Roswell Fanatics

Chapter 22: Part 2

{Max}

“Healing requires energy,” I told them. “So, we’ll keep holding the stones until our energy activates them, and then they should do what they do.”

“You have no idea what that is exactly, do you?” Michael asked, smartly.

“Shut up, Michael,” I ordered.

It wasn’t a time to joke around.

Once Kyle had returned with the rope, I had laid it out in a circle on the floor. I cut the rest of the rope into six long lines and placed one end of each line on the circle and had the other ends connect in the middle. That’s where I placed Liz.

We all drank from a single bowl of water and that brought us to my explanation of the healing and Michael’s smart mouth.

“Sorry,” he apologized.

Kyle cleared his throat and raised his hand.

“What is it, Kyle?” I wondered.

“There are only five stones,” he pointed out. Then he started pointing to himself and then Jesse. “Which one of us…?”

I thought about it for a minute. The more energy we had, the better. “Both of you,” I finally answered. “Both of you hold that stone.”

They both nodded and cleverly held the stone by holding each other’s hand.

“We all drank from the bowl of water,” I finally continued the explanation. “So now, we all have something in common, despite being human or alien.”

I don’t remember the exact words that River Dog used or the chant that we all said to save Michael’s life. The event occurred almost two years ago. But I think that’s basically how he explained it. Now, all I had to do was try to remember the chant.

“Shouldn’t we see River Dog?” Maria wondered.

I shook my head and took my position on the circle. “No, there’s no time. We need to do this now.” She nodded in reply. “Ok,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I can’t—I don’t remember the chant, so everyone just concentrate on Liz. Put all emotion and feelings aside.”

“We should be telling you that, Maxwell,” Michael said to me.

“I’m fine,” I insisted. “Let’s do this.”



{Isabel}

I watched everyone close their eyes as they held the stones in their hands. Max closed his eyes the tightest, and Liz continued to lie unconscious in the middle of the circle.

I honestly believed that this wouldn’t work. Why would it work? Liz wasn’t going through the same thing that Michael was going through when we had to restore the balance. We didn’t even know what was wrong with Liz. If her balance was disrupted, I don’t think she would react as harshly as Michael did. I mean, Michael was like me, an alien, and Liz was human.

Everyone continued to keep their eyes closed. The stones started to glow a yellow-orange except for mine and Max's. I studied my brother. He was trying so hard. He was breathing hard, struggling to get a good, deep breath and trying to hold onto it.

“Max,” I called.

“No!” he barked at me.

Everyone opened their eyes and the stones stopped glowing. Everyone stared at Max as he still tried to help Liz. Somehow he knew that we were watching him.

“What are you guys doing?” he wondered. “Come on, Liz needs us.”

Michael nodded. “You’re right,” he replied. “She needs us, but not you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” my brother asked.

“You’re scared, Max,” Maria told him. “You can’t be in the circle if you’re scared. That’s what River Dog said to Liz when she was scared for you. You can’t stop the flow.”

I nodded in agreement. “She’s right, Max,” I said. “We won’t be able to do this if you’re in the circle, you’re only going to slow us down.”

Everyone was on the same page, except for Max.

“I’m not scared,” Max insisted. “Get back in this,” he ordered.

No one moved.

“What the hell are you guys doing?!” my brother shouted.

“Do you want Liz to get better?” I argued.

Max just clenched his jaw shut. We all knew his answer.

“Ok, then,” Michael continued. “Leave, Maxwell.”

“I can’t!” Max said. “I’m not leaving her.”

Maria shook her head. “It’ll be ok, Max. We’ll take care of her.”

“I’m not scared,” Max continued to insist. “I need to do this.”

I sighed heavily. “Trust us, Max.”

My brother shook his head and lowered it. “I want to…I—I do…I just…I want to help,” he told us.

“You can,” Maria said, “by stepping back.”

But Max continued to be his stubborn self and shook his head. “No, I’m the strongest one here. I have to do this.”

Michael moved over to Maxwell and started to push my brother away from the circle. “Come on, Max. You have to trust that we can do this.”

“Get your hands off me, Michael.”

Michael looked over his shoulder at me and I widened my eyes at him, urging him to do something.

“I can’t do that, Max,” Michael said. “Give me the stone.”

Max shook his head and tried to walk past Michael.

“Hey!” Michael shouted at my brother. “We’re not kidding! Back off, Max!”

I could see the anger in my brother growing. His face had never been so red. My brother threw his arm back and swung at Michael who ducked, narrowly missing Max's fist. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jesse and Kyle lunge slightly forward, ready to jump in if help was needed. But Michael had it under control. He had sprang back up and clocked Max in the face. My brother fell to the floor, knocked unconscious.

“Was that really necessary?” Jesse wondered.

Michael, Maria, and I nodded.

“Yes,” we said in unison.

TBC

Chapter 22: Part 3

{Max}

I slowly opened my eyes, squinting at the bright lights. I was looking up at the ceiling and I couldn’t remember the lights being so bright, and I definitely didn’t remember how I got in my bed.

Normally, my plush, white comforter was soft and so comfortable, but I was so focused on the extreme pain I was feeling that I couldn’t enjoy my bed. Most of the pain I felt was surrounding my left eye and cheek. It was a searing pain I had felt before, when I was jumped by some jocks from West Roswell.

I felt the bed lower in an area, next to my hip. I tried to lift my head to see who had just sat down next to me, but getting up gave me the worst headache. I could smell a particular aroma, however, one of my favorites. It was sweet and fruity almost, and it allowed me to recognize who the visitor was.

Slowly, I rose up and saw Liz sitting next to me. “Hi,” I smiled.

Liz gave a little smirk, slowly helped me up, and approached my face with something wrapped in a towel. “This might hurt,” she told me, “but it’ll stop the swelling.”

As soon as the towel touched my face, I knew it was ice and I immediately flinched away in pain. “I can do it,” I told Liz. She nodded and handed me the towel. I pressed it against my eye, continuing to grimace. “How long have I been out?” I wondered.

Liz looked at the clock hanging above my door. “A couple of hours. Do you remember what happened?” Liz asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m guessing I was punched in the face.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “Do you know why?”

I shook my head.

“Apparently, you were being stubborn again,” Liz said. “So, Michael hit you.”

A flag went up in my mind and I nodded. “I remember now,” I sighed. “I just wanted to help.”

“I know.”

We sat in silence for a brief moment. Then I realized that I was punched in the face for a reason and that was because I refused to back down when we were trying to restore the balance because Liz was sick. She was sick, and I had just realized it.

“How are you now?” I asked. “I mean, I see that you’re awake now, unless I’m dreaming. But I—I can’t believe I forgot all about that.”

Liz gave a little laugh and nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. I really am. Whatever you did worked.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little skeptical. “Ok,” I nodded. “Just to be safe, I don’t really want you to strain yourself. So, no worrying about the wedding.”

Liz looked at me incredulously. “Are you serious?”

I nodded again. “Yes.”

“Fine,” she sighed.

Liz reached for my face again and moved the towel away from my face.

“How does it look?” I wondered.

“The truth?”

I lowered my head a little bit, giving a half nod.

“It looks horrible. It’s going to be black and blue for a few days,” Liz told me.

“I can fix that,” I said.

I was about to wave my hand right across my face, but Liz stopped my arm before I could even lift it off my leg.

“You can’t,” she said.

“And why not?”

Liz giggled and applied the ice back onto my face. “We thought that it would be a good reminder.”

I gave a little sigh. “How would this be a good reminder for me? I just wanted to help you.”

“I know,” Liz said, bobbing her head. “But look at me, Max. I’m fine now, and that’s because of our friends out there. You have to trust all of us. You can’t just take everything and put it on your shoulders. We’re all capable of helping each other. That’s why we’re leaving this bruise on your face. Ok?”

