I Want You to Want Me (AU,M/L, ADULT) Pt 22 - 06/25/04 [WIP]

[ps_dreamer]

Title: I Want You to Want Me
Author: Benz aka ps_dreamer
Rating: ADULT
Category: M/L AU, Liz POV
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything!
Summary: High-school Liz in denial-land...
Author's Note: I'll be reposting this fic, a couple of parts per week. My muse is slowly, but surely, coming back to me so a new part soon!


Prologue

Okay.

Let me introduce myself.

My name is Liz Parker. Age 17- brown hair, brown eyes. I’m a junior at West Roswell High. Yes, I live in Roswell. Sad, huh? Roswell, New Mexico. Roswell, the alien center of the world. Roswell, the smallest of small towns. Yes, it’s THAT Roswell.

My best friends are Maria Deluca and Alex Whitman. We’ve known each other since forever. We’re the three Musketeers- we do everything together (okay, maybe not EVERYTHING together…but you get the catch right?). Maria is the bubbly type. She is happy, always happy. One thing she needs to do to survive is talk; it’s like oxygen to her. And Alex is a funny guy. He loves to tell jokes and he’s into music. He even has his own band! It’s called ‘The Whits.’ (just an S away from what he really is…hehehe)

We know each other so well that you might think we’re telepathic coz we know what each other are thinking. Always know. It’s a bit freaky at times, I’m telling you. And annoying too! But hey, it’s not like we can help it or anything. It’s sort of like one of those best friend things.

My parents, Jeff and Nancy Parker, own the Crashdown. What? You don’t know what the Crashdown is? It’s an alien-themed diner that sells greasy fast-food. It’s one of the most famous hang-outs here in Roswell. Most of the teenagers hang out there- the jocks, the cheerleaders, and the popular crowd. Although I don’t really like these so called the ‘Popular clique,’ but I couldn’t blame them for hanging out at the Crashdown coz there aren’t a lot of places to hang out. Not that Crashdown is a fun place, mind you.

Anyway, about the ‘Popular Clique.’ See, before you learn about them. Let me tell you something. In my school, social status is a vital thing for many people. Popularity is important. So if you happen to come to West Roswell High (which I hope you won’t, coz then I would feel really bad for you), you would see people hanging out in groups: jocks, losers, braniacs, cheerleaders, sluts, populars (it’s really hard to tell the difference between a girl in the ‘sluts’ and a girl in the ‘populars’), geeks, loners and no names.

What group am I in, you ask? Well, I’m in the ‘no name’ group. Why? Because I don’t fall in the other categories! I’m not a slut, a geek, a cheerleader (NO WAY!), a jock, a loner, a geek (although I can be dorky at times…), a braniac (I’m smart. But I’m no genius!) and I’m not popular. So that means I’m a no name.

Okay, back to the topic: Popular Clique. You still want to know about it right? Good. This group is a mixture of jocks, cheerleaders and sluts. It’s run by the famous four- Max Evans, Isabel Evans, Michael Guerin and Tess Harding. These four are like, the leaders of the group, which makes them the leader of the school. Girls want them, guys want them.

Now I’ll run you through a short introduction for each person.

I’ll start with Tess.

She’s a bitch. She hates me. I hate her. The end.

What? Is that too short?

Well, she and I go wayyyy back. As long as I can remember, she hates me and I have no idea why. She always steals things from me: my History essay (the teacher caught her and gave her an F coz he didn’t think she could understand big words. HAHAHA) and even my first boyfriend, Kyle Valenti! I went out with Kyle in 9th grade for two weeks when I found out that he had been cheating on me with Tess! ARGHHHH!!! So after I dumped his ass, Tess dumped Kyle’s. Rumor said that Tess did it just to make me feel bad. What a bitch!

Anyway, next…um…Michael Guerin.

I don’t really know this guy. I only have one class with him: drawing. He’s really good. Didn’t expect that huh? Despite his ‘hard core’ looks and his ‘I don’t care about the world’ attitude, he’s a nice guy. Which, that is why Maria is in loveeeeee with him. But we’ll come back to that later.

Then there’s Isabel Evans aka. Ice queen. The head of the cheerleading squad and the Elle McPherson of the junior class. With blond hair, blue eyes, great body and killer legs…who could resist? Well, apparently…I’m proud to be saying this…Alex could! Yes, Alex can resist the charms of Isabel Evans. It’s because Alex doesn’t just see the outside of a person, but the inside too. Now that’s my boy!

And last of the famous four…Max Evans.

The captain of the basketball team. The captain of the football team. Tall, dark and handsome. Sounds clich้e but it’s not. He’s got the innocent look going…and girls can’t resist them. He’s got this dark brown hair and these soulful eyes. His smile can just melt you in a matter of seconds…

What? Why are you looking at me like that? You think I have a crush on Max? Mr. Gorgeous? Mr. Popular? Mr. Charming?

NO WAY!

I don’t like Max Evans! I don’t! I don’t! I really don’t! Really!

Why won’t you believe me? You just have to side with Maria and Alex, don’t you? Yes, they think that I like Max. And let me stress that part, they THINK.

Look, I really don’t like Max okay?

Stop looking at me like that!

Okay.

Fine.

Just think whatever you want.

I don’t care.

I’ll go now…and hide in the corner of my room.

...
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[ps_dreamer]

Part 1

So summer’s over and now I’m finally back to my old daily routine.

Alarm rings. Groan. Wake up. Brush teeth. Shower. Dress. Eat breakfast. Pick Maria up. Arrive at school. Groan. Then study, study, study. Work. Groan. Homework. Groan. Study, study. Groan. Eat. Shower. Sleep.

And the routine starts all over again.

What great days I have! (insert sarcasm here)

Anyway, today’s the first day of junior year. I’m on my way to school- sitting in the car with Maria. Just like every first day of school every year, Maria start to talk about what she will do this year. Sort of like a new school year’s resolution. Do you want to know what her resolution is this year? You do?

Well, it’s silly. She wants to win Michael over.

To quote her exact words, “I want to knock Michael dead with my womanly charms.” Yep, that’s my Maria. Always know what she has to offer.

Arriving at school, we went to our classes and decide to meet again at lunch. Looking down at my schedule, I have AP Biology, AP Chemistry and English before lunch. Oh, did I tell you that I’m a total science dork? I love science! Science is so fascinating. Especially Biology. I mean, whenever I walk into a science lab…there’s this sulphur smell…and I know I’m home.

Walking into my AP Biology class, I sit down at the available seat beside one of the students. I look around the room and there are many ‘brainiacs’ and ‘geeks’ in this class. Then suddenly something catches my eyes. Or rather someone named Max Evans, who just walked into the class and sat somewhere behind me. (I didn’t dare look)

Max is in this class too? Hmmm…I’m just as surprised as you are! I didn’t know he’s a smart cookie too.

All the conversations in the classroom die down as the teacher walks into the room.

“Hello class. My name is Ms. Hardy and I will be your AP Biology for the rest of the year. To tell you the truth, this course is not easy and your full effort will be needed. I’ve made a list of lab partners that you will be assigned to work with and sit with throughout the year.”

The class groans.

Ms. Hardy eyes the room and says, “If any of you have a problem with that, you’ll have to talk to me personally. First pair: David O’Brien and Alisa Williamson.”

Oh, I hope I get someone good. Poor Alisa…has to be with David. He’s like the most disgusting guy I’ve ever met. I saw a glimpse of the inside of his locker once. It was a total nightmare! Everything’s in there! And I mean EVERYTHING! Books, sneakers, old PE pants, leftover snacks, broken CDs, everything you could possibly put into a locker. And the smell…oh I don’t even want to go there!

I look at Alisa’s face as she takes her books and sit next to David. Her face practically screams “someone kill me NOW!” Oh, Alisa…I feel for you babe.

“Penny Crawford and Henry Watson. Liz Parker and Max Evans.”

Whoa…wha…what? Me and Max?

Before I get a chance to react to that statement, Max moves his stuff and comes to sit by me. I can’t help but notice that Max is wearing a black v-neck sweater with black jeans. The clothes fail its task to hide the muscles on his tan body. Hmmm…I think he got more tanned and more built over the summer break.

He looks at me weirdly. Oops. I think I might have been staring at him too long. I look down at my suddenly interesting pen and blush. NO! I wasn’t ogling at his great body. I was just…um…observing the obvious.

As the class continues on and Ms. Hardy keeps talking about different parts of a cell, I feel as if someone is watching me. I discreetly look around the room. Nope. No one’s looking at me. But as I turn to face the front of the classroom, I feel that strange tingly feeling you get when someone is watching you- again. I shot a glance to my right, at Max, and he seems to be focusing on what Ms. Hardy is saying. But he seems a little flushed though. Strange.

Or it just might be my imagination.

