as I begin to walk again, I halt. I have not spoken to Max since this morning. That doesn’t mean I haven’t seen him though. Because, today, I’ve seen more of him than I ever would have liked. Him…firmly ensconced by Jessica Thorne’s side.


I shudder. Those images were SO not welcome!


Lunch was extremely tense. Max sat with the cheerleaders and his fellow jocks today and looked pretty comfortable while doing it too. Once Alex had managed to calm Isabel down, she spent the remainder of her time divided between eating, glaring icily at Max and shooting me disappointed looks, which I pretended not to see. Michael had his hands full as Maria went into overdrive and when Maria goes into overdrive, there’s only one way to get her to stop and that is Michael’s kiss. Between Alex and Izzy constantly going back and forth over things and Michael and Maria looking more and more like contestants for the ‘World’s Longest Kiss’ contest, was it any wonder I chose to ignore everything happening around me and retreated into my head? Not that that helped very much. The only thing that went on in there was a continuous replay of the Max and Jessie show.


Yep, I think now would be a good time to say that I have had a very NOT GOOD day.


But it has nothing to do with Max.


Nope.


It doesn’t.


Releasing a sigh of frustrated impatience, I begin to move again only to be stopped once again, not by the thought of Max this time, but by my own reflection. I look…upset, for lack of a better word.


Which is of course, utterly INSANE!!!


I have absolutely no right to be upset! I should be happy! Happy for MAX at least.


And damn it, I’m going be, if it’s the last thing I EVER do.


“ Liz?”

I spin around and upon doing so, see myself reflected on the glass of the case once more. An angry scowl decorates my face, one I wear only when I’m REALLY pissed. I grimace, considering for a moment just turning back and arranging my features before I face whoever it is who called my name. It’s too late though.


Maria’s standing there, staring at me.


I stare back.


“ Hey ‘Ria.”


Okay. Could I sound more lifeless? Well, it’s much better then snapping at my best friend. Then she would know for sure that something was up.


“ Um, chica, you want to loosen your grip a little there. That is, if you want your drumsticks to still be drumsticks.”


Maria’s eyes settle on my hands as she walks towards me and I glance downwards, wondering what’s she’s talking about.


Oh.


I’m gripping my sticks so hard, my knuckles have gone white. They’re going to break in another moment if I don’t let up. I relax my grip and loose a sheepish grin upon her.


“ Yeah, um, I really have to work on that.”


“ Uh huh.” Maria does not sound convinced. She gently pries them from my hands with a wink. “ Let me hold onto them for you just in case, ‘kay?”


“ Okay.”


We begin to walk towards the band room.


“ So what was up with the glaring at the trophies and all?” Maria inquires innocently.


“ I was not glaring at the trophies.”


“ Right. My mistake. I meant to say ‘scowling’.”


I can’t deny this. So I shrug.


“ Just expressing my disbelief and displeasure that we don’t have a track trophy in there yet.”


Maria smirks at me.


“ Babe, we do have a track trophy in there. You know, the one that has your name on it? The one you won in the all city relay?”


“ Oh. I meant to say I was expressing my disbelief that there’s only ONE of those in there.”


“ Uh huh.” She says again, this time her tone full of skepticism.


I am fast losing control of this conversation. So I change the subject. Fast.


“ Where are the guys?”


“ They’re swinging over to Max and Izzy’s first. Alex left the new song we’re supposed to be doing tonight there when he was comforting Isabel.”


She raises her eyebrows meaningfully and I laugh.


“ Damn, Maria,” I shake my head in disbelief. “ If someone told me that you and Michael and Alex and Izzy were going to end up as power couples on campus I would never have believed it. You and Michael totally hated each other! And Alex used to drive Isabel insane, teasing her all the time, when he wasn’t driving US insane mooning after her.”


“ Hey!” Maria protests, shoving me playfully. “ Michael and I did not hate each other!” Then she crinkles her nose. “Hate is too soft a word.”


I laugh again.


“ We actually loathed each other. I mean, the first time I set eyes on him, you know, the first day of junior high, when we stepped into the building? I knew he was going to be trouble. Wasn’t the first sentence I uttered in that building, ‘ He’s going to be trouble?’ ”


Maria’s rambling. I like it when she rambles. Though it gets very frustrating at times, especially when you want to get straight to the point, I’m used to it by now. And as you can see, it’s a very good, distracting, time consuming habit.


“ Actually,” I say, rejoining the conversation, “ your first sentence was, ‘ Liz, do you think I should have worn a bra?’ to which dear Alex quickly said, and I quote, ‘ YES, Maria, yes, trust me, you should have worn one!’” I collapse into laughter again while Maria’s face reddens as she remembers.


“ Oh god! I forgot all about that. He made me wear his sweater over my shirt all day and it was like, a hundred degrees INSIDE. Then he went off spouting about how he couldn’t let the entire male population in school ogle at me. I was never so embarrassed in my life.” I snort, not at all sure Maria had ever allowed herself to be embarrassed. Maria swats at me again when I tell her this then shakes her head as an affectionate smile spreads over her face. “ You just gotta love Alex.”


“ Yup. You just gotta.” I agree. “ Which is why I’m so glad he and Izzy finally got together. They’re really…happy. He deserves that.”


“ You deserve it too you know,” Maria says softly.


I frown in confusion.


“ Deserve what exactly?”


“ To be happy with someone. God, Lizzie, I know Michael and I spend more time arguing than talking but… it just feels right when we’re together. Like even if the world is against us, as long as we have each other, it’s all going to be okay, you know?”


I gaze straight ahead. Maria’s words are hitting me hard. I realize just how…lonely I am. And I realize something else. I don’t know how being loved like that feels.


“ Well, actually, I don’t.” I say quietly.


Maria looks at me sadly.


“ You deserve to.”


I look away. I force myself to grin.


“Doesn’t everyone?”


But even as I say this, I want to make one thing crystal clear.


Everyone does deserve that and everyone probably WILL get that.


It's my chances I'm not so sure about.

TBC.

Romeo and Juliet, Knights and Daze overview
1. Max and Liz act like they've always had, but Jessica's addition to the scene signals change is on the way
2. Max and Jessica officially show up as a couple in school
3. First signs that the Gang is hatching a nerfarious plot to sabotage Max and Jessica

[Comet]

Smac
nitpick23
begonia9508

Hi everyone! Thank you again for reading-I’m finding that the reworking of the chapters is somehow more difficult than writing new chapters, but I’m having a lot of fun doing it! Enjoy.

Song Credits: ‘How did I fall in love with you’ by the Backstreet Boys

5. The Best Laid Plans...

Update.


It has now been two weeks since the first official Evans-Thorne sighting in school.


In these two weeks, Max and I have gone all over town checking out one dining spot to the next, and planning unusual, interesting outings for the purpose of fleshing out Jessie’s dream dates and consequent sweeping off her feet in rapid succession. In these two weeks, we as a group have been seeing less and less of Max, to the extent that Alex has begun to call him ‘The Stranger’. In these two weeks, the group (minus Max) have begun to scare me by allowing me to glimpse them going over blueprints and several sheets of paper with the heading of ‘Operation Heartbreak’ and then denying the existence of any such things.


At this point, I’m not sure if these are actual plans, or if they have just decided that an appropriate punishment for my agreeing to help Max in what they see as lunacy, is for them to drive me crazy too. And let’s be honest here- who wouldn’t be intimidated by the level of planning that requires blueprints for gods sake? I haven’t seen Max outside of school in the last week, mostly because I have made it a point to be unusually busy until I can get myself under control. The old adage of absence makes the heart grow fonder is one I am trying to crush, and I cannot exactly do that if I’m seeing him all the time, can I? For this weekend at least, I should have a reprieve; three days ago, he mentioned that he was spending all of it with Jessica. While this fits in nicely with my own plans, I think I’ll need to talk to him soon about what details I need to know and what he should keep to himself, for my continued sanity.


So now, it’s Saturday. I’ve been sitting at the counter of the CrashDown for over two hours. What am I doing here you ask? Staring at my distorted reflection in the napkin dispenser and wondering what it would be like to live the rest of my life as a Tahitian pearl farmer.


I’m having a great time.


My Uncle has already cast me several questioning looks, looks that I’ve decided to ignore, and my Aunt has just asked me a third time if something’s wrong.


Of course nothing’s wrong.


I have the perfect life.


It’s so perfect in fact, that I lied and told my best friends I was going to be busy the entire day and so I couldn’t POSSIBLY join them at the carnival in Artesia just so I could have a few perfect hours to myself. I’m not good with sharing perfection. I drop my head into my waiting hand and come upon a startling revelation: my distorted reflection looks even more distorted from this position.


Cool.


The door opens and the bells chime.


“ Uncle J, we have a customer,” I call out automatically. My busyness includes announcing the arrival of our customers. I even had the great pleasure of announcing the arrival of these biker type dudes who rode in on Harley’s. It was very exciting, and quite possibly the highlight of my day. Another few hours of this, and I think I can safely scamper back into the apartment, and spend the rest of the day immersed in TV without having to deal with my Aunt saying I’m turning into an antisocial hermit again.


I’m feeling pretty content about my plan-which we all know, is the signal for something to blow it all to hell. I don’t have to wait long. The bell rings, and just as I’m about to tell my Uncle that, surprise, surprise, we have a customer, another voice cuts across mine.


“ There you are! I’ve been looking all over town for you, Liz!”


Someone grabs my stool and spins it around to face them so fast, I shriek, almost tumbling off.


Did I mention that the stool I chose to sit on is really not all that balanced?


Whoever it is immediately reaches out to steady me. In the effort to catch
me before I fall, the person braced both his hands on the edges of the stool, effectively stopping the spinning and leaned forward so that in case I lurched forward from the momentum, he would be there to catch me. All in all, it worked pretty well: I didn’t fall off and end up on the floor but I’m currently very, very close to the person’s face.


Can you say five inches away? Now think HALF of that.


I’m fully prepared to push him away and gladly yell all sorts of inappropriate language when I realize who it is. The reason for my lying to my friends. The cause of all those inane thoughts from earlier. Both efforts borne out of the desperation to avoid and stop thinking about this person.


Max.


I glare witheringly, trying to ignore the disturbing fact that his lips are way too close to mine.


“ A little warning before you do that next time would be good.” I snap irritably. All that work for nothing, I bored myself out of my mind for two hours and did numerous other things just for him to find me … it’s just not fair. Didn’t he tell me was spending the whole day, sorry, WEEKEND with Jessica? I had just begun to convince myself that I do not care about this-and now he shows up. Bah.


“ Sorry.” He responds breathily. He does not look very sorry. In fact he looks kind of distracted, he’s staring at… something on my chin maybe? Unconsciously, never breaking my gaze on his eyes although he has yet to meet mine, I bite my lip.


“ Maxwell. You okay?”


He blinks. As if realizing he’s too close, he backs up a bit. “ I’m fine.” He answers. Then he looks at me searchingly. “ What are you doing here?” He asks incredulously. “ You’re not even working today!”


“ I have a perfectly good explanation for being here. I live here.” I answer matter-of-factly. “ The better question would be: what are you doing here? Where’s Jessica?” I ask, referring to his recently acquired other half. It’s almost weird to see him without her attached to his side. And damn it, NO, that is not relief I’m feeling!


He stares at me intently. I stare back.


“ She’s not here,” He finally answers. I roll my eyes.


“ I can see that.”


He quirks an eyebrow at my smart aleck response before responding in an equally smart aleck fashion. “You can? Good. Listen, can I talk to you for a second?”


I frown at him and sigh. “ Max, we are talking.”


“ I meant talk somewhere where we aren’t the center of attention.” Max says this without a trace of embarrassment, something I experience in great dollops when I realize what he’s saying is true. The Saturday morning brunch crowd is staring at us and it occurs to me for the first time that my shriek wasn’t quite as soft as I hoped it would be. I blush and he smirks, making no move to change his position, the big idiot. Does he not care that we’re practically attached at the face?


Well so what? I can deal. I glance at him and shrug. He ruined my attempts to forget about this whole insane situation for a few precious hours, futile as they were, by coming in here. Therefore, making him sweat it out by announcing his plans for another romantic blah with Jessica in front of half the town should be a good start to making him pay.


“ I like it fine right here.” I tilt my head to the side and grin sweetly at him. “ Feeling a little flustered are we?”


He responds with a wicked grin of his own.


“ Nope. As a matter of fact, I was just thinking of you. You did shriek rather wimpishly you know.”


Oh, low blow. Refusing to be cowed, I maintain my position.


“ Thanks for telling me. So what’s up?”


Max raises his eyebrow at me, considering his options. Then he shrugs, and I sigh in relief, thinking he’s going to back off but instead he leans even closer, causing me to go rigid with shock, and whispers in my ear.


“ Come to Artesia with me.”


There are a few brief moments where I have to admit, I closed my eyes and just reveled in the feel of his low voice in my ear-but then reality comes crashing back in, and I force myself to unfreeze.


“ What? Why?” I demand, not bothering to keep my voice low. I should move back. I really should. He pulls away and stares me straight in the eye, and we’re back to 2.5 inches.


“ It’s a surprise.”


“ A surprise, huh? Well believe me when I say that after that last surprise birthday party you threw for me, I’m not eager to go into a repeat performance of what you term a surprise.” I inform him curtly, wishing he would move back further and remove his hands already. My 16th birthday party had been the stuff of high school legend-it was the only outcome possible when you had Maria, Isabel and Alex bound and determined to throw the bash of the year while taking advantage of an aunt and uncle in the midst of a stargazing camp out in a land far, far away.


As I recall, and I recall very little thanks in large part to a deceptively great tasting punch that had been spiked to high heaven, there had been someone dressed in an Easter bunny costume, a chocolate fountain, and for some reason, the image of Max, holding out his hand in silent invitation for a dance remains stuck in my head. I woke up the next day with very little memory of actually turning 16, and while the Easter bunny, the chocolate fountain, and Kyle Valenti doing a strip tease in my honor were confirmed, I could never get anyone to confirm that Max and I slow danced that night. Max tends to shy away from discussing that particular life event of mine, he always gets this slightly ill look on his face when it’s brought up. My theory is that he had to spend the rest of the night before I passed out holding my hair back from my face as the punch and I parted ways, and hence is scarred from the experience. True to form, he’s sporting that queasy look again, and to move us along from the incident, I continue to speak.


“Besides, I don’t feel like going out today.”


Max shakes off the memory and he tilts his head to the side.


He tilts his head to the side. “ You don’t? That’s too bad then.”


He’s up to something. He’s got that look in his eyes that usually means I will be doing what he wants anyway, and I narrow my eyes suspiciously.


“ Why?”


“ Cause whether you feel like it or not, you’re coming with me.”


He lets go of the stool so fast that it wobbles like limp spaghetti. I shriek once more and then miracle of miracles, Max manages to grab one of my wildly flailing hands and yank me to my feet. Alright. Now I’m really mad.


“Max! You idiot!” I yell. He flinches but manages to keep that smile in place. “What the h-”


“ Mr. Parker!” He calls out, interrupting me and taking a precautionary step backward, still holding my hand. “Okay if Liz and I go to the carnival in Artesia?”


What is he doing? Max may have that confident thing down pat but he hates to cause scenes unnecessarily. Now here he is doing very un-Max like stuff, in PUBLIC no less! I whip around to stare at my Uncle, who’s just come out of the back room, completely oblivious to everything that’s been going on.


“ Sure, Max.” He says, looking around at the suddenly excitedly murmuring room in bewilderment. “ Drive safely all right? And be home by ten.”


“ Uncle Jeff! I-” I start to protest, trying to tug my hand out of his, but his
grip is too firm.


“ Thanks Mr. Parker.”


And with that, he drags me towards the door, completely ignoring the gaping patrons while I TRY to ignore the knowing wink and grin my Aunt gives me.


“ Here, Liz!” She says, throwing my jacket at me. “ Have fun honey.”


I catch it and continue my protests as we cross the threshold.


“ Max! Max! Stop it! I have to change, I’m, I’m…I’m not even dressed!”


I am aware that this is the lamest excuse in the world. Add in the fact that I have never been one to obsessively worry over my clothes, and you’ve got all the makings of a pitifully weak excuse that holds no water at all. Not exactly my best thinking, but the last thing I want right now is to spend even more time with him, especially when I’m doing things like lapsing into stupidity due to things such as his extreme proximity. Besides, as crap as an excuse as that this, that works for a lot of other girls, doesn’t it?


Max stops pulling me so abruptly, letting go of my hand, that I stumble into him. Is he intentionally trying to piss me off? Because right now, Maxie boy is THISclose to getting his head knocked off. He spares me a glance before grabbing my hand and ushering me to the jeep again.


“ You look incredible. There’s no need for you to change.”


I’m going to ignore that first comment. You should too. He doesn’t mean anything by it, trust me… but…does he? In spite of myself, my heart skips a beat but I roll my eyes instead forcing my mind back on track. We’ve reached sidewalk, and he stops towing me to open the passenger side door.


“ Hop in.” He says with a nod of his head.


I glare, folding my arms over my chest.


“ No.”


“ Liz, I really-”


“ Need my help.” I finish for him. “ Well tough. It’s my day off from work AND Cupid Duty, so you’ll just have to be the lone ranger for today.” I sigh at him. “ God, Max I don’t think your relationship with Jessica will die out just because I wasn’t there for a day okay?”


Max stares at me for a moment, before he sighs too, moving back to stand by me.


“ I wasn’t going to ask for help, Liz. I just really wanted to hang out with you.”


Yep. There are stars filling my eyes right now. I quickly shake them away and eye him warily.


“ Oh. But…why aren’t you with her? I thought you had a date today,”


“ Change of plans,” He shrugs.


I raise an eyebrow at him. If I find out he just came over because Jessie stood him up, God help me, I’ll…


“ Whose plans?” I inquire rather calmly for someone who’s considering several painful ways to torture a person to death.


“ Mine.” Max answers swiftly.


“ Yours?” I’m skeptical. “ Why?”


Max stares at me seriously for a moment, hesitating before he answers.


“ We haven’t had much of a chance to hang out lately.” Max replies. He tilts his head to the side quizzically. “Have you been avoiding me?”


Yes.


“ I-what? No. Of course not.”


My guardian angel out there better be keeping track of all these lies I keep having to tell, because I’m pretty sure I will have a lot of atoning to do if I want to step into heaven. Max is still studying me, and I lick my lips nervously. I wonder if its too much to hope for that he drop this line of questioning.


“ It’s just…outside of your helping me, I never seem to see you anymore.”


Well. There’s my answer.


I shift from one foot to another uneasily. “ That’s…I mean. We see each other all the time. Like yesterday.” I nod earnestly at him. “ We hung out.”


Max shoots me an odd look from under his lashes. “ That was biology class, Liz. We’re lab partners? Sort of hard to be that if we don’t actually see each other, right?”


“ Right.” I glance up at him and see that he’s still staring at me searchingly. “ I’m…I’m not avoiding you, all right Max?” Scrambling now, because all I feel is the horrible compulsion to just tell the truth, and say that I’m deliberately seeing him less because lately I like him far, far too much, and in a completely not-as-a-friend kind of way, my next words come out sharp. “ Maybe you feel that way because you haven’t hung out with all of us for the last two weeks?”


Direct hit. Max winces and I immediately want to kick myself. Remember the crazy fits I was talking about? Well they just made a blazing return. I back away from him, eyes wide.


“ I’m sorry.” I babble immediately. “ I know you haven’t been blowing us off, I’m just…that was uncalled for.”


“ Is that what you guys think?”


“ No, Max, it’s not what I, not what WE think. I… I just kind of blurted it out okay? It’s nothing.”


His eyes narrow.


“ You mean you think I’ve been blowing YOU off?” His tone of voice is incredulous, as if he would never in a million years even consider doing such a thing. I blink and then scowl in annoyance.


“ Max! You’re not listening to me. I know you haven’t been blowing me or anyone else off. And if you have, it’s completely not your fault. You have a girlfriend now, we all get that. And so obviously everything else takes a backseat to her especially since you two are just starting out and all. I, WE, completely understand if you don’t show up for stuff okay? So, if you ever think you’re blowing me, I mean, US, off just because you’re spending time with Jessica, you need to stop and slap yourself upside on the head- because you’re not. Understand?”


Um…did anyone get what I just said? I don’t think Max got it either. He’s just staring me and then he snorts in amusement. I think the stress of trying to decipher what I said got to him. He’s cracked.


“ What?” I ask cautiously.


“ Do you realize how much like Maria you sounded?” Max asks, grinning widely. I roll my eyes.


“ No.” I say weakly. “ But on the DeLuca scale, that would definitely just be a one and a half. She’d be disappointed if I were taking lessons from her.”


He grins and I tentatively smile back.


“ Look, Maxwell, I really didn’t mean what I said okay? You know we’re all happy about you and thor-Jessica.”


It’s his turn to roll his eyes at me. His expression screams disbelief and I smirk.


“ Okay, so maybe happy is an exaggeration.” I amend. “ We’re all going to grin and bear you being with Jessica, is that better?”


“ Much.” He answers ruefully.


“ And I’m sorry if it seemed like I was avoiding you.” I continue, ignoring his interjection. As I screw my courage up for another lie, I wonder, when did they suddenly become an everyday thing? It used to be I could tell Max everything, blunt and honest. Now I’m lying to him virtually every minute we’re together. “I was just… really busy this week.”


Max says nothing for a while, his eyes remain dark, and searching. “ Are you sure?”


I swallow, and then grin at him. “ Yes. I’m sure.”


“ And we’re good?”


I sigh, my grin becoming less fake, and more of what I really feel. “ Max. Come on. This is you and me we’re talking about here.” I reach out and punch him in the shoulder. “ When have we ever been bad?”


He stands motionless for a while, a strange light in his eyes, a weird sort of smile on his lips. It takes a moment or two before he nods his agreement. “ That’s true.”


We stand there, simply grinning at each other, and I realize that, we might look a little silly, but I can’t muster up enough energy to care. Wasn’t I supposed to be avoiding this? Before the thought can take root and manifest into action, there is suddenly no distance between us.


“ You’re the best. You do know that I’d be lost without you, right?”


I stand stiff in his embrace, trying so hard to not release the despairing groan that’s just itching to come out. A few people are gawking at us but most of them don’t seem that surprised. I mean why would they be? We’re best friends, the whole town knows that, and best friends hug all the time, right? I refuse to relax, I know it’ll just be like tasting forbidden fruit if I allow myself to feel his body against mine. I know it will only make me want to hug him more often. I know it will haunt my dreams at night and I NEED my sleep. How else am I going to get the strength I need to follow through on my plan? I take a deep breath and do the only thing I can think of: I squeeze back once, and then lean away from him.


“ Gee, thanks, Maxwell.” I say, hoping my voice sounds normal, full of amusement and just a slightest bit of sarcasm. “ I can die happy now, after hearing those words from you,”


His breath hitches a little when the word ‘die’ crosses my lips and he hugs me tighter, the sudden action catches me totally unaware, and since I haven’t had time to gather my strength and hold myself slightly away from him, I find myself one hundred percent molded along his body.


Not good.


Struggling to find a coherent thought in my suddenly wildly out of focused mind, I realize Max is talking. With effort, I manage to tune in.


“ Not funny, Liz.” He rumbles, his voice gruff.


Although the sensible parts of me are screaming that this is the LAST thing I should be doing right now, the irrational parts of me are crowing in triumph, and before I know it, I’m hugging him back. Now I have hugged Max before- we’ve been friends for four years, we’ve made it past the stage where hugs between boys and girls were awkward and complicated, to where they are as natural as breathing. This shouldn’t affect me; but it does.


A lot.


My brain is immediately filing away how this feels, how certain parts of our bodies fit and lock together, the beat of his heart against mine, how he smells. This is it. Even my dreams won’t be safe from him now.
Panicked, I force a laugh and relax my grip. He doesn’t. I lean away from him again, ducking my head so I can look into his yes.


“ Maxwell, I’m not going anywhere. Especially in this death grip of yours,”


Ahem. That was good, wasn’t it? Delivered in a nice, normal Liz tone? So how come he isn’t letting me go yet? Enough’s enough, my over active imagination does not need more ammunition against me! Time for drastic measures.


“ Max, come on, you’re strangling me!” I yelp.


He tenses and immediately lets me go.


“ Sorry. You okay?”


I fake a wince. “ Now that I’m not being squeezed like an empty shampoo bottle?” I grin and wink at him. “ I’m just peachy.”


Max smiles back nervously and then as he glances around us self consciously, his eyes latch onto something that make them grow wide with disbelief. He goes a deep crimson.


I don’t think I want to know.


But you know me, right? Curious as a cat. I look over to where he’s staring and I have no other choice but to laugh at both what I’m looking at and the embarrassed look on Max’s face.


The CrashDown patrons, clearly not satisfied with the scene Max and I created inside, are all pressed up against the windows of the diner, watching us with great interest. I see my Aunt and Uncle there too, both grinning crazily. Jose is giving Max a thumbs up and…hey, wait a minute, isn’t that Maria? I see my best friend virtually hopping up and down jabbering into Michael’s ear as he watches with a smirk. I glance over at Max.


“ Hey Max.”


“ Yeah?” He answers back distractedly.


“ Did you by any chance happen to get an anonymous tip telling you where I was?”


Clearly trying to shake off the feelings of embarrassment, Max rips his gaze away from our audience and scrunches up his forehead as he thinks.


“ Maria called and told me.”


“ Why am I not surprised?” I look back at where Maria was and see her giving a high five to Isabel. Alex is grinning as crazily as my Uncle and Aunt. I narrow my eyes. So. They think they’ve accomplished their mission do they?


How wrong they are. I can’t believe I just hugged Max in the middle of Roswell’s main drag. And I can’t believe I allowed myself to enjoy it. He is with someone else for God’s sake, and this is the path to very bad things. And fine, yes, maybe I’m over reacting but forgive me, please. I’m scared. In those few moments when I hugged Max back, everything just felt right, exactly like what Maria was describing to me a while back. I didn’t ever want to let go. Which is very, very bad. If I’m ever going to kick this thing, I had better get a hold of myself, starting right now, and that means I can’t be around the rest my friends for a little while. Besides, I give it five minutes before Maria comes charging out here spouting off congratulations.


I need to move, and fast.


Glancing up at Max, I’m startled to find him staring down at me.


“ Why do I feel like this is it?” He says.


“ What is ‘it’?”


“ The big conspiracy thing.”


…this is so not the time to talk about this.


“ Do you? You’ve been watching too much X-files Maxwell. You’re beginning to get paranoid.”


Four minutes.


“ Am I? I just realized something. Izzy told me that she, Alex, Michael and Maria were going to the mall today.”


“ The mall?” I echo. “ They told me they were going to-” I manage to stop myself as everything clicks into place. Of course. This was a set up. I bet you the moment they knew, probably through Isabel’s eavesdropping on her twin, that Max’s plans had changed they came up with this plan. Oh, they’re good. And they’re going to pay. “-the mall too.” I finish lamely. “ What a coincidence.”


Three minutes.


Max is frowning as he stares back at the watching crowd.


“ I don’t think so.”


“ I don’t want to think. I don’t even want to know if this is it.” I say. Although if it is, I’ve got it made. If this was their best shot, and granted, it was good but I can take it, I’m home free.


Two minutes.


“ You want to get out of here?” we both ask at the same time. I laugh nervously.


“ Yeah. I just realized I haven’t eaten cotton candy in a while.”


Max’s grin is wicked and totally heart stopping.


And I did not notice it. Nope. I didn’t.


“ And I just realized that I made a vow to beat you at the ring toss this year.” He says, bringing me back.


I shake my head at him and begin to walk to the jeep.


“ Ha! In your dreams Maxwell!”


One minute.


He goes round the other side and hops in as I get in from the other side.


“ Get ready, Parker. Those dreams are going to become reality today.”


He guns the engine and we take off just as Maria shoots out the doors. I turn back and grin at her, mouthing the words ‘Nice try’. She gets the picture, actually stamping her foot on the pavement in frustration. Max sees this as he glances in the rearview mirror and when I turn to the front and settle in, he asks


“ What was that about?”


I smile.


“ Oh nothing. Just Maria letting out a little of her frustrations.”

**************

When we finally make it back to the CrashDown, at around nine thirty at night, I’m exhausted. I’m loaded down with every kind of stuffed toy imaginable, proof of the furious battle fought between two almost evenly matched opponents.


Now, I’m not going to lie to you. It was close.


But I… STILL… WON!!!!!!


Ha!


I struggle over to the nearest booth and dump all my prizes on the table, slumping into the seat tiredly. Max walks up a moment later, dumps HIS prizes into the bench opposite and slides in next to them, groaning in pain.


“ How did I ever let you talk me into this?” He moans, rubbing his shoulder and closing his eyes.


I lean my head back.


“ You didn’t. This was all your idea, remember?” I eye the mound of stuffed toys and novelty items. “Max? What are we going to do with all this stuff?”


Max opens his eyes long enough to stare at his prizes and then mine before shutting them again, as if by that action, the stuffed toys will disappear.


“ I don’t know. Maybe open a toy shop?”


“ What? Get real.” I launch a stuffed unicorn at him, and he doesn’t bother to dodge, merely grunting as it makes contact with his chest and bounces back into the pile. “I’m already stuck behind a counter for more hours than I can count, no way am I going into business just to do that too.”


“ Maybe we can-”


Max is cut off by an arm sweeping my prizes off the table and onto the bench next to me and hands plopping down two ice-cold sodas in their place. We both come out of our tired stupors and grab the drinks eagerly, taking long swigs, shooting grateful looks at whoever put them there.


Uh oh.


It’s Maria, and she does not look happy.


I groan. I just spent the last eleven and a half hours in a war situation, I am definitely not up to dealing with Hurricane DeLuca right now.


“ Liz. Max. Glad to see that you two are alive.” She nods curtly before crossing her arms over her chest.


Ooh, someone’s been taking Isabel lessons.


“ Hey Maria.” That’s Max talking. He’s drained his soda and is once more leaning back in his seat and shutting his eyes. “ Do you think you could get me a cheese burger? I’m starving.”


Maria’s eyes flash. I smother a snicker. Either he hasn’t noticed or doesn’t care that Maria is apparently on the warpath. Aw, hell, I’m too tired to care too. Besides, Maria has nothing to be mad about. So we skipped on her before she could start jumping around us and proclaiming victory, a mistaken victory, I might add. And by all accounts, it should be me who’s pissed, with the way my so called friends are trying to negate all my carefully made plans. But right now, I just don’t have the energy. I close my eyes too, settling on saying,


“ Yeah, me too. I’ll have the same. ‘cept could you make mine a double? Oh and another round of sodas would be good too.”


From somewhere above us, Maria utters a frustrated huff and stomps off. I smirk, opening my eyes to just the narrowest of slits. Max is smirking as well. He sees me looking at him and says,


“ You know, I think she’s miffed.”


I wink at him. “ Ya think?”


He winks back. “ I know.”


I chuckle.


“ She’s Maria. She’ll get over it.”


“ I really hope so. Isabel on my case is bad enough, add Maria to the mix and you might as well start digging my grave.”


“ Hogwash! Ria loves you.” I protest. It’s so nice to be able to banter back and forth like this again. It’s what we used to do BEFORE these feelings began ruining everything. “ She’d never do anything to hurt you…maybe just embarrass you badly in front of lots of people but never anything physical… at least not anything long term.”


Max laughs and begins to rotate his neck.


“ Gee, thanks Liz. I feel so much better now.”


I feel a little thrill go through me at the sound. Okay, that is definitely not usual. At least, until a couple of weeks ago it wasn’t. God, why did I never notice what an amazing laugh he has? Why did I never notice how incredible his eyes are? Why did I ever agree to play Cupid for him? Max must’ve seen some of my thoughts reflected on my face cause his eyes narrow in concern and he reaches across the table to give my hand a shake, covering it with his.


“ Hey. You okay?”


I blink, staring down at our hands. Lamenting choices I made and things I never noticed does no good to me at this point. What’s done is done, there’s no turning back, and though I loathe to admit it, Max isn’t just Max, my buddy, my pal anymore. He’s Max, my buddy, my pal, my secret SERIOUS, SERIOUS crush (which I’ll have you know seems totally inadequate to describe how I feel) and Jessica’s boyfriend of two weeks now.


I grin at him before gently removing my hand from under his. A weird light flashes through them and he gives me a tight smile.


“ I’m fine. I was just thinking… maybe you could give it to Jessie.”


He gives me a puzzled look.


“ Give what to Jessie?”


I smirk. Well look at that. Apparently, my little disrespect of using Jessica’s name has rubbed off on Max.


“ It. All of it, in fact,” I say, waving my hand at the prizes we managed to accumulate. “ So she knows that even when you two weren’t together… you were thinking about her.”


Yeah, nice sentiment, isn’t it? I honestly don’t know where I’m coming up with all this mushy gushy stuff. I guess uncovering feelings for Max also unlocked those uncharted romantic and thoughtful depths in my heart. Figures. The one time I think I’m finally ready to explore them, the one I want to explore WITH is with someone else.


“ Liz…” Max starts and I wince.


I know that sooner or later he’s going to call me on why I’m always pulling away from contact with him. Don’t get me wrong, Max and I were never overly touchy feely or anything like that but we were comfortable enough with each other to spend a whole movie session with his arm over my shoulder, or walk down the hallways of school or on streets with my arm linked through his. Now, I shy away from him like he’s got leprosy and he’s bound to notice sooner or later.


A loud clatter of food filled plates interrupts whatever he’s got to say and Maria is once more towering above us, glaring at me.


