{Cricket} No fight left in him

[Liz]

Liz watched him look around boredly and then smiled slightly to herself. Yes, she knew this place all too well. She hated it too. Everything about hospitals made her want to leave and get out even quicker. This time she had the chance to, but she was sticking it out and making sure that Tyler was going to be ok. She didn't want to leave him just because she hated this place. Heck, for all she knew, he could hate it too and want to leave even more than her, and she'd be abandoning him. That wasn't fair to him at all. She would feel bad all around if she actually did that. So, she decided she would stay for a little longer and then leave for some time, but come back as soon as she could. She worked it out in her head and made sure that plan would work. It might change, but at least she had a plan in case she did want to leave and get out for a little while.

Liz thought about Sonny and about what she had just said to Tyler. It was true that he was bad and she probably should just avoid him, but it seemed to her that he was just really misunderstood. He didn't seem very mad at heart, just on the outside and that was quite sad. She had already dated Sonny though, which was another bad choice, but she did it anyway...didn't she? Well, she did and she regretted every moment of it, but he was a changed person back then, or so she thought. Anyway, she wouldn't leave Tyler or avoid him because he seemed a lot better than Sonny ever was, despite his problems.

After saying what she said, she watched as he turned towards her a little more interested this time. She must've made some impact on him because before he seemed, not very interested in what she had to say. Yes, he was listening and responding, but Liz could tell that he had something on his mind after she said that. She listened to his words and watched as he struggled forming them the way he wanted. She listened though intently as he explained what he was really doing in the alleyway. As he explained everything, she was starting to become more shocked. It wasn't anything she hadn't been through with Sonny, but for a guy that seemed nice when you got to know him...to do all that. It was quite shocking, it really was.

Words tried to form on her tongue, but nothing came out until she snapped back to reality. Wow, I'm really sorry. She wanted badly to leave now, but something told her to just sit and listen. He had obviously been lying earlier and now was trusting her that much just to tell her, so she had to stay. Honestly, I don't know what to say, but that I'm sorry. She thought for a few moments before laughing a bit, I don't know what I'm sorry for, but I'm sorry. And I can relate with you...I went down the druggie road and it wasn't any fun. Liz found herself opening up to this guy she had just met. She felt weird, but she felt like she had known him for the longest time just in the few minutes that she had been talking to him. Her face was now somewhat sorrowful, but she smiled slightly to him. She didn't want to leave now, and that was that.

[Tyler Haze]

Needless to say, Tyler wasn't exactly in a laughing mood, and didn't join in on her humor. He'd been out long enough that the morphine was starting to wear off now. That, in his opinion, was a good thing. No, he wasn't one of those freaks who enjoyed pain, but to him pain meant that he was still alive...which might not be a good thing. But still, as long as he was in pain, he was getting paid back for everything he'd done to others that caused them pain. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything that hadn't caused anyone pain, so this had to be a good thing. He took a deep breath to force down the emotions that were trying to boil over again, but it was cut off quickly when pain from the newly stitched wound reminded him that it wasn't a good idea. This was all too familiar.

His heart was pounding in his chest at about a million miles an hour as he fled the scene. Casting a quick glance behind him, he cursed the world in his mind. They'd gone after him...why would they choose him? He was the youngest one by far out of the whole group, and he didn't even have anything with him from the bank. Unfortunately for him, in his panic, he misjudged which street he was on and turned down the wrong alley...a dead end. He could try to scale the wall, but he would probably just get gunned down before he even reached the top. He approached the wall and stopped, slamming his hands into it before starting to turn. He heard them tell him to drop his weapons...he didn't have any in his hands...so he reached down to the gun at his side, and started to pull it out, intending to drop it so they knew he wasn't a threat. However, that was his second mistake, the first being getting caught. The cops saw him reach for the gun, and opened fire.

One, two, three...there was hardly a second in between each one, but as soon as the first bullet his his right shoulder everything started to move in slow motion. The impact of the bullet caused him to turn slightly which caused the second bullet to embed itself in left side of his chest which straightened him out again, and put him so he was directly facing the cops and allowed the third bullet to pierce into the center of his chest, possibly into his heart. From there he just went downwards, but he didn't feel himself hit the ground. He didn't hear the sirens of the ambulance, he didn't feel the pressure on the three bullet wounds, he didn't feel them moving his body onto the stretcher. He didn't hear the voices of the medics, he didn't hear them shouting "we're losing him!" He didn't feel himself die as they rushed him into the Emergency Room for surgery, he didn't feel the electricity pulse through his body, once, twice, three times, until his heart leapt back into life. He didn't feel, hear, or see anything.

When he came to again, the room was empty. Something caused him to stir, and that slowly brought him back into consciousness. He didn't know it, but he had been out for three days, and the doctors had started getting concerned that he wouldn't ever come out of it. He inhaled deeply and instantly regretted it. He didn't know why it hurt, but it did. He tried to move, but found that his right wrist was shackled to the hospital bed, holding him captive. He was thoroughly confused now. He didn't remember anything about that night. He didn't remember having actually carried out the plans to rob the bank...it was a slight amnesia really, and to this day he didn't remember any of it. All he knew was that he woke up in the hospital in a heap of pain and chained to the bed.

