In The Know: Hello, hello. Long time, no update. Sorry for that, I've been crazy busy with stuff. And, yeah. Preston is a spy. Oh, and the official BANNER of AIO is on my profile.

Merry Christmas Eve, all!

Live Journal (link on profile) has teasers for all my workings.

Inspiration brought to you by: Anarbor The Brightest Green, Glee Cast Bust Your Windows, DCFC Photobooth (the song fit perfectly, so I HAD to use it).

Disclaimer: You really think I own this?

Part II – A Picture's Worth (a Thousand Words)

* * *

And everything that I said was true
as the flashes blinded us in the photobooth.
Well I lost track when those words were said,
you took the wheel and you steered us into my bed,
and soon we woke and I walked you home
and it was pretty clear that it was hardly love.

Preston had four pictures in his wallet. The first one, of course, was a portrait of him and Macey, then came the faded sepia vision of his parents, alongside his little teen sister. The last two, however, were of him and Liz. The pictures taken consequently, for the memory took place in a photo booth.

He stared at the mini black and white photos, tracing his hand over their faces.

* * *

The night was cold. The air abuzz while crystals of frozen water came swaying down to the ground, where the concrete cemented them and turned the snow back to water. Traffic was light, for it was Christmas Eve and everyone was safely tucked in their beds with their loved ones. The clock flashed – it was 10:12.

As Liz opened the door of her car, Jack Frost nipping at her nose, she bundled up her coat tighter and walked towards the Victorian brick house. Knocking twice, she waited until the door opened.

Preston stood there, eyes red and on the brink of tears.

"Hey." Her voice was soft as a feather, but her eyes were knowing..

"Who told you?" he asked, sniffing.

"Tina."

"Oh."

"Yeah." She let out a breath, and they both stood still for a moment, watching Liz's breath turn foggy with the cold air. "So, I'm sorry. For your – uh, for your dad. It's awful. With it being so close to Christmas and everything. You must be devastated."

He laughed grimly. "Yeah, devastated."

She was quiet for some time, thinking of what to say next. In truth, she had no idea why she had rushed to the car once she'd learned of the news. She should've been working in the lab. "How's your mom? She must be talking it really badly."

"Yeah." He took in a sharp breath. "Uh, shouldn't you be spending your holidays with Jonas?"

"He's, uh, he's visiting some family." He really wasn't though, it was just a cover. Jonas was still at headquarters, working on some new experiment.

"Oh."

Liz nodded, only to fill up the awkward silence. If the crickets weren't hiding somewhere because of the cold, they'd be chirping quite loudly. "What about you? Is Macey here? You know, to… console you… and stuff."

"She decided to take a break and head up to Milan. Haven't heard a word since a month ago."

Liz sighed, getting annoyed that this conversation wasn't going anywhere and also because it was freezing outside. "I'm coming in." And then she pushed her way through the door.

* * *

The house was chilly, as if no one bothered to turn up the thermostat in days. Bottles of beer and whisky lay on the counter top of the steel kitchen and with further inspection, Liz could see that the fridge was empty - except for a pack of peas. She loathed peas.

Preston walked up behind her. "Listen. You don't have to waste your time here… I'm fine."

She quirked an eyebrow.

He grumbled something under his breath. "Fine. Make yourself at home." Preston opened up a cabinet and took out a bottle of Jack.

"Planning to open a liquor store sometime soon?" Liz questioned.

Preston rolled his eyes. "Really. You can leave if you want. I don't care. I don't need anyone to make me feel better."

Liz pulled at the wool scarf on her jacket. Then, looking at Preston, she shook her head.

"Okay. That's it. No more alcohol." She pulled the bottle out of his hand and threw it in the garbage bag. "We're going out."

And without permission, she yanked his arm, steering him towards her car, not bothering to lock the door behind them.

* * *

"You know, you could have at least let me grab my jacket." The complaining was coming from Preston, who was standing outside The Fun House with Liz.

She rolled her eyes. "The cold will do you some good. It'll make you less drunk and more alert."

"Yeah, well what if I wanted to be drunk? Ever thought of that?"

Lizzie sighed and pushed him towards the door.

A minute and forty-five seconds later, Liz had Preston equipped with a glass of water and a plastic cup filled with tokens that had imprinted faces of a bear in a tutu – the official logo of The Fun House.