“ Liz, babe, are you doing this on PURPOSE?! How do you expect us to compete with that incredibly sweet statement, huh? Where are you coming up with this stuff? You’re using your genius IQ level to plan and that’s not fair! I-”


My mouth, I’ll have you know, is now permanently attached to the table in front of me. I am not going to look at Max, the whole thing might be over if I do that. Before Maria can get out another word though, Michael rushes up and clamps a hand over her mouth, grinning at us.


“ Max, Liz,” He says, attempting to drag a furiously struggling Maria with him. “ Did you guys have a good time?”


We must’ve been looking at him funny because he shrugs and begins backing away.


“ Yeah, okay. Ignore whatever Maria’s been saying. She left her oils at home today,” Michael says, totally oblivious to the way Maria’s legs are kicking wildly. Once they enter the break room, my head automatically turns towards Max. He stares just as blankly back at me.


“ Uh… you wouldn’t by any chance happen to know what she was talking about, would you?”


Think fast girl!


“ I barely know what Maria’s talking about half the time she’s not freaking but when she is, I’m as lost as you are.”


“ That was extremely weird. Even for Maria.” He says. He’s quiet for a moment as he stares off into the distance. He’s thinking. He always stares off into the distance when he’s thinking. “ You sure you don’t-”


“ I’m sure Max.”


“ Ah… okay.”


Oh screw it. I have no intention of convincing you of something that you refused to be convinced of, Max Evans!


Music suddenly begins blaring out, and Alex and Isabel are in front of us, huge smiles on their faces.


“ Good, you two made it,” Isabel is saying. “ We invited a few people to meet us here.”


Max’s eyebrow raises skyward.


“ A ‘few’ people?” He shakes his head and glances at me. “ Isabel never invites just a ‘few’ people. They’re holding a party.” He says decisively.


“ Gee, Max, paranoid much?” Alex says, after a not too subtle elbow in the ribs from Isabel. “ When my Izzy says she’s invited a few people, she means a few.”


I frown at him, not buying it for an instant. “ No!” I immediately protest, crossing my arms over my chest. “You can’t, Isabel! It took me ages to get the burgers scraped off the ceiling the last time you did this!”


Isabel rolls her eyes at me.


“ Liz, I helped remember?”


“ What? No you didn’t! You were too grossed out by them. Something about your nails being just manicured? Besides, Uncle Jeff said no more parties.”


“ Oh we already asked him,” Alex pipes up. “ And he said yes. We’ll be responsible for any cleaning that needs to be done afterward.”


“ I hope I’m not included in that ‘we’.” Max says, rubbing his shoulder again. “ I still can’t get rid of the ketchup stain from my blue shirt from when you and Michael decided that a condiment war was the best way to end the night.”


Alex snorts at the memory, while the rest of us look at him, deeply unimpressed.


“ No, I’m happy to say that you TWO are excluded.” Isabel announces, ignoring her boyfriend’s antics.


My eyes narrow suspiciously. “ Uh huh. What’s going on?”


Both of them paint matching innocent looks on their faces.


“ What?” They say in unison.


“ What’s the catch?” Max asks, staring at them questioningly.


“ Catch? What catch? You really are getting paranoid, brother dear.” Isabel remarks with wide eyes.


“ Riiight.” Max drawls, meeting my less than trusting gaze. “ They’re up to something.”


“ Geez, you two! Can’t we have a nice little get together without you guys getting all suspicious on us?” Alex asks indignantly.


Max and I exchange looks.


“ No.” We answer in unison.


A song with a particularly catchy beat comes on and Alex and Isabel immediately begin to sway.


“ Okay, fine!” Isabel says in exasperation. “ Be like that. But at least come and dance with us,” She pleads.


“ Yeah!” Alex exclaims. “ Let’s boogie!”


“ Right! Let’s boogie!” Isabel repeats. A second later, she turns towards Alex quizzically. “ Boogie?”


He rolls his eyes and grabs her hand, twirling her around to the music. Almost immediately, Max is in front of me, helping me out of the booth as I protest.


“ Whoa, hold on a second there!” I yell as he continues to drag me over to where Isabel and Alex dancing their hearts out. “ I don’t dance!”


“ Oh yes you do,”


Okay fine, so I do.


And I do it well. Ten minutes later, Michael and Maria come out of the break room and Maria’s in her regular clothes now, so I guess her shift’s over. They join us and pretty soon, people begin to trickle in. I get a little shock when after about half an hour of dancing hard, there are more than twenty people milling around us, some dancing, some just hanging out, some stuffing their faces in and generally just having a good time. The music’s getting louder and faster by the minute and so does the crowd. Max and I manage to maneuver our way over to where Alex and Iz are and I mock glare at Isabel.


“ A few people, huh?”


Isabel rolls her eyes at me, grinning.


“ Oh, quit complaining, Liz, it’s not like you’ll be cleaning afterwards.”


“ I still think it’s a trap though,” Max comments, spinning me around as I laugh.


“ And that just goes to show how little you know,” Alex quips, turning back to us and handing Isabel a soda. Isabel kisses him on the cheek in thanks and the two beam at each other for several minutes with goofy ‘I’m-so-in-love’ looks on their faces. It’s hard to gag at this because it’s so unbelievably cute. And plus, I kind of understand it now. So I settle for rolling my eyes and turn back to Max, hoping I don’t look like that every time I look at him.


Max is staring at them wistfully and my heart plummets. Is he wishing Jessica were here so he and her can have a staring match of their own? I sigh and he looks down at me.


“ What?”


“ Nothing.” I answer.


He looks at me for a little while longer before pulling me away from the two lovebirds and back into the gyrating crowd. The techno beat fades out just as we reach a prime spot, way in the center and away from the prying eyes of our friends.


“ Okay, what’s wrong?” He presses, looking at me concernedly. I sigh again.


“ Max-”


“ Come on, Liz. It’s me. We said we wouldn’t play the ‘nothing’ game remember?”


I wrinkle my nose. “ What? When?”


“ Back in eighth grade.” Max answers immediately. Smiling down at me, he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and I’m trying real hard not to shiver at his touch. See what I mean? A few years ago, I would have laughed if someone had told me I would be shivering at contact with Max Evans. And now… I am so…I’m just…so very, very weak. “So talk to me,” he commands gently.


Some guy at my back jostles into me and I stumble a little. Max immediately pulls me a little closer to shield me from anymore clumsy people.


“ Watch it,” He cautions lowly. Whoever it is mumbles a ‘sorry’ and I nod my acknowledgment both at him and at Max. Always a gentleman, he has shifted now so that I’m sheltered from the moving crush, but as much as I want to, I can’t really pay attention to how having his arms around me feels, because we’re going into best bud ancient history, which is good. It’ll remind me of all the things that I’m trying to save. I open my mouth, not even really sure of what I’m going to say exactly, but the way things are going these days, this isn’t exactly surprising. The sappy tunes of what obviously is going to be a slow song begins to pipe out from the speakers and I try hard not to groan.


Great.


Just what I need.


Remember when we never needed each other?
The best of friends like sister and brother
We understood we’d never be alone…


I stiffen as the soft croon echoes through the room, and around me, my peers couple up and start swaying to the music. I’m transported back to 8th grade, where I had a chip on my shoulder the size of the moon, and where everyone, and everything, held little appeal to me. Starting junior high had seemed so momentous then, but events shortly before that had left me with very little illusion as to what really counted-and what didn’t. And at that point, to me at least, what counted was…not a whole lot.


I had just lost my parents after all.


Everyone seemed content to leave me alone after that, and I was content to let them. Over that summer, I systemically cut myself off from any extraneous contact with people, so much that by the time school picked up, only Maria and Alex and strangely enough, a prickly, bad tempered transfer from East Roswell, Michael Guerin, were the only ones who could, or would, tolerate me. It was in the midst of this that the Evans moved to Roswell, and Max and Isabel transferred in about a week after school had begun.


With Roswell being the tiniest of towns, the arrival of a cute new boy, at the crux of the onset of teenage hormones sent almost every girl in the grade into a tizzy. When he walked into my class, I remember with utter clarity that the chorus of excited tittering had given me a headache. I had encountered his twin sister earlier in the day already; apparently, my newly antisocial-snarky tendencies had reached her, and she had chosen give me a wide berth, but my initial assessment was that the girl was a little high strung, and just a touch…insecure. I hadn’t expected different of the boy.


I was wrong.


I will never know what made Mrs. O Grady pick me to be Max’s tour guide that day. Lord knows, amongst the flurry of hands that went up in offer, mine certainly didn’t, and I had just given the woman so much lip, she should have been sending me into detention instead of saddling me with the new kid. From his interactions with others, I gathered that he was nice, and well on his way to attaining the coveted ‘popular’ status that I was desperately trying to shake off. I didn’t want anyone looking at me ever again; I couldn’t wallow in misery in peace if they did. So I was surly, and mean, and generally all sorts of unpleasant to him.


He remained nice.


He kept coming back.


And then one day…he snapped-yanked me into a classroom and let me have it. And I snapped right back.


It seemed like he had put up with as much as he could from me, and now wasn’t letting me hide behind the fact that I had had my parents brutally stolen from me as an excuse for my bad behavior. When we emerged from that classroom that day, I honestly didn’t think I would ever speak to Max Evans again, or that he would speak to me. I apologized to Maria, Alex and even Michael-and then especially to my aunt and uncle, and told them all I would try.


The next day, he came back, with Isabel in tow. And I think that’s when we became real friends.


We don’t really bring up that period; it’s a touchy subject, and although those not close to me were easily willing to forgive and forget, it took a while for me to not feel guilty about treating Maria and Alex like dirt. I suppose this is where Max and I grew as close as we did, but even back then, I’m pretty sure we never needed each other. And now…I’m pretty sure the only one of us who needs something from the other is me. I need him to be part of my life, because he was the one who dynamited me back into it, and if he’s not there, I’m not sure I can be…complete.


The realization is heavy and not one I am quite prepared to deal with just yet.


“ Max… I…I’m okay, really. Nothing’s wrong.”


All around us, people are slow dancing and I wonder if that’s my cue to get off the dance floor. Max and I haven’t slow danced since that long forgotten junior high prom thing. He doesn’t look convinced but instead lowers his head a little so he can look into my eyes. I am not chickening out this time. I look back at him. I can feel people’s gazes on us, and some of them are murmuring among themselves. I suppose we look a little strange, standing stationary in the middle of a room full of dancing people. Not to mention that is prime gossip material. Oh well. Whatever.


“ You would tell me if something was wrong, right?” Max asks me, ignoring the eyes of our audience.


I bite my lower lip uncertainly. Isn’t that the question of the hour? Especially when I’m not sure that this quantifies as wrong exactly? All I’m trying to do is help him see if this girl he likes could be the girl, and my telling him of these recent developments on my sides seems like it will unnecessarily complicate matters. I don’t know if I can answer that truthfully and I don’t want to lie to him anymore tonight. I don’t. So instead I let up on my lip and smile as charmingly as I can, batting my eyelashes up at him.


“ What is this?” I ask teasingly. “ We’re on a dance floor, Max and this is the time you choose to go all insightful on me? Shouldn’t we be dancing?”


For a second, he looks stunned, dazed even, and he’s looking at something on my chin again. Weird. Then he raises his eyes to meet mine and it’s my turn to be stunned. I didn’t know Max’s eyes could go all dark like that. And…I like it, it reminds me of the sky of the desert at night-completely captivating.


“ You want to dance with me?”


The question is softly uttered, like the way he said my name on the bleachers that day. I am making this official. If this is a dream, I will KILL the person who wakes me up. I swear I…Wait. What am I doing? I’m not supposed to notice stuff like his eyes or the tone of voice he uses OR the way I seem to turn into jelly every time he’s near me. I am supposed to be working on becoming impervious to this kind of thing, not glorying in how it feels! I glance away at the crowd, trying to compose myself and think of a suitable, buddy-buddy reply to that question. A big, hysterical NO would be too suspicious. A deliriously happy YES is out of the question. A ‘Maybe’ would sound like I’m flirting with him. But perhaps with a little creativity on my side, and a whole heap of sarcasm and a LOT of luck, I could make it work. I’m about to go for it when he tightens his grip on me and coaxes me into moving with him, pulling me into full contact for the second time that day.


Unnerved, I raise my eyes to him.


We already knows what happens after this.


Getting lost in his eyes, I follow his lead and we begin the slow dance.


Damn him…and me too for that matter.


Those days are gone now I want you so much
The night is long and I need your touch
I don’t know what to say, I never meant to feel this way
Don’t wanna be alone tonight…


We continue to sway to this ridiculously apt song and I fight to keep from shuddering, my earlier thoughts about not letting him get to me, being strong, yada, yada, yada… all completely forgotten. With the lyrics echoing through my head, I realize that what it says is more or less true. Those days of Max and I being simple friends, are long gone. The genuine affection my younger self felt for him, it still exists, of course, but overlaid on top of that is this sort of intense rush of feeling that seems to overflow every time I look at him now.


I really, really don’t know what to say. ‘ Hey, Max, I think I like you in a more than friends kind of way, so break up with Jessica so we can figure out what to do?’ Ha. I imagine that would go down very well.


What can I do to make you mine?
I’ve fallen so hard, so fast this time
What did I say, what did you do?
How did I fall in love with you?


In way, and I’ve always known this, Max is mine. He’s my friend, one of my best, and my mission is to keep it that way. So I guess that first line is taboo. As for the second…let me make one thing clear. I have never fallen for anyone before. Sure, I’ve had crushes and infatuations, but the real type of falling, the Alex/Izzy, Michael/Maria type falling? Not even close. Now, I’m scared out of my mind that this may be it, and if it is, will I be able to get up when I finally hit the ground? Or will I be rescued before I ever have to feel that hard crash?


I hear your voice and I start to tremble
Brings back the child that I resemble
I cannot pretend that we can still be friends
Don’t wanna be alone tonight...


I don’t buy it. I believe we can still be friends, it’s not this impossible thing to accomplish, even though my so-called friends are trying to make it so. But then maybe I will be just pretending. I’ve said it before. I’m practically lying to him at every opportunity and real friends, the type that Max and I were, the type we ARE, I mean, don’t lie to each other.


The song lapses into the chorus again and I sigh tiredly. I’m so exhausted. I’m so confused. Without thinking, I plop my head forward and it lands on his chest and suddenly, all I can hear is the rapid beating of his heart. I press my ear into deeper into the cozy nook that I find and frown. It’s going fast. Too fast. Way too fast. Is…is this normal? Oh my god, what if I’m giving him a heart attack because the shock of me putting my head on his chest was too much for him? As irrational as the thought is, I panic anyway, jerking my head away and staring up at him. His eyes pop open.


“ Sorry! I wasn’t-” I begin.


“ No, don’t.” Max protests immediately. I stare. Um…what is he saying no to? A dark flush rises on his cheeks but he continues looking at me, “ It’s okay. Are you tired?”


“ A little.”


“ Go ahead.”


“ Max…”


“ Come on Liz. This’ll probably the only time our friends will leave us alone to rest so you better take advantage of it.” His tone is teasing but the look in his eyes is anything but. Why does he keeping looking at me like that? I duck my head and let it fall against his chest once more, more to escape his gaze than anything else. I’m certainly not doing this because I like it, all right?


Right.


Oh I want to say these words
And it has to be tonight
Just need you to know
I don’t want to live this lie
I don’t want to say goodbye
With you I want to spend the rest of my life...


With my face hidden, I do this cross between a grimace and a smile. Where in the world did whoever is acting as DJ dig up this song? It aptly describes what I’m feeling right now, suddenly it’s not funny anymore. Heart attacks aside, I really am considering just telling him. What could be so bad? What’s the worst that could happen? The image of Max running away screaming flashes in my mind and I flinch. Okay. So that’s one scenario. And oh god, if that happens, I don’t even know what I’m going to do. It doesn’t necessarily have to be tonight does it? I roll my eyes. Great. I’ve resorted to following the outline of a song.


I really am desperate.


But…I can’t deny the living a lie part. I just don’t want to tell Max, just so this burden on me can be lifted. That would be wrong in so many ways. For one thing, it would force him to deal with the fact that someone who’s been his buddy for years is a psycho. For another, his relationship with Jessica could be wrecked beyond repair. And then there’s the fact that I would be completely selfish for doing such a thing. I don’t want to say goodbye and I certainly don’t even want to acknowledge the last stanza that was sung but I’m thinking that if I don’t get myself under control soon, I may not have a choice anymore. I lift my head from it’s resting place and look up at Max, not surprised to find him looking down at me this time.


“ I think I’ve rested up enough.”


He nods and then seemingly fighting a silent war inside him, he finally speaks.


“ Liz. We have to talk.”


“ About what, Max?” My voice manages to keep itself calm and normal which
is good cause I think I just about wanted to scream with fright when he spoke. He sounds so serious. I quickly run over the past couple of weeks in my head, trying to figure out if I gave myself away, but everything I recall seems to give no indication of this.


I think.


Okay, I am officially freaking out now.


I step slightly away from him but that’s how far I’m managing to get. He’s tightened his grip around my waist and I know I’m not going away till he wants me to. I swallow and untangle my hands from behind his neck, brushing the hair at his nape accidentally. Another shiver…and did he just shiver too? Shaking my head free from these thoughts, as casually as I can, I place my hands on his shoulders instead, trying to drag the unwilling parts of myself back to the mission at hand.


Max stares at me, my actions making him raise his eyebrows questioningly. I begin to shift uncomfortably as the damned chorus begins playing again.


Why won’t this stupid song end?!


“ Max?” I prompt. He snaps himself out of whatever place he’s gone into and stares at me.


“ Liz, why-”


“ Max?”


We both turn our heads to the side. Jessica Thorne is standing there, looking surprised and not very pleased at the scene before her. Her eyes linger on where my hands are and when she latches onto where Max’s arms are, she frowns a little. He doesn’t let go.


See, this is why it’s dangerous for me to get into such close contact with Max. I lose my head. I completely forgot that Jessie even EXISTED and now, I’m going to have to deal with the fall out. In the most relaxed and indifferent way I can muster, I drop my hands from where they are.


Max still hasn’t let me go yet and I never look away from Jessica’s face. She looks beyond confused and more than a little pissed.


“ Jessica. Hey.” Max greets easily, no trace of embarrassment in his voice.


“ Hey.” I say.


There is a moment where it looks like she won’t answer either of us, blue eyes still lingering on where Max is holding me. Her gaze snaps up to our faces and she smiles, although it looks a little forced. “ Hi.” Jessica says. Then her attention is back on Max. “ I thought you were going to be busy?”


I feel Max stiffen and I leap up to cover for him.


“ That was my fault. I needed him to come over and do his part of our assignment. The lazy lout forgot the last five times I told him so I kept on bugging him till he got his act together.” All this is delivered in the long suffering tone friends who have been through everything together and know each others faults have perfected. Jessica relaxes, and not wanting to jinx it, I don’t risk looking up at Max.


“ Well, in that case, can I cut in?” She asks coolly. “ I love this song.”


I smile dazzlingly at her, no trace of a frown or grimace in there whatsoever.


“ No problem.” I swallow. “ It’s not one of my favorites anyway. ” I wink up at Max as I back out of his grasp, fully in control now. Thank you, Jessie. “ You owe me for slowing dancing Maxwell. Later.” His eyes are unreadable, and as soon as I’m out of the way, Jessie steps right into his arms.


I make my way to counter on auto pilot and as soon as I get there, I plop down on a stool. Dina hands me a soda. I smile my thanks and go back to scanning the crowd. Michael and Maria, Alex and Isabel are all dancing in a little corner of their own, completely lost in each other. Inadvertently, my gaze drops onto Max and Jessica. She’s standing in the exact same position I was in except that being so tall, she’s resting her head on his shoulder and has her arms around his neck possessively. For the life of me, I cannot shift my gaze from them.


Max is saying something to her with a smile on his face. She’s laughing softly and she lifts her head to beam up at him, and I’m suddenly alert, and watchful. In the next instant, she has touched her lips to his, and although I expected it, I anticipated it, it seems that Max…hadn’t. My gaze immediately shifts to Max’s eyes instead of their joined lips and I see that he is…shell shocked, pure and simple, eyes wide and surprised. I’ve just about made up my mind to go over there and break it up, all in the interest of friendship of course, when… lookit that, Grandma!


His eyes drift shut.


He starts kissing her back.


All around them people start murmuring. Someone whistles. I want to scream. I want to yell. I want to cry. I want to stop feeling all this. I want this annoying voice that’s urging me to yank Jessica out of his arms to shut up. But most of all, I want whichever fate, god, higher power that is toying with me to drop dead. And then somewhere inside me, I feel something freeze.


When the kiss ends, Jessica smiles at him and then lays her head back in its original position, a content expression on her pretty features. I glance upwards and to the side to find Max staring at me, looking like the world just ended. Shouldn’t I have that look?


Oh.


I think maybe I do have it.


I think some greater power must’ve taken pity on me because I have no control over my next actions. They’re just… perfect. My tense features relax, and my suddenly ramrod straight posture eases; my lips tip upward in a happy smile. I give him two thumbs up. He doesn’t respond in any way other than to stare at me. The last line of the song floats out over the crowd and despite the blood rushing in my ears, I hear it quite clearly.


Everything’s changed…we never will...
How did I fall in love with you?


With those last words, my heart unfreezes. Now this is the real the question of the hour isn’t it? How this came to be. How I came to this particular point in my life. I see something flicker in Max’s eyes and he lets go of Jessica abruptly, and takes a step in my direction.


Hope flares.


Then Jessica’s hand shoots out and she whispers something to him. Max listens but continues staring at me. He’s shaking his head. Jessica tugs on his hand, apparently not willing to be dismissed so easily. He sighs and says something to her, only receiving a shake of the head and a slight frown as an answer. After a minute or two of conversation, he seems to acquiesce, because she grins and begins leading him away. He glances back at me one more time and walks off. I don’t react and Max disappears into the crowd.


Um…yeah. Hope? What hope?


Oh and my heart? I mentioned that it’s not frozen anymore right? And it’s not. What it is, is cracked. And bleeding.


And suddenly saying goodbye doesn’t seem like such a bad idea after all.


TBC.

Best Laid Plans overview
1. Liz is hiding out at the CrashDown for the weekend, taking a break from her friends, and from Cupid Duty
2. Max is tipped off by Maria, convinces Liz to go to a carnival with him
3. They return to a surprise get together their friends have thrown to get them to spend time together, they share a dance
4. Jessica arrives, finishes the dance with Max, and they kiss
5. Max and Jessica leave together

[Comet]

nitpick23
Earth2Mama
begonia9508
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HypnotiqueBlueEyes

Hello everyone! Thanks for reading, and leaving feedback and comments, I forgot how much fun torturing Max and Liz was. I know they're both acting silly and stupid, but if I didn't put them in such situations, there wouldn't be much of a story. And nice catch on the Jordan/Liz interaction-more on that later!

6. Criminal Activity…



The time is now thirty minutes after twelve. Ten minutes ago, I finally convinced the group to go home, saying that I would finish cleaning up and that I was fine. I mean, honestly, did they really expect me to break just cause I saw Max and Jessica kissing?


Psh.


It would take a lot more than that for me to curl up and rock in misery.


I mean…not too much more though. I think making out plus groping would effectively render me blind, and a pitiful puddle on the ground besides.


But I digress. As it turns outs, Max and I were being watched the whole time we were together.


The dancing bit, when I saw them all tucked away in their corner? It was a cover. And the song? Maria picked it. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I’m sure you figured this out before me. It was yet another set up. I’m torn between being as pissed off as hell and laughing at how utterly wrong their plan went.


Not that it would be good laughter. Nope, it would be more of the hysterical, hollow kind.


You can feel the joy radiating from me, can't you?


Due to the voyeuristic tendencies Michael, Maria, Alex and Isabel seemed to have developed over the last weeks, they got a front row seats to the kiss of death. I know that the only thing that saved Max from the wrath of Isabel and Maria was that they couldn’t find him and so I got the full treatment of sympathetic looks, hugs and 3 offers to have Max get beaten up, courtesy of Michael, Maria and even Alex.


So now I’m sitting here at the counter of the Crash, in the dark, all by myself, with my thoughts as my only companions. The strength that kept me going throughout the whole horrible episode and my friends’ well-meaning support talk is gone. All I want to do is curl up and escape into my perfect dream world where everything is okay and I’m actually happy.


It’s funny you know. All my life, I’ve always known what I wanted and gone for them, no holding back. No matter what anyone said or did, if I wanted it bad enough, I would keep on going till I had it. Like the time I sprained my ankle three weeks before the big all city relay. Everyone told me I couldn’t run. But I couldn’t NOT run either. It’s the only thing, apart from drumming, where I feel totally comfortable with myself and who I am. The result of that little escapade is the trophy that sits in the West Roswell High trophy case. Sure, my aunt and uncle were mad at me and Max and Maria were furious but they understood what drove me to it. I was completely focused and knew where I was headed.


But right now, I feel the exact opposite of that. I feel like I’ve been turning in circles for ages and then someone suddenly stops me, causing the whole world to go topsy-turvy. I feel more lost than I have ever felt. I felt this same way when my parents died. Mom and dad were the most constant beings in my life, my anchors, apart from Maria and Alex. And when they were gone, little as I was, I felt like I had been set adrift in this violent ocean that was waiting to swallow me whole. Like I was drowning in my tears. I will never forget the night Maria and Alex climbed into my room through my window, hugged me and didn’t try to tell me that they knew how I felt or that it would all be okay. They just let me cry and held me. I didn’t need words. I just needed… well, up to now, I’m not even sure what is was I needed but I do know this. Whatever it was, that night and the nights that followed that, Maria and Alex gave it to me in spades. So like I said I owe them.


But this…this thing with Max. Compared to then, what I feel now is somehow even more…more everything. It’s more confusing. More depressing. More heartbreaking. More…painful. The worst thing is that I don’t even think I have a right to feel this way. Because, okay, when I started this, I had a specific goal in mind: To completely obliterate all of these feelings I have for him and remain good friends. I KNEW what I wanted. It’s what I want even now. I want Max to be happy, just like our friends are. I want this, because over the years, I’ve seen him be glad about the bliss they’ve found in each other’s arms but watch them with that hint of envy in his eyes. The hint of loneliness.


Max Evans is just too good of a person to feel like this. These are things that I vowed to never let myself feel. I believe that my parents wouldn’t have wanted me to spend time dwelling on what was lacking in my life while there was so much else going on around me. But, okay, I’ll admit it. Despite my resolution to NOT let myself be mired in it, I know how he feels.


I think that the first time I saw him, standing in front of the class, I recognized the look in his eyes when he locked stares with me. It was what I saw in the mirror every time I was alone but hid when I was with my friends. I don’t want him to have to perfect hiding his loneliness like I had to do when I was12. Like I still do now. So if being with Jessica makes him happy… then I want that for him. And yet… I want him too. There. I thought it. Are you happy? I’m in no way ready to say the ‘L’ word when in comes to Max but I can admit this.


Can you see my problem?


I have two conflicting desires. I want Max to be totally, insanely madly in love and happy like he’s wanted to be for as long as I’ve known him and now he’s finally picked someone to test the waters with. At the same time, I want to be with him. The thing is, if I confess to him, I foresee, I dread, disaster. He could tell me he doesn’t feel the same way and our friendship would be caput. Secondly, I may ruin whatever he finds with Jessica. And after all that…I’ll still be alone.


I groan and drop my head onto the now clean countertop with a loud thump.


Oh god, this is so pathetic. I refuse to fall victim to that ‘I-don’t-want-him-but-no-one-else-can-have-him’ syndrome. I refuse to risk my heart on something that may be just a passing thing. But why do I feel like this goes deeper than that? Like it’s been happening for a long time now? What if… what if it has?


My head comes off from the counter, a mixture of elation and anger rolling through me. Elation because…well, I’ve figured out why what I’m feeling is so strong. And anger because…why the hell didn’t I stop it? If I had only stopped it THEN, I wouldn’t be here NOW. But what good would figuring it out then had done? I would probably have come to the same terrible decision I face now and maybe back then, I would have actually been crazy enough to go after Max myself.


Why do I feel like I’m in a lose, lose situation? Why do I feel like whatever it is that I decide to do will end up hurting someone? Hurting Max?


Why do I feel like I…I…I don’t know what to do!!!!!


You should see me now. My head is back on the countertop and my arms are sprawled over it. I guarantee that you’ve never seen such a dismal sight. But… the view of the floor is stunning from this position and- argh!


Okay.


I’ll try one last attempt to be logical.


The way I see it, I have to figure out which of the two things (Max happy with Jessica or Max with me) I want more badly. I could weigh pros and cons, such as that, for example, he didn’t exactly look right or all that happy with Jessie. But then again, he DID start kissing her back and he DID go off with her, and is probably doing God knows what else right now.
The funny ache in my chest just grew more painful.


Why can’t this be easy? Why can’t I stop playing it safe and just tell him? Maybe I do know the answer to this one. Maybe it’s because as much I want to tell him, as much as I want HIM, I want him to be a part of my life even more. And if I tell him, I run the risk of losing him. I couldn’t bear that. But will I ever be satisfied with what he and I have now? I shudder and wrap my arms around my middle in an effort to not acknowledge the resounding ‘no’ running through my mind right now.


Did I really just tell Michael a few weeks ago that this wouldn’t hurt me?


How little did I know.


I feel tears start to brim in my eyes and I close them, hoping this will stop it.


It doesn’t. If anything, the burning intensifies.


Damn it, I don’t want to cry over this. Strong, strong, I HAVE to be strong. Why isn’t this working? To my horror, I feel a sob working its way up my throat, and just as I am struggling to squelch it, a sharp rap on the door registers in my over tired brain. I jerk upright and grab the napkin dispenser, gearing up to hurl it at the intruder. All this dries up my tears faster than you could say…


Michael?


What is he doing here?


He’s peering in at me and I wonder how he can see me. Last time I checked, I was brooding in the dark.


Oh.


It’s not dark now. Nope. Did I mention that there’s a skylight over the counter, more specifically, over the place I’m sitting? Unbeknownst to me, the moon has risen and I’m now sitting on a stool, holding a napkin dispenser and being completely illuminated by moonlight. Great. Even the moon refuses to give me a break. He knocks again and this time, he’s scowling as he does it. I frown right back as I set down the dispenser and trudge over to the door.


“ In the neighborhood?” I ask listlessly as I open the door and he comes in.


He stares hard at me. I stare back.


“ What are you doing here, Michael?”


“ Have you been crying?”


I sigh.


“ Great opening line there, Michael. For your information, I have not,” This is not a lie; I haven’t been crying. I was ABOUT to but I wasn’t. There’s a difference. “ What are you doing here?” I ask again.


“ Maria sent me.”


I smirk and walk over to the mop to put it away in the break room, Michael right behind me.


“ Why? Was she afraid I’d hurl myself off my balcony?”


“ She’s just worried about you Liz.” Michael says.


“ I know that. I know ALL of you have been worried. With the way you guys have been hovering over me these last two weeks, how could I possibly miss it?” I open the door to the cleaning supply closet and wrinkle my nose at the mess inside. I really need to tell Uncle J to clean this place out.


“ Liz, are you okay? And don’t give me any crap about being fine this time, okay? We can tell you know.”


“ Remind me again when all of you became mind readers?” I ask absently as I push the mop in.


“ Liz. Stop fooling around.”


I bristle and slam the door to the supply closet shut. I whip around to face Michael and he meets my gaze defiantly.


“ What do you want from me Michael? Do you want to know how hard it was seeing him kiss her? Do you want to know how hard seeing them together is? Is that what you want? Well fine. It was hard. It IS hard. But I’m still here. I’m still standing. Contrary to what you and the others think, I’m not going to break down just because Max is going out with someone else, okay? Give me a little more credit than that at least.”


“ How long do you think you can keep doing this Liz?” He demands. “ You promised me, remember? And can you stand there right now and honestly tell me that it doesn’t hurt?”


I flinch. He’s right. But I can’t just stop what I’m doing right out of the blue can I? I purse my lips and stare him straight in the eye.


“ It hurts, Michael.” I admit softly. “ But not that much, and definitely not enough to make me want to stop.” I don’t know how true this statement is, but the way things are going, we may not have long to wait to find out. “ Look. I thought we agreed that you would let me do what I had to do?”


“ And I thought we agreed that you would stop the moment it started to hurt.” Michael says stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest.


“ How about a compromise then? When I’m satisfied that Max is as happy as he can possibly be with Jessica, I’ll stop.”


Michael snorts. “ Demolishing your own heart in the process.” Perhaps seeing me start on an acid retort, he changes his tone and begins to speak. “ Okay Liz. Answer me this. How will you know when Maxwell is happy?”


“ When his eyes tell me so. They shine.” I answer immediately, with a smile, as I recollect the shine of Max’s eyes when he is happy. Out of the corner of my eye I see Michael grin knowingly and my smile slips away. What did I just say? Something about Max’s eyes? Oh please, tell me I did not say that in front of Michael of all people. He’ll never let me live it down, damn it. This is just more proof that Max Evans has put a force on me. I’m blushing furiously but I meet his eyes anyway. “ Your point?”


“ My point is…how do know that his eyes, uh, shine when he’s happy, as you so nicely put it?”


I glare witheringly at him and he raises his hands in surrender getting the message that is he ever mentions that to anyone, he’s a dead man. Maria would be crushed, but he’s still a dead man. I furrow my brow as I think about his question, leading the way back to the eating area. Michael follows me obediently and settles down on a stool, watching as I pace.


