This has nothing to do with my Family Series. This is a Crossover unlike I've ever read. I hope you all like it.
Author: LittleBit
Category: Crossover-UC
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything.
Summary: Liz centered. Set after Changes. Except instead of going to her dad so that she’s sent to Vermont Liz decides to leave Roswell and go to the one person who might know what’s going on with her powers. She starts a new life and meets new friends.
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Prologue-January 2002
After packing up her stuff, writing letters to her parents, Maria, Max even Kyle and withdrawing all her money out of the bank Liz headed to her last stop. She had called him and asked him to meet her at the park. It was close to the bus station where she had put her stuff in a locker until she left.
As she made her way into the park she saw him waiting on a bench. He looked up at her when she approached “Hey Liz. What’s up?”
“Hey Michael. Thanks for meeting me.”
Michael shrugged, “It’s no big deal. Didn’t feel like being at home right now anyway, Maxwell isn’t in the best mood.”
“Did he tell you about what happened?”
“Yeah, he did. If you ask me, your little blowup was a long time coming. Are you still hurting?” Michael asked.
Liz held up her hands and pulled back her sleeves. Michael was able to see the currents of green energy flowing over her hands as well as her puffy eyes. “It’s lessened up enough that I can stand it. The farther I am away from Max the less it hurts. That’s why I wanted to meet with you. I’m leaving Roswell and I wanted to know if you would give this to Max.” She handed him an envelope. “I left others for my parents, Kyle and mailed one to Maria but I didn’t think that my dad would give Max his.”
Michael took the envelope, surprised etched on his face. “You’re leaving?”
“I need to get out of Roswell. It holds too many memories. I feel suffocated here. I need to sort out my life.”
“What about school? Where are you going?” Michael asked. The last couple of days had taken a toll on her. She looked pale and she looked like she hadn’t slept a lot. He knew Liz had been through a lot and could understand why she needed to get out of town. She had kept everything bottled up inside until she exploded, Michael could definitely relate.
“I have plenty of credits to graduate. I’m going to contact school and tell them to put my diploma through so I’ll be a high school graduate. As to where I’m going, I’m going to go see someone who might know what going on with me.”
“Who?”
“Ava.”
“You’ve known where she was all this time? Is that why you never pushed us finding her after you told us about Future Max?”
Liz nodded. “She’s been sending me letters and I know where she is. I didn’t tell anyone because she asked me not to. She doesn’t want Lonnie or Rath to find her. Since she’s the first one to tell me about being changed I’m hoping she’ll be able to help.”
“Are you sure you want to do that? I mean you do you really want to go stay with someone who looks just like Tess?”
“Ava is not Tess. They might look alike but I don’t see Tess in Ava. I can’t explain it but her personality makes her look different to me.”
“I think I get it. But what if something happens? Like Lonnie or Rath or more skins? How will you know if something happens to Maria or your parents?”
“When I get settled I’ll get another cell phone. I’ve got Maria’s number in New York, I’ll call my parents and give them my number, if it will make you feel better I’ll give it to you too so if anything happens you can call me.” Liz knew that Michael would respect her need for privacy. They had become closer friends ever since he had talked to her about his problems with Maria then later when they had spent time together on New Years.
“I won’t give it to anyone who you don’t want me to.”
“Thank you, Michael.” He walked her to the bus station and waited until she was on the bus to Alburqueue. When she got there she would be able to catch the bus to her final destination. Seattle, Washington.
Part 1:
Four months later:
When Liz arrived in Seattle she’d gone straight to address that was on Ava’s letters. She’d had a little problem with the sector cops but she eventually made it to Ava’s apartment building. Ava wasn’t there so Liz sat in front of her door for the few hours until Ava came home. She’d been surprised to see Liz there but quickly pulled Liz into her apartment. After Liz told her story, Ava had told Liz that in no uncertain terms that she was going to move in with her and would arrange to get her a job with her boss. Ava was a waitress at a restaurant a couple of blocks away. Liz now worked there and took a couple college courses.
