2 RNM Fic for Fic in a Box
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impala_chickI realized I never re-posted the two Roswell New Mexico fic I wrote for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ficinabox.
Title: The Rules of Pool
Fandom: Roswell New Mexico
Characters/Pairings: Maria Deluca/Gregory Manes
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1,542
Warnings: None
A/N: Written forscintilla10!
Summary: Gregory shows up before The Wild Pony opens to help out, but Maria teaches him how to play pool instead.
Fic on AO3
Gregory has been spending a lot more time at The Wild Pony lately, completely by design. He jumps on any flimsy excuse to spend time with Maria.
On Thursday he walks in about an hour before the bar opens because he knows that Maria will already be there, stocking the bar or placing her orders for the week. Maybe he can be useful. He greets her with a cheesy wave, and she comes out from behind the bar with a dish towel in her hand.
“We’re closed,” she says as she grins and gives Gregory a very obvious once-over.
He purposefully does not shy away from her gaze. “I thought I could help get ready for opening?”
“I’m pretty much ready to go,” Maria says with a shrug. She turns around to put the dish towel on the bar. “Do you want to play pool?”
Gregory is glad Maria isn’t looking at him, because he winces. He rarely feels younger than Maria, because she treats him like an equal, but right now he absolutely feels the four year age difference.
When Gregory was a freshman in high school, he didn’t spend time with Alex. Alex was a senior for one thing, but he spent all of his time at the music room at school, or working at the UFO emporium. Years later, Gregory would come to understand why Alex avoided going home, and he feels terrible about how Alex was treated. But at the time, Gregory didn’t really understand what was going on between his father and Alex.
Because Gregory didn’t spend time with Alex, he never spent time with Maria or Liz either. He knew of them, but he never really got to know them. He’s glad he didn’t, because he thinks that would affect Maria’s opinion of him.
Now Gregory is much taller and more put together. He likes that he has been the helper lately, always ready at a moment’s notice to do whatever Maria wanted him to; like pick up crates or drive her home. He even made her laugh occasionally. He’d proven himself useful, and fun, to have around.
But now, he’ll have to show his ignorance. He was never really the kind of guy to hang out at bars, and it’s not like they had a pool table growing up. He’s never played pool. He hopes that Maria won’t think less of him. He doesn’t want to become burdensome.
“I, uh. Don’t know how to play,” he admits.
Maria’s eyes widen in surprise for a moment, but then she tilts her head and smiles.
“You mean Jesse Manes didn’t make you play?” Maria steps closer to Gregory and reaches out her hand.
“Lucky for me, he didn’t make me do much of anything,” Gregory says as he takes her hand and willingly goes where Maria leads him.
Maria’s hips swing as she walks towards the rack of pool cues, and Gregory can’t help but look down and appreciate the tight fit of her jeans.
“Do you want to learn?” Maria lets go of his hand and reaches for a pool cue.
“Sure,” Gregory says quickly. He breathes a sigh of relief. Maybe Maria won’t mind showing him a few things.
“I should warn you, I’m pretty good.”
Gregory laughs. As always, he’s delighted by her confidence.
“So you’re saying I shouldn’t put money down on this game.”
“Maybe save that for next time,” Maria agrees. She reaches for a second pool cue and hands it to him. “Here.”
He takes it and eagerly leans over the table like he’s seen people do in movies.
Maria tsked. “Wait, I have to break.”
“Oh, right. I was just seeing how it feels.” Gregory straightens up and rests the end of the cue on the ground.
Maria lays her cue across the top of the table and reaches for the black triangle holding the balls in place.
“You want the balls to be frozen, or touching.They look good, so I’m going to chalk up and then I’m going to aim for the second ball.”
Gregory nods along, feeling much more relaxed as he watches Maria in her element.
She puts away the black triangle and gets the white cute ball from underneath the pool table. She sets down the cue ball on the felt and leans over with her pool cue, looking down the cue as she lines up her shot. The view is fantastic, and Gregory suddenly feels like he should have started playing pool sooner.
Maria doesn’t even hesitate before she strikes the cue ball square on, and it hits the balls and scatters them all across the table. One of the striped balls rolls right into the left middle pocket.
“That means I get to keep going,” Maria says as she scrutinizes the table. “You keep playing your turn until you can’t put a ball into a pocket.”
Gregory is doing his best to pay attention, but Maria is a sight. She’s completely focused on the task at hand, and as she stalks around the table like a hunter on the prowl, it makes Gregory’s throat feel dry. Then Maria leans over and puts the tip of the cue under the index finger of her right hand, and strikes the cue. A striped ball ricochets off the side and sinks into a pocket, and Gregory whistles.
“Damn, I might not even get to take a shot.”
He’s not even blowing smoke up her ass. She legitimately seems like she knows exactly what she’s doing.
Maria snorts. “Fine. We better get you up here.”
She motions towards the table, and Gregory lifts up his cue and walks towards her.
“The first rule of pool is that you have to have a good grip on the shaft,” Maria says with a pointed look in Gregory’s direction. She obviously notices the innuendo, and Gregory snickers.
“I think I can handle that,” Gregory says.
“I think you can too,” Maria says, her voice low.
Then she hands him the chalk from where it was sitting on the table’s edge. “This end of the cue is called the ferrule, and of course the tip. You chalk the tip to increase friction. The second rule of pool is, you can't have too much chalk.”
Gregory rubs the chalk over the tip while Maria watches him approvingly. He preens under the attention.
Then he holds his cue the way Maria showed him. He grips it in a relaxed way with his right hand, and then leans over so that his body is lined up with the cue ball. He makes an open bridge with his left hand, and puts the cue in the ‘v’ between this thumb and index finger. He keeps the cue at his hip, and then slides it forward to strike the cue ball.
The cue ball actually rolls along the felt and hits the yellow ball he’d wanted to hit. Although he doesn’t pocket it, that feels like at least he’s got something to show for his efforts.
“Nice!” Maria beams. “I’ve seen much worse first shots.”
Gregory laughs. “Oh, is this how you impress all your dates?”
“Just the lucky ones,” Maria says with a wink.
“Well maybe you could get closer and show me some techniques.”
