[b]Title: Risk of Burning.
Author: Cath AKA Kitcat26
Summary: Can love find a second chance, even when it seems all odds are
against them?
Disclaimer: Not mine. You know the drill. Title's from below lyrics.
Ratings/Pairings: R. M/L [/b]
Challenge by Mystical Light ML 4ever. You can check it out at the Discuss board at roswellfanatics if you want to be spoiled as to where I am going to go with this.
[I]You look in my eyes and I get emotional inside.
I know it's crazy but you still can touch my heart.
And after all this time you'd think that I,
I wouldn't feel the same but time melts into nothing and nothing's changed.
CHORUS:
I still believe someday you and me will find ourselves in love again.
I had a dream someday you and me will find ourselves in love again.
Each day of my life I'm filled with all the joy I could find.
You know that I, I'm not the desperate type.
If there's one spark of hope left in my grasp, I'll hold it with both hands. It's worth the risk of burning to have a second chance. No, no no no no no I need you baby.
I still believe that we can be together(haaoo). If we believe that true love never has to end. Then we must
know that we will love again.
CHORUS:
I still believe (yeeaaah) someday you and me will find ourselves in love again.
Oh baby yeah, I had a dream someday you and me will find ourselves in love again.
I still believe (oh baby I do) some day you and me (just give me one more try) in love again.
I had a dream (I miss your love) someday you and me will find ourselves in love again.
I still believe (yeah I still believe) someday you and me (baby) in love again. [/I]
[b]I Still Believe- Mariah Carey[/b]
[b] Part One [/b]
He held his weary head in his hands, his fingers gripping his thick mane tightly, almost as if he was trying to rip the pain out of his soul. His hands slowly released their iron grip and ceased assault on his strands of hair and languidly slid down to cover his haggard face. His fingers rubbed his eyes furiously, fighting the tears that were threatening to well up, trying to rub away all remains of the horrible memories of that day.
Finally removing his hands, having them collapse dejectedly in his lap, he stared relentlessly at his own body. His own body, which had been foolish enough to remain somewhat intact, while hers did not. His strong arm lay bound in a cast, the bones beneath broken, but it was nothing compared to his broken soul and his torn heart. If only.if only..
Rising from the well-worn chair, the chair that had grown so accustomed to his frequent visits that his shape was almost carved into it, he moved closer to the hospital bed. He was sickened by the fact that the starch white-ness of the sheets matched almost to a fault to the complexion to its occupants.
This wasn't how that night was supposed to end. This wasn't how THEY were supposed to end. He felt another tear in his heart, and he was surprised. He had thought that there was nothing left inside him to tear. Everything worthwhile in him, everything that matter had disappeared when he had awaken, only to find that she might never again.
He reached out suddenly. Grabbing her soft, lifeless hand, he lifted it up to meet his quivering lips. Kissing it tenderly, he clenched his jaw, his throat working to fight the primal wail that was working its way up to try and abscond out of his throat. For a while, he stood as such. Staring intensely, his depth filled eyes boring into her own closed ones. He had to blink rapidly against a new, fresh onslaught of tears.
Not letting go for an instant, he turned around and grabbed the beaten in chair and dragged it noisily closer to the bed. Sinking down, he placed his other hand over her own, capturing it, never wanting to let go again.
It was then that he closed his eyes and allowed himself to recall those fateful months; the months where he had thought his life would change forever.
He just hadn't known how much, nor how drastically.
He was hit with a sudden thought, one that paralyzed him with hope.
Perhaps.
Perhaps if he spoke to her.if he retold everything.
Perhaps the sound of it would reach her deep inside and bring her back to him, back out of the coma.
"Please wake up," he whispered roughly, his voice breaking. "Please."
---------------------------
[I] A few months earlier. [/I]
Maxwell Evans stared at the doors of West Roswell High. He was so close. Only one last semester of high school and he would finally be rid of this town. He would then be on his way to his dream, his entire life's goal. He was hoping that then, then would finally feel.fulfilled. For as long as he could remember there had always been something [I]missing[/I] from his life. Some unexplainable hollow feeling deep within his chest. And he hoped this was it. This was the year when he was going to start to make it happen. Starting by focusing on High School Graduation and picking out the place in which he would really begin his journey to his dream.
His dream. His reason for going in the morning. The ambition that had been installed in his brain since childhood by his father. To follow in his father's footsteps and become a successful lawyer in his father's place. For as long as Max could remember, that had been his every aspiration. Fueled by his father's demands of him, and own success, Max had not had your average teenage vocation. When his buddies had gone out late at night, drinking and partying, Max had been in his room, studying extra credit, or volunteering so he could have a lovely college application. Studious and introverted by nature, his father's expectations of him further shaped his shy disposition, one that had begun to form when his mother had died when he was young. Ever since then, Max had usually taken to himself, not bothering to try and make friends, least they leave him as well. The only person he counted on was his father. Little did he know that that was all about to change.
Not to say that Max didn't have any friends. His childhood friend, Michael Guerin, had known Max before his mother's death, and had helped him silently through the aftermath. A man of few words, Michael was somewhat of a rock to lean on. Not that he would ever admit it, he and Max shared a bond that went beyond brotherhood.