Ava told her that when Max healed her that he had transferred some of his alien essence into her and that she was now a hybrid as well. The changes she had been going through were her body’s way of adjusting to the development of her powers. They had been developing since she was healed but only appeared recently because they were coming into their full strength. The flashes she had gotten over the years and the astral projection thing she had done to save Max in New York were instances of her powers coming to the surface. Hers were different though. She could do everything the others could heal, the shield, the powerblast, dreamwalking, mindwarping, plus astral project. The dream walking was just an extension of the projecting and she found it even easier. She'd dream walked both Michael and Maria as test runs with no problems except for scaring the crap out of them.
The mind warping was more difficult for her. She didn’t even want to learn how to use it because of what had happened to Alex but Ava told her that it didn’t hurt anyone if it was done in small doses. Ava said what had happened to Alex was because Tess had done it for too long plus erased his memories and added new ones. That the mindwarp wasn’t meant to be used on someone to the extent Tess had used it. Liz felt better about it knowing she wouldn’t hurt someone if she used it. The other powers were easier to do since they were more physical in nature rather than mental.
Thanks to Ava Liz now had control of her powers, she used them quite a bit. Or as Isabel would say ‘recreationally.’ As much control as she had there were times when the green current came back. Ava said it had something to do with all of the emotional buildup she needed to sort out. Their powers were link somewhat to their emotions.
Liz did what she had told Michael she would and had gotten a new cell phone. She spoke to her parents once a week, they weren’t happy that she had left home but tried to understand that she needed to be on her own. Not knowing how much she despised Tess, she had told them that Ava was Tess’s twin who she had befriended when she had visited Tess once. She also checked in with Michael every week but instead of calling although he did have her number, she just projected herself there. Her abilities had improved enough that she was able to talk and even touch things when she projected. Every week at the same time on the same day she met him in the bedroom of his apartment so Max wouldn’t see her and they visited. She’d tell him about her life except Liz never told him where she was. He’d tell her about Roswell and how everyone was. Max was heartbroken when she’d left and was trying to find out where she’d gone. With a small nudge from Michael Liz had broken down and called Max. She didn’t trust herself to see him through projecting so she called him but it hadn’t gone well. She ended up melting her phone and had to transfer her number to a new one. Michael never pushed her to talk to him again.
After a long day at work Liz had come home and taken a hot bath. Having alien powers came in handy in Seattle considering they didn’t have running hot water unless you were super rich. Most people had to heat up buckets of hot water to take a bath; Liz and Ava only had to wave their hands over the tub to heat it. A knocking from the bathroom door interrupted Liz’s relaxation. “Liz, get out of that tub and get ready. We’re going out.”
Liz rolled her eyes as she got up and wrapped a towel around her. She flung open the door, “And if I don’t want to go out?”
“Too bad. You’re going.” Ava said. She tried to get Liz to go out as much as possible so that she wouldn’t dwell on her thoughts of Roswell. Living with Ava had brought out a side of Liz that she was sure no one in Roswell had seen before. She was more outgoing and relaxed. Seattle was a big city and you could blend in. She felt freer and enjoyed her life. Her appearance had changed as well. Her hair was longer and had a few small braids mixed into it. She hadn’t grown any taller but her body had filled out some. She had gone up a cup size and her hips were curvier. Ava had even talked her into using her powers to pierce her eyebrow and navel and she had a tribal tattoo on her left arm and another one on her right toe. She definitely didn’t look like Little Lizzie Parker anymore.
Liz walked into her room and saw that Ava had already laid out her clothes. A pair of hiphugger jeans, a long sleeve v-neck black top that left her midriff bare, and a pair of black Doc Martins’ to finish off the outfit. Liz dressed quickly and Ava waved her hand over Liz’s hair drying her hair as Liz used her powers to do her makeup. “So where are we going? I can tell we’re not going clubbing by our outfits.”
