Just a few things I needed to say...
Flyawayraven – I’m really sorry about the lack of posts. I am trying to do better and I think the FB helped.
Cocopucks – Thanks for still reading my story.
Earth2Mama – Hi Ellie. I know Max might have been a bit too harsh but he feels that way because of everything he’s been through. This is a different Max, a Max who went through everything without Liz. Remember, he said that the only thing that kept him alive in The White Room was the thought of seeing her again. So imagine what it must have been like for him without Liz to make him stronger. Hope I didn’t give too much clues away.
FSU/MSW-94 – La’Shon, I’m so happy to be back too. Thanks for sticking with me on this fic. Your wishes will be granted in this next part. And I promise not to stay away too long.
Lazza – You are so right! LOL.
Michelle17 – Sorry to say that the meeting won’t be till the next part…I think. I’m still not too sure though but it’ll be soon, I promise.
LegalAlien – Welcome! Glad you’re liking it.
frenchkiss70 – Tiph!!! I’m so happy to hear from you. Thank you for reading this still despite the long delays. I know Max has a lot of flaws in this one but all of it will be explained…eventually.
begonia9508 – Hey, Eve. Yup, I’m back, hopefully more frequent this time.
BelevnDreamsToo – J!!! It does feel good to be back! And see, I didn’t make you wait too long. I just hope that goes for the next parts too, lol. Thanks for the feedback! *smooches*
Tequathisy – LOL. Michael will always be Michael in all fics I think.
Emz80m – Thank you for the FB. I’m actually relieved I got a new part out. Thanks again for editing this for me.
Belleoftheball – Thank you for liking this.
omwf – Thank you. I hope it does too.
Alma – LOL, hmmm, maybe I should make him enroll.
L-J-L 76 – Hi Lizza. Don’t be sorry for asking questions. I ask a lot from my fave writers too, lol. You’ll have to wait for a little bit more before Max and Liz meet though but it will happen soon.
g7silvers – Yup, the next part is here, yay!
Ellie – Thank you for seeing the different sides of the characters. I’m glad that I was able to convey that clearly. I’m glad you liked this and I hope you’ll like the rest too. Thanks so much for the feedback.
To_Kiss_A_Frog – Hi Cyn. You know I think all the fb has inspired my muse cause I was able to write a new part so soon including another one for a new fic. Hopefully, she’s on a roll and I’ll be able to post the chapters as quick as my others stories and you all wouldn’t have to wait so long.
You guys have no idea how grateful I am for all your feedback. Thank you so much for still reading this. Hope you’ll like the next part. Honestly, I like how cool Kyle came out in this, lol. *smooches*
~*~*~*~*~
Part 7 ~ Kyle
“Enough!” Kyle bellowed as he stretched out his arms with his palms open and sent out a force of energy knocking everyone onto the wall closest to them. It wasn’t a hard hit though but it certainly bought Kyle some silence from the gang.
‘3…2…1’, Kyle counted down in his head before the arguing began again. And this time, it was all directed at him.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Alex yelled as he was getting up on his feet.
“How dare you use your powers on us!” screamed Maria.
“It got you to shut up, didn’t it?” Kyle replied.
“What?!” Maria was about ready to launch herself on Kyle if only Alex hadn’t gotten a hold of her first.
“Are you out of your freakin’ mind?! What if it reached the neighbors?” Michael shouted.
“It didn’t.” Kyle answered coolly.
“But what if it did? You were ready to jeopardize everything just to ‘shut us up’?!” Max roared.
“Well with all the yelling coming from this house that people could hear you from down the street, I’d say you were doing a fine job of that yourself, El Presidente.” Kyle snidely remarked.
They all looked at each other then and realized their mistake.
“Good, now that you’ve all calmed down a bit, I’m about to open a can of worms and ask what the hell is going on in here?” Kyle demanded.
That was when Isabel decided it was safe to come out. “Uh, I can answer that.”
Max glared at her but decided to stay quiet.
“I enrolled Zan and daycare.”
“That’s it?” Kyle asked.
Everyone nodded their answer.
“Jeez, I thought you were all discussing about picking up and moving again. And I’d be very offended if that was the case by the way. So what’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is it’s not safe.” Max replied.
“It’s daycare. It’s not like we’re sending him to Antar to fight Khivar.”
“Trust Kyle to make everything seem so easy.” Maria commented with a smile, which garnered looks from both Max and Michael.
“What?” Maria asked both guys. “Well it is.” she repeated, throwing looks of her own at them.
“It’s not that simple”, mocked Max. “What if he does something alien?”
“Then we just make sure that one of us is with him at all times. So if he decides to do some magic, we can stop him ahead of time.” Kyle explained.
“Huh, how come we didn’t think of that?” Maria questioned out loud.
“Maybe cause no one can be with him at all times.” Alex responded.