Max and his sister Isabel were always close, especially after Diane Evan's early passing. However, once Isabel hit high school, she found different means of coping with the death than her brother. Instead of retreating into herself, and burying herself in schoolwork like her brother, Isabel molded herself a façade, a mask that she hid behind. To the unwitting world she was the Ice Princess, lusted after and envied. No one, save a few, knew who she really was and most never really bothered to find out. Which was perfectly fine with Isabel.
During middle school, one Maria Deluca had seen through Max's stoic behavior to the soul that lied within. Her bubbly personality and obstinacy that would stun a yak penetrated through Max's built up layers one by one, until he allowed her friendship to affect his life. He was glad he did so, for Maria helped fill in his empty feeling, but not entirely. Once Maria had befriended him, her own best friend, one Alex Whitman, also entered Max's life. This was much to Michael's dismay, as his own rocky childhood of foster care left him wary of strangers, and aloof to the majority of the world. Gradually, however, with time, Maria's tenacious personality wore him down and he welcomed hers and Alex's friendship.
And that was it. Other than that intimate circle of friends, no one else had become close to the mysterious Max Evans. Max often laughed about his supposed reputation, his notoriety for ambiguity, and the rumors that occasionally went around about his life. How disappointed most would be to discover he spent his Friday nights (the ones where Maria's wacky plans didn't interfere, or Michael's supporting of the athletics of America) reading up on the LSAT's!
Blinking roughly, Max chuckled silently at his wandering thoughts. He often did this. Dissolving into his musings, getting lost in thought. It usually made him partial to dreamy sighs from most of the female population of Roswell, to which he declined most of their pursuits. Maria often teased him good-naturedly, calling him a soft-spoken romantic. Alex often joked that he was gay.
It was none of these, however. He had just never met any girl who could prompt him to take another glance.
The warning bell rang, a blatant, shocking admonition for those just arriving. Max cursed his absorbing thoughts and rushed inside. No more did he contemplate his life, or how he got up to this point, and his sole focus was on his subjects, derailed only slightly at the sound of the day's latest gossip and Maria's consistent chatter.
----------------------------
"Max! Over here!"
Max's raven tousled head spun towards Alex's voice, and he was meet with the sight of the usual gang sitting under an oak tree in the quad. He was surprised at the sight of his sister sitting with his friends, but his surprise turned into a sly delight at the sight of Alex smiling broadly at Isabel, and Isabel smiling shyly back.
A slight smile still tugging at his lips in amusement, he made his way over, maneuvering swiftly against the onslaught of the rest of the population of West Roswell High. Pausing to deposit his lunch on the nearby table, he leaned indolently against the tall oak. A small breeze wafted through the quad and Max closed his eyes, feeling the cool air caress his cheek. He was enveloped with a memory of his mother, his mother who had always enjoyed nature and all its wonder, and taught him to try and do the same. The wind always reminded him of her for some reason, and yet today that knowledge did not weight with the same burden as it usually did. No, today instead he just relished in her memory, missing her.
"Hey guys!" Maria's chipper voice cut across the quad and Max turned to watch her come across the grass. A couple of jocks at the table in front of her also turned expectantly at her loud salutation, to which Maria responded disgustedly, "Not YOU, I don't even know you." She continued on her way to the gang, dragging behind her a petite brunette, whose features Max couldn't exactly make out. He stood up straight, loosing his earlier support from the tree and tilted his head to try and place the girl. He was almost sure he had never seen her before, and yet at the same time he felt he had. Odd.
Maria finally reached her desired destination, a smile curving her rosy lips upward. Michael quirked a grin at her and reached out to tug her blonde strands lightly. "What's up Pixie?" He teased, using a fond nickname he had come up with year ago. Max fought the urge to grin. Who would have ever thought Michael would be joking around with Maria Deluca? If you had told Max that during grade school, he would have pointed you in the direction of the nearest asylum, where in Roswell, alien abductees and UFO crazed townies often took a visit.
Maria rolled her eyes at Michael and muttered something along the lines of "Spaceboy," before continuing. "There's someone I want you guys to meet!" She wrenched the brunette's arm in an attempt to bring her into better view, and the girl, caught entirely unaware, was flung forward.
It seemed entirely reflexive when Max reached out to steady the girl, but as his arms gathered her up to keep her from falling, it was as if an electric jolt went down his throat, carrying his stomach down to his toes and then spreading back up towards every part of him. His breath catching, Max's amber eyes sought out her own, and when he gazed into her chocolate-y tan depths he knew nothing would be the same ever again.
-----------------------
Liz gasped slightly at the sensation of being in the arms of this desperately good-looking guy. She had been a bit apprehensive of beginning her last semester of high school in a strange town, a small town no less, where everyone knew everyone all ready, and where there was more than likely no room for a misfit lower middle class girl from the city. Her parents had never had an extravagant sum of money, and when her father was laid off for the third time, her parents decided to go back to the town where Liz's grandparents grew up in order to start up their own business. And since Grandma Claudia was obsessed with her hometown "alien memorabilia" they had just the ties they needed to start up a themed restaurant in the alien capital of the world.
