Roswell Fanatics

Title: Some Girls Have All The Fun

Author: AngelDreamer86

Rating: Teen-Mature

Category: CC, mainly M/L

Summary: AU...no aliens...Loosely based on the movie Swimfan.....Max is still gonna be a swimmer because come on, Jason Behr in a swimsuit for a lot of the fic? What else could be better? Liz is gonna be his girlfriend (as it should be) and things are going really well for them until the new girl who bears a striking resemblance to a gerbil steps into town....

Disclaimer: I don’t own a darn thing

Author’s Note: ok, so I wrote the first half of this story a long time ago, as some of you may recall, and I was sitting in my dorm thinking about it and how sad I was that I never finished it, so this is my revival of it and hopefully there are still interested readers!!



Liz Parker strutted down the hallways with confidence and purpose, giving everyone she knew a good morning and a genuine smile. She was, after all, one of the most popular girls in all of West Roswell High, and she got to be the lucky one hanging onto Max Evans’ hand at the moment, who was the male version of Liz’s social status. They weren’t together for reasons of popularity, however, Max and Liz were what every high school couple strove to be: in love and happy. Each of the two complimented each other perfectly, and each had a bright future ahead of them. Both were seniors in all AP courses with astonishing grades, Max also had an athletic scholarship in the making to the college of his choice. It was no understatement that Max and Liz were the envy of every person in West Roswell High. Nothing could go wrong. Life was perfect for the young couple.

The two were greeted by their friends Michael Guerin and Maria DeLuca, another socialite couple, along with Isabel Evans and Alex Whitman. Kyle Valenti and Sean DeLuca greeted Max with a high five as the eight members of WRH’s inner circle congregated around Liz’s locker before first period. Max and Liz separated so Liz could get her daily dose of Maria and Max could have a conversation with “the guys”.

“Morning, ‘Ria, you’re looking chipper this morning, seeing as it’s the first day back from winter break.” Liz observed, noting Maria’s happy demeanor and 100-watt smile.

“Well, I am...can you believe first semester is over? We’re halfway through our high school careers!! How can you not know that, Liz?” Maria babbled with excitement. “Oh, wait, I forgot, you actually like school....so shouldn’t you be wearing black because you should be mourning or something?” She joked.

Liz glared at her. “Very funny, Maria....I happen to be very content with the fact that we’re finally getting out of Roswell to go to college, I’m just not as animated with my emotions as you.” Liz stated in her defense.

The bell rang to signal the five-minute warning for students to begin to head to their first period class. This got a groan of disapproval from Maria.

“Now that’s the Maria I know!” Liz joked. “What’s wrong sweetie?” She asked with mock sympathy.

“Shut up, miss I-Don’t-Have-P.E.-Till-7th-Period!! Honestly, who runs the mile at 8 in the morning?! If things were MY way we wouldn’t have the mile at all....and who decided on a mile? Why not half a mile? Better yet, why not a quarter mile? I hate to sweat.....” Maria ranted, her voice fading as she trudged off towards the locker room. Liz laughed inwardly at Maria’s antics. She felt the weight of Max’s arm on her shoulders and smiled up at him.

“Hey gorgeous, what are you laughing about?” Max asked, kissing her forehead affectionately and hugging Liz to his body.

“Maria.” Liz giggled.

“Oh, is it mile-time again?” Max asked, looking in the direction of the girls’ locker room.

“You bet.” Liz stated as they began their walk towards first period Anatomy.

“It can’t be that bad...” Max thought out loud.

“Well, for those of us who don’t get out of it so we can save or energy for some big swim meet, Mr. Varsity Athlete...” Liz explained, poking him in the side as they turned a corner. “It’s pretty disgusting sweating your ass of for a few lousy points in gym class.” she explained.

Max and Liz arrived at their class and took their seats as the bell rang. The teacher was late so it gave the students time to talk.

“So what are you doing this weekend?” Max asked.

Liz looked at him with amusement. “Max, its a Monday, isn’t it a tad early for weekend plans?”

He shrugged. “What can I say? I like planning ahead...so humor me, what are you doing?” He repeated.

Liz appeared thoughtful, tapping her chin for a moment before answering. “Well, there’s this guy who’s been asking me out nonstop for a couple of years now, I was thinking of maybe going to a party with him Friday night.” she stated casually.

Max played along. “Anyone I know?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so, he keeps pretty low profile.”

“Low profile, huh? What’s he look like?” Max prodded.

“He’s quite the looker, tall, dark, handsome, everything I could want in a man...and he has the greatest body I’ve ever seen!” Liz teased.

Max leaned in. “Is he a good kisser?” He asked.

“See, now I can’t remember that part...” Liz said as she leaned in closer to Max, preparing to kiss and end their flirty banter.

“Good Morning class!”