Maria takes the invitation and saunters closer to him. She pushes up right behind him, and slides her hands down his arms until she’s helping him hold the cue.
Her thighs are warm and strong against Gregory’s legs, and he can smell the feminine floral scent of her perfume. Her hair brushes his bicep as she leans in to whisper in his ear.
“Better pay attention, Manes,” Maria teases.
Gregory bites his lip and watches as Maria’s hands push the cue and cause it to strike the cue ball. This time, his yellow ball does get pocketed.
"So what's the third rule of pool?" Gregory asks. He rocks his hips back just enough to bump Maria, and she presses a kiss to his neck.
"The third rule of pool," Maria says before she kisses his neck again, "is to always keep your eye on the cue ball."
He feels like putty in her hands. He’s ready to do anything Maria tells him to, his body weight nearly sagging against hers. He tips his head to the side, and his lips brush Maria’s cheek. She lets go of the cue to wrap her arms around his waist, and Gregory is eager for a real kiss.
They’re interrupted when the door to the Wild Pony opens.
“Hold that thought,” Maria says quietly to the shell of his ear.
Gregory has to stand up straight again, and he nearly groans in frustration once bereft of her strength and smell. Maria squeezes his ass before she walks away to greet her customer.
“Keep practicing,” Maria calls over her shoulder. “I get off at 2 am.”
“So it’s a date?” He has to know, even if he’d let Maria string him along for a long time yet.
She stops and turns around.
“It’s a date,” she confirms with a soft, sweet smile.
Gregory goes a little weak in the knees, his body still tingling where she'd touched him. It’s going to be a long night.
Title: Love Asylum, Like an Island
Fandom: Roswell New Mexico
Characters/Pairings: Maria Deluca & Rosa Ortecho, Rosa Ortecho/Isobel Evans
Rating: Gen
Word Count: 3,331
Warnings: Pre-Canon, Marijuana
A/N: Also written forscintilla10!
Summary: Maria ditches class in order to meet up with Rosa. Despite Maria's protests, Isobel tags along.
Fic on AO3
Just as Maria sits down at her desk, her phone buzzes in her pocket. She’s only had the thing a week, and there are very few people that know the number. Maria quickly pulls it out and flips it open under her desk to keep anyone else from reading her message.
It’s from Rosa.
SOS. U know where.
Maria flips the razr closed again and swears under her breath. Coming from Rosa, that message could mean a million different things. She tries to keep herself from jumping to the worst conclusions. If Rosa is saying to meet her at their spot at the bleachers, she’s alive. Maria tries to focus on that as she gathers up the books strewn across her desk and shoves them into her backpack. Their teacher has her back turned to them, writing on the blackboard. Maria gets up and attempts to make a hasty exit before she turns back around.
When she gets to the door, Isobel Evans is using her unusual height advantage to block the doorway.
“Isobel, I really don’t have time for whatever this is,” Maria huffs.
Isobel rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. She’s tapping the toe of her clearly expensive pink high heel against the laminated floor, trying to be intimidating. It’s not working.
“Class starts in like five minutes. You can’t leave.” Isobel puts her hand up and grabs the door jamb.
“Sorry, no time to explain. Gotta go.” Maria twists her body enough to shoulder past her and duck under her arm. She hurriedly heads down the empty hall with her backpack over one shoulder.
She hears the clacking of heels behind her and realizes that Isobel must be following her.
“What are you doing?” Maria hisses under her breath as Isobel catches up.
“We are supposed to give our English mid-term presentation today. And you are my assigned partner.” Isobel jabs her finger in Maria’s direction. “I’m not going to be left alone to give the presentation by myself. So it looks like I’m going with you.”
Maria is saved from answering when the bell loudly goes off in the hallway, indicating the start of class. Maria doesn’t have time to argue about the stupid presentation anyway. They’ll just have to make it up tomorrow.
She pushes through the double doors at the end of the hall, and doesn’t bother to hold them open. The door nearly smacks Isobel in the face, but she manages to catch it and stomp outside behind Maria.
Maria turns right sharply, heading for the football field. The bleachers had always been her and Rosa’s go-to hang out spot, when Rosa was in school, so long as a football game wasn’t actually going on. They wouldn’t be caught dead at a game. School spirit was not Maria or Rosa’s strong suit.
Rosa hadn’t been back since her graduation in June, except to pick up Liz. Maria knows it will only take a few more minutes for her to reach the bleachers, but she’s still worried. There’s really no reason for Rosa to come back to the high school unless she wants to get away from someone.
“Where are we going now?” Isobel laments with a groan.
“You don’t have to come,” Maria says in a sing-song voice.
That shuts Isobel up.
Maria takes a deep breath and tries to forget Isobel is next to her. It’s a lot easier for her to rely on her extra senses if she focuses. Maria can actually feel what someone is feeling, even when the person in question isn’t around. Sometimes she even gets flashes of an entire scene, as if a tiny 10 second full-color movie clip is playing in her head. She's not sure how or why she is this way, but her Mom told her this kind of thing is normal in her family. Maria concentrates as hard as she can on Rosa’s face while still walking, just like her mother taught her.
When Maria reaches out, it feels like her thoughts are suddenly racing. She has the urge to wipe sweaty palms on her jeans. Clearly something is weighing on Rosa’s mind, making her feel anxious. Maria doesn’t get any visions, though. She takes that as a good sign.
Maria walks up the hill, and then the field is in view. She can see someone sitting at the top of the bleachers with a black hoodie pulled over their head. That’s got to be Rosa. No one else is usually out here ditching class like the delinquents they are.
When Maria glances over her shoulder, she’s surprised that Isobel hoofed it over the entire muddy lawn in her expensive shoes. When she glances down, Isobel's shoes look totally wrecked.
“Rosa!” Maria calls out as she starts up the concrete steps. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, thank God. Please hurry,” Rosa groans as she looks up. She holds out her hand, and then smiles down at Maria. “I could use some of that mellow weed I know you keep in your backpack.”
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me? You had me scared!”
Rosa scoffs. “Oh c’mon. Couldn’t you tell I was fine with your -”
She stops mid-sentence when her gaze lands on Isobel at the bottom of the stairs. Rosa is the only friend Maria told about her abilities. At that moment, she almost regrets telling her because she absolutely does not want Isobel to know. She thanks her lucky stars that Rosa stopped herself just in time.
