Disclaimer: I do not own Roswell or any other character, location, or whatever is mentioned in the works of Melinda Metz or Jason Katims, FOX, WB, and UPN.
Author's Note: I think I'm driving away most of my feedbackers with the non-Max-Zan/Liz chapters. :cry: Like I promised, a Max-Zan/Liz chapter and if I do say so myself, I think this makes up for the last two chapters.

There are lines from "Leaving Normal" (Season 1, Episode 3) "The Blind Date" (Season 1, Episode 13) and "Skin & Bones" (Season 2, Episode 1).

Chapter Twenty-One:

Last night I was dreamin' about us.
We were sittin' down by the lake.
We were close. I had my arms around you.
Out of the corner of my eye, your hair color changed.
You pulled me in. We started kissin',
but it felt much different felt like I was sinnin'.
I realized it wasn't you but the scariest part
was deep down in my heart,
I didn't want to wake up.

My heart's in a battle
I'm not sure I can win.
I'm losing control of my love.

I should've been a stronger man,
should've been your soldier,
but I chose to wave my white flag
and let her takeover now.
I should've protected our love.
I should've protected our love.
I should've protected our love.
I should've protected our love.

...

"The Takeover," Honor Society.

February 23, 2001, Friday; Roswell, New Mexico:

Liz Parker was an ordinary girl, or so she thought at first. Born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico, she was just a small town girl living her life. She worked at her parents' alien-themed restaurant, the Crashdown café, had the two greatest friends anyone could ever ask for, and was dating the sheriff's son who also happened to be the head of the basketball team. Her life seemed perfect so far. No one bugged her or made fun of her. She was in the spotlight without being in harm from the so-called reviews her classmates would make. Her interest in science grew thus the idea of becoming a microbiologist became a more realistic goal. She had the highest grades in the entire school and was on her way to becoming a valedictorian. Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Harvard—any school would kill to have her.

But then her world changed. She was the one that was unfortunately shot out of an entire café of people. She had lain on the ground, completely dazed and confused. All she knew was the burning sensation in her gut. It felt as if something had torn through her. No, correction: something did pierce her flesh. As the blood pooled out from what seemed like such a small hole, she could literally feel life slipping away from her. Then Max Evans hovered over her, placed his warm hand over her wound, healed her like magic, and said, "You're all right now. You're all right." In those simple words, her life would never be the same and for a while, she was okay with it. She accepted his secret, Michael's secret, and Isabel's secret. Her circle of friends grew. She accepted her different but wonderful new friends.

It seemed that life was going well. The Czechoslovakians were finding out about where they came from and it seemed it was destined for Max and Liz to be drawn together. He had been in love with her; she knew that later on and seeing his love for her—seeing how she was beautiful in his eyes despite them leading different lives—she couldn't help but fall back in love. No one had ever seen her that way, felt that way about her, not even Kyle.

Had she never been shot and destined to Kyle, she would have probably led a simple normal life where the good girl married the town jock. They would probably have a boy and a girl, and live in a nice house with a pet or two. They would be happy; this is how she mentioned Kyle to Grandma Claudia: "We have a good time together."

But would they feel the same passion Max felt for her? Would she be blown away by every glance, every touch, every kiss? No, she wouldn't. She would have been destined to grow old in a life where everything was just normal and perfect. Thankfully Liz Parker wasn't destined to lead a simple life. In Max's eyes, she was glowing with radiance, always happy and perfect. She was his—what did he call her? "You're my dream girl, Liz." Yes, she was his dream girl and he was her dream guy.

When her relationship with Kyle ended and hers with Max began, everything felt like a hurricane. Their first kiss was followed by more kisses. Simple caresses of the face and neck led to fingers in each other's hairs and somewhat gentle groping. Sweet kisses became desperate; they couldn't get enough of each other. What did Max say? "I can't not touch you." All was well, their relationship was progressing, but then Tess Harding showed up and everything was thrown off balance. Suddenly, Max had a destiny, so Liz left him so he could fulfill his duties. And when she came back, she had honestly hoped he still wanted her, but she knew she couldn't be with him. She wanted to jump for joy when he confronted her—"Liz, I know what you said… that things couldn't go back to the way they were, but pretend they could for just one second. Could you and I go back too?" She wanted to scream "Yes!" and throw herself into his arms, but somehow she restrained herself and said, "I can't pretend, Max." Oh, how it broke her heart to say those words, how it broke her heart to see his face crumble.

