Unbreakable - A Beautiful Lie (AU M/L ADULT) COMPLETE 5/5/17 + A/N 5/5/19

[keepsmiling7]

I am officially hunting you down after leaving us there.
Okay.......they'll have sex, and what........where are YOU?

That was such an interesting conversation between Isabel and Liz. She did have good wisdom, and don't we really want to eliminate the risk of Sean bonding with Liz?
And gentleman Max knew the results, but didn't want Liz to feel forced upon. Come on Max, hurry and make Liz safe from Sean.
They'll work out everything else later!
Thanks,
Carolyn

[begonia9508]

Wow! That was hot and I loved Liz's reaction to all of this crap which is on her shoulders and you can't blame her for at least, prefering to have sex with the boy she is in love with! Before having to sleep with the snake!

And maybe, Liz already showed that she is more than her mother was obvsiously so who knows if Isabel was right, at the end, about her theory of Max and Liz's together forming something the aliens never saw b4!

Looking for more and thanks - Have a nice w-e! EVE

[Morning Dreamgirl]

I don't know if I should post already after that cliffhanger (and lord only knows what the next one will be like) but maybe it'll help to encourage you to not be too hard on us mere humans with the next chapter.

I agree that Michael doesn't appear to be heavily involved in Max and his relationship with Liz. I'm pretty sure Max would want Michael to stay away from Liz given Michael's view regarding humans. Plus it sort of supports the first chapter where Isabel stepped in as Michael was intimidating Liz. (That whole Isabel watching out for Liz any time Max isn't there thing.) But given that Max has been punished so much lately Michael knows that something more is going on than he's been informed of by Max. And, even if he won the stupid award of the year, after the scene in the cafeteria he'd start putting things together. Given that he wouldn't exactly approve of Max and Liz it'll be interesting to see how he starts to play in to everything. (Though I don't mind you not giving him an entire chapter - I can think of other things your readers are anxious for. )

Sean can't be happy about the cafeteria scene either. Not only was he not able to control Liz but she might as well have sent out a flare stating that she was still attached to Max in some way. Even if it had nothing to do with the bond he knows something is going on and he wasn't able to override her will. Let's hope he doesn't think Isabel somehow unblocked Liz's memories or removed his influence on her. Otherwise she'll be punished like Max was.

I'd say I'm interested in seeing what happens with Sean now but I'm not. Unless it involves him dying in the next thirty minutes. I'd even give up the satisfaction of tossing him in the back of the bus if he just dropped dead in the next half hour.

Speaking of Isabel - she's something else. She's putting herself out there for Max and Liz more than she's put herself out there for anything and you can tell how hard it is for her to do it. Her attempts to put her mask down might not have gone as well as it could have but given the emotional strain she's under and the anger that she knows her brother will feel towards her if/when he finds out what she's done... It's surprising she was able to put her mask down at all and/or didn't start crying.

If Isabel is getting involved now then she knows how close Max is to the edge. If it was just a matter of finally believing him she could have found any number of ways to get the information to Liz that would reduce the chances of Max finding out she was involved. (He'd probably still have his suspicions, but he wouldn't be able to confirm it very easily.)

At this point she's gotta be kicking herself. From her point of view she's made things worse, not better. And now her brother is definitely going to be after her head. As much as he might love her and be close to her she's interfered in something he never wanted her to interfere in. I think it'll actually work out for the best but for awhile it's really going to shake the trust that Max has in her. Which really bites given that he doesn't have a lot of people (basically no one except for Isabel) that he can trust. So now, when he needs council the most, he'll probably not get any because he's being too hard headed about the situation.

But you can see it from his point of view as well. Max, more than anything, wants Liz. And he wants all of her. The fact that the only time he looked close to crying (being when he said he didn't want her to sleep with him just for her own survival) shows just how much this entire thing is tearing him up. It's definitely not the way he wanted this conversation with Liz to go. In some ways it's sort of a karmic justice though. He kept information from Liz (which hurt her) and once that information came out it hurt him. She was obviously hurt as well but now he's most likely going to completely ignore the fact that she wants him for him and struggle to accept that she isn't doing it just to save her skin. Though she partially is and, let's be honest, so is he.

However, beyond the hope for survival, they've been circling this for awhile. Maybe everything is happening fast but they're both intimately aware of how the other feels in regards to loving each other and (to some extent) their desire for each other as well. Add the pressure of Sean (or any other military person for that matter) trying to get to her and it just adds fuel to their fire.

Let's hope that at the very least Max can realize that Liz is taking a bigger risk sleeping with him than she is by sleeping with Sean. Yes, Max won't erase her mind but there's a very good likelihood that his society will kill them both. (Though maybe not. Isabel didn't have a strong reaction when Liz mentioned that as a possibility. Maybe an unbreakable bond holds some kind of protective status as well?)

