Roswell Fanatics

A/N: Thanks so much for still reading this and leaving feedback and waiting patiently for an update. I'm so sorry I'm late. I was just having problems with the muse. But I'm here now and I bear a nice surprise for you all. I'm posting 2 chapters today. Hopefully you'll like them both.

Disclaimer: The song used in Chapter 11 is Here With Me by Plumb. I'm only borrowing the song for the purpose of this fic.


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Chapter 10

Bright and early, Isabel was already knocking on the other doors. She was up as soon as the sun was, repacking and getting dressed so she and the rest of the group could move into the Evans home.

“Come on, come on, get up, people!” Isabel said loudly as she knocked on one door then another.

“Ugh, tell me why we allowed her to take the role of manager again?” Michael groaned as he turned over on the bed.

“Because she’s your sister. Now come on, we have to get up or she won’t stop.” Maria began to get out of bed.

“Maria, Michael, wake up!” Isabel yelled again.

“We’re up already!” Michael answered back.

“You both better be ready to go in half an hour or I’m kicking the door in.” Isabel began to walk away and head towards Liz’s room.

“Yeah, right, like she can bust that door open.” Michael grumbled.

“This is Isabel we’re talking about.” Maria replied as she went into the bathroom to get ready.


“Liz? Liz, are you awake?” Isabel knocked.

Liz moaned as she turned to her side. She winced as something poked her and she opened her eyes to see what it was. She lifted her upper body from the bed and saw the pen she was using to write her song last night. She picked up the sheets of paper strewn all over one side of the bed and peered at her own handwriting.

As she read what she came up with last night, a bittersweet smile spread on her face. It was too early for this but she knew she had to face another day of not knowing, another day of missing Max.

“Liz?” Isabel knocked again.

Liz got off the bed and walked to the door. She unlocked it and opened it without saying a word and went back to the bed crawling under the covers.

“Liz, come on. We have to get a move on. Aunt Diane is expecting us this morning.” Isabel pulled the covers and dumped them on the floor. That’s when she saw the pieces of paper on the bed.

“Wha—? What is all this?” She picked one up and read it quickly. Then she looked at Liz. “Liz?”

Her friend was looking at her through swollen eyes.

“Liz, your eyes.” Isabel commented.

“What?” Liz mumbled sleepily.

“They’re swollen. Have…have you been crying…again?” Isabel hesitantly asked.

“I’m ok, Iz.” Liz answered as she got up to go to the bathroom and look at the damage herself.

Isabel was quick to follow her. She had to know what’s going on. She already considers the petite girl as her sister. That’s what makes their group work. They were a family.

“Liz.” Isabel stared at the brown-haired girl’s reflection.

Liz was trying her best to ignore Isabel’s telling stare. She knew that the blonde would only pry about why she has been crying all night. There were instances when Alex or Isabel or Maria has caught her looking like she does today but they were willing to let it go then. However, Liz wasn’t sure that her friend would just turn her back on it this time.

“What? The song got to me, ok?” Liz tried to rush past Isabel and start gathering her things.

“No. This has happened several times already. You know we just want to know what’s going on so we can help you—”

“Don’t you get it, Isabel? None of you can help me, not you, or my brother or my parents, no one!” Liz snapped as the tears began to well in her brown orbs once more.

Isabel blinked in surprise. It hurt to see her friend going through something like this and feeling so helpless. And she knew her boyfriend feels more than her when it came to Liz’s inner workings. Isabel loved her friend; she knew Liz is suffering. She’s seen the songs, heard it so many times. She knew it was a plea, a call, but to whom?

At Isabel’s silence, Liz sighed. Without looking back she began to apologize. “I’m sorry, Iz. I just didn’t get a good night’s sleep, that’s all. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

Isabel knew Liz wasn’t going to talk anymore. She pursed her lips and walked over to the door. “I’ll just send Alex to help you with your bag.” With that Isabel left, closing the door softly behind her.

She walked back to her room, her mind swirling with worry and concern.

“Hey Iz, do we have to fix the bed and the rest of the room or do we just let housekeeping clean it up?” Alex asked as Isabel came into their room.

Isabel stayed silent and stoically sat back on the bed.

“Iz? Isabel?” Alex walked over to his girlfriend and gazed at her face. He noted the emotions passing through her and he crouched down in front of her and caressed her smooth cheek. “Isabel?”

Isabel looked up startled at Alex. It was like it was the first time she noticed him there.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked in concern.

Isabel silently gave him the paper she got from Liz’s room. Alex looked at it curiously before reading it. His brows began to furrow together the more he read it.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“From her bed. Don’t say anything, alright? And don’t get mad either but…” Isabel began.

“But what?” Alex pressed on.

“I think she was crying all night again.” Isabel told him faintly.

“What?!” Alex bellowed.

“No, Alex, sshhh.” Isabel pressed her fingers on her boyfriend’s lips.

Alex took her hand and pulled it away from his mouth. “I thought she was done with this? Why is she crying again?” he questioned in a slightly lower voice this time.

“I don’t know. But when I saw her, her eyes were swollen.” Isabel admitted. She was torn about telling Alex. Liz was her friend and she wanted to help her. But since she didn’t want to talk about it she didn’t know what she could do for her. And Alex was her boyfriend and he had a right to know because Liz is his sister after all. But she also knew how protective he can get over Liz and making such a big deal about all this. She felt that he wasn’t what Liz needed right now.

“And?” Alex prodded.

“And she didn’t want to talk about it. She just clammed up and said she’ll be ready in a few minutes. I told her that you’ll go over there to pick up her bags.”

“No, I’m not going to wait for that. I’ll go now and check what’s gotten into her again.” Alex stood up and started to march towards the door. But Isabel ran and blocked his path, placing herself between him and the doorway.

“Isabel? What are you doing?” Alex asked incredulously.

“I can’t let you just march in there and demand what’s going on with her! She doesn’t need you breathing down her neck to talk about this.”

“She’s been silent ever since! And she made me and our parents believe that she’s ok but obviously she isn’t! It’s about time I got answers.”

“Alex, will you listen to yourself. This isn’t about you, honey. This is about Liz and whatever is going on with her. We can’t force her to tell us if she doesn’t want to.” Isabel tried to soothe him although she knew that he would still worry. Alex took his role as a brother very seriously.

“Well obviously her bottling it up inside isn’t helping either.” He waved the paper as he spoke.

“Alex, please. I don’t know exactly what to do but it’s not this. This will just drive her more to keeping it inside her.”

Alex sighed, “I don’t know what to do anymore, Iz. I just want to help her.”

Isabel hugged her boyfriend tightly, “I know. I want to help her too. But she’ll have to be the one to come to us. We just have to wait.”


As they headed out to the Evans’ house, Liz, Isabel and Alex remained silent. Michael kept grumbling about being woken up from a peaceful slumber and Maria just kept telling him to stop since he was already awake.

“Waitaminute. Does Aunt Di expect us to sleep in separate rooms?” Michael asked to no one in particular.

“Uh…I don’t know.” Isabel answered.

“Great! Perfect!” Michael went back to his grumpy mumbling.

“Look, maybe she won’t mind. She knows who’s coupled up with whom and we’re old enough to not need supervision and separate rooms.” Maria rationalized.

“Well, we’re about to find out that theory. We’re here.” Alex said.


Diane was busy touring them to the rest of the house as she was so excited having family in her home again. Since Zan moved out, she’s been missing being able to mother her baby.

“Alright, Alex and Isabel, you can take this room.” She showed them into a guestroom that had deep colors. The walls were painted deep red with white trimmings and the furniture was of dark cherry wood.

“This is nice, I like it.” Isabel noted as she looked around. “Thanks for putting us up in your house, Aunt Diane.”

“Oh please, it’s nothing. You’re family and besides, with Philip attending to his case and Zan having his own place to go home to, the house has been so quiet and gloomy. At least with you all here, it’ll be busy and cheery again.” Diane grinned.

“Alright, Liz, this will be your room.” Diane turned to the smaller young woman and showed her into another guestroom that had neutral tones. The room was painted beige and all the furniture was white.

“Thank you, Aunt Diane. This is lovely.” Liz said as she sat on the bed.

“The bathroom is adjoined with Alex and Isabel’s room. I hope that’s alright with you. But there’s another bathroom down the hall that you can use as well.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s fine. Just letting us stay here is more than enough.” Liz smiled.

“Ok, then, I’ll let you get settled in while I take Michael and Maria to their room.”

Liz nodded.

“And you two will be staying here.” Diane informed the couple as she opened another door. “This was Zan’s room.”

Michael started to complain once more. He just had to get his room. ‘Great! Perfect!’

“This is wonderful, Aunt Di. Thanks so much.” Maria hugged the older woman.

Like the other guestroom, this had deep colors too but instead of red, it was dark green, along with dark mahogany matching furniture pieces. The bed could fit more than two people. And there were some pictures of Zan growing up on the small mantle located on the wall facing the bed.

“Alright, I’ll let you all get settled in. And when it’s time for lunch, I’ll just have Rosa call you. Ok, I need to take care of some things. Just make yourselves at home and I’ll see you later.” Diane smiled as she left.

“Wow, this is some room.” Maria complimented as she had a look around. There was a huge plasma TV on one side of the room, a state-of-the-art computer on a study desk, lots of books, and a telescope beside one of the windows.

“You can say that again. Zan was spoiled. No wonder he turned out that way.” Michael replied.

“You know, when we met him last time, he wasn’t that bad.” Maria said.

“No, you don’t know him. He was spoiled. When we had family gatherings, he wouldn’t talk to me and Iz or anyone. He would just sit in a corner and bury his nose in some book.”

“So? He was a quiet kid. You consider that being a jerk?”

“No, that’s not all. He’s a cold person. It’s like he doesn’t even want to make an effort to be friends with people and he had to undergo therapy for severe depression. That’s what my mom said when I heard her talking to Aunt Di a couple years ago.”

“Michael, I cannot believe that you were eavesdropping on your own mother!” Maria gasped.

“I wasn’t doing it intentionally.”

“Well, whatever. So far, Zan is ok in my book until he shows otherwise. And if he is really bothering you that much, just ignore him.”

“Yeah. Enough talk about Zan. Now come over here and give me some sugar.” Michael smirked.

“Uh…no.” Maria shook her head.

“What? Why not?” Michael was scowling as he propped himself up on the bed with his elbows to look at Maria.

“Well, it’s weird. That’s your cousin’s bed.” Maria cringed.

“Damn it! I knew we should have traded with Liz.”