The sound of the teacher’s voice broke the two apart and class began.

~~~~~Lunch~~~~~~

The entire group, minus Liz, were sitting at their usual lunch table at the beginning of the lunch period. Alex scanned the group in confusion and looked at Max.

“Hey Max, where’s Liz?” Alex asked.

Max took a bite out of his sandwich and swallowed. “She had to stay behind in Physics, something about catching up a new student.” He stated simply. Alex was about to inquire further when a low whistle came from Sean, causing the group to focus their attentions toward him.

“Damn.” He whispered. “Look at that piece of ass.” Sean said, nodding in the direction of a curly-haired blonde looking for a place to sit.

Kyle seemed to be the only one interested. “You’re right man, that is one hot body.”

Sean looked to the other guys for moral support. “Am I right Max?”

Max looked up and grimaced a little at the sight of the new girl. “Not really my type.” He said, shrugging off Sean and Kyle’s incredulous looks.


“What are you talking about? Look at that rack!” Sean pointed out. Maria and Isabel rolled their eyes.

“God, Sean...could you BE more superficial?” Isabel accused.

“Hey, I’m just stating the obvious.” He replied, putting his hands up in defense. “Alex and Michael know what I’m talking, about, right guys?” He asked, looking between the two.

Alex and Michael faced the scrutinizing glares of their girlfriends.

“I’ll have to agree with Max, there, Sean, there’s something off about her, she just doesn’t look like my kind of gal...she’s too....” Alex waved his hands and snapped his fingers, searching for a word.

“Gerbil-esque?” Michael filled in.

“That’s the word.” Alex said.

“Whatever, she’s sitting with us.” Kyle said, waving her over.

The blonde girl approached them. “Hi.” She said.

“Hey there, we saw you looking for a place to sit, you’re welcome here.” Sean offered, waving to the only open spot at the table, which was next to Max.

Max looked up in protest, opening his mouth to voice that the seat was taken.

“Don’t even, Max...Liz isn’t here so technically, it’s a free seat.” Sean said, shutting Max up. The last thing he wanted was to look childish. He scooted over as the blonde sat down next to him, seeming extremely content with the seating arrangement.

“So, you’re new, huh?” Kyle asked, seeming to be the only person of the group aside from Sean who wasn’t harboring hostile feelings towards the petite blonde.

“Yeah, just transferred from California.” She stated.

“Well, I’m Kyle, this is Sean, Michael, Maria, Isabel, Alex and Max.” Kyle said, circling the table and making introductions. Receiving a few halfhearted “hi’s” and “hellos”.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Tess, Tess Harding.”


Part 2


“Tess...that’s a really pretty name.” Kyle drooled, resting his chin in his hand and leaning towards Tess.

“Thanks.” She stated, opening her lunch and digging in.

“So how do you like Roswell......uh...” Maria asked, trailing off and searching for Tess’ name, which she had forgotten. “Bessie, was it?”

“Tess.”

“Right, Tess.” Maria said, correcting herself.

“Well, I’m here because my dad’s job got a transfer...so far this place is really nice...a lot of friendly faces.” Tess stated, smiling warmly at the others, especially Max, who was looking around wildly in search of Liz.

“Careful there, Max..you might get whiplash turning your head so quickly.” Kyle sneered.

“Sorry, what did you say?” Max asked, not paying attention.

“I’m just saying that maybe you and Liz need to cut the umbilical cord between the two of you for a while.” Kyle said, putting his hands up in defense.

“Very funny.” Max said, glaring at him.

This conversation didn’t go unnoticed by Tess, who seemed to have grown very fond of Max in the five minutes she had gotten to know him.

The bell rang to signal the end of the period much to Max’s relief and disappointment. Max was delighted by the fact that he didn’t have to be around Tess any longer, who appeared to have been very comfortable around Max, running her hand up his leg under the lunch table, and disappointed that he wouldn’t get to see Liz until later that night since they had no afternoon classes together, and Max had practice immediately following school. He sighed, picking up his backpack and preparing to head back to class.

Liz turned a corner, standing on her toes in search of blonde curls. Once spotted, she made a beeline for her target, accidentally bumping the jocks that were previously circling her and tapping her on the shoulder.

“Hey Tess!” She greeted.

“Liz, what a surprise!” Tess exclaimed.

“Yeah, I was just swinging by to ask you when you wanted to play academic catch up, it’ll probably take a while.” Liz stated.

“Oh, how about tonight? I’m free.” Tess asked.

“I have to work until 7, but after that I’m in the clear.” Liz said.

“Okay, see ya at 7.” Tess repeated. “oh wait, where are we studying?”

“How about the Crashdown? I live and work there, its a local cafe, kinda hard to miss in a town like Roswell.” Liz explained. “But I gotta go, or I’ll be late for next period...see ya later tonight!” Liz yelled, running to her next class.

Over the rest of the week, Liz and Max were unable to spend much time together because of both of their schedules. Max was busy with academics and athletics, and Liz was busy playing catch-up with “the new girl” on top of working and doing her own share of academics. She also was never able to go to lunch because all of her science teachers were intent on making sure she was being diligent in her tutoring. Friday night swung by before they knew it and Liz and Max both had clear schedules. The bell had just rung to signal the end of the day and Max was leaning against Liz’s locker. She turned the corner and was surprised to see Max standing there.

“Hey.” She said softly, knowing he was hurt because they hadn’t been able to see each other out of school.

“Hi.” He replied. “Where have you been? I hardly get to see you anymore...I think I’m starting to go into withdrawal.” He complained, giving her puppy dog eyes.

“Oh, my days have been completely full because all of my teachers made me tutor someone, add that on top of work and I’ve had no time...I’m really sorry...but ya know, it’s not all my fault, I’m not the one with three-hour afternoon practices.” Liz defended.

“Yeah, I think its both our faults...so can we kiss and make up?” Max asked, perking up.

“Now that I have time for.” Liz said with a grin as she leaned into Max. He dipped his head to compensate for her shortness and lightly brushed her lips with his own. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body closer to his and deepening the kiss to show her how much he had missed her. Liz wrapped her arms around Max’s neck and tilted her head for more comfort. They snapped apart when Kyle and Sean showed up out of nowhere and began clapping and whistling.

“Ow ow!!! Geez you two!! Why don’t you both just strip down now and have hot monkey sex?” Sean asked.

“Yeah, you know every guy in school would love to see Liz naked!!” Kyle jeered, forgetting that Max was present.

Liz heard the low growl in Max’s throat and looked down to his hands which were currently in fists. She stepped in front of him and put both her hands on his chest to keep him from attacking Sean and Kyle. Liz looked at him scoldingly, warning him that they weren’t worth the fight with a look.

“You both know I would have kicked your asses for saying that about Liz if she wasn’t here.” Max stated with anger.

The smiles on Sean’s and Kyle’s faces disappeared quickly.

“Sorry Max man, I wasn’t thinking...it just sorta came out.”

“Well see that it doesn’t again, Kyle.” He growled.

“Why are you guys here, by the way?” Liz asked, realizing that Sean and Kyle had come looking for Max.

“Oh!! We came to tell him that although practice doesn’t start for a half hour, there’s a captain’s meeting and coach wants us there, so, sorry Liz, but we have to steal him away.” Kyle explained quickly, dragging Max away by the arm while his hand lingered in Liz’s.

“I’ll call you tonight!” Max hollered as Liz waved goodbye.

True to his word, Max called Liz that night after his practice was over, saying he would pick her up so they could attend Sean’s party that night. As Max pulled into her driveway, Liz hopped in the jeep, giving Max a quick peck on the lips before he pulled away and drove in the direction of Sean’s house.

“I’m glad we can finally spend some time together.” Liz said, intertwining her fingers with Max’s.

He kissed her knuckles. “Yeah, me too...lunch just hasn’t been the same without you.” He said.

Liz smiled. “Well, things can go back to normal now that I’m done tutoring, so we’ll have things like they were before.” Liz stated cheerily.

“Good.” Max said, as they parked and walked into the party, which was already in full swing.

Max and Liz made their rounds before picking a central place of congregation with the rest of their friends. As soon as Kyle and Sean joined the group, Max put his arm around Liz’s waist, pulling her to him protectively. Liz waved to someone outside the group and across the room. She grabbed Max’s hand and pulled him over to where she was going.

“Liz? What are you doing?” Max asked in confusion.

“I want you to meet someone.” She said, dragging Max behind her. Max spotted Tess ahead of them and inwardly groaned. ‘Please not her, please not her....’ he thought.

Much to Max’s dismay however, Liz came to a stop in front of Tess, and the two girls greeted each other warmly before Liz pulled a reluctant Max to her side to meet Tess Harding, the girl who would soon turn Max and Liz’s perfect world upside down.


Part 3

“Hey Tess, I wanted you to meet my boyfriend Max Evans. Max, this is Tess Harding, she’s new at school.” Liz said, gesturing between the two during introductions.

Max was looking wildly around the room, trying not to make eye contact with Tess, who was undressing him with her eyes, as he had noticed she would do every time she saw him. Max felt a sharp pain in his side when he realized Liz had elbowed him.

“Say hi.” She mumbled.

“Oh, uh..hi, Tess.” Max said.

“Its nice to finally meet you Max, Liz wouldn’t stop talking about you all week and about how perfect you are, I was beginning to think you didn’t exist, but she never told me that this was the same Max I’ve been having lunch with all week.” Tess said, rolling her eyes and smiling.

“You two know each other?” Liz asked.

“Yeah, kinda.” Max replied, scratching behind his ear.

Liz was about to ask Max how they had known each other until Sean approached the three people and put his arm around Tess’ shoulders.

“Hey, Tess...you wanna come with me? We’re all congregating around this huge fight that Paulie and Steve are about to have over who gets in Pam Troy’s pants first...I want you to meet them before they’re beaten into unrecognizable pulps.” He explained, dragging her away.

“I guess I’ll see you two later.” Tess said, looking back at them before going along with Sean.

“That was awkward.” Liz stated. “Why didn’t you tell me you two knew each other?” She asked, slightly hurt.

“Well, I didn’t know that you knew her, either...don’t blame all of this on me.” Max replied.

“I’m sorry, I guess I’m just all stressed out, this week has been hectic, what with catching her up on top of the Crashdown and my own work....and then never getting to see you a lot, it was just a little overwhelming.” Liz apologized, rubbing her temples.

“So wait, she was the reason we never got to see each other this week?” Max asked accusingly.

“Yeah, I guess when you put it that way, but don’t blame this all on her, Max. She’s a new girl in a different town with completely different friends...you can’t just be thrown into a situation like that without some help, which is what I did for her...she seems nice enough to me...although...” Liz trailed off into thought.

“What? What did she do?” Max asked, wildly running his hands over her head and arms to check for damage.

“Whoa, freak out!! She didn’t do anything to me.” Liz said, grabbing his hands to calm him down. “I just thought of something that was a little unusual, that’s all.” She clarified, stroking his chin.

“Sorry, I kinda slipped into protective-boyfriend-mode again, huh?” He asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah, but it’s okay....it’s a nice reminder that you care.” Liz said, looking down at her hands.

He tilted up her chin with his finger. “I hope you don’t need reminders, Liz...I hope you know that I always care and I always will...you mean everything to me.” Max said softly.

Liz’s eyes teared up and she smiled and bit her lip. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Max asked.

“For that, for being you and making me feel special.” Liz said.

Max blushed. “Yeah, well, you are.” He said, dipping his head and kissing her softly. Liz moaned at the feel of Max’s lips, opening her mouth to allow his tongue access, which Max took full advantage of. Liz wrapped her hands around his neck, running her fingers through the hair at the base of his neck. Max pulled Liz closer, reveling in the feel of her body against his own, massaging her lower back with his hands. The two broke apart for air, smiling at each other, intertwining fingers and heading back over to Michael and Maria.

“You two look happy...did you kiss and make up?” Maria asked, noting Liz’s disheveled state and happy demeanor.

“Shut up Maria.” Liz said smugly.

“Just stating the obvious.” Maria said in a sing-song voice.

“Well look who’s talking!!” Liz said, turning things back on Maria, who appeared to be very comfortable with Michael at the moment.

“Fine...I’ll stop if you will.” Maria conceded.

“Fine.” Liz agreed, turning her attention to Max, who was rolling his eyes at Liz and Maria’s antics. He noticed her staring at him and looked down.

“What?” He asked.

“Nothing.” Liz smiled at his self-consciousness.

“Hey, I forgot to ask you...what was that unusual thing you noticed about Tess?” Max asked.

“That she’s missing a metal running wheel and gerbil habitat surrounding her?” Maria butted in.

“Maria...” Liz said with warning in her voice.

“Stopping.” Maria said, turning back to Michael.

Max looked down to Liz. “You were saying?” He asked.

“Oh! Right...it wan’t anything big, she just seemed more interested in you and me and our relationship more than schoolwork, she was especially interested on the subject of you.” Liz replied.

“That’s weird.” Max stated softly. “What did you tell her?”

“Just the basics, about you and swimming and how I love to come to the meets so I can see you in that little speedo.” This caused Max to blush furiously and Liz to laugh. “And then she asked about when you practice and who coaches, which seemed odd to me, but anyway, I also told her how you’re my lab partner in every science class and we’ve been dating since sophomore year.” She finished. “See? Nothing extremely interesting or enlightening.”

Liz noticed that Max seemed distracted, mulling over a certain part of Liz’s explanation.

“What?” She asked.

“You really told her about the speedo thing?” Max whined.

~~~~~~Monday~~~~~~~

Liz and Max were back into their new routine, which was a relief to every member of the group, except for Tess, who seemed oddly tense when the two were together. Lunch rolled around and the eight original members of the group were sitting around enjoying their lunches.

“Hey, where’s Tess.” Kyle said, looking around.

“Like I care.” Isabel and Maria said simultaneously.

Liz piped up. “She had to stay back in physics cuz she took a little longer on her test, that’s all.”

Max felt much more comfortable with Liz by his side instead of Tess. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her tightly to his side, rubbing her lower back. Liz responded by resting her hand on his leg and tracing circles just above his knee with her finger. Max was reminded of how Tess had done that same thing the previous week and shuddered. He tried to wipe his thoughts clean of that and he knew the best way to do that was through Liz. He kissed her temple, receiving a smile from her before she returned to her ongoing conversation with Maria about shoe-shopping.

Tess rounded the corner into the quad and stopped short when she noticed Max had his arm around someone’s waist, and seemed to be very cozy with that someone, who was also in her spot. Tess marched up to the table and smiled sweetly at Sean and Kyle. This caused the rest of the group to acknowledge her presence.

