Author: Katydidit aka PolarEmeralds aka Kat (I've got more aka's
than...*sigh* Someone. It's 1 a.m...I'm not feeling real witty right now...)
Email: NobodysFool2507@yahoo.com
Rating: PG, for a bit of language and implied violence.
Genre:Drama/Angst
Category: AU. Pre-shooting. Just a tad Polar, but absolutely nothing that would cause an uprising of Dreamer/Candy Fans.
Disclaimer: They're mine! All mine! *demented laughter* Ooor not. They're Jason Katims and Co.'s. Evil demons. They should be vanquished. *blissful grin* Ahhh, if only.. *cough* Move along, folks. No evil plotting to see here. *g*
Summary: A not-so-short AU fic. Thirteen-year-old Michael is out one night, trying to escape Hank's fury for a while, when he stumbles across someone he hadn't expected to see and realizes that things aren't always what they seem.
Spoilers: Guys, the show's over. If you haven't seen an ep, you're not gonna. Lol. I don't think there's any, though.
A/N: Depending on how satisfied with this chapter I am come tomorrow, I'll post it. It'll probably be shorter than I'd have liked, but it should hold you guys until I can do a chp 6. lol. Umm...I'll try to clarify some things that had someone over at PolarAttraction confused... I'm kind of embarrassed that I haven't brought this into the plotline. Bad Kat! Bad Kat! Lmao. Okay. The longer the an, the shorter the fic, so I'll just have to deprive you of my witty repartee and get on with the show. *grin* I know, I know. What a loss... *sigh* Oh! I didn't mention this in the other chapter because I...didn't...but thank you jazzypunker at fanfiction, for confirming Mr. Evans's name. :D
Things Aren't Always What They Seem
Chapter Five
After Mr. Evans had driven off, Michael went into his room. He had some thinking to do. What the hell kind of mother just up and left a daughter like Liz with an abusive father, to go to *Oklahoma* with a guy named Rob and club-hop? It completely blew him away. And the best part was that she'd called, hoping to explain? Please! Michael had wanted to cheer when Liz hung up on her mother. But Michael didn't cheer. And anyway, the situation didn't really call for pom-poms.
He rolled his eyes. His sense of humor was so freakin' warped it was almost scary. He pulled the covers back and climbed in, after setting his alarm clock. He didn't care that much about getting to school on time, but he didn't really have anything better to do, so why not?
Of course, making it to the Evanses before Max, Isabel and Liz went to the bus stop would only be a plus.
***
The next morning, he was up and out the door even before Hank awoke from his hangover-induced semi-coma he'd passed out from on the couch. Michael arrived at Max's house and, instead of Max, who usually opened the door, it was a sleepy-eyed Liz, finger-combing her bedhead. He tousled her hair even more as he walked by, causing her to try to smack him lightly. Max walked into the living room, trying not to look at Liz. Michael glanced at her to try to figure out why. She was wearing a gray Harvard t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants-nothiing revealing or anything. So why were Maxwell's ears on fire?
"What's shakin', Maxwell?" he asked, then pulled him aside. "What's up with Liz?"
"Izzy and I dreamwalked her last night."
"What?! That's low, Maxwell."
"I know, I know. But, she was having a nightmare or something. You should have heard her-she sounded like a hurt puppy..." Max shut up and Liz walked past them, towards the bathroom with her bag.
"Why didn't you just wake her up?"
"I don't know."
"So what'd you see?"
"The stuff you'd expect. That's why I can't look at her... I feel like I violated her or something."
Michael cracked up. "You didn't rape her, Maxwell."
"Not so loud!" Max hissed, looking around.
"Come on, Boy With Flaming Ears. Let's go bug Blondie."
"You leave Isabel alone," Diane said, brushing past them. "It's time for breakfast." She tapped on the bathroom door. "Liz, honey, you almost done?"
"Yes ma'm. I'll be out in a minute."
"We'll wait for you, baby."
"That's okay. They're hungry. I'll be right out."
Diane smiled at them and headed into the kitchen. The boys followed, and soon after, Liz came in, taking the empty seat between Michael and Max. They said grace (of course), then passed around the plates of French toast. As Liz was reaching for one, her sleeve slid down, revealing her quickly- healing but still blatantly obvious cuts. Mrs. Evans grabbed her arm.
"Liz, what on earth happened?"
"I scratched myself in my sleep the other night," Liz replied, trying to pull her arm away. Diane grabbed her hand and uncurled the fingers.
"With what? These are all trimmed."
Liz shrugged uncomfortably. "I'm talented?"
Mrs. Evans released Liz's arm and shared a Look with her husband. Meanwhile, Max and Liz were sharing a Look of their own.
"Eat up, you guys," Phillip said, clearing his throat. "Wouldn't want you to miss the bus."
