Roswell Fanatics

****

Liz’s POV

The filming crew follows Max around as he prepares to help market the release of Dementia. I watch as he attends the press junkets he told me about on the phone. Now I can actually put a picture to the places he called me from.

I love best of all the commentary he adds about everything, because in those parts, I see the Max I spend time with. In the interviews he does, I see Max the film star; charming, gorgeous and intelligent. I find myself constantly smiling because I’m so proud of him and at the same time, I’m taken aback because I know him. He’s my friend who also has a large fan base and makes box office movies - it’s a strange feeling all around.

He’s on his way to the TRL appearance when he gets a phone call.


“Hey babe,” he answers. His voice is soft and tender as he talks, so I’m guessing he’s talking to Tess or another girl. He talks about where he’s going and his day and how he misses her, so I conclude that it has to be Tess.
He ends with call with an: “I love you too”.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
The next scene is of his commentary about Tess.
“Tess is my girlfriend,” he tells us. “ We’ve been together for a few years now…it’s good to be with someone who understands the stress and pressures of what you go through…”

****

“Today, I’m having a day off and Michael’s dragging me to the set of Orange Sky, so that he can visit a friend,” Max tells the camera.

“Like you mind anyway because Liz is going to be there,” retorts Michael.

I smile at that. I look over to Maria whose eyes are glued to the screen, or more specifically to her boyfriend.

Max’s voice over is played during the scenes of their drive and arrival to the set.

“Liz…Liz is a girl I met one night and we’ve become friends since. She’s pretty unique which I like, a lot and she has this amazing acerbic wit. We just have a good time together, she’s someone I can just be weird and goofy with.”

It then cuts to the scene of us in the restaurant we went to that day, eating and joking together. Fans come up for autographs and though Max doesn’t catch me immediately looking at him, the camera does. I know it’s a completely innocent look but it isn’t communicated that way with the choice of background music they’ve used and also especially because Max meets my gaze and we engage in a playful staring-smile match.

What?" he asks.

"Nothing...it's just, you have a nice smile," I tell him.

"Was that a compliment?" he asks with dancing eyes.

"Don't let it go to your head."

I can see Maria looking at me from the corner of my eye. “Friends joking around is all,” I tell her.

“I’m leaving my verdict till the end,” she says.

The camera follows Max around the day before the premiere.

“Here’s the situation,” he tells the camera. “Tess can’t make it to the premiere as my date, so Liz will have to fill in.”

I watch as he calls me, the conversation from my end plays in my head. I didn’t have the chance to see his facial expressions at my refusal to be his date, but now I do, it’s so amusing.

“She’s a little mad at me right now,” he tells the camera after the call.

I’m amazed as I watch the day unfold, how stressed I got him as he tried to win me over. The crew even followed him to my house but stayed out of earshot while we talked thank goodness. The camera zooms in suddenly as Max grabs me into a hug.

“Word to the wise, all you guys out there,” he says in a voice over, “if roses, jewellery and chocolate don’t work, try going in person.”

I shake my head at the screen. He is soo cocky.

The show then goes on a commercial break and I don’t dare look at Maria.

“That was some hug,” she says finally.

I roll my eyes. “It was a hug.”

Whatever. She’ll believe what she wants, I know the truth.

****

Max‘s POV

Stony silence would best describe the atmosphere between Tess and I, as we watch the adverts. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but the fact that she hasn’t said anything isn’t good. I don’t know what to say to lighten the mood, so I just sit there and watch the screen.
Seeing Liz and I hug like that, I had no idea of its intensity till now. Watching that scene between us again, brought the emotions I felt that day rushing back.

The show comes back from the adverts and it’s the part I’ve been waiting for; Liz’s comments to the camera crew. I watch intently as they follow her to Miera’s showroom, where her and Maria choose their outfits.

I smile and chuckle with her as Maria picks out several outfits for her to try on. She looks gorgeous in all of them but when they finally settle on the pink one she wore at the premiere, it fits her perfectly. I don’t doubt that she would look anymore beautiful than in that dress, but then I see her sitting in the make-up chair talking to the make-up artist and I take it back.
It’s not about how she looks…it’s about the way she just is.

“They’re not really following me around for me,” she tells the make-up artist. “They want to know about Max. How long I’ve known him, blah blah right?”.

I hear a murmur of a yes from the camera man.

“Okay,“ she begins, eyes closed while the make-up artist works on her eyelids. “Max Evans,” she muses, “I met him at a club one night and he’s been the bane of my existence ever since.”

“Yeah right,” quips Maria who is being worked on in another seat.

“Seriously,” Liz continues with a smile. “Max is well…apart from the open secret of his bed-centered activities…“

I cringe at that. Why did she have to say that?

“…He’s one of the good guys. A good friend, funny, smart and loaded - what more can you want in a friend?” she jokes.

“A little piece of bed-centered action?” queries Maria in an innocent tone.

I forget to breathe after hearing her say that. Tess is beside me, Liz is watching this, I want to crawl into a hole somewhere.

Liz groans. “Maria, we’re sooo not like that and this is on camera, could you not?”.

Thank you Liz.

“Sorry,“ her apology comes with a smile. “Just had to say it.”

“No you didn’t, but you did, so we’ll move on.” They take a little break from getting ready and Liz picks up from where she left off.
“Max is a great guy, he’s talented and um…“, she bits on her bottom lip. It’s so sexy.

“What else can I say that you guys don’t already know?“ she ponders. I can see a hint of mischief in the smile that forms on her mouth and bit on my bottom lip in apprehension.

“Oh,” she grins, “he talks in his sleep once in a while, in graphic detail.”

I cannot believe that she just said that, in a tone that leaves little room for misunderstanding. Is it her plan to add more drama in my life?!

“What does he talk about in his sleep?“, someone behind camera asks.

Liz looks directly into the camera, it feels like she‘s looking right at me. “I think I’ll keep that as my little secret,” she replies with a playful teasing smile.

I shake my head incredulous. She is one piece of work.

There are shots of us at the premiere. I can see why the rumours started, we are pretty close. The closing scene in the show is one of Liz and I talking to the MTV crew at the premiere.

“I really love what I do and enjoy nights like this when I get the chance to show my appreciation to the fans and,” I glance over at Liz who is by my side, “ share it with the important people in my life,” I watch myself tell the camera.

“I’m an important person in your life?” Liz asks looking up at me.

I don’t look back to the camera. We both ignore the camera and just stare at each other. I shift uneasily in my seat as I watch us. I can definitely see why the rumours started.

“If you want to be,” I reply coyly.

“I’ll have to think about it,” Liz responds.

The credits fade over more shots of us on the red carpet. My eyes are fixed onto the screen drinking in every scene until advertisements come on.

I’m speechless. I enjoyed the show, it captured a lot about me and what I did, but it showed a lot more about my relationship with Liz. I’m fine with that because my manager and publicist prepared me for such a portrayal and also because ultimately, I have nothing to hide but I can see why Tess might have a problem with it.

When I finally have the courage to glance at her, I‘m surprised to find her already staring at me.

“I want to meet her,” she says.

My eyebrows rise in surprised panic.

“Who Liz?” I ask causally..

“Yeah,” she answers, sitting up to face me.

“Why?”.

“She’s become an important person in your life and in such a short time too. I just want to meet her and check out her game,” she replies.

I clench my jaw at her tone and suggestion that Liz is after me. That she has a game plan.

“She has no game,” I tell her tersely. “She’s a friend.”

“Max you’ve been in bed with all of your female friends and you expect me to believe that she’s different?” she retorts angrily.

“Yes!” I shout.

She has no right to judge Liz and make assumptions when she doesn’t even know her!
“Because she doesn’t want to sleep with me. Sex is not an issue with us. Platonic friendship isn’t a foreign concept you know,” I add.

My defensive gaze is locked on hers and unwavering.
I will not let her speak about Liz that way.

“Okay,“ she relents. “I’m sorry, but I still want to meet her. Invite her to your family dinner next weekend. Invite Michael and his new girlfriend too, we should really get to know each other.”

That’s her apology. A symbolic white flag and I take it. “Okay, I will.”

We share a small reconciliatory smile before the phone rings.
I lunge for it, expecting it to be Liz.

“Hey Lil’ bro.”

I inwardly groan. It’s not Liz.

“Big sis,” I mutter taking the cordless into the kitchen.

“Saw you on t.v,” she tells me.

“Uh huh,” I say cautiously.

Leslie has seen me hundreds of times of tv. She only calls when she wants to lecture me on something.

“You finally getting around to dumping Tess for this new girl?” she asks.

I raise my eyes up heaven wards.

“No Les,” I tell her tiredly. “Much to your disapproval I know, but Tess and I are perfectly happy and together.”

“When are you going to stop playing around with her and settle down Max?”.

When I feel like it, I answer silently.

“I’m not playing,“ I tell her, “I’m in a relationship and if I do decide to settle down, it will probably be with Tess. I love her.”

“It’s not permanent. Max-”

“Les. I know what I’m doing.”

“You are twenty five years old. You should be settling down and you and this Liz girl seemed to get on well.”

I feel like tearing my hair out. Why does everybody suddenly think they have a say in my relationships with people.

“That’s because we’re friends,” I tell her through gritted teeth.

“Hhmm.”

I shake my head reminding myself to keep in control.

“Tess wants to meet her,” I tell her. “I’m inviting her, Michael and his girlfriend Maria over to the family dinner next week. If Liz can make it, then you’ll get to meet her and see what I’m talking about.”

That should pacify her.

“The girlfriend and the friend in the same room. Can’t wait.”

Me either. The fun.

“Goodnight Les,” I sing.

“Take care Max.”

I hang up the phone with a heavy sigh. I love my sister but she can be a real pain sometimes especially when she feels the need to involve herself in my personal life.
As I make my way back to Tess, I get the sneaking suspicion that my life is somehow getting more complicated, like I’m making my own trap and I’m too blind to see it.

****

AN:

First off, here's an edited note to say that: I was rushing yesterday and then had problems with my computer, it kept crashing on me. Anywho, it double posted and didn't post the added part to this. So for anyone who's read the fic, there's a litte more extra that i've added on.


Also thanks so much for the feedback. There are just so many people to thank that it would take up all the space which I could be using for an update, lol. Really though, thanks for the encouragement, the feedback on the thread and the pms.

Now onto a few bits about the fic.
I’ve searched through the feedback I’ve got saved but I can’t find the person who suggested that Liz should get with Alex. Whoever you are, please pm me or something so I can give you credit for taking that idea. I always wanted Liz to be with someone but, it’s even better that it’s Alex.

Also, I’m gonna be throwing in a few different POV’s every now and then. I thought for this part, it would be interesting to see the dinner from Tess’ POV.

Oh and the “ but you mean everything to me” quote, belongs to Roswell, season 1 finale (Departure). I love that quote.

Also, this next part is pretty long. I could have posted it in parts but that’s not how I saw it in my head, so I had to do it all. I’ve had fun with the banter and denial that these two are in. It’s time one of them woke up to the real and that’s all I’m saying, so enjoy…


Previously

“Tess wants to meet her,” I tell her. “I’m inviting her, Michael and his girlfriend Maria over to the family dinner next week. If Liz can make it, then you’ll get to meet her and see what I’m talking about.”

That should pacify her.

“The girlfriend and the friend in the same room. Can’t wait.”

Me either. The fun.

“Goodnight Les,” I sing.

“Take care Max.”

I hang up the phone with a heavy sigh. I love my sister but she can be a real pain sometimes especially when she feels the need to involve herself in my personal life.
As I make my way back to Tess, I get the sneaking suspicion that my life is somehow getting more complicated, like I’m making my own trap and I’m too blind to see it.

