AN: So, after all your wonderful feedback, especially the support I got from within the Lizzington Shipper group, I found my muse again. I won't take all the credit, because let's face it, without redisthenewblackington this wouldn't be a thing. Thank you so, so much, you're the best. I hope you'll like this.

Disclaimer: Please see earlier chapters

The trouble understand, is she got reasons he don't
Funny how he couldn't see at all, 'til she grabbed up her coat
And she goes, she's been here too few years to take it all in stride
But still it's much too long, to let hurt go (you let her go)

And we always say, it would be good to go away, someday
But if there's nothing there to make things change
If it's the same for you I'll just hang
The same for you
I'll always hang

"Hang" - Matchbox Twenty

Enough To Keep You

Chp. 10

"Please, Ray? Please, please, please? Pretty please?"

"Lizzie," he groaned. She was tugging at him like she was trying to pull him out of a hole that he was stuck in and he was getting nauseous.

They were at the state fair and the brunette had just found a photo booth. Naturally, she wanted to take photos with her boyfriend. Photo booths were the best!

"Sweetheart, how about we get some cotton candy instead? I think I saw a stand back there." Red turned and squinted, trying to spot it.

Her arms wrapped around his waist and she hugged him tightly, pushing her face into his neck. "Please, Ray. It'll only take a minute."

"You know that I don't like having my photo taken. I can play that game to win the giant stuffed duck you were eyeing earlier. How does that sound?"

She pulled back a little and looked up at him. Batting her long eyelashes, she pressed her lips into an adorable pout. "But you said that you're mine, and I really, really want a picture with what's mine." Her bottom lip popped out, deepening her pout.

When she innocently blinked up at him again, he finally caved. "Fine. Now pull that lip in before someone trips over it."

"Really?" She asked, a grin blossoming over her face.

"Yes," he replied grumpily.

She squealed with joy and Red had barely enough time to even raise and eyebrow at the sound before Liz had thrown her arms around his neck in an airway-crushing hug. "Thank you!" She pulled her head back and pecked him on the mouth before she fully extracted herself from his arms to pull him along with her.

Before he even knew it, he was shoved onto the little chair with the curtain drawn and Liz sat on his lap, fishing for coins inside her handbag. Red leaned forward a little and took his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans, holding her safe on his lap with one arm around her waist.

"Here," he said, handing it to her.

She took it with a grin, fed a few coins into the machine, and then handed the wallet back to him with a self-satisfied grin. "Now smile!"

"I have to smile?" He asked, already bored with the whole thing.

Liz took his face between her hands and pulled him in for a long kiss, feeling him first stiffen but then relax. He buried his fingers in her hair, pulling her even closer and moaning against her. He let his mouth wander over her cheek, towards her jaw and down to her neck, his lips alternating between sucking and nibbling and she closed her eyes at the feeling. Liz threaded her own fingers through his golden strands and gently scratched her nails over his scalp. Pulling her head back, she planted a kiss to his forehead and then hugged him close, tugging his head under her chin.

Soon the last photo was taken and they heard the whirring sounds of the printer. Red looked up at her, his eyelids heavy and his breathing slightly labored. "There. All done. That wasn't too bad, was it?" She asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

He licked his lips and took a breath, trying to calm himself or he would end up… scaring her. "No," he said hoarsely. "It wasn't."

She scooted forward on his lap and took the photo strip, leaning back against his broad chest so both could look at them. "Oh my god, I love them!"

He had to give it to her, this had been a wonderful idea. "Let's do it again." She raised an eyebrow at him, but he only handed the money to her. Then he wound boths arms around her waist again and leaned his head against her, facing the camera. "You asked for a smile, after all."

"I love you," she said softly, putting her own arm around his neck, seemingly-oblivious to his racing heartbeat.

They posed for four more shots, all smiles this time, and Red was excited to see the pictures afterwards. He took both strips in hand and chose the four pictures he liked best. Carefully ripping them off, he took out his wallet and put the pictures inside, adjusting them so that all four could be seen. He felt her press a kiss into his hair.

"You're cute."

Red huffed. "I'd say that's all on you." Squeezing her waist, he continued, "Let's go. I believe you asked for some cotton candy."

"And a stuffed animal."

With his arm around her, he pulled her into his side and kissed her head. "Anything for you, princess."

She put her hand in his back pocket and leaned further into him. "So that would make you my prince charming?"

