| Title: Maybe Author: Ender Email: jjazman@email.msn.com Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Category: Unconventional, Tess/Valenti Author's Notes: Tess POV, just thinking about her relationship with Jim, part of a series including “Minefield”, “Setting the Trap”, and “Knowing” Rating: R Feedback: Yes, please. Tess sat on the quad eating her lunch in silence. Of course, nobody noticed her silence. Max and Michael were arguing like always with Isabel playing reluctant referee. Normally Tess would be siding with Max, trying to bolster his confidence. Trying to get him to see what a supportive little wife she could be. What the hell? It never worked anyway. Sure, Max would be grateful for the support. Then he would pat Tess on the head and go off to moon over Liz Parker. Why was she hanging around for this? Why was she still chasing after a guy who had made it clear he wasn’t interested? Was it for destiny? Was it to save her planet? It certainly wasn’t for the friendships she’d made here. None of these people knew her. Even now, after being in Roswell for the better part of a year. Max didn’t treat her like a leper anymore, but that didn’t mean that he was interested in really getting to know her. Isabel was too wrapped up in her Vilandra trauma to care about anything else. Michael just saw her as a tutor, some kind of tool to help him hone his powers. Liz, Maria, and Alex—well, let’s face it. Those three would be perfectly happy if she disappeared without a trace. Kyle was sweet but really only seemed interested in her the way he was interested in his Busty Biker Babes. No one here could give a shit about her or even noticed her most of the time. Except… Well, except maybe the sheriff. And that was just a sex thing, wasn’t it? She was just using him, after all. He made her feel wanted, which was something she’d really needed after being rejected by Max for the hundredth time. It felt good to be able to touch someone without them pulling away like she was something dirty. It felt good to be held and know that the other person wasn’t longing to be with someone else. But it didn’t go beyond that. And that was okay with Tess. That was what she wanted… Except sometimes she got this strange feeling in the pit of her stomach when she glanced up and caught him looking at her. It was kind of like the feeling she got from the rides at the carnivals, the ones that took you up a hundred feet and then dropped you so fast that you thought your stomach was going to jump out of your body. It was scary and nauseating and exhilarating all at the same time. And sometimes when they were lying together in Jim’s bed, she had this strange urge to tell him everything, to just vomit her whole life—all her fears and hopes and loneliness—all over him and see what happened. Would he flinch away from her like Max? Or would he pull her close and try to comfort her the way he had the other night when she’d had that nightmare? Maybe she could trust him. Maybe… Tess realized suddenly that the others had stopped talking. In fact, they were all staring at her. Max was the first to speak. “So, Tess, what do you think?” Tess had absolutely no idea what they had been talking about. She supposed she could stick with her usual “You’re the leader, Max. Whatever you think is best” stance, but somehow today she just didn’t feel like playing the dutiful wife bit. “You know what I think, Max? I think that I have better things to do than listen to you and Michael argue. You two are going to do whatever it is you want to do, no matter what I say about it. So I’m going home.” Tess watched Max’s mouth drop open and gave him her sweetest smile. She ignored Michael’s and Isabel’s questioning looks as she gathered up her things. She grinned as she headed toward the parking lot. Maybe she could catch Jim at the house before Kyle got home… |