****

Nice to meet you anyway - Part 7

****

Tess' POV

I hate her on sight. Her smile, her height. Everything about her.
I cross the few feet separating us, back-hand her across the cheek, tear out that annoying long hair of hers and kick her ass out of the door.

I wish.

No instead, I stare up at her with a pleasant smile from the sofa I'm sharing with Diane Evans. I get ready to make nice.

"Everyone,” Max begins with a proud smile. “I'd like to introduce you to Liz Parker. You all know Michael and this is his girlfriend Maria."

I was surprised by the news that Michael actually got a serious girlfriend. Of all people, he was the last I thought would ever be a one woman man.

"Liz," he introduces us to her," this is my family. My mum, dad, sister Leslie and my girlfriend Tess."

His girlfriend and future wife, I silently add.

I grind my teeth as I assess her.
She's pretty if you like the plain-Jane brunette type of thing…
Okay, so she's got gorgeous silky hair, slim and...she's actually pretty. But I'm better than her in the looks and figure department.

I, along with Diane, rise to great them but more specifically Liz. Max has these close family and friends get-togethers every now and then for everyone to catch up but this time, I’m pretty sure everyone is here to meet Liz.

"It's good to finally meet you Liz," I tell her.

You conniving, sneaky little wench!

"You too Tess," she smiles.

Oh really? I bet.

"Max has told me so much about you," she continues.

"Has he?". I look approvingly at my boyfriend.

At least he doesn't forget about me when he's with her.
Maybe it's not what I think; maybe they actually are just friends. Liz doesn't seem the boyfriend stealing type. It's just the fact that Max hasn't slept with her that worries me.
We both consider sex with other people meaningless fun because at the end of the day, we are each others only. Not sleeping with Liz means something…I'm just not sure if it's good or bad for me.

"Well, he's told us virtually nothing about you," says Leslie who sits her down on the sofa where Michael and Maria join her.

"Why's that, you ashamed of me Evans?" Liz asks him playfully.

Max blushes.

I‘m speechless.

"No,“ he replies, “I just wanted you to myself for a while."

"Good answer," she nods approvingly.

They share this smile, this look that gives me a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Is he flirting with her while I‘m present?!

Mr Evans breaks through the Max and Liz only atmosphere they seem to have created. "What do you say we let the women catch up and go find something to do?" he suggests.

The guys eagerly jump on this idea, probably to do some male bonding of their own. Men are just as much gossips as women.

****

Liz Parker cannot be plotting to steal my boyfriend. She's too…nice.
She and Maria win over Diane and Leslie in less time than it took me. Not that Leslie is very fond of me, but she’s civil.
The two are best friends; Maria is the crazy, wild one and Liz is the more sensible cautious one. I can see why Michael is with Maria, how could he escape her? They suit each other.
Liz and Max on the other hand, how did that happen? Of course I know how because she tells us, leaving out the details Max told me about; like him asking to sleep with her and her turning him down.
Maybe that's why he's interested in her. She said no to him. She's a challenge. Or maybe it's what it started out as, but now, they're friends. Whatever that means.

I decide to be nice to Liz. Keep your enemies closer kind of thing. I'm pretty sure Maria knows what I'm doing because when no-one's looking, she gives me these looks. I'm not fooling her, she knows the game, but she can't prove anything.

****

The men come in just as the door bell rings.

"That must be Alex," says Max as he makes his way over to answer it.

"Great, he's here. Can we eat now?" asks Michael.

"Who's Alex?" asks Liz.

"Max's very old friend. He just moved down here," I reply.

Alex is apparently a very sought after up-and-coming software designer. Max showed me a picture of him once. Tall, a bit skinny. Good-looking in a geeky way. Not my type.

There's laughter and chatter preceding their entrance. I have to do a double take at the man standing next to Max. Alex has definitely cleaned up and buffed up since that picture.
His eyes land on someone and they register shock and surprise.

"Liz?", he asks in disbelief.

"Alex? Alex Whitman?!" she responds with equal disbelief.

I look between the two of them. They must know each other pretty well because Liz squeals with delight and rushes into his arms. Their hug, I notice, is very tight.
Alex whirls her around, sets her down and tucks stray hairs invading her face, behind her ears.

They must be some kind of close.

Max interrupts their moment. "You two know each other?".

"Yeah," Liz replies beaming. "Alex and I dated a while back."

"Unfortunately, we were perfect for each other" he adds.

"Why was that unfortunate?" asks Maria.

"Because we weren’t ready. We both had too much we wanted to do," replies Liz.

"Can we eat now?" asks Michael.

Max is all too quick to agree. I'm not liking that.

****

Dinner is very revealing. Liz, Alex and Leslie sat opposite Michael, Maria, Max and I. As Leslie is a therapist, she and Liz bond over psychology.

"Writing and developing characters involves understanding human behaviour" she spouts.

And maybe you two should get a room, is my silent retort.

What's more interesting is the Max-Liz-Alex triangle. Using the term very loosely of course.
I notice things, like when Liz and Alex become immersed in conversation, Max joins in. And then, the thing that makes me thirst for a certain brunette's blood is, when I look up at Max and see him wink and smile at her. I look across at her just in time to see her face light up in a smile and she winks back.

What was that?!
I know what it was, but how dare they do some kind of private winking thing!

I go back to hating her. No, I despise her.

****

By the time everyone leaves, I come to the conclusion that Alex likes Liz and is looking to relight the flame. Liz likes him too and Max doesn't approve.

He asks what I think about her.

Liz is a threat to my relationship with Max, but because she's respectful and nice, she wouldn't do anything to wreck it.
And Max? I think he feels something for her. It could be the fact that she's the one female friend he has who doesn't want sex or anything from him. Or maybe- I refuse to even consider that possibility.

So what do I think about Liz?

I tell him I like her.

****

I give Max mindblowingly good sex that night just to remind him that we're great together and that I am the best he could ever have in every sense.

****

Liz's POV

Alex Whitman.
He was well on his way to becoming the second love of my life after Noah, but he wanted to travel the world before entering the world of computer software designing, and I wanted to stay and write.
We kept in touch for a while as you do, but he moved around a lot and I moved house...things happen.
I thought about him every now and then. Then I moved on with my life.
Then wham!! He turns out to be an old friend of Max's and I’m a new one and we meet again.

We've spent a few weeks since the dinner catching up, and the strange thing is that after all this time, we still connect.

"Connect how?" asked Max when I told him how Alex and I were doing.

"Kind of like you and me, but slightly different," I replied.

"Oh."

Oh.
That's the response I keep getting from him whenever we enter an Alex and I conversation. He gets all awkward and the atmosphere between us is uncomfortable. Maria says that it's because he's jealous because I may be starting a thing with someone else.
I do think that he might be jealous but because he thinks he's being replaced, after all, he's always shooting on location somewhere. Like right now for instance, he's going to be shooting a film in Italy, whereas Alex is living within driving distance.
It's ridiculous though because Alex can't replace Max and vice-versa. I connect with them each a little differently.

"Don't be jealous Max," I tell him on the phone. "You know you'll always be my number one."

"I'm not jealous," he replies. "Alex is my friend too. Just because you cancelled on me a couple of times to spend catch-up time with him, you think I'm jealous or hurt? Don't, because I'm not."

I don’t want him getting worked up over this especially when there is nothing to get worked up over.

"Okkayy. You're leaving in an hour, I don't want you to fly out on bad terms," I tell him.

"Our terms are good," he says in a brisk tone.

"Good. See you when you get the chance.”

"I'll miss you,” he says in a gentle tone.

I forgive him.

"We'll talk on the phone."

"Won't be the same," he responds.

I sigh heavily into the phone. Why does it get like this with us?

"See you later Max,” I tell him.

****

Later, turns out to be two months.

Max has a few days off and he flies back to see me which is great because I've missed him immensely.

"Immensely?" he queries, "who says that?"

"I do," I retort with a smile.

We spend three days together just hanging out. On his last day, we have dinner at a fancy restaurant and then spend the night on the sofa at my house.

I have Max lay his head on my lap because he's completely tired out and we just sit and mindlessly flick through t.v. channels.

He falls asleep early and me being the considerate person that I am, I wake him up and offer him my bed.

"Are you going to join me? Preferably naked?" he asks with a sleepy grin.

"I'll be on the sofa," I reply.

"No way!” he objects. “This is your house. Why don't we just share the bed? We've done it before."

"I wasn't aware that time," I remind him.

"I'll be the perfect gentleman, you know I will,” he grins innocently.

Since I haven't seen him in two months, I don't hold out very long.
Pretty soon, we slip into my bedcovers and enjoy banter in the darkness. Max drifts off to sleep just as he tallies the score on how many Italian women he's slept with.

I can't help it, I've missed him. So when I'm sure he's asleep, I move closer till our bodies are almost touching and rest my hand on his forearm. There’s nothing special about that part of his body, it’s just the easiest to touch without waking him up. It’s stupid I know, but I can’t help myself.

****

The next morning, I wake up to find Max watching me. My arm is wrapped around his waist and I don't want to move because he's so warm, but from that teasing smile I know I have to.

"Morning," he greets me.

"Morning,” I respond moving away from him.

"If I'd known you wanted me Parker, I would have stayed awake last night,” he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.
I roll my eye and swing my legs over the edge of the bed.

"I'm gonna go shower.”

****

Three hours later, I hug Max goodbye not sure when I'll see him. I know it's his career and that it's fulfilling and that he's good at it, but I wish he didn't have to go.

****

Max's POV

After six months of filming, I arrive at the airport to be met by Liz, Alex and Tess. Tess visited me frequently so I didn't miss her as much. Alex I talked to on the phone. I didn't miss either of them as much as I did Liz.
Six months feels like a year. She looks radiant.

"You miss me?" she asks.

"Immensely," I reply before pulling her into a hug.

A lot has happened to Liz in six months: She and Alex are closer- as friends for now, but I think it's going to develop into more. I don't want to analyse how I feel about that.
She's also helping develop a film script with Quinn, which she's very excited about.
I guess nothing big has happened to her, but…she's laughed, smiled and stressed out and I haven't been here to see it all. So in my mind, a lot has happened to her.

****

NEW ADDED PART!!!!


Liz's POV

So I drag Max along to a Children's Benefit afternoon party hosted by Karen, one of my friends and he brings Tess along which is fine. I have no problem with Tess. She seems nice which, according to Maria is a fake mask, but I don't care. She can pretend to be nice to me if she wants; I have no vested interest in what she thinks of me.
Everything about the event is going perfectly until I spy Max talking to a little girl. She's talking to him animatedly and he listens patiently and I'm thinking he's such a sweet guy until Tess comes and kneels down beside him.
Then it hits me, hard, fast and unrelentingly.
If that girl was their daughter, it would be perfect. They would be the perfect family.

Dammit, Dammit! Dammit!!!

I feel myself start to hyperventilate.
I have to leave, I have to get out.
I blindly search for a way out. Find it and race for it. I bump into Maria on the way.

"Liz-what-"

"I gotta go. Tell Karen something came up".

"What? Liz..." . She's behind me as I head out to my car. "What's going on?".

I can't tell her. I can't say the words because I don't believe them myself.
How could I have let this happen?!
It's not possible.

I get in the car and she gets in with me. I don't know where I'm going, I just know that I can't stop and think because then I'll have to deal with it and I don't want to.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"Nowhere. I just wanna drive," I reply.

Why?
Why?
Why? Why?!!

"You're not making sense."

I swerve in and out of traffic ignoring her cries for me to stop.

"Liz," she puts her hand firmly over mine on the steering wheel, "Seriously. Stop. The. Car."

