Title: Goodbye, Farewell
Author: Reality Bites a.k.a. JR
Status: Completed!
Rating: YTEEN
Category: Conventional / Short Story
Pairing: Max and Liz
Summary: After the events of Destiny, Liz decides that she needs to be away from her friends and especially Max hoping to that in time they can both move on.
Disclaimer: The characters of “Roswell” belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, and 20th Century Fox. They are not my creation and no infringement is intended.
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Liz shuts the journal closed, the book falling down to rest on her lap. Wrapped in a light blanket the young scientist to be looks up at the night sky. Searching for answers she desperately needs to retain hold of her sanity. Not knowing the answers is something foreign to her. Well…it’s not the absolute truth.Journal wrote:It’s May 20th. I’m Liz Parker and my life has completely been turned upside down and not for the first time. It’s been a week. One week since I walked out on Max and the others leaving them in the cave. How could I have stayed? Knowing that she was his destiny, not me? No matter how much Max wanted to deny it, I couldn’t stand in the way of what was meant to be.
Ever since Max Evans saved her life what seems like ages ago the answers began to slowly slip away from her. Before her life was planned strategically. Graduate from high school with honors, attend Harvard University and obtain her degree in molecular biology. Now she can’t even seem to fathom how she plans to get through the rest of her existence without Max Evans let alone figure out which classes next semester would benefit her most for her chances with Harvard.
“I wonder if I can pinpoint the exact time I turned into an obsessive doting girlfriend and stopped being a logical thinker?” Chuckling sadly to herself she amends, “Make that obsessive doting ex-girlfriend.” She sighs tiredly; she needs to rediscover the logical Liz again. That Liz had all the answers. That Liz would not be wallowing in self-pity over a love lost. That Liz would be able to go on with her life and make it successful. That…
“Liz!”
She blinks at the harsh whisper of her name interrupting her inner tirade. Sitting up with her senses alert she searches about her balcony, only to realize she is alone.
“Liz!”
The voice sounds itself once again, causing her throat to clam up and her heart beat to increase to rapid proportions. She knows that voice. She craves that voice. “Max?” Liz asks warily, climbing off of her lawn chair to cross the balcony in order to reach its edge. Journal and blanket forgotten behind, Liz peers down into the alley behind her family’s restaurant. On its own accord her silky raven colored locks fold to curtain her face making it nearly impossible to see in the dim lighting of the May New Mexico night.
“Liz, can I talk to you? Please, it’s important.” Max pleads with the girl who has captured his heart years ago, the girl who can only look down at him from her terrace contemplatively. Should she torture herself by letting him come up to talk? No. She has to stop being the obsessive doting ex-girlfriend if she ever wants to move on. Logical Liz was back, and she would not let her leave again. Wearing her resolved face, Liz shakes her head solemnly.
“No Max I think you should go. There’s nothing more to say…there’s just nothing more to say.”
“I think there’s plenty more left to say. This has been killing me you know? Not seeing you. Having you cut me off…please; can we just talk for minute? Liz, please?” Max achingly tries once again to break pass Liz’s barriers, hoping against hope that she’ll finally talk to him. Convinced that if they’d just talk about what happened in the cave he could fix things and everything can go back to the way it was before. Before Nasedo. Before Tess. Before Destiny.
“Max…I…” How could she say no, when his words were filled with such anguish that mirrors her own? Part of her begins to wonder if they can make it work despite destiny, if they can actually be together and not let their love get in the way of Max’s responsibilities to the people of his planet. “Come on up.”
Where is your resolve woman? Liz says mentally chastising herself for having such a weak resolve. She steps back as Max quickly climbs up the fire escape ladder without any hesitation. It doesn’t take a full minute to pass by before the tall and somewhat lanky teen is standing on the balcony hovering over the smaller frame of Liz.
Nervously they smile at each other, neither sure where to start now that are finally meeting face to face after what happened just a week ago within the pod chamber. Stuffing his large hands into the front pockets of his jeans, Max takes the first step by initiating the conversation.
“I’ve missed you.”
Liz bites her lips, she can’t go down this road with him again, “Max…” she says his name in a warning tone, “If that’s all you came here to say…I can’t…I can’t do this with you then. I only invited you up here so that we can try to get pass this tension and just be friends again.” She lies. Well half lies. She wants to be friends with him, but the truth is inviting him up to her balcony allows her to pretend just for a moment everything between them is normal.
“I can’t just be friends with you Liz Parker…” Max tongue darts out to lick his dry lips, the moisture making the cool night air attack his mouth to rob it of its wetness. He pauses for just a few slight seconds before going on, “We can’t be friends…not after knowing what it’s like to be more than friends with you. I don’t understand how you can just walk away from that. What we shared. Didn’t it mean anything to you? Did you lie when you said you loved me?”
