~~~Ch 20~~~
"What? What did you say?" Liz said, disbelief evident in her voice.
"I'm in love with you. I healed you today because I couldn't stand to lose you when I'd only just found you…"
"Max…you don't really mean that…I mean you haven't even known me that long…you're just stressed from everything that happened…" she rambled, suddenly standing up and pacing.
"But I do mean it Liz. From the moment I first saw you in the Crashdown that day…somewhere deep down…I just knew it," he said, still staring at her and waiting for her reaction.
She stopped pacing just as suddenly and felt herself get pulled into his gaze again. "But…you can't love me…"
"Why not?"
"Because…I mean look at you. You've got a family, friends, a home…and these special abilities… I can just tell you are gonna do really great things some day. And then there's me… I'm a runaway…an orphan…I basically dropped out of school…and I'm taking care of two kids who aren't even any relation to me. You don't want to get involved with me Max. I'm nobody," she said softly as she turned away.
"Liz…" he said as he stood up and placed his hand on her arm, turning her towards him. "How can you even think that? I mean, the reason you dropped out of school and ran away was for the girls. You have such a big heart that you gave up your own future so that they would have a chance and to protect them. I feel lucky just to know you Liz. How could I help falling in love with you?"
"You really love me? This isn't some joke or a way to keep me from telling people about you? You're…serious?"
"Absolutely," he said, as he placed his other hand on the side of her face, and leaned down to kiss her. Liz just stood there for a moment, too stunned to move. Max pulled back and tried to judge if he had overstepped his bounds… He didn't have long though, as Liz threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, surprising him so much, that he stumbled back a step before wrapping his arms around her waist and returning her kiss. When their lips finally parted, neither one attempted to pull away, still holding onto each other as they attempted to catch their breath. "So I guess you feel the same way then…" Max said, smiling nervously.
Liz nodded, not yet trusting herself to speak. She laid her cheek on his chest and sighed, finally allowing herself to admit her feelings for Max. For so long now, she had told herself that love didn't really exist and people who thought that it did were just fooling themselves. How could it exist…her real parents hadn't loved her enough to keep her, none of her foster parents had ever loved her enough not to beat her, and Frank certainly hadn't shown her love… But now…she felt how much Max loved her when he kissed her, she could see it in his eyes every time he looked at her, she could hear it in the tone of his voice. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, to keep herself safe inside her shell, she just couldn't do it…because the way that Max felt about her, was the way she felt about him. "Max?" she said, finally finding her voice.
"Yeah Liz?"
"I think I love you too…"
"You really love me? This isn't some joke or a way to keep me from telling people about you? You're…serious?" he said, repeating her earlier questions with a smile on his face.
"Absolutely," she said, smiling and leaning up to kiss him again.
Bang bang bang
The pair instantly jumped apart as if they had been hit by lightning. Neither of them moved for a second, staring at the door, afraid of who could be banging on Liz's front door.
Bang bang bang
"Liz? Max? Its Michael…oof…and Isabel. Can we come in? We need to talk."
They both let out a sigh at the same time, relieved that the banging had not come from either Frank or someone looking to question them about the events of the day.
To Liz though, Michael and Isabel were not much better. It wasn't that she was afraid of their alien status…she was more afraid of what they thought of her and Max's new-found relationship.
Max noticed her nervousness and took her hand in his as he moved to open the door. Liz held her breath as he pulled the door open and revealed his sister and best friend waiting none too patiently on her doorstep. Both of them looked as nervous as stray cats that had been backed into a corner…jumpy and skittish…not sure whether they should run or scratch. Liz knew that feeling all to well. "Hey guys, why don't you come in."
The pair looked stunned, but nodded and stepped inside, suddenly looking around as if they were unsure what they had come for.
Michael found his voice first. "We need to talk about what happened."
"Michael…I told her…everything. It's okay. She isn't going to turn us in or anything. There's nothing to talk about," Max said, trying to break the news that he had just broken their childhood pact—the pact meant to keep them alive, to his sister and his friend as gently as possible.
"Yeah we figured you were going to do that," Michael said matter-of-factly.
"We just wanted to make sure Liz understood how serious this is," Isabel said, finally chiming in. "You do realize don't you Liz? Our lives depend on no one finding out that we aren't exactly human."
"I understand Isabel. I know you don't know me that well, but I have my own reasons for avoiding the law. I'm not going to go drawing more attention to myself just to turn you guys in. Besides, you guys seem a lot more normal than some humans I've met…" Liz said, laughing a little to lighten the intense mood that had come over the room. Max gave her hand a little squeeze of reassurance and smiled at her attempt.
Michael noticed the exchange and the fact that they were holding hands. "Is there something else we should know about?"
"Like what?" Max queried, clueless as to what else his best friend could possibly want to know.
"Is there something going on between you two?"
"Not that I think it's really any of your business, but yeah, there is."
"Max, this is so our business. We said we wouldn't get involved with anyone…it's not safe for us and it's not safe for them…" Isabel said, seeming surprised that her brother had broken yet another of their promises.
"Iz…Michael…just calm down. We know the risks and Liz is involved in all of this now whether we intended for her to be or not. Us being together isn't going to make things any worse…and it just might make our lives a little bit better. Can't you just be happy for us like a normal best friend and sister?"
Iz and Michael sighed and stared at the floor. "Fine do whatever you want," Michael said heading for the door, "I'm going back to my apartment…there's a hockey game on."
Isabel looked up at them, and shook her head. "There's nothing I can do about it in any case I suppose," she said sighing again. "Max, mom and dad are going to be expecting us to come home for dinner soon…"
"Yeah I know Iz. Why don't you go hop in the Jeep. I'll be out in a minute," Max said, sounding tired and not wanting to fight with his sister any more.
When both Michael and Isabel left Liz's apartment, Max turned towards her and took her other hand in his. He looked up at her face and smiled at the love he saw reflected in her eyes. It was almost impossible to believe, with everything that had transpired in the past twenty-four hours that this wasn't all just a dream…part nightmare, part wonderful fantasy. But when she leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him again, he was reassured that he wasn't dreaming—that it was all real. As they parted, they continued to stare at each other. "I guess I better go before Izzy abandons me and steals my Jeep," Max said, a smile on his lips.
"mm-hmm," Liz mumbled as she wound her arms around his back and buried her face in his shirt.
Max returned her hug and held her for a second, savoring the moment, before he pulled back just a little and said, "I love you Liz."
She looked up into his eyes and smiled. "I love you too Max."
He leaned in to kiss her again. "Bye…" he said, as he finally broke the kiss and started towards the door. Opening the door, he turned and said, "I'll call you later." And then he was gone.
"Bye…" she said, even though he was already gone. Liz closed the door and leaned back against it sighing, still shocked at all that had happened in just one day…
TBC…