I pull off the road and sit still for a moment.

"Dammit, Dammit, Dammit!!!". I shout. I pound my fists against the steering wheel until I have no strength left.

"Have you lost your mind?!" shouts Maria.

I turn to her and reply in a calm collected tone. "No."
I get out of the car and start pacing. Anything not to think about it.

"Liz, what's going on? You’re scaring me.”

Really? ‘cause I’m past scared onto petrified.

"I'm in love with Max," I tell her.

There I said it, the words are out, I can’t take them back and I feel like I want to die.

"What?". Her jaw drops, her eyes are pool of shock.

"Exactly! That's a problem," I tell her.

"Aww…,” she gently rubs my arm, “…honey."

I don't want "aww honey"!. I don't need "aww honey" but I somehow feel comforted by it.

"I saw him and Tess and a little girl,” I tell her, “I saw them in a future as a family and I didn't want that. I didn't want him with her-dammit Maria! I'm in love with him."

Does she not understand why that’s a problem?

"That's good because he's in love with you too,” she tells me.

Obviously she doesn’t understand.

Max and I would never work for…at least ten reasons. He's also not in love with me, but I don't argue with her.

"You know what you have to do now don't you?" she asks.

"Yeah," I nod.

I'm not some sadomachist; I know exactly what I have to do now.
****

We get back to the car. Maria drives because she says I'm not stable. I'm in too much emotional turmoil to argue.
My cell rings just as we pull into my house and I pick it up without thinking.

"Hey, I'm missing you, where are you?".
His voice makes my insides melt. He's so sexy. I can't talk to him right now.
I pass the phone to Maria and she tells him that something with Quinn and the project came up and to give our apologies to Karen.

"Thanks 'Ria," I tell her, "I can't handle talking to him right now."

"It's okay. Liz, it's going to work out great. I promise,” she smiles.

Yeah, okay.

"I know it's going to work out the way it should," I agree.

****

I spend the rest of the day doing anything as long as it keeps me busy. I won't let myself think about Max and I in my state of wakefulness, so I dream about us instead.

I dream about telling him and him saying that he loves me too and we make passionate love.
I tell him that I love him and he dumps Tess and we get married.
I tell him that I love him and he tells me that he doesn't love me "that way".

I wake up with the memory of the last dream fresh in my mind. There is no happily ever after with Max and I. And I'm not going to give myself the opportunity to pine away. I don't pine anymore, it’s too draining.

I get dressed, have no appetite for food and drive over to his house. I hope Tess isn't there, but even if she is, I'll just take him aside and tell him.

****

I feel sick as I ring the door bell. I have to ring it quite a few times until it's answered. Max opens it dressed in grey boxers, unshavenly sexy and because some higher power hates me, he's also shirtless.

How am I going to do this?

"Liz?". He steps aside and lets me in.

First step, I coach myself, is walk in.

He closes the door behind him as I enter.

There’s no escape. I have to do it now otherwise there’ll be too much pain later on.

"You alone?" I ask turning to face him.

"Yeah."

"Good."

He is really toned.
I look around, away from him to try and retrieve my speech but I‘m failing. I can‘t concentrate with him shirtless. I spy a t-shirt on a chair.

"Put on a shirt,” I tell him.

"What?".

"I have things to say and you're distracting me. Put on a shirt."
He’s standing looking at me as if I’ve lost my mind so I pick up the t-shirt and toss it at him.

"Me being shirtless never bothered you before," he says putting it on. "You okay?".

I feel like screaming. Instead I grit my teeth.

"No I'm not.”

Okay, I can do this. It’s not too hard.

“Max, you remember the night we met and I said I wanted to remember our encounter as a great conversation with a nice guy?" I ask.

"Uh huh."

"I really wish it had stayed that way."

"What's going on?" he asks.

Oh God I take it back. This is so hard. I didn't think it would this hard or start to hurt as much.

"I don't want you to say anything. I need you to just listen. Deal?" I ask.

"Deal," he agrees.

"You're a playboy. You sleep around and come home to your girlfriend who you have an open relationship with. I know that, the whole world knows that. Your definition of love is worlds apart from mine. You sleep around and love your girlfriend and I'm not into that. And despite knowing all of this, I fell in love with you." It comes out in a rush, but I’ve said it.

"Excuse me?". His voice is a shocked whisper.

"Exactly! I am completely in love with you. My kind of love. And that's a problem," I tell him.

"Wha-how?" he manages.

"Despite being a man-whore, you're funny, smart and incredibly sweet…and we connect,” I shrug helplessly.

"Liz-"

He’s going to tell me how he loves me as a friend. How he’s with Tess.
Well I already know that.

"I really don't need you to say anything,” I cut him off. “I don't want anything from you either."

"Then why..."

"I write about characters who end up in situations like this!”, I shout frustrated, “I know the score and frankly, I don't want any part of it. I don't want the angst, I don't want to watch you be with Tess and be dying inside…”

My voice breaks. I don’t want to cry. I really don’t.

“…I'm not into martyrdom or sadomasochism. I can't be around you- we can't be the way we are with each other as long as I feel the way I do…and I don't see my feelings changing anytime soon."

He opens his mouth to say something but he can't. I understand, it's a lot to take in and he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings.

"What I'm saying is, I can't be your friend Max. It just wouldn't work,” I finish.

That shatters him. The hurt on his face brings tears to my eyes.

It’s like a band-aid I tell myself, rip it off quick and let it heal. He’ll get over it. He’s not the one who’s in love here.

"But-"

"I need to not be around you for a while,” I struggle to say more because my voice is so thick with emotion. I feel as if my throat is closing in on me, but I continue. “So if there's a group thing, depending on what it is, either you or I won't be there.”

He flinches as if I just slapped him. I feel awful for that, but I have to do this.

“ After that,” I continue, “when we do see each other, we'll be civil, say hi, maybe make polite conversation and then that's it."

"You can't-"

He closes the space between us and I can’t breathe.
I hold out my hand. "So we're going to shake hands and say goodbye".

He doesn't offer his so I do it for him and force him to shake my hand.
Ignoring the tears streaming down my cheeks, I take a deep breath. "It was nice to meet you Max Evans."

I try to let go, but he grips my hand. I have to wrench it away. He just stands there in front of me looking very defeated. He knows he has no say in this, I’m making it easy for him too.
I lean up and kiss him goodbye on the cheek.

I've said what I have to say. I brush past him heading for the door. I can't feel my legs but somehow I make it there. I push the handle down, ready to pull the door open.

His broken voice rings through the air. "Liz, you can't do this."

I grip onto the handle for support as I turn around to meet his watering eyes. "Don't ruin my exit Evans," I tell him softly.

And that's it. I'm out of there, headed to my car down the drive, trying to ignore his calls for me to stop.

"Liz!".

I can’t look back. It never does anyone any good.

I ignore him. I'm just focused on getting to my car and getting home to crawl into bed.

Suddenly, he's in front of me. I have to stop.

"You can't do this!“ he shouts. He tries to grasp my arm but I pull away. “We need to talk about this!".

"Talking won't help!”.

We’re shouting over each other now. This isn’t the way it was supposed to happen.

“Dammit Liz, you won’t let me talk!”

“Because there is nothing I need you to say! I just want you to accept it and move on!”.

"This is selfish!,” he explodes.

My jaw drops in disbelief. How can he say that?!

"Selfish would be you expecting me to pretend that all I feel for you is friendship. Selfish would be you wanting me to smile while you play happily ever after with Tess. What I'm doing isn't selfish, it's smart, logical and what everyone in their right mind would do!"

We were both glaring at each other, panting for air.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. I was supposed to say what I had to say and just walk away and that would be it.

"But you mean everything to me" he protests weakly.

"Well I shouldn't!”, I reply in a lowered harsh tone.

I wish I did, but I really don’t. I don’t mean everything to him. Not the way I’d like to.

His pleading eyes try to meet mine but I avoid him. It’s as if I’m breaking his heart, which in a way I am. I’ve hit him with this unexpectedly and out of the blue but there’s nothing he can say to make it any easier. It has to be this way.

I shrug helplessly. “I'll see you around Max."

I make it to my car, drive home in a daze, crawl into bed and cry myself to sleep.

****

AN: Oh dear lord, guys I was overwhelmed by the feedback for the last part. And to top it off, this fic got a nomination for Best Fluff fic (wow!!). I just want to thank everyone who nominated me and even if I don't win, it's a complete honour and surprise to be nominated. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this fic.
As for the fluff bit...well I'm not sure about that after this next part, lol. There is going to be angst, but I'm going to try and keep the tone as sharp it was for the humourous bits, if that makes any sense.

nitpick23 - Merry Christmas, lol

nitpick23 wrote:It was interesting seeing the family get together from Tess' POV. How could she not hate Liz when she suspects how much Max cares for her. I think I would have liked to see a bt more of Liz and Max's opinions on what went on, did Max see a big contrast with how Liz was with his family versus Tess.

Tess wants to hate Liz desperately, but she can't because Liz is nice. She hasn't done anything wrong yet to make Tess hate her with reason. In this fic, Tess is not a complete witch, she's just a little possessive.
About the Max and Liz family POV, well I'l delve into that later so I thought it would be fun to just give Tess the floor a bit.

Gigo wrote:I am continually blown away by every part of this story (of all of your stories, for that matter). Your writing is excellent and your storyline makes sense. Your characters are believable and their relationships just work - no matter what kind of relationship it is. You are a fantastic author and I'm glad that you're sharing these stories with us.

I just wanted to poke my head out of my life-inflicted lurkdom to say that to you...

Elizabeth

Oh wow, I am always humbled when a lurker comes out to post feedback on one of my fics. Thanks a lot for your very flattering words, lol

About Alex. Liz is in love with Max, but her and Alex are soulmates...whatever that means. So I'm gonna play around with that in this fic (it's still dreamer though).

I don't know how you'll all feel about this next part but my muse held me hostage, I had to go with it.

The last part had a lot of Liz's POV. Max didn't even get a chance to say his piece, but he will in the next part...


PREVIOUSLY

“Dammit Liz, you won’t let me talk!”

“Because there is nothing I need you to say! I just want you to accept it and move on!”.

"This is selfish!,” he explodes.

My jaw drops in disbelief. How can he say that?!

"Selfish would be you expecting me to pretend that all I feel for you is friendship. Selfish would be you wanting me to smile while you play happily ever after with Tess. What I'm doing isn't selfish, it's smart, logical and what everyone in their right mind would do!"

We were both glaring at each other, panting for air.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. I was supposed to say what I had to say and just walk away and that would be it.

"But you mean everything to me" he protests weakly.

"Well I shouldn't!”, I reply in a lowered harsh tone.

I wish I did, but I really don’t. I don’t mean everything to him. Not the way I’d like to.

His pleading eyes try to meet mine but I avoid him. It’s as if I’m breaking his heart, which in a way I am. I’ve hit him with this unexpectedly and out of the blue but there’s nothing he can say to make it any easier. It has to be this way.

I shrug helplessly. “I'll see you around Max."

I make it to my car, drive home in a daze, crawl into bed and cry myself to sleep.

****


Nice to meet you anyway - part 8

Max's POV

"You just let her go?!" Michael exclaims.

A few minutes after Liz left he pulled into my driveway. I had forgotten that he was coming over. He found me, a tornado of thoughts and emotions, sitting on my doorstep, staring into nothing.

I must have scared him. He said as much once he got me inside and round to talking. Too shocked to control what came out of my mouth, I told him everything that had happened with Liz. I needed to get it out of my system. With every sentence I brokenly told him, I felt the haze of confusion clear. I felt stable and able to think clearly- clear enough to explain to Michael why I let her go.

