Maria Deluca was confused. It was nothing new…it happened to everyone on occasion…herself included, and anyway, it wasn't like she was the most levelheaded person in the world, not like Liz…but she did know how the world worked. Maria knew her friends, and as she walked around the Crashdown Café, taking orders and delivering food, Maria could tell that something in the air had drastically changed.
To start with, after a two week absence, Max had reappeared in the Crashdown that day around lunch time, just sitting in his normal booth, sipping on his cherry coke with Tobasco sauce, his eyes following Liz everywhere she went.
And Liz wasn't doing a darn thing to stop him.
Maria was not going to just stand there and watch it happen all over again. Liz falling in love, Max breaking her heart…it had happened too many times and Maria had to protect her best friend…even if it was from herself.
"Liz." Maria stopped her friend, cornering her by the kitchen window. "Max Evans is staring at you again."
Liz rolled her eyes at her best friend's words. "Yeah Maria, I know."
Avoiding her friend's gaze, Liz quickly grabbed the order of space fries that Jose had just put up for her, and immediately turned and headed across the room to deliver them to a waiting customer.
Maria narrowed her eyes as she watched Liz go, completely shocked and irritated by her avoidance tactics. Hurrying back to her friend's side, Maria pressed her further, as Liz set the fries down silently, smiling before turning back to almost run right into Maria.
"Nuh uh, Liz." Maria groaned, shaking her head in frustration. "I am not letting you get away that easily. I want some answers, girl."
Maria paused for a moment and waited for Liz to respond. When she remained silent, Maria threw her hands in the air in frustration and continued.
"Two weeks ago Max walked in here, sat down right there exactly like that, and you gave him the worst verbal beating of his life. I didn't even know you had that in you! And the guy hasn't had the guts to show his face in here since…until today, when he does it again, and you're just going to stand here and let him get away with it?"
"Yeah Maria, I am." Liz replied lightly with a smile.
"Why?" Maria moaned, exasperated.
"I don't know…" Liz struggled, trying to come up with an explanation. "He and I just came to an understanding of sorts."
"An understanding?" Maria asked incredulously. "No, Liz. You're not getting involved with him again, are you?"
"Maria…" Liz tried to respond, but her friend kept talking.
"Liz…you can't. We've talked about this. The guy is scum. He's broken your heart again and again."
"Maria…" Liz tried again to no avail.
"You have to stay strong, Liz. You have to show Max that you're moving on…that you don't need him anymore."
"Maria!" Liz insisted, grabbing her friend by her shoulders to finally jar her friend's attention away from her rant.
"What?" Maria snapped.
"I'm not getting back together with Max." Liz stated firmly.
"You're not?" Maria sighed with relief.
Liz giggled, amused by her friend's response.
"No, Maria, I'm not. I said we came to an understanding…but getting back together? I'm not ready to be anything to him yet…" Liz's face dropped as the hint of the lasting pain in Liz's heart seeped into her eyes. "I'm not ready to start any kind of relationship right now with Max, be it romantic or even just friendship."
"Then what's with puppy dog eyes over there." Maria asked, gesturing behind her towards Max.
Liz's eyes followed Maria's gesture to rest on where Max sat in his booth across the room, watching them talk with a sad, yet curious gaze. As Liz met his eyes, he raised his brow, obviously aware that they were talking about him.
Shaking her head in irritation, Liz whirled around, crossing to a booth in the front of the room, away from Max's knowing eyes, to retrieve an order from a waiting customer. Maria, of course, followed, unsatisfied by Liz's answers.
"Liz!" Maria begged in a whiny voice as they crossed the floor. "Stop torturing me here and tell me what's going on!"
"Maria, we have to work." Liz insisted, ending the conversation as she turned to the customer. "Hi, welcome to the Crashdown Café. My name is Liz and I'll be your waitress today…"
"Fine then." Maria groaned, turning from her friend and marching straight to Max's table, sliding into the booth across from him.
Max's eyes widened in surprise at Maria's appearance. "Hi Maria…"
"Look, Max." Maria started firmly, glaring openly at him to prove that this wasn't a friendly visit. "I don't know what this little understanding you and Liz have come to is, but her mouth is shut tight, and I am going to scream if one of you doesn't tell me right now why you're in here mooning over Liz like you did every single day before the shooting."
Max opened his mouth to reply, but Maria suddenly gasped out loud, her jaw dropping as she stared at Max with wide eyes.
"Oh my God…that's it. You guys are both acting exactly how you did before the shooting. You're in here staring at Liz, and she's pretending she doesn't notice and treating you like every other customer in the room." Slapping her hand across her face, Maria moaned. "Why didn't I see this until now. You're pretending the past two years didn't even happen."
"She's not ready for more." Max admitted. "And if this is all she can give me right now, I'll take it. I need her, Maria."
"Have you ever thought that maybe she doesn't need you?"
Max's eyes darkened so much in pain, that Maria's heart softened just a bit. She almost, but not quite, regretted her words.
"Look…Spaceboy…I'm not trying to hurt you here, but stop and think for a moment. You broke her heart. You did the one thing in the world that is completely and totally unforgivable. Your presence alone right now could be devastating to her. "
"Maria…I don't think…"
"No Max, you don't think." Maria cut him off. "Obviously you're not thinking if you believe that all that has happened could be fixed this easily. You need to give the girl time, and a lot of it. And even then she still shouldn't take you back if she knows what's good for her."
"I love her Maria." Max murmured softly.
"But obviously not enough." Maria rebutted sadly.
She watched his depression take over, amazed at how quickly you could see the change in him, as his eyes and shoulders simultaneously dropped…yet Maria still couldn't feel any pity for him. Max deserved this after all that he had done.
"Get out of here." Maria groaned in irritation, gesturing towards the door, as she stood and hurried towards the kitchen where Jose was ringing the bell over and over trying to get her attention. "All right, all right! I'm coming!"
