Author: Katydidit aka PolarEmeralds aka Kat
Email:
Rating: PG, for language and violence.
Genre: Drama/Angst
Category: AU. Pre-shooting. Now becoming full-blown Polar.
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: 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. Lmao. I don't think there's any, though.
AN:The story's done-I have all the chapters written, I just don't post here for some reason. They are over at , though.
Things Aren't Always What They Seem
Chapter 14
Michael awakened slowly the next day, dread settling low in his throat. There was something wrong. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking around the room. The couch was empty—not even blankets hinted that the day before hadn't been a dream. Michael's heart sank, and he rose to his feet, dragging his sleeping bag back into Max's room. Max rolled over in his bed, staring at Michael through sleep-filled eyes.
"What're you doing, man?" he asked. Michael shrugged.
"Putting this away. Gotta go home, change my clothes."
"Since when do you care about that stuff?"
Michael shrugged again, and turned to leave. Just as he reached the door, Isabel appeared in the hallway.
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded. He spun around.
"Christ, Blondie. You gotta stop doing that, or I'm going to blast you."
"Don't call me Blondie," Isabel said firmly. "Are you leaving without breakfast?"
"That depends. What's for breakfast?"
She rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Mom and Dad left for Santa Fe early this morning, so Liz said she'd go out and find something."
"Liz?"
"Liz Parker? Remember?" Isabel thunked his head playfully.
"So yesterday was real," Michael mumbled, jumping when someone knocked on the door. Isabel reached past him to swing it open, revealing Liz, looking just as beautiful in the morning sun as she had in the moonlight. She was trying to balance a tray of coffees and a box, which Michael suspected was full of doughnuts. Isabel took it from her and led them into the kitchen. He must have been staring at Liz again, because she wiped a hand across her face self-consciously, grinning. Michael snorted and grabbed her into a bear hug, which she returned wholeheartedly
"What, were you afraid I'd disappeared?" She asked with a grin once he'd let her go, gently running her fingers through his hair to work the tangles out.
"Haven't you heard?" Isabel said, grabbing a glazed doughnut and a coffee before exiting. "Michael Guerin isn't afraid of anything."
He rolled his eyes at Isabel's retreating back and then turned back to Liz. She took a chocolate doughnut and a coffee, and sat at the table, watching him. Michael rummaged around in the fridge for a bottle of Tabasco, then took a cruller and sat across from her, taking his eyes off of her only to coat his cruller in the hot sauce. When he looked up, Liz was still watching him, this time with a wrinkled nose. He bit into the concoction with gusto, and she looked away, shaking her head.
"What?" he demanded around a mouthful of doughnut.
"Nothing," she replied, picking up a section of the newspaper. "Nothing at all."
"Yeah, yeah." He yanked the paper away from her. She made a halfhearted reach for it, but then just sat back in her seat, looking at him. "What are you doing today?"
She shrugged. "I guess I've got to go find Maria and let her know I'm back. I don't know if she cares anymore, but… Then I should find Alex too."
"Why didn't you tell him?"
"Maria could always read the two of us like baby books." She laughed. "If he knew, she'd drag it out of him within a minute." She grinned and looked down at the table, before returning her eyes to his. "Where would they be, do you know?"
"Maria would be at the Crashdown," Michael shrugged. "Alex... I don't know."
"You didn't keep in touch with him," she said, looking as though that pained her. Before he could say anything, she shrugged and took a swig of her coffee. They finished the rest of their breakfast in silence, and by the time they'd finished, Michael had mostly convinced himself that this was real—that she was actually there. Liz looked up, chucking her empty cup at the garbage. It missed, of course, and she swore and went to retrieve it. Michael snorted.
"You did not just laugh at me," Liz said in disbelief. Michael nodded, finishing off his own coffee. "Let's see you do better."
"You don't want none of this," he said, opening the newspaper but watching her out of the corner of his eye. She was standing there, hands on hips, and he turned to look at her.
"Let's see, SpikeBoy," Liz taunted. "Or are you afraid that you can't do any better than a little girl?"
Michael rolled his eyes but was unable to ignore her challenge. He let his cup fly towards the trash can, and it fell short. Liz snorted.
"You throw like a girl," she giggled, putting the cup in the trash. Michael leapt up and tackled her, making sure to hold onto her so she didn't hit the floor too hard.
"I what like a girl?" he demanded, grabbing her ribs. Liz giggled and tried to push him off, but he didn't move. "Come on, Liz. I what like a girl? What did you say?"
"I didn't say anything!" she gasped, trying to defend herself against his fingers, but to no avail.