"I couldn't make her stay," I tell him.

He looks at me as if I've grown two heads. "You could have told her you loved her!".

"I do love her!", I shout taking him by surprise. “I do love her,” I repeat in a softer tone, "but not in the way she loves me. She's one of my best friends, I love her like a best friend."

He opens his mouth as if to argue against me, but then closes it again.

"So what are you going to do now?" he asks after a moments silence.

I sigh heavily. She didn‘t leave me with much choice.
"Respect her wishes,” I tell him despondently, “I'm going to stay away from her or anywhere she'll be until she makes a move to tell me otherwise.”

"Just like that, you're letting her end the friendship?".

I shrug. "She's in love with me. I'm not with her, there's no-", my words struggle through a constrained throat, " - there's no way we can be the way we were before today."

I feel like crying but I'm not that broken yet.

Michael’s not one for touchy feely moments. Something which I’m glad about because all I want to do is be silent.

"I guess you're not up for a little b-ball?" he suggests after a long silence.

Michael’s not much of a talker but when he does talk, it’s worth listening to.

"I need to keep myself busy," I reply taking up his offer.
I need something to work off whatever it is I'm feeling.

****

I lose the first game to Michael. My concentration is shot to hell because I keep thinking back to Liz, her words, her tears.
I shake that off in the second game, which ends in a tie, but Michael's last shot wins it.
In the third game, I play back everything Liz said to me, her pain, my pain and I turn it into a force. I win.
By the time we head back in, I'm tired and sweaty but for a few minutes I feel okay.

****

I'm sitting in the soft light of the lamp next to my living room couch with a glass of Merlot in my hand. I'm brooding in the classy way I learnt from parents. A good glass of red wine, a nice quiet place where you feel comfortable, is all you need.
What I need is to be resting my head on Liz's lap while her fingers play with my hair, but that's not going to happen anytime soon, if ever...so I'll settle for the wine.

What if I hadn't let her go? What if I'd kissed and told her I loved her - would she have stayed?
Probably- most definitely not because it wouldn't have been enough for her. Her love is more powerful than mine.

When she told me that she loved me, it was like a wave of peace settled over me. I felt privileged and so unworthy. If I'd told her that I loved her, she wouldn't have felt that peace or privilege because I don't have her kind of love...that's what she needs, but I can't give it to her...I don't know how.

So instead, I let her go because she was right. Even though it broke my heart to watch her go, she's my best friend and it hurt her to be around me...so I let her go.

I don't realise Tess is home until she turns on the lights.
"Hey, why are you practically in the dark?" she asks.

"Because I want to be," I reply.

Unfazed by my unfriendly answer, she crosses the room, curls her feet up on the couch opposite and studies me. "Bad day?".

I don't respond.

"What's wrong?".

I guess I have to.

"I don't want to talk about it," I reply.

"We talk about everything. Come on, out with it. You'll feel the better for it."

I fix her with a stare. "I won't."

"I'll take a guess. Is it about work?" she asks.

"No."

"Your family?".

Why can’t she leave it alone?

"No."

"Us?" she supplies.

"No."

And you’re pushing my limits, I add silently.

"Liz?".

I don't reply to that and I guess that's her answer.

"Did something happen between you two?".

"Tess, I really don't want to talk about it."

"You two had a fight or something?".

"Leave it.” My tone is low and threatening. It surprises me. It surprises her too and for a few seconds, she’s silent.

"We always talk."

I shake my head. "Not about this."

"Not about Liz you mean," she shots back.

I flash her a warning glare. That’s it, I decide. One more prodding comment, she’s out.

I think she gets the message because the expression on her face is now very apologetic.
"I'm sorry. This wasn't what I planned coming here, I'll back off."

And I feel bad.
Life doesn't stop just because I've lost a friend for a while. There's still so much around me to keep me smiling and happy, things like a great caring girlfriend who puts up with my bad moods.

"I'm sorry for taking my mood out on you," I apologise.

"So we're both sorry. That's good,” she grins helpfully.

I smile feeling slightly better. "What can I do for you tonight Miss Harding?".

She gets up from the sofa. "It's what I can do for you Mr Evans." She picks up the bags she left at the door and heads to the kitchen. Curious, I follow.

"You're cooking?" I ask amused. Tess doesn't cook.

"I thought I'd expand my horizons," she shrugs.

"This should be interesting."

"Keep me company?" she asks.

"Wouldn't miss this." I sit on a stool and watch her like a fish out of water, trying to cook.

****

Maria's POV

"You did what?!" I shout.

Liz merely meets my shocked expression with a blasé one of her own.

"I broke off our friendship," she repeats.

This cannot be happening. I stop by to see if Liz is home, expecting her of course not to be, because she's having hot monkey sex with Max- instead, I find her a] at home and b] looking incredibly depressed because, instead of confessing her love for Max and him doing the same and them both getting together, she does the first bit but makes no attempt at waiting to see if the other two events are possible!.

I massage my forehead to keep relaxed and sane. I find it really amazing that a smart girl like Liz could be so unbelievably stupid.

"Liz, I thought you were going to sort it out," I tell her.

"I did."

"By sorting it out…,” I begin. My words are slow and drawn out. Patronising, I know but I but what does she expect?.
“…I meant you two getting together, not you crushing his heart and yours."

"I'm not crushed," she protests.

I fix her a knowing no-nonsense look. She has bags under her eyes which are red from crying.

"I'm not crushed anymore," she amends.

"Whatever. So what's the plan now genius? you going to rebound onto Alex?".

That was low, I'll admit, but I can't help it. I'm angered.

"Of course not!”, she cries indignantly. “I wouldn't do that to him. I'll take the time to get over Max and then see where Alex and I stand."

"How can you give up so easily on someone you love?" I ask.

"It's easy when there was nothing to fight for or hold onto in the first place,” she replies.

I want to argue against that. I want to drag her over to Max’s and straighten this whole thing out but because I’ve seen like this, absolutely devastated, I can’t.

"I can't change your mind?" I ask.

"No,” she replies, “and please don't interfere. It wasn't easy to do what I did today."

"I won't," I promise her. For now, I'll wait and see how things play out.

****

Liz's POV

The next time I see Max in the flesh and actually have a conversation with him, is two months later at Maria and Michael's Christmas party. Before then, he kept his word about giving me space. I got no calls, no cards, no communication. Maria and Michael made sure we weren't in the same places at the same time. It was a peaceful two months, months where the pain of not being around him lessened.

I told Alex about how I felt about Max, told him I needed sometime to get over Max before we could become anything more.
I almost couldn't believe it when he said he'd wait for me.
What kind of man waits for a girl to get over another man she's in love with? The kind of man worth keeping around for a long time
.
He didn't push or pressure me, we just spent more time with each other, getting to know more about each other's lives. Maria talked about Max every now and then, telling me what he was doing, which I appreciated because I still cared about him. I still loved him, thought it hurt less. I didn't ask if he asked about me, I know he did, it's just a thing he would do.

I figured Christmas would be a better time as any to test out the waters. I was okay without him, I wanted to be okay with him and then go spend Christmas in Roswell with my family.

He's bringing Tess to the party. That’s good for me, because I need to be okay with seeing them together. Alex is my date and moral support if I need it. He really is amazing.

****

I spend most of the night talking to people I vaguely know and dancing and laughing with Alex. Sometimes I catch myself looking for Max, but that's stupid and pointless and not what tonight is about.
If I see him, I see him. If I don't, then I don't.

****

I spot him when I least expect it. I'm talking to Courtney when my gaze drifts and locks with his. My breath hitches in my throat; black jeans, a blue shirt and a jacket never looked so good. He's gorgeous.

Courtney's words are a mummer, background noise against his eyes. He's grown his hair, it curls around to frame his face. It works for him.

I blink stunned when one eye winks at me, followed by a tentative smile.
His way of testing the waters.

A rueful smile crosses my lips and I wink back. He takes that as an invitation, excuses himself from his conversation and starts to head my way.

My heart rate doubles and flutters as I tune Courtney back in and wait for him to reach us. He stands in front of us, I know he's there but don't acknowledge him.
After my declaring my undying love for him and being rejected, I reserve the right to be slightly petty. Courtney, thankfully, knows the game and so she plays along. We talk as if he’s invisible.

"Hey," he finally says.

"Hey." I meet his gaze with a smile intending to look away, but instead, I get pinned down by his spellbinding eyes.

"I'm gonna go get a drink," I hear Courtney say.

I nod not really paying any attention to her. It's just him and me for the first time in two months.
My first instinct is to hug him, but I don't.
I'm not ready for a hug.
I need to take this slow and in my own time.

There's an uncomfortable helpless silence that passes between us where I smile nervously and bite my lip and he continues to just stare at me.
I need to say something to break the silence but have nowhere to start.
Thankfully, a waiter walking past helps us both out. Max takes two glasses of champagne off his tray and offers me one. I don't usually drink but this occasion calls for it.

Alcohol, the best conversation starter in the world.

I take a sip...okay a gulp.
It's just Max, I reason, he's not hard to talk to.

"It took you two months to get over me Parker. Should I be insulted?" he asks playfully.

"I don't think I'll ever get over you Max," I tell him honestly, "but I can let you go and move one. So be insulted and flattered." I smile.

"I missed you," he says suddenly with an intensity that makes me feel faint.

I take a deep breath and once again, I'm stable. "I missed you too."

I can do this. It doesn't hurt to see or talk to him. I'm okay.

"So been up to much?" he asks.

"Like you don't know."

"Okay, so I do…” he shrugs with a smile.

He’s smiling a lot. I notice that. It makes me smile too, I can’t help it, but it does.

“…but it wouldn't hurt to hear it all from the horse's mouth."

"I don't like being referred to as a horse."

"But you're no ordinary horse, you're a beautiful black beauty type horse."

"I could live with that," I reply.

I open my mouth about to give him a recap of my life without him, when out of nowhere, Tess materialises by his side.

"Hey, I've been looking for you everywhere," she tells him.

She snakes her arm around him and I'm suddenly aware of a throbbing pain in my chest.

"Hi Liz. Haven't seen you around in a while," she says sweetly.

I know immediately what conversation will be like. We'll struggle to find things to say and there'd be silences and I'm not up for that.
So I'm slyly looking past them for a way to escape.
Anyone I know anywhere?

Tess is surprised to see me, I can tell and I'm not sure, but I don't think she's happy to see me.

I don't suppress the throbbing in my chest, instead, I let it flow through me and ride it like a wave.
So I feel heartbroken when I see the two of them together. It'll pass and I'm not going to let it ruin my night.

"I've been pretty busy," I reply with a smile. "I was just catching up with Max here."

I meet his concerned eyes with my own assuring ones. He doesn't need to feel bad for me or worry that I'll burst into tears. I can handle seeing him and his girlfriend together.

Jackpot!
I spy Alex talking to someone, whoever it is, I don't care. I'm heading their way.

"You'll have to excuse me," I tell them. "It looks like Alex needs saving."

He doesn't of course, but they don't know that. And just like that, I've escaped.

Feelings about my first encounter with Max since I broke it off: it didn't go half bad.

****

****

Max calls me, very late that night. So late that I don't glance at my caller id and just answer my phone.

"Hello?".

"Liz?".

"Who is this?".

"Forgotten the sound of my voice already?" I can hear the amusement in his voice.

God I’ve missed him.

"I've been trying," I reply yawning. "Max it's late."

"I know and I'm sorry. I just wanted to know if it was okay to call you again. Like this- like it was before."

"It can't be like it was before," I tell him.

"Oh."

"You can call me and we can talk, but not about your conquests,” I add.

"I wouldn't do that."