"Hmmm no, nevermind. Poor choice of words."

Liz looked up at him in question. "Why?"

"Because you're already my queen."

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When they got back from the fair, Liz and Red decided to hang out in the backyard, literally hang out, because they were in a hammock, her resting against his chest, stroking over the arms that were wound around her waist while he dozed away, his sunglasses still perched on his nose. "It's such a beautiful day, don't you think?"

"Mhm."

"And I had a wonderful time at the fair with you. That was a wonderful idea."

"Mhm."

"I love the plush heart that you got for me. It's better than the duck. " This time she merely received a sigh in return. "Ray?" No answer. "Ray," she said a little louder, before poking her elbow into his side.

"Huh, what?"

"Did you even hear what I said?" She asked.

"What were you saying?" The moment the question had left his lips, Red felt her elbow painfully connect with his side again. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Say it again?"

Liz carefully maneuvered herself onto her stomach, facing the young man, her arms resting on either side of his head. "Are you telling me I just praised your capabilities as a boyfriend and you weren't even listening?"

He pretended to think on that for a moment. "Would an admittance to that work in my favor?"

She broke into a laugh, leaning her forehead against his sternum. "You're silly," she said and Red chuckled, wrapping his arms more tightly around her. Liz tilted her head up and kissed the underside of his chin before nuzzling her nose against the soft skin of his throat. "You smell so good."

"Yeah?"

"Yes," she replied, inhaling again. "You do realize that you will have to take that plush heart with you and sleep with it for a week so it will smell like you?"

He laughed, kissing the top of her head. "Of course, sweetheart."

"Good. Now, I was getting something to drink. Would you like anything?"

"A kiss."

Her face split into a huge grin at his words. He was too cute for his own good. Pushing herself up on her arms, Liz leaned closer to cover his lips with hers in a feather-light kiss. Before she could pull away though, his hands had found their way into her hair, holding her to him as his tongue pushed past her teeth to tangle with hers, tasting her and leaving her breathless.

"Anything else?" She asked as soon as she had caught her breath, a slight blush adorning her cheeks.

Red smiled at her. "Now that you mention it, I am slightly parched."

"I'll be right back."

His hands on her hips steadied her as she started moving, trying to climb out of the hammock. "Maybe you should turn around first. It'll be easier."

"Nah, that's fine."

"Careful, Lizzie. Let me help you."

She shook her head and pushed up on her knees. "I've got this." The brunette swung her right leg over the edge of the hammock, but couldn't quite reach the ground, so she straightened her arms for leverage as she scooted further towards the side.

"Let me just move slightly over here to balance you out." Before he had even finished his sentence, Liz lost her grip and felt herself slipping off the hammock. Her hand shot out to grab onto the left side, which turned out to be a mistake. As the hammock tipped all the way to the right, both fell off and hit the grass.

"Ow," Red exclaimed. Surprisingly, he had hit the ground first and Liz had fallen right on top of him.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her hands cupping his face.

He nodded. "I think so. Are you?"

"You cushioned my fall," she told him.

"Here I go being the hero again," Red said with wink.

"Let me help you up." Liz started moving off him, but he held onto her waist.

"I kinda like it down here. It's nice and safe."

She poked her index finger into his side. "Ha ha. Do you need me to tickle you again?" She had before and she would do it again.

Red held up both hands, palms facing her in a surrender. "No need to get out the big guns."

She quickly pecked him on the mouth and then got up. "I'll get the drinks." With one last smile, she was gone.

When she returned, Liz threw him a small pillow to put under his head, and then passed him a can of soda. Both took a couple of sips before lying down again, his head on the pillow and hers on his chest.

"So... what's new on the Lester front?" She asked suddenly.

"Her name's Leslie," Red told her.

"Not according to your mom. I'm with her on that one."

He rolled his eyes at her. "What should be new?"

"Well, what's old then?"

"What do you mean?" He asked back.

"Your past together. What was it like?"

Red hesitated for a moment. "You've never asked me that before."

"I know. If I had, then I wouldn't be asking you now."

He grunted in response. "Fair enough. We met... about three years ago, she's friends with Zeke." Zeke. That little bastard. Liz knew there was a reason she didn't like that maggot. "We would meet at parties mostly and ended up making out a couple of times. We were dating for a couple of months. Back then, I thought differently, but by now I know that it wasn't really that serious of a relationship. She moved away and we broke it off."

