Title: A Tale Of Two Bodies
Author: Alysia
Category: Conventional couples, cannon to the show.
Summery: This story is based off the Holiday challenge posted at Roswell Heaven, but the actual concept is mine. What if Max and Liz were to switch bodies? What kind of wacky hilarity could ensue from that?
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters familiar to Roswell.
Author’s Note: I’d like to say that I’ve never before written anything cannon to the show, so this is a little new to me. I apologize ahead of time of some of the characters seem a bit out of character.
Chapter 1
“Hi Max...” Liz Parker trailed off as she rushed to catch up to her former boyfriend, acting as though she felt no shortness of breath at having to catch up to his long strides. Since the bell signaled only minutes earlier, he was one of the first people out of the classroom. Not that Liz could blame him.
Christmas break was upon them, around the school, students and even the staff were more anxious to get out of there then usual.
Hearing her voice, Max Evans slowed his pace. “Oh...hey, Liz.” He tried to smile, but the lame attempt fell short. Why didn’t she understand how much being around her still hurt him? Sure, he may have been the one to approach the idea of being friends, but he never would have suggested it had he known how much it would hurt.
A frown pulled at her lips at hearing the way he trailed off. Things had been so uncomfortable between them since his return from New York. Whenever they were in the presence of the other, conversation was always strained...as though they were walking on eggshells around the other person. Liz hated what they were reduced to.
Back in the beginning when everything was so new she and Max were so connected. There was a silence there, but it was never uncomfortable. No, it was the sort of silence that laid between a couple when they knew each other so well that no words were needed to communicate. It was a such a simple thing, but now that she no longer had it, she wanted it back. So much time had passed since then though, Liz feared that they would never have that back again. Aside from the time that had withered away at the connection, there were the misunderstandings...no, she knew there was no way that Max would be opening himself up to her anytime soon.
Pretending that she was affected by his lackluster reply, she pushed on. “So...how do you think you did?” She asked, referring the last exam he’d taken.
They’d all had so many situations to deal with over the past few months, it was amazing that they were all still passing with the grades that they were. “Oh, uh, good...I think.” He was at least thankful for his ability to scan. It made his school work much easier to accomplish. “You?”
“Oh...I...good,” Liz answered with difficulty. She better have done well, she’d studied her butt off for that exam.
“Good.”
“Yeah...” Liz trailed off that they continued to walk down the hall together, another silence settling upon them. ‘There were definitely too many ‘goods’ in there,’ Liz thought to herself with a small pout. “So...what are you guys up to for the holiday? You guys going out of town or anything?”
“No...” Max replied easily enough.
That was it? That was all she was going to get from him? Opening her mouth to say something else, he cut her off.
“Listen Liz, I have to go. I’ll see you around,” he excused gently.
Once again, she frowned. “Yeah...around.” Cutting through the masses, she made her way to her locker to make sure that she wasn’t leaving anything important in there over the break. So busy with her thoughts was she, that Liz failed to notice that Maria joined her.
“I so passed that class!” The over excited blonde exclaimed.
Slamming her locker door shut, Liz looked at Maria. “Oh? That’s good.”
At Liz’s less then enthusiastic reply, Maria raised her eyebrows in silent question. “Hmm, judging by your reaction, I’d say you either failed your exam or you just had a run in with a certain tall, dark, and handsome someone...”
At the mention of Max’s description, Liz frowned once again as she turned to her best friend.
“And...judging by the look on your face, I’m gonna go with the latter on that one,” Maria surmised quietly. “What happened Liz?”
“Nothing.” Liz answered softly.
At her friend’s denial, Maria raised her eyebrows in silent question. “Nothing? That doesn’t look like the face of a nothing,” she observed smartly.
Looking away, she and Maria made their way down the already thinned out hallway. “Really Maria, nothing happened. We talked,” she finished off with a sigh. “I just hate this...distance between us.” She spotted the object of her affection further down the hall. He was surrounded by his sister Isabel and Tess Harding. Max and Isabel were often seen together those days, being so out of the loop, Liz could only guess that whatever distance that existed between them before, was now dissolved. As for Tess, that was a new development. Ever since she and Max returned from New York only those few weeks ago, she was more clingy to him then ever before. “I mean he came back in time to me, because he specifically stated that he trusted me...and now, he just...can’t even stand to be with me for long periods of time.”