"Thanks."

"So...I'll call you."

My jaw drops. Max Evans, just sounded very unsure of himself. That’s a first.

"I won't hold my breath," I reply.

I said that to him the first night we met. It seems appropriate since it’s like we’re starting again, not on a clean slate, but one that already has our first history.

He chuckles. It sends warm ripples down my spine.
I could handle warm ripples.

"Goodnight Liz."

"'Night Max.”

****

Max's POV

"Max, I'd like you to read a couple of pages I've highlighted in your journal," Dr. Leslie Evans Smith tells me.

Some people might find it strange to choose your sister as your therapist, but I needed someone who already knew my history, who was good at what they did and would be direct and blunt. Not that some parts of the sessions haven't made me feel uneasy, like talking about my sexual fantasises - but I've lived through it.

I take the journal that Les had me start three months ago and read through the bits she's highlighted. It's just the general stuff about my feelings over being separated from Liz, my sex-life with Tess and other random thoughts, nothing major.

I look back at her with a blank expression. "Am I supposed to learn something new from this?" I ask.

She looks at me as if I'm the dumbest person earth - that's the Les, my sister persona - which is very quickly replaced by Les. the therapist.

"To recap," she begins, "three months ago, you were "confused" over Liz. You couldn't eat or sleep properly and suffered from minor depression…over Liz, so you came to me.
The majority of your journal entries are about Liz or in someway linked back to her, how she's doing, what things remind you of her or of something you two did together. You've only slept with one random woman in the last three months and after that experience, you wrote that you felt sick and guilty.
You haven't wanted to sleep with any other woman since then. You have dreams about Liz which include sexual fantasises, your sex life with your girlfriend has significantly decreased and more often than not, when you do have sex with her, you're thinking about Liz."

I don't know what she's getting at. It's a little frustrating. "I know all this," I tell her.

"You do, but you don't see it do you?".

"See what?!".

"Max, you're in love with her."

I stare at her incredulous. What is she talking about?
"Who Liz?" I ask.

"Yes Liz. She's all you think about! All you talk about especially now that she's talking to you again. Your journal is like an "here's-just-how-much-Liz-Parker has-stolen-my-heart" diatribe. You loved her enough to let her go when she asked you, even though it hurt you. You don't want to acknowledge your feelings for her. You have this fear of really committing yourself to someone but snap out of it before you lose her."

She takes a breath. That’s it. She’s done with her diagnosis.
And I am screwed.

The realisation is slow and frightening. It's like being backed into a corner and then having no choice but to face whatever's chasing you. Of all the things I thought I'd run from, love wasn't one of them - but I did.

"All this time," I whisper stunned.

I open the book in my lap and read over the words. It's so glaringly obvious. How could I have not known?
I poured my heart into the words in my journal, the emotions behind them were ones I never thought I'd feel.

Oh. My. God.

I look at my sister bewildered. "I'm in love with Liz Parker."

"Yeah," she nods. "And what are you going to do about it?".

I'm already grabbing my coat and checking for my car keys. "I'm going to tell her".

****

I realise that I'm pounding on her door like a mad man, but I have to release the excitement somehow.
I love her.
She loves me.
We can be together.

She opens the door, surprised to see me.

"I love you," I blurt out.

"Love you too," she responds light-heartedly letting me in.

Obviously she’s not getting it.

"I love you,” I tell her again.

"Oookkaaayy." She’s looking at me suspiciously. I think she’s finally taking me serious.

"I'm in love with you.“ I pour everything I feel into my words. “I love you."

She's confounded, she steps back away from me.

"Are you drunk?" she asks me.

"No,” I tell her smiling.

"High?".

"High on love," I respond.

"Oh,” she laughs, “that is pure cheese Evans."

She's not taking me seriously.
I calm myself down with two deep breaths. She'll think I'm out of my mind if I'm virtually bouncing off her walls.

"Seriously Liz,” I tell her wiping the smile off my face. “I was in denial the whole time. I liked my lifestyle, I didn't think I was cut out just yet for your kind of monogamous love and a relationship. But I am. I really am and I want it with you. I love you Liz."

"Have you- does Tess know?" she asks.

"I'm going to tell her. I just wanted to tell you first…“ I trial off when I see the expression on her face. Her brows are furrowed and I can tell that she’s closing up on me.

“Well say something,” I tell her.
Sound I need sound. Silence is deafening.

"It's...nice that you love me,” she responds.

My heart plummets.

Nice. She thinks it’s…nice.

"Right."

"But that doesn't change anything," she continues.

"It changes everything," I tell her. I reach for her hand but she pulls it away from me.

"No! I didn't break if off with you solely because you didn't love me- you were in denial - whatever or just because you had a girlfriend. Those are easy enough to get over, but you aren't."

"I don't understand."

"You have an open relationship with your girlfriend, you sleep around with random women - that's not a relationship I'd like to have with you,” she explains.

Oh is that all?

"I've only slept with one person other than Tess since we broke up,” I tell her.

"Oh. That just cuts it down to six a year then, that'll do fine." Her sarcasm cuts through me like a knife.

"I don't want to sleep with anyone else but you. Even when I'm with Tess, most of the time I wish it was you."

Her jaw drops. "I don't know whether to be flattered or disturbed."

This isn’t going the way I thought it would. My plans are being taken apart and with them, my future with Liz.

"I only want you,” I tell her.

"For now,“ she responds sharply. “You only want me for now."

"Forever."

She shakes her head at my words. "You can't do this Max. You can't just expect us to get together just because you realise that you love me."

"Why not? People change!."

"Not in three months!,“ she shouts. “You've been living your playboy lifestyle for a long time. You can't all of a sudden be ready to throw it away and be a one woman man."

Why doesn’t she understand?!

"I can and I have!".

"Till the next time some beautiful woman who you just have to appreciate comes along," she retorts cynically.

A bitter sour feeling rises in my stomach as I watch her fight back the tears.
The thing about falling in love with someone who you've been completely honest with as a friend, is that when your relationship changes, they take that honesty and use it against you.
Liz knows about my conquests in detail. She knows how I view love and romance, my attitude to relationships. She knows it all, which is why her eyes are large saucers of unbelief.

The truth hits me leaving me breathless. "You don't think I love you do you?" .

"Whether you do or not isn't the point. You're a good friend Max. I trust you with a lot of things, but I don't trust you with my heart."

" But I love you,” I whisper.

She heads over to the door and opens it. "I need you to leave."

I could refuse to go, but that wouldn’t help the situation. I need time to work out what to do.

Bitter, sour, soul wrenching regret explodes within me as I walk out her door. It's the feeling of finally opening your eyes and finding out that the choices you thought were right, choices you thought would lead you to happiness were horribly, terribly wrong.
And it's too late to change them.

All those women, the sex with them was meaningless harmless fun then, but now, it's killing the one thing I want with all my heart.

I think of going home to drown in self pity for a little while and maybe- no definitely cry. But first, I have to do one thing.

I ring her bell and knock on her door again until she opens it.

"Max I really don't-"

"I love you.”

She looks as if she's relenting, as if she's finally letting herself believe me. Encouraged, I take a step forward.
She slams the door in my face.
Fair enough. Considering my history, why would she believe me?
I'll indulge in self-pity for the rest of the day, but after that, I'm going to find a way to make her believe me because I can’t lose her.

****

AN: Hey all,

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Liz86000 - thanks for the feedback ex-lurker , glad I could bring you out.
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Guys, I know I've said this before, but the feedback for this fic is truly wonderful. I'm so glad that you're all enjoying it. Max is going to have to do a lot of begging and grovelling to win Liz over, he also isn't perfect and is a bit of a flawed character...something which I'm having fun exploring. I'm hoping to post more updates for it this week, for now, here's the newest part...

Previously
ring her bell and knock on her door again until she opens it.

"Max I really don't-"

"I love you.”

She looks as if she's relenting, as if she's finally letting herself believe me. Encouraged, I take a step forward.
She slams the door in my face.
Fair enough. Considering my history, why would she believe me?
I'll indulge in self-pity for the rest of the day, but after that, I'm going to find a way to make her believe me because I can’t lose her.

****

Nice to meet you anyway - part nine

Max's POV

After spending hours in the depth of depressive self-pity, beating myself up for all the stupid choices I made in the past and for failing to realise how I felt about Liz earlier on. Looking back on it, the signs were blatant. She was always my last call of the day, being with her was and still is the most natural thing in the world...and I had failed to recognize that.

I am a stupid, sad, pathetic loser...that being said, I'm not going to just let her go. The big question is how.
How do you get someone to trust you again?

I pick up the phone and ring Les. She's a professional at rebuilding relationships.

"She shot you down didn't she?".

That's the first thing she says when she picks up.

"How did you know?" I ask.

Has the news travelled that fast?

"You weren't expecting her to run into your arms just because you finally came to your senses did you?" she asks.

My silence is answer enough.

"Oh, little brother, you have much to learn," she lectures.

I release my clenched jaw before speaking. "If you knew that she wouldn't believe me, why didn't you warn me or give me advice?".

"Because you needed to learn the hard way. Serious relationships take work Max. I wanted you to experience that pain and rejection that sometimes comes with them. You've never had to work hard at relationship before now. This was a lesson," she answers in a wise tone.

Her and Liz will get on soo well. She's all about the lessons too.

"You still want to fight for her?" she asks.

"Yes."

"Good."

"It is, except she doesn't trust that I won't break her heart. She won't even believe that I love her!".

"Well can you blame her?" she counters.

"I guess not. What do I do next Les?", I ask.

I really don't know where to go from here.

"First off, no more sleeping around at all".

Easy enough.

"Done," I tell her.

"Secondly, break up with Tess. If you continue to pursue Liz while still in a relationship with Tess, you're insinuating that you've got your fingers in two pies."

"Right."

Breaking up with Tess. That won't be the easiest thing to do, we've known each other for so long and I care about her- even love her a little bit...

"Max."

"Yeah?".

"You are okay to do that right? Unless you really want to be with Tess and not Liz then-"

"No. It'll be hard that's all. She's out of town-shopping in New York. I can't do it over the phone, she deserves more than that," I tell her.

"That's pretty decent of you." She's surprised and impressed. I should be offended but you can't bite the hand that's helping you get the girl.

"What do I do after that?" I ask.

She sighs heavily into the phone, so I know that this will be the hard part. "Liz hearing about you and different women...you can see why she wouldn't trust your sudden 180 degree character change. Also...remember the premiere night when you left her and went off with someone else?".

I cringe at the memory. "Yes."

"Things like that added to her distrust of you. She was your date, your partner for the night and you just ditched her."

It didn't exactly happen like that. I asked if she minded and she said no. I open my mouth to inform Les of this but she doesn't give me a chance.

"Even if she said it was okay. It wasn't. She didn't trust that you would stay the whole night with her then and she doesn't trust you to do that now. Apply that to her idea of an actual relationship with you and you get her rejection of you. She doesn't truth you to last in a long term relationship. In her eyes, you'll do what you did to her that night, ditch her and hop onto the next freebie train which comes along."

"I'm getting the distinct tone of a lecture," I tell her.

"Lecture and advice, thought I'd slip it in," she responds.

"Back to Liz..."

"Take her to a party, kind of like recreating that night, but this time, be her date, keep it platonic, arrive and leave with her. Show her that you aren't going anywhere."

I nod in agreement with her. "That's a good idea."

"Don't sound so surprised, I do this for a living you know," she tells me.

"Thanks Les."

"Good luck."

"What happens after that?" I ask.

"Three steps at a time, little one."

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" I ask. I don't have to see her to know that she's smiling.

"The chance to help my brother land the love of his life? you bet I am. Tell me how it goes."

