Okay, seriously now, I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting. This part wasn't easy to write and my muse kept nudging me to work on WTRBTF. Then there was that pesky little tax law exam...Before I forget again, I realized that I forgot to mention this when I updated WTRBTF the last time. I actually won some awards over at the Crossover Fanfiction Awards. I won Best Author of a Crossover, Best All-Around Dark Angel Story for "Don't dream it's over", Best Lead Portrayal of a Character for Liz Parker in "When the Rain begins to fall" and Best Supporting Portrayal of a Character for Kyle Valenti in "Don't dream it's over". Hehe.
I don't want to post the banners here since they will suck up lots of bandwidth but you can check them out on my site (under Fanfiction/Awards) or on my work by author thread.Anyway, thanks for the patience. To answer some questions...
polar vixen, I'm glad you liked the part and that you liked Liz not pushing Alec but him wanting to open up. It took me some time till I decided how I wanted that to play out and it's good to know that you like the path I chose.
Zevrillion, I'm so happy that you think the talk is realistic. Writing the conversation gave me headaches. It was really difficult for me and I'm glad that the end result turned out okay.
Keri, hehe, that's an interesting way of putting it...what does happen and what doesn't. You'll just have tow ait and see.
And Alec is on his way to realizing that Liz is in it for good and that she won't run away because of who he is. After all, she loves him because of who he is.Frances, hope that joy and bliss lasted till now, lol. I'm glad you liked the part and I'm thrilled that you thought it to be touching.
Sam, I'm glad you think this is making up for the first few parts where they were apart. That was part of the purpose of these last parts, and a few of the next ones will have the same purpose. Ah yes, Alec never does quite manage to do what he actually wants to do, or rather what his mind tells him to do. I guess love makes you do unrational things, follow your heart, all that shit.
WomanofMystery, I haven't read a lot of fics that really dealt with Alec's childhood either so I wanted to go into that. The childhood is a very formative time for every person so it had to have a huge influence on Alec, especially seeing what kind of childhood he must have had. And I figured it would only be natural for the transgenics left behind to resent the ones that had escaped because Manticore became so much worse afterwads. I agree, Alec keeping the stuff about Ben from Liz is probably not the smartest thing to do, even if it is understandable why he is so hesitant to tell her that. Thanks for the wonderful feedback!
Elf3748, they will go to Seattle at some point, not sure when though. I don't think Max will come to Roswell. She's a city-girl.
Someone becoming a peeping tom? What a shokcing thought. 
Gioia, getting the readers to feel sick about those psychos at Manticore and what they did to the kids was sort of the point, so I'm glad I succeeded. And I'm glad that my built-in DA introductory course is working.
Hehe, Incredible doesn't even begin to describe the kind of man Alec is. You have to mention the word "drool" at least once to do that, hehe. Erin, 5:30 in the morning?
Wow. I feel deeply humbled. I don't think I could ever quite get myself to leave feedback at such a daytime. Jensen Ackles is just...earthshattering, hehe. Yup, I know that he'll be on Smallville. I just have to finish that darn third season, then I can start watching S4. Very much looking forward to it. Anyway, I'm glad you liked DDIO and I hear you about the Ferris Wheels. I'm not a big fan of heights and I just want to kill people when they start rocking the damn thing. Don't they know that falling down a few dozen feet isn't exactly good for your health?Hehe, I would have ditched the rest of the day too if a guy like Alec had come to get me...literally.
Him shoing up at lunch time would have been interesting but I'm glad you liked the way I ended up having it too. And yes, Kyle definitely needs himself a woman. And he deserves it too after everything the writers put him through. I understand that, you being a dreamer, some parts were hard to read. Max behaved like a huge prick in the end of S2 and this is post-S2, so I couldn't really see him going back to the nice, sweet guy from S1. But maybe I should warn you, the following part has more of that...lots more. Would it help to know that I'm definitely going to try and make Max likable in the end? Some people just have to hit rock bottom before they struggle to climb out of the hole they've been digging for themselves.
I definitely didn't want Liz denying her feelings for Max. First of all, that would make zero sense and second of all, if she hadn't loved him he wouldn't have been able to hurt her so badly, something I wanted and needed in this story.
The explanation parts were definitely hard to write and as a rule, I tend to jump over them too, but here I really wanted to bring out the reactions to everything they found out about the other and that wouldn't have been possible by just summarizing it quickly.
