Chapter III: Aftershock
Liz couldn't sleep that night. She didn't really bother to get up. She just pulled the sheets tighter around her. She needed the comfort. It hurt. It hurt so much on the inside. When she finally got to sleep, she was relieved that when she woke up that she didn't remember any of her dreams, but last night still haunted her. If it wasn't for that Bio midterm, she'd have stayed home.
Biology. Max. She'd have to sit next to him the whole time. That was going to be hard, but she would be able to do it. It didn't even matter anymore. Nothing did.
Everything was going well so far. Liz had just gotten to her locker, where Maria was waiting for her. Maria of course, even after the Michael and Courtney incident, was acting all cheery. She was doing practically all the talking, the only problem was, Liz was hardly listening anyway.
"Liz, is there something wrong?"
"No Maria, I'm fine."
Her voice was plain and dull, but what was there to be expected. Liz couldn't tell Maria what happened. She just couldn't. She couldn't do that to her. She had her own problems to deal with. All Liz wanted was to get through the day without breaking down.
Maria knew there was something wrong and was about to come out and ask, but Michael came and interrupted her with a worried face.
"Have you seen Isabel?"
"How about a 'hi Maria, hi Liz'?"
Maria was obviously still pissed about the Courtney thing.
"Oh. Hi Maria. Hi Liz. How's everything? Have you seen Isabel?"
Isabel told Michael everything and he knew that it would be best to go along with whatever Maria did. He wasn't in the mood for more trouble.
"She's over there. Why? Has the alien invasion started?"
Michael looked around and spotted Isabel at the drinking fountain. Without a word said, he jogged towards her, leaving Maria quite irked.
"Michael, I thought I told you to watch Max and make sure he goes to class."
"You have to come and see this. He's lost it."
"Then why are you here?"
"I couldn't control him so I came to get you. Kyle's watching him."
"Okay, let's go."
The two quickly jogged to Max's locker with Maria and Liz close behind them. Maria didn't know what was going on, but she wanted to find out; so she dragged Liz along with her.
When they got there, they saw a group of people watching closely as Max was hitting his head against his locker. His things were scattered on the floor but he didn't seem to mind. He didn't seem to mind that dozens of his schoolmates were staring at him as he was having a complete schizophrenic freak-out. He slammed the locker door, but it hit his fingers. He slammed his back against the locker and slid down to the floor, burying his face in his hands and sobbing. Kyle had tried (to no avail) to calm him down, but now he was calmer at least. People were still staring and at this, Michael got into action.
"Okay people, show's over! Go to your classes or something."
Isabel's attention turned to Maria and Liz, then to Kyle. She walked towards Kyle.
"Kyle, get Liz out of here."
"Why?"
"Just do it, I'll explain later."
Kyle did as he was told, but when Maria asked him what was going on, he told her to ask Isabel. She wanted the truth and she wanted it now.
"Isabel, what's going on?"
Isabel ignored her at the moment.
"Michael, make sure he gets to class."
At this, Michael helped Max up and walked him down the corridor.
"Isabel, why on earth did Max do this?"
Isabel bent down and picked up the contents of Max's locker and put it back inside, finally realizing what had caused his breakdown. She pointed towards the picture of Max and Liz on his locker door.
"That would be why."
"Max went all psycho because he saw a picture of himself and Liz?"
"Well, there's more to it than that. Look, when I tell you what's really going on, just try to stay calm and keep in mind that Max is emotionally unstable, okay."
"Isabel, just tell me."
For Liz, the biology test didn't seem like much of a challenge, after all, she didn't really get into what happened last night. But Max on the other hand was a different story, he seemed to be taking it worse than Liz.
"Is this the same guy that... attacked me yesterday" Liz thought to herself, distracting herself from gneiss and phylum for a moment. She studied him for a quick second. His eyes were red, there were black circles under his eyes and he was pale. He looked almost exactly like Liz but about ten times worse and he didn't seem to be concentrating on the test laid in front of him. Yeah, he was answering it, but it was carelessly done.