Chapter 11

After confirming their schedules, Isabel was able to set the meeting for today. She informed Mr. Kats that the band was in New York and ready to sign up with his label. Then she called up Zan and he agreed to meet with them at his parents’ house before heading off to the record company.

When Zan arrived, everyone was ready to hop in the van. Until he spoke up.

“Wait, I’m not riding in that van with you guys.” he told them frostily.

“Why not?” Michael’s temper was rising.

“I’d rather ride in my own car.” Zan answered his cousin with a raised brow then looked over at his black Porsche parked in the driveway.

“Then get in your car by yourself. No one is asking you to ride with us anyway.” Michael said as he got into the driver’s seat of the van.

Everyone else was just looking on as the two argued. When Michael got in and slammed the door, the rest of the group felt awkward.

“I’m not going to ride in my car by myself. I’m not your escort.” Zan addressed Isabel.

“Well, um…” Isabel was torn. She did ask Zan to join them for the meeting and he’s already doing them a favor by doing so. But she also didn’t want to join him in his car because it would look like she was siding with her brother’s enemy.

She looked at the other three and her eyes landed on Liz. Hopefully she’ll agree.

“Uh, Liz…is it ok if you go with Zan?” Isabel asked quietly. She knew Liz would jump at the chance to get away from her brother since he has been trying to get her to talk since yesterday’s incident.

“Ok.” Liz gave her a small nod.

“Well, that’s settled. Uh, Zan, Liz is riding with you.” Isabel informed him.

“What?” Alex asked.

“Just get in the van, Alex.” Isabel pushed her boyfriend in.

“Ok, see you at the office.” Maria waved as she got in the passenger seat beside Michael.

“Shall we?” Zan turned to Liz and led her back to his car. He opened the door for her and Liz timidly got in.


As they drove through the streets of New York, both Zan and Liz were silent. Zan wanted to ask her so many things but he couldn’t. Not because he was afraid, he just didn’t know how she would react. So he opted to not say a word instead.

With Liz, she just felt tense riding in the car alone with Zan. She definitely had a huge crush on him and she didn’t know how to act around him. She knew all the drill, all the rules; just be yourself, however she was afraid that being herself might drive him away. She wasn’t the blonde bombshell like Isabel; she wasn’t the sultry vixen like Maria. She was just plain Liz, brown hair, brown eyes, petite, slim and totally boring.

“So, how are you liking the Big Apple so far?” Zan asked.

“Huh? What?” Liz’s mind was rampant with her thoughts that she didn’t even hear Zan talking to her.

“I said, are you liking your stay here in New York.” Zan repeated.

“Oh, um…it’s great. It’s so busy and fast-paced. Nothing like where I’m from.” Liz answered.

Zan had to laugh at that, “Yeah, Roswell, New Mexico right?”

Liz’s eyes sparkled. She liked hearing him laugh. “Yeah.”

“Have you lived there all your life?”

“Yes, pretty much.”

“And my cousins and your entire gang are you closest friends?”

Liz had a faraway look in her eyes then softly said yes.

Zan studied her a bit. She seemed to be thinking deeply of something…or someone.

“Liz? Are you there? Did I say something wrong?” he prodded.

“Oh, no, I’m fine. I just remembered something.”

Zan nodded.

“Do you have any boyfriends, Liz?” Zan asked out of the blue.

Liz flushed at that, her face blushing red with embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, that was probably too personal, huh?” Zan said as he noticed her state.

“No…no…it’s ok. It wasn’t personal. And uh…I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Really? How come?”

“I…I just haven’t found the right one…I guess.”

“The right one? Liz, it’s just a boyfriend, someone to date and have a little fun with, not the man you’re going to marry.” Zan chuckled.

“I don’t want to waste my time being in a relationship where I can’t see myself staying in for a long time. It’s pointless. Besides…I have other more important things to do.” Liz spoke meekly.

“Other things? Like what?”

Liz looked at him. Was he questioning her like Alex and Isabel did? Has Isabel told him things about her?

“Liz? What other things?”

“Um…my songs.” Liz answered and looked out the window once more, watching if maybe one of those people walking briskly on the sidewalk was Max.


“Ah, I’m so happy you’re all here. I have the contracts ready for signing in my office.” Mr. Kats greeted them as they arrived at JK Records.

“Mr. Kats, this is Zan Evans. He’s our cousin and as I mentioned in our phone conversation yesterday, he’ll be going over the contracts quickly.” Isabel spoke professionally.

“Of course, right this way, everyone.” Kats led them into his office.

As the entire group walked into Kats’ office, there were two other people waiting for them.

“People, I want you to meet Vannesa Whitaker and Kyle Valenti. Vanessa is our PR officer and Valenti here handles Marketing. So Isabel, you’ll be working closely with them.” Kats informed her.

“Here are the contracts, Mr. Evans.” Kats handed the copies to Zan.

“While Mr. Evans is busy with that, why don’t you give us a sample of your music? I heard the demo JK played for us but I want to hear how you sound live.” Kyle spoke. “There are some instruments you could use over there.” he pointed to the end of the room.

The five looked at each other and decided on a song. After agreeing on one, they went to the instruments and tuned them a bit.

Liz started the song by playing on the keyboards. Then Michael started softly on the drums and Maria’s voice filled the room.

In my head I have dreams
I have visions of many things
Questions, longings in my mind

Michael’s drumming started to get loud and Alex added to the mix as he strummed the base.

Pictures fill my head
I feel so trapped instead but
Trapped doesn't seem so bad
'Cause you are here

Maria completed the band and played on the electric guitar as the song and the entire room came to life.

It doesn't mean anything
Without You here with me
And I can try to justify
But I still need You here with me

Zan was going through the pages distractedly as he listened to the song. This was the first time he was hearing them play and he had to admit, they were good…better than good, they were awesome.

In my heart I had hope
Built on dreams I'll never know
Answers to love left behind

Visions filled my head
I felt so trapped instead but
Trapped didn't seem so bad
'Cause You were near

It doesn't mean anything
Without You here with me
And I can try to justify
But I still need You here with me

The group was letting it all out. This was the day they’ve been waiting for. And now, they’re here and on their way to the top.

I can't do anything without You
You give me strength to do anything
I can't be everything I try to
You saved me from the everything
I couldn't be

It doesn't mean anything
Without You here with me
'Cause after all is said and done
I still need You here with me

Need You here with me
I need You here with me


“What did I tell you? They’re going to be huge.” Kats told Kyle.

“Yup, everyone’s gonna love them. They’re fresh, their songs are really gonna make you get up and join the party.” Kyle replied.

“Ok, everything’s all set.” Zan looked at the group as he finished his perusal.

The five looked at each other with huge smiles on their faces.

“This is it, you guys.” Maria was feeling so bubbly.

They were handed pens as Isabel Guerin, Michael Guerin, Maria Deluca, Alexander Whitman and Elizabeth Whitman signed on the dotted line.

“By the way, who wrote the song?” Vanessa asked curiously.

“The credit goes to Liz. She wrote almost all the songs of 4Square.” Isabel said proudly.

As the song floated back in Zan’s mind, he was staring at Liz as he remembered the words… ‘It doesn’t mean anything, without you here with me.’

**Hey, I'm on schedule this time.


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Chapter 12

“Why do we have to stay here? Can’t we start working back in Roswell?” Michael asked.

As soon as they got back to the Evans home, the gang went into Alex and Isabel’s room to have a meeting. Zan said he had to go back to his office and did so after dropping Liz off.

“Michael, we have to stay here because of the promotional work and you have to start recording.” Isabel explained like she was talking to a five-year-old.

“Stop that, Isabel. I just can’t understand why we can’t do all that in Roswell? Besides, we have a gig in Albuquerque next week.” Michael complained.

“I already called the owner of the club and apologized and cancelled that—” Isabel started informing the rest of the band.

“What?! Iz, you can’t do that!” Maria exclaimed.

“Let me finish.” Isabel glared at them. “As I was saying, I already apologized and cancelled BUT…I did reschedule for when we get back to New Mexico AT…the same price that we booked the gig two weeks ago. Because I’m telling you, once we’ve started recording and doing PR work and appearing in shows and all, we are gonna be so big, everyone will want to book us.” Isabel beamed.

“Don’t be too hopeful, Isabel. We’re not sure as to what will happen yet.” Liz said.

“I’m not, I’m just stating the facts. Oh and by the way, Zanisgoingtobeourentertainmentlawyer.” she exhaled all that in one quick sentence.

“What? What did you say? I didn’t get that.” Alex told her.

“Well…um…” Isabel looked reluctantly at her brother. “Uh…”

“Spill it out, Iz.” Maria demanded.

“I’m getting there!” Isabel drew in a deep breath. She was worried about Michael’s reaction to the new information.

“Isabel, we don’t have all day.” Michael looked at her with raised brows.

“Don’t be mad.” Isabel asked her brother gently.

“Why would I be mad?” Michael looked at her suspiciously. “Isabel, what did you do?”

“I sorta asked Zan to be our lawyer.” She said with a fearful look.

“Sorta?” Michael looked at his sister fiercely. “How can you ‘sorta’ ask?”

“Ok, not sorta. I…I asked him to be our entertainment lawyer.” she told him sheepishly.

“You what?! Why?! Why would you do that when you know very well how much I hate the guy?!” Michael roared.

“Hey! Don’t yell at her like that!” Alex came to his girlfriend’s defense.

“Stay out of this, Alex.” Michael growled.

“No! She did this because she thought it’s the right choice. What do we know about the legalities of the entertainment industry? Nothing! And Zan has done nothing but help us. Sure, he’s a prick but right now, we don’t have any other alternative. If you can find someone else that would look out for our best interest then go ahead and hire him. But at this point, Zan stays!” Alex spoke firmly.

“What the--? Who died and made you king, huh? Since when did your decision rule the rest of ours?!” Michael yelled back.

“Since when did yours?!” Alex yelled back.

“Enough!” Liz screamed.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Zan’s voice boomed from the doorway. He was surprised to hear all the yelling coming from the hallway, more so when he heard Liz. At that, he knew he had to step in.

“You’re not a part of this group, Zan, so stay out.” Michael spoke through gritted teeth.

“Oh yes I am, cousin dearest. And even if I wasn’t, you are in my parents’ house. So I suggest you lower your voice and treat my home with respect or get the hell out of here.” Zan said coldly.

Everyone became silent after that.

When Zan got the reaction he was hoping for, he smirked and walked into the room.

“So, what’s going on?” He sat beside Liz.

“Um, I was just informing everyone that you’re our entertainment lawyer.” Isabel told him.

