Starcrossed

2/?

by Court

Sorry I forgot the disclaimer before: Michael, Maria, Liz and Max belong

to The WB, Melinda Metz and Jason Katims I guess.... but if they don't

want Michael I'll take him!!!!

Rating: PG

Feedback to: dcreeker98@aol.com

Archive: M&M files, anyone else I haven't said yes to, ASK FIRST

Enjoy!! I like how it turned out. Thanks to Courtney for her help! And

to the awesome writers on the RAC list for inspiring me.

As going with Melissa's music background suggestions. I have one of my

own. I just got "Blue" by Third Eye Blind. Great CD, go check it out.

"I can't stand you!"

"Oh, that hurts Maria. Almost as much as my ears do. Now stop squaking

and help me start the fire," Michael yelled, running his hands through

his spiky mess of hair in frustration.

"You know, we wouldn't have this problem if you had some control, and

could just poof something into a roaring fire."

"I'm going to poof you into thin air if you don't shut up. Go look for

some sticks or something," he muttered, annoyed. This was turning into a

bad B horror movie. Max and Liz had wandered off exploring...probably

exploring each other, he thought wryly. Max had all the luck. He got the

normal home and family, and now Liz, the sweet normal girl. It just

figured he'd got stuck with the shitty homelife and that whiny,

stubborn, talkative weird girl. Maria was so damn irritating with her

constant ragging on him and pointless blabbing. He just wanted to grab

her in his arms, slide his fingers through her silky golden locks, give

her a good shake...

...and then kiss the life out of her.

***

Liz ventured a look over at Max, whose hand was securely wrapped around

hers. He had grabbed it on a whim, suggesting they go explore because

Michael and Maria's constant bickering was getting to him. But once they

were out of earshot, she hadn't let go. Holding his hand made her feel

warm inside. A mix of nervousness and excitement was brewing deep inside

her belly. His touch, as always, was gentle. Max Evans really was an

extra-ordinary...being.

"So," Liz began slowly breaking the comfortable silence. "What do you

usually do on these sighting trips?"

Max looked up toward the sky. He felt close to home at night. The star

patterns and his home planet out there somewhere over his head like a

blanket. "Well, Michael and I hike all over the place, and keep a

journal of what we find."

"Wow, what kind of things do you find?"

Max gave her a small smile and released her hand. "I don't know.

Sometimes pieces of metal we assume came from the ship. We mainly look

for things that don't belong...," he trailed off, looking back at the

sky.

Liz stood beside him, looking upward also. "I bet you know a lot about

stars and constellations, huh?"

He shrugged, sticking his hands in his jeans pockets. "I guess so."

A memory hit her, and she turned to him suddenly. "I remember this one

science project I had in the ninth grade. I took all the planets and-"

"put them into alignment and theorized about life on each one. I guess I

remember," Max finished quietly.

'He must have felt so alone,' she thought to herself. There she was, so

blissfully ignorant almost her whole life. And he was isolated, looking

on from afar. It just wasn't fair. Why hadn't she ever seen it? Had he

really loved her that long?

"Max," she said softly, leaning toward him so their eyes met. "I'm sorry

I didn't know sooner. You must have really needed someone."

"I didn't need a friend Liz. I needed you."

***

Michael laid on the desert ground with his black leather jacket bunched

up beneath his head. Maybe if he closed his eyes and pretended to be

asleep, she wouldn't bother him.

A sharp pain to his abdomen told him otherwise.

"Ow!" he yelped, holding his side. "What's your problem!?"

Maria stood over him, hands on hips. "Get up. I called your name five

times already. Can you just be decent and help me for once?"

He angrily brushed himself off and stood up. Maria motioned to the fire.

"Okay, can you...Michael, what are you doing?" she stammered out

nervously as he advanced on her, until their bodies were inches apart.

"You are driving me nuts," he said slowly, eyes piercing hers.

She opened her mouth to retort back with her tart tongue, but instead

grabbed him by his spiky hair and captured his lips with hers for

another taste of his sweet and spiciness.

***

The features on Max's face softened as he attempted to open his heart to

the girl he'd always loved.

"Max, I'm here now," she whispered close to his ear, reclaiming his hand

and smoothing the back of it with circular motions of her thumb. She

wanted so much to understand. To help heal his pain, the way he had

healed hers.

He looked back into her heartfelt gaze and felt himself drowning. He'd

lose himself there, and she'd get hurt if his defenses went down. He

would not allow that to happen. He had risked his life to protect her.

He had to continue doing so no matter how much it killed him inside.

