Double Exposure (CC,M/L,ADULT) AN 01.09.06 {WIP}
Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 11:52 pm
Title: Double Exposure
Author: Jen (email evilzhen@yahoo.com)
Category: M/L
Rating: Child - Adult
Disclaimer: I don't own much of anything. The characters, the show, and the irrational plot lines belong to other people.
Summary: Starts in Season 2. Liz has been visited by Future Max and is dealing with the consequences of her (non)actions. Lines between reality and dreams are being crossed, and little is as it seems. Heavy, heavy focus on Max and Liz. If you like Tess, well, poo on you. Uh, I mean, you probably won't enjoy this fic.
*Any and all dialogue that sounds remotely familiar was most likely taken from the show. I found the lines in transcripts at http://www.crashdown.com*
*Feedback welcomed. This is my first fanfic.
*
Prologue
Elizabeth Parker was slowly - but surely - going insane. In one of her rare moments of clarity, she’d analyzed the process of losing her mind and approximated its origin to September of the previous year... when a well-meaning time traveler had thrown her chaotic (but still with some sense of order) life into empty days of turmoil and despair. Liz realized, of course, that her life had truly begun to fall apart in another September, the year in which she started the rough draft of her application to Harvard, died, and fell in love. Even if Liz had not been descending into madness, the admission that her post mortem life was being spent canoodling with alien royalty would have certainly insinuated that the model citizen and student of Roswell, New Mexico, was not quite right.
But she had been - right, that is - and had even convinced herself that everything was A-okay in the world of Liz Parker. Up until the day that she was visited by a future version of her present J.Crew boyfriend, clad in muscle-defining leather and oozing sex appeal, Liz truly believed that her normal was normal and, if she tried hard enough, everything would turn out just fine. But it was not to be. A tear in the space-time continuum had torn her heart and ruined the love and innocence of the young Max Evans, whose only crimes were persistence and an optimistic belief in love... and Liz.
Fantasies, alternate timelines, and fears joined together at night to punish her for what she had and hadn’t done. Liz was sure that this predicament was the stem from which all of her trauma flowed. Sleep had been elusive for months, resulting in a blurring of reality and nightmares. She witnessed the cementing of her relationship with Max the night of the Gomez concert. She was almost positive that she’d confessed the truth of the Future Max fiasco after a heated argument had turned into a heated encounter of passion in the UFO Center after hours. But interspersed with the images of sexual bliss and a future that was not to be were the harsh realities of what passed for Liz’s life.
On the morning that she realized that she had divulged her virgin status to Max during the previous night’s events, Liz was unsure of how to proceed. She’d let down a Max that no longer existed and made love to Max for the first time in Brody’s office. Now that she thought about it, Liz couldn’t understand why they’d given their virginities to each other on a dirty floor... or why it hadn’t hurt. Surely Max must be questioning the truth of her confession. She certainly was...
Chapter One
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Maria gasp and Max mutter quietly, “Stay back.”
They were at the UFO Center for what had appeared to be yet another unnecessary meeting. Max was going on about a star that only yesterday he’d thought unimportant. He’d given her the cold shoulder, again. Hadn’t he believed her? She thought they had connected while making love, but maybe it was only on her end. Liz remembered feeling his confusion, love, hurt, and desire. An unsettling thought occurred to her. Had she been used?
But that didn’t make sense, either. This was Max Evans she was talking about. He’d never do anything to hurt her. Not the way that she had so deliberately hurt him. Was that it? Had this been an act not of love but of revenge?
No, Liz decided, Max would never be so callous. But what explanation could there be?
Her inner turmoil was again interrupted.
Rath: Hey, yo, up here!
Max: Who are you?
Lonnie: I know you must be buggin out right now, cause I'd be buggin, too.
Isabel: How could this be?
Michael: Eight. Eight. There was eight pods originally. Yeah, I... we just found out recently, so... I just... didn't know you'd look like us.
Max: All we know is that there were eight originally. We never knew what happened to the other four.
Lonnie: They went to New York.
Liz: Um... but there's only three of you.
Lonnie: We had a fourth. We just lost him.
Ava: His name was... Zan.
Max: I'm Max.
Isabel: How did you lose your Max?
Rath: He died in a stupid accident. You know, all his powers, all his abilities, and, you know, he died in a street accident. For nothin. Yo, I'm Rath.
Lonnie: Lonnie.
Isabel: Isabel.
Ava: I'm Ava.
Tess: Tess.
Max: This is Michael, and these are our friends: Alex, Maria, and Liz.
Max and Rath converse, away from the rest of the group. Awkwardness and private conversations abound...
Max: They want me to go to New York to a... a summit meeting. I already told them no.
In another room in the UFO Center, Liz and Maria are having a discussion.
Maria: Ok. So duplicate Michael kissed you, and you decided not to tell me this very pertinent fact?
Liz: Can't you get over it? I'm sorry. Look, can I just... can I just talk to you for one second?
Liz: Ok. This thing kind of happened with Kyle, but it didn't really happen, and I can't tell Max what I didn't do. But I can't tell you what I didn't do either, so don't ask me to explain it, ok? But... the point is, I just feel really stupid being here.
Maria: Do you realize that what you just said made absolutely no sense?
Liz: Yes. Wait. No. I did tell Max. I think. But I remember doing with Max what he thought I did with Kyle, but now I can’t remember if it was a dream or if it was real. And if it was real, then why didn’t it hurt? And why is Max acting like we didn’t do what I think we did?
Maria: Okay, Liz. This is so beyond not making sense. You’re rambling. You can’t ramble, because then what will I do? If you become a rambler, then I’ll become the level-headed one and that will, like, make even less sense than what you’re saying... or not saying. And if that makes sense, then it will just upset the balance of everything. And don’t even get me started on balances because I don’t think I can live through that kind of trauma again. As if it wasn’t bad enough with the spider webs and the stepping back, but now we’ve got some freaky-ass clones of our clones and they’re sticking their tongues down our unsuspecting throats. How long until they’re sticking whatever they want wherever they want? Oh, God, what are we going to do?!
Liz: MARIA!! Calm down! There are no probes in sight. We need to focus. Fo-cus, Maria.
Maria: Right. You’re right. Of course you’re right.
Their conversation was halted as Brody entered the museum. Maria volunteered herself as a diversionary tactic and invited him to breakfast. Plans were made for the future, both near and far, though each member of the fractured group had different ideas... and different agendas.
Chapter Two
Max visited Liz before taking off for New York.
Liz: Hi.
Max: You said... you wanted to be friends... and I thought about it. And... I realized that... that I can't be friends with you because... I'm still hanging on... to you. To what we had. So... I decided to make a clean break. Here.
Max handed Liz a pocket knife.
Liz: Max, this is yours. I gave it to you last Christmas.
Max: I'm giving it back. I'm... I'm going to New York with Rath and Lonnie and... and Tess... to the summit.
Liz: Are you gonna come back?
Max: I don't know. I can't think that far ahead.
Liz: Wait, um, Max... um... when... when you're at the summit, the granilith, ok? It's powerful, and it could be really dangerous if the wrong people get their hands on it.
Max: What are you talking about? How do you know anything about the granilith?
Liz: Oh... I can't tell you. But I just... I know, and... please, Max. You have to trust me.
Max: I guess that's the problem, Liz.
After Max left, Liz worked on solving this puzzle but could make no headway. What the hell is going on? She began to pace in her bedroom, going over the facts, half-truths, and non-facts. This is getting me nowhere. She climbed out of her bedroom window, hoping to find some clarity in the fresh air. She retrieved her journal, got comfortable on her lounge chair, and began to compile a list. Things always make more sense on paper.
November 20, 2000
I’m Liz Parker, and everything’s a mess. My recent inability to distinguish between dreams and reality is dizzying. I thought I’d confessed to Max. I thought we’d made love. But recent events have led me to conclude that the truth I so long to tell is still far from the surface. Max says he can’t trust me anymore, that he doesn’t think we can be friends. How did things get this far? How have I let them come this far?
This is the truth as I know it:
Future Max and I prevented the joining that would lead to the world’s end.
I am a virgin.
Max does not love me anymore.
