Rating: Suitable for ages 13 and over

Pairing: M/L

Spoiler/Notes: The End of The World - if Future Max had not shown up. A few days before the original night of the Gomez concert –aka as cementing ;)

The title comes from the song "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" by Kenny Loggins because it seems I only get inspired by music these days ;) I also used a line from the song towards the end. No infringement intended and trying to give credit where credit is due.

MUSE #5 – Flourish – Permission – Armor – Stream

***************

Anything Worth My Love

Max Evans quickly made his way around the corner, the three men behind him. He stopped in the spot where he had stood so many times before and took a deep breath, trying to quell his nervousness. He turned to the man closest to him and nodded once. He put on the big Mexican hat he had brought and waited for his cue.

The music started. He knew she was in her room. He could see the light coming from the window. As the mariachi band started to sing, he knew she was making her way to the rooftop. He could feel her surprise and curiosity. Even though the hat was blocking his view, he knew the exact moment she looked over the low wall.

No one could deny that their connection was still strong.

He removed the sombrero with a flourish and started singing. Her pink cheeks told him he was getting to her and that made the silly grin on his face widen even more. His first goal of getting her attention had been attained. He took a bouquet of red roses from behind his back and threw it up to her.

Irrational panic briefly fluttered at the edge of his mind as a very important detail came back to him. Liz loved roses, yes, but white roses were her favourite. Not red.

That problem could be easily fixed though and as the bouquet left his hand, Max used the last contact with it to change its colour. Liz caught the flowers easily and smelled them, a smile now lighting up her features. Max kept on singing, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

"Ay ay ay ay ay! Ay ay ay ay ay!"

He could see Liz giggling and the way she was looking at him was not devoid of love and affection. Max felt hope soar through him. This was the first real sign that things could be fixed between them.

Still singing, Max took a step closer to the ladder leading up to Liz's rooftop. After this silly serenade, he would make his way up there and make her understand that he was just not going to go away. He would not ask for her permission but he would give her fair warning: she was about to be wooed off her feet.

Movement on the balcony made him rethink his burgeoning plan. Jeff Parker appeared next to his daughter and looked down at Max, a mix of annoyance and amusement on his face. He addressed the young Romeo.

"Max, is that you again? It's eleven o'clock, tomorrow's a school day..."

Figuring that getting Liz in trouble with her dad would not help his cause any, Max took the hint and walked away as soon as the last note rang out. As he thanked the mariachi band and made his way back to his Jeep, he could still feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Part one of the operation had been a success. Sure, he would have liked to talk to her right away but maybe giving Liz some time to reflect on the lengths he was willing to go to win her back would ultimately play in his favour.

Besides, he had part two all ready to go. A small smile appeared on Max's lips as he thought that Liz Parker had no idea of the tidal wave of love that was about to hit her.

********

Liz made her way quickly through the crowded halls of West Roswell High School. She heard some whispering and chuckling from various clusters of students as she walked past them. She closed her eyes briefly. Roswell was a relatively small town. News travelled fast. Especially when the news was potentially embarrassing, like someone showing up at the Crashdown Cafe to serenade the owner's daughter with a mariachi band.

She smiled despite herself as she remembered Max's little musical number. Obviously, she would tell him to stop it immediately if not sooner, but it warmed her heart to know that she still meant so much to him regardless of destiny, a summer apart and constant rejection.

Max was typically not the kind of person to draw attention to himself. Any kind of attention would be a very real threat to his existence. Yet he was willing to do it. For her.

She had to make him stop.

She resolved to meet him after school. It shouldn't be too hard to bump into him. She had a feeling he would be seeking her out before long.

She started when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She knew before she turned to face him that it was Max. Before he could even open his mouth to greet her, she spoke.

"We have to talk."

She pulled him into an empty classroom and closed the door behind them. She took a deep breath and tried to prepare herself to do the thing she hated most in the world : kill Max Evans' hope of a future with her.