Max took a deep breath. "Let's go back," he said, releasing her soft

hand.

Liz nodded inaudibly, trying not to let her disappointment show. She

shouldn't have been caught so off guard by that. Everytime they got

close, he pushed her away. He had told her it wasn't safe and she'd

agreed.

It wasn't safe, but Liz Parker didn't care anymore. He had seen it in

his eyes. He needed her as much as she needed him.

***

Maria's knees were weakening. His kisses were about to knock her off her

feet. She gasped for air as their mouths moved against each other.

Michael's arms were wound around her waist and he had bunched the bottom

of her shirt in his hands.

"Oh god,..." she moaned.

He smiled against her lips, happy to know he was pleasing her. Michael

pulled back for a moment to see her face. Her green eyes were bright and

her luscious red pink mouth was severely swollen from being kissed so

passionately. He stifled a laugh when he saw what a mess her short

blonde hair was.

Maria felt her hopes being crushed. He was laughing at her! Feeling self

conscious, she pushed him away and attempted to fix her hair and tuck

her shirt back in.

He stared at her, sad the moment was over. What on earth had that been?

One minute they were fighting and then they were kissing...again.

And he had liked it again.

"What?" she insisted, feeling flustered by his stare. She felt so

embarrassed for flinging herself into his arms like that.

Her tone surprised him. She sounded so hostile. Immediately, the walls

he built between them went back up. "You look like you got struck by

lighting. Nice hair."

Angered, she frantically smoothed her flyaway strands. "Nice hair?" she

echoed, mocking him. "I'm not the one who cuts their hair with a weed

wacker!"

He rolled his eyes, turning away from her.

"Ugh! Why are you like this? Show some emotion. Feel something. REACT! I

can't take it when you're like this totally unreadable rock."

He shot her a look. "I'm a rock?"

"Yeah, hard and rough around the edges, and on the inside-"

He held up a hand. "Stop right there. I can guarantee you're not going

to find diamonds on the inside if you crack me open, so don't even try.

You're just wasting your time," he said angrily, averting his eyes and

reclaiming his spot on the ground from earlier.

Maria stared at him a moment, feeling a twinge of sympathy. Michael

didn't really mean the irritating and rude things he said. He was just

one of those bully's on the playground, who said mean things and pulled

girls hair because they were just too insecure to say and act how they

really felt.

They were scared.

She quietly took a spot beside him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't... Let's just not do this, okay?"

She turned her head to the sky, observing the stars. "There," she

pointed.

"What?"

"That's my Michael star," she announced.

Curious, he followed her finger to the star she indicated. "What do you

mean?"

"That's you. See that cluster of stars nearby. You're not a part of

that. You're like the loner star of the group, and that's cool. You

don't have to be a part of the cluster if you don't want to be. But

don't ignore them completely. They may not be like you, but they could

still be friends or...something like that," Maria finished quietly,

removing her outstretched hand. She was very still hoping he'd

understand what she meant. After a moment he pointed his own finger

toward the sky.

"That's my Maria. She's bright and shiny. Kind of persistent and

annoying that way sometimes. You don't want to look, but you just have

to. She's so bright it blinds the other stars sometimes. But you can't

help being drawn to her."

Michael put his hands back behind his head. He didn't dare glance her

way because he could feel the heat of her body if he moved any

closer...and then there would be no turning back.

'Oh god, I can't believe he said that. Just when I thought I had him

pegged as some slacker jerk, he has to go confusing me again by being

really sweet. Oh, I hate him so much.'

'But I wouldn't mind kissing him again,' she thought. Quickly, she tried

to push those naughty thoughts out of her mind. What if he could read

her thoughts!?

As if reading her mind, Michael rolled over and leaned down close to her

face. She suddenly giggled as his face moved in to hers.

"What's wrong?" he whispered nervously.

"You have lipstick on your nose," she giggled again.

"Thanks so much," he said, giving her a look as he rubbed his nose.

"Sorry, you have such a cute nose. I couldn't help myself before."

He grinned. "That irresistible, huh?"

She groaned, pushing him off her. "Oh, shut up." She looked around for

something to take her mind off of him. The bag of marshmallows caught

her eye. "Let's roast some!" she exclaimed, picking up the bag. Michael

grabbed it out of her hand, retrieving a few, smiling at her with an

evil glint in his eyes.

"Oh no you don't..."

"Think again," he smirked, holding the marshmallow over the fire until

it was warm and gooey.

"No, Michael!" she shrieked as the white sticky mess landed on her

cheek.

"You are SO going to pay for that!"

To be continued

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