This is the truth that should have been:
Max and I are back together.
We made love the night of the Gomez concert.
We are very much in love.
This is the gray area, where the confusion lies:
Max and I did not make love in my bed on the night of the concert, but I remember how it felt as he penetrated me.
I have not told Max the truth, but I remember telling him and then making love for the first time in the UFO Center.
Of the two above non-events, I remember that the first hurt, but the second did not.
With a sigh, Liz set the journal aside and began to get up. A wave of vertigo made her sit back down. She lay back down, deciding to listen to her body and get some much-needed sleep. Maybe I’ll be lucky and dream about showing up to school naked...
On the short walk from the Crashdown to Murray Lane, Liz went over again in her mind what she planned to say to Max. He was wearing her down. She knew she should resist, but the way he made her feel was so tempting. A simple brush against him could send her to new heights of passion. If it were not for the innocent look on his face, Liz would have thought that Max was purposely sending her images that left her aching in a sexual frenzy. She was determined that this would stop. Now.
As she rounded the corner onto Max’s street, Liz Parker split into two versions of the petite brunette. One image was a Liz clad in her Crashdown uniform, her hair swept up off of her neck, and the colors surrounding her were vibrant but hazy. The second image was sharp but in black and white. The monochromatic Liz was wearing long pants and a tank top, and her long hair was spilling over her shoulders.
Both girls were mumbling and making hand gestures as they walked, though seemingly unaware of the other. Technicolor Liz walked with purpose while her drab partner slumped along, expression grim. As the girls reached the window to Max’s room, each took a deep breath, though each did so for very different reasons: Somber Liz in preparation of what she was about to say to Max and her amiable clone in astonishment. For there before her was a very naked Max Evans, lying on his bed with eyes closed, head thrown back, and one hand stroking his swollen cock.
Chapter Three
A frustrated Liz rolled over on her lounge chair, so that she was lying on her side with a hand resting between her tightening thighs.
The two Lizzes were still present, but the colorless version had faded to the background. The scenes were overlaid, as happens when a film is rewound and doubly exposed.
She stood in the window frame, debating her options. She could pretend that she’d never been here and try again tomorrow. Or she could do what her body was urging her to do - to go into his bedroom and deny him no longer. The choice was made for her as she heard her name pass his lips in a soft groan. “Lizzzzzz...” The hunger in his voice was calling to her. His shortened breaths and the knowledge that Max was thinking about her were too much for Liz to ignore.
She cautiously entered his bedroom, careful not to alert him to her presence. As she watched his hand pick up speed, Liz felt a rush of desire travel through her body. Heat engulfed her, making her nipples stiff and achy. She noticed how his cockhead was glistening, and a bolt of pure lust shot through her body, making Liz aware of how her nipples longed to be sucked, how her thighs needed to surround his hips, how her pussy ached to be touched. She could almost feel his warm tongue plunging into her depths.
As she made her way over to him, Liz made quick work of removing her uniform and letting her hair down. She grabbed onto his cock as she whispered his name into his ear.
Max’s eyes flew open at the feel of a hand on his stiff member and a hot mouth on his neck. He opened his mouth - surely not to protest, but to question if she were really here. Liz prevented his query and all thought as she landed her moist lips over his surprised mouth. As she sucked on his warm tongue, she crawled up onto his body. She felt Max’s hands begin to wander her overheated body and knew the instant he realized all that was separating them was a thin scrap of cotton. All movement ceased. Liz expected him to stop them then, but she had underestimated his sexual drive. She let out a surprised squeak as she felt his hands firmly grasp her ass while thrusting his hips up towards her.
She began to move her hips over him, taking some control over the situation. She sat up, wanting to see his face. His blissful expression excited her, and she began to move her pelvis more frantically. Liz felt his hands begin to reach for her, exulted in the firm grip on her breast and faltered in her movements as his other hand dipped inside her soaked panties.
But there was time for that later. She wanted to please Max. She moved his hands to his sides on the bed and ignored his groans of protest as she began to slide her body down his. She lightly flicked her tongue over one nipple and then gently bit the other. She dropped wet kisses down his chest and abdomen, letting her silky hair trail behind. His penis jumped when her hair tickled the engorged organ and Liz held back her giggle.
This was not her first time pleasuring Max in this way, but it had been a very long, very strained few months since her last performance. Part of her wanted to take her time, but a larger part was dying to taste the slippery liquid oozing from his cockhead, to feel his heated flesh between her lips. After a few teasing nips at his inner thighs, Liz gently grasped his balls in her left hand as her right held his shaft up straight. She looked directly into Max’s eyes as she applied her moistened tongue to his sacs and quickly licked her way up the shaft. She watched him fight to keep his eyes open as she swirled her tongue around the swollen head, eagerly lapping up his body’s liquid reaction.
As Max reached down to caress her head, Liz surprised him by engulfing his cock in her warm mouth and sucking with unexpected strength. The way she was looking at him, the pressure she was applying were becoming too much. He wet his lips, preparing himself for the effort of speech. “Liz... I’m gonna...”
She looked at him knowingly and tightened her lips around his swelling dick. Her head began bobbing faster and her tongue was doing ungodly things to his self-control. With a hoarse cry, he lifted his hips and began spilling his hot cum into her hungry mouth.
Liz never looked away from him as she felt the salty spurts hit the back of her throat. She was awed by the look of rapture on his face. She kept his softening member in her mouth until he became too sensitive and then slowly kissed her way back up to his parted lips. A smile graced her slightly bruised lips as she took in the picture before her. Max, lying naked beside her, a faint blush dusting his cheeks and chest, a glazed expression in his eyes, and his mouth open, panting for breath. She’d never felt so powerful, so decidedly female.
As Liz became lost in contemplation of her newly-acknowledged sexual prowess, she was oblivious to the sated man lying beside her. This changed quickly as Max pounced, turning her onto her back and rolling onto her, his lips claiming hers as she let out a surprised squeal. The shock promptly wore off as Liz was once again assaulted by waves of lust. Were they coming from her or from Max? Did she really care?
Her thoughts were brought back to the situation at hand as she felt her breasts being pleasured by Max’s healing hands. He tore his mouth from hers and began kissing his way down her chest. He buried his face between her breasts as his fingers fumbled with the clasp on her back. Max growled in frustration and brought his erring hands to her front. Liz gasped as she felt him tear her bra off, and any thought of how much Victoria had charged her for the item vanished as Max’s mouth enveloped her straining nipple.
He serviced her breasts with a fervency Liz had never encountered in the past. As he nibbled and sucked, she was stunned to feel the first tremors of orgasm spiral through her. “Oh, God, Max... I’m gonna cum...” she managed to breathe out. Max looked up at her first in shock, and then a feral grin spread across his face. He began to work her nipples more urgently, pulling on one with his fingers while his mouth sucked the other to the roof of his mouth, only letting up on the suction to nibble at the sensitive peak. He felt her thighs clamp around his leg and the bone of her pubis pressing insistently against his hip. He watched in fascination as Liz arched her back and buried her head in his pillow in an effort to stifle the screaming climax he’d brought her to.
He waited for her to open her eyes and then claimed her lips once again. His fingers trailed down her sides, lightly brushing her inner thighs as his hand made its way back up her body. After a few more teasing passes, Liz parted her legs and Max quickly accepted the invitation. He cupped her mound, the meat of his palm rubbing against the top of her pubic bone as his fingers gently caressed her folds through her saturated underwear. Max slipped a finger beneath the damp cotton and couldn’t stop the moan that escaped as he felt her supple flesh surrounded by slick lubrication.
Max kissed his way down to her panties. He lifted her hips with his hands while he removed her underwear with his teeth. Liz heard him utter, “I’m keeping these”, but quickly forgot his words as his mouth hovered over her waiting pussy. “Maaax” she pleaded. He grinned up at her and moved her legs over his shoulders. Liz inhaled sharply as she felt his hand come around her hip to pull her outer lips open. She pulled up a corner of his blanket and gripped it between her teeth as she prepared for the onslaught.
