Part 9

They drove back to town in silence, both consumed with thoughts of fear, and love.

Max still couldn’t believe that he allowed something like this to happen to Liz. A huge part of him blamed himself. If he had been there for her more, maybe he would have kept Nasedo away from her. If he had brought her along to his dad’s birthday or something… Maybe he could have kept all of this from happening. He had to make up for it now, by being there for her as much as humanly possible. Max had to protect Liz, to keep Nasedo away from her. It was too late to make up for the previous night, so all Max could do was prevent it from happening to her again.

Liz was consumed with thoughts of self-loathing as well. She couldn’t believe that she had spent all that time with Nasedo, with someone other than Max, and she didn’t even realize that it wasn’t him. How was that possible? She knew what Max felt like, she knew his heart, so how could she have held someone else, and not known that it wasn’t him? She felt like she had failed him.

Liz glanced towards Max, and noted his jaw clamped down angrily, his eyes furiously set on the road. It made her nervous. He said that it was okay, that he didn’t blame her, but was that true? Or was Max just telling her what she wanted to hear. Max glanced down at her and met her gaze, and instantly his gaze softened. Liz breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t appear to be mad at her. Maybe he was just mad about the situation.

Max slowed the jeep to a halt a few blocks away from the Crashdown, turned off the motor, and looked at Liz.

"What are you doing?" She asked him curiously. It was the first words that either of them had spoken in hours, as they had just enjoyed the silence of the night, and the feel of each other’s presence.

"Well, I think your parents would get a little suspicious if I parked right in front, don’t you?"

Liz smiled at him. "You’re going to stay?"

"I told you Liz, I’m going to stay by your side as much as possible, at least until we can figure out what Nasedo wants from you. I can just sit out on your balcony, make sure he doesn’t try anything."

"Thank you." Liz breathed, overwhelmed by the love she felt for this man. He was so wonderful to her…

"It just makes me so angry that I let this happen to you, Liz. I won’t let it happen again. I promise."

"It’s not your fault, Max. How were we supposed to predict that he would try this? We can’t blame ourselves for what happened last night, Max. All we can do is try to avoid anything further happening with Nasedo. I’m just so relieved that we figured him out before he could do anything more."

"Me too, Liz."

Max jumped out of the jeep, and walked around to the passenger side, extending a hand to help her out. She took it willingly, and stared at their entwined hands for a moment, before allowing him to lead her down the street towards her house. When they reached the door, Max pulled Liz to him for a quick kiss.

"I’ll meet you upstairs." He whispered as he released her, slowly caressing her cheek, and pushing her hair behind one ear.

"I’ll be up in a minute." She responded, before pulling away and opening the door. "Goodnight Max." She said loudly, grinning at him as she set the stage for her parents. "I’ll see you at school tomorrow."

He laughed and winked at her, as she pulled the door shut behind her.

Max quickly made his way up the fire escape, and settled himself in the chair out on the balcony. He lay back in the chair crossing his arms behind his head, as he stared up at the stars. The light was still out in Liz’s bedroom, and it was dark outside. The stars brought what little light consumed Max at that moment, so he watched them flicker and burn high above him in the nighttime sky.

As he had many times before, Max lay there and wondered which star was his. But this time, he realized that his feelings about that question had changed. As he looked up at the stars, he felt a simple curiosity about them, mellow feelings about the stars. His entire life, Max had stared at the sky with a desperate longing, wondering which star was his home, with other people like him, maybe even family. Ever since he found Liz, though, the meaning of the stars had changed for him. He still felt a connection with them, but he wasn’t desperately looking for the answers anymore. All the answers to any question he ever had, he found when he looked into Liz’s eyes. She was all that mattered to him anymore, his whole life. And he would do anything for her, to keep her safe. So he lay there on her rooftop, waiting for her to join him, knowing that his parents would worry, because all that mattered was Liz.

The light flipped on in her bedroom, and Max’s eyes immediately fell on her window, the stars forgotten. She was standing by the door nodding her head frantically.

"Yeah mom, I’m just really tired, so I’m going straight to bed. I have a big day tomorrow. Yeah. So I’ll see you in the morning, all right? Yeah I will. Goodnight mom."

Liz shut the door and leaned back against it, breathing a huge sigh of relief. She thought they were never going to stop questioning her. Liz supposed she deserved it. She stayed out late with Max, and didn’t even tell her parents that she was going anywhere. They had a right to be mad. But all she wanted to do was to get into her room and retreat into her bubble of safety with Max. The real Max.

Max… Liz looked up at her bedroom window, and quickly made her way towards it, sticking her head outside. She smiled. Max was sitting there staring at her. She slipped out the window and slowly approached him, finally sitting beside him on the chair.

His eyes had followed her from the window to the chair, admiring her, worshiping her, barely believing that they were actually there, together.

"Don’t worry, it’s me." Max told her huskily, as he took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"I’m sorry it took me so long. My parents were giving me the third degree for not coming home after school today." Liz explained.

"Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter." Max leaned in and captured her silky, soft lips in a passionate kiss, drinking her in, knowing that he couldn’t get enough of her. Liz reached her arms around his neck, and slid herself closer to him, pressing up against him, desperate for any contact with the real Max. Max pulled Liz up onto his lap, and kicked his leg up, so he could lay back on the lounge chair. He wrapped his arms tightly around Liz, and kissed the back of her head, as together they turned their attention back to the stars.

"It’s so beautiful out tonight." Liz breathed.

"Yeah." Max responded quietly.

"What were you doing out here while you were waiting for me?" Liz asked him curiously.

"Just watching the stars…and thinking."

"About?" Liz pushed with a playful grin.

"You." Max smiled back.

"Flatterer." Liz joked.

"So?" Max asked her with a twinkle in his eye. "You know you like it."

Liz turned slightly so that she could look him in they eyes. "Yes, I do." She replied honestly, and she leaned in to capture his lips once more.

They fell into silence once more. No talking was necessary. Liz and Max were comfortable enough with one another that words weren’t always needed. The love that they felt in their hearts told them all they needed to know. They were in love, and their presence alone was enough for each other.

The silence was broken by a whisper from the alleyway beneath them.

"Liz? Are you there?" Max called from down below.