Hmm...the timeline. I think so far, I have very successfully managed to avoid dealing with that stuff, lol. But I would say that DA is simply pushed back in time. How the pulse works into that...no idea. I guess I'll just leave it to the readers to figure that one out for themselves.
Glad you liked the confusion about who is what and how it came out. The thing with Liz & Kyle and Alec & Jondy assuming that they were all the same was actually the basic idea of this story. And yes, Mandy is a pretty cool aunt, isn't she?
lyra, ha, you don't think I'll forgive you for that, do you? My wrath will be endless!
Hehe, Alec is rather silly, doubting Liz like that, isn't he? But he'll learn...eventually. Hehe, and yes, that is one hell of a tradition. I'm glad you liked the bonding moments of the scene. And the parts are still too short? Woman, you're killing me! Will try harder next time. elfangel01, you think I'm amazing? Aww...how sweet of you. Ass-kissing normally makes me post quicker, sorry that it didn't work out this time. But you can try again! I'm sure it will be better the second time around.
Glad you liked Liz being jealous of Max and that the talk got to you. That's the biggest praise a writer can get. Ladeia3, hehe, sorry for leaving you hanging. I tried to make the end as non-cliffhnagery as possible. Guess I didn't quite succeed, huh?
I'll try to update quicker next time.Nikki, Alec is definitely an adonis...sigh. And I'm glad that you think the talk was damn near real. The whole converstion gave me such headaches...good to know that the end result was worth it. And no, sadly there was no adonis in Greece that would have been worth hooking up with.
And since you mentioned it, one revealed stalker coming right up! And crying is just evil...I can't stand to see my poor, tortured readers cry on top of everything else I put them through. Here's the next part (also because cobwebs are *so* unbecoming), just stop crying...please? Sara, Liz and Alec doing naughty things?!
I am shocked? Why would you ever think that? Very happy to hear that you found the part touching. It wasn't, by any chance, inspiring as well? Yup, Alec definitely needed to open up to Liz. More opening up is required and will be coming, but it may take some time.Jillian, glad you like the story. To the age question, Liz will be turning 18 soon. I made Alec approximately 21 when Manticore was bruned down so now he is probably 22. The thing is, with the transgenics not celebrating their birthdays, it's hard for them to say exactly how old they are. Liz is a few years younger but with everything she went through, she is definitely "older" than her age. Besides, four years isn't that big a difference in my eyes.
Lindsey, since you asked so nicely, here's your update
...almost three weeks later. Uh, gotta work on that...burningchaos, sorry for putting you through withdrawls. Didn't mean to, I swear I didn't!
(does this smile look innocent enough?)Thanks for all the wonderful bumps and once again, sorry for the delay! I'll try to get the next part to you sooner. The exam went pretty well though btw, so thanks for the pity. It did suck big time, also because it was at 6pm. Really...what kind of time is that for an exam?
And to those who mentioned it...I know that the towel has *got* to go, and if I could I'd make it disappear but first of all, I'm not that good at manipulations and sadly, I don't have any pics of the original
and second of all, I think the mods would have a problem with a towel-less avi. Anyway, enough rambling. Here's the next part, hope you like!
Part 11
Michael couldn’t believe he was doing this, hiding in the bushes like the next best stalker-pervert, spying. Okay, technically he wasn’t hiding in the bushes. He was simply standing behind them. Same difference. He was still behaving like some sick voyeur who got off from watching others getting it on. Not that anybody was getting it on…yet.
He sighed heavily, casually pushing a branch down that was blocking a part of his view.
Who was this guy? Liz obviously knew him. There interactions just screamed familiarity. Looked like they were arguing, fighting. People who don’t know each other don’t argue, not like that. Michael knew only all too well that there was only one thing, one emotion, that could spark the kind of fierce passion he saw in both of them. Love.
And now they were kissing. Oh shit. Okay, looked like he was right.
Had Liz really gone and fallen in love with someone else? Now that was sure to burn Maxwell’s ass. Glancing over to where his ‘king’ was hiding in the bushes confirmed that. Michael had strategically positioned himself somewhere where he could see both Liz and Max, far enough away to not be noticed, close enough to be able to interfere if it became necessary because Max just had to go and do something completely brainless and stupid. God knew that chances of that happening were high enough.
