Deceptive Appearences (MATURE/ADULT) *Kyle, Tess OPEN*

[isabelle]

*MAX*

Serena and Ms. Brennan come in and Liz straightens up a little. I almost frown, so sorry to have her pull away, but she doesn't go far. She's still wrapped in my arms, but just a little less initimately since we're no longer alone.

Serena's tone is pointed as she greets us, me in particular. I have a feeling she's not going to like this. It's not that she doesn't like me, but she's never really approved Liz and I being so close. Now I understand why. It's much the same attitude Isabel's had about me and Liz. The danger it puts us in. The risk for exposure.

"Hi Serena," I say quietly as she and Liz start to talk.

Serena was called to this meeting, but I'm guessing she didn't expect to see me. I wonder if she's guessed why I'm here. I decide it's best to stay quiet for now, as this is their secret. I'm the outsider. Without pulling her any closer, I keep my arm around Liz, letting her know I'm there to support her, whenever she needs me.

[KatnotKath]

OOC: hope this works for everyone

~Liz~

“It was ok I guess…but this meeting is in the way of my meeting with this guy from he gym class beside mine…so, what’s going on?”

Serena crosses her arms and looks at me and for a moment I can’t help wondering if it was this bad for Max when he had to own up to Isabel and Michael. I feel sorry for him if it was… This is just incredibly difficult. She’s my big sister…I’m the one that plays mother maybe sure, but she’s the older of us…even if only by a few minutes…

Her mention of the guy she wants to meet almost makes me laugh…almost… If I didn’t know my sister so well, I’d feel relieved, but I know she won’t allow herself to get as close as I have to Max… That’s why she tends to go out with someone for a few weeks and then move on before it can get serious… “I’m sorry to put a cramp in your social life then…” I comment softly wanting nothing more than to turn and bury myself in Max’s arms completely again to hide from that piercing gaze Serena has fixed on me.

Max has said a quick hi, but now he’s silent, presumably feeling that I should be the one to answer. He’s right of course, but that doesn’t make it any easier… At least I know that I have his support though…the feeling of his arm around me helps more than I can ever say. He knows the true me now, and he’s still there… There are no more secrets between us, we’re more alike than anyone would have thought, and yet at the same time different… This certainly isn’t a match anyone would expect…not that they would believe in what we were anyway, but it’s a match I know for certain is the right one for me. I said it to Ainsling earlier…Max is ‘the one’ for me… I don’t believe there will ever be another…

Taking a breath, I finally force myself to meet Serena’s gaze, refusing to be intimidated and cower. The same thing applies here as did with Ainsling… I need to tell her what I did, but I won’t applogise… After another moment, I open my mouth and begin to explain. “I made a d-decision regarding Max Serena… I couldn’t lie to him anymore…I just couldn’t… I love him Serena…I really love him, and I had to let him know the real me…” I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m meaning, and Serena does not look happy, but I have to press on and finish this. “I told him about me, about us…I told him about what we are…”

There, I’ve done it…I’ve told her what I have done… Finishing, I turn back to Max, slipping back slightly deeper into his arms, needing to feel his comforting embrace as I wait to see how my sister will react.

[Liz_Parker]

~*Serena*~


"You...did...what?", I say as calmly as possible.


She clutches to Max and I feel as if I could blow them apart in an instant.


"Liz you can't just make a lif changing descision like this! You have no right to tell him about us, sure he may act like he loves you but who knows if he really does? He's just another guy Liz! You don't have the right to come out telling everyone what we are. Something like this has to be discussed and not just thrown out. God what's wrong with you?!".

[KatnotKath]

~Liz~

“You…did…what…?”

Well she’s less than pleased, but that’s no surprise… At least she hasn’t completely blown up at me yet… Then again, from looking at her expression there’s still plenty of time for that… I want to look away, but I know that I at least owe it to Serena to face her. I know that what I did was unfair to her. I know that it was the right thing for me, but this was her secret too, and it’s not only me that has been exposed…

“Liz you can’t just make a life-changing decision like this! You have no right to tell him about us, sure he may act like he loves you, but who knows if he really does? He’s just another guy Liz! You don’t have the right to come out telling everyone what we are. Something like this has to be discussed and now just thrown out. God what’s wrong with you?!”

