Prodigal Son | (Roswell Fanfiction ) | √

FIVE

"Michael, it's me."

"Max," Michael states shortly.

"Just...let me talk, okay?"

"If that's what you want, Your Highness."

Max sighs. Michael and Max's friendship was pretty much destroyed the night Max told Michael and Isabel that he had erased Maria and Liz's memories.

After graduation Michael and Max went their separate ways. They have only met once in the last two years and that meeting ended in a fist fight that Isabel's husband Jesse was forced to break up. To say that Michael and Max's friendship is non-existent would be an understatement. Michael regards Max more like a potential enemy.

"Something's come up," Max says.

"You've ruined someone else's life?" Michael asks disinterested.

"It's about Maria," Max says.

"Is she okay?" Michael asks, emotion suddenly drowning the cold tone normally reserved for conversations with Max.

"She's okay," Max answers.

"Then what?"

"It's about Liz as well-"

"Right," Michael snarls. "I thought it was something like that. What? You want to give me another one of those I'm-so-sorry-I-screwed-up-your-life-Michael-and-I-really-didn't-mean-it speeches? Well, sorry Max. I thought I've made myself clear. I'm not interested in your guilt trips or your explanations-"

"She wants to remember," Max interrupts.

"She what?!" Michael erupts.

"Liz started to have dreams of things I removed. I could feel that she wasn't doing well, so I was keeping a closer look at her and I kinda bumped into her."

"Great," Michael snaps. "Fucking fantastic. I didn't know that we were allowed to make them remember. Isn't that what you told me, Maxwell? You told me to stay away from the only girl I've ever loved and pretend that I barely even knew her. Yeah, I remember that conversation quite clearly-"

"I didn't mean it like-"

"That's a hell of a lot what it sounded like," Michael bites. "You have the right to get close to Liz, but I don't have the right to get close to Maria. It's like it's always been. You make rules for everyone to follow and then you give yourself the privilege of breaking them. Isn't that what started all of this?"

"I never said that you weren't allowed to be around Maria anymore," Max says, getting irritated. He didn't call Michael to get a lecture.

"How was I supposed to be able to be around her when I couldn't touch her? I couldn't invite her into my life again because that still requires me to tell her about my heritage and that's what she chose to not know about. If I can't have her, I can't be around her. You might be into self-torture, Maxwell, but I'm not."

"I called you to ask you if it's okay that I reverse the process," Max says.

His revelation is met by silence.

"Michael?"

"Why do you even bother?" Michael says.

"I wanted to-"

"You're gonna do whatever you want anyway. Or whatever your soulmate wants."

"Don't talk about her like that," Max warns.

"You know, I was never doing this for you. I'm doing it for Maria. For some reason, she wanted to get out and even though it was Liz's stupid idea I can't blame Maria for being loyal. I used to feel the same type of loyalty for you. But then you put a knife in my back."