Roswell Fanatics

*Max*

"Sure," I say, taking a seat beside Liz. I'm relieved that I didn't disturb her, that she's actually welcoming me here in her quiet place. "It's really nice out here at night," I say looking around. The light on the moving water of the pool glints on everything, especially Liz. Liz, 'though, seems to have a glow all her own, although I know that's just in my mind.

I turn to look at her, feeling my insides jitter. Is she just a friend? Or is Kels right, and she might actually care for me? I don't even know how to ask.

Still, I'm here because she needed to talk to me. I'll let her go first. Then, maybe I'll find a way to seque into what I want to ask. Of course, that's assuming her question doesn't clear it up. Like, if she's upset 'cause she saw me watching her or something. That would tell me that Kels is wrong and I won't have to worry about asking...

"... So, what did you want to say?" I ask.

<center>~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Liz ~*~ ~*~ ~*~</center>

“Thank you,” I say, my voice not quite as strong as I would like. My voice, I find, is not the only thing that’s weak, as I am not able to meet his eyes. “It was you, wasn’t it,” I continue. I look out at the soft ripples of water as light cascades over the entire expanse of the pool. “You’re the one that organized my family coming down. The surprise of their attendance . . . It was all your doing.”

I force myself to look over to him and find myself drawn into his expression. “Why didn’t you tell me?” The words tumble from my lips before I could think better of it—before I could change my mind. I watch as the light from the water moves across his features, casting certain planes of his face into shadow. But no matter how the light wavered, his eyes did not lose any aspect of the entrancing quality they possess.

*Max*

"Well, yeah," I admit as Liz tells me that I was the one who organized her family's participation in her party. I pause for a moment, the small noises of the night and the water becoming momentarily apparent. "It just seemed like the thing to do. The thing you would want the most. It wasn't easy, either. Nobody would give me any addresses or numbers."

It worked out eventually. I got Kels and she got the rest of them. A smile breaks across my face as I remember the last moment panic. At the time, I was nearly frantic but since it all turned out, it's easy to laugh at it now. I don't want to break the mood here, so I keep my voice low although I know my amusement is evident. "While you girls were getting changed after work, I was going crazy on the phone with Kels because she'd gotten lost and I was so afraid she wouldn't be at the restaurant on time."

"As for why I didn't tell you," I turn towards Liz, wanting so much to hold her hand but I'm not sure if it's a good idea. "I guess I've just gotten used to keeping it secret. Besides, the way you asked -- It felt like it would be bragging if I just went and said it was me. I'm just glad it worked out and that you liked it as much as I was hoping you would."

<center>~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Liz ~*~ ~*~ ~*~</center>

“Nobody else thought of it,” I voice after he explains, answering the one question I asked as well as all the others that have been filling my thoughts. I look away from him and back to the view of the backyard blanketed by the night. “Not Izzy. Not Alex. The two people that I’d consider myself to be closest to in the house had thought of it. But you did. You thought of it, and you put in all that effort to make it happen. It would have been easy for you to just change your mind and do something else, or to give in to the challenge, but you didn’t.

You went through all that trouble for me. In the grand scheme of things, I am barely above an acquaintance. And yet . . .” I trail off, not even sure that I wanted to finish that sentence, and let the words fill the quiet space between.

*Max*

I find myself squirming inside as she goes on, making me sound like some sort of hero just because I tried to do something nice. Something that took just a little effort.

"Alex knew," I say. I don't want to take all the credit. "He helped distract the rest of you and the camera crews when I was trying to make the calls." It would probably have been hard to keep it from him concidering that we share a room. Besides, we've been plotting all week to get him together with Isabel. It seemed natural to include him.

"And I like a challenge," I say when she suggests that it might have made me give up. "Besides, I thought the effort would be worth it, to see your smile. And it was a great smile. It was the best part of the evening."

I smile at her now, because it's the absolute truth. Liz is a happy person and she smiles a lot, but she's also has a serious side, like me, I guess. But that smile was pure happiness and it felt great, just knowing that I had helped to make it happen. Nothing-else that happened tonight was half as wonderful as her brillant smile at the sight of her family and friends. Not Isabel finally fussing over Alex. Kel's hints and suggestions were amazing, but even that didn't quite beat the way Liz beamed.

...I am barely above an acquaintance... she'd said. She's so much more than that, even if I have only known her for a week. I just have no idea how to put this into words.

"You're far more than an acquaintance. You're a ...," Friend? Yes, she's my friend but that's not quite what I want to say. "... I mean, I ... I care about you, Liz."

.

Do you know where this is going, Iz? Because I assure you I don’t. ::laughs::

<center>~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Liz ~*~ ~*~ ~*~</center>

I smile down at the ground when Max mentions that all the effort would be worth it just to get rewarded with a smile from me. His words are enough to make the butterflies I had been struggling with in my stomach flutter with force.

