Title: “Here On Earth”
Authors: Bijou and Marisalla
Email: Bijou doesn't have her own email yet, but you can email her at Roswell618@aol.com and Marisalla at CreekQT123@aol.com
Rating: Pretty mundane, maybe a little language. PG-13
Disclaimer: Let's see...we own about 200 CDs together, two cars, and decent
wardrobes. But no Roswell characters. Bummer!
Summary/Category: Jacinda helps her new friends with their relationships.
(Warning: High sap content!) (M/L, M/M, I/A, J/K)
__________________________________________________________
“So, Evans,” Scott said “what’s the deal with that new chick you’ve been
hanging around? She’s mattressable, no?”
Max shook his head. Locker room conversations were not his favorite thing
in the world, by any stretch of the imagination “That’s disgusting, Haridan.”
he replied, pulling his shirt over his head “Jacinda’s like a sister to me.”
“A sister?” Scott snickered “Man, you gotta be blind or something. She’s
a babe.”
“Hey, Scott, come on man, be cool.” Kyle cut in “You heard what Max said,
she’s like a sister to him. And it’s not cool to talk about another man’s
sister that way in front of him.” he saw the looks his friends were giving
him, so he quickly added “No matter how bad you want to give it her!”
“Hey, speaking of giving it to Evans’ sister,” Tommy Mitchell spoke up
“That Isabel’s a bit of all right, huh?”
@ @ @
“Ok, Lizzie, spill.” Pam Troy said “What is up with you and Max Evans?”
“Nothing. We’re friends.” Liz replied as she brushed her hair.
“Yeah, sure.” Pam snickered “Give me a break! I saw the looks you guys
were giving each other in Bio today. It was so hot in that room I thought we
were gonna need to crack a window.”
“Yeah, and if we harnessed the sexual tension radiating off you two, we
could power Vegas for a month, at least.” Jacinda added. Liz shot her a dirty
look “Well I’m sorry, but it’s true!”
“Jacey, you hang out with those two a lot.” Vicki Delaney said “What’s
going on there?”
“Well, from what I’ve seen, they’ve both got it real bad.” Jacinda
replied “But they’ve got all these hang-ups and crap like that. They just
can’t get their act together. Am I right, Liz?”
Liz just glared at her.
Jacinda laughed “Yeah, I got it.”
@ @ @
“I am so going to kill you.” Liz said as she and Jacinda headed for the
quad
“Oh come on!” Jacinda giggled “I didn’t say anything that isn’t already
painfully obvious. And besides, I was just giving you a little push. It has
been three weeks since that night when I gave you a little pep talk in the
Crashdown. You still haven’t talked to him.”
Liz was about to say something when the bell rang for lunch.
“Oh, crap.” Jacinda said, looking at her watch “I have to go, I’m meeting
someone in the library during lunch to work on a project.” she bolted before
Liz could reply.
@ @ @
“Kyle, shh!” Jacinda whispered “We’re gonna get busted!”
“Relax.” Kyle replied “The librarian is on her lunch break, and she
locked the door behind her. You know, I still don’t get why you don’t want to
eat in the quad.”
“I don’t want my friends to see us.” Jacinda sighed
“You still haven’t told them we’re dating?” Kyle asked, taking another
bite of his sandwich
Jacinda shook her head “I don’t know when I’m going to, either.”
“They really dislike me that much?”
“No, it’s not that.” Jacinda said “Well, ok, not just that. They...they
just...”
“Have a lot of hang-ups.” Kyle finished for her
“Exactly.” Jacinda confirmed “And they’re protective of me.”
“Why? From what you’ve told me, you can take care of yourself pretty
well.” Kyle said
“Yeah, I can. But the seven of us...well, we seem pretty different,
right?”
“Yeah.” Kyle agreed “I don’t get why you hang out with them, really.”
“Sometimes I don’t either.” Jacinda said “I like them and all, but
they’re so uptight. I can tell you one good thing about them, though.”