Still, at least with Sean Liz would for sure be alive for awhile longer even if not herself. (Obviously I don't think that's the preferable alternative but to each his own...) But she's willing to risk it - risk a life with Max - versus a life for sure without him. Think Max will somehow come to this conclusion all by himself in less than 12 hours?

My curiosity about how a bond is formed in the usual way growing more and more. If it was just due to actual intercourse then Michael would be going crazy with the buzzing of different girls in his head (given that bonds are broken when a female changes male alien partners). Plus it's not common for normal humans to bond with aliens period. So for the ones that are bonded to them, there had to be something that happens during the actual intercourse that creates the bond. And it would explain why Max uses language that differentiates it from "normal" sex. But Max, being trained in all things human and alien health, would know how to create a bond. A very strong bond as he understands just how far certain limits can be pushed. I imagine other aliens wouldn't know how to create deeper ones if they aren't medically aware of which limitations can be pushed and which can't.

And - one last observation about their (possible) double bond - if it's stronger (even ignoring Max's medical knowledge) wouldn't that mean the effects of it would be stronger? Like their need to protect each other, loving each other, cherishing each other, procreating - all of it would be stronger if they create a stronger bond. So that'll be interesting to see how they fight against some of those side effects. I don't think Max and Liz had plans on starting a family at sixteen.

And, no, I didn't forget about Liz in this chapter.

You wrote her perfectly. If her connection to Max was still open he's probably have fallen off his chair with the strength of her emotions before she even entered the cafeteria. Her pain, confusion and rejection (as well as her anger) were so well placed in every scene that it was beautiful to read. (And her interactions with Max - as someone else already mentioned - hot! Even if they were yelling at each other. Maria's right. They should just get it over with already...)

Let's see how you fix this. No pressure.

Ahem... Batter up!

[L-J-L 76]

So sorry for bothering you will you please please please please come back and post more really really really really soon? I can't wait to find out if Liz and Max will sleep together and bond. And survive Sean, Sean's father, Mr. Evans and alien race.


From:
L-J-L 76

[max and liz believer]

I've returned ahead of my regular posting schedule to give you the next chapter, to try and buffer some of your... "annoyance" with me I'm not sure it'll help, but at least it's another step forward.

But first, *claps hands* listen up everybody. I just want to clarify something, because mezz raised a valid point that might be a question mark for a lot of you.

How had she not seen this though. I'm a bit stumped. Max has told her repeatedly that the bond is usually made through sex and that is the way to make her unviable for Sean. I suppose that with everything going on she didn't think clearly. Hmmmm ok.

As Max has told Liz, there are two ways to create a bond with a human. Through sex or through healing. Sex is the most common way since healers are very rare. Obviously, Liz knows this, but she was under the impression that creating a bond was an "all-or-nothing"-deal. In other words, once you'd already bonded you couldn't "bond again" with that same person - in a way, adding on bonds. Her bond with Max was made through healing and, as far as Liz had understood it, sex with Max wouldn't affect the bond. It would remain - in strength and quality - as it had been created through the healing.

Max also informed Liz at one point that a connection could be broken, by changing sex partners. Now the assumption is that even though the M/L-bond was created through healing (and not sex) it can still be broken by sex. This is however only when the alien/hybrid changes sexual partners. The human cannot affect the connection.

Are you still with me? Are you seeing the "problem" here?

Max has to be the one to sleep with someone else for the bond to break. In other words, Sean should not be able to connect to Liz as long as Max doesn't "stray" There you have the weak point in Max's argument. He tells Liz that she needs to break the connection (which he should know that she can't, because she's human), so that Sean won't notice that Liz is bonded (hence, protecting her). However, for some reason, Liz is able to "pause" the connection, momentarily succeeding in what Max was hoping for - hiding their connection from Sean. But were Sean to actually try to bond with Liz (through sex) he wouldn't be able to. Even if Liz had done her part of the deal and concealed her connection to Max.

But still Max pushes for this option. This "solution". He should know that it won't work. That it's not an option. So why does he push for that option?

How had she not seen this though. I'm a bit stumped.

Liz didn't know that there was a possibility that a bond could be strengthened by connecting through an additional "method". So it's not that she wasn't thinking clearly. She thought bonding was a simple manner of "turning on or off" a switch - not turning the volume button as well. And as far as she knew, the switch was switched to "on" already (and apparently that wasn't enough to save them from Sean and the set rules of the alien society) so there was nothing else they could do about this.

And they still don't know if this is a possibility or not. Max doesn't know if there is such a thing as "double-bonding", as Isabel so conveniently phrased it. And the reason why he didn't supply it as an option when discussing it with Liz is because he wanted that "method" of bonding to be on her terms. She never had the chance to decide if she wanted to bond with him through healing - which might permanently have "chained her" to an alien - which Max thought was bad enough. He wants her to have a right to a free will, having watched her being examined against her will and having her mind erased time and time again during her childhood and up until just recently.

