Roswell Fanatics

The Set Up (AU, M/L, Teen)

Author: Zanity

Summary: It’s near the end of freshman year and Maria over hears something.

Pairings: M/L

Rating: Teen

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

A/N: This is the fic I wrote in response to the Grand Opening Challenge at Roswell Heaven.


Chapter 1

“So, I’m taking Claire Morgan to the dance, how about you?” Tommy Hoeg asked.

Kyle answered, “I’m going to ask Liz Parker.”

Maria was standing around the corner and she nearly burst out laughing. She quickly stifled her laugh and ran to tell Liz. “Liz! Liz! Wait up. You’re never going to guess what I just heard… Kyle Valenti is going to ask you to the Spring Fling.”

She burst out laughing but then grew quite serious when she saw her friends “oh really” look. “You can’t be serious Liz, you’re actually thinking of going out with him?”

Liz nodded, “He’s a nice guy Maria.”

Maria started shaking her head, “No, no, no… you can’t do this.” Then a thought occurred to her. “Ok, tell you what, let me set you up with a date for the Spring Fling. When Kyle asks tell him you already have a date maybe next time. If you don’t enjoy the company of the guy I set you up with better than you think you would have enjoyed going with Kyle, then I’ll owe you a favor of your choice and I won’t pester you about dating Kyle if you choose to afterwards. Or you could decline my offer and I’ll take every chance I get to tell you what a mistake you’ll be making going out with Kyle. Liz, he seriously isn’t the guy for you.”

Liz studied her friend for a moment. She knew first hand how persistent Maria could be when she set her mind to something, so she agreed. “Fine Maria, You win… so who am I going out with?”

Maria smiled like the Cheshire cat, “It’s a surprise.”

Liz argued, “Maria, you know I don’t like the idea of blind dates.”

“Liz trust me on this one, you’ll love it.” Maria was smiling brightly as she watched Liz shake her head in disbelief and walk off. Maria knew Liz would be thanking her profusely later.

Maria knew the one guy Liz actually wants to date, the guy Liz has had a crush on for at least the last three years, the guy Liz thought was unattainable; Max Evans. But she also knew that Max had a thing for Liz too. Liz refused to believe it, but she’d caught him starring at her best friend way too many times for it to be anything else. Yes, Liz was definitely going to be thanking her come date night.

Maria quickly made her way to the library for her study period. One glance around the room told her it was time for the next stage of her plan. She sat down next to Max, “So the Spring Fling’s coming up, are you planning on going?”

Max looked incredulously at the blond sitting next to him. She was Liz’s best friend and he’d seen enough of her when he was watching Liz to know she was up to something. His mind blanched, she wasn’t asking him out was she? “Ahh, no wasn’t planning on it.”

Maria smiled and continued on undaunted, “Well what if I told you I could arrange for you to be Liz’s date?” She smiled in satisfaction as she watched Max’s jaw drop.

Max quickly recovered his senses and quipped, “Then I’d say you better see who spiked your cedar oil and with what, because you’d most definitely be high.” Seeing Maria’s perplexed look Max elaborated, “Maria, there is no way the most beautiful girl at West Roswell High is suddenly going to agree to date Mr. Invisible, and even if she did agree to it, she deserves much better than me.”

Now it was Maria’s turn to look incredulous. Mr. Invisible? Uh-uh, mysterious hottie yes, invisible not a chance. Better than him? Doesn’t he notice how much all the girls at school fawn over him? Maria shook her head, talk about clueless. She decided to get to the point, “Look I got Liz agree to let me set her up on a blind date to help her avoid someone else who was planning on asking her. I know she’d prefer to go with you than him so will you do it?”

Max studied Maria carefully. Did he want to go out with Liz? Hell yeah. Did he really believe Liz wanted to go out with him? That he wasn’t so sure… Liz was perfect and he; well he was an alien, a freak, a monster. Liz deserved so much better than him. But still Liz didn’t know that, and he had fantasized about dating her enough that he was pretty sure he could give her a very romantic evening. But should he, would Liz want that? From him?

