The Prettiest Thing (M/L, MATURE) AN 5/2 [WIP]
Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 5:30 pm
Title The Prettiest Thing
Category M/L, AU Aliens
Rating Mature
Disclaimer I don't own Roswell. The title of this is one of Norah Jones's songs on her Feels Like Home CD. Challenge courtesy of LoveIsForever, here, but it does give away a lot. I would recommend waiting
Summary The shooting never happened, and Max and Liz didn’t get close during high school. Imagine what would have happened if Liz was really single-minded during high school, and that without the healing stones, Tess, Nasedo, and the impending alien destiny, our three aliens Max, Isabel and Michael agree to move on with their lives and make life their own. What happens when a little exploration into the alien side of who they are brings the wrong person forward? The question is will Max do anything to keep Liz in his life?
*Author’s Note* I’ve been working on this for a long time. If you’re just starting this, welcome to my world, and give it a chance…it gets much, much better later.
Chapter 1
(August 2002)
Traveling across the country in the Seashell took its toll on the engine, and halfway across the state border between Missouri and Illinois, the Seashell gave out. It sputtered and chuckled, and black wisps of smoke wafted through the vents inside of the car.
Liz Parker was choking when she finally realized that funny smell wasn't emanating from skunks in the thick forest up ahead, but from the inside of her car.
"Seashell," she scolded, "Don't give out on me now."
She turned the key to the engine twelve times, and each time she was met with the sounds of a putter and a sputter before the key wouldn't turn at all.
She poked at the man beside her, and said, "Come on, wake up. Alex, wake up!"
"Uh, mm-hmm, five more minutes."
Liz groaned and she began swatting then smacking the bearlike form beside her. He turned his back to her and soon he was facing the vents.
When she saw he wasn't budging, she muttered, "Fine, stay where you are, choke to death!"
Liz began pulling at the car handle and she stepped out into the cool afternoon air of Midwest America. Instead of the familiar scraggly acacia trees and stretches of sand and rocks that had dotted the landscape they flew by, all Liz could see now were thick, menancing forests. The forests collided with corn fields, and both elements repeated themselves for as far as she could see.
It was drawing near nighttime, and Liz was relieved not to feel the chill night air. She preferred this stillness, this calm, this quiet. She had a feeling she might like the Midwest.
"What the --" she heard Alex screaming and fussing as he kicked at his door, and slammed it shut moments later.
He began blowing on his hands, and she rolled her eyes, "Whitman, you're such a wimp."
He frowned and pretended to be wounded. After feigning a side-step injury, and a fake blow to his chest, he retorted, "At least I have my girl to warm me up."
He jumped to her side, and threw his arm around her, enveloping his shrinking Liz into the familiar bear hug. She smiled, and reveled at the momentary but familiar glow being in his arms produced.
As soon as his hands released her though, she felt the feeling again. The one that had been haunting her all summer.
Alex jumped to her right and stuck out his arm. Liz followed rote and jumped in front of him and stuck out her arm, too. When they were younger and used to play together, they would always play follow the leader, and one of Liz's favorite schemes was to play the bumbling Alex.
She turned back to him, her eyes beaming back at him. Then they both turned out to look at the road.
Cars weren't passing by this route as much as on the freeway, and the few cars that did didn't stop. Liz began frowning as she realized they were instead passing even more quickly.
"Al, we're not having much luck," she whined.
"Cool it, Parker, it'll get better!"
The situation looked pretty hopeless though. Whatever cars had been trickling down the lonely Carver Route had long since passed by; now Liz couldn't even see anything - it was getting dark fairly quickly. The sky was losing its blue shimmer and taking on a dark blue cover instead. The stars were starting to come out, and seven o'clock came quickly.
Both friends had stopped sticking out their hands a while back, and it was starting to get chilly, too. Alex finally went back to the car to rummage for his cell. He produced it moments later, and Liz couldn't help smiling back at him.