***
In science, just before school was over, the teacher stood in the front of the room, holding their test booklets. Michael saw Liz's shoulders stiffen.
"I was quite busy this weekend," the teacher said smugly. "And first of all, I'd like to congratulate you. On the whole, this class did better than any other class I teach. There were, of course, a few failing grades, but far fewer than usual." She marched up and down the aisles, handing out the sheets. Michael didn't even need to know what Liz got-the way it seemed like her whole body collapsed told him everything. She slowly slid it into her notebook and sat for the last few minutes staring at the cover of her binder.
Finally the bell rang, and everyone practically flew out the door. Liz hesitantly approached the teacher, and Michael hung back again.
"Is there any chance I could maybe take a retest, or maybe do extra credit to bring this up?"
"You had a chance, Miss Parker. It was called studying."
"So there's nothing?"
"I'm afraid not."
Liz nodded, looking numb. "Thank you." She gathered her stuff and went out to her locker, slowly piling her books inside. After most of the people had gone, Alex ran up to her.
"I heard she passed back the tests today," he said. Liz nodded. "So?"
"I got a D," she said in disbelief.
"How did *that* happen? You *knew* this stuff!"
"I know! I was studying that whole week!"
"Well, it's a good thing your father's out of town, then, right? Maybe he'll forget about it?"
She shook her head. "You have to get it signed, remember? I have to show him."
"God, Liz..." Alex was silent, then hugged her. "Call me as soon as he signs it. Remember, okay? Otherwise I won't sleep."
Liz laughed a little. "You're such a worrywart..."
"That's better than being a Wart Face like your dad."
Liz didn't respond to that, and Michael headed over.
"Hi, Michael," Liz said. Alex just stared at him in surprise.
"Something wrong?" Michael asked.
"Just wondering why you're standing here."
"'Cause me and Liz are best buddies now. Aren't we?" He slung an arm around her neck, and she laughed and pushed it off, pulling her backpack over her shoulders.
"Sure. Whatever," she said, then hugged Alex. "Don't worry so much. You'll get an ulcer before you're eighteen."
"If I make it to eighteen before you kill me, girl," he replied, making a face.
"How on *earth* am *I* going to kill *you*, Alex Whitman?"
"I don't know. You just will." He laughed, then seemed to remember something and pulled a package of fake nails out of his shirt pocket, handing them to her. "Here. If you're going to use such an obviously fake cover story, you at least need proof. And I'm not going to tell you what I had to go through to get these."
Liz laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for risking your manhood for me."
Alex made a face. "That's one word I never need to hear out of your mouth again, Liz Parker," he said. Max and Isabel came up to them.
"I hope you're happy, you two," Isabel said impatiently. "We've missed the bus."
"Omigosh!" Michael exclaimed. "Like, now we have to walk, like, forever!"
"Shut up, Michael," Isabel said.
Alex kind of gave Isabel a sideways glance and then looked back at Liz. "Can I walk with you to the Crashdown?"
"Actually, Dad said not to open the Crashdown this week."
"Why not? I thought you guys weren't doing well."
"He said that I should study." She shrugged. "I'm not going to complain... I hate working there, anyway."
He laughed. "Then can I walk you home?"
"I'm staying at the Evanses."
"What? Since when? You're willing to stay at Max's house but not mine? No offense, Max."
"None taken."
Liz laughed. "You sound like Maria, Alex."
"Do not insult me like that!"
"I'm sorry. I could walk *you* home, though."
"That would be very nice." He grinned at her, and Liz looked over at Max.
"Do you think your parents would let me?"
"Why wouldn't they?"
Liz shrugged. "Then could you tell them that I'll be back in a little bit?"
"Yep. So then I guess we'll go. See you later."
He, Isabel, and Michael headed to the Evanses. Diane came in from the kitchen.
"Hey guys. Where's Liz?" she asked.
"She's walking Alex home," Max replied, hanging up his backpack. "She said she'd be back in a little bit.
"Okay. Do you three have homework?"
They all made a face, and she laughed. "I guess you do. Get on that, and I'll call you when dinner's ready."
They did, and, after a while, Michael got up to get something to drink. He paused in the doorway when he noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Evans were in there, talking.
"What are we going to do about this?" Phillip asked, stirring a pan on the stove.
"What can we do?"
"Tell someone, for sure. I mean, the guy's been my best friend forever, but what he's doing is..." he trailed off, not knowing a word bad enough.
"Phillip, this is Roswell. It's a small town. You don't do things like that."
"What-protect children?"
"Go to the police for every little thing."
"This is hardly little, Diane. You saw her arm this morning-I can't even stand to think about what's he's doing to her."
"We can keep an eye on her. Like we do for Michael."
