Roswell Fanatics

Always Hoping for More

Author: Mariael311 aka Mar

Couple: M/L but all the other couples will be included

Rating: ADULT

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Roswell. But the story is mine.

Summary: I don't know how to really break this story down in a few words besides the fact that this a story about a girl who falls in love with a boy. Always hoping to be more than friends. This story is from Liz's POV and will take you from thier beginning to present.

Author's Note: Hey Everyone! This is my first fanfic ever! I'm really excited about it and nervous at the same time. I've written a few chapters already but I want to get a feel of how those of you will respond to this, so please feedback is really appreciated!

I'd also like to thank my girl, Jules for pushing to write this story that has been in my head for a long time. And to my friends Mir, Kirsty, Sarah Marie and Leslie for their wonderful support! I love you guys so much!

So here we go...


Prologue

It’s been five years since I last saw him and yet, it feels like it was only yesterday. He’s sitting there in the stands with friends and I am hiding behind Maria so that I can watch him without worrying about anyone seeing me. God, I’m so pathetic! I guess I really haven’t changed much since high school.

You would think that after all this time, I wouldn't feel the need to hide. But seeing him again brought back the feelings, the ones I thought were long gone. Feelings that I honestly wasn’t prepared to deal with tonight or face up to. My heart begins to beat faster, my legs feel like Jell-O and I fear that if his amber eyes look my way, I just might faint and make a fool of myself. But I can’t help it because after all this time, I still love him. He may or may not know how I feel about him since I never told him but a part of me wishes he did. We were friends for so long and we have so much history together. We had some great times and good laughs. A part of me refuses to believe that they meant nothing to him but the realist in me knows that they didn’t or he would have kept in touch, right? I know we all went our separate ways after we graduated from high school but I didn’t expect to lose touch with him

I’m tempted to get his attention so that he can look at me and I mean really look at me and see what he did to me... What loving him and losing him did to me. But I tell myself:

Get over it Liz. You know damn well you don’t have the guts to do it.

I guess some things never change.

I feel like such an idiot. I’m not the same girl that he remembers. I’m not the same girl who was always too afraid to make the first move for fear of rejection. I had secretly always hoped that he would but that never happened. But seeing him here, unexpectedly, I feel like that girl from long ago, so full of hope.


I know Maria, who is sitting next to me, realizes why I am so quiet but then again, so is she! She’s not the usual chatterbox but I’m pretty sure it’s because she’s seen Michael. They had history together. Everyone thought that they would end up going to the same college and getting married but no, it sure didn’t happen that way.

I put my head on Maria’s shoulder and then I feel her head rest on mine as we hold hands silently trying to give each other support. I know she’s doing the same thing as I am…watching Max and Michael and wondering how these two guys had so much power over us, correction, still have. We gave them our hearts with or without them or us even knowing it. But even after all this time, I don’t regret it. There is no one like Max Evans and there never will be.

So here I am at my high school’s 50th Homecoming Game, not paying attention to all the action on the field, cheering along with the fans, or even looking through the crowds of people that pass the stands for old friends that I lost touch with. Nope, I am sitting here looking at Max, which I have to admit is more interesting than anything else at this moment.

Then suddenly he looks my way…

OMG! He’s looking in my direction.

Wait, why would he be looking my way? Ok... I think I may be losing it.

No, wait, he is and he’s heading this way!

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!! And then nothing, I faint!

AN: Ok...so I consider the next many parts as Book 1. As the charcters enter high school, it will be Book 2 for many more parts and Book 3 will be life after High School.




Part 1

I, Elizabeth Perez, grew up in a small town in Virginia. When I was 6 years old, my father got a good job in Washington, D.C. working for the government so we were forced to leave the island I had grown up on in Puerto Rico. No longer would I see the beautiful crystal blue waters of my home, smell the salty air or worst, hear the coqui’s song every night as I lay in my bed to go to sleep. We were all sad to leave but my brother, Alejandro, and I had no choice or say.

My new home in Virginia was like nothing I had ever seen before. Our new house was incredible with its 4 rooms, 2 floors, a basement, a garage, a backyard bigger than the one back home and air conditioning. That alone left my brother and me dumbfounded and cold! It was nothing like our old house in the mountains with all the different fruits growing on the trees and being able to sit out back and look at the lovely scenery whenever I felt like it. This was a huge change for me but I had to accept it. Accept that it was going to be hard to make new friends in this new place but I had to try.

The first day of school was hard for both Alejandro and I but I think it was harder for me since Alex was always more outgoing than I was. Alex was 3 years older than me and he seemed to have this charm that drew people to him while I preferred to read a good book. I guess you could say I was the nerd and he was the jock.

Thanks to the countless books I read, it turned out I was a bit more advanced than the rest of my class so that alone made me feel more left out. I guess they didn’t like the fact that I was smarter than them. They loved it when they found out that I had to take ESL but not for long because thanks to my father I didn’t have to stay in those classes for very long. He had made sure we learned English when we were younger as well as Spanish.

After the first week of school, my brother had made lots of friends but as for me, I had made none, unless you count the school librarian. She knew of my fondness for books and was never surprised to see me in there in a corner reading a new book. My mom was a bit disappointed that I had not been able to make any friends so she signed me up for Brownies thinking that I could see more of Virginia and make some new friends. I thought it was pointless until I met Maria DeLuca.

Maria was like a breath of fresh air for me. She was fun, full of energy and had an opinion about everything. She was new to Brownies as well but her mom’s excuse for signing her up was that she needed a break from her. Secretly, I think her mom couldn’t keep up with her and who could blame her? Maria could talk your ear off if you let her but I loved it. We became best friends instantly and were inseparable. We went to different schools but that was not a problem for us because we saw each other at Brownie meetings, talked to each other everyday on the phone and spent the weekends at each other’s houses.

Thanks to Maria, my elementary school days went by like wind and before I knew it, I was starting the sixth grade at the Junior High School. At last I was going to be able to see Maria everyday and hopefully make some new friends since there were 4 other elementary school that were being combined to form the sixth grade class.

But I never realized that one person would change my life forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So what did you think? Would you like to see more?

Hey everyone!

This week so far has been hell! I haven't been able to get to the computer in days. So all I've been doing is writing. I have about 7 chapters written so hopefully I can get them out a bit faster but you know how it is. I keep tweaking something before I send it to the beta.

Char- Yeah this is tame but we'll see.

Carol- Thanks! I'm glad your enjoying it!

magik- I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you! I just kinda decided last minute to go for it! And the nookie...compared to you, I'd be ashamed to type any of it up. It might lack the intensity it should have but we'll see.

J- Aww..thanks!! And your pics rock! I wish I had more time to snag some since you know I never got a chance to take any myself but I've been so busy.

Cherie- THanks mama!! I'm so touched.

Thank you everyone for the f/b! I really appreciate it. It's is so amazing to know people like this story so far. I hope I don't disappoint anyone!

So here is the next part, I'm gonna send Part 3 to the beta so she can get it back to me soon and I can hopefully post it tomorrow.

I hope you enjoy!


Part 2

The morning of my first day of sixth grade, I must have called Maria like 5 times. We had planned to meet each other in the auditorium since all the sixth graders were being forced to yet another boring orientation instead of reporting to homeroom. We were both anxious and it seemed like nothing looked right on me, so of course, I had to talk to my fashion guru for advice.

“Ok. That’s it! I give up, Maria. This is like the 4th outfit I’ve tried on and I dunno…it doesn’t look right!” I cried into the phone as I stared at myself in the mirror.

“Liz, I thought we had agreed that you would wear your jean skirt with your purple tank top.” Maria said sounding exasperated at me.

I stared at the shirt she mentioned, took off the one I had on and put on the other one.

“Are you sure? It doesn’t look to plain on me?”

“You’re the one that wanted to be comfortable but look good. Hello, I did compromise and let you wear a jean skirt.”

“I mean I wish I could be more daring like you and where a halter top but you know my mom will have a heart attack if she sees me wearing that. “ I said.

Which was true. My mom sometimes couldn’t believe that Ms. DeLuca would let Maria wear some of the things she did. Mini skirts, halter tops, short dresses and lots of other outrageous clothes. But that was Maria and I loved that about her. Me, on the other hand, I was a jeans type of girl. I loved jeans and a t-shirt or nice top. Every time we went shopping, though, Maria would forbid me to buy any new jeans or t-shirts claiming I had enough of those and needed to dress more “girly” or she would never talk to me again. I knew they were empty threats but still, for her and my mom’s sake (since they both felt the same), I did buy more “girly” clothes.

“I’m sure. Chica, would I lie to you? Besides, you always look cute regardless of what you’re wearing. I, on the other hand, don’t so I have to look good. We are starting a new school and you know what that means…HOT GUYS!” Maria yelled.

”Maria, you and boys, I swear! We’re only 11 and your already thinking about dating.”

“And what’s so wrong with that?” Maria asked. “Liz, we’re starting a new school with older boys. Hello?!?”

I can’t help but laugh. “I can’t wait till we start High School then!”

“Well, we have 3 more years for that next step so until now, I’ll just have to be content with jr. high boys”

“Yeah, if they’re mature enough. And you know that they’re not!”

“Well, a girl can dream, right?” Maria says. “ Anyways, Liz don’t change your clothes and I’ll see you in a bit. It’s getting late.”

I look at my watch and nearly panic. It really was getting late and I still had to walk to the bus stop!

“OMG! I didn’t realize what time it was! Ok! See you at school and if you get there before me, save me a seat at orientation!”

“Ditto! Later babe!” And with that we hang up!

I took one more look at myself in the mirror, grabbed my things and headed on downstairs.

“Mami!! Me voy!” I tell my mom as I grab a slice of toast from the counter.

“Nena, you didn’t eat breakfast.” My mom says when she sees me gulping down my orange juice. Nena was the nickname my parents called me for as long as I could remember. In English it meant little girl but it was an affectionate term.

“Mami, it’s late and I have to go or I’ll be late and then you’re going to have to take me to school and then that will just mess up my plans with Maria. Besides, I’m too nervous to eat a whole meal, so this toast is fine with me. But I promise to eat lunch! Love you! Bye Mami!” I kiss her on the cheek, grab my lunch and run for the door knowing that if I spend another minute we would get into an argument about me not eating breakfast and I didn’t want to leave for school angry.

On the bus ride to school, I sat there and wondered what new things were in store for me. I’m sure it was no where near as thrilling as starting high school like Alex but it was good enough for me. No longer would I have to see the same 50 people I knew since the second grade and now, Maria and I were going to be together. That alone was the best thing in the whole wide world.

As I climbed off the bus, I headed towards the cafeteria for orientation. I was pretty sure that Maria was already there since she lived closer to the school then me and sure enough, as I enter the cafeteria, I see Maria waving her hands so that I can see her.

“OMG, chica! There are some cute boys here. Hell, some of the guys from my school that I couldn’t stand are looking good but then again, my brain might just be in overdrive!”

I can’t help but laugh at the expression of awe on her face as she looks around her.

