TITLE: Rescue Me
RATING: Adult eventually
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from Roswell, just borrowing them.
SUMMARY: Liz Parker and Max Evans are students at UNM. Liz has abilities that she can't explain. Max rescues her and learns her secret. There are no aliens or Tess.
Banner by Lilac Stardust
Chapter One
“God damn Prada boots!” Liz rolls her eyes at the comment from the woman beside her at the cross walk, while keeping them fixated on an imaginary object in front of her. Questions swept through her mind as she skirted glances as the woman wrestled with her broken heel, ‘What possesses someone to pay $300 plus on shoes?’ ‘Is fashion and image that important, that debt becomes negligible?’ ‘Does this woman realize how ridiculous she sounds arguing with her footwear?’ With a smile on her face, Liz Parker moves with the crowd through the crosswalk towards the college campus.
Returning to University of New Mexico to continue working towards her degree in Philosophy was not a hard decision for her to make. Cost wasn’t a factor; the life insurance she had received two years ago from her parents’ death in a car accident would cover college expenses and then some. Her family and the few friends she had were all in Albuquerque, having grown up in the area. She especially enjoyed the weather: hot, humid summers. The extreme was agreeable to her; the predictable, harsh weather conditions offered her a challenge each day. The fact that that challenge was insignificant compared to the others in her life presented some comfort.
To put it plainly, Liz wasn’t like other women. She was special. She had abilities; abilities that put her and anyone she was close to in danger. The origin of these gifts was unknown; her parents were normal, as were everyone else in her family. She had since given up searching for the cause and instead focused her attention on decreasing the inevitable effects. When she was younger, her gifts scared her, terrified her even. At the age of five, Liz had wanted to go to the zoo for her birthday with her parents. The rain that day prevented their trip and, without even trying, she levitated the kitchen table in her frustration. Her parents undoubtedly discovered her unique talents and attempted to protect her from the outside world, nosy neighbors, and playground bullies.
From that moment on, in the privacy of her home, she developed other “powers” and learned to control them. She could move objects with her mind, anything from her now deceased hamster Oreo to the refrigerator. Sometimes she would get flashes from certain objects. The night of her parents’ accident, she came home late after an all night study session. She checked the messages on the answering machine and listened to the message left from the doctor at the hospital asking her to come to the emergency room immediately. Arriving at University Hospital soon after, she shook the hand of Dr. Higgins, and was assaulted with images of Jeff and Nancy Parker’s arrival to the ER. She saw the doctor and nurses swarming around her father, tubes entering and exiting his body, and a sheet finally being pulled over his face. The image of the doctor shocking her mother repeatedly to regain a heart rhythm was imbedded into her brain permanently. She later researched the newly found gift, adding psychometry to her growing list.
Honestly, she could live with telekinesis and psychometry. It was her third gift that scared the hell out of her: telepathy. She could talk to people using her mind, never using her mouth or uttering a word. She never used it. Not only because she had no reason to, but because the possibilities that it presented were terrifying. What would the government do to her if they found out she could get inside anyone’s head, that she could move almost any object with her mind? She didn’t want to be a weapon. She wanted to be normal. Liz wanted nothing more than to stay in the shadows and live her life in solitude as best she could, with as little confrontation as possible.
She entered the Humanities Building for her first class of the semester. She loved Philosophy, and enjoyed the reflective questions asked and research and discovery that was required. Strands of her long, brown hair fell into her face, and she unsuccessfully blew it away, finally pulling it behind her ear as she glances at her schedule. Room 427. She turned the corner and found the nearly empty classroom. The clock on the wall confirmed her suspicion that she was early. Liz characteristically picked a back row desk and began to reread the first chapter of the four-inch thick Ethics textbook. She was reminded that she hated these desks; the chair was so uncomfortable she couldn’t help but squirm in her seat.
Which reminded her of something else that actually helped her hide. Her height. She loved being 5’ 1”. It made it that much easier to disappear and avoid all eyes in a one-mile radius. But add on top of that the fact that she was beautiful: dark brown eyes, perfect nose, clear skin, and a thin waist; her mother use to rave about her future as a model, strutting down the runway. Nancy’s dream, Liz’s nightmare. She would literally wake up in cold sweats at night during high school, her powers making the dreams that much more vivid and realistic. She frequently had a difficult time separating her dreams from reality.
She glanced at her watch for the fourth time, finally it was 9:25, the professor should be here anytime, she thought. She scanned her fellow students; some were obviously dreading the fifty-minute lecture that was soon to come while others were dozing lightly in their desks. And there were a few that were apparently suffering massive hangovers. She shook her head, wondering why someone would intentionally harm themself.
Her eyes returned to the front of the classroom as Professor Swanson entered with an eager step, setting his brief case on the podium and retrieved his lecture outline and attendance list. “Good morning one and all! I hope you are as enthusiastic about starting this course as I am. As I’m sure you all have heard, my Ethics class schedule is rigorous. There will be five papers due this semester, four quizzes, and two tests – one midterm and one final exam. I warn you now: do not think you can fly through this course. I want you prepared, well read, and on … time.” The last part of his sentence is cut off as someone stumbles through the door, his book bag getting caught on the handle. “And your name would be?”