"It's not going to help once Geoff gets back and she goes home. And it's different for her. Michael is Max's friend-he doesn't feel uncomfortable here. You've seen how Liz acts-she's practically terrified here."
"Phillip, she's been abused-she's going to be practically terrified anywhere."
"That's not right."
"I know it's not. But until we think her life is in serious danger, we should just do what we're doing now."
"What-sitting on our *asses* and not doing *anything*?"
"Shh. They'll hear you. And we are doing something. We're giving her a place to feel safe."
"How safe can you feel when you jump at every little sound?"
"Do you hit her? No. Are you going to hit her? No."
"Does she know that? No."
"Yes she does. It's just a habit, Phillip. It's nothing personal." She laughed and rubbed her husband's shoulder. "Once she spends more time here, she'll know that. Don't you remember how Michael was when he first started coming over?"
Phillip laughed. "Yeah. I thought that the poor kid was going to have a heart attack."
"Well, look at him now."
"Fine. But we're going to the police if she starts climbing in our windows in the middle of the night because of Geoff."
"Agreed." She kissed him. "Now let's get this stuff on the table."
Michael spun around, nearly running into Liz. "Oh. Hi."
"Hi."
"When'd you get back?"
"A few minutes ago. What were you looking at?"
"Nothing, nothing. Don't you have homework?"
"Yes. You do too. I saw it on the table."
"So let's go finish, then."
She rolled her eyes and they returned to the coffee table until Diane called them for dinner.
***
After they had eaten, Phillip slipped a video into the VCR. "Everyone up for a movie?"
"What movie is it?" Isabel asked.
"Just sit down. You'll see."
Everyone got comfortable-Isabel cross-legged on the floor, Phillip and Diane on the loveseat, and Max and Michael on either side of Liz-and Phillip started the movie.
It was one of those Stephen King movies, and Max cheered. "It's been forever since I've seen this one!" he exclaimed to Liz. She just kind of looked at him, smiling. Liz tried to watch the movie, but every other scene she was hiding her eyes. Michael shared a glance with Max, and during one of the more suspenseful scenes, they both grabbed her shoulders. She jumped, but then realized who it was and punched them.
"Behave over there, you three," Mr. Evans said in his mock-stern voice. Michael punched Liz's shoulder so lightly it wasn't even a punch, and they were still for the rest of the movie.
After it had ended, Mrs. Evans looked over at them. Liz was leaning on Michael, asleep. Diane smiled.
"Michael, you want to stay over tonight?"
"Yeah, sure. Thanks."
"Yep." She got up to retrieve Liz's blankets. "Liz. Get up so I can make your bed, honey."
Liz opened her eyes a little, and stood up unsteadily. Max leapt up to put his arm around her, and Michael stood next to them. Mrs. Evans finished, and kissed Liz's forehead. "Good night."
"'Night," Liz mumbled. Max tightened his arm in a sort of halfway hug, and she smiled. The rest of them left the room, Michael turning the living room light off.
A little while later, he awakened with a start, adrenaline pumping through his veins. What was that about? Had he dreamt something? He tried to remember. No... he hadn't. Instinctively, he stood and headed out to the living room. Sure enough, Liz was curled into a ball, whimpering-like Max said-like a hurt puppy. He put his hand on her shoulder, intending to wake her up but instead getting pulled into her dream.
She was in the Crashdown, taking orders, of course. As Michael watched, everyone disappeared, replaced by familiar faces from school. Liz's father came out and started yelling at her, and all heads swiveled towards them. She backed away, but he followed, raising his hand and smacking her. She cringed away silently, while everyone else looked on. Her father kept yelling at her and hitting her, and Michael had to look away. When he looked up, everyone was laughing, and they all filed out the door, including a merry Geoff. Liz stood there, sniffling and looking out the window. Michael followed her gaze. He and Max were walking past, but as they saw her, they stopped and Max hit Michael's arm. They looked at her, then walked away, shaking their heads.
Liz woke up, kicking him out of her head. She automatically shrunk away from his touch, trying to see who it was. Michael knelt and brushed her hair away from her forehead.
"What are you doing?" Liz asked, her voice thick with sleep.
"You were having a nightmare, right?"
He felt her nod a little.
"Just be quiet. I'll be right here."
"You don't have to." She laughed. "I'm fine. Go back to bed."
"Shh." He traced her forehead with his thumb, then took her hand. "You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not. I'm not leaving you."
He felt her relax, and soon her breathing was deep and slow again. He was reluctant to get up and go back to Max's room, and he was so tired... Just a few minutes, and I'll go back, he thought sleepily. Those minutes stretched out, and when he woke up for the second time, his knees were numb from kneeling. He carefully stood, bending over to kiss Liz's forehead. She mumbled something and her hand came up, stroking his cheek. A chill ran down his spine-a good one-and he grinned, squeezing her hand and returning to Max's room.