Just to clarify further (in a summary);

• Max was not allowed to bond with Liz, but needed to to be able to heal her.
  The bond is considered unbreakable because only Max can break it (for instance, by sleeping with someone else).
  Only Max can fully see into Liz's mind and "control" her (if he had wanted to), as Philip Evans eluded to when he couldn't access Liz's mind to erase it.
  Sean believes that Liz is not bonded with anyone and therefore aims to bond with her through sex. If Sean sleeps with Liz, he won't be able to connect to her (because Max is in the way).
  Both Liz and Max can "hide" their connection by putting up walls around their minds and hence "pause" the connection. This means that Sean will be able to use his powers on Liz (mindwarp + mind erasing) as long as her connection to Max is not in full power, both making Liz vulnerable to Sean but at the same time protecting her because Sean will (for now, anyway) believe that he has access to her mind but that he's just having troubles getting all the way through because she's fighting him.
  Sean cannot read Liz's mind. He can wipe it without reading the actual memories, just going by how old the memories are, but the walls she puts up to pause the M/L-bond is also protecting her innermost thoughts. The thoughts that would reveal her relationship with Max to Sean.

Okay, I just made myself dizzy. Did you get all of that? Otherwise, just ask. Things are still unraveling in this story. There are still many questions that will be answered. So if I can answer the question without revealing some major point in the story, I'll do it.

Now, onto individual feedback

Ashley (Morning Dreamgirl) - I was actually surprised to hear that you read my feedback to your feedback first

Sean was definitely not too happy about what happened in the cafeteria. I mean, he completely failed to keep Liz's attention and not just that, she brushed him off to go and fetch Max. That's not a good move... But Liz was angry; who can blame her?

Maybe, to prevent disaster, Sean should drop dead in the next 30 minutes...

If Isabel is getting involved now then she knows how close Max is to the edge. If it was just a matter of finally believing him she could have found any number of ways to get the information to Liz that would reduce the chances of Max finding out she was involved. (He'd probably still have his suspicions, but he wouldn't be able to confirm it very easily.)

She's taking on that desperate tone that Max seems to have lately as well...

At this point she's gotta be kicking herself. From her point of view she's made things worse, not better. And now her brother is definitely going to be after her head.

Maybe. Or Max will be occupied by other things

But you can see it from his point of view as well. Max, more than anything, wants Liz. And he wants all of her. The fact that the only time he looked close to crying (being when he said he didn't want her to sleep with him just for her own survival) shows just how much this entire thing is tearing him up. It's definitely not the way he wanted this conversation with Liz to go.

No. Yelling at someone that they should sleep with you is probably not the way to go. But as you mentioned before (concerning Isabel), Max is at his last straw, which is why he's exploding to the right and left. And he's probably just a tiiiny bit plagued by guilt. For not having completely informed Liz of what was going on. But maybe he didn't see any other option.

Still, at least with Sean Liz would for sure be alive for awhile longer even if not herself. (Obviously I don't think that's the preferable alternative but to each his own...) But she's willing to risk it - risk a life with Max - versus a life for sure without him. Think Max will somehow come to this conclusion all by himself in less than 12 hours?

Hmmm.... Maybe?

My curiosity about how a bond is formed in the usual way growing more and more. If it was just due to actual intercourse then Michael would be going crazy with the buzzing of different girls in his head (given that bonds are broken when a female changes male alien partners).

Haha, funny. This would probably have forced Michael into sudden celibacy, having to feel a bunch of women's feelings all day long. It might explain his mood, actually , but the most logical thing would probably be that the aliens have some control over who they bond with. More on this later...

And - one last observation about their (possible) double bond - if it's stronger (even ignoring Max's medical knowledge) wouldn't that mean the effects of it would be stronger? Like their need to protect each other, loving each other, cherishing each other, procreating - all of it would be stronger if they create a stronger bond. So that'll be interesting to see how they fight against some of those side effects. I don't think Max and Liz had plans on starting a family at sixteen.

Quite possibly everything would be heightened. Maybe they'd be able to read each others' thoughts - not just emotions - without having to be in physical contact with each other. About starting a family; I would believe there are contraceptions that would work against that Otherwise aliens would be overpopulating more places than just Roswell by now.

And, no, I didn't forget about Liz in this chapter.

You wrote her perfectly.

Thank you

Thank you so much for that long analysis It made me think and reflect, as usual.


Helen (Roswelllostcause)

How in the hell can you leave it there?! Jo that is just not right! Get back here and let me know what is going on!

Sorry..? But I'm back a day earlier than usual. That has gotta count for something, right?

Thank you


mezz

Interesting way to play seductress

Yeah, maybe she shouldn't make a career out of it...

Thank you for the feedback, and for bringing up an important point


L-J-L 76

Will Max try to be romantic and caring before sleeping with Liz?

Of course he will. If they actually do end up sleeping together, he'll take good care of her. He loves her.

Thank you for the feedback! And the bump


Carolyn (keepsmiling7)

I am officially hunting you down after leaving us there.
Okay.......they'll have sex, and what........where are YOU?

I'm right here. You can cancel your flight. No need to hunt me down I hope...