That was his biggest reason for hating the hospital, being introduced to it chained to a bed wasn't exactly a very good first impression. He hadn't ever gotten into the whole drugs thing, but he was very heavily addicted to alcohol, had been for a lot of years. He hadn't gotten wasted in a long time, about a year actually, but occasionally buzzed was a sufficient description of his drinking habits. When something bad happened, he would drink to forget it. You're not anymore? He asked, regarding the whole drugs thing. He knew a lot of people that were into that, and he knew it was very hard to quit. If she had...he sure as hell admired her persistence. Better than he could do.

[Liz]

The silence soon consumed Liz. It seemed slightly awkward after she explained that she was sorry. There had been some silence ever since she'd said that and now she regretted it, not because it wasn't the right thing to do, but because he didn't seem to agree with her humor or something. She didn't know, but she shrugged the uncomfortable feeling off and then soon hear him break the silence again. His question took her off guard. She wasn't expecting him to reply to it, but then again he seemed somewhat troubled. So, why wouldn't he ask it. Maybe he just wanted advice on quitting or something. She really didn't know much, but those were just her assumptions.

She sighed and then thought back to the night where she was confronted by Hayley who was cautioning her to run until Sonny put more drugs in her that made her go crazy... She was bored and tired of her stupid house. Only a week or two out of the hospital, she was slowly recovering. Her arms was in a full cast, a few ribs broken, and a major concussion. Everything seemed to be healing well. So, she decided to venture outside and get some fresh air.

She got up carefully from her bed and got dressed into some real clothes. She had been wearing pajamas around the house, wanting to be comfortable. She changed into some loose fitting jeans and a tighter t-shirt. She put some flats on and then left the house quietly walking in the dusk of the day. The sun was setting and it was starting to get darker around town, but she didn't care. She walked around, just getting fresh air, something she really needed. She walked and looked ahead before passing an alleyway that was starting to look really creepy. She stopped for a moment and looked down it, but then she continued to walk.

Liz's eyes were soon adjusted to the darkness. A voice she easily recognized was Hayley's. Liz eye's grew wide with fear as another guy was with her. Liz had recognized him from somewhere, but exactly where, she didn't know. She watched the scene in horror, too afraid to do anything to help Hayley. She would've helped her, but there was a possibility she was going to get injured too. Liz got up and started to run, like Hayley said to, but she fell again, her body giving way to fatigue. She hadn't doubted Hayley's advice, but for Hayley to want to seem to help Liz was...curious. This guys voice was all to familiar. Liz broke down to the alleyway floor and continued to watch, her eyes grew in fear as the guy came towards her.

Liz shook her head back and forth, not wanting him to come any closer, but he did. He grabbed her wrist and then his evil laughter rang through the alleyway. Liz tried to pull back, but she couldn't make his hand let go. His words played around with her mind and soon made her remember her past...all too long ago. She had once dated him, name was Sonny. She dumped him though because he wasn't really her type. He was always doing drugs or trying to get her to do them too and it just wasn't the way Liz worked. She ran away from him and had her parents get a restraining order against him. All was quiet and she moved on with life, nothing bothering her. That is, until a few months ago and this very moment.

Soon, both him and Hayley were advancing on her. He was holding a knife and her eyes grew wide. The next thing she knew, he was tying her up and holding a knife at her throat. The knife cut in slightly...enough to make her bleed. She watched Hayley as she quietly noticed that she was becoming more calm. Liz smirked and knew that Hayley had more control of herself.....

More uncontrollable things happened like Hayley being raped and many words being exchanged. The night had been a harsh one until Logan and Charlie showed up to save the day. It was truly a happy ending for the both of them. They weren't exactly saved from what had already happened, but Sonny could no longer bother them. Although, he had gotten some drugs in Liz and she'd gone crazy. She'd had enough control on herself for when Logan came to save them though.

Shivers went through her spine as she remembered that awful night and how close she was to going back on drugs. It was something that was close to changing her life completely. She sighed and then looked up at Tyler. No emotions were present on her features except for maybe some gloom. Her voice was somewhat distant when she spoke, No, I'm not anymore, but a few months ago I was seriously about to crash into the drug world again. I would tell you why, but it's kinda a long story.... She trailed on leaving it open. She wasn't sure if she would tell him if he even asked, but she would decide if he did ask. She figured that if she had already told him one secret she could tell him another. She sighed and then looked away thinking back to her past again...it wasn't a very happy thing, to say the least.

[Anthony Lovasz]

Tyler noticed that Liz seemed uncomfortable with the silence, but it wasn't really something he could help. I mean yes, he could break the silence and say something sooner than he did...but it wasn't like him. He always always planned out what he was going to say. There were almost no exceptions. Sometimes he said something entirely different from what he planned to say, but he hated the prospect of saying something he would regret later, so he tried his best to think about each word carefully before it was said. It was a flaw and a virtue in many different ways, it helped him and hurt him at the same time.

He finally destroyed the silence with his question, and she seemed almost taken aback by it. Damn, he shouldn't have asked. So much for planning in order to not regret. As soon as he saw that look on her face he knew he had stirred up unwanted memories. It happened to him all the time, and he knew what it was like. He had so much in his life that he would have wanted to forget, but everywhere he turned he was reminded of it all. That was what he got for living the way he did, and he could accept those consequences, even though he didn't really want to face up to them.

