Author: Lisa
Category: Max and Liz all the way baby!
Summary: Max leaves for Antar comes back with drops of Jupiter in his hair.
Author's Note: The song is "Drops of Jupiter" from Train's new album. Instead of a guy's POV, this is a mix of both Max and Liz. There are also some spoilers just to warn you. And there is definately happiness insurance on this fic.
Feedback: Always wanted. I just love it even if you write one word comments.
Disclaimer: The characters and such belong the WB and the creators. The lyrics belong to Train. I own nothing.
Now that she's back in the atmosphere
Tell me did you sail across the sun
Now that she's back from that soul vacation
Now that she's back in the atmosphere
Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
And did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there's a time to change, hey, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated
Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And there did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey
She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo
Reminds me that there's a room to grow, hey, hey
I'm afraid that she might think of me as plain ol' Jane
Told a story about a man who was too afraid to fly so he never did land
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky Way
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind
Was it everything you wanted to find
And there did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there
Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you're wrong
Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance, five-hour phone
conversation,
The best soy latte that you ever had... and me
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back toward the Milky Way
Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?
And did you fall for a shooting star, fall for a shooting star
And are you lonely looking for yourself out there?
Part 1
"Liz, I have to talk to you," Max said one day in school. He had cornered her by her lockers and she had nowhere to run to. It was a month after their Prom, a month after Liz's heart broke a second time when she saw Max and Tess kiss. It was a well-known fact now that the two of them were going out.
During this time, Liz had done all she could to stay away from the both of them. She hid in her room and worked at the Crashdown as little as possible. Anytime she saw either Max or Tess come in, she ran to the back room and had Maria cover for her. But Maria understood.
The truth was, after seeing them kiss, Liz was tired of keeping her secret. But everytime she saw Isabel or Michael, she knew she couldn't. Especially when she saw how Maria was in love with Michael and knew that she could never do that to her best friend. And so Liz went on, alone.
Snapping back to the present, Liz had seen Max coming and was desperately trying to close her locker but her darn Literature book had gotten stuck. By the time she ripped off the cover and pulled the book loose, Max had already gotten to her.
"Talk to me? About what, Max," Liz asked nervously. She shifted and looked everywhere except into Max's face.
"We can't really talk about it here. Meet me in the eraser room seventh period?"
"The eraser room? Max, I don't really think that's a good…" Liz said, shaking her head before Max interrupted.
"Liz? Please?" his voice was low but insistent. Liz finally dared to look into his eyes and saw something there that she knew meant business.
"Okay," she agreed. "I'll be there."
When Liz was finally able to sneak into the eraser room, Max was already there waiting for her. Both of them flashed back to the last time they were there – when Max told Liz to move on and travel. "So you wanted to talk to me about something?" Liz felt extremely uncomfortable. All she could see was Max kissing Tess.
"Yeah. Liz, remember when we were talking about traveling and seeing the world?" Max said, standing and started pacing in the small, cramped space.
"Yes," Liz beginning cautiously. For some reason, a pit in her stomach grew.
"And I said that I couldn't. That I had to stay and…"
"Max, just tell me," Liz said, already knowing what he had to say somehow.
"In this past month, we've received contact from Antar and they want the four of us to return home," Max said, staring straight at her. His gaze was unwavering and he seemed to want to judge her reaction, as if that were some way to judge her heart.
Liz's head shot up at those words and stared back at him. For a minute she forgot how to breathe. When she realized that she was about to pass out, she finally got the strength to draw in a breath of air. She slowly nodded her head and said, "I see. And are you going back?"
"That's the thing. I don't know yet. Tess wants us to go back but Michael and Isabel are unsure," Max said, running his hand through his hair in frustration.
"And they want you to make the final decision," Liz guessed.
"Basically."
"Do you want to?" Liz asked, half-afraid of the answer.
Max gave her a helpless look. He looked at the ceiling for a minute before saying, "I don't know, Liz, I really don't know."
They were both silent for a moment as they thought of their futures. Liz immediately thought of Future Max and his prophecy of what would happen. "What about the Skins here on Earth? What'll happen if you're not here?"
"The Skins are only here on Earth because they want the Granolith. Once we leave, we'll be taking it with us so the Skins won't have a reason to stay here."
"Once?" Liz couldn't help but notice the particulars.
"If," Max immediately corrected. 'Why did I say once? Do I really plan on going?' he thought to himself.
"If I go, then I'll finally get the chance to finally know who I am, where I come from. I can finally have those questions answered," Max said, just throwing out what he felt.
Liz stared at her hands for a minute. "I understand but this is really up to you, Max. Why are you asking me?"
"Because I trust your judgment," Max began before stopping. When he stopped, Liz knew that he was thinking about her 'sleeping' with Kyle. Her judgment there wasn't too great, she knew, but she did what she knew she had to.
"Max, I don't think you should be asking me. This is completely your choice and I … I have no say in your life," Liz's heart broke when she said that but she knew it was true. She didn't belong in his life anymore and never did.
"I just … I wanted someone to talk to about this."
Liz started to put her hand on his arm in a gesture of comfort but stopped. That was not her place. She started to pull it back but saw the look on Max's face. He was just a teenager like her but had the pressure of two worlds on his shoulders. He looked so completely alone that Liz couldn't deny him any support that she could give him. She gently put her hand on his forearm and smiled at him.
He stared at her hand. How he had missed her touch, even a simple one like this one. Tess couldn't make him feel this way. In the time that they were going out, they had tried various memory retrieval techniques and he felt and saw glimpses of his past life. He felt some traces of emotions toward Tess but it didn't compare to what he still felt for Liz.
He took his other hand and placed it on top of Liz's small one. He squeezed and smiled back at Liz. They stood there, just enjoying the small contact from the other that they missed so desperately. Liz was the first to break the spell. "We should go now, Max."
"I guess so."
They both moved to the door but Liz stopped. "Wait, Max. Does everyone know?"
Max looked uncomfortable at telling her the truth but told it anyway. "Yeah. You weren't exactly around this past month when this all happened," he said, as if trying to defend his and the others' actions.
"No, it's fine, I just…. I understand," Liz stumbled. The truth was, she was a little hurt that no one, not even Maria, had told her what was going on.
They went out the door and stood there, awkwardly. None of them wanted to leave the other but knew they had to. "Well, we should go before someone sees us and gets the wrong idea," Max said with a weak smile, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah. I don't think Tess would be very happy if she heard that," with that, Liz turned and walked away. Her voice was strained and she was on the verge of tears. When her back was turned, tears spilled out but she continued to walk away from the love of her life. The scene was reminiscent of last summer, when she walked away from Max in the desert so he could fulfill his destiny. She was walking away yet again so he could live up to what he was meant to.
TBC...