Despite seeing only Max’s back, Michael could tell that he was furious. The rigid stance, the clenched fists. Hell, he was practically trembling with rage.
A small part of Michael felt sorry for his friend but the other, much larger part said ‘Screw sympathy’, knowing perfectly well that Max had brought this upon himself. He hardly deserved any better. If he was honest with himself, Michael was actually glad that Liz had moved on and not come running back to Max like they’d all expected her to do. He’d always known that Liz wasn’t good for Max and, as it had turned out, Maxwell was good for her even less.
The way he had treated Liz after Alex’s death…even Michael, who held no illusions and knew better than anybody else that Maxwell wasn’t the perfect little angel the rest of the world seemed to believe him to be, even he would have never thought that Max could reach the level of cold-heartedness and cruelty he’d displayed towards Liz, the girl he claimed to love more than life itself.
His behavior last spring, his refusal to acknowledge the possibility of Alex’s death having been murder had been dangerous, for all of them. But instead of realizing that and trying to redeem his ways, Max just seemed to drift farther and farther into the deep end the more time passed. Michael didn’t want to know what it would take for his ‘king’ to finally wake up. Look how far he’d already fallen. And there was no end in sight as far as Michael could tell. Spying on his ex. Seriously. Could Max be any more obsessively stalkerish, bordering on criminal?
The way he was constantly following her around, always trying to force her to talk to him, to get her to listen to his asinine arguments and declarations of love, practically demanding that she come back to him…Max’s behavior was starting to alarm Michael. Like earlier that day at school. Not only had his anger towards Liz been totally unreasonable and over the top, he’d gone as far as grabbing her, using force when she wouldn’t oblige and submit to his wishes.
Michael of all people knew how easy it was to get angry at someone despite the lack of a justifying reason, especially if you cared about the person, but he could never in a million years imagine grabbing someone. Violence appalled him and it was unsettling to see how different Max’s views on that subject seemed to be. True, Liz had been able to handle herself, but how far would Max go? How far would he take this? And would Liz still be able to handle herself then?
Michael wasn’t planning on finding out. He was going to have to find a way to stop Max, knock some sense into him. But the way things looked, he didn’t have a lot of time. He wished Max hadn’t found out about Liz and her new guy so quickly. Michael had suspected it, even before he’d stumbled upon that scene in front of the school a few hours ago. Maria had hinted at it a few times and something in Liz’s eyes when she’d mentioned the ‘friend’ from Florida had told her that there was more to it than simple friendship. A lot more. What was his name again? Kyle had mentioned it. Alex? Adam? No. Alec. Right. His name was Alec.
At least Michael had been there when he’d shown up, reacting quick enough to get Max out of there before he too figured it out. Under the pretence of needing a ride, he’d dragged him towards the jeep. Max had claimed that he was on his way to the UFO museum and so Michael had told him that that was in his direction anyway. The UFO museum was practically right across from the Crashdown and Michael had somehow doubted that Max hadn’t planned a detour to nag a certain brunette waitress.
He’d hung back, watched and sure enough, Max had headed straight to the Crashdown. He’d watched the café for a while but nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be going on and so he’d left, deciding that staying was pointless.
It had been by chance that he’d caught Max sneaking out after Liz and Alec a bit later on, following them to the park, spying on them. With his recent track record, Michael hadn’t dared to leave him alone. Who knew what insane thing Max would do next? Especially when he finally realized what exactly was going on between Liz and Alec.
Besides getting violent, there was also the possibility of Max using his powers and therefore exposing them all – to Alec and anybody else who happened to come by. Not a chance he was willing to take. If it did happen, he would have to be there to take care of the mess.
Michael realized that the two lovebirds had finally stopped swapping spit and were leaving. And Max was of course following them.
Michael groaned inwardly as he too followed Max and subsequently, Liz and Alec. Why couldn’t Maxwell just take the hint? First Liz had left for the whole frikin’ summer, not taking any of his calls, not replying to any of his emails. He should know. Max had done nothing but whine and bitch about that all summer.
Why won’t she talk to me, Michael? Why isn’t she answering any of my calls? I can’t make it right if she won’t take to me, Michael. I know we’ll work this out, get past this, but she’s being so damn stubborn. It could all be so easy. Should I call her again, Michael? It’s only been two hundred fifty billion times.