At the end of the class, as the bell rings, Ms. Hardy says, “Alright class, don’t forget you have that lab report due tomorrow.”

Yuck. Homework already on the first day.

The classes after that was kind of a blur. There was nothing special. I had AP Chemistry with Isabel and Alex. And, unfortunately, I got paired up with Isabel Evans to do a project. What is it with me? Why do I have to be paired up with both Evans twins? Then I had English with Maria and Kyle. It was okay, nothing interesting.

Walking to my usual lunch area, I put my bag on the table and sit down next to Alex.

“Hey Alex.”

Alex turns to look at me and smiles, “Hey Parker. How’s the first day coming?”

“Same old, same old.”

“So are you coming to practice after school today? We’re playing a couple of songs and ‘Love hurts’…I’ve been practicing that song for a while.”

“Umm…I don’t know Alex. I have the after school shift at the Crashdown until 6. My dad’s going to kill me if I skip it. Besides, Claire’s off on vacation and that means it’ll only be Agnes and I.”

“Please Liz. You have to come to practice,” Alex pouts.

“Yeah, Liz. You have to,” says Maria as she comes to sit down opposite Alex. “I need my karaoke partner.”

I’ve told you before that Alex has a band called ‘The Whits’ but what I didn’t tell you was that Maria and I are the lead singers of the band. You see, before, Wendy Lavely was the lead singer of the band. However last year, she got mono (from Peter Gulla); therefore, she had to drop out of school and the band for awhile. During that time, Alex was looking for someone to fill in Wendy’s place until she is well again. Maria hinted to Alex that she was really good at singing karaoke. But to prove herself, Maria practiced karaoke for one whole week and she forced me to sing with her (thus, we’re karaoke partner). It turned out that we sing really well together. So both of us sing for the band.

We sing different songs but sometimes we sing together in a duet. Fortunately, when Wendy recovered from mono, she decided to drop out from the band and joined the Spanish club. I had no idea why she did that then. But I learned from Maria that she joined the Spanish club to impress Kyle Valenti. Love sick fool.

Anyway, so that was why we are in the band.

“Well…I’ll see if I’d be able to, okay? I might come by at your place, Alex, after the shift.” I glance at Alex. “That is okay with you right?”

“Of course. We’ll be practicing until 8 anyway. So you can drop by anytime,” Alex smiles.

After we finished our lunch, we talked a bit. Maria continued to brainstorm ways for her to seduce Michael (much to Alex’s dismay). When the bell rang, we separated to go to our classes.

My afternoon was uneventful, plain boring. After school was over, I went home and briefly did my homework before I started my shift.

I’m telling you, being a waitress is not an easy job! One, you need the flexibility of a Yoga teacher in order to walk around with the food and avoid kids who like to purposely ram into you. Second, you need an extreme amount of patience in order to deal with cranky customers and unruly children. (yes, sometimes I feel as if I want to shove the food down their throats just to shut them up). Lastly, you need to learn how to smile like Miss America. Why? Because it’s one of those crazy unwritten rules of all the diners in the world to ‘always greet your customers with a nice smile.’

So yeah, that’s my job.

Low price too. But hey, at least I get some income.

While working at the Crashdown, I look at the tables in my section. Table 6, especially.

Nope, no certain person named Max Evans sitting there.

Max usually sits there, at table 6, everyday. He always orders the same things- Alien Blast, Saturn Rings and a Cherry Coke. Sometimes, if he feels like it, he’ll order Men in Blackberry pie.

But he’s not here today. Hmmm…where might he be? What would he be doing right now?

Six o’clock.

I finish my shift with the thought of where Max might be still in my mind.

I change and walk to Alex’s house. I arrive there at about six thirty. Walking to the garage (that’s where we usually practice); I notice that it is empty- except for the instruments. As I walk closer, I can see that there is one person sitting in the dark corner of the garage, strumming the guitar.

He is sitting with his back facing me so I can’t see who he is.

That must be Alex, I thought. But what is he doing here alone? Since when did Alex start to wear leather jackets? And where are Paul, Ryan, Joe and Maria? Hmmm…I’ll just surprise him.

I surreptitiously walk up to Alex, making as little noise as possible and smiling evilly.

Jumping to hug his back, I screamed, “ALEX!!!”

To my horror, the person turns around and I find myself staring deep into Max Evans’ eyes.

...
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[ps_dreamer]

Part 2

“Oh…uh…umm…hi Max…hi,” I smile weakly, jumping back.

“Hey Liz,” Max replies with that velvety voice of his.

I swear I must be turning ten different shades of red right now! I feel my face flush. My ears burned and I felt as if my heart has stopped beating when I saw him here, at Alex’s house nonetheless! I can’t believe I just did that! I can’t believe I just hugged Max!

But what is he doing here?

I gather my composure and ask, “Max…umm…what are you doing here? And where are the others?”

“Oh, they’re inside eating Pizza. I’m here for the band actually…” Max smiles.

I look at him confused. “You…the band?” Oh great. Now I’ve lost the ability to make a sentence.

“Yeah. Well, apparently Joe decided to quit. So I’m here as a replacement.”

“What? When did this happen?”

“A couple of days ago,” says Alex, as he walks in the garage. “Things have been hectic lately and you were busy so I didn’t get a chance to tell you about Joe. I kind of talked to Max today, earlier in school, and he offered himself. And I thought, hey it’s not a bad idea. So I asked Max to come to today’s practice. You know, to see what he’s got.”

Is…is that a smirk on Alex’s face?

It is!!! Omigosh…I think he somehow planned this! Hmmph!!!

I send Alex my deadliest glare. If only I were an alien with an alien death ray…

“Anyway, why don’t you guys come in? We still have some pizza left for you Liz,” Alex pushes us in before any of us can protest.

But I hold back. I grab Alex and hiss, “Alex! Why is Max here?”

“I told you Liz. We need another base player.”

I narrow my eyes and think for a couple of seconds, “Alright, but if he’s here because you…you think that I…I like Max and that you are trying something-”

“Look, I know you said that you don’t like Max. So if you don’t have any feelings for him, then his presence wouldn’t bother you right?”

“Of course. His presence wouldn’t bother me. Why would it? Nope it wouldn’t. Not at all.”

Alex grins. “Good! Now let’s go inside.” He leads me inside.

Looking into the Whitman’s kitchen, I see boxes of pizza, soda cans, tissues and wrappings lay scatter around the normally clean kitchen (Mrs. Whitman will flip when she sees it). Paul is talking with Ryan near the table. Maria is sitting in a chair in the corner, flipping through a teen magazine.

Looking up at the people coming in, “Hey Max. Hey Chica,” says Maria with a smile.

I walk to Maria and I guess she notices something’s wrong with me because she frowns and asks, “Are you okay, Liz? You look a little flushed.” Her face turns serious and concern is etched on her face.

Then I tell her what just happened.

“WHAT??? YOU JUMPED MAX???” Maria shrieks, then squeals so loudly (and so girlishly) that I have to cover my ears.

“MARIA!!! Can you just be quiet?”

Too late. I turn back towards everybody else in the room to see them frozen in their places, eyes widen and mouths dropped open. They look like characters in comic strips. But it only lasts for a few seconds before Alex suddenly chokes on his drink, Max’s face turns beet red and Paul and Ryan laugh hysterically.

Okay. Why are they laughing? Did I miss something? Why is this funny? Because I am NOT laughing!

Oh God…this is so embarrassing!

So I pull, or rather, drag Maria into the living room, away from everyone else.

“Maria! I did NOT jump Max! I just…hugged the wrong person.” I reason. In a lower voice, I add, “I thought he was Alex! I mean, it was dark in the garage. How was I supposed to know it was Max and not Alex?”

“Sorry babe. I was just surprised by what you said,” says Maria sincerely. “Your voice was kind of muffled when you told me what happened and then I heard the word ‘I’, ‘Max’ and ‘jump’ in the same sentence, I just put them together to get ‘I jumped Max.’ I didn’t mean to say it that loud.”

I can’t help but snort, “No, you just had to scream out for everyone in this whole world to hear!” Then I wail, “Mariaaa…what am I going to do? Now the guys will think that I jumped Max. Or worse, they…they’ll think that I like Max.”

“Like they didn’t know that already,” Maria mumbles.

“What?”

“Oh I said, they know that you don’t like Max already. Just don’t fret over it, okay? So…do you want some pizza?”

“No thanks. I already ate.”

“Great! So we can start. Everyone ate and they were just waiting for you. Come on.”

So Maria and I walk into the garage to join the guys who are already there. To my surprise, they are acting normally- no jabbing, no weird looks, no teasing, as if they never heard what Maria said.

That’s good. I can play the ‘nothing happened’ game too.

After that we played a couple of songs. Alex announced that we will be playing at the homecoming dance in two weeks time.