“Hey Tess.” Sean and Kyle greeted.

“Hi everyone...” She began. “Hi, Liz...I really hate to say this because I know how embarrassing its gonna be for you to hear this, but you’re kinda sitting in my spot....could you move, please?”



Part 4

The table sat in shock. Sean and Kyle were trying to stifle giggles while Isabel and Maria were attempting not to tear Tess’ hair out of her head and force her to eat it for lunch. All eyes looked to Liz to see her response.

Liz shook off the shock of Tess’ comment quickly and recovered. “Am I really?” She asked, placing a hand on her chest in mock realization. “I am so sorry...I’ve been gone so long that I forgot where my REAL seat at this table was!!” Liz said, slapping her forehead. “Max, why didn’t you tell me?” She asked, looking at him with a play-along-with-it look. Realization crossed Max’s face.

“Oh, you’re so right, I was just so happy to be having lunch with you again that I completely forgot!!” Max said, falling into character.

Liz stood up, waving at the seat. “I am so sorry Tess, I totally forgot my place...feel welcome to that spot. Max, could you help me into my seat, please?” Liz asked sweetly.

“Of course, anything for my GIRLFRIEND.” Max said, stressing the last word. Max grabbed Liz by the waist and set her on his lap, kissing her on the neck before resting his chin on her shoulder so he could see the others. The once smug smile on Tess’ face fell immediately.

Liz settled in. “Yeah, now that you mention it, this does feel so much more natural than that hard bench.” Liz commented, leaning back into Max’s chest.

This time, it was Isabel and Maria’s turn to stifle laughter and Sean and Kyle’s turn to stare on in shock.

“So how’s it going, Tess?” Liz asked, pretending that Tess didn’t just get the ultimate burn.

Tess decided to play it off. “Well, you know...even with your help I’ve had a little trouble catching up...I guess you kinda suck as a teacher....” Tess trailed off mid-sentence when she notcied she no longer had Liz’s attention--she was too busy laying a full-on kiss on Max’s very responsive mouth. Tess looked on in disgust.

“Could you guys get a room or something?” Tess spat out. Liz and Max looked up reluctantly.

“What was that? I was caught in the moment.” Max replied. Isabel and Maria where shaking with stifled laughter.

“Oh, I’m sorry, were we bothering you?” Liz asked.

“Yeah, just a little, aren’t you guys bothered?” Tess asked, looking to the others for support.

Maria shrugged. “I don’t really see a problem...the rest of us are used to it since they’ve been doing that normal COUPLE stuff for years now...you know, Tess, you don’t have to look if you don’t want to.” Maria stated.

Tess scoffed with disgust and stood up.

“Hey Tess, where are you going? We said you could have that spot!!” Alex called after her. Kyle and Sean ran off to follow her and the rest of the table burst out laughing.

“That.....was...definitely...a...Kodak...moment!!” Maria said inbetween fits of laughter.

“Tell me about it....I think I saw steam coming out of her ears!” Isabel noted.

Liz and Max looked at each other admiringly. Kyle came up in a huff, looking upset.

“Do you guys know what you’ve done? We were just trying to make her feel welcome and you guys stuff it in her face!! Oh, and Liz, I think you can get off of Max’s lap now.” Kyle sneered.

Liz ground her butt into Max’s lap, seemingly pondering Kyle’s comment.

“Hmmm....I don’t know, I kinda like it here.” She said with a grin. Max laughed softly and Liz kissed him on the cheek.

“You guys are hopeless.” Kyle said, storming off.

The table burst into laughter once again.

~~~~~The end of the day~~~~~~

Max waited by Liz’s locker, hoping to catch her before he had to head to practice. He had to be there early for some announcement from the coach, but he still made time to see Liz. He saw her round the corner and smiled at the sight of her.

“Hey.” He greeted.

“Hey.” She replied, reaching up and pecking him on the lips. “Thanks for playing along today at lunch....I didn’t expect Tess to be such a bitch when I met her.” Liz said.

“No problem, any reason to get you into my lap is a good one.” He replied with a grin.
Liz slapped him playfully on the arm. “Pig.” She scolded.

“I’m a guy, what can I say?” Max said with a shrug. “So do you have to work tonight?” He asked, changing the subject.

“Nope. It’s my night off, I may actually go to bed at a decent hour for the first time in weeks.” Liz answered with relief. “What about you? What are you doing tonight?”

“Practice.” Max said with a cringe.

“Ooo...can I come?” Liz asked with playful hope.

“Aaaahhh, no...you see Liz, a speedo doesn’t cover much in the groinal area, and with you around....I wouldn’t wanna embarrass the guys.” Max replied, blushing.

“Well I’m flattered......I think.” Liz replied. “But I gotta go, Maria’s waiting and you’re about to be late for practice.” Liz added, checking her watch before kissing Max on the cheek and running toward the entry doors. Max watched her leave before heading to the locker room to get ready for practice. Once ready, Max walked to the coach’s office and knocked on the doorframe.

“Hey coach, did you want to talk to me?” He asked, approaching his desk.

“Yeah, Evans, we’ve got a little captain concern here, Sean and Kyle approached me and said that we needed a little assitance on the team aside from myself, and I agreed with them...that’s why we’re gonna get a team manager.” He said.

“What? Like a water boy?” Max asked.

“No, they’d have a few more tasks than that, like writing down times, coming to all the practices, attending the meets, helping the captains...they’d spend a lot of time with the team, especially you, Max.” Coach explained.

“Okay, who do you have in mind?”

“Well, someone approached me and gave me the idea today shortly after the lunch period, and I think she just came in...come on in, miss.” Coach said, waving in a visitor to his office.

“Evans, I’d like you to meet Tess Harding, our team manager.”

Ok!! Here are the next 2 parts! Thanks so much for all the great replies! They are wonderful movtivation!!

Part 5

“Wha-...who-...how-...huh?” Max sputtered.

“Well, Evans, I’ve been noticing that it’s becoming way too tough for me to coach during the meets, write down times AND make sure you guys know what's going on, so I realized I needed a little assistance, and that’s when DeLuca and Valenti approached me with the idea of a manager.” He explained.

“Oh.” Max tried to think of a way to get out of spending so much time with Tess. “No offense to Tess here, but shouldn’t we get someone the team is comfortable with? Like, someone they’ve known for a while...Tess has only been here a couple weeks, I don’t know if the entire team knows her quite as well as someone who’s gone to school with them for all four years.” Max reasoned.

“I hate to interrupt, Max, but all the boys on the team know me quite well by now.” Tess stated.

“I’ll bet.” Max muttered.

“What was that, Evans?”

“Nothing sir, I was just thinking how great it is that the team’s gonna have a little help now.” Max said with excitement, plastering on a fake smile.

“Great. I’ll leave you two to get aquainted and work things out, you know, show her the ropes and how things work.”

The coach left the office, leaving Tess and Max alone in the office. It wasn’t until he felt Tess’ eyes roving over his bare upper body that he realized he was half-naked. He quickly threw on his shirt and approached Tess angrily.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Max demanded.

Tess played innocent. “Whatever do you mean, Max?” She asked sweetly.

“You know what I mean, keeping Liz and I apart, being a bitch to her at lunch, acting all possessive of me when you have NO right to be....” Max went through the list. “And now this?! What do you want?!”

“Look Max, I took this job because Kyle and Sean suggested it and I thought it would look good on a college application. This gives me a chance to get to know a few more people and it’s a good way to spend my afternoons....so why don’t you get over yourself and just take this change like a man!!” Tess screamed.

“Whatever.” Max waved her off and stormed out of the office.

Max and Liz had made plans to study for their Anatomy test that night, so Max headed straight to Liz’s after practice. He parked the jeep in the alley of the Crashdown and stormed up the ladder to find Liz in her bedroom laying on her stomach with her books in front of her. She looked out the window to find Max in an extremely foul mood. She opened the window and leaned out.

“Rough day at the office, honey?” She said with a smile.

Max came through the window and threw down his bag in anger. He began pacing the room.

“Okay, either you got kicked off the team or your parents won’t let you see me anymore.” Liz guessed.

“None of the above.” Max grumbled.

Liz got concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“Well it’s the reason I’m late for our study session.” Max started.

“Ok...” Liz said, not following.

“Well, it’s because I had to give our new MANAGER a ride home from practice.” Max explained.

“So....” Liz continued. “Wait, since when did you have a team manager?”

“Since today, someone came to the coach and suggested it right after LUNCH.” Max said, emphasizing lunch and raising his eyebrows.

“No...you don’t mean...” Liz said, sitting up with dread on her face.

“Yup, the one and only....Roswell’s newest psycho.” Max finished.

“Tess.”

“Tess.” He repeated. “And guess who she has to spend the biggest amount of time with...the captain...which is...”

“You.” Liz stated.

“Correct.” Max said, increasing his pacing rate.

Liz sat for a minute, thinking about the problem. “Well, you don’t think she’d try anything with all of the other guys around, do you? I mean, Kyle and Sean are on the team and they can barely keep their tongues in their mouths when they’re around her, along with every other guy in the school.” Liz explained. “Maybe she’ll leave you alone.”

“Doubtful...with the way she was looking at me in the coach’s office today...she’s got one primary target, which happens to be me.” Max said, flopping down on the floor. Liz pulled his head into her lap and began massaging his scalp. She sighed.

“What are you gonna do about it?” Liz asked.

“I don’t know, there’s nothing I CAN do...I mean, I suggested a different person, anyone but Tess, but Coach threw that one away quickly.” Max said, pinching the bridge of his nose in aggravation and closing his eyes. His eyes shot open. “I know!! You!! Why don’t you become a manager too?” Max said, sitting up quickly.

“As great as that sounds....I have to work everyday after school, it can’t work out that way.” Liz said in defeat.

Max deflated. “You can’t get your dad to cut you some slack?” He suggested.

Liz shook her head. “No, we’re shorthanded as is...I don’t think that’s a possibility.”

“I guess we’re stuck with this then, huh?” Max asked, looking up at Liz.

“Yeah, I guess so.” She agreed.

Max cringed. “I feel so dirty around her, even when she looks at me.” He complained. “And I bet she’ll be doing a lot more than looking from now on.” Max shuddered.

Liz couldn’t help but feel jealous. “Well, I guess you’ll have to come over every now and then for a good cleansing, huh?” She asked, crawling onto his lap and straddling him.

“Yeah...I guess so.” Max said with a smile, running his hands up Liz’s sides and through her hair to come to a stop at the small of her back before leaning up for a kiss.