It wasn't going to be easy. All of the family's savings were going into this one shot. It was going to take a lot of work on Liz's part, in order to help her family, but she was determined to do her part. Despite her trepidation as to what would become of this, she still maintained her usual positive outlook on life. Her father liked to call her Sunshine for all her optimism. Which was funny. For she could be as sarcastic as they come. But she digressed
Her first day back was not quite the disaster that she had dreaded (despite her usual bouts of optimism). She had quickly befriended two her age, Maria Deluca, of whom Liz could already tell she would be close with, and Alex Whitman, with whom she felt instant friendship. But that wasn't truly unusual. She had never really had trouble making friends, but she had never held a concrete bond with any of them. She had felt a twinge of remorse for those she had left behind at home (including one Kyle Valenti, her first serious boyfriend, with whom she parted with on good terms) but nothing really further. Which was why she was excited upon meeting Alex and Maria. And also why she had been eager to meet their other friends.
But upon arrival on the quad, unmistakable shyness overcame her for some reason as she allowed Maria to drag her to her usual spot. While Maria had led the way, Liz was intrigued by a young man, her age she guessed, leaning against a tall tree. He had had his eyes closed and he seemed to be.reveling in the feel of the passing breeze. Her breath had caught in her throat and she had quickly looked away, bewildered at her reaction, the likes of which she had never felt before, not with Kyle, not with her casual dates with Sean.not with anyone. Strange.
And even stranger was when Maria had accidentally (Liz was so sure) flung Liz forward, causing her to lose her balance, only to be righted by the same guy she had seen from across the quad. When she had met his golden gaze, she felt the same lurch in her chest as she had a minute ago, and this time she welcomed it.
For some time they stayed in the moment, their eyes staring into each other's, the expressions pleasantly incredulous. Fed up with the silence, Maria resumed her introduction impatiently. "This is Liz Parker. Her parents just moved here and opened up that new restaurant, The Crashdown. She's a lovely senior, almost free with the rest of us." Maria winked, pleased with the sound of her own voice. "The guy you just ran over is Max Evans."
Max rolled his eyes at Maria's typical antics and then glanced back down at Liz. The corner of his lips curled upward and he reluctantly let her go. "Hi," he said simply.
Liz found that she could only nod in response.
Alex cracked a grin and stuck out his hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance once more pretty lady," he winked and Liz giggled.
Isabel introduced herself and Michael grunted hello, prompting another little spat to go on between Maria and Michael. Liz watched them, eyes wide, until hearing Max's chuckle. She whirled around. "What?"
He just smiled down at her, and instead of her heart lurching, she felt it melt. He jerked his head at the two, and said, "Michael and Maria are always fighting about one thing or another. They say it has something to do with sibling tendencies but I'll let you in on my little theory." Slightly out of breath he leaned closer to her in mock secrecy. "I think," He went on, trying to be nonchalant about the way her hair smelled of strawberries, "That their fighting is repressed passion, and the only way to cease the verbal, and sometimes in Maria's case, psychical spats is for them to just kiss and get it over with."
Liz laughed, especially when Maria whipped her head around to demand Max to repeat what he had just said, and Max just held up his hands in surrender, but her laugh was forced, trying to cover up the shivers that had crept down her spine when he had leaned close.
She smiled at the group, and for the first time since she arrived in Roswell, she felt her usual optimism flow back at full force, with such a fervor that she knew things were going to change, and change for the better.
---------------------------
"Max! Where are we going?" Liz laughed outright, feeling giddy sitting next to him in his Cheville. The top was down and the wind was whipping her russet locks around her face, framing it in a halo like state. She was suddenly reminded of the first time he told her she was beautiful, their first date, a month after they had met under the oak. They had dined at a local Chinese place and spent the night dancing and shooting pool. Then, afterwards they had driven out into the desert, the stars twinkling down with whispers of the future, their light beaming down and casting a romantic glow upon Liz's wind whipped hair. She had giggled and quipped that she should have put it up before getting in, but Max had reached over and run his fingers through her silky strands and shushed her, saying that she was beautiful anyway to him. Liz smiled softly to herself, completely wrapped up in the memory.
Max glanced up from the road at the sound of her tinkling laugh. His throat constricted in the way is always did and he grinned, having some inkling as to where her thoughts were by the expression on her face. "You'll see."
His stomach flipped over as he fingered the item in his pocket and went over in his head once more of what he had planned for tonight.
Tonight. Tonight was their milestone. It was going to be the happiest night, laced with certain poignancies as to what the future would bring.
Well, actually, Max hoped to dull those worries about the future with what he had planned. He wanted a solution to the problem they were facing now, the problem being that Liz was going to have to stay behind at Las Cruses University, while Max had been accepted to Stanford. Three months prior, at their High School graduation, Max had declared to Liz (after delivering his valedictorian speech) that he would enroll there with Liz as well.
Liz had vehemently refused, telling Max that she couldn't stand in the way of his future, of everything he had ever worked for to fill the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, in which he had told her about a few weeks into dating. She had told him adamantly that she would break up with him if he ever considered such a thing again. He had protested, telling her that SHE was the one thing he cared for, that SHE was the one thing that could ever fill up his empty soul and that she already had. He hadn't wanted to lose her. He COULDN'T lose her. It would be like losing a part of himself.
It funny that he felt that way, being how's they had only known each other for seven months. But for some reason it felt more than that. As if he had been searching for her all his life and only just found what he had been looking for. In her. And these past seven months had been the best he had ever known, even though college hadn't been the only threat to their relationship. But despite that, he wouldn't trade it for the world.
