Author: Minnie
Rating: PG-13
Category: UC/Slash - Liz/Tess
Setting: Viva Las Vegas
Dedication: To my decidedly dreamer
sister, who would probably be appalled at this dedication *g*
Distribution: Please ask.
Feedback: Constructive feedback is
appreciated.
Author's Note: As soon as I saw Liz and
Tess snapping at each other in the arcade in VLV, I knew I wouldn't be able to
leave that scene alone. Tess POV.
Archive Date: 3/5/2001
"We're seventeen years old????!!! He-LLO! What were you thinking?"
I screeched at Liz Parker, dumbfounded at how readily she spilt the beans about
our age.
Ms.-We're-Seventeen and I had just been turned away from the casino by a
security guard for being underage. To
add insult to injury, the guard suggested that we go to the arcade. We were now walking towards the said arcade.
"Tess, he didn't believe we were twenty one, okay?" Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes
responded breezily.
"Well, he might have if you didn't open your big mouth and tell the man we were
seventeen!!! I was trying to whip some other
fake ID's for us," I argued, still highly annoyed at how quickly Liz
caved. One little quip about Charo and
she blabbed.
"Get over it, Tess," Liz told me, shrugging and entered the arcade.
"No, I will not get over it," I half-muttered, following her inside and sniping
about being kicked out of the casino.
Liz merely ignored me and headed straight for the pinball machine, dropping a
couple of quarters in it. Soon, she was
in the midst of all the pinging.
I stood next to her, almost aghast that she could find enjoyment in such a
mundane, boring game while I was still steaming at recent events.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm down. Anger wasn't going to solve our predicament. It was time to think of a new plan. But before I did that, I needed to let a few things off my chest.
"You know what it is? It's because
we're small," I released that little nugget. "If we weren't so damn short, they would have totally bought that we
were twenty one," I continued.
I hoped that by pointing out some common ground between us, Liz would go along
with the plan that was hatching in my head.
Foregoing my recent anger, I decided to let Ms.- Pinball-Whiz in on the
plan. "So what I'm going to do is … I'm
gonna mindwarp the security guard, make him think that we're 5 foot ten and
we'll just go and sit down," I said gleefully, happy at the notion.
"Tess, I'm fine here," Liz shot down the plan without a second thought. Forget deep, calming breaths, my anger was
resurfacing.
"Great, stuck in the party capital of the world with Liz Parker," I huffed,
feeling distinctly shrewish. I was in
Las Vegas … Las Vegas! The city of neon
lights and of reckless abandon and what was I doing? Not gambling, not having fun. Instead, I had to look at Liz Parker play pinball. There really was no justice in the
world.
My temper flared, and I spit out with sarcasm, "No, or if we're feeling
dangerous, we could always challenge a couple of eight year olds to foosball or
go to the Ice Capades."
To my surprise, Liz turned away from the pinball machine to reply with some
fire of her own. "You know, for your
information, Tess, I didn't wanna come to Vegas in the first place. I knew that this would be the most miserable
trip of my life. I knew it. But I didn't listen to my instincts. And by the way, Tess, I don't enjoy being
stuck with you either," she ended with a sting.
The fire took me by surprise and I quickly covered up my surprise with a
nonchalant "Fine!" and flounced off. Who knew Ms. Scientist could be catty? I almost smiled at that. Almost
but not quite.
I left the arcade with my temper simmering. "Fine," I muttered again. "I'll
find something fun to do," I promised myself.
My original plan of mindwarping the guard sounded solid enough so I stalked over
towards the casino entrance.
My steps faltered before I reached my destination as a thought popped into my
mind. I could mindwarp the guard but
what about the rest of the casino staff? I couldn't do it to all of them. The last time I tried a group warp was at the university in Las Cruces
just before school started. That only
lasted five minutes. Five minutes at the tables wasn't enough. Not to mention, I'd get too drained from the
effort. I sighed in frustration as my
plan bit the dust.
Angrily, I turned around and tried to think of a new plan. Maybe I could get a sea scrub like
Maria? Uh, no, they'd probably stick me
in the same room with her and then I'd have to listen to her babbling about
Michael. I wasn't in the mood for that.
Maybe a little sightseeing on the Strip? No, sightseeing alone wasn't my idea of fun either. Who would I talk to about the kitschy
tourist stuff? Who would I bug about
seeing more sights? I had a great time
walking up and down the streets of New York with Max and talking to him about
the Empire State Building, Central Park and all the other sights.
Shopping perhaps? I glided towards the
shops, randomly looking at the display windows. I entered one store, then two, then three, looking at the
merchandise in lackadaisical fashion. Too much touristy stuff there, most key chains, cups and t-shirts saying
"I love Las Vegas!" and none of them worth my money.
It wasn't fair. It just wasn't
fair. Disconsolately, I wandered back
towards the arcade.