“Ah yes. Basically, what I’ll be doing is checking that everything you do is legal and whatever the record company asks of you is legit.” Zan told them.

The 4Square just looked at each other.

After a moment of silence, Zan’s mobile phone ringing broke the tension in the room.

“Excuse me.” Zan stood up and left the room to take his call somewhere else.

“Uh, guys, I have a new song that we should try. But I don’t think it’ll suit Maria’s voice. I think a guy should do this.” Liz told them as she handed out copies to the other three.

“Is it a slow one?” Michael asked as he studied the song.

“Yes.” Liz replied.

“Then Alex should do it.” Michael said with a small smile.

Alex looked at his friend and nodded briefly before looking back at the song. He already knew what the lyrics looked like but he was now studying the melody.

“This looks good, Liz. I think this will be another hit.” Maria commented.

“Thanks. Where can we practice this?” Liz looked at Isabel.

“At the den maybe? I’ll ask Aunt Diane.” With that, Isabel left in search of her aunt.

“So, Liz, how does this go?” Alex asked.

“Ok, let me get my keyboard.” Liz went back to her room.

“Hey Alex, I’m sorry about earlier.” Michael began.

“It’s nothing, man. I’m sorry too.” Alex said.

“I just…when it comes to Zan, it’s like all the wrong buttons get pressed and I don’t know what it is but I just don’t like the guy.” Michael admitted.

“I get what you’re saying, bro. You’ve known him a lot longer and he does act like a prick. But he’s the best option we have right now. We’re not that famous so we can’t afford a good lawyer at this time. Besides, maybe his attitude can help us, you know.” Alex replied.

“How?”

“Well since he’s got this bad ass stance, you can be sure that no one is going to dupe us.” Alex reasoned.

“Hmm, you have a point, Whitman.” Michael made a motion with his mouth as he thought about that.

“Hey guys, Aunt Di said the den is ok. I already told Liz and she’s on her way there. But I want to talk to all of you first before you head on down there and we have to make it quick.” Isabel said in one breath.

“What is it, Iz?” Maria asked.

“You all read the lyrics, right?” Isabel questioned.

“Yeah.” They all replied.

“I saw them yesterday when I woke Liz up and her eyes were all swollen. She’s obviously been crying again.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Maria worriedly asked.

“Because she freaked out about it. She snapped at me, telling me that it was none of my business.” Isabel answered.

“So what do we do?” The question came from Michael.

“Right now, nothing, except think of any solution that could help her.” Alex said somberly.

“Ok.” Maria and Michael nodded.

“Alright, let’s go before she gets suspicious.” Isabel said and ushered them all out of the room. She put her arm around her boyfriend. “Don’t worry, Alex. We’ll think of something. We have to.”

**I'm so sorry for the delay. I've been having problems with my muse. I just finished writing the new part like now, as in right now. I hope it's ok and you'll enjoy reading this. I promise to be back with another part later or tomorrow to make up for my delay. I promise that the next part will be Max/Zan and Liz. Something like a Valentine's gift for you all. Thanks so much for putting up with my slow updates.

And g7silvers, I felt so guilty about the delay when I read your bump. I'm so sorry. I'm dedicating the part below to you to make up for it.

Alright, enough of my rambling. I know you'd all rather skip ahead to the part, lol. Happy reading!


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Chapter 13

As they all finished rehearsing the last notes of the new song, the group all liked it a lot and agreed to include it in their play list. That was also one thing the fan liked about 4Square, they always had something new to add to the table so it’s never the same songs over and over.

“Nice job, Alex. The song is really smooth.” Isabel commented before giving him a quick peck.

“So now what?” Michael said as he sat on his stool, twirling a drumstick between his fingers.

“You know, we haven’t seen the sights yet. I want to see the Statue of Liberty and I want to see the memorial at the World Trade Center.” Alex said.

“Ooh, I wanna go up the Empire State building like in that movie.” Maria grinned.

“An Affair to Remember?” Liz offered.

“No, Sleepless in Seattle. That was so romantic.” Maria replied.

“Great, let’s put away all the stuff and tell Aunt Di we’re going out.” Isabel began picking up the music sheets and the others followed suit.


When they told Diane what their plans were for that day, she immediately called Zan so he could accompany them which totally chagrined Michael.

“This is just awesome. Why does he have to tag along?” Michael whispered harshly at the gang.

“Because Aunt Di thought it would be better to go with someone who knows his way around here so we won’t get lost.” Isabel replied in a whisper as well.

“Great, just what I was looking forward to, a day with the prick.” Michael muttered.

“Michael, give the guy a chance, please. Don’t let this whole trip be ruined for you because you can’t stand him. Just ignore the guy and enjoy the rest of our stay here.” Liz told him.

“Fine, I’ll try to ignore him and have fun.” Michael conceded.

“Finally.” Maria said out loud.


Soon, Zan arrived and picked up the group. Again, the four rode in the van and Liz rode with him. They all became the typical tourist and saw all the great sights of the Big Apple.

Then in the evening, Zan suggested that they go to a club. That got Maria so excited and bubbling with energy. Of course, everyone said yes and agreed to end the day with that.

Once they got there, Zan got them a table and some drinks. Then he went off to hang out with his own gang.

“Zan!” A mass of blonde curls yelled and clung to him.

“Ugh, Tess, get off!” Zan pushed the short woman away then took a sip of his beer.

“I missed you.” Tess tried to be cute.

“I didn’t.” He grabbed a seat and positioned himself in a spot where he had a clear view of Liz.

“Give it up, squirt. You’re never gonna get in his pants.” One of Zan’s friends spoke which made Tess pout and walk away.

“Hey Rath, good to see you, man.” Zan slapped the guy’s back.

“You too. How’s it going?” Rath returned the gesture.

“Same as always.” he responded.

“Working yourself to your grave?”

“You know it.” Zan took another swig of his beer without taking his eyes off the brown-haired girl.

He thought Liz looked really sexy. She was wearing a short black strapless dress that hugged all the right places and her feet were fitted with black sandals that had high stiletto heels. He thought she looked pretty yummy.

“Who are you looking at?” Rath looked to follow his friend’s trail of vision.

Zan didn’t answer but just continued to watch her from afar.


“Hey Liz, slow down on the tequila ok?” Alex warned.

“Yes, Daddy.” Liz and Maria said in very high-pitched tones then giggled. Their glasses clinked together before they drank the strong drink in their shot glasses. Then they cringed at the sour taste of the slices of lime that they sucked on.

“Haha, funny.” Alex sneered.

Just then a song by Black Eyed Peas came on.

“Ohmygod! I love this song!” Maria yelled at Liz. “Come on!” She took Liz’s hands in hers and dragged her best friend on to the dance floor with her while sashaying through the crowd. Once they were in the middle, Maria started to dance sexily.

Liz laughed and soon got into the mood and began to dance gracefully to the upbeat song.

“And we’ll be dancin’, dancin’, dancing’ up in Havana.” Maria was singing along as her hips moved sensuously.

“Baila, yo qiero bailalalala baila.”

“Baby just follow the motion….”

Michael’s grip on his glass tightened as he saw the way Maria was moving on the floor.


On the other end of the room, a pair of cold gray eyes was also staring at a petite and brown-haired beauty. He knew that she loved to dance. Even when they were kids, she always loved to dance.


Isabel looked over at her brother and rolled her eyes. Even with a minimum amount of illumination provided by the strobe and laser lights, she could see Michael getting all flushed as he continued to ogle his girlfriend.

Alex was also watching the pair dancing but it was because his protectiveness was rearing its ugly head. He knew Liz hated it whenever he began to act like the big older brother but that was his job. And when he saw a couple of guys watching Liz and Maria like they were their next meal, he emitted a low growl.

Isabel heard this and quickly snapped her head at him. “Did you just growl?”

“What? No. Why would I?” Alex never even took his eyes off his little sister.

Isabel followed his line of vision and instantly knew that he was once again playing the role of mother hen protecting her young. Isabel sighed loudly and shook her head slowly.

“What?”

“She can take care of herself, Alex.”

“She’s my sister, Iz. Look at her. Now why would she be dancing like that?” He motioned towards Maria and Liz grinding against each other and laughing at their own antics.

“God, Alex, she’s not a little kid. Hello!” Isabel got right in front of Alex’s face.

“No, but she’s still MY kid sister.” With that Alex slapped a palm on the table, got off the stool and stalked his way towards the two ladies.


“Hey, hey, Alex. Come join us.” Maria grabbed Alex’s hips and started moving him from side to side.

“No. No! Maria, let go!” Alex yelled as he tried to escape Maria’s grip on him.

Liz only watched the two, threw her head back and laughed.

Zan saw the expanse of skin on her neck and wondered what it would be like to suck on it.


“Fine, fine, you want me to dance, I’ll dance.” Alex gave in and started dancing his routine from the strip tease he did at Isabel’s 18th birthday party years ago.

“OHMYGOD!” Liz screamed and was totally humiliated. She quickly covered her face with her hands and tried to move away.

But Maria knew what she was going to do and held on fast.

“This is all your fault.” Liz yelled at her friend.

“Yeah but come on, it’s fun!” Maria continued to dance along with Alex.

Liz only laughed and started dancing with her brother too.

“Ok, are you sure we’re going out with those two?” Michael asked as he moved beside his sister.

“Yeah, we are.” Isabel snickered and joined her boyfriend and friends on the dance floor with Michael following closely behind her.

*As promised, I have the next part. But um...it's not my Valentine gift to you all...yet. That will be the part after this one. However, this will be kind of like a teaser of what's to come. Hope you'll like it.

I will answer some questions though. Yes, Max/Zan is wearing contacts. As to why he changed the color, there is no other reason I can think of except maybe he's vain.

Now as to why Liz can't recognize him: One, it's the eyes. And two, it's been 20 years since they last saw each other. Plus they were 5 when they got separated. I don't think it would have been easy for her to recognize him as instantly as he did with her. And the same way that Max is expecting her to know him, she's expecting that he wouldn't have changed his name.

And why Max isn't approaching her? Tiph got it actually. Remember that Max has gone into therapy for his depression over Liz. He's scared to go back in that condition again.

Oh and I also want to answer one interesting question. Rath does not look like Michael. I just couldn't think up of another name and Rath was the first one that came to mind. Sorry for the confusion.

Alright, on with the story.


~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 14

Zan woke up in his own bed, in his own room. Sunlight seeped in through the slits of the heavy drapes that covered the full length windows that were facing his king-sized bed.

He groaned and yawned and stretched on his bed, the covers only concealing the lower half of his toned body. He looked over at the digital clock on his night table and saw that it was only a little after 10 AM. Good thing it was a weekend, he could just relax and lounge in his home all day.

