Author: Danilise
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: Roswell, the characters, and the situations are owned
by the WB. No infringement is intended.
Author's Note: This story is part of an evolving storyline that
currently includes (in order): "Decisions,"
"Looking In," "Christmas Envy," "From
Another Place," "Husbands and Fathers,"
"Claudia and Nicole," and "Stars." More
stories may be forthcoming.
Looking In
Surprised, Kyle Valenti stopped dead in his tracks in front of
the Crashdown Cafe. It was late evening on a school night, and
the popular teen hangout was nearly empty. But that wasn't what
had surprised him.
What had surprised Kyle was seeing Liz Parker sitting at a booth
towards the back of the restaurant. She hadn't changed that much
since high school: her sleek dark hair, her delicate brow, her
doe-brown eyes, her petite frame. Seeing her brought back the
flood of feelings -- anger, frustration, hurt -- caused by her
rejection. She was, in every sense, the "girl who got
away."
Kyle turned away from the window abruptly, intent on getting
where he had been going. Then a movement inside the Cafe caught
his eye, and he glanced back.
Max Evans had entered the restaurant and was leaning over Liz.
Liz was looking up at Max, her eyes soft, her face glowing in the
way that used to infuriate Kyle in high school, even when he and
Liz weren't boyfriend-girlfriend. Then, as now obviously, it was
as if her entire being were lit up in Max Evans' presence, as if
she were shimmering with pure, unadulterated love.
Kyle watched Max bend closer to Liz, smile at something she said,
and gently kiss her on the lips. When their lips touched, Kyle
dropped his eyes and unconsciously clenched his hands into fists.
When he looked up again, Kyle saw that Max had gone, leaving Liz
alone in the restaurant. Kyle sucked in a breath and walked into
the Crashdown. Working to keep his voice matter-of-fact, he said:
"Liz? Liz Parker. Who would've expected to find you back in
Roswell, New Mexico? I thought you were at school back
east."
Liz looked up and smiled warmly. "Kyle. How are you?"
Kyle blinked and squashed the feeling in his chest evoked by her
smile. "I'm good," he said. "You?"
Liz smiled again, but whatever she was going to say was
interrupted by her parents' entering the Cafe through the
"employees only" door at the back. They were followed
closely by Max. All three of them were laughing at the antics of
the cooing, dark-haired infant cradled in Max's arms.
Kyle stared at the baby. He glanced at Liz, then at Max, then
back at the baby.
Liz noticed his triple-take and said gently, "Actually, it's
Liz Evans these days. Max and I were married last December."
She gestured to the baby. "That's our daughter, Claudia.
She's the reason I'm sitting here taking it easy. Max tends to be
over-protective." Her voice trailed off, and she smiled
wryly. As her expression turned inwards, Kyle guessed that she
was remembering other times when Max has been over-protective.
Kyle could remember more than a few of those himself.
When Max joined them, Kyle bristled the way he'd always done
whenever their paths had crossed since high school. There was
something about Max, something Kyle could never quite put his
finger on, something about Max's aloof control, his unshakeable
reserve. Secrets clung to Max Evans, and Kyle had never figured
them out. And -- of course -- Max had Liz. They had connected
with an intensity obvious to everyone around them after the day
of the shooting in the Crashdown. Their mutual attraction, their
shared longing for each other, had humiliated and frustrated Kyle
by turns. And it was clear nothing had changed for them ... or
for him.
Realizing that Max was watching him, Kyle shrugged off his bad
feelings and stuck out his hand. "Hey, Max," he said.
"Congratulations. Liz was just telling me your good
news."
Max shifted the baby so he could shake Kyle's outstretched hand.
His eyes were still watchful, still wary, and his voice was flat
as he thanked him.
"It looks like you folks are having a family get-together
here," Kyle observed, noticing Liz's parents hesitating to
join them. "I'll just be going." He started to back out
of the restaurant.
"Thanks for stopping to say hello, Kyle." Liz's voice
sounded sincere, but Kyle could tell that Liz was already
thinking about something -- someone -- else. Just as it had
always been with Liz whenever Max Evans was around.
As he stepped outside the Crashdown Cafe, Kyle looked back once
more at the family he had left behind. Max and Liz were sitting
side-by-side in the booth, their eyes locked intimately over
their baby's waving arms and kicking legs.
Kyle shook his head to clear the memories and regrets and stalked
off, intent once again on getting where he had been going.
The End