About A Girl
Part 6: Return
By
Anessa Ramsey
(Disclaimer in first part)
Roswell, NM
September 6, 2000
It was like a celebrity had come to West Roswell High School. Everyone paused to stare at the two people walking through the front doors of the school. Liz Parker and Michael Guerin had disappeared for three months and now they were back. They didn't look around or acknowledge anyone. The whispers drifted around them. "Is that Liz Parker?" "Did she and Guerin hook up?" "Where have they been?" "Man, Guerin's lucky if he's getting a piece of that!" "I thought Liz was with Max Evans?" Even some teachers stopped at stared at the sight. It was quite fascinating. They were both beautiful, nearly perfect in appearance and confidence. It was as if there was a shield around them making sure nothing got through to hurt them.
She saw them first, at the end of the hall. Not that she actually gave away the fact that she was aware of their presence. They were all staring. Tess' mouth was hanging open slightly. Maria was sniffing her cypress oil and Isabel was whispering furiously to Max who was just watching them with narrowed eyes. Liz and Michael stopped about four feet in front of them. Alex stepped forward to give Liz a hug but she stepped back, surprising him.
"Liz?" Maria asked softly, unable to believe that the girl in front of her was her best friend. The Liz Parker she knew never would have worn a pair of crimson leather pants, a tight black tank top that revealed a bit of the tan flesh of her stomach. And since when did Liz have abs? And a bellybutton ring? When did she cut her hair? All that beautiful brown hair was gone, cut into a pixie style. It suited her. It was just different.
She didn't answer Maria. Instead she looked at Tess. "You might want to close your mouth…unless you're trying to catch flies." Her mouth snapped shut with a soft click and she glared at Liz who ignored her.
"So where were you?" Isabel asked, trying to dampen the tension in the air.
"LA at first. Then elsewhere." She was purposely vague. Now wasn't the time to get into details.
"Oh."
Max just kept staring at her and it was driving her crazy. "Just say whatever it is you want to say Max. The constant staring is getting annoying." She wanted him to say what was on his mind. The three months she'd spent in Sunnydale had taught her that it was just better to be frank and honest rather than holding your tongue.
"What happened to you? The hair…the clothes?" he asked, indicating the leather pants and tank top that barely covered her. He looked down and noticed she was wearing a pair of combat boots.
"Just thought I'd try something new." She spun in a small circle, her arms spread wide. "Don't you like?"
"Sure…but I liked you when you were…well, you."
"I'm still me, just…improved a bit." The minute bell rang and she smiled at Michael. Their first class was together. "Ready?" He nodded, and they began to walk away. Liz stopped suddenly and looked over her shoulder. "Meeting at the Crashdown at ten." It wasn't a question. It was a decree. She and Michael just continued down the hall disappearing around the corner, leaving stunned silence in their wake.
"What was that?" Isabel asked wondering when the world had gone Twilight Zone on her.
"I don't like it," Max stated simply, thinking of how comfortable Liz and Michael seemed in each others' presence. He was with Tess now but he still loved Liz. Tess frowned but didn't say anything.
"Did anyone else happen to notice that Liz had a tattoo at the base of her neck?" Alex asked. The just looked at him. Liz had a tattoo? "Guess not," he muttered softly, heading for class.
Lunch was there before they knew it. They decided to avoid the gang and meet in the gym to work out. Michael had become pretty proficient in self-defense and sparred with her when Buffy couldn't. Kyle found them there, watching from the shadows as Liz leapt in a roundhouse kick that sent Michael sprawling to the mats. Who knew little Lizzie Parker could move so quickly.
He began to applaud and walked out of the shadows when they turned toward him. "Damn Liz, you're good."
"What do you want, Valenti?" Michael practically growled. Liz rested a hand on his arm, a gestured that did not go unnoticed by Kyle.
"Well I wasn't in the hall when you guys walked in this morning but I've heard plenty of talk. I was just wondering how much was true and how much wasn't and decided to find out for myself."
"By what, spying on us?"
"No. I figured I'd just ask. It's up to you if you want to tell me or not. The way I see, you're not going to tell anyone if they go around being sneaky, so I thought I'd be straightforward and hope that you trusted me enough to tell me what's going on."
Liz looked at Michael who was considering Valenti's words. He knew Kyle could keep a secret and his words led him to believe that he wasn't there as a spy. He nodded at Liz and they all sat down on the mats. She told him everything. Including the part about the prophecy. He took it pretty well, though he did keep muttering a lot about how completely skewed his life was now that he knew all of this supernatural stuff. He also promised not to tell the rest of the group and for that Liz was grateful. She couldn't have trusted any of the others to keep it secret, except maybe Alex. Only he was vulnerable to Isabel and that was enough to keep her mouth shut around him.