***
The next day was some sort of staff meeting or something, so it was a half day. It was kind of weird, but no one was going to complain about only having to be in school for four hours. Well, the parents maybe. Just none of the kids. The four of them, plus, on a whim, Alex, were in the Evanses backyard, playing (for some reason) tag. Everything was fine for a while- they were having fun and all that, but then Liz's foot caught in a dip in the grass and she pitched forward, catching herself awkwardly with her hand. Michael and Max were at her side immediately, helping her to her feet.
"Are you okay?" Max asked. Liz winced.
"I think so." She wiggled her fingers and sucked a breath in through her teeth. "I...did something to my hand, though."
Alex grabbed her wrist gently and looked at it. "It's not broken."
"How do you know?" Michael demanded.
"Michael, he's practically a PhD. He knows what he's talking about," Liz said, rolling her eyes at him.
"I think it's just sprained. You shouldn't have to go to a doctor...you heal fast, anyway. Max, do you guys have any ACE bandages?"
"Yeah. Let's go inside."
Once inside, they found the bandages and Mrs. Evans, who made Liz sit down.
"It's just a sprain, Mrs. Evans," Alex said. "Nothing's broken, and she can move her fingers."
"Thank you, Alex. Here, let me do that. I've done it tons of times for Isabel after dance class."
Isabel nodded, and Alex handed the woman the bandage. She quickly wrapped Liz's wrist, patting it gently. "That okay, Liz?"
She nodded. "Thank you. Can we go back out now?"
"Go ahead-I'm not going to stop you. Just, don't run around...our ground isn't exactly level-don't want you to fall again and hurt yourself worse."
Liz nodded, and they went back outside, not returning to the house until much later, when the sun was going down. Alex had just headed home, and the four of them were dirty and hungry. Mr. Evans (who had just come home from work) took a look at them and laughed, swinging Isabel up into his arms.
"What in the world have you four been doing?"
"We were just outside, Dad," Isabel said. "Let me down."
He laughed and put her down. "Well, you'd better go clean up before dinner." He seemed to notice Liz's wrist. "What happened?"
"I fell," she smiled.
"Well, be more careful. Your dad'll think we were beating you or something." Liz stiffened, and he looked like he wanted to smack himself. She left, as did Michael, except he hung in the doorway again, listening.
"What'd you say that for?" Diane demanded. He shrugged.
"It just slipped out. I forgot..."
"What's done is done," she sighed. "Come on. Let's get the table set."
"I was talking to a friend of mine today," he said.
"Oh? What about?"
"Our little houseguest."
"Phillip, you didn't!"
"I didn't tell him any details or anything. But he said that we could probably take Geoff to court just on the fact that he left her alone."
"And do what? Get her put into a foster home? We know how well that works."
"He said we might be able to get temporary custody of her, depending on what kind of judge we had."
"Yeah, or we'll end up taking her from her home for nothing. She's not like Michael, Phillip. We have a chance with him-we're basically his parents, anyway. If we get her taken away from her father, she'll probably just end up in a children's home or something."
"Isn't it worth a try?"
"Where is all this coming from? I thought we agreed that, as long as her life wasn't in serious danger, we'd just keep an eye on her."
"Every day she spends with Geoff, her life is in danger."
"Listen to yourself. She's spent her whole life with him-nothing bad's happened yet."
"Nothing bad? You don't think a father hitting his daughter is bad? Are you crazy?!"
"Don't raise your voice at me, Phillip Evans. And you know full well what I mean. Why don't you calm down? She's in no danger right now."
Michael shook his head and turned around, running into Liz. She grabbed his shoulder to steady them and looked into the kitchen.
"Why do you always sneak up on me like that?"
"I don't sneak. You just can't hear me."
"I can hear anything. You definitely sneak."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Her eyes darkened in fear. "I heard what they were talking about. How do they know?"
"From what I've heard, they found out. No one told them or anything." He shook her good arm-the one with the scratches. "And this isn't exactly subtle." He looked at her-there were tears in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"They want to take me away from Dad..."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"I guess...but..." she trailed off quietly, looking at her feet. He caught her chin.
"Hey. These are Max's parents, okay? They're not out to hurt you. Me and Max won't let anyone take you out of Roswell. Especially Max." He laughed, and a small smile crossed her face, barely making it to her eyes. "Don't worry about it." He pulled her to him for a hug, then pulled back and gently rubbed at a tearstreak.
"Dry your eyes before we go in there... Mr. Evans'll probably notice anyway, though. And don't worry about it. They aren't going to do anything for a while-they don't need to."
Liz nodded, and Michael hugged her one last time before they headed into the kitchen. Mr. Evans *obviously* noticed that Liz'd been crying, and he and Diane shared a Look, but he said nothing. Max and Isabel came in, and dinner began.