He looked around the room and saw his chance for a second opinion, Alex. “I’ll think about it.” He told Maria.

He made his way towards the table Alex was sitting at and then sat down next to him. “Hey Alex.”

Alex looked up startled. “Uhm, hey Max.”

“Alex, remember in the sixth grade when I got Paul Cruthers to leave you alone and you said you owed me one?” Alex nodded not sure where Max was going with this. “Well I need a favor. You see Maria is trying to set me up on a date with Liz, and you’re good friends with both of them. I need you to tell me the truth. Maria says that this is something Liz would want, but she’s not telling Liz who she’s setting her up with. Now if this is really something Liz would want I’ll do it, but if this is because Liz lost a bet or Maria’s playing some kind of joke on Liz…” Max shook his head to clear it of the anger that was starting to build. “I won’t be a part of hurting her like that.”

Alex was stunned. He wasn’t quite sure how Liz losing a bet would have her being set up with Max… He suppressed a grin; Liz would probably lose that bet on purpose if that was the case. “No Max, if Maria is trying to set you up with Liz she’s definitely doing Liz a favor.” Under Max’s scrutinizing gaze he amended, “Honest… I swear.”

Max seemed to accept this; as he left and made his way back over to Maria, Alex smiled for his friend. Liz had the biggest crush on Max; she was going to be so happy.

Max sat back down in his original chair, he’d made up his mind. If Liz would enjoy this then he’d take her out and give her the best night of her life. “OK, the dance starts at 7:00, tell her I’ll pick her up for dinner at 6:00. And uh… living with Isabel you kinda pick up a few things, so… is there any particular color you need me to wear, or avoid?”

Maria’s jaw dropped… Good thing they were sitting alone or Liz’s competition for Max would have skyrocketed with that last question. “Ahh, stick with black… it goes with anything.”

When the bell rang for the end of the period they both left smiling. Maria because she knew Liz was going to have the time of her life, and Max because he had a date with his dream girl.

*~*~*~*~*

Several days later Isabel was watching her brother carefully, something was up with him. He’d been acting funny for the last couple of days and she was going to find out why. “Ok Max! What’s going on?”

“What do you mean Iz?”

Isabel glared at her brother, “Don’t give me that. You’ve been up to something lately and I want to know what.”

Max sighed. He didn’t want to get into this with his sister. “Someone got me to agree to a blind date for the dance.” Seeing his sisters reaction he headed her off, “Don’t give me that look. You go on dates all the time. I’m going to go out with this girl. I’ll be a perfect gentleman. I’ll give her a romantic evening and that will be it.”

Isabel shook her head dubiously, “Be careful Max. Remember we can’t let anyone too close.”

After Isabel left, Max sat down on his bed. He hadn’t exactly lied to her. After all it was a blind date from Liz’s point of view. And he fully expected this to be a one time thing.

A/N: Thanks for the Feedback... Yes Izzy can be a pain... but she won't be too much of one I promise... This is only four parts long and I have them all written so I'll be updating weekly.

clueless
Queen Fee
ShatteredDreamer
RhondaAnn
jamy21
pandas2001
LairaBehr4
tequathisy
begonia9508
aussietrueblue
Timelord31
spacecowboy
ShatteredDreamer


Chapter 2

It was the day of the dance and Max was running through his mental checklist… Izzy has another ride so the jeeps all mine. Dinner reservations? Check… Flowers? Check… Chocolates? Check… Wrist corsage? Check…

He showed up at the door to the Parker’s apartment and rang the doorbell. Liz answered the door and she was a vision. She was wearing a black spaghetti strapped dress that hugged her skin just right in all the right places, revealing her exquisite figure. Her hair was loose, cascading down around her shoulders. The word, “Wow!” tumbled from his lips with no conscious provocation.

Liz had been growing more and more nervous as the dance got closer. Every time she’d ask Maria who was taking her, Maria would just get this funny smirk on her face and say, “You’ll see.” So by the time the doorbell rang the suspense was killing her and she was waiting by the door.

