Chapter 2
Max
"Max!" I hear female voice shouting, penetrating the haze of my sleep, I groan as I roll over in bed, pulling my covers over my head, blocking out the noise. "Max! Come on!"
"Go away." I mumble and grunt when I feel someone sitting on the bed.
"Come on Maxie, Lizzie is waiting for her Romeo." A singsong voice tease and I pull away the cover and glare at my annoying little sister.
"Don't call me Maxie." I muttered and she snickered.
"But Maxie is such a cute name!" she squealed, pinching my cheek.
"Geroff!" I muttered, pushing her hand off me. "You know I hate it when grandma does it."
"Maxwell Evans, get your butt out of bed!" our mom shouted and I whined as I pulled the pillow over my head.
"Come on big brother, school day. Can't miss it beside you have practice this afternoon, don't want to deprive Liz off seeing your in your outfit would we." She teased.
"Tammy!" I moaned and she shrugged.
"Fine, I'll just tell Liz that you are being lazy and we'll see if she will go out with then…" Tammy stated as she walked out of the bedroom, leaving me muttering in annoyance as I got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. I hate it when she guilt's me with that.
Tammy
I stepped into the kitchen, wearing my mid-thigh black skirt and a red strapped top and boots, I see my mother making pancakes and sighed with relief when it saw it was the normal stuff.
"Morning sweetie, is Max out of his bed yet?" she asked as she handed me my juice as I sat at the table.
"Yep, he is in a shower, Isabel is still trying to find the right dress to wear." I replied and my phone rang, I picked it up and noticed it was message. I opened it and read it before replying and setting it down on the table again. "Liz is staying over tonight." I replied and she nodded.
"Sure thing. ISABEL, GET DOWN HERE NOW!" she shouted.
"Coming!" Isabel shouted from up the stairs as Max came into the kitchen wearing his black jeans and bare feet.
"Honey, where's your top?" mom asked.
"I wanted to have breakfast first, beside I need to collect my gym stuff and it's in the laundry room at the moment." Max explained as he sat down at the table.
"Sure thing. Here you go." She replied as she set down the plates of pancakes in front of us.
"Thanks mom." We both reply.
"Maria is picking Liz up this morning, apparently Maria has an crisis that she needs to babble to Liz today." I told Max and he nodded.
"No problem, am I giving you a lift to work today?" he asked.
"Yep, both Liz and I, Maria is working the later shift as she has to help her mom out in the shop."
"Sure, we'll meet outside the locker rooms after practice." He replied and I nodded as Isabel stepped into the Kitchen.
"Tam, Cheerleading Practice has been cancelled today, headmaster wanted to make sure that we are not over doing it." Isabel told us and I nodded.
"I'll pass on the message to the others," I told her and turned to Max. "We'll just sit and watch you guys play." He nodded.
"Sure, no problem, I'm gonna get ready, Isabel do you want a lift?" he asked and she shook her head.
"No, Pam is coming by to pick me up." Isabel informed as he nodded.
"Sure, thanks for breakfast mom." He stated as he swallowed the last of his pancakes before heading into the laundry, mom turned to me and looked at me. I shrug and smile as I finished off my food.
Liz
I sighed when I entered the car, Maria had phoned me up telling me that her whole world was coming to an end, that the end of era has finally come and there was no surviving it. Something along the line like that. I smiled at her. She has long strawberry blonde hair and dark green eyes; they tend to change colours depending on her moods.
"Hey Maria." I stated and she looked at me with a thundercloud expression.
"My mother is now going out with Mr. Valenti." She muttered and I bit back a smile, looks like Tammy has won the bet again. She knew that Mr. Valenti and Aunt Amy fancied each other and knew that they were gonna get together so she made a bet with Max, he thought the two of them wasn't going to get together cause Kyle hated the idea of them two together as well.
"And how is that the world coming to an end?" I asked, confused and she looked at me with a shock expression, causing me to grab her chin and faced her back to the road again. "Eyes on the road, I want to get to school in one piece otherwise Tammy will go off on another one of her other rants of unsafety on the road." I warned her.
"Liz, the sheriff of Roswell, the father of Kyle Valenti is dating my mother!" she exclaimed and I sighed.
"Maria, your father has not been in the picture for 13 years now, I think it's time that you mother has met someone new." I told her.
"The Sheriff?" she demanded and I shrugged.
"Maria, does he make her happy?" I asked and she slumped her shoulders, defeated.