Geez, Maxwell, no idea why she’s not talking to you. Maybe because you treated her like shit, slept with her worst enemy and got the murdering whore pregnant? Now really Liz, why are you still so hung up on that?
Now she was back, ignoring him and publicly sucking face with some mysterious stranger she seemed awfully comfortable with. Even a blind man could see that Liz Parker was over him and moving on. Why couldn’t he just accept that and let it be? No, instead he had to go all stalker on her, in turn forcing Michael to follow example to make sure he didn’t do anything insanely stupid and dangerous. Sometimes obligation really sucked.
~*~*~*~
Max couldn’t believe what he was seeing. How could she? How dare she? Letting some asshole grope her – in a public place no less – taking advantage of her, making a fool out of him. How could she do that to him? Didn’t she know how much she was hurting him? Didn’t she know that she was ripping his heart out?
He and Liz…they belonged together. They loved each other. That hadn’t changed. That couldn’t have changed, could never change. Their souls were intertwined, connected. They were bound to each other for eternity. Wasn’t that what they’d promised each other? To love each other till the end of days?
And now she was kicking what they had, the love they shared, with her feet, just out of some skewed sense for revenge. He knew that sleeping with Tess had been a mistake. She was a murderess after all. How often did he have to tell Liz that until she believed him? Why couldn’t she just get over that, let go of the past? Her holding on to that was what was keeping them apart, what was standing between them. Why couldn’t she see that?
And now this. He’d been insanely jealous of Kyle only yesterday, but now he realized that nothing had ever been going on between Liz and Kyle. How foolish of him to believe that. Liz had never felt anything for Kyle, it was always him that she’d wanted, even back when she and Kyle had been dating. How silly to think that had changed, that she could suddenly want Kyle instead of him.
After she’d stormed away from him again earlier that day in front of the school and suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, he’d been sure that Kyle making out with that brunette chick had been the reason for her abrupt stop, for the shock so clearly evident on her face. But now, thinking back, he realized that there had been someone else there, someone standing next to Kyle and his conquest. The guy Liz was kissing?
He wasn’t sure. He hadn’t bothered to look and Michael had dragged him away before he could take in the other guy. And of course, because of Michael he also didn’t know what had happened next. Just like him, he figured. Michael had the worst timing ever.
So he’d gone to the Crashdown, knowing that Liz would be working that day. He’d just wanted to make sure she was okay, comfort her in case Kyle had hurt her, make her see that he was the only one she could trust. He could already picture her reaction…she would hesitate, then hug him, kiss him, maybe cry a little, telling him how sorry she was for hurting him by staying away for so long, by not talking to him, by pretending to be with Kyle. And he would of course forgive her and everything would be the way it used to be.
He’d hardly noticed the guy talking to Mr. Parker, joking around with him, other than to note that he’d never seen him around before. He was always wary of strangers, but Mr. Parker had known him so he’d assumed that he was a relative or something. Nothing to worry about.
Until Liz had stepped into the diner, that is. She’d once again frozen, her eyes going wide. And the stranger had turned his attention to her, all but dragging her out of the diner.
Of course Max had followed them. He had to make sure that Liz was alright, didn’t he? That was his duty. As her boyfriend, her protector, her soulmate. It had, he told himself, nothing to do with the fact that Liz hadn’t even as much as acknowledged his presence. His hurt pride was not the main motivator here. He was really just trying to look out for Liz. She wasn’t seeing clearly right now. She needed him for that.
After all, the guy was obviously taking advantage of her. He wasn’t even her type. She liked dark-haired guys. Shy, mysterious, brooding guys. She wanted someone who was romantic, who would anticipate her every wish. Someone who would bed her on roses, serenade her, bring her flowers. That’s the kind of guy she wanted and that’s the kind of guy he was. They fit together so perfectly.
He knew that, deep down, she knew that as well. He would just have to convince her of it. Girls wanted guys to fight for them, didn’t they? He knew that he’d damaged some of the trust between them by turning to Tess, but he also knew that he could repair that. He just had to show her that she could trust him, remind her of all the reasons she had fallen in love with him in the first place.