When she was done, Liz turned in her test and left for an early lunch with Max close behind her.
"Um, Liz... about last night, I'm sorry, I really am. I... I didn't know what I was doing."
At this Liz snapped.
"Max, I'm really not in the mood to help you with your self pity and your self blame. I know you're sorry. You said it about a thousand times last night and this morning. I am having a horrible day and I do not want to say anything I'll regret later so I'm going to go.
She didn't know why she was being so cold, but didn't she have a right to be? Part of it was so that she could control her emotions. She didn't want to break down and cry anymore, that's all she'd done in the past. She'd rather be angry.
Tess was coming down the hall at the moment. She knew what was going on and when she saw Max and Liz, she knew it wasn't good. She may not have liked Liz at first, but no one deserved to be put in that position. She walked towards them cautiously, but as she neared, Liz had already ended the conversation. And as Liz passed, she said a something that no one ever thought would happen on normal standards.
"He's all your Tess. You can have him."
Tess was stunned. She had no idea what to do next. She stood there for a moment contemplating on what was said and realized that she'd rather not be with Max. Especially if Max was capable of doing what he did. And somehow, she knew that Liz only spoke out of anger and frustration, that maybe, in the long run, she didn't mean it.
"Maria, I just want to eat alone today."
Maria shot Liz a concerned look but gave her the space she wanted before sitting at the other table with Isabel, Michael and the rest.
Liz sat down at an empty table about two tables away from Maria's. She knew that Maria knew, that everyone else knew. She knew that they knew that she knew. She started to pick at her macaroni, acknowledging the fact that they kept checking on her, looking on her. She thought about everything for a moment but was interrupted.
"Can I sit here?"
"Huh? Oh, yea, sure."
"By the way, I'm Nicholas."
"Liz, Liz Parker."
"Hey, what's Liz doing all the way over there?"
Alex had just taken a seat next to Isabel.
"Hey Alex, I haven't seen you around lately."
"Avoid the subject." Isabel thought to herself.
"Well, I'm kind of busy preparing my trip to Sweden for the student exchange program."
Alex glanced around at the table. Everyone was quite and Max looked as if the whole world had tumbled off of its axis and it was all his fault. He was pinching his hands and staring blankly ahead.
"What's wrong with him?"
Maria glanced nervously at Isabel whose facial expression grew deeper in seriousness, but Isabel just nodded in reply. She leaned in closer to Alex and whispered in his ear. His facial expression changed quickly from seriousness to anger. He was furious. He got up and spoke angrily.
"Then why is it that he's over here and Liz is the one being isolated!"
Max glanced at him but said nothing. Alex repeated the same thing he had said to Michael after the Courtney incident and he had caught Maria crying in the backroom. Well, part of it anyway.
"Look. I don't care that you've got thirty pounds on me or… or that you can kill me with some… some twisted alien power. (This part he said slightly lower.) I will not let you treat her like that. I don't care that Isabel treats me like crap, (Isabel grimaces.) but you can't just do that to her. You, of all people!"
Max looked away. He didn't know how to respond. It was after all, the truth, and it hurt. The truth hurt.
"I would like you to look at me while I'm speaking with you."
Max turned back to look at him. Guilt was written all over his face. The moment his eyes reached full contact to Alex's, Alex lunged forward and punched him square in the face, knocking him to the ground. Alex didn't wince this time he just kept hitting him in the gut. No one made a move.
"Alex, stop it."
He turned as did everyone else's head and saw Liz standing right behind him. She was studying him, him and Max. He quickly got up to his feet. Liz was still looking at Max who hadn't even bothered to look at her. He just couldn't. After a couple of minutes of silence, Liz finally spoke.
"Max, you're bleeding."
At this, she turned around and went back to her table as Michael got up and dragged Max to the bathrooms, swearing to himself, leaving the rest speechless in their seats and Alex returned to his seat next to Isabel.