Which was what brought him to this point. To what he was about to do this night, on their seven month anniversary and the week before he had to leave for California. He pulled out to the spot and got out of his side in order to walk around and help her out, leading her to.
"The high school?" Liz's face wrinkled in confusion. "What are we doing here Max?"
Max hid his smile from her, reveling in her confusion that he knew would be quickly cleared. He said nothing, just tightened his grip on her hand and cut across into the quad.
There was a tablecloth spread across the parched New Mexico grass underneath a tall oak tree, and atop it was a dinner set for two. Liz took a sharp intake of air and pierced Max with a loving gaze. "Where we first met.." She broke off in a sentimental whisper.
Max kissed her, affirming her suspicion and led her to it. "Happy Anniversary."
The two sat down and dined, their gazes straying upward above the dim candlelight and locking eyes with each other. When they were finished, Max kept clearing his throat, clearly nervous about something, which Liz found amusing. It was his quiet nature that had drawn her to him in the first place, and yet, once she had gotten to know him he wasn't as reserved with her. She had penetrated all the layers that Maria, Alex, Isabel and Michael had missed, finally reaching down to the core of Max Evans, and finding the treasure that was held within. She was still awed that she was the one that got him to open up, that she was responsible. It was heady stuff.
"Max," She stated, looking lovingly at him. "You know I love you, right?" Had it only been a month ago that they had first professed their love to each other? It felt so right, so natural as it rolled off her tongue. It was like she had said to him forever, and yet at the same time each time she said it still carried a special thrill.
Max smiled, his thoughts in a similar patter, and he nodded. "I love you too."
"Then you know you can tell me anything, right?"
Max nodded again, took a deep breath, once again feeling the item in his pocket and began. "Liz, have I ever told you how happy I was, how happy I am that you walked into the quad, dragged by Maria, that day?" Liz smiled but stayed silent, the giddiness that she felt in the car was nothing compared to what she felt now. "You changed my life. You got me to open up, to realize what's really important in life. You're true, you're beautiful, you're pure.you're everything to me, and I couldn't imagine my life without you. I think that's why now I'm so reluctant to go to Stanford. What once seemed so important grew to be second best as far as you're concerned. Nothing else compares. There's never going to be another you. Which is why." At this point Max reached into his pocket and pulled out the tiny black box. "Liz Parker.will you marry me?" He gulped, having said everything he needed to say and he searched her face. Etched onto her features was utter shock, so he quickly added, "And we don't have to get married right away, I mean we can just stay engaged for a while, or maybe just even."
Once the shock of his proposal wore off, Liz flung herself into his arms, telling him with her lips just what her answer was, having an entire conversation with him that required no words. Their kiss went on and on and while the moon beams trickled down to light earth and as the stars once again whispered promises of the future, Max Evans and Liz Parker made love for the first time.
---------------------
Max gazed at the long road ahead of them, staring out into the inky black of the night, pleased and overjoyed at how well everything had gone. He took a minute to look over at Liz next to him. She looked ravishing. And truly sated. And COMPLETE. Max was sure he looked the same, for he had never felt so WHOLE before in his life. It was perfect. This entire moment was perfect and nothing could change that.
He smiled widely at her, and she returned his smile with a sweet one of her own. They locked gazes, reminiscent of the first time they laid eyes upon each other, and shared a silent promise. Liz's gaze turned slightly to the road as she saw oncoming headlights and suddenly her eyes grew large and wide with horror. Max turned his head to see what had her so distraught but it was too late. Just as Liz's scream was too late. The car in the opposite lane had swerved over into theirs in a drunken stupor and was rushing head on straight to them. Max jerked the wheel, but again, it was too late. The sickening sound of metal crushing metal was the only sound that sliced through the solitude of the desert that night, followed by the eerie silence that bode no good premonitions of what lay inside the wreckage. The stars no longer whispered promises, but instead loomed above like a dangerous foreboding as they illuminated the blood...
------------------------------------
[I] Back to the present time.[/I]
It was here that he stopped talking, his voice breaking and his emotions in turmoil.
Taking in a deep and ragged breath Max allowed himself to search her face, desperately looking for any sign that she had heard him speak of their past months together, any indication that she was coming out of it and when she did she would rush up to him and gather him in her arms and tell him it was just a dream..just a horrible nightmare in which he would soon awake. He had read somewhere that senses could somehow be used to coax a patient out of a coma. That a certain smell, a certain sound.even a certain touch could snap them right out of it.
If only it were that easy.
A few minutes later Max gave up and brushed his thumb in a circle around her clammy hand. Another pang wrenched his heart at the sight of her naked finger. The finger that only one-week prior had been bound with a promise- had been encircled with his mother's wedding ring. The ring that had held so much sentimentality in his family, so much love.so much promise for a chance at tomorrow.
Max gave another frustrated sigh. The ring SHOULD be on her finger right now, not buried in his front jean pocket. The doctors had taken it off of her when she had been emitted to ER. And they obstinately refused to let him put it back where it belonged. Some insane hospital protocol or rule of sorts. Inane for sure. And completely heartrending. [I]He[/I] did not WANT it anymore. It needed to be on her, HE needed her, wanted her, and she needed to wake up right NOW.