As if she wasn't already suffering enough, Future-Max came. This story has already been told a thousand times—he came back to stop the end of the world and Liz was given the painful task of breaking Max's heart for good. She "slept" with Kyle, but really, she slept with Future-Max. Either way, this caused a rift between her and Max. Then on the brink of death, she met Future-Liz and when she thought her life couldn't get any more different, it did because the dupes came to Roswell. And as if it couldn't get worse, Zan only caused more problems between her and Max. Now here she was, at a standstill, completely lost on what to do, torn between two men. Grandma Claudia once said, "If the relationship isn't complicated, he probably isn't a soulmate," but she was currently sort of in two relationships and both were complicated. So just who was her soulmate: Max or Zan?

Naturally petite, the inhabitants of quaint little Roswell would never suspect Liz Parker was pregnant. Her stomach had begun to protrude a little more, but not enough to send alarms off in people's minds. Her once fitting clothes had been replaced with slightly baggy shirts and sweats. She no longer looked like the proper Elizabeth Parker people knew her to be. She now constantly looked like she rolled out of bed or was planning a trip to the gym. She had hoped no one would notice but nothing gets past Maria. In the end, Liz explained to Maria that the sweatpants were due to PMS. Seeing how Maria was caught up with her own problems with Michael, she accepted Liz's reason. Alex, Kyle, Rath, and Zan being guys, never really noticed (well, to Zan, she still looked perfect, but she didn't know that). She wasn't that close with Isabel to begin with so she never said a word to her. Lonnie and Ava, they barely even knew her.

So when Max appeared on at her doorstep one night, she was surprised…

Max drove to the Crashdown, completely unnerved with all the thoughts rushing through his mind. He could barely catch a proper thought without it being bombarded with another even worse thought. Before and since the dupes came, his world had been thrown off balance. He could barely control all his emotions, but mostly he just felt anger. It seemed as if there was always something pissing him off and he could do nothing about it. Every night he went to sleep, he dreamt the same thing over and over again—the same godforsaken memory. He couldn't even bear to sleep anymore. Instead, he tried to stay up as long as he could. He would lay in bed, staring up at his ceiling, completely drenched in darkness. With racing thoughts, it felt like hours he would lie in bed, but they were only truly minutes. He refused to sleep in fear. His parents and Isabel noticed the dark bags under his eyes, but he just shrugged them off. If only they really knew what he was going through…

His body was slowly wearing out. He had lost so much weight. His eyes were slightly blood-shot and his cheeks had sunken in a little. It was ironic because not too long ago, he used to love sleeping. It was in his sleep where he could be with Liz the way he wanted to be. Before she knew his secret, he had countless dreams of just sitting across from her in the Crashdown on a simple date. He wanted to talk to her and make her laugh. He wanted to see that brilliant smile; he wanted to know he was the reason for that smile. When their lives finally collided together, when he couldn't just stand back and watch her die, he only dreamt of kissing her lips and feeling her soft skin against his. But now his dreams haunted him.

Many sleepless nights passed, but tonight... He couldn't take it anymore. Tonight, he came to the Crashdown with a speech already rehearsed and exploding to be spoken. Knocking on the doors like he had done so many times before, Liz looked up with surprised. She leaned the wet mop against the door frame and unlocked the doors. The bells rang softly.

Pushing her hair behind her ear nervously, she asked, "Max, what are you doing here? It's late."

He couldn't help but notice how unkempt she looked. He took in her gray sweats that looked two sizes too big and the black t-shirt that made her look as if she had a boy's chest. "You look different," he commented. Still beautiful, he thought, but different.

She looked down at her clothes and bit her lower lip nervously. She was kind of shocked when her father didn't object to her no longer wearing her uniform. "Do I?" she asked. She wondered if he sensed something. She prayed to God to not let him know she was pregnant. When Max nodded in response to her question, she hoped to change the subject already. She asked once again, "What are you doing here, Max?"

"I—… Liz, I need to know why you slept with… with them," he said, feeling as if the pressure on his shoulders had already lightened. He had wanted to ask her for a while now. Now he finally had the courage to. He just wanted to close his eyes and not see the memory anymore.

"Max, please don't do this." Liz was confused. She thought they were finally over this. Ever since she tried to kill herself, Max made it a point to be around her. He was even friendly towards her even if they didn't speak much. Now he was trying to move backwards. He wanted his old dreams back.

"I can't… I have to know," he said, putting his hands in his jean pockets.

"I don't understand, Max. We were doing so well. I thought we were moving past this. What's going on?"