"Yes." She muttered and I nodded.
"There you go; you want your mom to be happy and he makes her happy so let them be, if it's not meant to be, they'll break up." I assured her and she nodded.
"Yeah, your right." She stated and I let out a small sigh of relief and cheered up more when I saw the school. Finally, I was going to get out of this death trap.
She parked the car and I got out the minute it stopped, you never know when another car could come up behind and crash into hers, been there, done it and have no desire to go through it again, no way!
"Liz!" I hear a male voice shout and I turned around only to be swept up in strong arms, lifted off the ground and swung around. I let out a squeal of laugher as they let me down and I met the goofy face of my best friend, Alex. He had dark hair and dark brown eyes that were filled with warmth; he loves cracking jokes and making people laugh.
"Hey, what got you in this good mood?" I asked and he smiled.
"We are having a band practice this afternoon and I heard from a gig, they want us to play at the theatre tomorrow night!" he exclaimed and I squealed as I hugged him back.
They had been waiting for a gig for ages and now here comes their big break.
"That's great! Who is going to be singing?" I asked and he looked at me with a hopeful expression.
"Well, I was kinda hoping you will." He told me and I sighed, I went to protest but he gave me the puppy dog eyes and I just gave in.
"Fine, I'll come to practise and I'll sing." I told him, he smiled as he pulled me into a hug.
"This is great! I gotta go and tell the others!" he told us before hurrying off, I turned to Maria with an annoyed expression and she smiled.
"Don't worry too much, you don't get to sing very often so that's why he's excited that you'll sing." She told me as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder and nudged my head with hers. I smiled as I rested my head on her shoulder and wrapped my arm around her waist. She's my best friend, she could always make me smile; we entered the school.
"Lizziebeth!" I hear a male voice teased and I turned around while laughing, Jake Johnson stood there, his dark hair spiking up and his brown eyes filled with mirth. He is Tammy's boyfriend of a year now.
"Hey Jake." I smiled as we hugged then I punched him on the shoulder. "And don't call me Lizziebeth, you know I hate that name!" I exclaimed and he laughed as he rubbed the spot I hit him.
"Okay, what has he done to warrant an attack?" I heard another male voice asked and saw Max and Michael standing there with amused smiles on their faces.
"Called me the name I hate and you better not think of using it either." I warned them and they laughed.
"You girls coming by during practise?" Michael asked and we looked at him, curiously.
"The head cancelled Cheerleading practice, Tammy is on the way to the notice board to let the others know." Max informed us and I nodded.
"Sure thing, Tammy and I need a lift." I told him and he nodded
"How long do you think the practise will go on today?" Jake asked them and Max shrugged.
"You know the coach, he'll keep us there till we perfected every move." Max muttered dryly and Jake made a face at the thought of staying behind so long.
"Why are we all standing about here?" we all hear a female voice asked curiously and we see Tammy standing behind me, I jumped when I saw her in close proximately. I never heard her coming up behind me and I, playfully, slapped her.
"Next time, take a step back rather then standing right there and trying to give me a heart attack." I told her and she smiled, amusement shining over her face.
"Hey babe." Jake told her as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her forehead, causing Max to glare and I rolled my eyes.
"Come on 'big brother' we have maths." I told him and dragged him away, waving to the others.
Tammy
"What was that about?" Jake asked as we all watched Liz dragged Max off and I rolled my eyes.
"Well, you were asking for a death wish by kissing me." I told him and he rolled his eyes.
"You think he'll be used to it by now." He muttered and Maria sniggered.
"Dude, you are going out with his little sister, I wouldn't be surprise if he has your funeral all planned out, down to the songs he will play." Maria informed him with a shrug before walking off and I smile at Jake's shocked look.
"Oh honey, she kidding, Max likes you, he just likes to warn guys off when they comes near me. He knows I can take care of myself, it just makes him feel that he is doing something as a big brother." I told him and kissed his cheek. "I gotta go, I have English." I told him and he winced.
"I'll see you later." He told me before kissing me, deeply, on the lips and hurrying off to his class and I hurried off to my English. Yeah, I'll see him at practise.
Max
"Why did you drag me away?" I whined to Liz as we walked down the hallway, and she laughed.
"Max, you were scaring the poor guy, come on, she's been with him for over a year now, I think he has proven himself worthy." she told me and I grumbled as we entered the classroom.
"I'm just doing my job." I told her and she smiled.
"I know that, and she loves you for it but she loves Jake and would love it if you could give him a break." She told me and I shrugged.