When he began punching in the numbers, she began memorizing his face. His shaggy hair, his unusually large ears, and his wide-toothed grin. Then she memorized his voice, listening to his end of the conversation with AAA. It was comforting to just listen, to listen what she was going to miss.
"Thirty minutes," he admitted. "Thirty lousy minutes."
Liz adjusted her coat, yanking it down, before she held out her hand, and looked at him expectantly. Without saying a word, he lifted her onto the top of the car. He climbed up beside her seconds later, and the two friends stretched out on the roof of the car.
"We're two hours off schedule." He stated.
"I know."
"We're not going to get to do all the fun things we wanted to. There's only time now for me to drop you off at school before I head out."
Liz was quiet for a moment, contemplating the grim reality. She knew this part of the trip had been coming, but it had been fun to pretend. Alex was going to Notre Dame, and she was going to Northwestern, alone. Granted he would be alone too, and although the schools were only separated by one state borderline and the cities in between, it still hurt that she wouldn't see Alex everyday.
"I'm really doing this aren't I? We're really doing this?" she asked.
"Yep."
She turned on her side to look at him better, and she whispered, "I'm going to -"
"I know. I'm going to too."
"Hey, do you see that?"
"Where?" she asked.
He took her finger, and placed in underneath one of the stars far away in the sky. "That's Venus."
"Venus, huh?"
"Yep, Venus in the evening sky."
She contemplated that for a moment as she looked out at the shimmering stars above them. And, she looked out at the shapes they were forming in front of her, the way they resembled scattered beads.
She didn't need to look at Alex to know he was sleeping now. His silence belied everything; Alex never stopped talking.
So Liz was the only one who saw the shooting star that ripped across the tapestry above her. She saw it burn bright as it ran, running from nothing and everything all at once.
She saw it touch Venus, and she saw Venus glide away from the impact. Or, maybe it was just her eyes playing tricks on her.
But, she did remember the adage of wishing upon stars. Liz Parker wished to be loved like her best friend had once loved her.
Category M/L, AU Aliens
Rating Mature
Disclaimer I don't own Roswell. The title of this is one of Norah Jones's songs on her Feels Like Home CD. Challenge courtesy of LoveIsForever, here, but it does give away a lot. I would recommend waiting
Summary The shooting never happened, and Max and Liz didn’t get close during high school. Imagine what would have happened if Liz was really single-minded during high school, and that without the healing stones, Tess, Nasedo, and the impending alien destiny, our three aliens Max, Isabel and Michael agree to move on with their lives and make life their own. What happens when a little exploration into the alien side of who they are brings the wrong person forward? The question is will Max do anything to keep Liz in his life?
*Author’s Note* I’ve been working on this for a long time. If you’re just starting this, welcome to my world, and give it a chance…it gets much, much better later.
Chapter 1
(August 2002)
Traveling across the country in the Seashell took its toll on the engine, and halfway across the state border between Missouri and Illinois, the Seashell gave out. It sputtered and chuckled, and black wisps of smoke wafted through the vents inside of the car.
Liz Parker was choking when she finally realized that funny smell wasn't emanating from skunks in the thick forest up ahead, but from the inside of her car.
"Seashell," she scolded, "Don't give out on me now."
She turned the key to the engine twelve times, and each time she was met with the sounds of a putter and a sputter before the key wouldn't turn at all.
She poked at the man beside her, and said, "Come on, wake up. Alex, wake up!"
"Uh, mm-hmm, five more minutes."
Liz groaned and she began swatting then smacking the bearlike form beside her. He turned his back to her and soon he was facing the vents.
When she saw he wasn't budging, she muttered, "Fine, stay where you are, choke to death!"
Liz began pulling at the car handle and she stepped out into the cool afternoon air of Midwest America. Instead of the familiar scraggly acacia trees and stretches of sand and rocks that had dotted the landscape they flew by, all Liz could see now were thick, menancing forests. The forests collided with corn fields, and both elements repeated themselves for as far as she could see.