“Why not? It’s just a couple of hours. Each of us can take turns.” offered Kyle. “You know what, I’ll volunteer tomorrow.”
“Wait a minute. Just wait.” Max shook his head, wondering how Kyle had managed to turn the entire discussion against what he wanted so quickly. “I said I’m pulling him out tomorrow. It’s too big of a risk.”
“No it—” Maria almost began but one stare from Max made her decide to stay quiet, for now.
“Max is right. I mean it’s a good idea, Kyle, but we gotta think about this more before we go with it.” Michael spoke up.
“Think about putting Zan in daycare?! You’re sh-“ Kyle almost cursed but Alex elbowed him before he could utter another sound. “Hey, that hurt, man.” He looked at Alex.
“Not as much as if these two hit the back of your head for swearing.” Alex told him, pointing at Isabel and Maria.
Kyle looked at the two women and sure enough, both of them had one eyebrow each raised, daring him to continue. He knew it would be wisest to back down.
“Well, as I was saying, it’s just daycare. Why is this such a big decision that you all have to be screaming from the top of your lungs to agree on? I gave you the easiest solution I can think of. If you don’t want to follow it, it’s your call but please, could we stop all the yelling.” Kyle said.
“Again, are you forgetting that we’re all not normal?” Max sneered.
“No, I’m not but we can’t keep the little guy in here forever. Which means someone has to spend time to baby-sit him, then why not just do that where he can interact with other kids? Besides, he hasn’t shown any powers so far.”
“Exactly; ‘so far’. What if it starts when he’s with the other kids?”
“Which is why someone will be there. Look, we’re just running around in circles with all this and I don’t have time for it. Talk it out if you want but if it’s a yes, then you know where to call me.” Kyle was already heading out the door. He gave them something to think about though frankly, he also had something to ponder on.
Just how did he do that hocus pocus alien thingy? He was a little bit scared that was going to do a lot of damage on them but to his surprise he didn’t. ‘Thank Buddha for small favors.’ he thought.
Sure he was practicing on his powers whenever chance he can, but now that he was really able to unleash some of it, he saw how accurate he can be. Although admittedly he was about to go out of his mind when he found out that he was changing, he certainly believed it was better than being lifeless and buried 6 feet under. He was grateful to Max for that. And in case some type of alien emergency would arise, he wouldn’t have to just standby and watch. Six sets of hands that can spew firepower are absolutely better than just three.
Three…just Max, Michael and Isabel.... Even though it has been years, he still didn’t know how to feel about Tess’ betrayal. He was torn between hating and pitying her.
He hated how she manipulated everyone into accepting her. And they did, Isabel treated her like a good friend. Michael reveled in the knowledge she had to share. And Max, well, he accepted her in their group although she was always trying to get into his pants. Kyle knew he shouldn’t pass judgment. He wasn’t really a part of the group either. He knew Isabel through some of the people they hung out with in high school, both belonging to the popular crowd. And he only knew of Max and Michael, but didn’t really know them. He wondered sometimes about how their group came together. Sure, Max and Maria became good friends for some reason and Alex being Maria’s best friend was pulled into that mix. The same went for Michael with Max. And Isabel was Max’s sister so she’s automatically a part of them. But still he didn’t understand how their dynamics worked. And then there was his dad who was obsessed with finding information on Max.
A melancholy smile touched Kyle’s face as he remembered his father. He truly missed the guy. And he wished there was a way to get in touch with him from time to time but it was still a bit dangerous to try and do so. He shook his head at the absurdity of the situation his dad went through with Max and the gang. Having watched Jim, Sr. with his obsession on finding aliens, then to see the events that would prove that he was right all along unfolding in front of your very eyes must have been some hell of a ride for his dad. And yet despite that, he did what was right. He laid his life on the line for the group and at first Kyle didn’t understand why. That was until he decided to see for himself and in the process getting shot by a monster named David Pierce and having an alien by the name of Max Evans heal him back to life.
From then on he became an involuntary part of the I-Know-An-Alien club. Did he regret it? No. Sure there were times when he would wish that he could just turn his back on the group and walk away; but he couldn’t find the heart to do so. These people became his friends. They all paid a big price just because they were different; but it was worth it because he belonged here, with them.
And that was why he was torn about his feelings towards Tess. Yes she was evil, conniving and manipulative but she was raised to be that way. He often thought of how things would have been if she left the cave with the other three. Would she have been as vile as she was? That was the question that would always run through his head when he would think about her. The girl lived with him and his father. And he saw a side of her that was good, kind.
He recalled that Christmas dinner that she prepared for them. She wanted to know what it was like to have a real holiday dinner with a family. She wanted to belong. And she did then. They shared smiles and laughter in that house. He knew she could have been a better person. And she gave him more reason to think that she could be when she gave up her own life for her child, Zan. He felt sorry for the kid. He knew from experience what it was like to grow up without a mom. Add to that Zan’s unearthly genes and heritage, he’s destined to face some hard times ahead of him.