A plan was beginning to form in his mind. He would send her flowers – white roses of course, write her love letters, leave her little presents in her room. She liked stuffed animals, didn’t she? Maybe he could serenade her again. She’d looked so happy when he’d done that last fall, gazed down at her so lovingly. He was sure that Mr. Delgado from the hardware store could teach him some other Spanish love songs. And then everything would be like it used to be again.
Max was so caught up in his thoughts, so focused on making his plans, he almost missed Liz and that jackass turning to leave the park. He frowned, forcing himself to wait a minute or two before following them. There weren’t a lot of people on the streets and nothing to hide behind, so Max had to hang back a bit to ensure that they didn’t notice him and that he stayed out of sight.
They went back to the Crashdown but instead of using the entrance of the café or the apartment door they climbed up to Liz’s balcony. Max reached the alley just in time to see them disappearing up the ladder. His mouth all but dropped open.
She was taking him to her balcony?! How could she? That was their special place. They’d had most of their most romantic moments up there. Their first kiss, the time he’d told her that she was his dream girl…true, he couldn’t really remember that but what difference did that make? And now she was tainting it by bringing him there? He rushed into the alley, reaching the ladder just in time to hear Liz’s window slide open and the distinctive sounds of someone climbing into her room.
Okay, this was too much. Not only was she taking him to he balcony, she actually had the audacity to invite him into her bedroom? Since when was Liz so easy? What the hell was she thinking?
A part of him wanted to storm up there and break up whatever they were doing, to tell Liz that she’d had her fun with her “revenge” but that enough was enough and that he would no longer tolerate these childish games. But at the same time he didn’t want to reveal that he’d been following her. Liz would probably be upset about that. He didn’t want to give her a reason to be mad at him again. What she didn’t know didn’t hurt her.
Just when Max had made up his mind to screw that and go up there and do what he had to do anyway, he heard voices, one of them Liz’s. It sounded like she was back on the balcony. He managed to scramble behind the garbage cans just in time to not be detected. Risking a glance, he realized that Liz had changed.
He was such an idiot. Of course Liz hadn’t taken him to her room for that. Liz would never betray him like that! He should have known. How silly of him to let jealousy cloud his good judgment.
And yet she was leaving with him, he suddenly realized, his mood once again darkening. They were already at the end of the alley, turning back onto Main Street. With a huff he crept out of his hiding spot and followed them. They walked across town, reaching one of the better hotels in Roswell fifteen minutes later.
Max was stunned when he saw them go into it together. So she was that easy after all, he thought bitterly. How could she behave like this? How could she go to a fucking hotel room with him? And how dare she act all high and mighty about him sleeping with Tess when she was no better?
Minutes, then hours passed, the stunned hurt intensifying by the second, anger soon enough joining it when it became clear that Liz and the jerk were not coming out again any time soon. Rage was beginning to consume him. He had never thought that you could hate someone you didn’t even know as much as he hated the guy Liz was with. What were they doing, he wondered, the hurt growing stronger. Were they really there for that? A part of him didn’t, couldn’t believe it, but the other part was convinced that it was true. Why else did you go to a hotel room in the middle of the afternoon?
The anger once again took over and he wanted to lash out, to make the person responsible pay. Not Liz. She was obviously being manipulated, used. He was taking advantage of her. What other explanation could there be?
And for that he would pay. Oh yes, he would. The guy had no idea what he was getting himself into. It wouldn’t be long before he regretted ever coming to Roswell in the first place. He wouldn’t get away with using Liz, with making him look like a fool.
When Liz and the jerk finally emerged from the hotel, the sun was already setting. It took every ounce of Max’s will to not rush forward and take care of it then and there, especially when he saw Liz’s mused hair, her rumpled clothes.
What the hell had they been doing?
But he knew it was better to wait, to catch him when he was alone. There was really no reason to drag Liz into all of this, to have her there when he made his point clear to that jerk. It wouldn’t be pretty and she was better off not knowing anyway.
But he wasn’t about to stop looking out for her now. They were heading back towards the Crashdown and while Max assumed that he was taking her home, he needed to make sure. He needed to know that Liz arrived at home safely, that the guy wouldn’t do God knows what to her.
If he hasn’t already done it, he thought darkly.
tbc
A/N: Sorry that it wasn't the lake-scene.
That's in the next part. 
And he will understand that Liz has gotten over him and fallen for someone else...eventually. That will take some time though. Alec kicking Max's ass is coming right up.