He sat up on the side his bed and was a bit disoriented. He remembered being a little tipsy from his night out with his cousins, their friends and Liz. A small smile graced his face as he recalled how sexy Liz looked last night. Who would have thought that she would turn out to be such a gorgeous lady? The innocent little girl that she was then was definitely no indication of the woman she was going to turn out 20 years after.

He got up and wondered when he took off his clothes. He did sleep naked sometimes but he couldn’t remember taking off his clothes and getting in bed last night…or was it in the wee hours of dawn? He shook his head a little to clear up his thoughts and quickly regretted it. He slapped a palm on the side of his head and groaned. He definitely needed coffee, black and strong.

He began looking for his boxers as his eyes swept across the hard wood floors of his bedroom. Then he saw something black. He walked over to it to pick it up. Noticing how it felt sheer to the touch, his quick reaction was: this is not mine. He held it out at arm’s length and blinked when he realized what he was holding. It was a black strapless dress.

Normally, he wouldn’t be surprised. He had brought women home and slept with them in his bed. But, they would be gone before the sun even rose. He looked towards the bed and saw a figure under the covers. He dropped the dress unceremoniously and took hold of the sheet of his bed. Slowly he pulled it towards him, revealing the woman underneath.

What first struck him was the mass of dark hair. When he saw that the woman was a brunette, he stopped pulling the covers. It was like he was frozen in place. The reason was he had never slept with a brunette before. He had never brought one home, never got involved with one. He knew exactly the reason why. It was only because of Liz. He couldn’t bring himself to sleeping with someone who had the same dark hair because he knew he would only be thinking of Liz and realizing what he does not have. It was a vow he made to himself and now in his drunken stupidity, he felt guilty for betraying himself and his Liz.

Going back to the woman still sleeping in his bed, he pulled on the covers until her shoulders were revealed. She was obviously as naked as he. Zan walked over to the other side of the bed to look closely at her. He crouched down and slowly brushed away the tendrils of brown hair that he found to be soft and silky. When her face was revealed, he was shocked.

Lying on his bed, curled up on her side, was no other than Liz.

He didn’t know what to do. What really happened last night? He wanted to wake her up and ask. He wanted to wake her up and make love to her. He couldn’t believe that she was really here, in his house, his room, his bed.

As he watched her sleep, he stroked her cheek lovingly and placed a soft tender kiss on her bare shoulder. Before he could do anything else, the doorbell rang.

Liz shifted and moaned as Zan cursed. He tucked Liz back under the covers and kissed her forehead. He stood up and looked for his boxers. Once he got that, he put them on; got the shirt he wore from last night and went out of the bedroom closing the door gently behind him.

He was heading towards his front door while putting his shirt on. It was a button down shirt and he didn’t even bother to button it up. He was pissed that someone had disturbed him from watching his Liz.

He peeked through the hole and frowned a little. He wondered what his dad was doing in his front step at 10 in the morning.

“Dad?” he asked as he opened the front door. “What…what are you doing here?” Zan stepped aside to allow his dad to come into his house.

“Good to see you too, son.” Philip commented as he walked in.

Zan sighed and looked up at the closed bedroom door before facing his dad again.

“You know what I mean. I was just surprised to see you here so early…and weren’t you supposed to be out of town?” Zan questioned.

“I have something that I think you might want to take a look at. And it’s already past 10 o’clock.” Philip noted after glancing at his watch.

“Well…uh…” Zan scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah…but you know how I like to sleep in late during the weekends.”

“Alright, this won’t take long. I just have some very important information that I know you would want to see.” Philip said.

“What is this about, Dad?” Zan asked as both he and his father sat on the couch.

Philip took out the large envelope he had tucked in his arm and opened it. He proceeded to take out two folders that had several papers inside and placed one on the coffee table directly in front of Zan.

“What’s this?” Zan looked at his dad.

“Those are some documents you asked me to find. I hired a detective and this is what he brought me.” Philip said solemnly.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Zan looked at his father apprehensively.

“I don’t know.”

“Has Mom seen this?”

“No, I brought it to you first. Besides, you know how she feels about this.”

Zan nodded looking straight at the folder in front of him. Tentatively, he took it and opened it carefully. He drew a deep breath and scanned through the information.

He went through the documents, page after page. After some time, he leaned back on the couch, his father studying him intently.

“Zan?” Philip placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Zan tried to blink away the tears. On one of the pages of the document was a picture of his mother, his biological mother.

“She looked beautiful, didn’t she?” Zan asked aloud without looking at his dad.

“Yes, she did.”

“Do you have any information as to how they died?” Zan looked at his dad finally.

Philip sat there quietly. He wasn’t sure if Zan finding out how his biological parents died was a good idea.

“Dad?” Zan peered into his father’s eyes then looked at the other folder that was still in his father’s hands. “There’s something you’re not telling me, is there?”

“Zan, I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“They’re already gone. Why do you still have to know how it happened?”

Zan bowed his head and spoke, “I don’t know. I just…I want closure I guess.”

“Alright.” Philip gave him the other folder.

Zan quickly scanned through it. “We were in a car accident? I was there too?”

Philip only nodded.

“Wait, there was another car involved.” Zan read through the words as fast as he could.

“Yeah, the police report said that the other car avoided a semi and it inadvertently hit yours instead.” Philip gave him a quick summary.

“Is the name of that other driver in here? What happened to him?”

“He died too.”

“What’s his name?”

“Uh…wait, it’s here somewhere.” Philip took the folder from Zan’s hands and browsed through the few pages of the police report swiftly.

“Ok, here it is.” Philip pointed at the name while showing it to his son. “The other driver’s name was Jeffrey Parker.”



Back in the Evans’ home, Alex walked down the steps leading to the kitchen to where the rest of the gang was having brunch.

“Morning, you guys.” Alex greeted them then gave his girlfriend a quick peck in the cheek.

“Hey.” Michael gave him a brief nod.

“Not so loud, please.” Maria held on to her head with both hands, her elbows on top of the table.

“Hangover?” Alex asked Michael.

“Yeah.” he answered.

“Maybe that’ll teach you not to down a whole bottle of Cuervo next time.” Alex said at Maria’s ear.

Maria raised her head and glared at him. “I did not drink it all, Liz had half.” Maria groaned and clutched on to her head once more. Michael drew her close and had her head lean on his shoulder with his arm around her waist.

“Liz still in bed?” Isabel asked her boyfriend.

“No, I thought she was here already.” Alex answered.

“Nuh-uh, Iz and I have been the first ones awake according to Aunt Di.” Michael replied.

“Isn’t she in her room?” Isabel looked at Alex.

“No, I already checked before coming down here.” Alex was already frowning.

All of them just looked at each other, worried of Liz’s whereabouts. But it was only Alex who voiced out his concern. “Where the hell is my sister?!”

Disclaimer: Song used is Songbird by Eva Cassidy. I love this one a lot. It's just a shame that Eva's already gone when she was starting to get recognized. You can all still buy her CDs though or borrow it from your local libraries if they have it. You should try listening to it, it's beautifully soothing.

A/N: Hey, thanks for the fb. Wow, two pages worth. Alright, now I know I promised you all a Valentine's gift. Well, one, Valentine's Day is over, Belated Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. And two, although I did intend to give you all a nice chapter, I think you're going to hate the end of this. Why? Well, you're just gonna have to read to find that out now, don't you? Ok, I'm gonna run and hide now. *smooches*


~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 15

Zan blanched when he saw the name in black and white. Parker…there was only one other person he knew who carried the same name and she was an orphan too. Was it possible that this Parker was connected to her?

“Zan? Are you alright, son?” Philip asked, bringing Zan out of his trance.

Zan shook his head slightly and faced his father. “Uh, yeah…yeah, I’m fine. Um…Dad, don’t tell Mom about this yet ok? I just need some time to sort all this out.”

“Sure, Zan.” Philip stood up and gave the folders to his son. He bid him goodbye and the two walked to the door.

When Philip was gone, Zan quickly browsed the documents once more. Then he looked towards the stairs. Liz was still in his bedroom and he hoped she was still fast asleep.

Tiredly, he rubbed his eyes and felt them sting. He had forgotten to take his contacts out last night. He trudged up the stairs and went into his bedroom.

Once there, he went into the bathroom and did his ritual of cleaning his contacts. Then he decided to take a quick shower. When he was done, he wrapped a black towel around his waist to cover the lower half of his body then wore a new pair of contacts. However, they too had the color of grayish blue.

As soon as he got out of the bathroom, he was drying off his hair and walking to his closet where he got a pair of black sweatpants. He quickly wore them and started picking up the articles of clothing from the floor. Those that were his went straight to the laundry basket. Those that belonged to Liz, he folded neatly and placed on the rack in the bathroom. Walking back into the bedroom, his gaze went straight to Liz.

She was now lying on her back, he mouth slightly parted, brown strands of hair mussed on the pillow around her head. And still, she looked like an angel.

He slowly got on the bed and turned on his side, his elbow supporting his head to stare at Liz.

As he watched her sleep, he tried to remember what happened last night.

*Flashback*

Zan watched the trio dancing and laughing. Then his cousins joined them completing their group and they just formed a circle and were just bumping and dancing and laughing with each other.

A couple of minutes later, a slow song began to play. Alex and Isabel and Michael and Maria began pairing off and Liz had this longing smile on her face and began backing away to return to their table.

He saw this and was standing behind her in a few strides. “Where are you going?” Zan asked.

Liz was startled and spun around quickly. “Zan!”

“Wanna dance?” he grinned.

“Uh…um…ok.” Liz nodded shyly.

Zan brought her back to the middle of the dance floor and placed one palm on the small of her back while the other held her soft hand.

Liz was looking up at him with her doe brown eyes and Zan knew he was getting swept away.

“Thanks for dancing with me.” Liz said softly, bowing her head to look somewhere else.

“It’s a pleasure to be dancing like this with a beautiful lady like yourself.” he replied.

Liz quickly lifted her head to look at him once again. “You…you think I’m beautiful?”

“Of course. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that before?”

Liz bit her lip and only shook her head no.

“Well now someone has.”

Liz only gave him a soft smile and moved closer to him, removing the space between them.

To you, I would give the world
To you, I'd never be cold
‘Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right

Zan could hear her softly singing along with the song and her voice sounded angelic.

And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before
Like never before; like never before.

After that one dance, Zan and Liz were inseparable throughout the night.

*Flashback*

Whatever happened after that dance and getting back home, Zan was at a total loss. However, he was beginning to recall bits and pieces of the events when he and Liz got back to his house.