“If you say so!”

“Well, if you got your nose out of those books and paid more attention to guys, you would agree with me.”

“I’m sure I would but you know my parents won’t let me date anyone until I’m 15. And why are you telling me to get my nose out of books? Who do you think is going to help you with your homework? I guess you should get your nose out of those fashion magazines you’re so fond of and start working harder on your own assignments.” I point out.

Maria blushes and hugs me.

“ I love you, chica! I don’t know what I would do without you!”

I smile and hug her back.

“Same here and I love you, too!”

As we settle back into our seats, we hold hands and look towards the stage as the principal walks toward the microphone and begins to address everyone. After welcoming us, he begins to talk about this year’s activities, classes and events. I had already heard this speech during summer orientation, so instead of paying attention to what he is saying, I look around at the other kids in the cafeteria like a lot of people are doing. I see some girls that I know from Girl Scouts and some people from my school.

Then all of sudden, I see him. The person that would impact my life in more ways that even I wouldn’t realize.

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for the great f/b! I'm glad you like Maria and Liz. They're friendship is like no other so I wanted to keep that intact!

Dee- They are all the same age. This is the first day of the sixth grade for all of them. I hope that answered your questions.

Welcome to the new readers! I hope you guys stay and enjoy!

Thanks to all my amazing friends that are supprting me thriough this! What would I do without you guys! I love you all!

On with the show! This is a small part but I will get the next part out before Friday and they will get longer!


Part 3

I feel like the air has left my lungs as I sit there and stare at this boy with the most beautiful amber eyes I have ever seen. He’s sitting two rows ahead of me on my right. I didn’t see him at first because his back was to me but as I was ready to turn my head in the other direction, he turns around and talks to some boy behind him with messy hair who laughs at something he’s said. And then I see him smile and that’s it, I knew I found the cutest guy in school.

He turns around to face the front and I wish that he would turn around again so that I could look at him one more time. I hadn’t had enough of his smile or his mesmerizing eyes. Besides, after we all went our separate ways to class, who knew when I would get to see him again. I knew all the sixth graders eat lunch together but there were a lot of us and with my luck, I’d miss him.

“Who are you staring at?” Maria whispers into my ear causing me to almost jump out of my chair.

“No one. I’m just thinking. And you scared the crap out of me” I lie.

“LIAR! I saw that faraway look in your eyes but I couldn’t follow the direction you were looking at it. Some kid, who obviously doesn’t know what a hairbrush is or how to use it, was in the way and I know you were so not looking at him.” She points at him.

I laugh. “You know me to well!”

“And don’t you forget it. So when this ends, you better point out this mystery boy that you’re drooling over”

“I’m not drooling!” I declare without realizing that I am wiping my chin.

“Whatever. You have guilty written all over your face or should I say chin”, Maria giggles.

“Fine” I begin to giggle. “When is he going to finish? I swear, we’ve already heard this speech-“

But before I can finish my thought, people start clapping and getting up. “Never mind.”

“Yeah, I thought he would never shut up! I have absolutely no idea what he was talking about. He lost me after ‘Welcome’. Normally, I’d expect you to be paying attention but not this time.” She nudges me on the side. “Ok, so where is this mystery guy?”

I smile and look back to where he was sitting but he’s not there. He must have gotten up and left in a hurry while Maria and I were talking.

I look at Maria sadly. “He’s gone.”

“Damn, he must have been really cute to put that sad look on your face. Don’t worry Lizzie; I’m sure we’ll see him at lunch. Let’s get to class.” And with that she puts her arm through mine and we walk to first period English class.

Thanks to the assembly, I had no homeroom but I had 3 classes before lunchtime, which felt like an eternity from now. I so wanted to see him again which completely shocked me. I mean, I didn’t even know his name but here I was thinking about him.

Snap out of it, Liz! You need to focus on your classes. That’s what is more important and besides, it’ll help time fly by. So with that firmly placed in my brain, I focus on what my teacher is saying and got started filling out the sheets she had handed out. After English, Maria and I go our separate ways to find our lockers and then make our way to our next class.

Home Ec. and Math fly by even though Maria and I don’t have any more classes together. It’s the same routine in each class. The teacher introduces themselves to the class, asks us each to stand and do the same, hands out a bunch of sheets that we need to fill out with our info, hand out textbooks and then precede to tell us what to expect this year in class.

At the end of Math class, I head towards my locker to drop off my books, grab my lunch bag and head towards cafeteria where I find Maria talking with some guy. Man, she works fast I think to myself but then again that’s Maria, so I sit down next to her and wait for her to introduce me.

“Hey chica! How have your classes been so far?” She asks me while she gives me a hug.

“Ok. I think my hand is going to be sore at the end of the day from filling out all those forms.”

“Oh god, don’t remind me! Hey, this is Kyle Valenti! He was in my Shop class. Kyle, this is my best friend Liz Perez”

“Nice to meet you Liz!”

“Nice to meet you, too, Kyle.”
Looking past me, Kyle’s eye catches something.

“I’ll be right back. I see my friends heading towards the lunch line so let me go tell them I got seats for them if you guys don’t mind!” Kyle says.

“Of course, we don’t mind. Go tell them!” Maria exclaims and as he gets up to go get his friends, she turns to me. “Please don’t mind! And before you say it, I know he’s not my type but he may have cute friends. Plus we’re getting to know more people, right?”

“You know I don’t mind.” I laugh. “So how did you meet him?”

“He’s in my shop class and the teacher assigned us partners. So guess who’s mine!” She shakes her head. “But it’s cool. It seems like my idea to meet guys in shop has backfired on me. He’s the best one there in my opinion.” She rolls her eyes. “You were right. It’ll be awhile before these boys mature.”

Before I can even begin to make fun of her, Kyle is walking towards us with his friends, which turn out to be the boy with messy, spiky hair and OMG! It’s him! The boy with the most amazing eyes ever. I feel like hugging Kyle.

“Maria,” I whisper, “that’s him. Behind the boy with the spiky hair.”

“What are you talking about? Oh wait, from this morning?”

All, I can do is nod my head because at that moment, he sits down across from me and smiles.

With no further ado...I present

Part 4

“Let me introduce you to my friends. This is Michael Guerin” pointing the kid with the messy hair, “and this is Max Evans.” Pointing to the boy with the most amazing eyes.

“Hey, I’m Maria DeLuca and this is my best friend Liz Perez” Maria says to the guys.

They say hey and start talking. About what, I have no idea. I’m in heaven. Here I’m sitting across from this boy that has been on my mind all morning. Max Evans. So, I finally learn his name. I can’t believe my luck. I was beginning to believe that I was never was going to get an opportunity to meet him, because knowing me, I’d be too nervous to say anything but some how, fate has led Maria to Kyle and his friends.

Somehow, I managed to join into the conversation. I learned that Max, Michael and Kyle had been best friends since kindergarten, lived in the same neighborhood and were always involved in some sport.

“Dude, I can’t wait for our football game this Saturday. We are so going to crush Braddock!” Michael exclaims and does a goofy dance in his chair.

“Oh yeah. We’re gonna crush ‘em!” Kyle adds as Max just nods in agreement.

“And does your football helmet fit your head with all that hair? Or do you use your hair for protection instead of a helmet? I’m curious...do you know what a brush is for?” Maria asks Michael

“Maria!”

“What? It’s a harmless question Liz.”

The guys just laugh as Michael explains his theory on hairbrushes. “Why should I bother? It’s going to get messed up somehow so why should I care? I’m not trying to show off to anyone. It’s clean and that’s all that should matter.”

“Are you sure about that? I wouldn’t think so.”

At this I can’t help but laugh as they go back and forth about it. All this talk about hair makes me look at Max’s hair. Dark hair that is straight and perfect on him. Short with some bangs but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t call them that.

“You are so hard headed. Anyways, what class do you have next chica?” Maria asks me. But I didn’t hear her since I’m in another world. A brand new world I created for myself called Max Evans world. “Hello in there? Didn’t you hear me?”

“I’m sorry Maria. My mind kind of wondered.” I reply.

“I figured. What’s the rest of you schedule like?”

“Um.” I reply as I look through my pocket for my schedule. “I have Science next, gym, chorus and History. You?

“Yeah! We have the last three classes together! This is great!” Maria exclaims

”I think I’m in your science class. Do you have Mr. Fitzgerald?” Max asks me.

“Um, yeah, Fitzgerald” I manage to say as I look into his eyes. OMG! I have the same class as him. I could die now and go to heaven is all I can think.

“Why don’t we all just compare schedules and find out if we have any classes together?” Kyle suggests.

So everyone whips out his or her schedule and start comparing. Turned out that we all had the same last period history class together and homeroom.

“Whoa! How weird is that?” Michael says. “It looks like I have gym with you guys while Max and Kyle have Math together”

Suddenly, the bell rings, signaling to us that lunch was over and it’s time for our next class. We all get up together and go our separate ways, except for Max and I.

“Well, I guess I’ll walk with you to Science. Wanna be partners? I mean we already know each other. Besides, we can get passed that whole awkward moment of sitting next to some new person and wondering if your stuck there for the rest of the year.” And with that he flashes me a smile. A smile that I swear made me weak in the knees.

“I take it that you’ve had an interesting morning. Met some sketchy people?” I can’t help but tease him.

Max blushes, “Yeah, you could say that. But it’s only the first day, right? So what do you think of my idea?”

“Yeah, that’d be great. I mean you do raise a good point. Just let me go to my locker and get my backpack. Where’s your locker?” I manage to ask. Which is a shocker to me because I could have sworn that I would have sounded like a stuttering fool. I was actually able to converse with him and the best part of it was, that it felt to natural.

“It’s down at the end of the hall, but I don’t need it. I just brought a pencil.” He says as he waits for me by my locker.

“That’s it. Talk about being prepared. What if you have homework? And how are you going to carry your books home?” I comment as we walk towards class.

“Well, I’ll just borrow paper from someone if I need it and leave my books in my locker. If I get homework, then I’ll just have to carry books home. But I doubt it. It is the first day of school.”

“True, I guess I just like to be prepared. It never hurts. Well, where do you want sit? I like to sit close to the front.” I tell him as we walk into in the room and look around for an empty table.

“I don’t care really. Lead the way partner.”

From there, I barely remember the rest of the class. I’m amazed I managed to write down the right information and follow along with what the teacher was saying. Here I was, sitting next to the cutest guy I had ever seen. I think what was more shocking was that I actually thought a boy was cute. I never cared before, but Max was different.

Sitting there with Max, I would think that it would be uncomfortable but that wasn’t the case with him. It felt right sitting there with him. There was no uncomfortable silence or air between us. I remember at one point, our teacher made a goofy remark in an attempt to be funny. I looked at Max and he looked at me at the exact moment, made a funny face and we both started cracking up. I knew this was going to be a great class and that hopefully; Max and I would have lots of great moments together in the future.

Thanks Alien614!

Ok...so I suck...ah shit..I'm not going to hear that end of that from the ho's!


