Sorry, I've kinda forgotten to update the story on this page. So I'm gonna update all the chapters I've updated so far in other forums.

There is a timeline with the order of the chapters (since it starts to get a bit confusing after a while), but I still haven't really figured out how to post urls here.

2. Strange comfort

Roswell High School
Thursday noon
(2003) Max is 18, Liz is 17

Liz stepped out into the sun and spotted Max sitting at his usual place by the large tree. Walking up behind him, she watched the shadow from her shape fall over his sunken body and stated tonelessly, "So…you've been avoiding me."

Normally she couldn't care less if he was around or not. Normally she actually preferred if he was very far away from her. But Michael had lent Max her CD player about a week earlier, much to Liz's alarm when she was informed of this little trade, and he had yet to return it. She needed her music. She lived for her music.

And she was convinced that the reason Max was dodging her in the halls – everywhere really – was because he had either lost or broke her valuable CD player.

She stared at the back of his head, her eyes burrowing through his skull, trying to reach into his head to uncover whatever clues there might be to where he had hid her possession.

He didn't reply.

Didn't even acknowledge her presence.

Firmly planting her hands on her hips, she bit out, "Did you break it?"

"Leave me alone."

His reply was low, spoken without a single movement on his part.

He was slowly, but surely, pissing her off. "What have you done with it? It's not yours, you know."

"Fuck off."

She squeezed her lips together. "Don't you speak to me like that."

He sighed and said tiredly. "Just leave, Parker."

Taking a firm grip on the strap of her backpack that was hanging off her shoulder, she walked around him to face him. He was staring into the ground. Nothing in his hands. Just sitting. And staring.

Liz frowned. There was something really odd about this picture. She mentally shrugged it off.

"I want my CD player. And I want it now."

He didn't answer and she was just about to start yelling when he looked up at her. Complete with glistening red eyes.

She choked on the words she had been planning to say.

"I really don't care about your fucking CD player," he said evenly and she swallowed.

Was he crying?

Why was he crying?

She had never seen him cry.

Never.

Except that time when his dog died. They had just been kids then. Max had cried. A lot.

Oh no…

Did someone die?

"What's wrong?"

Her concerned soft voice had him dropping his eyes back to the ground.

"Nothing."

She fell to her knees in front of him, not really sure why she did it before she found herself bending her head underneath his to force him to look at her.

"Max-"

He snapped his head away from hers, scooting backwards. "What the hell, Parker?"

She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from exploding on him. This was one of those times her mother just to refer to as 'delicate'. Her mother had on several occasions informed Liz of her tendencies to speak before she thought about it. She was always trying to say how inappropriate it was to react to people by yelling at them and how 'sometimes you have to swallow your anger'.

"What's wrong with you?"

He pushed himself up along the tree, getting to his feet. "Take a hint. I don't want to talk to you."

"Believe me, I would rather not talk to you either, but I'm not gonna fucking leave you here if you're…upset or something."

Max continued to avoid her eyes as he picked up his backpack. "Whatever."

She placed a hand on his elbow to stop him and jumped in surprise as he swirled around, looking at her with hot angry eyes. "Fuck, Parker! Go and annoy someone else for once!"

With that he turned and walked away with long fast strides, leaving Liz staring at his back with her mouth hanging open.

--

The Parker's Residence
Three weeks later
Wednesday Evening

"You're not Mike."

Liz jumped at the sound of his voice and then quickly composed herself to glance over at the window where Max was in the process of climbing over the window sill.

"Give the man a prize," she grumbled under her breath as her eyes returned to her brother's CD collection.

Where had he put her Lifehouse CD?

"Where is he?"

She squinted her eyes and moved closer to the CDs. She must've missed the CD somewhere. It had to be there.

She inhaled sharply as an arm curled around her waist. "Wh-"

"Where's Mike, Lizzie?"

Not wasting a second, she spun out of his arms and glared at him. "What are you doing?"

He sighed, dropping his arms along the sides of his body. "I just want to know where Mike is."

"He's not here, okay."

Her gaze fell onto something that was reflecting light on the nightstand and she quickly breezed past Max to snap up her Lifehouse CD from the wooden surface.