*Flashback*

The door slammed as Zan kicked it closed with his shoe. He had Liz in his arms, grasping her waist as he carried her up the stairs. They were kissing so passionately and he was intoxicated with her kisses…or was it the alcohol? No matter what it was, he was enjoying this.

“Mmm…Zan…” Liz kept kissing him, opening her mouth to grant his tongue access.

“So sweet…” Zan murmured against her lips.

He got to his room with Liz still wrapped around him, her legs and arms clinging tightly to him. He started undressing her, lowering the zipper down the back of her dress. She let go of him and stood on her own feet and allowed Zan to take off her clothes.

“You are so beautiful.” Zan commented as he slid the dress off of her.

Liz stepped out of the dress and clutched Zan’s shirt and pulled him to her, sealing her lips to his.

Zan began to fumble with her black strapless bra and trailed kisses from her neck to her trim stomach as he slowly went down to remove her matching black underwear.

*Flashback*

He stared at Liz’s face then his eyes roamed down her body. Although that was still covered by his blanket, he now clearly remembered how perfect her body was.

*Flashback*

They were both naked and lying on his bed with him hovering above Liz and kissing every inch of skin he could get to. Despite the fervent haze they were both in, Zan managed to remove his clothing, somehow, and position himself in between Liz’s legs.

She was returning his kisses with as much ardor as him.

Zan knew what was going to happen. He wanted it, desired it. However, he didn’t want this to be something that Liz would regret come the morning after. He had to be sure that they were on the same page. “Liz? Liz, look at me. You have to look at me, Liz.”

Liz tried to focus her eyes and gave Zan a radiant smile and proceeded to kissing him again.

“Liz, are you sure about this?” Zan asked.

“Mmmm…yes…” Liz answered in between kisses.

“Liz—”

“Zan, I want this, please.” Liz was playing with the hair on his nape.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He was looking straight in her eyes.

“It’ll be ok.” Liz looked back at him intensely.

“Liz, I—”

“Just do it, Zan. I want you inside me, now.”

“I want that too, Lizzie.”

Liz blinked; a moment of clarity penetrated her mind. Then her eyes glazed over again.

“You are so beautiful…Max.”

*Flashback*

Zan was jolted out of his thoughts, eyes wide and gazing at Liz. Did he really hear her say that? Or was it just a dream? Was his drunken mind playing a trick on him, making him hear what he wanted to hear? Or did it really happen?

Did Liz really call him Max?

Disclaimer: Song used was the first half of Songbird by Eva Cassidy.

A/N: Thanks for all the feedback. You don't know how happy I am when I read them. You're all so sweet for liking this fic. Isn't my banner beautiful? Thanks again, Ann! *smooch*

Now, I'm going to answer another question: Why is Max/Zan wearing contacts? This is actually something about Jason Behr that I used for my Max. Thanks to the sweet and "naughty" Jeannine *smooch* , she told me how Jason was as blind as a bat (I think) without his glasses when she saw him at Tribeca.

J, was that right? Or does he just wear glasses period, not the blind as a bat thing? Sheesh, I can't even remember. All I really know for sure is that he wears glasses. Anyway, that's the answer. Hmm, my explanation sucked didn't it? Let's just say, if Max/Zan didn't wear contacts, this fic would have been finished 10 chapters ago.

Ok, enough of this chatter, I'm sure you'd rather skip all this and move on to the new part. So without further ado...


~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 16

Liz was waking up from a perfect dream. In her dream she was with Max. Though he looked a bit like Zan, it was her Max. He told her how much he has missed her and how he tried to find her but failed.

“You don’t have to look anymore. I’m here.” Liz smiled.

“I’ve waited for this for so long.” Max hugged her and turned round and round.

“Me too, I’ve tried to find you, Max. I really did.”

“Sshhh, we’re together now, Lizzie. We’ve found each other again.”

“We won’t get separated ever again, right Max?” Liz looked up at him, her eyes filled with hope.

Max smiled down at her. “Never again.”

Liz had a ghost of a smile gracing her face as she woke up and stretched her hands above her head, the feeling of being in between sleep and being awake finally leaving her. As her eyes blinked a few times, she noticed that the room looked different. It was dark, the colors were dark, all the furniture dark. The walls were of dark blue color, it was almost black. Where was she?

“Morning.”

Liz was startled by the voice beside her that she moved back a good distance and almost fell off the bed.

“Whoa, careful.” Zan reached out and Liz only cowered away, clutching the sheets to her naked body.

She blinked at that realization and peeked under the blanket. Sure enough, she was as naked as the day she was born. She looked over at Zan and saw that he was only wearing only a pair of sweat pants and looking deliciously hot.

Liz quickly shook her head to rid her of those thoughts. She can not think of how hot Zan was at the moment. She had to figure out where she was and why she was naked in a room…with Zan.

“Uh…what are you doing here?” Liz asked warily.

“This is my house…and this is my room.” Zan answered.

Liz eyes widened, “Your room?”

Zan knew she was about to panic. “Liz…Liz, calm down.” he urged her as he moved closer to her.

“What happened? Why am I here? Why am I…why am I…?” Liz started rambling.

“Naked?” Zan provided.

“Yes.” Liz already had tears in her eyes.

Zan only hung his head. “I don’t exactly remember either.”

“Were we drunk? Did we…?” Liz asked.

“Um…” Zan hesitated. Although he didn’t remember having sex with Liz, he knew that they did judging from how he felt that morning.

“Zan?”

He looked at Liz and her eyes and knew he couldn’t lie. “Yeah, I think so…yeah.”

Liz frowned and tears began to well in her eyes. “Are you sure?”

Zan nodded and his heart broke upon seeing Liz break down and weep. He closed the gap between them and cradled her in his arms.

After some time, Liz finally calmed down. She excused herself to go change and Zan told her that she could take a shower if she wanted. He also said that he would be downstairs making something to eat while she’s in the bathroom.

As she showered, she felt the soreness of her body and the tell-tale signs that she did have sex last night. And due to that, she tried her best to recall what happened.

*Flashback*

Liz felt out of place when the rest of the gang went in pairs to dance with their significant others.

For you there'll be no crying
For you the sun will be shining
‘Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right

Yes she felt happy for them but she also wished she had someone in her life.

She backed away slowly from the dance floor until she bumped into someone and heard that person ask her where she was going. She turned around and was surprised to find Zan right in front of her.

She couldn’t even remember what happened after that but the next thing she knew they were dancing together.

And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before

And then they were driving somewhere. She couldn’t really remember where they were going but she felt safe with him despite that. They were kissing back at the club and they were still kissing when they were heading out. And now that they were at…wherever they were at, they were still kissing. And she was getting intoxicated by him.

*Flashback*

Liz couldn’t remember anything after that. She got out of the shower and started dressing up. As she picked up her dress, she remembered taking it off at some point and being kissed all over. She shook her head slightly and resumed getting dress so she could join Zan downstairs.

“Hi.” Liz spoke shyly as she saw Zan putting some food on the dinner table. She didn’t know why she was still feeling that way since Zan pretty much saw everything about her already.

“Hey, I made you some lunch. It’s just some chicken but I hope you’ll like it. How are you feeling?” Zan asked while gazing at her. She looked so beautiful still.

“Um…a little sore.”

Zan blinked, “Oh…well…uh….”

Liz shook her head, “It’ll pass.”

She headed over to the table where Zan was standing beside one of the chairs, obviously waiting for her to take a seat. She sat at the chair that Zan was holding out for her. Then he quickly moved to sit across from her. But before he could set himself down on the chair, Liz spoke.

“I think this was a mistake.” she said softly.

Zan stopped in action. He looked at her and slowly lowered himself on the chair. “What was a mistake?” he asked carefully.

Liz couldn’t look him in the eye. “What happened…last night.”

“Why do you think it’s wrong?”

Liz straightened herself and looked at him head on. “Because we were both drunk. Zan, that wasn’t how I wanted my first time to happen—”

“Your first time?! You…you were a virgin when…. Oh shit, I’m sorry, Liz. I didn’t know. I don’t…I don’t even remember….”

“It’s ok. I think it was my fault too. I remember going somewhere with you. And I know I did it willingly.” Liz lowered her head again, embarrassed over having to recall what happened between them.

“Liz, look at me.” Zan took one of her hands and held it tight in his. He was in awe of how soft her hand was.

Liz looked at him and had to wonder at the way he was staring at her. She felt like he was looking right into her soul, like he knew every nook and cranny…. Well, of course he does, they already had sex.

“I’m sorry that you lost your virginity that way. I don’t know how I could ever make up for what happened—”

“You don’t have to. Let’s just put this behind us and move on. We’ll be working together since you’re our lawyer...” Then Liz seemed to have a doubt, “You will still be our lawyer despite…despite…”

“Despite this? Yes. I will still be your band’s lawyer.”

“Thank you.” Liz pulled her hand away. “Anyway, as I was saying, let’s just put this behind us and hopefully we can still work together and whatever there is or was, between us…remains strictly professional.” Liz finished.

Before Zan could respond, the doorbell rang…and rang and rang until he finally stood up and walked over to his living room to open the front door. He wasn’t even able to turn the knob fully when the door burst wide open to reveal a seething Alex Whitman.

“Where’s Liz?”

**Sorry for the long wait. My muse went MIA again but she's back now. Hopefully for good. Here are the next two parts. I'm halfway done with Chapter 19 and Chapter 20 is when all will be revealed.

~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 17

“Where is my sister, Zan? Where’s Liz?” Alex asked as he pushed Zan aside and walked into the house looking around for any signs of Liz. It was obvious that he was very agitated.

“Alex, calm down.” Zan tried to pacify him.

“Calm down? Calm down?! My sister isn’t where she’s supposed to be! Which is either having breakfast with her brother and her friends or still sleeping in the guestroom in your parents’ house!” Alex yelled. “Now she was your responsibility and I want to know where she is!”

Zan wasn’t going to allow anyone to be bullying him around in his own home. “Hold up. My responsibility?! She’s a grown woman, in case you haven’t noticed. And you’re her brother so if she is anyone’s responsibility, it’s yours!”


Liz blinked as she seemed to be hearing her brother’s voice. And it was loud…very loud. She got off her chair and rushed to the living room where she found Zan and Alex in a heated yelling match.

She quickly ran to them and tried telling them to stop but they couldn’t hear her above their own roaring. So Liz did the first thing she thought of. She stood up on the couch and screamed from the top of her lungs.

“Wha—?” Alex looked at her and was instantly relieved that she was there.