Part 5

At the end of Science, Max and I went our separate ways to our next class.

“So, I’ll see you in History later. Bye”

“Ok. Bye!” I’m kind of sad to see him go but at least I know that I am going to see him again before the day is over.

As I walk to gym, I have a smile on my face and a spring in my step that doesn’t fade when I meet up with Michael and Maria.

“So, I guess science was good” Maria says with a knowing smile on her face.

“Of course it was. You know science is my favorite class.”

“Sure, Liz! Who are you trying to kid?”

“Shut up. So where do we go?” I ask looking around the huge gym.

“Well, Hair Boy over here said-“

“Get over it.” Michael says has he rolls his eyes.

”Whatever! Like I was saying…he thinks it’s that way” pointing behind her to a sign with the name of our teacher on it. “Not like it was that hard to figure out.”

“Yeah, just remember you asked me”

“Ok, let’s go before we’re late.” I say as I head towards the direction that Maria showed me.

Thankfully we didn’t have to do too much stuff in gym besides get our uniforms and find lockers to use, so that gave us some time to just chat. Michael went off to talk to mingle with people he knew from his old school, which gave Maria and I a chance to talk in private. Or should I say, time for me to talk Maria’s ear off about Max.

“So, I guess it’s safe to assume that Max was the guy from this morning?”

“Yeah. OMG! Maria is he so cute and so sweet! And so nice!” I exclaim with a smile on my face.

“So what ever happened to not being interesting in boys and concentrating on your school work?”

“I’m still not interested in boys. I’m only into Max and I’m letting anything interfere with my education.”

“I should have known but, still, it’s about time you got noticed in a guy. I’ve only been crushing on guys forever!”

“That’s you! Besides, Max is like no other guy. He’s PERFECT! His just…oh god, I don’t think words can describe how amazing he is. So just be happy that I do like someone but it’s pointless to think about dating and stuff like that. You know what the parents say about that.” I say with a frown on my face.

“The whole thing about waiting till your 15? I know but, hey, looking isn’t breaking their rule. Right?”

“Shut up!” I start laughing. “Besides, I think you have a thing for Michael”

“HAIR BOY! Are you out of your mind? Look I like a challenge but getting him to do something with his hair, I think I have a better chance of parting the Red Sea like Moses before making that boy presentable.”

”If you say so”

“I do say so. Can we change the subject please?”

“Sure." After a moment of silence, I say, "You know, I thought that it was going to take time to meet people and make new friends. I guess I was wrong. It was never this easy when I was in elementary school, remember?”

“I know, but things are different now, chica. You got me and the guys are cool. Hey, maybe we can be a clique? Like the ones you see on TV? Oohhh, like ‘Saved By the Bell’? I can be Kelly, you can be Jesse, Michael can be Screech and the other two can duke it out over who gets to be Zack and Slater. And we can be the most popular kids in school? What do you think about that?”

“I think you watch too much TV. And how come I have to be Jesse. I may be a nerd but I’m not that bad. Besides, if your Kelly, I guess that means that Mike will have to be Zack, since you got a thing for him.” I couldn’t help to bait her. She left herself open for that one.

“I DON’T LIKE HAIR BOY LIKE THAT!!! On second thought, maybe that wasn’t such a great idea.”

“Uh huh. Let’s just take it one day at a time.” With that the bell rings. “I guess we should head to chorus. Bye Michael”

Michael jogs towards us when he hears me say his name. “Wait up, I’ll walk with you. I gotta go the same way”

“Ok…lead the way Hair Boy!”

“Maria” Michael and I both say at the same time and we all end up laughing.

After chorus, Maria and I head towards History. While Maria is gabbing away about how excited she is about chorus and knows how she is going to have a few leads, I think of Max. I hope I get to sit near him again. I even wonder what he thinks of me or if he’s even thought of me since the last time we saw each other?

Nah, I so doubt it. But then again, who knows.

As we enter our last class of the day, I see Kyle and Max are already there, sitting close to the back and the windows.

“Hey Maria and Liz! We thought we’d save seats for you guys. Come on!” Kyle tells us and then repeats the same thing to Michael as he comes in after us.

“Thank God this day is almost over.” Michael says as he settles himself into his sit next to Max who is sitting behind me.

“Was it that bad, Mike?” Max asks.

”Nah, but you know school isn’t my thing. Hey, are we still going to your place after school?” He asks Kyle.

“Yeah, you guys have to check out my latest game my dad got for my Nintendo”

“Cool”, the guys say in unison.

“And what, we’re not invited?” Maria turns to ask Kyle.

“Maria!” I exclaim, turning red. What was she thinking?

“What? We’re cool but we’re not that cool.” Mike says and when Maria turns around to face him, he quickly adds, “Yet, that is.”

“Well, that sounds promising.” She says as she turns around and winks at me.

All, I can do is shake my head while Max laughs. Yeah, we sure are going to have an interesting year I thought. With those two and they’re banter, I doubt any day would be dull.

History seemed to have been the shortest class that day. Before I knew it, the last bell rang that announced the end of the day, which was quickly followed by a loud cheer from Mike. That made everyone in the class laugh and rush out.

“Yeah, let’s go boys. I am so going to cream you” Mike says as he gets out of his chair. “Later girls!”

“In your dreams, Mike” Kyle responds. “I guess we’ll see you guys tomorrow in homeroom? Bye!”

“Bye Maria! Bye Liz!” Max says as he follows the guys out the door towards the buses.

“Bye” we yell at them and then make our way to our lockers to get our stuff and then head out to the buses.

“Call me tonight when you can” Maria tells me as she starts climbing into her bus. ”Love you!”

“Ok. Love you, too!” And with that I head to my own bus, looking forward to some alone time to think about Max and today’s events. I have a feeling that Maria may bring that up again, knowing her and I do.






Part 6

After that first day of school, you could say it was a beginning of many new traditions for us. Every morning we would meet up at someone's locker, grab what we needed for our classes before lunch and head out to homeroom. We would meet up again in the main hallway and walk to lunch together and then close the day with last period History. What surprised me about all this was that we never planned to meet up at anyone's locker or wait for anyone. We just did it and it was like something we all understood.

Maria was right about us starting a clique even though it was no one's intention. It just happened naturally. We never rebuffed anyone but most of the people who tried to become a part of our group never fit in. It was like they tried too hard or the just didn't have that something that help them be the missing piece of the group. There were plenty of girls that tried to be the 6th member but it was usually to flirt with Max or Michael. Poor Kyle didn't have many admirers but that would change as time passed. But the guys never paid attention to them, so most girls gave up or thought that Maria and I were their girlfriends already and felt intimidated. You could always see Max hanging out with me and Michael was usually with Maria. Deep down, I think we knew who we wanted to be with whom back then but never admitted it. Not out loud any ways.

In the group, we all had a role or brought in a certain trait that made us complete. Max was the strong, silent type. He usually always led the way or when we were together, he was always in the center. I guess you could say he was the leader and Michael was his second in command. He always spoke his mind and never really cared what others thought about him, except us. Basically, if Michael didn't like you, we most likely wouldn't either. You could say Kyle was sort of the comedian since he always had us laughing but could be serious and very loyal. God, help you if you messed with any of us. Maria was the perky girl who always spoke her mind and you could also say, she was sort of the mother of the group. My role in the group was the smart one. Everyone always came to me when they needed help with their homework but I never cared since we were always there for each other in one way or another

In November of that year, Michael was the first of us to turn 12. So, Maria and I decorated his locker with birthday banners we made, she baked some cupcakes for us and the guys provided the silly string. When he came to school that morning, we were ready for him.

"Happy Birthday, Michael!!" We shouted as we sprayed him down with silly string.

"Ahhh!!" Michael shouted. "You scared the hell out of me!"

"Good, then it wouldn't be a surprise now would it!" replied Maria.

"Yeah! Thanks guys!" He said as he opened his locker. "This is really cool! And I thought nothing eventful would happen till tomorrow at my party. You guys are still coming, right?"

Of course we all answered yes and then headed out for homeroom. Michael's parents had planned a birthday party for his friends with games and a movie if there was time. Mostly guys were going to be there but Michael invited Maria and I and some other girls he knew from his old school. We thought it was a perfect to help answer our parent's questions about out friendship since I think that they were kind of shocked how close we were in such a short time and to get to know each other. We were always calling each other to talk and could never stop talking about them at home, especially about Max. The guy's parents all knew each other from all the sport events they attended. Maria's mom and my parents knew each other since Maria and I had been best friends for so long. So, now is time for them to meet each other.

Throughout the whole morning, every time we would pass Michael in the halls, we would spray him with silly string. At lunch, we couldn't help but spray Michael again when he sat down at the table. He acted mad but we all knew he was getting a kick out of being the center of attention.

"How much of that silly string crap did you guys get?" He asked as he picked the string off his clothes.

"A can each" replied Kyle and then shot him again. When Michael made an attempt to grab it out of his hands, Kyle got away and said, "Can't let it to go to waste. Got to use it all day."

We all laughed at that and then started spraying each other until one of the administrators came over and warned us that if didn't clean up our mess, she'd give us all detention and then we'd have to clean the whole cafeteria.

"Killjoy!" Maria said to her as she walked away. "Oh well, the day is still young. We have plenty of chances to get you later Michael. I hope everyone is hungry. I baked cupcakes Michael and…" she stuck a candle in his cupcake and started singing Happy Birthday to him.

Michael looked speechless and just sat there with a goofy grin on his face as Maria sang to him. Maria loved to sing and in public. She knew she was good and was never really embarrassed about singing out loud. When she finished, people in the cafeteria applauded and Maria gave Michael a hug and a kiss on the cheek followed by me. He was so embarrassed but happy and we all cheered Michael on as he blew out his candle.

"Thanks Maria! That was awesome!" He said in a low voice as he looked into her eyes. I knew that it was over for them two. I had had a feeling that they liked each other but never said anything out loud. They spent a lot of time together and she always went out of her way to be closer to him and do things with him. When I mentioned it to her, she denied it but I knew her better than that. I had a feeling that someday this two would be together like how I hoped Max and I would be. Maybe not now, but someday.

"Well, I can't wait for my birthday." Kyle said. "So do you know what you guys are going to do for my birthday?"

"Your birthday isn't till May. Don't worry. We'll think of something, that's if you deserve one!" I teased him.

"Of course I deserve one!" Kyle said with a pout.

"Not with that frown!" I added which made the whole group laugh even harder.

At the end of the day, as we walked to the buses, we used up the rest of the string by spraying Michael, each other and other people we knew. It was a perfect way to end the day and start the weekend.

"So I'll see you guys tomorrow at my place! Be ready to have fun!" Michael reminded us as he got on his bus.

The next day, my parent's and I picked Maria and her mom up so we could go to the party together. Naturally, we were both nervous about our parents meeting each other and our parents getting to meet the guys. But then again, I was sure that they would get along. I mean we all did.