“Max Evans. Sorry I’m late, but there was this crowd in the hall and …” trailing off as he claimed the last desk by the far wall. He knew the excuse was lame, but at least it was true.
“Tardy on you first day. Trying to make a bad impression Mr. Evans?”
“No sir. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
“I’m sure it won’t.” And with that Swanson returns to his first day speech that he obviously has repeated countless times over countless semesters. But Liz’s mind was preoccupied. Max Evans. Now there’s a name she hadn’t heard in a while, a year and a half to be exact. Not since high school graduation when he gave his speech to the class of 2002. He wasn’t valedictorian but he was chosen by his peers. Of course he was chosen, he was voted Most Popular and Most Athletic. It would have been an abomination if Max Evans hadn’t made some kind of godly appearance. But she didn’t mind. Everyone saw him as a god, and he played the role well. But she saw through that, through the everyday attitude he wore. He may have been popular, but he was also smart, funny, and mature. He never participated in the juvenile pranks that his friends-by-association did. He studied instead. There was something about him that drew her to him. That made her almost want to stand out so that he noticed her.
Almost. She always stayed in the shadows, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t admire him from afar. She knew he was everything she wanted in a man. But she also knew that she could never have him. Not only didn’t she not want to endanger his life because of what she was, but how could someone like Max ever want someone like her? They were on completely different social scales, and that was putting it lightly.
‘Stop torturing yourself Liz’, she thought. ‘It’s never gonna happen. He’ll never want you. In. Your. Dreams.’ And that was the one good thing she’d found about her gifts. The enhanced dreams were useful when a certain jock made an appearance.
* * * * * * * *
‘What a prick,’ Max thought. ‘Does he have to make a scene? Of course he does. He must get off on causing others’ misery. Picking someone out and humiliating them in front of the whole class so everybody knows who’s in charge. This is gonna suck.’ He got his textbook and notebook out and took the pen from behind his ear. So he wasn’t on time. Big deal. At least he was here, unlike Kyle who was still sleeping off his massive hangover from last night. Or should he say this morning?
Swanson started taking role. Sarah Arden. Shelley Bright. Carter Dohr. Stacey Feeler. ‘Feeler, sucks to be her. Okay that was mean. God, can this guy be any louder? He’s screaming at us like he’s this drill sergeant from Camp Pendleton. Why do I always get the professors who treat everyone like children?’
“Elizabeth Parker?”
“Here,” a small voice says from the back. Max’s ears perk up. Elizabeth Parker. ‘I know that name.’ He turns in the direction the voice came from and saw her. There she was sitting just like she did back in high school. Her long legs out to the side, crossed, hunched over slightly, obviously trying to hide in the back. ‘Why does she do that? Sit up straight. Don’t be afraid to be tall and beautiful. Whoa, where did that come from?’ Sure she was hot, every guy back in high school thought so, but no one actually talked about it or her or to her. It was useless, she never dated. And whenever anyone approached her, she stayed with short, one-worded answers, keeping her eyes to the ground. And always, always rejected date invitations. He never knew why. She was like the Julia Roberts of West Roswell High School. She could have easily ruled the entire student body if she wanted. Okay, so maybe he had a little bit of a crush. But what guy in his right mind wouldn’t?
And she looked good today too, with a pair of hip-hugger blue jeans and a black halter-top with a matching sweater tied around her waist, black boots and belt, black-framed glasses, and her hair down over her shoulders – just the way he liked it. Liz Parker. He never thought he’s see her again, thinking she would go off so some great university like Harvard or Yale or Princeton. Not UNM.
He turned back to the front of the classroom. He checked his watch – 10:08, class was almost over, thank God. He hadn’t really been listening, but it was the first day so how much could he have missed? He contemplated on whether or not to talk to Liz. ‘No, what’s the point? She’s not interested. Just move on.’
“So on that note, you are dismissed. Remember for Wednesday, read Chapter 4 and be prepared for a class discussion.” Max stood up and avoided eye contact with Professor Swanson as he moved towards the door. He didn’t want another confrontation with this guy. Staying hidden was a good thing, he could tell. He was having difficulty with the zipper of his book bag and accidentally bumped into someone.
“Oh God, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” That voice again. His head sprang up and his eyes widened as he stood next to her in the hallway.
“Liz, how are you?” Hey, the guy had to try, right? ‘Maybe she’s changed since high school. Maybe I stand a chance now.’
“Max, hi. I’m good. You?”
She remembered his name? ‘Nah, Swanson said it earlier.’ “Uh, yeah I’m okay. I could have done without the verbal bashing from Swanson. But I’ll live.” Liz laughs lightly at this. He nervously scratches his right ear. ‘Excellent. Keep it up Max.’ “So, I’m glad I know someone in this class. Maybe we could get together and be study partners or something?”
She stares at him for a second. Did he just ask her to spend extracurricular time with him? No, that can’t be. He just wants a decent grade. “Sure. Why not?” Keeping her eyes fixated on her feet, she wanted to relish in this moment. He was no more than two feet away from her. He smelled so good. She was going to have to find out what kind of cologne he wore. It was definitely going to become a regular in her dreams. “Um, I have to go, but we can exchange numbers or something later.”
"Yeah, sounds good. See ya.” And with that, she was gone.