“ I know because…because…well…they always do that when he does the things he loves. Like playing basketball. Or hanging with his family and friends. Or when he and I take off on one of our crazy escapades. Especially then.” I laugh at my last statement. There have been many memorable escapades, that’s for sure. I glance over at Michael just to see him sporting a triumphant smirk. “ What?” I demand.


“ What was that last one?”


I frown, thinking back on what I said. “ They shine the most when we’re off doing stuff together.” I repeat. Wait. That didn’t…what does THAT mean? That Max is most happy with…me? Before I even have time to process this (it’s hard because my heart is leaping all over the place and my poor brain is trying to catch it so I can breathe again) Michael speaks.


“ Are you figuring it out, now Liz?” He asks excitedly, slipping off the stool and walking to me, frozen statue that I am.


I narrow my eyes suspiciously at him. Why do I get the feeling…


“ Michael, is there something you’re not telling me?”


For a minute, he looks taken aback, but it disappears. He locks a challenging gaze with me.


“ Is there something you’re not telling me?” He retorts.


No way are we changing the subject now, Guerin! I stare at him.


“ Michael, what is it?”


“ What is what?”


“ What are you not telling me?”


“ I’m not not telling you anything, Liz.” He protests. He wipes his hands over his jeans. Uh huh. Sweaty hands. Someone in this room is lying, and it’s not me…not right this minute, anyway, like Mickey G over here is.


I scowl at him. “ Michael. Tell me what’s going on. Does…does Isabel know this too?” I wave a hand in the air. “Whatever it is?”


“ Isabel?” Michael parrots, brow furrowed. “ What did she tell you? I told her she shouldn’t, Max is going to-!” He stops abruptly, seeing my face light up in understanding.


Ding, ding, ding! Aha! So. Isabel does know and it has something to do with Max. I… maybe I don’t want to know about this.


“ You want to get out of here?” I ask.


Michael’s eyes widen in surprise. What, you thought I was going to grill him? You’re right. I will. But not tonight.


“ Where do you want to go?”


I smile. Michael actually backs up. He swears that when Maria, Alex or I get that look, it’s a signal to start running. Max always tries to run too, but I always manage to convince him in the end. What can I say? I’m very persuasive. And I’m tired of moping around. I need distraction.


“ Don’t worry, Michael. It’s practically my second home. And you know what? I don’t think they’ll even mind…”

************************************

“ Liz!”


“ Keep it down Michael!”


“ I did not agree to this!” He hisses to me indignantly.


“ You did too!” I hiss back.


“ I did not agree to breaking and entering!” He half yells.


I clamp my hand over his mouth, which is hard since I’m so much shorter, and glare at him.


“ Would you keep it DOWN?” I whisper fiercely. “ Do you WANT the whole neighborhood to hear us?” He calms down and I remove my hand.


“ What are we doing here?”


“ Don’t you recognize the place?”


“ Of course I do! What are we doing at Maxwell’s place?” He glares at me. “ If you brought me here so you could spy on his room and see if his eyes are doing the light bulb thing with thorn girl, then you’ve got another thing coming-”


“ Michael!” I hiss in exasperation. “ I don’t need that image, okay? And we’re not going into the house, we’re going into the garage.”


We creep along the wall, careful to stay in the shadows.


“ Oh.” Is Michael’s brilliant reply. “ Why?”


“ I want to see the motorcycle he’s building up. He’s being totally unreasonable about not letting me see it.”


“ You dragged me all the way out here in the middle of the night to see the freakin’ motorcycle when you could just bat your eyelashes up at him in the day time and see it anyway? That’s it. You are insane.”


I blink up at him. “ You mean the batting of eyelashes stuff still works?” I ask incredulously. “ On Max? Please. Oooh, Michael, look, there’s the window. Give me a leg up.”


“ This is against the law, Liz. It’s breaking and entering. It is a felony!”


“ It is NOT breaking and entering! I won’t be breaking anything, it’ll just be… entering.”


Michael snorts and I hit him on the arm.


“ I think it’s called unlawful trespassing Liz.” He corrects me.


“ Like you’ve never done it,” I retort softly. “ Michael, come on. Please?”


He just stares at me for a few minutes before sighing.


“ I must be out of my mind,” He mutters, glaring at me. “ If we get caught, you’re taking the heat for this.”


I hop up and down and hug him.


“ Thank you, thank you!”


“ Yeah, yeah.” He studies the window and raises an eyebrow at me. “ Looks pretty high. Think you’ll be able to go down, short stuff?”


“ Don’t start the short stuff thing again, Michael.” I say in irritation. “ Just give me a leg up already! There’s always a crate under this window.”


“ Right, right.” He makes a stepping place for my foot out of his hands and I step on. He gives me a boost. I reach up for the window sill and…


“ Michael, quit moving!”


“ Jesus, Liz, you have got to lay off the alien blasts, you weigh a ton!” A pause as I gracefully reach down and smack his head. “ Ouch!”


“ Michael Guerin, you DO NOT tell a girl she’s grown heavier, okay? That’s just wrong! Besides, what do you expect? You last carried me about three years ago!”


“ Liz, quit yapping and climb or I’m going to drop you,” He growls.


It’s a messy operation. I guess I’m not as nimble as I used to be. And ick, windowsill is really dusty. I manage to get on to it, at the cost of my jeans and probably my lungs…uh oh. Dust? Not on good terms with dust. I think I’m going to sneeze…


“ Liz! Are you okay?” Michael whispers/yells to me, seeing what I’m sure is my ashen face.


“ Uh…Michael…I think…I think…”


I think you know what happened. I sneeze and my already less than sturdy hold on the sill slips tremendously. You know that feeling you get when you’re between falling and standing? Where you feel like your stomach contents hurtle towards your mouth? Yep. That’s where I am.


“ Liz!” Michael hisses at me.


For an instant, as I teeter between safety and injury, I almost manage to grab the edge. Almost. But I don’t and I drop like a rock towards the cement floor. I hear Michael’s yell from the other side and I squeeze my eyes shut, praying for the fall to at least knock me out so I won’t suffer. I’m not into pain. So you can guess how surprised I am when instead of me greeting cold, hard floor, I feel the strangest sensation of being enveloped in warmth and arms and being lowered gently to earth…


I don’t open my eyes. Someone’s murmuring my name. I feel…nice. And then a pesky little thought occurs to me. What if I’m dead? What if I twisted my neck or busted my skull or something and now I’m in heaven? Whoa. I’m in heaven. And…the angels sound like Max and even smell like him too!


“ Liz, oh my God. Liz, are you okay? Liz?”


Someone is banging on metal and hollering my name. It sounds a lot like…Michael. What is HE doing in heaven? Did he die too? Shit, Maria is going to kill me. This, more than anything galvanizes me into action. Slowly, opening one eye first then the other, I’m greeted by the sight of Max staring worriedly at me, his face pale.


“ Oh thank God.” He whispers, running his hands through my hair and over my face. I swallow, because suddenly, I feel like I could light up ten city blocks with all the electricity coursing through me right now. I’m definitely in heaven. But as reason slowly returns, I begin to stiffen.


“ Max?” I whisper.


“ Liz, are you okay? Are you hurt?” He demands.


“ Max,” I begin, sitting up. I have to get away from him. I’m in enough trouble with my imagination as it is, it doesn’t need any MORE ammunition against me. He doesn’t let me get far though and before I can help it, I think about…stop it, Liz! “ Max…what are you doing here?”


“ Me? What are you doing here?”


Michael is still alive apparently, and is pounding away on the garage door. Then the noise stops abruptly and I’m grateful for the silence. It’ll help my brain think of some way to get me out of here!


“ Um… would you believe I wanted to leave you a surprise?”


Really brain?


Really?


Clearly, Max is as unimpressed as I am by this response, and he shoots me a glare.


“ What, you unconscious on my garage floor?”


I eye him. He looks pissed. I quickly look around. Nope. No half dressed thorn girls around anywhere. I look back at him, and all for stating the obvious, I manage to squeak out,


“ Are you…mad at me?” I swallow. “ Because you know…you look-”


“ That would be a yes. You could have broken your neck!” He says sharply. He pulls me closer and begins running his hands over my arms and back, clearly checking for injuries. I’m trying real hard not to shiver but I’m only human. I don’t know how much longer I can take of this. His hands feather through my hair and the action automatically brings our faces closer together.


“ But I didn’t.”


“ You could have.” He responds, looking deep into my eyes. “ What were you thinking?”


“ I…I don’t think I was.”


He smiles, that gorgeous little half smile of his, and even though we’re sitting on a less than squeaky-clean garage floor, I wouldn’t trade this for the world.


“ I think that’s obvious.” Max turns serious and inches a tiny bit closer. “ When I saw you fall…”


" But I'm okay." I rush to assure him, wondering why I’m not removing myself from this spot, wondering if I even can.


" You could've been hurt." He whispers, and all I can focus on are his eyes.


No. No. Noooooo……… he’s using his eyes! I’m powerless against the eyes. I know there are ten thousand reasons to not do this but oh God…


“ Liz.” He whispers reverently.


I can’t help it.


“ Max…” I reach up and touch his face and his eyes drift shut as I run my fingers over his cheek.


Sparks.


Fireworks.


He opens his eyes and they’re that dark, midnight color again. He shifts another inch closer, and the hands in my hair urge me forward just a bit too. Oh I’m in trouble. My eyes are just about to drift shut when they fly open again. What am I doing? This is Max! I can’t [i[]do[/i] this. I’m saved from having to push him away or say no when there’s an almighty crash of boots hitting the floor.


Michael.


My salvation!


We scramble up and I rush over to Michael.


“ Are you okay?”


He grabs me and hugs me.


“ Me? Are YOU okay? God, Liz, this was your stupidest idea ever. If Max hadn’t been there to-” He stops and looks over at Max, a quick succession of emotion flitting over his features, ending on an expression that is a mixture of embarrassed and relieved. “ Maxwell. You…weren’t supposed to be here. How long have you been here?”


“ Neither were you.” Max comments dryly, his eyes locked on me. “ And I’ve been here long enough to know that you two are the world’s loudest illegal trespassers.” He says, glancing at Michael briefly before staring me again. I need to get out of here. I turn to Michael pleadingly, begging him to take me away. He gets the picture and very reluctantly, he nods.


“ Maxwell, I need to get Liz home. Besides, I don’t want your parents to find out I was the one waking the whole neighborhood up. My parents will skin me alive.”


“ Liz-”


“ Maxwell, Michael’s right, for once. I’ll call you tomorrow okay? Can you open the garage door?” I ask, hoping my voice sounds suitably panicked instead of just relieved.


He doesn’t say anything, he simply stares at me. Then he says,


“ Tomorrow.”


I swallow. “ Tomorrow.”


“ Max?” Comes a sleepy voice. Michael and I glance at him urgently and he presses the button that opens the door. Quickly, we scoot out under it and hop onto his motorcycle, putting on our helmets. As we roar away, I close my eyes in resignation.


I almost kissed Max.


Oh hell.


What have I done?


TBC.

Criminal Activity
1. Liz ponders over the kiss, and her role as Cupid
2. Michael confronts Liz in the CrashDown, accusing her of breaking her promise to him
3. Liz discovers that there is something everyone else knows but her. Wants a distraction, so convinces Michael to help her to break into Max's garage to see the bike he's working on
4. Liz falls into the garage. Max catches her. An almost kiss happens. Cue awkwardness

[Comet]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Please keep it coming!

7. In search of breakfast…

At precisely 7:03am in the morning, my eyes fly open and I emerge from a very vague, very confusing dream. Because it is a Sunday, and my shift doesn’t start till later on this afternoon, my immediate response is to groan and pull my covers over my head, attempting to tussle my way back into dreamland.


I am not successful.


After about 45 minutes of simply laying in bed and trying to tempt sleep to come back to me, I finally give this up for a lost cause. Struggling into my robe, I drag myself into the kitchen and slump into my seat, yawning hugely. I think I must have gotten a maximum of four hours of sleep last night and, yes, you guessed it, it’s all because of Max.


He has taken over my life.


What’s worse is that the dreams that plagued me the whole night weren’t even good. I mean, what’s the point of dreaming about your, your- um, well, whatever Max is to me, if it’s not good? No, all I saw were images of him running away screaming (yep, this image is REALLY stuck in my mind), him with Jessie, the kiss of death and with a soundtrack of that voice Michael and I heard in the garage.


No, we will not discuss my suspicions on whom it belonged to.


Through heavy lidded eyes I scan the contents of the table. The only thing on it is a pot of steaming…coffee. Yes! My hand immediately goes for that, but just as I reach it, a hand comes out of nowhere and snatches it out of my grasp. I glance up, glaring blearily at whoever has deprived me of my morning sustenance.


My Aunt Nancy simply smiles down at me, freshly showered and dressed.


“ Not today, honey. Caffeine is very bad for you.”


I groan.


Oh world. Must you take everything from me?!


“ Aunt Nancy, this is child abuse! I need coffee. It’s a vital part of my diet.” I mumble more than speak the words, my eyes are half closed and if I don’t get caffeine in about two minutes, I WILL fall asleep, bad dreams or not.


“ Oh hush, Liz. I’ve been letting you get away with murder lately in the food department. I declare today as…Health Food Day.” She announces grandly.


Okay, now I’m awake.


I jerk upright and stare at her.


“ What?” I blurt out.


“ You heard me, hon. Today, the Parker family is going all natural.”


Oblivious to my less than happy expression, she places a tall glass filled with reddish liquid before me. I stare at it and then her.


“ It’s a mix.” She says.


“ A mix of what? Science experiments gone wrong?” The latter part is uttered under my breath as I stare balefully at the glass.


“ Try it, Liz, I guarantee that you’ll love it.” Aunt Nancy chirps.


I highly doubt this. But, to please her, I take a tentative sip. It’s all I can do to not spit it out and hurl the glass away from me.


“ So what do you think?” She asks eagerly. “ Oranges, apples, mangoes and granadilla’s went into that. I got the recipe from those cooking magazines Maria gave me for my birthday.”


Maria! Wait till I get my hands on that girl! I erase my grimace and smile slightly at my Aunt. Screwing up my courage I take another small sip and swallow with difficulty.


“ D-delicious, Aunty N.”


She’s practically glowing and staring at me, obviously waiting for me to take another sip. To distract her, I say,


“ Uh, so! Where’s Uncle Jeff?”


“ Oh he mentioned something about cleaning the supply closet downstairs. It’s funny, he hates that job but for some reason, today he wanted to get right on it.”


Who could blame him? My Uncle Jeff is one smart guy. He’s probably getting some good, fattening, non-healthy breakfast right now, while I’m stuck with gag worthy stuff. It’s not fair. As my aunt talks, she’s moving toward the sink and once she’s there, she pours my precious, beautiful coffee down the drain.


You know it’s going to be a very bad day when your coffee is poured down a drain.


“ Aunty N, what was the point of making coffee if you were just going to throw it away?” I ask despairingly, even as she commits her act of heresy.


“ I didn’t make it, your Uncle did.” She says primly, sounding like it was high treason. “ He forgot, although I mentioned it to him twenty times last night, that today was health food day.” She walks over to the microwave and opens it, pulling out a stack of steaming…pancakes! She puts a plate in front of me and puts two on my plate. I’m happily digging in and chewing when she says, “ I hope you like it. There’s tofu and Soy milk in it.”


My eyes, I’m sure, have widened with shock. And I thought the juice was bad?!


The horror. The horror.


Once more, I swallow with difficultly and push my plate slightly away from me.


“ Um…is there any chance of getting Maple syrup on this?” I ask with a smile.


Something tells me I’ll need the whole bottle if I want my taste buds to survive. But on the up side, there is the chance that while I’m preoccupied with trying to survive breakfast, I won’t have much time to dwell on Max, and the fact that we’re supposed to talk today. I feel panicky waves start radiating through me and I feel really, really, hungry all of a sudden, proof positive that my usual when-I’m-nervous-I-get-hungry reaction has kicked in. The more nervous I am, the more food I shovel in. No matter how icky it is, it will still manage to find a way down. Trust me on this.


I attack the tofu-Soya milk pancakes with a vengeance, not caring that my taste buds are screaming for mercy.


See?


Max Evans has taken complete and utter control over me.


I really should have gone back to sleep when I had the chance.

*************************

It’s a bright, breezy day as I walk up the driveway leading to the door of the house. I try to quell this bizarre urge I suddenly have to run for the nearest hole and bury myself until winter, but it’s hard. What’s even harder is to walk normally and not look over my shoulder every few seconds. Am I giving the impression that I’m hiding from anyone? If so, I’ll set it straight right now.


I am not hiding from anyone.


I hear laughter from behind me and I glance over my shoulder (again) to see two kids, a boy and a girl, racing each other down the street on their roller blades. Though my mood is anything but happy (paranoid and freaked out would be closer to the truth) I can’t help but grin at their infectious laughter. Y’know, they kinda remind me of Max and I when…my grin disappears and I
shake my head.


They remind me of a time when everything was less complicated.


More clear.


Heaving a huge sigh, I rap on the door and stick my hands in my back pockets, waiting for an acknowledgement. Nothing happens.


I knock again.


Wait some more.


Still, nothing happens. I knock on the door for the third time and wait patiently, trying to ignore my rumbling tummy and aching head. What time do people get up these days anyway? At last, I see him shuffling to the door, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and he opens it with a huge yawn.


“ Yes?”


“ Hi!” I chirp brightly, waving and willing my gloom and doom expression to fade away.


“ Liz?” There is a brief pause where he just blinks at me, as if not trusting that I am really there. “ What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?” He asks incredulously.


“ It’s already ten thirty.”


He gives me a ‘so what’ look and says, “ I repeat, what are you doing here at this ungodly hour?”


“ Okay, do you want the white lie or the truth?”


“ Truth.” He says, stretching his arms and yawning again.


“ I was hungry.”


“ You were hungry. There are such things as restaurants, Liz,” He says, waving me in. “ Don’t you live on top of one?”


“ Aunt Nancy has put a ‘don’t-give-Liz-food’ law into effect, starting today. She’s on a health food kick.” I explain, seeing his confused look.


“ Ah. So. Care to tell me the truth now?”


We’ve reached the kitchen and I’ve seated myself at a stool at the counter. I raise my eyebrow up at him.


“ That was the truth, Alex.”


He snorts and runs a hand through his mussed up hair, opening the fridge and bringing out a carton of orange juice. Then he picks up a glass and sets it down in front of me.


“ Right, Liz. You say you’re hungry and you come here of all places? You know better than anyone that I’m a disaster in the kitchen.”


“ Well so am I.” I announce. “ I figured we could tackle the hunger problem head on and create a disaster together. See? I even dressed for it.” I smile brightly at him and gesture at my attire. My clothes don’t exactly scream ‘Martha Stewart’ but it’s as close as I get to kitchen wear if such things exist. The last time I tried to put on an apron, the stupid thing’s strings were tied up with three different kinds of knots, and I had to cut it off so I could get loose. “ So where do we start?” I ask eagerly.


Alex gives me a pained smile and grabs another glass from the cabinet for himself.


“ You know, as nice as that sounds, I don’t really feel like coming up with a suitable explanation to give to my parents when they come back from their trip and find the kitchen in a shambles.”


I smirk, knowing that his last foray in the kitchen ended in catastrophe. You see, Izzy wanted to surprise her parents with a cake for their anniversary and she was baking it at Alex’s house so they wouldn’t stumble on it by accident. Halfway through, Isabel decided she needed more whatsists and charged Alex with the task of making sure the temperature her cake was baking at stayed at precisely a certain level and when it started to fluctuate a little, dear Alex began to twist the little dial thingy on the oven that controls the temperature.


The result?


A flood in the Whitman’s kitchen when their smoke detector triggered the sprinklers in the ceiling. Smoke blackened walls. And last, but definitely not least, a charred lump of coal that was once shaping up to be a masterpiece of a cake. I know all these details because I happened to be present in the Whitman household when it all went down. I had first hand observation at all the mayhem and destruction, and it was hilarious, it was side splitting-and when Isabel showed up, boy, was it scary! Michael and Max still break out in laughter every time that incident is brought up, especially the part when Isabel refused to talk to Alex for a week.


Alex shudders suddenly, as if remembering the whole ordeal as well, and he continues, saying,


“ Why don’t we do this the old fashioned way?”


“ I thought the old fashioned way was cooking.”


“ True. But my old fashioned way isn’t that old fashioned.”


As Alex talks, he pours some juice into the glass and slides it to me and I drink gratefully. He ambles over to the cordless phone and presses the number 9 on speed dial.


“ Hello? Yeah, Kel, it’s me. No, I’ll need another special for today. Yep, got company. 15 minutes? Great. I’m timing ya!”


I watch on with amusement as Alex talks and he hangs up with a smile.


“ Sarah’s Pancake House. I’m a regular.” He says with a proud grin. “ I ordered two breakfast specials.”


“ With coffee?” I ask hopefully.


“ With coffee.” He nods.


“ Alex, you’re the greatest.”


He laughs and preens a little.


“ I never get tired of hearing that.” The smile disappears and he leans on the counter next to me, this time in all seriousness. “ So. You going to tell me the real reason you’re here?”


Sheesh. I blink at him, about to sniff at his thoroughly unfounded (true) implied accusation. I raise an eyebrow instead. “ Why is that lately, everyone seems to think I have an ulterior motive?”


“ Probably because lately, you have.” Alex quips back, not falling for my put-upon expression.


Damn it.


This is what happens when so many people know you so well. Hmph!


“ So spill, Lizzie. What’s up?”


“ Nothing.” I fiddle with my hair nervously and Alex picks up on this immediately, raising his eyebrows at me. I sigh. I really need to kick that habit. It’s such a dead giveaway. Another thing to add to my list of stuff to do.


“ Liiizzz…” Alex begins, giving me the who-are-you-kidding look. I sigh again, dropping my hair.


“ Okay, okay, I needed a place to…hang out…for a while.”


This is true. And my picking today of all days to go visiting has nothing to do to with the fact that Max is looking for me.


It doesn’t.


“ Right. Um. Don’t take this the wrong way and all, you know you’re welcome here, but is there a particular reason you couldn’t hang in your own room?”


“ I felt like a change of scenery.” I saying nonchalantly, wishing he would just quit on the questions already.


“ Uh huh.”


“ What?”


“ Liz.” He eyes me speculatively. “ This has something to do with Max, right?”


I roll my eyes. I’m not that obvious, am I? I hope to God I’m not.


“ No, Alex. Contrary to the popular belief, not everything I do is centered around Max,” I declare grandly.


He’s about to say something I just know is going to irritate me, but the phone rings and he’s momentarily distracted. He picks it up.


“ Alex here. Oh hey, Max,” He says in greeting, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I release a tortured groan. How did he find me so fast? Does he have radar or something? “ Yeah, it’s going good. You? I’m a little surprised to see you’re alive though, you should have seen Izzy last night.” A laugh. “ I know, I know. What? Liz?”


Here it comes. I tense up and continue to stare at Alex. He glances up at me.


“ Nope, she’s not here.”


I relax. Good old Alex. I knew he wouldn’t give me away. That’s just one of the reasons I say he’s the greatest.


“ But she did call and tell me she was coming over in ten minutes or so. In fact, I think she’s on her way here already.”


I stare numbly at him, my jaw dropping open. That did NOT just happen. Alex Whitman did not just sell me out! Forcing myself to listen, I hear him say,


“ Keep her here? Sure.”


KEEP HER HERE?


And he said SURE?


“ Is everything okay, Max? What’s this about?” He listens for a minute and then a grin breaks out over his face. “Stuff, huh? Care to share?” He laughs again. “ Didn’t think so. Right, I’ll see you in a few. Just come right in, the door will be open. But don’t think I’m going to feed you okay? Yeah, yeah. Later man.” He hangs up with a smile and stares innocently at me.


“ I’ve changed my mind. You are NOT the greatest.” I say scathingly.


“ What did I do?”


“ You gave away my position to the…the…you gave away my position!” I snap, not able to find a way to describe Max.


“ Liz, I didn’t know you were hiding from Max. You should have told me. Then I wouldn’t have told him.” He says in mock concern, blue eyes twinkling with amusement.


Oh hardy har har! It’s so funny when it’s not happening to you. Groaning, I slump against the counter and bury my face in my hands.


“ Why are you doing this to me?” I demand of no one in particular. Alex just stares a me, a little sympathetically. He pours himself a glass and then takes a careful sip, studying me, before speaking again.


“ You want my advice?”


“ No.” I reply shortly, with, I’m embarrassed to admit, a bit of a pout. Which he ignores. Sigh.


“ Well, I’m giving it to you anyways.” Comes his flippant reply, blue eyes serious. “ Just tell him how you feel.”


“ That is so much easier said than done, Alex.” I moan, massaging my temples.


“ What are you scared of Lizzie?” Alex asks gently and I raise my face up towards him.


As if I haven’t asked myself that question then thousand times already. And as if the answer those ten thousand times wasn’t a big fat…


“ I don’t know!” I say in frustration. “ I just…he just…I would…he couldn’t…God, Alex, WHY is this so hard? Of all the people in the world, I had to crush on my best buddy! Is there justice in that? Is there? And of all the times this had to happen, it had to happen NOW, when there’s Jessie, and it had to happen this way and it had to be ME…and…it’d be better if… he didn’t know. Then I wouldn’t hurt anyone. Hurt him. Or me.” I laugh a little. “ That’s what I’m scared of. I’m scared of hurting him. Of losing him. And if I tell him… what we have now will be gone forever. I know it.”


Alex’s been quiet throughout my, I’m ashamed to say, somewhat frenzied speech but he’s looking at me searchingly, understandingly.


“ You know what, Liz? You’re right. You could lose Max. Your friendship? It could go caput. He could run away screaming, or yell that he doesn’t feel the same way, or marry Thorn girl in retaliation or-”


“ Is this going to get any better soon?” I ask, interrupting him with a sour look. I can conjure up worst nightmares on my own without you adding to them, Alex, thank you very much.


He grins.


“ But of course it does. Like I said, all those things could happen. But something else could happen too.”


I swallow. I’m almost afraid to hear what Alex has to say. I don’t know why exactly but just like with Michael, I get the oddest feeling that Alex knows something I don’t. The question is…what? I eye him warily and then shrug, feigning indifference.


“ What else could happen?” I ask casually, like it isn’t really that important. Alex sees right through my façade and he grins once more.


“ Well, haven’t you figured it out by now, Liz?” He asks softly. I lean forward in anticipation, wriggling with impatience. I don’t know how everyone expects me to be figuring things out left and right with the way my head is spinning around in all directions. It’s like they think the answer is right there staring me in the face but no matter how I try, I just cannot see it.


It’s incredibly frustrating.


“ What, Alex?” I ask just as softly.


A long, dramatic pause. Just when I’ve decided I can’t take it anymore and that I’m going to have to torture whatever he wants to say out of him, Alex says, “ He could tell you he feels the same way.”


And just like that, I’m completely speechless.


“ Hey guys.”


We both jump and whip our heads towards the kitchen entrance. Max is standing there, holding a large bag in his hand. My eyes widen in shock and he brings his gaze to meet mine. Oh my god. What if…Alex sees my panic stricken look and he moves into action, fully understanding that Max finding out how I feel by overhearing is NOT the way I wanted to go. He bops toward him, obscuring me in the process and clapping him on the shoulder with a wide smile.


“ Max! I didn’t know you were a delivery boy!” He says as he takes the plastic bag from him. Max smiles slightly.


“ I met him as he was walking up. I paid up and decided to make your day a whole lot brighter.”


I’m still locked in panic mode and I swallow convulsively several times to unstick my throat. My first words are:


“ Max, you’re a godsend.”


Really.


I should just give up now. If he doesn’t know yet that I am stupid, crazy-in-crush with him, if I keep rolling out dazzling one-liners like that beauty, the game will be up very soon.


Alex has his back to Max as he’s walking back to me but I catch that sly smirk and I swear, I will get him back for that. Max immediately brings his stare to mine as I speak and I smile nervously at him, hoping to ease the tension. He smiles back and sits next to me.


Where did my tongue come up with that? I’m blushing now and I quickly grab the coffee Alex has removed from the bag, taking a long, calming gulp. Next, I grab the Styrofoam box that’s filled with…pancakes, oh yeah, and dig in without mercy. Busily chewing, I look up to find Max and Alex staring at me in amusement.


“ I take it you were hungry.” Max says.


Actually, it’s a ‘when-I’m-nervous-I-get-hungry-and-when-I-get-hungry-I-eat’ type of reaction more than anything else, but there’s no need for that to become public knowledge, is there?


Grinning through my mouthful of food, I swallow and wash it down with coffee, opening another box, this one containing bacon and eggs.


“ You have no idea. Aunt Nancy is on this weird health food thing and she fed me these totally heinous soya-tofu pancakes. Can you believe she forbade the CrashDown cooking staff to give me any decent food?” I quickly pop in two bacon pieces followed by another swig of coffee. Swallowing it down, I continue, adding more information in the hope that he won’t ask for an explanation as to why I’m not at home when we were supposed to talk today. “ Then I remembered that Alex’s folks weren’t home and I figured he could use company, plus, there was the ulterior motive of possibly cooking something in the kitchen,” Both Max and Alex snort in disbelief, but I ignore them, “ and so, never shall it be said that I neglected my stomach. I came here and here I am.” I turn back to the pancakes. “ So how are you, Max?”


Alex rolls his eyes and begins to amble out of the kitchen.


“ Yeah. I’m going upstairs to shower. Will you two promise to not blow up the kitchen while I’m gone?”


“ Scout’s honor, Alex.” Max answers.


“ Liz, save me some food. And I didn’t hear you promise.”


I glare at him in response. This doesn’t faze him so I give him my sweetest smile and a sincere,


“ Yes, Alex, I promise.”


This seems to get the desired effect at last; you can practically smell the fear coming off him.


“ Maybe I better stay here,” He says uncertainly. I shrug, going back to my breakfast and Max laughs long and loud, sending pleasant tingles through me.


“ She’s pulling your chain Alex.”


Alex relaxes visibly.


“ I knew that. Just in case, though, make sure she doesn’t go anywhere near the kitchen appliances, okay Max?”


“ Just go, already,” I say, rolling my eyes at him. Alex isn’t on my favorite person list right this minute. He’s abandoning me. I can find no feasible way of making him stay without giving myself away and I bet he knows that too, evil genius that he is. Now it’s just Max and I in the kitchen, and already I’m being invaded by the scent of his cologne. I drive a fork through a pancake, wishing it were some vital part of my brain so I wouldn’t think anymore and hold it up to him. “ Pancake?”


“ No thanks.” He throws me a crooked grin. “ I already had my breakfast.”


“ More for me then.”


A silence descends over us and I almost jump when he speaks.


“ Are you okay? No pulled muscles or anything?”


I grin at him, at the adorable worried look on his face. Then I realize he’s completely serious and my grin fades.


“ I’m fine. No pulled muscles or anything at all.” I glance at him quickly before looking away again. This is necessary because lately, if I look at him too long, I find it very difficult to look away. But you knew this already, right? “ Thanks for catching me. And sorry for…” I wave my fork in the air, “ You know.”


Max just nods, knowing that’s as close to a real thank you and apology anyone ever gets from me. I don’t know what it is; I just find it hard to express myself in words. But with Max, it doesn’t seem like enough to be general and vague like I usually am. Something about him makes me want to reveal more about myself and even though he’s known me for years, I know there are several parts of me he doesn’t know.


This is yet another thing that scares me.


I didn’t even realize that at some point in my life, the mask I occasionally used to hide my loneliness and pain stayed on permanently. That some parts of me were covered underneath that cloak of indifference, and he makes me want to break that down and just let them find a place in me, in who I am. But what will I do if the feelings that I’ve repressed over the years make up a large part of all those hidden parts? Will I be willing to forever accept that I feel for Max Evans in a more than friends kind of way? And what happens if they take over? I shiver slightly. No prospect has ever felt so scary. And no prospect has ever felt so tempting at the same time.


“ Hey.”


Max touches my arm and I immediately look at him, my eyes wide. He’s frowning at me.


“ Liz, what’s wrong?”


“ What?”


“ You spaced out there for a minute. Are you sick?”


Does being heartsick count?


Barely managing to keep that from being blurted out, I shake my head and flash him a quick smile.


“ I’m okay.” The urge to reveal all takes over again and against my better judgment I give in. “ Max, really. I’m okay. And…and I really am grateful you were there last night. You saved me from a pretty bad fall.”


This is true.


But he made me fall for him, he’s making me fall for him in another completely different way. With each second I spend with him, I fall further, and I can’t help but think that there will be no one to save me from this one but myself. Max is smiling that little half smile at me and I feel my knees weaken immediately. Why am I so helpless around him? At this point in time, at this stage of my not-so-grand plan, you’d think I’d have a handle on at least the way my knees seem to shake every time he smiles at me. But do I? No. That is a big, definitive NO. I turn back to my food and chew pensively, waiting for him to talk.


He does.


“ What were you trying to do anyway?” He asks, cautiously, almost hopefully. Knitting my brows together at his tone, I slant him a sideways look. The expression on his face matches his tone of voice perfectly. All of a sudden, I know my answer is going to be monumentally important to him. That it could help him do…something. But I cannot offer any other answer than the truth.


“ I…I wanted to look at the bike.” I say slowly.


The strange look on his face vanishes immediately. Obviously, this was not the answer he wanted to hear.


