PART 3
Max had no idea how to approach Liz with this
information. He needed to let her know he knew, but he
didn't know how. Unfortunately, the weekend was almost
over. Tomorrow would be Monday, and biology was second
period. Max had to think of something before then. And
what about Maria? What would Liz do to her? Would Liz
be happy he found out, and thank Maria, or would she
hate Maria forever? Max was beginning to sink back into
his depression again.
"Max are you coming?" Isabel burst into Max's room.
"Coming where?" Max asked, startled.
"To the Crashdown, with Michael, Tess and me."
"Umm..."
*Liz is gonna be at The Crashdown. She works on
Sundays.* Max thought. It would be awkward, but only
as awkward as it had been lately.
"Well? Are you coming or not?" Isabel questioned
again, impatiently.
"Yeah, I guess." Max replied. He still wanted to see
Liz. He wouldn't let on that he knew just yet
though. He'd wait till tomorrow.
Liz looked up to see Max walking through the doors of
the Crashdown. *Oh no! * She thought. *I can't believe
Max is here! * Liz walked quickly into the kitchen and
told Maria to take whatever table they were sitting at.
Maria sighed, but did as she was told. She desperately
needed to be on Liz's good side when she heard about
what Maria had done. Liz went into the bathroom and
tucked the necklace under her uniform. She made sure it
couldn't be seen, and went out again.
Max was a little disappointed when he saw Liz
disappear into the kitchen. He knew that meant she
wouldn't be serving them. He was also disappointed to
see that Liz wasn't wearing the necklace he had given
her. Two days ago, he wouldn't have been very
surprised, but now that he knew, it hurt. But the more
Max thought about it, the more he realized how much Liz
really did love him. Liz had gone through all this
pain and agony, just for him. *Liz is so brave, so
strong. That just makes me love her more. I can't wait
until I can be with her again.* Max was confident
that they would get back together. He knew that once
Liz found out, she wouldn't be able to hide her feelings
anymore. And with that he started looking forward to Monday.
Liz walked into biology, dreading the sight of Max.
She had been careful to wear something that would hide
the necklace effectively that day. She couldn't bear
to take it off, but she couldn't let Max see it. She
took her seat and waited for class to begin. Max
quickly walked into biology, anxious to talk to Liz.
He sat down and told her they needed to talk.
"Umm Liz, I think we need to talk."
"Oh. Okay. What's on your mind?" Liz asked as sweetly
as possible. It was killing her.
"It's about us. Our...umm...relationship."
"O-Kay..." Liz began to get worried. She knew she
couldn't take it if Max started asking her questions
about 'them', her and Kyle, her and Max, she didn't know
what she'd do.
"Liz...I don't know how to tell you this...I...I
know,"
"Know what Max?" Liz asked, impatiently.
"I know about you and Kyle."
"Wha-, why, what, how, what, do you mean?" Liz
stuttered.
"I mean, I know, I know you didn't really sleep with
him."
Liz was going crazy. How could this have happened?
What did she ever do to deserve all this pain? Why was
he doing this? She had to get out. The tears were
coming. She had to leave. She couldn't take it. Liz
started to cry. The tears streaked her face. She felt
like she was dying slowly, being cruelly and unusually
punished, tortured even. But before Max could do anything
to comfort her, she got up and ran out of the room.
Everyone turned to watch and the whispering began. Max
knew he had to go after her, had to explain. So he left
too. The teacher was starting to get very annoyed.
"Settle down class, settle down. Rest assured, those
two will be getting detentions. Along with anyone who
continues to talk in my classroom! You can gossip
about Miss Parker and Mr. Evans at another time."
Liz moved as fast as she could. She ignored all the
whispering, all the stares, and all the "Are you okay
Liz?"'s. She had to get away, escape. She went to the
eraser room. It was the closest, and the only place she
could think of where no one would find her. She walked
in, all the way too the back and sat on the floor under
the desks. She wrapped her arms around her knees and began
to rock back and forth. The tears kept coming, sobs racked
her body. She reached up and unclasped her necklace,
holding it carefully in her hands. It was so beautiful.
It reminded her of him, of how much she missed him, how
much she loved him. As she looked more closely at the necklace
she saw that there was an inscription. It read:
'Destined to be together. Love, Max.'