Ten more minutes passed by and Max shoved his large strong hand (the one not broken) through his tousled ebony mane. He had no idea what was going to happen now. All he knew was that he was not giving up. He would be coming for Liz day after day - without giving up. Now all he could do was hope and pray that one of those days she would be up and ready, waiting for him with open arms.
Challenge by Mystical Light ML 4ever. You can check it out at the Discuss board at roswellfanatics if you want to be spoiled as to where I am going to go with this.
[I]You look in my eyes and I get emotional inside.
I know it's crazy but you still can touch my heart.
And after all this time you'd think that I,
I wouldn't feel the same but time melts into nothing and nothing's changed.
CHORUS:
I still believe someday you and me will find ourselves in love again.
I had a dream someday you and me will find ourselves in love again.
Each day of my life I'm filled with all the joy I could find.
You know that I, I'm not the desperate type.
If there's one spark of hope left in my grasp, I'll hold it with both hands. It's worth the risk of burning to have a second chance. No, no no no no no I need you baby.
I still believe that we can be together(haaoo). If we believe that true love never has to end. Then we must
know that we will love again.
CHORUS:
I still believe (yeeaaah) someday you and me will find ourselves in love again.
Oh baby yeah, I had a dream someday you and me will find ourselves in love again.
I still believe (oh baby I do) some day you and me (just give me one more try) in love again.
I had a dream (I miss your love) someday you and me will find ourselves in love again.
I still believe (yeah I still believe) someday you and me (baby) in love again. [/I]
[b]I Still Believe- Mariah Carey[/b]
[b] Part One [/b]
He held his weary head in his hands, his fingers gripping his thick mane tightly, almost as if he was trying to rip the pain out of his soul. His hands slowly released their iron grip and ceased assault on his strands of hair and languidly slid down to cover his haggard face. His fingers rubbed his eyes furiously, fighting the tears that were threatening to well up, trying to rub away all remains of the horrible memories of that day.
Finally removing his hands, having them collapse dejectedly in his lap, he stared relentlessly at his own body. His own body, which had been foolish enough to remain somewhat intact, while hers did not. His strong arm lay bound in a cast, the bones beneath broken, but it was nothing compared to his broken soul and his torn heart. If only.if only..
Rising from the well-worn chair, the chair that had grown so accustomed to his frequent visits that his shape was almost carved into it, he moved closer to the hospital bed. He was sickened by the fact that the starch white-ness of the sheets matched almost to a fault to the complexion to its occupants.
This wasn't how that night was supposed to end. This wasn't how THEY were supposed to end. He felt another tear in his heart, and he was surprised. He had thought that there was nothing left inside him to tear. Everything worthwhile in him, everything that matter had disappeared when he had awaken, only to find that she might never again.
He reached out suddenly. Grabbing her soft, lifeless hand, he lifted it up to meet his quivering lips. Kissing it tenderly, he clenched his jaw, his throat working to fight the primal wail that was working its way up to try and abscond out of his throat. For a while, he stood as such. Staring intensely, his depth filled eyes boring into her own closed ones. He had to blink rapidly against a new, fresh onslaught of tears.
Not letting go for an instant, he turned around and grabbed the beaten in chair and dragged it noisily closer to the bed. Sinking down, he placed his other hand over her own, capturing it, never wanting to let go again.
It was then that he closed his eyes and allowed himself to recall those fateful months; the months where he had thought his life would change forever.
He just hadn't known how much, nor how drastically.
He was hit with a sudden thought, one that paralyzed him with hope.
Perhaps.
Perhaps if he spoke to her.if he retold everything.
Perhaps the sound of it would reach her deep inside and bring her back to him, back out of the coma.
"Please wake up," he whispered roughly, his voice breaking. "Please."
---------------------------
[I] A few months earlier. [/I]
Maxwell Evans stared at the doors of West Roswell High. He was so close. Only one last semester of high school and he would finally be rid of this town. He would then be on his way to his dream, his entire life's goal. He was hoping that then, then would finally feel.fulfilled. For as long as he could remember there had always been something [I]missing[/I] from his life. Some unexplainable hollow feeling deep within his chest. And he hoped this was it. This was the year when he was going to start to make it happen. Starting by focusing on High School Graduation and picking out the place in which he would really begin his journey to his dream.
His dream. His reason for going in the morning. The ambition that had been installed in his brain since childhood by his father. To follow in his father's footsteps and become a successful lawyer in his father's place. For as long as Max could remember, that had been his every aspiration. Fueled by his father's demands of him, and own success, Max had not had your average teenage vocation. When his buddies had gone out late at night, drinking and partying, Max had been in his room, studying extra credit, or volunteering so he could have a lovely college application. Studious and introverted by nature, his father's expectations of him further shaped his shy disposition, one that had begun to form when his mother had died when he was young. Ever since then, Max had usually taken to himself, not bothering to try and make friends, least they leave him as well. The only person he counted on was his father. Little did he know that that was all about to change.
Not to say that Max didn't have any friends. His childhood friend, Michael Guerin, had known Max before his mother's death, and had helped him silently through the aftermath. A man of few words, Michael was somewhat of a rock to lean on. Not that he would ever admit it, he and Max shared a bond that went beyond brotherhood.
Max and his sister Isabel were always close, especially after Diane Evan's early passing. However, once Isabel hit high school, she found different means of coping with the death than her brother. Instead of retreating into herself, and burying herself in schoolwork like her brother, Isabel molded herself a façade, a mask that she hid behind. To the unwitting world she was the Ice Princess, lusted after and envied. No one, save a few, knew who she really was and most never really bothered to find out. Which was perfectly fine with Isabel.