“Liz.” He walked up to her and helped her down off the couch. “I’m so glad you’re ok. I was so worried.” he said as he hugged her.

Zan could only shake his head at the disgusting display Alex was giving. He was really treating Liz as if she was a five-year-old child.

“Alex, Alex. I’m fine.” Liz kept trying to appease her brother.

“Did he do anything to you?” Alex asked as he threw a menacing glare at the other guy in the room.

“What? What the hell—” Zan started to move towards Alex again. He had no intention of stopping. He wouldn’t care if the guy was Liz’s brother, he was going to beat the hell out of him. But before he could pull back to get ready for the first punch, Liz’s voice halted him.

“Alex, enough. Zan...” Liz looked at him then faced her brother once more. “He didn’t hurt me or anything alright? Look, can we just go back to the Evans’.”

“Ok, whatever you want, Liz.” Alex put his arm around her and they started to walk towards the door.

“Wait, Liz—” Zan tried to stop her from leaving.

“Uh…yeah, about that…um…contract, yeah, we can talk about it tomorrow, Zan.” Liz looked pointedly at him.

“Oh…ok.” Zan knew she was ashamed and didn’t want to talk about what happened in front of her brother.

“Come on, Lizzie.” Alex began to pull her away.

Zan froze right where he was standing and was seething upon hearing that nickname. He was the only one who had the right to call her that…that is if she knew it was him.

Liz looked back at him before getting into the van. Then she gave him a small wave as they drove away.


“Where have you been?” Michael bellowed.

“Michael, stop it.” Maria ordered him with a slap on his shoulder.

“I was at Zan’s, ok, Michael? Does that answer your question?!” Liz was already so angry because all the way back to the Evans’ house, Alex kept going on and on and lecturing her like a parent would do to a little kid. Not even their parents scolded her that way but Alex felt the need to do it anyway, even though she was only a year younger than him. And she was already sick of it.

“Why did you stay there? You know that you could have called us? Or better yet, you could have ridden back here with us in the van. But no, you thought it was a good idea to disappear.” Michael spoke sarcastically.

“You know, I already told Alex everything he wanted to know so why don’t you and him just compare notes. I’m going to sleep.” Liz tried to get past him.

“Why? Didn’t you get enough sleep at Zan’s? Tell me you did not have sex with him, Liz.”

“Michael, that’s enough!” Isabel yelled. “We’re guests here. Thank goodness Aunt Diane and Uncle Philip aren’t home to hear this right now.”

“For your information Michael, no, I didn’t have sex with him. There, satisfied?” With that, Liz stormed off to the guestroom.

“Nice going, moron.” Maria muttered and went after Liz.


Liz was already laying in bed thinking about what happened when she heard a knock on the opposite side of the door. She wondered who it could be. It better not be Michael or Alex because if it was, she was going to tear their heads off. “Come in.”

“Hey.” Maria poked her head in.

“Hey.” Liz sat up which was a signal Maria took that Liz was willing to talk.

Maria smiled and headed to Liz’s bed and plopped herself down beside her best friend. “You ok?”

“Yeah.” Liz sighed.

“Forget about Michael and Alex ok? You know how they can turn into such Neanderthals at times.”

Liz gave Maria a huff in agreement. “I think they’re worse.”

Maria was amused with that. “So…you didn’t really sleep with Zan?” she asked after a short pause.

“Maria! Not you too!”

“What? I was just curious. And admit it, you think he’s hot too.” Maria grinned.

“Too?” Liz asked with a raised brow.

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you haven’t noticed how gorgeous he is? Only a blind woman would say otherwise.”

“Well…”

“I knew it!” Maria exclaimed and both girls erupted in giggles.

“Ah, I made you laugh, mission accomplished.” Maria said with a proud smile on her face. “Ok, you go sleep or whatever and I’ll go back down and smack Michael and Alex.”

“Don’t be too harsh.”

“Me?” Maria asked with a mocking look and a hand to her chest. “Harsh? Whoever gave you that idea?” Maria winked as she got off the bed and bounced towards the door.

“Haha.” Liz said sarcastically and went to lie back down on the bed as Maria left and closed the door behind her.

However, now that she was all alone she began to think about the consequences of everything that happened since last night.

She thought about what made her sleep with Zan in the first place. Yes, she was drunk and she did find the man to be irresistibly attractive but surely Zan wouldn’t have done it with her if he didn’t want her, right? So did that mean that Zan was attracted to her too?

Plus, he told her he wanted to talk. Probably to sort out this whole mess but instead she left him and walked away. It’s not that she didn’t want to talk. She was just not ready to deal with everything earlier. It was like she was still experiencing an out-of-body experience, her spirit watching it all take place from the sidelines.

Besides, what else was there to talk about? It was a mistake. That she was sure of. It never should have happened. And due to a drunken frenzy, she had lost her virginity.

Her virginity was important to her. It was something she had been saving for a long time. Something she wanted to do with a person she was in love with. Something she thought she would be giving to someone else. Something she was saving for Max. But instead, she lost it with Zan. And she couldn’t even remember what it felt like.


Chapter 18

Zan still hadn’t spoken with Liz in the past two days. He wondered what was going on with her. What was she thinking? What was she doing? Did she think that they were a mistake? Did she think sleeping with him was wrong? Or was the reason why she said it was a mistake was because of the fact that they were drunk when it happened?

And to top it all off, it was her first time. If it wasn’t such an awkward situation, he would be happy that Liz lost her virginity with him. But he wasn’t. It happened during a night of drunken stupor.

Zan leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath. Maybe it was time for him to tell her who he is. But what if she rejects him? What if she doesn’t remember him? She obviously did not recognize him although in fairness to her, it has been 20 years.

Two decades since he last saw her. He could never forget that time that she tried to run after the car that he was in. She was crying so hard. He didn’t want to go. He would have jumped out of the car if he could. And then he never saw her again.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply. He had his eyes closed and his head tilted back so he didn’t see the door to his office open until he heard it close.

“Hey, Max.”

Zan sat upright and wore a scowl when he saw the person standing in the middle of his office. “What are you doing here? Didn’t my secretary tell you that I did not want to be disturbed?” He pressed down hard on the intercom button and summoned his assistant into his office.

When the secretary came in he started yelling at her. “Damn it Courtney, when I said no visitors or clients, I meant no one comes in my office! The next time you foul up, pack your things! Do you even understand what I mean by that?!”

“Y-yes, Mr. Evans.” The secretary was nodding her head vigorously.

“Now get out of my sight!” Zan roared and the secretary scampered out of the office with tears in her eyes.

“That was a little harsh, don’t you think?”

“I asked you a question, what are you doing here, Ava?” Zan glared and stood up from his chair.

“What’s gotten into you? Tess said you practically pushed her to the floor when she met you the other night. That was no way to treat a lady, Zan.” Ava admonished him.

“Tess? A lady?” Zan laughed and walked to the front of his desk and leaned back on it.

“Ok, fine, you got me there.” Ava rolled her eyes.

“I know she’s your twin but damn, Ava, she’s like a leech.”

“Well, serves you right for sleeping with her. I warned you but did you listen?”

“Alright, alright, it’s my fault.” Zan said with a smirk. Then in a blink of an eye, he got back down to business. “So, for the third time, Ava, what are you doing here?”

“And here I thought you would be pleased to see me so soon. I brought you a little something.” She threw a letter envelope at him which Zan caught easily. Then she sat down on one of the chairs that were placed before his desk for his clients.

“Is this what I think it is?” Zan stared at the envelope in his hands.

“Why don’t you open it and see for yourself?”

That was exactly what he did and what was inside the envelope was a single sheet of paper…where Elizabeth Parker’s birth certificate was printed.


In those two days, 4Square had been very busy. Mr. Kats had them in the recording studio from morning till night to create their CD. However, since Alex was a whiz on computers and has all the high-tech gadgets, the band was able to create a CD of their own, albeit it was an amateur one. So some of the songs that were going to be released in their official CD were already recorded there and it was just a matter of transferring them. Hence, they weren’t going to be cooped up in the studio longer than the usual time necessary to make an album.

As the others went for a break, Liz decided to stay behind and play the piano a little. When she was finally alone, she went back to thinking about the events of the past couple of days. She’s gone past feeling shocked and angry with herself for being so drunk and stupidly climbing into someone’s bed and losing her virginity in the process. Now she was stuck to feeling guilty. And she wasn’t feeling guilty about still avoiding Zan. No, she was feeling guilty about Max.

She always felt that he should have been the one she should have lost her virginity to but fate dealt her with a bad hand. And now here she was, still trying to find him with her songs, still feeling depressed and lonely at times but now she also had guilt to add to those emotions whenever she thought of Max.

As she really got into playing the piano, she began to sing.

Cannot touch, cannot hold, cannot be together
Cannot love, cannot kiss, cannot have each other
Must be strong and we must let go
Cannot say what our hearts must know

How can I not love you
What do I tell my heart
When do I not want you here in my arms
How does one waltz away
From all of the memories
How do I not miss you when you are gone

The tears began to well once more as she continued to sing one of their old songs. It was not the first one she wrote but it was one of the firsts she showed to the gang.

Cannot dream, cannot share sweet and tender moments
Cannot feel how we feel, must pretend it’s over
Must be brave and we must go on
Must not say what we’ve known all along

How can I not love you
What do I tell my heart
When do I not want you here in my arms
How does one waltz away
From all of the memories
How do I not miss you when you are gone

How can I not love you


“Liz, are you alright?” Isabel walked over to her friend. She forgot her purse and had to go back to get it. But when she looked at Liz through the glass walls of the studio, she saw her crying. And when she heard her playing, Liz’s voice was cracking with emotion.

“Oh…um…Isabel.” Liz quickly wiped her tears away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Yeah…are you ok?” Isabel sat beside Liz on the piano stool.

“I’m ok, really. I was just thinking of something.” Liz tried to hide her sadness with a forced smile.

“Is it the same something that made your eyes swollen when we first got here?” Isabel asked cautiously. She really hoped that Liz would open to them, anyone of them, as long as she released whatever she had bottled inside.

Liz blinked as the tears threatened to fall once more. She only nodded in response to her friend’s question.

“Liz, please, whatever it is, tell us so we can help you. It’s hurting us to see you when you’re like this. What is it that’s making you cry so much?”

“I can’t say.”

“You can’t or you won’t.”

Liz just shook her head from left to right.

“Why not?”

“I just don’t want to bring it all up. Please, don’t ask me to.” Liz began to cry.

“Ok, ok, sshhh. I won’t, Liz. I won’t.” Isabel embraced Liz and tried to comfort her as best she could by stroking her back and smoothing her hair.