"Will do."

"Don't screw it up Max."

I don't need a warning on that one.

"I don't plan to," I tell her.

****

I give Liz two days of peace; no phone calls and no visits. I want to give her some space before asking her about the party. I haven't told Michael or anyone apart from Les about my feelings towards Liz. Everything is pretty fragile. I want to keep it quiet for now, I don't want other people interfering. Since I haven't had a call or visit from Maria, then I'm guessing that Liz hasn't told her about my declaration. She really doesn't believe that I love her, probably thinks it's pointless to even mention it to anyone.

I pick up the phone and call her house number. All I get after ten attempts is her answer machine. I leave a message on my last attempt, just apologising and asking her to call me back. I ring her cell phone too. It goes straight to answer phone.
What I want to do next is to drive over to her house and check if she's in and just ignoring my calls, but, I convince myself to give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she's busy at 11pm at night.

****

Liz's POV

After a long but satisfying day working on the script and storylines for the next few episodes of Orange Sky, I check my cell phone to find six missed calls from Max. I may be out my mind because I want to call him back. Sure he's a complete ass for thinking that all of a sudden just because he thinks he's in love with me, we can become a couple, but I won't lie, I'm curious to hear what he has to say now.
I decide to call him when I get home, after I change into my pyjamas and make myself some hot chocolate with marshmallows.

****

"Hey Liz, it's me. Look if you're there, please pickup...Okay, since you're not I'll just say this to the machine and hope you don't erase my message. It was stupid of me to think that we could just become a couple. I'm sorry for that wrong assumption but I still meant what I said. Look, please give me a call, anytime."

That's what greets me when I play my answer machine messages. He sounded so sincere and sad. The pleading tone gets to me and before I know it, I'm calling him back.
Granted it's midnight, but he did say I could call him at anytime.

"Why am I doing this?" I ask myself as I wait for him to pick up.

"Hello?".

In two days I've missed the sound of his voice.

"Having an early night?" I joke.

"Liz. You called." He sounds surprised...pleased but surprised.

"Yeah, I um, got your message," I tell him.

"Oh good. Listen, I was wondering what you were doing tomorrow night."

"Nothing much, why?" I ask.

"I've been invited to a party and I wanted to see if you would go with me."

I'm getting a big sense of deja vu.

"What about Tess?".

"I'm asking you," he replies. "It's nothing romantic, strictly platonic- I don't want to lose my friend...inspite of everything."

"Okay." The answer comes out before I have time to think.

Why am I doing this?
Damn it, because I miss him.

"Great!. I'll pick you at eight," he tells me.

"Okay."

I hang up the phone in a daze.

What have I done?

****

Max's POV

Thank God for Ryan and his Thursday night parties. Not that there weren't other ones we could have gone to, but Ryan's party was a relaxed house party; no press and it would be fun. I was so shocked that Liz said yes that I forgot to tell her that it was casual dress. So after checking in with my agent, manager and assistant, I call Liz before she heads off to work.

"Hey, just on my way out," she says.

"I figured. Just wanted to tell you that the dress code is casual tonight," I tell her.

"That's one less thing for me to worry about."

"Yeah."

We descend into momentary silence. I can't think of anything to say to her.

"Okay, see you tonight at eight," she tells me.

"Okay."
I hang up and smack my forehead. Could I not form an actual sentence?

****

****

I pick Liz up at eight on the dot. Her hair is in a mid high pony tail, she's dressed in jeans, a silk white top and knee length denim jacket. Her look is simple but very effective.

"You look beautiful," I tell her as we head to the car.

"Thanks," she smiles. "With you it goes unsaid."

****

The initial minutes of the drive are awkward at best, but thankfully the music playing on the radio absorbs most of the blow. I don't know what to say to her. I'm tongue tied...which is a first.

"So is there anything I should know about tonight?" she asks.

That this is the third step in trying to win your trust?

"No," I reply, "It's pretty relaxed, no press. Some might sneak in, but the point is, it's just a party."

"Sure. So Ryan is..."

"A friend. We met on the set of Exit North two years ago. He's pretty decent, a bit of a party animal though."

"Max?". Her soft and tentative tone makes me hesitate before responding.

"Yeah?".

"About what you said, that day- the L word, the whole thing...can we just forget about that tonight?", she asks, "It makes things too tense".

It hurts to hear her say that, but I know she has every right to feel the way she does.

"If you want," I tell her.

"Good, I do."

****

The party as usual is very good. The music is good, the drinks are good although I stay on the non-alcoholic side tonight. I want to make a good impression. I'm surrounded by good-looking people and to top it all off, Liz is here with me.

I introduce her to people I know, we talk, we dance, we have a good time. There are a lot of beautiful women here, but I don't want any of them. The realisation makes me smile, which turns into one of surprise when I see Michael and Alex headed towards us.
I'm under no illusion about Alex's feelings for Liz. He obviously wants to pick up where they left off years ago and go further than that. I'm also under no illusions about the fact that he knows that I want Liz. Our friendship, is a strange one, we spend time with each other when we can and talk about Liz as if she's just a friend. It's as if we've decided that "may the best man win" and are pretty honourable about it.

Tonight of all nights when want Liz to myself, you can understand why Alex being there may be a problem.

"Hey guys," I greet them.

"What are you doing here?" asks Liz. Looking at Alex, she adds, "I thought you weren't back till tomorrow."

"I came back earlier, bumped into Michael who invited me to this party," he replies.

I look over to Michael. He isn't bitter that I didn't invite him to the party, he understands that I wanted it to be Liz and I only.
That's why this he's my best friend.

****

We talk for a while, do a brief catch up. While Michael and I are talking, Alex somehow draws Liz out onto the dance floor.

"So you and Liz huh?", I hear Michael ask. My eyes are fixed firmly on the two of them dancing.

"I'm working on it," I reply.

"Don't screw around with her Maxwell," he warns.

First Leslie, now him, do they really think that I'm not capable of making this work?!

"I'm not planning to Michael," I tell him. "I love her."

I wasn't planning on telling him that, but now that it's out, I don't regret it. I do love Liz. It's not a secret I want to hide anymore.

"You...wow," he stares at me shocked.

"I know," I agree.

Who would have thought it?

"What about Tess?" he asks.

"I'll take care of her when she gets back," I answer.

"You do know that Alex is into her and that she's into him too right?" he asks.

Unfortunately.

"Yep".

"I'm gonna go get a drink. You want one?", he asks.

"No thanks."

I stand there watching Alex and Liz dance and talk. Thank goodness it's not a slow dance. Liz dances beautifully. She flows with the music, I'm mesmerized by her movements. My eyes focus on her face, Alex just bent over and whispered something in her ear. When he leans back to reveal her face, my heart stops for one defining moment.

Liz has different smiles, smirks and grins. They're soft, sad, amused- but this one smile only comes out once in a while. It's a full blown illuminating smile which lights up her eyes and makes her a picture of perfection. For her to smile like that, to be in its presence, is a gift...a gift she just gave to Alex.
I can't remember the last time she smiled at me like that. It's beautiful, she's beautiful...I really, really love her.
With that smile, she's made me come undone. In realising just how much I love her, I also grasp the pain of what losing her would be like. Even when she isn't fully mine yet, I'm so scared to lose her, it's scaring me.

I'm having a hard time breathing. I need to escape.
On my way out of the room, I bump into someone.

"Hey Max."

I glance at the person the voice belongs to. It's Stephanie Loren. I slept with her once.

"Hey Steph."

"Where's the fire?".

"No where." I'm calmer now. I can breathe. "Just needed to get out you know?".

"Yeah. So how you doing?" she asks.

"I'm okay."

We start talking, sit on a couch in a corner and catch up. Somehow, before I know it, she's leading me into one of the bedrooms downstairs. If I'd bothered to look around, seeing Alex walking down the hallway would have snapped me out of it...but I didn't, so forgetting about Liz, I followed Steph.

****

Liz's POV

When Alex and I noticed that the guys were gone, we set up trying to find them. I looked around the room we were in and didn't find them. I decided to catch up with Alex and found him standing in the hall with his back to me, just staring at something. I tap him playfully on the shoulder and then come up in front of him.

"Hey, did you find Max or Michael?" I ask.

At the mention of their names, he looks at me, really looks at me. He has a "bad news" expression on his face.

"I found Max," he answers.

"Okkay. Where is he?" I ask.

He points to a nearby door with a grim expression. "In there."

It still doesn't hit me.

"Okkkay?" I ask puzzled.

"He's with someone," he explains.

The meaning in his tone is unmistakeable. It hits me. Really hard.

"Oh. Okay," I respond in a strained voice.

What did I expect? For him to actually change?

"I'm so sorry Liz," Alex apologizes.

"Don't be," I tell him.

I'm such an idiot. The biggest part of me hadn't believed his declaration of love and monogamy, but a small part of me had hoped that maybe, just maybe what he was saying was true. That I could trust him with my heart.
The night had gone so well...but history was repeating itself again.

"What do you want to do?" he asks.

"I want to go," I answer. "Take me home."

He puts his arm comfortingly around my shoulder. "Sure."

"Hey, was just looking for you..."

I look up too see Michael. He's completely oblivious to what's going on. I wish I was. I wish, I wasn't feeling the way I do now. I wish I could be happy.

"...you guys seen Max?" he asks.

You've gotta be kidding me. No way do I want to stand here and tell him that he's having sex with some random girl in the room near us.

Alex falls in step with me as I walk past him. "He's in there," I tell him. "Tell him Alex drove me home when he's done," I add with more stability than I feel.

****

Max's POV

I didn't sleep with Stephanie. We kissed and aroused each other, but I couldn't go through with it. I settled for a blow job instead.
I came out of the bedroom feeling pretty okay with myself until I found Michael leaning by the side of the door. My puzzled look meets his of concealed anger. He seems subdued for a reason I cannot fathom. Stephanie thankfully senses the atmosphere between us and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek before excusing herself.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Alex drove Liz home," he answers.

"Oh."

Liz. I left with Alex. I did it...I ditched her.

"Don't you want to know why?" Michael asks me.
He angry with me...very angry with me.

"Why?" I ask.

I have a sinking feeling that I already know the answer to that question.

"He saw you go in there with her. Liz found out."

I can't get words out. This is a nightmare. I didn't mean for things to happen. I didn't plan on going into that room with Stephanie. I just royally screwed up.

"Max, I've known you for a long time and I have never been ashamed to know you or call you my friend till now." That's all Michael says before walking away from me.
He's disgusted with me.
I'm disgusted with myself.

The bliss I felt in that room with Steph has been replaced by shame. I feel empty, dirty and so guilty and very regretful. I want to go over to Liz's and beg for forgiveness. But she won't talk to me. I wouldn't talk to me.

I've lost the respect of one of my closest friends and my chance at rebuilding broken ties with the girl I love all in one night.

I am a complete and utter fool.

****

AN: Hey all. Thanks for the feedback. It shows me that I'm doing my job right.
There are no words for Max's behaviour...well there are some very colourful ones, lol, but he'll explain his behaviour in the next part. Not that it'll justify his behaviour, I don't think anything can do that but it'll be an explanation.

I know y'all aren't routing Max and Liz at the moment, but this fic is dreamer insured, so I'm going to do my best to make it work out, a word of warning though, it is a rocky road ahead.

Liz at this point is pretty much the victim (i'm not sure if that's the right choice of words, but what I mean is, she's reacting to his behaviour. Max is the one at fault) but she's not perfect either. Max has pushed her over the edge, that's all I'm saying for now, but a bit will be revealed in the next part

nitpick23 wrote:
Wonder how Max will try to spin this, "while she was blowing me I was only thinking ofyou."?? .