Email: NobodysFool2507@yahoo.com
Rating: PG, for a bit of language and implied violence.
Genre:Drama/Angst
Category: AU. Pre-shooting. Just a tad Polar, but absolutely nothing that would cause an uprising of Dreamer/Candy Fans.
Disclaimer: They're mine! All mine! *demented laughter* Ooor not. They're Jason Katims and Co.'s. Evil demons. They should be vanquished. *blissful grin* Ahhh, if only.. *cough* Move along, folks. No evil plotting to see here. *g*
Summary: A not-so-short AU fic. Thirteen-year-old Michael is out one night, trying to escape Hank's fury for a while, when he stumbles across someone he hadn't expected to see and realizes that things aren't always what they seem.
Spoilers: Guys, the show's over. If you haven't seen an ep, you're not gonna. Lol. I don't think there's any, though.
A/N: Depending on how satisfied with this chapter I am come tomorrow, I'll post it. It'll probably be shorter than I'd have liked, but it should hold you guys until I can do a chp 6. lol. Umm...I'll try to clarify some things that had someone over at PolarAttraction confused... I'm kind of embarrassed that I haven't brought this into the plotline. Bad Kat! Bad Kat! Lmao. Okay. The longer the an, the shorter the fic, so I'll just have to deprive you of my witty repartee and get on with the show. *grin* I know, I know. What a loss... *sigh* Oh! I didn't mention this in the other chapter because I...didn't...but thank you jazzypunker at fanfiction, for confirming Mr. Evans's name. :D
Things Aren't Always What They Seem
Chapter Five
After Mr. Evans had driven off, Michael went into his room. He had some thinking to do. What the hell kind of mother just up and left a daughter like Liz with an abusive father, to go to *Oklahoma* with a guy named Rob and club-hop? It completely blew him away. And the best part was that she'd called, hoping to explain? Please! Michael had wanted to cheer when Liz hung up on her mother. But Michael didn't cheer. And anyway, the situation didn't really call for pom-poms.
He rolled his eyes. His sense of humor was so freakin' warped it was almost scary. He pulled the covers back and climbed in, after setting his alarm clock. He didn't care that much about getting to school on time, but he didn't really have anything better to do, so why not?
Of course, making it to the Evanses before Max, Isabel and Liz went to the bus stop would only be a plus.
***
The next morning, he was up and out the door even before Hank awoke from his hangover-induced semi-coma he'd passed out from on the couch. Michael arrived at Max's house and, instead of Max, who usually opened the door, it was a sleepy-eyed Liz, finger-combing her bedhead. He tousled her hair even more as he walked by, causing her to try to smack him lightly. Max walked into the living room, trying not to look at Liz. Michael glanced at her to try to figure out why. She was wearing a gray Harvard t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants-nothiing revealing or anything. So why were Maxwell's ears on fire?
"What's shakin', Maxwell?" he asked, then pulled him aside. "What's up with Liz?"
"Izzy and I dreamwalked her last night."
"What?! That's low, Maxwell."
"I know, I know. But, she was having a nightmare or something. You should have heard her-she sounded like a hurt puppy..." Max shut up and Liz walked past them, towards the bathroom with her bag.
"Why didn't you just wake her up?"
"I don't know."
"So what'd you see?"
"The stuff you'd expect. That's why I can't look at her... I feel like I violated her or something."
Michael cracked up. "You didn't rape her, Maxwell."
"Not so loud!" Max hissed, looking around.
"Come on, Boy With Flaming Ears. Let's go bug Blondie."
"You leave Isabel alone," Diane said, brushing past them. "It's time for breakfast." She tapped on the bathroom door. "Liz, honey, you almost done?"
"Yes ma'm. I'll be out in a minute."
"We'll wait for you, baby."
"That's okay. They're hungry. I'll be right out."
Diane smiled at them and headed into the kitchen. The boys followed, and soon after, Liz came in, taking the empty seat between Michael and Max. They said grace (of course), then passed around the plates of French toast. As Liz was reaching for one, her sleeve slid down, revealing her quickly- healing but still blatantly obvious cuts. Mrs. Evans grabbed her arm.
"Liz, what on earth happened?"
"I scratched myself in my sleep the other night," Liz replied, trying to pull her arm away. Diane grabbed her hand and uncurled the fingers.
"With what? These are all trimmed."
Liz shrugged uncomfortably. "I'm talented?"
Mrs. Evans released Liz's arm and shared a Look with her husband. Meanwhile, Max and Liz were sharing a Look of their own.
"Eat up, you guys," Phillip said, clearing his throat. "Wouldn't want you to miss the bus."