During middle school, one Maria Deluca had seen through Max's stoic behavior to the soul that lied within. Her bubbly personality and obstinacy that would stun a yak penetrated through Max's built up layers one by one, until he allowed her friendship to affect his life. He was glad he did so, for Maria helped fill in his empty feeling, but not entirely. Once Maria had befriended him, her own best friend, one Alex Whitman, also entered Max's life. This was much to Michael's dismay, as his own rocky childhood of foster care left him wary of strangers, and aloof to the majority of the world. Gradually, however, with time, Maria's tenacious personality wore him down and he welcomed hers and Alex's friendship.
And that was it. Other than that intimate circle of friends, no one else had become close to the mysterious Max Evans. Max often laughed about his supposed reputation, his notoriety for ambiguity, and the rumors that occasionally went around about his life. How disappointed most would be to discover he spent his Friday nights (the ones where Maria's wacky plans didn't interfere, or Michael's supporting of the athletics of America) reading up on the LSAT's!
Blinking roughly, Max chuckled silently at his wandering thoughts. He often did this. Dissolving into his musings, getting lost in thought. It usually made him partial to dreamy sighs from most of the female population of Roswell, to which he declined most of their pursuits. Maria often teased him good-naturedly, calling him a soft-spoken romantic. Alex often joked that he was gay.
It was none of these, however. He had just never met any girl who could prompt him to take another glance.
The warning bell rang, a blatant, shocking admonition for those just arriving. Max cursed his absorbing thoughts and rushed inside. No more did he contemplate his life, or how he got up to this point, and his sole focus was on his subjects, derailed only slightly at the sound of the day's latest gossip and Maria's consistent chatter.
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"Max! Over here!"
Max's raven tousled head spun towards Alex's voice, and he was meet with the sight of the usual gang sitting under an oak tree in the quad. He was surprised at the sight of his sister sitting with his friends, but his surprise turned into a sly delight at the sight of Alex smiling broadly at Isabel, and Isabel smiling shyly back.
A slight smile still tugging at his lips in amusement, he made his way over, maneuvering swiftly against the onslaught of the rest of the population of West Roswell High. Pausing to deposit his lunch on the nearby table, he leaned indolently against the tall oak. A small breeze wafted through the quad and Max closed his eyes, feeling the cool air caress his cheek. He was enveloped with a memory of his mother, his mother who had always enjoyed nature and all its wonder, and taught him to try and do the same. The wind always reminded him of her for some reason, and yet today that knowledge did not weight with the same burden as it usually did. No, today instead he just relished in her memory, missing her.
"Hey guys!" Maria's chipper voice cut across the quad and Max turned to watch her come across the grass. A couple of jocks at the table in front of her also turned expectantly at her loud salutation, to which Maria responded disgustedly, "Not YOU, I don't even know you." She continued on her way to the gang, dragging behind her a petite brunette, whose features Max couldn't exactly make out. He stood up straight, loosing his earlier support from the tree and tilted his head to try and place the girl. He was almost sure he had never seen her before, and yet at the same time he felt he had. Odd.
Maria finally reached her desired destination, a smile curving her rosy lips upward. Michael quirked a grin at her and reached out to tug her blonde strands lightly. "What's up Pixie?" He teased, using a fond nickname he had come up with year ago. Max fought the urge to grin. Who would have ever thought Michael would be joking around with Maria Deluca? If you had told Max that during grade school, he would have pointed you in the direction of the nearest asylum, where in Roswell, alien abductees and UFO crazed townies often took a visit.
Maria rolled her eyes at Michael and muttered something along the lines of "Spaceboy," before continuing. "There's someone I want you guys to meet!" She wrenched the brunette's arm in an attempt to bring her into better view, and the girl, caught entirely unaware, was flung forward.
It seemed entirely reflexive when Max reached out to steady the girl, but as his arms gathered her up to keep her from falling, it was as if an electric jolt went down his throat, carrying his stomach down to his toes and then spreading back up towards every part of him. His breath catching, Max's amber eyes sought out her own, and when he gazed into her chocolate-y tan depths he knew nothing would be the same ever again.
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Liz gasped slightly at the sensation of being in the arms of this desperately good-looking guy. She had been a bit apprehensive of beginning her last semester of high school in a strange town, a small town no less, where everyone knew everyone all ready, and where there was more than likely no room for a misfit lower middle class girl from the city. Her parents had never had an extravagant sum of money, and when her father was laid off for the third time, her parents decided to go back to the town where Liz's grandparents grew up in order to start up their own business. And since Grandma Claudia was obsessed with her hometown "alien memorabilia" they had just the ties they needed to start up a themed restaurant in the alien capital of the world.