Max knows a lot more than Liz (or we) do. Hopefully that'll be good for something. Thank you for the feedback!


Eve (begonia9508)

That was hot and I loved Liz's reaction to all of this crap which is on her shoulders and you can't blame her for at least, prefering to have sex with the boy she is in love with! Before having to sleep with the snake!

Everyone's first time should be with someone they care about, right? Definitely not one you're afraid of and/or hate.

And maybe "double-bonding" would lead to a powerful connection that has not been seen before... Thank you for the feedback, Eve


From FORTY-THREE:

”Then what?!” I practically screamed and pushed my hands out to the sides. ”What’s standing in your way?”

”Your right to a free will,” he snapped. ”Your right to a normal life with a…” he swallowed tightly, ”human.”

I rolled my eyes and he squared his shoulders. ”I have no free will. No prospect of a normal life. Probably already within 24 hours I will either have sex with you or with Sean.” I glared at him in challenge, observing his face paling. ”Who’s it going to be?” I took a deep breath as he didn’t reply immediately. ”I’m voting for saving my life here.”

”Fine,” he snapped and towered above me, his pupils dilated to the maximum. ”Let’s have sex.”

”Fine,” I flared.

”Fine,” he yelled back, turned on his heel and without another word disappeared inside the school building.

The second the door slammed behind him, I bent forward at the waist, putting my hands on my thighs and tried to inhale.

What the hell had just happened?

____________________________________

FORTY-FOUR

I’ll pick you up tonight.
I’ll let you know when I’m outside.
- Max

So, he had finally gotten hold of my number. Or maybe he’d had it this whole time. And now, with his text, I finally had his number. It was really a wonder that we had gone this long without exchanging numbers. But maybe that was just part of Max’s ’cover’ or whatever. He wasn’t really supposed to know me all that well, so why would he have my number in his phone?

I stared at the message, nervousness striking through me like hot lightning. He was serious. He had been serious.

He intended to have sex with me. Tonight.

Of course, I had to break down the message and analyze the meaning of every word, every letter. But there wasn’t much to analyze. His text message was straight to the point and very factual.

I had gotten used to Max’s ever-changing moods, so our heated exchange earlier didn’t really surprise me. But still, I was worried that he was still angry. My worst fear was that he was going along with this just to spite me; shut me up or something. Or that he was just saying what he thought I wanted to hear in the heat of the moment. That he wasn’t agreeing to do this because he wanted to, but out of some type of obligation.

Dark doubt was clawing at my heart and the further the day proceeded, the worse I felt. My insides were curled up so tightly that I felt like throwing up. My lack of appetite these last couple of weeks was making my body almost succumb under the extra strain of my emotions.

I had trouble concentrating and giving concrete answers when Maria drilled me for information after lunch. I had, after all, announced that I was in love with Sean and she wanted an explanation. She also wanted to explain that Sean hadn’t tried to help me in that boys’ locker room, but had tried to force me into doing things I hadn’t necessarily consented to.

My answers were vague, mumbled behind the shadow of a hand pressed to my head, feigning a headache to get her to back off. I didn’t have to fake the nausea or the fatigue, though. They were very much real.

By the end of the day, a large majority of my nails were bitten down to the quick, my jaw was aching from me subconsciously clenching it, and I felt like I had entered menopause as my body flushed while my mind wandered to Max’s body - a naked body - only to a second later chill as my insecurities took over and nausea became prevalent again.

Who made an appointment to have sex anyway?

I had never understood those people who would voluntarily decide to lose their virginity on prom night. A fixed date. Several weeks - months even - knowing what was going to happen on that exact night.

Turning sex into a date on the calendar was a stupid idea. Stupid stupid. So much time to worry and fret, get nervous, insecure, feeling awkward, embarrassed mortified and scared.

Mostly scared.

I was experiencing all the natural human fears a girl might have about losing her virginity. Would it hurt? Was I ready to show myself naked and let him touch me, perhaps in ways I hadn’t even touched myself? Would I be enough? Would he be disappointed? How would (could) I satisfy him?

But I was also plagued by unnatural human fears. Because I was about to have sex with an alien. Would we be compatible (well, it had worked for Max’s parents, so…)? Could I catch something from him? Could he catch something from me? Would anything weird happen during the act? Powers going haywire?

Maria interrupted my semi-nervous mental breakdown by coming up behind me as I was walking out of the school building and hooking our arms together.

”Can we hang tonight?” she asked, winded.

I swallowed. No, Ria. I’m busy. I’m losing my virginity tonight.

”Sorry,” I whispered, the ground feeling wobbly underneath my feet. ”I’ve got plans.”

”Oh,” Maria mumbled and her eyes were searching my face. I wondered if she thought I had plans with Sean, but instead she asked me (rather hopefully), ”With your dad?”

I hesitated, before nodding. ”Yeah.”

”Good,” Maria said, not disguising her relief very well while tightening her hold on my arm. ”You two need some quality time.”