I sit on the couch, while Maria sings, and look at Max while he plays the guitar. Max is pretty good. No, scratch that. He’s a really good guitar player. He’s a natural. He seems like he’s enjoying himself too.

Right now, Maria is singing “Let me in” by Save Ferris.

I’ve been watching you and all you do for quite sometime
Knowing all the ins and outs of you
I should’ve known what was on your mind
And all the world in spinning round and round
Inside my head to-

“No, Maria!” Alex cuts in. “That was wayyy off note! It’s supposed to be like this.” Then Alex proceeds to show her the correct way to sing the song.

“Geez Alex, I know it’s your favorite song since forever. Why don’t you sing it yourself then? I’m SO sorry for mistaking the key ‘C’ for ‘A’” says Maria sarcastically as she rolls her eyes.

“Well, I just want it to be perfect,” Alex argues.

“Hey Alex,” Max interrupts. “You know, ‘Let me in’ is Isabel’s favorite song too.”

“Oh,” Alex manages to squeak out. Looking at his watch, he cries, “Hey! It’s almost 8 already! Well, I guess we should wrap it up. That’s it for today then.”

Once everyone clears up the mess in the garage, Max turns to me and says, “So Liz how are you getting home?”

“I walk home.”

“Actually, I pass the Crashdown on my way back. Do you want a ride?”

I look at him suspiciously, “Um…Max…I thought your house is on Mulberry lane. And that is like, the other way…not the Crashdown.”

“Well, I uh…I have to pick Isabel up. She’s at her friend’s.”

“Sorry but I’ll just catch a ride with Maria so you don't have to-”

“Oh no, you can’t Liz,” Maria intercepts. “I decided to stay at Alex’s for a while longer. You know, he has to explain to me about the Trig homework and everything. So it’s going to be late when we finish. Liz! Why don’t you go home with Max? Yeah, Liz…you should go with Max. Is that okay with you Max?”

“Sure, no problem. I'll take care of her,” Max replies.

I glare at Maria. Okay, now I really wish that I were an alien. Doesn’t she know that she’s a bad liar? Trig homework on Monday? Yeah right. Maria does her Trig homework? Yeah right.

And what is this? Why is she so determined for me to go home with Max?

I can smell conspiracy in the air.

Before I can say anything, Maria pushes me towards Max’s jeep and then Maria runs back into the house, leaving me alone with Max.

“So…shall we go, Liz?”

I turn to see Max standing next to an open door. Such a gentleman.

“Yeah, sure,” I walk to the jeep and jump in.

This is going to be one interesting ride.

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[ps_dreamer]

Thanks for the encouraging feedbacks guys. Enjoy the next part


Part 3

The first five minutes (which feels so much longer) of the ride is filled with uneasy silence until I decide to break the tension by starting a conversation.

“So Max, I didn’t know you could play guitar.”

“Yeah, Michael taught me.”

I stare at him in disbelieve. “Michael?”

He chuckles as he takes a look at my (probably shocked) face. “Hey, don’t look so surprised. He’s into music too, you know. Metallica, especially. He’s their biggest fan. Well, anyway…in seventh grade, I had a crush on this girl, and somehow, Isabel managed to convince me to go and tell this girl that I liked her. She said that girls would swoon over guys serenading them, or something. So I went to Mr. Delgado, you know, at the hardware store?”

I nod.

Max continues, “Yeah, I spent a whole week learning the lyrics to a Spanish song. Then I asked Michael to teach me how to play guitar.”

“So this girl, the one you had a crush on, she must have been amazed when you serenaded her. I mean, you obviously put in a lot of effort into doing it,” I comment.

Okay. Why does it come out like that? Why does it sound like I’m jealous? And before you start to smirk, I am NOT jealous!

Hold that snort!

Why should I be jealous over some girl that Max had a crush on and planned to serenade with a sexy Spanish song and probably some beautiful roses?

Sigh.

Lucky her.

“Actually, I didn’t do it,” he smiles sheepishly. “I was too shy to go to her and admit how I feel. So even now, she still doesn’t know that I like her.”

“Do I know her?”

“Maybe.”

Maybe? What kind of answer is that? Either I know her or I don’t. Hmmm…who is this girl? Must be someone in our grade.

Pam? No, too blonde. Jenny? No, that girl is a klutz. She probably would have fallen off the balcony before Max starts to sing. Tess? Uh-EWWW! Fake breasts and whiny voice- hope that’s not Max’s type! Or maybe Gina? Marianne? Lena? Tina? Emily? Heather? Gwen or-

“Liz. Liz. LIZ!” Max pulls me out of my disturbing thoughts.

I look around and realize that we’re at the Crashdown already. I get out of the jeep and walk to the front door, with Max walking close behind me.

I turn around and look at his face, his eyes.

Bad move.

Before I know it, I’m starting to fall into Max Evans’ spellbound eyes. I’m sucked deeper and deeper into a ‘Max Evans’ abyss.

Pulling myself together, once again, I say, “Thanks for the ride, Max.”

“No problem.” Is it me or did his voice sound…huskier?

“I think I’d better go. Bye Liz,” and with that, he walks back to his jeep and drives off.

I’m still standing in front of the Crashdown, contemplating what just happened, when I hear a loud crack, a sneeze and a loud thump.

I twirl around to look at where the sound is coming from, only to find Alex and Maria behind some nearby bushes.

Cool.

Wait a minute.

Alex and Maria??? How did they get here?

I march over to them. Apparently, they’ve fallen off a tree because they are lying flat on their butts. Their clothes are a bit dirty and messy too. They have the ‘deer caught in the headlights’ expressions on their faces. I walk faster as they try to scramble away.

“Maria! Alex! Stop!!!”

They stop.

“Turn around and face me.”

They slowly turn around and face me at the same time with ‘Guilty’ written all over their faces.

“What in the world are you two doing here? And how did you get here so fast?” I stand with my hands on my hips, demanding for some answers. Hmmmm…they’d better have some good ones!

“Well, um…you know, Lizzie…we were feeling hungry again so…so we decided to come to the Crashdown for…for some Alien blast,” Maria stutters.

Reaaaally? “Okay, cool. But what were you guys doing on that tree?” ‘Take that!’ I thought.

Alex and Maria turn to look at each other, frantically searching for some answers. After a couple of ‘umm’s and ‘ahh’s, Alex says, “I lost my ten-dollar bill. We were just looking for it.”

“You searched for your ten-dollar bill on a tree?” Like I would believe that, dear Alex. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

“Yeah!”

“Hmmm…” I continue, “Maria, and what about your Trig homework? Don’t you have to do it?”

“What homework?” Maria’s question quickly changes when Alex elbows her in the rib. “Ohhh…THAT Trig homework. Alex explained it to me. I’m cool.”

What did I say about Maria being a bad liar?

“Guys, stop it.” I can’t take it anymore. “Really, what were you doing?” Then a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. “You were SPYING ON ME!?!???”

“Liz, babe…calm down!” Maria, seeing me get all hysterical, starts to instruct me how to breathe in and out slowly. “In…out…in…out. That’s it. In…and out.”

“Lizzie, we weren’t spying on you,” Alex says. “We were just worried about you and wanted to look after you.” After seeing that I’m still not convinced, he adds, “Really! Come on, you know we all care about you, Lizzie-bear.”

Okay, this is how I sense that there is something wrong. One, the reason that Alex just said, is totally unreasonable! Two, way too many ‘you’s- Alex tends to do that when he’s nervous. Three, they are giving me all these puppy dog eyed looks: something is definitely is up. And four, Alex only calls me nicknames when he wants to convince me about something.

All right, I’ll let it drop this time. But I WILL find out what this is all about.

After a long silence, I finally say, “Okay, Alex. I believe you…kind of.”

“Yey! I knew she’d believe us!” says Maria excitedly. “Now we can go home.”

“Aren’t you guys hungry anymore?” I ask.

“Nah,” Alex shakes his head. “I don’t feel like eating a Galaxy Sub.”

“I thought you wanted an Alien blast?” I smirk.

Maria fidgets. “Did we say Alien blast? I’m sure we said Galaxy Sub. Well, anyway we gotta run. Catch ya later babe!” With that, she drags Alex away.

Sigh.

I have to find out what this is all about.

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[ps_dreamer]

Part 4

The next day, I drive to pick Maria up as usual.

But instead of seeing the usually trendy chick, I see a gothic girl. Maria is wearing a black tank top with black *gasp* leather pants (Amy let her out of the house?) and black boots, along with black make up and a rock-star hairstyle.

“Yo, wuzzup girlfriend. Hows its going?” Maria greets me with a…New York accent. When did she learn that?

“Maria! What’s all this about?” I’m still shocked at Maria’s change in appearance.

Returning to her old Roswellian accent, Maria explains, “I’m turning over a new leaf!” But seeing the look on my face, she gives in, “Okay…you got me. Yesterday Max mentioned something about Michael liking Metallica and Goths so…”

“So you’re did all this…this make-over for Michael.”