***
In science, just before school was over, the teacher stood in the front of the room, holding their test booklets. Michael saw Liz's shoulders stiffen.
"I was quite busy this weekend," the teacher said smugly. "And first of all, I'd like to congratulate you. On the whole, this class did better than any other class I teach. There were, of course, a few failing grades, but far fewer than usual." She marched up and down the aisles, handing out the sheets. Michael didn't even need to know what Liz got-the way it seemed like her whole body collapsed told him everything. She slowly slid it into her notebook and sat for the last few minutes staring at the cover of her binder.
Finally the bell rang, and everyone practically flew out the door. Liz hesitantly approached the teacher, and Michael hung back again.
"Is there any chance I could maybe take a retest, or maybe do extra credit to bring this up?"
"You had a chance, Miss Parker. It was called studying."
"So there's nothing?"
"I'm afraid not."
Liz nodded, looking numb. "Thank you." She gathered her stuff and went out to her locker, slowly piling her books inside. After most of the people had gone, Alex ran up to her.
"I heard she passed back the tests today," he said. Liz nodded. "So?"
"I got a D," she said in disbelief.
"How did *that* happen? You *knew* this stuff!"
"I know! I was studying that whole week!"
"Well, it's a good thing your father's out of town, then, right? Maybe he'll forget about it?"
She shook her head. "You have to get it signed, remember? I have to show him."
"God, Liz..." Alex was silent, then hugged her. "Call me as soon as he signs it. Remember, okay? Otherwise I won't sleep."
Liz laughed a little. "You're such a worrywart..."
"That's better than being a Wart Face like your dad."
Liz didn't respond to that, and Michael headed over.
"Hi, Michael," Liz said. Alex just stared at him in surprise.
"Something wrong?" Michael asked.
"Just wondering why you're standing here."
"'Cause me and Liz are best buddies now. Aren't we?" He slung an arm around her neck, and she laughed and pushed it off, pulling her backpack over her shoulders.
"Sure. Whatever," she said, then hugged Alex. "Don't worry so much. You'll get an ulcer before you're eighteen."
"If I make it to eighteen before you kill me, girl," he replied, making a face.
"How on *earth* am *I* going to kill *you*, Alex Whitman?"
"I don't know. You just will." He laughed, then seemed to remember something and pulled a package of fake nails out of his shirt pocket, handing them to her. "Here. If you're going to use such an obviously fake cover story, you at least need proof. And I'm not going to tell you what I had to go through to get these."
Liz laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for risking your manhood for me."
Alex made a face. "That's one word I never need to hear out of your mouth again, Liz Parker," he said. Max and Isabel came up to them.
"I hope you're happy, you two," Isabel said impatiently. "We've missed the bus."
"Omigosh!" Michael exclaimed. "Like, now we have to walk, like, forever!"
"Shut up, Michael," Isabel said.
Alex kind of gave Isabel a sideways glance and then looked back at Liz. "Can I walk with you to the Crashdown?"
"Actually, Dad said not to open the Crashdown this week."
"Why not? I thought you guys weren't doing well."
"He said that I should study." She shrugged. "I'm not going to complain... I hate working there, anyway."
He laughed. "Then can I walk you home?"
"I'm staying at the Evanses."
"What? Since when? You're willing to stay at Max's house but not mine? No offense, Max."
"None taken."
Liz laughed. "You sound like Maria, Alex."
"Do not insult me like that!"
"I'm sorry. I could walk *you* home, though."
"That would be very nice." He grinned at her, and Liz looked over at Max.
"Do you think your parents would let me?"
"Why wouldn't they?"
Liz shrugged. "Then could you tell them that I'll be back in a little bit?"
"Yep. So then I guess we'll go. See you later."
He, Isabel, and Michael headed to the Evanses. Diane came in from the kitchen.
"Hey guys. Where's Liz?" she asked.
"She's walking Alex home," Max replied, hanging up his backpack. "She said she'd be back in a little bit.
"Okay. Do you three have homework?"
They all made a face, and she laughed. "I guess you do. Get on that, and I'll call you when dinner's ready."
They did, and, after a while, Michael got up to get something to drink. He paused in the doorway when he noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Evans were in there, talking.
"What are we going to do about this?" Phillip asked, stirring a pan on the stove.
"What can we do?"
"Tell someone, for sure. I mean, the guy's been my best friend forever, but what he's doing is..." he trailed off, not knowing a word bad enough.
"Phillip, this is Roswell. It's a small town. You don't do things like that."
"What-protect children?"
"Go to the police for every little thing."
"This is hardly little, Diane. You saw her arm this morning-I can't even stand to think about what's he's doing to her."
"We can keep an eye on her. Like we do for Michael."
"It's not going to help once Geoff gets back and she goes home. And it's different for her. Michael is Max's friend-he doesn't feel uncomfortable here. You've seen how Liz acts-she's practically terrified here."