Liz smiled. All of a sudden, the door opened. Someone
was in the room with her.
*Why can't they leave me alone? I just want to be
alone! * Liz thought angrily. *Maybe if I'm quiet they'll
leave. * But it seemed like the person was looking for
something. Liz let out a little sigh. The person, as if
they'd heard her, turned around and walked towards where
Liz was hiding. She squeezed her fists tight, as if to
ward the person off, and they turned and walked out of
the room. A few seconds later, another person walked in.
This time, Liz recognized that it was Max. He walked
towards her, and peeked under the desks.
"Hi." He said.
"Hi." Liz replied. "I'm sorry Max. You weren't...it's
all so complicated and... I..."
"It's okay Liz. I understand everything."
"Everyone has this image of me. Even you. You all
think I'm so strong. But really I'm not. Max, I've
missed you so much. You made me strong. Without you
I'm weak, I'm nothing without you Max. I can only be
brave for so long. I wanted to tell you, but I
couldn't. How did, how did you know?"
This was it. *I'm sorry Maria,* he thought.
"Well...umm...Maria told me. Please don't be upset
with her Liz."
Liz started to cry again. Max pulled her into his
arms.
"I'm so sorry Max. I never meant to hurt you. I did it
for you Max. I love you. I always have. I always will,
no matter what."
"I love you too Liz."
"I know, but we can't be together Max. You have to be
with Tess. You belong together. You can't let her
leave." Liz was sobbing again. She wrenched herself
out of Max's tender embrace.
"Liz, I won't let her leave. You and me, Liz, we
belong together. We make our own destinies, remember?
We can stop the end of the world. But I can't do it
without you Liz. I need you."
"Please Max, don't make it harder than it already is."
Liz asked desperately.
"I'm not Liz. I need you, just like you need me. We
know what we have to do now. I, for one, know we have
to do it together. Liz..."
"Do you, is that really what you think, Max?"
" I believe it with all my heart."
"Then, then, I'm not the reason for the end of the
world?"
"No Liz. Because there isn't going to be an end of the
world."
"I believe you." Liz said as she crawled back into his
arms. "Stay with me, Max."
"Forever."
Max had no idea how to approach Liz with this
information. He needed to let her know he knew, but he
didn't know how. Unfortunately, the weekend was almost
over. Tomorrow would be Monday, and biology was second
period. Max had to think of something before then. And
what about Maria? What would Liz do to her? Would Liz
be happy he found out, and thank Maria, or would she
hate Maria forever? Max was beginning to sink back into
his depression again.
"Max are you coming?" Isabel burst into Max's room.
"Coming where?" Max asked, startled.
"To the Crashdown, with Michael, Tess and me."
"Umm..."
*Liz is gonna be at The Crashdown. She works on
Sundays.* Max thought. It would be awkward, but only
as awkward as it had been lately.
"Well? Are you coming or not?" Isabel questioned
again, impatiently.
"Yeah, I guess." Max replied. He still wanted to see
Liz. He wouldn't let on that he knew just yet
though. He'd wait till tomorrow.
Liz looked up to see Max walking through the doors of
the Crashdown. *Oh no! * She thought. *I can't believe
Max is here! * Liz walked quickly into the kitchen and
told Maria to take whatever table they were sitting at.
Maria sighed, but did as she was told. She desperately
needed to be on Liz's good side when she heard about
what Maria had done. Liz went into the bathroom and
tucked the necklace under her uniform. She made sure it
couldn't be seen, and went out again.
Max was a little disappointed when he saw Liz
disappear into the kitchen. He knew that meant she
wouldn't be serving them. He was also disappointed to
see that Liz wasn't wearing the necklace he had given
her. Two days ago, he wouldn't have been very
surprised, but now that he knew, it hurt. But the more
Max thought about it, the more he realized how much Liz
really did love him. Liz had gone through all this
pain and agony, just for him. *Liz is so brave, so
strong. That just makes me love her more. I can't wait
until I can be with her again.* Max was confident
that they would get back together. He knew that once
Liz found out, she wouldn't be able to hide her feelings
anymore. And with that he started looking forward to Monday.
Liz walked into biology, dreading the sight of Max.