“No. We ain’t goin clubbin. I wanted to go out but not dancing. I knew you’d want to relax tonight so instead we’re going to this bar I heard about.” The two girls’ Ids said that they were twenty-one even if they were technically only eighteen.
“A bar? We can’t drink Ava, so why are we going to a bar?” Liz asked as she pulled on her black leather jacket. Granted they did go to clubs but that was for the dancing not the drinking.
“They serve food too. Plus they have pool tables. I thought we could shoot some pool and sucker some money out of some idiot men.” Ava and Liz both loved to play pool and were good at it even without the aid of their alien powers.
“What’s the name of this place?”
“The Crash.”
Part 2
‘The Crash’ was busy but not packed and was lively which lifted Liz’s mood. After her visit last night with Michael she couldn’t help but be in a less than great mood. Michael had told her that Max still hadn’t given up searching for her and knew that Michael was in contact with Liz. He had pressured Michael to tell him where she was but thankfully Michael could deny that he knew where she was considering it was the truth. Michael said that between the investigation Max’s dad was conducting and Max’s own search for Liz things were crazy. Not to mention that Jessie was getting more curious everyday, Maria was still in New York and all of them were watching Kyle for signs of his powers emerging.
Liz had to admit that Ava had been right in getting her out of the apartment. She would have written in journal and dwelled on what Michael had told her. Instead the two of them talked about other things like work and the different people they saw there in the bar. The two girls had just finished a basket of extra spicy chicken wings and a pitcher of cherry coke when they heard a loud sexy voice coming from the direction of the pool tables. “Come on Logan. I’ve already wiped the table with everyone else. Are you ready to take me on?”
Liz looked over at the pool tables and found the owner of the voice. It was a guy in his early twenties with dark blonde hair and a smirk on his face. Liz had to admit that he was gorgeous even if he did act cocky. She usually didn’t like that in a guy but there was something about him that made her want to change her mind. She continued to watch as another guy with glasses who looked older but was still cute rise from his stool beside two girls and picked up a pool cue. The two girls cheered on the one who she assumed was Logan as the two guys played pool. She couldn’t help but stare at the first guy as he played. The T-shirt he wore moved over his body in a way that showed Liz that he had toned muscles underneath.
“See sumthin you like?” Ava asked as she followed Liz’s line of sight. The guy was very good looking and looked to be the exact opposite of Max. She knew that Liz still loved Max but he had hurt her badly and that left a strike against him in Ava’s book. This guy might be perfect to get Liz’s mind off of her heartbreak. On the other hand he could be one of those guys who runs through women like Kleenex. She would have to keep an eye on him, make sure he didn’t try anything on Liz that Liz didn’t want. Between Zan and growing up on the streets Ava had learned to take care of herself even without her powers. She had taught Liz some of what she knew.
Liz blushed. She couldn’t help it. Ava had caught her staring. “Just thinking that he talks a big game but I can probably take him. What do you think?”
Ava smiled at the twinkle she saw in Liz’s eyes. “Let’s go.”
The two girls left their table and headed for the pool table area just as the younger guy sank the eight ball. “And your hundred bucks is mine.” He announced as the other guy, Logan, handed him the cash. “Easy money.”
“Feel like loosing that easy money?” Liz challenged walking up and putting her hand on her hips.
Alec turned at the voice that was offering him a challenge. And he liked what he saw. Two girls were standing on the other side of the pool table. One blonde, one brunette, both short. The blonde was pretty even with the pink streaks through her shoulder length hair but it was the brunette who caught his attention. She had long thick wavy brown hair, chocolate colored eyes, and a nice little body. She was beautiful; he definitely wanted to get to know her better. He might even let her win at pool to do it. “Pretty sure of yourself. It’s quite a bit of money.”