He sort of didn't have a choice. Since he was sort of on parole and had to go have meetings with the judge once a month on such and such a said date, and the guy always without fail managed to bring up something that Tyler had done and regretted. It seemed like he was trying to make Tyler feel like the worst person on the face of the earth. IT was like he wanted Tyler to hate himself, to feel like he couldn't turn this train around, to break any sense of self worth that he had. Of course, Tyler didn't realize that he was doing it for Tyler's own good, because it just made him mad every time, but until he seemed to give up and submit, the judge would do it every time.

The silence wore on after his question, and he looked over at Liz searching for an answer. He didn't know what all had happened to her, but he knew it must've been something bad from the way she waited for so long before she answered. She seemed to be remembering something that had happened to her, like she was replying that even in her mind over and over again. He knew the feeling. Remorse for things done, pain for the consequences. It was hard living with things that you hated. He almost wished that his amnesia had been more complete so he wouldn't remember doing any of what he did.

Then finally, her answer came. It was hesitant and vague, without much detail. She seemed like she was still thinking though. No emotion was written on her face, but Tyler knew...he knew what was going on. He'd been through it before, even now he was hiding his feelings from the world if only to protect himself. No one wanted anyone to see their pain, no one wanted to have any of their weaknesses revealed, and so they hid them from the world. Now Tyler's desire to hide his pain from the world was so complete that it had consumed him and he rarely, if ever, showed even so much as a hint of emotion, good or bad.

You don't have to tell me. Tyler said, sensing that she didn't really want to tell him. He didn't really even know her, she didn't need to come out and tell him her secrets. She didn't need to tell him anything really. You've got your... A tremor of pain rushed through him, cutting him off mid sentence before he got control of himself again. You've got your secretes, I've got mine. I won't feel obligated to tell you mine if you don't tell me yours. Oh my saints alive! What was this? Tyler Haze being somewhat courteous? What has become of the world? Well, it must've been something good to have made him change like that so suddenly.

[luckycricket]

Liz watched his face quietly as her answer sunk in. She couldn't really see any expression, but she could tell that he was somewhat disturbed about what his question had made her react like. She didn't mean to react like that, but it did bring up her past which no one of any gender would want to go through. She forced a weak smiled when she too heard his reply. She was even more glad when she heard that she didn't have to tell him anything really. She would tell him, if she knew him better, which she wanted to get to do over time. Put under these conditions though weren't always the best way to get to know someone. That reminded her...

She soon started to wonder when Tyler was actually going to be able to get out of the hospital. He seemed like he was doing well and all he needed was just rest to heal the rest of his bruises and what not. She shrugged the thought off and then looked back at Tyler for a few moments. She started to analyze what he had said. Not that she was a freak or anything, but at the moment she didn't have anything better to do. She'd wait a few more seconds before responding which would give her some thinking time. She actually saw some sort of emotion when Tyler had choked on his words a little bit. She didn't know what it was from, but once again she shrugged it off. She looked back at him after looking down at her hands before actually saying something this time. Words were formed instantly in her head and she really didn't have to monitor these words again. Thanks, I really appreciate your respect. A slight smile played at her lips and then a doctor came in.

She looked at the doctor as he came walking in and hoped that Tyler would be free to go. He did a couple of things for checking on Tyler and then smiled slightly. I have good news, his voice rang brightly throughout the room, interrupting the silence that fell between the two. Liz smiled anxiously as she waited. She hoped that Tyler would be free to go tomorrow if not today. The doctor started to speak again and she payed attention, You can go home tomorrow. Just keep the activity to a minimum for your stitches to heal. A bright smile gave way to Liz's cheeks and then she glanced at Tyler a hopeful glance. He didn't give much of a reaction, but Liz didn't care. She was happy that he had turned out to be ok and she had definitely found a new friend.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The day had passed and Liz found herself back at the hospital as soon as she could get there. She wanted to help get Tyler back to wherever it was he was going to go. It didn't seem as if he wanted to go the next day however, but the doctors were just taking precuations, something she hated about what they did. Yes, it was all for safety and what not, but she hated it and obviously so did Tyler. The night before she had gone to get something to eat with Logan. They talked about various things and then he brought up about Tyler. She shrugged it off simply saying that she stayed with him because no one else seemed to come. She didn't want to just leave him there and she wanted to make sure he got through everything ok.

So, she returned to his room and found him trying to get up and change. She cringed a little bit and then knocked on the frame of the doorway. She didn't want to watch him change, but she didn't want to leave. So, if she had to, she would stand outside the doorway or something. Ummm...Is it ok if I come in? Her voice rang out somewhat happily, although she knew that Tyler probably wouldn't be the same way. She waited outside for a few seconds before she heard Tyler's steady voice. He had told her to come on in. So, she did and saw that he was already dressed. She guessed the doctors had unhooked him earlier that day. She was slightly more happy to see him up and walking and doing things for himself.

She always felt bad seeing someone not permitted to move and do things for themselves. It was like they weren't capable and even though most in a hospital couldn't, he seemed well enough to do so, but again with the precautions. Her voice rang out in the room and asked a question, Are you ready to go? Even though I know the answer. She smiled a little bit at the end of her statement before waiting for him to respond again. This time it didn't seem that he needed to wait for a response. Yes, I am. She nodded and then started to walk out. Once they got downstairs, they headed towards the double doors easily. A small little kid came running around the corner and Liz didn't see him. She bumped into him as he kept running, but then she lost her balance and started to tumble forwards. The last thing she knew she was falling down, her head pretty much falling first...