~~~~~The Next Day, At Lunch~~~~~~

“Not that I care, but where’s gerbil-face?” Maria asked, looking around. The table shrugged and Kyle and Sean glared at her.

“She stayed back in class to catch up more, or something, she’s skipping sixth period, too, so it must be big.” Kyle answered.

“Oh well, nobody misses her, do they?” Isabel asked the table.

“I hadn’t even noticed.” Alex said.

“The less I see of her, the better.” Max said, pulling Liz closer to his side.

“So this manager thing, it’s like set in stone, there’s no way out of it?” Michael asked.

Max shook his head. “Looks like she’s getting her way for once, but don’t expect me to fall for that innocent act.” Max declared. He felt Liz shiver and noticed she wasn’t wearing a long sleeve shirt. Even though it was New Mexico, it was still January and fairly chilly.

“Are you cold?” He asked, looking down at her with concern.

“I’ll live.” She shrugged it off, but snuggled in closer to Max.

“Well here.” Max took off his navy blue WRH Men’s Swimming hooded sweatshirt and gave it to her. Liz put it on and snuggled into it. She inhaled. It smelled just like Max...a mixture of soap and the smell that was just him. She smiled.

“Thanks.” Liz said, kissing him quickly.

“It looks better on you, anyway.” He said with a grin. Somehow, in some caveman way, he enjoyed the look of Liz in his sweatshirt that said ‘Evans’ on the back, somehow, it made their relationship more exclusive than it already was. He put his arm back around her.

“Aren’t you gonna be cold?” She asked.

He shook his head. “Nah, I’ve got you to keep me warm.”

The bell rang to signal the end of the lunch period and the group departed. Max and Liz began the trek to Liz’s next class. He noticed that Liz kept huddling into his sweatshirt and smiling.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

Liz noticed she was caught in the act and blushed. “Smelling your sweatshirt.”

“Why?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because it smells like you.” She stated simply.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, it’s like wearing a Max blanket...I like it...you’re never seeing this sweatshirt again.” She said with a giggle.

“Fine with me.” He said playfully.

~~~~The Next Day~~~~~

Tess had left Max alone during the previous day’s practice and he was beginning to think that things were beginning to settle down. The gang was sitting at lunch once again discussing nothing.

“Tess is gone again?” Sean asked Kyle. “I’m going into withdrawal here.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Kyle agreed.

~~~~~Across town, at the Crashdown~~~~~

Tess climbed the balcony to Liz’s bedroom and slid open the window. She crawled in quietly and began looking around. She picked up a framed picture of Max and Liz at some beach party with Max wrapping his towel around Liz and kissing her on the head. Both of them were smiling happily. Tess scowled in disgust, but slipped the frame into her backpack anyway. She continued looking around on Liz’s dresser and picked up a perfume bottle. She sniffed.

“Vanilla....typical Liz....boring.” Tess said, throwing down the bottle, but noting the scent and maker.

“Tess continued on to Liz’s bathroom where she looked through the shower. She picked up a bottle of Liz’s shampoo.

“Hmmm....Strawberry Breeze....” She muttered to herself. Tess exited the bathroom and was about to step out the window when she noticed a navy blue sweatshirt hanging on the back of Liz’s desk chair that said ‘Evans’ on the back.

Tess grabbed the sweatshirt and stuffed it in her backpack along with the picture frame and exited the room.




Part 6

The Next Day......

Liz jumped as someone grabbed her from behind and spun her around to press her back against the lockers.

“Max!! Oh my god, I nearly had a heart attack!!” Liz said, grasping her chest, but smiling at him.

“You were looking kinda tired, I was just checking your reflexes.” He said with a grin, poking her side. Liz recoiled and slapped his hand away.

“Don’t you dare, you know I’m ticklish.” She said sternly.

“Aaaww....” He pouted playfully. “You spoiled my fun.” He stuck out his lower lip. Liz grinned, seizing the opportunity by sucking his lip into her mouth and kissing him deeply. Max responded quickly, all jests forgotten, and pulled her closer to him, grabbing her by the waist and neck, anchoring her body to him. Liz heard a low growl rise from Max’s neck and smiled through the kiss. She broke away quickly and grinned at his now dazed and confused face.

“Gotcha.” She said with a laugh. Max sobered up and frowned.

“No fair!! You cheated!!” He pouted.

Liz laughed harder. She pinched his cheeks.

“I couldn’t help it!! You’re so cute when you get all confused and flustered!!”

Max’s face went solemn. “Just you wait Parker, revenge is a bitch, you know.”

Liz smiled. “Speaking of bitches, how have practices with Tess been going along?” She asked.

Max shrugged. “Oddly enough, she’s barely spoken two words to me. I’m beginning to get suspicious.”

“Don’t be so paranoid....maybe she’s finally given up and let Kyle and/or Sean into her pants like they’ve been dying to do.” Liz suggested.

“True....but let’s change to a better subject....like...you.” Max smiled.

“I’m flattered....what do you wanna know?”

“Are you busy tonight after school?”

Liz looked up in thought. “Wellll....I don’t have to work, but I promised this guy on the swim team that I’d be attending the big meet tonight to cheer him on, and then go to the after-party at Kyle’s with him.” Liz said, laying out her night.

The bell rang to signal for the next period as Max and Liz strolled hand-in-hand to their next class.

Liz headed home after school to get dressed for the meet. Already late, Liz was trying to hurry as she ran out the door, she realized she had forgotten Max’s sweatshirt and ran back to get it from her desk chair. It wasn’t there.

