Liz Ortecho (sjimenez) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-08-11 21:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, liz ortecho, michael guerin |
Who: Liz Ortecho & Michael Guerin
When: Backdated: Late June
Where: A Bar
What: Liz is dealing with recent dreams and does a little catching up
Rating/Warnings: Family Friendly
Status: Complete
Liz was still reeling from her latest dream and she didn’t really know how to handle it considering she still wasn’t quite over the one where her mother had left. She knew that they weren’t real and she knew that just because she’d dreamt about her mother leaving and Rosa dying that didn’t mean either of those things were going to happen. However, she’d found herself, more than once, on the verge of asking her mother why she would leave her, Rosa and their father.
Each time she had caught herself just in time and quickly thought of something else to say; after all, the last thing she needed was her mother thinking there was something wrong with her.
And then there was Rosa. She’d texted her sister at least twice since she’d dreamt about her dying and she’d barely gotten a complete sentence as a reply each time. Regardless of her sister’s word count, any reply told Liz that Rosa was at least alive and as a result she could attempt to move on. That of course was proving more difficult than expected.
She was grateful to have at least been able to talk to Alex and Kyle about the dreams and they had helped to talk her down after she’d initially had the one about Rosa. She didn’t know what she would have done had she not had them to talk to, but she was pretty sure she would have used alcohol to try and cope that first night.
While she might not have drowned her sorrows in beer that first night, after a few days of reliving both of those dreams, she had decided to stop in at a bar not too far from Godfrey’s after work and once at the bar she proceeded to order herself two shots to start with.
Michael didn’t need an excuse to drown himself in alcohol. It was a nightly thing for the guy since he was old enough to drink. There was nothing like ending a long day at the garage at the bar. Michael had a few he usually frequented depending on which bartender he felt like seeing that night, he had made friends with most of them. Hell he was even sleeping with some of them.
Tonight though he went to one of the bars where he wasn’t fucking the bartender. As he walked in he saw a familiar face, and he wasn’t referring to the bartender. No, this person was at the bar. He hadn’t seen her in years, since high school. But he knew exactly who she was.
“Liz Oretcho,” Michael said as he climbed onto the stool next to her. “I heard you were back in town.”
Liz hadn’t expected to run into anyone she knew tonight; especially not someone else that she hadn’t seen in years. “Wow, Michael Guerin.” It was a little strange to see the other man and honestly, had it not been for his appearances in her dreams about science class with Max, she wasn’t sure if she would have recognized him. After all, it had been over ten years since the last time she had seen him, “I am. Came back about two months ago.”
Michael wouldn’t have blamed her if she hadn’t recognized him. It was why he hadn’t commented when she first showed up on the network. He hadn’t even been at the same school as her for a year. He figured most people forgot about him, and he forgot about most of the people he met too. It was hard to remember people when he moved on to a new school and a new group every few months.
“How’s that going for you?” Michael questioned with a raised brow before waving the bartender over to order himself a beer.
Now that was a question that Liz didn’t really know the answer to. Before the dreams she would have said it was going well, but now part of her wished that she hadn’t come back. “It’s going…” She picked up one of her shots as they were set down in front of her and downed it, making a face as it burned down her throat. “How about you? How’re things going for you?” Considering how many people she’d gotten glimpses of in her dreams, she couldn’t help but wonder if Michael was dreaming too.
Oh Michael was dreaming too. Not only was he dreaming but he had been physically affected by the dreams. The cross on his arm from that wonderful little dream exorcism finally almost completely faded- but Michael could still feel the burn on his skin. However he didn’t know Liz shared the same dream world as him. He’d only seen Max and Isobel so far, still young. Though he had finally made it to Roswell after living in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
“Same,” Michael replied as his beer was brought over, he took a long swallow before continuing. “They’re going.” He was surviving as always - something her was used to both here and in the dreams. “What have you been up to the past ten years?”
“I was living in Boston until recently.” Liz glared slightly at her second shot, but didn’t drink it just yet. Instead she turned her attention to Michael, letting the alcohol from the first shot get into her system, “Working as a biomedical engineer.” Liz would be lying if she said that she didn’t miss Boston and her old job and her old life, but that didn’t mean that she regretted moving back. She just wished that moving back didn’t include these dreams.
“You always did like science,” Michael commented. She was one of the few lab partners he had that was actually able to keep up with him. Most just let Michael do all the work. And Michael had his fair share of lab partners over the years, what with his constant moving to different schools. “You doing that here?”
Liz nodded before picking up her other shot, “Yeah, I just got a job at Godfrey Industries actually. What about you? Are you doing anything science related?” Michael hadn’t been around for long, but she remembered him being her lab partner for the time they were in school together, “You were pretty good.”
“Nice,” Michael commented because well that sounded like a good job to him. Especially with how passionate he remembered Liz being back in high school.
“I was alright,” he said with a shrug. Michael didn’t like to focus much on his IQ, always downplaying his intelligence. “But nah,” he went on answering her question. “I’m a mechanic.” And he liked it. His life may be somewhat simple but it was his.
“That’s cool. I should probably have my car checked out since I drove it here from Boston,” Liz threw back her second shot, making a face just as she did with the first. “Do you have your own place or do you work for someone else?” Liz hated looking for a mechanic because she never knew who would try to charge her more for something simply because she was a woman who might not know any better.
“Someone else,” Michael replied. “For the past nine years.” And Jim didn’t show up much anymore. Michael was basically running the place. Though he wasn’t the type to brag about himself like that. Just as he always underplayed his intelligence. “You should bring your car by. I might be able to give you a discount,” Michael added with a grin.
Liz ordered a proper drink now that she’d finished both of her shots and turned to Michael again, “I think I will. It’ll be nice to actually know my mechanic and know that he’s not just telling me that things need to be fixed to make some money.” She might not have seen Michael in years, but she didn’t think that he’d try to take advantage of her like that.
Michael wasn’t the type to take advantage of anyone. Whether he knew them or not. He did his best to make an honest living. “Look forward to it,” Michael said finishing off his drink. “And to seeing you around more often.”