Cheers, David / StargazerUK.Chapter 11
Max glanced at Michael with a frown. He sat upright on his bed having just heard a gentle tap on the closed door to his bedroom. “Come in.” He called curiously.
The door slowly opened and the demure figure of Diane Evans stood in the doorway. “Hey, Max. Hey, Michael.” She greeted the two teen boys.
Finding that it was Max’s mom at the door and not the expected Isabel caused both boys to jump to their feet.
“Hey, Mom. What’s the matter?” Max asked tentatively.
“Nothing’s the matter, Max.” She smiled broadly. “You don’t have to look so worried just because your mother has come to visit.”
But that was exactly what Max had to do. One of the few pluses about being a teenage boy was the unwritten rule that most adults simply wrote you off as mean, moody and antisocial, which meant Max was afforded lots of privacy in his own home. Of course, for the most part, he wasn’t mean, moody or antisocial but the fact that he got the perk of having his own space meant he didn’t do anything to change his parents perception of teenagers.
For their part Diane and Philip Evans were clearly aware they had struck oil when it came to their own kids. Both were clearly very bright, well mannered and loving, even if they didn’t always show it. The only fly in the ointment was that the thought that they both had something that they were keeping secret was never far from either Diane’s or her husband Philip’s minds.
Max sat back down on his bed once he realised that everything was alright and that he had no need to act worried. “I just thought Isabel might have sent you up here to harass us.”
“Harass you?” Diane echoed with a curious smile.
“She’s got some sort of date thing happening with Alex Whitman and she has been harassing and threatening both me and Michael for most of the evening because she says we will ruin it for her.” Max explained.
Isabel had told her mother that she was having company over this evening to watch a film and asked if both her mother and father could make themselves scarce but Diane had no idea that it was a boy who was coming over. Isabel never had boys come over. The nearest any of them got to coming inside the house was the front porch and that was only for the briefest of goodbyes at the end of a date. Before they could blink Isabel was back inside and halfway up the stairs to her room.
“Do you know this Alex Whitman?” Diane asked nonchalantly in a vain attempt to be casual but she failed miserably.
Max tried not to smile at not only his mothers curiosity but also the fact that Michael had let out a less than subtle groan at Diane’s question. “He’s a good guy, Mom. I think the best thing I can say about him is that he is absolutely nothing like any other guy she has dated before.”
“And that’s a good thing, right?” Diane nodded slowly.
“Mom…” Max began. “…having met some of Isabel’s so called ‘dates’ before I can tell you that Alex is a huge step in the right direction as far as both you and dad will be concerned...”
“He can walk upright for a start.” Michael cut in. “Unlike some of those loser jocks she has dated before.”
Diane wasn’t used to getting input from Michael but despite how unsubtle his comments had been they did seem to point to a more positive outlook for this young man, whoever he turned out to be.
“So what are your plans for this evening?” As she looked from one teen to the other she could see they hadn’t given it a great deal of thought.
“Staying out of Isabel’s way.” Max finally stated.
“Knowing your sister as we do, I think that might be a good place to start.” Diane smiled as she started to back out of the room and close the door. “I’ll leave you gentleman alone and I will see you later.”
Michael lowered himself back onto the bedroll that he had been stretched out on prior to Mrs Evans appearance, locked his fingers behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. “So what do you think we should do, Maxwell?”
“You heard me tell my mom, stay out of Isabel’s way. Otherwise we will never hear the end of it!” He smiled to himself.
Michael leaned forward so as to look at Max who was now flat-out on his bed. “I’m not talking about tonight.”
Michael’s few words brought Max’s evening to a thundering halt. Since Isabel had revealed to them both about her visit from Future Liz and also shown them the flashes that she received from her, Max’s life had become one of contradictions. He wanted nothing to do with their new found information and yet he wanted to act on it all at once. He wanted to steer clear of Liz Parker but at the same time he wanted nothing more than to sprint round to the Crashdown, pick her up in his arms and tell her how he had longed to hold her and never let go. Finally, he had spent almost ever waking moment thinking about what their lives would be like with friends and loved who where in on their secret while, at the same time, trying to avoid the subject entirely.
He wasn’t sure how he had been able to operate from both ends of the spectrum with regards to all of these matters but somehow he had managed it. That was until Michael’s comment. If his best friend Michael, who had spent most of his difficult life ignoring or avoiding problems, was willing to broach the subject he knew he had to finally face his demons.
Max sat up from his prone position, swinging his feet round until they reached the floor. “I’ve been dreading this ever since Isabel showed us the flashes from Future Liz.”
“Maxwell, I’ve been dreading this since third grade but we can’t ignore it because it is not going to go away.” Michael cut in. “You know me better than anyone but even I can’t simply walk away from what we have seen. Knowledge is power and we have it so we must use it. The only thing we must decide is how.”
Max stood up and started pacing. “It’s just so difficult to know what is the best thing to do next. From what we have seen we gained so much from letting Liz, Maria and Alex know our secret but ultimately it cost Alex his life.”
“So you don’t want to tell them.” Michael surmised from Max’s comments. “I think you are right.” He agreed.
Max stopped pacing and turned to look at Michael. “On the other hand what will our lives be if we aren’t willing to take a chance? We are armed with knowledge that we didn’t have first time round. Isabel already stopped the shooting, which seemed to me to be the catalyst for so much of what went wrong. Maybe this time we can actually make a life for ourselves while keeping everyone safe.”