“ You wanted to look at the bike.” Max parrots, his features wooden, his voice is laced with incredulity. “Liz.” I glance up at him. “ You risked breaking your neck just to see the bike?”


“ Um…yes?” As I answer I skittishly move my gaze away and begin to fiddle with my fork. Why does that sound so unbelievable? I needed distraction and the bike was a worthy attention distractor! Simple as that.


“ You could have just asked me, you know.” Max says in exasperation. I roll my eyes at him and
grin, glad the opening he’s provided me is suitable for me to tease him.


“ Max you refused to let me see the first million times I asked you and so I thought, gee, I kind of already know what Maxwell’s gonna say if I ask him again already. And this way, I won’t bother him about it anymore. Then there was the fact that I wasn’t counting on you being there,” I continue breezily. “ -so either way you weren’t supposed to find out.”


Hmm.


I don’t think that came out right.


Seeing the displeasure on his face, I decide to go for evasive maneuvers. As I’m sure you know, a worried Max totally bugs me and I so do not want to scream at him in irritation today. I take another bite and swallow.


“ Why don’t you want me to see it anyway?”


Max stares at me for a while and I stare back, raising my eyebrows at him.


“ Maxwell. You in there?”


Shaking himself slightly, he nods.


“ Yeah. Yeah I am. And in answer to your question,” He smiles, “ You can’t see it because it’s a surprise.” He reveals mysteriously.


“ Max,” I begin warningly. “ What did I tell you about surprises?”


“ That you absolutely adore them?” He supplies with a teasing smile.


“ No. I. Don’t. Like. Them. As in, not one bit.”


“ You’ll like this one.” He says reassuringly.


I huff in exasperation.


“ Max, I already KNOW it’s a motorcycle. Where’s the surprise in that?” Max says nothing, simply giving me an enigmatic smile. I roll my eyes. “ This is why I risk my neck to see things. It’s because you drive me crazy,”


“ I do?” He says with a wide grin.


I blink. What did I say?


“With suspense, I mean,” I add hastily, hoping the heat I’m feeling in my cheeks doesn’t mean I’ve turned red. How did I lose control of this so fast? In desperation, I ask the question that’s landed me in trouble more times than I can count but there’s no other way to get us to leave this place we’ve wandered into. This place where we’re almost…flirting with each other.


My fingers immediately fly to my hair and I tuck it in behind my ears, mustering up my courage.


“ How’d it go, anyway?” I ask casually, taking a bite of bacon and sipping my coffee.


“ What?”


I glance at Max. He’s using that dazed, woozy voice again. I lick my upper lip to get rid of the foam and he blinks rapidly, and I grin, hoping to ease the discomfort he must be going through.


“ Oh I get it. Not up for talking about it?”


“ What?” This time, he looks at me in complete bewilderment.


“ Jessica? Last night? You DO remember, don’t you?”


You know, it won’t even matter if Max doesn’t remember. Because I remember enough for the both of us. I can tell you what happened on that dance floor in excruciatingly clear detail, from where their hands were to how long that kiss lasted to how he followed her off somewhere after it. It’s one of those things that is immediately etched into your memory forever. And yes, okay, I’ll admit it. I want to know what happened afterwards. It will sting. It will hurt. Hell, it will probably feel like ten thousand white-hot knifes piercing my body but let’s keep in mind that I do have a plan to follow.


Max turns crimson and the pancakes don’t taste so good any more. He looks away before answering. I brace myself for the worst and being the type of person he is, Max delivers.


“ Uh… I took her home with me.”


My throat is rapidly closing up and I stare at him for a few minutes before a weak smile claims my lips.


“ You did. How…wow. How did you sneak her past your parents?” As I speak, the smile gets stronger and goes wider. More sincere. For the entire world to hear, I sound like a friend eager to hear details of another friend’s latest adventure. I sound curious. I sound interested. I sound normal. What I don’t sound like is a person who has a war going on inside of them. Who is literally being torn apart.


“ I didn’t have to. They’re in Albuquerque. They’re coming back today.” He sounds…I don’t know. He sounds like he’s reciting a piece of poetry that doesn’t really get to him. Something he doesn’t really understand. But when he finally faces me again, he’s smiling. It’s completely contradictory to the look in his eyes and the sound of his voice but maybe I’m slipping, because when I look in his eyes, they’re not shining. He doesn’t sound like he does when he’s happy. But that smile… I take another sip and after clearing my throat, I say,


“ I hope we didn’t…uh, interrupt anything. You know. With the whole falling thing. I mean…was she waiting for you when you had to save me? Cause if she was, I’m sorry we…it was completely my fault if we did, because Michael, he didn’t even want to come but…”


Help me.


I’ve lost control over my tongue. Max looks like he’s in hell right now. His eyes have widened in what I’m sure is horror that…that I’ve dared to ask or insinuate such a thing but I can’t stop. I HAVE to know. Did they…because if they did…I’m just…I can’t…oh God, help me.


“ You uh…that is…if you…God, I hope you guys used protection!”


It would be okay if the earth would swallow me whole now.


I blush to the roots of my hair and Max’s eyes widen even more.


“ WHAT?” He yells.


“ I’m sorry!” I immediately say, slipping off my stool and moving away. “ It’s none of my business, I know, I can’t BELIEVE I said that, Max…”


“ Liz, you think I…” Max gets up too and takes a step toward me. He passes a hand over his face and when he meets my gaze it’s with an intensity I’ve never seen before. “ We didn’t…Liz, I wouldn’t…not… ”


As he speaks, my form has grown tense and I’m fully prepared to make a run for it if he comes closer. The look in his eyes is making feel…want things… I know I shouldn’t. If I don’t get a grip, if he comes a step closer, if he keeps looking at me like that I WILL launch myself at him and, and…effectively kill our friendship while doing so. Because right now, I believe Max isn’t thinking clearly. Anything we do now would be like… the same thing as doing things while being under the influence of alcohol for example. It’s one of the things I’m very sure I DON’T want.


I don’t want Max to do something he may regret now that would screw things up between him and Jessica. Not when he’s barely begun to find out if the relationship is the one he’s looking for. If Jessica is the one for him, and I do something that could destroy their relationship and make him lose the potential love of his life, I would never forgive myself. And with the way Max was been waiting for that special someone the way he has, I don’t think he would ever forgive me either.


Good, sensible thoughts despite the waves of panic streaking through me, right? So why is that when he DOES take a step closer, I don’t move? Why is it that I can’t take my eyes off his? His voice softens, lowers and he takes yet another step forward and still I don’t move. He’s within touching distance now.


I swallow.


If I touch him, it’s all over. I listen as he continues to speak, the burning desire to reach out and touch his face gradually increasing. My hands are balled into fists at my sides and I’m barely hanging on.


He ducks his head slightly so he can look into my eyes.


“ Jessica…she’s not…Liz, she’s not y-”


Before I can find out what Jessica’s not, fate, destiny, luck, whatever you want to call it intervenes.


My cell phone rings. Max and I both jump and then it’s back to staring at each other.


What was he going to say?


What is Jessica not?


I’ve just made up my mind to ask him when my phone rings again.


The shrill sound provides me with the will to back up all my thoughts. I immediately grab for it and accept the call breathlessly.


“ Hello? Maria.” I glance up at Max. He’s still staring at me. “ Listen, this isn’t-Wait, wait, wait! Slow down. What? You what?! They were? That’s so- no, I don’t think that- Maria, no, of course not, she’s-just, well if they weren’t doing any-…calm down for a second okay?”


I hold the phone away from my ear with a wince as Maria’s voice blares out from it, screeching that she CAN’T calm down. I see Max flinch at the sound of her yell as well.


“ Okay, okay. We’ll be right there. Try to keep it together till we get there. Yes, Maria. Now. Yes, as in right this minute. Yes, Maria! We’re on our way! Five minutes. YES, okay!”


I hang up and look up at Max uncomfortably, well aware that I either have the best luck in the whole world, or the worst. I cannot decide right now.


“ That was…”


“ Maria.” He finishes for me. “ Is she okay?”


I give him a wry grin, deciding to share the reason for the hysterical call I just received. Knowing
Maria, our friends will know if it all within the next ten minutes anyway. “ She found her mother and Sheriff Valenti, as in the Sheriff, Kyle’s dad, in bed together. They were just sleeping-and they may or may not have been making out,” I add quickly and with a slight grin. “ But Maria’s… she asked for Alex and I.”


Max’s lips quirk in the barest of smiles, but he says nothing.


I don’t say anything either.


“ Liz,” He says, and then Alex, freshly showered, walks into the kitchen. He looks between us and obviously notices that he’s interrupted something major. He starts to turn around.


“ Ah. Right. Okay, I am turning around now and I‘ll just come back later,” Alex says, backing away.


“ Alex. Emergency. Maria’s having a melt down. We need to get over there.” I say, relieved to have someone else to focus on.


A worried frown creases Alex’s forehead.


“ What? Is she okay?”


“ I’ll explain on the way.”


“ I’ll get my keys, pack that food up we’re bringing it with us.”


Alex walks out and I look up at Max, unable to just leave without at least making sure he and I are still all right.


“ Max, I-” I falter. “ I don’t know what to say, Max. I’m…sorry. I’m just…”


“ It’s okay.” He says quickly. “ Just… go to Maria. But…can you come over tonight? The assignment… I need… I need to talk to you about it.”


I nod automatically, unable to think of a reason to refuse, and unwilling to do that anyway. “ Absolutely. I’ll be there.”


Alex walks back into the kitchen, keys in hand.


“ Let’s go.”


“ I’ll lock up,” Max offers.


I nod again and then spin around to put Alex’s breakfast back into the bag so that we can bring it with us.


“ Thanks man,” Alex says.


“ Bye Max. See you later. “ I say and we head out to Alex’s Rabbit. I can feel Max’s eyes on me the whole way.


“ What was that all about?” Alex asks curiously as we get into the car.


I don’t answer right away. When I do I say,


“ That was me about to give in.”


“ Did you?”


I can hear the hopeful tone in his voice.


“ No.”


Alex sighs.


This is a good thing right? But if it is, why do I feel so bad?

******************

I don’t intend to ever get up again. I’m just going to lie here on my bed and stare at my ceiling. This is partly because, I think dinner permanently destroyed my stomach lining, and because I just cannot face Max. Come on, give me a break already, I’ve been not chicken for so long, I think I’m entitled to be chicken for at least a little while. At least until I can get his eyes out my mind. Or till I can get over imagining what it would’ve felt like if I had kissed him…


A shiver runs through me and I groan, burying my head in my pillow. This is madness. The way I’ve totally absorbed him into my every thought is unnatural. It’s abnormal. Hell, since we’re in Roswell, you might even say it’s due to alien powers.


Hmm.


Now there’s a thought. It would be bliss to blame this all on some outside force. Then I would stop at nothing to find the low lives and beat them silly and I know that this at least, would be sufficient enough to get my mind off Max. But I know that won’t be happening any time soon. And I know that what this is isn’t really madness or unnatural or abnormal and it sure isn’t alien related.


It’s… magic, pure and simple.


I’ve fallen under the magic spell that is Max.


There’s just no other way to describe it. I watch him all the time. I mean, of course, I do it covertly, and I do it in such a way that I can’t be accused of stalking, but I still watch him. I could tell you the number of times I see him smile and laugh each day at school. I could tell you the number of times he tosses his head to the side to get his hair out of his eyes. The number of times he’s frowning in thought and chews his pencil, the number of times he rolls his eyes and grins at me. Or the times he just stares out of the window, lost in thought and with such a sad look on his face, all I want to do is hug him and make whatever’s bothering him go away. And everything, everything about him, everything he does it’s… magic.


It’s like, the first time I ever saw him, Max Evans started weaving this spell over me and I was completely ensnared by it over the years, and it all happened without me knowing it. So how do I undo four years of enchantment? How I do begin? How will I end it? And how will I decide which is more important… following my heart or keeping his safe?


No, wait.


The last question, I already know the answer to. I’ve already decided about it. Muddled, confused person that I am, I know one thing that my mind and heart agree on. It’s that Max comes first. Before me. Before what I feel. Before my heart. Because I know that even if I have to suffer, knowing Max is happy will make whatever I have to bear much easier. And yet it’s getting harder and harder to not be selfish and not do what my heart wants. Sometimes I just want to tell him so badly, I can’t breathe and… I digress. It’s like I said before, there’s no going back. Maybe, just maybe I might’ve had a chance with him a long time ago…but… It’s gone and all I can do now is make sure he finds what he’s looking for.


Years ago, before Maria and Alex got involved with Michael and Isabel, in fact, the summer before the other three crashed into our lives, the three of us made a pact. That we would all help each other find ‘the one’. Pretty deep mission for a bunch of thirteen year olds, but despite all that made us typical pre-teens, I think we have always been just a bit different, a little more expectant than most. Maria, the sun child, bright and fiery and desperate for that great love affair, willing to sing stars from the heavens to achieve it. Alex, the joker, the confidante, uncertain of his standing in all the ways boys measure, but true in everything that makes a man. And little Liz Parker, so curious about how the world works, always so outwardly brave and stubborn and yet innately so risk averse. The concept of ‘love’ fascinated us far more than it should have at that point I think, but it was from that that our pact was born.


The night of Maria’s 13th birthday party, once the candles were blown, and the other guests gone, she took us out into her backyard and we spent the whole night there, looking up at the stars. That’s when she started talking about ‘the one’. Supposedly, out there, in the big wide world, in the infinite universe, there exists one who’s the other half of you, the one who completes you. The one you’re meant for, the one who’s your destiny. The one you’re put on this earth to love, the one who’ll you’ll forever be bound to even if you never meet. She gave both of us a list, with all of the above written on it, as a guideline to help us find this ‘one’. She said it was her gift to us. That helping to find these people was going to be the greatest gift we’d ever give each other. She also said that the ‘one’ didn’t necessarily have to fit all the criteria but in some very, very, very special cases, they did. And if they did… well then, we were going to be one of the very lucky few. One of those pairs that had been destined to be together since time began.


Alex and I had looked upon our lists and waited a beat before we launched into very detailed explanation as to why the list was utter tripe.


Maria, unsurprisingly, was quite offended.


It was a funny night, with Alex and I, always the more sensible of our little trio trying to overcome the might of Maria’s imagination and sheer force of will. She finally shut us up by declaring that love was irrational and illogical at the best of times (knowledge gleaned from copious amounts of soap opera watching, along with romance novels) and we shouldn’t try to figure it out, or apply MATH to it for gods sake, because it simply couldn’t be done.


Having sat with her as one of her favorite soap opera finished out a storyline in which everyone turned out to be in love with each other, relationships via blood or marriage notwithstanding, we couldn’t argue with that. I did, however, point out that soap opera’s did not equal real life. Maria had given me a quick glance and promptly told me it was her birthday, so I should kindly shut up. As Alex smirked, I sighed and acquiesced to her delicate request.


List in hand, and listening to Maria preach from her theoretical perch on high, I remember looking at it, and then thinking…why not? I was curious, and what harm could a wish for such an outlandish thing bring? And so, thumbing my nose at the universe I thought, I looked at my list, and then the stars, and made a wish.


I made a wish that the ‘one’ for me would fulfill them all and more. Make me feel so whole that I would wonder how I ever got along without him. I did this, because it would be an impossible wish to fulfill if it was as special as Maria claimed. I didn’t want to find the ‘one’. I didn’t want to have to be so dependent on some person who I wasn’t even sure existed to be happy. I didn’t want to leave my heart in someone else’s hands. I didn’t want to feel bound to someone for life. I didn’t want anyone to ever have that kind of control over me. While Maria (actively) and Alex (obliviously) searched for their elusive others, I was content to simply watch them and sympathize with failed quests and encourage new missions.


I didn’t ever want to feel the way I do now.


Isn’t it funny? Maria and Alex found what they were looking for right under their noses after many years of searching. I wasn’t even looking, I did everything possible to ensure that I wouldn’t be caught and still, I find myself… trapped under a mountain of feelings and emotions that I feel absolutely inadequate to deal with.


Sometimes, I think I’m being punished for not looking, punished for thinking I could scorn the workings of fate. I didn’t look so instead, he was brought to me. The one person who can make my heart hammer with just a look or bring a smile to my lips by just the mere thought of him. The one who fulfills all the criteria and more. So I found the ‘one’, quite alright, or rather, the one found me, but here comes the kicker: He’ll never be mine in that way.


If this is so, then I say: You need to get what you can in this world of ours. It’s not perfect, it’s not ideal but, hey, what is? I firmly believe that Max as my friend is better than Max not being in my life at all. So while I curse whatever fate was cruel enough to dangle the attainable right in my face, I bless it too.


Yes, I know I’m messed up.


And speaking of-Maria’s situation has escalated to all new levels of that. A word of advice: don’t go near her house anytime soon if you value your hearing. I love my best friend, you know that, I know that, the whole universe knows that, but when Maria goes into what Alex and I call the advanced freak out stage, then there are only two things to do.


1. Run for your life


or


2. Distract her with the most outrageous news you can come up with.


So, obviously, Alex and I chose option number 2. The best friends oath dictates that you should
never abandon your friends in their greatest times of need, or freak outs, in Maria’s case. And can you guess what kind of outrageous news Alex made up?


That’s right.


Some ridiculously untrue story of how Max and I kissed. This is what lead to my fantasizing about it, but you knew that already.


Now I understand it was for a good cause. And it did get Maria to stop wailing about being scarred for life because she saw her mother and the Sheriff making out. Only she began screaming deliriously instead. I think I screamed my throat raw from protesting about it. And you know what? It still didn’t help. Satisfied that Maria was okay for the moment, I pulled Alex into a corner of her room and told him in NO uncertain terms that he should set Maria straight as soon as she stopped screaming for joy or else I would cook dinner for him. The way his face froze was beautiful to watch. Of course, my temporary smugness vanished the minute I ran out of Maria’s room and crashed straight into Amy. She winked at me and then proceeded to ask me how Max was. My first thought was…how Max was what? And then it hit me.


She heard Maria screaming.


The whole neighborhood probably heard her screaming.


So I blushed red, stammered out yet another protest and then rushed out the door. Call me a pessimist or rather a realist because I don’t think she believed me.


The phone rings and without looking at it, I reach out and bring the cordless phone to my ear.


“ Parker.” I announce.


“ Evans,” Comes the reply.


I sit up and lean against the headboard of my bed.


“ Izzy. Hey. What’s up?”


“ My brother’s temper.” Isabel answers with a trace of a grin in her voice. I frown.


“ Oh.” I chew my lip nervously. “ Um, is there any particular reason why that’s so?”


“ Michael’s been ‘talking’ to him.”


I sigh, my nervousness disappearing. This means that the group has once again gotten Michael to lecture Max about his coupling up with Jessica.


“ I really wish you guys would give him a break.” I say wearily. “ And I really wish you would all give me a break too.” They’ve hardly let up on Max or me in weeks and we’re both getting more than a little tired. I can tell Max is almost to the point where he just doesn’t listen to them protesting about Jessie anymore. And frankly, to tell the truth, I’m tired of listening. Is it right for them to constantly lecture when none of them wants to tell me what this secret that everyone but me seems to be in on is?


No.


No, it is not.


Isabel snorts. “ Trust me, Liz, we’re doing both of you a favor. By the time we’re through with you two, you’ll be thanking us on bended knee.”


I roll my eyes.


“ Highly unlikely. And could you all quit staring at us every time we talk?” You should see them when they do. I swear, you can feel their eyes boring into Max and I, and every time we catch them, they vehemently deny it. Which would, you know, perhaps work a little better if they actually didn’t get caught? “ You’re all starting to seriously turn mental.” I warn.


“ It’s for a good cause.” Isabel says flippantly, clearly unconcerned that they are ridiculously bad at being spies. “ Although I do have to say things could be a whole lot easier if you and Max would just-”


“ Isabel.” I interrupt tiredly. “ Please. I cannot talk about this right now.”


“ Sure, okay. Don’t talk. But at least listen,” She coaxes.


I roll my eyes again. There is it is again. Listen. Fine, I’ll listen. But I am going to get my answers. And soon.


“ It’s not like I have much of choice right?” I sigh.


“ Right. Liz, why can’t you just do us all a favor and tell-”


I know this conversation by heart now. You know, I’m starting to suspect that they all rehearsed it and are trying to tell it to me whenever they can so it will eventually seep into my subconscious and take root. At the appropriate time, the lecture ends and I say,


“ That’s not going to happen, Isabel. I’m their cupid, remember?” I remind her.


“ I generally try to forget you were capable of such a bad idea.” She replies with a groan.


“ You’re so kind, Iz.” I say, pointedly.


“ I try.” Isabel sighs as well. “ So. When are you coming over?”


I wrinkle my nose.


“ How do you…I mean, am I supposed to?” I catch myself before I can get too far, because I’m still not ready to face Max, but my tongue seems to have a mind of it’s own these days. Unfortunately, I’m not fast enough and Isabel laughs.


“ Liz, you’re slipping. Sure, the innocent tone? It’s still perfect. But the slight hesitation at the start sort of gave you away. Besides, even if you hadn’t slipped up, I would know by the way Max keeps looking out the window and at the clock.”


I shake my head. I cannot believe this. “ Is Michael being that bad?”


“ Oh hush, Liz, Michael’s NOT being bad, he’s just giving my brother a little dose of reality.” She laughs again. “And even without the whole window and clock watching ritual he’s going through, I know you’re coming cause he’s asked me if you’re here about five times already. Like I wouldn’t tell him?”


I groan. My guilt complex? It’s kicking in. On top of giving Max the sections I’ve done and what he has left to do, I now feel that I have to rescue him from Michael because one, I’m partly responsible and two, even though I am in no way ready to face him (I mentioned this already right?) I desperately want to see him and confirm that we are okay, or if that other near miss inflicted permanent damage in my plan.


I swing my legs over the side of the bed with a sigh.


“ I guess I better come over then.” A new, appealing thought occurs to me. “ Hey, Izzy, I don’t suppose you could possibly consider just giving Max our assignment, could you?”


“ You supposed right.”


I shrug in defeat.


“ Yeah, well, I had to try. I’ll see you in a few,”


“ Right. Later.”


As I pull on my jacket, I heave another huge sigh.


When the fates choose to mess with my life, they certainly don’t do it halfway.


Wanna trade lives?

************************************************************

Wood. Glass. Shiny metal doorknob.


A thin panel that’s less than six inches deep is mocking me right now. What’s even worse is the doormat laid out in front of it, cheerfully proclaiming that I am ‘Welcome!’ Welcome to what I wonder? Unending tension and awkwardness?!


All right. I suppose I’m being a little dramatic. It’s not like I don’t have a plan after all, because I do. If I could overcome this fight-or-flee reaction I’m going through right now, I could put it into play. However, as I have been standing on Max’s porch for the last ten minutes, wringing hands and all, I think it’s safe to say that I am not ready.


But I knock anyway.


The door opens almost immediately, and Isabel’s brown eyes twinkle at me in amusement.


“ You do realize you’ve been standing out here for eleven minutes and seven seconds, don’t you?”


Not even bothering to deny this, I simply shrug at her. “ Gee, that short?”


She waves me in and I pull off my jacket, hanging it on the coat rack. She tells me her parents aren’t back yet, and asks if I want anything from the kitchen, which I decline, focused on the sounds of slightly raised voices as I follow her up the stairs.


“ How long have they been talking?” I ask curiously.


Isabel smiles over her shoulder at me.


“ About half an hour. They should be done soon. But I think we’d better hang at my room first. We don’t want to be in the way of any flying books.”


I force a laugh but the thought of Max throwing books at Michael because of Jessie doesn’t sit well with me. I shake my head and roll my eyes at myself. Am I ever going to get the fact that it doesn’t matter if it sits well with me or not? She is his girlfriend. When is that going to penetrate into my thick skull? We’ve reached Izzy’s room and I sprawl on the bed as she shows me the new dress she just bought. It’s very pretty and she confides that she plans on wearing it on her and Alex’s big date.


I grin, telling her Alex will love it.


Isabel positively glows at the mention of his name and as she squeals about how excited she is, I laugh again. Seeing Isabel this excited is rare, since the ice princess doesn’t let herself melt too often but right now, she’s just a puddle of glow in the dark goo on the floor. I feel a little pang of what I recognize as envy go through me. Will I ever be like that? All excited and flushed days before a big date? And will I ever stop imagining Max as the person I’m going to go with?


“ Liz?” Isabel calls softly.


I start, not noticing that I had drifted off. She has this understanding look on her face and I suddenly feel too exposed, too fragile.


“ I think they’ve stopped talking now.”


I nod and stand, my heart beat speeding up even as the movement of my feet slows. “ Right. I’m just going to…”


Isabel smiles and waves me off.


“ Go.”


I exit Isabel’s room and make for Max’s down the hall. As I approach, I mentally rehearse what I’m going to say. It’s very short…and sort of pathetic.


‘ Max, here’s the assignment. About this afternoon, it will never happen again, I’m sorry. Okay, I’ve got to go, so see you in school.’


So…what’s the betting I’ll actually go through with it? I’m so preoccupied by this that I’ve almost knocked and pushed open Max’s door before I realize he and Michael are still talking.


My first reaction is to freeze and then scuttle away, but I don’t move. Somewhere, a lucid part of my brain has realized that this could be my chance to uncover the huge secret everyone keeps putting off revealing to me. And although I am aware that this is eavesdropping, I somehow can’t bring myself to feel too terrible about it. Especially because its more like…information gathering, right, and I wouldn’t even have to resort to this if they would just TELL me already. Besides, if Max knows, then the chances that I know are great, and so, it’s probably not even eavesdropping at all, more like confirmation of information I already have. Not willing to scrutinize my reasoning, lest I manage to poke too many holes in my woefully weak argument, I quiet my breathing and begin to listen.


“…see that I really like Jessica?”


I grimace. That was Max talking, in case there was any confusion on that point, and yes, this is a wonderful start to my information gathering session: a discourse on how much he likes Thorn girl. I am in.control now however, so no, that did not hurt.


Not too much at least.


I stay still, and wait for him to continue. When he does, it’s with a voice heavy with frustration.


“ Look Michael,” He says in an exaggeratedly calm tone. “ She and I have fun. We get along. I. Like. Her. Very much.”


I knew that. So… why does it still feel like I got kicked in the stomach? I resist the urge to sigh, because I may be in control but apparently, this does not mean I get a free pass from the hurt that statement brings. Thankfully, I hear Michael snort in disbelief and this is enough to bring me back to the present.


“ Right. Okay, fine. For the sake of argument, if you like her so much, then why can’t I see a single picture of her in here, then?”


I hear footsteps and I’m about to hightail it out of there when they stop abruptly.


“ Look at this Max. What is this?”


“ Michael,” Max begins, sounding like he’s nearing the end of his rope.


“ Just go along with me okay? I’ll stop if you just go along with me,”


“ Fine.” Max grumbles. “ It’s picture of the group.”


“ And this one?”


“ Another picture of us all. I think we were at the reservoir.”


I smile faintly. The reservoir. It’s been ages since I last went there. I think I’ll pencil in a visit when I get home. Shaking myself, I inch closer towards the door, not willing to squander this opportunity.


“ What about these two?”


“ My family.” Max answers.


“ And this?”


There’s a pause before Max answers and I shift closer. I almost don’t hear his answer cause it’s so softly said.


“ Me and Liz.”


I blink. Me?


“ How about this one?”


“ Same.”


“ This?”


“ Still us.”

Ridiculously enough, I am blushing, and I’m not quite sure why. If you looked into my room, my composition of pictures is about the same as Max’s. It’s only natural I would have some of just him and I, so really, this shouldn’t affect me at all. Still, I can’t help but smile at this, because I like the idea that Max keeps pictures of just him and I too.


…


This really isn’t helping my cause is it? I bite back a resigned sigh, and tune back into Michael’s interrogation.


“ Now tell me whose photo you keep hidden in your wallet and under your bed?”


He’s smirking now, that much is apparent from his tone, but suddenly my curiosity has just kicked up a notch. Max keeps a photo in his wallet? Hides one under his bed? …What?


“ You know who it is.”


Max’s low answer registers with me and my heart starts to pound in my ears, a dull throbbing sound. That Michael knows is great, but it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know who it is, and suddenly, things start to get even more confusing.


“ Yes I do,” Michael answers smugly.


“ It’s just pictures, Michael. What’s the point of all this?” Max snaps, clearly at his breaking point. And I’m lost again, disappointed, with my curiosity at an all time high. Who is in those pictures? And why would Max have to hide them?


“ The point, Maxwell, ” Michael begins, “ is that if you really liked Jessica, she would be all around you. For god’s sake you would at least have a picture of her.” There is a beat before Max responds.


“ I have a picture of her,” He says defiantly.


Michael sighs, and proving he knows Max at least as well as I do, he manages to cut him off at the pass with a wearily uttered,


“ Year book photos do not count, Max.”


I almost laugh. A year book photo? We’re going to have to work on that.


Max sighs too. “ All that proves is that I haven’t had time to get one from her, that’s all.” He counters stubbornly.


“ Max, you two have been dating for almost three weeks and the girl’s locker is already like a shrine devoted to you. You’re everywhere. Maria saw it. ”


I grimace again, knowing that this is true. Michael continues to speak, and I shift a little closer, determined not to miss anything.


“ You have a lot of photos of your friends, but of your girlfriend the count is…zero. Doesn’t that say something to you?”


Max is silent, and I can almost envision the scene in the room before me. Michael, hair as rebelliously spiked as his general attitude in life, arms crossed and scrutinizing. Max, on the bed, arms behind his head and stubbornly refusing to make eye contact, a virtual wall of reluctance all around him. It’s a good thing I am so close now, because when he next speaks, its so soft that I can barely hear him.


“ I don’t feel that way anymore Michael. I don’t. Things change.”


Outside, I frown. What is he talking about now? Why don’t I know any of this? Oblivious to my confusion, Michael, who is clearly in the know about ALL these things, snorts again.


“ Maxwell, with a pitch like that you couldn’t sell water to a man dying in the desert.”


“ It’s true, okay?” The vehement response is as close as I’ve heard Max come to truly losing his temper in the conversation. “ It’s been years. I can’t go back to pining over her…to just watching and waiting…I’m not…I’m not doing that anymore Michael. I won’t. I don’t feel that way about her anymore.”


“ Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Comes Michael’s reply.


My heart has resumed its heavy pounding, only this time, it has engulfed everything else. My hands are shaking. Who…who is this she? Was I really not paying that much attention to Max that I didn’t see this? That I didn’t see her? This girl, this enigma that is making him speak right now with more…more… emotion then I’ve ever heard from him?


“ Michael… she doesn’t want what I want.”


And through all my turmoil, I can still feel my heart break for him, just a little bit, even as it still smarts and stings from the realization that not only am I one girl too late, but I am apparently two girls too late. Pushing away this startling revelation, I focus on the soft, pained toned of Max voice, and I wonder now, when this all happened. At this point, I’m practically plastered to the door, and desperate to hear Michael’s response.


“ You’ve never asked-” He begins.


“ Liz? What are you doing out here?”


Isabel’s voice sounds suddenly at my elbow and I jump. Michael hears this commotion and falters. I glance at Isabel, mouthing soundlessly and then the door opens. Max is standing there, going the peculiar color of ash when he sees me. Behind him, Michael looks shocked to see me too.


Max and I stare at each other, and I can see his adams apple bob in nervousness. Meanwhile, it’s all I can do to snap my mouth shut and somehow muster up a smile when he croaks my name.


“ Liz.”


“ Hey Max.” By the grace of the gods, I manage to not sound like I have just spent the last fifteen minutes practically attached to the door. I shift the notebook from one hand to another in display. “ I just came to… you know.” I brandish the book at him and he takes it dumbly.


By some silent agreement between them, and cognizant of the suddenly heavy air around Max and I, Isabel and Michael both move into action. Isabel backs away, claiming she has to do her nails and Michael says he’s late for a date with Maria and with a wave, he climbs out the window. Max is watching me watch him, and then he finally speaks.


“ Did you…how much did you…”


“ No,” I answer immediately, the lie tripping out easily. “ I didn’t…I just arrived at your door.”


“ Right. ”


Might as well get this over with. The sooner I do this, the sooner I can go home and obsess about this ‘she’.


“ Max…this afternoon, I just want you to know I was completely out of line. It won’t happen again.’”


His eyes bore holes into mine and I try to communicate to him that I’m apologizing for more than my outlandish question.


“ Why?” He asks in a low voice. “ Would it be so bad?”


My brows furrow. Somehow…I get the feeling we’re not talking about the same thing any more. After a few brief moments of confusion, I decide that the silence is too heavy, too still, and cock my head to the side in bewilderment.

“ Would it be so bad if I asked you if you used protection?” I stare at him in puzzlement, coming up with of course, the most ridiculous thing to say. Blushing now, I blink rapidly and try to pretend that this is not at all embarrassing. “I… well, I guess not. But…but, it would be…awkward. Really awkward.”



Like right now.


Max’s expression undergoes an about 360, eyes going from gentle and softly shining to hidden and hard to read, while the same flush that I am sure is gracing my face spreading on his.


“ Yeah. It would be that.”


Damage control. We need it now.


I smile at him slowly.


“ Maxwell, what say you and I take a little road trip? Say tomorrow?”


“ Road trip?”


“ I mean, if you’re bus-”


“ No. I’m not.” He answers promptly.


I grin.


“ Good. Pick me up at eleven, okay? We have work to do tomorrow.”


I turn and walk off.


“ Liz?”


“ Yeah?” I call back without turning around.


