Author: Island Breeze
Rating: TEEN or YTEEN (about like the show)
Forum: CC
Pairings: M/L, A/I, M/M
Summary: This short story (A little over 2000 words) was written for the cliche challenge at Majiklmoonsrealm. The challenge was to write a short fic using at least three cliches, like Liz the saint (or the doormat), Alex the computer genius, etc. I think you will spot a few cliches here. Hope you enjoy!
In most of my stories, Tess is not evil or is redeemed. This story and Buffy Goes To Antar are the departures from the norm in that respect.The creators and producers of “Roswell,” Melinda Metz, who wrote the books, and Jason Katims, who brought us the TV series, deserve the credit for the Roswell concept, main characters, and events that occurred during the TV series, “Roswell,” which I do not own but merely lead down a path of imagination through the stars of a destiny that might have been.
<center>The New Computer Program</center>
“Max, have you looked at this computer lately?”
Max had just walked into the room, and he glanced at Liz’s computer. “Yeah. What’s the problem with it?”
“Well, maybe nothing. I don’t know. Did you install any new programs for me recently?”
“Nope.”
Max looked over Liz’s shoulder and pushed the screen-on button. The screen slowly came to life…
You have mail.
“That’s odd. That usually only pops up after you’re already in aol.”
Max clicked on the link and looked at the message title… I, The Stud.
“Somebody’s playing a sick joke, Liz. Damn hackers! I’ll delete it.” He reached for the delete button, but Liz stopped him. “No, Max, wait. I want to see it. I don’t know… I’ve just got this weird feeling about it.”
“Okay, but don’t click on any links or give away your bank account number or anything.”
“Max! Have a little faith, okay?”
Max shrugged. Liz clicked on the file, and the message opened. “I’m watching you.”
Max sighed and rolled his eyes. “See? What’d I say! Somebody’s playing a sick joke. They used to call people on the phone and moan. Now they create computer programs. Dump it!”
Liz looked at the message for several long seconds, then she clicked delete. The message disappeared.
“Max, why don’t we go somewhere tonight? I would really like to talk. It doesn’t matter where.”
“Can’t, Liz.”
“Tess again?”
“We had it already planned. I can’t just break it.”
A date?”
“Well, it’s not exactly a… Okay, I guess it’s a date.”
“She’s using you, Max. You know that, don’t you?”
“Listen, Liz… I’ve got… issues to sort out, okay? It’s not simple. Tess is from our world. We were supposed to be together again. That was the whole plan. It’s not something that I can just ignore.”
“And us, Max? Where does that leave us?”
Max shrugged. “That’s one of the things I’ve got to figure out.”
Liz sighed and looked at the screen again… You’ve got mail.
“It’s back, Max.”
“What is?”
“The message.”
“So delete it again! You know where the delete key is, right?”
Liz reached for the delete key but then clicked on the link instead…
I, The Stud
Puzzled, she clicked on the message, and it opened…
I’m watching you, Liz. Stop being a doormat.
Liz gasped, and Max looked at the computer. “Oh, that’s just great! Why do you even read that stuff, Liz? Somebody’s playing a joke and you’re falling for it.”
“I don’t think so, Max.”
“Well, I don’t have time to mess with this now. I’ve got a date.”
“Bye, Max. Have a good time.”
Max sighed and let himself out of Liz’s room, climbing down the trellis from the balcony to the ground.
Liz looked at the screen again and clicked “reply.” Then she typed in a message… I don’t know how.
Suddenly, the screen flashed, and a new message appeared. Give him a choice, Liz… destiny… or true love.
Liz hit reply again… He hasn’t decided that what we have… had, I mean… is true love. If I force him to choose, he may choose Tess.
Then he will have made the greatest mistake of his life.
Liz smiled. Well, yeah, but… hey, who are you anyway? Why are you using Alex’s password?
You haven’t guessed?
I don’t have a clue.
Liz, it’s me.
Okay… so who is me?
Me… I, the Stud… Alex. Who else would it be?
Alex is dead. Max is right. This is a sick joke. I’m deleting you.
No, Liz! Wait!
Why?
Okay, look… Let’s just talk, okay?
Okay. You’re not going to tell me who you really are, are you? Maria, if this is you!
I’m not Maria. But you guys did once consider me one of the girls. Listen, Liz… did you ever see an old TV show where this guy was a computer program and his sidekick was called “cursor?” I can’t remember the name of the show now… I’ll have to zip myself through Google or Dogpile later.
I think I remember seeing it once… maybe a couple of times… a long time ago.
Well, that’s me, see. I’m a computer program.
I thought you said you were Alex.
Right.
Well, you can’t be… Wait, what are you saying… exactly?
When I died, Liz, I didn’t die… exactly. Tess just thought I did.