She opened the door immediately and was shocked into immobility at the sight before her. Max Evans was standing in front of her dressed in a black suit and a silver tie, looking positively delicious. She didn’t know how Maria managed it, but she was pretty sure she now owed her best friend her firstborn or something else of equal value.

Max was the first to recover. He handed Liz the box of chocolates and the bouquet of a dozen white roses he had bought her. “You look positively gorgeous.”

Liz was in heaven. She licked her lips as accepted the gifts, “Th-thank you, you too. I mean you look good.” She gestured inside, “Um, my parents want to meet you before we leave.”

Max nodded laced his fingers though hers as they went inside.

Jeff watched as the two teens walked into the room hand in hand. The blazing smile Liz was now wearing made what he was about to do all that much more difficult. This was Liz’s first real date and he wasn’t quite ready for her to be this grown up. As Liz arrived in front of him still holding the boys hand she made the introductions. “Mom, Dad, this is Max. Max these are my parents.”

Max reached out his hand and met Mr. Parker’s eyes squarely, “Nice to meet you sir.”

Jeff sized up the boy as he took his hand. He’d been a little bit nervous about letting his daughter go out on a blind date, even one her best friend set up. But now seeing who the date was he relaxed slightly, “You’re Diane and Philip’s son right?”

“Yes sir.”

He knew the Evan’s. Philip had represented him in a contract dispute with one of his suppliers a while back. And Max was a regular at his restaurant. He was a nice, quiet, and respectful boy. Jeff was pretty sure Max would treat his little girl right. “This is the first time we’ve let Lizzie go out alone on a date. I’m trusting you to treat her right and keep her safe.”

Liz blushed as she objected, “Da-ad!...”

But Max interrupted her, “It’s okay Liz. Mr. Parker, I promise, I’ll treat Liz like a queen and return her to you safe and sound.”

Jeff smiled but his voice held a hint of warning, “See that you do.”

After Liz slipped her flowers into some water, Max helped her put on her corsage while flashes started going off around them. Fifteen minutes later they finally escaped Mrs. Parker’s camera and were on their way to dinner.

The rest of the evening until Max brought Liz home was a dream come true for both of them. Max was the perfect gentleman, opening the door for Liz, offering her his arm as escorted her to her seat, helping her with her chair etc.

Dinner conversation was light and topics ranged from parents, to friends, to school. Once they got to the dance they never left each other’s arms for the rest of the night.

When they pulled up in front of the Crashdown, at the end of the evening, was where the trouble started. Liz’s curiosity finally got the better of her and as they were walking to the door she asked, “Max, tonight as been absolutely perfect. But if you don’t mind my asking, what did Maria have to do to get you to come with me tonight?”

Max smiled at Liz, “She told me that you’d enjoy my company tonight better than a particular alternative you were trying to avoid… she didn’t tell me who. I didn’t believe her at first, I went to Alex, and he swore to me that Maria was right… that this wasn’t some practical joke Maria was playing on you, or a bet you lost… that it’s what you would want.”

Liz blinked several times. Practical joke? Bet she lost? “Max, how could you ever even think that?”

“Because you deserve so much better than me. You are sweet, and kind, and caring, and intelligent, and absolutely gorgeous. You deserve the best.”

Liz’s mind was reeling. Max Evans thought he wasn’t good enough for her? “Max, you’re the guy I’ve been dreaming and hoping would ask me out ever since I first started becoming interested in boys. You’re the one I want. You ARE the best.”

Now if Liz mind was reeling a second ago, Max’s just went into a tailspin. Rational thought eluded him. He had to show Liz how wrong she was. He had to, so she would move on to a normal life.

He took his right hand and gently caressed her cheek. Meeting her eyes with his own, he formed a connection; he opened himself up completely to her. He showed her what kind of freak, what kind of monster he really was.

But that’s not what Liz saw.