I gave a little smirk and nodded. Liz moved the towel away from my face to examine my cheek. Her eyes widened.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Um…” she said, pointing to her cheek and then to mine, and back and forth again. “Your face…”

I shook my head. “What about it?”

She grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the bed. The pounding in my head accelerated and the lights outside of the living room were even brighter than the ones in my room.

Everyone jumped, startled by our appearance. The first thing they looked at was my face.

Michael looked over at my sister. “I thought we were leaving the bruise there,” he said.

“We were,” she replied.

“So…” Kyle bellowed out, “why is it gone?

My eyebrow hiked up as I looked down at Liz. “It’s gone?” I asked.

“You didn’t know that?” Maria said to me.

I shook my head and everyone exchanged glances.

“So, what happened?” Jesse wondered.

Everyone in the room took a step towards me. Isabel reached forward to touch and examine my face, but I reflexively snapped back.

“Just let me feel,” she told me.

I stood straight back up and Isabel touched my cheek. “It doesn’t hurt,” I realized.

“Liz, did he heal it?” Michael asked.

“I didn’t do anything,” I quickly answered. “I didn’t even touch my face.”

Liz shook her head. “Maybe you accidentally healed yourself when you held the ice up to your face.”

But I, too, shook my head. “Not for very long,” I told everyone. And then I looked at Liz. “But you did,” I said to her.

Isabel’s eyebrow rose. “What are you saying?” she asked me.

I didn’t reply right away. I just let it sink into everyone’s heads.

“You think Liz healed you?” Michael deduced.

Liz looked up at me, wondering if what Michael said was what I was really thinking.

I gave a little shrug. “All I know is that I didn’t heal myself and ice can bring down swelling but not make a bruise disappear.”

“Liz,” Isabel said. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

From across the room, I could hear Michael sigh heavily. “Something weird’s going on,” he announced.

*~*

“Here you go,” Isabel said, handing me some Tylenol and a glass of water.

I gave a little smirk. “Thank you.”

We stood out on my balcony and leaned against the railing staring out at what view of Roswell I had. Everyone else went home, but Isabel stayed back, wanting to make sure I was ok. Liz wanted to stay back also, but I sent her home with Maria so that she could get some rest. We still had no idea what was going on with Liz, so we had to be safe and just have Liz stay in bed.

“You know, she’ll be ok,” my sister said to me.

I shrugged and downed the two small capsules. “We don’t know that for sure.”

“Trust, Max, trust,” Isabel sighed. “Liz says she’s fine and so she’s fine.”

Watching Liz lie in my bed, unconscious, was probably the scariest thing in my life. If something serious happened to her, I honestly didn’t know what I’d do. It scared the shit out of me to think about that. I didn’t want to think about a time like that. I didn’t ever want to think about a life without Liz.

I shook my head and swallowed the lump in my throat, hesitating to speak. “I—I can’t, trust her word right now,” I finally admitted.

Liz was the only person that I trusted most. It was odd for me to hear those words leave my own lips.

Isabel sighed. “So, what are you going to do then? If you think there’s something still wrong with her, what are you going to do?”

My sister was special. She had a special ability and it was definitely an asset to us whatever the cause me be.

So, I stared at my sister with my intentions practically written across my forehead. Isabel immediately caught on.

“No,” she refused. “I’m not dreamwalking her.”

“Please?”.

Isabel rolled her eyes. “Last time I went into her dreams, all I saw were the two of you…making out. Yeah, that’s how I want to spend my night, watching my brother and one of my best friends make out. That’s just great. You know, now that the two of you are engaged, who knows what I’ll see.”

I looked into my sister’s eyes and tried to show her the love I felt for my sister. She was my best friend, my only true family. Isabel was my blood.

“Isabel, please?” I begged.



{Isabel}

My knee bounced nervously as I stared at the picture on my coffee table. The lights were all off and Jesse was sound asleep in our bed. I was sitting out on the couch, contemplating whether or not I should dreamwalk Liz. After a minute or two, I grabbed the photo of Liz, Maria, and I on my wedding day. I pointed out my index finger and let it graze around the picture before stopping it on Liz’s face. With my finger stationary, my eyelids fell.



“Max…no,” I heard Liz plead.

At first, I found myself in a room that wasn’t quite a room. Everything around me was white. There were no walls and there was nothing that sent up a flag in my mind. I didn’t know where I was, and I was scared.

Then suddenly, as soon as Liz’s words hit my ears, I found myself in the Crashdown. It was different, different from the way the diner is now. It was smaller and the setup was unlike it is now. I quickly put it together that I was in the diner before Mr. Parker bought the place next door, tore down the adjacent wall, and made the Crashdown bigger. I was in the diner when Liz was shot.

”Call an ambulance!” a voice shouted. I recognized it as my brother’s.

I looked at the waitress station in the far corner of the Crashdown and noticed that a group of people were standing on their toes. I wasn’t there the day Liz got shot. I don’t know exactly what happened. I only remember me being angry at Max for saving someone’s life. Max was probably in front of a group of people who trying to sneak a peak, hiding behind the small wall and kneeling over a dying Liz.

I walked around the crowd and stood near my brother and Liz unnoticed. Max took a moment to survey the scene before him and quickly started to rip Liz’s dress open.

“Stop,” Liz ordered, her voice weak and frail. “Don’t do it, Max.”

He continued to hold her waitress uniform open as the blood rushed out of the open bullet wound. “How—how do you know what I’m going to do?”

“I just do,” Liz explained. “Don’t heal me.”

My brother stared at Liz hard, not believing what she told him to do. “No,” he shook his head. “I can’t. I can’t just let you die when I can help you, Liz.”

Liz struggled to keep her eyes open. She was dying fast, but they continued to argue.

“Max, you can’t,” she said weakly. “If you do…your life will be over.”

My brother looked back at her abdomen. “I’m willing to take that risk.”

Liz shook her head once. “You’re going to change me,” I listened to Liz say. “Physically you’re going to change me, and I’ll have a piece of you with me…part of me.”

“Liz, I’m saving your life, no arguments,” Max decided.

“Max, let me die!”

Chapter 23

[Liz]

“You stay in bed,” Max had told me yesterday. “I don’t want you out of this bed unless you have to use the bathroom. I’ll tell your parents that you’re coming down with something. They’ll help you out. No school for you tomorrow or Friday. I’ll explain something to Ms. Juarez.” She was the school registrar.

Max practically had me under house arrest. He brought me home and stayed with me for a while. We talked about the wedding, but when I unsuccessfully hid signs of dizziness, Max stopped the discussion and told me to get some rest. He left a kiss on my forehead and actually used the door.

Today was a new day and I was feeling much better. But I was still in bed, missing school. Max had come over a few times to check up on me. He also came over to make sure that I wasn’t worrying or thinking about the wedding. He even went as far as taking away the bridal magazines I had, but I still managed to sneak one under my mattress. He had theorized that it was the wedding that was the source of my ailment along with something Czechoslovakian. He didn’t tell me about the Czechoslovakian part, but I know that he though it was.

So, here I was, sitting in my bed, flipping through the pages of the bridal magazine I had been through so many times. I think that I only got “fatigued” when I was around other people talking about the wedding, people’s worrying voices. Right now, by myself, I was content, and not preoccupied.

“That better be your AP bio workbook,” a voice warned.

I jumped and looked at my window. Max. I immediately shoved the bridal magazine under my cover. “Jesus, Max. You scared the crap out of me,” I told him.

Max gave a little laugh. “Can I come in?” he asked.

I nodded my head and Max climbed in. “What’s up?”

“I’ve got a few minutes before class,” he replied, kissing my forehead, “just wanted to come and check up on you.”

“My parents do that enough,” I sighed. “What are you really doing here?”

Max grinned, knowing I caught him in a lie. “I got us a new officiant, Valenti.”

“What happened to Danny?”