She was not disappointed. Her teeth ripped at the fabric as Max licked her from the top of her perineum up to the puffed out flesh of her clitoral hood. He gently rubbed his fingers up and down the delicate flesh surrounding her clitoris while he plunged his tongue into her slippery depths. He kept up his manual assault and increased the tempo of his tongue fucking. Liz was pulling desperately at anything she could get her hands on - the sheets, her nipples, Max’s hair. She could feel another orgasm building up inside of her, and she could tell that it would be far more explosive than any she had experienced before tonight. As Max’s fingers and mouth switched positions, Liz began to swivel her hips, frantically pushing for the oncoming climax. He slipped a second digit into her as his mouth enclosed her engorged bud. He began to suck. Liz felt her world spinning around her as darkness engulfed her.
In the darkness were flickers of harsh white light. Just shy of orgasm, monochromatic Liz reemerged.
Max: Well, this is a surprise.
Liz: It isn't what you think.
Max: Liz...
Liz: Don't say anything, ok? Um, because I... I came in here with this whole speech, and once you start talking, my speech doesn't apply, and everything gets changed, and I just want to make sure that I say everything to you, so just don't say anything. Just don't say anything. Ok, I... I just re-read "Romeo and Juliet", and you know, the first thing that I realized is that isn't even the title. It's called "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet". They die. You know, she's this young girl, she... she's younger than me, and she dies. Look, I think the reason why people think that it's such a romantic play is they don't know what it's like to be put in that position... but when your life and... and other people's lives are... are put at risk, there isn't anything romantic about it. Max, you can't stop what's happening to you. I mean, your life will always be dangerous, but my life, it doesn't have to be. My life is only in danger if I am with you. I... I want to be in love with boys... normal boys. I... I want to see my twenty first birthday. I... I want to have a wedding day. I... I... I want to have children... and I want my children to be safe. You know, Max, if... if you truly love me, you'll let me go. I may love you, but I... I don't want to die for you.
Liz woke up with a sob on her balcony. Her frustration and sorrow were compounding, and Liz was ever-more certain that, should she somehow learn to cope with the visions of what would never be, she would still live a desolate life. The afternoon sun was setting. Her face was wet with tears and her right hand was buried between her thighs. What the fuck was that? Did Future Max know that this would happen, that I’d get saddled with his happy memories? God, I hate this!
She wanted to talk to someone about this - anyone, really, but especially Max. Everything was so messed up, and she was finding it more and more difficult to differentiate between being awake and being asleep. Her life had become almost unbearable. Liz had tried to get Maria to understand, but she was still hesitant to reveal all of her secrets. I can’t get a grasp on this. How could I possibly hope to find an answer in Maria?
No, what Liz Parker needed was one Max Evans. But Max doesn’t want anything to do with me. And even if he did, he’s on the other side of the country. Little did she know that the problems she was having with the deposed Antarian king had only just begun.
Chapter Four
November 23, 2000
I’m Liz Parker, and something is not right. No, nothing is right. Nothing has been right in my life for a very long time, but I can feel that something is going on with Max. I can’t explain my fears. I don’t want to alarm Isabel and Michael, but I think that I need to tell them. I just hope that they can rise above their anger for Max’s sake.
Ava’s got me worried. I was already afraid for Max, but now I’m wondering if he’ll make it out of this alive. If they could kill their own brother, what would stop them from killing Max? If he dies... No, I don’t want to think about it. It’s not going to happen. It can’t happen. Please, if anyone is listening, please send him back to me...
It’s Thanksgiving today, but I’m having trouble being thankful. My heart is crying out for Max, but my nagging mind is reminding me why I need to silence my pleas. I did this for them, but they hate me for it. There is a part of me that in some perverted sense is happy to be keeping a secret from the quartet of hybrid interlopers. It’s my secret that no one can touch. I’ve done a noble thing, but maybe it isn’t so noble of me to get some sick satisfaction out of my suffering. Have I become a masochist?
But when I remember the way that Max’s innocence was ripped from his beautiful heart, and the expression on his face when he saw me in bed with Kyle, I think maybe I qualify more for the role of sadist. Of course, maybe it’s just that Future Max had come to enjoy masochism. Maybe the world really wasn’t about to end. Maybe he was jerking off in the bathroom while he watched his younger self die on my balcony.
How I wish that there were another explanation for the tragedy that has become my life. I know that it’s self-inflicted, and I guess that just makes it worse.
But I need to let this go. I can accept - even welcome - the pain, at least. The pain is the only thing that reassures me that I’m grounded in reality. The dreams are simply too amazing, and I find myself wanting never to wake, if only to stay in my illusory world of bliss. Yet again, I need to change. I can only hope that my repeated metamorphoses will reveal a stronger Liz Parker - one who can let go of my fool’s paradise and accept my invitation to the gates of Hell.
Liz got up from her bed to return the journal to its hiding spot outside. When she returned to her bedroom, she wandered about in a fretful manner, touching things disinterestedly. As she picked up a frame from her bookshelf headboard, Liz was pulled into a memory not her own.
Liz was sitting with Max on his bed, trying to understand his reasoning. He was driving her mad with his refusal to accept his responsibilities at the summit, but he was driving her even madder with the light stroking of her wrist by one of his proficient fingers. She fought through the haze of lust and moved away from him.
Liz: You can’t just ignore this, Max. You have a duty to your people.
Max: Which people would that be, Liz? The race of skins that wants me dead? The well-meaning Antarians who left us here with only the Granilith and the instruction that we mate with each other? Or Michael, Isabel, and Tess, who look to me to make the decisions, but then berate my choices and defy me?
Liz: What about your promise to me, Max? When I agreed to be with you again, you said that you wouldn’t let your love for me blind you to the world around you.
Max: Liz, I just... I have a really bad feeling about the duplicate set. I don’t think they are sincere, and something about this situation doesn’t feel right. I’ve ignored my instincts before, and all it caused was trouble. Can’t you feel it, Liz?
Liz: I can’t quite read them. I mean, they’re grieving for their Max... Zan.
Max: Well, that’s just one more reason to back away. How can they hope to be objective when they’re dealing with such a great loss? Grief and fear make people do crazy things. I mean, just look at me. I healed you in front of a café full of witnesses because my fear of losing you was greater than my fear of being exposed. If I lost Isabel or Michael or you... (chokes) I wouldn’t be in a position to make rational decisions.
Liz: (sighs) Max...
Max: I know you think I’m taking this lightly, but I’m not, Liz. I swear it. I know that there might be some people out there waiting for me to lead them, but this isn’t the way. Why wouldn’t they come to me if it’s so important that I be there?
Liz: Okay, Max. Just... Will you promise to think about it overnight? Maybe you’ll be more objective with a clear head.
Max: I will, but I’m almost positive that we are being deliberately uninformed. They know more than they’re letting on. If you don’t want to trust my alien senses, then please believe in my human instinct. In exchange, I’ll try to be a little more open-minded when I talk to them tomorrow, but only because it’s you, Liz.
Liz: Oh, Max.
Max pulled her into his arms and held her tightly to his chest. Liz rested her worried head to hear the soothing cadence of his heart and thought about the duplicate set. She shivered as she thought of her earlier encounter with Rath. Liz felt Max inhale sharply and drew back, looking up at his troubled face.
Liz: What is it, Max?
Max: Why didn’t you tell me that Rath kissed you?
Liz: Oh. Umm, I didn’t want to upset you. I was going to tell you after the whole thing settled down, I swear. I just didn’t want this to affect your decision.
Max: Liz, please don’t do that. Don’t keep things from me because you don’t think I can handle them. Promise me?
Liz: I promise. (pauses) Max?
Max: Yeah?
Liz: Kiss me?
Max leaned down to gently touch his lips to hers. They kissed languorously, each slowly exploring the other’s mouth. Suddenly, Liz found herself flying through the air, landing on the bed and quickly covered by Max’s muscular form. He plunged his tongue into her mouth repeatedly, thrusting his hard cock against her in an accompanying rhythm. He ripped his lips from hers and stopped his movements. With a whimper, Liz chased after his mouth and wiggled her hips. When Max stilled her lower body with his own, she opened her eyes. He fixed his gaze on her eyes. When they’d made contact, he lifted her left hand and brought it to his mouth. He gently placed a kiss on the back of her hand, never looking away from her, and whispered out a fervent “Mine.”