“And what’s that?” Kyle asked
“They’re not here.” Jacinda said softly, leaning in to kiss him.
“Excellent point.” Kyle chuckled
After a few minutes, they reluctantly came up for air.
“So,” Jacinda said “I have my first chorus rehearsal at three. You wanna
do something after?”
“You joined the chorus?” Kyle asked “I’m in the chorus.”
“Get out!” Jacinda giggled “You? No way. I just can’t picture that at
all!”
Kyle nodded “Neither can anyone else. Lucky for me my friends don’t keep
up with that kind of stuff. I’d be so mortified if they found out.”
Jacinda smiled “I guess we both have our secrets.”
“Jacinda!” a voice interrupted “I know you’re in here, I can smell the
tabasco sauce.”
“Michael!” Jacinda gasped. She scrambled off Kyle’s lap “Quick, hide.”
“I thought that door was locked.” Kyle said as he ducked into the
reference section
“He’s good at picking locks.” Jacinda explained “No surprises there,
right?” she stepped out from behind the shelves “Hey, Michael. What’s up?”
“I need to talk to you.” Michael said “What are you doing in here,
anyway?”
“Didn’t Liz tell you guys that I had to do some research?” Jacinda asked
“Anyway, I could do without watching Max and Liz make googly eyes at each
other while I’m trying to eat. So what do you need to talk to me about?”
“It’s Maria.” Michael explained “I can’t talk to Max or Isabel about
this, they wouldn’t understand. They have to think about and analyze every
little detail of everything. You’re different. You act on impulse.”
“I don’t know about that.” Jacinda told him “I’m curbing the impulse to
strangle you right now. Get to the point, Mike. I’ve got a lot of research to
do.” ‘And boy, do you know how to spoil a perfectly good make-out session,
pal.’ she thought.
“Every time I’m around Maria...” Michael began, struggling to find the
words “I just want to grab her and kiss her, to hell with Max, and Iz, and
anyone else who might be watching. It’s like I can’t control myself.”
“Then don’t.” Jacinda said as though it was the simplest thing there was.
“Michael, you want Maria. You care about her, I know it. And she cares about
you. So go for it. As different as you are, while you are here on earth,
you’ve got to live your life as it comes.”
“You’re right.” Michael said “And I know that. I guess I just needed to
hear it from an unbiased source.”
“And admitting it doesn’t make you any less of a man.” Jacinda said,
popping him playfully on the shoulder “Now shoo! Your lady awaits, and I’ve
got to get back to my research.”
“You’ve got some work ethic.” Michael observed
“Yeah, that’s me.” Jacinda giggled “Busy little bee.” she turned and
headed back to the reference section as Michael left. “Sorry, I couldn’t get
rid of him, he just kept talking!”
“Did you mean what you said?” Kyle asked “About differences not mattering
if people really care about each other?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Jacinda replied casually, flipping her hair over her
shoulder “Why?”
“No reason.” Kyle replied. He pulled her back onto his lap and kissed her
lightly.
@ @ @
Jacinda looked around the UFO Center nervously. Just walking by the place
gave her the creeps, and this was her first time actually going inside. But
maybe she could get used to it...
“Jacinda. What are you doing here?”
“Oh, hey Max.” Jacinda said, relieved to see a familiar face “Looking for
you, actually.”
“Is everything okay?” Max asked
“Yeah.” Jacinda replied “I was just thinking maybe I should think about
getting one of those job-type dealies. So I was wondering, what’s it like
working here?”
Max shrugged “Ironic. Very ironic.”
Jacinda laughed “I can imagine. But hey, gotta feed the monkey, right?”
“Absolutely.” Max agreed “If you’re interested in working here, I could
talk to Milton.”
“That would be great.” Jacinda said “Thanks.” she checked her watch “I
better go. I’m meeting someone to work on a project.”