Since her confession weeks earlier, it wasn’t the first time that Maria had seen Liz so down on herself where Max was concerned. As much as she would have loved to help her friend through it, she knew that there was no talking to Liz. No matter what would be said, it would all be in vain, because Liz would never listen to her. “None of that today,” she ordered instead. It was their first day of winter break, and she wouldn’t let Liz focus on the bad side of things.
Letting out a sigh, Liz nodded. “I know. I’m done being...depressed, I’ll focus on the good side of things.”
“Exactly...like, no school for two glorious weeks,” Maria reminded her.
Liz had to agree with that point. She was more then eager to catch up on her sleep. The last few months had really taken a toll on her, it wasn’t until that very moment that she realized just how tired she really was.
“So...ladies,” Alex Whitman began as he approached his best friends, wrapping an arm around their shoulders from behind. “What’s on the agenda for tonight?”
Liz’s mood instantly brightened upon his arrival, but as she thought about her answer, it lessened just as quickly. “Work.”
Alex’s eyebrows were drawn together in confusion. “Work?” He asked, as though it was a foreign concept. “Our first night of winter break and you have to work?”
“I know!” Maria whined along with the point.
Looking from Maria to Liz, Alex focused his attention on the brunette. “I thought you had an in with the owner?” He joked.
As the three friends walked down the nearly empty hallway, Liz rolled her eyes at Maria. “Hey! I got us off for midterms,” she reminded her overly dramatic friend in an indignant tone. “And...if I’m remembering correctly Maria, you didn’t have a problem agreeing to those terms when I spoke to my dad...”
Maria pouted. Liz had the memory of an elephant. “But that was then...” she argued weakly.
Alex and Liz smiled at her antics. “Something tells me that you’ll survive,” the brunette replied. As they emerged into the parking lot, the three parted. Alex, towards his car, as the girls headed to Maria’s to get to work.
Opening the driver’s side, Maria called out a goodbye to Alex before getting in.
“Have fun at work!” He responded cheekily, smirking at the look on her face upon hearing his words.
Opening the passenger door, Liz turned back to him. “You stopping by tonight?”
Alex made a show of hemming and hawing over the question. “I might...”
“You might?” Liz asked back. “Well, don’t let us be an inconvenience to you or anything,” she teased.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
With fifteen minutes to spare before closing, a silent prayer shared by Liz, Maria and Michael Guerin went out. The last thing any of them wanted was a customer to pop by.
Throwing her upper body dramatically down onto the counter, Maria pouted. “Today has gone by so slow...” she pointed out. Other then the dinner rush, the restaurant had been surprisingly calm that day.
“Yeah. It’s a conspiracy against you. Everyone knows how much you hated working, they just avoided coming in to add to your nerves,” Liz teased.
Looking up, Maria rolled her eyes. “I just want this night to be over,” she whined, not for the first time that night. Seeing that they’d had a break from customers, Maria and Liz and even Michael had a chance to get their closing tasks done early, but time still seemed to drag on.
Just then, the bell at the front door sounded, announcing someone’s entrance. With bated breath, both waitresses spun around in horror. Relief was swift when they spotted Tess Harding making her way to the booth where their friends were sitting.
Max and Isabel arrived at the Crashdown a hour earlier, both nursing a couple of sodas. When Alex walked in only minutes later, he joined them. The three had been a source of entertainment for the staff, but it hadn’t been enough to make the three workers forget about the time.
As Tess made her way to the group’s usual booth, she slipped in beside Max and joined in the conversation.
Liz watched the scene, less then thrilled at the newfound ease that existed between Max and Tess. When exactly was it that they grew so close? So what if he asked her to go to New York with him a month earlier, it didn’t mean anything...did it? She watched through narrowed eyes as Max and Tess moved their heads closer together, and Tess lay a hand over his own, so focused on the scene playing out in the booth, Liz didn’t even notice when Alex approached her and Maria.