“I told you I didn’t feel comfortable with him marrying us when he’s secretly wishing that you were still available.”

I rolled my eyes. “Max, he doesn’t think that.”

“That’s how it feels, Liz. Please just respect my decision about this. Back me up.”

“I do,” I said defensively. “I…Danny’s a good friend, Max. We can’t just drop him without telling him.”

“I already told him.”

I was starting to get flared up. “You did what?” I gasped. “Max, you didn’t even discuss it with me.”

“I didn’t think I had to. It was my—”

“No,” I interrupted. “This concerned both of us, but you just dealt with this yourself.”

Max nodded. “Ok, I’m sorry.”

“Max, everything we do, it’s the two of us, not just you.”

“I know,” Max nodded again. “I’m sorry. I don’t want us to fi—”

Both our heads turned to the knocking on the door. I saw a worried expression show on Max's face. He was scared that maybe my father would be angry with him being here.

“Come in,” I finally said.

Max did have something to be worried about. My father pushed open the door, and his eyes were glued onto Max. “Oh,” my dad said calmly. “Max, I didn’t know you were here.”

Max and I exchanged looks. “Um, yeah,” Max replied. “I—I let myself in. I hope that’s ok.”

A smirk appeared on my face while my father nodded in understanding. “Yeah, it’s ok,” he said, shocking both Max and I. “You’re going to be part of this family in just a few weeks, my home is your home, just no funny business.”

Max and I smiled at each other. “Understood,” he grinned.

“Do you need anything, Dad?” I asked.

“Actually, yeah. Well, I don’t need anything, but Danny here needs a moment with you.”

Danny Hughes came from behind my father and stepped into my room. Max defensively pushed himself off my bed and sat upright. He was sitting directly in front of me, blocking my view of Danny. My father had already left the room, leaving just Danny, Max, and I alone in my room, and he didn’t notice Max's protective nature.

I got up from underneath my covers and leaned over Max's back as if I were about to get a piggyback ride, but I just leaned against him, wrapping my arms around his neck. Max eased up his defense as I smiled behind him. “Hey, Danny,” I greeted.

He lifted his hand. “Hi,” he replied. “I heard you were feeling sick. I thought, ‘I haven’t seen Mr. and Mrs. Parker yet. I might as well come see how you’re doing and catch up with the parents.’ I like the way your dad made the Crashdown bigger. But anyway, it seems like you’re doing fine…hi, Max.”

Max smirked and gave a little nod.

“Yeah, I’ve been a little under the weather,” I said back. “But I’ve been getting better. Max is making sure of it.” My face was right next to Max's and I could see that he wanted to smile, but he didn’t want seem arrogant.

“I see that,” Danny replied. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

I nodded. “Yeah, well, thanks, Danny. Listen, I’m sorry for having to find a new officiant.”

“It’s ok,” Danny said, bobbing his head. “Yeah, Max explained that he was a little uncomfortable having a Roman Catholic wedding when he wasn’t practicing a religion. I understand.”

“Thanks, Danny,” Max said appreciatively. “You’re more than welcome to come to the wedding. An invitation will be in the mail.”

“Definitely,” I agreed.

A moment of awkward silence seeped it’s way in as Danny looked at his watch. “You know, I’ve got to be going. Get better, Liz. Maybe we can get together for lunch or coffee, catch up on old times?”

“Sure,” I answered. Max's jaw muscles bulged. “Give me a call sometime.”

Danny nodded and lifted his hand slightly and waved goodbye. He let himself out, closing the door behind him. As soon as the door shut, Max let himself go of my hold and got off the bed.

“What was that?” he asked.

I shook my head in confusion. “What?”

“‘Give me a call sometime’?”

“Don’t, Max,” I warned.

He heaved a heavy sigh. “Liz, please. We’re inviting him to the wedding, you—”

“Was that a pity invitation?” I asked. “Max, Danny Hughes is a friend. I knew him before I knew you, but all his is is a friend, like an older brother.”

“So, I have nothing to worry about?” Max asked.

“You don’t trust me?”

“I don’t trust him.”

I gave a little laugh. “A man of the cloth?”

“He just became one,” Max replied. “He still could have urges.”

I laughed again. “Please, Max. Even if he did, I would not let him act on them. Why? Because I love you.”

He sighed and walked towards me as I laid one on his lips. “Ok,” he said. “I’ll let it go, but Valenti’s still officiating the wedding.”



{Isabel}

“How’s Liz doing?” I asked.

My brother let us into his apartment and the two of us rushed right in. He shut the door as soon I stepped in and I knew he wanted to get to business, to what I saw last night.

“She’s fine,” Max replied. “Did you do it?”

“Yes, I dreamwalked her,” I answered. “You know I don’t like doing it anymore.”

Max gave a little laugh. “You used to love doing it.”

“That was before I grew up,” I told him. “I have better things to do now than walking around in people’s dreams.”

“What did you find out?” Max sighed.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and took my time. I didn’t want to tell Max what I saw. It would be something that my little brother wouldn’t want to hear.

“Spit it out, Isabel.”

“She was dreaming about the day she was shot,” I blurted out.

Max stared at me. “What? Why? What did you see?”

I sighed heavily and stared away.

“Isabel, please. Did you find out what was wrong with Liz?”

“Her dream…” I began, “played out like I assume that day did. I was in the diner and it looked like it did when Liz was shot.”

“Cut to the chase,” Max ordered. “What happened exactly?”

“Liz got shot, you ran to her side, and you were about to heal her, but she stopped you.”

Max looked at me, confused. “Why?”

I took a moment to think and put my thoughts into words. “The Liz I saw in her dream was the Liz we know now.”

“Clarify.”

I nodded. “The dying Liz already knew about our secret, she knew you were going to heal her, and that’s why she tried to stop you.”

Max shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“She said something,” I told my brother. “It’s like she was predicting the future, warning you. I think it was a caveat.”

“What was it?”

I closed my eyes and tried to remember the dream, the precise words Liz used. “She said that you were going to change her,” I said. “She said, ‘Physically you’re going to change me, and I’ll have a piece of you with me…part of me.’”

Max stared off to the side with a troubled look on his face. “What does that mean?”

“You need to talk to Liz,” I advised.

Chapter 24

[Maria]

“Invitations were sent out yesterday,” I told Liz.

She gave a relieved smile. “Maria, thanks so much for doing all of this.”

I shrugged my shoulders and gave a little smirk. “You would do the same…and I want you and Max to get married already.”

I watched Liz give a little laugh and started to look over the wedding checklist, continuing to keep Liz company. Almost everything concerning the wedding was dealt with. The rehearsal dinner and reception just needed a little frosting. I smiled, satisfied at the work already done. The wedding was going to be beautiful. That was if the wedding was going to happen. I looked up from my planner and noticed Liz rubbing at her forehead with a distressed look on her face.

“Liz, is there something wrong?” I wondered.

She nodded. “Yeah, Maria, grab me some water.”

I rushed out of the room and headed to the kitchen and returned back to Liz’s side with a glass of cool water. “Here.” She slowly opened her eyes which were closed tightly a moment earlier. “Are you ok?” I asked.

Liz took a sip and shook her head. “No, I’m not. There’s something wrong with me.”

“I thought you said you were doing fine.”

“I lied,” Liz said. “Maria, I’m getting worse. Something’s happening to me.”

She seemed—for the moment—to be getting better, but she was right, there was something wrong with my best friend. “What do you think it is?” I asked.

She shook her head and started to hand me the glass. “I don’t know, but there—”

“SHIT!!!”

As the seemingly cold glass of water touched my finger tips, I screamed in agonizing pain. I jumped when the glass burnt my fingers and Liz probably jumped at my cry. I had reflexively let go of the glass, which bounced off the bed and onto the floor, making one large crack in the glass. Water soaked a portion of Liz’s bed and the floor.

