Part 2

"Come on Chica, head up." Maria said softly as she and Liz entered the school the next morning. Maria had been with Liz most of yesterday afternoon and last night. Maria and Alex had been taking turns trying to cheer Liz up, but mostly all Maria wanted to do was kill Max and that Tess girl!

Liz made sure her head was high, and sent Maria a thankful smile for making sure Liz didn’t let anyone see her looking pathetic.

"You can do it Liz. You sure you want to go to your biology class later? If you want, we can go off campus and get something to eat?" Maria offered.

Liz shook her head. She knew she had to face what was going on or she’d never be able to live with herself. "I’ll be fine Maria. I will not let that viper win. She will not make me run and hide."

Maria sighed and nodded. "Good for you Liz. Just let me know if you need me okay?"

Liz nodded and headed toward her first class. She couldn’t believe after all Max and she had been through, that he could turn from her and all of a sudden be hot for this new girl. Liz didn’t trust her and planned on finding out what was going on. If Max wanted to be with her instead of Liz, then Liz would have to live with that. And although inside it would kill her, no one would know, she promised herself.

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Tess walked into the office with her announcements and a smile for the secretary and Principal. She had gotten the Principal to let her do the announcements today, and she couldn’t wait. She walked up to the microphone and when the Principal finished with his morning speech, the secretary nodded for Tess to take her turn at the microphone.

Tess made sure that the Secretary and Principal and all the other office personnel would only hear what she was supposed to have announced, while she read what she really wanted to read.

"Hello fellow students. I thought this would be really fun to share. I found it yesterday in the schoolyard and just died laughing. I knew all of you would want to hear it too. Here goes…

‘I'm Liz parker and I will never look at the starts in the sky the same way again. I'll never look at anything the same way again. What did Max Evans mean when he said, "I'll see you in school?" Was it, ‘I won't be able to breathe until we meet again?’ Or was it just something someone says to like fill space? And what is he thinking right now? Is he also obsessed, tortured, going through one sleepless night to the next wondering what's going to happen between us?’

Isn’t that pathetic. I found that and just had to share Ms goody goodie’s personal thoughts." Tess finished and smiling, she nodded to the secretary and Principal who had heard a different announcement, and then she walked out of the office.

Tess could feel the excitement building inside of her. She knew that would teach the little bitch a lesson. The little sweet, sappy, goodie-goodie was going to have everyone laughing at her and feeling sorry for her before she was through.

Tess could hear the buzz in the classrooms she passed and knew they were all in a feeding frenzy over what they had just heard. She couldn’t wait to see her results on Liz.

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

Liz, for the second day in a row sat in stunned disbelief as she listened to her personal thoughts being read, this time over the loud speaker to the whole school. This couldn’t be happening to her! How had Tess gotten a hold of her journal!? And how come no one had stopped her from reading it aloud?

She ignored the buzz around her as classmates either tried to talk to her in pity, or laugh behind her back at her situation.

Liz was so angry that she flew out of the room in her search for Tess. My God! She has my journal, was all Liz could think. Had she read it all!? Did she now know about Max, Michael and Isabel?

She strode down the nearly deserted halls with one purpose in mind. To find Tess and get her diary back.

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

Isabel, Michael and Alex exchanged shocked looks as the announcement began. Isabel turned pale and Michael furious. Alex was worried and angry. Worried that the trio had been found out, and angry for the pain and embarrassment this must be causing Liz.

The three of them bolted out of their classroom, not caring that the teacher was calling out to them to come back.

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

Maria turned pale and then red as she too ran out of her classroom to find Liz. She couldn’t believe the nerve that that viper had. What was she trying to do! She already had Max. What more did she want from Liz?!

Maria stalked down the hall. She was going to find Liz and Tess. And when she found Tess she was going to pull all her hair out, before and after she got Liz’s journal back.

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

Max too had stiffened in his chair in stunned shock as Tess read a portion of what could only be Liz’s journal, aloud to the school. Her words were still echoing in the hallway when Max bolted out of his classroom and started searching for Tess. He was going to kill her! How could she read something so personal out loud to everyone? How could anyone be that cruel? He wasn’t even thinking of what it meant for him that Tess had Liz’s journal, he only wanted to get to Tess to stop her from hurting Liz anymore.

When he saw Tess casually walking down the hall toward him he frowned and walked forcefully toward her. Max’s control right now was low because he was so angry. His whole focus was on making Tess pay for what she had done to Liz.