She turned to face him and felt her resoluteness falter. He was looking at her with that look in his eyes, that look that shone with love and regret and understanding and anger at the unfairness of their situation all rolled into one. And that spark was also there, that spark that told her that no matter what she said he would never give her up. That same sparkle that had lit his whole face when he had told her just a few days ago that he was coming for her.

That glint that made her want to kiss him and slap him at the same time. She was not worth it, she was not worth his life. What did she have to do to make him understand?

Before she could speak, he produced two tickets from his back pocket.

"There's a Gomez concert in Santa Fe on Friday night. Come with me," he said, his voice assured.

She looked at him dumbfounded for a moment before she finally found her voice.

"No. Nuh-uh. Not going to happen, Max," she shook her head.

He nodded, put the tickets back in his pocket. He looked resigned, like he expected her answer, but that damn spark was still there, telling her that he just wouldn't take no for an answer and they'd have to have this conversation again very soon if she didn't do something about it.

"Max..." she started and stopped when he held his hand up.

"No, let me," he said smiling slightly. "Max, you can't keep doing this. Attracting attention to yourself is dangerous. I won't let you put your life in danger like that, not for me. I'm not worth it." He stopped and looked at her seriously, shaking his head. It was obvious what he thought of that last argument. Before she could protest, he continued.

"You have a destiny. A whole planet depends on you. I can't stand in the way. It's better for everyone if we let go of this thing."

She crossed her arms over her chest, irritated. She didn't know if she was angry at him for mocking her or at herself for being such an open book. The stream of words coming out of his mouth was an eerily accurate echo of the ones she had rehearsed herself the night before.

He paused, took a deep breath and finished his version of Liz's speech tentatively, "Even though I'll always love you..?" His voice cracked a little on the last word and it came out sounding more like a question than his invitation to the concert had. The way his eyes clouded and how he looked away told Liz that he felt he had crossed some boundary and had gone too far in assuming that she still loved him.

Her heart broke for him, her vexation momentarily forgotten. Of course she would always love him. She was torn between holding him and telling him just that and kicking him while he was down in order to protect him from himself.

The sparkle returned to Max's eyes as he took her hesitation for what it was: an impossibility for her to deny that she was still in love with him. Her annoyed glare met his dancing eyes.

"That's not the point," she said icily. She saw him wince and immediately felt guilty for her harsh tone. She hated to have to hurt him, but it was for his own good. "You really can't keep doing this, Max. I mean it. That whole `you're life is worth more to me than my own - knight in shining armor' thing, it's..." `Very appealing' were the words threatening to escape her lips but she bit them back. She couldn't give him an opening, no matter how small. "Dangerous," she finally said lamely.

"But it's true," he told her honestly. He smiled a little, "Well, except maybe for the knight part."

"I'm serious, Max," she continued, yet her voice had softened considerably. She cursed herself for it when he took a step closer to her.

"So am I," he said. He raised his hand a little and it hovered next to her head for a moment before he let it drop again. She could feel him fighting with himself, trying to resist the urge to put a strand of her hair that had fallen across her face back behind her ear where it belonged. She did it herself self-consciously and their eyes met.

Max smiled that secret half smile he reserved just for her. "I am as much an open book to you as you are to me," he stated calmly. "I don't care what a book says my destiny is. This is what being meant for each other means," he concluded, indicating her hand that was still in her hair.

The bell rang. He moved past her toward the door, deliberately walking through her personal space so she would feel him but not touching her.

He paused at the door and turned a little so all she could see was his profile. "I don't care what you say, you *are* worth my love. And anything worth my love is worth a fight." He hesitated ever so slightly and finished, "I'll see you on Friday." He left the classroom, leaving the door open behind him.

As she watched him go, Liz felt one more of the walls she had built around her heart during the summer crumble. Damn Max Evans and his love for her! She realized that Maria had been right all along: she was going to crack and let Max back into her life. There was no use trying to fool herself, it was only a matter of time. She suddenly had no doubt that she would see him on Friday.

And boy would she ever.

end