[Tyler Haze]

Tyler really wasn't sure what to say in response. He wasn't accustomed to people thanking him for anything. Normally he was getting cussed out or beat half to death, not being thanked, and especially not for respect. When he wanted to be, Tyler could be quite disrespectful, normally when it came to addressing authorities. He really wasn't fond of them, considering how much he'd been abused by the justice system recently. It felt to him like anyone of any authority over him was just going to take advantage of him and end up hurting him. That seemed to be the way life was going as of late, and he was getting tired of it.

Then a smiling nurse came in looking all bright and cheery...which made Tyler just want to be sick. Why did they always have to try to make people who were completely miserable be more happy with their fake smiles and friendliness? Of course, if Tyler didn't hate doctors and whatnot so much, he might have realized that to other people a nurse in a good mood was actually something they needed. But to him...oh it just made him loathe them more than he already did. He was a hard person to please, obviously, and he wasn't going to share in the nurse's pleasant countenance.

Good news? Yeah right, the only thing that she could possibly tell Tyler that would come across as good news would be that he didn't have a record anymore, that he could leave right then, and that he would never ever have to deal with cops again. Of course, that wasn't going to happen, they had no authority to decide on most of that stuff, and he knew better than to hope to be let out of the hospital before having been there for 24 hours. It just wasn't realistic. They always seemed to enjoy prolonging their patient's stay as long as they possibly could without being charged with holding someone against their will.

Tomorrow, he should have known. He was going to have to stay another night here. Damn them and their ridiculous discharge rules. If it were up to him he'd have been gone a long time ago. Unfortunately, he really didn't want to get "arrested" and cuffed to the bed again, so he was just going to have to deal with it. Tomorrow of course, seemed like ten thousand years away, and Tyler really really didn't want to have to stay that long. That's when he thought of Liz, there was no way he was letting her stay here, even if she wanted to...which he was guessing she didn't...but he wouldn't let her. She had a life that she needed to live, and not spend it here wasting away with him.

--------------------------------------------------

Morning took all too long to get there. Especially when that evening the cops showed up. The moment they walked in the door, Tyler changed totally. Liz had long sense left, but he had been in a vaguely good mood after having talked to her for so long and getting all that load off his chest. But when the cops showed up...there went any traces of being in a good mood. He became totally emotionless and almost passive. Just as he had planned, he gave them nothing that could make this look like a crime had happened, and that someone had attacked him.

He didn't know why he was protecting Drake after that night, but honestly, it was because somewhere in the back of his head, he wanted to make things up to Drake, maybe even restore their friendship. Anyway, the story he told the cops was a simple one, and not a complete lie. He'd been out working his horse and got kicked. Someone at the stable stitched it up for him, but he over exerted himself and tore the stitches out. You know, the typical too much activity for his condition type story. When they asked about the other bruises and whatnot, he let a hint of emotion through, just to make himself sound more convincing, and asked them if they had ever been attacked by a fighting horse. When they said no, he told them that once they tried it, they'd understand.

They finally left, and Tyler was finally by himself again. Normally he was the kind of person who was up all night and never got more than a few hours of sleep each night, but due to the circumstances, he found himself quite exhausted and drifted off into a dreamless sleep. It was more of an almost unconscious sleep. His body just shut him down so that he could get the rest he needed to be able to function in the morning when they released him. Funny how much that sounded like he was getting out of prison...he sort of felt that way too.

That morning, they unhooked all the machines and whatnot, and gave him leave to go. He hadn't been expecting Liz to come back to the hospital, but just as he got changed back into his regular clothes, he heard a knock on the door followed by her voice. Of course, he told her to come in...he kind of liked her more than most people and preferred her presence to that of others. She asked the question, and said she already knew the answer, but he responded anyway. He had never been more ready for anything in his life...okay, so maybe he'd been more ready to get out of jail, but this was pretty close to that.

As the two of them walked out of the hospital together, a little kid came bounding around the corner, and before either of them could react, Liz had tripped over him and he was still dashing down the halls. Instinctively, Tyler turned, and with a quick step to close the distance between them, put his arms around Liz to stop her from falling. It was a good thing he'd actually slept last night and regained his strength, because he was so exhausted last night that he probably wouldn't have been able to break her fall as he did now.

When he had righted her once again, he found himself standing very close to her, and looking directly into her eyes. A moment later, without even knowing what he was doing, he found his lips pressed gently against hers in a kiss. He didn't really even realize that he was kissing her. It was all just so sudden...so...unexpected. He wasn't really sure why he even did it. Perhaps it was just out of habit, since he quite regularly went out to bars or clubs and ended up with some girl and found himself kissing her. Perhaps it was because he hadn't ever really found someone like Liz who seemed to accept him for everything that he was, and this was the only way he knew to react to something like that. and perhaps it was just an impulse, he had a beautiful girl in his arms, and they were incredibly close...what would any other guy have done?