I was anxious of being able to hangout with Max outside of school. I could never get enough of him. I loved to stare at him when I thought he wasn't looking or lean over him during science class when we had to share notes. I loved working on experiments together because we had a routine. We would go and get the equipment to set up the lab and made sure we followed the directions. I liked to be thorough since it was my favorite class and Max liked to help.

I loved talking to him about everything and anything. We seemed to agree and like a lot of the same things. I loved it when he would laugh because he was usually just laid back. But when he would laugh or smile, it was contagious and I loved how his eyes would light up. His beautiful eyes that you could drown in if you stared into them too long, which I had a tendency to do. Max thought it was funny when I would space out while talking to him but I would always make up an excuse like I was thinking about a class or whatever to cover my embarrassment. Sometimes we didn't talk at all but that was great. There was always this comfortable silence between us that made words not necessary.

"Chica? Are you in there?" Maria whispered in my ear that made me jump.

"Ahh! You scared me."

"Well, I was trying to ask you what did you get Michael for like the past 5 minutes but you've just been staring out the window with this look on your face." She said. "Thinking about Max, huh?"

I looked at her and blushed. "Is it that obvious?"

"You're talking to me. Who knows you better than me? She asked. "No one!"

I can't help but laugh at that. "True. I can't help it. He's just so amazing!"

"I can tell!"

"We're here." My papi said as he pulled up in front of the house. "I think we’re early. I don't see any other cars."

"No, we're on time papi. We planned for us to arrive early so you can meet our friend's parents with out any interruptions.” I told him.

"Ahh, I see." He said as we got out of the car.

"Hey guys!" Michael said as he walked up to us. "Everyone's inside. Follow me."

Inside, we made all the proper introductions and then stood there and listened as our parents got to know one another. The men talked about their jobs. Mr. Evans was a lawyer in D.C., Mr. Guerin owned a café that served as after schools hang out for the high school kids and Mr. Valenti was the Sheriff. The women sat there and talked about how big we were getting, which gave us a reason to go outside and wait for the others so we could avoid listening to the baby stories. Especially Michael who literally pushed us out the door when his mom pulled out his baby album and was talking about his first bath.

"Michael, stop pushing. I wanted to see your baby pictures!" Maria protested when we were outside.

"Hell no! I can't believe she's showing them already. Talk about embarrassing!" Michael said with red cheeks.

"Relax, Mike! It's a good thing. It means they're getting along." Max said.

"He's got a point. So far so good." I replied. "And if they really like each other, I'm sure we’ll get a chance to see those baby pictures in the future, Maria!"

We started giggling at the expression on Michael's face. "Hell no! I'll burn those pictures if I can! Here's some more people coming so we can change the topic now?"

"Sure" Kyle said with a grin on his face. "We got plenty of time to make fun of you later about them!"

We all started laughing and then waited as Michael started welcoming his other guests.

Sorry for the delay everyone! I hope your still with me!

I've written a few chapters but due to my friend's wedding, not much but that's over as of Saturday. So i can return to writing. I have to add something to Part 8 but that shouldn't tak long so I should have the next update up before Wednesday!

Without further ado...


Part 7

Michael's birthday party was a lot of fun. His parent's had bought him some new games to play on his gaming system and had rented some arcade games that they set up in the basement. Maria and I watched the guys play and talked to some of the other girls there. The guys gave Maria and I a couple of chances to play and then they would play against us. Max let me win a few times which was obvious but a sweet thing to do. When I asked him why he did that, his reply was simply ‘because’. A simple response but it put a huge smile on my face. That's a memory to this day I will never forget. Who knew one word could make me feel so warm and happy.

After Michael cut his cake and opened his gifts, everyone left except us. Our parents were having so much fun talking and hanging out that they let us watch a movie so they could continue. That didn't bother us a bit so we went, popped in "The Goonies" and sat back on the couch to enjoy while Mrs. Guerin popped some popcorn. I got to sit between Max and Maria on the couch while Michael sat on the other side of her and Kyle sat in an armchair. "The Goonies" was my favorite movie but watching it with my best friends was awesome. We all laughed together at the funny parts and threw popcorn at each other. At the part when the kids were running away from the bad guys by trying to go through the floor of the fireplace, I kind of jumped a bit which was stupid since I had seen that movie so many times, I could quote it. But Max put his arm around me and I nearly could have fainted there on the spot. Its not like it was the first time he's touched me or anything but just the fact that he was trying to look out for me made me feel …safe.

When the movie was over, Max still had his arm around me and I had at some point leaned my head on his shoulder. I guess you could say it was a romantic moment but then Kyle had to ruin it by jumping out of chair and acting like "Fudge" which caused us all to laugh at him and round two of the popcorn fight broke out. Until Maria stopped us and made us clean up so that we didn't leave a mess for Mike's mom later. Taking our trash upstairs we went to join our parents upstairs to let them know that the movie was over and then I realized someone new had arrived. This was my first time meeting Max's older sister, Isabel, who was the same age as Alex. She had been over at a friend's nearby and decided to catch a ride home with her parents. My first impression of her was that she was very pretty, like model material for the cover of "Seventeen" magazine. I didn't really get a chance to talk to her because we all had to say our good byes but it was no big deal because I knew I would be seeing her again.

That night after we got home from dropping Maria and her mom off at their house, I went to my room to get ready for bed. I was so lost in my thoughts as I laid in my bed that I didn't realize my mom had entered my room until she sat on the edge of my bed.

"Well, mija, did you have tonight?" She asked.

"Si. Gracias for letting me go and for coming." I told her as I hugged her.

"You know I would not let you go to some boy's house by yourself. It was very responsible and mature of you to accept how papi and I feel about meeting your friend's parents." She said when she let go.

"I know and that's why I was happy that everyone could make it. I don't want you to worry about me when I'm with my friends."

"Ay, mija. You’re my baby girl, I'll always worry about you till the day you die." She said as she tucked my hair behind my ear.

"Yo se mami. So what did you think about everyone? Did you and papi have fun? I heard papi telling jokes so I'm pretty sure he did." I rambled on.

" Nena, relax. Si, we had fun. Everyone was really nice." She went on ahead to tell me about how the ladies had planned to go out to brunch together next Saturday and some of the other things they talked about.

"And what about the guys?" I had to ask her when she kept talking about what they talked about. I really needed their acceptance of them so that everything seemed real to me. Sometimes, I feared that I'd wake up and all of it would be a dream. That I would have no friends but Maria, just like when I was in elementary school. Those were the loneliest time of my life. Always having to sit by myself at lunch and never having anyone to play with at recess. I always used to hide myself in the library to save face but not anymore. Now I had real friends.

"They were nice and well behaved but who knows how they act away from their parents."

"Mami. They're great!" I tried to convince her.

Mami just smiled. "I know, nena! I'm just teasing you." She cut me off.

"Mami! Don't do that! You know how much this means to me."

"Yo se! So do you want to go with me to brunch next Saturday?"

"Um, okay" I replied. "But do you think we can go to the guy's game afterwards?"

"Si, that's the plan." She said.

"Really? Cool!"

"Pues, mija! Go to bed. Noches nena. Te quiero." She said as she tucked me in. "We have church in the morning and we're going to lunch after church with the Evans."

"Noches mami. I love you, too!" As I hugged her, the last part of her of what she said sinked in and I froze. "Wait what? We're doing what?"

"Didn't you know that Alex and Isabel are dating?"

"No. Alex never tells me stuff like that,” I said in shock. "Since when?"

"After the homecoming dance. I could have sworn you knew."

"No, I didn't know anything. How come I'm always the last one to know things?" I pouted.

"No te pones asi. You know now. Besides, I thought you'd be happy to see Max." She said with a knowing look.

"What are you talking about?" Acting as if I had no idea what she was talking about, I pretended to get comfortable in my bed so that I could fall asleep.

"You know." Giving me that same look.

"What are you doing still up?" Papi asked as he came into my room.

"Nada, we were just talking about brunch tomorrow" Mami replied as she got up from my bed. "Noches nena. We'll talk later"

"Okay! Noches papi."

"Noches nena!" He said as he came to kiss me goodnight and then closed the door.

As I lay there in bed falling asleep, questions were popping in my head. Was I that obvious that even my mother noticed I liked Max or did she overhear Maria and I talking? Did that mean everyone knew I liked him? Did he know I liked him? And how come I didn't know that Alex and Isabel were dating? Where was I during Homecoming? Why didn't he ever tell me that he was seeing someone?

The next morning, I dressed for church with extra care. I wanted to look my best since we were going to go to brunch after service and I wanted to surprise Max since he only ever saw me in school clothes. When I went downstairs for breakfast, I noticed that I wasn't the only one trying to look good.

"Looking good Alex." I said as I sat down next to him for breakfast.

"Shut up." He snapped as he blushed. "I always look good for church."

"But you never wear a tie to church unless it's Christmas or Easter" I pointed out.

"Nena, deja tu hermano en paz y comen los dos before your food gets cold." papi said as he served us breakfast. He always cooked breakfast for us before Church. My dad really enjoyed cooking and my mom didn't so they had a good trade off. He cooked, she cleaned but that didn't mean that she couldn't. She would when she had to but secretly, dad cooked way better than she did.

I barely paid attention to the service that morning. My thoughts kept going back to yesterday when I sat there with my head on Max's shoulder and how he had his arm around me. How I wished that I were 15 so that Max could be my boyfriend so that we could spend all the time together and hold hands. But I couldn't complain about our relationship since we did spend a lot of time together already. People already thought we were a couple, which was fine with me because I hated how the other girls would flirt with him.

After service, we headed to a buffet style restaurant for lunch with the Evans'. When we got there, they were walking towards the place so papi let us out at the curb while he found parking so we could all get our table. Since there were 8 of us, they had to put two large tables together. My parents sat at one end across from Mr. and Mrs. Evans, while Max sat next to me and Alex sat next to Isabel in the middle of them.

When we getting our food from the buffet counter, I took the opportunity to talk to Max before we returned to the table.

"Did you know my brother was dating your sister?" I asked him as I served him some fruit on his plate.

"Nope. I don't pay attention to her love life," he told me as we headed back to the table.

"It's weird though, don't you think?" I asked him as we headed to get out drinks.

"What do you mean by weird?"

"I mean, it's weird that we met and that my brother is dating your sister all in the same year."

"Yeah that is weird," he said as he poured some soda in his glass. "But who knows, maybe it's destiny, fate or whatever you call it."

"Maybe," was all I could say as I watched him pour some soda in my glass. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was fate that caused everything to happen the way it did. Someday in the future, Max and I will date and who knows, even get married. Then again, I was only 11 and marriage was a long ways away. I just had to enjoy the present…with Max.

Lunch with the Evans' was a lot of fun. I could tell that Mr. Evans liked my brother since he asked if he could give Max any pointers since he was into sports as well. My brother was a good athlete and his coach for junior varsity football had promised him a spot on the varsity team next season if worked hard. Isabel was a junior varsity cheerleader, which thrilled my mom, since she wanted me to be a cheerleader.