“Double or nothing?” Liz asked. She tried to hide the effect the intense gaze from his eyes had on her.
Alec raised an eyebrow, “Two hundred? You sure about that?”
Liz nodded as she pulled out her money and placed it on the edge of the table, “Positive, I can always use an extra two hundred. Or are you too scaried you’ll loose?”
Alec smiled his most charming smile and said, “You’re on. I like a woman who’s willing to take a gamble.”
Ava made her way over to the other girls and Logan and sat on another stool. “You probably like any woman who’s breathin.”
Everyone broke into laughter except for Alec who just glared at Ava as he racked the balls. “I like her.” The black girl said. “Name’s Original Cindy, this is my boo Max, her boy Logan, and the other boy over there who thinks he’s a pool shark over there is Alec.”
“I’m Ava that’s my sister Liz.” Ava and Liz always told everyone that they were sisters since they had the same last name. When Ava had first came to Seattle she had taken the last name Parker after Liz. Liz was the first real friend Ava had ever had and she meant a lot to her. After Liz came to live with her, Liz had told her that she liked it so Ava had kept it.
“You two certainly don’t look like sisters.” Logan stated. “Except for your height.”
“I take after my father, Ava looks like her mother.” Liz said. It was true. Ava had told her that from what she could remember from Antar she did indeed look somewhat like her mother so it wasn’t a complete lie. She figured the group wouldn’t notice her choice of words. She glanced at Alec once before she took her first shot. CRACK. On the brake she managed to sink two solid colored balls. Alec looked at her impressed; she might actually offer him a challenge. Liz sunk one more ball before missing a shot signaling Alec’s turn.
“Not all siblings look alike.” Max stated as she watched the two continue to play. Logan nodded. Max’s brothers and sisters features were all different. Of course they weren’t siblings in the conventional way.
“I haven’t seen you two here before. I would have noticed.” Alec commented.
“Never been here before.”
“Are you two lovely ladies here alone or do I have to worry about a boyfriend coming after me when I win this game?” Alec asked as he bent over to take a difficult shot.
“No boyfriends, just us.” Liz said. Ava smiled at Liz as she watched her check out Alec’s ass. She cleared her throat and tried not to bust out laughing when Liz’s eyes flew up to meet hers and she turned a dark shade of red. Ava lifted her eyebrows in a silent question and Liz just shrugged. She switched her gaze back to Alec trailing up his body just as he stood up; something on his neck caught her eye. It was a tattoo of a barcode. “Interesting tattoo. Had it long?” Liz asked but was confused when she saw Alec as well as the other three visibly stiffen.
Part 3:
“For a while. It’s nothing big.” Alec said. Liz’s question had jolted him. Most people never noticed it, the one’s that did usually knew what it meant. Could she be one of White’s spies? She didn’t seem like it.
“I’ve got two but Ave has a lot more.” Liz said casually. She blew off Alec’s uneasiness about the tattoo figuring it just brought up bad memories, probably from a teenage rebellion stunt gone badly. She took her turn and sunk another shot. She only had one more ball left on the table as opposed to Alec’s four.
“Original Cindy is not down with the needles, too much pain. That eyebrow had to hurt. Not to mention your lip.” She said pointing to Ava’s lip ring.
“Didn’t hurt much. We’re fast healers.” Ava said as Liz sunk her last ball and lined up the eight ball. She lined up the shot and banked it off the side sending it straight into the desired pocket. “That’s game.”
Alec looked at the table in amazement. Liz had actually beaten him; he hadn’t even had to throw the game. She had beaten him fair and square. He picked up the money and handed it to her. “I can’t believe it. You beat the pants off of me, not that the prospect of that is unpleasant.”
Liz rolled her eyes at the obvious come on. “Are you able to handle the blow to your male ego?”
Alec put his hand to his chest, “You wound me but I think I’ll be okay.” He looked over at where a few people were dancing and got an idea. “Would you make me feel better about taking my money and dance with me?”