"Liz, I can never be just your friend. It's not possible… for me. Ever since I first saw you in third grade, I knew you were the one for me. I knew I would never feel that way about anyone else ever again. Then when I healed you that day of the shooting, I knew things changed between us. Perhaps for the worst, but I knew it was mostly for the better. But I… The thing is I still love you. With all your faults, I still love you. I mean, God Liz! I still love you despite the fact that every time I close my eyes, I see you and Kyle, you and that… whoever he is! I see you and… It gets worse."

"Worse?" she questioned. How could it be worse than him seeing her with Kyle and to him, some other random guy? As much as she wanted to jump for joy that Max still loved her, she knew she could not reciprocate his love back. This wouldn't be what Future-Max wanted. She tried to stand her ground, but she was slowly losing her courage. He would always affect her in ways that no one could possibly understand.

"Kyle and that man, in my mind… When I see that night, they change… They change into Zan," he said, finally looking at her in the eyes after he finished his sentence. He couldn't make out what she was feeling. She was undescriptive and her eyes seemed blank. Licking his lips, he continued. "I need to know, Liz, if there is something going on between you two."

"What?" she said in disbelief. Why was he asking her this? She didn't understand how her answer would solve anything. Was he seeking for some comfort, for some relief? Giving it some thought, if she said no, then he would try to be with her again. If she said yes, there was no certainty on how he would react or what he would do. But most importantly, if she said yes, maybe he then would finally fall out of love with her.

"Liz, please. I need to know," he pleaded with her.

Quickly pushing her feelings aside, she coolly replied, "It is none of your business." It was neither a yes nor a no, but unintentionally it came across as a yes. She couldn't just plain out say yes because it would destroy him completely. They would never ever be friends again. They would be too broken to fix and how she longed to be by his side, even just as a friend. But it would be a flat out lie because her and Zan… they weren't together.

Then she quickly began to regret her answer when she saw the fury rush over Max's face. He grabbed her and yelled, "Tell me it's not true!" Liz was hurting, but so was Max. He had to know. He was an alien, but he was human too. There was only so much he could take. Liz was dragging him on a rollercoaster ride minus the seatbelt. His emotions were flying all over the place and he couldn't control them. That night when she slept with Kyle, he had two tickets to the Gomez concert. He was ready to pronounce his love for her, to tell her that nothing would ever separate them again, that he will always love her and only her. Then when he had the flash of her sleeping with someone else—that almost did him in. He could accept it if Liz admitted sleeping with Kyle was a mistake, but with another person… it was too much. Now he saw Zan and Liz, growing closer day by day. It scared him. He was afraid of losing her, but mostly he was afraid of the feelings that raged inside of him.

To others, they may see him as controlling, possessive, and jealous. This was true, but he couldn't help it. He was a leader, a king in his past life. He had the responsibility to look out for others. He was always the sensible and rational one. It was up to him to keep everyone balanced, even if that meant he had to take on the role of being a despot sometimes. Being possessive and jealous, these were the feelings he thought he would never experience before the shooting at the Crashdown. She wasn't his property nor did she have his name branded on her, but she was a part of him in a way that no one understood. Liz Parker had been in his heart since he was young, young enough to not be able to understand the feelings that made his stomach flip whenever she was around. As they grew up as lab partners, he tried to make sense of why his heart would pitter-pattered like the rain when she sat down next to him or why he trembled when his fingers accidentally touched hers. Slowly, he understood that she was the love of his life from grade three. She was always a dream that would never come true. He spent nights just wishing he was normal enough to ask her out, but he couldn't because he was different. And his life changed for the better when he was able to save her life. With all the things they had been through—running from the FBI, jumping off bridges, he couldn't just let her go without a fight, without a proper reason. He knew their love was still there.

"M-Max, let go. You're hurting me," she said, struggling to get out of his grip but his hands only tightened around her arms. The feelings—he couldn't stop them. His eyes had gone pure black in rage.

"TELL ME!" he roared.

Then as if to prove how much he loved her, he grabbed her face and slammed his lips to hers. He wanted to show her they were perfect together. They were made for each other—their arms would fit perfectly, their lips would find each others' as if they had been doing this for lifetimes before, and they both would feel the same rush of pleasure being this close to one another. He knew she still loved him. Her eyes told him so, but she strayed from him as if her life depended on it. That was one thing he never understood; her need to constantly run away from him baffled him.

His lips roughly grazed against hers, nipping, seeking, molding their lips together like melted metal. Liz let out a small yelp when she felt his teeth bite down on her lower lip. If she was bleeding, she didn't know because she was being devoured alive. She tried to stop him, but when his tongue grazed against her own, she clenched her eyes shut. This felt too familiar for her. This was an act she had done so many times with him.

