MIRRORS

Written By: Kal-El and LeeryAndPotter

Disclaimer: Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, and Kyle belong to Jason Katmis and UPN. Dawson, Joey, Pacey, Jen, and Drue belong to Kevin Williamson and the WB. I don't own either of them, so don't sue me.

Classification: M/L and D/J.

Rating: PG-13, if you can watch the show(s), you can read this.

Liz Parker and Max Evans exited the Rialto with smiles on their faces. At a time like this, they almost forgot what had actually happened to them.

Almost.

Max missed his powers. How could he not? He had them since as long as he could remember. Loosing them was almost like loosing and arm, or a leg. However, he kept reminding himself that it was worth it. She was worth it.

Even if it was only for a short time.

"Penny for your thoughts," Liz said, shaking him out of his reverie.

"Huh?" he replied in surprise. "Sorry, Liz. I must have been daydreaming."

"What do you think about Michael's theory?" she asked. "That we're changing in spirit as well?"

"What do you think?" he inquired. Liz bit her lip.

"I'm not as smart as I was," she admitted. "I mean I'm smart, sure. But not as smart. I can't remember chemical formulas, or follow clues. Michael came to a conclusion I should have realized a long time ago. The behavior patterns alone should have clued me in. And there's one other thing."

"What's that?" he asked with a smile.

"Your eyes, they're turning blue," she announced.

Max's eyes went wide.

"What?" he inquired.

"Your eyes are supposed to be brown," she continued. "I should know…I've stared into them a lot. But today, they've started to look bluish."

"Max thought for a moment, considering this.

"Dawson had blue eyes," he informed her. "We'll find a way to reverse this, don't worry. In the meantime…"

Max picked her up and twirled her around.

They kissed passionately in front of the gawking crowd. They smiles at each other for a moment, then touched noses before finally letting each other go.

"Max, you have this gift for changing a girl's mind, don't you?" she asked him.

Max simply shrugged in response, smiling proudly.

"There's only one thing that worries me," she whispered, while moving closer to him.

"What's that?" he responded, his expression becoming completely serious.

"Wouldn't Dawson and his friends come after you once they found out what happened?" she questioned. "What if…what if they don't want to go back?"

Max just stared in shock. He didn't have an answer for that one.

Joey slowly crept into the abandoned school, making sure not to say a word. If anyone heard her…if they were caught…then it would be all over.

She ducked into the eraser room. From reading Liz's journal, she knew it was her and Evans' only constant meeting place other than her balcony. And after the fire, the balcony wasn't an option. She didn't see any reason to break tradition.

I came to Dawson's window, but Max came to hers? she thought. I think I got switched with the wrong Roswellian.

Joey smiled to herself. It sounded…romantic, to her at least. How couldn't it. She had always been captivated by stores of love that came together from different worlds. And you didn't get any 'different' than space aliens. It was as if she had been transported into a 'Superman' movie, and was playing the part of Lois Lane or something.

Yeah right! she thought again. Keep dreaming, Josephine. With your luck, you're Gertie from ET or something.

"Dawson?" she whispered. "Are you here?"

Silence. Joey looked around for a moment, trying to locate her companion. Didn't he find a way in?

"Down here!" she heard a voice call. Sure enough, Dawson was hidden behind a group of boxes.

She crawled over and sat beside him.

"Are you sure about this, Jo?" she asked. His answer was a small nod from her.

"It's just that…I'm not so sure about this," he revealed to her. "I don't really know how this works, you know?"

"Liz described it as seeing into someone's soul," she told him. "Dawson…this whole situation between us. Regarding out friendship…about everything…could be answered just by…"

"And that's what scares me, Joey," he cut her off, looking into her eyes. "There are parts of me that I'm not sure I want you to see. Things that could make you think of me differently."

"Dawson, I want to do this," she confirmed, a determined look in her eyes.

Dawson looked her directly in the eyes and nodded.

"Ok," he finally gave in. "Just relax."

Dawson lifted his hands to the sides of her head, and closed his eyes. He started to concentrate.

Dawson remembered that he…felt something when Joey had kissed him the other night. Nothing physical, but emotional instead. If he could only recreate that feeling, perhaps he could make it happen again.

Suddenly, he began to glow. His power was once again being focused towards Joey. But it was different this time. This time, he was seeing into her as well.

And then it happened…

Back in Capeside, Max and Liz climbed up into the Evans house, through the window.

"Liz, your window is so much easier to get to," Max joked as they climbed into his room.

Liz started to giggle as he turned her around to face him, kissing her full on the lips. The two of them sit on the bed and look at each other.

"Liz, I need to ask you something," he finally said after a long moment of silence. "And I need you to answer. Please."

Liz nodded. She knew what he wanted to know, and dreaded telling him.

"Last year, why did you want me to think you slept with Kyle?" he asked.

"How do you know I didn't?" she responded.

"I just know," he said, with a knowing smile.

Liz sighed. It was time for him to know.

"There's a chance we'll never get ourselves back to normal," she admitted. "So there's no harm in telling you now."