Loved this!

Anyho, enough about me, here's the next part. My goal is to post the "cliffhanger", if you will, to this section on Sunday...

PREVIOUSLY

"Alex drove Liz home," he answers.

"Oh."

Liz. I left with Alex. I did it...I ditched her.

"Don't you want to know why?" Michael asks me.
He angry with me...very angry with me.

"Why?" I ask.

I have a sinking feeling that I already know the answer to that question.

"He saw you go in there with her. Liz found out."

I can't get words out. This is a nightmare. I didn't mean for things to happen. I didn't plan on going into that room with Stephanie. I just royally screwed up.

"Max, I've known you for a long time and I have never been ashamed to know you or call you my friend till now." That's all Michael says before walking away from me.
He's disgusted with me.
I'm disgusted with myself.

The bliss I felt in that room with Steph has been replaced by shame. I feel empty, dirty and so guilty and very regretful. I want to go over to Liz's and beg for forgiveness. But she won't talk to me. I wouldn't talk to me.

I've lost the respect of one of my closest friends and my chance at rebuilding broken ties with the girl I love all in one night.

I am a complete and utter fool.

****


Nice to meet you anyway - part 10

Liz's POV

I don't shed a single tear during the drive home. Alex doesn't attempt to console me, which is something I appreciate because I don't want to talk.

I let Max get to me. I let him hurt me again.
Of course he's not to blame, I mean, he is who he is. It's my fault for hoping a tiny bit that we could work.

After we stop in front of my house, Alex switches the engine off and we sit there for a while. "Do you want me to stay?" he asks.

"No. But thanks for offering and being so good to me," I tell him.

Alex has to be the most understanding person in the world because I know how he feels about me and he knows how I feel about him...but he also knows the I have feelings for one of his friends....who once again just broke my heart… and he's still here, sitting the quiet with me.

"It can't be easy seeing me in angst over him," I add.

"It's not," he replies honestly, "but I'm not walking away from you Liz."

I turn to him and smile. No matter how I feel, Alex always manages to make me smile. "I don't want you to either," I tell him.

"I have to be honest with you Liz. I didn't just happen to be at that party, I kind of made it my mission to find out where you where tonight. When I found out where you were and who you were with, I thought something like this was going to happen."

I pursue my lips together and nod. I can’t say anything else because his instincts were right, once again Max Evans had shown how little respect he had for me.

I lean over kiss him on the cheek. "Thanks for being there."

He walks me to my door and kisses me gently on my forehead. "I'll call you tomorrow."

I nod, unlock my door and close the door behind me.

I don't cry then either.
I feel intense pain, hurt and anger at Max, but mostly at myself, which is why it's so easy for me to flee into sleep.

****

Max's POV

"Hey little bro, how goes the love connection?" Leslie asks. Her tone is bright and chipper, I doubt that it’ll be that way for long.

I brace myself.

"I screwed up Les,” I confess to her, “I don't know what to do now.”

"What happened?", she asks.

I tell her the whole disastrous story. She listens without interrupting till I finish.
Then she reacts.

Her voice is a low, harsh, restrained whisper. "You. Stupid. Fool."

I bow my head in shame. "I know I am.”

"What were you thinking?!" she explodes.

I have to move the phone a safe distance away from my ear.

"I wasn't!" I shout back.

"You knew last night was important-"

"I know!".

I know all this! I don’t need her telling me. I need her to help me fix what I’ve damaged.

"Then why did you do it?!" she demands.

"I don't know!".

"Bullshit!. Everyone knows why they do things if they're really honest with themselves and think hard enough. So why did you do it?".

She’s not going to let up or let me get away with a smooth answer. I have to be honest with her and myself.
"I guess-"

"Don't guess,” she interrupts, “Tell me what you know."

"I got scared."

There I said it. I was petrified. It feels good to finally admit it to someone.

"Go on."

Apparently that one admission isn’t good enough. For what I’ve done, I don’t suppose it is.

"I've never felt for Tess what I feel for Liz. I want to protect her, to take care of her, to make her laugh and be there to help her through the hard stuff. I want to-”

I can’t believe I’m saying this but…

“… I want to have children with her. I felt the enormity of my feelings for Liz last night Les, and I got scared- scared at how strong they were and I didn't know what to do about it and then Stephanie appears and suddenly it's so simple with someone like her...I just wanted it to be simple."

Ultimately, that’s why I have sex with random women. In my business, nothing lasts forever. When you make a movie, you connect with people for a short time and then it's over and you're onto the next project. Everything is fleeting...and with the sex, I fast-forward to the best bit. The high intense emotional release and then it's over. No ties, no pain, no sense of loss.
But that might not be good enough for me anymore.

"You don't know how to deal with your feelings so you go not for the bottle or drugs but for sex. Nice one Max."

"We didn't have sex!", I tell her.

Everyone seems to be ignoring that point. While I do realise now that what I did was bad, the fact that I didn’t have sex with Steph, that I couldn’t because of Liz means something.

"No. She just gave you a blow job. I'm sure Liz will think that's acceptable,” she retorts.

"You're mad at me."

"You're damn right I am!”. I cringe as her voice hits a pitch that should only be heard by animals.

“As your sister,” she continues in her normal voice level, “I'm extremely pissed off and disappointed in you. As your therapist? I'd say we just made a breakthrough. You're not a sex addict, Max, that’s the good news. The other new is, I'd say that now, ever since you've started regretting your man whore ways, you're subconsciously trying to destroy your relationship with Liz because you don't feel that you're good enough for her. How am I doing so far?".

"You're on fire," I answer.
A small part of me does think that Liz will be better off with Alex. He'll treat her right, he‘s funny and intelligent and wouldn‘t do what I did yesterday. I’m sabotaging myself. I am my own worst enemy.

"You gotta give Liz a few days to deal. I don't think she'll want to talk to you, but you have to try,” Les advises. “Talk to her, tell her why you did it. Find out what she has to say, whether she'll want nothing to do with you - which is a very strong possibility or...if she'll forgive you - which I very much doubt by the way."

"Thanks for the show of faith," I say.

"It's the truth. Either way, if you still want to have a relationship with her, you'd have to come to a decision. A serious heartfelt decision to stop using sex as an escape. You made declarations to Liz, you have to stick to them. Max, you have to know that you'll have to walk a very, very long road before Liz can trust you, if ever. Are you prepared to wait?".

I respond without a second thought. “I am…Do you think she'll take me back?".

"I wouldn't…“

I do love Les for her honesty.

“…but if she does somehow manage to forgive you, if you ever do something like this to her again, Max, I will hurt you, badly."

"I will personally hand you a bat to beat me up with," I tell her.

"Don't worry, I'll buy my own."

****

Michael's POV

If someone had taken a poll to see who, between Max and I, would be the most likely to do what he did to Liz last night, I would have won that poll.

Max is the playboy with a heart, I'm just a playboy; love 'em and leave 'em. At least that was my motto until I met Maria. She's my match, my actual other half. We argue in love and make-up in love. I never thought I'd find a beautiful, fiery headstrong talented girl with the sweetest lips I've ever tasted. I never thought I’d find someone I would want to stay faithful to and settle down with, full stop.

If I was sappy sort, which I'm not, I’d say that I've got the fairy-tale: Emancipated at sixteen from my abusive waste of space foster father; escaped to California, modelled, fell into acting, turned out I was quite good at it, met the girl of my dreams and settled down.

Hell, I will say it. I’ve got the fairy-tale!

Between Max, Kyle, Jesse, Alex and I, I didn't think I'd be the first to settle down. I guess I really didn't have a chance when Maria made her mind up to have me.

Usually Maria has to pry information about Max and Liz away from me. This time, I was so pissed at Max, that I freely gave it.
Which is why we've just pulled into his driveway. Maria, livid with anger, was in no state to drive, so I had to...plus, I have a feeling I'm going to have to referee.

****
She rings the door bell as well as pounding hard on the door.
Her green eyes are almost emerald. Man, she's sexy when she's mad.

Max opens the door.
I wasn't expecting her to punch him, so I'm not prepared to hold her back when her fist connects with his face.
Max's hand falls away from the door as he covers his eye.
He backs away from the door, Maria goes in for more.
This time, I manage to hold her back. Struggling against me, she comes out with a slew of curse words that leaves me momentarily stunned. She slips from me for a moment, but I grab her again.

"Michael let me go!".

"I don't think so," I tell her, "violence won't help."

"It's making me feel better," she answers.

"Maria, I'm sorry," Max apologizes with one hand covering his eye.
"Go put some ice on that Maxwell," I tell him.
We follow him into the kitchen, I'm holding onto Maria's arm now.
"You tell her you love her, then go have a quickie at a party you take her to!" she shouts.

"It was stupid,” he agrees. He passes her an ice-pack which she grudgingly accepts and puts on her knuckles.

"It was more than stupid,“ she continues. “To think, I encouraged her to tell you how she felt about you! Got mad at her when she ended it with you. It makes me feel sick. You make me feel sick!".

"I make me sick too," he agrees.

He’s not defending his actions. I’m looking at an emotionally battered friend.

"You'll get no pity from me Max Evans. Stay away from her", Maria warns.

One look at Max and I know he won't.
If I was in his place and Liz was Maria, I wouldn't stay away either.
Regardless of his behaviour, I think he really does love Liz.

****

Liz's POV
I've just spent a much needed day of relaxation at Noah's house. I needed a little space away from the house, from Max's general proximity, so I called Noah and spent Saturday and most of Sunday there.

I told him about the drama going on in my life then put it aside, went shopping, to the cinema and paint-balling. I left feeling fine, cheerful and carefree. Until that is, I found Max Evans waiting on my doorstep.

The black eye Maria gave him is healing. I feel like giving him another one.
"What are you doing here Max?" I ask him.

"I had to see you," he answers.
I step around him and unlock my door. "You've seen me. Now go."

I should shut the door behind me but I'd only be prolonging the inevitable, so I leave it open and surprise surprise, I turn around and he's there.

"We need to talk," he says.

He's inches from me. My folded arms keep me from shaking with fury.

After everything he's done. He feels the need to talk.
Fine. I’ll talk.

"Okay. The girl you left me for on Thursday night, did you have fun with her?" I ask.

My tone makes him flinch. I don’t really give a damn about how my words affect him.

"God, Liz. I'm so sorry."

He's hugging me, pleading me to forgive him. He's going lower and lower down my body…

"I didn't plan on it,” he tells me.

By now, he's on his knees with his arms around my waist. Something tugs at my heart, at the sight of him on his knees looking up at me. I can see the regret in his eyes. I feel it as he clings desperately to me, yet still I stand unmoved with my arms folded.

"Why?" I ask him. The emotions I thought I had dealt with resurface and I feel my eyes brimming with tears waiting to be shed. He looks away and then back up at me, I think he's crying too.

"I saw you with Alex,” he begins. “He said something to you and you smiled this…beautiful smile...”

He ditched me to have sex because of a smile?!

“…Then it hit me, just how much I felt for you and I got scared. I didn't know how to deal with it-"

"So you go have sex with someone else," I finish.

That’s always the way to deal with things.

"I didn't sleep with her.”

His eyes grow desperate at the look of disbelief he reads in mine.

“I really didn’t sleep with her Liz- I couldn't go through with it…She just gave me a blow job."

Oh.

"Well, that's alright then."

"I've never felt real love before Liz. What I did was inexcusable but I was scared that if I let myself really love you, you'd realise that you can do better and leave me. I couldn't survive that."

What?

"Let me get this straight,” I tell him. “You love me so much that you let someone else give you oral sex. And this is just us now, what if we were dating huh? what then? you'd love me so much that you'd have full blown sex with someone else?".