I nodded, my agreement faint. ”Yeah.”

”Are you okay?” Maria asked then and I refrained from rolling my eyes. Damn. Why did I even try to hide my emotional status from my best friend?

”Because you’ve been acting really strange since you pulled Max out of the cafeteria,” Maria continued and frowned, a remnant of her anger from the run-in with Sean earlier briefly shading her face. ”And I’m sorry, but I’m not letting you off the hook about Sean. You really need to explain to me what’s been happening. I’m getting the feeling that he has some kind of hold on you. Does he know something? Something he’s using to blackmail you with?” She frowned at her own monologue, not noticing my nervous swallow. ”But what would that be? It’s not like you lead a secret life or anything…”

She paused and I felt her eyes burrowing through the side of my face at my continued silence. ”You’re really pale, Lizzie.” She hesitated, and I could almost feel her bury her anger and her demand for answers about the Sean situation, before she added tentatively, ”What happened between you and Max?”

I was relieved that she seemed to have dropped the Sean topic, even though the topic of Max wasn’t really a safer option.

”What did you talk about?” Maria asked.

Another piece of my heart was breaking off as I watched the lies in my life stack up in front of me. ”Sean. Isabel told me that Max doesn’t like Sean and it really upset me.” I glanced at Maria’s open face, swallowing back the bitter taste in my mouth. I knew my friend well enough to see that she wanted to comment on that - most likely to agree with Max - but for some reason she held her tongue.

I seized the opportunity presented and I rushed on. ”He has no right to have an opinion about Sean, you know. He barely knows me. I had to talk to him about it; set him straight.”

There was an apparent struggle of wills on Maria’s face when I peered at her. What was she thinking?

I imagined her asking more about Max and our talk. I anticipated her picking apart what I had just said and demanding that I explain it.

Instead, ”I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so mad,” Maria mused contemplatively.

I covered my surprise with a shrug. ”Max crossed a line.”

Maria narrowed her eyes. ”But Max has helped you out. A lot. At that party, when he took us home. He even carried you to the car.” She paused for a second, before, ”Alex told me that you had told him that Max has helped you when you’ve been mourning your mom.”

I turned my eyes to the ground and mumbled past my nausea, ”I was hoping that we could be friends, I guess. He has been there for me, but I’m not looking for anything else but a friend in him.”

”And he wants more?”

My heart clenched painfully at the tentative hope in Maria’s voice.

I’m actually agreeing with your insinuations, Maria. I don’t want Sean. I want Max.

But I had to keep up the pretense, in case this whole thing with Max didn’t plan out, and I was forced back to sharing my future with Sean.

It was already looking suspicious with me loving Sean one second, then vehemently disliking him the next before going back to being in love with him. I couldn’t very well jump straight into saying that I was actually deeply (and irrevocably) in love with Max Evans.

”Yeah,” I whispered instead.

We had reached my parked car and I fished the car key up from the side pocket to the backpack, while Maria asked, confused, ”Why Sean? What’s so great about him?”

A nervous flutter accentuated the chronic nervousness of the day and I focused on putting the key in the lock to avoid looking at Maria. ”He’s just…great.”

Lame, Parker. Lame.

”Great, huh?” Maria asked, irritation lacing her voice.

I got the door open and turned to Maria. ”I’ll talk to you later, okay? We’ll get together and do something.”

She took my brush-off in stride and nodded emphatically. ”Yes. Our girlfriend quality time has been seriously compromised lately.”

”Yeah,” I whispered while overcome with a sudden deep sadness, and surprised myself by reaching forward and pulling my best friend into a tight hug.

Fighting tears, I mumbled into her cinnamon-smelling hair. ”Love you, babe.”

The shock was clear in her voice as she got a reply out, ”Love you too, chica.”

It felt like I was being wrenched apart. The need to speak to her, to let her know about aliens, about the true nature of my mom’s death, about Mr. Evans, Isabel and Michael, was crushing me.

I needed to talk to my friend about everything that had happened lately. I needed to talk to a girl about everything only a girl could understand.

Mostly I needed to talk to her about love. About Max.

If possible, I would have killed to have her with me this afternoon, supporting me in my panic about having sex for the first time. She could have helped me pick out the clothes, helped me with make-up, hypothesized what it would feel like, and talk me out of my nervousness until we would be squealing happily about the fact that I was about to have sex with Max Evans.

Instead, I released my hold on her, quickly brushed a traitorous tear off my cheek, before jumping into the car.

Maria was looking at me oddly as she said, slightly dazed, ”See ya.”

”Yeah,” I replied quickly and closed the car door.

*****

The towel was wrapped tightly around my trembling body. My legs and armpits had been cleanly shaved, and I had spent a fair amount of time frustratedly trying to figure out if I should shave my nether parts in some way or not.

Who knew this stuff?