“That’s strange....” She said, but shrugged it off and headed out the door.

~~~~The Swim Meet that Night~~~~~

“Go Max!! Go!!” Liz stood up and yelled from the stands. It was the last relay of the meet and West Roswell needed the points from a first place finish in order to beat East Roswell for the city title. They were down to the final swimmers of the four-man relay, and Max was racing his city rival for the win. Coming into the final turn, Max pulled ahead and beat him, giving WRH the points for the win. The crowd erupted into cheers and Max got out of the pool to be greeted by fellow teammates with high fives and hugs.

He scanned the crowd and locked eyes with Liz, who blew him a kiss. Max threw her a grin and made his way over to the bleachers to dry off.

Liz leaned against the wall outside the locker room, greeting some of the swimmers who walked out before Max. She threw out the occasional “good job” or “congrats”, but then returned to waiting for Max to walk out. When he finally did, Liz threw herself around him and gave him a kiss.

“Great job tonight, that was pretty studly of you winning that race.” She said.

Max shrugged, ever the humble one. “There were three other guys on the relay, you know, I just kept up my end of the race.”

“You know, you have earned bragging rights after a performance like that, its okay to be proud of yourself.” Liz encouraged.

“I don’t need a city title when the only trophy I really want is right here.” He said, referring to her.

Liz blushed. “So I’m a trophy, huh?” Trying to sound offended.

Max began to get flustered, trying to rectify the sexist comment. “I...uh...you know I didn’t mean it that way, Liz.”

She smiled. “Yeah, I know....so, are we gonna go party or what?” She asked, livening up.

“Wait...I wanna tell you something...I was the last one out of the locker room because I was rehearsing this until it sounded right, and it probably won’t come out the way I want it to...but anyway....after finishing that race tonight, the first thing I did when I got out of the pool was look for you...the first thing I wanted to see after something that great was you and how proud of me you were, and I was thinking that over, because usually, an athlete would look to their coach or teammates after something like that, but the only thought on my mind was to see how you reacted, which is strange in a really cool way, and as I was sorting things out in my head as to why I felt and acted that way, I realized that...I....I love you, Liz.”

Liz gaped in shock. “What?”

“I love you...I mean, I know we’re in high school and we aren’t supposed to feel that way because we’re teenagers, but somehow I know that this is real...I love you.” He repeated.

Liz’s eyes teared up. She smiled. “I love you too.”

Max let out a sigh of relief and pulled Liz into a tight hug. He pulled away after a few moments and wiped away her tears with his thumbs, softly kissing her on the lips. They broke away after Liz laughed softly.

“What?”

“Could this night get any better?” She asked with a smile.

“Well I don’t know, but the night is still young, and we’ve got a party to go to!!” Max said, grabbing her hand and leading her to the parking lot.

Max and Liz made a fashionably late entrance to be greeted by the applause of the partiers, and then made their rounds, talking to their friends and grabbing their drinks before settling into a central location near Michael, Maria, Alex and Isabel. Max and Liz never left each other’s sides, their hands entwined by their fingers and glued to their sides. They were glowing with happiness and the entire party could tell. A popular song came on and the living room became a dance floor, with couples migrating to the center of it. Max and Liz set down their drinks, deciding to join in. The two were so wrapped up in each other that they didn’t notice someone pouring a white powder into both cups. They also didn’t notice any change in taste after gulping them quickly in order to quench their thirst after working up a sweat on the dance floor.

After a few hours, the party started to dissipate and people began to go home. Max and Liz were walking to the jeep when Liz began to lean against him heavily and stumble. Max stopped and bent down to check her out.

“Are you feeling okay, Liz?” Max asked, cupping her face in his hands so she could look him in the eye.

“So sleepy....” Liz said, her voice laced with exhaustion.

Max began to get worried. “Liz, what did you have to drink tonight?”

“Water, just like you, and why are you all blurry?” Liz was beginning to act delirious. Max took that as a cue to get her home. He brought her up to her room, where she plopped down on her bed and promptly fell asleep. Max tucked her in, giving her a kiss on the cheek goodnight and heading home himself. By the time he got home, he was also feeling slightly out of it and decided to take a swim. He jumped back into the jeep and headed towards the school pool. Since he was captain, he had a key to the pool and let himself in, undressing and diving in. After swimming a couple laps, he sat on the steps to take a break. He began to sway forward and his vision blurred. He got out and dried himself off, but stumbled on his way out the door and fell to the floor. He felt two hands on his shoulders and looked up, unable to identify who it was in his drugged state. Tess smiled, helped him to his feet, and that was when Max inhaled the scent of strawberries and vanilla. The all-too-familiar smell of Liz caused him to smile and wrap his arms around her waist.

“Liz...” Max slurred before his entire world faded to black.

Well so there are 5 and 6!! replies are greatly appreciated!!

thanks so much for all the great replies!! here are the next 2 parts!! I hope you like them!

Part 7

Sunlight from the windows jarred Max from his sleep. He opened his eyes, but immediately snapped them shut against the light. He had a pounding headache and tried to recall what had happened the previous night. Everything following the swim meet was a complete blur. No matter how hard he tried to remember, Max couldn’t think of what had happened the night before. Eyes still closed, he tried to lift his arm to rub his temples when he found them pinned down by another person’s body. Max’s eyes snapped open, and he looked reluctantly to his side, where he found a bare back leading up to a head of blonde curls. Max felt the bile rise when he noticed that he, too was also lacking in the area of clothing. He cursed silently, attempting to get his arm out from under the sleeping form without waking her. Max’s movement caused her to shift in her sleep and snuggle into his chest. That was when Max saw her face. It was Tess. ‘Coyote Ugly at its best.’ The thought flashed through Max’s mind and he considered chewing his arm off, but decided against it. Max took a moment to assess the situation. He was lying naked, on a towel, with Tess of all people, naked, in his arms. On the deck of the school pool. How would he explain this to the team if they walked in? He saw the vicious gossip chain of his conquest spreading like wildfire until it reached Liz and broke her heart. He felt Tess’ breathing pattern change and her eyes fluttered open.

‘Oh fuck!’ Max thought, when she looked up at him with the contented “Morning After” look.

She smiled and stretched. “Good morning.” She yawned.

“Maybe for you, I feel like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck, and to make matters worse, I woke up next to you.” Max spat, sitting up and scooting away from her, finding his boxers and pulling them on.

“Hmmm…hit by a Mack truck…they’ve never described it that way…” Tess pondered, recalling her past partners.

“What the hell is wrong with you? I woke up here with some strange case of date-rape-drug induced amnesia and you act like things are all bright and sunny!!” Max said, waving his arms.

“Date rape drug? Aren’t you exaggerating just a tad?” Tess asked in her defense, trying to cover up her tracks. “You said you don’t remember anything from last night, so how can you know that you didn’t have a few beers after the meet like every other member of the swim team did?”

Max’s mouth snapped shut. She had a point he couldn’t prove. He decided to try and find out what exactly happened.

“What happened last night?” Max asked, cringing at the coming answer.

“You really don’t remember?” Tess asked, trying to hide the hopefulness in her voice.

“I don’t. What happened?”

Tess shook her head in amusement. “Max...you’re a smart boy...I think you already know. The facts couldn’t be more obvious, you woke up, naked, next to an equally naked person...what do you think happened, genius?”

Max shook his head profusely. “No....we didn’t...” Max said, fighting off the nausea.

“Oh, we did...lots of times...I didn’t want to at first, since you were drunk and all, but you convinced me with the pity plea....telling me about how Liz was such a prude and she’d never give it up to you...and that you were going to break up with her today because you were sick of being in blue ball hell...so why don’t you take those silly boxers off and I’ll give you an encore of last night….” She finished seductively, stroking his chest.

“Get your hands the fuck off of me.” Max spat, throwing her off of him.

He stood up and pulled his pants on, pacing around the area. “I would never say things like that about Liz...I have no intentions of breaking up with her and there is no way that I would ever share anything about Liz and my personal life with you !” Max proclaimed, balling his hands into fists and gritting his teeth. “Liz and I love each other, which is more than I can say about what I feel towards you.” Max spat.

Tess casually checked her nails, picking at a bit of polish. “Well, I bet you’re going to have fun explaining this morning and last night to her....because you better hope she loves you enough to forgive you for losing your virginity to me....even if she were Mother Teresa, I doubt she’d be able to forgive a blow like that....I’d bet she’d kill herself out of the agony and embarrassment of it all....so what do you think? Sleeping pills? A hanging perhaps?” Tess asked, looking up with amusement at Max’s pale face.

Realization hit Max like a ton of bricks. He stopped dead in his tracks. ‘Liz.’ He thought. ‘How am I ever going to explain something like this to her? Just the thought of this would kill her.’ Max swallowed hard. ‘Prepare to make a deal with the devil, Evans.’ He took a deep breath.

“She can’t know.” Max said quietly. “Please, this would kill her.” He pleaded.

“Why should I care?” Tess asked with venom.

“Tess, show some humanity...I can’t let Liz know what happened.”

“So now you want me to pretend nothing happened last night? You want me to say we never made love?” Tess asked, slightly hurt.

“We didn’t.” Max said quickly.

“Excuse me? Were you not listening back there?” Tess asked.

“We didn’t make love, Tess....we had sex...there’s a difference....a very large one, I might add You can’t make love to a person you hate.” Max explained sternly.

“Hey!! I wouldn’t be so quick to insult the person who is holding all the cards right now!” Tess snapped back.

Max realized he was fighting a losing battle. He ran his hands through his air in agitation. “I’m sorry.” He said halfheartedly with a defeated sigh. “Please don’t tell anyone…I can’t bear the thought of hurting Liz…please…” Max begged.

Tess paused, assessing the situation. She would play the sympathetic “friend” for now, while she had Max wrapped around her finger. “Alright.” She sighed. “But you have to stop treating me like shit, you hear me? If I say hi to you in the hall, you have to be decent to me...not treat me like a burden...got it?” Tess demanded.

“Got it.” Max agreed. “Promise you won’t tell.”

“I promise...but I’m only doing this because I like you Max...a lot…and I want what’s best for you.” Tess said, appearing to soften.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Max said, pulling his shirt on and running out the door.

Tess watched him leave with a smile on her face. So she had to bend what had happened last night from Max passing out to Max and her doing the deed. Big deal...what Max doesn’t know...couldn’t hurt him...but it could sure as hell hurt Liz. ‘And if that doesn’t hurt her...I can.’ Tess plotted.


Max peeled into his driveway, threw the jeep into park and ran into the house, making a beeline for the bathroom, stripping down on the way. He turned the water on full blast, raising the temperature as high as it could go. He grabbed a rag along with the antibacterial soap and started scrubbing as hard as he could, practically taking off a layer of skin in the process. He toweled off his raw, red skin, wrapping the towel around his waist and proceeding to his room to get dressed. He noticed the phone on his nightstand and decided to call Liz on impulse. He dialed the familiar number and waited while the phone rang.

Liz rolled over groggily, pulling a pillow over her head in an attempt to block out the shrill ringing of her phone.

“Go away...” She mumbled sleepily. Her answering machine picked up the call.

“Hi, you’ve reached the Parkers...we’re not here, leave a message.” ((Beep))

“Liz!! Liz, it’s Max, I was just checking to make sure you were okay after last night...”

“Max?” Liz’s mind registered. She reached over and picked up the phone.

“Max?” She asked, still sleepy and with a pounding headache. “Owww…I feel like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck…” she trailed off.

Liz’s choice of words jolted Max back to earlier that morning and he swallowed down the bile. It was then that he realized that Liz too had been slipped something the night before, so she wouldn’t be any help in getting the details of the previous night back.

“Liz? You’re safe...good, I really needed to talk to you.” Max said desperately.

Liz sat up, trying to get her bearings. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

Max was quiet for a moment. Now that he had Liz on the phone, he had no idea what to say to her. “I was just checking to make sure you were okay after last night, I know that party got out of hand.” Max explained.

“Oh, yeah, I think I’m okay, except my head is killing me...I have no idea how I’m going to get through work today. Thanks for checking, though...I’m sorry if I passed out on you...I think something was slipped in my drink. So you dropped me off, huh?” Liz asked, smiling at Max’s ever gentlemanly acts.

Max had no idea what she was talking about but tried to play it off.

Max scratched behind his ear. “Uh, yeah, I couldn’t just leave you at the party to get picked up by some weird drunk with one intention on his mind.” Max said.

“Oh, so you mean you didn’t want Sean or Kyle getting to me?” Liz clarified with a laugh.

Max chuckled. “Basically...yeah.” He froze at the next words out of Liz’s mouth.

“So what did you do last night?”




Part 8

“So what did you do last night?” The seven words reverberated through Max’s head. He could feel the room around him getting smaller. He cleared his throat several times. Max thought over the pros and cons of lying vs. telling the truth. He decided to be noble and fess up.

“Just promise to let me fully explain before you--” Max began, but was cut off by Liz.

“Ohmygod?! Is it already 11:30?! Shit!! The lunch shift starts soon and I haven’t showered yet....I’m so sorry Max, but I really have to go before my dad grounds me for the better part of my dating years!! I’m so sorry, but we’re still on for tonight, right?” Liz rushed.

“What? Tonight? Oh, uh...yeah...pick you up at 7?” Max asked, thrown off by the fact that he didn’t have to tell Liz the devastating news of the previous night. He couldn’t help but feel slimy for avoiding it.

“Okay...its a date, see you then...I love you.” Liz said, hanging up quickly.

“Love you too.” Max sighed, hanging up the phone tiredly and getting dressed.

Liz darted out of her bed, showered quickly, and donned her teal waitress uniform and silver antenna. She shuffled down the stairs, rushing past her dad, who was sitting in the lounge.

“I’m late, I’m sorry, I overslept...it won’t happen again!” Liz said quickly, picking up her order pad and tray and pushing through the swinging doors. She threw a quick glance at Maria, who had a more-than-relieved look on her face at the sight of Liz, since the Crashdown was buzzing and Maria was the only waitress on duty, aside from Agnes, who was taking yet another “break”.

The lunch rush ended at around 4, and Liz and Maria sat down to take a breather. Maria wiped the back of her hand across her forehead.