Liz saw Max breaking his way out of a pod. Liz saw Max immediately taking on the roll of protector to his sister. Liz felt Max’s loneliness going through life. She witnessed the many events in his life that had convinced him that he was a monster. But she also saw how he healed a bird with a broken wing. She saw how, when it became sick, he sneaked into the school after hours to heal the mouse their fifth grade class had kept.

She saw how he cared for others. She saw how he fell in love with her that day back in the third grade. She watched as he had assumed the role of her protector. As the rest of his life continued to flash before her, she felt his fears, his desires, his dreams and his ambitions. She saw both his fantasies and his nightmares.

Finally she saw him preparing for tonight, wanting to make it perfect for her; knowing beyond a doubt that it would be for him simply because she was his date. She experienced first hand the happiness this night had brought to him. Then she felt his self loathing resurface.

When the connection ended, her mind started to conjure images of her own. Suddenly she recalled cheering at the crash festival when the spaceship crashed and it made her sick. Her mind pictured herself surviving a plane crash over Africa, losing her family in the crash; then watching some tribe of natives rejoice year after year over the tragedy that took her family away.

Aliens were intelligent beings, at least as smart as humans… definitely more advanced. It was bad enough that she had been cheering the death of other intelligent life, but suddenly realizing that that life was the family of her beloved Max (for she knew now beyond a shadow of a doubt that she loved him) made it all the worse. She was completely and totally disgusted with herself.

Max’s pain filled voice brought her back to the present. As she gazed into his tear stained eyes she saw his emotions so openly displayed there: a pain so great it could only be described as agony, a longing so deep it bordered on need, and a hint of something else. It was a look Liz recognized but couldn’t quite place.

As Max turned and ran to his jeep the words he’d just spoken finally penetrated into her mind, “Now you know what kind of monster I am. Now you know why I’m not good enough for you, why you deserve so much better than me.”

She tried to run after him, but he was too fast. She called after him, but he was too consumed with pain to hear. She stood there quietly for a few moments with tears in her eyes as she watched his jeep disappear into the night.

A/N: Thanks for the feedback everyone...

pandas2001
LairaBehr4 -- Yeah well part of the challenge said it had to be 5 parts or less and if I wrote part 5 that would require at least a part 6 and possibly parts 7 and 8. I do want to write those parts though so I am writing a sequal to this fic. There will be a poll at the end of it next week that will determine how that goes.
LoveIsForever
begonia9508
tequathisy
jamy21
sprayadhesive -- See my mesage to Laira about more parts... glad you liked my analogy.
RhondaAnn
clueless
aussietrueblue
c_which
Tanya7496 -- You caught me. Glad you enjoyed it.
Evelynn
Kitten
mezz
ShatteredDreamer


Chapter 3

When Isabel had arrived at the dance and saw her brother with Liz Parker she was furious. She knew there could never be anything casual between those two. But she wasn’t about to make a scene. That would only attract more attention; attention they couldn’t afford.

She thanked the stars that Michael wasn’t at the dance because she knew he wouldn’t wait. When the dance was over she was going to give Max a piece of her mind.

At least that was her plan… until she actually got home and found Max in his room. Counting Crows were blaring on the stereo and Max was lying on his bed crying. He looked more fragile than she’d ever seen him before.

Max was always the strong one, the one she turned to for support, the one that came to the rescue when either she or Michael were in trouble. Max like this, broken and vulnerable, scared her. “What’s wrong Max?”

It was several minutes before Max was able to compose himself enough to answer. “You don’t have to worry Izzy. I’m fine.”

Isabel wasn’t about to let that pass. “What happened Max? Was it Liz?”

Max took a deep breath then sighed in resignation. “You don’t have to worry about that either. It’s over between Liz and me.”

Now Isabel was worried. She wasn’t blind; she knew both Liz and Max had feelings for each other. So if they broke it off with out interference something must have gone very, very wrong. “What happened Max?”

“It was the end of the date… I was trying to tell her that we shouldn’t go out again, that she deserved someone better than me. Things got a little crazy and I connected with her.”