Now I was in front of the full-sized mirror, my long hair wet and smelling strongly of the strawberry shampoo I loved. I found my reflection biting her lip and stopped, leaning closer to the mirror to scrutinize my face. I critically assessed the shape of my eyebrows, the faint scar tissue between my eyebrows from a biking incident when I was little, the soft bend to the bridge of my nose and the pinkness of my lips. There was a visible flush on my cheeks and my chocolate-colored eyes were bright and shiny.

What did Max see when he looked at me? Did he find me pretty?

I looked over at the chest of drawers where I kept my make-up. Should I put some on or not? Would it look like I tried too much if I did? Would he be disappointed that I hadn’t tried hard enough if I didn’t?

God.

I understood then why I had never bothered to date.

Too much effort. Too many insecurities and self-doubt.

Making sure that my bedroom door was closed, I let the towel drop, looking at my naked shape disparagingly. My shoulders were slender, sprinkled with the tiny freckles and the occasional dark mole. I bit my lip thoughtfully as I looked at my small breasts. Guys wanted big, right? Would he be disappointed?

I forced myself to move on before I became completely afflicted, passing by my small waist and my flat stomach (where my wound had healed quite nicely), across the gentle flare of my hips, to briefly pause at the patch of hair between my legs, before I traced down my slender but short legs.

On instinct, I put my arms over my chest, feeling vulnerable and exposed standing like this. Even if I was the only one looking.

Well, soon it would be one more.

I sighed, feeling more down than before and retrieved the towel from the floor to wrap it around me.

Max hadn’t provided me with a pick-up time. So I was stressing out that I would be dressed and ready for too long (making me start to sweat in my clean clothes or something) or not dressed at all.

Once again, I looked in the direction of where I kept my make-up, and consequently jumped as the distinct ’pling’ from my phone announced the arrival of a new text message. Turning around, I grabbed the cell phone from its position on top of the bed covers and my heart immediately went into overdrive, my semi-clad body flushing uncomfortably, as I saw the name of the sender.

It was oddly intimate to read his words wearing only a towel.

Sean’s sitting in his car outside the front of your apartment.
You had a date tonight, right? It’s been taken care of.
I’ll pick you up around the back. Use the fire stairs.
Be careful. Please.
- Max

My pulse roared in my ears as I was instantly much more stressed than before. He was already here!

Shit!

And I hadn’t even decided what to wear yet.

My stress over getting ready distracted me from feeling any worry about the fact that Sean was outside my apartment and stopped me from mulling over what Max had meant when he said that he had ’taken care of’ my other plans - with Sean - for the evening.

Instead I sent Max a message containing a short ’Give me five minutes’ before diving into the drawer of underwear, trying to find something that could be displayed to a man’s eyes without making him lose interest.

At the bottom of the drawer, I had shoved a pair of never-been-used lacy white underwear, given to me by Maria about one year prior. She had done so with the intent of making me reclaim control of my love life, hinting that I should have them ready ’When the time comes.’

I had been a bit embarrassed at the time, scoffing at the gift and being all cocky about me not wearing that kind of underwear. I was all about comfort, wearing mostly cotton, and I had informed Maria that I would never put something else on just to please a guy.

I grimaced and pulled the underwear out, let the towel drop to the floor, and pulled the fine and thin material to my hips.

Now, look at me. Falling for the general norm of what guys wanted. Maria would have a field day.

I even owned a lacy bra, from when I had attended one of my mom’s friend’s recent weddings and I had to wear a cream-colored dress. My bras were generally plain cotton or comfortable sport bras, not the delicate piece of fabric I was currently positioning around my breasts.

Spotting my reflection in the mirror, I paused, almost thinking I looked kinda…beautiful.

In a girly, innocent kind of way. I almost rolled my eyes at myself.

I inhaled deeply, gathering my strength, and turned to the wardrobe to pick out a pair of jeans and a light blue sweater. Simple. And it didn’t look like I’d tried too hard.

I retrieved my cell phone from the bed, put it in my handbag, and was almost out the door when I caught my reflection in the mirror again and noticed that my hair was still wet.

I rolled my eyes at myself and sighed loudly. I quickly plugged the hairdryer in and four minutes later, my hair was dry and I was late. Just before leaving the room I gave in and turned back around, pulled out my mascara and applied a thin layer to the upper lashes.

Grabbing a thin jacket, I hurried past my dad, telling him to ”Don’t wait up.”

”Where’re you going, honey?” my dad asked, picking this time to become conscious of his surroundings.

”I’m meeting a friend. I might spend the night.”

That wasn’t really a lie.

My dad frowned, "It's a school night."

"We have an exam coming up," I said quickly.

I wondered if he would let me leave, considering the danger I had been in not too long ago which had landed me in the hospital.

But after a brief silent argument with himself, he nodded his consent. ”Okay. Do you have your phone?”

”Yes,” I smiled. ”Don’t worry. I’ll be safe.”

Max will protect me. He has secret alien superpowers.

The thought warmed me from head to toe and the smile on my face was genuine as my dad’s eyes turned softer. ”Okay, honey.”