Liz was awed by the gentle ferocity that only Max could manage. Her wonder was quickly forgotten as she witnessed the unchecked desire in his eyes. A connection flared up, and her body was inundated with waves of his desire. She sent him back an equally impassioned wave of longing. He inhaled sharply and closed his eyes tightly in an effort to maintain some control.
His self-discipline was shattered when he felt Liz’s tiny body thrust up against his, turning him onto his back. He opened his eyes, as well as his mouth, in pleased surprise, and Liz pounced at the opportunity he’d presented. She placed ardent kisses on his eager mouth and ran her hands over his body and through his hair in a frantic effort to touch all of him. She abruptly sat up, waking Max from his passionate haze. He looked up at her questioningly, and she returned it with a confident smirk.
Liz hurriedly pulled her arms free of her cardigan and made quick work of removing the matching tank. Max took in this sight with a glazed look of appreciation and slowly reached his greedy hands towards her soft skin. But Liz was having none of it. She removed his hands from her waist and jumped off of the bed. She took her shoes and socks off, and she arched an eyebrow at Max as her fingers reached the button of her jeans.
Liz: Strip. Now.
Knowing a good thing when he saw it, Max climbed from the bed and hastily removed his clothes. He stumbled out of his jeans, crawled to the middle of the bed, and waited to get back in her arms.
Liz: That’s more like it!
Liz slithered up his nude form, wasting no time on foreplay. She straddled Max’s thighs and looked up at him as she stroked his dick with a firm grip. Liz smiled at his groan and made eye contact.
Liz: I want you, Max. Do you want me?
She lifted herself up, teasing him by rubbing his aching cock over her glazed pussy. She lifted her right leg and maneuvered him so that he could see the head of his straining erection as it was merely dipped into her slick passage. He groaned as she lifted herself, leaving him so close to where he wanted to be.
Liz: Say it. Tell me you want me.
Max: God, yes! I want you. Please, Liz. I... I need you so bad!
Feeling powerful at having a king begging of her, she smiled widely and lowered her leg and then her pussy onto his waiting cock. She slowly encased him, closing her eyes at the absolute pleasure of having Max inside her. She paused, glorying in her feeling of completeness, of oneness with Max. Her eyes snapped open as she heard his strangled breath and began lifting herself over him.
Max: Wait. Liz, don’t we need to -
Liz: Max, did you forget so soon?
Max: No, I just... Oh, God!
He was cut off as she lifted herself again, squeezing her inner muscles as she did so. Max looked up to find Liz with her head thrown back, mussed hair falling down her back to tickle his legs. Her eyes were closed, mouth parted slightly, and her hands were busy kneading her swollen breasts and pulling at her strained nipples. She began to move faster, searching for the tempo that she knew would please them both. She opened her eyes and silently begged Max for help.
He understood immediately and lifted his legs to plant his feet firmly on the bed. Max grabbed onto her trim hips and pulled her down towards him as he thrust up into her. Liz let out a low moan and reached down to gain access to her clitoris. Max swatted her hand away and moved his own hand toward her nub. They could feel each other nearing climax and moved faster, losing their rhythm as carnal need overtook them. Max moved his thumb rapidly over her engorged clitoris, delighting in her enthused reaction. He pulled her down on top of him as he felt the first tremors of release, wanting to hold her close as they came. With a hoarse cry, he let go, emptying his pleasure into her spasming pussy. She rubbed her pelvis frantically over him, feeling her orgasm near as his cock swelled inside her. She could feel it approaching and smiled as she heard Max call to her, begging her to cum on him. “Lizzz...”
Chapter Five
It was Friday morning. The Crashdown was closed so the Parkers could do some ‘Day After Thanksgiving’ shopping. The group, minus Max and Tess, but with the addition of Ava, sat around the café, waiting for Liz to come down so they could start the meeting. After ten minutes, Isabel was pissed and started toward the back door. Maria, knowing that no good could come from a confrontation between Isabel and Liz, cut her off just before the swinging door.
Maria: I think I’d better check on her. Why don’t you guys help yourselves to some sodas?
Maria headed up the stairs to the Parker’s apartment. She knocked on Liz’s door. Getting no response, she started to open the door.
Maria: Liz? Hey, Liz! Why aren’t you downstairs? The meeting was supposed to start, like, fifteen minutes ago. Hello? What’s going... on? Liz?
Maria faltered in her words and in her steps as she took in the scene in front of her. Liz’s room had been trashed. Furniture was overturned, her clothes were strewn about, photos and books littered the floor. And in the middle of it all lay Liz Parker. Maria looked at the still girl before her and took in a deep breath.
Maria: LIZ! Oh my God, what’s going on in here? Were you attacked? Is something missing? Are you hurt? Hello? Are you in there? Oh, God, what do I do? Okay, okay, I know this. Right, I’ll make sure she’s breathing and try to wake her up. What if she’s not breathing? Oh, God, I can’t think like that right now! I need to focus. Calm down, Maria. You need to help Liz.
Maria cautiously made her way through the rubble to her friend. Upon closer inspection, Maria noticed that Liz was in fact breathing. Heavily. Very heavily.
Maria: Oh, no! What’s wrong? Liz, c’mon, wake up. I can’t help you unless you wake up. Liz!!
Liz: (mumbled) Maaaaax.
Maria: Of course. Of course! Is anything in this stupid town human-related anymore? She seems okay, but she’s not waking up. Why aren’t you waking up? WAKE UP, LIZ!
She reached into her bag to pull out her cell phone and some aroma therapy jars. In a frustrated huff, Maria dumped the contents onto the back of her prostrate friend. She waved a vial of vanilla essence under her own nose, in an effort to calm herself, and then opened a bottle of peppermint and brought it to Liz’s only available nostril. Maria let out a sigh of relief as the brunette brought up a hand to wipe at her irritated nose.
Liz: Maaax... mmmmm... right there...
Maria: OH. MY. GOD.
Appropriately weirded out at having such close proximity to her moaning friend and her markedly absent right hand, Maria grabbed the nearest pillow and began to hit Liz with it. Maria kept up the attack, interspersing hits with curses and random alien hexes, until the over-stimulated girl began to shield herself from the blows. Liz rolled over and groggily sat up to remove a hairbrush that was digging into her back.
Michael: What’s taking so long? God, Maria, you can’t even do this one small thing. I can’t believe - What the fuck?
Maria: (under breath) Don’t even get me started on fucking...
Maria: Liz? Honey, what happened?
Liz: Huh?
Maria: Uhh, Liz, take a look around. Do you know what happened?
Liz: Oh my God! What happened?
Michael: That’s what I’d like to know!
Maria: Back off, Spaceboy. Go tell the troops we’ll be right down. Liz? What’s going on?
Michael ignored his estranged girlfriend’s words and rushed to Liz’s side.
Michael: Damnit, Maria! What’s going on? Liz, are you okay?
Liz: I... Yeah, I’m fine, Michael. Just... we’ll be right down.
Michael hesitantly left the room, stopping every few steps to look back at the upset girls.
Maria: Liz?
Liz: Maria, I... I don’t know. I’m so confused. Nothing is the way it’s supposed to be, except that now what was not supposed to be is supposed to be. And what was supposed to be isn’t, but I keep seeing it as though it is, and... Oh, God, do I want that life.
Maria: Liz, did you hit your head? What’s going on with you? You’ve been so out of it lately. I’m really worried about you, chica.
Liz: I... I-I’m sorry, Maria, but I can’t talk about this right now. Maybe not ever. I just... I just don’t even know how to explain what’s going on... or what isn’t going on... or what seems to be going on but isn’t. I can’t talk about it in a way that makes sense to anyone but me at this point, and it doesn’t really even make much sense to me. I feel like I’m losing it, Maria. Please, just... just give me some time, okay? Please?
Maria: (sighs) Okay, Liz. Obviously you’ve got some issues going on right now, but are you at least okay physically? ‘Cause I walked into this sty and you were buried under half of it, dead to the world.
Liz: I don’t know how this happened, but... yeah, I have my physical health.