“Whew!! I tell ya chica, those orthodontists really enjoy their moon burgers!!” Maria sighed, whipping out the cedar oil from her apron.

“I hate the ortho convention, they’re so picky...I had one guy send back his burger because “the onions were cut wrong, which could disturb his bite...” what the hell does that mean? Oh and don’t even get me started on his space fry whining...I was ready to--” Liz vented, making a strangling motion with her hands and gritting her teeth.

“They asked to check your bite again, didn’t they?”

“Yes!!” Liz spurted out.

“See, if you’re like me and don’t smile so brightly at them, they’ll leave you alone!!” Maria explained.

“Whatever...we’ve got customers.” Liz said, getting up with extra effort and leading the new crowd to a booth.

At 6:45, Max entered through the cafe doors, immediately searching for Liz, as he did every time he came into the restaurant. He saw her serving a family of 9 with an exhausted look on her face and smiled. He couldn’t help but love it when she looked all flustered, with her hair falling in her face and a genuine smile, even though she was obviously tired. Liz looked up and saw Max, only causing her smile to go wider. She finished serving the table and looked around the cafe for any more needy customers before approaching him.

“Hey.” She greeted, standing on her toes and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

“Hey.” He replied back with grin.

“You’re early...I look like crap.” Liz stated, looking down at her uniform.

Max tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You look beautiful...I love you in teal polyester.” Max teased, rubbing the fabric of her uniform between his fingers.

“Shut up.”

“I couldn’t help it...so when are you supposed to get off?” Max asked, looking at the clock on the cafe wall.

Liz checked her watch. “Oh, about an hour ago, but its so busy my dad won’t let me go...but I think this will only keep up for another half hour or so, so if you could just--”

“Miss?” A customer asked, getting Liz’s attention. “There’s something wrong with the onions on my space burger, I specifically said diagonally cut, not horizontally, this could destroy the alignment of my upper and lower bicuspids permanently.” The man explained, picking up the top half of his bun to reveal the onions. Liz remained facing Max, gritting her teeth and rolling her eyes in aggravation. She plastered on a smile.

“Could you excuse me for one minute?” Liz asked tightly, spinning around and grabbing the man’s plate. “I am so sorry, doctor, we’ll have that fixed right away.” She walked over to the service counter and rang the bell, slamming the plate down. Michael whipped around and took in Liz’s facial expression.

“Nother onion freak?” Michael asked around the toothpick in his mouth.

“How’d you guess?” Liz asked in sarcasm. Michael fixed the “problem” and handed the plate back to Liz.

“Thanks.” She muttered, handing the plate back to the customer, who double checked and seemed content with the new condiment.

Liz walked back over to Max and sighed. “Where were we?” She asked.

“You said you were probably free in a half hour, but I have the feeling you’re not going to be up for dinner and a movie like we had planned....”

“After tonight? I never want to see another restaurant customer again, even if it were to be myself at Senor Chows, I’d much rather get into my pajamas and watch a movie.” Liz confirmed.

Max grinned. “I thought you’d be like that, since you had forgotten all about the orthodontist’s convention and how tired you would get in your rush to get down here this afternoon, so I took the liberty of renting a movie!” Max said, holding up a videotape triumphantly. Liz gave him a tight hug.

“ThankyouThankyouThankyooouuuu!!!” Liz happily chanted in his ear. “Now I remember why I keep you around!!” She said with a smile.

Max shrugged. “Anything to keep my girl happy!!” He said with a smile. Liz’s head whipped around at the sound of the service bell. She groaned heavily and gave Max a quick kiss.

“Time to feed the masses.” She mumbled.

Max watched her walk away with a smile tugging at his lips, but couldn’t fight the nagging feeling that things weren’t going to be as perfect as that moment for a long time.

Liz wasn’t able to get off of work until 8 that night, and she was dead tired. Max had stayed at the Crashdown during the duration of her shift, completely satisfied just having the privilege of watching her work. Liz would steal the occasional glance at Max, who would blush, getting caught in the act of staring. Liz laughed to herself ‘just like sophomore year’ she reminisced. When 8 O’clock had rolled around, Liz lead Max up to her bedroom to watch the movie. She changed into flannel pants and a sweatshirt before snuggling in bed next to him.

“Mmmmm...” Liz said, yawning and stretching next to him before getting comfortably situated under his arm and hugging his side, her arm draped across his stomach. She was currently busy tracing circles on his abdomen with her fingernail. Max pressed play on the remote and the opening credits rolled.

“What movie is this, anyway?” Liz yawned, snuggling closer.

“Orange County.” Max replied.

“Cool...have you ever noticed how much that guy in the movie looks like Alex?” Liz pondered.

“Yeah, now that you mention it...he does.” Max said, cocking his head to the side while looking at the screen.

Liz and Max lost interest in the movie and began talking. Liz’s eyes kept drifting shut, so she decided to keep them that way and rest her head on Max’s chest while they spoke.

“So how is that scholarship coming along?” Liz asked.

“Pretty well...there was a scout for Stanford at the meet and coach said he was asking about me.” Max said with excitement.

Liz perked up slightly. “So what did he say?”

“Nothing much...but he’ll be at the district meet next weekend and the state meet recruiting hopefuls.” Max explained.

“So you might actually happen, huh?” Liz asked, reclosing her eyes.

“Yeah, can you believe it? That would be so cool to go to school at Stanford...they’ve got a really great athletic program and a great academic curriculum, plus I’d be able to be close to you.” Max said, softening.

“USC and Stanford are 350 miles apart, Max.” Liz stated.

“Psshh, that’s like a 5 hour drive, that’s nothing…but its worth the mileage to see you!” Max exclaimed, shrugging off the distance.

Liz stretched again and inhaled. “Let’s not think about college, that’s like, 6 months away...” Liz muttered sleepily. “You’re forgetting we still have to get through this year.” She reminded him.

“Yeah, but I’m still excited.” Max thought about his and Liz’s future, but couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the terrible occurrence with Tess. “Liz...there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you...and I don’t think you’re gonna like it, but could you just hear me out?” Max asked worriedly.

“Mmmhmmm.” Liz agreed sleepily. Max looked down.

“Liz? You awake?”

“Mmmhmmm.” She agreed again softly, not paying attention.

“Liz, the house is on fire.” Max tested.

“That’s nice.” She muttered.

Max stifled laughter, but was disappointed that Liz wasn’t conscious enough to fully comprehend a scenario that held so much weight on it. He decided to let her sleep, peeling her body away from his, this action evoked a soft moan of protest where Max froze until he was sure she was back to sleep, and tucking her into bed, slipped out the window and headed home.

Monday

Max had a free period during the day and decided to head to the library for research. He slipped into one of the computer consoles and decided to check his e-mail first-off. Logging into his screen name and typing in his password, Max was surprised to hear the message from the computer.

“You--Have--88--New--Messages.” The broken voice told him. Max’s eyes widened in shock.

Scrolling down his mailbox, he was surprised by what he found.

Every single message was from the same sender: TESSHARD4EVANS.


So there's 7 and 8!! replies would be greatly appreciated!! I probably won't be able to write for a while, I've got a few term papers hanging over my head, but I'll try to get another part out sometime this week or early next week!! thanks for reading!!

Part 9

Max gaped at the screen. “No way.” He whispered to himself in denial, not liking the look of Tess’ first name next to his last name. He tried to keep from throwing up at the sight of her screen name. Max opened the first of the many e-mails with much hesitation, eyes widening in surprise at the very simple, yet very blunt and creepy message on the screen.

I love you. Was all the message read, and that was enough to cause Max to shiver. He reluctantly opened the second message to find that a picture began downloading. While it was still blurry, Max could make out two figures standing very closely together. As the image sharpened, Max recognized the photograph to be the one Maria had taken of he and Liz together at the beach the previous summer, except instead of Liz in Max’s embrace, Tess’ head was in place of Liz’s.

This is the way it should be...she’s not good enough for you, Max.

Max closed the window quickly and deleted all of the messages, not wanting to see anymore. He shut down the computer and ran his fingers through his hair with aggravation and cradling his head in his hands. He began shaking his head back and forth and muttering to himself.

“I’m so screwed, I’m a terrible boyfriend, I’m so screwed....I deserve to go to hell…” Max began chanting to himself.

Liz walked into the library and scanned the computer section for an open spot. She spotted the familiar figure of Max in the corner and began sneaking over, smiling to herself. As she got closer, she could hear him muttering to himself but couldn’t make out the words. Liz also noticed his posture and wondered what was going on. Liz approached him from behind and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him to her body.

“Hi.” She greeted softly into his ear. Max jumped, turned to see who it was and visibly relaxed, but glanced at the computer nervously before giving her his attention.

Max reached up and rubbed her arms that were still around his neck.

“Hey....what are you doing here?” Max asked, thanking the gods that Liz hadn’t walked in five minutes earlier.

Liz walked around Max’s chair, dropped her backpack and sat in his lap. Max wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I’m probably doing the same thing you are: research for that English final...correct?” Liz asked, turning on the computer.

“English? What? Oh...yeah.” Max said with distraction.

“Are you okay?” Liz asked, furrowing her brow and looking down at Max’s face.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Max said, voice cracking. “Why do you ask?”

Liz looked at the screen, as if it held answers for her, and then looked back to Max.

“You just seem distracted lately or something...I don’t know, its stupid, probably all of this college stuff and swimming and everything, right?” Liz asked, shrugging it off.

“Yeah....yeah.” Max said agreed softly. ‘That and the fact that I’m a cheating dirtbag not worthy of being in your line of vision.’ He added mentally.

“Don’t wrinkle your face up like that…you’ll get wrinkles.” Liz said, grazing her thumbs over his forehead.

“Sorry, I’m just tired…I guess.” Max said in exhaustion.

“Okay, so lets get this project out of the way so we can focus on resting you up.” Liz said, shifting so she could face the monitor and logging on to the internet. “First I’m gonna check my mail though.”

Max had been spacing until that last sentence. ‘What if Tess had sent her something? What if she tells the truth about what happened?’ The thoughts bolted through Max’s head as he watched Liz log on and heard the message that she had new mail. Max’s mental panic button went off. He scanned the screen for Tess’ name and spotted it at the same time Liz did.

“That’s odd...it says urgent message on the subject from someone named tes--” Liz was cut off by Max’s hand flying to the keyboard before she could read the whole username.

“No!!” He cried, hitting the delete key and getting rid of the message. Liz looked back at him with shock.

“What was that about?” Liz asked with surprise and suspicion.

“Its...ah...er..virus!! It’s a computer virus and if you open it the whole system goes to hell.” Max covered up. Now was not the time to tell Liz about his infidelity.

“A virus.” Liz repeated skeptically. “Since when were you up on things like that? Isn’t that more along the lines of Alex’s hobby?” Liz questioned.

“Yeah it is, and Alex was the one who told me about it...so I’ve had fair warning.” Max said, laughing nervously. Liz wasn’t convinced, but was cut off from her interrogation when the bell rang, much to Max’s relief, and students began to pile out of the library. Max shot up like a rocket as soon as Liz stood up, pecked her on the lips quickly and headed out the door.

Liz watched him leave with a frown on her face and suspicion in her mind.

Later that night…

Max walked through his front door tiredly, but in a happy demeanor. Tess hadn’t been at swim practice immediately following school, so there was no need for him to watch his back or walk on eggshells around her.

“I’m home!!” He called into the house, dropping his bag on the floor. “Mom?”

“In the living room, hon.” Diane replied. Max headed down the hall to where his mother’s voice was coming from. He halted at the doorway. His mother was sitting on the sofa hunched over Max’s photo album with Tess at her side smiling and laughing along.

“Hi Max, I was just showing your friend Tess your old photos, she dropped by right after school to pick something up, and she mentioned you and you know how much I love to talk...” Diane said, greeting him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m just gonna go get some tea...” She said, leaving the room. Max remained standing stiffly in the doorway.

“What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be at practice?” Max interrogated.

“I told the coach I had pressing social engagements and I wouldn’t be able to make it to practice. I won’t tell if you don’t.” Tess replied with a playful wink. Max wasn’t convinced.

“But you don’t.” He curtly responded.

“Don’t what?”

“Have a ‘pressing social engagement’.” Max spat back sarcastically, using his fingers as quotation marks and recrossing his arms.

“Yes I do...that’s why I’m here...and may I tell you that it is so great to finally meet your mother.” Tess said with a smile.

“My mother? You barely know me...you moved here what? Three months ago?” Max defended, anger rising.

Tess glided up to him and began trailing a finger down his chest. “On the other hand, I think I know you very well, in the more than personal sense, I bet I know you better than Liz does after the other night.” She teased, her hand heading toward his pants.

Max fumed. He grabbed Tess’ wrists angrily and threw them off of him. “Don’t bring her into this, Tess. That night was a mistake, if anything happened, that is...in case you’ve forgotten, I passed out, Tess....This could all be a lie...a...a setup.” Max reasoned. “Why should I even believe a damn thing you say about that night?” He demanded.

“Because you’re too scared to find out if what I said happened that night really happened, because you’re too scared of what you might find...you’re scared to death of losing your little Lizzie....so you just live this little fantasy where you’re the hero and I’m the villain…where I came up with some evil scheme to get you into bed and destroy your perfect relationship, but I know you Max, I know that you’re terrified to find out the truth because then there’s the chance that you might have actually fucked up your perfect little world…face it Max, if you really believed that nothing happened as much as you say you do, then why haven’t you talked to Liz about it? Why are you so desperate to cover up something you claim is nothing? No matter how much you lie to yourself about it, the bottom line is that we had sex...and that you enjoyed it. This is the real world, Max...not some teenage soap opera...your actions do have consequences.” She spat out.

Max opened his mouth in an attempted response, but came up with nothing. As much as he hated to admit it, Tess was right, and he could do nothing about it.

“Get out.” He whispered sternly.

Tess smirked bitterly, pushing her way past him and out the door.

“See you around.” She added before slamming the door behind her.

