Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: Liz, Max, Alex, Isabel, Michael, Maria and any other people you're familiar with such as Diane Evans or Kyle belong to Melinda Metz and Jason Katims and the WB. Cassie is Linda's, used with her permission. Mr. Raddish is Kara and Emily's. Alyssa and Matthew and Alan and Pete and Tonya and the ones you don't recognize are all mine. Oh, and "Live the Life You Love" is actually a book, not mine. I believe it was written by Barbara Sher. Very cool for someone who hasn't decided on a major in college, or is looking for a new career.
Rating: R for language, violence and content.
Category: Well, a lot of this is about Liz, but it's also M/L, A/I, and M/M...
Spoilers: Up through "Blood Brothers" from the tv show, Roswell High book 5, and my fic, "Matters of Trust."
Author's Note: This is a sequel to my fic, "Matters of Trust" and if you haven't read it, I strongly suggest reading it before you read anymore of this one. Hold on guys, this isn't even half finished yet, I don't think...There's a long road ahead...Sorry it's taken me *SO* long to get this part out...I had a major case of writer's block. Not sure when the next part will be out; I'm also working on a series of Angel/Roswell stories while I'm writing this again. Email me if you're interested in reading those. :)
Feedback is always appreciated, and is very motivational!
Ghosts (Part 21)
Alyssa sat alone at a table in Ding. Another night of eating cold cereal for dinner. At least tonight the Frosted Flakes weren't stale.
She let her gaze wander around the cafeteria. She smiled at her friend Kris, who was sitting a few tables away with a couple of his other friends, and he smiled back. Her eyes roamed again and then fell upon a group of seven students three tables from hers. There were three guys and four girls.
One of whom was Missy Benedict.
Alyssa forced herself to focus on the girl sitting across from Missy. It was the same dark-haired girl she'd run into in the hall in Jewell a few days ago.
She frowned, unable to look away from the girl. She was smiling and laughing with her friends, but for some reason, Alyssa had the feeling it was a facade.
She tried to shake the thought from her mind. After all, she didn't even know the girl. Hell, she didn't even know the girl's *name*.
It was probably all in her mind.
But for some reason, Alyssa was almost certain that it wasn't her imagination.
Isabel concentrated on eating her yogurt and smiling politely as Missy proceeded to tell them about every drinking stupor she'd had her freshman year at Blue Ridge. She knew her friends felt as uncomfortable as she did, but no one wanted to hurt the older girl's feelings by interrupting or...well, leaving.
Missy had a class with Maria and had joined them at the table without asking for an invitation, which, okay, was a little rude, but...
Isabel sighed inwardly. Okay, actually it was a lot rude. And it was annoying. And if the girl said the word beer one more time, Isabel was going to use her powers and attempt her first vaporization right there in front of the whole school.
She took a long drink of her cherry cola and attempted to calm her frazzled nerves. She had been on edge since they'd gotten back to campus a few days ago. She hadn't been sleeping well, and suspected that none of her friends had, either. She glanced at Max, who was apparently ignoring Missy and watching Liz with concerned eyes. Maria looked tired but was trying to be polite by listening to the girl's incessant chattering. Alex had a far off look in his eyes and Isabel suspected that he probably didn't even realize that there *was* an extra person at their table. Michael looked as annoyed as she felt. And Liz. Liz looked normal. Almost happy normal. Which was really weird considering the events of the last couple of weeks.
Isabel suddenly had the feeling they were being watched. Her gaze darted discreetly around the room, checking quickly for signs of Alan or Pete, but she didn't see them anywhere. She did, however, see a vaguely familiar face a few tables away. A girl with long, straight brown hair and glasses was watching them.
Correction.
Watching Liz.
She tried to remember where she'd seen the girl before and she suddenly realized that the girl lived in Jewell Hall, just a few doors down. What was her name? She wracked her brain, trying to recall if she'd ever known her name to begin with...
Adrian? Allison? Alisha?
Alyssa. That was it. Her name was Alyssa.
Now the question was, why was she staring at Liz?
As if she somehow sensed that Isabel was staring at her, Alyssa looked over and met her gaze and smiled slightly. Isabel smiled back, somewhat uncertainly. Then she casually turned her attention back to the conversation that now revolved around hangovers. She shoved her yogurt carton away from her and pretended to listen. Every now and then, she'd glance over at the girl, who seemed to have a growing fascination with Isabel's group of friends.
Isabel frowned deeply.
She'd have to keep an eye on the girl. Who knew what she was up to?
"What can I do for you today, Liz?" Debra Jacobs asked as Liz sat on the exam table in her office.
"I've been getting these really awful headaches," Liz began. "They last for hours and they make me sick to my stomach."
"Does sunlight or bright light seem to worsen the pain?"
"Yeah."
Debra nodded. "Do you know if anyone in your family has a history of migraines?"
"I'm not sure," she admitted.
"Do you have any allergies to medicine?"
"No."
"Okay, I'm going to give you a prescription to lessen the frequency of the headaches and the intensity when you do get them. Okay?"
Liz nodded and Debra smiled. She relaxed slightly and leaned back against the wall. She liked this doctor. Well, actually, the woman was a nurse practitioner, but she was friendly and seemed to know what she was doing all the same.
Debra handed her the prescription. "There you go. You can get this filled at the drug store next door. You take one pill in the morning and one before bedtime. And if you have any problem with it, call me immediately. If I'm not here, have someone take you to the 24 hour health clinic on Water Street, okay?"
Liz nodded and slid off the exam table. "Thank you."
"Sure. Bye, Liz."
Maria re-shelved some books in the library while Michael sat at a table a few feet away. "I swear. Is it really that difficult to put these in the right order?"
He glanced up from his magazine. "For some people apparently."
She rolled her eyes. "Then those people shouldn't be in college. I mean, it's not hard to figure out that Ra comes before Re. Hello? We learned the alphabet in kindergarden."
Michael suppressed a grin.
She switched aisles, re-organizing another shelf. She pulled one book out and started to file it when she caught sight of the title. "Live the Life You Love," she murmured. She flipped through the pages curiously and decided to check it out.
"I'll be right back," she told Michael.
"Okay." He didn't look up and she was sort of glad.
She went to the front desk and wrote her name on the card inside the book's cover and filed it under the checked out card folder. Maria scanned the book's label and then tucked it inside of her bookbag.
Liz dropped her purse onto her bed and sighed heavily as she sunk down onto the mattress. She rested her face in her hands for a long moment. Her head was pounding furiously. She massaged her temples gently, then reached over and pulled out the bottle of painkillers that Debra had prescribed for her. She unscrewed the cap and reached for her bottled water on her bedside stand. She quickly downed two of the pills and slid the bottle back into her purse.
Her gaze drifted to her answering machine, which was blinking.
She hit the play button.
"You have 2 messages."
"Liz, this is Dana. It's Tuesday. You missed work today and yesterday. Is everything okay?"
"Liz, this is Dana at the clinic again. We're getting really worried about you. You haven't been to work in over a week. Please call me as soon as you get this message."
Liz stared down at the flashing machine for a long moment.
Then she hit erase.