Dizzy, Miss Lizzie

Disclaimer: I OWN ACROSS THE UNIVERSE!!! on DVD.

Wait, no, I don't. my friend stole it.

but, no. the Beatles, Julie Taymor, and all those lovers own what they own. I own about 60% of Lizzie's personality, and my best friend, Am, owns the rest, and the entire character of Anna.

And I'm not actually sure how long it was supposed to be, but I'm pretending that Jojo moved in right after Jude and Max, a few weeks before Prudence showed up, just for the sake of my story.

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Is there anybody going to listen to my story

All about the girl who came to stay?

She's the kind of girl you want so much

It makes you sorry

Still you don't regret a single day.

A girl

Girl.

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It was 1966 when Max met Lizzie. He had just dropped out of Princeton, and had run off to New York City with his new friend, Jude. She'd found her way to Sadie's front door, just a week after they'd moved in.

A couple of sharp knocks interrupted the mindless conversation that had been happening between Jude and Sadie. The latter let out a small sigh as she rose from the couch, her white cowgirl boots clicking on the hardwood floor. Sadie unlocked the door and pulled it open.

The girl standing there was small, probably a senior in high school, and definitely some sort of hippie. She was wearing a pair of baggy, patched jeans that were obviously way too big for her, along with a bright yellow tank top, even though it was late November. The thing that Max remembered most was her hair. It wasn't something that one easily forgot. Deep auburn curls spiraled around her face, held in place by a beaded, faux leather headband. Her eyes, those bright, emerald green eyes that took in the apartment, and the voice that made Max freeze, halfway between standing and sitting.

"Hey there, sister. I was at your last show and heard that you had an extra room that you'd rent out?" She reached up and ruffled her curls absentmindedly. "And, well, the last guy I was living with didn't really work out, so…" her voice trailed off, with her right hand gripping the opposite wrist tightly, and Max noticed a series of small, circular burns covering her left arm, and it pissed him off. Seeing those little imperfections on this girl's arm was enough to make him scream, but he shook it off. He didn't even know this bird, and here he was, getting a weak spot for her. This was most certainly not how Max Carrigan acted around girls, and he wasn't about to start now. He leaned back lazily, popping open the super cheap beer that he'd just retrieved from the fridge and turning his attention back to Sadie and the girl, who had stepped into the apartment. The girl's suitcase (which he had failed to notice), was now sitting beside the closed door while Sadie showed her around.

It occurred to Max that he really needed to learn this girl's name, since referring to her as "the girl" in his head was getting a bit irritating. Before he could even finish the thought, Sadie brought her around in front of the others, obviously making way for introductions. "All right, y'all," She began with her signature Southern twang. "This here's Lizzie, an' she's gonna take the spare room, all right?" When no one objected, Sadie went on with the usual speech that she saved for new tenants. "So, this here's Jude and Max," they each gave Lizzie a nod, which she returned. "You met Crissy and Gary in the other room, and this," Sadie's face broke into a grin as Jojo walked through the front door. "Is my lead guitarist, Jojo."

Lizzie and Jojo shook hands, and he wandered off into some other room, leaving her with Sadie, Jude, and Max. Sadie gave her another grin. "I'm just gonna let y'all get acquainted." She drawled, before drifting after Jojo.

Jude was the one to break the silence. "So, uh, where're you from, Lizzie?"

"Dayton, Ohio." She practically groaned the name of the city, earning a small smile from Max.

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Nearly two hours later, the three of them had managed to bond as much as is possible within such a short amount of time. Nearly half unconscious, they dragged themselves off to their respective bedrooms, eager for some rest.