"You said something, Liz. I what like a girl?"
"Nothing!"
"So I'm completely masculine in every way, then?" He tickled her harder.
"Yes! You are the ultimate man's man! Totally masculine! Just—stop!"
Michael acquiesced, but didn't get off. Liz glared up at him, her cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. He tugged a strand of her hair, and she retaliated by doing the same to his.
"The hair…" she began, grinning wickedly. "Way macho."
"Don't make me start again," he threatened, wiggling his fingers in her face. Liz laughed and pushed them away, and they both froze as Max shuffled into the kitchen. He took a doughnut and a coffee, pausing to watch them amusedly. "Can we help you, Maxwell?" Michael asked mock-politely, and the other boy just shook his head, sipping from the thick paper cup.
"Nope. I'm good. 'Morning, Liz."
"'Morning, Max. Sleep okay?" Liz was blushing at their being caught the way they'd been, but she was making no move to get away from Michael, which was just fine with him.
"Nah. Made a few mistakes," Max quipped, wandering into the living room. Liz just watched him, an odd look on her face, and then her gaze returned to Michael, and she burst out laughing, for no apparent reason. But her laugh had this way of making you want to start laughing, so he joined in, and they just lay there for a few minutes, laughing their asses off.
Finally, Liz calmed down and pushed lightly on his chest. "Get off of me, you big oaf, so I can go get dressed."
"You look fine in this," Michael said, not moving. Liz rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I don't think so. Up." She punched him lightly, and he rolled off of her, clutching his chest and moaning.
"You punctured my heart!" he exclaimed, collapsing onto the floor. "Call 911! I need an ambulance! Please! Help!"
Liz rolled her eyes again and stepped over him, disappearing into the guest bathroom. By the time she re-emerged, Michael had beaten Max at the video game they'd been playing four times. Liz stood over his chair, watching the two of them, and then, just as it became time for Michael to perform a crucial maneuver, she grabbed his hand, thereby allowing Max to beat him.
"Hey!" He exclaimed indignantly. She smiled innocently, stepping out of reach. Max was busy doing his victory dance, which was still every bit as awkward and creepy as it had been when they were thirteen. Liz and Michael watched him quietly, eyebrows arched.
"Now aren't you sorry you did that?" Michael asked, not taking his eyes off Max. Liz nodded, eyes wide. Max realized that they were looking at him and paused, grinning.
"I…beat you…" he said to Michael, trying to justify his creepy ritual. Michael just shrugged, eyes almost as wide as Liz's. Max flung himself to the couch, crossing his arms. "Shut up."
They sat there for a while, watching the opening screen of the video game, and then Liz jumped up. Michael followed, though he didn't know why.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"For a walk. I'm not sitting in the house all day. You two want to come?"
Michael glanced at Max, who smiled knowingly. "No. I'm gonna stay here for a while. You two go."
Michael narrowed his eyes at Max, and he shrugged, trying to look innocent. "Are you going to the Crashdown later?"
"Yeah," Liz answered. "Gotta find Maria."
"Okay. I'll meet you guys there, then. Now go." He gestured for them to leave, and they complied, Michael closing the door quietly behind them. They just stood on the front porch for a few moments, looking around.
"Where are you going to go?" he asked.
"I don't know. I was thinking the park, maybe. You know…meander through the greenery." She grinned and extended her hand. "Now, are you going to come with me, or are you going to stand there and question me?"
Michael made a face at her and stood there, studying her hand. He wondered if it was really as soft as it'd been last night, or if that had just been a trick of his imagination? He had been tired, after all. He didn't realize that he'd been standing there for a while, until Liz reached over and grabbed his hand. The soft warmth shocked him out of his trance, and he looked up at her.
"I don't have cooties, and we can't just stand here looking at my hands all day. So let's go." She led him down the stairs, then glanced up at his face and giggled.
"What?" he demanded. She laughed and took a step closer to him as they headed down the sidewalk. Dreams weren't warm, right? You can't feel them walking next to you on the sidewalk? In response to his unspoken musings, Liz stepped even closer to his side and slid her arm through his.
"I'm here, Michael," she said quietly.
"How do you do that?" Michael asked, looking over at her. She looked up in confusion.
"Do what?"
"It's like, no matter what I'm thinking, you know it, and somehow manage to say…the perfect thing—exactly what I need to hear."
She laughed. "Michael, despite what you may like to think, you're not that hard to read." She smiled up at him. "Not for me, anyway."