“What’s she doing here?” Rosa asks coldly.
“She wouldn’t leave me alone,” Maria grumbles. She swats Rosa’s knee once she reaches her. Then she sits down next to her and unzips her backpack.
Maria glances up to see Isobel and Rosa having some sort of staring contest. Both of them have matching grimaces on their faces. When Rosa looks at Maria like that, she generally tries to steer clear. Maria has to hand it to Isobel, she doesn’t scare easy.
“Uh, hello?” Maria waves a hand in front of Rosa’s face. “Earth to Rosa.”
Rosa reaches over and grabs the baggy out of Maria’s hand. She pulls out the joint and then holds a hand out for a lighter, which Maria also procures from her bag.
“Little miss cheerleader can only stay if she’ll take a hit,” Rosa comments dismissively. She flicks the lighter on and holds it to the end until it catches and burns bright red.
Isobel rolls her eyes and finishes the climb up the stairs. It’s slow going in her heels.
“So let me get this straight. You had Maria ditch English, and our presentation, just so you could smoke in the bleachers?” Isobel laments.
“Looks like you ditched too,” Rosa says.
Isobel narrows her eyes and puts her hand on her hip. She’s obviously ready to launch into a tirade, but Maria does not want to be in the middle of a fight.
“Can you be cool or not, Isobel?” Maria asks tersely.
Isobel throws her hands up in a defeated gesture and then plops down on the row of bleachers in front of them.
Maria takes the offered joint from Rosa and turns her attention to her. “So was it a fight with Helena? Or Liz?”
Rosa eyes Isobel again, like she’s considering whether to tell the truth. Maria brings the joint up to her lips and breathes in the weed smoke. It’s acrid and nearly burns her throat.
“Both. I don’t want to go home tonight,” Rosa says as she rests her elbows on her knees.
Maria exhales a cloud of smoke before she answers.
“I’m sure my mom will let you stay over.”
Rosa runs a hand through her long hair. “Thanks. But I can’t be at the diner right now. I know you have class, but I just want to bail on this whole day.”
Isobel holds her hand out for the joint. Maria raises her eyebrows in surprise, but passes it over anyway.
Maria knows that Isobel is too straight-laced to be experienced at this. She and Rosa both lean forward slightly to watch as Isobel puts the joint to her lips. She breathes in way too quickly, but Maria doesn’t bother trying to help her out because she’s hoping for a bit of a show.
Isobel chokes out a puff of smoke, and then tears spring to her eyes as she coughs. She leans over to hand Maria the joint back, still sputtering.
Rosa giggles, but Maria doesn’t find it as funny as she thought she would. Seeing Isobel Evans acting like a normal teenager is sort of strange, considering she’s always trying to act so aloof and mature. It’s like the whole scene is too unreal to be funny.
Once Isobel can breathe normally again, she looks up at Rosa and Maria and bites her lip.
“I have an idea for a place we can hang,” Isobel says.
Rosa plucks the joint from Maria’s hand and shakes her head. “Pssh. I’m not interested in going to the country club.”
That makes Maria laugh. With her heels and beige sweater, Isobel does look like she’s dressed for a country club.
Isobel narrows her eyes. “I was going to suggest Bottomless Lakes. It’s probably not very busy this time of day.”
“Oh, it’s pretty there. I’ve been once with my mom,” Maria says. The last thing she expected was for Isobel to suggest someplace outdoors.
Rosa looks between the pair of them and then shrugs.
“Fine. I’ve got nothing better to do. We can take my car.”
Rosa stubs out the joint on the concrete by her feet.
“I’ll drive,” Maria says. She only took one hit and she’s not even feeling anything. “Wait, who is going to pick up Liz at the end of the day if we have the car?”
Rosa waves a hand dismissively.
“She can get a ride from Kyle. Or Max.”
Maria nods and then glances over at Isobel to gauge her reaction, but she doesn’t seem to have one. She just stands up with them, ready to go.
It isn’t out of the ordinary for Kyle or Max to drop Liz off at the Crashdown when Rosa doesn’t come to school to pick her up. But Max also always drives Isobel home. It will probably be weird for Max when he gets out of school and doesn't see her. If Isobel is concerned about that, she doesn't say anything.
Rosa tosses Maria her car keys and puts the joint back in the plastic baggie. Maria slings her backpack over her shoulder as Isobel and Rosa pick up their bags. The three of them head down the stairs in silence, seemingly lost in their own thoughts. The atmosphere doesn’t feel quite as charged as it did before, but Maria can tell that Rosa still feels anxious. She can’t get a read on Isobel at all, which is unusual for her. Maria can count on one hand the number of people who are able to completely slip by Maria’s extra senses.
Once they get to the car, Rosa declares that she’s in control of the radio. There are only a few good stations that come in, but someone has to be responsible for flipping the channel if the station they’re listening to goes to commercial. It’s a very important co-pilot job, one that has become well established between Rosa and Maria whenever they’re in the car together.
It also means that Isobel is relegated to the backseat. Rosa blasts the music so loud they wouldn’t have been able to hear Isobel even if she’d tried to say something. It’s only about a twenty minute drive, so Maria doesn’t let herself feel bad that the pair of them don’t try to include her in conversation. This mini trip is supposed to be about making sure Rosa doesn’t feel lonely, anyway. They don’t have to be extra nice to Isobel just because she picked the place.
Once they pull into the parking lot, Maria parks in a spot right up front. The place looks mostly deserted, just like Isobel had predicted. That makes Maria wonder why Isobel would know about the amount of people who visit Bottomless Lakes on an early Wednesday afternoon, but she doesn’t ask.
Maria pockets the keys and they walk through the large stone entrance building and out towards the lake. There’s a roped off area up front for swimming, but Maria doesn’t see anyone in the water. It's way too cold to swim anyway. The bright blue surface of it ripples gently from the breeze.
She follows Rosa’s lead and walks out to the right. They go as far as they can before the sand ends, and then Rosa plops down and wraps her hands around her knees. Maria and Isobel sit beside her.
“Since we didn’t see anyone, maybe we can risk smoking?” Maria offers. She brought her backpack with her just in case.