Throughout all this, as with Ainsling earlier, I don’t look away and I refuse to give any sign that I’m sorry. When my sister has finished, I continue meeting her gaze as I respond. “Nothing is wrong with me Serena…and yes, I know this is your secret too… But Max isn’t just another guy…I know what we have is real, and I couldn’t lie to him anymore.” I shake my head. “If you’re asking me to appologise for this, you’re going to be disappointed because although I know maybe it wasn’t fair to you, but it was the right thing for me to do.” I take a breath before addressing the last for her comments. “Whatever you might think Serena, I didn’t do this lightly, and I did talk to Ainsling about it. It’s just that I knew what I needed to do… She tried to talk me out of it yes, but the reasons she gave only made me more sure I needed to tell him…”

I look back at Max, feeling his arms around me tighten almost protectively. “I love Max! What we have is not some teenage crush or anything…it’s special, it’s important, and it’s too precious to me to have our secret destroy it. If you can’t understand that, well I can’t help you, all I know is that I needed to do this…”

[Liz_Parker]

~*Serena*~


I huff and glare at my sister. "I don't even know you anymore Liz....Everysince you started dating him you've been someone else completly", I shake my head and turn towards Ainsling.


"And you...what kind of guide are you if you don't even ask me if it's ok. No one understands anything anymore....all Liz is caring about right now is Max. But there are more people in this world then Max Evans and Liz Parker. Why don't you think about these things....from now on I don't care what you have to say because your just being a selfish little brat!", I turn and walk out of the room not caring what any of them may have to say...I don't even want to hear it right now.

[isabelle]

*MAX*

Serena's explosion wasn't completely unexpected, although I had hoped for something more controlled. I would have thought that the fact that Ms. Brennan had accepted it would carry some weight with her. Maybe make her think about it a little, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

"...he may act like he loves you, but who knows if he really does? He’s just another guy Liz! ..." she shouts, and I have to fight to stay calm. To remain seated. She's talking about me like I'm not even here. I knew she wasn't happy about Liz and me being together but this is much more than I imagined. I wonder what she says behind my back. With that kind of opposition, it's a wonder Liz dated me at all, never mind trusted me. My admiration for her goes up several notches, and then rises again as she refuses to rise to her sister's rants.

I tighten my arms around her as Liz tries to explain it to Serena, but I can see she's not listening. “I love Max! What we have is not some teenage crush or anything…it’s special, it’s important, and it’s too precious to me to have our secret destroy it. If you can’t understand that, well I can’t help you, all I know is that I needed to do this…” Liz says.

"And I love, Liz," I add in, wondering if Serena can even hear me. She certainly doesn't seem to see me. "This is something real. I won't betray her, or you," I promise her.

Neither Liz's words nor mine seem to have any affect on her sister. Serena even turns on Ms. Brennan before calling Liz a brat and storming from the room. Funny, seems to me it's her behavior that's more like a brat, throwing a fit just because something happened that she couldn't control. I know better than to point that out, 'though. I just stay were I am, offering what support I can to Liz as I look to Ms. Brennan to see what she's going to say about this. I don't know if one of them is going to go after Serena or if it would be better to let her cool off on her own.

[M]

~*AINSLING*~

Damnit! I really thought that was going to go better. I had hoped that Serena would be able to be more mature about this and allow for Liz to make her own decisions. I wanted to let them work it out themselve and so I tried not to step in but after her outburst I can't stand by any longer.

'Serena!' I sigh as she walks out the door. She pay's no attention and I'm not even sure if she's heard me.

Damnit! I rush after her- unable to just let her storm off, especially not after the way she spoke to me. I see her about 15 yards down the empty hallway, storming in the direction of the courtyard.

'Serena Parker! This discussion is not over. I would suggesst that you get back here- Now!'

I think about threatening her with talking to her father, or cajoling her with bribes or something but I decide that today is a new beginning. I have treated Liz like an adult- allowed her to make her own decision regarding Max and I told her I would support it. Now I'll let Serena make the same type of choice. It's up to her to see if she returns but she will have to bear the full consequences if she does not, and after the way she just spoke to me there are going to be consequences.

[isabelle]

*Max*

"Wow," I say in a hushed whisper after Ms. Brennan goes after Serena. "And I thought Isabel was upset about me getting so deeply involved with a 'normal' human. I didn't realize that Serena felt so strongly, too."

I shake my head in amazement. In spite of what she's done to try to keep us apart, I feel almost sorry for her. She's afraid for Liz or herself to be close to anyone. She shouldn't block herself off from something that could make her as happy as Liz. If she knew, then maybe she'd understand....