Liz couldn't sleep that night. She didn't really bother to get up. She just pulled the sheets tighter around her. She needed the comfort. It hurt. It hurt so much on the inside. When she finally got to sleep, she was relieved that when she woke up that she didn't remember any of her dreams, but last night still haunted her. If it wasn't for that Bio midterm, she'd have stayed home.
Biology. Max. She'd have to sit next to him the whole time. That was going to be hard, but she would be able to do it. It didn't even matter anymore. Nothing did.
Everything was going well so far. Liz had just gotten to her locker, where Maria was waiting for her. Maria of course, even after the Michael and Courtney incident, was acting all cheery. She was doing practically all the talking, the only problem was, Liz was hardly listening anyway.
"Liz, is there something wrong?"
"No Maria, I'm fine."
Her voice was plain and dull, but what was there to be expected. Liz couldn't tell Maria what happened. She just couldn't. She couldn't do that to her. She had her own problems to deal with. All Liz wanted was to get through the day without breaking down.
Maria knew there was something wrong and was about to come out and ask, but Michael came and interrupted her with a worried face.
"Have you seen Isabel?"
"How about a 'hi Maria, hi Liz'?"
Maria was obviously still pissed about the Courtney thing.
"Oh. Hi Maria. Hi Liz. How's everything? Have you seen Isabel?"
Isabel told Michael everything and he knew that it would be best to go along with whatever Maria did. He wasn't in the mood for more trouble.
"She's over there. Why? Has the alien invasion started?"
Michael looked around and spotted Isabel at the drinking fountain. Without a word said, he jogged towards her, leaving Maria quite irked.
"Michael, I thought I told you to watch Max and make sure he goes to class."
"You have to come and see this. He's lost it."
"Then why are you here?"
"I couldn't control him so I came to get you. Kyle's watching him."
"Okay, let's go."
The two quickly jogged to Max's locker with Maria and Liz close behind them. Maria didn't know what was going on, but she wanted to find out; so she dragged Liz along with her.
When they got there, they saw a group of people watching closely as Max was hitting his head against his locker. His things were scattered on the floor but he didn't seem to mind. He didn't seem to mind that dozens of his schoolmates were staring at him as he was having a complete schizophrenic freak-out. He slammed the locker door, but it hit his fingers. He slammed his back against the locker and slid down to the floor, burying his face in his hands and sobbing. Kyle had tried (to no avail) to calm him down, but now he was calmer at least. People were still staring and at this, Michael got into action.
"Okay people, show's over! Go to your classes or something."
Isabel's attention turned to Maria and Liz, then to Kyle. She walked towards Kyle.
"Kyle, get Liz out of here."
"Why?"
"Just do it, I'll explain later."
Kyle did as he was told, but when Maria asked him what was going on, he told her to ask Isabel. She wanted the truth and she wanted it now.
"Isabel, what's going on?"
Isabel ignored her at the moment.
"Michael, make sure he gets to class."
At this, Michael helped Max up and walked him down the corridor.
"Isabel, why on earth did Max do this?"
Isabel bent down and picked up the contents of Max's locker and put it back inside, finally realizing what had caused his breakdown. She pointed towards the picture of Max and Liz on his locker door.
"That would be why."
"Max went all psycho because he saw a picture of himself and Liz?"
"Well, there's more to it than that. Look, when I tell you what's really going on, just try to stay calm and keep in mind that Max is emotionally unstable, okay."
"Isabel, just tell me."
For Liz, the biology test didn't seem like much of a challenge, after all, she didn't really get into what happened last night. But Max on the other hand was a different story, he seemed to be taking it worse than Liz.
"Is this the same guy that... attacked me yesterday" Liz thought to herself, distracting herself from gneiss and phylum for a moment. She studied him for a quick second. His eyes were red, there were black circles under his eyes and he was pale. He looked almost exactly like Liz but about ten times worse and he didn't seem to be concentrating on the test laid in front of him. Yeah, he was answering it, but it was carelessly done.