Rosa shrugs. She’s gazing out at the water, looking a little lost.
“If we’re going to smoke, maybe I should go get us some food first,” Isobel offers.
Isobel has a point. If they smoke, they would get hungry and then no one would be able to drive.
“You’re full of surprises,” Maria says as she hands Isobel the keys.
“Burgers?” Isobel asks. “We passed a decent looking place.”
“Sure,” Rosa says quietly. She’s still focused on the water. It’s like she’s avoiding Isobel’s gaze altogether.
The sun hasn’t started fading in the sky yet, but the wind is already picking up. Maria feels cold in just her threadbare hoodie, and she’s got a blanket in the car. So she gets up to walk back to the car with Isobel.
As soon as they’re out of earshot, Isobel turns to Maria.
“I just figured you guys might want to talk without me.”
“Maybe,” Maria says, taken aback. “But then why did you come in the first place?”
“I just…” Isobel bites her lip, and for the first time all day she seems really uncertain of herself. “It would be nice to have friends.”
“Weirdo. You have Max and Michael.”
Isobel sighs.
“Girl friends, I mean.”
That makes Maria smile.
“Well, no promises. But thanks for getting food.”
Isobel huffs a laugh as Maria grabs the blanket out of the trunk. She still doesn’t trust Isobel, but it does seem like she’s making an effort. Maybe Maria could try to be a little nicer to her.
Once she gets back to Rosa’s side, she sits down, kicks off her shoes, and puts the blanket over her shoulder.
“Getting cold yet?” Maria asks. She opens her arms wide and offers part of the blanket. Rosa grabs it with her left hand and stretches it across her shoulders.
“Thanks,” Rosa says as she looks back out at the water.
Maria shrugs. “No problem. I’m always prepared.”
The two of them sit side by side, wrapped up in Maria’s blanket, and look out at the New Mexico sky reflected onto the shimmering surface of the wide lake. It strikes Maria that it’s been a long time since the pair of them spent time together, and Maria misses it. She’s about to say as much, but Rosa speaks up first.
“Can I tell you something?”
Maria turns to her. “Of course.”
“Okay but you can’t tell anybody,” Rosa says firmly. Rosa takes a deep breath, and Maria is close enough to feel her rib cage move. “Especially Liz.”
Maria nods. Keeping a secret from Liz will be hard, especially if it’s about Rosa. Outside of her mom and Alex, Liz is the person Maria spends the most time with. But Rosa is the closest thing she has to a big sister, so she’ll keep her confidences as best as she can.
“Do you want to pinky swear?”
“Sure.” Rosa laughs and holds up her pinky. Maria locks hers around Rosa’s, and kisses her fist in fealty before letting Rosa go.
“Okay so there’s something weird with me and Isobel,” Rosa begins.
Maria thinks, no shit. But she doesn’t say it. She just waits for Rosa to continue.
“I think I’m like… attracted to her.”
Maria widens her eyes in surprise, but keeps her voice carefully neutral. She doesn’t want to give the wrong impression and make Rosa shut down, but it does seem like Rosa is trying to have a conversation about this with out actually saying the word. Maria wants to get it out in the open.
“So are you a lesbian?”
Rosa seems to consider that for a moment, tilting her head and glancing over at Maria.
“Maybe? Would that be fucked up?”
Maria firmly shakes her head no and reaches for Rosa’s hand.
“You know I’d love you just the same.” She squeezes Rosa’s hand. “And Liz would, too.”
Rosa sighs and squeezes Maria’s hand back. She looks out over the water as she gathers her thoughts.
“It’s just, I’ve never really felt this way. So it’s hard to know. I’ve never kissed a girl. Frederico is fun, but it’s not like I’m in love with him. His kisses don’t make me… well, it’s not like in the movies.”
Maria nods. “Maybe you just don’t like kissing.”
“Have you had an earth shattering kiss before?” Rosa asks.
“Once. But then nothing changed between Alex and I. We went back to being friends.”
Maria’s feelings about Alex are… complicated. Alex is so important to her that she can’t imagine not being friends with him. But she still wonders if they could be more to each other.
Rosa gives a disapproving hmm. “That’s his loss. But I’m sorry. I guess kisses don’t necessarily fix anything.”
“Yeah, my recommendation is not to have the kiss be your opening move,” Maria says.
Rosa huffs a laugh. “Do you think Isobel can tell? Sometimes I feel like she’s the one staring at me, not the other way around. Even though I definitely stare sometimes.”
“That girl is all over the place. Who knows,” Maria says with a shrug.
Rosa snorts. “Why did it have to be her? She’s so… preppy.”
Maria laughs.
“I mean, I wasn’t going to say that but…”
Rosa playfully shoves her with her shoulder and then steals more of the blanket.
“We can’t really pick who we like, ya know?” Maria says. Alex immediately comes back to mind for her, but she tries to ignore that thought.
“Unfortunately,” Rosa laments. “It’s just… she’s nice to look at.”
Maria crinkles her nose. “I think approximately 90 percent of the boys at our school would agree with you.”
That makes Rosa burst out laughing. “You know, that actually makes me feel better.”
“Good,” Maria says. “You don’t have to like, declare an identity or anything. We’re all just figuring shit out at this point.”
Rosa pushes a hand through her hair. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t have to do anything. I’m glad I can finally talk to someone about it, though.”
Maria wraps an arm around Rosa’s shoulder and pulls her close for a side-hug.
“We should talk more often. You shouldn't have to feel like you're alone, even about this.”
Rosa drops the blanket to give Maria a real hug.
“Thanks, Maria,” Rosa says as she pulls back.
Maria smiles. “I thought you might become uncool after graduation, so I’m glad we can still hang out.”
“Ha ha,” Rosa says, teasing her right back.
She feels kind of relieved that Rosa told her such a big secret. Clearly Rosa still trusts her, despite Maria's earlier worries. She doesn't want the whole day to pass without her telling Rosa how she feels, though.
"Seriously, though. I missed spending time with you. I know it's a two-way street but you kinda ditched us after your graduation."
"Yeah, I know," Rosa says. "How about we'll both do better?"