"So…" Liz looked around, "do you wanna play Ski-Ball or Whack-a-Mole first?"

* * *

After playing games for an hour and cashing in their tickets for prizes, the two were seated in a booth chewing up all the Tootsie rolls and Smarties they'd gotten.

"God. My stomach is killing me." Preston groaned as he leaned back, rubbing his stomach.

Liz laughed. "Well, that's what you get for drinking three cokes, eating two Popsicles and practically inhaling all the candy that I got."

"Hey," Preston upbraided, "quit your complaining. I bought you that pack of Skittles."

Liz sighed, and then grinned. "So, where to next?

"Where to next? Where to next? Are you kidding me?"

"Nope. I still have two tokens and I intend to use them."

"Okay, how about…" his eyes searched the room quickly, "the photo booth?"

Liz's eyes lit up. "Perfect."

* * *

They were still roaring with laughter once they came out of the booth, Liz bending over and clutching her stomach and Preston covering his mouth to stop laughing. The attempts, however, proved to be of no use since everyone in the fun-emporium stopped what they were doing and immediately looked over to see what the ruckus was about.

Preston reached over and pulled out the strip containing shots of them sticking out their tongues, making fish faces and putting bunny ears over the other. He then proceeded to rip the roll in half and handed one over to Lizzie.

"Why thank you, Sir." Her response contained a horrible British accent and a curtsy that only she could pull off without looking (totally) ridiculous.

"My pleasure, Milady." He took her right hand and kissed it.

Stopping their charade, they looked at each other, only to begin cracking up a moment later.

* * *

"So, did you have fun?" She looked up at him through her lashes.

They were seated in Lizzie's car (Toyota Vios) listening to some late-night jazz channel.

"No. I had a horrible time." His sarcasm was easily noticed.

She elbowed him. "But seriously, Preston. Did it get your mind off... things?" She bit her lip and looked past the windshield, where the snow was starting to tap dance its way to the ground.

Preston was quiet for a moment, mulling things over. Finally, he just took a breath and, in one jumbled mess said, "Yeah. It got my mind off things."

Liz nodded, her eyes aglitter. "Good."

"I guess." He brought his hand to the nape of his neck and kept it there.

Looking through his window, he could see the silhouette of his house. The

Toyota rounded the curb and came to a halt right next to the grassy lawn. Preston opened the door, got out and clicked it shut, looking up at the barely visible stars. Lizzie cracked open the car door, but not before noticing the time on the dashboard (12:00) and came to stand beside Preston.

"They're pretty, huh?" Liz could make out the nights when she was a young girl in Georgia, lying silently on the grass, spending hours just wondering how the stars could kindle so brightly.

"Very." Preston agreed, looking at Lizzie and brushing a snowflake out of her hair.

She averted her eyes to look back up to the sky. "Merry Christmas, Preston."

"Merry Christmas, Lizzie."

* * *

Liz looked down at the half-roll of film. The edge at the top was torn since Preston took the other half of the roll.

Things had changed so much since that night. The night when she'd heard that Preston's dad had recently passed away and went over to his house to make him feel better. They ended up spending the night at The Fun House, playing pointless games like trying to squirt your water gun at a duck to make it knock over.

During the ride back in her car, however, Liz noticed something change between them. She could never place her finger on it though. Those moments they'd spent standing outside Preston's house were the absolute definition of their relationship. And ever since then, they're bond was completely different.

Tucking the picture away at the bottom of her suitcase, she reverted back to her daily routine.

And as the summers ending,
the cold air will rush your hard heart away.
You were so condescending,
and this is all that's left scraping paper to document.
I've packed a change of clothes and it's time to move on.

A/N: There. An insight to Liz and Preston's relationship. Oh, and has anyone seen Kas? Because I can't reach her. And she's my newly appointed beta. So this chapter is un-edited. Yeah. I'll have to repost later when she edits it.

Things to tell me in a review:

- What'd you think of the flashback?

- Is Liz from Georgia? If not, where exactly is she from?

- What're you doing for the holidays? I'm headed to Caesar Palace in Atlantic City with my 'rents and brother.

- Thoughts on chapter.

S.W.I.T.Z