“Yeah, I mean, I thought I’d be able to catch his attention with this,” Maria points to herself. “What do you think Liz?”

“I think,” I say slowly, “that you should turn around, go into your room and change into your normal old clothes. How did you get out of the house wearing this anyway?”

Refusing to answer my last question, Maria pouts. “Liz! You’re my best friend! You’re supposed to back me up on this!”

“Calm down! Let me explain okay? I know much you like Michael and I think that if you want to be with him, then he should like you for you- for hippy Maria Deluca not for some gothic girl.”

That elicits a smile from Maria. After a while, she says, “You’re right. He should like me for me. All right, I’ll go change.”

Maria turns around and goes inside to change. About 10 minutes later, she comes out, looking like her usual self. She stops and poses (very posh) like a supermodel on a shooting, “Tada! Maria is here, have no fear!”

I giggle.

That is one of Maria’s favorite corny lines. She loves saying it.

After I gain my composure, I ask, “So do you know what to do? About Michael?”

She looks at me and says, “Don’t worry Liz. It’s me you’re talking to here. I always have a plan. If plan A doesn’t work, then I’ll use plan B.”

Uh-oh.

I think she’s up to something. Oh, who am I kidding! I KNOW it! Her mischievous smile makes me nervous.

Why? Do you want to know?

Okay, if you’re sure.

Last time I saw that smile, I had ended up with spaghetti all over my new dress! Maria was flirting with a guy she’d met in band camp (or what she likes to call “songwriter's workshop”). I was standing nearby. See she has this thing called the ‘Trip ‘n’ grip, which she does to almost every guys she has a crush on. It’s very easy and it’s very widely known. And it works- most of the time. You probably know it too. It’s when you intentionally trip (but make it seem as though you’re the innocent one and that it’s the all the chair’s fault). Then he’ll grab you, preventing you from falling. THEN you grip the guy. Grip him on the shoulder (somewhere else is fine too…but the shoulder is the best) and slowly look into his eyes. Then lick your lips.

It’s been scientifically proven that more than 70% of guys will kiss you after that.

Really!

So we love watching romantic movies. Big deal.

And if you’re wearing a low cut shirt, about 50% of the male population will look (whether it’s unintentionally or not) at your bosom.

Oh well, if not, then you get the guy to notice you.

Anyway, back to the story. Maria did the trip’n’grip but she didn’t quite manage to grab onto his shoulders. Rather, she grabbed this really old guy who was passing by. The poor and unexpected old guy, startled by Maria’s sudden grip, yelped and tried to get away (I imagine it was a shock for him…). In doing that, his hands hit a waiter next to him. Yep, you guessed it. That waiter lost his balance and threw spaghetti all over me!

Woo-hoo, I even got to have little meatballs as decoration in my hair.

Yeah…so I got angry with Maria. I mean, come on. She’s been practicing aiming her grip and just this time, she had to miss the target?

‘Nough said about that.

Let’s get back to the present, shall we?

Right. So as I had expected. Maria is going to try the trip’n’grip on Michael.

I watch with interest as Maria carries her lunch tray in Michael’s direction. She winks at me and she starts to sway her hips a little. Other guys in the cafeteria are starting to notice it. If it were me in her place, I’d be blushing furiously. But this is Maria and she absolutely loves the attention. It boosts her female ego, she said. Getting nearer to Michael, who is sitting alone at his usual table- apparently waiting for his friends to arrive, she smiles.

As if she had tripped over something, Maria leans over Michael. Her lunch miraculously stay unscathed on the tray, which slides smoothly on the table. Maria, however, falls perfectly into Michael’s arm, or rather, lap.

Michael looks surprised…and pleased.

Hmmm…this should be fascinating.

I look on to see Maria talking to Michael. Probably, apologizing first. Then she takes the advantage of sitting next to him. They actually look cute together, I thought.

Okay. I’ve finished my job as a watcher and a rescuer, in case something had gone wrong.

Now, I can go back and meet Alex at my table.

I turn around and bump in someone.

I sway, losing my balance. Needing something to stop me from busting my ass in public…err…falling, I thrust my hands out to hold on to something- anything.

Luckily, I catch something soft.

No, scratch that.

It wasn’t luck. It was the opposite of it!

Do you know why? Because I look up to see Max staring back at me. And those soft things that I am grasping are Max’s shoulders! He is even holding me by the waist!

Stop smiling! You’re having fun on my expense, aren’t you? You’re laughing at me!

Humph!!!

“Are you okay Liz?” Max asks in obvious concern.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine now.” I try to push myself away from him but his grip on me is too tight. “Um…Max. I’m okay now. You can let me go.”

“Oh right,” Max smiles embarrassedly as he reluctantly lets me go. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. No harm done.” Pulling back some strands of hair, I add, “I should be thanking you for helping me avoid public humiliation. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

We stand there, staring at each other. What is it about this guy that keeps me staring at him?

The staring contest lasts a couple of seconds before a shrill voice calls out, “MAX!!!” Max turns around. Hahaha…I win! Hoorah for the champion! The annoying voice rings out again, “Max! Wait!”

Sure enough, I see Tess Harding herself (the only person who could own such a voice, the only person who is capable of making such a high-pitched sound) running towards us.

I inwardly groan.

This is gonna be bad.

...
..
.

[ps_dreamer]

Part 5

“Maxxx,” Tess whines. “Why didn’t you wait for me? I was calling you from the hallway. Didn’t you hear me?”

“Umm…sorry. I must’ve missed it,” Max says, shifting uncomfortably as Tess wraps her arms around his.

Tess looks at Max with those innocent puppy-eyes but when she turns to face me, the puppy suddenly turns into an evil monster. The expression on her face screams out ‘get away from MY guy!’ Her hands clutch Max possessively.

I swear that girl’s got some serious, and I mean SERIOUS mental problem. Does she think that I’m some sort of threat or something?

Snort.

She can have Max if she wants. It’s not like he’s mine or anything. I really don’t care.

Honestly! I don’t!

Stop staring at me like that!

Sigh.

You’re a lost cause.

“Liz,” Tess spits out my name. “Run along. Go be with your friends. Leave us alone.”

I level her with one of my coldest and deadliest stares (I’m really trying hard to keep myself from killing her) and reply, “No problem. Being near you is not my one of my favorite things to do.” Before I go, I send her my ‘go to hell’ look. “Bye Max.”

GRRR…Tess really gets on my nerves. I swear, she’s got to be the MOST annoying person in the whole world. She has this whiny voice that tends to irk me (and I bet everyone else too) to no end. Plus, she’s totally unstable. (Mental problem Alert!!) And I could not imagine anyone wanting to date her. Well, except poor Kyle and Sean Deluca who both did.

Tess, as you know, played Kyle on the purpose to see me suffer (since I dated him at that time). So all you could blame Kyle for are his idiocy and male hormones.

Sean is Maria’s cousin. He came to live with Maria and her mom about 3 years ago. He’s a year older than me. Anyway, Sean dated Tess for 2 whole months! Unbelievable right? I thought so too. It happened shortly after Sean first arrived in Roswell. So he didn’t actually know what he was getting himself into. Couldn’t blame Sean for that. Apparently, their relationship is strictly physical (or so I was told). No surprises there. Sean has well earned reputation as a player, and Tess as a slut. I’m not being mean. But it’s a proven fact.

I take one last glimpse at Max before I go. He mouths the word ‘sorry.’ And he DOES look sorry. Poor Max. Tess has been clawing after Max for over a year now. She threatened every girl that look at him twice, or dared to get close to him to back off. So now, no-one bothers with him when Tess is around. Although I’m not sure about what happened when Tess wasn’t looking. Max has a reputation of being one of the most gorgeous, hottest and sexiest guys in West Roswell High. (Alex is number 33 by the way. Just so you know, he’s working on climbing up the chart. With mine and Maria’s help, of course.) So I’m positive that most of the girls would jump at a chance to be with Max.

Except me of course. I don’t fall for his charm.

Anyway, lunch was enjoyable as usual. I managed to get Tess out of my head. Alex talked about his website and how he’s going to improve it. Maria talked about Michael…again. She said plan A worked out really well. I’m happy that things are going well between them.

I’m sitting in English class right now. While the teacher goes on and on, explaining about the English project and what the required elements.

Groan.

English class means English project means Isabel Evans means another Evans! I just can’t escape them, can I?

Luckily, the teacher allows us to go to the library to do some research. Isabel and I talk for a few minutes and then split to do individual work. After I gather the books that I needed, I sit down for some quiet reading. However, my peaceful reading moment lasts only for a few minutes, because I get interrupted by a loud bang nearby.

“Ouch!” A male echoes throughout the library.

“ARGHHH!!” A female voice cries in obvious irritation. “This is all your fault!”