Maria: Right. Okay, but I’m not giving up on this, Liz. For now, let’s just go deal with whatever the pod people are bitching about today.
Author: Jen (email evilzhen@yahoo.com)
Category: M/L
Rating: Child - Adult
Disclaimer: I don't own much of anything. The characters, the show, and the irrational plot lines belong to other people.
Summary: Starts in Season 2. Liz has been visited by Future Max and is dealing with the consequences of her (non)actions. Lines between reality and dreams are being crossed, and little is as it seems. Heavy, heavy focus on Max and Liz. If you like Tess, well, poo on you. Uh, I mean, you probably won't enjoy this fic.
*Any and all dialogue that sounds remotely familiar was most likely taken from the show. I found the lines in transcripts at http://www.crashdown.com*
*Feedback welcomed. This is my first fanfic.
*Prologue
Elizabeth Parker was slowly - but surely - going insane. In one of her rare moments of clarity, she’d analyzed the process of losing her mind and approximated its origin to September of the previous year... when a well-meaning time traveler had thrown her chaotic (but still with some sense of order) life into empty days of turmoil and despair. Liz realized, of course, that her life had truly begun to fall apart in another September, the year in which she started the rough draft of her application to Harvard, died, and fell in love. Even if Liz had not been descending into madness, the admission that her post mortem life was being spent canoodling with alien royalty would have certainly insinuated that the model citizen and student of Roswell, New Mexico, was not quite right.
But she had been - right, that is - and had even convinced herself that everything was A-okay in the world of Liz Parker. Up until the day that she was visited by a future version of her present J.Crew boyfriend, clad in muscle-defining leather and oozing sex appeal, Liz truly believed that her normal was normal and, if she tried hard enough, everything would turn out just fine. But it was not to be. A tear in the space-time continuum had torn her heart and ruined the love and innocence of the young Max Evans, whose only crimes were persistence and an optimistic belief in love... and Liz.
Fantasies, alternate timelines, and fears joined together at night to punish her for what she had and hadn’t done. Liz was sure that this predicament was the stem from which all of her trauma flowed. Sleep had been elusive for months, resulting in a blurring of reality and nightmares. She witnessed the cementing of her relationship with Max the night of the Gomez concert. She was almost positive that she’d confessed the truth of the Future Max fiasco after a heated argument had turned into a heated encounter of passion in the UFO Center after hours. But interspersed with the images of sexual bliss and a future that was not to be were the harsh realities of what passed for Liz’s life.
On the morning that she realized that she had divulged her virgin status to Max during the previous night’s events, Liz was unsure of how to proceed. She’d let down a Max that no longer existed and made love to Max for the first time in Brody’s office. Now that she thought about it, Liz couldn’t understand why they’d given their virginities to each other on a dirty floor... or why it hadn’t hurt. Surely Max must be questioning the truth of her confession. She certainly was...
Chapter One
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Maria gasp and Max mutter quietly, “Stay back.”
They were at the UFO Center for what had appeared to be yet another unnecessary meeting. Max was going on about a star that only yesterday he’d thought unimportant. He’d given her the cold shoulder, again. Hadn’t he believed her? She thought they had connected while making love, but maybe it was only on her end. Liz remembered feeling his confusion, love, hurt, and desire. An unsettling thought occurred to her. Had she been used?
But that didn’t make sense, either. This was Max Evans she was talking about. He’d never do anything to hurt her. Not the way that she had so deliberately hurt him. Was that it? Had this been an act not of love but of revenge?
No, Liz decided, Max would never be so callous. But what explanation could there be?
Her inner turmoil was again interrupted.
Rath: Hey, yo, up here!
Max: Who are you?
Lonnie: I know you must be buggin out right now, cause I'd be buggin, too.
Isabel: How could this be?
Michael: Eight. Eight. There was eight pods originally. Yeah, I... we just found out recently, so... I just... didn't know you'd look like us.
Max: All we know is that there were eight originally. We never knew what happened to the other four.
Lonnie: They went to New York.
Liz: Um... but there's only three of you.
Lonnie: We had a fourth. We just lost him.
Ava: His name was... Zan.
Max: I'm Max.
Isabel: How did you lose your Max?
Rath: He died in a stupid accident. You know, all his powers, all his abilities, and, you know, he died in a street accident. For nothin. Yo, I'm Rath.
Lonnie: Lonnie.
Isabel: Isabel.
Ava: I'm Ava.
Tess: Tess.
Max: This is Michael, and these are our friends: Alex, Maria, and Liz.
Max and Rath converse, away from the rest of the group. Awkwardness and private conversations abound...
Max: They want me to go to New York to a... a summit meeting. I already told them no.
In another room in the UFO Center, Liz and Maria are having a discussion.
Maria: Ok. So duplicate Michael kissed you, and you decided not to tell me this very pertinent fact?
Liz: Can't you get over it? I'm sorry. Look, can I just... can I just talk to you for one second?
Liz: Ok. This thing kind of happened with Kyle, but it didn't really happen, and I can't tell Max what I didn't do. But I can't tell you what I didn't do either, so don't ask me to explain it, ok? But... the point is, I just feel really stupid being here.
Maria: Do you realize that what you just said made absolutely no sense?
Liz: Yes. Wait. No. I did tell Max. I think. But I remember doing with Max what he thought I did with Kyle, but now I can’t remember if it was a dream or if it was real. And if it was real, then why didn’t it hurt? And why is Max acting like we didn’t do what I think we did?
Maria: Okay, Liz. This is so beyond not making sense. You’re rambling. You can’t ramble, because then what will I do? If you become a rambler, then I’ll become the level-headed one and that will, like, make even less sense than what you’re saying... or not saying. And if that makes sense, then it will just upset the balance of everything. And don’t even get me started on balances because I don’t think I can live through that kind of trauma again. As if it wasn’t bad enough with the spider webs and the stepping back, but now we’ve got some freaky-ass clones of our clones and they’re sticking their tongues down our unsuspecting throats. How long until they’re sticking whatever they want wherever they want? Oh, God, what are we going to do?!
Liz: MARIA!! Calm down! There are no probes in sight. We need to focus. Fo-cus, Maria.
Maria: Right. You’re right. Of course you’re right.
Their conversation was halted as Brody entered the museum. Maria volunteered herself as a diversionary tactic and invited him to breakfast. Plans were made for the future, both near and far, though each member of the fractured group had different ideas... and different agendas.
Chapter Two
Max visited Liz before taking off for New York.
Liz: Hi.
Max: You said... you wanted to be friends... and I thought about it. And... I realized that... that I can't be friends with you because... I'm still hanging on... to you. To what we had. So... I decided to make a clean break. Here.
Max handed Liz a pocket knife.
Liz: Max, this is yours. I gave it to you last Christmas.
Max: I'm giving it back. I'm... I'm going to New York with Rath and Lonnie and... and Tess... to the summit.
Liz: Are you gonna come back?
Max: I don't know. I can't think that far ahead.
Liz: Wait, um, Max... um... when... when you're at the summit, the granilith, ok? It's powerful, and it could be really dangerous if the wrong people get their hands on it.
Max: What are you talking about? How do you know anything about the granilith?
Liz: Oh... I can't tell you. But I just... I know, and... please, Max. You have to trust me.
Max: I guess that's the problem, Liz.
After Max left, Liz worked on solving this puzzle but could make no headway. What the hell is going on? She began to pace in her bedroom, going over the facts, half-truths, and non-facts. This is getting me nowhere. She climbed out of her bedroom window, hoping to find some clarity in the fresh air. She retrieved her journal, got comfortable on her lounge chair, and began to compile a list. Things always make more sense on paper.
November 20, 2000
I’m Liz Parker, and everything’s a mess. My recent inability to distinguish between dreams and reality is dizzying. I thought I’d confessed to Max. I thought we’d made love. But recent events have led me to conclude that the truth I so long to tell is still far from the surface. Max says he can’t trust me anymore, that he doesn’t think we can be friends. How did things get this far? How have I let them come this far?
This is the truth as I know it:
Future Max and I prevented the joining that would lead to the world’s end.
I am a virgin.
Max does not love me anymore.
This is the truth that should have been:
Max and I are back together.
We made love the night of the Gomez concert.