“Maria, are you ok?” Liz wondered.

I bent down and cautiously tapped the glass to see if it was still burning hot, but instead it was mildly warm. “I had brought you a cold glass of water,” I told Liz. “Just now, it burnt the crap out of my fingers.”

“I’m sorry,” Liz apologized.

“What the hell is going on with you?” I questioned.

Liz shook her head. “I don’t know.”

She didn’t look at me as she spoke, and I knew that she was scared. Something was happening to Liz. Nobody knew what it was. There was no way for any of us to find out, either, unless Liz told us. She would be the only one who knew.

“I’m going to have to tell Max,” I realized. My fingers were stinging with pain and soon blisters would form. I was going to need Max to heal them for me, and even I’m not that clumsy. The only way to explain would be to tell Max the truth.

“No!” Liz snapped. “Um…sorry. We can’t tell Max. Maria, we don’t even know what’s going on.”

“Isn’t that more reason to tell him?” I argued. “Liz, you just heated up a glass of water by touching it. Have you talked to him about this at all?”

She shook her head and continued to stare off. “No, this has happened before,” she claimed. “I don’t want him to know, not yet. I think I’m changing. I can’t tell Max. If I do, he’ll see it as a bad thing, think it’s his fault, and he’ll blame himself for whatever’s going on with me. I can’t let him do that, Maria. You know how he is.”

Liz was right. Max tried to take on the whole world when things were rough. No matter what it was, Max would find a way to blame himself. He didn’t want others to take fault. He was so damn gallant like that.

“Liz, we need to tell him,” I continued to state. “He should know.”

“Maria, I can’t tell him. Not now,” she said. “He’s going to want to postpone the wedding.”

I nodded. “Of course he would. I would too. Liz, something’s wrong with you, you know it. Now Max should know about it.”

“I don’t want to tell him.”

“Liz, if you’re changing, Max needs to know.”

She stared away for a brief moment and then glanced at the clock. “Your shift starts in five minutes. You better get going.”

“Liz, please just think about it. Max deserves to know what’s going on with you.”

She looked up at me with a small smile. That’d have to do.

Chapter 25

[Kyle]

I pushed open the brown door and knocked twice. “May I come in?” I asked.

Liz looked at me and smiled. “Of course.” She got off her bed and greeted me with a hug.

“Thanks,” I laughed.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I just haven’t seen you in a while.”

I nodded. “Yeah, since you scared the bejesus out of us three days ago.”

Liz gave a little laugh and sat back on her bed. “I’m so sorry about that. But I’m feeling better.”

I looked at her incredulously. “That’s good, being that you could boil your own water for tea with the touch of your hand. That must come in real handy.”

“Maria told you?”

“I saw the blisters on her fingers and I didn’t believe that she would check if the grill was hot by actually touching it.”

Liz closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “Are they that bad?”

I nodded. “She’s going to have to see Max to take care of them. I don’t think he’ll buy the grill story either.” Liz got off her bed and started to pace around. “Just tell him, Liz. He needs to take care of you before you hurt someone else.”

She looked at me with her mouth hanging open. It might have been the first time that she realized that she actually hurt Maria and could possibly hurt someone else. “I can’t, Kyle. It’s just stress.”

“No,” I refused to believe. “You told Maria that you thought you were changing. What makes you and I different from everyone else is Max brought us back from the dead.”

Liz shook her head. “No, Max can’t heal the dead, he can only heal the sick and injured.”

“Well, whatever,” I sighed. “Ok, well, you and I had open bullet wounds and we almost died. Liz, I think the whole alien trio needs to know this.” Liz continued to pace in front of me, rubbing her forehead. Her pace started to slow as I went on talking. “What if you’re—”

“Kyle,” she called out before falling into my arms.

“Damn it, Liz,” I sighed. “Stop fainting.”

She opened her eyes—thank God—but I knew she was hurting. I looked at her hands and saw something definitely out of the ordinary.

“Liz…”

She looked down at her hands and noticed what I noticed. Green bolts of electricity. It looked like they shot across her body under her skin.

“Oh my…” she gasped.

I helped her up as she continued to stare at her hands. “I’m going to call Max,” I announced.

“Please.”



[Liz]

“Here,” Kyle said, offering me a glass of water. “Just…um…when you’re done, set it on the nightstand. I’ll get it when it cools off.”

I gave a little laugh and took a sip of water. “Thanks, Kyle. I’m really sorry. I knew that when you came today, you didn’t think that you would be taking care of me like you are.”

“It’s ok,” he smiled. “I’d do it anytime, you know that. Besides, what’s happening to you is bound to happen to me. I might as well stay and take notes.”

Leave it up to Kyle to make jokes. I was definitely relieved he was here.

“How are you doing?” I wondered.

Kyle shrugged his shoulders. “Well…let’s see…I’ve realized that you’re turning into an alien because Max healed you, thus, making my worst nightmare a reality. I’m scared I’m going to grow tentacles out of my neck and have some third eye appear on my forehead. Other than that, I’m just fine.”

“That’s really great,” I grinned. “At least you’ve come to terms.”

We both sat silently, pondering the current situation. I was analyzing it, but Kyle…he was probably freaking out about it. Then the two of us jumped slightly at the knocking at my window.

Max was finally here. Kyle got off the bed and walked towards him as he climbed in. He cleared the way for Max and stood behind him.

“What happened?” Max asked.

I looked away, hesitating to speak.

“Show him,” Kyle ordered.

I rolled up my sleeves and showed my hands to Max, along with the bolts of electricity that ran through them and my whole body.

I watched Max swallow the lump in his throat. “Does it hurt?” he wondered.

“Tingling and numbness,” I said. “It comes and goes.” He swallowed yet another lump in his throat. I had never seen him so worried. I looked at Kyle and he looked the same way. “Am I going to die?” I asked.

Someone had to ask it sometime.

Max couldn’t give me an answer.



{Michael}

“Where are you going to do this exactly?” I asked Max.

Both he and I scrambled around my apartment, searching for my healing stone. I pocketed it that time we tried to use it on Liz, and I misplaced it somewhere in my apartment.

“In the desert,” Maxwell finally answered.

I stopped searching under the coach cushions and stared at Max. “You’re kidding, right?” I asked. He stared at me incredulously, sighed, and went back to searching. “You guys were always given me shit about being brash and irresponsible,” I complained. “Max, what you’re about to do is life-threatening and dangerous as hell.”

“Shut up, Michael,” Max ordered.

I rolled my eyes and did as I was told. The silence bothered the crap out of me. I had to say something. “What happens if this doesn’t work?” I wondered.

“I’m going to make sure that it works,” he answered succinctly.

I stopped rummaging under my couch and looked up at Max. “What the hell does that mean?”

Max continued to run through the drawers of my desk. “It means I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure Liz is ok.” He was so determined to make sure that everything was right for Liz, that Liz was alright.

“Look, we’ll figure this out,” I told Max. “She’s stable now and we can figure out what’s wrong with her. Don’t worry.”

Max shoved the top drawer of my desk back into its slot and turned to me. “Don’t worry?” he repeated. “Michael, is Maria dying?”

I stared at him in disbelief and shook my head.

“Then you don’t know what it’s like to be in my shoes, Michael,” he said. “You can’t just tell me, ‘Don’t worry’, because you’d be just as worried as I am if Maria was in Liz’s shoes. Michael, you don’t know how scared I am; how scared I am that I might lose Liz.”

I shook my head and disagreed. “You won’t lose her, Maxwell.”

Max stared at me with his tear-filled eyes. “Look at me and tell me that you’re absolutely positive that Liz will be ok tomorrow.”

But I couldn’t. I turned my head away and stared at the floor.

I listened to Max sigh heavily as he grabbed his jacket off my couch. “Forget it. I’ll just have to do it with the four I have.”