Liz bit her lip as she said, “I won it fairly but I’ll indulge you.” She handed her pool queue to Ava and followed Alec out on the dance floor. The song was neither slow nor fast but Alec pulled her body close to him as he began to dance. The way she enjoyed his body’s closeness to hers surprised Liz. She never thought she’d be so attracted to someone other than Max.
Alec looked down into Liz’s eyes and saw them darken slightly with desire. She wanted him like he wanted her or at least she was close. He usually just had his fun with girls and left them but there was something about her that made him want more. He only reacted to one other girl like this but that was when he’d been an innocent in the ways of women. ‘God, I’m starting to sound as sappy as Max,’ He thought before he shook his head to clear it. Instead he concentrated on how her small body fit with his. They finished their dance and Liz headed back to the others before he could propose they continue. Her flat refusal of him sparked something inside him. She had a fire about her that was different from all the other women he'd had encounters with.
“Hey guys what’re up to?” Liz asked.
“Well I was just about to buy you and your sister a drink for knocking the wind out of Alec’s sail.” Max said. “How about a pitcher of beer?”
“Better make that a pitcher of cherry coke. Ava and I have an allergy to alcohol.” ‘That’s putting it mildly.’ Liz thought. She still remembered the night Max had gotten drunk and been reckless with his powers. She didn’t want that to happen to her or Ava and bring unwanted attention to themselves. With all the rumors about mutants and the government hunting them they didn’t want to take the risk. She understood how Michael, Max, and Isabel had felt all of their lives.
“Then it’s a pitcher of cherry coke and a pitcher of beer. Be back in a minute.” Max said before heading for the bar. She was back quickly and the group sat around making small talk.
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It was after midnight when they left the Crash. After saying goodnight to the group, Ava and Liz turned to head home but Alec stepped in their way. “You’re not heading home yet are you?”
Liz smiled at him. From what she gathered he irritated the other three but they put up with him. But as they had all talked she found herself liking Alec more and more. He was a combination of Alex, Michael and Kyle all rolled into one. There was one distinctive difference between him and her friends, she wasn’t attracted to her friends but she was to Alec. “We’re tired. It’s time to head off to bed. Aren’t you tired?”
“I can go all night.” Alec smiled thinking he could offer his bed to her if she insisted on going to bed but didn’t think she would like that. “When can we get together for a rematch?”
Resisting the urge to take him up on seeing him again Liz replied, “I don’t know. We might be around but we work a lot.” She said as she started walking again but Alec followed. “Well how about I call you for an appointment?” He joked. He had seen a cell phone in her pocket earlier so he knew she had a phone.
Ava decided to help Liz out. “Sorry but we need to get going. See ya later maybe.”
The two girls sped up and turned the corner leaving Alec in their wake. It took him a minute to follow and when he turned the corner to pursue them he saw they were gone. Completely baffled as to how they had gotten away so quickly he used his enhanced vision to scan the shadows but found nothing. Giving up on finding them but hoping to run into Liz again Alec made his way to his motorcycle and headed back to his apartment.
Liz waited until Alec was a block away before she dropped her mindwarp. She hated using it but hadn’t seen any other way to escape Alec. She blew out a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding as she turned to walk with Ava back to their apartment.
“You are so bad. That guy wants you bad and you want him. Where’s the problem?” Ava asked.
“I don’t know. It’s just strange. I never thought I’d want anyone but Max.” It wasn’t like her and Max were still together, she had broken up with him before she left Roswell. She had just been in love with him for so long that she couldn’t imagine stopping. Of course Max claimed to have still loved her even when he was with Tess.
“I felt the same way about Zan but sometimes our hearts still lead us to others.”