"Isabel, maybe you can help Liz. I would love her to be a cheerleader," my mom asked her.

"Mami, I don’t want to be a cheerleader. You know it's not me," I told her. I never wanted to be a cheerleader. Maria and I always made fun of how ditzy they were.

"There's nothing wrong with being a cheerleader," Isabel said. "It looks good on your college applications in the future. Especially, if you can keep your grades up."

"See, mija. It looks good on your applications," mami said to me with a look on her eye that said I was being rude.

"I'm sorry, Isabel. I don’t mean to be rude, I just think I'm too nerdy for that" I told her feeling embarrassed.

"Your not nerdy." Max said to me.

"You might change your mind when you get older," She said with a shrug but I didn't catch it. Max thought I wasn't nerdy. I couldn't help but blush.

After lunch, we said goodbye to the Evans' and headed home. I had so much to tell Maria and couldn't wait another moment. Just as I was about to call her, I heard a knock on my door.

"Yeah?" I called out expecting it to be my mom but was shocked to see my dad open the door.

"Busy, nena?" He asked.

"No, papi. I was just about to call Maria. What's up?" I couldn't help but wonder what was on his mind. My dad and I were really close so I knew something was bothering him. He was usually smiling but at that moment, he had a serious expression on his face.

"Nada, just wanted to talk for a minute." He said as he sat next to me on the bed. "You and Alex are growing up so quickly, I feel like I don't know you anymore."

"Papi, that's not true."

"Of course, it is. Alex is dating and you're interested in a boy."

Oh my god! Now I knew I was being too obvious if my dad had noticed.

"What are you talking about, papi?" I asked trying to look innocent as possible.

"You know what I mean."

"Papi!"

"Mira, I just wanted to tell you not to grow up to fast. Have fun, be a kid. There is always time for boys."

"Yo se, papi. I know the rules."

"I trust you. I just had to say that. It's just so hard to accept that your not my little girl anymore and that someday some man will come along and take you away from me" He said with a frown.

"I'll always be your little girl, papito!" I throw my arms around his neck. "No one can ever take me away from you! Te quiero mucho!"

"Yo se, just like hearing it!" He said as he hugged me and then he got up. " Pues, that's what I wanted to talk about. Go ahead and call Maria."

When he left my room, I lied back on my bed and just thought how much my life was changing. I thought about Max and I thought about the future. My dad had a point when he said that there was always time for boys. Someday, I could only hope that Max and I would fall in love but until then, I had a lot more growing up to do. So instead of calling Maria, I went downstairs to watch TV with Alex and papi. I could always call her later.

TBC…

Some translations

mija- my daughter

Gracias- Thank you!

Nena- baby girl

Yo se- I know

Pues- Well

Noches- Night

Te quiero- I love you

No te pones asi- Don't be like that[/i]

Nada- nothing

deja tu hermano en paz y comen los dos... Leave your brother alone and eat the both of you

Mira- look

I'm glad your reading it now, desertskies! It'll take awhile for me to get there....I want to explain the past and why the reaction that occurred actually happened.



Ok...so here is the new part...I should be able to post a new part once a week from now on. I've been busy working on this.

So please as always...f/b much appreciated!

Part 8

Ever since that talk I had with my father, I decided to relax about Max. I knew we would always be friends and who knew, maybe more someday. Until then, I just had to be myself, have fun and not worry so much if Max would like this or that. As time went on, my love for him grew stronger but I never let it show. I just made sure our friendship grew stronger and closer and after that weekend, it seemed like all of our families became very close, too. Our mothers always seemed to be talking to each other, calling each other, joining volunteer committees together and even shopping together. Our dads usually met up to go to a bar and watch some game or other, talk business or if they were working on some home improvement project. Alex and Isabel kept seeing each other and as for us, well, we got to see each other more than we ever thought. We were always going to someone's house whenever one of our parents would plan to get together. On the weekends, we would car pool to go see the guy's basketball games and hang out afterwards. It seemed like we were inseparable.

Before we knew it, the holidays were around the corner. For thanksgiving, my family spent it in New York with relatives while the Evan's had everyone else over. I wish we could have gone but it had always been a tradition to go to New York so off we went and when I returned to school, I had to hear about all the fun they had at lunch. It made me feel left out because from the stories I could tell they had a lot of fun without me. I didn't have as much fun since the whole time I was away I thought about them. So while everyone was laughing and having a good time, I sat there, quiet and sad.

As Max and I made our way to science class, I was still very quiet. I didn't think anyone really noticed but I was wrong.

"We all wished you had been able to come over for Thanksgiving." Max said to me. "We missed you."

"Really?" I asked looking up at him.

He stopped me in the middle of the hall and turned me to face him. "Why would you even ask that? You know that we did. It wasn't the same with out you."

Hearing him say, I couldn't resist but give him a huge hug. "Thanks! I needed to hear that. I really missed you guys."

He hugged me back and then pulled back, put his arm around me and we walked to class.

"Good! I was wondering why you were so quiet and then I realized you never told us how your trip was."

"Nothing interesting, just the same old thing. My dad telling jokes, partying till really late into the night and my uncle sneaking me alcohol." I started giggling. "You should have seen the look on my mom's face when she caught him."

He started laughing, too. "I can imagine. Wait, he gave you alcohol?"

"Yeah, I think he was drunk and decided to get me and Alex drunk as well. He kept babbling about how he had to start us young or whatever. It would have worked but my mom caught him when he was trying to give us a second drink."

"Are you serious?" He asked laughing. "That's hysterical! What did your dad do?"

"Nothing, he just told us not to come crying to him in the morning if we had a headache and to his surprise, we didn't. Then again, my uncle has been slipping me and Alex rum since I was like 8."

"Cool! So when am I going to meet your uncle?"

"If your mom finds out about him, never!"

We both laughed as we sat down in our chairs and got ready for class. Sitting in class I smiled to myself thinking about our conversation. Ever since I decided to not worry about how Max felt about me, I realized that our friendship was better. It was easier to talk to him without worrying about saying something that would make me feel foolish later. I felt freer in a way when I was around him. I didn't have to strain to find a topic not that I ever did before and I didn't have to feel embarrass about hugging him. He never minded when I did and sometimes I'd find that he would put his arm around me for no reason at all. Yeah, things were getting better.

About two weeks before Christmas, it was Max's birthday and I wanted to make it extra special for him. So, this time it was my turn to plan what we do for him for his birthday at school. I decided to bake some brownies, Maria made the banner to decorate his locker with and the guys planned whatever surprise they wanted to do. The morning of his birthday, my mom took Maria and I early to school so that we could decorate and Mr. Valenti brought Mike and Kyle early so they could help. We put streamers in his locker and the guys rigged it so that when Max opened it, those snake thingies that came in a can would pop out and handed us cans of silly string. Maria and I put the banner up outside of his locker so he could see it when he came in to school.

When we'd finish decorating his locker, we went and hid by the entrance to the school and waited for him to come in so that we could attack him. We saw his bus pull up and hid behind the doors but we never saw him walk by. We went outside to see what was going on when all of sudden we got sprayed with string.

"SURPRISE!" shouted Max. "I knew you guys would plan to surprise me so I thought I'd get you first."

"You suck, Max! So much for a surprise." Michael shouted and then we all started spraying each other until we heard the first bell ring.

We followed Max to his locker to see if he had thought what else we would come up with for his birthday and sure enough I knew he didn't when he got hit in the face by one of the snake things that was rigged inside. Mike started laughing uncontrollably when he saw the look on his face and only laughed harder when Max threw one at him. Maria, being the mother, was fussing over Max to make sure he didn't hurt his eye but he didn't. I was so happy that I thought to bring a camera because I was just clicking away. These were some Kodak moments.
As before, we sprayed Max every time we saw him in the halls. I swear the janitors hated us because we left a mess everywhere. At lunch, I decided to get Max back for ruining our surprise this morning. As Max went to get in line to buy something to drink, I took advantage of his absence and told the guys my idea.

"Oh Lizzie! That's so good! He'll be so embarrassed!" Maria giggled.

"That's what I'm hoping for" I said.

"Yeah, especially after this morning." Mike commented.

"This will teach him to think we're predictable." Kyle added.

"So get ready to get him up on the table when Maria gets up." I told Michael and Kyle and they nodded.

When Max came back, I handed out brownies to everyone and acted like I was about to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. But instead, I stood up on my chair so that everyone could see me and made an announcement.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE! Today is Max Evans birthday! Help me sing Happy Birthday to him on the count of three!" I shouted for everyone to hear. I heard Max struggling with the guys as they tried to get him on the table but what I didn't notice is that some guys from another table joined in. Since he wasn't cooperating, they decided to put him up on their shoulders and Maria acted like the conductor. I didn't think anyone was going to really sing along but sure enough, as soon as Maria started singing, a large number of other kids did, too. Max was so embarrassed that the tips of his ears had turned pink. That was so priceless, so I pulled out my camera and took a picture for later. When the song was over, everyone applauded and the guys put Max down in his chair. I jumped down from the table to give him a hug but ended up getting pushed and shoved by some girls who also wanted to give him a hug.

I was so angry. I mean, who were they to think that they could waltz on over here and do that. He didn't know them. It sure didn't mean that he was going to go out with any of them. And it was my idea and he was my best friend, so I should be the first to hug him. I hated the fact that I was so jealous but then again, I didn't care. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice Max pass the girls by and grab me. He pulled me into his arms and squeezed me tight.

"Thanks for embarrassing me," he whispered in my ear.

"Anytime!" I whispered back. "We had to get you good since you ruined our surprise this morning."

He began laughing and pulled back, "Well, you definitely got me good. I can't believe you did that."

"Me either. But it was worth it. The look on your face was priceless"

"Oh really? Just wait till it's your birthday. I'm going to top this."

"How?" I asked.

"You'll see." Was all he could say as he hugged me again.

"Quit hogging him, Lizzie!" I heard Maria say in the background. "I want a hug too! Hello, I was the conductor!"

"Sorry," I said and started to step back but gave him one last hug and a kiss on the cheek.

As I sat down at my chair with a smile on my face, I watched Max hug Maria and then play fight with the guys for their part in my evil plan. I also noticed that the girls who were so eager to get to Max had gone back to their seats. Which made me happy, very happy. Hopefully they would give up and realize Max wasn't interested in them. This was my moment with Max and I was only going to share him with my best friends.

Since Max's birthday was so close to Christmas, his parent's never really went all out for a party. Instead, they invited us over for cake and then they had planned to take us ice skating at this outdoor rink in Washington, D.C. So after school we all went home with Max on the bus. He had also invited some other friends that he knew from his teams and his old school that he grew up with but they were going to show up a bit later since we all couldn’t exactly fit in the bus.

When we got to his house, the guys started playing some Nintendo games while Maria and I helped Mrs. Evans set up for the party. While we were setting up for the party, Maria and I told Mrs. Evans what we had done to celebrate Max's birthday in school.