He started to head for the door. But before he could reach it, I ran across the room and grabbed a hold of his arm. “Don’t do this, Max,” I told him.

“Let go,” he said, not even turning to me.

“What if things go wrong out there?” I wondered, slowly loosening my hold on his bicep.

Max slowly shook his head. “I have to, Michael.”

“Then be careful,” I warned. “You make sure that you don’t do anything stupid.”

He aggressively shook his arm loose and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

*A/N: some lines, as you may have noticed, were borrowed from the show, the episode "Ch-Ch-Changes". i give credit and thanks to the writers of the show and the show! *

*A/N: the following scene's dialogue came from "Ch-Ch-Changes". i do not claim them as my own. i added some dialogue and altered maybe one or two lines. but they are not my own and belong to the writers and the show.*

Chapter 26

[Kyle]

I left the headlights to my GMC truck on as it remained parked across from Max's Chevelle. The lights to his convertible were also on. Both our vehicles pointed to one spot, which was where Max lied Liz’s body. She was conscious but in what seemed like excruciating pain. She had gotten worse by the minute, just when it appeared that Liz was going to be ok. But we all knew it, Liz wasn’t ok.

“Okay,” I said to Max, “what do we do again?”

Max pulled four healing stones from his pocket and placed one just above Liz’s head and one on one side of her head and the other two on the other side.

“According to the book,” he began to explain, “I can use the healing stones to amplify my powers. If we do that, maybe it’ll wipe out whatever is happening inside of her.”

He took a few cleansing breaths and closed his eyes. Max was getting into his zone, but in the far distance, a whizzing sound seemed to approach us. Max stood up and held out his palm. A single light shined at us while I looked over my shoulder at Liz as she continued to cringe in pain.

“Wait, wait!!!” someone shouted.

Max and I squinted to look past the light as someone stepped off the dirt bike the light belonged to.

“Michael?” Max wondered.

It definitely was him. The stranger took off his helmet, revealing long brown locks that were Michael’s.

“What are you doing here?” Max questioned.

Michael reached into his pocket and pulled out the fifth healing stone. “A royal flush is always better than four-of-a-kind,” he grinned, tossing the stone.

Max caught it with ease and knelt back down next to Liz. He adjusted the stones so that they were evenly balanced on both sides of her head. Michael and I knelt behind Max as he started to work his magic.

I looked over his shoulder as he lifted up Liz’s shirt, revealing her abdomen. Like her hands, lime green bolts of electricity shot across her stomach, giving off small, internal sparks. Max closed his eyes once more and continued his breathing. After a few deep breaths, Max opened his eyes and held his palm just an inch or two above Liz’s stomach. From the corner of my eyes, I could see the orange healing stones glow yellow. Michael and I watched Max’s hand take on a white glow while the bolts of electricity on Liz concentrated to one spot, below where Max held his hand.

He panted for air as beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. The green bolts turned pink and escaped her skin, connecting Max's hand to Liz’s stomach with one long, pink bolt of electricity. That’s when Liz started to levitate.

Her body lifted a foot and a half off the ground, forcing Max to stand on his knees. She jerked and twitched around in pain as I looked over at Michael who watched intently. He showed no fear, only complete confidence in Max. I, on the other hand, would need a new pair of pants right about now.

Max closed his eyes tight and continued to gasp for breath. When he had one grasp of air, Max would clench his jaw shut and hold onto that breath. He showed signs of weakening as the energy was being pulled from him and into Liz’s body. Liz once told me that when she and Max connected, they were like one being. I assumed that Max was trying his best to withstand the pain that Liz felt, the pricks in her skin and the sensation of hot electricity shooting all over her body.

“It hurts,” Liz winced.

“You’re just going to have to hold on,” Max told her. “It won’t be much longer.”

His determination was clinched between his teeth, causing the muscles in his jaws to tense up. Liz moaned in excruciating pain. I couldn’t stand to watch it anymore. I leaned forward hoping to stop Max, but he looked over his shoulder at me.

“No,” he ordered. I backed off and continued to watch, terrified.

“Stop!” Liz demanded in obvious pain.

But Max refused to give up. “Please, Liz.”

She shook her head. “No!”

“Max!” Michael called.

He ignored his best friend and stared at his hand doing its work. “Liz, please, just trust me,” Max begged.

Tears crept out of Liz’s eyes, and as she shook her head, a few fell onto the dirt floor. “I can’t,” she cried.

One last inhale of air from Max and…

BOOM!!!

A flash of light split the open space in front of me horizontally. It pushed Max to the ground and dropped Liz from her levitated state. Michael and I grabbed Max's arms to help him up, but he helped himself up, and Liz slowly sat up herself.

“You’re always hurting me,” Liz cried as she pushed herself away from Max.

Max shook his head. “I wasn’t trying to.” He tried to approach her, but Liz pushed at the dirt with her feet, pushing herself away from Max.

“No, but Max, you do,” she disagreed. “You always do.”

I stayed back with Michael and we watched. It was rude to just stare, but that’s all we could do. So, we watched Max on his hands and knees and Liz on her bottom. She continued to push away and Max continued to approach her, wanting to help her.

“Liz…” he pleaded.

She stopped and glared hatefully at her fiancé. “Why did you sleep with her?” she demanded to know. Max looked into her eyes, unable to give her an answer. “Why?!”

His eyes darted from left to right, trying to search for an answer he wouldn’t be able to find. “Liz…” he pleaded once more.

“Every single day,” she shouted, “I can’t just see you, I see your betrayal and I see you with her. I can’t see you anymore.”

Max breathed heavily and tried once more to approach her. “Liz…please…”

She pushed away again. “Stay away!” she ordered. “You’re doing this!”

“No,” Max said, shaking his head. “I’m not. Liz, please—”

Liz finally let him touch her. He let his hand hold the side of her face, but at an instant, Liz screeched in pain. I rushed to Max's side and pulled his arm away from Liz.

“Listen to her,” I ordered. “You will kill her.”

Max looked into my eyes, over his shoulder at Michael, and then he let his eyes linger on Liz on the desert floor.

Chapter 27

[Liz]

Michael opened the door for me and Kyle rested a comforting hand on my shoulder as I slid out of the truck, looking over that shoulder and smiling thankfully at him. Michael helped me out and walked me to the Crashdown doors.

“Make sure you get a lot of rest,” he said to me. “Let’s hope that whatever Maxwell did worked.”

I nodded as he reached for the door. “Michael?” I said.

He had pulled the door open an inch, but let it shut. “Yeah?”

“Do me a favor?”

Michael dutifully nodded.

“Check how Max is doing. Make sure he’s ok.”

“Don’t worry about him, Liz,” Michael suggested. “Maxwell’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

I sighed and shook my head. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Michael stared at me with narrowed eyes and a raised eyebrow. Slowly, my hidden meaning struck him. “Look, I’ll tell you again,” he began. “Don’t worry about him.”

Then he did something that shocked me. He leaned forward and gave me a hug. I only remember one other time when Michael has held me. It was that night at the carnival when Max was taken away from me. I wrapped my arms around Michael as he held me tight.

“Thanksl,” I said.

He nodded and let me go. “Um…how are you feeling?”

I looked at my hands and sighed. “No more electricity. I guess I’m fine.”

“I don’t know what Maxwell did to you, but let’s hope it worked.” I nodded in agreement and started to move towards the door. “Listen,” Michael said, stopping me. “I’ll figure out what’s wrong with you, Liz, but I think we all know.”

*~*

I walked straight through the Crashdown, ignoring all the customers and employees that I knew. I stepped into the back room and found my father busily working in the kitchen. Instead of greeting him, I headed straight up the stairs and to my room. The red light on my answering machine blinked, wanting me to press the “Start” button.

“You have one new message,” it told me.

I dropped onto my bed and let the tape roll. A high beep sounded and the new message played.