Part 4:
Alec's POV
Alec leaned back against the lockers and sighed in frustration. It’d been almost a week since Alec had met Liz at the Crash and he had been back every night since just in case she was there. That's how long it had been since his world had completely changed. One week and he had gone from one-night stands with girls he didn't know, to a man who was infatuated by a petite brunette he had spent a few hours with. He couldn’t believe how he was acting, he couldn’t get Liz out of his head. He’d even turned down a date with a cute redhead to go to the Crash with Max, Sketchy, and Original Cindy. There was just something about her the other night that had affected him inside. But he didn’t know anyway to find her. “I need help.” He muttered causing Sketchy to look at him funny.
“Alec you alright man?”
“Yeah, fine.”
“Alec! Got a delivery for you.” He heard Normal yell at him. He grabbed the package and headed out.
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Alec parked his bike outside of the address on the package and made his way into the restaurant. He had been by this place many times since it was close to his apartment but had never gone in. It was between the lunch and dinner rush so the place only had a few people there. He didn’t see anyone around so he sat down at a table and waited for someone to come out to sign for the package. He’d waited about five minutes when he heard the door in the back open. He turned to tell the person about his delivery when he saw her. It was Liz. She was dressed in a simple black skirt that gave him a glimpse of her legs and white blouse with a nametag. It was obvious to him that she worked there.
She caught sight of him at the same time. “What are you doing here?”
“I bet the tips are just rolling in if you greet everyone who comes in here like that.” He said looking at her. He was good at reading people. It was her eyes that held his gaze; there was so much in them. He could see strength and was able to tell she had seen a lot in her life.
“Sorry. I just didn’t expect to see you here. What did you want to eat?” Liz smiled. Alec watched as she nervously tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m not here for food.” He held up the package. “I work for Jam Pony Messenger Service and I’m here to drop this off. But seeing you is an added pleasure.”
He added her the package and she read the label as she took it. “This is for the manager. Is it okay if I sign for it?”
“Yeah.” He handed her the signature pad. “I haven’t seen you at the Crash to try and get more money out of me.”
“Ava and I have been busy.” It was true they had been busy with work. Of course that didn’t stop them from going to a couple of clubs. Ava had tried to get her to go back to the Crash but Liz had insisted on going to a club. She was trying to avoid seeing Alec. Ava hadn’t minded once they got there since she had met a guy. Before they could talk more another waitress came out of the kitchen. “Liz, Matt wants to talk to you.”
“I’ve got a package for him anyway.” Liz called back to her. She turned back to Alec and said, “I’ve got to get back there. See you later.” She turned and fled to the back.
Alec watched her go and realized he still didn’t know her phone number or her address. He looked down at the signature paid and saw that she had signed her full name, Liz Parker. Alec smirked as he left. He knew Logan could track her down now that he had her last name.
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Once he was off work he headed straight to Logan’s building. After bypassing the locks on Logan’s penthouse door, Alec went in search of him. He found him in front of computer as per usual talking to Max. “Ever hear of knocking Alec?” Logan asked.
“Then you might not answer the door and I have a favor to ask.” Alec replied
“You’re actually asking for something? This week is just full of surprises. First you loose at pool now you’re here begging for something.” Max quipped.
“Funny Max. Loosing at pool last week is exactly why I’m here actually. I saw Liz today and got her last name but not her address or number. I wanted to see if Logan could track down her address for me, it’s not listed.”
“Stalker much, Alec?” Max joked.
Alec threw her an annoyed look, “At least I didn’t have to break into someone’s apartment to get a date. And I’m not stalking her, she was working and got busy before I could ask for them myself.” He turned to Logan and asked, “Do you think you could do it?”
Logan looked at Max and saw her just shrug. Figuring Alec would bother him until he did it he agreed. “I can get into her employment file with the Dept. of work force. What’s her last name?”
“Parker.”
Logan tapped a few keys on his computer and five minutes later he found what they were looking for. “I found her and Ava in here. They work at the same place and share the same address. No phone number listed but here’s the address.” He handed Alec the piece of paper with the address on it. “I don’t think I’ve seen you do so much work just for a date.”