It was drawing near nighttime, and Liz was relieved not to feel the chill night air. She preferred this stillness, this calm, this quiet. She had a feeling she might like the Midwest.
"What the --" she heard Alex screaming and fussing as he kicked at his door, and slammed it shut moments later.
He began blowing on his hands, and she rolled her eyes, "Whitman, you're such a wimp."
He frowned and pretended to be wounded. After feigning a side-step injury, and a fake blow to his chest, he retorted, "At least I have my girl to warm me up."
He jumped to her side, and threw his arm around her, enveloping his shrinking Liz into the familiar bear hug. She smiled, and reveled at the momentary but familiar glow being in his arms produced.
As soon as his hands released her though, she felt the feeling again. The one that had been haunting her all summer.
Alex jumped to her right and stuck out his arm. Liz followed rote and jumped in front of him and stuck out her arm, too. When they were younger and used to play together, they would always play follow the leader, and one of Liz's favorite schemes was to play the bumbling Alex.
She turned back to him, her eyes beaming back at him. Then they both turned out to look at the road.
Cars weren't passing by this route as much as on the freeway, and the few cars that did didn't stop. Liz began frowning as she realized they were instead passing even more quickly.
"Al, we're not having much luck," she whined.
"Cool it, Parker, it'll get better!"
The situation looked pretty hopeless though. Whatever cars had been trickling down the lonely Carver Route had long since passed by; now Liz couldn't even see anything - it was getting dark fairly quickly. The sky was losing its blue shimmer and taking on a dark blue cover instead. The stars were starting to come out, and seven o'clock came quickly.
Both friends had stopped sticking out their hands a while back, and it was starting to get chilly, too. Alex finally went back to the car to rummage for his cell. He produced it moments later, and Liz couldn't help smiling back at him.
When he began punching in the numbers, she began memorizing his face. His shaggy hair, his unusually large ears, and his wide-toothed grin. Then she memorized his voice, listening to his end of the conversation with AAA. It was comforting to just listen, to listen what she was going to miss.
"Thirty minutes," he admitted. "Thirty lousy minutes."
Liz adjusted her coat, yanking it down, before she held out her hand, and looked at him expectantly. Without saying a word, he lifted her onto the top of the car. He climbed up beside her seconds later, and the two friends stretched out on the roof of the car.
"We're two hours off schedule." He stated.
"I know."
"We're not going to get to do all the fun things we wanted to. There's only time now for me to drop you off at school before I head out."
Liz was quiet for a moment, contemplating the grim reality. She knew this part of the trip had been coming, but it had been fun to pretend. Alex was going to Notre Dame, and she was going to Northwestern, alone. Granted he would be alone too, and although the schools were only separated by one state borderline and the cities in between, it still hurt that she wouldn't see Alex everyday.
"I'm really doing this aren't I? We're really doing this?" she asked.
"Yep."
She turned on her side to look at him better, and she whispered, "I'm going to -"
"I know. I'm going to too."
"Hey, do you see that?"
"Where?" she asked.
He took her finger, and placed in underneath one of the stars far away in the sky. "That's Venus."
"Venus, huh?"
"Yep, Venus in the evening sky."
She contemplated that for a moment as she looked out at the shimmering stars above them. And, she looked out at the shapes they were forming in front of her, the way they resembled scattered beads.
She didn't need to look at Alex to know he was sleeping now. His silence belied everything; Alex never stopped talking.
So Liz was the only one who saw the shooting star that ripped across the tapestry above her. She saw it burn bright as it ran, running from nothing and everything all at once.
She saw it touch Venus, and she saw Venus glide away from the impact. Or, maybe it was just her eyes playing tricks on her.
But, she did remember the adage of wishing upon stars. Liz Parker wished to be loved like her best friend had once loved her.