It wasn't going to be easy. All of the family's savings were going into this one shot. It was going to take a lot of work on Liz's part, in order to help her family, but she was determined to do her part. Despite her trepidation as to what would become of this, she still maintained her usual positive outlook on life. Her father liked to call her Sunshine for all her optimism. Which was funny. For she could be as sarcastic as they come. But she digressed
Her first day back was not quite the disaster that she had dreaded (despite her usual bouts of optimism). She had quickly befriended two her age, Maria Deluca, of whom Liz could already tell she would be close with, and Alex Whitman, with whom she felt instant friendship. But that wasn't truly unusual. She had never really had trouble making friends, but she had never held a concrete bond with any of them. She had felt a twinge of remorse for those she had left behind at home (including one Kyle Valenti, her first serious boyfriend, with whom she parted with on good terms) but nothing really further. Which was why she was excited upon meeting Alex and Maria. And also why she had been eager to meet their other friends.
But upon arrival on the quad, unmistakable shyness overcame her for some reason as she allowed Maria to drag her to her usual spot. While Maria had led the way, Liz was intrigued by a young man, her age she guessed, leaning against a tall tree. He had had his eyes closed and he seemed to be.reveling in the feel of the passing breeze. Her breath had caught in her throat and she had quickly looked away, bewildered at her reaction, the likes of which she had never felt before, not with Kyle, not with her casual dates with Sean.not with anyone. Strange.
And even stranger was when Maria had accidentally (Liz was so sure) flung Liz forward, causing her to lose her balance, only to be righted by the same guy she had seen from across the quad. When she had met his golden gaze, she felt the same lurch in her chest as she had a minute ago, and this time she welcomed it.
For some time they stayed in the moment, their eyes staring into each other's, the expressions pleasantly incredulous. Fed up with the silence, Maria resumed her introduction impatiently. "This is Liz Parker. Her parents just moved here and opened up that new restaurant, The Crashdown. She's a lovely senior, almost free with the rest of us." Maria winked, pleased with the sound of her own voice. "The guy you just ran over is Max Evans."
Max rolled his eyes at Maria's typical antics and then glanced back down at Liz. The corner of his lips curled upward and he reluctantly let her go. "Hi," he said simply.
Liz found that she could only nod in response.
Alex cracked a grin and stuck out his hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance once more pretty lady," he winked and Liz giggled.
Isabel introduced herself and Michael grunted hello, prompting another little spat to go on between Maria and Michael. Liz watched them, eyes wide, until hearing Max's chuckle. She whirled around. "What?"
He just smiled down at her, and instead of her heart lurching, she felt it melt. He jerked his head at the two, and said, "Michael and Maria are always fighting about one thing or another. They say it has something to do with sibling tendencies but I'll let you in on my little theory." Slightly out of breath he leaned closer to her in mock secrecy. "I think," He went on, trying to be nonchalant about the way her hair smelled of strawberries, "That their fighting is repressed passion, and the only way to cease the verbal, and sometimes in Maria's case, psychical spats is for them to just kiss and get it over with."
Liz laughed, especially when Maria whipped her head around to demand Max to repeat what he had just said, and Max just held up his hands in surrender, but her laugh was forced, trying to cover up the shivers that had crept down her spine when he had leaned close.
She smiled at the group, and for the first time since she arrived in Roswell, she felt her usual optimism flow back at full force, with such a fervor that she knew things were going to change, and change for the better.
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"Max! Where are we going?" Liz laughed outright, feeling giddy sitting next to him in his Cheville. The top was down and the wind was whipping her russet locks around her face, framing it in a halo like state. She was suddenly reminded of the first time he told her she was beautiful, their first date, a month after they had met under the oak. They had dined at a local Chinese place and spent the night dancing and shooting pool. Then, afterwards they had driven out into the desert, the stars twinkling down with whispers of the future, their light beaming down and casting a romantic glow upon Liz's wind whipped hair. She had giggled and quipped that she should have put it up before getting in, but Max had reached over and run his fingers through her silky strands and shushed her, saying that she was beautiful anyway to him. Liz smiled softly to herself, completely wrapped up in the memory.
Max glanced up from the road at the sound of her tinkling laugh. His throat constricted in the way is always did and he grinned, having some inkling as to where her thoughts were by the expression on her face. "You'll see."
His stomach flipped over as he fingered the item in his pocket and went over in his head once more of what he had planned for tonight.
Tonight. Tonight was their milestone. It was going to be the happiest night, laced with certain poignancies as to what the future would bring.
Well, actually, Max hoped to dull those worries about the future with what he had planned. He wanted a solution to the problem they were facing now, the problem being that Liz was going to have to stay behind at Las Cruses University, while Max had been accepted to Stanford. Three months prior, at their High School graduation, Max had declared to Liz (after delivering his valedictorian speech) that he would enroll there with Liz as well.
Liz had vehemently refused, telling Max that she couldn't stand in the way of his future, of everything he had ever worked for to fill the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, in which he had told her about a few weeks into dating. She had told him adamantly that she would break up with him if he ever considered such a thing again. He had protested, telling her that SHE was the one thing he cared for, that SHE was the one thing that could ever fill up his empty soul and that she already had. He hadn't wanted to lose her. He COULDN'T lose her. It would be like losing a part of himself.
It funny that he felt that way, being how's they had only known each other for seven months. But for some reason it felt more than that. As if he had been searching for her all his life and only just found what he had been looking for. In her. And these past seven months had been the best he had ever known, even though college hadn't been the only threat to their relationship. But despite that, he wouldn't trade it for the world.
Which was what brought him to this point. To what he was about to do this night, on their seven month anniversary and the week before he had to leave for California. He pulled out to the spot and got out of his side in order to walk around and help her out, leading her to.