“You know Alec she might not want to go out with you. You could be going through all of this for nothing.” Max stated.
“Why wouldn’t she want to go out with me?” Alec smiled.
“Yeah, who could resist you with that winning personality.” Max said rolling her eyes.
“Thanks for the info. I’m outta here.” Alec said as he breezed out the door leaving Max and Logan confused by his strange behavior.
BTW: As I said before this takes place after changes and On DA after Exposure except for in Borrowed Time the stupid virus stayed cured and Max & Logan are together.
Part 5:
KNOCK KNOCK
Liz closed the cupboard doors to go answer the door. She’d been trying to find something to eat but didn’t feel like cooking just for herself, she was about to settle for a Snapple and Cheetos. Ava had gone out with the guy, Jonathan, whom she had met at the club they’d gone to a couple days ago leaving Liz to fend for herself. After work she’d come home and taken a bath trying to get Alec out of her head. Ever since she had seen him at the restaurant he had occupied her mind. She swung open the door only to see the subject of her thoughts standing right in front of her. She was so shocked to see him that she couldn’t say anything.
“Not a big one for greetings are you?” Alec said as he leaned against the doorframe. From his position he was able to look her over. She had her hair loosely piled on top of her head and was dressed in a tank top with sweats that accented her curves. Her outfit and lack of socks allowed him to see the tattoos she’d talked about the other night. The one on her arm looked ordinary enough but the one on her toe was unusual. It was five stars in the form of a Vat the juncture of her toes to her foot. (Note: Kind of like a permanent toe ring of the V constellation).
“You like popping up where you’re least expected don’t you?” Liz fired back. “How did you find out where I live? Interrogate the people I work with?”
“I can’t tell you my secrets but I didn’t go through your work. Are you going to make me stay out here or are you going to invite me in?”
“Well if you went through all the trouble of tracking me down I doubt you’ll leave any time soon if I don’t so come on in.” Liz said opening the door wider to allow Alec to come in.
Alec looked around at the cozy looking living room. “Nice apartment.”
“Thanks. The sector cop that lets us stay here isn’t bad so the rent isn’t too high. It was Ava’s but she let me move in when I came to Seattle. We did what we could with it.” The two girls had used a little alien magic to improve the décor of the abandoned apartment. They were the only ones on this floor so it was nice and quiet. “So not to be rude but did you come by for a reason or just to critique my apartment?”
“I wanted to see if you’d want to go get something to eat with me?” He asked.
“I wasn’t expecting to go out tonight, I’m not dressed for it.” She said as she started to play with her eyebrow ring. She’d picked up the nervous habit from Ava who always played with her lip ring when she was nervous.
“I can wait.” Alec stated not letting her get rid of him so easy.
“Alec, you’re really a nice guy but I just got out of a serious relationship before I came to Seattle and I’m not really ready to date.” She started to ramble but Alec stopped her.
“Liz, I just want to get to know you better. We can just go out and have some fun together, no strings attached.” He said surprised by the words that were coming out of his mouth and even more surprised by the fact that he knew he meant it. She might want to be just friends but he would see what he could do about that.
Liz could see the sincerity on Alec’s face and could hear it in his voice. He meant it when he said he would settle on just being friends. He was a sweet guy and she had enjoyed the evening at the Crash. “Alright. Give me a few minutes to get dressed.”
“I’ll wait here.” Alec said motioning to the living room. Liz hurried to her room. She pulled the pins from her hair and brushed it out making sure not to catch the braids and put on some makeup. She pulled on a pair of knakis and a snug white sweater. She grabbed her phone and some money before she yelled out to Alec, “Where are we going? Am I going to need my sector pass?”
“If you don’t mind riding on a motorcycle I know a great pizza place but it’s on the other side of town.” He yelled back.