“Oh no, you’re the one who bumped into me. I think you’re the one who should be apologizing here. Not me.”

“WHAT???” The girl shrieks angrily. “I don’t have to –”

“SHHHH!!!” The librarian hisses loudly. When the noise dies down, the librarian continues, “Ms. Evans, Mr. Whitman, I’d like to have a word with both of you.”

So it was Alex and Isabel! Seems like those two don’t get along well. But what was that all about? Hmmm…I’ll have to remember to ask Alex about it later.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“LIZ! Orders up!” Jose calls out.

Sigh. I walk to pick up my ‘orders.’ That is like, my millionth order. I’ve been walking around the Crashdown serving greasy food to what feels like the umpteenth customers and I really need a break! I’m so tired and my legs feel like jello- all wobbly and stiff. Umm…that’s like, an oxymoron. But you know the feeling, right?

The bell over front door chimes as more customers walk in. Not just any customers, but Max Evans and his buddy, Michael. They walk over to table 6. My section.

“Hi guys,” I greet them, holding my notepad and pen in my hands. “What can I get you?”

Max orders an Alien Blast, a Saturn Rings and a Cherry Coke. (What did I tell you about him, ordering the same things almost every time?) Michael just asks for a Saturn Rings and a Cherry Coke.

“Alright. I’ll be right back with the drinks.”

After I serve them their food, I go to the counter to retrieve another ‘order.’ Maria walks up to stand next to me (we have shifts together most of the time). I tap her on the arm to give her a heads-up.

“Maria. Michael, 5 o’clock.”

“Wha- ohh!! Michael’s here!” she straightens out her turquoise, alien-themed uniform and her bobbling silver alien antennae. “Do I look okay?”

I nod.

“Liz,” Maria continues. “Could you do me a favor?”

“Depends on what do you want me to do.”

“Would you mind giving these,” Maria hands me a pack of Wringley’s gum, “to Michael? And if you want to, you can give some to Max too.”

Huh? What? Maria wants me to give them gum? Confused, I ask, “Why? Why me? Why gum?”

“Well, since they’re sitting in your section, it would be reasonable for you to be the one to give them the gum. You can tell them that it’s a new Crashdown policy or something. Why gum? See, I just read an article in Seventeen about gum wrappers. Apparently, you can tell what kind of a kisser a guy is, by the way he deals with his gum wrappers.”

“So…you wanna know how Michael kisses?”

“Hell yeah! I gotta know what I’m aiming for, or what I’m up to.” Maria looks at me pleadingly. “Please Liz. Do this for me please? For your bestest friend ever? For poor Maria?” She pouts and adds, “You’ll get to know how Max kisses too!”

I scowl. “Why would I want to know how Max kisses? I don’t care about him!”

“Liz, babe, I’m just kidding. But seriously, do this for me?”

“Well,” I hesitate. “All right.”

Maria squeals and jumps happily. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

So I wait for them to finish with their foods and for me to gather the courage to do it. I march up to them and give Maria’s excuse, telling them that it’s a new Crashdown policy to give the customers gum. They look at me oddly- especially Max! I guess he’s thinking that it’s my way of telling him that he has bad breath or something. They warily accept the gum after my pressing persistence. I hurry back to the counter and sneakily watch them unwrap the sticks of gum. Michael rolls his foil wrapper in a ball, while Max lays it on the table and smoothes it out. Hmm…interesting. So what does it mean?

I dash through the backroom to find Maria waiting for me with her magazine. I report what I saw and Maria proceeds to consult the wisdom of Seventeen.

“Michael is ‘The Baller’ type.” She declares.

“What does that mean?” I ask, perplexed.

“The Baller: Kissing someone who moulds their wrapper into a ball means that you’ll get loads of luscious lip-action. They like spontaneous lip-smacking, and lots of it, so pucker up!” Maria grins evilly. “Oh yeah, baby! Can’t wait to try and find out if the article’s right.”

Her eyes turn dreamy as she immerses in her ‘Michael-daydream.’ Oh no. Not again. I need to know!

“So what about Max?” I nudge her back to reality.

Maria looks startled. “Oh, right. Max. Sorry, I forgot about him for a second. Let me see…” She scans through the article again and starts to read, “Okay, Max is ‘The Smoother:’ Locking lips with someone who smoothes their wrapper flat will have you feeling fine in no time! Smoothers give sweet, soft and sensual kisses. Which is nice.”

Hmmm…sweet, soft and sensual kisses? Wonder if it’s true.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t noticed Maria’s knowing look.

...
..
.

[ps_dreamer]

Part 6

“Liz, I want you to know that it has always been you. You’re it for me. You’re the one I’ve been waiting for my whole life,” Max says huskily. He is standing seriously close to me on my balcony. My heart is beating wildly- or is it his? His arms around my waist, pulling me closer. He leans forward a little bit and whispers seductively in my ears. “I love you.”

“I love you too Max,” I reply as I stand on tiptoe and lean up to kiss him.

We kiss lovingly at first. The kiss is slow, sensual and soft. Max pulls me even closer as he deepens the kiss. Gosh…he is such a good kisser! Our tongues slide and dance…

RINGGG!!!

What’s that annoying sound?

RINGGG!!!

I open my eyes and suddenly Max disappears. All I can see is the white of my bedroom ceiling. I’m lying in my bed. Omigosh! It was all a dream!

Turning off the alarm clock, I get up and walk to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

What a dream! Must be from all that gum wrappers and kisses article that Maria read to me. Remind me to stay away from those magazines again, will ya?

Coming out from my morning shower, I feel so much better. Fresher.

I’m ready to start a new day! And a Friday too!

I pick up Maria as usual. When she comes out of her house, she looks really tired.

Concerned, I ask, “Maria, are you okay? You look really worn out.” I can see dark patches under her eyes. “Did you sleep last night?”

“Not really. I kinda stayed up late last night.”

“Why?”

“I was doing magic spells.” She says indifferently, like it’s a daily thing for her.

“Magic spells? What the heck for?”

“Well, love spells to be exact. It was kinda interesting. And I figured it wouldn’t hurt, you know. I just read it in-”

“Cosmo.” I finish the sentence with her. Did I mentioned that Maria totally adores- no, is obsessed with reading girl magazines? She’s got tons and tons of them in her room- her closet, her dresser and even under her bed. I bet if you cut her giant teddy bear in half, you’ll find it stuffed with magazines instead of cotton. “Maria, you’ve been reading too much of those magazines lately and it doesn’t seem to be useful to you.”

“Liz…tsk, tsk, tsk…that’s where you’re wrong babe,” Maria shakes her head. “Those magazines ARE useful. Do not underestimate them! Where do you think I get all those life/love tips? And where did you learn about wrappers and kissing? In a magazine! Can you find this type of information anywhere else?”

“No…but that doesn’t mean-”

“Exactly! The answer is ‘no.’ You cannot find information like this anywhere else. Anyway, enough about that. So are you going to Pam’s party tomorrow night?”

“Maria, you know I hate Pam Troy. I never go to her so-called ‘parties.’ Why’d you ask?” I inquire.

“Well, Pam’s party is where my plan ‘B’ comes in. Now, I have a very reliable source and know that Michael is definitely going be there. So I figure this is a great opportunity to make a move. I have to go. You can really get to know people at parties like this. And I plan on getting to know Michael really well.”

“I don’t know…”

“Oh come on. It’s not like you’ll be seeing Pam anyway. She’ll probably be drunk somewhere and too busy playing kissy-face with some guy to notice you. I’m sure you won’t run into her. Besides, her house is big! Please Lizzie? Just this time?”

Gosh! That pout again!

If Michael’s going to be there, then Max and Tess are going to be there! (I have reliable sources too, you know) Be strong Liz! Don’t give in to Maria’s begging!

I glance at Maria’s face and can’t help but feel sympathy for her. I DO want to help Maria get together with Michael…

“I’ll think about it,” I say.

“You better!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The final bell rings, signaling the end of the day. The hallway of West Roswell High is filled with students coming out from their classes. I gather my stuff and check my homework notebook to see if I have all the right books for the assignments. Yes, I have a homework notebook. It’s where I write down all my homework and projects, the due date and everything. Don’t look so surprised. This is what makes me an A honor-roll student! Neatness and well organization.

I arrive at the Crashdown with Alex. He wants to hangout and eats while I take my shift (this time not with Maria). I go up the apartment and change into my cheesy turquoise uniform. To tell you the truth, I think it’s hideous. But somehow, most of the people (especially the customers, for some unknown reason) think it’s cute. I have no idea why. If you do, please enlighten me.

Anyway, after I finish getting ready, I go downstairs and start serving food at 4 o’clock on the dot. The owner’s daughter’s gotta set a good example for other employees right?

“Liz, another Orange on the rocks please.”

I turn to look at the speaker. “Alex, that is like your sixth one.”