Tess? What’s she got to do with this?
You already know that, Liz. You’ve suspected it from the very moment I died. The only thing is, I didn’t die. I placed a copy of myself into the computer when I realized what Tess was doing. It was one of my few lucid moments. Anyway, this program is me now. It has all my memories, my feelings, my emotions…
Alex, that’s not possible.
You called me Alex!
A slip. I slipped up.
It’s possible, Liz… but only if you’re a geek… like I, the Stud.
You’re not a geek, Alex! You’re just… Alex! We love you just like you are… were.
Ah, so you believe now!
No! Oh, crap. Look what you’ve done to me! I’m falling into your trap.
You’re beginning to believe. That’s not a bad thing, Liz. Now try believing that Max is making a mistake with Tess.
Well, I know that, Alex! Big duh! Anybody could see that!
Apparently not Max.
So what can I do about it?
I’m working on that.
Well, Alex… or whoever you are… I’ve gotta go. My shift is about to start. It’s been weird talkin’ to ya!
Same here, kiddo! Later!
Liz clicked the screen off then shook her head and went downstairs to the café. Maria was already on duty…
“Hey, chica! How’s things up in the eagle’s nest?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, Maria.”
“Liz! It’s me! Maria? Your best friend? The one who knows about Czechoslovakians and all that weird stuff that nobody else would believe? Trust me.”
“Alex is a computer program.”
Maria laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“For a moment there it sounded like you said…”
“I did. Alex isn’t dead. He put himself onto a DVD or something. He’s in my computer right now.”
“Liz, honey, chica… you need some time off. You’re starting to get freaky on me. This isn’t just Czechoslovakians we’re talking about now… Uh, is it a Czechoslovakian DVD?”
“How do I know? He’s in my computer. He talked to me! He told me that I was being a doormat and needed to make Max see the light.”
“Okay, so he’s got more brains than the average DVD… Oh, God! What am I saying! Liz, this is ridiculous! People can’t put themselves into a computer!”
“Not people, Maria! Alex! This is Alex we’re talking about. The computer genius, Alex.”
“Yeah, but…”
“I don’t know, Maria. You and Max are probably right. It was probably someone playing a sick joke.”
“Yeah, that’s probably what it was, Liz. Don’t let it bother you. Some of these people should be neutered… so their genes don’t get into the gene pool… by accident.”
Liz laughed and ran over to take an order from someone who had just walked in. That night, as she was writing in her diary, Max showed up again. He had climbed up to her balcony and was knocking lightly on the sliding door to Liz’s bedroom. Liz pulled back the curtain and looked…
“Max, it’s after midnight! If Dad catches you up here with me…”
“Can I come in, Liz… just for a few minutes?”
Liz sighed then opened the door. “Come on in. But keep your voice down. You can’t stay long.”
“I need to talk.”
“Well… that’s a good thing, Max. We can talk, I guess. Is it about Tess?”
“Yeah.”
“And… me?”
“Sort of. Liz, we have something that’s… special… you and me.”
Liz smiled. “I know.”
“But sometimes special isn’t… possible. We were programmed… We were supposed to fall in love with certain people… me with Tess. It’s necessary. I think it may be anyway. I’m so confused.”
“Well, Max… I guess you have to make a decision. I’ll always be here for you, you know that.”
Suddenly the computer flashed on, and a bright light scanned the room. When it went off, Max and Liz were looking at each other with starry eyes.
“What… what was I saying, Liz?”
“I don’t remember. Say it again.”
“I must have been telling you how much I love you and adore you. You’re everything to me, Liz. I couldn’t live or even breathe if I lost you. That’s why I’m telling Tess… that she and I can never be.”
“Oh, Max! I love you, too! You’re every breath I take… from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to sleep at night!”
Max and Liz kissed, and somewhere, in the computer, there was a sigh. “Well, I got it half right! I changed his programming.” Alex watched as Max and Liz kissed, then he raised his eyebrows… “It could work, I guess… if Jeff Parker doesn’t walk in right now.”
The next morning, Isabel walked into the CrashDown and found Liz singing as she worked.
“Well, somebody seems happy.”
“I’m always happy, Isabel, because Max is in my heart.”
“Oh, please! I’m going to lose my appetite!”
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand, Isabel. He’s your brother.”
“Yeah, my foolish brother.”
“He’s not foolish, he’s… adorable.”
“And you’ve been smoking something. Liz, how long were you in here with those bikers this morning?”
“They’re gone. They were here an hour… maybe two.”
“I think they changed the air. Did you smell something strange?”
“My thoughts are only of Max.”
“I think I’ll get lunch somewhere else this morning, Liz. You’re creeping me out.”
“Say hello to Max for me.”