"Where is he?"

Her back facing him she rolled her eyes. "How should I know? I don't really keep track of him."

Not caring if he left or stayed, she walked out of the room, moving down the hallway and entered her room. She turned to close her door but stopped abruptly as Max appeared in her doorway.

"Eh…get out of my room," she said in a voice that clearly stated that he should know by now that he was not welcome in her room.

"What are you up to?" he asked casually, stepping closer to her.

She automatically took a step back. "None of your business."

Instead of responding with a smart comeback, which he would normally do, Max stilled and just looked at her. Liz met his gaze stubbornly. Whatever game he was playing he was not going to get the chance to even for a second think that he had won.

Because this had to be a game. It always was with Max Evans.

She swallowed deeply as he brought his fingers to her face, slowly sliding them down her cheek. "You're quite pretty, Parker."

She frowned and was just about to inform him of how much she didn't appreciate whatever game he was playing when he continued, "When did you grow up?"

She scrunched her nose. "Have you gone completely mental on me?"

He took another step towards her and this time she didn't move backwards. She would have if she had been able to, but at some point during the conversation, his arm had moved around her body.

This put them very close together.

His eyes remained fixed on her face and she could feel the heat rising up her cheeks from his undivided attention.

"Could you please-"

His index finger landed on her lip, silencing her. "Shh… You talk too much."

Her breath caught in her throat as she stilled beneath his touch. "Max?"

He pressed his thumb against her bottom lip, tracing its contours, his eyes following every movement of his fingers.

Her eyes slid closed against their own will and she unconsciously leaned into him. The memory of him kissing her in ninth grade invaded her thoughts and the sudden urge to have him kiss her again flooded her senses.

As if reading her mind, Max murmured, "You tasted so sweet."

Without opening her eyes, she whispered, "Please…", not being completely sure what she was asking him for.

"Miss Liz? Are you up there?"

Liz ripped away from his hold at the voice of the housekeeper drifting up the stairs. Standing two feet away, she stared at him with heaving chest and racing heart.

He stared back.

"Miss Liz?"

She swallowed and answered without letting him out of her sight, "I'm here, Gabriela."

She bit her lip as he once again closed the distance between them.

Gabriela's familiar Mexican accented words drifted up the stairs, "Dinner ready, querida."

She shivered as his hand curled around the back of her neck and whispered, "What are you doing?" before softly gasping as his soft wet lips touched the side of her neck.

She knew that she was supposed to pull away. She didn't know what was going on. She was supposed to ask him for an explanation, not let him attack her.

His lips slowly moved down her neck, partly dragging, partly kissing, partly sucking. But as his hand moved to push away the neck of her sweater and the underlying bra strap, she pulled away from him.

"Evans, what are you doing?"

Something flashed in his eyes and he straightened his back, a coldness drifting across his face. "Fuck Parker. Just try and enjoy it for once."

Her heart rate sped up, now for a completely different reason. Her cheeks flustered to another nuance, feeling the heat of anger crawling into her vessels. "Enjoy it? You come in here and practically attack me. And you ask me to enjoy it?"

"What's the problem, Lizzie?" he asked casually. "I thought you wanted this. The way you've been following me around these last weeks… You shouldn't lead a guy on if you can't follow it through, Parker."

Liz stared at him in disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about?! I haven't been following you around. You're completely delusional."

She startled as he grabbed her arm, a wild look in his eyes. "It's dangerous to be a tease."

She tried to pull out of his grip but he held firmly. Meeting his eyes with a firm warning of her own, she bit out, "Let go of me."

He was acting different. Sure, they were always in a feud with each other, but he was never physical with her. He never scared her. He was always overbearingly overprotective of her.

"You should've just let it go, Lizzie."

"Let what go?" she asked through her teeth.

"But you kept prodding. And prodding. And prodding."

There was something in his eyes that told her to be careful. But on some instinctive level she also knew he wouldn't hurt her. She pulled hard on her arm to get away from him, which only resulted in him pushing her up against the wall.

Her elbow hit the wall. "Ow. Max!"

