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xtremeroswelliaAuthor: X_tremeroswellian
Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: The characters belong to the WB, Jason Katims, and Melinda Metz. Mr. Raddish belongs to Kara and Emily. The song, "Disciplined Breakdown" is by Collective Soul, and the song, "Shatter" is by Meredith Brooks.
Author's Note: I began writing this back in February, and it was based off a few early spoilers for the rest of the season that I read back then. After watching "Tess, Lies and Videotape," I realized that this story falls into place with that plot. Here's the rundown. Let's just say that in T,L and V, Max and Tess kissed but Max didn't get any visions. Liz still saw them kiss. Max went to Michael's apartment and he and Michael still fought but didn't end up finding a video camera, although for this story we'll say that Michael went ahead and kicked Max out of his apartment. Shortly afterwords, Max and Liz break up and Max starts dating Tess. This story picks up about two weeks after the M/L break up, and there is much tension among the six of them...
Spoilers: Up through Tess, Lies and Videotape, the rest is just my guess of what could have happened in the season finale, but didn't.
Dedication: To Sarah, Majik Karma, Mel, Linda and Abs for all the feedback! :)
Feedback: Please...and be critical if you feel the need...I can take it.
Special Thanks to: Majik Karma, who helped me work out the entire plot of this story by listening to me ramble on about it for three hours straight over the phone one night. :)
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve | Thirteen | Fourteen | Fifteen | Sixteen | Seventeen | Eighteen | Nineteen | Twenty | Twenty-One | Twenty-two | Twenty Three | Twenty Four | Conclusion
"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."
-Unknown
You Were Meant For Me (Part 11)
Maria rang the bell at Liz's house later that evening. She was surprised when Nancy Parker answered the door. "Oh, hello, Maria. Come in."
"Thanks," Maria said, stepping inside a bit nervously.
"Alex's already here. They're in Liz's room. They've been in there since noon. I hope you can cheer her up."
"What's wrong?"
Nancy shook her head. "Honestly, I have no idea. She never tells me anything."
Maria nodded and shouldered her duffle bag as she walked down the hall to Liz's room. She knocked on the door.
It opened a moment later. "Hey," Alex said, letting her in and closing the door again.
"I never ever can remember
All the things that go bump in the night
Quietness uncovers
Betrayal now hovers..."
Maria and Alex watched as Liz sat on her knees, half-buried in her closet as she dug through it, tossing books, shoes, and clothes onto the floor behind her. "What happened?" Maria asked Alex. Liz never cleaned her closet unless something was really wrong, let alone listen to Collective Soul while she did it.
"...my comfort level's not quite right..."
"Max was with Liz last night. Then he and Tess showed up at the Crashdown this morning. Together," Alex said grimly, dodging a flying high heel.
"I'd love to stay and evaluate
But my torture can't wait..."
Maria stared at Liz as her friend continued rummaging through the pile of junk on her closet floor. "Wait, you mean they spent the night together?"
Alex nodded. "And I hear you and Mr. Guerin are quite inseperable these days."
"It seems I'm losing ground
Welcome all to my disciplined breakdown..."
Maria couldn't answer. Oh, my God, she thought. Michael's dream is coming true. "I need to use the little girl's room," she said, and quickly left Liz's room.
She ducked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She yanked her cell phone out of her purse and dialed the number. "Michael, things just got complicated," she said the second he answered.
"What do you mean?"
"Max and Liz spent the night together."
Michael nearly dropped the phone. "What?"
"He and Tess were back together this morning."
"Shit," he muttered, rubbing his forehead. "How's Liz?"
"Bad. Cleaning her closet."
"Well, that confirms your theory. No way would Max spend the night with Liz and then be back with that bitch if she didn't have him brainwashed."
"It's a good thing he is brainwashed, because if he did this on his own, I'd have to kill him."
"What do we do?"
"Follow through with the plan. I'm not going to mention it to Liz or Alex...if Liz even suspected Tess was FBI and had Max brainwashed..." She paused. "I don't want to think about what could happen."