After a while, Liz had calmed down. So Isabel invited her to join the rest of their group and Liz nodded to accept her invitation.

“Thanks, Iz, for not pushing. Maybe…maybe someday…I could open up about this, but not just yet. I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok, Liz. We’ll be here whenever you’re ready.” Isabel said. At least she felt a little relieved that Liz finally admitted that there was something going on. Hopefully, this would be the first step to fully opening up to them.


**Song used was How Can I Not Love You by Joy Enriquez.

**Thank you all so much for your fb. I can't tell you enough how grateful I am that you're reading this fic. I already have Chapter 20 done...almost. Just a few paragraphs needed. And as promised, you'd want to read that one.


~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 19

“So why is this Elizabeth Parker so important to you? She an ex or something?” Ava asked.

“She was my best friend.” Zan answered without taking his eyes off the paper.

“I thought Rath and I were your best friends.” Ava replied.

“This was before I came here…before I was even adopted.”

Ava blinked in surprise. Zan never liked to talk about that chapter in his life so she was a little taken aback that he would even mention it.

“Was she an orphan too?” she questioned carefully.

Zan nodded.

”Ok, I’ll find her for you.” Ava started to get up.

“No, this is enough. It’s more than enough.” Zan answered.

“What? I dropped everything for that birth certificate which by the way was a great feat in itself since I got that in 2 says. And you just told me who this person is in your life and now you’re telling me that you don’t want me to find her? Then why did you have me search for that piece of paper anyway?”

“It’s complicated. I can’t tell you right now and frankly, I don’t really want to.”

Ava looked irritated. But Zan was quick to appease her.

“Not until I’ve sorted all this out.”

“What’s to sort out?”

Zan sighed, “You’re not going to leave until I tell you, aren’t you?”

Ava gave him a sickly sweet smile. “No, you know me, Zan. Why do you think I decided to become a private investigator in the first place?”

“Yeah, ok. I don’t need you to find Liz—”

“Liz?” Ava raised a brow and gave him a smirk.

Zan frowned at her teasing. “Do you want to hear the rest of it or not?”

“Wha—Sheesh, aren’t you in a bad mood. Alright, I’ll shut up.” Ava rolled her eyes and sat back down.

“As I was saying,” Zan stressed, “you don’t need to find her because I already know where she is.”

Ava immediately lit up. “Well, that’s great then. I’m sure you two have done some catching up right?”

“No.”

“No? Why not?”

Zan then made a face, unsure of how to tell Ava the answer to her question.

“Well?” Ava made him focus back on her question.

“I didn’t tell her that I was the boy in the orphanage.”

Ava’s face began to crumple in confusion. “Why the hell not?!”

“Will you please lower your voice?”

“Alright, why the hell not? Damn, Zan, what’s wrong with you? Are you ashamed of her recognizing you? I know how you are with the pretty ladies. Is she hideous, grotesque, fat—”

“No! She’s not any of those. She’s actually very beautiful.” Zan sighed.

“Then why? Are you afraid that you won’t meet up to her standards or something? If that’s the case then you are blind. Even if we’ve been friends since you moved here and I actually feel incestuous telling you this, you are indeed one of the most gorgeous guys on the planet.”

“Shut up.”

“What? I’m totally serious. You’ve got sharp features, a really great bod, nice smile and beautiful eyes which by the way, why are they blue?” Ava had her brows furrowed as she looked in his eyes.

“Oh, um, I thought they look better. Makes me look more menacing don’t you think?” Zan smiled.

“You know, for a guy, you are vain.”

“I am not.” Zan pouted.

“Do me a favor, lose them. It makes you look…different?”

“Good different or bad different?”

“Bad…really bad.”

“Alright, fine, I’ll get rid of it as soon as I get clear ones.”

Ava grinned, “So where is this Liz Parker?”

“Uh…” Zan scratched behind his ear as he moved back behind his desk and sat on his black leather chair. “You know that band that hired me as their legal representative?”

“Yeah, your cousins are in it. What about them?”

“She’s in it too.”

“Oh my god, are you for real?! And all this time you’ve never told her?!” Ava leaned forward in her seat.

“I can’t!”

“Why ever not? Don’t you even want to see what might happen when she finds out—”

“And what if she rejects me, Ava?” Zan interjected. “You know what I went through. She’s the reason, alright? She’s the reason I was always so down and depressed and I felt so helpless and hopeless and…I can’t go through that again.” he finished softly.

Ava felt saddened by her friend’s admission. However, she felt that there was something else going on, something Zan wasn’t telling her.

“There’s more to this, isn’t there?”

Zan nodded silently.

“Why did you have me find her birth certificate? I mean, if you already knew where she is, add the fact that she was adopted too, why do you need her birth information?”

Zan took a deep breath and exhaled it loudly. “Because…her father was in the accident that killed my parents.”

“Oh my…Zan, that’s so sad.”

“Yeah.” he sighed.

“Are you going to tell her about this?” Ava questioned.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if I should still tell her who I am and everything that I know about how we became orphans.”

At that, Ava got furious. “What? Maxwell Zander Evans, how dare you!”

“Me? What did I do?”

“How can you just sit there and say you don’t even know if Liz should know about all this?! That’s her father, she has a right to know!”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? Her father killed my parents!”

“You said it was an accident!”

“I don’t know yet, alright! Yes it was an accident but as to whose fault it was, my dad is still looking into it.”

“And if it is her father’s?”

“What?” Zan was getting angry at Ava for her screaming at him.

“So what if Liz’s dad was at fault? Are you blaming her?”

Zan fell silent.

“Fuck you, Zan!”

“Hey!” Zan stood abruptly.

Ava was fired up as well that even if Zan was much taller and bigger than her, she stood up too and was facing him head on. “Get this through your thick head, Max! You were a baby when your biological parents died. And if you and Liz are of the same age then she was a baby too. So if you’re going to hold a grudge against her because her father was the one who you think killed your parents, then you’re fucked up! I suggest you go back to your shrink and have your head checked!”

She swiftly grabbed her purse and walked to his door. After placing her hand on the knob, she looked back at Zan and addressed him crossly. “If you believe that Liz should be blamed; then you’re right, you shouldn’t tell her who you really are. She doesn’t need to know that you turned out to be this arrogant, self-centered son of a bitch!” Ava opened the door and walked out briskly but not before slamming the door hard behind her.

**And now...the part you've all been waiting for....

Edited to add: OHMYGOD! I made a mistake! I posted this a day early! So because of this error, don't be surprised if Chapter 21 will be posted 4 days later (March 5). Sorry.


~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 20

When Ava left, Zan plopped down in his seat and thought about everything she said. He knew she was right. He couldn’t blame Liz for what happened to his parents. Her father died in that accident too. He knew they were both infants when it happened but his heart still ached that he never got to know his biological parents.

He was grateful that he had Philip and Diane as his adoptive parents. He couldn’t ask for anyone better, they gave him a home, a family he could depend on, unconditional love. They gave him everything. And with Liz, judging from Alex, he knew that she was placed with a loving family too. For that he was also very thankful.

Liz was…is the first person who showed him what true friendship means. They were still innocent then but had the minds of mature kids who had gone through so much too soon. Thinking back to those days of running up their hill, their secret place, he remembered their pact.

“I promise, Liz, no matter what, we would always be together.” he vowed.

“I promise, Max, no matter what, we would always be together.” Liz echoed.

“And even if we do get separated, I will do everything to find you.”

“And even if we do get sepawrated, I will do everything to find you.”

“So we can be together again.”

Even at that young age, he knew they were meant to be together. He loved Liz with all of his heart even then.

Zan was startled at that last thought. Could he have been in love with Liz even at that young age? He knew he loved her yes, but IN LOVE with her? He looked deep within and there he saw the reason why he went through so much. It was all because of her. He was truly in love with her all those years. At that admission he knew…he had never stopped loving her. Despite the heartaches, the depression, the loneliness, the bitterness, everything that happened to him, it was all because he loved her. More than a friend could ever love another; he had been in love with Liz all his life.


A hundred days had made me older
Since the last time that I've saw your pretty face
A thousand lights had made me colder
And I don’t think I can look at this the same
But all the miles had separate
They disappear now when I’m dreaming of your face

I’m here without you baby
But you’re still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time
I’m here without you baby
But you’re still with me in my dreams
And tonight it’s only you and me

Michael was the one in the studio this time singing the song that he was the lead to. There were only a few songs left to record and this was one of them. Today, only Michael and Liz were scheduled to have their solo recordings.

Everyone was now waiting for Michael to finish because Liz will be recording a new song, one that none of them have ever heard before. Liz has already recorded the accompanying piano piece to it and she just wanted to sing it and get it over with.

Everything I know
And anywhere I go
It gets hard but it won’t take away my love
And when the last one falls,
When it’s all said and done
It gets hard but it won’t take away my love oh

I’m here without you baby
But you’re still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time
I’m here without you baby
But you’re still with me in my dreams
And tonight girl it’s only you and me
Yeah oh yeah oh

“Nice job, Mikey.” Mr. Kats gave him a thumbs-up sign as he finished the song.

“It’s Michael.” he corrected him by speaking on the microphone.

“Uh yeah, Michael.” Mr. Kats said. He felt uncomfortable when he saw Michael’s cold look so he immediately turned to Liz. “You ready for your turn, Liz?”

Liz nodded and went through the doorway that Michael just exited. As soon as Liz had settled into the soundproof studio, she heard the first chords fill the room. And then she began to sing.

Time, sometimes the time just slips away
And you’re left with yesterday
Left with the memories
I, I'll always think of you and smile
And be happy for the time
I had you with me
Though we go our separate ways
I won't forget so don't forget
the memories we made

Please remember, please remember
I was there for you
and you were there for me
Please remember, our time together
When time was yours and mine
and we were wild and free
Please remember, please remember me

Liz felt a little uneasy since it was usually Maria who sang lead in most of their songs. But when Mr. Kats was looking for something a bit melodic, she offered the first song she ever wrote.

Everyone loved it and decided that Liz should do the song alone. It would be a great addition to their play list allowing a break from the audience and for the other band members when their concert shows are already in motion.

Goodbye, there's just no sadder word to say
And it's sad to walk away
With just the memories
Who's to know what might have been
We leave behind a life and time
We'll never know again

Please remember, please remember
I was there for you and you were there for me
And remember, please remember me

Please remember, please remember
I was there for you and you were there for me
Please remember our time together
When time was yours and mine and we were wild and free
Then remember, please remember me

As everyone was listening in to Liz’s singing, they didn’t notice Zan entering the room where the rest of the band was. He saw Liz was inside singing but he also noticed the sadness surrounding her.