Her head shakes quickly in response to his questioning of her love for him, “God no…Max. I meant it. Every word. Every kiss. I do love you.”
“Then why are you pulling away from me? If it’s because of Tess, I don’t want her. She’s not you and she can never be you. No one can ever be as good for me as you are. No one Liz…” Pulling his hands from his front pockets, Max reaches out to cup Liz’s face. Just as his skin touches hers, Liz flinches and jumps back, unable to let Max touch her.
“Max stop. You’re making this hard for me.” She looks away from the boy she's grown to love with all her heart. Tears form within her soft doe eyes, threatening to break free at any given moment. Although she tries to gain control over her emotions, her tears make due on their threat and begin spilling down her cheeks.
“I’m trying to do the right thing here. I’m trying to give you the room you need so that you can become this…king you’re destined to be.” Finally she looks at Max, staring into his amber colored eyes. “You were sent here so that you can one day have the chance to save your people, to return to your mother. I can’t stand in the way of that. I won’t stand in the way of that. And I won’t let you allow me to stand in the way of that.”
“Screw the right thing! Liz please…”
“I’m leaving tomorrow.” Liz abruptly says cutting Max off from whatever new plea he is about to make to her. The boy blinks, not believing that such few words could tear his already beaten heart into more pieces.
“What?” Max asks, hoping he just heard her wrong.
“I’m going to Florida to stay with my aunt. I have to get away from you.” She informs him, intentionally giving the allusion that this move may be permanent. Maybe, just maybe by the time she does get back for school in the fall Max will have already moved on and accepted his destiny.
“Don’t do this Liz…don’t leave me. I don’t…God Liz…please. We can make this work. I know we can. I know we can…I know we can.”
Biting on her lower lip she can only shake her head in counter to his hope that they can be together and somehow not delay or derail his responsibilities. She knows she has to stay strong, she couldn’t live with herself knowing that she is the reason Max turned his back on a entire race of people. It wouldn’t be fair, no matter how anyone spun it.
“Max you need to go now, before my mom or dad comes to check on me and finds you here.”
Furiously he shakes his head, “No.” Reaching out he cups Liz’s face inside his larger hands. Pulling her close Max kisses her feverishly, hungrily, and passionately. If he can just remind her of what they shared, make a connection…somehow he’d able to convince her to change her mind. Little does he know, Liz's growing wall around her heart prevents such a connection from ever taking place.
Liz doesn’t know what to do. Taken off guard by the kiss, she fights him for the briefest of moments before falling into it. Her small hands grazed up Max’s sweater clad back, crawling upward until they entwined themselves in his short mane. Her fingers ran across his scalp, holding on for dear life as she continued the kiss that simply took her breath away.
Realizing what she is doing Liz releases her hold of Max and breaks their kiss, pushing away from him. Her hands fly up to cover her mouth as she backs slowly away from the alien king, shaking her head in remorse for their uninhibited actions. “Max…goodbye.”
“Liz…”
“Goodbye Max!” She shouts, dropping one hand to her side and using the other to point to the escape ladder. “I don’t want you here anymore. If you can’t respect me enough…if you can’t love me enough to adhere to my decision then just leave. Maybe I was a fool thinking we can be friends so soon after…maybe one day, but not now. Max I can’t be around you anymore. Now you need to leave.”
“But Liz…”
“Now Max! Before I get my parents.”
Max opens his mouth to reply once again, but he can find no words to provide an argument. Solemnly he turns and walks to the escape ladder, and begins his descent down into the alley, but before he is completely gone from Liz’s line of sight he pauses. “I won’t say goodbye to you Liz…I’m not going to give up on us. I’ll give you your space, but you can’t run from me forever. We’re connected.” Pausing, he licks his drying lips once more buying time to think of his final words to the love of his life.
“I’ll just say farewell for now…and I’ll see you at school next year. Cause I’ll wait for you Liz Parker. However long it takes...I’ll wait for you.” And with those parting words, Max disappears from sight heading down into the alley below as he starts on his journey home.
Liz herself simply crumbles down into a heap, sobbing away into the night. She thought walking away from Max at the pod chamber was the hardest thing she’s ever done in her life. She was wrong. Tonight, saying goodbye to him was the hardest thing. But she feels it is for the best. Time apart will do them some good, it’ll give them both time to heal and move on.
“Goodbye, farewell…” She whispers between sobs as she cried until she could cry no more.
<center>The End</center>