"You're right. It's too dangerous for her to know, especially now. We can't have her putting the baby's life in danger."
Maria took a deep breath. "Okay. So I do the normal best friend thing tonight."
"Do I want to know what that means?"
"Let's just say be glad you're not going to be here, and you should feel extremely sorry for poor Alex." She took a deep breath. "I gotta go. Talk to you later."
"Ditto."
Maria hung up the phone, took another deep breath to calm herself, and flushed the toliet so no one got suspicious. She tucked her cell phone back into her purse and went back to Liz's room.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Max, is something wrong?" Diane Evans asked as they ate dinner that night. Her husband was out of town on a case.
Max looked at her with a blank expression on her face. "No."
Diane frowned and glanced at her daughter, who was nervously playing with the pendant on her necklace. "Isabel?"
"Yeah, Mom?"
"Aren't you going out tonight?"
"No...I don't really feel like it," she answered vaguely.
Diane's frown deepened. Isabel always went out on Saturday nights. She moved her gaze to Tess, who smiled at her. Diane looked into the girl's eyes, and a chill ran down her spine. Something about this girl really bothered her.
She seemed nice enough, but there was something about her eyes...a coldness that seemed almost like a warning.
Maybe it was just her imagination, though. The girl was a complete 180 from Liz Parker. She was small, although not quite as small as Liz, with shoulder-length, wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was cute, but she didn't have Liz's natural beauty, or soulful brown eyes.
Diane got feelings about people by looking into their eyes and Tess...Tess's eyes were cold, hard, determined. Looking into this girl's eyes made Diane Evans afraid.
Maybe she really was imagining it because she had liked Liz. She was intelligent, thoughtful, and honest. Diane didn't know what happened between Max and Liz, but she still held onto hope that they could work things out. In all honesty, Liz Parker was exactly the type of girl she'd always hoped for for her son.
And there was something between them. When they were around one another, it was like there was this--connection--between them--a connection so strong Diane could feel it.
She didn't have that feeling about Tess. She knew in her heart it was because a connection between Max and Tess didn't exist. Her son had already found his soulmate.
Max and Liz were meant to be together, and sooner or later, they would realize it. Diane looked at Tess and shivered again. She just hoped it was sooner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liz dug her spoon into the vanilla ice cream gallon and shoved it into her mouth.
"Men are idiots, Liz," Maria said, taking a bite of the pistaccio ice cream she was finishing off. "They're all blind and stupid, and think with their--"
"Watch it," Alex warned.
"Seriously. Men are like, the scum of the earth."
"Hey, don't lump all men into the jerk category," Alex said, leaning back against Liz's desk.
"I don't mean you, Alex," Maria said with a sigh.
"Glad to hear it."
"And that--blond bimbo, is like, nothing compared to you."
"I'll second that one," Alex agreed, nodding.
"And if Max can't see that, then he doesn't deserve you anyway."
Liz remained silent as she jammed her spoon back into the frozen gallon. Alex flinched at her harsh action, but then realized he was glad she was angry, rather than depressed and crying.
"I may crack but I'll never shatter
I may crack but it doesn't matter
I may crack but I'll never shatter
Cause I still have a secret no one knows
In the dark I keep it closed..."
He wished there was something he could do to cheer her up. Liz and Maria were his best friends in the world and he hated to see either of them upset.
"...I may crack but I'll never shatter
Destiny wasted over and over
I may crack but it doesn't matter..."
"You know what makes me the angriest?"
Alex jerked his head up to look at Liz. That was the first whole sentence she'd spoken all evening. "What?"
"That if this was any other guy and this happened, I'd have no problem with someone volunteering to kill him for me." She jabbed the spoon back into the ice cream so hard her hand throbbed. "But it's Max. And it makes me so angry that no matter what he does, I still can't hate him for it." She gave a bitter laugh.
Alex shot Maria a look, who quickly moved to sit next to Liz on her bed. "That's okay, babe, cause Alex and I can hate him enough for all three of us."
He stood up and moved to sit on the other side of her. "Or we could just kill Tess," he suggested.
Maria narrowed her eyes. "Sounds like a plan to me."