Michael stood up. “So you do think we should tell them.” He paused for a moment. “I think you are right.”
Max went wide-eyed at his large friends comment.
“I don’t know!” Michael exclaimed at the top of his voice as he threw his hands up in the air. “I’ve never been good at decision making and you know it. You know I have never wanted anyone else to know our secret but I can’t deny the things we have seen from Isabel about the other timeline. About what they did for us and what they risked. I don’t trust anyone other than you and Isabel, you know that, but knowing now what we do, that they risked their lives to keep us safe. I’m torn between telling them everything and telling them nothing! ”
Suddenly the door to Max’s room swung open and a less than happy Isabel, covered from head to toe in a bathrobe and towels stood in the doorway. “What are you guys yelling about?” She asked sternly. “I’m trying to get ready for a very important night and all I can hear is that big lump interrupting my preparation time!” Isabel nodded towards Michael.
As Max stepped past Isabel he took hold of her right arm and pulled her gently into the room while he closed the open door with his free hand. “Once you have stopped crying out yourself and have stopped drawing attention to us we will happily tell you that we are trying to decide what to do with all this information we now have.”
Isabel frowned. “What do you mean, ‘What to do with all this information’? We act upon it!”
“It’s not as simple as that, Isabel.” Max stressed.
“No, Max.” Isabel shook her head vigorously. “That’s exactly what it is. I’ve spent the first half of my life knowing I was different. Once I discovered why I have then spent the second half trying to hide that fact from everyone and anyone. Living in constant fear of slipping up and letting our secret out. I never dreamed of being able to allow someone to see the real me or of ever seeing you two fools have a meaningful relationship with anything or anyone other than a TV remote control. I am not going to let this opportunity slip through my fingers and my advice to both of you is to do the same.”
“You’re going to tell Whitman?” Michael asked anxiously as he stepped towards Isabel.
“Not now.” She scolded impatiently. “But at some stage, where appropriate…maybe.” Isabel realised she was being a bit harsh so she took a deep breath to calm herself a little. She looked from one boy to the other. “I’m not going to leap out at Alex and start changing things with my powers or tell him my life story but just the fact that he could know my secret and still accept me for who I am leaves me feeling that my life has endless possibilities whereas a few days ago I thought I had only one, to hide!”
Isabel moved slowly towards the door and as she took hold of the door handle she turned to look back at her siblings. “I’m not saying that we have to tell them, just that we could. For now I am just excited about sitting down with a guy who I know, given the chance, can love me and that I can love in return. I know you both as well as you know yourselves. If you strip away the macho pride and BS for one minute and be honest with yourselves I think you both feel the same way too.
Isabel stopped and looked pointedly at Max. “I’ve seen you looking at Liz Parker and I know you like her. None of us ever thought you would act on your feelings just as we would never act on ours if we found a special someone, there’s too much at risk.” Isabel paused. “That was until we saw what you did in the other timeline. You can’t deny what you did, Max, or would do to save Liz. We’ve both seen it.”
Isabel turned her attention to Michael who was suddenly looking rather sheepish as he knew what was coming. “You, my big friend. No one is more shocked to see you and Maria Deluca together than me…except maybe you.” Isabel laughed softly. “The one thing I have always known about all of us is that we don’t want to be alone but we choose to be so as to keep us and our loved ones safe. You can’t deny what you saw, Michael. You clearly loved Maria in that timeline so I don’t see any reason why it can’t happen again in this one.”
“I wouldn’t know what to say to her.” Michael stayed rather softly and rather surprisingly.
“Oh, I think you do.” Isabel smiled softly. “From what we have seen it is meant to happen so I think you just need to have a little belief in yourself and take a chance.”
“It’s just…” Michael trailed off for a moment. “It’s just she’s so annoying.”
“…which is why you like her.” Isabel offered encouragingly. “She’s not scared to stand up to you, which is a good thing, believe me.”
“And what about you?” Max asked quietly.
“Me?” Isabel questioned quizzically.
Max simply nodded. “What are your plans with regards Alex?”
Isabel simply shrugged. “I intend to use the knowledge I have been given to give myself a chance of a normal life…starting with a date with Alex Whitman.”
When Isabel saw both boys look at her in confusion she knew she needed to explain herself a little better. “Most people spend their lives looking for someone thinking, ‘Is he/she the one?’. We on the other hand have simply avoided all close contact with anyone else simply to keep our secret hidden. Now, with what Future Liz has shown us, I not only know I can trust Alex with our secret I also know he’s the one.”
“Oh, Brother!” Michael exclaimed again.
Isabel smiled broadly. “I know you think I am being all girly and pathetic but I just don’t care and if the two of you have any sense whatsoever in those dense heads of yours neither will you.”
And with that, Isabel left.
Max and Michael simply stared at one another for a moment.
“Back to the Crashdown?” Michael asked tentatively.
“Back to the Crashdown!” Max agreed.
To be continued…
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. I've had a lot on, which I am glad to say is only a few days from being sorted, and then I am back to normal. For those of you who heard about my bit of bad luck...the good news is they caught the gang and they are now in jail. The bad news is these guys burgled 80 houses in six weeks looking to steal cars! Thanks to my trusty car and "Tracker" they won't being doing that for a while.