”Love you,” I said and opened the front door.

”Love you,” he countered just before I shut the door behind me.

At the end of the hallway outside of our apartment door was the exit to the fire escape. It was easier than I thought to get out there. I had never climbed a fire escape before. I saw Max’s car in the shadows behind the apartment complex and my nerves hit me full force.

It was like I had never met him before. Like this was our first meeting. I was feeling awfully awkward and wanted desperately to be somewhere else at the same time as I felt like I was exactly where I wanted to be.

He stepped out of the car as I reached the bottom of the stairs and leaned back against the side of the vehicle, crossing his ankles lightly as he stretched out his legs in front of him. He was dressed all in black. Black jeans hugged his lower body, a black T-shirt hinted to the tonicity of his upper body underneath and a black leather jacket added danger and mystery. His eyes burned brightly through the darkness of the night as he watched me approach.

All of the sudden, I was shy. He was exuding sexuality, his gaze almost painfully intense, as he raked his eyes slowly down my body. I felt like I could explode. Right there, right then.

But my body could do nothing else but cover me up in goosebumps.

”Hey,” I said quietly.

He slowly pushed away from the car, took a step forward, gently took my cold hand and squeezed it in his warm one, before tugging on it so that I tumbled towards him. I regained my balance shy of crashing into him and a small smile adored his lips before he leaned in and softly kissed me.

My knees trembled. His hold on my hand tightened at the subtle sway of my body and he slowly pulled back, looking at me darkly as he whispered in greeting, ”Hey.”

Pausing for a second just to look at me (I wondered if he could hear my heart thumping out of my chest), he next took a step back and quickly scanned our surroundings as seriousness and concentration momentarily clouded his enchanting face.

”We should go. We wouldn’t want Sean to see us.”

I nodded and licked my lips, tightening the grip of my other hand on my jacket to stop myself from plunging it underneath his T-shirt and run my hand up his front.

My face heated as he looked back at me, suddenly embarrassed that he might have heard my thoughts.

I quickly realized that our connection was still ’paused’. Which caused a flutter of disappointment to run through me. It was probably for the best, though. If I had been able to feel not just my own, but his feelings as well in that moment, I probably would turn into a wet puddle on the ground.

He used his free hand to place burning fingers underneath my chin, looking at me worriedly, ”You okay?”

My mouth was dry and my body shook with every emotion imaginable as I nodded mutely.

He gave me a soft smile, mumbling, ”Okay,” before leading me by our connected hands to his car, opening the door to the passenger side and guiding me inside.

In the seconds I had by myself while he closed the door and walked around the back to get to his door, I curled up my fists tightly against my thighs and focused on breathing.

This was really happening. This was really happening.


TBC...

[Morning Dreamgirl]

Happy dance for a new part! I'm pretty sure you'll hear me yelling about the ending either way but thank you for posting early!

[L-J-L 76]

Great Chapter!!!! Please please please please please please please please please please come back and post more really really really really soon? I can't wait to read what will happen next for Max and Liz. So Max and Liz are going to sleep together. Good thing Max texted Liz and let her know that he was coming to get her and about Sean being at her house. I can't believe Liz lied to her father. Love the way Max and Liz said hello to each other and how Max and Liz both seemed a little nervous about tonight. Wonder if Max and Liz will be able to get past Sean. And wondering where they are going to be alone at. Will Max and Liz get past Sean? Will anyone see Max and Liz leave town? Will anyone tell Sean about seeing Max and Liz? Where will Max and Liz go? Will Max and Liz be safe? Will Max and Liz talk or just go ahead and sleep together? Will Max try and make it romantic and safe for Liz? Will Max and Liz feel each others feeling for each other? Will Max and Liz rush it? Will Max and Liz love each other? After Max and Liz sleep together will their bond be unbreakable? Will Max and Liz realize when they bonded? Will Max and Liz feel what the other feels? Will Max be able to protect Liz? Will Liz try and help Max? Will Sean, His father and Mr. Evans find out about Max and Liz sleeping together? What will they do when they find out? Will Sean, his father, Mr. Evans try and break Max and Liz's bond? Will Max and Liz have to go on the run? Where will Max and Liz go? Will Liz become pregnant? What will Max and Liz do after the bond? Will Max and Liz be able to be a couple? Will Max and Liz be able to go on dates? Will Max still come to Liz's room? Will Max and Liz keep kissing and making out after they bonded? Will Max and Liz be safe together? Will Max and Liz finish school or go on the run? Where will Max and Liz go? Will Max and Liz be safe? Will Liz become pregnant? Will Max and Liz get married and have kids? So sorry for all the questions but I was just wondering. Please please please please please please please please please please come back and post more really really really really soon? I can't wait to find out if Max and Liz can get out of town without anyone seeing them; Where Max and Liz will go; And if Max and Liz will really sleep together.