"Deal," Maria easily agrees. She digs her toes into the sand, content to sit by Rosa’s side and wait for Isobel to come back.
ficinabox.Title: The Rules of Pool
Fandom: Roswell New Mexico
Characters/Pairings: Maria Deluca/Gregory Manes
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1,542
Warnings: None
A/N: Written for
scintilla10!Summary: Gregory shows up before The Wild Pony opens to help out, but Maria teaches him how to play pool instead.
Fic on AO3
Gregory has been spending a lot more time at The Wild Pony lately, completely by design. He jumps on any flimsy excuse to spend time with Maria.
On Thursday he walks in about an hour before the bar opens because he knows that Maria will already be there, stocking the bar or placing her orders for the week. Maybe he can be useful. He greets her with a cheesy wave, and she comes out from behind the bar with a dish towel in her hand.
“We’re closed,” she says as she grins and gives Gregory a very obvious once-over.
He purposefully does not shy away from her gaze. “I thought I could help get ready for opening?”
“I’m pretty much ready to go,” Maria says with a shrug. She turns around to put the dish towel on the bar. “Do you want to play pool?”
Gregory is glad Maria isn’t looking at him, because he winces. He rarely feels younger than Maria, because she treats him like an equal, but right now he absolutely feels the four year age difference.
When Gregory was a freshman in high school, he didn’t spend time with Alex. Alex was a senior for one thing, but he spent all of his time at the music room at school, or working at the UFO emporium. Years later, Gregory would come to understand why Alex avoided going home, and he feels terrible about how Alex was treated. But at the time, Gregory didn’t really understand what was going on between his father and Alex.
Because Gregory didn’t spend time with Alex, he never spent time with Maria or Liz either. He knew of them, but he never really got to know them. He’s glad he didn’t, because he thinks that would affect Maria’s opinion of him.
Now Gregory is much taller and more put together. He likes that he has been the helper lately, always ready at a moment’s notice to do whatever Maria wanted him to; like pick up crates or drive her home. He even made her laugh occasionally. He’d proven himself useful, and fun, to have around.
But now, he’ll have to show his ignorance. He was never really the kind of guy to hang out at bars, and it’s not like they had a pool table growing up. He’s never played pool. He hopes that Maria won’t think less of him. He doesn’t want to become burdensome.
“I, uh. Don’t know how to play,” he admits.
Maria’s eyes widen in surprise for a moment, but then she tilts her head and smiles.
“You mean Jesse Manes didn’t make you play?” Maria steps closer to Gregory and reaches out her hand.
“Lucky for me, he didn’t make me do much of anything,” Gregory says as he takes her hand and willingly goes where Maria leads him.
Maria’s hips swing as she walks towards the rack of pool cues, and Gregory can’t help but look down and appreciate the tight fit of her jeans.
“Do you want to learn?” Maria lets go of his hand and reaches for a pool cue.
“Sure,” Gregory says quickly. He breathes a sigh of relief. Maybe Maria won’t mind showing him a few things.
“I should warn you, I’m pretty good.”
Gregory laughs. As always, he’s delighted by her confidence.
“So you’re saying I shouldn’t put money down on this game.”
“Maybe save that for next time,” Maria agrees. She reaches for a second pool cue and hands it to him. “Here.”
He takes it and eagerly leans over the table like he’s seen people do in movies.
Maria tsked. “Wait, I have to break.”
“Oh, right. I was just seeing how it feels.” Gregory straightens up and rests the end of the cue on the ground.
Maria lays her cue across the top of the table and reaches for the black triangle holding the balls in place.
“You want the balls to be frozen, or touching.They look good, so I’m going to chalk up and then I’m going to aim for the second ball.”
Gregory nods along, feeling much more relaxed as he watches Maria in her element.
She puts away the black triangle and gets the white cute ball from underneath the pool table. She sets down the cue ball on the felt and leans over with her pool cue, looking down the cue as she lines up her shot. The view is fantastic, and Gregory suddenly feels like he should have started playing pool sooner.
Maria doesn’t even hesitate before she strikes the cue ball square on, and it hits the balls and scatters them all across the table. One of the striped balls rolls right into the left middle pocket.
“That means I get to keep going,” Maria says as she scrutinizes the table. “You keep playing your turn until you can’t put a ball into a pocket.”
Gregory is doing his best to pay attention, but Maria is a sight. She’s completely focused on the task at hand, and as she stalks around the table like a hunter on the prowl, it makes Gregory’s throat feel dry. Then Maria leans over and puts the tip of the cue under the index finger of her right hand, and strikes the cue. A striped ball ricochets off the side and sinks into a pocket, and Gregory whistles.
“Damn, I might not even get to take a shot.”
He’s not even blowing smoke up her ass. She legitimately seems like she knows exactly what she’s doing.
Maria snorts. “Fine. We better get you up here.”
She motions towards the table, and Gregory lifts up his cue and walks towards her.
“The first rule of pool is that you have to have a good grip on the shaft,” Maria says with a pointed look in Gregory’s direction. She obviously notices the innuendo, and Gregory snickers.
“I think I can handle that,” Gregory says.
“I think you can too,” Maria says, her voice low.
Then she hands him the chalk from where it was sitting on the table’s edge. “This end of the cue is called the ferrule, and of course the tip. You chalk the tip to increase friction. The second rule of pool is, you can't have too much chalk.”
Gregory rubs the chalk over the tip while Maria watches him approvingly. He preens under the attention.
Then he holds his cue the way Maria showed him. He grips it in a relaxed way with his right hand, and then leans over so that his body is lined up with the cue ball. He makes an open bridge with his left hand, and puts the cue in the ‘v’ between this thumb and index finger. He keeps the cue at his hip, and then slides it forward to strike the cue ball.
The cue ball actually rolls along the felt and hits the yellow ball he’d wanted to hit. Although he doesn’t pocket it, that feels like at least he’s got something to show for his efforts.
“Nice!” Maria beams. “I’ve seen much worse first shots.”
Gregory laughs. “Oh, is this how you impress all your dates?”
“Just the lucky ones,” Maria says with a wink.
“Well maybe you could get closer and show me some techniques.”
Maria takes the invitation and saunters closer to him. She pushes up right behind him, and slides her hands down his arms until she’s helping him hold the cue.