"Phillip, she's been abused-she's going to be practically terrified anywhere."
"That's not right."
"I know it's not. But until we think her life is in serious danger, we should just do what we're doing now."
"What-sitting on our *asses* and not doing *anything*?"
"Shh. They'll hear you. And we are doing something. We're giving her a place to feel safe."
"How safe can you feel when you jump at every little sound?"
"Do you hit her? No. Are you going to hit her? No."
"Does she know that? No."
"Yes she does. It's just a habit, Phillip. It's nothing personal." She laughed and rubbed her husband's shoulder. "Once she spends more time here, she'll know that. Don't you remember how Michael was when he first started coming over?"
Phillip laughed. "Yeah. I thought that the poor kid was going to have a heart attack."
"Well, look at him now."
"Fine. But we're going to the police if she starts climbing in our windows in the middle of the night because of Geoff."
"Agreed." She kissed him. "Now let's get this stuff on the table."
Michael spun around, nearly running into Liz. "Oh. Hi."
"Hi."
"When'd you get back?"
"A few minutes ago. What were you looking at?"
"Nothing, nothing. Don't you have homework?"
"Yes. You do too. I saw it on the table."
"So let's go finish, then."
She rolled her eyes and they returned to the coffee table until Diane called them for dinner.
***
After they had eaten, Phillip slipped a video into the VCR. "Everyone up for a movie?"
"What movie is it?" Isabel asked.
"Just sit down. You'll see."
Everyone got comfortable-Isabel cross-legged on the floor, Phillip and Diane on the loveseat, and Max and Michael on either side of Liz-and Phillip started the movie.
It was one of those Stephen King movies, and Max cheered. "It's been forever since I've seen this one!" he exclaimed to Liz. She just kind of looked at him, smiling. Liz tried to watch the movie, but every other scene she was hiding her eyes. Michael shared a glance with Max, and during one of the more suspenseful scenes, they both grabbed her shoulders. She jumped, but then realized who it was and punched them.
"Behave over there, you three," Mr. Evans said in his mock-stern voice. Michael punched Liz's shoulder so lightly it wasn't even a punch, and they were still for the rest of the movie.
After it had ended, Mrs. Evans looked over at them. Liz was leaning on Michael, asleep. Diane smiled.
"Michael, you want to stay over tonight?"
"Yeah, sure. Thanks."
"Yep." She got up to retrieve Liz's blankets. "Liz. Get up so I can make your bed, honey."
Liz opened her eyes a little, and stood up unsteadily. Max leapt up to put his arm around her, and Michael stood next to them. Mrs. Evans finished, and kissed Liz's forehead. "Good night."
"'Night," Liz mumbled. Max tightened his arm in a sort of halfway hug, and she smiled. The rest of them left the room, Michael turning the living room light off.
A little while later, he awakened with a start, adrenaline pumping through his veins. What was that about? Had he dreamt something? He tried to remember. No... he hadn't. Instinctively, he stood and headed out to the living room. Sure enough, Liz was curled into a ball, whimpering-like Max said-like a hurt puppy. He put his hand on her shoulder, intending to wake her up but instead getting pulled into her dream.
She was in the Crashdown, taking orders, of course. As Michael watched, everyone disappeared, replaced by familiar faces from school. Liz's father came out and started yelling at her, and all heads swiveled towards them. She backed away, but he followed, raising his hand and smacking her. She cringed away silently, while everyone else looked on. Her father kept yelling at her and hitting her, and Michael had to look away. When he looked up, everyone was laughing, and they all filed out the door, including a merry Geoff. Liz stood there, sniffling and looking out the window. Michael followed her gaze. He and Max were walking past, but as they saw her, they stopped and Max hit Michael's arm. They looked at her, then walked away, shaking their heads.
Liz woke up, kicking him out of her head. She automatically shrunk away from his touch, trying to see who it was. Michael knelt and brushed her hair away from her forehead.
"What are you doing?" Liz asked, her voice thick with sleep.
"You were having a nightmare, right?"
He felt her nod a little.
"Just be quiet. I'll be right here."
"You don't have to." She laughed. "I'm fine. Go back to bed."
"Shh." He traced her forehead with his thumb, then took her hand. "You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not. I'm not leaving you."
He felt her relax, and soon her breathing was deep and slow again. He was reluctant to get up and go back to Max's room, and he was so tired... Just a few minutes, and I'll go back, he thought sleepily. Those minutes stretched out, and when he woke up for the second time, his knees were numb from kneeling. He carefully stood, bending over to kiss Liz's forehead. She mumbled something and her hand came up, stroking his cheek. A chill ran down his spine-a good one-and he grinned, squeezing her hand and returning to Max's room.