[Liz]

The falling sensation has stopped as quickly as it had began. Liz soon felt arms around her waist. She was not as close to the floor as she thought she had been. It was a weird, but thankful sensation. Her body knew it should be on the floor by now, but she wasn't. A wave of confusion washed over her, but she wasn't as confused when she looked up. She smiled slightly at the intensity of Tyler's eyes on her. They weren't harsh like they had been. Now they were softer and had a more longing feel to them. Liz looked away from his eyes for a moment before glancing back at him and then locking her gaze on his.

Her body was slightly confused still. There was no reason for him to be doing this particular thing. Yes, she could see if he was there to catch her as she fell, but he was staring deeply and intently into her eyes. This wasn't normal for any guy just trying to help. Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by lips...his lips. She smiled slightly and then kissed him back. It probably wasn't the best idea, but she didn't want to deny him and, truthfully, it felt good. She kept it going longer than it probably should have and she soon noticed that more people were looking at them than there ever were before. She sighed and then pulled back slightly. Her lips tingled with the new sensation from his lips. She smiled slightly. She didn't really know what to do, but she didn't want to be in this particular spot anymore. She looked up at him and then said, Maybe we should move outside or something. She looked around at the people still staring at them and then moved hurriedly towards the doors and the beautiful, sunny outdoors.

She waited for him to catch up and then sat on a little bench outside of the hospital doors. The smile was still slightly there when she sat down and soon looked up at him. She still didn't know what to say, but she couldn't stand the silence. Silence always seemed to bug her a lot. So, uh...that was interesting. She stated simply. She smirked to herself and then added, but I liked it. She then thought about telling him that she was already dating, in case he tried that move on her, but she didn't know how. It wasn't something you normally did, kissed another guy while dating. She sighed and soon her conscious took over her body. She tried to shake away the vision from what she'd just done, but she couldn't. It just stuck in her mind. The smile soon faded slowly and she looked at him. She wanted to try and see what he was thinking, but she didn't know if she could. He was always someone who seemed not to give expressions away easily.

Nothing made sense to her anymore. Her mind seemed to be clouded by the memory that will haunt her until she lets it out. She was going to bottle it up though. The last thing she needed was Logan getting mad at her or Tyler. Right now, it seemed not telling him was the best way, but if she didn't tell him, wouldn't he be that much more angry with her in the long run? Well, she didn't know, but it was a chance she was going to take. Another long silence occured between her question and what she hoped would be his answer, for him to explain everything, but she doubt he would do that. They seemed to be close, but maybe not that close.

Her memories were once again sparked to the time she was in the bar...

She had just wanted to chill out after the hectic day of work and riding Cherokee. She wanted one or two drinks and then go back home. She hadn't planned for anything that happened that night. She eventually had more than one or two drinks. She didn't know how many exactly she had had, but she'd had a lot...enough to make her drunk. Anyway she had been dancing with some decent guys until once came and pulled her away.

The guy had wanted to use her, knowing and seeing that she was obviously drunk. He soon started to kiss her all over until Logan came into save the day. Liz had broken down crying while sitting in the chair waiting for Logan to finish beating up the guy who had been all over her. To say that Logan was slightly mad, would be an understatement, but he soon forgave Liz and knew that she had been under the influence. He drove her home thankfully and they talked on the way to her house. It wasn't a very happy talk, but it got Liz to realize how much she was using Logan as an advantage that she didn't care about. Her life needed to change from the past and it needed to changed quickly...

The memories only lasted a few seconds. She wanted to show what she'd been thinking on her face, but she didn't want to worry Tyler. It mainly just looked like she was deep in thought. When she stopped, she tried to put on a small smile at the thought of what it exactly felt like. It was amazing and so...all of a sudden, but compared to what it was like with Logan, she'd never pass it up. She would always turn back to Logan and this was going to be her last time. It really shouldn't have even been like that in the first place, but it happened and she can't help it now. What's done is done and now...hopefully, they can move on to being friends...just hopefully.

[Charlie Parker]

For one split second, Tyler was afraid of how Liz might react to him kissing her, but almost just as suddenly as that thought hit him, he felt her sort of melt into it, he felt her lips move against his. He forgot about everything in that one moment. They actually sort of stayed there like that for a good length of time for a kiss, before Liz seemed to feel a bit awkward or something, and she pulled away. He didn't really know why she had gone so quickly from reveling in the moment to feeling embarrassed and pulling back as quickly as she did. Nevertheless, he let go of her, since he had still been holding her during the kiss, and let her hurry out the doors.

He glanced up to see many sets of eyes locked on him, but they all quickly darted away when his cold icy glare locked on them. Probably a great deal of these people knew who he was, and they were probably mostly afraid of him. That tended to be the way things worked in his life. He couldn't blame them though, for being afraid. He was, after all, an ex-con, knife fighter, who had been brought to the point of infamy by all the media coverage of his dastardly deeds over the past few years. It was like they had some sort of obsession with making him look like the worst person out on the streets these days.

He followed Liz shortly, though there was no sense of hurry in his movement. As always, he headed for the exit with a sense of almost pride radiating around him. Of course, he really had no such thing, but he liked people to think he did. He enjoyed striking fear into the hearts of the onlookers. It gave him a sense of...well, first of all superiority, and secondly it gave him security. If people feared him, they would stay away from him, and he would have the upper hand in a fight. Call him crazy for thinking that, but it was true, and he had spent so much of his life thinking that way that he was that for him it had become a reality.