“I don’t understand women. Why are they so hard to understand?” He asks tiredly.

“Well, it’s not like men are easy to understand either!” I reply, looking at his face searchingly. “What’s wrong?”

“Sorry Liz, I’m in one of those moods again. I really need to find a guy best friend! Apparently, I’ve been hanging out with you girls way too much. Now I sound like woman with bad PMS!” Alex jokes with a smile.

“Oh believe me, it could be worse. Much worse.”

Alex’s attention and mine shift to the door of the Crashdown where Isabel walks in, straight to me. “Liz! You know that research for English? Do you have it? I need it to write my essay,” Isabel directs the question at me, ignoring Alex’s presence next to her.

“Oh yeah, I still have it with me. The disk is upstairs. My shift ends now, so I’ll go up and get it. Just wait here okay?”

Going up to my room, I find the disk and bring it downstairs. I walk to where Isabel is standing and hand it to her. “Here you go.”

“So Liz, where are you going to work? We need to research and you don’t have a printer at home, right? Coz we’ll need to print stuff out.” Isabel asks.

“Um…no.” Okay, how in the world does Isabel Evans know that I, Liz Parker, don’t have printer at home? Hmmm…

“It’s okay. I’ll use Alex’s.”

“Why don’t you use the one at my house? We need to work together anyway,” says Isabel nonchalantly.

Okay. Now I’m REALLY surprised. Since when does Isabel Evans, the cool and popular girl of West Roswell High offer me, a little no-name Liz Parker to use her computer? This is getting way too weird. That’s it! There must be something in the water!

Before I can reply, Isabel says, “Okay, so I’ll see you at six thirty. My place. You know where that is right? Good! I’d like to finish this project as soon as possible.” With that, she walks off.

So maybe things are not really quite as strange as I made them out to be. Seems like the reason Isabel offered her computer because she wants the project to be done with. So she wouldn’t have to see me anymore.

I watch Alex watching the blonde’s retreating figure with a grim face.

Did something happen between those two?

Now I really need to dig at Alex.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Okay, I mustn’t have realized until right now that little Lizzie Parker will be visiting one of the- no, two of the ‘Famous Four’s house. But now it’s sinking in and I’m really nervous! Why? I don’t know! Maybe because this is THE Evans’ house.

Anyway, so I’m standing in front of the door, trying to find the courage to knock. Okay Liz! Since when are you such a scaredy cat? Just knock the door damnit!! Do it!

I reach out to knock on the door, the same time as it swings open.

...
..
.

[ps_dreamer]

Part 7

I don’t really know what just happened because it was so fast. One minute I'm facing the door, the next I’m face to face with a lovely middle-aged woman.

She must be Max and Isabel’s mom. The ‘good looking’ gene definitely runs in the family. I realize that I'm standing with my fist in the air, ready to knock. Putting my hand down by my side, I smile sheepishly. I probably look stupid doing that.

“Hello,” the lady greets warmly. “You must be Liz. I’m Diane Evans. Isabel’s mom. Come in.”

“Hi Mrs. Evans.” Great first impression. Wait, why do I want to impress her?

I walk into their living room. Wow, it’s nice. The room smells of fresh flowers. Oh, the wonder of air fresheners. A beige, comfy looking sofa is situated in the middle of the room. Everything else in the room is the kind of stuff you’d expect to see in a normal living room- chairs, TV, etc. There are photos displaying on the shelves and tables, of Max and Isabel when they were younger. Interesting. Neither of them have really changed through the years.

“Oh please, call me Diane,” she smiles kindly. “Isabel is upstairs in her room, doing her homework.”

Mrs. Evans probably understands that I know where Isabel’s room is because after that, she excuses herself to the kitchen to finish off her dinner.

I go up the stairs and look for Isabel’s room. Damn. I’m lucky that this house is not very large, or else it would take me forever to find it. Hmmm…I look down the hallway. There are 3 doors to my left and 2 to my right. Which one? The right or left side? Decisions, decisions.

Finally, I accept my dilemma. (I don’t want to barge into every room, risking public humiliation. Nah-uh. No way.) SO, I close my eyes and starts singing in my head ‘inie meenie, minie, moe. Catch a tiger by it’s toe. If he hollers, let him go, inie meenie, minie, moe!’ The winner is…the second room on my left! " Okay, I’ll go in there. Hopefully, it’s Isabel’s room and not her parent’s or anything. Coz then it would be really
embarrassing. Like this one time, I went into the wrong room. I was going to Maria’s but then I thought it was on the second floor so I walked in to-

Liz Parker! Stop stalling!

So, I find the courage and discreetly open the unlocked door. I peer in to see a not-so-neatly-made bed and a computer. There are posters of certain bands and artists on the wall. Yep. Surely a teenager’s room. Feeling more confident, I walk in a little farther. But I stop when I hear a soft rustling nearby. The sound is coming from the direction of the bathroom. I could see a dark figure moving around in there through the slight gap in the open door. I’m positive THAT it’s a guy! No way Isabel could have those muscles on her biceps. Oh no! Or is that Mr. Evans in the shower? Stupid Liz! Get out of here right now! Get out!

Before I even get a chance to run away, the figure steps out of the bathroom.

Oh. My. God.

No. Before you even think it, it’s not Mr. Evans who’s coming out of the bathroom. (So I’m not scarred for life, thank goodness!) But it's the one and only Max Evans coming out after a hot and steamy shower!

That’s right. In the flesh. And he only has a towel wrapped around his bottom half. I can see water dripping from his hair to his golden, well-toned chest. Then down to those fabulous six-pack abs. The body of a Renaissance statue.

Oh. My. God.

I think my heart just stopped.

God, are you playing a trick on me? I’m not ready for this. I’m too young to die from a heart attack!

“Liz!” Max exclaims in surprise.

Feeling like some sort of a peeping Tom (or a peeping Liz?), I cover my eyes with my hands. “Oh Gosh, I’m really, really sorry Max. I thought this was Isabel’s room.”

I hear a rustling sound. What is he doing? Curiosity got the better of me and I peek through my fingers to see Max wearing a T-shirt and a boxers (strawberry pattern by the way, how cute! I think it must have been the only pair within his reach.)

Whew. Thank you God for sparing me. I will never forget this day for as long as I live.

“Liz! There you are!” Isabel says, coming from behind me. “I was looking for you!” She looks at me suspiciously. “What are you doing in Max ’s room?”

“Oh, We just chatted for a bit. I was just about to take her to your room,” Max answers for me. Thank you for saving me the embarrassment! I could just hug him right now! Such a sweet guy…

“Well, okay. Liz, we need to finish our work. Come on.” With that, Isabel drags me to HER room before I can even try to say ‘thank you’ to Max.

We manage to finish our work within an hour. I guess she really does want to get rid of me so, that she can do whatever she wants to. Also we finished it without Isabel interrogating me. It’s amazing really, since she’s been shooting me questioning looks every now and then. I just ignore them and pretended I don’t notice anything. That my name is Innocent instead of Liz. That’s right. I’m Innocent Parker.

So I walk out into the living room to get my jacket so I can finally go home.

“Liz ,dear, it’s dark outside. Why don’t you stay for dinner first and I’ll let Max drive you?” Mrs. Evans says gently.

“Umm…it’s okay really. I still have some other homework to finish at home and my parents are probably waiting right now,” I decline.

“Well, if you’re sure,” Mrs. Evans hesitates. “But let Max drive you home. It’s not safe for a young girl to walk home alone.” She turns to Max. “Take care of Liz, Max.”

“Will do, mom,” Max smiles. He escorts me to his Jeep. “I guess it’s just you and me.”

“Yeah, guess so.”

We drive off in silence. I still feel uneasy being with him alone…like last time he drove me home. However, this time, the ride doesn’t take long because the road is practically empty. I jump out of the Jeep, the second we arrive at the Crashdown.

“Thank you, Max.”

He flashes me his killer smile. “My pleasure.”

Oh no…that smile…I’m melting into a sweet, gooey Liz-Parker pudding, just because of that smile. I can hear my ‘red alert’ signal going off in the back of my head. Warning: Lethal smile. Avert your eyes! Don’t fall for that innocent act!

What is this? I’m going crazy because of only a smile?

Stop it, Liz! FOCUS!

Focus…focus…gotta focus on something! Breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out…

“So Liz, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Max asks, pulling me out of my daze…err…concentration.

“Tomorrow?” What? I’m not following.

“Pam’s party. I suppose you’re going too?” He arches his eyebrows in question.

“Uh…yeah,” I squeak. Liz! What is wrong with you today? You’re not supposed to say that you’re going to the party, coz you’re not going! You’ve never been to one of Pam’s parties, and you don’t intend to- ever! Why, oh, why did you say you’d go, Liz?

“So.. I guess I’ll see you there, then. See you tomorrow Liz,” he waves as he gets into the Jeep.