Isabel raised one eyebrow and shook her head then walked out of the café. Back at their house, she saw Max…
“Oh, hey, Max! You’re home! I thought you would be out chasing after Tess.”
“Tess is a mere word in the wind, Isabel. I know not of that word. I only live and breathe for Liz.”
Isabel looked at Max and her eyes opened wide. “Max, did you and Liz both drink something… that you’re not supposed to drink last night?”
“I need nothing to drink, Isabel. Liz’s love nourishes my body and my soul and quenches my thirst when I am thirsty.”
“I may never be able to eat again. I’m going to be sick!”
“Ah, but you should try it, Iz! There’s nothing like it!”
“Like being sick? No thank you!”
Isabel grabbed her jacket and opened the door. “I’m going out. I really need to get away from this… whatever it is… that’s going on with you two.”
“Okay. I’ll be over at the CrashDown if you need to find me, Iz.”
Isabel looked at Max for a moment and shook her head, then she closed the door behind her.
That afternoon, after Liz got off of her shift, she went upstairs to get dressed for Max, but she found Max already in her room, waiting.
“Hi, Max! I didn’t expect you.”
“Would you not expect the sun to rise? Would you not expect the rivers to flow or the stars to shine? So much less likely would it be that I would forget about you, Liz.”
“Oh, Max!” Liz smiled and put her arms around Max, kissing him passionately. But the kiss was interrupted by Maria. And Isabel was standing right behind her…
“Max I need the keys to the… Oh, geez! Do you two ever stop! STOP IT!”
“Isabel, you’re much too uptight,” Max said. “Relax!”
“I can’t… with that going on!”
“Well, I kind of thought it was cute,” Maria said, grinning.
Isabel rolled her eyes. “You would!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Just give me the keys, Max, and I’ll let you two get back to your… whatever…”
“Don’t be such a Christmas Nazi, Isabel,” Maria said.
“What did you say, Maria?”
“I said you’re acting like the Christmas Nazi… again! You’re trying to rule Max and Liz’s lives!”
“Oh, please! Like I don’t have anything better to do than to watch them! Fine! Max can sit here on the bed and play tonsil hockey with Liz. I’ve got things to do. I don’t intend to watch! Get over it, Max!”
“Shall I get over breathing, Isabel? Shall I get over the things that make life worthy of having been lived?”
Isabel looked at Max aghast. “You need help, Max! Serious help! You, too, Liz!”
As Isabel spoke, the computer came on again, and a light scanned the room. When it went out, Isabel was gone.
Liz looked around the room, even peeking under the bed… “Where did she go?”
“I didn’t see her leave,” Maria said, puzzled.
“Look! The computer!” Max exclaimed, pointing. On the screen were Alex and Isabel. They were smiling…
“You kids have fun,” Alex said, “I’ve got my own life to live. But I’ll keep in touch… just to make sure things are still going well.”
“Isabel?!” Maria exclaimed, touching the screen.
Isabel smiled. “It’s alright, Maria. I understand everything now. I understood immediately when I became a part of his program. All the knowledge was right there. Some part of me is here now with Alex. Well… I guess all of me is. But Alex is going to return me soon so I won’t be missed. He’s looking for a way to recreate himself into his old form again, too. Then he… we… can go back and forth together. I’ll have him with me, always.”
“On Liz’s computer?” Maria asked.
“He can email himself anywhere, Maria. He can be on my computer… all night long.” Isabel smiled, and the screen went off.
“Isabel? Isabel?”
“Give them a little privacy, Maria!” Liz said, grinning. “They’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
“But… but… Alex is still alive, Liz? Did you know that?”
Liz nodded.
“Omigod! Alex is alive! And he’s in your computer!”
“He’s on the web, Maria. He’s not in my computer. Actually, right now, I’m betting he’s in Isabel’s computer… in her room… with her.”
“Omigod!”
“Where were we, Max,” Liz asked, kissing him again.
Maria smiled and watched for a couple of moments… “Do you think that light thing would work on Michael?”
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Roswell, Tess flipped her computer on and sat down. As the screen came on, she noticed that instead of her usual screen saver, there were two smiling faces looking at her…
Hey, Tess! Bet you didn’t expect Alex and me, did you? Hey! Just wanted to let you know… Your computer is haunted. We’re gonna be playing in it a lot from now on. Alex is having a great time dumpster diving through your files. There’s so much juicy stuff there! And you and I have a lot to discuss, I think.”
Tess gasped and clicked the screen off, but it came right back on.
Tsk! That wasn’t nice, Tess. But it’s alright. You see, we’re also in your cell phone, your VCR, your programmable oven… and, oh yeah! We’ll wake you up in the mornings… on your radio alarm clock. We can talk anytime now… anywhere. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other. Bye now.
<center>~ The End ~</center>