He narrowed his eyes at her, and she giggled, looking away. They said nothing more, and continued walking.
(MEMORY OF ROB AND THE CAR, ETC)
Liz froze, and Michael knew that she was remembering the same thing as he'd been. He pulled her to him for a sort of hug.
"You alright?" he mumbled into her hair. She nodded but didn't say a word, and they continued on. After a while, Liz spoke up.
"Hey, you remember that Rob guy?" she asked quietly.
Michael nodded. "How could I forget?
She smiled. "Well, I've been paying attention to the news in Tulsa for…a while. Did you know that he was arrested?"
"What for?"
She counted off the items on her fingers. "Three cases of child molestation, one case of child abuse, he kidnapped two kids, and he was a part of a child pornography ring."
"Jesus Christ." Michael muttered. Liz nodded.
"I know. They got Nancy too. She helped in some of that shit."
"And they almost got you," Michael said, not even wanting to think about what could have happened to her if they had. She slid her arm around his waist.
"But they didn't, so let's forget about it."
"All right, all right."
They were silent for a little while longer, and then Liz spoke up.
"So how long have you been drawing?"
He shrugged. "I don't know." He really didn't. Every time he'd picked up a pencil and created something, just blended together, without a beginning or an end. "Probably a while after you left."
"So you probably have some good pictures, right?"
"Not…really."
"Come on. Don't be modest. You could be the next Michelangelo." She grinned.
"Yeah, because there's so much room to paint on the trailer's ceiling."
"You're still living there?" Liz asked in dismay.
Michael nodded. "It's free."
"But you have to live with Hank…" Michael knew she was remembering that one time she'd witnessed an interaction between the two of them. Funny how something like that would affect her so much, while the fact that her father nearly killed her just floated on by. He didn't know how to answer that, and she let it go. They walked for what must have been hours in silence, trying to make up for lost time together. After a while, Michael's stomach rumbled noisily, and Liz snorted, glancing at her watch.
"Let's go get lunch," she said, immediately dragging him off in another direction. He allowed her to lead him towards the Crashdown. She paused just before she went inside—bracing herself, Michael knew, for whatever might come.
"Michael!" Maria yelled over her shoulder as she carted a tray over to a table. "You're late, pally. Jose is going to have your ass, you know."
"Not working today," he replied, pulling Liz into a booth. She'd frozen in place as soon as she'd heard Maria's voice, effectively blocking the aisle.
"Yeah, tell that to Jose. Mr. Baker had to call him in," she said, taking out her order pad and approaching the table. "Think he didn't get much sleep last night, if you catch my drift."
Michael shuddered. "Don't even say that."
Maria smirked. "So what'll it be?"
"I want a Will Smith with Saturn rings. Cherry coke. And Tabasco." He glanced over at Liz, who hadn't even opened the menu. She was just staring at the cover, lost in thought. Maria ducked down to try to get a better look at her face.
"And the girl? What do you want?"
Liz still didn't look up. "Uhm… could I just get a Nebula salad? And…water."
Maria arched her eyebrows. "You should eat something real," she admonished. "You look like you're going to blow away in the wind."
Liz smiled at the cover of the menu. "I'm just not hungry."
"All right…" Maria said, taking their menus and disappearing.
"Still as meddling as always," Liz grinned. Michael nodded and looked around.
"You think that's bad, you should have seen Alex with her after…you left." Why did he always do that—bring it up? Stupid. He felt like kicking himself. Liz just nodded.
"I can imagine."
"So…" Michael began after a while. "When are you going to out yourself to her?"
Liz shrugged. "I don't know. Soon."
"The longer you sit here, the louder she'll get."
Liz looked up and grinned. "You're right. As soon as she brings our lunch."
"Good." He reached across the table and took her hand. They just sat there, her sparkling brown eyes locked on his, until Maria returned with their food. Michael saw her hesitate out of the corner of his eye.
"Should I come back?" she asked amusedly, turning to leave. Liz took a deep breath and looked up with a nervous smile.
"N-no. You can put it down."
Maria dropped the plates she was holding and pressed her hands over her mouth. Liz stood, careful not to slip on the food, and looked at her old friend. Finally, Maria found words again.
"Omigod!" She screeched, launching herself into Liz's arms. Liz laughed melodically and hugged her tightly. "You just disappeared-no one knew what happened! SpikeBoy had to tell us."
"I'm sorry," Liz said, still hugging her old best friend. "I had to leave-there were the people and the Jeep, and it was early and you were at school, and I- Maria, can you let me go? I can't breathe."