“Liz?” He asked feeling concerned for her. “You okay?”
When Max threw his head back and laughed at something that Tess said, her frown intensified. “I think I would have preferred another customer,” she mumbled as she turned from her friends and walked to the back.
Looking from Liz’s retreating figure, Alex and Maria turned to one another. “Why is it so cold in here?” He asked, referring to the mood that Liz was in.
Looking over his shoulder, she looked to Tess, haphazardly realizing that Max didn’t even notice Liz’s departure. “I’ll give you two guesses, you’re only going to need one,” Maria answered as she spun around and followed after Liz.
As Maria departed, Alex spun around and looked at the inhabitants of the booth he had just left. Max’s gaze was focused on the doors that lead to the back room as Tess and Isabel continued on with the conversation. Alex looked from Max’s form to the back door as well where Liz had just disappeared to and back again. He watched as Tess called his name once and dragged Max’s attention back to the conversation.
What the hell was going on? First those rumors about Liz and Kyle Valenti sleeping together circled through the school gossip...and now Max and Tess were getting closer? There was something that just felt off about that entire thing. First of all, Alex was sure that he was an excellent judge of character. He had known Liz for years and he knew without a doubt that she would not just give her virginity to a casual friend...let alone Kyle Valenti. When the two dated before, they never even got that close, so he highly doubted that Liz would let something like that happen between them when their status was decidedly lower then that. As for Max and Tess...she had been after him for months without any results. Other then the brief time that she messed with his mind, Max never once responded to one of her advances. Even with Liz absent for the entire summer, he never even wavered.
Liz had been acting so out of character. Hearing the rumors of what had taken place between his best friend and Kyle, Alex was sure that it could be a blow to Max’s ego, but to turn to Tess for comfort? No, maybe he was just being friendly...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Can you believe her?” Liz ranted as she thought about Tess. “I mean she just walks in here and acts like she owns the place and...did you see the way she was touching him?”
Maria watched as Liz paced in front of the couch. Sitting back on it, Maria never bothered to anything, knowing that Liz didn’t expect a response.
“How could he be so...argh! With her!?”
Having had enough of it, Maria stood up and grabbed her best friend, bracing her upper arms in her hands. “Hey! What do you expect Liz? You made this happen,” she argued. “Did you expect him to pine after you or something?” Based on the facts that laid before Max, she knew that Liz was lucky that nothing further had developed between Max and Tess at that point. “Max thinks you slept with someone else, so...looking at things from that way, you have no claim over him.”
Liz let out frustrated sigh. “I know all that Maria!” She cried out desperately. All of those facts had crossed her thoughts at one time or another. “I know what I did, you don’t need to remind me.”
Before another word could be spoken, Michael popped his head in through the swinging door that led to the kitchen. “Hey, you two are getting pretty loud. Things fine back here?” He asked, looking from his on again/off again girlfriend and Liz.
Both girls shot one another a long look as they visibly relaxed. “We’re fine,” Liz replied shooting the alien a look.
“Good. Get back out there, someone’s ready to pay,” he added before moving back to the kitchen.
Looking back to Liz, Maria silently moved to the door. She knew that Liz was done for the night, there was no way that she would be going back out there while Max and Tess were still there. “Look, this is obviously making you miserable. I just...you need to really sit down and think about this Liz. I know you promised him that you would take care of things...and you’ve already succeeded in changing things,” Maria broached carefully. “I mean, if you were to...confess everything to Max, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“How about the end of the world?” Liz shot back with a weary sigh. She couldn’t do that, she couldn’t get together with Max. If they got together, he’d never have the chance to do what he needed, no...they had to be apart. Even his future self thought so.
Maria shook her head. “Screw the world,” she argued. “What do you want Liz?”
What did she want? It didn’t really matter what she wanted, that had been shown to her time and time again. “It doesn’t matter what I want.”