Her thighs are warm and strong against Gregory’s legs, and he can smell the feminine floral scent of her perfume. Her hair brushes his bicep as she leans in to whisper in his ear.
“Better pay attention, Manes,” Maria teases.
Gregory bites his lip and watches as Maria’s hands push the cue and cause it to strike the cue ball. This time, his yellow ball does get pocketed.
"So what's the third rule of pool?" Gregory asks. He rocks his hips back just enough to bump Maria, and she presses a kiss to his neck.
"The third rule of pool," Maria says before she kisses his neck again, "is to always keep your eye on the cue ball."
He feels like putty in her hands. He’s ready to do anything Maria tells him to, his body weight nearly sagging against hers. He tips his head to the side, and his lips brush Maria’s cheek. She lets go of the cue to wrap her arms around his waist, and Gregory is eager for a real kiss.
They’re interrupted when the door to the Wild Pony opens.
“Hold that thought,” Maria says quietly to the shell of his ear.
Gregory has to stand up straight again, and he nearly groans in frustration once bereft of her strength and smell. Maria squeezes his ass before she walks away to greet her customer.
“Keep practicing,” Maria calls over her shoulder. “I get off at 2 am.”
“So it’s a date?” He has to know, even if he’d let Maria string him along for a long time yet.
She stops and turns around.
“It’s a date,” she confirms with a soft, sweet smile.
Gregory goes a little weak in the knees, his body still tingling where she'd touched him. It’s going to be a long night.
Title: Love Asylum, Like an Island
Fandom: Roswell New Mexico
Characters/Pairings: Maria Deluca & Rosa Ortecho, Rosa Ortecho/Isobel Evans
Rating: Gen
Word Count: 3,331
Warnings: Pre-Canon, Marijuana
A/N: Also written for
scintilla10!Summary: Maria ditches class in order to meet up with Rosa. Despite Maria's protests, Isobel tags along.
Fic on AO3
Just as Maria sits down at her desk, her phone buzzes in her pocket. She’s only had the thing a week, and there are very few people that know the number. Maria quickly pulls it out and flips it open under her desk to keep anyone else from reading her message.
It’s from Rosa.
SOS. U know where.
Maria flips the razr closed again and swears under her breath. Coming from Rosa, that message could mean a million different things. She tries to keep herself from jumping to the worst conclusions. If Rosa is saying to meet her at their spot at the bleachers, she’s alive. Maria tries to focus on that as she gathers up the books strewn across her desk and shoves them into her backpack. Their teacher has her back turned to them, writing on the blackboard. Maria gets up and attempts to make a hasty exit before she turns back around.
When she gets to the door, Isobel Evans is using her unusual height advantage to block the doorway.
“Isobel, I really don’t have time for whatever this is,” Maria huffs.
Isobel rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. She’s tapping the toe of her clearly expensive pink high heel against the laminated floor, trying to be intimidating. It’s not working.
“Class starts in like five minutes. You can’t leave.” Isobel puts her hand up and grabs the door jamb.
“Sorry, no time to explain. Gotta go.” Maria twists her body enough to shoulder past her and duck under her arm. She hurriedly heads down the empty hall with her backpack over one shoulder.
She hears the clacking of heels behind her and realizes that Isobel must be following her.
“What are you doing?” Maria hisses under her breath as Isobel catches up.
“We are supposed to give our English mid-term presentation today. And you are my assigned partner.” Isobel jabs her finger in Maria’s direction. “I’m not going to be left alone to give the presentation by myself. So it looks like I’m going with you.”
Maria is saved from answering when the bell loudly goes off in the hallway, indicating the start of class. Maria doesn’t have time to argue about the stupid presentation anyway. They’ll just have to make it up tomorrow.
She pushes through the double doors at the end of the hall, and doesn’t bother to hold them open. The door nearly smacks Isobel in the face, but she manages to catch it and stomp outside behind Maria.
Maria turns right sharply, heading for the football field. The bleachers had always been her and Rosa’s go-to hang out spot, when Rosa was in school, so long as a football game wasn’t actually going on. They wouldn’t be caught dead at a game. School spirit was not Maria or Rosa’s strong suit.
Rosa hadn’t been back since her graduation in June, except to pick up Liz. Maria knows it will only take a few more minutes for her to reach the bleachers, but she’s still worried. There’s really no reason for Rosa to come back to the high school unless she wants to get away from someone.
“Where are we going now?” Isobel laments with a groan.
“You don’t have to come,” Maria says in a sing-song voice.
That shuts Isobel up.
Maria takes a deep breath and tries to forget Isobel is next to her. It’s a lot easier for her to rely on her extra senses if she focuses. Maria can actually feel what someone is feeling, even when the person in question isn’t around. Sometimes she even gets flashes of an entire scene, as if a tiny 10 second full-color movie clip is playing in her head. She's not sure how or why she is this way, but her Mom told her this kind of thing is normal in her family. Maria concentrates as hard as she can on Rosa’s face while still walking, just like her mother taught her.
When Maria reaches out, it feels like her thoughts are suddenly racing. She has the urge to wipe sweaty palms on her jeans. Clearly something is weighing on Rosa’s mind, making her feel anxious. Maria doesn’t get any visions, though. She takes that as a good sign.
Maria walks up the hill, and then the field is in view. She can see someone sitting at the top of the bleachers with a black hoodie pulled over their head. That’s got to be Rosa. No one else is usually out here ditching class like the delinquents they are.
When Maria glances over her shoulder, she’s surprised that Isobel hoofed it over the entire muddy lawn in her expensive shoes. When she glances down, Isobel's shoes look totally wrecked.
“Rosa!” Maria calls out as she starts up the concrete steps. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, thank God. Please hurry,” Rosa groans as she looks up. She holds out her hand, and then smiles down at Maria. “I could use some of that mellow weed I know you keep in your backpack.”
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me? You had me scared!”
Rosa scoffs. “Oh c’mon. Couldn’t you tell I was fine with your -”
She stops mid-sentence when her gaze lands on Isobel at the bottom of the stairs. Rosa is the only friend Maria told about her abilities. At that moment, she almost regrets telling her because she absolutely does not want Isobel to know. She thanks her lucky stars that Rosa stopped herself just in time.