When she was done, Liz turned in her test and left for an early lunch with Max close behind her.
"Um, Liz... about last night, I'm sorry, I really am. I... I didn't know what I was doing."
At this Liz snapped.
"Max, I'm really not in the mood to help you with your self pity and your self blame. I know you're sorry. You said it about a thousand times last night and this morning. I am having a horrible day and I do not want to say anything I'll regret later so I'm going to go.
She didn't know why she was being so cold, but didn't she have a right to be? Part of it was so that she could control her emotions. She didn't want to break down and cry anymore, that's all she'd done in the past. She'd rather be angry.
Tess was coming down the hall at the moment. She knew what was going on and when she saw Max and Liz, she knew it wasn't good. She may not have liked Liz at first, but no one deserved to be put in that position. She walked towards them cautiously, but as she neared, Liz had already ended the conversation. And as Liz passed, she said a something that no one ever thought would happen on normal standards.
"He's all your Tess. You can have him."
Tess was stunned. She had no idea what to do next. She stood there for a moment contemplating on what was said and realized that she'd rather not be with Max. Especially if Max was capable of doing what he did. And somehow, she knew that Liz only spoke out of anger and frustration, that maybe, in the long run, she didn't mean it.
"Maria, I just want to eat alone today."
Maria shot Liz a concerned look but gave her the space she wanted before sitting at the other table with Isabel, Michael and the rest.
Liz sat down at an empty table about two tables away from Maria's. She knew that Maria knew, that everyone else knew. She knew that they knew that she knew. She started to pick at her macaroni, acknowledging the fact that they kept checking on her, looking on her. She thought about everything for a moment but was interrupted.
"Can I sit here?"
"Huh? Oh, yea, sure."
"By the way, I'm Nicholas."
"Liz, Liz Parker."
"Hey, what's Liz doing all the way over there?"
Alex had just taken a seat next to Isabel.
"Hey Alex, I haven't seen you around lately."
"Avoid the subject." Isabel thought to herself.
"Well, I'm kind of busy preparing my trip to Sweden for the student exchange program."
Alex glanced around at the table. Everyone was quite and Max looked as if the whole world had tumbled off of its axis and it was all his fault. He was pinching his hands and staring blankly ahead.
"What's wrong with him?"
Maria glanced nervously at Isabel whose facial expression grew deeper in seriousness, but Isabel just nodded in reply. She leaned in closer to Alex and whispered in his ear. His facial expression changed quickly from seriousness to anger. He was furious. He got up and spoke angrily.
"Then why is it that he's over here and Liz is the one being isolated!"
Max glanced at him but said nothing. Alex repeated the same thing he had said to Michael after the Courtney incident and he had caught Maria crying in the backroom. Well, part of it anyway.
"Look. I don't care that you've got thirty pounds on me or… or that you can kill me with some… some twisted alien power. (This part he said slightly lower.) I will not let you treat her like that. I don't care that Isabel treats me like crap, (Isabel grimaces.) but you can't just do that to her. You, of all people!"
Max looked away. He didn't know how to respond. It was after all, the truth, and it hurt. The truth hurt.
"I would like you to look at me while I'm speaking with you."
Max turned back to look at him. Guilt was written all over his face. The moment his eyes reached full contact to Alex's, Alex lunged forward and punched him square in the face, knocking him to the ground. Alex didn't wince this time he just kept hitting him in the gut. No one made a move.
"Alex, stop it."
He turned as did everyone else's head and saw Liz standing right behind him. She was studying him, him and Max. He quickly got up to his feet. Liz was still looking at Max who hadn't even bothered to look at her. He just couldn't. After a couple of minutes of silence, Liz finally spoke.
"Max, you're bleeding."
At this, she turned around and went back to her table as Michael got up and dragged Max to the bathrooms, swearing to himself, leaving the rest speechless in their seats and Alex returned to his seat next to Isabel.