“You’re far more than an acquaintance,” he continues. “You’re a . . .” he pauses, struggling to find the word, I suppose. The silence stretches as he searches his mind for the word. Instead of finishing the statement, he chooses to amend it with a simple, “I mean.” I listen as he finally finishes, and the breathing I had been fighting so hard to keep even failed me.

“I care about you, Liz.”

I turn abruptly to regard him. I study the soft curves and hard lines of his face as I continue to try and decipher the meaning of the last words that he spoke. He cares. There are so many different ways that word can be interpreted. Cares how? He said he cares for me, but he abandoned the statement of what he identifies me as. What am I to him, if not an acquaintance, if not a friend, then what? I open my mouth to try and speak but find myself unable to give voice to anything. “What am I to you?” I finally manage to say, hopefully coaxing him to finish what he had so easily abandoned.

OOC: I'm not sure where it's going, either... I'm hoping it won't ruin Max's trip tomorrow, but it is fun to talk out some of this...

*Max*

“What am I to you?” she asks and I'm surprised at the words that spring to my mind. Everything. She's everything to me. She's my dream girl...

My mouth goes dry and I can't say those things. She wouldn't understand.

Or would she? I really just don't know...

I rub my palms on my thighs, feeling very nervous. "You're ... you're really special Liz. I knew that from the first day I met you. And, well, I wanted your birthday to be as special as you are."

I bite my lip, not sure how to continue. Should I ask about what Kels suggested? How do I do that?



*Michael*

God, Isabel looks great on the dance floor. It's like she's performing for the crowd. I stay with her, but it's like it's her own private show. She's just amazing.

"You're fantastic," I tell her after several songs. "You ready for a break? I'll buy you a drink."

<center>~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Liz ~*~ ~*~ ~*~</center>

He doesn’t answer at first, and I can’t help but think that I made a mistake in pushing for the answer. His hands rub his thighs before he begins, a nervous action, I muse, a frown forming on my face. It was not my desire to upset him, but it seems as though, despite my efforts, it has happened. He’s also tense, I notice, by the set of his shoulders.

“You're ... you're really special Liz,” he speaks, and my eyes are once more drawn to his gaze. “I knew that from the first day I met you. And, well, I wanted your birthday to be as special as you are.”

He finishes explaining once more, and I find myself thankful for the dim lighting again. The blush that I can feel creeping over me would definitely be noticed if not for the cover of night.

“You’re special, too,” I say, hoping that it will ease some of the nervous tension his posture is singing. I would place my hand on his if I thought it would soothe some of his tension and ease some of his nervousness, but it wouldn’t. It’s not my place, and there is no reason why he would wish it. Only one of the people here could do that and it is Tess.

Unable to stand being so close to him and still so far away, I move to kneel at the edge of the pool. Maybe a little space between us will do us both some good. I drag my fingers in the water, feeling the way it softly envelops each finger in a light caress. “It’s warm,” I say not sure if I’m talking more about the water or the way his words affected me—the way they seem to always affect me.

*Max*

“You’re special, too,” Liz says and I feel a small bit of relief and a soothing trickle of happiness. I wonder if she has any idea what those words sound like to me. They could be nothing more than a formulistic return of my compliment, but what if it’s more? I want it to be more. I want that so much. I don’t think that she’d lie, exactly, but is this politeness or is it what she really thinks? Is it just because of her family being here or is it something more, something that Kels was hinting at?

Liz gets up immediately, moving to the side of the pool. I don’t know why she moved away and I wonder if I’ve offended her in some way. Still, I can’t help but be captured by the sight before me. She looks like a woodland nymph, wetting her fingers. So beautiful. Someone should model a crystalline likeness of how she looks right now. Or create a painting. A masterpiece to capture this moment. She says the water is warm, but I really don’t care about the water. All my attention is on her.

“You’re so beautiful,” I say softly, not really intending for her to hear me.

I stand and move nearby, kneeling near her but a bit off. Just barely within arm’s reach. I don’t want her to think I’m crowding her. Afterall, she did just move away. I know how to take a hint. She doesn’t want to be that close to me right now. … Isn’t all that a pretty big hint? A hint that says the opposite of what Kels was suggesting?

ISABEL

"You're fantastic. You ready for a break? I'll buy you a drink."

I nod, feeling unsure how to take Michael’s fantastic comment. Okay so its not the first time I’ve ever heard that word directed at me before but all those other times, the guys were trying to get into my pants. Maybe I should tell Michael I’m not interested in him like that.

But how embarrassing would it be if Michael is just being friendly and I will end up coming across with a huge ego.

“I’ll have a vodka and coke please,” I say as I walk beside Michael towards the bar.