“What’s she doing here?” Rosa asks coldly.
“She wouldn’t leave me alone,” Maria grumbles. She swats Rosa’s knee once she reaches her. Then she sits down next to her and unzips her backpack.
Maria glances up to see Isobel and Rosa having some sort of staring contest. Both of them have matching grimaces on their faces. When Rosa looks at Maria like that, she generally tries to steer clear. Maria has to hand it to Isobel, she doesn’t scare easy.
“Uh, hello?” Maria waves a hand in front of Rosa’s face. “Earth to Rosa.”
Rosa reaches over and grabs the baggy out of Maria’s hand. She pulls out the joint and then holds a hand out for a lighter, which Maria also procures from her bag.
“Little miss cheerleader can only stay if she’ll take a hit,” Rosa comments dismissively. She flicks the lighter on and holds it to the end until it catches and burns bright red.
Isobel rolls her eyes and finishes the climb up the stairs. It’s slow going in her heels.
“So let me get this straight. You had Maria ditch English, and our presentation, just so you could smoke in the bleachers?” Isobel laments.
“Looks like you ditched too,” Rosa says.
Isobel narrows her eyes and puts her hand on her hip. She’s obviously ready to launch into a tirade, but Maria does not want to be in the middle of a fight.
“Can you be cool or not, Isobel?” Maria asks tersely.
Isobel throws her hands up in a defeated gesture and then plops down on the row of bleachers in front of them.
Maria takes the offered joint from Rosa and turns her attention to her. “So was it a fight with Helena? Or Liz?”
Rosa eyes Isobel again, like she’s considering whether to tell the truth. Maria brings the joint up to her lips and breathes in the weed smoke. It’s acrid and nearly burns her throat.
“Both. I don’t want to go home tonight,” Rosa says as she rests her elbows on her knees.
Maria exhales a cloud of smoke before she answers.
“I’m sure my mom will let you stay over.”
Rosa runs a hand through her long hair. “Thanks. But I can’t be at the diner right now. I know you have class, but I just want to bail on this whole day.”
Isobel holds her hand out for the joint. Maria raises her eyebrows in surprise, but passes it over anyway.
Maria knows that Isobel is too straight-laced to be experienced at this. She and Rosa both lean forward slightly to watch as Isobel puts the joint to her lips. She breathes in way too quickly, but Maria doesn’t bother trying to help her out because she’s hoping for a bit of a show.
Isobel chokes out a puff of smoke, and then tears spring to her eyes as she coughs. She leans over to hand Maria the joint back, still sputtering.
Rosa giggles, but Maria doesn’t find it as funny as she thought she would. Seeing Isobel Evans acting like a normal teenager is sort of strange, considering she’s always trying to act so aloof and mature. It’s like the whole scene is too unreal to be funny.
Once Isobel can breathe normally again, she looks up at Rosa and Maria and bites her lip.
“I have an idea for a place we can hang,” Isobel says.
Rosa plucks the joint from Maria’s hand and shakes her head. “Pssh. I’m not interested in going to the country club.”
That makes Maria laugh. With her heels and beige sweater, Isobel does look like she’s dressed for a country club.
Isobel narrows her eyes. “I was going to suggest Bottomless Lakes. It’s probably not very busy this time of day.”
“Oh, it’s pretty there. I’ve been once with my mom,” Maria says. The last thing she expected was for Isobel to suggest someplace outdoors.
Rosa looks between the pair of them and then shrugs.
“Fine. I’ve got nothing better to do. We can take my car.”
Rosa stubs out the joint on the concrete by her feet.
“I’ll drive,” Maria says. She only took one hit and she’s not even feeling anything. “Wait, who is going to pick up Liz at the end of the day if we have the car?”
Rosa waves a hand dismissively.
“She can get a ride from Kyle. Or Max.”
Maria nods and then glances over at Isobel to gauge her reaction, but she doesn’t seem to have one. She just stands up with them, ready to go.
It isn’t out of the ordinary for Kyle or Max to drop Liz off at the Crashdown when Rosa doesn’t come to school to pick her up. But Max also always drives Isobel home. It will probably be weird for Max when he gets out of school and doesn't see her. If Isobel is concerned about that, she doesn't say anything.
Rosa tosses Maria her car keys and puts the joint back in the plastic baggie. Maria slings her backpack over her shoulder as Isobel and Rosa pick up their bags. The three of them head down the stairs in silence, seemingly lost in their own thoughts. The atmosphere doesn’t feel quite as charged as it did before, but Maria can tell that Rosa still feels anxious. She can’t get a read on Isobel at all, which is unusual for her. Maria can count on one hand the number of people who are able to completely slip by Maria’s extra senses.
Once they get to the car, Rosa declares that she’s in control of the radio. There are only a few good stations that come in, but someone has to be responsible for flipping the channel if the station they’re listening to goes to commercial. It’s a very important co-pilot job, one that has become well established between Rosa and Maria whenever they’re in the car together.
It also means that Isobel is relegated to the backseat. Rosa blasts the music so loud they wouldn’t have been able to hear Isobel even if she’d tried to say something. It’s only about a twenty minute drive, so Maria doesn’t let herself feel bad that the pair of them don’t try to include her in conversation. This mini trip is supposed to be about making sure Rosa doesn’t feel lonely, anyway. They don’t have to be extra nice to Isobel just because she picked the place.
Once they pull into the parking lot, Maria parks in a spot right up front. The place looks mostly deserted, just like Isobel had predicted. That makes Maria wonder why Isobel would know about the amount of people who visit Bottomless Lakes on an early Wednesday afternoon, but she doesn’t ask.
Maria pockets the keys and they walk through the large stone entrance building and out towards the lake. There’s a roped off area up front for swimming, but Maria doesn’t see anyone in the water. It's way too cold to swim anyway. The bright blue surface of it ripples gently from the breeze.
She follows Rosa’s lead and walks out to the right. They go as far as they can before the sand ends, and then Rosa plops down and wraps her hands around her knees. Maria and Isobel sit beside her.
“Since we didn’t see anyone, maybe we can risk smoking?” Maria offers. She brought her backpack with her just in case.
Rosa shrugs. She’s gazing out at the water, looking a little lost.