If he let his guard down for even so much as a minute, he would find his back against a wall and a knife against his throat or a gun to his head. It was a dangerous world out there, even in little sheltered Pinewood. There were people out there who would kill him if they were given the chance, and he wasn't going to give them that chance. If anyone was going to take the life of Tyler Haze, it was going to be Tyler Haze himself, and no one else.

He walked casually through the doors and over to where Liz was sitting on a bench. He lowered himself down onto the seat next to her as he heard her sweet voice. He was about to apologize when she said that had been interesting. He didn't know what had come over him just then. It was like she grabbed him by the heart and pulled him into her. But it was only for an instant. Then she had let go, and allowed him to go back to normal...if normal could describe what Tyler was.

But then she went on, proclaiming that she liked it. What did that mean? He felt a twinge of guilt for having done that. It was just two days ago that he had kissed Alessandra in that same passionate meaningful way. Was he seriously turning back into the "man whore" Tyler that he had been before his last episode in jail? He didn't want to be like that, but it was like he couldn't help it or something. Just there when he'd held her in his arms and kissed her, he had no control over what he was doing...it just happened.

Tyler wasn't really sure how to respond to that...I mean, he'd hardly known her for 24 hours...and he hadn't really meant to kiss her, it just happened. He wasn't going to lie though...he kind of liked it too. Okay, so maybe kind of was a little bit of an understatement...he had liked it...a lot. Something about how unexpected it was just made it that much better. He was just going to keep silent about the fact that he'd just kissed Alessandra two days before with that same passion. That would probably just earn him another hand across the face, which he was kind of trying to avoid.

He waited a moment, because of indecision on what to say, before uttering a word. I think I liked it too. He said, a bit of a smile forming on his lips. Now, if Tyler had known about Logan, he wouldn't ever have even dreamed of kissing Liz...but he was completely clueless to the fact that she was dating someone, and so in his mind, there was nothing at all wrong with kissing her. Ah if only he knew...if only he knew.

[Liz]

From the hard wood bench, Liz watched as Tyler walked out. She smiled brightly at the fact that he seemed to have all too much pride. She knew he really wasn't that way a little behind his fascade, but she wouldn't ruin it. He actually seemed to be an amazing guy so far. She only wished that she could spend more time with him, but she was violating everything with Logan as she was doing this. A bit of guilt shot through her face, but she made sure to hide it. She didn't want to tell Tyler, but she did want to tell him before they left each other. She didn't want it to be a bittersweet ending, but it sort of had to be that way.

Liz watched him quietly for a few moments. She could normally tell when he was thinking, and thinking hard. His next words sort of surprised her. She wasn't expecting him to say that he liked it, either. They had literally just met the night before and now they were already kissing. It was weird, but she felt like she'd known him for her whole life. She felt a weird unnatural attraction to him. She wanted more than anything to just call him a friend, but best girl and guy friends never usually kiss. She sighed slightly confused and not at all sure what to think of the whole situation.

She looked over and up at him as he smiled. She smiled a little bit back too and then her face became more serious. Her conscious was really getting to her and she couldn't keep it from him anymore. If any relationship was to last, she would have to be truthful. That was the basis of everything, truth and trust. She put her hands in her lap, one on top of the other. Yea, I think we both liked it, but I have something to tell you... It was the moment of truth and Liz was going to tell him. Whatever happened, she hoped that they would at least be friends after this, even if they weren't close friends.

She sighed again and then bit her lip, the suspense was killing her and she was the one who had the news. Her naturally smooth and confident voice was one of uncertainty and about any minute it seemed like it was going to crack. She looked up at him and into his eyes for a few brief seconds before finally just getting it out, she looked at him as she talked, but then once she was done, she looked down trying to avoid his reaction. "I....uh...already have a boyfriend and I'm being totally...truthful." He words were chopped up and not didn't flow together. She wanted to roll into a ball and start crying, but she stayed composed. Even under her composure, you could certainly tell that she was going to burst any moment. Her eyes moved to his, but she looked away quickly. She was going to brace herself for what he might say, but for some reason, she didn't think it was going to be bad. In any case she continued to talk...more like ramble though. "I'm really...sorry I didn't tell you...before hand and I understand if you're... mad at me...like seriously." She sighed and then one or two tears fell from her face. She wiped them away quickly and only hoped that he hadn't seen them.

She thought back to what Logan might say and then shook her head...disappointed in herself. What could she say to bring it up. Everything from the past times where he had to step in, to save her were brushed back up again. She sighed and was on the brink of crying again. Nothing seemed to go right these days, or at least she made nothing go right anymore. Now she hurt two guys and all for one stupid kiss...just her luck.

She could never seem to stay away from guys while dating. Maybe, she should just take a break from the whole thing...no, what was she thinking, she loved Logan. She couldn't hurt him like that. It would kill him to see her like that and to see her bre- she stopped at that thought and then instantly tried to think of something else. That wasn't going to be an option, unless he did it first, but she doubt he would ever do that, unless she did something even more horrible than what many pedestrains had just witnessed. Another few tears few, before she wiped them away again. She soon found herself leaning on Tyler, she didn't mean to do it, but she couldn't support herself any longer. The thoughts were too overwhelming for her.

