At Seventeen (Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!)
Author: Anais Nin (Stefanie)
Disclaimer: Roswell isn't mine. Title from
the song At Seventeen, by Tara McLean. I believe she covered it from Janis Ian.
Don't own them, either.
Summary: Liz turns seventeen, and receives
an anonymous birthday card. Who sent it to her, and - even of more significance
to her – why did that person chose to send the card to her?
Author's Note: Lol, okay. Before I begin, let
me explain... This short, good-for-nothing story is dedicated to Elizabeth; our
birthday girl! Happy birthday, sweetie! Thank you for your editing and amazing
work, you truly are the best… Of course, I couldn't let Elizabeth edit this
story, since it was supposed to be a surprise, so just ignore all the mistakes I
made, okay? Okay. Thank you. On a side note: this really is a fluff fic.
Nothing special. Don't be too disappointed afterwards, all right?
11-16-2003
***
'Happy birthday,
Elizabeth,' the card said. The words were small and cursive, and the
handwriting consisted out of bold loops and graceful dashes. Confused, Liz
turned the card in her hands, trying to find a name or some initials.
The card itself was rather
plain. It wasn't decorated as brightly as the other cards she'd received, and
there wasn't a picture or any colored letters. Just an off-white card, a soft,
yellowish border and a tiny heart embossed in its upper right corner.
Frowning, Liz turned the
card around once more, her gaze resting on those three, simple but so
significant words. Finally, she laid it down among the other cards she'd
received, and ran a hand through her hair. Everyone from whom she'd expected a
card had sent her one, except for Kyle, her boyfriend. The card could have been
his; it would explain the little heart.
It didn't make any sense,
however. Why wouldn't he put his name on it? Why would he call her Elizabeth?
He had never before called her by her full name.
Maria's voice reached her
ears, and she quickly picked up the card and hid it underneath her pillow. For
some reason, she wanted to keep it to her; solely to her. Maria was a great
friend, and she could be trusted, but Liz wasn't willing to share her secret
just yet. She wanted to know who'd sent the card first, and then she would
decide if she would tell her friend about it.
"So… where is she?"
Liz could hear her mother
answering, saying that she was upstairs and, seconds later, Maria's rapid
footsteps could be heard. Her friend flew up the flight of stairs, taking two
steps at once, rushing towards her bedroom.
"Happy birthday!" she
cried out as she breezed into the room. After kissing Liz on both cheeks, she
hugged her tightly. Pulling back, she pushed a flat present into her friend's
hands, and said, "Here, go on, open it!"
Liz laughed happily and
peeled at the paper, the mysterious card momentarily forgotten.
***
When he noticed his
girlfriend walking through the halls of Roswell High, excitedly chatting with
her friends, he froze.
"What day is it?" he
urgently asked Paul, who frowned, and, after hesitating a little, answered,
"The seventeenth, I think. No, no, it's the sixteenth."
Kyle swallowed
laboriously, and ducked behind a set of lockers.
The sixteent.
That was Liz's birthday.
He hadn't even sent her a
card. He'd completely forgotten his girlfriend's birthday. She wouldn't like
this. She wouldn't like it one bit.
Man, what a moron he was!
Looking around the corner
of the lockers, he saw her laughing with Maria, her eyes sparkling and her lips
pulled up in an entrancing smile.
She was so going to kill
him. He was a dead man walking.
"What's up, man?" Paul
asked, an amused grin playing on his lips.
Kyle groaned, and shook
his head. "Liz's birthday. I completely forgot about it."
Slowly, Paul shrugged and
looked at Liz. "Tell her you want to take her out tonight, you know, for her
birthday. She'll like that."
"You think so?"
"Of course. Act as if you
hadn't planned sending her a card or giving her a present at all. Pretend to
give her something huge tonight. That has to work," Paul spoke, very
self-assured.
Kyle closed his eyes and
resisted the urge to throw his head back against the wall. "Okay," he finally
said. "Here goes nothing."
Squaring his shoulders, he
prepared himself for the upcoming battle and got ready to face the fire squad.
***
Two hands covered her
eyes, and she squealed in surprise. "Happy birthday, Liz," a voice whispered
into her ear, and she had to keep herself from giggling.
"Kyle, you scared me!" she
exclaimed laughingly, throwing her arms around him. "And thank you so much for
your card…"
"My card?" he asked her,
confused.
"Your card," she tried to
remind him, "you know, the white one, with that little heart on it?"
"Oh, that card!" he said,
smiling awkwardly. "Ah, well, it really wasn't that important," he said, and
shrugged unwillingly. "Anyway, are you free tonight?"