“Yeah…I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Max drives off, leaving me to myself. LIZ! You did it again! I kick myself mentally.

What?!? You can’t blame me for agreeing to go to the party! I’m going anyway. Forget Pam. Forget Max. I need to go there to help Maria. You know, Maria? My best friend?

Are you sure you’re going there JUST to help Maria? Are you sure that there’s nothing more? Are you sure that HE has nothing to do with it? The voice taunts.

NO! HE doesn’t have anything to do with it! Stop talking like that!

No, YOU stop ly-

Oh great.

Groan.

I just talked to myself didn’t I? Even just in my head?

I did!

I cover my head with my hands.

Groan.

I’m turning into a nut case just because of this stupid party. And it’s tomorrow!

Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.

...
..
.

[ps_dreamer]

Part 8

Well, tomorrow came rather soon and now I’m with Maria at the DeLuca’s, still at the ‘choose the dress’ stage. Maria and I borrow each other’s clothes very often, so it’s not a strange thing for us.

“Omigosh Liz! We only have 3 hours! We’re not gonna finish in time!” Maria cries, starting to panic. She begins to rummage through her closet and throws out as many cloth as her hands can hold. “What am I going to wear? This? No. This? No. This? Heck, no. This? Too slutty. This? Too preppy. Liz! I have absolutely nothing to wear! What am I going to do? I know! We’ll run back to the Crashdown and get some of your clothes. You have lots of cool clothes. Oh, you’ve got that red skirt! Oh damn! I forgot it’s too small for me. Shit. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO???” Maria shouts the last sentence. Wow. Did she just say all that in one breath?

Maria’s outburst is normal to me. So I walk up to her dresser, pick up her Cyprus Oil and offer it to her. “Here, smell this. It’ll make you feel better.”

She takes it and sniffs. After a few minutes, she’s calm again. “Thanks babe. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

I smile. “Well, you’ll probably end up in the asylum for sure,” I joke. “Come on, I’ll help you.”

So after two more of Maria’s outbursts, Maria is wearing a pink, glittery halter-top with black leather pants. (yes, the same one as the ‘gothic girl’ wore) Her hair is nicely curled up. And I am wearing a sleeveless, beige top that shows more flesh than I wanted to, with a black skirt that has slits on both sides. My hair is long and straight.

“Ladies! The car awaits!” Sean calls from outside the room. He is going to escort us to the party.

“We’re almost done!” I shout. We put our finishing touches on our make-up and check ourselves for the last time in front of the mirror before Maria opens the door.

“Whoa! Looking good!” Sean compliments. Ignoring my blushing, he ushers us to the car. (it’s Amy’s by the way. She happens to be out of town this weekend, or else she wouldn’t let us out of the house looking like we do now.) “Hot chicks are waiting for me! Come on, girls. Let’s go!”

Sean is like the brother that I never had. To other people, he might be an arrogant jerk, but that’s just his façade. Sean is a really nice guy once you get to know him.

And I happen to have known him really well for a long time. He’s pretty close to Maria, although they don’t get along most of the time; he’s like a big brother to her, too. You know, all protective and stuff. Which is nice. The only thing that bothers us is Sean’s Casanova symptom, which personally, I don’t think can be cured soon enough. He’s a player. And Maria and I don’t like that. As a woman myself, being played by a guy is not a pleasant thing. So we’re against that and constantly bug Sean to find a girl that he’s willing to start a long-term relationship with. But currently, there is none.

Anyway, enough said about Sean. Back to the party.

We’ve just arrived at Pam’s mansion. Maria wasn’t kidding. This place is big, no, huge! As in gigantic huge!

We walk through the garden and into the house where the party is being held. There are tons of people here! The music is blasting while people dance their brains out. I manage to stick with Maria as we pass the dancing crowd. Sean goes off somewhere, he’s probably already found some girl to talk to. We stop to stand under the stairs where there are fewer people.

“I think that’s Michael over there! Sorry Lizzie but I gotta catch up with him otherwise I won’t be able to find him again. Alex will be coming soon. Be good and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do ‘k? Bye!”

“Bye! You too!” I sigh and watch as Maria runs off. Oh great. What do I do now?

I decide to walk around a bit to see if I can find Alex. Unfortunately, I meet Tess.

Being nasty as usual, she asks, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be home with your mommy and daddy?”

I avoid her and walk away (otherwise, things will get really ugly if I can’t control my temper) but she’s not having any of it. Tess yanks me by the arm, hard.

“Hey! I’m talking to you!”

Angry, I say, “Look Tess. What the hell is your problem? What I'm doing here is none of your goddamn business so just get lost. All right? Besides, isn’t that the guy you’ve been drooling over for the last, oh what is it- 2 years over there with Pam?” I point at Max who is across the room. “I think Pam’s showing him a little something or two.”

As I predicted, Tess’ attention shifts from me to Pam Troy. Her face is getting redder and redder by the second as she witnesses the interaction between Pam and Max. Basically, Pam is trying to make a move on Max. And that, is something that Tess doesn’t like to see, considering Max is HER guy (or that’s what she likes to think of him as).

Tess storms through the crowd, making her way to the couple. From where I am standing, I can’t hear what’s being said. But I have a clear view of the scene. I can see Tess pushing Pam away from Max. There’s an argument going on.

Suddenly Tess screams, “Nobody talks to Tess Harding like that bitch!” Other people in the room stop dancing and focus their attention on Pam and Tess. People are just standing still and DJ stops the music, right as Tess slaps Pam across the face. Suddenly the room becomes so quiet that I bet if you so much as moved your eyeballs, everyone would hear it. The smacking sound seems to echo throughout the room. Everyone is holding their breath- anticipating Pam’s next move.

After a few seconds (but somehow it feels longer than that), Pam literally jumps on Tess, like a pouncing tigress, and a knock down fight is ensues. Someone in the crowd cries out, “CAT FIGHT!” People from other rooms come rushing in to watch. Jeez. Got a life much? They form a circle around the two girls and chant either ‘Tess’ or ‘Pam’ over and over again. Max is forgotten.

I move away from the ‘cat fight’ crowd into another room, which is now empty. I find Alex sitting on top of a kitchen counter.

“Hey.”

“Hey Liz. Thought you weren’t going to come?” he asks.

“Oh, it was a last minute decision I guess,” I shrug. Looking around the room, there are only a few people around. Hmmm…this might be the right time to ask him about Isabel. “So Alex…” I start slowly. “What’s up with you and the Ice Queen?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, recently, I’ve been noticing some tension between the two of you. What happened?”

“Nothing important. She just annoys me,” Alex says. “Oh hey! The music’s back on! Let’s go dance! Come on Liz. I really wanna see who won the battle.”

I follow Alex into the main room where the DJ is playing. As much as I want to interrogate Alex on the issue further. I can feel that he’s uncomfortable about it so I decide to drop it…for now.

Returning my attention to Alex, we dance the night away. I find out from some girl that both Pam and Tess are in bad shape, both are knocked out. This is such a great night!

We shake our ‘booties’. I laugh as Alex does his imitation of the ‘Saturday Night Fever’ dance. *giggle* He can be such a dork sometimes. But a cute one.

I dance a slow song with Alex when Max taps him on the shoulder, “Mind if I cut in?”

“No, no. Certainly not. Go ahead,” Alex moves away before I can protest, to let Max takes his place. “Have fun guys.” He grins, winks and runs off.

Alex! Grrr…I’ll get you back for this!

Max takes hold of my hands and pulls them against his chest, in effect, pulling me closer to him. I follow his body movement unwillingly. “Relax, will you? I’m not going to bite.”

I fall silence. Max leans in closer to me and whispers into my ear, “You look beautiful tonight Liz.”

I try but I can't seem to get myself to think of
Anything but you
Your breath on my face, your warm gentle kiss
I taste the truth

My heart beats faster as I hear those words. I shiver. Is it me or it’s getting colder in here?

You know what I came here for
So I won't ask for more

Max tentatively moves his arms around me. One hand is on the small of my back, the other tangles in my hair. This feels…nice. I relax.

I wanna be with you
If only for a night
To be the one who's in your arms, who holds you tight
I wanna be with you
There's nothing more to say
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way

I move my hands over his shoulders and clasp them behind his neck, holding on for dear life. The warmth of his body next to mine is electrifying. His smell is intoxicating. I feel like my head is spinning. I need to grab onto something; otherwise I’ll fall.

So I'll hold you tonight like I would if you were mine
To hold forever more
And I'll savor each touch that I wanted so much
To feel before

How beautiful it is
Just to be like this

I close my eyes. My head slowly moves to rest on his strong, muscular shoulder. Max is gently stroking my hair.

I wanna be with you
If only for a night
To be the one who's in your arms, who holds you tight
I wanna be with you
There's nothing more to say
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way

We sway with the music. Our rhythm match. Somehow, it feels like it’s meant to be.