We are very much in love.
This is the gray area, where the confusion lies:
Max and I did not make love in my bed on the night of the concert, but I remember how it felt as he penetrated me.
I have not told Max the truth, but I remember telling him and then making love for the first time in the UFO Center.
Of the two above non-events, I remember that the first hurt, but the second did not.
With a sigh, Liz set the journal aside and began to get up. A wave of vertigo made her sit back down. She lay back down, deciding to listen to her body and get some much-needed sleep. Maybe I’ll be lucky and dream about showing up to school naked...
On the short walk from the Crashdown to Murray Lane, Liz went over again in her mind what she planned to say to Max. He was wearing her down. She knew she should resist, but the way he made her feel was so tempting. A simple brush against him could send her to new heights of passion. If it were not for the innocent look on his face, Liz would have thought that Max was purposely sending her images that left her aching in a sexual frenzy. She was determined that this would stop. Now.
As she rounded the corner onto Max’s street, Liz Parker split into two versions of the petite brunette. One image was a Liz clad in her Crashdown uniform, her hair swept up off of her neck, and the colors surrounding her were vibrant but hazy. The second image was sharp but in black and white. The monochromatic Liz was wearing long pants and a tank top, and her long hair was spilling over her shoulders.
Both girls were mumbling and making hand gestures as they walked, though seemingly unaware of the other. Technicolor Liz walked with purpose while her drab partner slumped along, expression grim. As the girls reached the window to Max’s room, each took a deep breath, though each did so for very different reasons: Somber Liz in preparation of what she was about to say to Max and her amiable clone in astonishment. For there before her was a very naked Max Evans, lying on his bed with eyes closed, head thrown back, and one hand stroking his swollen cock.
Chapter Three
A frustrated Liz rolled over on her lounge chair, so that she was lying on her side with a hand resting between her tightening thighs.
The two Lizzes were still present, but the colorless version had faded to the background. The scenes were overlaid, as happens when a film is rewound and doubly exposed.
She stood in the window frame, debating her options. She could pretend that she’d never been here and try again tomorrow. Or she could do what her body was urging her to do - to go into his bedroom and deny him no longer. The choice was made for her as she heard her name pass his lips in a soft groan. “Lizzzzzz...” The hunger in his voice was calling to her. His shortened breaths and the knowledge that Max was thinking about her were too much for Liz to ignore.
She cautiously entered his bedroom, careful not to alert him to her presence. As she watched his hand pick up speed, Liz felt a rush of desire travel through her body. Heat engulfed her, making her nipples stiff and achy. She noticed how his cockhead was glistening, and a bolt of pure lust shot through her body, making Liz aware of how her nipples longed to be sucked, how her thighs needed to surround his hips, how her pussy ached to be touched. She could almost feel his warm tongue plunging into her depths.
As she made her way over to him, Liz made quick work of removing her uniform and letting her hair down. She grabbed onto his cock as she whispered his name into his ear.
Max’s eyes flew open at the feel of a hand on his stiff member and a hot mouth on his neck. He opened his mouth - surely not to protest, but to question if she were really here. Liz prevented his query and all thought as she landed her moist lips over his surprised mouth. As she sucked on his warm tongue, she crawled up onto his body. She felt Max’s hands begin to wander her overheated body and knew the instant he realized all that was separating them was a thin scrap of cotton. All movement ceased. Liz expected him to stop them then, but she had underestimated his sexual drive. She let out a surprised squeak as she felt his hands firmly grasp her ass while thrusting his hips up towards her.
She began to move her hips over him, taking some control over the situation. She sat up, wanting to see his face. His blissful expression excited her, and she began to move her pelvis more frantically. Liz felt his hands begin to reach for her, exulted in the firm grip on her breast and faltered in her movements as his other hand dipped inside her soaked panties.
But there was time for that later. She wanted to please Max. She moved his hands to his sides on the bed and ignored his groans of protest as she began to slide her body down his. She lightly flicked her tongue over one nipple and then gently bit the other. She dropped wet kisses down his chest and abdomen, letting her silky hair trail behind. His penis jumped when her hair tickled the engorged organ and Liz held back her giggle.
This was not her first time pleasuring Max in this way, but it had been a very long, very strained few months since her last performance. Part of her wanted to take her time, but a larger part was dying to taste the slippery liquid oozing from his cockhead, to feel his heated flesh between her lips. After a few teasing nips at his inner thighs, Liz gently grasped his balls in her left hand as her right held his shaft up straight. She looked directly into Max’s eyes as she applied her moistened tongue to his sacs and quickly licked her way up the shaft. She watched him fight to keep his eyes open as she swirled her tongue around the swollen head, eagerly lapping up his body’s liquid reaction.
As Max reached down to caress her head, Liz surprised him by engulfing his cock in her warm mouth and sucking with unexpected strength. The way she was looking at him, the pressure she was applying were becoming too much. He wet his lips, preparing himself for the effort of speech. “Liz... I’m gonna...”
She looked at him knowingly and tightened her lips around his swelling dick. Her head began bobbing faster and her tongue was doing ungodly things to his self-control. With a hoarse cry, he lifted his hips and began spilling his hot cum into her hungry mouth.
Liz never looked away from him as she felt the salty spurts hit the back of her throat. She was awed by the look of rapture on his face. She kept his softening member in her mouth until he became too sensitive and then slowly kissed her way back up to his parted lips. A smile graced her slightly bruised lips as she took in the picture before her. Max, lying naked beside her, a faint blush dusting his cheeks and chest, a glazed expression in his eyes, and his mouth open, panting for breath. She’d never felt so powerful, so decidedly female.
As Liz became lost in contemplation of her newly-acknowledged sexual prowess, she was oblivious to the sated man lying beside her. This changed quickly as Max pounced, turning her onto her back and rolling onto her, his lips claiming hers as she let out a surprised squeal. The shock promptly wore off as Liz was once again assaulted by waves of lust. Were they coming from her or from Max? Did she really care?
Her thoughts were brought back to the situation at hand as she felt her breasts being pleasured by Max’s healing hands. He tore his mouth from hers and began kissing his way down her chest. He buried his face between her breasts as his fingers fumbled with the clasp on her back. Max growled in frustration and brought his erring hands to her front. Liz gasped as she felt him tear her bra off, and any thought of how much Victoria had charged her for the item vanished as Max’s mouth enveloped her straining nipple.
He serviced her breasts with a fervency Liz had never encountered in the past. As he nibbled and sucked, she was stunned to feel the first tremors of orgasm spiral through her. “Oh, God, Max... I’m gonna cum...” she managed to breathe out. Max looked up at her first in shock, and then a feral grin spread across his face. He began to work her nipples more urgently, pulling on one with his fingers while his mouth sucked the other to the roof of his mouth, only letting up on the suction to nibble at the sensitive peak. He felt her thighs clamp around his leg and the bone of her pubis pressing insistently against his hip. He watched in fascination as Liz arched her back and buried her head in his pillow in an effort to stifle the screaming climax he’d brought her to.
He waited for her to open her eyes and then claimed her lips once again. His fingers trailed down her sides, lightly brushing her inner thighs as his hand made its way back up her body. After a few more teasing passes, Liz parted her legs and Max quickly accepted the invitation. He cupped her mound, the meat of his palm rubbing against the top of her pubic bone as his fingers gently caressed her folds through her saturated underwear. Max slipped a finger beneath the damp cotton and couldn’t stop the moan that escaped as he felt her supple flesh surrounded by slick lubrication.
Max kissed his way down to her panties. He lifted her hips with his hands while he removed her underwear with his teeth. Liz heard him utter, “I’m keeping these”, but quickly forgot his words as his mouth hovered over her waiting pussy. “Maaax” she pleaded. He grinned up at her and moved her legs over his shoulders. Liz inhaled sharply as she felt his hand come around her hip to pull her outer lips open. She pulled up a corner of his blanket and gripped it between her teeth as she prepared for the onslaught.