Liz was still there, still banging away at the pinball machine. How long could she play that stupid game
anyway? My eyes wandered around and
found the same things: kids and teens
all caught up in the games unfolding before their eyes.
I plopped myself down at a random video booth a few seats away from her. Her eyes flicked at me momentarily,
acknowledging my presence and darted away again to focus on pinball.
Idly, I waved my hand over the video game in front of me and started it. I didn't know what the game was nor did I
really care. It had something about
paladins, rangers and ogres fighting off demons and trying to get to some
mystical land.
I looked at Liz, wondering when she'd get tired of playing pinball. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as
she hit the side buttons and tried to rack up her score. Typical. She looked at the game like it was some big science experiment she had
to ace.
Halfheartedly, I drew my gaze back to the video game I was playing. To my surprise, I had risen to another
level. Whopee.
My eyes started to wander back to Liz. I stared at her profile, trying to keep my mind occupied. Nothing really interesting there. She was rather average. Average brown hair, nondescript eyes and a
blah mouth. Why did Max even like
her? Why did Max fall in love with
her? I couldn't see anything
particularly remarkable about her.
The machine she was playing on pinged rapidly, signifying some sort of
victory. She stood back, watching the
colorful lights blink. With triumph,
she shifted her head to the side, as if to tell a non-existent sidekick to
check out her score.
It was then that I saw it: a smile. Not
a grin but a smile. Slowly, it crept up
her face, changing it, making it shine almost iridescently.
I had never seen Liz smile before. Funny, I had known her for months but never saw anything but
blandness. Oh, sure, I saw pain, hurt,
anger and loneliness but mostly they were buried under her usual blanket of
blank expressions.
I stopped playing my video game to concentrate on this strange phenomenon. Tilting my face towards the screen and
angling it towards her, I watched this smile spreading slowly through her face.
Liz became this whole other person when she smiled. She became radiant … beautiful.
That particular thought worried me. What was I doing, waxing poetic about Liz Parker? I concluded the pinging probably numbed my
brain somehow.
I left the arcade, muttering at what she had done to me. I was supposed to be having fun, living it
up and gambling in the desert city. Not
staring at some girl who I normally couldn't stand and thinking of how
beautiful she was.
I rode the elevator back up to our room, trying to chase away unbidden and
unwanted thoughts about her. Entering
the room, I slammed the door rather carelessly, upset at the direction of the
evening. The room was empty with no
Max, Michael, Isabel, Alex, Maria or
Kyle in sight. Probably out winning a
bundle at the tables, I thought.
Mindlessly, I turned on the TV and flopped on the couch. I barely paid any attention to the action on
the screen, flipping channels carelessly. My eyes wandered towards the one end of the long couch.
Her jacket, the one with the god-awful flowers on it, was slung over one arm of
the couch. She had left it there, folding
in meticulously in half and draping it smack dab in the middle of the arm. I glanced away from it and proceeded to
watch whatever was on screen.
I woke up with a small start. Great, I
had fallen asleep. So far, my evening
was so eventful. I rubbed the vestiges
of sleep from my eyes and looked around the room to see if anyone had come in
while I was asleep. No sign of anyone,
not even Liz. Hmmmph, she was probably
still playing pinball.
My eyes alighted on her jacket again. No, don't even go there, I thought to myself. I didn't want any more thoughts of Liz in my head. But the jacket seemed to be calling me,
taunting me somehow.
With resignation, I slid over the couch and grabbed it. I told myself I was just going to put it the
closet. Or the trash. A small gleam entered into my eye. I'd be doing her a favor if I got rid of the
hideous thing. I'd also be doing the
rest of the world an even bigger favor by not having them look at the poor
excuse for a jacket ever again.
I pictured myself marching to the trash can and stuffing the jacket in it. Instead, I stood there, in the middle of
the room, holding the soft jacket then slowly brought it up to my face and
inhaled.
At first, no discernible scent filled my nostrils, just the smell of the cotton
fabric. Then a light aroma permeated
through, like fresh spring rain.
Suddenly realizing what I was doing, I dropped the jacket quickly, as though it
had grown thorns. I was doing it again,
ascribing poetic descriptions on Liz. No, not Liz but her jacket. Her
jacket, for crying out loud!
I flew out of the room, trying to escape my thoughts once more and punched in
random numbers on the elevator. When
the doors opened, my eyes spotted the video arcade. She was in there. I
pursed my lips together, feeling upset at my inability to elude her.
The arcade was where it all began. That's where all my strange thoughts and feelings about Liz
originated. And that's where it would
end, I vowed.
I squared my shoulders and marched back in the arcade, seeking to purge Liz
from my head once and for all. I knew
as soon as I saw her that would do it. I'd see the same average looking brunette, the same pinball playing
science nerd and the same wimpy human I didn't care for. Then I'd go back to not even thinking about
her at all.
I approached her and the pinball machine, the one she had been playing for the
last few hours. She didn't even look
towards me, so focused was she on the game currently playing before her. With a few feet separating us, I waited for
the first wave of the reality check to hit.