Liz had her eyes closed as she was halfway done with her recording. Unknowingly, a tear escaped from the corner of her eye. When she opened them, she was surprised to see Zan staring intensely at her.

She prepared herself for the hard part of the song. It wasn’t hard because of the higher pitch. It was hard for her because this was the part that spoke so much of her memories with Max.

Please remember, please remember
I was there for you and you were there for me
Please remember our time together
When time was yours and mine and we were wild and free
Then remember, please remember me

And how we laughed
And how we smiled
And how this world was yours and mine
And how no dream was out of reach
I stood by you, you stood by me
We took each day and made it shine
We wrote our names across the sky
We ran so fast, we ran so free
And I had you and you had me

Please remember, please remember

Liz couldn’t help it any longer. As soon as the last word was sung, she burst out of the studio and out of the room. She kept running until she finally got out of the entire building.

Everyone else was stunned by Liz’s actions. They didn’t know what had gotten into her. No one noticed that she was silently weeping through that song. Except Zan.

He ran after Liz out into the streets of New York. He knew she wasn’t familiar with the big city so he trusted his instincts and followed his heart.

Soon enough, he saw a mass of dark brown hair on a petite frame, walking as fast as her feet could carry her.

“Liz!” Zan ran after her weaving through the number of people walking briskly through the busy sidewalks of New York.

“Liz!”

Liz looked behind her and saw Zan running straight for her. When he caught up with her, he grasped her upper arms and turned her around to face him. His heart broke when he saw that she had not stopped crying. He heard the song with his ears and his heart. He knew whom it was about and that it was meant for him, Max. It was time to tell her the truth.

“Liz, don’t cry.”

“You don’t understand.” Liz sobbed.

“I do. It’s me.”

Liz sniffled as confusion clouded her mind. “What? What’s you?”

“Liz, can’t you see?”

“See what?” she asked back, her brows furrowed in puzzlement.

“Lizzie, it’s me.”

Liz gasped, a memory running past her.

“You remember, don’t you? The pact we made?”

Liz began shaking her head. It can’t be. All this time and she never knew.

“Look at me, Lizzie. Don’t you remember? It’s me. It’s Max.”


**Songs used were Here Without You by 3 Doors Down and Please Remember by Leann Rimes.

**Surprise, surprise. I posted a day early. I'm back with the old sched, parts will be posted every 3 days so expect a new chapter on the 7th. Now that that has been cleared up, I hope you'll like this one. I wasn't so sure about the ending but Emma coaxed me to post it so here it is. You all have her to thank for this because if it was up to me, I wouldn't post this till tomorrow. Thanks so much for the feedback everyone. And J, ramble all you want, sweetie.


~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 21

“Liz, it’s me. It’s Max.”

“Max? No, you…you’re Zan. You can’t be Max.” Liz rambled and stared at Zan through the tears that blurred her vision. How could Zan be Max? Was this some kind of joke, a prank that someone is trying to pull on her? But if it was, how did they know where to hit her hard? No one knew about her Max, not her parents, not her brother, not her friends. So there was only one conclusion she could come up with. Zan was telling her the truth.

“Liz, it’s me. Why don’t you believe me?” This was what Max was afraid of.

“But all…all this time…” She took in everything from head to toe, then back again. And there she saw his warm amber eyes full of hope.

“Max?” Liz whispered, her eyes widening with recognition.

Max nodded and smiled. Then he was surprised when Liz started swaying to and fro.

“Liz?”

Liz’s eyes began to roll to the back of her head and then she fainted.

“Liz!” Max easily caught her limp body in his arms. People passing by began to look at them. He tried to wake her by shaking her a little but it was of no use. He had to carry her in his arms and bring her…somewhere.

Max was thankful that they were only a little over a block away from the building of the record company. A lot of pedestrian were staring already as he carried an unconscious woman back to where they came from.

As he reached the glass doors to the building, he saw Alex and the rest of their group running up to him.

“Oh my god!”

“What happened?”

“Liz?”

“What did you do to her?”

Questions were fired at him but he kept on walking with Liz still in his arms. He had to take care of Liz first. The questions can be answered later.

Max remained quiet as he laid Liz down on a couch at the lobby. As soon as he straightened up, Alex grabbed hold of his jacket and was seething with anger.

“What the hell did you do to my sister?!” Alex yelled.

“Nothing.” Max answered coolly.

“Nothing?! Is that what you call nothing?!” Michael was beside the two men. He was ready to pounce on Zan as well.

“Liz, Liz? Why won’t she wake up?” Isabel and Maria were fussing over the petite girl, smoothing back her hair away from her face, patting her hand, willing her to wake up.

Max was getting tired of the big brother routine the two guys were pulling. In one swift move, he managed to push Alex away from him and part the two other women and kneel next to Liz. He took one of her hands in his and started to talk softly to her.

”Lizzie? Wake up, ok? I need you to wake up, please.” Max whispered as his eyes started to well up.

“Get away from her!” Alex was ready to pull Zan up on his feet.

“Alex, enough! Can you for one second shove this attitude aside and think about your sister?!” Isabel shouted.

Mr. Kats was getting out of the elevator because the receptionist at the front desk had called him from his office about the commotion going on at the first floor. He hurried over to the group when he saw who it was.

“What happened?” he asked.

Maria looked over at him and answered, “We don’t know. We were on our way to catch up with her when Zan came back in with Liz in his arms.”

“She fainted.” Max replied.

“Why did she faint?” Alex questioned.

“Max…” Liz murmured.

“What? She said something.” Michael was telling everyone to shut up so they could hear Liz’s mumbling.

“Max…” she spoke again.

“Max? Did she say Max? Who’s Max?” Isabel fired the questions at no one in particular. She didn’t know who this Max was.

“Alex? Who’s Max?” Maria asked him.

“I don’t know.” Alex shrugged and kept shaking his head. He had no idea Liz knew someone named Max.

“Alright, step aside. Let the medic do their job.” Mr. Kats created some space for the company’s medical team to examine Liz.

After a vial of smelling salts were waved in front of her, Liz woke up a bit but then fell back to sleep again. The medical attendant told them there wasn’t anything wrong with her, she just needed to rest and will wake up on her own eventually.

At that, the group decided to call it a day. Max took Liz in his arms but Alex was quick to protest.

“Let her go.” Alex said in a cold firm tone.

“No.” Max clutched on to Liz even tighter if that was possible.

Isabel decided to step in. “Alex.” She held on to her boyfriend’s arm and allowed Max to take Liz with him.

“Isabel, where is he taking her?” Alex protested.

Max turned back to the taller guy and gave him a piercing gaze. “I’m going to take her back to my parents’ house.”

Everyone saw how Max wasn’t about to let go of Liz so they just decided to follow him in the van.


As soon as they arrived in the Evans’ home, everyone was rushing inside. Diane met them halfway and was stunned to see a sleeping Liz in her son’s arms.

“Zan? What happened? What’s wrong with Liz?” Diane asked worriedly.

“She fainted.” Max answered briefly.

“What? Why?” Diane matched Max’s pace as he hurried towards the direction of the bedrooms.

Max didn’t respond but just rushed up the stairs. He didn’t know which room was given to Liz and he didn’t want to play the guessing game so he quickly went to the one that he knew most, his own.

He sought out Maria with his eyes and asked her to pull out the covers for Liz. Once that was done he gently laid her on the soft mattress.

Diane told the men to leave so they could change Liz’s clothes. She instructed Isabel to get Liz’s pajamas from her room and Maria to help her undress her friend. Once they had changed Liz into more comfortable attire, Diane put the covers back on Liz’s still sleeping form.

“Max…” Liz moaned in her sleep.

Diane gasped. “Did…did she just say Max?” She looked at the other two young women in the room.

Isabel and Maria only nodded.

Diane quickly looked in the direction of the closed door. Then she turned back to look at Liz and her eyes widened when she finally recognized who the young lady really was. This was Liz, the little girl at the orphanage, Max’s Liz. How could she not have noticed it before?

She rushed to the door and opened it. She wasn’t surprised to see Max waiting on the other side.

“Zan?” That was all she had to say, her face showed the question she wanted to ask aloud.

Max only nodded in response.

“How is she?” Alex stepped in the room and went to Isabel. Michael entered the large room as well and went to stand beside Maria. Max and Diane went in too but stayed close to each other.

“Still the same.” Isabel replied.

“Should we call for a doctor or maybe take her to the hospital or something?” Maria prattled.

“The doctor said she was just sleeping.” Michael reassured her.

“If she still doesn’t wake up tomorrow, we’ll take her to the hospital.” Diane told them. She went on to inform them that she will call their personal physician just to be on the safe side. Then she left the group in her son’s room.

“Max…” Liz whimpered.

“Liz?” Alex sat on the bed and took Liz’s hand in his. He looked at his sister with concern. He was responsible for her. He didn’t care if they all saw, he was scared for Liz.

“Who is this Max she keeps calling for?” Maria asked.

“It’s me.” Max said softly.

“You? How could you be Max?” Michael asked with a scowl.

“You do know that my parents named me Maxwell Zander Evans, don’t you?” Max bit back.

“No. Maybe I would if we knew each other well, but we don’t.” Michael replied briskly.

“Damn it, could you just stop this!” Isabel screamed. “Liz is unconscious and incoherent and both of you are spoiling for a fight?!”

Max and Michael shut up quickly, Michael looking at his shoes and Max staring at Liz.

“Why do you say she’s calling for you?” Alex looked at him.

“Liz is adopted isn’t she?” Max asked.

“How did you know?” Isabel looked at him incredulously.

“I was too.” Max answered.

“What?” Michael quickly lifted his head to look at his cousin. He was surprised because he didn’t know this. Maybe that was why Zan always stayed in one corner, never mingling with anyone. He thought that it was because he was a spoiled and stuck-up brat. But now, with this new info on him, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Max pursed his lips. “I was. And Lizzie…Liz, she was my best friend.”

“You knew each other at the orphanage?” Alex asked.

Max nodded silently.

“It was you.” Isabel said. “All those songs she wrote…she wrote them for you.”

“Songs?” Max questioned.

Maria quickly snatched up the various music sheets on the desk and gave it to Max. “Here, read them all. I think they’re all meant for you.”

Max took them in his hands and just stared at them, surprised to see that there were so many.

Maria and Isabel then decided to give Max some privacy when he just stood there gazing at the papers handed to him. The duo then took Michael and an unwilling Alex with them, leaving Max alone with Liz and her songs.