Liz shook her head,
strangely enough not feeling all too disappointed. "Birthday party, remember? I
invited you as well."
"Riiight. I'm sorry." Kyle
shot an angry glare at Paul, then turned to smile at Liz again. "I forgot.
Well, I'll see you tonight, then."
When he turned to walk
away, she placed her hand on his lower arm and forced him to look at her. "Why
did you write that on my card?" she asked him gently, her kind, deep eyes
curiously staring up at him. She still couldn't understand why he'd called her
Elizabeth instead of Liz. No one she knew did that. She liked the sound of it,
but somehow, if it came from Kyle, it didn't seem right. She didn't long for
him to call her that. It was a special name, one that she only wanted to hear
from one person.
"Why did I write what?"
She shook her head,
feeling confused. Something wasn't right. "You don't remember what you wrote?"
she incredulously asked.
"I ah," he started, running
a hand through his hair, "I really should get going. I don't want to be late
for…"
"For English," she
finished his sentence. "I know, we have the same subject, remember? Why don't
you walk with me?"
He smirked, but nodded.
"Why did you write it?"
Sighing, he pondered over
his options. He could either lie to her some more, and get tangled up in the
cob web that was getting tighter and stickier with every lie he told, or he
could tell her the truth, and risk a break-up. It wasn't as if that possibility
hadn't existed before today, but telling her that he had lied to her would only
make their relationship more fragile.
"Liz… I… I lied…" he
finally confessed. "I didn't send you a card. I forgot about your birthday, and
I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"
"You what?!"
He swallowed and stopped
walking, not ready to enter their English class just yet.
Liz huffed incredulously
and shook her head. "You lied to me about something so silly as a birthday
card?"
"Well, obviously you make
a big deal out of it."
"Not out of the birthday
card, you idiot! It's that you lied to me about it." Liz paused, searching for
the right words. "That's just pathetic, and… and… stupid. You could have just
told me the truth, you know."
Kyle sighed
apologetically. "I'm sorry, Liz. I just thought that you'd dump me if you'd
find out that I forgot about your birthday and-"
"And that I wouldn't find
out the truth? Kyle… This doesn't work. I've said it before, and you know it's
true. We shouldn't have rushed this. I…" she stopped in mid-sentence, noticing
Max's lonely figure walking down the hallway.
"Liz?"
"Huh?" she stammered
confused, and forced herself to look back at Kyle.
"You were saying?" he
asked her anxiously.
"I think that we should
stop seeing each other. It's not that I don't like you, it's just…"
"It just doesn't work," he
said sadly, repeating her earlier words.
She nodded. "It just
doesn't."
***
After he'd seen her leave
with Kyle, he'd went to her locker and had opened it, carefully hiding his
glowing hand from the view of others. He had placed the rose, along with the
little box, inside of her locker and closed it again, a rush of adrenaline
coursing through his blood. It thrilled him to think that she might wear what
he gave her, that she might treasure something that had once belonged to him.
She was sitting on the
other side of the classroom, her face turned away from him. He could see her
reflection in the window, her pensive glance as she stared through it.
Suddenly, her reflection seemed to be looking straight at him. Blushing, he
ducked his head and returned his attention to his English book.
She could never know.
***
With trembling fingers,
she pulled at the ribbon that was tied around the little box. She prayed that
it might hold a clue as to who had put it in her locker, as to who had sent her
that beautiful card.
Holding her breath, she
opened the box, feeling her heart skipping a beat. Gasping quietly, she traced
the outlines of the small, silver heart, fingered its collier.
"That is so beautiful,"
Maria said, just as breathless as Liz. "Who gave it to you?"
Liz shook her head and
smiled feverishly. "I don't know," she helplessly replied. "I don't know."
"Well, put it on!" Maria
egged her on, a broad smile on her face.
Hesitantly looking down at
the present, Liz answered, "I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't. Whoever gave this
to me should be the one to put it on."
"Ah, don't be silly,"
Maria chastised her, and took the necklace. "Here, hold still."
She brushed some strands
of Liz's hair aside and, as she put the necklace on, Liz felt watched. Her eyes
swept through the hall until they met a pair of amber ones, staring right back
at her. Her stomach clenched, and she felt her throat go dry.
Max Evans was staring at her.
"There you go, sweetie.
Let me see…" Maria turned Liz around, forcing her friend to look away from Max.
"It looks wonderful," she complimented. "Amazing, really."
"Thanks," Liz quietly
said, fingering the little heart. Her eyes strayed from Maria's face, trying to
find Max's face once more, desperate to see his eyes again. She knew they would
tell the truth, that they wouldn't belie his silence.
He was nowhere to be seen.
The End (will be continued in sequel)