Maria stepped away for a second, but then returned to her friend's arms. Finally, she stepped away for good, and just stood there, her eyes bugging out of her head. Michael's boss, Mr. Baker, walked by, stopping to give Maria a disapproving look.
"You're cleaning that up?" he asked pointedly. Maria nodded, still staring at Liz. "Good." He started to walk away, but then returned. "Oh, and…please socialize on breaks, Maria. I'm not paying you to talk to your friends." He smiled warmly, and Maria nodded, looking down.
"Right, Mr. Baker. Sorry."
He walked away, and Maria returned her gaze to Liz. "You're not going anywhere," she said. "You're going to sit right there until tonight, when I get off, and we're going to sit and have a long chat, Liz Parker."
Liz nodded, looking at her watch. "When do you get off?"
"Not until closing," Maria said. "But it's past three now, so…six hours. And I don't care what you're doing today. I'll break out the handcuffs if I have to." She flounced away, leaving Liz to sit down and blink at Michael.
"She…has handcuffs? Do I want to know?" she asked hesitantly. Michael snorted and looked over at the busboy who had been delegated to clean up Maria's mess.
"All I know is that she and Max do some creepy things. And that's more than I want to know."
Liz shuddered and grinned as Maria brought them another tray. They began eating, trying to ignore Maria, who made it a point to walk by their table every fifteen minutes. Just as they'd finished, Liz looked up towards the door, and went pale.
"Oh my god," she said quietly. Michael swiveled around in his seat, to see Alex walking through the door. "He looks so different."
He did. When Liz had left, Alex had…changed. The way he talked, the way he carried himself…everything. He'd withdrawn from just about everyone except Maria, who probably wouldn't have let him if he had tried. He seemed like he'd gotten over it—he'd gone back to flirting cautiously with Isabel and all that—but he still carried himself the same way.
"He's still the same Alex," he assured her. I hope, he added silently. Alex scanned the faces in the tables at the restaurant, just like he always did, then paused as his gaze slid over their table. Liz smiled softly at him, and his jaw fell open. She stood as he headed over.
"Oh. My. God." Alex said, jaw dropping open. "It's…you're… and you're… Oh. My. God." He held his arms out, and Liz stepped into them, holding him tightly. They both looked like they were going to cry-and neither looked like they planned on letting go anytime soon. After a while, though, they finally did, and Alex held her at arm's length, shaking. She laughed, taking hold of his arm. "I thought… And you're… Liz! How are you?" He grabbed her wrist, as though afraid she'd disappear again.
"I'm great. How are you?"
"Words cannot describe it. Liz!" He pulled her to him in a rib-crushing bear hug, then looked at Michael. "Liz! It's Liz!"
"Yeah, I know," Michael said quietly. Liz sat, pulling Alex down with her. He put his arm around her, not letting her go. They talked quietly, heads tilted together, in soft, loving murmurs. Michael sat back and let them talk, feeling like an outsider but not minding it. He suppressed a small twinge of jealousy, reminding himself that they were best friends—nothing more.
Finally, it was closing, and Maria had finished. They were still sitting in the same booth that they had been sitting in all day, but Alex and Liz had moved apart a little, and Michael had been re-accepted into the conversation. Max had come in shortly after he'd eaten dinner, so the whole gang was there, minus Isabel. Stupid cheerleading.
"Liz, what did happen with your father? Why did he get put in jail? I mean, there were, like, five hundred different stories, but no one really knew." She leaned forward. "He wasn't in the Mob, was he? You're not, like, a Mafia princess?" She looked around in horror. "There aren't dead bodies in the walls, are there?" She leapt up. "Or in the tables?!"
Liz laughed. "No. Dad wasn't in the Mafia. And, as far as I know, the only things in the walls are spiders."
Maria let out a sigh of relief and sat back down. Max laughed and put an arm around her.
"You guys never told?" Liz asked the guys. They shook their heads.
"Told what?" Maria asked. "Oh my god! It's true! Your father was really a hit man, wasn't he? And you were the illegitimate love child resulting from his falling in love with one of his targets. Then when his bosses found out, they had him framed for drug dealing, didn't they?"
Liz snorted. "Maria! You knew my mother! Your mother knew my parents when they were going out! She was my mother's freaking maid of honor!"
"Oh. Right." Maria looked down, disappointed. "Then-" She looked up again, but, on Liz's look, looked back down. "He probably wasn't a hacker who made his way into the bank records and stole millions before anyone could stop him."
"He wasn't."
"Right. Then-what happened? What was he?"