Liz stood up and started pacing around the room.

"A few days before, someone contacted me," she began. "He - he was you. Older, dressed differently, he had long hair…but he was you. He told me that he was from the future, and that the world was going to end…unless I could get you to fall out of love with me."

Max was taken aback by this information. The future? Was it possible? And time travel as well…and he had access to a time machine?

"This is just - this is," he stuttered. "Me? I have access to a time machine at some point?"

Liz shook her head.

"It was the granolith," she revealed. "After you caught me and Kyle, the timeline changed. So your future self was erased from existence. Our relationship was supposed to change that night, and that would have driven Tess away eventually. Which would lead to the end of the world"

"He failed in his mission, you know?" Max told her. "I never stopped being in love with you. Never stopped loving you. I just felt that…maybe you didn't love me as much as I…"

Max took a deep breath at the memory. Liz quickly flung her arms around him.

"I'd die first," he reassured him. "I'd die for you if it came to that. It's all in the past, Max."

"I just though of something," Max interrupted her. "Tess planned to betray us long before my 'future self' showed up. That wouldn't have changed depending on us."

"Wait a minute," she responded. "Do you think she had something to do with…"

"The world ending?" he finished for her. "I'm almost certain of it. She couldn't manipulate me with you around, so she must have taken a different approach."

"And 'future Max' didn't know because he never found out she was behind it," she said, putting all the pieces together. "All this time, Tess was the danger to Earth. No us."

"Which is why we have to stop her," Max announced with determination. "Dawson and his friends are not us. They don't know what we know. If we're going to stay this way…if there's no way back…we need to give them a fighting chance."

"We call Michael and the others?" Liz suggested.

"First thing tomorrow morning," he answered. "Then, at noon, we go to Roswell."

"Can I stay here tonight?" Liz asked suddenly.

Max smiles suggestively.

"That's it, I'm dreaming…I know it,"

"That's not what I meant," she said laughing. "Trust me, Max, when I'm ready for us to, uh, cement our relationship, I'll be completely direct about it. I just don't want to go back to that house."

Max smiled at her.

"You can trust me," he reassured her.

They both climb into the bed and turn off the lights.

"Do you believe in 'deja-vu', Max?" she asked. "That this feels somehow…familiar?"

"I think it's part of that 'personality-switch' theory Michael came up with," he informed her. "According to Dawson's journal, me and you apparently did this all the time growing up."

Liz couldn't help but giggle.

"God, I wish," she said with a smile. "I love you."

"I love you too," he smiled back. "You don't think the 'Joey' he mentioned read yours, do you?"

"I hope not," she muttered closing her eyes. "I wrote some pretty embarrassing things in there."

Joey had read how this experience felt in Liz's journal, so she sort of knew what to expect. However, the experience itself was beyond anything meager words could describe.

At first, it wasn't much different than in the Crashdown, or on that dock. Her whole body started to tingle, and a bright blue light flashed before her eyes.

But then, that's where the change happened. People subconsciously suppress their thoughts without even knowing it. This time, Dawson knew what to expect. So he kept his subconscious wide open.

Joey saw what appeared to be that scene near the end of '2001: A Space Odyssey', going into the center of the universe. Then, her vision cleared.

She saw, Capeside, her home. To her it looked different. Larger, more brighter than she had ever seen it. A place filled with hope and dreams. That's when she realized that it wasn't her eyes she was seeing Capeside with.

It was Dawson's. For the first time, she was seeing the world the way he saw it.

Then she saw him. Dawson Leery, only a boy, was playing football with his father Mitch. At that moment, a woman arrives…her young daughter in tow.

"This is Joey," she said, introducing them for the first time.

Then the worlds shifts again, and she finds herself inside now. It's Dawson's room, at least a decade later. Now grown up, she and Dawson are fighting over the remote control. She remembered that day…when she forgot for a moment they were supposed to be friends.

It shifts again, this time to the high school library.

Pacey Witter is there, as well as Jen Lindley, and the late Abby Morgan.

"I dare you…" the young Pacey said. "…to kiss, on the lips, for 15 seconds, Dawson Leery."

"C'mon, Pacey, grow up," Dawson said. But Joey felt his heart wasn't in his words.

Was it possible…that he felt something for her then too?

No. She realized it was a lot sooner. That day where they met, something passed between the two of them. A feeling that, maybe, they were too young to understand. Something that didn't register in their minds…only in their hearts.

The world shifted again, to only a week after that.

Joey found herself in her house, after dark. She looked over to the couch were she was lying, completely drunk and slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Maybe this isn't the right time to say this," he said. "On second thought, maybe this is the perfect time. I understand that things have been really complicated between us recently. I can't even begin to describe our relationship. Maybe you can't either. But, uh, I just want you to know that, if you ever need anything, I'm here for you. All you have to do is ask."

Joey watched, in surprise, as her past self slowly reached up and kissed him.

She didn't remember that. How could she? She was drunk, and had no idea what was happening to her then. But…the things he said…

The world shifted by surprise, and she saw herself at the Miss Windjammer Pageant, on stage, singing 'On My Own'.