“Hey, Liz,” a man’s voice said. “This is Danny. I thought I’d call you like you said. I was just wondering how you were doing since I saw you the other day. That offer for getting together to catch up or to talk still stands. Call me, 555-1225. Hope to hear from you.”

I let the ending beep sound as I continued to stare at the ceiling. I listened to the message and I understood that Danny wanted to get together, but I just wasn’t focused on that. Saying those things to Max was weighing itself on me.

I hated Tess for manipulating Max, coaxing him into sleeping with her, and killing Alex. I hated Max for easily falling into temptation and for spending the night with Tess out of spite of me. I hated myself for ever leaving Max. And now, I was turning into an alien. As if my life wasn’t complicated enough.

Anyone would be able to figure out what was wrong with me. Ava told me I was different because Max healed me. As a result, I’ve obtained powers, but was that all?

I rolled over and grabbed the phone off the end table and dialed his number.

“Hello?”

“Danny,” I replied. “It’s Liz.”

On the other end, Danny cleared his throat. “Hey,” he finally answered. “What can I do for you?”

I looked over at the clock next to the answering machine and figured it’d be too late for coffee, but asked anyway. “Coffee,” I said. “Do you want to grab a cup?”

“Sure. How about tomorrow at—”

“I was kind of hoping for tonight,” I interrupted.

“Oh,” Danny replied. “Well, sure, no problem. Where?”

I took a moment to think. I didn’t have a car and I wanted to stay close to home. There was a little coffee shop down the street. “What about The Saucer?”

“I’ll meet you there in five minutes?”

“Sounds good.”

We hung up the phone and I started my way downstairs. My father was still in the kitchen, and this time I called to my him. “Hey, Dad.”

He looked up from a chopping board and smiled. “Hey, Lizzie. Didn’t even know you came home.”

“Yeah, I’m actually going out again. I won’t be out late.”

My father nodded and noticed my pale face. “Are you ok?” he asked.

I took a deep breath and sighed. “I think I will be.”

He gave me another little smile and I walked out the backdoor. The plaza behind the diner looked beautiful at night. I had never really stopped to look at it. Usually when I was behind the diner, I was either taking out trash or quickly running over to Max's car.

The minutes were ticking by and I didn’t want to keep Danny waiting. I quickly jogged up the alley to the main street and past a few stores, stopping at The Saucer. Danny wasn’t sitting at the outside sitting area or the inside the quaint coffee shop. I caught my breath and grabbed an empty table.

“Hey, Liz,” a waiter smiled. “Can I get you something?”

“Sammy, hi,” I greeted back. “Um…not yet, I’m waiting for—”

Danny walked up and pulled out a seat. “I’m here,” he announced. “Go ahead, Liz, order.”

“I’ll just take cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream,” I smiled.

Danny ordered the same thing and Sammy left to grab our drinks. “So…” Danny sighed. “Is everything here theme-related now?” I looked at him, confused. “‘The Saucer’?” he wondered.

“Oh,” I laughed. “Actually, it’s saucer like a plate.”

He gave a little smile as Sammy returned back with our mugs of hot chocolate topped with thick whipped cream. We thanked my classmate and started to sip the hot beverage.

“You know,” Danny started, “I didn’t think that you would actually call back.”

“Mmm,” I mumbled as I tried to speak. Yet, the whipped cream prohibited me until I swallowed completely. “Why do you say that?”

Danny cleared his throat and nervously spun his mug around. “I…I don’t know. You just seem…different.”

I nodded, completely understanding what he meant. “You think it’s Max, huh?”

Danny shook his head. “Now, I didn’t say that.”

“No, I understand,” I told him. “It’s just…Max and I have been through a lot and he’s worried about me.”

“He doesn’t trust you?”

I shook my head and took another sip. “No, not that kind of worried,” I explained. “He’s worried he might lose me.” After saying it out loud, I realized how true it really was because I was worried the same way.

“I see…” Danny sighed. “I take it you don’t want to talk about it anymore.” I nodded and Danny respected my wishes. “Ok,” he said. “Um…well, how’s school going? You still aiming for Harvard?”

I gave a little laugh and shrugged my shoulders. “Harvard might be a little too far. I want to stay close to home.”

“You’re kidding me,” Danny chuckled. “Aw, come on, Liz. At the age of five, Harvard seemed like a dream to you. When you were fourteen, you were dead-set on going there. You even bought their football sweatshirt even though their team is God-awful. Forgive the choice of words,” he said looking up at the sky. “Liz, I know that you have what it takes to go there. He’s holding you back.”

“No,” I quickly said to Max's defense. “Max is not a bad guy. He’s not holding me back. He even wanted to leave his job—his very good job—to follow me to Vermont. So that told me he’d even follow me to Harvard.”

“What’s in Vermont?” Danny asked, shrugging and shaking his head.

“My father threatened to send me to a boarding school in Vermont.”

Danny gave a little laugh. “Boarding school? You must’ve done something to have been threatened to be sent to boarding school. It was that incident in Utah, wasn't it?”

I stared at him in disbelief, wondering just how he knew.

“Complicated,” I answered.

“Right,” Danny nodded. “Of course it is. Liz, you don’t think that Max is holding you back, but he is. You don’t see it that way because you won’t. You’re eighteen and you’re beautiful, but here you are, already engaged to be married in a little under four weeks. I bet you haven’t had a moment’s time to think about you, just you. You’ve probably been preoccupied with the wedding that’s happening way too soon. You’re young, Liz. You need time to yourself.”

I stared at the floating whipped cream as it slowly began to melt and took Danny’s words into consideration.

*A/N: Once again, some dialogue was borrowed from the show. Credit is given to the writers and know that I do not claim for them to be my own.*

Chapter 28

[Liz]

You need time to yourself.

I opened the swinging door to the dining area of the restaurant. I found my father near the entrance, grabbing today’s earnings from the cash register. He looked over his shoulder at me and went back to working until I walked right up to him.

“Hey, Lizzie,” he smiled. “What’s up?”

I gave a little sigh and knew what I had to do. “My life is out of control. I want to go to boarding school.”

“What about Max? The wedding?”

“I need time for me.”



Chapter 29

[Maria]

“So, that’s it?” I asked. I helped Liz with her luggage and walked her downstairs.

She gave me hug and kissed my cheek. “I love you, Maria, you know that,” she told me. “I appreciate the help with the wedding, but it looks like it won’t be happening.”

“So, it is it. You guys are done.”

“I just need a break,” Liz answered. “I’ll be back in a few weeks for Christmas. It’ll just be for six months, Maria.”

I gave a little sigh. “That’s a long time.”

“It’ll pass in no time.”

I shrugged my shoulders as my best friend hugged me for the last time. The bus waiting to take her to the airport was just outside. She didn’t even have enough time to tell the others. It was my duty to do so.

“You make sure you’re here for Christmas,” I told her.

She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t miss a Christmas with you,” she smiled. Both of our eyes wandered to the bus and the two of us knew it was time. But before grabbing her bags, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded envelope. “Give this to Max? Please don’t tell him where I’m going.”

I grabbed it from her hand and felt something like a coin slide around inside the envelope. I immediately figured out what it was and gave Liz a questionable look. She knew what I thought and shrugged her shoulders.

Her parents said their goodbyes to her as we walked her outside. The silver door to the large bus opened and Liz hesitantly climbed in.

*~*

“She just picked up and left?” Jesse asked.

I stood before him, Isabel, Michael, and Kyle behind the Crashdown’s counter and nodded in response to Jesse’s question.

“The wedding’s off?” Isabel wondered.

“I think so,” I nodded.

Both Michael and Kyle exchanged looks that I couldn’t interpret.

“What about Max?” one of them asked.

“There he is,” Jesse pointed out.