“That’s fine.” She put her sector pass and ID in her pocket before heading out to the living room.
Alec was standing in front of some of Liz and Ava’s pictures looking at all of them. She cleared her throat to let him know she was back. “Let me turn off the stereo, I have a tendency to cranked it up when I’m listening to this particular CD.”
“Who is it? I don’t recognize it.”
“You wouldn’t. It hasn’t been released yet.”
“Black market shopper huh?”
“No. The singer is my best friend Maria Deluca. She’s in New York cutting her first CD and she sent me an early copy.” Actually Maria had mailed it to her parents who had shipped it up to Liz. “That’s her.” She pointed at a picture. It was one of Liz’s favorites since it had everyone in it but Tess. “Those are all my friends, that’s Isabel, Michael, Alex, Kyle, and um Max.”
“The ex-boyfriend?” Alec asked. Liz nodded. “The group’s kind of all broken up. Isabel got married, Maria left, I left, Kyle and Michael are working a lot and Max is busy fighting with his parents.”
“What about Alex?” He asked regretting it as soon as he saw the sorrow in her eyes.
“He died.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” He knew what it was like to loose someone.
“It’s okay. You didn’t know. Why don’t we get going?” She grabbed her jacket and they were almost to the door when her cell phone rang. “Hang on a minute.” She hit the talk button. “Hello? Well speak of the devil. I was just talking about you. What’s up Maria?” She talked to Maria for a few minutes before she said, “Can I call you back tomorrow? I was just about to head out. No, Ava’s actually out on a date. I’m heading out with a friend.” She said as she smiled at Alec. “Yes, it’s a guy. No it’s not a date. Listen I’m not going into it now he’s standing right here.”
Alec laughed before he reached out and grabbed the phone. “So this is the famous singer Maria with the beautiful voice.”
“Well aren’t you the charmer? And where are you taking my best friend?” Maria asked.
“For some of the best pizza known to man.”
“Well I won’t keep you. Have fun and make sure Liz has fun too or I’ll hunt you down.” Alec laughed again before saying good bye and hanging up. “She’s unique.”
“That’s one way of describing her. Let’s go.” Liz said as her and Alec left.
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“You can’t possibly taste any pizza under all of that hot sauce.” Alec commented looking at Liz’s plate. They had gotten a large pepperoni pizza with pineapple and peppers on half since Alec didn’t like them. The night had been good so far. She had enjoyed the ride on the motorcycle but had to ignore how good she felt pressed up against Alec.
Liz shrugged, “It’s good. Back home a lot of people eat their food spicy. Try some.”
“No thanks, I like having my taste buds. Where’s back home?”
“New Mexico. Roswell to be exact.”
“The alien town?” He asked smiling. “Ever met an alien?”
Liz tensed for a minute, “No, it’s just a regular tourist trap. My parents actually own a small restaurant called the Crashdown Café. I worked there for them.”
“Moving from the desert to waterlogged Seattle must have taken some getting used to.”
“It took a little while but I’m used to it.” Liz said before taking a bite of pizza.
“So why did you leave Roswell?”
“Are you always this nosy?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re not one bit shy are you?”
“No, I’m blunt.”
“You are that. And to answer your question, to get away from things and I wanted to get out of the small town. Ava had settled up here about a year ago so I came to Seattle. How about you? You haven’t told me anything about yourself. Have you always lived here? If not how did you end up in Seattle? What about your family?”
Alec tried to come with a good story that wouldn’t be a complete lie. “I grew up in Wyoming. My old job brought me out here and I stayed after they went out of business. And I don’t have any family.”
“That must be hard on you. I wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t have my family. We’re not as close as we used to be but I know that they’re always there for me. They practically adopted Maria and Alex since we were friends since we were little.”
Alec could see the emotion in her eyes as she talked about her family. They continued to eat, talk, and joke into the night. Although she always had fun when she went out with Ava, she couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so much.
Next
LittleBit