From:
L-J-L 76

[keepsmiling7]

I loved Liz's concerns for unnatural human fears......
And Liz getting ready and trying to decide what to wear for this big event.......priceless!
Max was wise enough to text and warn Liz about Sean.
Great story!
Carolyn

[Roswelllostcause]

You had to leave there didn't you? Loved that Liz seemed to be having a minor freak out over the whole setting a date just to have sex thing!

Oh planning to build my own spaceship can I use Sean as one of the test Monkeys? Lol!


Helen

[Morning Dreamgirl]

Glad I could throw a surprise at you there as far as reading the feedback first goes.

Your info on bonding was great. It confirmed most of what I thought I knew and only raised one or two additional questions/thoughts.

There's a strong possibility that Max is "pushing" for Liz to bond with Sean in the "usual" way because then if (when) she chose him (Max) he would know that it was really her choice and not something that she felt she had to do because of an existing bond or because she wanted to (in essence) save her own skin. Of course without all the info it would be hard for her to make that decision. Instead she was doing what she felt needed to be done to keep them both safe and alive. Even though she did tell Max repeatedly that she wanted to choose him and not Sean. I don't see what more she could have done to convince him so it's a very good thing Isabel stepped in when she did. Otherwise the two of them might have gone through things they wouldn't be able to heal or recover from. There's also the possibility of it being something else though - some other reason Max was pushing the issue.

You write transition chapters amazingly well and this one is no exception. I'm not even upset about where you left off (shocker, I know).

It's getting harder and harder for Liz to continue lying to Maria. She's not coming across as very convincing and she's not really wanting to lie at this point. (Obviously she never wanted to lie to her but before it was to cover for Max. Now it's more to cover for an entire race that she doesn't even care for.) The only reason she's continuing to do so at this point is to keep Maria safe. And that's a lot of stress and pressure given everything else she's under. To monitor almost every word and action around her best friend must be hard.

It doesn't help that Maria's not stupid.

She knows that there's something Liz isn't telling her. Though she might not ever come to the conclusion that it has to do with aliens Liz is almost demonstrating the signs of physical abuse. It wouldn't take too much for Maria to assume that Liz is being forced into a relationship with Sean out of fear for her safety. And that's probably closer to the truth than almost anything else Liz could admit to. Still, if Maria thought Liz was being hurt she wouldn't just stand by and do nothing. So even if she were to start believing that angle it puts her right back in the line of fire (so to speak).

At least at this point Maria is aware that Max wants a relationship with Liz even if she's still (possibly) under the impression that Liz wants a relationship with Sean. So maybe that'll help somehow. At the very least if Max knows that Liz's friends like him over Sean maybe that'll give him a boost of confidence. These are the people that know Liz best and want the best for her. Knowing that means you has to help at least a little even if it's just emotionally in a situation like this.

Liz's nervousness was wonderfully written. Especially since she didn't have Maria or anyone else she could talk to. Isabel might have suggested that Liz seduce her brother but I don't think she would want to talk about it beforehand.

I know that you'll have them talk beforehand. They honestly care about each other too much to treat this like a science experiment. Not to mention that when they open their existing bond everything is going to come flooding out anyways. So it's not like they can keep all their emotions and fears from each other. I think when Liz sees (and feels) the reasoning behind Max's withholding of the truth it'll help her to forgive him. And hopefully he'll finally realize that what she's been saying for the last twenty chapters is the truth - she does love and want him. Regardless of everything that's going on they both deserve to have a real moment between the two of them where there aren't any misunderstandings or withholdings.

Wondering just how Max managed to get Sean to back off for the evening. I have my theories, especially as Sean didn't actually leave Liz's apartment complex but we'll see if I'm right.

I'm pretty sure Max has had her number for a lot longer than Liz would ever think he had. You don't go for years in love with the girl and all but stalking her without knowing almost everything about her (including her phone number). What's surprising is that he actually hasn't texted her by now. I can literally see him on multiple occasions wanting so desperately too, looking at his phone with her name and number, but talking himself out of it for one reason or another. Stubborn man!

It's good that Max isn't acting angry any more and (hopefully) has better control of his emotions for the time being. Lord knows the man has to be calling in every reserve he has to not be jumping out of his skin right along with Liz - though perhaps not for the same reasons. I'm pretty sure he'll make sure she knows this isn't a sense of obligation for him. And I'm positive the man will be using every part of his "photographic-like memory" tonight. Even if that won't necessarily help the next time he has to implement his iron control when it comes to her. Though if that were to slip I don't think your readers would mind much.

It's good that Jeff is finally starting to come out of his depression. Hopefully he can make sure his daughter eats more even if he can't help her with anything else that's going on. With his much weight they've both lost I'm thinking they both have a lot of big family dinners coming up. Think we can have Max at those dinners?

See how patient I am? I'm not even asking how many minutes until you post the next chapter! I'm just sitting here... Eating all the chocolate. I do happen to have one extra bar though... Just saying.

Edit: So... Do we get to see glowing in the next chapter? 'Cause I haven't forgotten that comment and I'm interested in the implications.