Liz walked into the Crashdown after school and smiled when her dad came out of the kitchen. Her parents had been so glad to see her. It was nice to know that they'd missed her and that they weren't disappointed in her. They hadn't commented on her new clothing or hair but she could tell that her mother was pleased that she was more confident and had taken to dressing that way. Buffy came with them to meet her parents so that they knew she hadn't been living on the streets and that she'd been staying with someone responsible. After all, Buffy was raising her sister who was almost Liz's age. They had explained the whole slayer deal. Buffy and Giles had been insistent that she tell her parents. It would lead to a lot of lying and hurt feelings if she didn't. They took it pretty well considering. Nancy had cried and Jeff had asked what this meant for her future. She told them. They cried when they learned that she would eventually die for the cause. In the end though, they'd accepted it, which was all she could ask for.
Her dad had offered her a job again at the diner but she turned him down. She was past that. Besides the new record store in town was hiring and she had already put in an application. The hours were good and she would still have time to patrol. Not that Roswell had many vampires…if any. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stay forever. Only until she graduated. There was no reason for her to be in Roswell when there wasn't a demon population. Her parents were glad that she would be relatively safe until then. She didn't tell them about the prophecy. If she survived, which was doubtful, she would leave. She was needed elsewhere. Sunnydale was nice and she felt more at home there than she did in the place she thought she'd always call home. The added bonus of Spike being in Sunnydale was a big deal too.
Michael was wary of her budding friendship…relationship with Spike. He didn't understand though. They had things in common and yet he was her complete opposite in many ways. It was different than with Max. She was her own person. There were no games…no back and forth. It was what it was and she liked that. They took things as they came and didn't hurry to find out if they were going to be something more.
"Hey Liz, how was school?"
"Fine," she said, sliding onto one of the stools at the counter. Her dad set a chocolate shake in front of her and she smiled. He always knew exactly what she wanted.
His smile faded and Liz knew he wanted to say something but was hesitant. She had a pretty good idea what it was. "I saw them. I saw Max."
Jeff Parker let out the breath he'd been holding in a great whoosh that had Liz giggling. It was good to see his daughter happy again. Max Evans had given her nothing but tears. "And?" he asked, trying not to press too much.
"Nothing. He was kind of stunned." She glanced down and he understood. The clothes. "Needless to say, not many words were exchanged."
"Oh."
"Don't worry dad. Things are different now. My life has changed."
He sighed. This wasn't easy. His daughter was supposed to save the world through medicine, not fighting. "I know." She smiled and spun on the stool and he spotted the tattoo. It was a Japanese symbol. "A tattoo?"
She smiled sheepishly. "Don't be mad. It's a reminder."
"Of what?"
"That I have a destiny. That there's a reason to everything, even if I don't know what it is. It may not be the destiny I had planned but it's the one that's chosen me. That's what the symbol means. Chosen."
His daughter was beautiful. Somewhere along the line she'd grown up and he'd missed it. She'd always been his little Lizzie. He never noticed that she had come into her own. She'd grown up. He was about to tell her he was proud of her when the bell on the door clanged. He looked up just in time to see Max come in, his entourage behind him. Michael wasn't with them.
They sat at their usual booth and Liz sighed. They were staring. She could feel it. She was about to go upstairs when the door opened again. Buffy came jogging in. She was wearing a pair of track pants and a white sports bra. A slight sheen of sweat covered her body and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. "Hey Liz. You wanna go running? I just finished my workout with Giles and am still up for some exercise." She didn't notice the group in the booth until she stopped talking. They were staring. It was way creepy. They must be the friends. Glancing away, she looked back to Liz who nodded.
"Let me just change." She leaned over the counter and kissed her dad on the cheek. "Thanks for the shake," she said even though she barely touched it.
Buffy sat at the counter. "Hi Mr. Parker."
"Buffy. How are you?"
"Good."
"Wonderful. Would you like anything?"
She leaned forward to whisper and he met her halfway. "I'd like for them to stop staring at me. Do you mind if I intimidate them a little?"
Jeff laughed. "You go ahead and do anything you like as long as nothing gets broken and no one is physically harmed.
She spun around on the stool to face them, not giving them time to look away. "Is there a problem?"
"No," Max said decisively.
"I think there might be. See you've been staring at me since I walked in the door and I really don't appreciate, so unless there's something you want, why don't you train your eyes on something or someone else." Her tone left no room for them to dispute her words. Michael walked in just then and he could feel the tension in the room. Buffy was sitting facing the gang who were studiously eyeing the menus. They must have been staring.
"Hey Michael!" she said cheerfully.
"Buffy." He smiled at her, a genuine smile and Maria sat back eyes wide. Michael never smiled like that. What the hell was going on? Liz came back through the door to the kitchen just then wearing a blue pair of Umbros shorts and a white tank top. "Later dad," she said as she and Buffy walked out. They stopped on the sidewalk and Liz began to stretch, making sure to cover all her bases so that none of her muscles would get strained. They were unware of the people inside staring at them.