He looked up at Isabel with tears once again streaming down his face. “She knows everything now.” His voice cracked, “You should have seen the disgust on her face. I always knew she wouldn’t want anything to do with me if she ever found out. But until it actually happened, I always had this little bit of hope, you know… that she might be able to accept me.”

Isabel held him while he cried into her shoulder. She wanted to offer comfort and solace to Max, but she couldn’t, too much fear was coursing through her… Liz knew the truth about them. “W-what are we going to do Max?”

Max started pulling himself back together, “Nothing Iz. Everything is going to be ok. Liz will probably ask for a new lab partner on Monday. And she’ll probably get someone else to wait our tables when we eat at the Crash, but Liz is a good person. Yes, she knows the truth but she also knows what we’re afraid of, and she won’t do anything to hurt us. You’ll see.”

Isabel sighed; she knew she wouldn’t get anywhere arguing this point with Max. For there were very few things that were non-negotiable with Max; but one of them was his unshakeable faith in Liz Parker.

*~*~*~*~*

Liz pulled herself back together before entering her apartment. She didn’t want her parents seeing her tears and blaming Max.

After a short debriefing with her parents, she told them to send Maria up when she got there and went to her room; they had planned a girl’s night to discus how the date went.

Once inside, she immediately went to work looking through every phone book and roster she had to see if she could find Max’s phone number or address.

She found the number and address of his dad’s law firm. But their home was unlisted. And Max wasn’t in any of the school clubs she was in. Finally she resigned herself to the fact she wouldn’t be able to fix things with Max till Monday.

As she finished putting the phone books away, Maria walked in, “So…. Tell me that Max wasn’t better than Kyle would have been, hmmm?”

Liz conceded, “Ok you win… Max is much better for me than Kyle. And I had a much better time with Max right up until the end…”

As silence descended upon the room, Maria heard the but coming, “But?”

“But he thinks he’s not good enough for me, and we had a little misunderstanding and now he thinks I believe that too!” Liz cried.

Maria shook her head, “He said something like that when I was trying to set the two of you up in the first place. I know he is smart, I mean, I don’t think he takes any courses that aren’t AP, but the guy is clueless.”

Liz had tears forming in her eyes again, “Not clueless Maria, hurt; really badly hurt.”

Maria grew curious, “Hurt?”

Liz looked at Maria for a moment. She couldn’t tell Maria the whole truth, but she could tell her part of it. Something Maria could equate with. “Remember how you felt right after your dad left?”

Maria nodded. She had blamed herself. She had thought there must have been something wrong with her that had caused her dad to leave. She’d spent hours wondering what she could have done differently to make him stay. Finally her mother had told her that it wasn’t her fault. That her dad had left because of problems between the two of them.

So Liz’s next words hit her hard, “What if it hadn’t been just your dad. What if both your mom and your dad had left? What if they had abandoned you leaving you all by yourself in the middle of the desert? That’s what happened to Max and Isabel… then the Evans found them out there and adopted them.”

Maria went silent. She knew the feelings of inadequacy a parent leaving could cause. And Max and Isabel didn’t even have the comfort of knowing that it was just one parent leaving the other. For all they knew their parents could still be happy together somewhere. It really was them that their parents had left.

Liz felt a tad guilty about deceiving Maria like that, but it fit with the cover story Max and Isabel had used for years… and she couldn’t betray Max’s trust… and the truth was so much worse. Liz closed her eyes as some of Max’s memories again emerged from her mind. Memories of little kids running around with toy ray guns and shouting “Kill the aliens!” Memories of his parents taking them to the grand opening of the “Alien Invasion” (Roswell’s answer to the haunted house); she remembered what it was like for a young Max walking through the house, holding his sisters hand, looking at all the alien monsters designed for the sole purpose of scaring people, and thinking that if anyone (even his adoptive parents) ever found out the truth about him that these are what he’d be equated with. All growing up, at every turn, he was confronted with people who considered his kind monsters that deserved to die. Living in Roswell, it had been pounded into his head so much that he began to believe it himself.