"I kinda like giving him a hard time." I told her and she laughed.
"We all got that, trust me." She told me and I laughed.
"Sorry, anyway, what was up with Maria this morning?" I asked and she smirked and I had a feeling that it didn't mean good news for me.
"Aunt Amy and Mr. Valenti have gotten together." She told me and I groaned as I banged my head on the table that we just sat at, listening to her laughers. Tammy has won again.
Liz
I found myself sitting on the bleachers, watching the team warm up for their practise, Tammy was sitting next to me; we were waiting for Maria, Tess and Alex to turn up. I had told Tammy why Maria wanted to meet up with me and she had done a little celebrating dance before skipping off to meet up with Max, I laughed as I had watch her hold out her hand, waiting for the money that they had betted on and Max grumbling as he counted the money out of his wallet.
"Looks like the team seem to be getting better." Tammy muttered to herself as we watched the team pass the ball along, going back and forth.
"Well, with Max as the captain, they would be getting better, considering he doesn't let the guys off easy." I told her and she smirked.
"Yeah, it's amazing, he tells the guys to be there at the Gym early in the morning or be square yet I have drag him out of bed in the morning." She told me and I laughed.
"You love dragging him out of his bed in the morning, you get to tease him." I told her, nudging her with my shoulder and she shrugged.
"I'm not that bothered about it, mom on the other hand…" she trailed off, leaving me smiling as I turned back to face the team, I couldn't help but admire Max in his outfit like I always do. He was wearing his red and gold sport top and red shorts; he looked cute in it as he always does. "I see you are eyeing my brother up again." Tammy teased and I turned to look at her and she lifted her hands. "Hey, the pair of you like each other so why don't you just get together?" she asked and I sighed before turning back to the front.
"You know the reason." I told her and she scoffed.
"Don't I?" she muttered under her breath and I sighed, she never made it a big secret that she hated the whole thing and she sighed. "Sorry." She whispered and I turned to her.
"Don't be, you were just telling me how you really felt." I told her before turning back to the front where I saw Max looking at us with a concerned expression on his face. I smiled at him, assuring him that everything was okay and he nodded before tuning back to watch the team and point out any mistakes they had made.
"How long are we working today?" Tammy asked and I sighed.
"We only have the three hour shift." I told her and she sighed with relief.
"Thank god." She muttered.
"For what?" a female voice asked and we turned to see Tess standing there with a smile.
"Hey Tess." I called and she walked over to us, I couldn't help but admire her, she had long, curly blonde hair and blue eyes. "We are only working the short shift this afternoon." I explained and she nodded.
"How is the team getting on?" she asked and I couldn't help but smile when I saw that her eyes were on a certain jock.
"You girls really need to stop this." Tammy muttered and we both turned to her.
"What do you mean?" Tess asked and Tammy looked at us.
"You' she pointed at me 'are in love with Max but you won't do anything about it. You' she pointed at Tess 'fancy Kyle like mad yet the pair of you don't do a thing about it!" she exclaimed with a shake of her head. "It's amazing the school hasn't blown up due to all the sexual tension flying about the building!" she told us and we heard laugher behind us and saw that Maria and Alex have shown up.
"She's right." Maria told us as she sat down behind us and Tammy turned to them.
"You can't talk because you are so amazed by Michael, and Alex is hopeless over heels in love with Isabel!" Tammy told them and Maria smirked.
"Actually, I hate the guy." Maria told her and Tammy smirked.
"Actually, you fight to get rid of the sexual tension." She told Maria and scoffed. "Come on, you and Michael only fight to get a rise out of the other."
"She's right." Tess stated and Maria shot her an offended look, causing giggles from the rest of us.
Max
I arrived at the Whitman's house; I had dropped the girls off at the Crashdown so they could do their job, and I decided to kill time by hanging out at Alex's. I entered the house, the parents knew us very well so we all, basically, have free range going in and out of the house with no problem except Liz's house for some reason. I found myself in the basement and I looked around, looking for Alex.
"Hey Max." I hear a male say, I turned around and smiled when I saw Alex.
"Hey Alex, how's the band going?" I asked.
"Fine, we are having the practice today, you are welcome to sit and watch us. Liz is singing today." Alex informed me and I nod.
"Sure, I'm supposed to take the girls home today anyway so this will save me time." I told him and Alex nodded.
"Great, then you can help me set up everything till everyone else gets here."