[Tyler Haze]

Tyler was instantly concerned when Liz said she had something to tell him. That was never ever a good sign. Right after sharing in a kiss...she had something to tell him. Damn. Why did this always have to happen to him? It seemed like every time he kissed a girl it was followed by some sort of punch. He'd gotten into so many fights with guys for kissing their girlfriend...even though he was usually drunk when it happened and he didn't even remember ever kissing her. Maybe that wasn't what she had to tell him though...maybe he would get lucky just this once and she would have something less...dramatic to tell him.

Nope, that hope went down the drain. His first instinct was to get up and walk away, but something held him down. He didn't know what it was, but something kept him there. His whole body became tense and rigid, but he stayed there. His mind was screaming at him to get up and walk away, but he couldn't move. It was like he was frozen there, stuck and unable to control his movements. It was like he had suddenly become completely paralyzed. His body wouldn't obey him anymore. He was trapped and there was no escape from himself. It was so easy to walk away before, so why not now?

He was shocked and angry and disappointed and...and he didn't know. He wasn't angry with her, but angry with himself for drifting into his old habits again. He wasn't disappointed in her, but disappointed in himself for losing his self control. He should have known that she had a boyfriend. She was too pretty, too nice not to. He was probably a lot better than Tyler was too. She deserved someone better. Tyler couldn't offer anyone anything, all he had was himself and himself wasn't much.

He had an incredibly low self image, and even lower self esteem. He had let all the talk get to him, though you would never know it. He looked like the kind of guy who was king of the streets, who people feared and respected, the kind of guy who could lead fearlessly the entirety of the criminal world. But he wasn't. Inwardly, he considered himself the street trash knife fighter that he had been called so many times. Inwardly, he was the kind of guy who broke the law only so that people would look at his criminal record, and not at him. He didn't want them to know he was so emotionally torn. He wanted them to see him as a powerful emotionless criminal. Not the weak and hurting, lost and confused young man that he truly was.

He didn't know what to say in response...what would you say? He felt like he was cornered, trapped, and it scared him to say the least. He didn't like feeling vulnerable, and in that moment, he felt incredibly vulnerable, like he had been laid open for all the world to see. He must have looked shocked because several people walking by turned back to stare at him after the passed them. They probably thought Liz was his girlfriend and they'd just found out she was pregnant or something like that.

He felt terrible for doing this to her, like he had somehow wronged her in the worst possible way. Then she was leaning on him and wiping away the tears that had found their way up to her eyes and spilled over. That struck deep down into the compassionate side of Tyler that few people even knew existed. He felt bad, but he also felt like she needed him for some odd reason. Maybe it was because he kind of liked her and so convinced himself that she needed him, but it was more likely that he wanted to make up for making her cry. Sure, maybe he didn't make her cry really...but he felt like he had, and he wanted to fix things.

He moved his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her closer to him so that she was leaning on him more. I'm not mad... he said softly hoping she would stop crying, don't cry...it was my fault. Now she might claim that it wasn't his fault, but he had been the one to lean down and start the kiss. Sure she didn't resist, but if he had kept control of himself it never would have happened. He was guilty, and he knew it. He only hoped he hadn't ruined her relationship with her boyfriend. He almost wanted to tell the guy himself so that her boyfriend could punch him and get it over with. That way, any anger would be directed at him and not her...and hopefully their relationship could continue as it had been before. He would take the blame.

[Liz]

Emotions overwhelmed Liz as she continued to cry on Tyler's shoulder. She couldn't believe that any of this had actually happened. It all happened so fast that she really had had not time to think things through. She could've rejected him, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings and she actually wanted to do it. As much as that sounds bad, there was something about Tyler that she wanted to explore deeper. He seemed interesting to her compared to what most people thought of him. At that moment though, she hadn't really thought about what Logan would say, but now she was and that made her cringe. What would he say and how would he take all of this? How would she possibly bring something like this up in a regular conversation? So many questions ran through her mind at a million miles a minute and not one of them went answered.

She didn't know why she was always doing this to him, but she always seemed to find weird situations to get into. It was something she hated now. She wouldn't have minded it being single and all, but she was dating and this was nothing to be doing while you were dating someone else. There were no reasons for it and she didn't know why. She couldn't explain herself truly and what she felt was hard to explain just in her head. How would it make sense to anyone else she was trying to explain to? She couldn't keep doing this to Logan and she knew it, even if there weren't reasons to explain her unwanted actions. Question after question filled her mind and soon she sighed, she wanted them all gone and all gone now. She couldn't possibly live with herself with these questions burdening her.

She hadn't noticed that Tyler slipped his arm around her shoulders, but when she did, she made a weak attempt to smile through her tears. She really didn't mind it at all and it did actually make her feel somewhat better. He was warm, comforting, his large build gave her a slight safe feeling as no one would dare mess with him. She didn't think he would have gone that far to comfort her, but he did and she was completely surprised. With him comforting her, she slowly started to regain her composure and people stopped looking at the two with stares or expressions of curiosity.

She was happy about that too. She hated it when people stared at her like she was some alien from another planet when she cried in public. Why do people honestly do that? It might be curiosity, but then again it could be something else, but it definitely isn't privacy. They don't care who you are, but they care enough to stare at you weird when something is going wrong. It's funny that people do that though. It's not like they don't cry and she's just being some emotionally unstable human being. She sighed and then returned to her past train of thought.