"You should of seen the look on his face when Liz got on the table to announce his birthday and then when the guys tried to get him to stand up on the table when I started singing." Maria said that made us start laughing.

"Really?" she said and started laughing. "You know girls, I'm so happy that your Max's friends."

"We are, too!" I told her. "I'm really happy I met all of the guys."

"You guys look out for each other and help each other out." She started saying. "I was talking to Michael's mom the other day and we've noticed that his grades have improved. In fact all the guys are doing so well. I'm pretty sure I have you to thank, Liz."

"I can't take all the credit." I said blushing from her compliments. "We all help each other. They know they can always come to me for help. What can I say, I like to do good in school."

"I know. Your mom has told us. She's very proud of you, you know." She said.

I couldn't help but blush even more and just give her a smile. Then I excused myself to go see what the guys were up to. I was happy that Mrs. Evans liked me but all the compliments were making blush like crazy.

In the living room, I noticed that some more people had arrived and they were all sitting around Max, Michael and Kyle watching them play video games. As soon as Max saw me though he put the game on pause.

“Are we ready to go?” he asked me.

“Your mom is finishing up setting up in the dining room.” I told him. “I just wanted to see if anyone had arrived yet.”

“Yeah, everyone’s here. We’re just waiting for Mr. Valenti to show up in the van.”

“Not before we get some cake, Max” Michael said.

“So, then I would say you guys finish up.” I told them. “We’ll be ready to cut the cake in a few more minutes.”

“Cool, it’ll only take a few minutes for me to beat birthday boy’s butt here.” Kyle exclaimed.

“Whatever Kyle.” Max told him as he restarted the game when Kyle wasn’t paying attention. “You're going down so you better start paying attention.”

“HEY!” shouted Kyle when he realized what Max had done. “Man, why…”

But he didn’t get a chance to finish because Max’s mom came into the room to ask who wanted cake.

Since Maria and I were the only girls at the party, we got to ride with Mrs. Evans in her station wagon while all the boys were in the van with Mr. Valenti and Mr. Evans to the city. When we got there, we all ran to the counter to get our skates and then to the benches to put them on. Mr. Evans walked around videotaping us as we put our skates on and then followed us unto the ice.

We had so much fun skating around the rink, falling and making everyone else fall. Well, mostly the guys tripped each other. They wouldn’t come anywhere near Maria and I after making us fall flat on our butts. She was so angry that she promised to use the blade of her skates as a severe instrument of pain. I was laughing so hard that every time I tried to get up off the ice, I’d fall right back down again. It took me a few tries but I finally got up. After awhile, Maria started complaining that she was cold and decided to get off the ice which left me all alone but not for long. I went and joined the boys who were chasing each other around the rink trying to make each other fall. Before I knew it, I was sprawled out on the ice on top of Max and Kyle while Michael and some other kid went skating off. When we caught up to them, we all ended up in a huge pile of bodies on the ice laughing while Mrs. Evans was trying to get us off the ice since our rink time was up.

“Need a hand?” I heard Max say to me.

”Yeah, get Kyle off my leg and then you can help me up” I told him as I pushed Kyle off.

“I’ll get off as soon as Mike here gets up” Kyle growled “Man you’re on my arm”

“No one told you to sneak up on me like that.” Michael told him.

“I was just getting back at you. Doesn’t mean you had to land on me like that” Kyle told him.

“Both of you shut up!” I yelled at them to get their attention. “If anyone should be complaining here, it should be me. I’m on the bottom here and you guys are taking forever with all the crying.”

With that, they both got up and Max helped me up then proceeded to skate with me to the edge. At the benches, I sat down across from Max to start undoing my laces.

“Let me help you?” he asked as he grabbed my foot.

“Thanks.” I said and then grabbed his foot. “It’s only fair”

He just smiled and preceded with what his was doing but we both had to stop and laugh as we heard Maria yelling at Kyle and Michael for taking their precious time of getting off of me on the ice.

When we got to the cars to head back home, Max and Mr. Evans got into the station wagon with us since Mr. Valenti was going to take all the guys home. After everyone said their good byes and wished Max another happy birthday, Mrs. Evans poured us some hot chocolate from a thermos and we rode back south laughing and talking about all the fun we had.

TBC...

EDITED IN

I don't know how this happened but somehow...chapter 9 is missing. I don't know if somehow I didn't post it or it got pruned but here it is.....

Part 9

The two weeks leading up to the winter holidays passed by in a flash. We were all busy studying for midterms and shopping for Christmas presents. We had initially planned to give each other our presents at school on the last day but it turned out that Mrs. Evans invited us all over for dinner on Christmas Day and to her church on Christmas Eve for a candlelight service.. So instead, we all decided to swap gifts at Christmas dinner, which was a great idea since I was having trouble looking for the perfect presents for everyone. I wanted to give them something they would all like and remember me by, so I spent a lot of time at the mall looking for some last minute gifts.

On Christmas Eve, papi and I spent the whole morning cooking food for all the people coming over for dinner that night. It was tradition in our family to eat dinner at around 10pm and wait till midnight to really get the partying going. We'd open presents and stay up till almost dawn.

"Nena, go get ready soon. We still have to pick Amy and Maria to go to the candle light service at church tonight, Jorge. It starts at 7 and tu sabes que yo no quiero llegar tarde," mami said as she walked into the kitchen and then stopped. "Ay bendito, what a mess you two make. Hurry up, so I can clean up some and get ready."

"Ok, Ya vamos a terminar aqui, Maricel." papi told her. Turning to me he said, "Mija, you can go and get ready. I just have to stick the ham in the oven with the turkey. It should be ready by the time we get back."

"Ok, papi!" I said as I washed my hands and went upstairs to shower and change.

After, we had all gotten ready we headed out to pick up Maria and her mom. Since Ms. Deluca hadn't been to a church in a long time, my mom had suggested that we pick them up so that she wouldn't be alone. Papi never minded picking them up since we did have my mom's minivan so that we could all fit comfortably. When we got to the church, we picked up our candles at the entrance and saw that everybody else was already there and had saved us seats in the same pew. Our parents sat together at one end of the pew, Alex sat next to Isabel and we sat on the end of the pew.

"You guys look different." Kyle said as Maria and I sat down between Max and Michael.

"What do you mean by different?" Maria questioned him with a look.

"You look all dressed up and stuff." He responded as he looked at her green dress and at my red one.

"What's so bad about that?" Maria asked with a bit of an attitude. "We have to look good for church. Nothing wrong with that."

"Relax Maria." Michael said. "He didn't mean anything bad about it. You know you look good."

"Oh!" Maria said as she blushed at Michael's comment. "Sorry Kyle."

"It's okay. I should have said you looked nice and not different." Kyle said. "You do too, Liz."

"Thanks Kyle." I said as I scanned the guys who were all wearing suits. "You guys look good, too. I've never seen you in suits."

"Because there uncomfortable. I hate wearing one but my mom made me." Michael said with a face as he tried to loosen his tie.

"I'm glad she did" Maria said which caused Michael to stop what he was doing and try to hide his smile.

While everyone was reading they’re program, Max leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear.

"You look nice." He played with one of my braids and added, "I like it when your hair is down better."

"Thanks. My mom likes to do different things to my hair since it's so long." I said as I thought what he just said. I kind of wished that she had let me wear it down instead of braiding it into two parts and threading ribbons in each of them. But then again, I wouldn't have heard his admission. "Change never hurts."

"No, it doesn't" He said as he looked down at his program. "Heidi."

As he started laughing, I poked him in the ribs with my elbow.

"Shut up!" I whispered back at him and started laughing.

The service was nice and different compared to my church. We went to a Hispanic church where the music was louder and smaller. Here, there were a lot of people and the music was traditional. Our church looked plain and bare compared to this church with the dark wood colors, poinsettias everywhere, and huge Christmas tree behind the pulpit. The service was nice, filled with choruses of different ages singing Christmas carols, a small play and at the end and the pastor preached a short sermon. When he ended, the ushers walked down the aisles and lit the first candle in every row so that people in turn could light their neighbor's and so forth. As I turned to light Max's candle, I froze in my seat. The firelight was so beautiful in his eyes, making them come alive and vibrant. Looking into his eyes as I tilted my candle towards him, I realized that Max meant everything for me. I would do anything for him so long as I could be near or with him. Who knew that realization could bring so much joy and the same time, so much pain in the future.

After the service, we all walked together to our cars and said our good byes.

"So what time are you guys waking up to open your presents?" I asked everyone.

"The sooner the better," replied Kyle. "I got new things to test out before the day is over."

"Hell yeah!" agreed Michael which earned him a slap on the arm from Maria. "Owww. What was that for?"

"We're at a church and you're saying Hell." Maria said with a worried look on her face. "What if God hears you."

That made us all laugh which only made Maria mad.

"Maria, you need to go to church more often." Michael said. "And he hears you all the time."

"What ever." She said embarrassed.

Laughing I hugged all the guys, "Have a Merry Christmas and I'll see you guys tomorrow night. Let's hope I get enough sleep. But knowing my family, not enough."

"What time do you usually go to sleep afterwards?" asked Max.

"Well, last year, I didn't fall asleep till almost 6 in the morning," I answered him and saw the looks of shock on their faces. "What? My family likes to talk…a lot."

"Have fun for us and don't forget your presents." Michael shouted out as he jogged to catch up with his mom and dad who were heading back to the car.


After we dropped Maria and her mom off, we headed home and I headed right into the kitchen with papi to check on the food. We had an hour before the family would start arriving so mami told Alex and I to take a nap so that we could have some energy later. I didn't think I needed one as I laid down on my bed but sure enough, an hour later my mom was waking me up because people had started arriving.

Our family get-togethers were always so much fun. My aunts and uncles from the area and from New York would meet up at someone's house where there would be a lot of food, music and alcohol. I would play with all my cousins while the grown ups talked and drank. When the men got really drunk, they would start singing old songs from the island. I used to always think of them as a pack of wolves or dogs howling at the moon. One hand on a bottle or glass and the other one either holding an instrument or leaning on something for support. When midnight would come, everyone would go around and say Merry Christmas and hug each other. Then our parents would dish out the presents, which was always the best part. I loved tearing open presents in anticipation of what was inside, smiling to the camera as I held up my gift and then repeating the process over again with each gift. After the presents were opened, we'd go have some dessert and continue the party. The babies would be asleep upstairs, the men making asses of themselves from the drinking, the woman chitchatting and the kids playing with their new gifts. I would always go and put my stuff in my room because I didn't want to ruin anything and knowing my cousins, nothing new lasted long. Around 4 in the morning, the party would start winding down and sure enough people would start getting their things and kids ready to go. By 5, everyone was out and it was time for my family to pass out our own gifts that we didn't like to show off in front of everyone. Not because we didn't like to share but my parents always gave Alex and I really awesome gifts that made some of my cousins jealous. Plus, my Aunt Sarahe and Uncle Tito from New York thought of us as their favorite so they would hide the good presents in our room to be opened later.

