SIBLING RIVALRY
Rebel-without-a-cause Liz blew into town and landed on grandma Audrey's doorstep without any warning. Liz felt abandoned when her parents moved to Bosnia, and didn't like the family with whom she'd been left. So, thinking she'd gotten the short end of the stick, she followed big sis Sarah to Port Charles. Audrey was in for quite a shcok when she realized her younger granddaughter smoked like a chimney and had little use for conventions like curfews.
But Audry was no puchover. She made Liz get a job at Kelly's, where she made her first friend in handsome Lucky. "He was the first person to be nice to her when she moved to town," recalls Rebecca Herbst (Liz). "She was very attracted to him, and like that he fed off her sarcasm."
Unfortunately, while Lucky was amused by the spunky new waitress, he only had eyes for her sweet sister, Sarah. Liz fumed when she realized that Sarah also had Lucky's half-brother, Nikolas, wrapped around her finger.
Jealous, Liz set up Sarah in a cheating scandal at school and later schemed to destroy her and Nikolas' budding romance by making him appear "forward." In the end, Liz's plotting cost her the respect of both boys, and natch, infuriated Sarah.
TRAGEDY STRIKES
Having given up on Nikolas, Liz hoped that Lucky would be her date to the Valentine's Day dance at school. Unfortunately, Lucky only would agree to meet her there. Humiliated, Liz got all dressed up for the dance, but went to the movies instead.
Tragically, Liz was raped in the park on her way home. Lucky found her tattered, fightened, and alone. Seeing that the light had gone out of her eyes, he brought Liz home andstayed by her side night and day. "elizabeth was more fragile and sensitive than anybody ever realized," asserts Herbst, "so I think that the rape crushed her."
But strong, independent Lucky recognized that and held her hand until she was ready to face the world again. "Not only did the rape reorient Lucky's feelings about Liz but it also fundamentally affected his self-perception," asserts head writer Bob Guza. "he was forced to deal with ideas of compretence, confidence, and powerlessness, and how you fight back against that unseen kind of assailant."
Watching what rape does to a woman's psyche destroyed Lucky's faith in mankind. So it was no surprise that he was crushed when Nikolas informed him that Luke had raped Luara 20 years earlier.
Horrified, Lucky was unable to comprehend how their loving family could have been preceded by a rape. Rejecting both his parents for their lies, he left home and clung to the one true thing in his life: his friendship with Liz.
TWO AGAINST THE WORLD
Realizing that he didn't know his parents quite as well as he ahd believed, Lucky struggled to grasp who he was without them. He sought shelter in an abandoned boxcar and washed Sonny's limo for cash. What could have been an unbearable existence was transformed by Liz, whose vivid imagination turned life into an adventure. She painted murals on the boxcar walls to make the place more "homey" andgave him a guitar on which to while away the hours.
In turn, Lucky wrote Liz a beautifl song expressing his feelings for her. Then, in one magical moment, both suddenly realized that their feelings ran much deeper than friendship. "The way they came about being connected was unique, tender and very, very careful." recalls Jonathon Jackson (Ex-Lucky). "It's like they got thrown into deep connection that neither of them was expecting, and the lighter, romantic level of their relationship came later."
LUCKY IS MISSING!
Then, just as life was starting to make sense again for Liz, Lucky disappeared! Eager to restore his strained relationship with his son, Luke had kidnapped Lucky and taken him to a remote cabin.
In the end, Lucky came to better understand what really had happened between his parents the night of the rape and that Luke never had forgiven himself for it. In return, Luke finally listened as his son explained that he wanted nothing more to do with the Spencer/Cassadine feud. Meanwhile, Liz had her first terrifying glimpse of what life was like without her "Lucky" charm.
FOREVER FRIENDS
Lucky, Liz, and Nikolas had a mutual friend in model Emily. So when Emily was blackmailed with nude photos of herself, it was only natural that she'd turn to her pals for help. Searching for the blackmailer was a welcome distraction for the teens, who had given up on ever finding Liz's rapist.
However, when the makeshift Scooby gang finally caught the extortionist-Emily's photographer, Tom-they were shocked to realize that he was also Liz's assailant! Tom stood trial for blackmail, but because there was no proof of his previous crime, LiZ had to deal with the fact that he'd never be prosecuted for the rape.
PROMISES MADE
Nonetheless, Liz finally was able to move beyond the trauma when Lucky gave her something new to think about: their future! Now going steady, the teens confessed their love and became inseparable. "The intensity of Lucky's feelings for Liz didn't scare her," remembers Herbst. "it just made her more in love with him. She'd never had that from anybody."
On more stable footing with his folks, and now friends with his fomerly estranged sib, Nikolas, Lucky professed himself ready to move on. New jobs at Jason's bike shop and as a delivery boy for Sonny put some cash in Lucky's pocket and ideas in his head-and he couldn't wait to share them with Liz! But first things first:They had to get through the anniversary of her rape.
A FUTURE SO BRIGHT
Lucky brought his lady love a beautiful new dress and hinted at a major Valentine's Day surprise. When the big night arrived, Lucky took Liz to a candlelit church, presented her with a bouquet of white roses, and the two of them vowed to love each other forever. Then, he presented her with an application to a New York City art school and promised to move there wit hher so that they could pursue her dream of becoming an artist!
In the meantime, the two decided to hold off on consummating their relationship, even though their passion was hard to ignore. "It was definitely the more mature decision to think about the consequences," says Jackson, "and not rush into anything."
Dreaming of his future with his lady love, Lucky recognized what he'd sensed between his parents while growing up. Relieved, Lucky finally mended fences with his family. "It was through his relationship with Liz," suggests Jackson, "that Lucky (Came to) want to fix things with his parents."
TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES
Alas, their story was not to have a happily ever after ending. Lucky kissed Liz goodbye and went home one night only to be snatched by Faison, who locked his young prisoner away in a bunker. The evil genius also arranged for a fire to consumre Lucky's apartment, and a body to be found in the wreckage. Believing Lucky to be dead, Elizabeth was shattered. crying in the church where they once had whispered vows of love, she admitted she simply had become "someone who loves Lucky" a nd didn't know who she was without him.
Believing the Candles she had gifted him with caused the blaze, Liz blamed herself and raged against the world. But her anger and desperation were nothing compared to that of the very much alive Lucky, whom Faison held captive, threatening to kill Liz should Lucky attempt to escape. Though Liz now is trying to move on, neither she nor her beloved, now being held by Helena, Faison's partner, can forget ther love they shared and still do.