Liz managed a small smile. "Only if I get to rip out her hair one strand at a time."
"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Alex joked
Liz smacked him on the arm playfully. "As long as you never turn into an insensitive jerk like the rest of the male species, you don't have to worry about it."
"I'll take that as a compliment and a warning."
She smiled at him. Then her smile faded as she looked down at the half-eaten gallon of vanilla ice cream. "Thanks, guys, for being here. I know I've been a bitch lately, but--"
"Please reserve that word for a certain barbie bimbo," Maria said, rolling her eyes.
Alex nudged her with his elbow. "Don't force us to tickle you."
Maria met his eyes and grinned.
Liz's eyes widened. "Guys, no, don't--" They pounced, tickling Liz until she fell backwards on the bed, laughing so hard tears streamed down her face. "Stop it!" she shrieked, laughing hysterically.
Alex and Maria grinned at each other and then down at Liz. "No more calling yourself bad names?" Maria asked.
"No!"
"What's the magic words?" Alex asked, smiling as he threatened to tickle her again.
"Guys, this is very unfair," Liz protested, struggling to catch her breath.
"Say it!" Maria cried, tickling her ribs.
Liz laughed helplessly. "Never!"
Alex laughed with her. "Say it and end the torture!"
She squeezed her eyes shut. "Radish head!"
Alex and Maria burst out laughing and collapsed next to her. "God, when was the last time we did that?" Maria asked as she tried to calm down.
"Last year at my birthday sleepover," Liz answered immediatlely, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
"That's just plain scary," Alex said with a laugh, wiping his own eyes.
"You two used to tease me about that all the time. Am I ever going to live it down?" Liz demanded, looking from Maria to Alex.
Maria and Alex exchanged a look. "Nope," they said in unison.
"Besides, you never should have admitted you liked our fifth grade teacher to begin with," Maria said, grinning.
"Remind me never to tell you guys anything again," she said with a laugh as her eyes drifted shut.
Alex and Maria smiled, and did the same. And within in minutes, all three friends had fallen fast asleep.
Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: The characters belong to the WB, Jason Katims, and Melinda Metz. Mr. Raddish belongs to Kara and Emily. The song, "Disciplined Breakdown" is by Collective Soul, and the song, "Shatter" is by Meredith Brooks.
Author's Note: I began writing this back in February, and it was based off a few early spoilers for the rest of the season that I read back then. After watching "Tess, Lies and Videotape," I realized that this story falls into place with that plot. Here's the rundown. Let's just say that in T,L and V, Max and Tess kissed but Max didn't get any visions. Liz still saw them kiss. Max went to Michael's apartment and he and Michael still fought but didn't end up finding a video camera, although for this story we'll say that Michael went ahead and kicked Max out of his apartment. Shortly afterwords, Max and Liz break up and Max starts dating Tess. This story picks up about two weeks after the M/L break up, and there is much tension among the six of them...
Spoilers: Up through Tess, Lies and Videotape, the rest is just my guess of what could have happened in the season finale, but didn't.
Dedication: To Sarah, Majik Karma, Mel, Linda and Abs for all the feedback! :)
Feedback: Please...and be critical if you feel the need...I can take it.
Special Thanks to: Majik Karma, who helped me work out the entire plot of this story by listening to me ramble on about it for three hours straight over the phone one night. :)
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve | Thirteen | Fourteen | Fifteen | Sixteen | Seventeen | Eighteen | Nineteen | Twenty | Twenty-One | Twenty-two | Twenty Three | Twenty Four | Conclusion
"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."
-Unknown
You Were Meant For Me (Part 11)
Maria rang the bell at Liz's house later that evening. She was surprised when Nancy Parker answered the door. "Oh, hello, Maria. Come in."
"Thanks," Maria said, stepping inside a bit nervously.
"Alex's already here. They're in Liz's room. They've been in there since noon. I hope you can cheer her up."
"What's wrong?"
Nancy shook her head. "Honestly, I have no idea. She never tells me anything."