His grip stayed on her arms and pulled her to him. As his hard body was pressed against hers, his mouth grew wider, grew more forceful, and all Liz could was try to ignore it all. His left hand tangled itself in her hair while his right roamed down and cupped her buttock to him. She whimpered at the feel of his hand and shuddered when his tongue lashed against hers not just once, twice, or thrice. She was reacting to his body against hers and she couldn't stop. He drank her in. She wanted to fight back, but not in the way one would think. She wanted to respond to his kisses, wanted to hold him to her with just as much force. She wanted him.

Instead, she chose to stay limp and let him devour her body and soul. He guided her; they bumped into the souvenir rack and then found their way to a table where he sat her down on it as he continued his attack. His mouth sought out for her neck, the curve where her neck met her shoulder. She missed this—the softness of his lips, the taste of him, the feel of him. She missed this so damn much. She cried out softly when she felt his teeth sink into her shoulder before capturing her lips once again. It had been too long since she was given this addiction. It didn't matter she was wearing sweats. She could feel the heat of his hands on her quads. Her body was rushing with energy; she felt rejuvenated like she hadn't felt in such a long time.

His tongue grazed against hers repeatedly again, pushing out all the air from her lungs. Before she knew it, her hands were in his hair, were all over his body. She held him to her. She loved him. God, how she loved him. This was wrong and she knew it, but she couldn't stop, not when it came to Max Evans. It was like chemistry. Her body recognized his and could only respond. She could be screaming in her head, but still, her body would not obey. Definitely, her body wouldn't obey.

Max wasn't planning on this. He just wanted to confront her, to get the truth from her, to talk to her. Mauling her like this wasn't what he wanted, but still he couldn't stop. This reminded him of the time he took her by the deep fryer. Liz looked so tempting in both times. He just had to touch her, had to kiss her. He couldn't even think. All he felt was pleasure.

But the danger of being in such close physical contact came with the repercussions: A flash came.

Flash: Zan, clad only in a towel, tumbled onto Liz's bed with her in his arms.

"Elizabeth, is someone downstairs?" yelled Jeff from upstairs who had heard a clanging noise.

Mr. Parker's voice broke Max out of the flash, out of his hound dog act, and he released her. Breathless, his lips were raw and his limbs numb. He stumbled back with his eyes wide at what he had seen. What had he seen? He saw a barely covered Zan fall into bed with Liz. He went to bed with Liz. Liz had slept with Zan!

"Liz, tell me it's not true," he choked out.

Liz knew this was a bad idea. She cursed at herself more times than she had ever done in her lifetime. God, how could I have been so stupid, she yelled at herself, God, Liz! What the hell is wrong with you? If Future-Max were here, he would rip my head off. GOD! What have I done? I ruined everything I worked so hard to do!

"Max, you have to go," she pleaded with him, trying to push back the tears. She couldn't face him. She knew what he probably had thought from the flash—that she slept with Zan. She didn't, but he didn't know that. If the flash didn't happen, if her father never interrupted them, who knew how far they would have gone… Liz was willing to be fucked by Max on top of a table in the Crashdown.

"Please tell me it's not true!" he cried out.

"It's true, Max," she lied. Liz wanted to run away when she saw everything of him fall away. The light in his eyes had diminished. His face fell and all expression just left. It was then she knew that she, Liz Parker, deserved the award for emotionally killing Max Evans.

First it was one, then it was two, now it was… Three people—three people had been before him. His brain couldn't process the information. He clenched his hands and eyes. He couldn't—he couldn't! He banged his fists repeatedly against his head in agony. Why was fate so cruel to him? What had he done to deserve all this pain?

"Why? Why? WHY?!" he cried. He only wanted to be with Liz, that's all he ever wanted. He would've given everything just to be with her. He would have done everything just to keep her safe. And this is how she repaid him. His lips tightened as his eyes watered. Unable to say anything else, he spitted, "You slut."

If there was a person controlling these flashes, Liz would have murdered him or her a long time ago. The flashes brought nothing but trouble. It wasn't her fault that her emotions were open when it came to Max. It wasn't her fault that she was an open book. It was just this connection she had with him. She could never close it, not with him.