Their breaths intermingled in the darkness of her room, both agitated for their own reasons. Then his lips crashed down on hers.

There was nothing gentle about the kiss. It was hot and demanding, just like his hands as they fisted her hair to pull her even closer – if possible.

She whimpered under his assault, her body falling into his.

And she tasted the alcohol he had been drinking.

And things started to make more sense.

Until the energy of his kiss simmered down and a restrained sob sifted through the air. She frowned. Her lips stilled and ceased to meet the movements of his kisses.

"Max?" she whispered against his lips.

He was soft now. Gentle. Tender. His fists had lost their ferocity and were languidly sliding down her face, tracing the angle of her jaw.

But he wouldn't stop. A hollow desperation remained in his touches and she slowly started to move with him again. Kissed him back. Caressed his lips just as he was caressing hers. But as her thumbs drifted along his cheeks and stroke the tears away, he pulled away from her.

Before she could see his face, he had turned his back on her.

She stood there staring at his back, tasting the saltiness of his tears on her lips as she tried to figure out what to do.

"What happened?" she asked her brother's best friend.

She could see the shake run through his body, but there was no sound. No answer. No sign that he had even heard her.

"Ma-"

She jumped as he hit his fist into the desk. "Fuck!"

And she started thinking of where her cell phone was. Because this might be over her head. She had never met this emotional Max before. She might have to call Michael.

Just as she was about to reach for her phone on the bed, his soft voice broke through the silence. "She told me three weeks ago."

She swallowed. Okay. It appeared to be sharing time. "Who?"

"Mom."

She took a deep breath.

This was going to be bad. This was going to be bad. She just knew it. What else would have gotten the always so calm and collected Max Evans so completely out of control?

"What did she tell you?"

"Cancer. The doctors called it a glioblastoma multiforme. Brain tumour."

Liz's breath hitched and a tear slid down her cheek.

No.

Please don't.

"Apparently," his voice cracked, "it's very bad."

"Max," Liz whispered.

He turned around to face her. His eyes red and wet, with glistening cheeks. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep his voice steady. "It's very very bad."

She was crying now as well as she stepped up to him and put her arms around him. His arms were tight around her body, his tears warm and wet against the side of her neck. "She's dead, Lizzie. She died."

Her hold on him tightened, feeling his anguish as if it was her own.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. I didn't mean… I don't know what's wrong with me."

She shushed him, threading comforting hands through his hair. "Don't. Just don't. I'm so sorry, Max. I'm so sorry about your mom."

"Hey man."

Max and Liz slowly pulled apart and looked at Michael standing in the doorway, wearing a sad face.

"I just heard."

Max wiped his face of the tears, not meeting Liz's eyes.

"You want to go for a drink?"

Liz was just about to say that he could stay here, when Max beat her to it. "Yeah."

Liz blinked away the tears hanging off her eyelashes and looked up at Max. But he was not looking at her.

Without another word, Max left the room, leaving Michael and Liz alone. "Thanks for that, sis. I didn't know he would come here. Then I would've been home."

"He thought you were here," Liz said.

Michael frowned. "That's odd. He knew that I was working tonight."

"Oh…" Liz straightened. It didn't mean anything. It was not like Max had come to see her. He was drunk already. He probably just got his facts mixed up. "Um…he must've forgotten. He was a bit drunk when he got here."

Michael grimaced, imaging all the fights Max very likely had picked with his little sister before he showed up. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Just don't let him drink too much. He… He just needs someone to talk to."

Michael gave her an odd look. "It actually sounds like you care, sis."

He couldn't have hurt her more if he had slapped her. "His mother just died, Mike. What kind of heartless bitch do you think I am?"

He walked up to her and pulled her protesting body into his arms. "Hey hey. Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I was just a bit surprised to see you comforting him, that's all."

"I might not like him, but I do care for him," Liz said against his shirt.

Yes, that sounded weird even to her ears, but it was the only way she could explain it. Max Evans had the power to make her want to hurt him, but she would fight to her last breath to stop anyone else from hurting him.

The only one who was allowed to hurt Max Evans was Liz Parker.

TBC...