***
The next day was some sort of staff meeting or something, so it was a half day. It was kind of weird, but no one was going to complain about only having to be in school for four hours. Well, the parents maybe. Just none of the kids. The four of them, plus, on a whim, Alex, were in the Evanses backyard, playing (for some reason) tag. Everything was fine for a while- they were having fun and all that, but then Liz's foot caught in a dip in the grass and she pitched forward, catching herself awkwardly with her hand. Michael and Max were at her side immediately, helping her to her feet.
"Are you okay?" Max asked. Liz winced.
"I think so." She wiggled her fingers and sucked a breath in through her teeth. "I...did something to my hand, though."
Alex grabbed her wrist gently and looked at it. "It's not broken."
"How do you know?" Michael demanded.
"Michael, he's practically a PhD. He knows what he's talking about," Liz said, rolling her eyes at him.
"I think it's just sprained. You shouldn't have to go to a doctor...you heal fast, anyway. Max, do you guys have any ACE bandages?"
"Yeah. Let's go inside."
Once inside, they found the bandages and Mrs. Evans, who made Liz sit down.
"It's just a sprain, Mrs. Evans," Alex said. "Nothing's broken, and she can move her fingers."
"Thank you, Alex. Here, let me do that. I've done it tons of times for Isabel after dance class."
Isabel nodded, and Alex handed the woman the bandage. She quickly wrapped Liz's wrist, patting it gently. "That okay, Liz?"
She nodded. "Thank you. Can we go back out now?"
"Go ahead-I'm not going to stop you. Just, don't run around...our ground isn't exactly level-don't want you to fall again and hurt yourself worse."
Liz nodded, and they went back outside, not returning to the house until much later, when the sun was going down. Alex had just headed home, and the four of them were dirty and hungry. Mr. Evans (who had just come home from work) took a look at them and laughed, swinging Isabel up into his arms.
"What in the world have you four been doing?"
"We were just outside, Dad," Isabel said. "Let me down."
He laughed and put her down. "Well, you'd better go clean up before dinner." He seemed to notice Liz's wrist. "What happened?"
"I fell," she smiled.
"Well, be more careful. Your dad'll think we were beating you or something." Liz stiffened, and he looked like he wanted to smack himself. She left, as did Michael, except he hung in the doorway again, listening.
"What'd you say that for?" Diane demanded. He shrugged.
"It just slipped out. I forgot..."
"What's done is done," she sighed. "Come on. Let's get the table set."
"I was talking to a friend of mine today," he said.
"Oh? What about?"
"Our little houseguest."
"Phillip, you didn't!"
"I didn't tell him any details or anything. But he said that we could probably take Geoff to court just on the fact that he left her alone."
"And do what? Get her put into a foster home? We know how well that works."
"He said we might be able to get temporary custody of her, depending on what kind of judge we had."
"Yeah, or we'll end up taking her from her home for nothing. She's not like Michael, Phillip. We have a chance with him-we're basically his parents, anyway. If we get her taken away from her father, she'll probably just end up in a children's home or something."
"Isn't it worth a try?"
"Where is all this coming from? I thought we agreed that, as long as her life wasn't in serious danger, we'd just keep an eye on her."
"Every day she spends with Geoff, her life is in danger."
"Listen to yourself. She's spent her whole life with him-nothing bad's happened yet."
"Nothing bad? You don't think a father hitting his daughter is bad? Are you crazy?!"
"Don't raise your voice at me, Phillip Evans. And you know full well what I mean. Why don't you calm down? She's in no danger right now."
Michael shook his head and turned around, running into Liz. She grabbed his shoulder to steady them and looked into the kitchen.
"Why do you always sneak up on me like that?"
"I don't sneak. You just can't hear me."
"I can hear anything. You definitely sneak."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Her eyes darkened in fear. "I heard what they were talking about. How do they know?"
"From what I've heard, they found out. No one told them or anything." He shook her good arm-the one with the scratches. "And this isn't exactly subtle." He looked at her-there were tears in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"They want to take me away from Dad..."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"I guess...but..." she trailed off quietly, looking at her feet. He caught her chin.
"Hey. These are Max's parents, okay? They're not out to hurt you. Me and Max won't let anyone take you out of Roswell. Especially Max." He laughed, and a small smile crossed her face, barely making it to her eyes. "Don't worry about it." He pulled her to him for a hug, then pulled back and gently rubbed at a tearstreak.
"Dry your eyes before we go in there... Mr. Evans'll probably notice anyway, though. And don't worry about it. They aren't going to do anything for a while-they don't need to."
Liz nodded, and Michael hugged her one last time before they headed into the kitchen. Mr. Evans *obviously* noticed that Liz'd been crying, and he and Diane shared a Look, but he said nothing. Max and Isabel came in, and dinner began.