~~~~Tuesday~~~~

Sean greeted Max happily with a high five. “Hey Evans!! I don’t know what it is you did...but thanks man!!” Sean said, falling into step with Max, who was heading to his locker.

“What did I do?” He asked, confusion written all over his face.

“Tess Harding, man!! I think she’s finally over you because she came over last night and we had a nice long talk...and we’re set up for a date Friday night! I’m gonna score!” Sean said happily with a grin.

Max fought down his breakfast after hearing Tess’ name. “Well, she’s all yours, Sean, I’m just glad she’s finally gotten her sanity along with all of her other belongings shipped over from California.”

“Whatever dude, she’s hot...I don’t know why you didn’t seize the moment when she obviously wanted to.” Sean pointed out.

“Because I have a girlfriend who is more than Tess can ever be.” Max defended.

“Parker? I’ll agree that she’s hot and all Max..” This received a protective glare from Max at the thought of other guys checking her out. “Whoa, there buddy....but I don’t go for brunettes, besides, Liz is way too intelligentectual for me” Max smirked at Sean’s use of the word ‘intelligentectual: he had a point there. “...and the only guy she sees is you for that matter...every guy in the school knows that she’s got your name all over her.” Sean explained.

“Yeah? Well on that same note, I don’t go for the 5 B’s: Big-busted, bleached blond, and brainless.” Max counted off on his fingers. “And Tess is the epitome of that very short list.” Max said, opening his locker and trading his books for his next class.

“Too bad that same list is my ideal woman...see? We all win in the end! Speaking of which, I think I see her down the hall, so I’m gonna go.” Sean said with a wave, running down the hall to catch up with Tess.

Max shook his head as he watched Sean go.

“What’s up with him?” Liz asked, nodding toward Sean while falling into stride with Max as they began their trek to the next period.

“Just the person I wanted to see.” Max said with a smile as he slipped his arm around her waist.

“Why? What did I do?” Liz asked.

“Nothing, Sean and I were just talking and I started to think of you.” Max explained.

“Should I be worried?” She responded.

“Nah, it’s just something Sean said...guy talk.” Max shrugged it off, not wanting to explain to Liz that they were comparing her and Tess.

“What did you say? He seems more lighthearted today.” Liz stated.

“Oh, he’s got a date on Friday...nothing big.”

“With someone easy so he’s going to get laid?”

“That’s what they tell me.” Max answered.

“Good for him.” Liz laughed, though disgusted at the thought of sleeping with Sean. They arrived at Liz’s Spanish class. “Well, this is my stop.” Liz said, stopping in front of the door and looking up at Max.

“Yeah...so I’ll see ya at lunch?” Max asked.

“Yep...bye.” Liz said, turning to go in, but stopped when Max grabbed her upper arm and spun her around. He leaned down to kiss her and Liz met his lips half way. Max brushed against her lips lightly, but escalated the kiss by brushing his tongue against her lips. Liz opened her mouth in response and began sliding her hands up Max’s neck when the sound of a throat being cleared broke them apart. Max and Liz, both red-faced, turned to face Liz’s teacher.

“Elisa?” He asked, looking down his nose at Liz.

“Lo siento, Senor.” Liz apologized, ducking her head and stepping into class, her teacher following her. Max watched her go and finished walking to his own class.

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

Max climbed up the fire escape of Liz’s balcony to find her staring up at the sky. Max looked up, wondering what was so captivating, but shrugged it off and walked merrily over to Liz. She heard him approaching and looked at him with a smile.

“Not that I mind, but what’s with the house call?” Liz asked, standing up and closing the gap between them. Max grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly.

“No reason, I just kinda felt like seeing you after reading something like this.” Max said, defiantly holding up an envelope.

Liz’s eyes widened in shock. She took it from his hands.

“Max, the return address says Stanford University.” Liz noted.

“Yup.” Max agreed with a smile.

“Is it?” Liz asked, holding her breath.

“Yup.” He repeated.

Liz was overcome with joy and threw herself in Max’s arms.

“Max!! That’s so great!! You got in?” She asked, pulling away for verification in his eyes.

“Yeah...I’m going to Stanford on a full swimming scholarship!!” He said proudly.

“But I thought they weren’t recruiting until the state meet, that’s a month and a half away.”