Maria nodded and shouldered her duffle bag as she walked down the hall to Liz's room. She knocked on the door.
It opened a moment later. "Hey," Alex said, letting her in and closing the door again.
"I never ever can remember
All the things that go bump in the night
Quietness uncovers
Betrayal now hovers..."
Maria and Alex watched as Liz sat on her knees, half-buried in her closet as she dug through it, tossing books, shoes, and clothes onto the floor behind her. "What happened?" Maria asked Alex. Liz never cleaned her closet unless something was really wrong, let alone listen to Collective Soul while she did it.
"...my comfort level's not quite right..."
"Max was with Liz last night. Then he and Tess showed up at the Crashdown this morning. Together," Alex said grimly, dodging a flying high heel.
"I'd love to stay and evaluate
But my torture can't wait..."
Maria stared at Liz as her friend continued rummaging through the pile of junk on her closet floor. "Wait, you mean they spent the night together?"
Alex nodded. "And I hear you and Mr. Guerin are quite inseperable these days."
"It seems I'm losing ground
Welcome all to my disciplined breakdown..."
Maria couldn't answer. Oh, my God, she thought. Michael's dream is coming true. "I need to use the little girl's room," she said, and quickly left Liz's room.
She ducked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She yanked her cell phone out of her purse and dialed the number. "Michael, things just got complicated," she said the second he answered.
"What do you mean?"
"Max and Liz spent the night together."
Michael nearly dropped the phone. "What?"
"He and Tess were back together this morning."
"Shit," he muttered, rubbing his forehead. "How's Liz?"
"Bad. Cleaning her closet."
"Well, that confirms your theory. No way would Max spend the night with Liz and then be back with that bitch if she didn't have him brainwashed."
"It's a good thing he is brainwashed, because if he did this on his own, I'd have to kill him."
"What do we do?"
"Follow through with the plan. I'm not going to mention it to Liz or Alex...if Liz even suspected Tess was FBI and had Max brainwashed..." She paused. "I don't want to think about what could happen."
"You're right. It's too dangerous for her to know, especially now. We can't have her putting the baby's life in danger."
Maria took a deep breath. "Okay. So I do the normal best friend thing tonight."
"Do I want to know what that means?"
"Let's just say be glad you're not going to be here, and you should feel extremely sorry for poor Alex." She took a deep breath. "I gotta go. Talk to you later."
"Ditto."
Maria hung up the phone, took another deep breath to calm herself, and flushed the toliet so no one got suspicious. She tucked her cell phone back into her purse and went back to Liz's room.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Max, is something wrong?" Diane Evans asked as they ate dinner that night. Her husband was out of town on a case.
Max looked at her with a blank expression on her face. "No."
Diane frowned and glanced at her daughter, who was nervously playing with the pendant on her necklace. "Isabel?"
"Yeah, Mom?"
"Aren't you going out tonight?"
"No...I don't really feel like it," she answered vaguely.
Diane's frown deepened. Isabel always went out on Saturday nights. She moved her gaze to Tess, who smiled at her. Diane looked into the girl's eyes, and a chill ran down her spine. Something about this girl really bothered her.
She seemed nice enough, but there was something about her eyes...a coldness that seemed almost like a warning.
Maybe it was just her imagination, though. The girl was a complete 180 from Liz Parker. She was small, although not quite as small as Liz, with shoulder-length, wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was cute, but she didn't have Liz's natural beauty, or soulful brown eyes.
Diane got feelings about people by looking into their eyes and Tess...Tess's eyes were cold, hard, determined. Looking into this girl's eyes made Diane Evans afraid.
Maybe she really was imagining it because she had liked Liz. She was intelligent, thoughtful, and honest. Diane didn't know what happened between Max and Liz, but she still held onto hope that they could work things out. In all honesty, Liz Parker was exactly the type of girl she'd always hoped for for her son.
And there was something between them. When they were around one another, it was like there was this--connection--between them--a connection so strong Diane could feel it.
She didn't have that feeling about Tess. She knew in her heart it was because a connection between Max and Tess didn't exist. Her son had already found his soulmate.