‘Huh, destiny.’, Kyle thought with a shake of his head. Was Max destined to be with Tess? Were they destined to endure everything they have been through? Was Zan destined to be born? If that was the case, how can someone so innocent and pure come from Tess if she was as evil as one who had come so close to killing one of them? It didn’t make sense to him. He didn’t know about destiny but he knew Buddhism and Buddhism believed in karma. He believed that it was karma that had caught up with Tess in the end or maybe she had simply wanted to make amends.
To clear his head from thoughts of the past, Kyle decided to go for a jog. After his third lap, he stopped to take a swig from his water bottle when his cell phone started ringing.
“Kyle here.”
“Hey, Kyle. You uh…you’re still volunteering to go with Zan to daycare tomorrow?”
“Yeah, anything for the champ.”
“Ok. His class starts at 10 but Isabel said you should be there by 9:30 so you could fill out some paperwork with the school’s administrator, just precautionary stuff.”
“No problemo.”
“Okay, uh. Thanks, Kyle.”
“Don’t mention it, Max.” Kyle soon hung up and went to finish his route. He was smiling smugly about Max’s call and thought Maria and Isabel finally got their way. He wasn’t really paying much attention to his surroundings and as he turned the bend, he bumped into another body that was out for an afternoon run like he was.
“Oh man, sorry, miss. I wasn’t looking. Are you alright?” he asked as he helped the young lady up.
Liz accepted the man’s offered hand to help her off the pavement. “I’m ok. No serious harm done.” she smiled as she brushed herself off.
“I’m really sorry. I was a bit preoccupied. Anyway, can I buy you a drink or something to make up for this?”
Liz gave him a small laugh. “Was that a line?”
Kyle realized then what he had just said and laughed along with her. “This is getting worse and worse, isn’t it? I think I should just shut up now.”
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” smiled Liz. “You’re new around here, aren’t you?”
“Sort of, just moved in the neighborhood a couple of months ago.” Kyle told her.
Liz nodded. “No wonder I couldn’t place a name with the face. Everyone knows everyone here, small town and all. I’m Liz, Elizabeth Parker.” She extended her hand, which Kyle easily accepted and shook.
“Kyle Valenti. Nice to meet you, Liz.”
“Nice to meet you too, Kyle.” And the two decided to finish their jog together, talking and getting to know each other with every stride. By the time they were done, it was as if they had been friends forever.
***
“We’re gonna have fun in daycare today, right buddy?” Kyle said as he carried Zan into the small building.
Zan only nodded, excited to be back. He knew he was going to play with the other kids again today. And he was going to see another familiar face he calls…
“Liz!”
Kyle was taken aback when Zan called out to someone, not to mention a name that he knew as well. So he turned around to where Zan was looking and was surprised to see the brown-haired beauty he met yesterday, Elizabeth Parker.
“Hey! Fancy seeing you here, stranger?” Kyle greeted her with a grin.
“Kyle, I didn’t know you had a kid enrolled here.” Liz said, also saying hi to Zan by brushing his soft downy hair with her fingers.
“Oh, uh, Zan’s not mine. He belongs to a friend. I just volunteered to sit in daycare with him.”
“Another friend? I hope you didn’t meet her the same way you did me. You know, barreling into someone.” Liz joked.
“Ha, ha. Actually it’s a him. And no, I didn’t barrel into him. He’s a long time friend. We moved here together.”
“Oh.” Liz’s eyes grew wide. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. Not that it’s any of my business but it’s nice that you have that special someone.” Liz smiled. Sure they didn’t talk about their sexual orientation but she was certain she got a different impression from Kyle when they met.
Kyle almost choked on his own spit. “Boyf— No! No, I’m straight! I’m not…No!”
“Oh my gosh. I’m sorry. I just thought—” Liz was blushing with embarrassment.
“No, there’s actually a group of us. We, uh, we’re close friends, almost like siblings.” Kyle didn’t know how else to explain it without revealing too much.
“So is that why Zan has different people with him every time I see him? I wondered why Mrs. Whitman listed so many different names on Zan’s guardian list.” Liz said.
“Yeah. We’re all so close that we’re his honorary aunts and uncles. So do you work here or are you dropping off a kid of your own?” Kyle asked, wanting to move on to a different topic.
The subject change hadn’t escaped Liz’s notice but she decided to drop it for now. “I work here as an assistant. But I’m not assigned to Zan’s class though, my friend Serena is. C’mon, let’s get this little cutie inside his room so he can start having fun.” Liz said as she took Zan in her arms, leaving Kyle to follow.
tbc