She was not disappointed. Her teeth ripped at the fabric as Max licked her from the top of her perineum up to the puffed out flesh of her clitoral hood. He gently rubbed his fingers up and down the delicate flesh surrounding her clitoris while he plunged his tongue into her slippery depths. He kept up his manual assault and increased the tempo of his tongue fucking. Liz was pulling desperately at anything she could get her hands on - the sheets, her nipples, Max’s hair. She could feel another orgasm building up inside of her, and she could tell that it would be far more explosive than any she had experienced before tonight. As Max’s fingers and mouth switched positions, Liz began to swivel her hips, frantically pushing for the oncoming climax. He slipped a second digit into her as his mouth enclosed her engorged bud. He began to suck. Liz felt her world spinning around her as darkness engulfed her.
In the darkness were flickers of harsh white light. Just shy of orgasm, monochromatic Liz reemerged.
Max: Well, this is a surprise.
Liz: It isn't what you think.
Max: Liz...
Liz: Don't say anything, ok? Um, because I... I came in here with this whole speech, and once you start talking, my speech doesn't apply, and everything gets changed, and I just want to make sure that I say everything to you, so just don't say anything. Just don't say anything. Ok, I... I just re-read "Romeo and Juliet", and you know, the first thing that I realized is that isn't even the title. It's called "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet". They die. You know, she's this young girl, she... she's younger than me, and she dies. Look, I think the reason why people think that it's such a romantic play is they don't know what it's like to be put in that position... but when your life and... and other people's lives are... are put at risk, there isn't anything romantic about it. Max, you can't stop what's happening to you. I mean, your life will always be dangerous, but my life, it doesn't have to be. My life is only in danger if I am with you. I... I want to be in love with boys... normal boys. I... I want to see my twenty first birthday. I... I want to have a wedding day. I... I... I want to have children... and I want my children to be safe. You know, Max, if... if you truly love me, you'll let me go. I may love you, but I... I don't want to die for you.
Liz woke up with a sob on her balcony. Her frustration and sorrow were compounding, and Liz was ever-more certain that, should she somehow learn to cope with the visions of what would never be, she would still live a desolate life. The afternoon sun was setting. Her face was wet with tears and her right hand was buried between her thighs. What the fuck was that? Did Future Max know that this would happen, that I’d get saddled with his happy memories? God, I hate this!
She wanted to talk to someone about this - anyone, really, but especially Max. Everything was so messed up, and she was finding it more and more difficult to differentiate between being awake and being asleep. Her life had become almost unbearable. Liz had tried to get Maria to understand, but she was still hesitant to reveal all of her secrets. I can’t get a grasp on this. How could I possibly hope to find an answer in Maria?
No, what Liz Parker needed was one Max Evans. But Max doesn’t want anything to do with me. And even if he did, he’s on the other side of the country. Little did she know that the problems she was having with the deposed Antarian king had only just begun.
Chapter Four
November 23, 2000
I’m Liz Parker, and something is not right. No, nothing is right. Nothing has been right in my life for a very long time, but I can feel that something is going on with Max. I can’t explain my fears. I don’t want to alarm Isabel and Michael, but I think that I need to tell them. I just hope that they can rise above their anger for Max’s sake.
Ava’s got me worried. I was already afraid for Max, but now I’m wondering if he’ll make it out of this alive. If they could kill their own brother, what would stop them from killing Max? If he dies... No, I don’t want to think about it. It’s not going to happen. It can’t happen. Please, if anyone is listening, please send him back to me...
It’s Thanksgiving today, but I’m having trouble being thankful. My heart is crying out for Max, but my nagging mind is reminding me why I need to silence my pleas. I did this for them, but they hate me for it. There is a part of me that in some perverted sense is happy to be keeping a secret from the quartet of hybrid interlopers. It’s my secret that no one can touch. I’ve done a noble thing, but maybe it isn’t so noble of me to get some sick satisfaction out of my suffering. Have I become a masochist?
But when I remember the way that Max’s innocence was ripped from his beautiful heart, and the expression on his face when he saw me in bed with Kyle, I think maybe I qualify more for the role of sadist. Of course, maybe it’s just that Future Max had come to enjoy masochism. Maybe the world really wasn’t about to end. Maybe he was jerking off in the bathroom while he watched his younger self die on my balcony.
How I wish that there were another explanation for the tragedy that has become my life. I know that it’s self-inflicted, and I guess that just makes it worse.
But I need to let this go. I can accept - even welcome - the pain, at least. The pain is the only thing that reassures me that I’m grounded in reality. The dreams are simply too amazing, and I find myself wanting never to wake, if only to stay in my illusory world of bliss. Yet again, I need to change. I can only hope that my repeated metamorphoses will reveal a stronger Liz Parker - one who can let go of my fool’s paradise and accept my invitation to the gates of Hell.
Liz got up from her bed to return the journal to its hiding spot outside. When she returned to her bedroom, she wandered about in a fretful manner, touching things disinterestedly. As she picked up a frame from her bookshelf headboard, Liz was pulled into a memory not her own.
Liz was sitting with Max on his bed, trying to understand his reasoning. He was driving her mad with his refusal to accept his responsibilities at the summit, but he was driving her even madder with the light stroking of her wrist by one of his proficient fingers. She fought through the haze of lust and moved away from him.
Liz: You can’t just ignore this, Max. You have a duty to your people.
Max: Which people would that be, Liz? The race of skins that wants me dead? The well-meaning Antarians who left us here with only the Granilith and the instruction that we mate with each other? Or Michael, Isabel, and Tess, who look to me to make the decisions, but then berate my choices and defy me?
Liz: What about your promise to me, Max? When I agreed to be with you again, you said that you wouldn’t let your love for me blind you to the world around you.
Max: Liz, I just... I have a really bad feeling about the duplicate set. I don’t think they are sincere, and something about this situation doesn’t feel right. I’ve ignored my instincts before, and all it caused was trouble. Can’t you feel it, Liz?
Liz: I can’t quite read them. I mean, they’re grieving for their Max... Zan.
Max: Well, that’s just one more reason to back away. How can they hope to be objective when they’re dealing with such a great loss? Grief and fear make people do crazy things. I mean, just look at me. I healed you in front of a café full of witnesses because my fear of losing you was greater than my fear of being exposed. If I lost Isabel or Michael or you... (chokes) I wouldn’t be in a position to make rational decisions.
Liz: (sighs) Max...
Max: I know you think I’m taking this lightly, but I’m not, Liz. I swear it. I know that there might be some people out there waiting for me to lead them, but this isn’t the way. Why wouldn’t they come to me if it’s so important that I be there?
Liz: Okay, Max. Just... Will you promise to think about it overnight? Maybe you’ll be more objective with a clear head.
Max: I will, but I’m almost positive that we are being deliberately uninformed. They know more than they’re letting on. If you don’t want to trust my alien senses, then please believe in my human instinct. In exchange, I’ll try to be a little more open-minded when I talk to them tomorrow, but only because it’s you, Liz.
Liz: Oh, Max.
Max pulled her into his arms and held her tightly to his chest. Liz rested her worried head to hear the soothing cadence of his heart and thought about the duplicate set. She shivered as she thought of her earlier encounter with Rath. Liz felt Max inhale sharply and drew back, looking up at his troubled face.
Liz: What is it, Max?
Max: Why didn’t you tell me that Rath kissed you?
Liz: Oh. Umm, I didn’t want to upset you. I was going to tell you after the whole thing settled down, I swear. I just didn’t want this to affect your decision.
Max: Liz, please don’t do that. Don’t keep things from me because you don’t think I can handle them. Promise me?
Liz: I promise. (pauses) Max?
Max: Yeah?
Liz: Kiss me?
Max leaned down to gently touch his lips to hers. They kissed languorously, each slowly exploring the other’s mouth. Suddenly, Liz found herself flying through the air, landing on the bed and quickly covered by Max’s muscular form. He plunged his tongue into her mouth repeatedly, thrusting his hard cock against her in an accompanying rhythm. He ripped his lips from hers and stopped his movements. With a whimper, Liz chased after his mouth and wiggled her hips. When Max stilled her lower body with his own, she opened her eyes. He fixed his gaze on her eyes. When they’d made contact, he lifted her left hand and brought it to his mouth. He gently placed a kiss on the back of her hand, never looking away from her, and whispered out a fervent “Mine.”