“That must be a pretty big project.” Max observed “You’ve been working on
it for a couple weeks now.”
“Yeah, well...see you.” Jacinda said, shrugging. Then she was gone before
Max could say another word.
@ @ @
“Hey, Iz.” Jacinda said, sitting down across from her friend at the
Crashdown “You look kinda down.”
“Not really.” Isabel replied, stirring her milkshake absently
“Just...confused.”
“About what?” Jacinda asked
“Alex.” Isabel sighed “I like him.”
Jacinda nodded “Yeah, that wasn’t obvious or anything. And he likes you,
but you’re not with him because...”
“Well, don’t you think it’s a bad idea?” Isabel asked “I mean, we can’t
get involved with humans. We’re too different.”
“Different?” Jacinda repeated “Give me a break. You’re both sixteen, you
go to the same school, you both like going to the movies and stargazing. I
know of marriages that have worked on less than that. Isabel, trust me on
this. For practically my whole life I have been dating and falling in and out
of love and I haven’t had any problems yet.”
“Yeah, but if Alex and I-”
“Uh, uh, uh.” Jacinda interrupted “You’ll never know unless you take a
chance.” she glanced at the counter “He’s right there. Go.”
Isabel hesitated “But-”
“Go!” Jacinda said “God, I don’t know any of you that long, but I can
already tell you’re all seriously insane.”
“That’s the pot calling the kettle whacked.” Isabel muttered
“Nice talking to you, too.” Jacinda said sarcastically as she left. She
turned around just outside the door to see Isabel sitting down next to Alex
at the counter.
@ @ @
“Hey, Max.” Isabel said “Working late again?”
“Yeah.” Max replied “Where are you guys headed?”
“We were gonna catch a movie, maybe hang out a little.” Alex explained
“Like a date?” Max asked
Isabel shrugged “Yeah, sort of. Got a problem with that?”
“No, not at all.” Max said
“Great. See you later.” Isabel and Alex grabbed their coats and left.
“Oh, hey.” Liz said as she came out of the back room “Did Isabel and Alex
leave?”
Max nodded “I wonder what’s going on there.”
“I think Jacinda had a little talk with her.” Liz said “She had a little
talk with Michael today, and he and Maria were looking pretty cozy earlier.”
“Huh.” Max said, knowing what was coming next
“Speaking of talks, I need to talk to you.” Liz told him, gesturing
towards the back room “In private.”
“Okay.”
“Agnes, cover for me for a minute.” Liz called to the other waitress as
she and Max headed for the back room
“So what’s up?” Max asked
“I’m just going to come right out and say this.” Liz said “I’ve put it
off long enough. Max, I really care about you. You know that. And no matter
what you do or say, I know that you care about me. But I can’t wait around
for you to grow up. So, you basically have to make a choice. We’re either
together or we’re not. I have to get on with my life, whether you’re a part
of it or not.” she couldn’t believe those words had just come out of her
mouth. Clearly, Max couldn’t believe it, either.
He looked like he didn’t know what to say or do. His mouth opened and
closed a couple times, as though he couldn’t get the words out.
Liz shook her head “Okay, if you’re not going to say anything, you might
as well just leave.” she turned and headed up the stairs.
“Liz, wait!” Max called after her. The only response was a slamming door.
@ @ @
“Vicki, Paul!” Jacinda said as she opened the door “You made it!”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Vicki replied “We figure anyone who
lived in L.A for two years must know how to throw a party.”
“Are you guys gonna behave yourselves?” Jacinda asked teasingly
“Have you ever seen me at a party?” Paul shot back
Jacinda was about to shut the door behind her friends when Max stepped in
“Having a party?” he asked
“Yeah, just a little soiree.” Jacinda said
“What’s the occasion?”
“The sun rose in the east today.” Jacinda explained
“The sun rises in the east every day.” Max told her
“And it did it again today.” Jacinda giggled “So what’s up?”