"Do you think you would still be together if she hadn't moved away?" She had to ask.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. And though Lizzie appreciated that he would never lie to her about even the smallest of things, it still stung to hear him say it. "It's kinda funny. The other day, we talked about how weird it is, at first, after so much time, to see the person that you lost your virginity to."

"You talked about that? When? Where? You're still meeting up with her?"

"We have the same group of friends." He shrugged.

"Wait!" Liz interrupted and pushed up to look at him. "'The girl that you lost your virginity to'?!"

Red nodded. "Yeah, she was my first. Everyone has a first, eventually, you know."

Her eyes were growing bigger by the second. "And you're still hanging out with her?!"

"I fail to see the issue here." He sat up, unsure of where exactly he'd gone wrong.

"The 'issue' here is that you're still hanging out with your ex, who also happens to be the one you first had sex with. AND she still wants you back! That's the issue!"

"We're not an item anymore, Lizzie. She and I are history."

"Then why are you still hanging out with her? Do you want her back as well?" She asked.

Red glared at her. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"How am I supposed to know that? You didn't even think to tell me about your little meetings - of anything concerning her, really. I had to drag it out of you!"

"Because if I had come to you and told you about all of this before, you would've been so happy? Really, Lizzie, we both know that's not true." As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew that he'd made a mistake.

Standing up, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "So, you'd rather lie to me?"

"I never lied to you!"

"You did! You said that you don't even see the issue, but clearly you do, because otherwise you wouldn't have intentionally avoided the subject, and you just admitted that you did. So which is it, Raymond? Are you lying about not seeing the problem, or are you lying about the reason that you didn't want to bring it up?"

The tic under his left eye came to life as he, too, stood. "She isn't anything to me. You see, that's exactly why I don't share those kinds of stories with you. You expect me to be honest, but when I am, you act like a child. You can't have it both ways."

"So you choose to lie."

"I do not lie to you, damn it!" He replied in raised voice. "I don't talk about her because she means nothing to me."

"Then you can just stop seeing her!"

"I already told you that we have the same friends." Red told her. "Do you expect me to ditch my friends just because you don't trust me?!"

Liz was getting angrier by the second, but so was he. "No, I expect you to come clean and not hide your sexual adventures!"

"My sexual - just what the hell?! She and I were in a relationship! A relationship that started two years before I even knew of your existence!"

"So then why hide her in the first place, and more importantly, why have you already forgotten Valentine's Day? Or are you only pretending to have forgotten that too?"

"It's a stupid holiday and I don't need it to remember that I love you every day!"

She stomped her foot and scoffed. "I bet you told her the exact same thing, but I'm talking about the pictures, you idiot. The naked ones that she put on your desk for me to find, to drive a wedge between us because she. wants. you. back. It's either that or you put them there yourself."

"That is ludicrous."

"No, what's ludicrous is that you're perfectly happy to take pornographic pictures with her, and yet I had to beg you like a pathetic little pest to go into that photobooth today."

"Do I look unhappy in our photos? You clearly have issues, Elizabeth. You act like a petulant child whenever something doesn't go the way you want it to go and it's pissing me off to no end!" He yelled. "I'm not your damn babysitter. Get your shit together, because I'm sick of it!"

"Then leave!" She shouted back.

He took a deep breath and schooled his expression. When he looked back up at her, only the tic under his eye bellied his frustration. "With pleasure," Red ground out, ice cold. At that, he turned and left her yard without even looking back once.

As soon as she heard the roar of his engine, Liz fell to her knees with a sob. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks and she felt as if someone was ripping her heart out of her chest.

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When Red woke up the following day, he took a quick shower and then threw on some jeans and a plain white shirt. He walked downstairs to see his mother sitting at the table, sipping a cup of coffee. Making his way towards her, he gently kissed her cheek. "Good morning, mother."

"Good morning, honey. Oh, there's a letter for you," Helen said.

He turned to look at her, pausing in his movement of pouring himself a glass of orange juice. "A letter?"

"On the little table by the mirror."

Setting the box of juice back on the counter, Red walked over to where his mother had pointed and took the white envelope. The only thing written on it was his first name. With furrowed eyebrows, he opened it and took the piece of paper out, unfolding it.