All of us looked out the window as Max passed by and approached the doors. The bell jingled while we waited for him.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

The five people sitting down looked to me and I nervously grabbed the folded envelope and slid it down the end of the counter towards Max.

“What is this?” he asked.



{Max}

“Open it,” Maria instructed.

I stared at everyone’s face. Only Maria appeared to know what was really in the envelope. I opened the sachet and pulled out the letter. The letter, too, was folded, but I could see the familiar handwriting. Liz’s. I slowly unfolded the letter as I looked to the other’s once more. They silently urged me to read the letter and report to them.

“Dear Max,” it started off. “What's so great about normal? Do you remember when you asked me that? Back then the answer was nothing, because of you, Max, because of how much you love me. Now though, the answer is different. Normal is something I need, and that's why I have to leave. I have to figure out what my life means away from Roswell and away from you. Don't hate me for doing this. I love you more than you could ever know. Liz.”

I stared at the letter in my hand, ignoring the fact that it quivered in my grasp. This just couldn’t be it. Could it?

I cleared my throat and ignored looking at my friends as I started to fold up the letter. I picked the envelope up off the counter, ready to stuff the letter back into it, but felt something else inside. I knew the others heard the object and I finally looked at them. Isabel eagerly waited for me to explore, and I didn’t keep her waiting much longer.

I pried the envelope open and found a ring in the corner. Grandma Claudia’s ring. I felt the knot in my stomach grow as I kept the ring concealed. “Where is she?” I inquired.

Five heads shot their glances towards Maria. “I—I can’t say,” she stuttered.

“Maria, please,” I begged.

“She’ll be ok, Max,” Maria told me. “Liz is safe.”

I started to breath heavily and quickly glanced at the ring between my finger tips. It was my life between my fingers. Liz was all I had. All I ever loved. Now she was gone. I had Isabel, Michael, Maria, Kyle, Jesse, Valenti, and my parents, but none of them would be able to fill the void inside me.

“When is she coming back?” I asked softly.

“I don’t know,” Maria shrugged. “She’s going to visit at Christmas, though.”

I sighed. “Maria, please, just tell me where Liz is.”

She shook her head. “I can’t,” she replied again.

“I need to take care of her.”

“No, you don’t,” Michael jumped in. He stood up and walked towards me. “Maxwell, Liz will be fine.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and stared at Michael in disbelief. “Michael, something’s wrong with her.”

“No, Liz will be fine,” Michael repeated, emphasizing each word.

I shook my head. “How do you know?” I asked.

“I figured it out,” Michael explained. “Or I have a theory about Liz’s…ailment, which isn’t an ailment at all.”

“Tell me,” I requested.

Michael nodded obediently. “We’re human, but our souls are old and have evolved to what we make them now, that’s the only thing that makes us different from humans. Our powers are from the human brain. The source of our powers is the cerebral cortex, which we use to its fullest ability allowing us to have gifts. Now, the way the human body sends messages to all parts of the body is by electrical impulses that go to and from our brain. When you healed Liz, you sent some sort of electrical impulse that jump started her cerebral cortex and made it work to its fullest ability, the way ours work. That’s why Liz has been the way she is. And that, is the reasoning behind Liz’s newfound powers and other stuff.”

“You had to ruin the intelligent logic by using the simple word ‘stuff’,” Isabel sighed. “You were so close, Michael.”

I opened my jacket and stuffed the envelope into the interior pocket. Michael started to defend his usage of the word “stuff” as I started to turn around. But Michael caught me sneaking away and grabbed my arm.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“To find Liz.”

Michael laughed. “Weren’t you listening to a word I said?” he wondered. “Liz is going to be fine, she’s not going to die or anything.”

“I need to take care of it.”

“Max,” Isabel called. “Listen to Michael for once. There’s nothing to take care of. Liz is fine, she just needs some space.”

“She’s turning into…something else,” I said, shaking my head, refusing to listen to anymore persuading. “I don’t want her to have to deal with this.”

Michael continued to hold onto my arm and pulled himself closer. “You make it seem like being an alien is some damning curse,” he said angrily. “It’s not.”

But it really was a curse. No matter how much we wanted be normal or safe, we weren’t. We never would be. And why? A little burden called “being alien”. That’s what we were. It was a curse. It was a burden. The most frightening thing about it all is that there was no way to get rid of it.

I watched Michael’s hand tighten its grip around my bicep. “Get your hand off of me,” I ordered.

“No,” he refused. “Not until you sit, calm down, let this thing with Liz ride out, and realize that she’ll be ok.”

I glared heatedly at Michael’s hand and violently forced it off my arm. He instinctively grabbed the hand that pushed his away.

“Max, I’m serious,” he said to me.

I stared into his eyes and clenched my jaw shut. “So, am I,” I growled. “So, I’m going to tell you one more time: Get your hand off of me.”

“You need to leave Liz alone, she needs to worry about herself for now,” Michael tried to tell me.

I broke free from his grasp and started to march away.

“Maxwell,” Michael called to me.

I froze and took a deep breath. “What now?”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

I rose an eyebrow and turned around. “For what?”

“For this.”

Michael’s fist came towards my face in record speed. The next thing I remember? Darkness…

*A/N: Alright readers, I'm sad to say that Liz did leave . You guys will recognize the story line and some of the dialogue, and yet again, what I've borrowed is from the writers and I give them full credit!!! and praise, gotta give 'em praise! ok, so don't be mad with the following. *

Chapter 30

[Liz]

“Thank you, Dean Hawkins,” I said to the woman.

She nodded. “Welcome to Winnaman Academy, Elizabeth.”

I gave a little smirk and watched the dean walk down the hall. Turning to the door of my dorm, I took a deep breath, but before knocking, I adjusted the “7” on the “37” and then finally tapped the door with my knuckles.

The door abruptly opened and I found myself standing in front of a girl my age with orange-blonde hair. We stared at each other for a moment.

“Can I help you?” the girl asked rather rudely.

I looked at the number on the door a second time, just to make sure. “Um…yeah…I’m new and—”

“Bathroom’s down the hall.” Then my roommate attempted to close the door.

I stopped the door before it could close. “You must be Eileen,” I said to her. “I’m your roommate.”

“Damn it,” the girl sighed, opening the door.

I nodded as I walked in. “Yeah, sorry.”

“No, not that,” the girl apologized. “It’s just—Do you smoke?”

I shook my head.

“Drink?” the girl asked.

Again, I shook my head.

“Damn it,” the girl replied. She moved over to her desk and started shoving an ashtray, a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter into a drawer.

I watched her closely and shook my head. “You know what?” I said. “Actually, yeah, I do.”



{Max}

I looked into the mirror in the school bathroom and sighed. “I can’t believe you hit me again,” I told Michael. I warily touched my bruised cheek bone and winced. “It really hurt.”

“Oh, get over it, Maxwell,” Michael laughed. “It happened three days ago, it’ll heal, by itself,” he laughed. “Besides, I had to do something to knock some sense into you.”

“You didn’t have to literally do it, though,” I complained.

He shrugged his shoulders and hopped onto the counter. “I actually think I had to. You weren’t listening to any of us. Well, all of the that and I really like being able to punch my king in the face.”

I rolled my eyes. Then the two of us went silent when Sammy Matthews walked in and headed straight to a urinal.

“You guys talking about me or something?” he laughed.

We shook our heads and Sammy gave a little nod.

“So, did you find out where she is?” Michael went on talking.

I shook my head and gave a little sigh. “No, Maria still won’t budge.”

“Where who is?” Sammy wondered as he started to wash his hands.

“Liz,” I answered.

“So she actually did it,” he laughed. “I noticed she hasn’t been here for a few days, but I thought she was sick.”

I gave an anxious look to Michael who just shrugged at me. “She did what?” I asked.

“Well, few nights ago,” Sammy began, “she shows up at The Saucer and orders some hot chocolate with whipped cream with Father Hughes.”