It takes a while for Max to continue.


“ Where are we going?”


Why do I get the feeling that’s not what he wanted to say? Filing that bit of info away, I send him a wicked grin over my shoulder. He smiles back in kind, amber eyes blazing with amusement, with…that dark fire thing.


“ It’s a surprise.”


I go.


And you know what? It really is a surprise.


Especially since I don’t know where we’re going yet myself.


TBC

In Search of Breakfast overview
1. Aunt Nancy's health food kick begins
2. Liz is hiding from Max, runs to Alex's for breakfast and conversation
3. Alex lets Max know she's there, Max and Liz have a conversation about the break in, and Jessica's stay at the Evans' the night before
4. Liz angsts over her aversion to finding 'the one', is called to Max's house to drop off notes
5. Liz overhears Max and Michael's conversation about Max's 'secret love'. (Who is actually Liz herself)
6. Max and Liz make plans to hang out the next day

[Comet]

HypnotiqueBlueEyes-Thanks for reading, kisses will come soon!
mary mary- Ah. Good question. I wouldn't hold my breath though...the story would be over if they did that!
Earth2Mama-They are going at a pretty glacial like pace, aren't they? Stick with me. They may speed up..soon. Maybe.
Roswell Dreamer-Thanks for reading!
begonia9508-Room with no way out sounds like a good idea I wonder how much angst I can squeeze out of that?
pandas2001-But is it a good kind of twisting, the one that makes you want to read more? Hope so!
nitpick23-Good observation..I think they're just dense


8. Floods and Fractures

I think that one of the first things I realized about life, or my life, at least, was that things tended to come in two’s. Whether it was coincidence or a matter of chance, it always seemed to work out that way for me.

I’m four years old, and one tooth would fall out, and then the next day, I’d wake up to a crisp one dollar bill under my pillow. I’m five years old, and Maria DeLuca blazes into my life in a flurry of pink high-tops and pigtails and announces to me that we are long lost Unicorn princesses who must band together to find their lost unicorn. It took two years to find him, because Alex is never on time, but after that, I had two best friends to conquer the world with. I’m thirteen years old, and I break my arm in a misadventure and face long lonely days at home to recuperate. Michael comes home from skiing with a broken leg and a similarly grouchy attitude to wallow with. I am seventeen, and my hormones decide to wake up and focus on the nearest possibly perfect guy they can find, only for him to enlist me in helping him woo the girl of his dreams/my nightmares.

See? Whether it’s two good things, two bad things, or one of each, things always seem to happen in two’s for me. Are you getting the picture here?

For today’s example, I present to you the case that it is Columbus Day and therefore a day that I do not have to be awake at an obscenely early time. This is also the day that at precisely six o clock in the morning, a shrill scream echoed through the Parker household.

Naturally, I jerked awake, eyes heavy with sleep and irritation. My hand flashed out, poised to pound my alarm clock into silent submission, when it occurred to me that even after all the abuse I put it through, that would have been the first time my clock has ever shrieked at me. As I lay in bed contemplating this, another yell echoed up through the rafters, and that time, I was lucid enough to recognize that it was my aunt, and she most definitely sounded like she was in considerable distress.

After getting tangled in my blankets and literally tripping out of bed, I proceeded to scramble down the stairs to the restaurant, my bed lamp in hand. Uncle Jeff and I collided on the stairs and after narrowly avoiding getting smacked in the head with the baseball bat he’s wielding, we spare a brief, panicked moment to check that neither of us are bleeding out or missing limbs. No words are exchanged, there is no time, and in the next second, we have dashed off to the rescue, lamp and bat in hand.

Are we bad ass or what?

“ Nancy!?” Uncle J was yelling while he ran.

I chimed in with an appropriately worried,

“ Aunt Nancy? Where are you? What’s wrong?”

What was wrong became abundantly clear the moment we stepped into the restaurant. I felt like I had stepped off into a pond. The was water everywhere and only through a series of very complicated body contortions was I able to stop my slide and grab onto a table. Uncle Jeff wasn’t so lucky though. He skidded right through the water and straight towards Aunt Nancy. They both toppled to the ground, landing with a wet splash.

There was silence, broken only by the sound of water gushing out of some source I had yet to see. I stared in disbelief at my Uncle sprawled over my Aunt, and the first of several incoherent, panicky, sentences I would utter today was,

“ Omigod, Uncle J, you killed her!”

Obviously, he didn’t really kill her, but with the way the two of them are yelling at each other right now, I’m giving them ten minutes before they lunge.

“ I told you to have those pipes checked months ago!” Aunty N yells.

“ I did! I told you to order new ones!” Comes Uncle Jeff’s equally vehement reply.

“ You did no such thing!” My Aunt gasps.

“ Nancy-”

Ah. A happy home life. You gotta love it. At this point, my fellow long lost unicorn princess slogs through to me, leaning on her mop for support. Maria peers through the pickup window into the kitchen where my guardians are arguing, with only my Aunt visible, as Uncle J is currently occupied on the floor, trying to shut off the water. He’s been at that for a while. Each time he thinks he’s got it, it starts again, so at this point I think his goal is simply to try to stem the flow until the handyman gets here. It is a holiday however, and apparently the day for emergencies to boot, so Mr. Nelson won’t be by until much later.

We can only hope the CrashDown is still standing and its owners are still alive when he does get here.

“ Are they still at it?” Maria asks me.

I nod in confirmation. “ Yep.”

The noise level goes down as Uncle Jeff decides he needs another wrench to stop the water, and Aunt Nancy decides to tag along to help him look for it. I smile as they continue to bicker, and I can’t help but imagine that that is what Michael and Maria will be like in 30 or so years. I wonder if I should tell Maria this. Somehow, I don’t think she would be as amused as I am.

Halting for a minute, I rotate the kinks out of my stiff neck and catch sight I stop for a minute and rotate my neck, glancing at the clock.

It’s ten fifty.

Around us are the fruits of our labor in the form of many, many buckets filled with floor water. I suppose that it was a good thing that Uncle Jeff hadn’t cleaned out the mop closet for so long, but judging by the number of buckets, this means that I’ve been mopping for… far longer than a human being should have to mop. I sigh. If I weren’t so relieved that I have a valid excuse to skip out on the worst idea I’ve ever had, I would be complaining bitterly by now. As it is, I left Max a quick, quick message saying there was a crisis at the Crash and that we’d have to reschedule, and then, like the brave soul I am, I hung up.

It was the best course of action.

If I had heard his voice, if I had spoken to him, I don’t know if I would have been able to stop myself from demanding to know the answer to the question that has haunted me all night.

Who was she?

I begin mopping again. Staying still is not an option. I have to do something or else I’ll go crazy and do something equally so.

Like pounce on Maria and demand to know if she knows who this mysterious she is.

Or tear my room apart looking for old yearbooks, peer at each girl and try to remember if Max ever had ever pined over any of them.

I may even just run over to the Evans’ house and…and…

I sigh, and turn my energies to depositing the water from the floor into my bucket.

I could just come to my senses and continue planning the next step of my grand plan. That sounds good doesn’t it? Okay. I’m coming to my senses now. I’m planning my next step in my grand plan.

My planning is interrupted when Maria touches my arm. “ You okay?” She asks, scrutinizing me in concern.

“ I’m fine.” I answer automatically. And if you look at it from a certain way, I’m not even lying. I’m healthy, I’m not in any way physically damaged- I am completely, perfectly, fine.

“ Sure?”

What am I supposed to tell her? That Max had a secret love that I had no idea about, someone he clearly still has feelings for, so now, on top of being torn up by playing cupid for him and Jessica Thorne, I am now also obsessed with who this first girl is too? Even just thinking about her reaction, especially if she finds out that Michael knows about this and she didn’t, is making my head hurt. Unless…she knows too?

I study her, wondering if I should ask, wondering if it’s worth the trouble, because surely, she would tell me if she knew, right? I almost groan at the absurdity of it all-it’s too early in the morning for this. Amidst the confusion, the head spinning questions, my logical pragmatic side, usually overpowered my usually dominant crazy illogical self, emerges to make a brilliant, startlingly simple suggestion.

Just ask Max, you idiot.

Apparently even my inner smartypants is snarky. Who knew?

While I have been debating with myself, Maria has called my name again. With a start, I focus back on her and nod quickly.

“ Yeah.”

She doesn’t look convinced but she accepts my answer anyway, taking a delicate sniff of the cedar oil bottle she has worked out of the pockets of her shorts. As she screws the cap back on, she eyes me with a wicked sparkle in her eyes.

“ You know, Lizzie,” Maria begins with a drawl. “ You should consider having your Uncle change our uniforms to match your outfit.”

I glance up at her in puzzlement and continue mopping. She’s trying to distract me. I can tell. I sigh inwardly. When did I become so transparent when it comes to what I’m feeling or thinking? Flashing Maria another small smile, I go with it. Heaven knows I’m doing a rotten job of distraction by myself and if she wants a crack, I won’t stop her.

“ Why?”

“ Cause we’d definitely get more customers with the amount of attention you’re drawing.”

I look over my shoulder and I laugh more at the expression on Maria’s face than at the sight that greets me. My teammates on the track team, Garrett and Chris are staring in at us, fingers in their mouths and letting out shrill wolf whistles. I was wondering where all the noise was coming from. Maria laughs as well and strikes a pose, blowing the guys a kiss. Garret pretends to have been knocked over by it and fans himself with his hand while Chris wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at my attire. I roll my eyes and shake my head, going back to mopping up.

“ Oh, and you’re just a wall flower are you?” I ask her teasingly.

Maria grins and begins her task again as well.

“ Of course not. But I’m taken.” She stops mopping and allows a dreamy smile to appear on her lips. “Scratch that. I’m more than taken.”

As if on cue, two arms slide about her waist and a deep voice growls,

“ That’s right.”

Michael’s standing there, not looking too happy. Maria winks at me and I fight the urge to laugh. She knew he was there all along! The sly devil!

“ Hey babe.” She greets him, planting a kiss on his cheek. “ Some flood, huh?”

“ Yeah.” He’s glaring at something outside and I’ll bet every penny I’ve saved that Garret and Chris have beaten a quick retreat. This is confirmed when the scowl on his features disappears and he smiles adoringly at Maria. “ Need some help?”

“ Do I! I’ve been mopping for hours. My back is killing me,” She moans, handing the mop to him and stretching. Before he can do anything though, she’s grabbed his face and is kissing him passionately. Between the heat they’re generating and the heat simmering between my Aunt and Uncle, it’s a wonder I haven’t melted yet.

I sigh.

“ People, people! Mop now, make out later!” I intone grandly, going on with my job as if nothing of the sort is taking place. Having my head in the clouds is one of the surest ways to ensure survival around here, in case you didn’t know. Maria finally detaches herself from Michael and smiles in satisfaction at the totally dazed, goofy look on his face. I smirk.

“ You do good work.”

“ I try.” She says to me. “ Turning to Michael, she smiles sweetly and says, “ Thanks hon. I’ll be in the break room.” Then she’s off, sauntering barefoot through the water and to the back.

“ You do know that you’re beyond whipped, right?” I ask Michael, who’s staring after his girlfriend with a smile so big, it shouldn’t be allowed.

He merely grins at me.

“ I know. It’s great, isn’t it?”

I’ll just bet it is. His eyes come back into focus and he scowls at my clothes.

“ What are you wearing?”

“ My pajamas. What does it look like?”

“ It looks like very little. Don’t you sleep in that?”

“ Yeeees. Hence, the ‘my pajamas’ answer. ” I raise an eyebrow at him. “ So?”

“ So will you please change into something that covers a little more of you before I make you wear your apron?”

“ I didn’t hear you complaining about Maria’s clothes.”

“ That’s different.”

I glare at him and he glares right back. I love Michael, you know I do, but sometimes he acts way too much like a stuffy old man for his own good. The uptight ones, not the ones who’ll regale you with cool stories from when they were young, and even amuse you by taking out their false teeth.

“ It’s not like I’m advertising myself on the streets you know.” I say with a quick roll of my eyes.

Michael snorts.

“ Oh yeah? Might as well be.” He nods towards the doors. “ Look at that.”

I look and see that Garrett and Chris have been joined by Carter and Ben, two more teammates of mine. All of them are peering in at us, and unless they’ve all suddenly developed an interest in Michael, they’re looking at me. I shake my head with quick roll of the eyes that they don’t see. Don’t get me wrong, they’re pretty nice guys and I like them well enough, but at the moment, it seems that I have been downgraded to eye candy without a single thought to call my own.

Letting out an exact copy of Michael’s snort, I wiggle my eyebrows at him.

“ Why, Mickey G, you didn’t tell me you had fans.”

Michael scowls at me, and then towards the window, and from his satisfied expression a little bit later, I think it’s safe to safe no one is staring in anymore. Shifting his attention back to me, he lifts his wet mop threateningly.

“ Watch it, little sister, I’m armed.”

I lift my own mop challengingly as well, sending him a cocky smile, glad that he has been distracted from acting as the noble protector of my virtue for the moment.

“ So am I. What about it Michael? You willing to tempt getting your butt kicked?”

“ Hah! That will be the day.” He lets down his mop and appears to give up on the idea of battling with me but then being Michael, he spins around and grabs the nearest bucket full of floor water he can find, flinging it’s contents at me.

I haven’t grown up around boys for nothing. In my arsenal are a killer right hook from Michael, an uncanny way of being able to wiggle out of any choke hold from Alex, and lightening fast reflexes from having to avoid Max every time we play basketball. Evasion was the only way I’d ever get my hands on the ball. I manage to duck, and I hear the water make contact with something.

When Maria’s shriek registers with me, I realize that the ‘something’ was actually ‘someone’. I turn around to survey the scene and immediately crack up.

Michael looks horrified.

Maria’s face turns red.

And I continue to laugh as Michael starts to stammer out an apology and simultaneously back away from Maria at the same time.

“ Maria! I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you, it was an accident…I didn’t mean…Did I mention you look beautiful when your clothes are wet?”

I snort again. My best friend still looks like she’s about to rip Michael’s head off and is advancing on him menacingly. Michael keeps backing up until he bumps into a table. He finally turns on the puppy dog eyes and says in a voice barely above a squeak, “ Uh, I love you?”

Maria’s face softens.

I snicker.

Michael throws me a death glare, as if to say ‘this is all your fault’!

I muffle another laugh. This, in no way, shape or form was my fault. I didn’t tell him to throw water at me, did I? I’m kind of glad he did though. As far as distractions go, this was been the most successful one this morning. Unfortunately, my laughter has attracted Maria’s attention and she glances over at me coolly, eyebrow raised.

“ Think this is funny, do you Lizzie?”

I take a moment, looking first at Maria’s bedraggled hair, and then her look of distaste at being covered with dirty floor water. I nod decisively.

“ Damn right I do.”

“ Well maybe you’ll find this funny as well!”

She grabs the bucket from Michael and throws the remaining contents at me. I yelp, and dive for cover in a nearby booth. There is a split second beat, and then this time it is a male voice that yells in shocked surprise.

Miraculously enough, I am still bone dry.

I pop up over the back of the booth to shoot Maria a triumphant look and grin. She ignores this, a grimace of apology contorting her features, while behind her, Michael is struggling to keep a straight face. I turn to see who her hapless victim was. I sincerely hope it wasn’t Mr. Nelson.

“ Sorry about that,” I begin, hoping my tone sounds apologetic instead of amused. “Maria was just….”

The words die on my lips. I automatically freeze.

Aw, hell.

Even as I think this, my stupid, stubborn heart is about to burst out of my chest with the way it’s beating.

“ … being Maria.” I finish lamely.

Twisting my lips into a smile, I wink at him.

“ Nice look for you Max.”

The strong jaw immediately unclenches. The annoyed light in the honey eyes disappear. Max shakes the water out of his hair and rakes his soaked bangs from his forehead. He looks over at Maria, who is now trying to contain her giggles.

“ I assume that wasn’t meant for me.”

Maria bats her eyelashes at him in an attempt to charm her way out of her faux pas. “Nope. I thought I’d give Lizzie a shower.”

“ Right. Flinging water at her isn’t really going to work, you know. Especially if you miss.”

“ I suppose you can do better?” Maria challenges.

“ Sure I can,” Max answers casually, sticking his hands in his pockets, looking completely at ease for a guy who’s half soaked. As preoccupied as I have been these past few minutes, what with trying not the notice the way his button down is sticking to his torso and all, their last two sentences finally register with me and I (reluctantly) lift my gaze from Max to frown at them both.

“ Hey now. I’m still here remember?”

“ Sshh, Liz, this could get interesting,” Michael says with a smirk. I shift in discomfort as I realize he may or may not have seen me watching Max. His smirk seems to suggest so, and I frown at him too, silently warning him to not.go.there.

“ Oh yeah? Then by all means. Show us.” Maria says, completely ignoring Michael and I. I blink.

Did she just say ‘show us’?

Max shrugs at her and nods. “ Okay.”

Did he just say ‘okay’?

“ Watch this.”

He grabs the nearest bucket to him and turns towards me. I begin to wade backwards through the water, grinning nervously.

“ Ha, ha, very funny, Maxwell. Just put the bucket down. You so do not want to do this.” I say, trying my best to convince him.

“ Oh don’t I?” He asks wickedly.

I nod my head furiously. “ You don’t. Trust me. I don’t want to have to mess up those nice clothes you got there, but I will if I have to.” I say mockingly.

You should see him. He’s got this button down shirt on, un-tucked of course, and what I’m sure are very nice khakis when they’re not wet. He looks like a poster boy for a Gap commercial. Why is he dressed like this?

“ Oh I’m scared.”

“ This is getting better and better,” I hear Michael mutter to Maria.

“ Mmmhhhm.” She answers in reply.

I narrow my eyes at Max and then relax. He wouldn’t dare. He wouldn’t dare because he knows I can beat him up. What? I can too do it! I cross my arms over my chest and smirk at him.

“ Max, don’t do something you’ll regr-”

I don’t have time to finish my sentence because I have to dodge yet another jet of water. This is really getting old.

I stare at him in shock. “ I can’t believe you did that!” I yell indignantly at him.

It’s only now that I realize that Max is staring at something beyond my shoulder, grinning broadly. From Maria’s gales of laughter, I have a pretty good idea of what happened.

“ Maxwell!” Michael bellows.

“ Sorry Michael. But I gathered that you’re the one who started all this so…”

Michael has joined the wet people club. I join in the laughter and stop abruptly when they all look at me.

“ What?” I say warily.

“ So, Mr. High and mighty. You missed, unless I’m mistaken.” Maria says, eyeing me beadily.

“ I’m eternally grateful Max.”

Max glances at me and then turns his attention to Maria again. “ Not so.” Max replies nonchalantly, as if I haven’t spoken. “ I was aiming for Michael all along.”

“ Yeah right.” Maria replies disbelievingly.

“ I was.” Max insists.

“ Fine.” Michael snaps. “ But I don’t think it’s fair that we’re all soaking wet and Liz is still dry. How many times have we missed her already?”

“ Two.” I supply helpfully. “ So we should just all call it a day now.”

Michael and Maria send irritated looks my way and Max simply grins at me.

“ Maybe this requires a team effort,” Maria quips, already picking up another bucket and handing it to Michael, and then picking one up for herself. She glances over at Max. “Max? You in?”

“ No he’s not!” I answer for him. They ignore me again, and I huff in irritation. Well this is unfair. Why are they mad at me because they’re soaking and I’m not? I didn’t start this!

Max glances at me. I drop the scowl and try my best puppy dog eyes on him. For a moment, he wavers, and I can almost see myself getting out of this dry but then he smirks and says, “ Hell yes.”

Yep. Hell is definitely the word. I think I should have tried the batting of the eyelashes thing instead.

“ Am I totally invisible?” I ask the air around me.

“ No,” Maria says calmly. “ What you are is soaked.” She wrinkles her nose. “ Well, at least you will be.”

She aims her bucket of water at me. I shriek and jump to the side. It misses me. Michael’s waiting, and he attacks next. This time I duck into a booth and am completely shielded. I pop back up to see the couple wearing matching annoyed expressions and I grin at them.

“ You were saying?”

“ I believe she was saying you’d be soaked.”

Michael and Maria? They’re not annoyed any more. Nope, now they’re happy. I turn and see Max holding a bucket above my head. I grimace, knowing that I am trapped.

“ Is there anything I can say to make you reconsider?”

“ Nah.”

“ Nothing?”

“ Tell him you’ll strip for him!” Michael yells out with a laugh, his reward being Max going red as a beet, Maria elbowing him and my best evil eyeball being directed at him with vicious pleasure. I turn back to Max, who’s gotten himself more or less under control.

“ Would that work?” I joke, noting that Max flushes crimson again. I laugh at this, and Max recovers quickly, quirking an eyebrow up at me.

“ Are you really offering?” Mischief is clear in his eyes, and behind that, something…more. Automatically, like I cannot even help myself, I seem to respond back in kind, eyelids dropping to hood over my eyes, a flirtatious smile curving my lips. Dark fire seems to flare in Max’s eyes and he steps forward.

I freeze.

Aw, damnit.

Get a hold of yourself, Liz!

I scoot backwards further into the booth and swallow nervously. When did it get so hot in here? Max seems to have noticed the change too, and what looks like quick regret ghosts through his eyes before amusement fills them again. “ Didn’t think so.”

The bucket tips dangerously closer to my head and I realize I’ve lost this. I narrow my eyes at him.

“ I hate you.” It comes out as a petulant whine, which doesn’t deter him in the slightest. Max merely leans forward and smiles down wickedly at me.

“ I know.”

I close my eyes and gasp as the cold water spills all over my head.

Maria and Michael start to laugh.

“ Whoooohoooooo!” Maria yells in delight.

“ Finally!”

Spluttering, I shove the wet strands of hair away from my eyes and scowl over at them and then at Max, who still manages to look good soaking wet, while I probably look like a drowned rat.

“ Nice look for you Liz,” He chimes in a singsong voice. I smile back sweetly, hoping he doesn’t correctly read the aggravation that I’m sure is flashing in my eyes.

“ Thanks. But you’d look even better like this!”

I shove him backwards with all my might and he tumbles to the floor, but as he starts to fall backwards, he grabs my hand and pulls me out of the booth, bringing me down with him. I shriek again. In the next moment, Max has landed spread eagled on his back while I slam down on top of him. Both of us breathing hard, we just stare at each other for several moments while Michael and Maria’s laughter surrounds us.

This really isn’t fair.

I’m trying to hang onto my sanity here, trying not to fall under the spell that Max’s eyes are weaving over me and they’re laughing?

I so have to get some new friends.

Clearing my throat, I drag up the irritation that was filling me a couple of seconds ago, hoping it will be enough to… well, you know.

“ Did I mention that I really hate you?”

In response to my scowl, the jerk just grins. My heart stops beating for a moment. That grin seems to have that particular effect on me as well. Along with making my knees quake. I’m thankful I’m not standing.

“ You don’t mean that, Liz.” He teases. “ You know you love me.”

…

…

WHAT?

I barely manage to restrain myself from saying the above with a loud screeching sound accompanying it. Instead, my eyes widen. And this time, my heart stops for far longer than a moment. I think this is what it must be like to die. Nervously, I lick my lips and he thankfully breaks eye contact with me to stare at my chin. Have I mentioned how relieved I am that Max seems to have a weird fascination with it these days? It gives me time to think back over the last few minutes because when my heart jammed, my brain seemed to have done the same thing. Then finally it clicks and I’m so relieved, I laugh.

Max looks up at me.

“ What’s so funny?”

“ I thought…” I break off and chuckle some more. “ You know what? I didn’t think. Let’s leave it at that.”

I am so off my game. The old Liz Parker would’ve never jumped to conclusions like that. Never. And damn it, I’m not supposed to even consider jumping to…

“ And as to your earlier statement,” I say, cutting off my train of thought, I give him an unimpressed stare. “ You wish.”

Max’s eyes instantly shadow, and I could swear he almost flinches at my words. I raise my eyebrows in concern.

“ Max? What’s the matter?”

Max swallows hard, and as he shakes his head at me, my eyes narrow in concern. Suddenly, he tilts his head to the side.

“ Listen.”

I stop in mid query as to why he looked like I just punched him and heed his words.

“ What am I listening for?”

“ Michael and Maria.”

There is a beat, and I shake my head in the negative.

“ I don’t hear them.”

“ That’s cause we’re not laughing anymore kiddies.” Comes a voice from above us. We both glance up and to the side. Michael and Maria are towering above us, their newly acquired buckets poised to pour. Max and I both groan and I drop my head on his chest, the awkward moment from before gone before I can question it further.

“ Tell me when it’s over!” I beg.

I feel the rumble of his chuckle vibrating against my cheek and find myself burrowing deeper into the space my head has found. I amazed at how comfortable this place feels to me. How much like home it is.

Wow.

I am losing it much, much faster than I thought. Struggling to keep in the wail of frustration welling up inside me, I barely catch Max’s contented answer of:

“ I’ll do that.”

Before we are soaked anew.

I raise my head and grin at Max. Michael and Maria are laughing again.

“ What’d you say we pay them back?”

He smiles back in kind. “ Best idea I’ve heard all day.”

I scramble off of him and I grab the nearest full bucket I can find and look over at Max. He’s got a bucket too and he nods at me. Slowly, we creep up on the hysterically laughing pair. One last nod.

Direct hit.

Michael and Maria are not laughing anymore.

Needless to say, by the time Izzy and Alex walked into the CrashDown, we had just about undone all of the morning’s work. Add in the fact that there was still water pouring in from somewhere, and I think we might have well been on our way to draining Roswell of it’s water supply. The newly entered couple took one look at our dripping clothes and bodies, glanced at each other, and started to beat a hasty retreat.

Again, needless to say, they never stood a chance and were wet before you could count to three.

And the water war endures, with two more players added to the battle. I’m laughing so hard while watching Alex running away from Isabel, whom he mistakenly hit instead of me that I don’t notice Max sneaking up behind me. He tackles me to the ground and we join Michael and Maria, who are already rolling around on the floor, playing ‘catch the dishrag’ (you don’t want to know).

“ Max, stop it!” I yell while laughing. He’s tickling me mercilessly and shows no sign of stopping. In hindsight, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to zap him with the whipped cream from the counter. From somewhere to the left, I hear Izzy shrieking that whipped cream would clash terribly with her outfit. A loud fizzing sound erupts and the next thing I hear is Alex laughing crazily as he slips and slides away from Izzy, who’s face is covered in whipped cream and screeching that she’ll get Alex if it’s the last thing she’ll do. From the right I hear Michael begging for mercy while Maria yells all sorts of things at him and in the middle of it all, Max and I are laughing madly. He’s stopped tickling me now and we’re just lying very still, watching the other four.

“ This is better than the movies,” He murmurs to me.

I grin. “ Ain’t it, though?” Then I mock frown at him. “ Hey! I want to be on top.”

“ You were on top last time,” He reminds me with a smirk.

“ For good reason. I get to see better.”

“ Right, but I hear being on top gives you more leverage.”

I smirk in kind at that pitiful line, and no, it did not affect me in any way. It didn’t. I can have a semi flirtatious conversation with him without complications you know. Max is staring down at me and I stare back before I suddenly realize that’s it’s very quiet.

“ What’s wrong?” He asks.

“ Do you hear something?”

“ No.”

“ That’s what’s wrong.”

We both look around to see Michael, Maria, Isabel and Alex all staring at us, all smiling broadly.

I don’t even have time to get properly annoyed or embarrassed at this, when the smiles slip off their faces and now I’m wondering why.

Uh oh.

My Aunt and Uncle have just walked in.

Max practically leaps off of me, Michael clambers off Maria and Alex releases Izzy from the corner he has her backed up into. Michael and Max then help Maria and I up and Alex takes Izzy’s hand and leads her over to where we’re standing in front of the adults.

Wrong way buddy.

The door’s that way.

Right. So, my aunt and uncle. Their expressions are priceless. Can’t say I blame them, because if possible, the CrashDown looks even worse then it did earlier and all they can do was stare at our guilty-but-trying-not-to-look-guilty faces. And if the mess the restaurants in doesn’t get us into trouble, the compromising positions they found us in could do the trick.

Aw hell.

“ Aunty N! Uncle J! We were just…”

“ Cleaning up.” Maria finishes for me lamely.

“ But we sorta got sidetracked.” Michael picks up the ball.

They look at us, then around them and then back to us, still not saying anything.

“ Okay, so more than a little side tracked-” Max adds.

“ And we didn’t even provoke them! They just attacked-” Alex chips in with his two cents.

Isabel wipes the whipped cream from her eyes.

“ So we had no choice but to retaliate!”

Silence reigns, and we all endure the painful anticipation of waiting to hear our punishment. My Aunt is the first to speak. “ Jeff?”

“ Yes Nancy?”

“ What do you think we should do to them?”

The six of us exchange nervous looks. They sound really, really calm. Like the calm before the storm.

They’ve both stopped near buckets of water. I really don’t like the look in their eyes. They’re going to make us mop till eternity! I glance up at Max to see if he’s as nervous as the others look but I when I do, I see him smiling at me. I smile back and somehow, I’m not worried anymore.

Uncle Jeff picks up the bucket. He exchanges a solemn look with my Aunt.

“ I think we’re going to have to show them how it’s done. What do you think?”

Huh? I look at the others. They look as confused as I do. It’s only when my aunt picks up another bucket that it clicks.

Oh no.

“ I think you’re right.”

“ Back away slowly,” I whisper to everyone.

We all barely manage to take one step backwards when we’re all soaked a new. At first, we stand stock still, but the surprise wears off and with resounding war cries, courtesy of Alex and Michael and Max, we pick up our weapons again.

I sigh and shake my head.

My family is crazy. Is it really any wonder I have turned out the way I have?

I spin, running for one of the few remaining buckets, impishly shoving Alex out of my way with a grin and ignoring his outraged yelp.

Let the battle begin!!!!

***********

“ I’ll be home later, thanks, I love you, bye bye!”

I spill out of the CrashDown’s front doors in my bare feet, juggling a picnic basket, a blanket and my flip flops, sunglasses to ward off the bright New Mexico daylight perched on top of my messily piled hair. I can still hear my Aunt and Uncle yelling something out after me, but I pretend the din of the hose that’s pumping water out of the restaurant is too loud for me to understand what they are saying.

It will take a fair amount of time to put the CrashDown back into normal working order, and seeing as how we did such a bang up job of making the place worse, my aunt and uncle have decided to call in the professionals. Which was the plan all along, apparently, Uncle’s Jeff’s attempts to play handy man notwithstanding. All I can say is thank god for insurance. This is a good lesson kids: always buy insurance! Dropping my footwear onto the ground, I toe them on, and look around for my partner in crime.

After the water follies of the morning, Max decided to come up to the apartment and remind me that I had oh so wisely proposed a getaway for two last night. Unfortunately, the boy has a very bad sense of timing, and had knocked and stepped into my room before I could shriek that I had only just gotten out of the shower and was therefore still in my underwear. After a good two minutes of shocked/horrified embarrassment, Max fled the scene, helped along by my launching a hairbrush at him. He was still beet red when I found him after I had thrown on a t-shirt and shorts and informed him that we were going on a picnic, and so he had better collect food for our trip.

Today has been a very awkward day indeed.

Hands slightly freer, I glance around and notice Max’s jeep, affectionately named Bob, sitting near the corner, it’s owner absent. I can only assume that Max is still grabbing food for us, and I make my way to the jeep, trying very hard to retain the good mood that the morning left upon me. If nothing else, being engaged in the water war of the century made me forget about newest discovery, at least for a little while. Now that I face a few hours of uninterrupted time with Max, the comfort of the morning is disappearing as quickly as Michael, Maria, Alex and Isabel did when it came time to help with the clean up.

Traitors.

I sigh and slow my walk towards the jeep, relishing the warm, delicious heat of the sun. The anxiety in my stomach has formed a tight little knot, because for now, for better or worse, I have figured out the next step in my grand plan. The end goal, as always, stays the same. This new information, however torturous I find it, does little to change that, and in fact only underscores the validity of my plan. How can I possibly hope to take the place of Jessica, when there is another who is already in his heart? Someone who, from what I heard last night, still holds it no matter what Max said?

I break off my train of thought with a grimace, disgusted with myself.

Take Jessica’s place?

…

I am the world’s worst cupid. I am world’s worst friend, I really should just give up now, before-

“ Whoa!”

I start, snapping back to attention just in time to crash into a tall, dark haired someone who had crossed the road into the sidewalk ahead of me. There is a grunt of pain as my picnic basket hits the person midsection and I windmill rather ridiculously in an effort to find my balance. The whole thing ends with the basket (thankfully empty) smashed between me and this other person, and the blanket tangled around our feet. Whoever it is reached out to steady me as I teetered, and I feel warm palms on my upper arms.

I somehow get the feeling that this person is not a girl.

I drag my eyes upward, and when familiar gray eyes meet mine, I sigh inwardly, even as I outwardly flush.

Yes, indeed.

Today is a very awkward day.

Jordan Connor is blinking down at me, looking equal parts surprised and a little pained.

“ Ohmigod. I’m so sorry!”

I attempt to back away from him, forgetting the blanket by our feet, and succeed only in almost tripping backwards this time. Jordan reaches out for me again and we’re back to the same position as before.

What? I never claimed to be graceful.

“ We have to stop meeting like this.”

I cringe, and then carefully this time, reach downwards to snatch the offending blanket away before I attempt to step back, muttering apologies the whole while. Great. This is just great. I went through a phase when I was nine years old where I was suddenly the clumsiest oaf on the planet, and for every two steps I took, the third was a stumble to the ground. A resurrection of that persona, in front of one of the most popular boys in school is really not high on my hit list.