She had been careful to wear something that would hide
the necklace effectively that day. She couldn't bear
to take it off, but she couldn't let Max see it. She
took her seat and waited for class to begin. Max
quickly walked into biology, anxious to talk to Liz.
He sat down and told her they needed to talk.
"Umm Liz, I think we need to talk."
"Oh. Okay. What's on your mind?" Liz asked as sweetly
as possible. It was killing her.
"It's about us. Our...umm...relationship."
"O-Kay..." Liz began to get worried. She knew she
couldn't take it if Max started asking her questions
about 'them', her and Kyle, her and Max, she didn't know
what she'd do.
"Liz...I don't know how to tell you this...I...I
know,"
"Know what Max?" Liz asked, impatiently.
"I know about you and Kyle."
"Wha-, why, what, how, what, do you mean?" Liz
stuttered.
"I mean, I know, I know you didn't really sleep with
him."
Liz was going crazy. How could this have happened?
What did she ever do to deserve all this pain? Why was
he doing this? She had to get out. The tears were
coming. She had to leave. She couldn't take it. Liz
started to cry. The tears streaked her face. She felt
like she was dying slowly, being cruelly and unusually
punished, tortured even. But before Max could do anything
to comfort her, she got up and ran out of the room.
Everyone turned to watch and the whispering began. Max
knew he had to go after her, had to explain. So he left
too. The teacher was starting to get very annoyed.
"Settle down class, settle down. Rest assured, those
two will be getting detentions. Along with anyone who
continues to talk in my classroom! You can gossip
about Miss Parker and Mr. Evans at another time."
Liz moved as fast as she could. She ignored all the
whispering, all the stares, and all the "Are you okay
Liz?"'s. She had to get away, escape. She went to the
eraser room. It was the closest, and the only place she
could think of where no one would find her. She walked
in, all the way too the back and sat on the floor under
the desks. She wrapped her arms around her knees and began
to rock back and forth. The tears kept coming, sobs racked
her body. She reached up and unclasped her necklace,
holding it carefully in her hands. It was so beautiful.
It reminded her of him, of how much she missed him, how
much she loved him. As she looked more closely at the necklace
she saw that there was an inscription. It read:
'Destined to be together. Love, Max.'
Liz smiled. All of a sudden, the door opened. Someone
was in the room with her.
*Why can't they leave me alone? I just want to be
alone! * Liz thought angrily. *Maybe if I'm quiet they'll
leave. * But it seemed like the person was looking for
something. Liz let out a little sigh. The person, as if
they'd heard her, turned around and walked towards where
Liz was hiding. She squeezed her fists tight, as if to
ward the person off, and they turned and walked out of
the room. A few seconds later, another person walked in.
This time, Liz recognized that it was Max. He walked
towards her, and peeked under the desks.
"Hi." He said.
"Hi." Liz replied. "I'm sorry Max. You weren't...it's
all so complicated and... I..."
"It's okay Liz. I understand everything."
"Everyone has this image of me. Even you. You all
think I'm so strong. But really I'm not. Max, I've
missed you so much. You made me strong. Without you
I'm weak, I'm nothing without you Max. I can only be
brave for so long. I wanted to tell you, but I
couldn't. How did, how did you know?"
This was it. *I'm sorry Maria,* he thought.
"Well...umm...Maria told me. Please don't be upset
with her Liz."
Liz started to cry again. Max pulled her into his
arms.
"I'm so sorry Max. I never meant to hurt you. I did it
for you Max. I love you. I always have. I always will,
no matter what."
"I love you too Liz."
"I know, but we can't be together Max. You have to be
with Tess. You belong together. You can't let her
leave." Liz was sobbing again. She wrenched herself
out of Max's tender embrace.
"Liz, I won't let her leave. You and me, Liz, we
belong together. We make our own destinies, remember?
We can stop the end of the world. But I can't do it
without you Liz. I need you."
"Please Max, don't make it harder than it already is."
Liz asked desperately.
"I'm not Liz. I need you, just like you need me. We
know what we have to do now. I, for one, know we have
to do it together. Liz..."
"Do you, is that really what you think, Max?"
" I believe it with all my heart."
"Then, then, I'm not the reason for the end of the
world?"
"No Liz. Because there isn't going to be an end of the
world."
"I believe you." Liz said as she crawled back into his
arms. "Stay with me, Max."
"Forever."