She soon wiped away the last few tears that had fallen onto her pretty face. Then, she rested her head on his shoulder. She didn't think he would mind as she was already leaning on him and had been ever since she started crying. She heard his encouraging words when she was still crying. She had not forgotten about them, but just put them at the back of her mind until she was ready to respond to them. She didn't want him to take the blame because they were both slightly at fault. He had started the kiss and Liz made it more passionate by going along with it. She didn't want him to get hurt by Logan anyway. She knew he was going to be mad and no one would want to be around him besides her. She really didn't want to have to feel that she was being repayed for her earlier deed either. She didn't need to have anything back for that because she'd gained a friend from that.

If she had to, she would take the full blame for everything. She didn't mind taking another hit for Tyler because in truth, she really liked him and wanted to be a very good friend to him. One that he could feel he could go to any time with any problem at all. Even if it injured Logan and Liz's relationship for a little while, she'd still do it, but it Tyler didn't want her to, she wouldn't take full blame. She'd still take some of the blame, but she didn't want to go against his will and make him mad or feel guilty that way either.

After thinking this all through for a while, she put some words together in response to his comforting words. She smiled a little bit, somewhat thankful that he wasn't mad at her. That was always a good thing. Good, because I don't think I want to see the mad you. Her face lightened up into a smile and a little laugh and then she continued on. I know you want to take some of the blame, but I do too. I could have stopped you, or stopped myself. I'm not going to let you take all the blame for it. I couldn't live with myself. So, I guess I'll tell Logan the truth, from both sides. She sighed and then contemplated kissing his cheek. She decided against it for now and then waited his response. Hopefully he would be okay with her compromise.

[Tyler Haze]

It was true, Tyler was a man of many different sides, and had a tendency to surprise people when one of the more tender sides showed through. Of course, not many people ever saw the tender side, so not many people were ever surprised by him. He wasn't sure what it was about Liz that drew him to her...she was different, she was special...but he couldn't have her. No, he had Alessandra, and she had Logan...he loved Alessandra, end of story. Back there in the hospital he didn't know what had come over him, but whatever it was he wasn't going to let it happen again. He wasn't going to let the old Tyler back in. No, the old Tyler only ever thought about and did two things, drinking and having sex...he wasn't going to let that define his life anymore.

It was hard for him to say that to himself and really truly mean it when he was holding her in his arms. He thought about letting go, but he couldn't do it. She needed his arm around her shoulders. She needed a shoulder to cry on, and currently, he was the only shoulder around. He wasn't really sure what to do though...he had been around crying girls plenty of times...but usually they were crying because their parents would kill them if they found out what they had just done with Tyler the night before, and usually they were mad at him. But Liz...she was actually crying on his shoulder, and looking for solace and comfort in him.

Tyler really was rather large in comparison to Liz. She was thin and delicate like any girl would be, but next to Tyler, she looked even smaller than she was. He was a big guy, and he knew it. At six feet tall, 153 pounds of pure brawn and muscle, he was very nearly a giant compared to her. He could probably have crushed her with his hands if he wanted to, and she was lucky he didn't want to. He could do significant damage to anyone if he really wanted to...but his fighting days were over. He was "retired" from that now...and because of that he had ended up in the hospital. If he had wanted to he could have stopped Drake, he was quite a bit bigger than him, but he had made a choice to lay down his gun, and hang up his boots...there was no fight left in him.

He smiled slightly when she said she didn't want to see him mad...smart girl. When Tyler got mad, bad things happened. No, he hadn't ever killed anyone, and he hadn't ever gone after anyone with the intent to kill, but he had hurt a good number of people pretty good. It was easy to get on Tyler's bad side, and you really didn't want to get on his bad side...because once there its really hard to get back off and over to the good side. But the one thing most people didn't know, and didn't care to find out was that it was even easier to stay on Tyler's good side than it was to get on his bad side. All it took was a little patience and understanding.

What she said next sort of surprised him. He did want to take the blame...she was very right there. If he hadn't kissed her, none of this would have happened...it was his fault. Even if she had stopped him, he still would have started it, therefore putting full blame on him. Sure, she hadn't exactly protested to it, but it had happened so fast that she probably couldn't have resisted him at all anyway. But she seemed so determined to take some of the blame, he wasn't going to argue with her. It wasn't like he could stop her anyway, she was going to tell him whatever she wanted, and he couldn't dictate what she wanted.

Tyler almost wanted to find Logan after Liz told him what happened and apologize. It just didn't seem right...that he did that and offer no apology. He knew all too well that men were possessive over the women they loved. Now before when Tyler did something like this with some other guy's girlfriend, he never felt guilty about it, but with Liz it was different. It wasn't just a one night stand and then he'd never see her again...it was really different. He didn't even known who Logan was, but he wanted to find him, and apologize...even if meant he would get hurt. He didn't want the guilt of this incident weighing down on him.

He sighed and bit his lip for a moment, looking straight forwards, lost in thought. After a minute or two had passed, he looked back at Liz, not sure what to say. Okay... he said in a quiet tone, not knowing what else to say. He obviously didn't like her taking any of the blame, but he couldn't stop her, so he would just have to accept it and move on.