Max and Liz were meant to be together, and sooner or later, they would realize it. Diane looked at Tess and shivered again. She just hoped it was sooner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liz dug her spoon into the vanilla ice cream gallon and shoved it into her mouth.
"Men are idiots, Liz," Maria said, taking a bite of the pistaccio ice cream she was finishing off. "They're all blind and stupid, and think with their--"
"Watch it," Alex warned.
"Seriously. Men are like, the scum of the earth."
"Hey, don't lump all men into the jerk category," Alex said, leaning back against Liz's desk.
"I don't mean you, Alex," Maria said with a sigh.
"Glad to hear it."
"And that--blond bimbo, is like, nothing compared to you."
"I'll second that one," Alex agreed, nodding.
"And if Max can't see that, then he doesn't deserve you anyway."
Liz remained silent as she jammed her spoon back into the frozen gallon. Alex flinched at her harsh action, but then realized he was glad she was angry, rather than depressed and crying.
"I may crack but I'll never shatter
I may crack but it doesn't matter
I may crack but I'll never shatter
Cause I still have a secret no one knows
In the dark I keep it closed..."
He wished there was something he could do to cheer her up. Liz and Maria were his best friends in the world and he hated to see either of them upset.
"...I may crack but I'll never shatter
Destiny wasted over and over
I may crack but it doesn't matter..."
"You know what makes me the angriest?"
Alex jerked his head up to look at Liz. That was the first whole sentence she'd spoken all evening. "What?"
"That if this was any other guy and this happened, I'd have no problem with someone volunteering to kill him for me." She jabbed the spoon back into the ice cream so hard her hand throbbed. "But it's Max. And it makes me so angry that no matter what he does, I still can't hate him for it." She gave a bitter laugh.
Alex shot Maria a look, who quickly moved to sit next to Liz on her bed. "That's okay, babe, cause Alex and I can hate him enough for all three of us."
He stood up and moved to sit on the other side of her. "Or we could just kill Tess," he suggested.
Maria narrowed her eyes. "Sounds like a plan to me."
Liz managed a small smile. "Only if I get to rip out her hair one strand at a time."
"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Alex joked
Liz smacked him on the arm playfully. "As long as you never turn into an insensitive jerk like the rest of the male species, you don't have to worry about it."
"I'll take that as a compliment and a warning."
She smiled at him. Then her smile faded as she looked down at the half-eaten gallon of vanilla ice cream. "Thanks, guys, for being here. I know I've been a bitch lately, but--"
"Please reserve that word for a certain barbie bimbo," Maria said, rolling her eyes.
Alex nudged her with his elbow. "Don't force us to tickle you."
Maria met his eyes and grinned.
Liz's eyes widened. "Guys, no, don't--" They pounced, tickling Liz until she fell backwards on the bed, laughing so hard tears streamed down her face. "Stop it!" she shrieked, laughing hysterically.
Alex and Maria grinned at each other and then down at Liz. "No more calling yourself bad names?" Maria asked.
"No!"
"What's the magic words?" Alex asked, smiling as he threatened to tickle her again.
"Guys, this is very unfair," Liz protested, struggling to catch her breath.
"Say it!" Maria cried, tickling her ribs.
Liz laughed helplessly. "Never!"
Alex laughed with her. "Say it and end the torture!"
She squeezed her eyes shut. "Radish head!"
Alex and Maria burst out laughing and collapsed next to her. "God, when was the last time we did that?" Maria asked as she tried to calm down.
"Last year at my birthday sleepover," Liz answered immediatlely, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
"That's just plain scary," Alex said with a laugh, wiping his own eyes.
"You two used to tease me about that all the time. Am I ever going to live it down?" Liz demanded, looking from Maria to Alex.
Maria and Alex exchanged a look. "Nope," they said in unison.
"Besides, you never should have admitted you liked our fifth grade teacher to begin with," Maria said, grinning.
"Remind me never to tell you guys anything again," she said with a laugh as her eyes drifted shut.
Alex and Maria smiled, and did the same. And within in minutes, all three friends had fallen fast asleep.