Liz was awed by the gentle ferocity that only Max could manage. Her wonder was quickly forgotten as she witnessed the unchecked desire in his eyes. A connection flared up, and her body was inundated with waves of his desire. She sent him back an equally impassioned wave of longing. He inhaled sharply and closed his eyes tightly in an effort to maintain some control.
His self-discipline was shattered when he felt Liz’s tiny body thrust up against his, turning him onto his back. He opened his eyes, as well as his mouth, in pleased surprise, and Liz pounced at the opportunity he’d presented. She placed ardent kisses on his eager mouth and ran her hands over his body and through his hair in a frantic effort to touch all of him. She abruptly sat up, waking Max from his passionate haze. He looked up at her questioningly, and she returned it with a confident smirk.
Liz hurriedly pulled her arms free of her cardigan and made quick work of removing the matching tank. Max took in this sight with a glazed look of appreciation and slowly reached his greedy hands towards her soft skin. But Liz was having none of it. She removed his hands from her waist and jumped off of the bed. She took her shoes and socks off, and she arched an eyebrow at Max as her fingers reached the button of her jeans.
Liz: Strip. Now.
Knowing a good thing when he saw it, Max climbed from the bed and hastily removed his clothes. He stumbled out of his jeans, crawled to the middle of the bed, and waited to get back in her arms.
Liz: That’s more like it!
Liz slithered up his nude form, wasting no time on foreplay. She straddled Max’s thighs and looked up at him as she stroked his dick with a firm grip. Liz smiled at his groan and made eye contact.
Liz: I want you, Max. Do you want me?
She lifted herself up, teasing him by rubbing his aching cock over her glazed pussy. She lifted her right leg and maneuvered him so that he could see the head of his straining erection as it was merely dipped into her slick passage. He groaned as she lifted herself, leaving him so close to where he wanted to be.
Liz: Say it. Tell me you want me.
Max: God, yes! I want you. Please, Liz. I... I need you so bad!
Feeling powerful at having a king begging of her, she smiled widely and lowered her leg and then her pussy onto his waiting cock. She slowly encased him, closing her eyes at the absolute pleasure of having Max inside her. She paused, glorying in her feeling of completeness, of oneness with Max. Her eyes snapped open as she heard his strangled breath and began lifting herself over him.
Max: Wait. Liz, don’t we need to -
Liz: Max, did you forget so soon?
Max: No, I just... Oh, God!
He was cut off as she lifted herself again, squeezing her inner muscles as she did so. Max looked up to find Liz with her head thrown back, mussed hair falling down her back to tickle his legs. Her eyes were closed, mouth parted slightly, and her hands were busy kneading her swollen breasts and pulling at her strained nipples. She began to move faster, searching for the tempo that she knew would please them both. She opened her eyes and silently begged Max for help.
He understood immediately and lifted his legs to plant his feet firmly on the bed. Max grabbed onto her trim hips and pulled her down towards him as he thrust up into her. Liz let out a low moan and reached down to gain access to her clitoris. Max swatted her hand away and moved his own hand toward her nub. They could feel each other nearing climax and moved faster, losing their rhythm as carnal need overtook them. Max moved his thumb rapidly over her engorged clitoris, delighting in her enthused reaction. He pulled her down on top of him as he felt the first tremors of release, wanting to hold her close as they came. With a hoarse cry, he let go, emptying his pleasure into her spasming pussy. She rubbed her pelvis frantically over him, feeling her orgasm near as his cock swelled inside her. She could feel it approaching and smiled as she heard Max call to her, begging her to cum on him. “Lizzz...”
Chapter Five
It was Friday morning. The Crashdown was closed so the Parkers could do some ‘Day After Thanksgiving’ shopping. The group, minus Max and Tess, but with the addition of Ava, sat around the café, waiting for Liz to come down so they could start the meeting. After ten minutes, Isabel was pissed and started toward the back door. Maria, knowing that no good could come from a confrontation between Isabel and Liz, cut her off just before the swinging door.
Maria: I think I’d better check on her. Why don’t you guys help yourselves to some sodas?
Maria headed up the stairs to the Parker’s apartment. She knocked on Liz’s door. Getting no response, she started to open the door.
Maria: Liz? Hey, Liz! Why aren’t you downstairs? The meeting was supposed to start, like, fifteen minutes ago. Hello? What’s going... on? Liz?
Maria faltered in her words and in her steps as she took in the scene in front of her. Liz’s room had been trashed. Furniture was overturned, her clothes were strewn about, photos and books littered the floor. And in the middle of it all lay Liz Parker. Maria looked at the still girl before her and took in a deep breath.
Maria: LIZ! Oh my God, what’s going on in here? Were you attacked? Is something missing? Are you hurt? Hello? Are you in there? Oh, God, what do I do? Okay, okay, I know this. Right, I’ll make sure she’s breathing and try to wake her up. What if she’s not breathing? Oh, God, I can’t think like that right now! I need to focus. Calm down, Maria. You need to help Liz.
Maria cautiously made her way through the rubble to her friend. Upon closer inspection, Maria noticed that Liz was in fact breathing. Heavily. Very heavily.
Maria: Oh, no! What’s wrong? Liz, c’mon, wake up. I can’t help you unless you wake up. Liz!!
Liz: (mumbled) Maaaaax.
Maria: Of course. Of course! Is anything in this stupid town human-related anymore? She seems okay, but she’s not waking up. Why aren’t you waking up? WAKE UP, LIZ!
She reached into her bag to pull out her cell phone and some aroma therapy jars. In a frustrated huff, Maria dumped the contents onto the back of her prostrate friend. She waved a vial of vanilla essence under her own nose, in an effort to calm herself, and then opened a bottle of peppermint and brought it to Liz’s only available nostril. Maria let out a sigh of relief as the brunette brought up a hand to wipe at her irritated nose.
Liz: Maaax... mmmmm... right there...
Maria: OH. MY. GOD.
Appropriately weirded out at having such close proximity to her moaning friend and her markedly absent right hand, Maria grabbed the nearest pillow and began to hit Liz with it. Maria kept up the attack, interspersing hits with curses and random alien hexes, until the over-stimulated girl began to shield herself from the blows. Liz rolled over and groggily sat up to remove a hairbrush that was digging into her back.
Michael: What’s taking so long? God, Maria, you can’t even do this one small thing. I can’t believe - What the fuck?
Maria: (under breath) Don’t even get me started on fucking...
Maria: Liz? Honey, what happened?
Liz: Huh?
Maria: Uhh, Liz, take a look around. Do you know what happened?
Liz: Oh my God! What happened?
Michael: That’s what I’d like to know!
Maria: Back off, Spaceboy. Go tell the troops we’ll be right down. Liz? What’s going on?
Michael ignored his estranged girlfriend’s words and rushed to Liz’s side.
Michael: Damnit, Maria! What’s going on? Liz, are you okay?
Liz: I... Yeah, I’m fine, Michael. Just... we’ll be right down.
Michael hesitantly left the room, stopping every few steps to look back at the upset girls.
Maria: Liz?
Liz: Maria, I... I don’t know. I’m so confused. Nothing is the way it’s supposed to be, except that now what was not supposed to be is supposed to be. And what was supposed to be isn’t, but I keep seeing it as though it is, and... Oh, God, do I want that life.
Maria: Liz, did you hit your head? What’s going on with you? You’ve been so out of it lately. I’m really worried about you, chica.
Liz: I... I-I’m sorry, Maria, but I can’t talk about this right now. Maybe not ever. I just... I just don’t even know how to explain what’s going on... or what isn’t going on... or what seems to be going on but isn’t. I can’t talk about it in a way that makes sense to anyone but me at this point, and it doesn’t really even make much sense to me. I feel like I’m losing it, Maria. Please, just... just give me some time, okay? Please?
Maria: (sighs) Okay, Liz. Obviously you’ve got some issues going on right now, but are you at least okay physically? ‘Cause I walked into this sty and you were buried under half of it, dead to the world.
Liz: I don’t know how this happened, but... yeah, I have my physical health.
Maria: Right. Okay, but I’m not giving up on this, Liz. For now, let’s just go deal with whatever the pod people are bitching about today.