Under normal circumstances, she would have let him slide, but she wasn't a slut. She had only been with one man and that one man was technically him, technically Max Evans, just from the future is all. Enraged by him calling her a slut, she slapped him. He didn't know how much she had done through because of him, what she had done for him, for everyone. She had always thought Max would be her first… But if sleeping with his future-self made her a slut, then a slut she was. But the way he said it to her, she never felt more disgusted than ever. He said it as if she was some cockroach that was destined to be crushed under the hard soles of a shoe by some stranger, like she was some worthless rat that was meant to be poked and prodded with.

With nothing left to say and overwhelmed with anger, he hissed at the stinging pain on his cheek when her tiny hand connected with his face. He knew the words he said. He knew he deserved it. Clenching his teeth together, he left. If he didn't leave now, he felt like he would do something else he would regret. He wanted to punch something, but worse, he was afraid he would slap Liz back. He feared he would hurt Liz if he didn't leave. So he fought with his body and disappeared through the doors.

Liz could only watch him get into his jeep and drive off before she broke out into tears. God, she had been so scared. She had never seen Max that furious, that broken before. That wasn't the Max Evans she knew, but she couldn't blame him. Feeling her legs turn to jello, she crumbled to the ground, cupping her face.

"Elizabeth?" asked her father once again. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," she choked out between sobs. "I'm fine."

- - - -

Coming home to find Lonnie, Isabel, and Zan lounging on the couch, watching some mindless infomercial, Max violently grabbed Zan up by the collar and hauled him to his room. Lonnie and Isabel could only watch in surprise, but they weren't surprised. Max and Zan had it out for one another, so this was nothing.

"Yo man, git yer dirty hands off of meh," Zan said, ripping Max's hand off when they reached his room. "Wha da fuck is yer problem?"

"You're my fucking problem!" yelled Max. "YOU!" he said, pointing at his twin. "You stay away from her!"

Quickly understanding what this conversation was about and where it was heading, he straightened up and smirked. "Is dis what dis is all about?" He began to laugh. They managed to always come back to this point—to Liz.

Only angered by his laughter, Max shoved Zan. "Stop laughing, you fucking asshole!"

Zan quickly lost all the humor in his body when he was pushed. He shoved Max right back. "If she wants tah be wit' me, den she's wit' me," he said, challenging his twin.

"If you dare go near her, I'll—"

"You'll what? Fuck me up?" Zan said, cutting Max off. "I ain't goin' nowhere and I sure as hell ain't stayin' away from her."

"Touch her and I will kill you!" yelled Max as he tried to punch Zan only to have Zan grip him by the throat and shove him against the door.

"It's yer fault for lettin' her go in da first place," Zan growled. "Yer don't deserve her. Ya know how many times she's been hurt by ya? How many times she cried ova ya? Yer don't deserve her."

"And what? You do?" Max said in disgust, trying to break free with no success. He glared at his twin. "You're nothing but scum. Trash. You don't deserve her. You're nothing but garbage."

Zan had been called names all his life; it came with the territory. He was abandoned as soon as he broke out from his pod. Homeless and starving from day one, he lived like a rat, surviving on scraps of food he found in the garbage cans. He was used to being taunted by the older adults, but hearing his dupe call him a trash… it enraged him. What right did this Max Evans have to call him garbage? It wasn't as if he asked to be abandoned in the sewers. He didn't ask to be parentless or to grow up unloved by others. He didn't ask to steal so he could provide food and clothes for his family. He didn't ask for any of it, so what right did his twin have to call him that?

"Betta den you," he angrily replied. Liz was beautiful in his eyes. She was innocent, pure, and she glowed like an angel. She understood him and accepted him for what he was. He was flawed and she knew that yet she still stuck around. He had nothing much on this Earth besides Rath, Lonnie, and Ava, but ever since both future and present Liz came crashing into his life, he knew he found a reason to go on living. She was his reason that he was sent to Earth. He was meant to be with her.

"You stay away from her," choked out Max as his twin's grip tightened around his neck.

Since technically Future-Liz was present Liz, Zan growled into Max's ear, "I already had her. More than once."

Then Max buckled against his grip, going ballistic. His hand glowed green and tore Zan's hand off him. He punched his double in the face. Zan's head whipped to the side forcefully from the impact. He groaned in pain and touched his lip. He was bleeding. Licking his split lip, his hand surged a brighter green than Max's and punched him back in the face. Max fell straight to the ground, knocked out by the punch with thanks to Zan's powers that made the hit more like an anvil crashing on his twin's head.

Smirking, Zan said to Max's unconscious body, "Ya seem to forgit, I grew up on da streets. My powers are more powerful than yer's. I'm stronger den ya." He swiped his hand over his face, cleared up his bloody lip, and then he left the Evans home.

To be continued.
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