Tess knew she could control Max through his anger, and she focused all her energy on Max’s thoughts as he approached. Tess shivered as she watched the anger in Max’s eyes. He turned her on when he was angry.

"What the HELL…." Max started, but was stopped by what felt like a brick wall. He saw Tess, and he felt an incredible urge to kiss her. His anger all refocused on passion as he looked at Tess and saw her smile at him sweetly.

Tess smiled and led Max toward her locker, knowing exactly where Liz would head when she got out of class.

Tess leaned up against her locker and held open her arms to Max. He was so easy to control right now, with his own control at a low because his anger was so high.

Max took Tess into his arms and roughly began kissing her and shoving her against her locker.

This was how Liz found the two as she rounded the corner to Tess’ locker. Hurt, shock, pain and anger went through Liz, but this time anger won out.

"Give me my Journal back you Viper!" Liz spat as she came right up to Max and Tess. She was beyond hurt right now. Something wasn’t right. Even if Max did feel things for Tess, he wouldn’t be kissing her after she’d read the journal out loud and could endanger Isabel and Michael. This just wasn’t right. But she pushed that to the back of her mind as she met Tess’ smug smile.

Max had backed away from Tess when he’d heard Liz’s voice. Now he looked again at Tess with anger and hatred. What the hell had he just done that for!? He shook his head in confusion. What was going on? He turned to Liz to comfort her, but flinched at the hatred that blazed in her eyes for the both of them.

Michael, Isabel, Maria and Alex rounded the corner just in time to hear Liz’s words and Max pull away from what could only be a very passionate make out session with Tess. "What the hell is going on?" Michael asked torn between shock and anger at seeing Max and Tess. What the hell was going on with Max? He wondered.

Isabel and Maria’s eyes narrowed in on Tess and they headed toward her. But Michael and Alex beat the girls to Tess and Michael held Tess harshly against the lockers and looked deep into her eyes. " Where’s the Journal?" he said between gritted teeth.

Max could only look at Liz. He didn’t care about the journal. Only what Tess had done to her. He stepped closer to Liz.

"Liz…" he said and held out a hand. This time he just looked hurt and defeated when Liz slapped him.

"How could you?! Has your uncontrollable lust for this… this thing totally turned your brain to mush! That you could be disgustingly making out with her in the hall only minutes after knowing that she could have endangered you and Isabel and Michael with her announcement?!" Liz was shouting, she was so furious. The picture of Max pushing Tess up against the lockers as if he couldn’t get close enough, made her want to be sick.

"Liz, please, let me explain. I don’t understand what…" Max tried to say only to have Liz slap him again.

"You don’t understand why we are all upset? Is that what you want to tell us? Huh Max? Have all of your brains gone straight down to your lower anatomy? Is she that hot that you don’t care about how she can endanger Michael and Isabel!?" Liz shouted more, and then threw her hands up in the air and stalked off when she could see that Max was just looking at her in confusion. He was clueless and she was through. The tears started falling once she turned her back on the group, and she ran down the hall and out of the building. She heard Maria calling out to her, and Alex trying to catch up to her but she shook her head. "Leave me alone guys! I just want to be alone!" Liz shouted again without looking back, but guessed they agreed, because she no longer heard Alex running after her.

Liz ran around the corner of the building and saw the girl’s locker room. She would calm herself down in there, wash her face, and get a hold of herself. Then she would go back to class. She was NOT going to let Max and Tess ruin her grades. She had worked too long and hard to get where she was. She would keep on with her life, going to school and working and acting like she didn’t care that Max had torn her heart out. She would die a little more each day at the thought of Max’s betrayal, but he wouldn’t know it. None of them would. Especially that disgusting viper! She would not know that she had gotten the best of Liz.

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

When Liz had stormed off, all eyes went back on Tess furiously. "Who are you and how did you get Liz’s Journal?" Michael demanded and shoved her harder against the lockers.

Tess didn’t feel any pain; she just tried to think of a way out of this. She knew she could control Max and Isabel as she had been, but with the three others there as well, she wasn’t sure she could control them all.

Suddenly Michael’s grip on Tess loosened and Tess turned to Max who had removed Michael’s hand. Tess smiled up at Max in relief. They belonged together; maybe he finally saw that on his own.

But the hatred and disgust that she saw in Max’s eyes made her cringe and whisper in a hoarse voice her denial. No… he couldn’t look at her this way. She concentrated on him and was frightened when she couldn’t get through to him. Not at all.

She knew the only thing left to do was to tell them the truth and throw them off. "Wait…I’m one of you. I’ve come from Nasedo."