“If we’re going to smoke, maybe I should go get us some food first,” Isobel offers.
Isobel has a point. If they smoke, they would get hungry and then no one would be able to drive.
“You’re full of surprises,” Maria says as she hands Isobel the keys.
“Burgers?” Isobel asks. “We passed a decent looking place.”
“Sure,” Rosa says quietly. She’s still focused on the water. It’s like she’s avoiding Isobel’s gaze altogether.
The sun hasn’t started fading in the sky yet, but the wind is already picking up. Maria feels cold in just her threadbare hoodie, and she’s got a blanket in the car. So she gets up to walk back to the car with Isobel.
As soon as they’re out of earshot, Isobel turns to Maria.
“I just figured you guys might want to talk without me.”
“Maybe,” Maria says, taken aback. “But then why did you come in the first place?”
“I just…” Isobel bites her lip, and for the first time all day she seems really uncertain of herself. “It would be nice to have friends.”
“Weirdo. You have Max and Michael.”
Isobel sighs.
“Girl friends, I mean.”
That makes Maria smile.
“Well, no promises. But thanks for getting food.”
Isobel huffs a laugh as Maria grabs the blanket out of the trunk. She still doesn’t trust Isobel, but it does seem like she’s making an effort. Maybe Maria could try to be a little nicer to her.
Once she gets back to Rosa’s side, she sits down, kicks off her shoes, and puts the blanket over her shoulder.
“Getting cold yet?” Maria asks. She opens her arms wide and offers part of the blanket. Rosa grabs it with her left hand and stretches it across her shoulders.
“Thanks,” Rosa says as she looks back out at the water.
Maria shrugs. “No problem. I’m always prepared.”
The two of them sit side by side, wrapped up in Maria’s blanket, and look out at the New Mexico sky reflected onto the shimmering surface of the wide lake. It strikes Maria that it’s been a long time since the pair of them spent time together, and Maria misses it. She’s about to say as much, but Rosa speaks up first.
“Can I tell you something?”
Maria turns to her. “Of course.”
“Okay but you can’t tell anybody,” Rosa says firmly. Rosa takes a deep breath, and Maria is close enough to feel her rib cage move. “Especially Liz.”
Maria nods. Keeping a secret from Liz will be hard, especially if it’s about Rosa. Outside of her mom and Alex, Liz is the person Maria spends the most time with. But Rosa is the closest thing she has to a big sister, so she’ll keep her confidences as best as she can.
“Do you want to pinky swear?”
“Sure.” Rosa laughs and holds up her pinky. Maria locks hers around Rosa’s, and kisses her fist in fealty before letting Rosa go.
“Okay so there’s something weird with me and Isobel,” Rosa begins.
Maria thinks, no shit. But she doesn’t say it. She just waits for Rosa to continue.
“I think I’m like… attracted to her.”
Maria widens her eyes in surprise, but keeps her voice carefully neutral. She doesn’t want to give the wrong impression and make Rosa shut down, but it does seem like Rosa is trying to have a conversation about this with out actually saying the word. Maria wants to get it out in the open.
“So are you a lesbian?”
Rosa seems to consider that for a moment, tilting her head and glancing over at Maria.
“Maybe? Would that be fucked up?”
Maria firmly shakes her head no and reaches for Rosa’s hand.
“You know I’d love you just the same.” She squeezes Rosa’s hand. “And Liz would, too.”
Rosa sighs and squeezes Maria’s hand back. She looks out over the water as she gathers her thoughts.
“It’s just, I’ve never really felt this way. So it’s hard to know. I’ve never kissed a girl. Frederico is fun, but it’s not like I’m in love with him. His kisses don’t make me… well, it’s not like in the movies.”
Maria nods. “Maybe you just don’t like kissing.”
“Have you had an earth shattering kiss before?” Rosa asks.
“Once. But then nothing changed between Alex and I. We went back to being friends.”
Maria’s feelings about Alex are… complicated. Alex is so important to her that she can’t imagine not being friends with him. But she still wonders if they could be more to each other.
Rosa gives a disapproving hmm. “That’s his loss. But I’m sorry. I guess kisses don’t necessarily fix anything.”
“Yeah, my recommendation is not to have the kiss be your opening move,” Maria says.
Rosa huffs a laugh. “Do you think Isobel can tell? Sometimes I feel like she’s the one staring at me, not the other way around. Even though I definitely stare sometimes.”
“That girl is all over the place. Who knows,” Maria says with a shrug.
Rosa snorts. “Why did it have to be her? She’s so… preppy.”
Maria laughs.
“I mean, I wasn’t going to say that but…”
Rosa playfully shoves her with her shoulder and then steals more of the blanket.
“We can’t really pick who we like, ya know?” Maria says. Alex immediately comes back to mind for her, but she tries to ignore that thought.
“Unfortunately,” Rosa laments. “It’s just… she’s nice to look at.”
Maria crinkles her nose. “I think approximately 90 percent of the boys at our school would agree with you.”
That makes Rosa burst out laughing. “You know, that actually makes me feel better.”
“Good,” Maria says. “You don’t have to like, declare an identity or anything. We’re all just figuring shit out at this point.”
Rosa pushes a hand through her hair. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t have to do anything. I’m glad I can finally talk to someone about it, though.”
Maria wraps an arm around Rosa’s shoulder and pulls her close for a side-hug.
“We should talk more often. You shouldn't have to feel like you're alone, even about this.”
Rosa drops the blanket to give Maria a real hug.
“Thanks, Maria,” Rosa says as she pulls back.
Maria smiles. “I thought you might become uncool after graduation, so I’m glad we can still hang out.”
“Ha ha,” Rosa says, teasing her right back.
She feels kind of relieved that Rosa told her such a big secret. Clearly Rosa still trusts her, despite Maria's earlier worries. She doesn't want the whole day to pass without her telling Rosa how she feels, though.
"Seriously, though. I missed spending time with you. I know it's a two-way street but you kinda ditched us after your graduation."
"Yeah, I know," Rosa says. "How about we'll both do better?"
"Deal," Maria easily agrees. She digs her toes into the sand, content to sit by Rosa’s side and wait for Isobel to come back.
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Date: 2024-03-20 12:34 am (UTC)