No, the truth of the matter was definitely much worse. The tears she had been holding back now streamed freely down her face. It just wasn’t fair. Someone as gentle and caring as Max should never have to feel like that. “That’s why Max doesn’t think he’s good enough for me. I mean if he wasn’t good enough for his parents to keep how could he be good enough for anyone else? And I bet it’s why Isabel acts like the ice princess. She works hard to display superficial perfection and to never let anyone see deep enough to discover whatever flaws got her left out in that desert.”

“And now Max thinks I agree with him… and I can’t find his phone number or address so I can’t fix it.” Liz finally concluded.

Maria held Liz and tried comforting her, “He always eats at the Crashdown on the weekends, you can fix things then.”

But it didn’t help. Because Liz now knew the only reason Max came to the Crashdown so often was to see her. And now that he believed she didn’t want to see him, he wouldn’t be coming.

A/N: Ok, here it is; the final part to this fic. But I am planning a sequel so please answer the poll when you're finished reading. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Kitten
LairaBehr4
begonia9508 - Yeah, big misunderstanding... but time to fix it...
jamy21
clueless
Strawberry88 - Fixing...
sprayadhesive - Thanx, don't worry I want to write more to this...
RhondaAnn
irish_girl
ShatteredDreamer - Yeah there is more to this part to tell and that's why I'm planning the sequel... I look forward to your opinion after this part.

So with out further adu...




Chapter 4

It was Monday morning and Liz had been right. Max never showed up at the Crashdown over the weekend. That hadn’t stopped Liz from camping in the diner waiting for him though. Now she was standing by his locker waiting for her chance to make things right.

She saw Max turn the corner and start towards her; he hadn’t seen her yet. As she looked him over she noticed the pain and longing from his eyes was hidden now, well hidden; but she could still see it. The other look, the one she couldn’t place before was more prominent now and she recognized it immediately.

It was a look she’d seen when she did volunteer work at the hospital. It was the look the terminal patients got when they accepted that they’ve accomplished everything they were going to in life and they were prepared to die. It’s not that they were actively seeking death, but when death came for them they were prepared to embrace it as a friend rather than fight it as a foe.

It left Liz feeling ambivalent to see that look on Max’s face now. It tore at her heart that Max would ever feel that way. But at the same time it gave her a guilty thrill to know that the reason he was feeling that way was because he thought he’d lost her. That she had the power to take that look from his face and replace it with happiness.

She knew she would never doubt the depth of his feelings for her, because the memory of this moment would forever chase away any doubts.

The moment Max saw her, a spark, a flicker of hope appeared in his eyes before it was squashed by a look of pain. This too gave her a thrill because she knew it meant it wasn’t too late. There was still time to fix this.

When Max arrived at his locker Liz couldn’t wait any longer. She grabbed his hand and dragged him all the way to the eraser room. As soon as she’d locked the door behind her, she looked up into Max’s eyes. “Max? What you did at the end of our date, when you let me see you, can you make it go the other way? Can you look inside me?”

Max’s eyes went wide, “Yes, but Liz I never… I would never invade your privacy like that.”

Liz smiled with determination as she lifted Max’s hands to her face, “I know that Max, but it’s not an invasion if you’re invited. Look inside me Max. See what you mean to me.”

Max formed the connection this time more tentatively than the last. This time it was Liz who opened herself up completely to Max. Max experienced what it was like for Liz growing up. He saw her friendships with Maria and Alex as each was forged and then as they blossomed. He watched as in the seventh grade the other girls started getting interested in boys but Liz only had eyes for him.

His amazement grew as he watched Liz redo her hair and makeup anytime she knew he would be near… trying to attract his attention. He saw the conversation between her and Maria that had lead to their date. That even then she had wanted him but had found herself willing to settle for Kyle.

He lived their date through her eyes and realized it was just as magical for her as it was for him. Then he felt what she had during and immediately after the connection. He felt her disgust at herself not at him. He realized that his attempt to turn her away from him had accomplished the opposite.