"No problem." I told him as I followed him into his room to help take the stuff into the basement.
Alex's basement was completely different to any other basement I have ever seen, There were lights fitted into the room, there were comfortable couches and chairs, even a TV and such. The basement was large because it was the same length as the house, which made it easier for Alex when he had a party. "So Alex, how come Liz rarely sings?" I asked him and he shrugged.
"I don't know, all I know that she has a lot of work load and school load." He told me and I nodded, Liz had told me the exact same thing when I asked her.
"Do you believe it?" I asked him and he turned to me with a serious expression, I knew that he was thinking about what I said.
"No, I don't. I get the feeling that she is lying but can't figure out why." He told me and I nodded.
"I got that too." I told him and he shrugged.
"She'll tell us when she is ready." Alex muttered as we carried the speakers down the stairs before collecting the other equipment.
"I hear you have a gig tomorrow night?" I asked him and he smiled.
"Yeah, know how there's a party on tomorrow night?" he asked and I nodded, I had heard about it flying through the corridors, something about it being major. "It's Tommy's party, Tommy decided that he wanted to have a live band playing instead so he called me up and asked me to play." He informed me and I nodded.
"That's cool, glad that you finally getting the gig." I told him.
"Are you coming to the party?" he asked and I smiled.
"With Tammy as my sister? I'm sure that she'll find some way to make me go to the party." I told him and he laughed.
"You're right." He told me and we both laughed as the rest of the band came in.
"Hey guys." I stated and they smiled.
"Hey Evans, how the team going? Are we going to beat the North Roswell butt?" they asked and I laughed as we started to talk about the game with Alex shaking his head in amusement.
"Get ready people, cause Tammy Evans in the house and is ready to party!" we all hear Tammy stated and we all burst out laughing, Tammy has a way of saying things to make you laugh.
"Tammy, give it a break." I hear Liz teasing her and we all heard a crack and Liz letting out a small squeal. "Tammy!" she admonished.
"Did you just slap her?" I heard Jake asked. "You never slap me." He whined and I rolled my eyes as Alex was snickering in the corner, laughing at his best friends.
"I should hope not." I stated as I stood up and glared at Johnson, he blanched.
"Evans, didn't know you were going to be here." He told me and I gave him a small nod.
"Kinda guess that." I told him.
"Max, drop it." I hear Liz tell me in a firm voice and I smiled down at her.
"Hey, have fun at work?" I asked and she wrinkled her nose that made me want to kiss her nose.
"Great fun." She muttered sarcastically as Tammy hugged me.
"Nice to see here, big bro." She told me and I hugged her back before looking down at her.
"We are going to have to talk about you slapping people." I told her and she rolled her eyes before tuning to watch Liz getting ready up at the make shift stage they had created.
We all grabbed seats wherever we could and settled down to watch.
"You ready?" Alex asked Liz, she nodded and sighed before facing the front. The band started up the music and Liz swayed her hips to the beat.
#All the fear has left me now/I'm not frightened anymore
It's my heart that pounds beneath my flesh/it's my mouth that pushes out this breath
And if I shed a tear I won't cage it/I won't fear love
And if I feel a rage I won't deny it/I won't fear love# Liz rarely sings but when she does, everyone is captivated about how she sings, it's like angel singing to everyone through their hearts.
#Companion to our demons/they will dance and we will play
With chairs candles and cloth/making darkness in the day
It'll be easy/ to look in or out
Upstream or down/without a thoughtAnd if I shed a tear I won't cage it/I won't fear love
And if I feel a rage I won't deny it/I won't fear love
Peace in the struggle to find peace/comfort on the way to comfort
And if I shed a tear I won't cage it/I won't fear love
And if I feel a rage I won't deny it/I won't fear love
I won't fear love/I won't fear love
And if I shed a tear I won't cage it/I won't fear love
And if I feel a rage I won't deny it/I won't fear love
I won't fear love/I won't fear love
And if I shed a tear I won't cage it/I won't fear love # Liz finished and everyone cheered, she smiled slightly before turning to Alex and asking him a question.
"I wish she would sing more." I hear Tammy murmured sadly to herself and wonder, not for the first time, just what was going on with Liz.
Tammy
I wish that Liz would let me tell someone or even tell someone herself what is really going on, I love the girl as a sister but she drives me up the wall with her stubbornness.
TBC
The song is 'Fumbling Toward Ecstasy' by Sarah Mclachlan; the song was used at the end of Sexual Healing.