"My father was…Geoff Parker was… See, he…" Liz growled in frustration. Michael, realizing how hard this was for her, took over.
"He hit her."
Maria looked at them in disbelief. "You mean, like, every once in a while, like all parents do, right?"
Liz took a deep breath and shook her head.
"Liz, I knew your father. I mean, he wasn't the most affectionate guy in the world, but he would never hit you."
Now it was Liz's turn to look at Maria in disbelief. "You're willing to believe that my father was a hit man, or in the Mafia, or some computer genius, but you can't accept that he was a child abuser?"
"It's true, Maria," Alex said quietly. Maria jerked her head up.
"Is that why you were always so interested in being a doctor? You were helping Liz?" She asked, finally piecing things together. He nodded, and Maria looked up at Max. "Did you know?"
"Yeah," he replied quietly.
"Is that why she was over at your house all the time before she left?"
Max shrugged. "That was mostly because her father was out of town all the time."
Maria looked at Liz in shock. "I didn't know-wait." She looked around the table. "You told Max and Michael, but you didn't tell me?"
"And Isabel," Liz mumbled.
"And Isabel!" Maria exclaimed. "That little factoid isn't helping, Liz! Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"You would have overreacted. Like you're doing now."
"Liz, I haven't seen you since you disappeared one day five years ago and Michael had to tell me what happened, and now you reappear and tell me that your father beat you! I think I'm entitled to overreact right now."
"Maria, baby, sit back down," Max said softly, tugging on her shirt. She took a deep breath, but did as he asked. It was amazing how Max could calm Maria down when no one else could.
"I'm sorry, Maria," Liz said quietly. Maria reached across the table and stroked Liz's head.
"I should have seen something. I mean, I was your best friend, wasn't I? Shouldn't I have noticed some mark or something-anything?"
"Maria, don't start. I kept myself covered up-no one ever saw anything unless I showed them."
"Or unless your sleeve rode up at the dinner table," Max added. Liz rolled her eyes.
"What does that mean? Do your parents know?" Maria demanded. He nodded. "Christ, Liz. Did you tell everyone but me?" Liz didn't answer. "Sorry. Look, I've gotta go. If I've got opening shift tomorrow, I have to be here by five. See you guys later."
Liz watched her leave, biting softly on her lower lip. Michael reached across the table and took her hand
"She's just freaked," he told her quietly. "She's not really mad."
She nodded, and he squeezed her hand gently.
"I'm going home," Max said, standing up. "I'll leave the door open for you, Liz."
"Okay. Thanks." She looked up and smiled, and he left. Alex glanced at his watch.
"I should go home too," he said reluctantly. "Promise me that you'll still be here tomorrow?"
"Not in this exact position," Liz said, amused. "But I'll be here. Just ask Michael."
Alex just snorted and headed out, leaving the two of them sitting at the booth. Liz looked down at their entwined hands and then up at his face, a small smile gracing her features. He looked down as well, and brushed his thumb across the back of her hand. She stood up slowly, moving over to his side of the table without breaking them apart.
"Hi…" she said shyly, biting softly on her lower lip. He couldn't stop the smile from making its way across his face, and pushed some of her hair behind her ear, tilting her chin up. He saw her eyes flutter down—towards his lips?—then return. Was that a faint blush tinting her cheeks?
"Hi," he murmured, moving closer. He was almost dizzy with how close to him she was. Her tongue slid out between her lips, moistening them, and she moved still closer. It was going to happen. They were going to kiss. He twisted his fingers up through her hair and pulled her closer. She tilted her head, and his eyes slid closed, awaiting the bliss of her lips against his.
"Hey, kids!" A voice sounded from the doorway. Michael felt Liz yank away, and reluctantly opened his eyes. Liz was concentrating very hard on the table, her face a bright red. Michael looked up—Mr. Baker was standing there, watching them amusedly. "Sorry for… Interrupting, but you're going to have to leave." He smiled and flipped off a set of the lights. "You know—you don't have to go home but you can't stay here."
"Yeah…" Liz said, embarrassed. "I should get back to the Evanses', anyway. Don't want to wake them up when I come in." She stood, and Michael followed. Just as they pulled the door shut behind them, the inside lights flipped off. Michael went to pull Liz closer, but she stepped away a little, brushing her hair behind her ear.
"I should get back," she repeated, looking up at him apologetically and running her hand through his hair. "I'm pretty tired, Michael."
He nodded, heart sinking. She smiled and stood on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek before stepping away again.
"See you tomorrow?" she asked hopefully. He nodded and tugged softly on her hair.
"Tomorrow."