"The high school?" Liz's face wrinkled in confusion. "What are we doing here Max?"
Max hid his smile from her, reveling in her confusion that he knew would be quickly cleared. He said nothing, just tightened his grip on her hand and cut across into the quad.
There was a tablecloth spread across the parched New Mexico grass underneath a tall oak tree, and atop it was a dinner set for two. Liz took a sharp intake of air and pierced Max with a loving gaze. "Where we first met.." She broke off in a sentimental whisper.
Max kissed her, affirming her suspicion and led her to it. "Happy Anniversary."
The two sat down and dined, their gazes straying upward above the dim candlelight and locking eyes with each other. When they were finished, Max kept clearing his throat, clearly nervous about something, which Liz found amusing. It was his quiet nature that had drawn her to him in the first place, and yet, once she had gotten to know him he wasn't as reserved with her. She had penetrated all the layers that Maria, Alex, Isabel and Michael had missed, finally reaching down to the core of Max Evans, and finding the treasure that was held within. She was still awed that she was the one that got him to open up, that she was responsible. It was heady stuff.
"Max," She stated, looking lovingly at him. "You know I love you, right?" Had it only been a month ago that they had first professed their love to each other? It felt so right, so natural as it rolled off her tongue. It was like she had said to him forever, and yet at the same time each time she said it still carried a special thrill.
Max smiled, his thoughts in a similar patter, and he nodded. "I love you too."
"Then you know you can tell me anything, right?"
Max nodded again, took a deep breath, once again feeling the item in his pocket and began. "Liz, have I ever told you how happy I was, how happy I am that you walked into the quad, dragged by Maria, that day?" Liz smiled but stayed silent, the giddiness that she felt in the car was nothing compared to what she felt now. "You changed my life. You got me to open up, to realize what's really important in life. You're true, you're beautiful, you're pure.you're everything to me, and I couldn't imagine my life without you. I think that's why now I'm so reluctant to go to Stanford. What once seemed so important grew to be second best as far as you're concerned. Nothing else compares. There's never going to be another you. Which is why." At this point Max reached into his pocket and pulled out the tiny black box. "Liz Parker.will you marry me?" He gulped, having said everything he needed to say and he searched her face. Etched onto her features was utter shock, so he quickly added, "And we don't have to get married right away, I mean we can just stay engaged for a while, or maybe just even."
Once the shock of his proposal wore off, Liz flung herself into his arms, telling him with her lips just what her answer was, having an entire conversation with him that required no words. Their kiss went on and on and while the moon beams trickled down to light earth and as the stars once again whispered promises of the future, Max Evans and Liz Parker made love for the first time.
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Max gazed at the long road ahead of them, staring out into the inky black of the night, pleased and overjoyed at how well everything had gone. He took a minute to look over at Liz next to him. She looked ravishing. And truly sated. And COMPLETE. Max was sure he looked the same, for he had never felt so WHOLE before in his life. It was perfect. This entire moment was perfect and nothing could change that.
He smiled widely at her, and she returned his smile with a sweet one of her own. They locked gazes, reminiscent of the first time they laid eyes upon each other, and shared a silent promise. Liz's gaze turned slightly to the road as she saw oncoming headlights and suddenly her eyes grew large and wide with horror. Max turned his head to see what had her so distraught but it was too late. Just as Liz's scream was too late. The car in the opposite lane had swerved over into theirs in a drunken stupor and was rushing head on straight to them. Max jerked the wheel, but again, it was too late. The sickening sound of metal crushing metal was the only sound that sliced through the solitude of the desert that night, followed by the eerie silence that bode no good premonitions of what lay inside the wreckage. The stars no longer whispered promises, but instead loomed above like a dangerous foreboding as they illuminated the blood...
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[I] Back to the present time.[/I]
It was here that he stopped talking, his voice breaking and his emotions in turmoil.
Taking in a deep and ragged breath Max allowed himself to search her face, desperately looking for any sign that she had heard him speak of their past months together, any indication that she was coming out of it and when she did she would rush up to him and gather him in her arms and tell him it was just a dream..just a horrible nightmare in which he would soon awake. He had read somewhere that senses could somehow be used to coax a patient out of a coma. That a certain smell, a certain sound.even a certain touch could snap them right out of it.
If only it were that easy.
A few minutes later Max gave up and brushed his thumb in a circle around her clammy hand. Another pang wrenched his heart at the sight of her naked finger. The finger that only one-week prior had been bound with a promise- had been encircled with his mother's wedding ring. The ring that had held so much sentimentality in his family, so much love.so much promise for a chance at tomorrow.
Max gave another frustrated sigh. The ring SHOULD be on her finger right now, not buried in his front jean pocket. The doctors had taken it off of her when she had been emitted to ER. And they obstinately refused to let him put it back where it belonged. Some insane hospital protocol or rule of sorts. Inane for sure. And completely heartrending. [I]He[/I] did not WANT it anymore. It needed to be on her, HE needed her, wanted her, and she needed to wake up right NOW.
Ten more minutes passed by and Max shoved his large strong hand (the one not broken) through his tousled ebony mane. He had no idea what was going to happen now. All he knew was that he was not giving up. He would be coming for Liz day after day - without giving up. Now all he could do was hope and pray that one of those days she would be up and ready, waiting for him with open arms.