At about six, my dad was out like a log upstairs and my mom made us to go to bed. I was more than happy to comply because I was really tired and we still had to go over to the Evans' later. In my room, I was putting away all the new clothes I got in their proper place, putting my new toys and such in their place and putting my new makeup kit from my Aunt Sarahe. My mom wasn't really thrilled about it but she knew I wouldn't wear much of it. Maria would probably be the one using it before I did. When I was done, I crawled into bed and was about to fall asleep when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I whispered into the phone, hoping mami hadn't heard it.

"Hey! Are you still up?" Max asked.

"Sort of. You've got some timing, Max. I just crawled into bed." I replied. "What are you doing awake at this time?"

"Isabel just woke me up so that we can go open our presents."

"Oh. Man, that's early."

"Yeah." Max said and then got quiet. "So how was your party? Did your uncle slip you any more alcohol?”

“It was fun. Everyone left about an hour or so ago.” I told him. “And no my uncle didn’t get a chance to slip me anything. My mom was watching him like a hawk.”

Max started laughing. “Well, too bad. I just wanted to call and say Merry Christmas"

"Again?"

"Yeah. I hope you don't mind. I know you’re probably tired but I just…"

"No, I don't mind." I replied when he didn't finish what he was saying. I was not going to say yes when he decided to call me out of the blue. Thank god for my own personal line.

"Cool. Ok. Well, Iz is probably mad that I haven't come down yet. I'll see you later tonight at dinner." He said quickly. "Merry Christmas, Lizzie!"

"Ok. Have fun and I'll talk to you later. Merry Christmas, Max!" And the phone line clicked.

Now that was so unexpected. Max wasn't much a talker on the phone. He never called unless he needed help with his homework or to remind me of something. Usually, I called him just to talk, but tonight was a first. I wonder why he called me. I laid there in bed for a while wondering what came over him. Not that I minded, it just shocked me. But after laying there in my bed thinking about the phone call for some time, I realized that no matter how much I tried to ignore my feelings for Max, deep down I was in love with him. The simplest things that he did touched me and made me love him more like that phone call and our short conversation in church. I wondered if he felt the same about me. Oh well, so much for my dad's advice.
TBC...


WOW!!! May I just say that I am so amazed and happy with the feedback! THank you:

g7silvers
frenchkiss70
Emz80m
AmberEyed51
roswelluver
Cherie
nickimlow
Shadowlynxbehr
Alien614

so much for reading my first fic and enjoying it so far!

I thought I would take this oppurtunity to answer some f/b while I wait for Sarah Marie to finish with my chapters...I think I may have to call her ass and harrass her!

Max and Liz were really close, I wonder what happened? Why didn't they keep in touch? Or were they already estranged in highschool? it's bittersweet becasue now they are so cute together.

Frenchkiss70- Its a long and confusing story...luckily your getting the abridged version! I hope once we enter the high school years...your questions will be answered!

Hey you, thanks for the welcome, and AMAZING part.
I cant wait for more. The constant blushing between Michael and Maria is great. Their parts must be so fun to write. I love the chemistry between Max and Liz.

Thea- Your welcome! It is really fun to write their parts. I can see and hear their interaction in my head and sometimes when I'm writing...I have to go back and add more Cnady parts because its too funny...at least in my head! You know...I was actually afraid that there wasn't any chemistry. But I'm glad you disagree!

I'm here, I'm here.....finally!!! This was really a cute part. Tell Sarah to quit sliding down the pole and do her beta'ing (is that a word?) I loved it when Max called Liz Heidi, that was so funny. Hurry yourself back here.

Mama Cherie- Its about damn time too! J/K! I just hope she's not mad at me for making fun of her the other night and the pee incident! I'm sure she's not but she might be after reading this and rehashing the whole story! LMFAO!

Nicole- You know...I was tempted not to even leave that line in the story..but I couldn't resist it!

Now...I have provided the in my fic...it's about time we get to this don'tcha think?! LOL!! I know I'm pushing it!!

I know..your getting even with me since I'm so pushy for the good stuff...but I'm nervous about posting it Tanya...I feel it lacks...and I know the people that KNOW me are doubting this but its true! I may have to get a second opinion about it! Anyways...get on your twin's ass to send my new chapter! About your church conversation...brings back memories when I was younger and went to church. Man...I miss that roof!

Holy S@#$ chica! Is this really you? Wow! This is such a cute story Mar! (oh, yeah, this is Lynxie from FF) Again! Way to go gurl

LYNXIE!!! Hey now!! I'm glad you like it and yeah...its me...the one and only me! THanks!

I'm back! Yeah!!!

So I'm on a roll tonight! I get a fic updated and mine as well!

Thanks Sarah babe for getting this done! I'll try not make fun of you anymore about ...well..you know!

Ok..so pretty much there are four more chapters and then we head into the the beginning of what will explain what led up to the prologue so hold on..I hope to make this a story you'll like!

Again..thank you so much everyone that is reading this story and leaving f/b! I appreciate more than you know! And for you lurkers...come out of hiding and say HI!

Now on with the show! BTW...there are some transalations at the end...welcome to the world of Spangilish!



Part 10

Around four in the afternoon, I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing.

"Hello?" I said sleepily.

"You're still asleep?" Maria said. "I thought you'd be up by now. Must have been a good party last night, huh?"

"I didn't fall asleep till like seven AM." I replied rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I sat up in bed.

"Damn! Why so late? What time did your family leave?"

"They left about four or five in the morning."

"Well, then why did you get to bed so late?"

"What's up with the twenty questions?" I ask.

"No reason, just curious. Well?" She asked again.

You had to give her credit. She wouldn't let a question drop until she got her answers.

"We opened up some more presents, then I put my gifts away, which by the way were pretty good this year, and then Max called me." I finished with a hurry. "What about you?

"Wait, Max called you?" Maria gasped. "Don't hold out on me, chica. Details!!!"

"He just called to wish me a Merry Christmas. That's it." I tried to make it sound like it was no big deal.

"That's awesome!" Maria practically shouted into my ear. "I think someone's in looove!"

"Shut up, Maria!" I tried to say it in a convincing manner.

"Nope, I'm not! I knew it! Ohh…maybe he'll ask you out or something." She rambled on.

"I'm too young for that and you know I can't. Besides, I don't know what he thinks about me and don't you dare try and find out either!" I told her.

"I wouldn't dream of it!" She said trying to sound innocent.

"Yeah right! You can't lie to me. I know you too well! Promise me, Maria!"

"Oh come on. Don't you want a boyfriend?"

"Maria!"

"Oh okay! I promise"

"Good, now let me go. I'm hungry." I say as I get out of bed. "Do you need a ride to Max's house tonight?"

"Actually, no. Kyle's dad offered to pick us up." She says with an odd tone in her voice.

"Ok" Noticing that she became quiet faster than normal, I asked, "Is everything okay, Maria?"

"Yeah, I don't know. I think my mom is hiding something from me. I think she's seeing someone."

"Do you know who?"

"Nope."

"How do you know she's seeing some one then?"

"Lately she's been going out on the weekends and she hasn't even told me his name, yet." She said, sounding worried.

"Don't worry about it. She will if she thinks it's serious." I say in an attempt to comfort her. She never was real happy when her mom dated. Deep down, I knew she still hoped that her father would knock on their front door step, begging her mother and her for forgiveness and then she would have a family again.

"Yeah, your right." She said. "Ok. Go eat and I'll see you later."

"Love you"

"Love you, too" and with that we hung up.

Downstairs, I found my mom warming up leftovers while my dad sat in the tv room with a cup of coffee.

"Is papi hung over?" I asked her.

"Si. And he's over there paying for it." She said a bit mad.

I'm guessing she didn't sleep too well because she had to take care of him.

"Mami, if you want you can go back to bed and I'll wake you up so that you can get ready in time." I told her.

"Ay, gracias mija. I need a nap! I've been up since el medio dia con tu papa." She said as she yawned. "Te hujro que ese hombre drives me crazy."

I knew she didn't mean it when she walked by him and gave him a quick peck on the lips as she went through the tv room on her way to their bedroom. As much as my dad could irritate and aggravate her, she still loved him. In fact, they acted like teenagers in love. Sometimes I’d walk in on them kissing in the kitchen or my dad had this weird habit of always smacking my mom on the butt when she would walk past him. As much as I acted that it grossed me out, deep down I wished that someday my husband would love me just as much. Surprising me with flowers, a phone call in the middle of the workday and that he would never stop telling me how much he loved me.

"Ok, papi. Are you hungry?" I asked as I started looking through the leftovers.

"Don't mention food please." He groaned from the couch.

"Ok, I'm going to go see if Alex is hungry."

Ok, nena. Can you make me an Alka Selzter before you go? He asked.

"Sure."

A couple of minutes later, I walk into Alex’s room.

"Hey Alex?" I say as I open the door and then stop when I see he's on the phone. "Oh sorry."

"Hold on." He says to who ever he is on the phone with. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to know si tenias hambre. Want me to warm you up some food?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute." Then he goes back to his conversation as I leave.

Five minutes later as I'm serving food on plates for us, Alex comes downstairs.

"Thanks Lizzie." He says as he goes to get something to drink for us.

"No problem"

“Do you think you can do me a favor?" He asks as he sits down.

"Depends on what it is?"

"Can you wrap Iz's present for me. I did a crappy job."

"Why can't you do it?"

"Come on, Lizzie! You know I suck" He started begging. "Please?"

"Fine." I say. I'm glad I wrapped all my presents yesterday.

"Thanks. Should I bring it here to you?"

"No, just leave it on my desk. I'll wrap it up for you when I finish cleaning up this mess and checking up on dad."

"Hung over?"

"You know it."

Alex leaned closer to me and in a low voice said, "Tio Tito was at it again."

"How much did he give you?" I asked as I shake my head.

"About 3 cups of egg nog."

"The good stuff or the really, really good stuff?"

"The really, really good stuff."

"Oh my god, Alex. How come your not out there with dad crying about the pain?" I asked.

"Tio started us early" he replied with a wink and started laughing.

I couldn't help but laugh at the insane theories of my Uncle Tito. The man was crazy but he sure was a lot of fun.

"Keep it down in there." Papi yelled from the couch. "I'm trying to sleep!"

We covered our mouths and tried not to laugh too hard.

Around seven that night, we joined everyone at the Evans' house for dinner. Mrs. Evans cooked all the food and everyone else brought desserts, beverages and whatever else she may need. While the adults stayed in the living room talking after we ate, we all went into the tv room that was in the basement to exchange gifts. Since we were exchanging gifts between the five of us, we had decided to put a spending price per person. We decided that we weren't going to spend more than $10 on each person. Michael had complained about how you couldn't get anything good with just $10 but stopped when Maria told him to use his imagination since not everyone had money.

"Don't complain if you think your presents are crappy," Michael said as we passed around gifts. "I still think $10 is not enough."

"Michael, it's the thought that counts." I told him. "I'm sure we'll all be happy with what we got each other. Er…I least I hope we do."