My cheeks still feel hot when I finally look at him again. Jordan stares back steadily, and I decide that it’s not hard at all to see why half the girls in school would give their eyeteeth to date him. He is one of those blessed to be effortlessly cool, and sharp, angular cheekbones, a narrow face and eyes that always seem to hint at a good time certainly don’t hurt his appeal. Once upon a time, I had been painfully aware of that appeal-but again, that is a story for another day. Right now, I have to salvage what is left of my reputation, and prove that I am not just two left feet.

“ I’m sorry,” I manage to squeak.

Argh.

Epitome of coolness I am not.

Jordan just laughs and waves it off, one hand rubbing his midsection. “ Don’t worry about it Parker. It was an accident.”

“ My fault,” I interject automatically. “ I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“ Looking pretty deep in thought there. Everything all right at the Crash? Heard it was some flood.”

“ Oh! Yes. Pipes burst. Much mopping to be had. We were helping out, before we got kicked out for being…a little less helpful that we should have been.”

Jordan raises an eyebrow and I shake my head. “ Long story.” I start stuffing the blanket back into my basket, and then notice he’s staring at me. I blink. “ What?”

He smiles slowly. “ Nothing. Just…been a while, Parker. How are you doing?”

Bemused, I tilt my head to side. “ What do you mean? I just saw you in school last week. We have practice together every week,”

Jordan is nodding along with my words. “ True enough. But I meant it’s been a long time since we said anything more than hi to each other in the hallways. We’ve always gotten along, right? There isn’t any bad blood between us, is there?”

I’m taken aback, and I’m shaking my head in protest before he’s stopped speaking. “ What? No, Jordan, of course not! It’s just, after ninth we just sort of-”

“ Stopped talking,” He supplies for me.

“ Yeah.” I shrug. “ To be honest, I kind of thought you’d fallen under Tho-” I stop, remembering just who’s best friend he is. “ Jessica’s way of thinking. She…doesn’t like me much.”

For the first time, Jordan’s eyes cool towards me. “ Well. Best friend or not, I make my own decisions.”

Chastised, I flush again. “ I…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.” Nervously I fiddle with the basket handle. “ But you stopped talking to me too, you know?”

I meet his gaze, and his eyes are warm again. There’s a small smile playing on his lips, and he nods. “ You’re right.” He reaches out and pushes my sunglasses back into position from their precarious perch. “ You want to start again?”

This is a very weird conversation. I tell him so. His response is to laugh.

“ I’m serious though.” He sticks out his hand. “ Jordan Connor.”

Shaking my head at the bewildering mess my day has become, and it’s not even over yet. I take his hand and shake it.

“ Liz Parker.”

I make to pull my hand back, but Jordan holds fast, about to say something else. I never get to find out what it is, because the next thing I see, Jordan’s looking at something past my shoulder. I turn and see Max there, brown paper bag in hand.

“ Hey! There you are!” I say, smiling at him. Max takes a little while to respond, preoccupied with locking eyes with Jordan. Something seems to pass between the two of them, because the next moment, Jordan’s squeezed my hand in farewell, and I glance back at him to catch the glittering of gray eyes as he turns away.

“ I’ll see you on the track, Parker.” He nods to Max as he pass him by. “ Evans.”

“ Connor.”

And then he’s ambled off, and I’ve made my way to Max’s side. I start to try to try to see what’s he bought and Max stares at me in puzzlement.

“ What are you doing?”

“ Nothing.” He is not convinced and I sigh. “ I may or may not be checking that you bought strawberries.”

Max sighs and gestures for me to hand over the basket, which I do. “ I worry about you sometimes, Liz.” He starts for the jeep, and I follow along, bobbing in his wake.

“ That’s nice. But did you get them? Because you can’t have a picnic without strawberries. It’s almost a law.”

He snorts and opens the passenger side door for me. “ Sure, sure.” I hop in and he does the same to the other side. “ So where to?”

This is it.

I sigh again.

“ The desert. I’ll tell you where to go.”

Curiosity flickers in his eyes but he starts off for the mesas. I flick on the radio and once the music starts to play, I drop my shades in place. I can almost pretend this is a normal day.

Almost.

“ What did Connor want?” Max asks.

“ For us to start talking again,” I answer absently. “ Hey Max?”

“ Yeah?”

“Where we’re going… I’ve never taken anyone there before.”

“ Maria and Alex?”

“ No. Just you.” I shift uncomfortably and surprise flickers in his eyes. “ Just…let’s keep it between us okay?”

“ Okay.”

We drive in near silence, and I try to forget what I’m about to do by remembering that the last time I went to this place, my parents were still alive.

***************

“ You’re kidding.”

I sit up from my sprawled position next to Max and stare down incredulously at him. The wind whips my hair around my face and I brush it away impatiently, my eyes leaving Max’s face and darting everywhere as I process this new bit for information and try to decide if it will drastically affect my plans.

I bite my lip, making a decision.

It probably won’t.

In fact, it might even prove…beneficial.

Struggling to ascertain whether my sense of dread has been increased or decreased by this particular piece of news, I sigh in frustration.

When did everything become a struggle?

“ Hey.”

Startled, I glance back down at Max. He’s looking up at me in concern, his brow furrowed.

“ You okay?”

“ Yes.” Is my immediate reply. Flashing him a quick smile, I gather my legs closer to my chest and slant him a sideways look. “ So. You going give me details on how exactly you ended up having breakfast with Jessica and her parents?”

Max doesn’t look very convinced but he smiles back at me anyway.

“ Only if you let me have the last strawberry.”

I shake my head with quick refusal.

“ No way. That strawberry is mine and if you touch it, you die.”

“ Alright, alright,” He shakes his head at me. “ You really are too possessive for your own good you know.”

I smirk at how untrue his accusation is. If I was possessive, the last I would be doing is playing Cupid for you Max. The last thing I’d be doing is pushing you towards another girl. The last thing I would be doing is letting you go… the smirk fades. Why is it that all of a sudden, being possessive sounds like a very good thing? Forcing my attention back to the matter at hand, I hitch up my smirk once more, choosing to ignore the lingering worry in his eyes.

“ Whatever. So. Spill Maxwell. Let’s hear all the gory details.”

“ There’s nothing much to tell,” He shrugs, fixing his stare on the pieces of sky above him, the parts he can see through the branches of the tree we’re under. “ She called, telling me to…”

I tune him out, instead focusing on his expression. As he goes on, his face becomes more animated, his tone more happy. I can’t see his eyes though. He’s not looking at me and I frown a little at this. I’d know for sure if I at least saw his eyes. But, going by his tone of voice he sounds…okay. Soon, he and I are both laughing, him at the morning he had and me more with him than at the story he’s telling. It’s nice to see him having a good time. It makes my choice easier to live with. And yet, even as I rejoice that at least he’s not being tortured, I wonder if this is the happiest he’ll ever be. Cause if it is… then he deserves more. He deserves all the world has to give.

I realize his story is over and I quickly pull myself together, flashing him a grin.

“ No wonder you wore such preppy clothes,” I taunt him.

Rolling his eyes, he shoves me playfully and I shove him back.

“ Shut up, Liz. My clothes were fine.”

I snort.

“ Yeah. You looked like a hopeful for the ‘young americans’. All you need was a sweater vest set with matching cardigan.”

He groans.

“ Why do I even bother with you?”

I ignore his comment and continue in the teasing vein I’ve started, hoping to ease us a conversation I loathe to have with him but is a necessity.

“ What’s it been Max? Two weeks-”

“ Almost three,” He interjects quickly.

I raise my eyebrow at him. He sounds…like…like how one of those little kids sound when they’re announcing to grownup that they’ve finished all their veggies. You know…proud that they’ve managed to complete an unpleasant task and eager to remind you of it. I’m puzzled. Shouldn’t he sound a little bit happier and not like he’s won a difficult battle? Shaking myself out of my confusing thoughts, I accept his correction with a nod.

“ Almost three,” I smile. “ -and she’s already got you meeting the parents?” I wink at him. “ I am invited to the wedding right?”

“ Don’t let Isabel hear you saying that,” He cautions, only half joking. “ As for wedding bells, it’s too early to tell but it looks like a definite possibility.”

Huh?

I was only joking.

You do know I was only…Did he just say… he did, didn’t he?

I can’t help but stare at him in horror as he stares seriously back.

And then he smirks at me.

“ Kidding.”

“ Jerk!” I say savagely, punching him in the arm, relief coursing through me. He yelps but laughs anyway, helping himself to another nacho and looking thoroughly pleased with himself. He once more gazes up at the sky and sighs deeply.

“ Some place right?” I ask as I stare off into the distance.

While I agonized over this next thing, I remembered this place. The place where my father proposed to my mother. The place where two lives became intertwined as one. Isn’t it ironic how this place would suddenly occur to me as a suitable location for a purpose as different from that of my father’s as night is from day? Think about it. A place where my parents’ life together began is the same place I pick to further obliterate any chance of Max and I ever being together.

Go me.

“ Yeah.” Comes the breathy response. I look down at him only to find him already watching me.

I avert my gaze quickly. This is so not the time to start drowning in his eyes. I cannot let myself drown in his eyes. Each time I do, another part of myself becomes captive. Another piece of my heart is lost to him, and I cannot afford to have him own more of it than he already does. Because when I do start claiming my heart as my own once more, I know I’ll never be able to claim the parts he has firmly in his hands as mine. And if I let him take more, in the end, I just might find that I’ll have no heart to call my own anymore.

It will all belong to Max.

Just as his will belong to someone else too.

Someone who’s not me.

In fact, maybe it already does…

I clear my throat, ignoring the pang that goes through me at the thought. Wallowing in misery was not on the agenda for today. I better do what I brought him out here to do now before I lose my nerve…

“ Hey, listen. I have to talk to you about something.”

This is about the time I manage to look at him again. He’s staring at me curiously this time, not like the other time and has narrowed his eyes.

“ Sounds serious. Do I have to sit up for this?”

He’s already starting to get up.

“ No, no,” I quickly reach out to push him back down, but the moment my hand comes into contact with his bare shoulder, my eyes widen and I jerk away like I’ve been burned. Which, I’m not even going to bother denying it, I have… just not in the literal sense. I think we all know what touching Max does to me by now, so we won’t go there. When I bring my agitated gaze back to his eyes, it’s to see him staring at me in bewilderment. He obviously thinks I’m losing my mind. Sometimes, I think so too. I swallow, and feed him the quickest explanation I can come up with.

“ Static.”

“ Oh.”

“ Um…actually I think it’d be better if you were lying down for this because…because you might faint with shock anyway,” I babble, nervously smoothing my hair behind my ears.

“ Faint…with shock?” Max repeats.

I swallow again and nod, refusing to meet his eyes. Seizing the first distraction idea I can find, I begin tidying up the blanket we’ve spread out.

I can feel Max watching me carefully as if trying to figure out what I’m up to. I wish he would look away. In the meantime, I’m putting stuff back into the basket, stuffing all our trash back into a plastic bag and generally trying not to remain still for more than a few seconds, all in an effort to avoid the gaze he’s pinned on me.

“ Liz.” He touches my arm and I reluctantly look up at him. He stares right into my eyes. I want to look away. You know I do. But…it’s Max. And you also know that I’m helpless around him.

Yes, I’m working on that too.

After a minute or so of being locked in this staring match I didn’t want to happen in the first place, it seems that Max has found whatever it was he was searching for. His lips tighten into a grim line and I think this would be a pretty good time to venture a guess that he knows whatever it is I’m about to tell him isn’t good.

“ You know you can tell me anything right?” He questions softly.

I look away, focusing on a tiny speck below us. See, the thing is, I know can. I know I can tell Max anything. And I do. I mean… I used to. Before this all started. I feel the first tendrils of indecision, of doubt at the course of action I’ve chosen for today but I promptly brush them off. There are just some things that are better left unsaid, even between the closest of friends. That you’re crazy, head over heels for said close friend is one of them. So I give him my best smile, hoping it’s enough to cover the long moments of silence that have stretched between us but still not meeting his eyes.

“ Yeah. I know.” I say simply.

“ Then why are you so scared?"

The question surprises me. I whip my head up to stare at him fully, eyes narrowed in askance.

“ What?”

“ You heard me.” He answers, staring at me watchfully. “ Why?”

“ I am not scared!” I declare vehemently, trying to ignore how he’s staring at me. “ I just… I just don’t know how to say this, okay?” Frustrated I glare at him, hoping he’ll stop.

He’s not stopping.

Why isn’t he stopping?

“ And you’re not making this any easier! You…” It is at this point that I finally meet his eyes and I really wish I hadn’t. Because the moment I do, my sentence trails off, my brain ceases to function and all I want to do is melt.

Smoldering.

Hot.

Intense.

All words that could describe the way he’s looking at me. And I want to lose myself inside those incredible eyes… The part of me that’s managed to remain sensible and in control gathers every determined molecule in my body and rallies for one, last assault. It culminates in a single, breathless and almost despairing sentence.

“ Stop that.”

“ What?” Comes the reply, uttered just as breathlessly. He sits up and shifts closer.

“ Stop looking at me like that.”

“ Like what?”

Oh we are so not going down that road. I wrench my stare away from his and the spell is effectively broken. Releasing a sigh, I glance at him before looking away again.

“ You’re not making this easy, Max.”

“ Not making what easy?” Out of the corner of my eye, I seem him rake a hand through his hair in whether it’s in frustration or impatience, I can’t tell. “ Liz just tell me. And what does my looking at you have to do with making things difficult?”

You know, if I didn’t know better, I could swear he knows his effect on me. An unwelcome thought forces it’s way into my mind. Could one of the others… No. Of course not. They gave their word. But still…curious, I look over at him again and… is that a smile on his lips?

It is!

Frowning, half in confusion and half in annoyance, I cross my arms over my chest. I cannot begin to analyze this right now. So, taking a deep breath, I face him, steadily ignoring the low simmer of midnight I can still see.

“ I’m trying to tell you, alright? And when you look at me, it’s like…like....” Like he’s speaking to my soul. Like I’ll stop breathing if he doesn’t stop staring at me. Like I’ll stop breathing anyway if he does. Blinking rapidly to clear these thoughts away, I tell him yet another lie, but one that’s necessary to set up what I’m about to say. “ …Like you’re passing judgment on me already.”

His eyes narrow.

“ Judgment?” Max looks utterly confused. “ What’s this about, Liz? Are you in some kind of trouble?” Confusion is beginning to bloom in his eyes now, along with worry.

I think I will be. But out loud, while I shake my head, I say,

“ No, Maxwell. Just…” I take a deep breath. “ I lied.”

He looks more confused than ever.

“ You lied.” He parrots back at me. Tilting his head to the side, his eyes narrow in scrutiny. “ About what?”

Twisting my hands in my lap nervously, I bite my lip and release it as I begin.

“ Yesterday… you asked me… if I heard.” I look him right in the eyes. “ I did.”

“ You…” He swallows and I feel immediately sorry. Max has gone pale and his eyes are impossibly wide, with shock and a kind of surprised horror, I suspect. “ You did?” My suspicion is confirmed when he passes a visibly shaking hand in front of his face and asks me, still ashen faced, “ How much did you hear?”

My heart plummets even more He’s torturing himself. I know it. I did not want him to feel anything but anger at me for eavesdropping when I told him about this, he wasn’t supposed to feel pain. It takes me a little while to get my throat working again.

“ Everything.” I swallow.

He closes his eyes.

I feel like such a heel. It was an accident, yes, but once I started I couldn’t stop listening. And I should’ve. In a voice barely more than a whisper and laced with all the remorse and regret I’ve been feeling about, well, about everything, I say, “ I’m sorry Max.”

But the moment I say this is also when he chooses to say,

“ So you know.” In the most relieved voice I’ve ever heard.

I blink.

His eyes open.

For a second, as we stare at each other, I’m surprised by what I see dancing inside them. Relief. Sweet, wonderful, relief. This is quickly replaced by mounting confusion. Once more, we speak in unison.

“ Know what?”

“ Sorry for what?”

More silence as we continue to stare. Max’s jaw is grinding slightly and my eyes are narrowed in thought. He obviously works out the puzzle of what I said faster than I do his, because the confusion in his eyes is now replaced with something I hate to see there.

Disappointment.

“ You don’t know, do you.” He says softly. This at least, I can answer truthfully.

“ I don’t.” He drops his head, defeat winding about him. This is exactly what I did NOT want to happen. Hurriedly pulling myself back together, I begin my apology anew. “ Max. I am sorry. I shouldn’t have… I should have-”

He cuts off my apology with a wave of his hand as he looks up at me once more. His eyes are shrouded. Unreadable.

“ It’s okay Liz.”

I shake my head stubbornly, frowning at him.

“ No, it’s not.” Taking a deep breath, I plunge on. “ I’m apologizing for more than listening in on you.”

The look he levels at me clearly announces his confusion.

“ What else then?”

“ I’m sorry for… I’m sorry that…” Suddenly, even though I practiced it a dozens times in my head, it’s hard to get the words out. Seeing Max here, looking so weary and sad makes me wish more than ever that he had his girl. That he’d already found his ‘one’. As much as I wish that it was me, I know it will never be. From last night, from the way he’s acting now, I know that there’s no ‘maybe’ anymore.

Max Evans heart isn’t his anymore.

It’s belonged to someone else for a really long time now. Maybe even years. Tears begin to well in my eyes. For him. For going through pain of unrequited love all alone, and for me too, for never getting to find out what it would’ve been like to be loved like that by him.

“ I’m sorry you lost her.”

Again, this is clearly not what’s he expecting. His eyes widen and they sparkle with curiosity.

“ What? Who…who are you talking about?”

I pull myself together. Plenty of time for tears later. I have to do what I have to do.

“ Her, Max. The girl you and Michael were talking about.” I smile sadly at him.

If it’s possible, he goes even paler than he did last time. His mouth drops open.

” Who?” He says, feigning innocence.

I roll my eyes at him. “ Don’t play innocent, Max. I may have only heard you two talking for a few minutes but it was enough. I know there was a girl. And I know…” I hesitate, glancing back at him. He’s staring intently, almost hungrily, as if wanting to know exactly what I thought and felt when I heard it all. “ I know.” I finish haltingly.

“ Know what?”

“ I know you loved her.”

He blinks.

“ You…I…love?”

I tilt my head to the side, eyeing him carefully. “ Yeah. That’s right. Love. You loved her.” Suddenly all my curiosity comes rushing back, pushing away my own dismal feelings. The question that’s been haunting me ever since yesterday begins haunting me all over again . It’s developed into this powerful ache inside of me by now, a burning desire to know the identity of this girl. This mysterious ‘she’ that captured Max’s heart, the one who holds it even now. “ So who was she Max?” I ask softly. “ And God, why didn’t you tell me?”

He’s looking away from me, his form tense. It’s a long time before he answers.

“ If I had told you… what good would it have done?” He faces me. “ And why are you apologizing for it?”

“ I’m apologizing because I should’ve been there. I should have known.” I release a short, dry laugh. “ I mean, you’re one of my best friends, Max. What kind of a best friend am I, what kind of a friend doesn’t even notice that her best friend has fallen in love?” I shake my head in disgust at myself. “ I should have known.” This is the main reason I’ve lying awake all night. Where was I, what was I doing, that I didn’t notice? Maybe if I had, he and her, whoever she is, would be together now and he would be happy and this wouldn’t have happened. A gentle hand takes hold of my chin and suddenly, I’m looking into Max’s eyes.

“ You have nothing to be sorry for.”

I shake my head and he drops his hand.

“ I have everything to be sorry for. God, Max, I could’ve done something, said something and… and you fell in love and I didn’t even notice! What if it was her, Max? What if she was your ‘one’?” I swallow. “ You would be happy right now if you were with her.”

Max says nothing and simply stares at me. The silence becomes longer, more tense. Finally, he speaks.

“ I didn’t lose her.”

I look up at him, frowning in bewilderment.

“ I didn’t lose her, because,” He pauses and looks away. “ I never had her.”

The meaning of his words slide through my mind slowly. I stare at him incredulously.

“ She never knew.” My heart is pounding. This is even worse. I have amazing skill at persuading Max to do things he wouldn’t do other wise. If I had known, I’d bet everything I own I could convinced him to talk to her.

He looks me right in the eye and nods.

“ But… why didn’t you tell her?”

“ I couldn’t.” Max closes his eyes once more but not before I see the wells of pain and heartache in them. When he opens them, they’re gone but his eyes aren’t really alive either. It’s like… they’re shielded. He smiles at me a little. “ It’s okay, Liz. I’m…I’m over her.”

Michael’s words from yesterday wash over me.

Are you trying to convince me or yourself?

I stare at him doubtfully. I know Max Evans. When he feels for something, he feels deeply. He feels deeply enough that he wouldn’t manage to just get over it in a few days. And with the way he talks, or rather, doesn’t talk about this girl, I know he isn’t. Another pang slices through me. I really never stood a chance, did I?

Swallowing, I try again,

“ Max,”

“ I am.” He says firmly.

I chew my bottom lip and then take another deep breath.

“ Are you sure?”

He doesn’t look at me. He nods. And with that, I put the next step into operation.

“ Fine. Look at me, Max.” He does, though it’s very reluctantly. “ I didn’t notice anything while all this was happening and because of that, I’ll never know if this girl was right for you. You remember what I told you a while back? When you were asking me about Jessica?”

“ That it didn’t matter what others thought as long as she made me happy?”

“ Exactly. Does she make you happy?”

“ I don’t know, Liz. She and I… we have…”

“ Fun.” I finish for him. I’m a wall. No emotions. No nothing. It’s the only way to survive. “So. Here’s what we’ll do.” I stand and begin to pace around him. “ We’re going to find out if Jessica can ever be the ‘one’ for you.”

“ And how are we going to do that?”

I grin at him, though I feel like my face might crack.

“ The way everyone does it Max. Get to know the real person. Their likes and dislikes. Dreams, hopes, that kind of stuff.” I’m spouting off the info I memorized from a magazine. I was desperate, I feel no shame in admitting this. “All ending with a romantic dinner for two in a secluded location.” I gesture around me. “This location.”

Max raises his eyebrow at me.

“ How does this qualify as romantic?”

“ This place has history Max. Look at the tree behind you. Tell me what you see.”

He stands and after a while I see him tracing his fingers over the roughly hewn heart I know is there. For a moment, I wonder what my parents must’ve felt then. How they both felt during the proposal. Were they happy? Excited? Did they feel whole because they’d found the love of their lives? I look over at Max. What if… no. No more what if’s. It’s done. He will never be that for me. Ever.

“ A heart. D. P and L. C. carved inside it.” Silence. And then, “ Derek Parker and Lana Callahan.” Max says. “ Your parents.”

“ Very good. “ I nod. “ My father proposed to my mother here.”

“ Are you serious?”

“ As a heart attack. This is one of my favorite places.”

“ And here I thought I knew them all.”

“ Not all.” I smirk.

“ So why bring me here now?”

” Because it’s for a worthy cause.” I advance on him. “ We’ll fix it up. The works. It’ll take a while, yeah, but I figure that’s good. You’ll know each other better. By the time you’ll bring Jessie here, you’ll know if she’s the one you’re looking for. And hey, breakfast with the parents is always a good start.”

“ As much as I appreciate that, I can’t, Liz. Not here. This is your place.”

I shrug. “ Yeah well, I doubt I’ll ever use it for a purpose like yours,” I say, voicing a truth I fear.

A flicker passes through Max’s eyes.

“ That’s not true. You-”

I hold up a hand.

“ This isn’t about me, Max. This is about you.”

“ Why are you doing this?” He finally asks.

I swallow. “ Because I wasn’t there for you when…you know.” I can’t talk about that again. Once was enough. “ And I don’t want that to happen again. I want you to be sure and not be afraid to find out if Jessica can really make you happy. And besides,” I flash him a grin. “ I’m your cupid remember?”

Yep.

That’s right.

I’m Max’s cupid.

His best girl buddy.

His lab partner.

His co-worker.

Partner in crime.

But you know one thing I’ll never be?

I’ll never be the keeper of his heart.

TBC…

Floods and Fractures overview
1. Pipes burst in the CrashDown. All hands on deck for mopping duties
2. Liz wonders about this mystery girl Max fell in love with, why she never knew, and if anyone apart from Michael knew about her too
3. Cue water fight. Cue sexy little Max and Liz scenes (AN: I need crumbs to sustain myself too damn it! )
4. After flood, Max and Liz go on an outing, but before then, Liz runs into Jordan Connor, who is interested in talking again
5. Max and Liz visit the place where her parents got engaged. Liz reveals she overheard the conversation, and that she knows Max fell in love with another girl. She tells Max that because she hadn't been there for him then, hadn't helped him in getting the girl to fall for him, she was going to be there now to help him figure out if Jessica Thorne was his one

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9. And It All Comes Crashing Down…

This is how my week goes.

Tuesday:

“ So! Where did you guys disappear to yesterday?”

“ Nowhere.”

“…Okay. What did you guys do?”

“ Nothing much. Just hung out. Can you pass me my water bottle, Maria?”

Silence. Concerned looks traded between the four who weren’t there.

“ Did something happen?”

The two who were there exchange loaded looks.

“ No.”

“ Not a thing.”

More silence.

“ Uh huh. Did either of you sleep at all?”

" What? Why?"

" Because, Maxwell, you look like a zombie."

" And Liz here looks like your zombie princess."

The four exchange snickers. The two are unimpressed.

" I do not."

" And I slept plenty."

The glances between the four call him a liar. He notices and then stands.

“ I’ve got to go meet Jessica. I’ll see you all later.”

Four pairs of bewildered eyes swing to me, the only one left on my
side of the table.

I stare back and then grin mechanically.

“ So! Who wants to trade lunches?”

Wednesday:

“ How’s it going, Liz?”

“ Everything’s good. Have you seen my pre-cal textbook?”

“ It’s in your backpack.”

“ What? No it’s not.”

“ Is Max joining us today?”

“ Not sure. I can’t find it. When did you see it in here?”

“ In the morning when we picked you up. Why not?”

“ Why not what? Damn it, my homework’s in there!”

“ Why isn’t Max joining us for lunch?”

“ My brother is eating with his girlfriend. That traitor.”

“ Well it’s not like he could bring her here to us, Izzy. I mean…could he?”

“ Of course he couldn't! Well. Hm. Actually…now that I think about it,
that idea does have…possibilities, Alex.”

“ Stop whatever you’re thinking Maria.”

“ What? I’m just saying, it has possibilities, no need to get your
pants in a knot, Spaceboy.”

“ How did I manage to fit all this crap into my bag? And where is that
damn book?”

“ I have mine. Do you want to-”

“ I’m not copying your homework, that’s unethical.”

“ And she’s also afraid it would be all wrong, Michael.”

“ Shut up, Isabel. I was going to say do you want to just do the
homework over now, while we still have time?”

“ Oh wait! I think I remember seeing your book in your locker Liz.”

“ Really?”

“ Yes! Now are you going to tell us what happened between you and Max?”

“ Nope.”

“ You’re evil.”

“ No, I’m just sad I have to do my homework all over again. Hand me
your text book Michael.”

“ How are you doing that so quickly?”

“ Photographic memory. I remember what my homework looked like.”

“ You know what I remember? I remember what my brother looks like when
he’s brooding. Which he has been. Since Monday.”

“ Very subtle Izzy.”

 “ I try. So are you going to tell us what happened?”

“ Nothing happened. Now can I please finish my homework?”

Silence as the pencil furiously scratches away.

“ Better hurry Liz, next period starts soon.”

“ Yeah, yeah. Almost…Done!”

“ You’re really not going to tell us, are you shortstuff?”

“ Nope.”

“ There’s the bell.”

“ Ugh. My bag is so heavy. Here Spaceboy, will you hold that for me?”

“ What do you have in here? A closet?”

“ Very funny. I’ll have you know I have only the essentials in there,
like, like-”

“ Two pre-cal textbooks?”

“ Hey- that one’s mine!”

“ Hm. I guess it was my backpack I saw it in?”

" You just made me re-do my homework!"

" Ooh, and since you have two copies now, can I check my answers
really quickly? Thanks!"

“ Wait-hey! Maria-”

" So you're really not going to tell us what happened?"

" …I'm going to start eating in the library."

Thursday:

“ You can’t stay in there forever Lizzie!”

“ Watch me, Maria!”

“ Come on, just come out of there and take it like a woman,”

“ Alex, you know how you’re supposed to be both MY and Maria’s best
friend? You have to be on MY side today. Which means you are supposed
to be dragging Maria away. Any time now.”

“ I’ve been trying!”

“ Well try harder!”

“Lizzie. Really? Sticking your head into your locker just to avoid me is really, really sad.”

“...Is it working though?”

“ Alex, reason with her.”

“ Maria, can you give her a break, please?”

“ Thanks Alex-”

“ Besides, your approach is clearly not working, so let me try now,”

“ What? Alex, you traitor.”

“ Liz, if you’ll just come on out of that locker-”

“ Are you going to stop asking me what happened on Monday if I do?”

“ If you’d be reasonable and just tell-”

“ Ugh! I have nothing to say about Monday, I have nothing to say about
anything!”

“ On that slightly hysterical note, Maria, come on, we’re leaving, and you can try again later.”

“ But-”

 “ Say goodbye Maria.”

“ And furthermore, I don’t even know why you want to know so badly! Max and I have hung out like this before and it wasn’t a matter of national security, so please, please-”

“ Liz, I’ll see you in class.”

“ -leave me alone for a few minutes, because all this is driving me crazy!”

“ Parker? What-”

I spin around finally, emerging from the cool darkness of my locker to
hammer it into Maria once and for all that the topic is not for
discussion.

“ Look, you-!”

‘You’ stares back at me, nonplussed and looking ready to duck should I decide to use the ruler I have emerged from my haven with. I can’t say I really blame him- I must look. Well. Not very normal.

“ You’re not Maria,” I announce lamely.

Jordan quirks a grin at me. “ Uh. No. Was there a reason you were attempting to crawl into your locker?”

Hm.

No, I don’t think I’ll touch that one.

“ You know…none that I’m willing to share, actually.” Ignoring the heat in my cheeks that suggests that once again, I am blushing, I turn and chuck my ruler into my locker, and then busy myself with picking out the books I need for the class after my free period.

“ Fair enough.” He pauses, and I give him a curious glance over my shoulder. Taking that as the invitation to keep talking that it is, he smiles at me. “ Are you planning on…retreating again?” Jordan finishes delicately.

“ Not in the next five minutes no.” I answer as nonchalantly as I possibly can. Maybe if I play it off like it’s a normal, everyday occurrence, the sheer weirdness of it will disappear. Yes, I like that
tactic. “ But if Maria comes by again…all bets are off.”

“ I’ll be quick then.” Jordan stares at me steadily. “ I realize we’re just starting to talk again, so it’s a little early to ask for a favor. But,”

I glance at him in askance, wondering where he’s taking this. “ But?”

“You’re a genius.”

I blink.

“ Uh.”

“ And I need a genius.”

“ I…well. I just…I test well, yeah. But, my grades are actually not that spectacular. At all. Why?”

“ But you’re good in English, right? I remember you were great at it in ninth.”

“ English? I’m…yeah. I do pretty decently in that.”

“ And you’re in honors English this semester, right?”

“ Yes, but-”

“ Well so am I. And I need help. Desperately.”

“ Jordan, school just started. How can you-”

“ I’m taking pre-emptive measures. I barely managed to get into honors English, and I really need to stay in it. Can you help me out?”

“ I mean..yes, of course, but I don’t think we’re even in the same class.”

“ I’ll take care of that.” Gray eyes twinkle and invite a smile in response. “ Looks like our friendship is getting off to a good start huh? What’s that they say? A friend in need-”

“ Is a friend indeed, yes, they do say that.” I shake my head at him. “ If you somehow manage to get into my class, then we’ll set something up, okay?”

“ Perfect. That’s all I want.” He glances at his watch. “ I have to go…will I be seeing around in the great mosh pit known as the lunch tables?”

My stomach sours at the thought. “ Actually…I may skip lunch today. Big breakfast in the morning you know.”

“ And you maybe want to keep hiding from Maria?”

“ Yea-no. What? No.”

He laughs and pivots away as the bell rings. I flush again.

“ Okay Parker. Whatever you say. Thanks again.”

Jordan is calling this out over his shoulder as he walks off, and after I stare after him for a moment, I turn and look back into the inviting darkness of my locker.

Life in there seems to be getting more appealing all the while.

**********

With that glorious ending to my Thursday, we are now up to speed, and on Friday, current time: lunch.

Ever have one of those days, where from the minute you wake up
something tells you:

Today is going to suck.

If you have, then you know the only sure fire way to avoid the disasters that are waiting for you is to disconnect your phone, turn off your radio, lock your door and then crawl back into bed. A
sensible, logical solution, right? And in teenagers lives these days, sensible, logical solutions such as this are very hard to come by. But you see, the bad thing about it is that solutions such as
these are either against the law or against house rules. In other words, if I wanted to avoid disaster today, I would have had to skip school. So guess where I am?

Yep.

I’m in school. And I really wish I had stayed in bed.

“ –so depressed! Liz, you have to tell us what went down already!” Maria half yells.

I wince and burst out of the doors of the cafeteria and into the quad, trying to simultaneously cover my ears with my hands and hold onto my lunch tray at the same time. This, of course, is impossible, so I have to settle for balancing my tray in one hand while covering one ear
with the other and trying my best to prevent my other ear from listening to the hellions that are my best friends.