"What? No!".

"What if we were married huh? what then? threesomes, an orgy to show just how much you love me?!".

He's hugging my waist really tightly at this point. "I love you damn it!," he cries. "I love you!".

If this was an episode of Orange Sky, this would be the part where I'm supposed to say "I love you too" or forgive him and then we'd makeup…but I'm not that easy.
Hearing him say "I love you" after everything he's done to me incites the flames of hurt and anger.

"You love me,” I spit out. “So you get a blow job off some random?!- You fucking bastard!!!".

I'm pounding into him and pushing him away at the same time but he holds on.

"Get out!", I shout.

"No Liz. I-you've got to understand!", he pleads.

"I don't have to do anything!". I'm still trying to detach his arms from my waist but he's holding on soo tight.
I stop trying then, instead, I focus on calming down. "Get off me Max," I tell him in a cold, controlled voice.

He reluctantly lets go, wipes the tears from his eyes and gets up.
"Liz, I need to tell you how I feel." He raises his hand to touch me, but I step back and walk around him.

Fuck no.

"I'm way past caring about how you feel, Max," I tell him. I viciously wipe the tears from my eyes. I refuse to shed anymore tears for him.

"I love y-"

"Don't say it,” I interrupt. “Don't even say it. I don't get it. What you do would make sense if you were from some screwed up family, but you're not. Your parents love, your sister loves...the right way!. But with you, love is a dirty word. Love means pain and hurt…“ I trail off as my voice cracks. I take a breath to collect myself. I’m not crying for him.

“Your apologies and declarations mean nothing to me,” I continue, “when you've proven time and time again that they're meaningless."

I march over and swing open the door. "Now get out!".

"Liz please!".

I cannot believe he wants to continue this conversation!. There is nothing that he can say that will change anything.

"Out!”, I order him.

It seems like hours before he reaches the door and walks out. I slam it behind him.
I don't think he'll knock again like he did the last time he came to apologise. If he did, I wouldn't open it.
He's gone too far this time.

****

AN: Hey all. Here's the next part...

Smac wrote:That was too funny and so typical Maria! Thought it was funny when Liz was musing his eye was healing and she'd like to give him another black eye! That is another thing about this story. No matter how sad and painful some of these later parts have been, there's still always that humor.

Thanks, , I try to keep the humour in. Glad you like it

Smac wrote:One more thing...Was Alex really trying to protect Liz at that party, or was it he knew Max good enough to know he'd screw up and he wanted to be there to point it out? Just wondering???

It's a bit of both. I'll do an Alex POV in later parts when things get a little bit sticky

LTL wrote:If you can pull off a dreamer ending to this one, you are a writing genius.

I will try my best, lol.

LTL wrote:
Max is acting so much like the ex of an old friend of mine that it's giving me the heebie-jeebies. He went on to screw up two more marriages, and he lets his kids down on a regular basis.

Damn, that's not a very good guy. Glad to know he's an ex.

Kylie the control freak wrote:... and how old is he supposed to be again?

It's been a year since they met, so Max is now 26 and Liz is 24.

BehrObsession wrote: I know that Max has a long row to hoe, but please don't keep us knee deep in angst for too long. Maybe, you could jump ahead and summarize what's been happening instead of making us agonize through it with them.

I will definitely be summarizing in later parts, because a lot will happen.

BehrObsession wrote: Has Liz been pushed to the point of giving her virginity to Alex or someone else? Max really doesn't deserve it, but she will probably regret it if she does it out of a sense of revenge. On the other hand, it would serve the purpose of making Max feel just a little of the hurt that he's put Liz through.

Are you reading my mind? lol.

I'm not sure what you guys will think about Liz in this next part, or the next few others, but this fic is a little bit out there and just writing itself and this is where it's going...


PREVIOUSLY

“Your apologies and declarations mean nothing to me,” I continue, “when you've proven time and time again that they're meaningless."

I march over and swing open the door. "Now get out!".

"Liz please!".

I cannot believe he wants to continue this conversation!. There is nothing that he can say that will change anything.

"Out!”, I order him.

It seems like hours before he reaches the door and walks out. I slam it behind him.
I don't think he'll knock again like he did the last time he came to apologise. If he did, I wouldn't open it.
He's gone too far this time.

****


Nice to meet you anyway - part 11

Maria's POV

I turn the key to Liz's door and let myself in. I'm surprised to hear music, loud chick “I'm over you” music.
Maybe after two months of being depressed over Max, she’s taking her first steps to come back to the real world.

I find her doing stomach crunches in the living room.
That's definitely an improvement. Usually, I find her sitting on her couch or her back garden just staring at nothing. It was even worse during the first week, she wouldn't eat much, her smiles were always pained and her eyes were swollen with tears.

I blame myself for pushing her to him, for not letting up when she told me to. I just thought I was so right. My instincts had never let me down about a love match before and I trusted them. I thought I knew what was best… obviously, I was miles from being right about anything between them. Apart from the fact that she loved him.

"Hey 'Ria," she smiles at me. A real happy smile. They've been far and few between in the last weeks, but at least they're there.

"Hey," I reply. I head for the kitchen to grab a drink.

I always stop by to see her, to make sure she's okay especially at the weekends. Alex and I alternated the weeks we'd stay over during the first month. We each have a couple of drawers in her house now.
We both felt responsible. Me for not minding my own business and him for being the one to tell her where Max was that night. I told him not to blame himself, he did Liz a favour. At least we had the best intentions for her. Liz doesn't blame us, she blames herself for letting herself fall for him.

I don't blame her, I blame him for giving her hope when there obviously was none and for continuously screwing with her head with his stupid gifts.

I spy the vase of white roses on the kitchen table and resist the urge to toss them out of the window.
She used to do that in the beginning when he started sending them. Roses, tulips and expensive gifts all with an “I'm sorry” card.
She'd read the card, rip it up, give the flowers away or throw them out and put the presents in her bottom drawer. I told her I could give them to Michael to give it back to him but she'd refused my offer.

"He won't stop,” she'd told me. “He'd just send it again and we'd be going around in circles.”

I let the subject drop. She knew him better than I did.

"He'll stop eventually," she'd said on the second week.

But he hasn't. Every week, he sends a bouquet and a present. He doesn’t put an "I'm sorry" anymore, he just signs his name.

I, naturally, had a few words with him about his audacity at rubbing salt in her wound.

"I don't know what else to do," he told me.

"Go to hell," I advised him.

"I'm already there,” he’d responded.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't try to tell me that you're going through what she is Max, you don't have the capacity to understand it. You don't get it!"

He just gave me this look. I knew he wasn't going to stop.
What the hell was his problem?! Why couldn't he leave Liz alone?

"I love her," he answered.

"No, you lust her, now you're obsessed with her. You know what you're doing is very stalkerish. We could get a restraining order against you," I threatened.

"Liz wouldn't do that," he'd answered with certainty.

They know each other pretty well because, when I broached the topic, Liz refused.

"He's not crazy Maria. Just a little confused,” she explained. “He thinks he can fix it with flowers and gifts. He'll realise soon enough that he can't.”

Max has long staying power, I'll give him that. Even though we don't talk about him anymore, his presence is still here.
She's put his flowers in a vase.
It's the first time she's done that and I have no idea what that means.
Is she still in love with him?
Is she wanting him back? To try again?
Or is she healed to the point where she can just appreciate the flowers for their beauty and not associate them with the person who sent them?

Her entrance in the kitchen bright-eyed and with a relaxed smile draws my attention.
"You're looking good," I compliment her.

"I'm feeling good. Really good," she grins. She grabs a bottle of water from the fridge and joins me around the kitchen table.

"You don't have to check up on me anymore 'Ria, I'm okay, really."

I nod at the flowers. "I can see that. What did he send this time?".

"Don't know. Didn't open it," she replies.

She's been doing that for two weeks now. Not opening his gifts, she just puts them away.

"It won't do any good to see what they are, they won't change anything," she'd answered when I first asked her about them.

I'm not sure if her not opening them is good or bad. All I know it that she's getting better.

We talk about what she's doing for the weekend. Not much. Maybe working on the script with Quinn on Sunday; apparently, it should be done in a few months. So while she's creating what will no doubt be an awesome script, I'll be holding Michael's hand as he meets my parents. We've been together for a year now. He is definitely the man I'm going to marry...if he can survive the Amy and Brody interrogation.

****

Liz's POV

All this week, I've been telling Maria and Alex that I'm fine. The surprising thing to me is that I actually feel it.
I'm all cried out for one and also, I've decided to move on.
Sure I love Max, but he doesn't reciprocate the feeling - why pine for something that can never be?

I also have Alex, as well as Maria, but I'm not looking to date her. Alex has been great through this whole thing; through my tears and depression over someone else, he's been there for it all.

And I love him, not just for that, but for everything that he is. I should find it strange that so far I've loved three people: Noah, Alex and Max, but then I've loved them all differently, so I guess it's okay.
Alex and I though, we were perfect for each other when we dated years ago and we're perfect for each other now.
Soulmates forever. I'd have to be some kind of stupid to just let that go.

Two months is long enough to mourn Max Evans. I need to get on with my life but I can't do that when he still keeps sending me flowers and gifts. I need to help him move on. I've been thinking about how to do that all week. I've been thinking about the first night we met a year ago, who knew that it would turn into all this drama?
I've been thinking and I've finally come up with something that should work. It's risky and demands me to throw my inhibitions aside and just go for it. I'm excited and nervous. Something which Maria picks up on but I tell her that I'm just excited about the script. I switch the conversation to Michael meeting her parents which does the trick. Ever since Maria's bad boy phase when she was younger, her parents made her promise that the next person she would bring home would be her husband.
Good luck to Michael is all I'm going to say.
We talk for a while, till Maria has to go.

It's late afternoon when, dressed in a simple blue v-neck top and jeans, my hair in loose curls and barely there make-up, I want to be soft and alluring not sultry and sexy, I pick up the phone and ring the number I should have erased two months ago.

"Hey Liz. This is a surprise," he answers.

I guess he didn't delete my number either.

"Yeah. Listen, I was wondering where you are right now?" I ask.

He could be filming across the country for all I know.

"I'm at home actually," he replies.

Good.

"Alone?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Have any plans for the rest of the day?" .

"Not particularly. Liz wha-"

"I'm coming over," I tell him.

"Now?" he asks.

"Is that okay?".

"Yeah. yeah, sure."

He's panicking. Good.

"Okay. See you in a bit."

****

I'm shaking as I head over to my car. I take a deep breath and pull myself together. There's no room for hesitation or fear. It's all about my confidence...in my ability to seduce Max Evans.

I doubt it's a plan anyone would approve of but it's the right one. It struck me as I stared at the stars a few nights ago. The night I met Max, he had wanted to sleep with me. Maria and Noah were all up for me "getting laid". Plus I'm the only girl who Max wants but can't have. I'm the challenge he's obsessed with. He doesn’t fully understand how much it hurt to hear him do all the things he did with those girls; he doesn't understand love; all he understands is sex. Sex is what started this all, him wanting to sleep with me and sex is what will finish it.

I'll be honest, sex will also hurt him and some part of me wants to hurt him as much as he hurt me. I want to him to know that he can’t have me. No matter what he does.
Hurt him, get us closure, make out with Max Evans...it covers all the bases.
I'm not going to sleep with him of course, just a few kisses and a bit of foreplay should do it. I'm not planning on going that far.

It's an insane plan, I know, but honestly, I'm tired of taking his crap. This time I want to dish it out and see how well he takes it. I'm a woman scorned, I'll admit it, but what can you do but ride out the wave?

****