She was…beautiful. Joey could hardly believe that was herself up on the stage. Then she reminded herself that she was seeing the world through Dawson's eyes. This was how he saw her?

The world shifted again, back to Dawson's room. And there she was again…and there he was.

"Honesty's a big word," she had told him. "It changes things…complicates things…are you sure you're ready for everything that goes along with telling the truth?"

He hesitated for a moment, letting her head towards the window.

"Joey!" he had called, and ran up to her and kissed her.

Joey suddenly realized that what she was experiencing wasn't her feelings. They were his. Fear, confusion…love. She felt every emotion from him in turn.

Then the world suddenly went topsy-turvy, as things started moving quickly. Memory after memory flashed by, but she was able to see each one crystal clear. The entire year passed by in seconds: Rialto, Jen, rain, art, his parents, Jack, her father, the rowboat, the icehouse, heartbreak...

"Maybe one day I can forgive myself, but I will never forgive you!"

Suddenly, Joey felt as if her heart had been torn out when she heard those words. But it wasn't her heart, was it?

She didn't mean what she said. She was just…angry. Not at him, but herself. She didn't blame him, it's just-

Before she could finish the thought, the world went in fast-forward again. Through the entire year. Then she saw Pacey, and all she could feel was anger. Why did he do this to me? What did I do wrong? Why does this always happen to me?

Then, she saw the dock. Dawson was standing there, alone, when she saw herself walk up to him.

"That was a beautiful speech"

Just then, Joey realized what she was seeing.

Please, don't make me watch this.

"Pacey is this year's Paris," he continued to say. "And this time, you have to go. You have to see for yourself, all right? I can stand here and tell you that it's a colossal mistake and that all roads lead back to me but that's not gonna make any bit of difference. Words and speeches sound great, but they don't add up to anything."

Joey shook her head, dreading what came next.

"They're just words, Joey," he had said. "They're just words, 'cause after you're done dispensing your pleasantries here you're going to turn around and you're going to walk away from me, aren't you?"

Joey felt tears in her eyes, as she watched herself turn and run. But back then, she hadn't bothered to look back. At what happened to him.

This time she saw him burst into tears and collapse on the dock. Then, all around her, the color left her surroundings. Lightning split the sky, as the world became colder…darker.

The world passed her by once more, the following year filled with bitterness and regret. Until the end, only a week ago.

She saw herself in Dawson's room. The two of them getting up off the bed.

"So what was yours, by the way?" she had asked.

"What was my what?" he responded.

She had smiled at him.

"Your all-time most life altering moment?"

He had paused for a second, thinking it over.

"For all I know, it could be this one right now..." he finally answered, his voice breaking. "…saying good-bye to you."

Then they kissed.

"Joey?" Dawson asked her, as he felt the connection between them break.

He had only held her for a moment, but it had felt like hours to him. A lifetime even.

"Joey, are you ok" he asked, concerned. "We're in the eraser room, we can't be in the school by sunrise, remember?"

Joey slowly opened her eyes, which were red from tears.

"Oh my god, I hurt you?" he said, horrified. "Jo, I'm…"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I had no idea, Dawson. I didn't know…didn't know what I did to you."

Joey simply put her arms around him and hung on for dear life, refusing to let go.

"And after all that, you still forgave me?" she asked, crying. "You…you still love me?"

She had seen his entire life through his eyes. Dawson couldn't believe it. He had, of course, done the same thing she had. But…he knew what her life had been like. Unlike Joey, he was prepared for it. Well, almost all of it.

"I didn't dream," he told her softly. "Refused to let myself hope that…that you might feel about me the same way. Why didn't you tell me?"

She looked up at him.

"The same reason you didn't," she admitted. "I know why you forgave me, I just can't believe it. What's so special about me?"

Dawson smiled at her.

"You were in my head, remember?" he reminded her. "You know why."

Joey nodded.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too"

Then they kissed.

Pacey had snuck into the school, following Dawson and Joey. He had wondered why their 'secret meeting place' was so important. Now he knew why.

"I should have known" he muttered under his breath.

As he peered into the eraser room, he saw Dawson and Joey locked in a passionate kiss. Enraged, the marched out the door, walking down the street.

How could this happen to him? He was gone from Capeside, what? One week? And suddenly the two of them are all over each other again. I figures.

Pacey wasn't jealous anymore. He was mad. It wasn't Dawson who did this to him, it was both of them. How could he ever have had feelings for that…that…

"Excuse me?" a voice said behind him. "Are you Dawson Leery?"

Pacey turned around to see a group of people surround him. Great, some sort of gang?

"No, he's not," another one said, and stepped to the front of the group."

"I know him. Just who are you?" he asked the newcomer.

"Maybe you've heard about me?" he guy suggested. "I'm Max Evans."

Pacey's jaw dropped.

TO BE CONTINUED...

NEXT: At last, the Creekers and the Roswellians meet face to face. Plus, the return of a familiar face.