“Danny?” I wondered.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Kinda weird referring to him as Father Hughes, huh?”

“Continue with the story,” Michael ordered hastily.

Sammy nodded. “Right. So, um…they get to talking, about you, I think, Max. I think how you hold Liz back, and you know, Max, you’re a friend, so I don’t think that and neither did Liz. She said that you would even follow her to Vermont to whatever’s over there. I can’t remember what she said. Anyway, Danny was hooked on the supposed fact that you were holding her back and told her that she needed time to herself.”

“She went to boarding school,” I realized.

Liz had told me that the boarding her father was threatening to send her to was in Vermont, but he never told her the name so that I wouldn’t be able to find her. I think her father had told me once. He warned me that he was going to send her to somewhere in Vermont.

“Yeah,” Sammy replied. “Boarding school in Vermont. That’s what she said. Maybe that’s where she went.”

I nodded appreciatively. “Thanks, Sammy.”

“So, are you two still getting married?” he asked me. “I mean, from the way it sounded, you didn’t know where Liz went. Did she leave you?”

Michael noticed my apprehension and glared at Sammie. “So, hey, Sammie,” he said. “What do you think about Max's black eye?”

Sammy gave a little laugh. “It looked like it hurt.”

“Do you want to find out?”

Sammy shook his head and looked my way. “I’ll see you later, Max. Good luck.”

He jogged out of the bathroom as the bell rang. Instead of rushing to our classes like Sammy did, Michael and I coolly walked through the halls. I didn’t really even need to be at school and I suppose Michael should have been in class, but we roamed the halls. He kept me company as I silently walked and pondered.

“So, a boarding school in Vermont,” he said. “You sort of know the place. Now are you going to try to call her?”

I didn’t give Michael an answer. With my hands stuffed in my pockets, I continued to stare straight ahead. It was Danny. She left because Danny put it into her head that she needed to get away.

I turned into a corridor unnoticed by Michael who ended up jogging after me to catch up. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“To church.”

“In the middle of the day?” he laughed. “Max, you’ve got auto shop…You’re going to see Danny,” he realized. Michael tried to get me to look at him or stop or something, but I continued my fast-paced walk towards the front of the school. “Maxwell, you hurt this guy and I guarantee that Liz is going to be angry at you. Beating the shit out of a minister will not solve anything. You call Liz and talk to her. Maria said she’ll be here at Christmas. That’s only a few weeks away.”

“Michael…”

“Max, I’m not going to let you,” he said.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “What are you going to do?”

“Give that shiner a twin,” he said, pointing to my face.

Chapter 31

[Maria]

“So how’s Liz?” my mother asked.

“She’s fine,” I replied.

My mom gave a little smile and pulled out a leftover piece of pumpkin pie from our fridge. “How are you holding up?”

I shrugged. “Two days ago it was Thanksgiving and it was weird not spending it with her. We’ve always spent Thanksgiving together.”

“I think you’ve got it easy,” my mom smiled. “Think about Max. Liz didn’t run away from you.”

I gave a little nod. “I know, and I feel bad, but Liz needs some time to herself.”

Our doorbell rang and my mother jumped up. She excused herself and warned me not to eat her slice of pie. I grabbed the fork and cut off a little sliver. Mr. Parker made the greatest pumpkin pie.

“Maria!” my mother called from the living room. “You’ve got a visitor.”

I cut off another piece of the pie and ran into the living room hoping to see Michael, but instead, Max was standing at the door.

“Hi,” he said softly.

My mother gave him a little pat on the back and walked past me to get to the kitchen. “Help him out,” she advised me.

“Hey, Max, what can I do for you?” I greeted him.

“Nothing. How was your Thanksgiving?”

I shrugged. “Different, you know, without Liz and all.” He nodded and uncomfortably stood in the doorway. “Do you want a seat or anything?” I offered. He nodded and the two of us took a seat on the couch. We sat in awkward silence as I patiently waited for the reason of his surprise visit. “You didn’t want to know about my Thanksgiving, Max. What are you doing here?” I finally asked.

“It’s December 1st,” he said to me. “Exactly two weeks before the wedding.”

I looked away and sighed. “I’m really sorry, Max.”

“We were supposed to apply for our marriage license today,” he laughed sadly.

“Max, I can’t tell you where she is,” I told him, realizing that that’s what he really came to me for.

I watched him swallow the lump in his throat as he nodded understandingly. “I thought I’d try.”

“I’m sorry,” I sympathized.

He nodded again and pushed himself off the couch. A horrible feeling of guilt sat in my stomach as Max reached the door. He pushed it open but stopped and hung his head. I watched him cautiously, wondering what he was going to do. Max let the door close and turned back to me.

“Please, Maria,” he pleaded. “I’m begging you.”

“I can’t, Max.”

He gave a sigh. “Maria, just please tell me where she is, I won’t tell her you told me.” Max looked to me for an answer, but I remained silent as he pleaded. “Please, Maria, I need to fix this.”

“Liz is going to be fine…”

“That’s not what I need to fix,” Max quickly replied. “I need to fix her and I. That letter you gave to me from her a few days ago? It had her engagement ring in it.”

I gave a little nod. “I know,” I told him. “I knew that’s what it was.”

“Then please, Maria, help me,” he continued to beg. Lately, Max had been so vulnerable. “I—I can’t lose her. I don’t…” He stopped, stared at the floor, and sighed heavily. “I don’t know what I’d do.”

“Max…”

“We were supposed to get married in a couple of weeks,” he argued. “One minute we were taking care of wedding preparations and next thing I know I’m staring at her engagement ring in an envelope that held her goodbye letter to me. I don’t want to have to sell the wedding bands I bought for her and I more than a month ago, but as the days go on and I don’t get to see her or hear her voice, those wedding bands slip away, Maria. I love her more than anything, you know that. I’ve screwed up so many times. I need to fix this. So, please, I’m coming to you for help. Tell me how I can find Liz.”

I wasn’t supposed to tell Max. Them being apart was supposed to benefit both of them. They both needed this time away from each other to get themselves together because when they were together as a couple, all that mattered to them was each other. They never thought of themselves but always each other. So, they needed this time to just focus on themselves.

But according to Max, he was nothing without Liz. When Tess left and hope of finding his son died out, the only thing that mattered, and I mean only thing, was Liz. His life was Liz, and now he didn’t have her. She was across the country. She could have been across the state and it still would’ve killed Max. I knew Liz loved Max more than anything. Max felt the same way, maybe even stronger.

“Winnaman,” I finally caved.

His depressed face lit up like he had heard the name before. I had to cave in. I couldn’t stand to see Max beg and plead anymore. It just wasn’t him. Max was supposed to be our strong and fearless natural-born leader, he needed his queen, Liz.

“Winnaman Academy, Fairfield, Vermont,” I told him specifically.

Max sighed in relief. “Thank you, Maria,” he said, kissing my cheek. “I’ll tell her a little bird told me.”

“That little bird better not be named ‘Maria’,” I sighed, and for the first time in days I saw Max smile. “You know, I am behind you on this. You have my full support.”

He gave a little nod and kissed my cheek once more. “I’m so grateful. Thanks, Maria.”

“Not only with you going after her, but also with the wedding,” I told him.

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I called Liz on Thanksgiving, just to talk, and she wanted me to cancel all the wedding plans,” I said. Max's heart dropped, I heard it land on the floor, but I knew what I was about to tell him was going to lift up his spirits somewhat. “But instead,” I started, “I postponed it. I called all the vendors and told them that the wedding was being pushed back, and I let all the guests know that the wedding was until further notice, and they’re willing to wait, even all 27 members of your extended family, Max.”

His smile grew wider as I heard him sigh in relief once more. “Maria,” he said, hugging me tight, “I love you so much!!!”

“Yeah, well, I’m taken,” I grinned. “But it’s good to know.”