Max shook his head “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“So why’d you seek me out?” Jacinda asked. “Do I have to connect to you
and read your mind or do you just want to make it easier on both of us and
tell me?”
“The weirdest thing just happened with Liz.” Max said
Jacinda raised an eyebrow “Did she suddenly morph into a giant mutant
hummingbird?”
“Uh, no.” Max said
“Then it wasn’t the *weirdest* thing.” Jacinda told him “What happened?”
“She gave me an ultimatum.” Max explained
“Hold that thought for a second, would you?” Jacinda said. She ran into
the kitchen “Paul, pants on, now!” she returned a moment later, a beer in
hand “Sorry about that. You want a drink?”
Max shook his head “Do you know what that stuff does to us?”
“Let me guess.” Jacinda sighed “First time you tried alcohol, all it took
was one sip and you were three sheets to the wind? Same thing happened to me.
You just have to build up a resistance to it, that’s all.”
“No thanks.” Max said “So, anyway, Liz just told me, completely out of
the blue, that she’s moving on with her life.”
“She said that?” Jacinda asked “Go Lizzie.”
Max stared at her for a second “You put her up to it, didn’t you?”
Jacinda nodded “I know you think that you guys are too different, and
that you think that you’re ‘off-balance’ when you’re with her, but Max, the
truth is, that’s love. It’s exciting, it’s scary, and it’s life-altering. But
when it’s right, it’s so amazing.”
“Ok, so you’re a character from a freaking Danielle Steele novel, is that
it?” Max asked “You know what? I’ve just decided that this is none of your
business.”
“Too late, pal.” Jacinda said “God, you’re from who knows what galaxy,
and yet you are still such a typical guy. The hotel of your mind has many
vacancies. Listen, you need to realize how lucky you and Liz are. I don’t
believe in soul mates, Max. But you guys...you could change my mind. I can
see into your souls. And they’re two halves of the same whole. You guys
somehow managed to find each other across the infinite light years that we
came. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a party to host.” with that, she turned
and stumbled back to the party.
@ @ @
Michael wasn’t paying attention to the movie. Every thought in his mind
was of the golden haired angel who had fallen asleep next to him on the couch
in his apartment. Nothing else mattered at that moment.
@ @ @
Somehow, Isabel thought to herself, the stars seemed brighter and more
beautiful.
“Which one do you think is yours?” Alex asked
“I don’t know.” Isabel admitted “And right now, for once, that’s the
furthest thing from my mind.”
@ @ @
Liz was wiping down the counters, concentrating as hard as she could on
cleaning, when she heard the door open. She knew who it was, even before she
felt him come up behind her, and felt his hands on her waist, and heard his
voice in her ear. She leaned back against him and let herself melt into his
arms.
@ @ @
“Great party, babe!” Kyle said drunkenly, patting Jacinda on the back
“Yeah.” Jacinda said distantly “Listen, we need to talk.”
“Sure, what’s up?” Kyle asked
“Kyle, this can’t work.” Jacinda sighed “You and me, I mean. It just
can’t...”
“What do you mean?” Kyle said, suddenly completely sober “Jacey, I’m not
ashamed to admit that I have never felt this way about anyone. I really like
you. There’s just something about you that...I think I might be falling in-”
“No!” Jacinda interrupted, pushing him away and standing up “Don’t say
that. Don’t make this any harder than it already is. I’m sorry, Kyle. We’re
just...we’re too different.” with that, she bolted out of the room, leaving
him there, feeling sick and disgusted with herself. She had just lied through
her teeth. She didn’t believe a word of that ‘too different’ crap that Max
and Isabel had been talking about. It was just easier to say than the truth.
She was scared. As much as she hated being alone, it was familiar.
Comfortable, in a way. And she didn’t want some dramatic, complicated,
confusing relationship like her friends had. She was better off without it.
As long as she kept telling herself that, she would be all right.
@ @ @
TBC...
Next Part