Oh, baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore
It drives me crazy when I try to
So call my name, take my hand
Can you make my wish, baby, your command

I wanna be with you
There's nothing more to say
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way

I wanna be with you

“Liz.”

I lift my head to look into his eyes. They seem to pulling me in…Why do I feel like this? Like my pulse is racing and body’s going to burst into flames?

I wanna be with you

“Yeah?” Wow…his eyes have speckles of gold in them.

“Let’s go outside. It’s too crowded in here.”

“Yeah.” And those eyelashes…

Wait. Did Max Evans just suggest that we go outside? As in we’ll be totally ALONE? Without the crowd to keep ME company? And I just agreed?

Before I know it, we are outside the mansion. Somewhere in Pam’s garden. Alone. Under the stars.

What will I do now?

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disclaimer: song is by Mandy Moore – I wanna be with you

[ps_dreamer]

Here's the next chapter... can't say it's lustful


Part 9

Max sits down on a bench. He pats the space next to him. “Come and sit with me Liz.” He smiles warmly.

I can’t help but smile back and move to sit beside him. I keep a little distance between us, so he doesn’t get any ideas.

For the first time, we sit in comfortable silence- looking up at the stars, admiring the atmosphere, without it being awkward.

“What do you want to be Liz?”

Startled by his unexpected question, I ask, “What do you mean?”

“In the future, after high school and everything, what do you want to be? I mean, what are your dreams?”

“What’s with the sudden interest?”

“Well, I just realized that we’ve known each other for a long time but we don’t really know anything about each other.”

“Yeah.” That’s true. I’ve known Max for years, since, what, third grade? But I don’t really know anything personal about him, come to think of it. But I do know little, trivial things about him. Like his favorite drink is Cherry Cola, his favorite ice cream flavor is peach sherbet, his favorite band is Gomez…but that’s beside the point. The point is I don’t know PERSONAL things about him.

“Well, I want to study Molecular Biology at Harvard. It’s my dream. See, since I was about 5, my dad put this big poster of Cambridge over my bed. They really want me to go to Harvard. My parents are good, decent people. I know they have good intentions and want what’s best for me. But sometimes it’s too much, you know? They keep on pressuring me into getting good grades so I can go to Harvard. They say that I have more talents in my little finger than all the kids in Roswell put together.” Sigh. Why am I telling him all this? Realizing I must’ve said too much, I apologize, “Sorry for blabbing on at you, Max. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s all right,” he looks at me with complete understanding in his eyes. “Really. I know exactly how you feel.”

“You do?” He does? I don’t know why I’m so stunned by this. But I am.

“Yeah, my dad wants me to be a lawyer like him. But I’m not like him. He wants me to be something that I’m not. Me? Lawyer? No way. I don’t want to be one. And I’m not gonna be one. You’re lucky Liz, at least your parents let you choose what you want to be. I can’t,” Max says sadly. There’s nothing worse than being unable to choose your own destiny. To be who to want to be. It must be awful having someone tell you what you will be, even if that person is your own father. Poor Max. What he’s going through right now…or what he’s been through. Must’ve suck big time. From what I’ve heard, Phillip Evans, Max’s father, is a hard guy. Strict and opinionated.

I reach out to hold his hand. Silently telling him that everything will be all right. That things will get better.

Surprised at my bold action (it’s a bold action for me, okay? I’m an extremely shy person.) for a few seconds, Max smiles.

Oh no! That smile again! Look away right now Liz!

“Umm…so…” I try to look at anything but those eyes and that smile. “So if you don’t want to be a lawyer, then what do you want to be?”

“Don’t laugh. I…I want to be a musician.”

I press my lips together to stifle a laugh. But a small giggle escapes anyway. *giggle* “You a musician?” Looking at his hurt face, I quickly say, “No, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just…I’ve never thought of you as a rock star type.” And that’s true! “Really! I don’t know. I always thought of Michael as being more the rock star type, I guess.”

“Oh yeah, Michael with that rock star spiked haircut that girls swoon over. Why do most girls fall for guys that have sharp-ended, poke your eyes out hair…I can’t even comprehend,” Max says dryly. “I guess to them, it’s much better than my boring un-rock star haircut.”

“I like your bangs though…err…your haircut. Umm…I mean, it’s just a matter of opinion.” Liz! What did you just say? Did you just say that you like his hair? And that you usually have fantasies about it? And that you’d love to caress it, especially the nape of his neck? Eeeeekkk!! (freaking out here!) My face feels so hot, and I probably look redder than tomatoes right now!

Change the topic, Liz!!! “So…you’re a great bass player. A natural. Do you sing too? I’ve never heard you sing.”

“Singing’s not my specialty.”

“Would you sing for me sometimes? I wanna hear you sing.” What the HELL possessed me to say that?

“I will.”

“You promise?” Geez Liz, can't ya control your mouth?

“Promise.”

We talk about lots of things: Life, school, our likes and dislikes…just your regular, general teenage discussion. About an hour passes, and we’re having fun and enjoying ourselves.

Suddenly a cool breeze blows and I shiver.

Max must’ve noticed because he asks, “Are you cold Liz? Here take this.” He takes off his jacket and wraps it around me. “It’ll keep you warm.”

I give him a friendly smile, “Thanks.”

His XL-size jacket draped over me: S-size. I must’ve look pretty funny. *yawns* His jacket feels so warm. It’s been a long day and I guess all of the things I’ve done are catching up with me. I’m tired. Dead tired.

Max, being his perfect and understanding-self as usual, notices this. “You must be tired. Here lean on me. You can rest for a while.”

“Thanks.” Somehow during this exchange, I had moved to sit right next to him. My hand is still clasped in his on his lap. I lean on Max’s shoulder, look up at the starry sky and sigh deeply.

Wow. Look at all those beautiful stars. Have you ever wondered if some other kinds of life, exist out there? Maybe a planet called Antar? And a handsome, sexy alien prince named ‘Zan’? Or how about an inter-planet war? Or what about…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sounds of Crickets’ soft chirping reaches my ears. The scent of men’s cologne fills my nose. I’m leaning on something soft. Hmm…I must’ve fallen asleep.

Then the reality of the past few hours comes flashing, no, more like crashing back to me. The party, the dance, the garden, Max. MAX!! Omigosh! I’m practically laying on Max right now!

I open my eyes to see Max’s big, brown/gold orbs gazing down at me. And he is close, like REALLY close to me. Like if I just stick my tongue out, I can lick Max. But I’m not going to do that!

Blushing like a five-year-old caught stealing cookies from the jar, he pulls back a little. “You’re awake.”

“Uh, yeah.” I sit up. “Sorry for falling asleep on you.”

“No problem.”

Looking at my watch, it reads 11.49pm. It’s almost midnight! I’ve been here that long? Wow. It sure didn’t feel that long. I turn to Max, “I think we should go inside. Maria’s probably wondering where I am.”

We both get up and head back to the house. Alex and Maria must be looking for me! Or maybe not. Maria is possibly somewhere with Michael. Alex is probably hanging out somewhere. He doesn’t care about me! He’s the reason why I’m out here in the garden with Max in first place. Or maybe I should thank him. Today I feel so much closer to Max. And that’s a good thing right? I mean, having a new friend and all. Well, Max isn’t really a new friend but I feel like I’m just getting to know him for the first time. AGH! This is all so confusing!

Ahem. I just woke up so my mind is in a jumble right now. Pardon me.

As I’m going through a little debate over things in my head, I bite my lips. It’s a habit that I have when I’m concentrating or thinking too much- like right now. I can taste a strange flavor on my lips. Strange- but sweet. It’s nice.

My thoughts are interrupted by shuffling sounds in bushes nearby, followed by a loud, female moan.

Hmm…that voice sounds oddly familiar. Almost like Maria’s.

The voice rings out again. “Ohh…yes, Michael!”

“MARIA!!” I can’t help but cry out. It IS Maria! Sure enough, Maria and Michael stumble out of the bushes, together, looking thoroughly ravaged. Maria’s make up is smeared across her face and Michael’s while her top is barely hanging on. Michael has his shirt unbuttoned and his hair is even more messed up than usual. Both of them look disheveled. Clearly, they’ve been having a heavy duty make-out session.

“LIZ!” Embarrassed at being caught, they try to straighten themselves.

Maria comes to stand close to me and whispers excitedly, “Mission accomplished!”

“Yeah. It’s kinda hard not to notice,” I reply matter-of-factly.

“This is like, the best night of my life!” Maria squeals and then sighs dreamily. “Talk about dreams coming true. I can’t wait to tell you all about it Lizzie! And…” She looks over to where Michael and Max are standing. “You gotta tell me what you and Max have been up to all night!” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.

‘Oh yeah, Maria. I can’t wait either.’ I think dryly as Maria pulls me back, once again, to Pam’s house.

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