[Liz_Parker]

~*Serena*~


I roll my eyes hearing Ainsling yelling at me, I so do not feel like putting up with her right now. I just want to be left alone for a while.


'Serena Parker! This discussion is not over. I would suggest that you get back here- Now!' , I hear her yell at me and I turn around and look at her.

"Or what? ", I turn around challenging her and she walks over closer to me. "What can you really do Ainsling? You are not our mother....and I'm tired of being the only one who gives 100% to our cause.....Liz is now 100% involved with Max, and you can be a good little teacher......what are you going to do to me? Ground me from doing what you've crammed into my head since I was little?".

[KatnotKath]

~Liz~

“I don’t even know you anymore Liz…Ever since you started dating him you’ve been someone else completely!” Serena shakes her head and turns away from me angrily.

I knew that she wasn’t going to take it well, but I hadn’t quite expected a response on this scale. Maybe Serena is right…I have changed…but that doesn’t mean she’s not still my sister, or that I don’t still love her… It’s just that certain views I used to hold, well they’ve changed… I used to think I couldn’t let anyone really get close… Kyle and I dated sure, but it was on the surface, it was never going to get any further because I wouldn’t have let it.

That’s not saying that I dealt with it in the same way that she did…I wasn’t about to jump from one relationship to another, but I was ready to break it off at any moment should it become necessary… I guess that’s one of the things that has changed…with Max, even right from the beginning, I’d never have broken it off… The last few weeks since we started getting serious have been wonderful, but even when we were just starting to become something more than friends, I knew this was something I wouldn’t just be able to walk away from…

The thing is, I don’t know how to make Serena understand all this… It’s something that I’ve come to realise because of having met Max…I don’t know if it’s something that words can explain though…

Of course it would probably help if Serena knew about Max…at least she’d understand that he knew how to keep a secret… That’s not my secret to give though…I’ve already told Maria, and Alex… I know that it was necessary in both instances, but telling Serena is not on the cards unless something major happens…or unless Max, Isabel and Michael all agree of course.

Not that they will…and to be honest, I’m not about to ask them either…it should be their decision…not brought on by something I’ve said…

Swallowing hard, I try to block out the things that Serena is saying…I know that a lot of them are because she’s hurt…she doesn’t understand how I could do something like this without telling her, and perhaps she’s scared that she’s losing me…

Serena’s my sister, my twin…she’s a part of me I guess, but Max is different I have to admit. When we were younger I felt like Serena and I were part of the same person sure, but that was a long time ago and I don’t think it’s been true for some time… We grew up, we grew apart…we changed and developed, and we’re different people.

People often talk about twins sometimes having identity crises…especially identical ones… Well, Serena and I aren’t identical, but perhaps that is what happened a while ago. Serena started trying to show people she wasn’t me…and maybe it all started from there.

She’s still important to me, I’d never say she wasn’t… She’s my family in a way I don’t know if dad is even, but where as once she was all I felt I had, I have something more now, something just as important…my relationship with Max…

My sister storms out of the room, yelling at Ainsling and I know that there’s no point in me following her. Right at this moment in time, I think I will do far more harm than good. There’s only one person that might be able to calm her, and that’s Ainsling… I look over at her and see that she’s already standing to leave the room.

“Serena!” She sighs and walks out of the room after my sister, leaving Max and I alone in the classroom once more.

“Wow…and I thought Isabel was upset about me getting so deeply involved with a ‘normal’ human…I didn’t realise Serena felt so strongly too…”

I look up, hearing Max’s voice and bite my lip, resting my head against his chest, wishing that I would never have to leave his arms again. Sitting here, things seem bad, but manageable too…when I get up, I’m not sure what I’m going to do…

Serena has fought me about going out with Max right from the start… Maybe she recognised this was going to be something more than I had with Kyle, or maybe it was something else…I don’t know. I know that I’ve done my best to keep Max from realising though…we had enough trouble with Isabel as he’s just pointed out…the last thing I felt he needed was to hear about the opposition on the other side… I sigh and look up at him. I know that I’m trembling slightly. This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do… Slowly, I nod. “Serena’s never been happy about ‘us’…I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but with Isabel and Michael…” I trail off for a moment. “I guess I didn’t want to take the risk that you’d decide I was too much trouble…that ‘we’ weren’t worth it…”