Her hair shone. That was the first
articulate thought that came to my mind. Did I think it was average before? Maybe. But now it shone,
reflecting the garish lights of the arcade hovering above. Some strands of it glinted, playing off of
the light. Her brown mane hung straight
down her back like a rich chocolate waterfall. I wondered whether it would be smooth and silky when I touched it.
"Liz," I croaked, then cringed at my voice. Reality was not going the way I planned.
She glanced up from her game, quirking her eyebrows up. "Thought you'd mindwarped the guard and be
at the tables by now," she commented. "Or at the Ice Capades," she added.
"Whatever," I shot back, trying not to sound resigned. She gave me a slightly ironic grin,
seeming delighted at my capitulation, my presence in the arcade I spurned
earlier.
The triumphant twinkle in her eyes made them seem like they were dancing. Who knew nondescript eyes could dance? Who knew that they were these deep pools
that held a thousand different shades? I wondered whether they'd be the color of russet or auburn when they
alighted on me again.
That reality check was falling by the wayside so I decided to prod it
along. But before I could think of
something to say, her machine pinged and glowed like crazy. She was moving to the high score level on
pinball.
Discarding my company, Liz started clicking on the side buttons vigorously,
bumping her hips towards the machine in a steady fashion. I stood my ground, watching her.
Liz parted her lips slightly as she followed the metal ball clanging around the
machine with her eyes. Her lips looked
soft and inviting. I thought I saw them
quiver in anticipation of something. Or
perhaps it was I who was quivering in anticipation, hoping she'd hit the big
score and turn that smile on again. Who
knew watching someone's lips could be so mesmerizing?
A ringing sound blasted throughout the arcade as Liz hit the top level of the
pinball game. She jumped with childish
glee, pumping both her arms up and down and squealing, "Yes!!!" And then she smiled.
I forgot all about reality and simply basked in that smile. It was an open and honest smile, one that
connected others into her private little world of joy. She would never be alone when she smiled
like that. Reluctantly, I found myself
being pulled into that world too.
Was this what Max felt when he was around Liz? This restless, almost irresistible pull towards a connection? Was that why he was so drawn to her?
A part of me was beginning to understand the attraction. I had looked for something similar my whole
life. A connection, a bond, a bridge,
something to anchor me and make me feel part of something. The fact that Max discovered that connection
first that didn't sit quite right with me. A part of me wanted that discovery all to myself.
I moved closer to her, a 'congratulations' hovering on the tip of my
tongue. I halted when I caught a whiff
of a familiar scent. Fresh innocence radiated
from her.
Unbound and untainted by other aromas, her scent felt like some wonderful kind
of freedom. It, no, she, projected a sense of liberty, a sense of
endless possibilities. A feeling of awe
snuck in me as I breathed in more of her. I was drowning in her.
Did Max also bathe in the same scent, this strange and uncorrupt freedom that
emanated from her? Was it the reason he
put Liz first, time and time again?
I never understood his inclination to sacrifice everything for her before. But now, the reasons seemed clearer. Although I embraced destiny's dictates,
there was still a part of me, the human side of me, that longed for an
undetermined path, one of my own making. It had been suppressed for so long that I had forgotten it almost
existed. Liz unearthed it with her
beautiful smile, her innocent smell.
The paradox of connection and freedom was within Liz. The two things I wanted and the two things I could never
have. Why didn't I see it before? Why didn't I see her before? What else didn't I see?
I found myself suddenly fixated on her. Her smile, her face, everything that was her. I wanted to see more of her. No, I just wanted .. her.
Desperate to shake myself out of this spell that Liz wove around me, I glanced around the arcade in an effort to
reconcile my thoughts elsewhere. But
one thing and only one thing came to the forefront … Liz.
My knees buckled and I clutched at a discarded seat nearby, grabbing it with an
outstretched palm. I sat down and
looked the ground, blinking a few times. I didn't want Liz invading my head. Things were complicated enough, with all the alien threats, the spectre
of destiny and the emergence of my new family. Now I had to deal with this. What was this? Infatuation? Obsession?
I moved my glance towards the window, away from her and onto the neon lights of
the Vegas strip outside. Loud and
bright, they flickered on and off like some Christmas tree display run amok. The lights hypnotized and enthralled with
over the top aplomb, making onlookers feel like they had entered an entirely
different world.
Something struck me right then and there. Perhaps my newfound obsession with Liz Parker had nothing to do with her
and everything to do with Vegas.
This place, this land of fantasy spun its own spell over everyone, including
me. Vegas wove a shimmering blanket of
make-believe over its inhabitants, twisting their eyes and making them see
mirages. Nothing was real. But in the same sense, everything was.
I got up from my seat and headed out of the arcade, not going in any particular
direction.
All I knew was I couldn't wait to leave Las Vegas.
The End