"We will." Max said as he started ripping his presents open.

"Yeah!" Maria added. "Besides, some of us don't have that much money to use for presents."

"I know that but-" Michael tried to say.

"Get over it. Be happy with you got. Liz is right, it's the thought that counts" Max said cutting him off.

"So shut up, Mike! You're bringing down the festive mood." Kyle said. "I don't know about you guys but I'm happy with what I got!"

"Me too!" I said and got up to hug everyone and thank them each.

"Ooohh. Michael I love the bracelet." Maria squealed as she held up this odd shaped, blue bracelet. "See, I told you to use your imagination."

He just smiled and mumbled your welcome.

I was about to say something when their came a squeal from the corner. We all looked up to see Iz hug my brother tightly and kiss him on the lips.

"Oh god, Iz! Get a room!" Max groaned.

"I guess she liked her present." I said and we all laughed. "I'm going to go put my stuff away upstairs so I don't leave it."

"Good idea." Max said as he got up. "I'll go get some popcorn and grab a movie to watch cause knowing our parents, we'll be here awhile."

Everyone agreed and went their separate ways before the movie started, giving Alex and Iz a moment alone which we could tell they really wanted..

Lying in bed later that night, I thought about how this was the best Christmas I'd ever had. I got to spend it with my family, my blood family and my new family of friends. We were so close, it felt like we had grown up together all our lives. We watched "A Christmas Story" while our parents did their own thing. Even Alex and Iz hung out with us, which I thought was pretty cool. I thought they would think we were all immature or something since they were in high school but I realized that Iz was like a big sister for the guys and that she had a close relationship with Max like Alex and I had. Maria and I never really got to hang out with Isabel very much since she was always busy with cheerleading and Alex but on the occasion she was around, she was really nice to us.

After we got home, I went upstairs and sat at my desk with my new journal that Maria had given me. She knew that I always kept one and started a new one every year. Opening up the one she gave me, I read the little message she left for me on the first page. "To new beginnings and memories (mostly about Max), Love you always Maria" I couldn't believe she wrote that but then again, this was Maria so I shouldn’t have been too surprised. I couldn't wait to start writing in it next week with the start of the New Year.

Snuggling in my bed, I cuddled up to the bear Max gave me for Christmas. It was a cute light brown bear that reminded me of his eyes. The purple bear that Kyle gave which was exactly like Maria's blue one, sat on my night stand next to the pretty purple bracelet Michael gave me. I guess they caught on that purple was my favorite color, then again, everything I had was purple like my backpack, folders and basically everything. Closing my eyes, I thought to myself how much my life had changed since I started Jr. high school. No longer did I have one best friend but five. Life was good.

TBC...

Transalations:


Ay, gracias mija. - Thank you my my daughter.

Te hujro que ese hombre drives me crazy." - i swear to you that that man drives me crazy.

"I just wanted to know si tenias hambre - I just wanted to know if you were hungry!

Hey Now!!!

I'm glad I could make you all happy with an update so hear is another one...LOVE ME!

Tanya- :lol; OMG!! You could watch the Trilogy and all 3 Matirxes and they'd stillbe talking! And I will take your advice about the nookie..I keep changing it around but when it gets closer to that time...I'll drop yuo an email!

Ok..so enjoy...hate to be mean...but I hope to update next week and you'll know why when you get to the end!



Part 11

The winter holidays went by fast for us. We spent the time sledding and having snowball fights when it snowed. Before we knew it, it was New Years Eve. Pretty soon we would have to go back to school but that didn't bother me. I liked school but everyone else was groaning about it, especially Michael. But knowing how fast the first half of the year flew by, we knew the second half would be just as fast.

For New Years, our parents had planned to go to some big old party in the city, which meant that we would all be by ourselves. So my mom said it was okay for everyone to come over to our house and so we could have our own little party. Since they didn't know what time they would be home, everyone was going to spend the night at our place as well. The guys were going to crash in the basement and Maria and Iz were going to stay in my room. That had to be one of the coolest things my parent's had ever allowed. They're very old fashion but I think that they trusted us not to be bad and have a party…well, that was a big deal.

So on New Year's Eve, everyone showed up at our house around eight PM with they’re sleeping bags and stuff. Our parent's wished us all a Happy New Year and headed out to their party. But before my mom locked the door she had to remind Alex and I of the rules for the hundredth time that night.

"Ok, I trust you two so don't let me down," she said. "No other friends are to come over, don't stay up too late. "

"We know, mom." Alex said. "No wild parties. Liz, go cancel the keg."

"Ok." I said laughing as the color rushed into my mom's cheeks. "Mami, we're kidding. Go have fun. We'll be fine. See you tomorrow."

"Ay, ustedes dos." Then she hugged Alex and me. In my ear she whispered, "Watch your brother and Iz."

"I heard that." He said as he rolled his eyes. "I'm not a kid, mom."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Maybe we shouldn't go"

"GO!" Alex and I said at the same time.

"Go have fun, mami. I promise we'll be fine." I said to convince her. "Right, Alex?"

"Yes. Bye mom." He stressed as he tried to push her out the door.

"Ok ok. Bye!" She said and then closed the door behind her.

"Finally." Alex said with an exaggerated sigh. "Lizzie, let's get this show on the road."

I just rolled my eyes and went to join everyone in the kitchen where I told them to meet us after they put their stuff away.

"Ok guys. Make yourselves at home." I told everyone. "My dad cooked a lot of food and my mom stocked us up on drinks, so we should be good."

"Yes, your mom remembered." Maria said as she opened up the freezer. "She bought chocolate chip ice cream. Yummy! Damn, she really did stock up. There are like 3 other flavors of ice cream in here."

"I told you." I said.

"Actually, she bought four," Alex said as he walked into the kitchen with a bottle of rum. "Lizzie probably hid the mint chocolate chip like always."

"Shut up." I tell him. "Where'd you get the rum?"

"Tio Tito" he said as he poured himself a drink. "Anyone want one?"

"I'll take one" Kyle said.

"Alex, mami is going to kill you if you get anyone drunk." I told him as he grabbed a couple of more glasses.

"Yeah, but we have to toast the New Year, They can't have all the fun." Alex replied.

"We still have like four more hours till the New Year." I stated.

"Don't be a killjoy, Liz!" Michael says as he stood there waiting for his glass. "I want to try some. How about you Max?"

"Yeah." Max said and then quickly added when he saw me cross my arms. "Come on, Lizzie. I promise not to drink too much."

Looking into his pleading eyes, I gave in. How could I resist, especially since he called me Lizzie.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me in the morning when you guys don't feel well." I answered

"Woohoo! Yeah, Liz!" shouted Kyle and Michael.

"So, who's hungry?" I said as I started pulling out the plastic ware to serve everyone as Alex started serving everyone drinks. This was going to be a long night I thought and hoped that no one got drunk or there would be hell to pay in the morning.

That night, we sat around the entertainment room in the basement watching movies and hanging out. When the guys were playing video games, Iz, Maria and I went served the guys some ice cream and did some girl talk.

"So are you guys dating anyone?" Iz asked us.

"Nope, I'm not allowed to till I turn 15." I said.

"Nah, I’m not interested in anyone really." Maria said and then gave me a look when I started to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Iz asked me.

"Nothing," I lied.

"Yeah right." Iz said as she looked between me and Maria who was giving me a look, which only made me laugh harder. "You’re lying."

"Fine. Lizzie here thinks I have a thing for Michael." Maria replied with a sigh.

"Oh really! Michael? Why Michael?" She asked.

"That's what I would like to know." Maria muttered.

"Cuz you guys are always arguing like if you were a couple." I said. "You know he's gotten under your skin."

"Not like how much Max has gotten under your skin." Maria pointed out.

"MARIA!" I exclaimed and then start blushing as Iz gave me this questioning look.

"You like me brother, huh?"

"I don't know. I mean, yeah we get along and he's my best friend and he's really cute but I'm too young, according to my parents, to think like that." I stammered out feeling completely uncomfortable telling Max’s sister of my feelings. I hardly knew her and yet, here I was blabbing away..

"That explains a lot. But what does your parent's opinion have to do with you liking Max?" Iz asked.

"Nothing, it's just that even if I did really like Max like that and he liked me, I wouldn't be allowed to go out with him." I said with a sigh. "Wait, what do you mean that explains a lot?"

"Just that way you are with him." Iz tells me. "Well, hate to break it to you, girls, but those two are so not thinking about girls like that. They may not for some time, so relax."

"That's what I've been telling Maria." I mutter. "But I still think she may be able to change Michael's opinion."

"I DON'T LIKE HAIR BOY LIKE THAT!" she shouted and then headed on downstairs with her ice cream bowl and Michael's.

"See." I point out to Iz who just started laughing and nodded. Then we both followed Maria's lead and took some ice cream downstairs to the guys.

Around eleven o'clock, we decided to put on the countdown to the ball drop in New York City. We sat there and watched the insanity and commented on all the drunk, crazy people in the crowds.

"There is no way in hell I would stand outside in the cold like that just to watch some ball drop." Maria said.

"Maria, you'd be way to busy enjoying yourself that you wouldn't even notice." Michael said to her.

"That's what you think, buddy." She replied.

"I don't think it would be too bad." I comment. "I mean there is a lot of people out there, crowded around each other, practically on top of each other. I'm sure there must be a lot of body heat to keep you warm. And you'd be dressed warm."

"And you'd be too busy drinking with everyone in the crowd to notice the cold." Kyle added, which made Maria throw a pillow at his head.

"Speaking of drinks," Alex says as he gets up. "I'm going to get the bottle of rum for our toast."

"Oh no!" I muttered as I watched him go up the stairs.

"Relax, Liz. No one's drunk." Iz pointed out.

"Doesn't mean it won’t happen." I said than thought twice about it. I definitely didn’t want to be the party pooper. "Fine, I'd better go upstairs and get some more ice and soda."

"I'll help you." Max said as he got up to follow me.

Upstairs, we passed by Alex who is trying to carry the rum, ice bag and soda back downstairs.

"Ay, Alex!" I said to him while grabbing the soda and ice out of his hands. "You're going to drop everything and make a mess. Take the rum and we'll bring down the rest."

"Ok, Liz." Alex replied and then headed back on downstairs.

"Do you want me to carry the ice downstairs?" Max asked as he tried to take the bag out of my hands.

"No, I'm going to put in a bowl. We don't need all this ice and it'll melt if take the bag." I pointed out as I started going through the cabinets looking for a plastic bowl.

"Oh yeah, your right." He said and then got quiet.

Turning to him, I asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" He muttered but I didn't believe him.

"What is it, Max? You know you can talk to me."

"Yeah, I know." I watched as he ran his hand through his hair and with a sigh asked me, "Do you think we should kiss at midnight?"

TBC...


Translations:

"Ay, ustedes dos." Then she hugged Alex and me. In my ear she whispered, "Watch your brother and Iz." - Oh...you two!