'Ray,' he read, and his heart instantly began to violently beat in his chest. 'First of all, I would like to apologize for what happened yesterday. I never meant to throw those ugly things at you, and for that I truly am sorry. That being said, I realize that I'm not the easiest person to get along with, and I understand that you can't do it anymore.' What was she saying? Where was she going with this? 'You're right that my behavior is childish, and I would like to apologize for that as well. I do have issues, more than you know, and one of them is separation anxiety, I guess. I've tried and failed to control my emotions when it comes to you. I get jealous of every girl that talks to you or even looks at you, and I know it's stupid, but I can't help myself. I realize that I have to work on these issues, but it's hard for me to come to terms with sharing you. I love you so much. I don't think I could ever love anyone as much as I love you, and I was so afraid of losing you that I ended up pushing you away with my childish nonsense. I never meant to do that, never meant to give you the feeling that I don't trust you, because I do. I gave you my heart and you cherished it and all I did was punish you with my anger over the problems that have been developing for much longer than I care to admit. What we had will always be the most precious time of my life and I will miss you dearly. I hope you will find a woman that will cherish you the way you deserve to be cherished, the way you cherished my heart. I do hope you won't forget me though. Another selfish thought. I wish you the best in life, because you deserve it. I love you, Raymond, with everything I am. - Lizzie'. He was breathing hard by the time he had finished the letter and tears were clouding his vision, some dropping to the letter in his hands, smearing the ink. Was this goodbye? Some sort of a 'Dear John' letter? This couldn't be. That was not what he wanted, not at all.

"Raymond?" Helen called out upon hearing the hitch in her son's breath. His head turned to her and she swallowed hard at the tears on his face.

"Lizzie," he whispered, before he hurried out of the front door.

He drove to her house and knocked on her door. Over and over again, until it finally opened.

"Geez, Ray, what's going on?"

"Is she here?" The flustered young man asked.

Sam shook his head. "She left some time ago. I don't know where she went. Is everything alright?"

"I need to talk to her," Red said and hurried back to his car.

He was drove around aimlessly for about thirty minutes. He didn't know where to go. It wasn't like they had a special place or anything - he broke off his own thoughts as he remembered. They did have a special spot. The spot he had taken her to after the school dance. It was his only chance.

He spotted her as soon as he pulled up and immediately killed the engine, practically jumping out of his car. He almost ran towards her hunched for and dropped to his knees behind her, his arms going around her to pull her into his chest, as his mouth started peppering whatever part he could reach with kisses. She was sobbing, that part was clear and not only because of the salty wetness he could taste on his lips. But he was so relieved to have her back in his arms.

"Y-you deserve s-so much b-better," she sobbed.

"Shh, please don't cry, sweetheart," he said, his own voice shaking with tears.

"So much better."

"Sweetheart, you're everything I want. You're mine, all mine." He kissed her cheek again. "I love you so much and I don't want you to break up with me."

She sniffed and then released another loud sob, shaking her head. "You deserve someone better. Like, like Leslie, who's willing to have sex. I-I'm not ready yet and, and you shouldn't have to lower your sights because of me."

He sat down on his behind and pulled her on his lap, hugging her tightly. "Lizzie, sweetheart, sex without love is pointless, and it makes you sad. I don't love her. I'd rather be abstinent for the rest of my life than lose you." Red kissed the corner of her mouth and nudged her cheek with his nose. "You're the one I want. The one I want to marry one day, have children with. Children with your nose, your eyes, your hair and my... last name." Liz let out a mix between a sob and a laugh, before she threw her arms around his neck in a choking hug. "I love you, Lizzie."

"I love you, too," she whispered and he pulled his head back to kiss her soundly, before she gently wiped away the tears on his face. They stayed like that for a while, both enjoying just holding the other, until Liz asked, "What if I won't ever be ready?"

"Then we'll adopt," he replied immediately and she looked at him. "They'll have my last name at least."

She shook her head in amazement. "I love you so much," she told him. "And I'm so sorry for my issues."

"No, no, I should have told you before. But Lizzie, I just didn't think about it, because I care so little about her, that I simply didn't think it would matter."

She scratched his scalp gently and kissed his eyebrow. "Forgive me?" She asked, even though she knew the answer already.

"Only if you forgive me."

"Then kiss me already."

Red grinned and cupped her face in his hands, first brushing the wetness from her cheeks, and then finally kissing her like he wanted to.