We’re attracting quite a few stares from the people who’re already eating and while it’s a bit disconcerting, it’s really not that out of the norm. Remember the whole popular thing? Being part of the so-called ‘in’ crowd means no matter what you do, you get stared at. While I usually don’t mind this, today, with Maria jabbering in my ear and Alex throwing in less than helpful comments here and there, I’m not in the mood to be stared at. Being stared at makes me think of
Max. I think we all know that thinking of Max is right on top of my things to NOT do list.

“ Guys, can we please not talk about this?” I beg.

“ No.” Maria says stubbornly, following my every move. “We want details!”

Alex gives me a sympathetic look.

“ Actually, she’s the only one who wants the details. I’m just here as an advisor. And as your advisor, I’ll say this: Just give in, Liz. It’ll all be over soon.”

And that is a prime example of the less than helpful comments I told you about earlier. I throw a scowl his way.

“You’re not exactly encouraging me here, Alex.”

Maria’s still talking but Alex ignores her as he shrugs. “ I know a lost battle when I see one, Liz. And trust me, this battle was lost at the first word that came from Maria’s mouth. She’s serious today. The best course of action would be a quick surrender.”

“ Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I retort sarcastically. I quicken my stride, making a beeline for our spot, Maria bobbing around me and Alex following behind us.

“ You can’t avoid this forever, Liz!” She crows, making her voice heard over the conversation Alex and I have managed to eke out. “ I know you got all the messages I left you last night. And I know that something happened between you Max on Monday!”

“ Well if you know all that, then you certainly don’t need me to tell you, do you?” I reply dryly, wishing I could make her forget. We have been going over and over the same thing ever since I arrived this morning and after yet another sleepless night this wasn’t exactly welcome.

I slide into a seat at our usual table and pick up my fork, preparing to eat my rapidly cooling spaghetti. Maria takes a seat opposite me and Alex sits beside me. She stares me with the most baleful eyes she can make and I try to ignore this as I eat my first forkful of pasta.
Know that feeling you get when your dog wanders over to you while you’re eating and just stares at you? That’s the type of stare Maria’s leveled at me. She goes even further by letting her head drop onto the table with a thump, thereby making her look even more sad and
pathetic. My endurance has been pushed to the limit. I roll my eyes and glare at her.

“ God, Maria, are you kidding me with the eyes? I’m trying to eat here and I can’t do that if you stare at me like a hungry puppy!”

“ Liz…please?” She begs.

“ No!” I retort in irritation. How many more times am I going to say this until she gives up? How many?

“ Liz, she’s going to win. You know she is,” Alex says, taking a sip of his soda. I look on with jealousy as he and the students around us eat in peace. Why couldn’t I have been one of them? All I want to is to eat lunch and make it out of this whole thing alive. That’s not asking for too much is it?

“ No, she’s not,” I snap at Alex.

“ Liiiiizz….” Maria whines.

I groan.

“ Maria, in case you didn’t get this the first fifty or so times I said it, I’ll say it again: WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS. Comprende?”

Maria rolls her eyes and lifts her head off the table, shifting around agitatedly. Alex sighs and starts to dig into his food once more. Gone is the sad, puppy dog look. She’s now in stubborn bulldog mode. I take advantage of the momentary silence that signifies that she’s gathering
steam once more by shoveling in as much spaghetti as I can. Manners, you say? I can’t be bothered by manners at this point. The fate of my stomach rests in the balance here, so I think I deserve a little slack.

“ Why not go easy on yourself and tell her? You know she won’t stop. And I’d really like to eat my lunch in relative peace,” This is the newest piece of advice that comes from my oh-so-helpful friend, Alex.

I glance at him incredulously.

“ What makes you think I don’t?”

“ The fact that you haven’t given into her yet.”

I open my mouth to answer, when Maria, who’s been silent for a few blissful minutes, decides to try again.

“ Chica, I’m not asking for the world here! A few details here and there are all I want! Like, what did you two talk about? Why wasn’t there any kissing involved and-”

“ How do you know there wasn’t any kissing involved?” I demand, blurting out the first thing that pops into my mind. And oh joy, it just had to be about that. I see Alex grin out of the corner of my eye and I choose to ignore him. Blushing is so not on the agenda for today. Maria snorts and rests her chin in her hand.

“ Oh please. Trust me, if there was kissing involved, I would know. Besides, Max looked too depressed for there to have been any lip-locking.”

I shake my head in exasperation.

 “Maria, could you please quit this Max depression angle? I know what you’re trying to do, all right, you’re trying to make me feel guilty so I’ll spill but that’s not going to happen. So just…stop it.
Please.”

“ Do you really think I’d go that low?” She exclaims, feigning hurt.

“ Yes.” Alex and I answer in unison. Maria glares at him.

“ Alex, you’re not helping.”

“ What?” He says. “ It’s true.” He’s treated to one of Maria’s evil eyeballs and he sighs again, muttering about, “ Girls.”

“ Okay, so maybe I would,” She admits, shooting him an annoyed look and then shifting back to me. “ But not this time. Liz, I’m telling you, it was like he was dragging around this huge gray cloud, like that little gray donkey on the pooh bear show, what’s his name-”

“ Eeyore.” Dear Alex supplies helpfully, not looking up from his food.

“ Thank you. He was like Eeyore! Totally down and everything!”

“ Oh for goodness sake…” The image of Max’s face on Eeyore’s body pops into my mind and before I know it, I’m chuckling. This is purely a stress reliever. Arguing with Maria is beyond exhausting and doing so on an empty stomach is murder. And the worst thing is, I know I won’t
be able to eat with the way I have to talk every few seconds. Getting myself under control, I raise an eyebrow at her. “ Alright, alright fine. I’ll bite. Apart from seeing this cloud Max was pulling around with him, did he actually say anything to make you believe he was depressed?”

It is at this point that she loses all her tenacity and becomes serious and solemn.

“ He said…he said he was giving up. That he was giving up on…her.”

I stare blankly at Maria for several moments after she says this, wondering why she looks so sad. I glance over at Alex and see him looking pensive as well, and then finally it all clicks. It’s as if
someone has switched on a light bulb in my brain and everything, EVERYTHING is clear to me now.

“ Oh. My. God.”

That’s me. Translated, that means: Ladies and gentlemen, congratulate me.

Maria and Alex look at me in surprise, but I ignore this for the time being, because…

I’ve figured out the secret.

It’s so simple, it’s ridiculous that I didn’t figure it out sooner, especially since, apparently, I have a genius IQ level. Oh, we’ll get back to that and the pandemonium that little announcement caused
later. Right now, I’m taking a few minutes to bask in my own brilliance. I allow a huge grin to creep over my lips.

“ What?” Maria demands, eyeing me with suspicion.

“ Liz?” Alex calls.

“ Just…give me minute, guys. I think… I know I’ve figured it out.”

Maria’s whole aspect changes at once. She brightens and grabs my hands from across the table, squealing.

“ Really?!”

Alex, too, is no longer all glum and mopey. He’s got that infectious Whitman smile back in place.

“ You have?”

I look around wildly for Michael and Isabel, grinning even more widely when I see them approaching us, both looking grim. It would be better if they were here when I finally announce that I’ve cracked it. The more people there are to witness my triumph, the better. I shake my
head, still amazed at the absurd simplicity of it all. Isabel sits down next to Alex, looking around us curiously.

“ Hi guys.”

“ Hey Izzy.” I greet back, smiling, slipping my hands out from under Maria’s. Alex grabs Isabel’s hand and squeezes it. She glances at him, looking more curious than ever, a tentative smile breaking out on her lips.

“ What?”

Michael has on his trademark scowl as he slips in beside Maria. He sees the smiles on all our faces.

“ What’s going on?” He demands, cutting straight to the point.

“ She figured it out!” Maria crows, practically bouncing in excitement. “ Michael…Izzy, she’s finally figured it out!!”

The transformation is instantaneous. Isabel joins Maria in happy squealing and Michael and Alex give each other high fives. In the midst of all this jubilation, I’m still smiling, but it’s turning into
a rather puzzled smile. If my knowing makes them this happy, why couldn’t they just have told me earlier? It would’ve really saved us a whole lot of trouble, and come to think of it, why would they be this happy that I know? As far as I can tell, it doesn’t have massive importance to their on-going mission…or does it?

By the time their celebration is over my smile is gone and has been replaced by a frown, and the table undergoes yet another transformation. All of my friends’ attention has been shifted onto me
and once they see my expression, it wipes the smiles off their faces faster than you can blink.

“ So.” Isabel begins in an oddly bright voice, seemingly trying to bring back the earlier giddiness. We all look at her. She’s smiling again, although this time it looks…forced. “ This is good news!…Right?”

I’m back in the spotlight, and the tension is mounting. I huff in frustration and disbelief at myself. What am I doing? This is the perfect opportunity to do the one thing I’ve been planning to do for
weeks and I sure as hell am not going to waste it by making myself crazy over endless questions. Especially since the answers are right in front of me. I push my lunch aside, bracing my elbows on the table in front of me and linking my fingers together. I eye each of my friends in turn.

“ Why don’t you guys tell me?”

“ Liz, what are you talking about?” I look over at Michael. He’s gone back to scowling. “ Have you or haven’t you figured it-” A pause as he winces. I’m pretty sure Isabel or Maria or Alex or maybe all three have kicked his shin. “…Whatever ‘it’ is, out?” He continues.

“ I have.” I say, staring hard at him. “ But something tells me you,” I look at all my friends, “ all of you, don’t need me to say it.”

They all look at each other and swift glances ranging from panicky to excited to impatient are exchanged. Silent messages are sent and received. An agreement is reached and an invisible signal triggers action.

Uh oh.

I’m sensing a team effort here.

Not good, because even I can’t stand alone against the combined might of four of my closest friends. Now if Max was here, I could stand a chance. We could’ve…hold on. What am I saying? Whatever it was we could’ve done, it obviously won’t happen now or any time soon. Because
Max isn’t here, is he? And thanks to me, his presence at this table is going to be a very rare thing. And I’m just going to ignore that flash of pain that ripped through my heart just now. There will be plenty of time to heal wounds later. Right now, I’ve got answers to get.

“ Uh, why is that Liz?” Alex asks in a careful, even tone. I take a deep breath, allowing my features to sink back into their usual indifferent expression.

“ Because you all know.” They stare back at me, their faces mask like. I smile slightly. “ You’ve known for years, haven’t you.” To this question at least, I’ll already have an answer, even if they don’t tell me. They’ve ALL known and they didn’t tell me. Again…why?

As I’m puzzling over this, I catch sight of Maria’s happily sparkling eyes. I look at Alex. There’s a barely controlled grin fighting to be shown on his lips. Isabel looks like she’s ready to start squealing again and Michael is actually… smiling. Obviously, ANOTHER change took place, but this time I missed it. What is up with that? What is up with this? Oh, screw being clueless, this is a fact finding mission. Max or no Max, I’m going to do what I set out to do.

“ So why-”

This is as far as I get because the next minute, Maria and Isabel have
enveloped me in a bear hug. They’re both laughing like crazy and I’m
flailing my hands helplessly, gasping for breath.

What’s happening?

Maria’s saying, “ Lizzie!! I’m so glad you know! Finally! We’ve
got to tell Max!”

Tell Max… Tell Max what?

“ It took you long enough!” Isabel chips in, still giggling.

What took me long enough?

Okay, I’ll ask again:

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

Does anyone even know?! Because I got lost a very long time ago.

Over the heads of the two people who are squeezing me like an empty bottle, I meet Alex’s eyes. They’re bright with excitement and I hear Michael, saying, in a voice filled with relief,

“ Thank god she figured it out. I really hated phase two of our plan.”

That’s it!

I squirm free of Maria and Isabel and scramble off the bench, finishing my rather frenzied movements by taking a step backward from the table. They’re all staring at me, taken aback at what I’m sure is my very frustrated and confused expression. I rake a hand through my hair, pushing it away from my face, my frustration mounting until finally, I explode.

 “Would someone please explain to me, why, WHY on god’s green earth, you’re all so happy that I know that Max fell in love with someone years ago?! Someone who’s not-” Barely managing to shut my mouth in time, I shake my head and look away from them.

That was too close, and the whole world does need to know what keeps me awake at night. The words hang in the air and suddenly the situation becomes even more real. I squeeze my eyes shut as the words reverberate inside my head.

Max fell in love…

Oh God.

He really…he did, didn’t he?

Suddenly, my knees feel weak and I really need to sit. I shuffle back to the bench and slump down in between Maria and Isabel. I don’t understand why I feel this way. So Max fell in love, I knew
that. And it wasn’t with me, as I almost wailed earlier. I knew that too, I lose sleep over it since the day I heard it. But that doesn’t explain why… rubbing my forehead tersely, I lift my head to find them all staring at me in concern. It’s only now that I realize that I must’ve seemed a more than a little psychotic. I smile weakly at my friends.

“ I’m sorry…let’s start over. I’ll be calmer this time, I promise.” No answer. I take a deep breath once again. “ Why are you all so happy that I know? And why didn’t you guys ever tell me? I mean, it’s obvious you knew that he fell for someone. And…” I swallow. “ Why is it so bad that he’s giving up on her… whoever she is?”

A new thought strikes me. This is my chance! I can find out who she is. Whether I’ll be able to keep from turning green or not when I know remains to be seen but at least now I’ll have a face to picture Max with. It was getting kind of creepy you know, because in my head, Max was always with this girl who didn’t have a face… “Who is she anyway?”

I hope to God that my voice did not sound as desperate as I think it did. But apparently, how my voice sounds is the least of everyone’s concerns right now.

“ What do mean, who is she? And what do you mean with, with all your
other questions?” Maria demands, eyes narrowed. “ I thought you said
you had it figured out!”

“ Liz, I think it would be better if you told us exactly what it is that you’ve figured out.” Isabel’s tone is as serious as, well, as serious as her expression. I nod obligingly, feeling more and more control of myself, thank god, with every minute.

“ Sure. I’ve figured out what it is that you all know and refused to tell me. Granted, I still don’t know why you didn’t tell me or why you’re so happy that I know or why it’s such a bad thing that he’s moving on,” I shrug as I repeat my questions for, what is it, now, the second, the third time? “… but I’m hoping to get an answer to those as well so… I know that Max fell for someone, really fell head over heels for this girl.” I swallow hard. “ He…loved her.”

Silence. And then,

“ That’s it?” Michael asks in shock. “ That’s all?”

“ Uh…yeah. Pretty much.” I grin at them, choosing to ignore their stupefied expressions. “ So. Anyone going to tell me who she is?”

This probably wasn’t the right thing to say. Because the first sentence that breaks the silence that’s enveloped us is Alex’s

“ Aw crap. She still doesn’t know!”

Followed by Michael’s emphatic

“ Hell.”

And then Maria and Isabel explode, pouncing first on each other and then on their respective others.

They’re speaking too fast for me to decipher anything concrete but from what I gather, they’re not pleased.

And all my earlier smugness and confidence in my brilliance has all but evaporated. Maria, Michael, Isabel and Alex are all on their feet, arguing and I sigh as the pandemonium around me rages. The occupants at the other tables are now looking at us with more than a little
curiosity and it is now that I realize that we all look a little crazy what with the two odd couples bickering above me and me just sitting here, absorbing it all. They’re going to be calling the faculty or the nuthouse soon if the noise doesn’t die down. Rolling my
eyes, I stick my fingers in my mouth and let out a shrill, piercing, whistle. What? You learn a lot of cool things if guys are some of your closest friends. They fall silent. They look at me. I smile.

“ Hi. Yeah, remember me? Liz? I AM still here. So. Can we all just…calm down, sit, maybe eat a little? And then after we’re finished with that, you all could maybe answer my questions.”

Another round of swift glances are exchanged, and then the four battling contestants do as I suggest, all taking their seats. Maria opens her mouth to speak but then catching sight of Michael doing the same thing, she abandons that idea and instead settles for glaring at him. Michael shuts his mouth and backs down, muttering sullenly.

“ Liz.” Isabel, who’s back to her usual, in control and ice princess self, has taken the floor. “ You’re right. We did know. We have known for years…but we didn’t tell you because…because, Max made us promise not to.”

Before I can ask WHY, Alex speaks.

“ And the reason we were so happy was because…” He trails off, frowning as he chooses his words. “ We thought you’d figured out something else…”

I raise an eyebrow, this revelation chasing away my earlier thoughts. It must’ve been something pretty monumental to have gotten such a reaction from them, and so one riddle has been replaced by another. Why do I get the feeling that finding out what this one is about is going to be hard work? And it’s not like the other one was a picnic either. Barely resisting the urge to screech with frustration, I simply shake my head. I know I’ve asked this before, but I’ll ask it
again. Why can’t things ever be easy? Squaring my shoulders, I decide to try anyway. “ What something?”

As expected, he shrugs uncomfortably and avoids meeting my eyes. A quick glance at the others shows me that they too aren’t going to talk about this. I sigh and wait for the inevitable excuse to come.

“ Y’know… like…like the riddle of sphinx.”

Yep.

That was it.

“ Oh brilliant answer there, Whitman.” Michael scoffs, arms crossed over his chest. “ Really it was such a stroke of genius.”

Alex looks daggers at him and in response, says, “ Hey, I’m not the genius around here Guerin. Besides I don’t hear you saying anything.”

Just as I’m about to step in and diffuse the rapidly approaching storm, Maria beats me to it.

“ Boys, boys, chill.” Penetrating, laser blue-green eyes are fixed on me as Maria finally speaks. I swallow hard. Because right now, the girl staring at me, isn’t Maria DeLuca, my oldest friend but a Maria DeLuca with a mission. And trust me, you do not want to get in her way when she gets like this. “ What was that other question you had Lizzie?”

“ Why it’s so bad that he’s giving up on her?”

She nods. “ It’s bad, Liz, because this girl? She’s made for him. And he’s made for her. They match each other in every way. When they’re together, they light up the whole room. And when they look at each other, it’s like everyone else ceases to exist. It’s beautiful to watch.”

I keep my face neutral and my eyes fixed on her face, not giving away anything. The last thing I want to do now is to reveal how with each word she’s saying, Maria is cutting my heart into even smaller pieces. I have to hide how much it hurts to listen to how perfect they would be together, how guilty I feel for not having noticed or done anything about it, and especially how jealous of ‘her’ I am right now. Most of all, I don't want them to see how desperately sad I am that I will never get to see what it feels like.

When she’s done, Maria just stares at me meaningfully, as if trying to send a telepathic message to my brain. The others are doing it too. It’s like they’re all waiting for me to pick something up. But what? Tired from trying to figure yet another puzzle out, I say,

“ Wow. I-She sounds like… someone really special.”

“ She is.” Michael acknowledges with a slight nod of his head.

“ So who is she then? Maybe I can talk to her… ” Ha! The only thing I
might do when I meet this girl is shake her shoulders and demand her
secret. Demand how she so expertly captured Max’s heart and still
keeps it after all this time.

“ No.” Isabel’s shaking her head earnestly. “ No, Liz. Max…Max wanted her to realize that he loves her and that she loves him back on her own. Not because her friends pushed her into it or pointed it out to her.”

“ And he’s been waiting for her to realize it for years.” Alex chips in, looking uncomfortable. “ Just… waiting.”

I’m more confused than ever. From the way they’re talking, it’s pretty obvious that they know who this girl is and from all Maria’s said, I’ve gathered that there have been occasions when all were present to witness them together. The question is… where was I when all this happened? And even more importantly, who is she?

“ Guys, I just really need to know…who is she? Do I know her? Because you all seem to and we all know the same people. I’m just… lost.”

“ Liz..sorry.” Michael says, looking sympathetic. “ We swore.”

“ And it’s a promise I’ve regretted ever since I made it,” Maria growls.

I stare incredulously at them. “ Not even me?” When my answer is more silence and I cast my eyes heavenward. I don’t really know what I
expected. It’s really nothing less than what I’ve asked of them recently, to keep my feelings for Max from him, but still, some help would be appreciated right about now. Coming back down to earth, I pick up my fork once more. “ Maybe it’s not such a bad thing you know.”

Four pairs of eyes swing to me.

“ And why’s that?” Alex asks.

“ Because if this girl really was perfect, she would’ve noticed it long ago. She would’ve known.”

“ You’d think she would.” Michael mutters under his breath and promptly winces again. He glares at Isabel. “ Would you cut that out?”

Isabel ignores him and instead focuses on me. “ Maria never said she was perfect Liz. She just said she was perfect for him.”

“ Look. If she’s really as good for him as you say she is, wouldn’t she at least have seen something? Because even though I seemed to have dropped off the face of the planet when all this was happening, I can see it in his eyes now. I’ve been seeing it for a while. He’s hurting.
And if giving up on her and trying to see if someone else will make him happy stops him from feeling pain then I’m going to do everything I can to help him. Even if it is with Jessica.”

“ You don’t understand, Liz.” Maria cuts in.

“ Then help me understand Maria! How am I supposed to do that when I don’t have all the facts?” I put my fork down again.

My food’s already stone cold anyway and I’ve lost my appetite.

“ You know what? I don’t even know why we’re discussing this. Yesterday Max told me he
was over her and-”

“ And you believed him?” Alex asks, aghast. Truthfully, I don’t. But I’m too fed up and tired to even consider going through this particular topic. I can’t do it. Not now. “ Liz-”

“ Alex, please. It doesn’t matter if I believe him or not. What matters is he said he’s ready to move on. And it’s not my place or anyone else’s to tell Max what he should or should not do, what to feel and what not to feel.”

I am fast losing control of this. The prickles I’m feeling at the back of my eyes are proof enough. I have to get out of here.

“Max is my friend, and as a friend, I’m going to respect his wishes and do what I said I would. That’s what friends do. And friends… friends is all Max and I are ever going to be.”

A heavy silence blankets us all, and I can stand it no longer. I jump up and run off into the school,
oblivious to the shouts of my name, to the calls for me to come back. I can’t face anyone right now. I just want to be alone and make sense of everything even though at this point it seems like impossibility. Why is it that finally getting some answers have only brought about more questions?

As the burning feeling that accompanies the onset of tears begins, I struggle to not give in. One thing, at least, is clear.

I should’ve stayed in bed this morning.

TBC.

EDITED TO ADD: Part 10 title is: Of Reservoirs and Games

And it All Comes Crashing Down overview
1. Aftermath of their previous conversation: Max spends more and more time with Jess. Liz gets more and more spastic
2. Liz figures out that all her friends know that Max fell in love years before. YAY.
3. However, the gang have been sworn to secrecy about the details of the entire fiasco.
4. Liz suffers a mini-massive breakdown when she realizes that yep, Max HAD actually fallen in love with someone else. Who was not her. Cue dramatic exit

[Comet]

keepsmiling7- Zombie Prince and Princess seemed like a good way to describe them both after a sleepness night of struggling with their feelings. Oh these two! Such fun to torture..and don't worry about the group. They will be proving exactly how far they're willing to go for Max and Lix pretty soon!

Earth2Mama- Hahaha. Are you referring to Liz or Max?

HypnotiqueBlueEyes- Glad you're enjoying the story! Liz is a little frustrating, isn't she, but give the girl a chance. She'll cotton on to what's going on. Eventually. Maybe? As for Jordan-we have a little more on him in this part!

begonia9608- Liz is quite, quite skilled convincing herself about what's there or what's not there. It makes it quite fun to write! And as for Max, one of the things that's hard about a POV fic is that its challenging to convey enough about the other characters. But I got around that a little in this new part. Hope you enjoy.

nitpick23-Yep, Jordan! Let's just say Jordan wasn't part of anyone's plans, but he's here and he's not going to go quietly into the night And no one is cracking, not for a while yet!

Thanks so much for sticking with me everyone! I know this must be old hat to those who have read these parts before, but there are new elements to each repost. I really appreciate the feedback, so keep it coming!


10. Of Reservoirs and Games

West Roswell Junior High -4 years ago

He’s worried.

He’s been at his new school almost three months now, and things have been going better than he ever expected. Always known as the quiet one at his old school, he had never really managed to take the leap that transformed casual acquaintances made for the sake of not being alone at lunch time to the real thing, where these became people you were willing to get into trouble with, willing to get into trouble for.

Without that…it had been lonely. He had Isabel, of course, but apart from her…no one really knew him, and he didn’t really know anyone.

He’d wanted to change that.

It helped that Roswell was a much smaller town than the one they moved from, and West Roswell Junior High had only half the students in his last school. Here, people weren’t just nameless faces in the crowd. Here, people actually paid attention, knew who you were, and you could take the time to know them too, without the fear that the first time you met them would be the last. Here, he’d broken his shell, become friendlier, more outgoing. Here, he had come into his own.

Here, he’d seen her for the first time.

He stops outside their homeroom class, remembering his first day with utter clarity, the nervousness, the excitement- the overwhelming urge to throw up and be the same person he’d always been. He hadn’t had the chance to do that, because out of nowhere he’d found himself assigned to the most reluctant tour guide in the entire universe. It had been hard to miss her. In the sea of friendly faces and hands waving about eagerly in the hopes of being chosen to show him the lay of the land, hers had stayed resolutely at her sides. Her face had been averted, focused on the window and the outdoors, a fall of long, dark hair obscuring her face.

It had taken the teacher two tries before she’d deigned to grace them with her attentions, with an expression that screamed blatant disinterest. It had taken another few moments after Mrs. O Grady informed her that she would be taking him around before she finally looked at him. Afterward, when he was in the safety of his own room, and turning over the events of the day, he had tried to puzzle out why exactly it was that the moment she’d locked eyes with him, he felt as if he’d been punched in the gut.

It couldn’t have been simply because she was pretty. Even with the scowl that seemed permanently etched into her features, he couldn’t miss that. There were prettier girls, and more than that, there were friendlier girls, girls who didn’t look at him like something stuck to the bottom of their shoe, but for some reason, out of every girl he had seen that day, only she seemed to have made a lasting impression on him. The fact that she’d been wholly unpleasant and snarled and snapped more than she’d actually spoken could have had a lot to do with that, he had admitted to himself.

That she was very pretty didn’t hurt though.

Later, he would decide that it had been her eyes. There was something there, hidden and lurking behind the annoyance and disdain for her task. It spoke of anger, of fear and loneliness. He could relate to the last one. He couldn’t relate to her constant poor treatment of him. Being a small school, and town, he had learned her story soon enough. She was one of the most popular girls in school, brainy and sporty and fun. Or she had been, before the accident. The summer had brought forth this surly, rude version, and now he had the great pleasure of being attached to her while he found his own feet.

While he did this, he found a study of contradictions in the girl as well. For every instance where it seemed like she cared for no one but herself, he saw more instances of her fierce loyalty towards her two best friends, and even the other the new kid in school. For all the irritation she conveyed at being saddled with him and his annoying questions, she had never yet failed to provide him with the right information or not mentioned something he needed to know. For all the times she turned down invitations to hang out, to participate, he would see the hidden longing that spoke of her true wishes, see her ruthlessly quash the urge she’d have to laugh and live. For each time she was snarky to the only people who voluntarily approached her now, he would see wells of regret that she’d had to do so.

One day he snapped, and told her everything that everyone was too afraid to tell her now. She was alive, she wasn’t alone and no amount of bad attitude and attempts to push people away would change that. The people who cared about her wouldn’t allow it. He wouldn’t allow it. He still didn’t know why he had said that. He barely knew her, had never even had a real conversation with her, but it had come out in his impassioned tirade, and as stunned as he was that he was even having an impassioned tirade, he’d been more stunned to realize it was true. He cared.

He cared even more now.

Which was why he was worried.

He peered carefully into the classroom, and his heart instantly eased at the sight in front of him. She was there, perched on the wide windowsill, hugging her knees to her chest, long dark hair falling over her shoulder, obscuring her face.

“ Not hungry?”

At once, she turned to face him, and he almost reached out to the doorjamb to steady himself, struck again as he often was, by the combination of those eyes, that face. In hindsight, it was perhaps a good thing she hadn't been facing him when he had first spoken. He didn’t think his voice, already in that awkward stage of switching from low and smooth to high pitched and warbling, would have come out quite as normal as it had if she had been looking at him. When she looked at him, his insides tended to go all twisty.

As they were doing now.

Thoughts about his insides rapidly fell away though, as he registered that her eyes had that bleak look he was really starting to hate, and her cheeks had that freshly scrubbed look that came with impatient brushing away of tears. She attempted a smile that fell flat, and cleared her throat as he walked into the classroom. Steadier now, he made his way to her, and stopped when he was directly in front of her.

“ Just..” She shrugged. “ Someone very smart told me, yelled at me, actually, that just because I am feeling bad, isn’t an excuse to make everyone else feel like crap too.”

He smiled slightly at the re-use of his words and then eyed her in concern. “ You okay?”

It was an open-ended question, not mean to pressure her in any way. It invited as much detail as she was willing, or could share. The relief that bloomed quickly in her eyes dimmed, and in answer, she held out a scrap of paper, pink and folded. He took it, and opened it up, confusion swirling through him as he realized it was the permission slip they had to give to their parents for an upcoming school field trip. In the next moment he understood, and brought his gaze back to hers, unable to find the right words, but it looked like he didn’t have to. Her eyes were bright with tears and she shook her head.

“ I forgot. Can you believe it? I got the slip, and my first thought was that I would probably have to get Mom to sign it, because Wednesdays, Dad’s always in El Paso, getting supplies.” The tears spilled forth now, and she angrily wiped them away. “ How stupid is that?” Her voice was tremulous, and she sounded as if her heart was breaking. He couldn’t be sure it wasn’t. “ I know I should be grateful, I know I’m lucky I’m not alone and I have everyone around me …but …I just want my mom and dad.”

Her voice broke at the point. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had stepped forward and pulled her to his chest. At first, she was as stiff as he was, but only for a moment. In the next, she had burrowed her head into a spot and his arms had locked securely around her, in spite of her position on the sill. He held her as she cried, and when she was spent, and embarrassed enough to avoid his gaze, stiffening in his arms, he took it as a sign to let her go.

“ I don’t think its stupid.” He announced. Her dark eyes swung to his and he forged on, before he lost his nerve. “ You…don’t have to forget them. You shouldn’t. Just...you have to remember that we’re here too, and we’re not going to let you go.”

She said nothing, but her eyes seemed lighter. He stepped back, self-conscious about what he just said. Awkwardness hung over the two and she slipped off the sill and stood against it instead.

“ It’s lunch…did they send you to look for me? I’m sorry if…” Silence again, and she released a shaky breath. “ It’s just easier to forget sometimes. Then it’s not so hard to breathe.”

He found that he had nothing to say to that. Spurred on by some unknown force, one he hadn’t wanted to think about too much, (because he had noticed with an increasing amount of discomfort, that where she was involved he tended to do a lot of out of character things,) he had blurted out his next words.

“ Want to play a game?”

Startled at the sudden change of topic, she had dragged her gaze from the floor and raised a confused expression to him.

“ What?”

“ Like we did at Kyle’s party, remember? Truth or dare?”

“ But-”

“ Except we’ll skip right to the dares, because the truth…it’s not as fun sometimes.” He plunged on, wanting to give her little time to refuse him. “ So. I dare you to come out to the Carnival tonight.”

“ That’s-that only opens after nine this year, it’s after curfew. It’s a school night!”

“ That’s what makes it a good dare, right?”

“ You’re telling me you want me to sneak out of my house tonight? And you’re going to do the same?” The look she leveled him with is surprised and just a touch disbelieving. He wasn’t sure if he should have been a little offended at that.

“ I’m game if you are.” He smiled at her then, challengingly, and noted with a fission of pleasure that curiosity rather than sadness was what he saw in her eyes now. “ Come on. It will be fun,” He dangled temptingly, ignoring the fact that he had never even so much as entertained the thought of sneaking out before, much less actually done it. Even as she shook her head, he saw that an answering smile had started to play around her lips, and he did a mental dance of victory. He almost had her convinced.

“ We’d be in so much trouble if we got caught.”

“ So we don’t get caught.”

She laughed then, and the victory dance turned into an all out parade. She pushed off from the sill and motioned for him to follow her out of the classroom. He obliged, knowing that now that she was ready to join everyone else, the storm had passed and he had made her feel better, if just a little.

“ This is crazy.”

“ But are you in? Come on, Liz.” At the use of her name, her eyes met his, and his stomach rumbled in response. He didn’t think it was because he had been getting hungry either. He swallowed, because his throat had suddenly gone dry. “ Take my dare.”

She continued to stare at him and then shot him a challenging smile of her own. He felt unsteady on his feet again.

“ Always, Max.” She grabbed his wrist and then started to pull him towards the cafeteria. “ Now come on, we’ve got to start planning this if we don’t want to get caught and then strung up by our toenails,”

He smiled at the image, and then at her.

He wasn’t so worried anymore.

Present Day

The weekend passes uneventfully.

This could be due to the fact that my friends are stepping lightly around me, in the face of my absolute, embarrassing breakdown on Friday. It seems that no one wants to be the unlucky soul who brings that particular gem up, in case I completely lose it again. As such, we all haven’t talked too much in the days that followed. We have never actually tried the-ignore-the-gigantic-elephant-in-the-room tactic before, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. My success at avoiding this topic is helped, substantially, I suspect, by the fact that the CrashDown was closed for most of the weekend, to finish up the repairs made necessary by the flood of the century. I have so far managed to have a mostly quiet Monday too.

I may or may not have achieved this by more or less sneaking around school.