Before their date, Liz had had a crush on him, the sparks of puppy love. During their date everything he had done to make her night perfect had fanned those sparks into a small flame. And when he connected to her and showed her his true self, it had only fueled the flame further.

He watched her conversation with Maria that night as she tried to explain his feelings to her, while still carefully guarding his secret. He experienced what it was like for her all weekend long as she anxiously waited for her chance to set things straight between them hoping against hope that he’d come into the Crashdown as per his usual routine. And he felt her disappointment that he’d stayed away.

Finally as he caught up with the present he felt her love for him. He realized that even the weekend she had spent empathizing with him, and feeling guilt for the pain she had known he was in, had only served to fuel her love for him even further. It was now a blazing fire; it was now a love that rivaled his for her.

Prior to their date he had always held a small hope something like this might happen, however unrealistic he thought it would be. However, he had also just experienced two days of knowing with absolute certainty that the one he loved would never be his. He wouldn’t wish that feeling on his worst enemy, much less the love his life. But if he told her they couldn’t be together now, he knew that’s exactly what he would be doing. He couldn’t do that to her, pact or no pact.

Besides their rule about not getting close to anyone was to prevent others from learning their secret… and Liz already knew. She already knew all his secrets as he now knew hers. All secrets between them had been eradicated through the blatant and absolute honesty of the connections.

As he came out of her memories, instead of breaking the connection he intensified it. They each became completely aware of the other’s feelings and thoughts, and Max knew that he couldn’t stay away from her. Every reason he ever had to do so was either gone or mute.

It could still be dangerous, for Liz, for them to be together; but Liz knew the risks and she wanted him anyway. Liz had made her choice, now it was time for him to make his.

He couldn’t allow himself to hurt her the way he had been hurt by his misconceptions this past weekend. He moved their lips closer together slowly and tentatively until their lips met and they shared their first kiss. One kiss which quickly moved on to a second and a third before their lips parted and they began a methodical exploration of each other’s mouth.

When the need for air became too great they broke apart. Neither felt the need to ask permission to continue their impromptu make out session; they could feel each other’s desires.

They were still locked in a heated embrace, devouring one another, when the bell rang to signal the start first period. Not wanting to embarrass Liz, Max began to wave his hand to clean up the evidence of their passion; but through the connection Liz knew what he was about to do and moved her own hands to stop him. “Max, when I walk out of the eraser room with my boyfriend, I want it to look like we were doing something in here.”

Smiling Max gave up his efforts and instead took Liz’s books and walked her to her first class.

After all, how could he be expected to do any less for his girlfriend?




A/N: Ok so the next event in this timeline is Michael reaction and the rest Isabel's reaction due to the fact that Max's hurt state limited hers earlier. Writing this will probably take 3 or 4 parts and so could not fit in this fic because the challenge specified it had to be 5 parts or less.

This gives me several options:

Option A: I can leave it as is and move on to other things.

Option B: I can write a short sequel called "The Broken Pact" (working title and subject to change) that will cover this event and then leave it there.

Option C: I can write a longer sequel called "The Trials" (working title and subject to change) that will cover this as well as any other obstacles and events I decide Max and Liz will face. This sequel would be followed by another short fic called "The Happily Ever After" (working title and subject to change). The disadvantage to this option is I already have several long projects running and I probably won't be able to start posting on another long project for some time.

Option D: I can start with "The Broken Pact" (working title and subject to change) but instead of leaving it with that; I can continue to write a series of short fics probably ranging from 1-5 parts in length. Each fic would detail a single obstacle or event in Max and Liz's relationship and then the series would finally end with "The Happily Ever After" (working title and subject to change).

Because I could post each of these short fics as I finish them... I wouldn't have to worry about writers block or regular updates to them; each fic could stand on it's own and I could probably get them written and to you sooner.

But it would lack the continuity that the longer story would offer.

Please let me know which you would prefer by voting in the poll.