“I guess they didn’t have to wait for me...but I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.” Max shrugged.

“I’m so proud of you!!” Liz said, hugging him again and kissing his cheek.

“I’m glad you are...and this is so great...we’ll be able to see each other all the time!” Max said excitedly.

“Max, USC and Stanford are 5 hours apart.” She reminded him.

“Well, USC is closer than Harvard is to Stanford...lemme just thank god you can’t stand cold weather, because I don’t know if I’d be able to fly to Cambridge every weekend.” He joked.

Liz shoved him on the shoulder playfully. “So this is for real, then, right?” She asked.

“Yup.” Max repeated once again.

“This is so great....we’re at our colleges of choice that aren’t 3000 miles apart, You’re really taking off with the swimming thing, Tess is off your back...” Liz listed off.

“Could life be more perfect?”




So there's part 9....thought I would squeeze it in before I left school for a whole week...I'll post part 10 when I get back in a week! enjoy! thanks for reading, it is much appreciated

PART 10

At practice the next afternoon, Sean was telling Max all about his plans for his date with Tess in more detail than Max would have enjoyed.

“So if everything goes, well, I plan to have a little fun up at Buckley’s point, if you know what I mean....” Sean said, elbowing Max as he adjusted his goggles.

“Sean, stop before I become permanently scarred...look, I’m really happy about this new development, but could I not have every detail about your personal life? That’s why they call it personal after all, you know.” Max said edgily...he had a lot on his mind and the mention of Tess didn’t help; it still bothered him that he never told Liz about the “incident” with Tess. Things hadn’t been the same with he and Liz since then...he always felt like he was holding back.

Max dove into the water and began his laps, working out his frustration and anger over everything in his life at the moment, trying to think about when and how would be the best way to drop the bombshell on Liz, he tried thinking of an easy way into it, but he could already picture the look of betrayal on her face in every possible scenario, and the look would only get worse the longer he kept things a secret. As the end of practice neared, Max got out of the pool and went to get his towel when he found Tess in the way.

“What do you want, Tess?” Max asked tiredly.

“You don’t seem very chipper today, Max...what’s wrong? Is everything second rate with Liz now that you’ve been with me?” She prodded. “How are things going with her by the way? Isn’t it great to be in a relationship with complete honesty? Oh wait…you wouldn’t know…” She asked with a laugh as she tapped her chin in mock contemplation.

Max grabbed her arms angrily. “Don’t!! Don’t you ever touch that subject again!! Liz is infinitely better than you in every area...don’t even try to bring her into this, or I swear to god you will wish you never came to this school, or ever met me. Understand?!” Max asked, shoving her away angrily, not caring about her reply.

Tess glared at his retreating back. Things with him were far from over.

~~~~After Practice (Thursday)~~~~

“Mom? I’m home!!” Max called into the doorway, throwing his keys on the table.

“Hi, hon...there’s another letter from Stanford on the table for you.” Diane said, passing Max and kissing him on the cheek before continuing into the kitchen.

Max spotted the letter and opened it, beginning to read.

“What the hell....”

Mr. Evans:
We regret to inform you that despite your talent and ability to contribute to our team here at Stanford, we are forced to retract our offer towards a full athletic scholarship for the 2003 fall season due to some newly acquired information regarding your athletic and academic credibility. It is in Stanford University’s best interests to--

Max crumpled the paper in his fist angrily. He hadn’t bothered reading the rest of the letter. He had just lost his scholarship and he had no idea why, but he knew somehow Tess was behind it.

~~~~Friday~~~~~
Max was in a daze throughout the day, not acknowledging anything that was going on around him. The only thing Max was aware of was the fact that his life was spinning out of control and he had no idea how to stop it. But he did know where to begin. Max planned out the rest of his day on his path to get his life back. He would go to practice, and then go to Liz’s later that night to clear the air and try to keep her in his life. A life that was barely recognizable anymore.

Max had done so poorly in practice that his coach had worked him extra hard to try and get his times back down. Max’s times were suffering because the only thing on his mind was how he was going to explain things to Liz. He was so exhausted from practice that he decided to take a nap upon arriving at home so that he could be completely articulate and aware for his confrontation with Liz.

That Night…

Max walked into the Crashdown, searching desperately for Liz. He spotted her and immediately headed toward her. Liz looked up in time to see a very stern Max speeding toward her before he grabbed her and dragged her into the back room.

“Max? Max what are you doing?” Liz asked as she tried to keep up with Max.

“We need to talk...NOW.” Max said, pushing through the doors and stopping to face her, releasing her arm.
“Can you take a break?” He asked, calming down slightly.

“Not really, my parents are gone for the week, so I have to manage the restaurant...I don’t have time for breaks...” Liz explained, watching Max get frustrated with her reply.

“This is really important, when are you off?” Max said desperately.

“Eleven tonight.” She responded.

“I’ll wait.” Max said quickly.

“Max, you need to get some sleep, have you completely forgotten about the meet tomorrow?” Liz rationalized.

“Screw the meet!!” Max exclaimed.

Liz was taken aback. “What’s wrong?”

“Liz...please?” Max begged.

Liz stood dumbfounded. “Yeah, sure...I guess.” She consented, shrugging her shoulders.

~~~~Sean and Tess’ Date~~~~

Sean and Tess were parked at Buckley’s Point in the heat of a make out session, and as Sean rounded second base, Tess began to moan.

“Oh god, Max...” Tess said between kisses.

Sean was hurt but shrugged it off until she said it again.

“Max...”

Sean broke off the kiss and pushed her away.

Tess came out of her haze. “What? What’s wrong?” She asked, oblivious of the situation that had taken place.

Sean wiped off his mouth. “Well, I’m not Max...for one!!” He said, upset that Tess didn’t know what she was doing.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about your sick problem...Max is with Liz , not you, okay? And I’m sick of being his little replacement!! God!! I should have noticed when you started acting all psychotic around him and Liz whenever they were together!! Get over him!!” Sean fumed.

“I don’t understand...”

“Understand this!! Max was nice to you the first day because you were new and needed to feel welcome!! That’s it!! He and Liz are together and that’s not going to change! He and Liz are probably going to USC together now since he got kicked out of Stanford for bullshit reasons...so there goes any POSSIBLE chance you could have had with him!! Find a new hobby for chrissakes!” Sean drilled the information into her. “I’m sick of this shit…have a nice life, Tess.”

“Sean...” Tess said, beginning to panic.

“I can’t believe it!” Sean said, opening the car door.

“Sean!!” Tess screamed.

Sean stormed out the car in a huff, not looking back.

“Sean, get back here!” Tess hollered out the window, but her cries fell on deaf ears. “Shit!!” she cursed to herself.

~~~~Crashdown~~~~

Closing time came around at 11:30, and Max had loyally sat in his booth, staring at the table in deep thought. Liz approached him cautiously.

“What’s so bad that we needed to talk?” Liz asked, sitting down in the booth next to him. Max’s head snapped up.

“Is the restaurant locked up?” Max asked, looking toward the front door.

“Yeah, why?”

“Can we go upstairs?” Max asked. Liz shrugged and got up from the booth, heading towards the apartment. Once they got to Liz’s room, she changed out of her uniform and into her pajamas, then sat down on her bed. Max remained standing and began pacing the room.

“Are you okay?” Liz asked quietly.

“No...no, I’m not...” Max said with worry.

“Than spit it out already...you know you can tell me anything.” Liz said softly.

Max let out a slight laugh at that comment. He stopped, looking down at Liz with her expectant and unknowing eyes and knelt down in front of her.

“Now you’re scaring me.” Liz commented, trying to lighten the mood.

“Liz, I have something I really need to say, but before I do...I want you to know that you mean everything to me...you’re my heart, my soul...my life...I love you so much it makes me crazy and I don’t know why or how you picked me, but I’m thankful every day and I know I don’t deserve you, but I can’t help but want to keep you for myself...” Max rambled, looking down at his hands, which were holding Liz’s.

“Max...” Liz said, tearing up.

“No, let me finish...I’ve been so stupid Liz, I’ve had you here all this time and I was stupid...I thought it was you....” Max trailed off, trying to fight back tears.

“What? Max, you’re not making any sense.”

“I thought it was you that night of the party...I thought it was you and it wasn’t....it was Tess....” Max whispered.

Liz stiffened. “What? What about Tess?” She asked firmly.

“I couldn’t see, everything was so muddled...and...vanilla...and then I woke up....” Max said brokenly between sobs.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I...I uh...I woke up that morning.....with, with Tess.” Max said, lowering his head. He felt Liz’s hands drop from his own.

“What?” She whispered, her own eyes brimming with tears.

“I slept with Tess.” Max confessed.

Liz stood up angrily. “What?! No...this is some joke...isn’t it?”

Max kept silent.

“How could you do this to me?” The hurt on Liz’s face was hundreds of times worse than Max had imagined it.

“I don’t know...I don’t know...I couldn’t think straight...I thought it was you...” He tried to explain.

“You thought it was me? that’s your excuse?!!” Liz screamed.

“Liz, Liz please, listen to me...she was there, she was waiting for me...she did something to me...” Max babbled, touching Liz’s shoulder. She turned away, hugging herself.

“Get out.” She whispered.

“Liz...”

“GET OUT!!” She screamed, back still turned.

Max stared at her longingly, but heeded her wishes, closing the door softly behind him.

As soon as she heard the door ease shut, Liz collapsed onto her bed in tears.

sorry it's so short but I'm swamped with studies so I probably won't be able to post for another week when my life is less hectic. Hope you enjoyed it!

so yeah i haven't been around for a while and I must confess it's because I am enjoying my Christmas break away from school...but I go back in a week and will be bored out of my mind, so keep your heads up for the next part. Thanks so much for your patience!