And if this was what I did, I’d never admit to it. I will say, that tight knit group that we are, I know everyone’s schedule almost as well as I know my own, and Monday happens to be THE day that I do not share a class with any of them. Tight spots such as slight overlaps aside, it is very possible to completely just miss running into certain people. If this is what you were trying to do, that is. Which I definitely wasn’t.

Normally, I’m not one to shy away from contact with other people, but for the last few days, I have been hunting for solitude with a passion. So I am extremely annoyed, because why is it that is always somehow works out that you’re in desperate need of being alone, the whole world is suddenly right there, in your face and by your side absolutely refusing to let go?

It seems like I can’t find peace anywhere. Not in my room with the phone disconnected or the blinds drawn. Not on my balcony, the place I can usually count on to give me a sense of serenity. Today, the CrashDown opened for business again, and I find that I cannot have peace even here, in the kitchen with Jose, watching him move around as he cooks. He’s cast more concerned looks at me than I can count but he doesn’t say anything. This is one of the things I like most about him, one of the reasons why the kitchen is one of my most favorite retreats: He hardly ever says two words to me, letting his eyes, his expressions, his actions do the talking for him.

But today, even this kind of silent therapy isn’t enough. I feel like my skin is the only thing that’s keeping me from acting like my thoughts and leaping everywhere from one minute to the other. I have never felt so tired and drained as I feel now, and yet I’m filled with a restless sort of energy, the type that makes you think you can do anything and everything.

I have so many questions that I know I won’t get a straight answer to, so many conflicting feelings and emotions running through me, because now that I’ve thought about it, in spite of efforts to take Max at his word, and now that everything that was said at lunch has had time to sink in, I realize one thing:

He didn’t trust me enough to tell me.

I can’t breathe any more.

It’s late in the afternoon now, and a quick glance at the clock tells me that he and Maria are going to start their shift in exactly fifteen minutes. Normally, I would just stay where I was and spend the next two or three hours hanging with both them, but we all know that these aren’t normal times. I don’t really feel like seeing either of them until I’m slightly more in control. So I stand, giving the impression that I’m calm and cool and collected as I say goodbye to Jose and track down my aunt and tell her I’m going for a run down to the reservoir. I ignore the worried look she’s giving me as she says okay and I flash her a grateful smile when she doesn’t ask questions.

I’m really beginning to hate questions.

Changing my clothes takes less than five minutes and in another five, I’m running down the street, away from the CrashDown, away from my friends, away from Max and away from Roswell.

I reach the reservoir a good forty-five or so minutes later, panting hard and looking, I’m sure, like I’ve spent an hour in a steamer. With all that restless energy expended, my initial objective has been achieved. I’ll worry about how I’m going to get home later. Right now, I just want to sit and rest and think of… nothing.

Miracle of miracles, I succeed. Sitting on the edge, with my legs dangling over and my hands braced firmly on the gravel behind me, my face tilted up to the sun, I don’t register anything else other than the breeze blowing around me and the warm rays soaking into my skin. I open my eyes to find the late afternoon sunlight dancing over the smooth surface of the reservoir, shimmering sparks of diamond playing over the crests that the light wind is stirring up.

With the sweltering heat giving way to the cooler twilight temperatures, it’s still warm enough for a swim, and I regret not bringing my costume along. It’s just as well though. I hate to swim alone; it’s never any fun if there’s no one around to dunk. I shake my head and smile wryly at the many memories made here, the long, hot summer days when us six would come here on our bikes and launch ourselves into the water, whooping the whole time. Max was always my hapless victim; he never could tell when I was going to attack. After the initial dunk though, he had always given as good as he got and I guess that’s mainly the reason why out of the group, we were always the last ones to get out of the water, and… wait a minute.

How did that happen?

Last time I checked, I was actually NOT thinking of Max and now… this is a lost battle isn’t it? Not thinking about Max, even if I didn’t have all these feelings for him, would be impossibility, because over the past four years, he has been part of almost every worthwhile memory I can remember, memories that have helped make me who I am today. He is a vital part of my life, a part of me. Which means, that if by some colossal stroke of luck, I do manage to get rid of all the ‘more-than-friends’ feelings I have for him or god forbid, we should stop talking to each other, we would still be irreversibly linked, bound together by shared memories that made us who we are. Even if something happened that would make me hate him, which, I’ll have you know, seems as unlikely as me getting any taller, a part of me would still care about him and wonder if he was happy. And… oh god.

I’ll never, ever, be free of him, will I?

The thought fills me with a panic and fear I can’t quite describe. This isn’t abated at all when suddenly, a voice by my side says,

“ A penny for your thoughts.”

Voices coming out of nowhere are bad enough, but a voice coming from a person who somehow managed to creep up and position himself next to you are much, much worse. With the latter, there’s always a chance that the person may be a psycho who’ll push you off a cliff. Or that you’ll fall off said cliff with shock anyway. This is exactly what would’ve happened to me, if a hand hadn’t quickly shot out and steadied me. Scrambling to my feet, I scoot away from the edge and to safer ground, glaring at the person who almost killed me.

Jordan Connor stares right back.

Instead of yelling at him, which he would so deserve, I merely cross my arms over my chest and continue to glare, waiting for my heart to descend back into my chest before I speak.

“ My thoughts are worth more than a penny, thank you very much.” The frost in my voice would be enough to turn anyone into an iceberg. Hm. I guess all the times I’ve watched Isabel at this have paid off. Finally.

A causal grin spreads over his lips, and he seems completely unaffected by my icy reception.

“ I don’t doubt that."

Seeing that my now perfected frosty stare hasn’t thawed, his features go contrite. He looks almost uncertain of himself and for the cool, confident, popular Jordan, this is definitely not the norm. I just seem to have a knack for making people act in ways that are not usual to them. Maria says it’s because my ‘forceful’ personality intimidates them. To that, I say, ‘ha!’

“ I’m sorry if I startled you.” Jordan apologizes quietly. Raising an eyebrow, I decide that he doesn’t really look sorry. In fact, he looks more relieved and pleased with himself than anything else. As he tilts his head to the side, allowing renegade locks of his dark hair to fall over one of his clear gray eyes, he gives me another smile, a step up from the grin her gave me earlier.

This is the smile that, reputedly, brings many girls to their knees.

In spite of myself, in spite of the rotten mood that’s mine to call this afternoon, I can’t help but agree with that, the general consensus at school. His eyes are studying me carefully however, and I don’t know what he sees, but its enough to have the smile fade slightly from his face, and for him to say his next words, slowly, haltingly, as if he is choosing them very carefully.

“ You just… you just looked like you needed…rescuing. From whatever it was you were thinking about.”

I was just about to start yelling you know. Just about to tell him that you don’t go around surprising people like that, because it’s just wrong to do so, and what if he’d sent me hurtling to my death at the bottom of the cliff? But then he had to go and add that last bit. Feeling suddenly lightheaded, I blink bemusedly at him.

“ …Did I?” It comes out in a very small voice, one completely unlike my own. I wait for bated breath for his answer, to see if it backs up or totally goes against my suspicions: I’m drowning. I am so way in over my head on this one that… I’m drowning. Bringing my gaze upwards to meet Jordan’s eyes, I find my answer within the stormy depths. It’s one he confirms a moment later.

“ Yeah. You did.”

I slump to the loose, sandy gravel and pull my knees to my chest, staring out over the water and yet not seeing anything at all. I barely notice Jordan walking towards me slowly or sitting beside me. All I can think about is how completely out of control everything is. How much I just want to scream and rant and rave because I know what would make everything go away and yet I can’t find it inside myself to do it. And how everything is basically all my fault.

“ Parker?”

“ Yeah.” I answer distractedly.

“ Do you want to talk about it?”

“ About what?”

“ About whatever it was that sent you storming out of the quad last week. Or what you were thinking about a few minutes ago.” I stiffen at the mention of my rather hasty retreat at lunch. He just had to bring that up, didn’t he? As for what I was thinking about a little while ago…that’s territory best not visited. What I need now is time alone. And space. And right now, Jordan isn’t giving me any of that.

“ No, I’d really rather not, Jordan.” I say stonily. I fight the urge to wince even as I say it. Even I can feel the frostbite from that. I look away from him dismissively, knowing that if he ever decides to talk to me again after this bitchy little performance, it will be a miracle. “ So if you would just-“

My closing sentence is interrupted when he laughs and this is enough to make me drop the ice b*tch act as I look at him in confusion. He’s actually smiling at me.

“ Parker. Drop the ice armor, alright? It really doesn’t suit you.” Grinning widely at my flabbergasted expression, he cocks his head and studies me intently. “ Besides, I’m sort of impervious to that kind of thing. Have you forgotten who my best friend is?”

I manage to hide a wince and wonder if I should tell him that his best friend, her likes, dislikes and everything else about her has been on my mind for the last month, and therefore I couldn’t forget her if I tried. And oh, how I do try. I drag myself back to the present as I realize Jordan is still talking.

“ I’ve got the time. And apart from looking like you need a rescue, you look like you need a friend too.” He leans over and nudges me with his shoulder. “ Remember? We’re supposed to be working on that. So. Hit me.”

I continue to stare at him, my mind rapidly coming up with every possible Jordan Connor memory it’s stored up over the years. A friend. Were he and I friends, at any point? He waves a hand in front of my eyes, still smiling.

“ Hello? Come on out. I know you’re in there.”

Is this guy for real? He should be off and running away from me after my, er, oh so welcoming attitude towards him. I follow the motion of his hand as he continues to wave it at me and shifting my gaze from it to his face, I decide that he is for real. And that he’s right. The ice queen act is so not me. The idea of talking to someone who doesn’t have an ulterior motive, or is going to lecture me or keep something for me or remind me just what I’m giving up is becoming more and more appealing every passing second.

So finally gaining control over myself, I smirk at him.

“ I may just take you up on that offer you know.”

His smile broadens and a relieved light flickers in his eyes. “ And which one would that be?”

“ Hitting you.” I answer with mock seriousness.

Jordan laughs and all of a sudden, I’m flooded with all those memories I was looking for, reminded of why he has so many girl head over heels for him. When he first transferred to Roswell in ninth grade, it was like the coming of Max Evans all over again. True, he kicked up a little less dust and fired up fewer hearts than a thirteen year old Max did, but still, it was a rather impressive debut. With his good looks, athletic prowess, demonstrated by him becoming co-captain of the track team along with Max, and friendly attitude, Jordan instantly became part of the popular clique. Part of Jessica’s popular people group. I could never figure that particular coalition out, especially since Jordan is a pretty nice guy and Jessica is the Wicked Witch of West Roswell High but hey, he obviously had his reasons.

At the end of ninth, we got paired up for an English project, and for a while, I was the most envied girl in school. And okay, fine, so I did have a little crush on him at the time.

A little one.

I mean honestly, after hour upon hour of being exposed to that endearing grin and all that charm, what else was a girl to do? I even talked to my Aunt about him, for god’s sake, and lamented that he would never see me as anything more than his project partner. In typical, puppy-love fashion, I would dissect all our interactions with Maria hours after they occurred, puzzling out whether there had been a double meaning behind the ‘See you later, Parker’ that was his usual goodbye to me, and if it meant that I should make an effort to hang around places he would be after school so I would see him later. Alex would groan in misery at this, and inform us that he was actually pretty positive that when Jordan said ‘See you later, Parker’ he was simply saying goodbye. Maria and I, of course, would ignore him. He would groan again, and we would exchange mischievous grins, continue in even more excruciating detail, and then, just when Alex would be on the verge of banging his head against a wall to knock himself out, stop, and treat him to a pizza and the latest gory movie so he could ‘reclaim his lost manhood’.

His words, not ours.

Thinking back on it now, I think even Jordan may have picked up a hint of how I felt towards him. The fact that I would go bright red and be incapable of stringing together a coherent sentence around him outside of an analysis of the Grapes of Wrath might have been a little…telling to say the least. If he did know, however, he never mentioned it, and then suddenly, I had much bigger things to worry about than my crush on him. One, scorching New Mexico day in ninth grade, Max Evans completely flipped out on me.

The fight that followed afterwards was brutal and ugly and the funniest thing about it was that I had absolutely no idea what had truly brought it on, or what it had really been about. What I did know was that it had ended with Max and I not speaking, and that was simply not okay. Those weeks when it seemed like we were on opposite ends of an impasse were pretty horrible, and before I knew it, my crush on Jordan had wilted away without me even realizing it had happened. I think he may have been gearing up to ask me out, or so Maria always told me, but I don’t think I was much fun to be around when Max and I weren’t talking.

Scratch that, I know I wasn’t fun to be around then.

When the project was turned in and our partnership ended, so did my closeness with Jordan. Neither of us had really put up much of a fight about that, and I hadn’t devoted time to think about it; Max and I had started talking about a week before, and my world made sense again. So two years on from that, my contact with Jordan has mainly been on the tracks, at parties and a friendly hello when we pass each other in the hallways.

“ Right.” He saying now, shaking his head at me. Then he turns serious, with just the slightest hint of a smile on his lips. “ So… what’s going on, Parker? What’re you up to these days? Apart from hiding in your locker?”

I grimace at the reminder of the fiasco my life has become and shoot him an aggrieved look.

“ Um…any chance I could get you to forget you saw that?”

He chuckles in response. “ You know…probably not.” He raises an eyebrow at me. “ So what’s going on with you?”

“ I wish I knew.” I murmur ruefully in response. A truer sentence has never been said, because if it’s not clear by now, let me state for the record that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. Maybe I did when it was all beginning but from there, it all went downhill. Shaking myself, I realize I have yet to reply coherently to his questions. And since I’m so sick of lies and half-truths that have become the order of business for me lately, I grin at him, knowing exactly what I want to say, for once.

“ You mean when I’m not playing match-maker or planning romantic getaways or being a coward?” I wink, satisfied at the confused expression that’s spread over his face. “I’m just up to my ears in the usual stuff. School. Work. Friends. How ‘bout you? How did you get here anyway?”

He shrugs, confusion still evident in his eyes as he looks at me. “ Same way you did, I guess,” He answers, gesturing at his sweat pants and t-shirt. “ I ran. And as for what I’ve been doing… well, nothing half as interesting as that stuff you just mentioned. In fact, you could say I’m downright boring.”

“And I suppose I’m interesting?” Rolling my eyes at my own statement, I chuckle dryly. “ Right.”

“ You sort of are,” The lowly uttered words seem to spill forth unbidden, and bring my full attention back to Jordan. He’s looked away and unless I’m very much mistaken, that is a blush spreading over those sculpted features of his. One that gives him the appearance of a sweet little boy instead of the very handsome guy he is. Smirking widely, I duck my head to look up into his face.

“ Do my eyes deceive me…or is Jordan Connor actually blushing?”

“ No,” he scoffs dismissively, even as the faint flush darkens.

I begin to giggle in amusement, and then I think about what he said and more importantly how he said it. It is probably the first time in the last few weeks that someone has called me anything other than crazy, and for some reason I am oddly touched. I nudge his shoulder and he looks at me.

“ Thank you.”

“ For what?” He says, shrugging casually. “ It’s only true.” He says seriously, shooting me a wry grin.

Hm.

Right.

Why is it that all of a sudden, I feel like I’ve been transported back to ninth grade, to being 15 year-old Liz Parker, who’s defenseless against an onslaught of Jordan’s immense charm? A moment is all it takes for that feeling to disappear, and while I look on that particular piece of nostalgia with fondness, it’s not a position I want to be in again any time soon. Besides, I am not that girl anymore. I have walls and layers and barriers that can’t be passed all that easily by anyone. In fact, I know of only person who manages it…

Ugh… no, not again!

Fighting the urge to groan, I catapult myself back to the conversation at hand.

“ Yeah, well, ‘interesting’ isn’t exactly the way I’d describe myself. ‘Insane’ would be more precise.”

“ Nah. I think complicated would be the word of choice.” Jordan chips in. “ And speaking of complicated… what was happening at lunch? Were you guys fighting or something?”

I wince. This isn’t really something I want to discuss…but Jordan’s been incredibly sweet, even after I treated him horribly. I decide to tackle it a roundabout way that won’t require me to lie and at the same time, will help me rediscover the way he thinks. The way I remember it, Jordan was always pretty observant. He could just mention something out of the blue that you could swear wasn’t true, only to find, after watching and waiting, that it was. The boy’s a deep thinker and yet, he’s a party animal too. He’s such a contradiction. And I like that. It reminds me of, well…me. I tilt my head to the side as I recall the occasion.

“ You were there. Did it look like we were fighting to you?”

“ To tell the truth, it looked more like world war three to me.” Jordan quips with a grin, his gray eyes alight with amusement. “ And it sounded like it too. I mean, who knew Isabel Evans could shriek like that?”

This comment causes instant laughter to fall from my lips and he joins in a second later. Letting my hair loose, I shake my head, sending it bouncing over my shoulders as I smile in recollection.

“ If they didn’t know before, they sure know it now.”

Companionable silence reigns for a while but he speaks once more.

“ I don’t mean to sound nosy or anything but… how do you all survive around each other? I mean, you’re all so different… and complicated.”

Aha. I recognize that look on his face. It’s the one he always used to get when trying to get a read on people. He hasn’t changed much, it seems.

“ Different?” I scrunch up my nose as I repeat the word. “ Well, yeah. I guess you could describe us using that. And complicated…yeah, I guess we’re that too…” I shrug. “ But then again, who isn’t? I mean, everyone’s different from each other and everyone’s complicated as well.”

I really hope he’s not going to try and understand the bond that holds the six of us together. Because that, that is a complete and total lost cause. Over the years, I’ve tried, believe me, but in the end, I decided it was better left alone. It’s there, it’s good, it’s unbreakable and that’s all that matters in the end. But who knows? Maybe Jordan will succeed where I failed, and it will be kind of fun to hear what he thinks. His voice calls me out of the recesses I’ve sunk into and I give him my full attention.

“ Yeah but,” Jordan’s frowning a little. “ People usually gravitate towards people they have stuff in common with, y’know? People they’re alike to.”

Pursing my lips, my eyes narrow in careful thought. “ So… you’re saying we have nothing in common?”

“ No, I’m pretty sure you do. It’s just…you’re all complete opposites of each other.”

I smile.

“ Maybe that’s your answer then. Maybe that’s why we work so well together. Ever heard of opposites being attracted to each other?”

“ Yeah. I have. But not all of you are. There are always exceptions.”

“ Sure there are. If we were all just opposites and no one was a mediator or something, I don’t think we could’ve escaped the act of murder all these years. I mean, Alex is the balancing force between Maria and me. Max balances Michael and Isabel. I balance Maria and Michael and so on …get it?”

He scratches his head in puzzlement. “ Uh…no.”

I smirk. I don’t blame him. Because he’s right you know. Our group dynamics really are complicated…and yet they’re not. I don’t know how to explain the phenomenon that happens when six people as different as can meet, not kill each other, start to like each other, and then become six best friends along the way. Who knows? Maybe we were all just fated to meet. I can’t say I have any complaints.

“ But I’m pretty sure we’re talking about different things.” Jordan continues.

Now it’s my turn to be confused.

“ Oh. Well… what were you talking about then?”

“ I was talking, or was about to anyway, about you and… Max Evans.”

He did not just say ‘you’ and ‘Max Evans’.

He did not.

“ Max and… ah, what about…us?”

Did I just answer? I did. Which means he did say ‘you’ and ‘Max Evans’. Oh, Jordan, Jordan, Jordan. I had such high hopes that you would be untouched by the…the…the whatever that is me and Max. Clearly, no one is safe.

“ You two…you’re the exceptions. You’re not opposites. You and Evans are so alike, you know? Almost exactly the same as each other…but also not. It’s like you’re different sides of the same coin.”

All of a sudden, I’m very aware of those gray eyes being focused on me, as if trying to see what my reaction to his words is. Truthfully, I couldn’t react even if I wanted to. I mentioned Jordan as being pretty observant right? And that he’s more often right than wrong? Well when he describes Max and I like that, it almost sounds like… we’re a couple or something.

And we’re not.

Lifting my head, I look over at his expectant face, allowing a small smile to settle on my lips, willing it to chase away the disquiet that my previous thoughts have brought. “ Really?” I managed to croak, my throat suddenly tight. “ I…I guess that’s why we’re such good friends then.”

Silence for a while. And then, Jordan speaks, his words falling at a rapid clip, so unlike his usual, measured tones.

“ So you two are really just friends?”

I’m startled, and the no on the tip of my tongue has slipped out almost before I can stop it. I want to say that whatever Max and I are, just friends doesn’t cover it. Best friends doesn’t either. What do you call the person who always seems to know how to make you feel better, even when your best friends of over a decade can’t? How do you describe the one who it seems like you are in such perfect sync with sometimes, it’s almost like you can tell what each other is thinking? Are you just friends if even when the world seems to be falling around you, when they smile and squeeze your hand and tell you its all right to go on, tell you that you can go on, you suddenly feel like you can conquer the world?

Are you?

I don’t know.

So, I swallow, and hitch up a smile once more. “ Of course we are. I mean, what else would we be?”

What else indeed? Shaking away the now familiar melancholy feelings that are staring to creep over me once more, I stare curiously at him. He’s composed again, that sure, confident set of his shoulders showing just secure he is with his lot in the world. When his eyes meet mine though, I’m taken aback by the pleased glitter in their bright gray, and there is a definite grin playing around the corners of his mouth. I’m tempted to ask him what he’s suddenly so happy about, but instead, I glance away, looking up at the sky. Lately, asking questions hasn’t yielded great results for me, and right now, this isn’t actually all that bad. I still feel like hell, but better, somehow. Maybe all I needed was to talk to someone who wasn’t a best friend of mine or knew me inside out. Because, lately, that hasn’t been giving me great results either.

“ Parker?”

I glance back at him.

“ Yeah?”

Jordan is studying me intently again, as if waiting for something. I smirk and raise an eyebrow at him.

“ Something you like?” I joke.

Surprise blooms in his expression now, followed by what looks like could be respect. I suppose, somewhere, he recalls that I was mostly a bumbling, red-faced idiot around him in many of our previous encounters before this. I can tell you right now that my 15-year-old self would never have been so audacious as to maintain a stare with Jordan Connor; all the blood rushing to her cheeks would have necessitated her passing out long before such a thing was possible. I stifle an embarrassed grimace as how ridiculous I really was comes filtering back. Really. Where were my best friends then to stop me from making such a silly girl out of myself?

“ What if it’s more like someone?” Comes the reply, so casually delivered I almost dismiss it with a laugh before I understand. When my brain finally decides to kick into gear, I freeze, my smirk fades, and the sensible side of me is reminding me to please remember to close my mouth, so I don’t look like a goldfish, thanks. Luckily, it seems that I don’t have to scrounge around for a reply, because he seems content to have delivered that thought, and he continues on.

“ Parker,” He begins, “ I was wondering-”

What he was wondering, I never found out, because it was then that I looked away from him in nervousness and then noticed someone I instantly recognized standing not four feet away from us, a battered, old army surplus jeep in the distance behind him.

“ Max!”

Max is standing stock-still, hands stuffed in his pockets and dark eyes shielded and unreadable. Cold. Distant. I try to tear my eyes away. I really do give it my best shot. But with the wind blowing around him and playing with his hair, and the last rays of the sun falling upon him, he looks like some unearthly being plunked down to mix with the mortals… and, well what do you think happened?

I’m lost, completely unable to do anything but stare at him. Inwardly, I curse the fact that Max has somehow been blessed with the prettiest eyes in West Roswell High, and curse even more that I am apparently now powerless to resist them. I can’t look away. Slowly, the coolness in them warms, and the distance fades. They begin to shine. They never falter from their target:

Me.

I shiver unexpectedly and reason comes rushing back. Beside me, Jordan shifts, and I remember that he was about to ask me something. Breaking away from Max’s hypnotic stare, I glance back at him, my cheeks flaming with embarrassment. I can’t believe I just tuned him out like that, but thankfully, it appears that he trailed off the minute he saw Max. He’s not even looking at me anymore. He’s looking at Max, his eyes narrowed in thought.

At least I hope it’s thought.

I look back at Max, and see that he hasn’t moved from his spot. His eyes have gone back to being shielded, expression a little stony and blank. I take a quick peek at Jordan out of the corner of my eye, and blink as I see that he has almost the exact same look on his face. When I shift my gaze back to Max, he gives me a small smile of greeting. I don’t even have time to say anything before the smile fades as he nods briskly at Jordan.

“ Connor.”

Jordan returns the nod. Silence envelopes us all. Glancing between the two, I frown a little. Am I missing something here? The last time I checked, Max and Jordan got along and now…now they’re sending bad vibes to each other with the force that Michael and Maria used to when they really disliked each other. Eager to break the sudden tension, I grin at Max invitingly, because it hits me that is this the first time I’ve seen him in almost a week.

“ So. You just going stand there all day or are you going to join us?”

Max walks closer to us slowly and then remains standing. He looks at me then and Jordan, his gaze lingering on the other boy a little longer than necessary. Apparently, some silent signal was sent and received between the two, because the next moment, Jordan is getting up to his feet.

“ Actually, Parker, I think I better get going.”

“ What? No, stay, we’ll all hang together.” I begin to get up too, and Max and Jordan simultaneously offer their hands to help me up. I look at the two hands and then up at their owners. Max and Jordan are staring at each other and then after several heavy moments, they both look down at me. I stare up at them and then at their hands once more.

They’re waiting for me to pick one, aren’t they?

And while they wait, they’ve gone back to staring challengingly at each other. I shake my head and roll my eyes, deciding there’s only one course of action to be taken here.

I get up on my own and stand between them, wobbling a little unsteadily. Quick as lightning, both guys reach out and grab my hands to steady me.

Um.

Right.

Exactly the awkward, tension filled situation I was trying to avoid?

This would be it, yes.

Before I can speak, Jordan squeezes the hand he’s holding captive lightly, gray eyes twinkling.

“ No, but thanks for the offer though. This was fun,”

I manage a genuine grin.

“ After I almost gave you frost bite? Sure it was.” I say, rolling my eyes.

Jordan laughs and then brings my hand to his lips, brushing it with a soft kiss. “ Trust me, it was.” He says, staring deep into my eyes.

The 15 year old inside me is swooning. The 17 year old on the other hand is more than a little overwhelmed. And while all of this is going down, my other hand is currently in a death grip, courtesy of Max Evans. Not that I mind though. I’m pretty sure I’m squeezing his hand just as tightly. I’ve never been too comfortable when guys so blatantly show interest in me. Did I not mention that living with your heads in the clouds is the main way of surviving around here? Well there’s my reason why. As if sensing my increasing distress, Jordan lets go of my hand and gives me a little smile, one that’s almost apologetic.

“ Bye, Parker.”

To Max, he sends a slightly cocky grin.

“ See you, Evans.”

And then he’s off, running back towards Roswell, towards reality. Max and I stand motionless, looking after him for a while and then I turn towards him, my face lighting up in the first full-blown smile I’ve had in a while. Figures it just had to be for him.

“ Hey stranger. How’s it going?”

Ugh. The affection practically oozes through my voice and I can only hope I don’t sound as sappy to him as I do to myself. Max doesn’t seem to notice though, and only smiles back in kind.

“ I should be asking you the same thing.” The smile fades and suddenly his eyes fill with concern. “Are you okay? I heard about what happened last week.” A disgruntled expression has suddenly taken residence on his face. “ I would have heard sooner, but Izzy’s been refusing to speak to me unless I tell her about-”

“ About Monday.” I finish for him. I shake my head. “ They’re so stubborn.”

We trade mutually exasperated looks, but then Max goes serious, the concern from before flooding back. “ Michael told me…well. Are you okay?”

I purse my lips, sure that Michael told him all about my irrational breakdown. I wonder if Michael told him everything else too-such as my obsession with finding out who this girl really is.

“ I’m fine.” Seeing that my flip comment hasn’t convinced him, I sigh. “ I mean…I’m fine now.”

This is true.

Sort of.

He watches me for a while, as if still a little doubtful. “ What happened?” He asks gently.

“ I don’t want to talk about it.” I announce. My friends aren’t the only stubborn ones here.

Max gazes contemplatively at me before saying, “ So what do you want to talk about then?”

I want to talk about why everyone but me knew about this girl of his. I want to talk about why it is that they’re not allowed to tell me. I want to know why he didn’t. I want to do all these things. But I don’t. Instead, I say,

“ Let’s talk about your suddenly short shifts.” I latch onto the first thing that appears in my mind. I glance at my watch then back at him. “ Or have you always had one hour sessions in front of the grill?”

“ Not always. Just now and then. What can I say? As the employee of the month, I get special perks.” Seeing my disbelieving stare, Max shrugs boyishly, and begins to sit down, tugging on my hand as an invitation to join him, which I do. He sighs. “ Okay, okay. So I was sent to find you. Everyone’s really worried.”

“ Why? I mean…” I trail off, my earlier frustration beginning to mount once more. “ I’d really rather not talk about this.” I repeat, a little more forcefully this time. I tug my hand loose from his and begin pacing agitatedly, words pouring forth. “ I just… I just want to forget for a while, Max. To get away. That’s why I came out here. I just want to… forget.”

Losing myself in oblivion was always so easy to accomplish before. Why is it so hard now? Jordan’s presence kept it at bay for a while but now that he’s gone and Max is right here, it’s all coming back. And I don’t want it to. Max is quiet and standing still, just staring at me. His jaw is grinding slightly, which indicates that serious thinking going on.

And then he smiles.

My knees go weak.

“ Liz… let’s play a game.”

I blink. “ A game? What kind of game?”

“ A very simple one. Truth or dare. I believe you’ve heard of it.”

What is he doing? I’m having a meltdown here, and he wants to play truth or dare?!

“ What? Max, I’m in no-“

“ You said you wanted to forget. Trust me, this will help.”

“ And if it doesn’t?”

“ Then at least you get to make me do ridiculous things and discover all my secrets.”

That wicked sparkle in his eyes is almost my undoing. I almost say yes without thinking about the consequences: truth or dare goes both ways. I shake my head.

“ I can’t.”

“ Why not?”

Because I’m afraid of what he’ll find out. Even more than that, I’m afraid of what I’ll find out. What if I break, and ask him about this girl? What if he confirms for me that he was, is, in love with her? I know that this is true, but to hear him say it? I don’t know if I could take that. Not trusting myself to speak, I simply shake my head. Max walks until he’s standing right in front of me and he peers down at me in calculated disbelief.

“ Liz Parker… too chicken to play a game? I’d have never have believed it possible.”

Did he just call me chicken?

“ I am NOT!” I burst out fiercely, my patience, never one of my strong points anyway, reaching its limit.

“ Then play with me, Liz. Take a chance. Take the risks. Take my dare.” Max challenges.

It takes a split second for me to make my decision. And in that space of time, it occurs to me that I could just be making the hugest mistake ever, but one look into those eyes is enough to banish that thought. It’s been said that great rewards come with great risks, something or other. All I have to say to that is… with the risks I’m taking, the rewards had better be good.

I cross my arms over my chest stare Max right in the eye.

“ Always, Max.” I fire back. “ Give me what you’ve got.”

A slow, utterly sexy smile begins to spread over his lips. He leans forwards and whispers the dare in my ear, his breath fanning softly over my ear.

And no, my knees are NOT quaking.

When he pulls away, I shake my head immediately. My earlier bravado is gone, I have decided to throw dignity to the wind. I cannot do this dare. Not in a million years.

“Are crazy? No way. No. Anything but that. Anything!”

I won’t survive this dare. I just know it.

Max shrugs nonchalantly, already unlacing his shoes.

“ Suit yourself. I always did think you were a lightweight in this game anyway.”

Oh if he only knew how much I want to punch him right now. I’d show him who the lightweight was.

“ Max, I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that. And because I’m such a good friend, I’ll even throw in a bit of friendly advice: This is insane!”

“ ‘This’ will help you forget. Come on Liz. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“ On vacation in Tahoe.” I retort sarcastically, torn between turning away and giving my eyes a workout. I decide to try to save him and myself one more time. “Max. Belly dancing? Yes. Shouting crazy declarations of love right here? I’m there. But this? You have got to be kidding me!”

“ I’m deadly serious Liz.” And he looks it too.

He’s removing his shirt. He’s removed his shirt. And…and… if I don’t melt right here and now…tearing my gaze away from his well built torso, in a last ditch effort to save what’s left of my sanity, I focus on his face. His hair is a little mussed up but a wicked grin, matching the sparkle in his eyes, is currently adorning his lips.

“ So how about it Parker? Are you going to join me or not?”

Now, I could tell you what I said. But you know it already, don’t you? And maybe you also know the answer to this question:

Why can I never tell him no?

TBC

Part 11's title is: The Truth, a Dare, a Fall From Grace...

Of Reservoirs and Games overview
1. We have our first flashback into the past, in third person, Max's POV. This incident happened four years before fic time, soon after Max first moved to town and met Liz. Several pertinent points here, including, but not limited to the following:
- Liz was an absolute terror when they first met
- Max underwent a sort of transformation when he first moved to town
- Liz has been deeply, deeply affected by the death of her parents
- Max had been affected by Liz from the moment they met
2. We have the fall out of the lunchtime break down, where Liz has been avoiding her friends. She runs to the reservoir
3. Jordan Connor turns up, and the two strike up a conversation
4. We learn more about Jordan, including the fact that Liz initially had a crush on him when he first moved to town, which was two years after Max and Isabel had. We learn that Max and Liz had an epic fight that same year
5. We also get to see inklings of no love lost between Max and Jordan
6. Max gets Liz to play Truth or Dare with him