Roswell Fanatics

Title: Wearing Me Down
Author: Dreamingofstars1947 <dreamingofstars1947@yahoo.com>
Category: A/I, M/L, M/M, K/T
Rating: MATURE eventually. Definitely cursing & some other stuff….we’ll see…
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the following people for letting me borrow their stuff: Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, everyone associated w/ Roswell production and what-not, and all the musicians I mention…
Summary: Isabel is moving across the country to claim her inheritance with her sister and father, leaving her problematic mother behind. She must overcome her own problems to figure out what she wants in life. (Okay, so I can’t write very good summaries. Sue me! Lol!)
Authors Note: I’m an intense Stargazer and Dreamer (and a little Candygirl), so no worries there. Everyone is a little wacky, but all will be good in the end; I promise. A lot of this is focused on Isabel, so it’s turning out to be more of an A/I out of anything. Assume everyone is human (Right now, everyone is 100% alien-free. If I decide to go crazy and change that, an author’s note will definitely pop up.)


Chapter 1

Isabel sat motionless as she saw the world fly by her window. The portable speakers surrounding her ears blared music thick with angst. Here she was, moving again. This would be her fifth move in five years. The only bright side was that she was moving during the summer instead of having her school year interrupted again. Okay, it wasn’t really summer anymore, considering school started only the Monday coming up, but oh well. She looked down at the clouds. She wished her life was as perfect as those wispy, white clouds beneath her. Never feeling pain; just being beautiful and peaceful forever. The onslaught of emotions forced her to quickly pull down the plastic window cover, trying to focus on the lyrics of “Wearing Me Down” by the Dashboard Prophets.

You fight the good fight
You fight the good war
You fight to be right
You fight to restore
Why should I believe a word that you say
It was just a game that you don't wanna' play

And I say
It's wearing me down, I realize
It's all in my head now, now, and I realize
It's not what you've done
As much as what you've said

Isabel’s eyes slowly shut as the heavy bass flowed through her. Music was her savior. It was the reason she was alive. It was everything she felt. Whenever she was angry or sad or happy or was feeling anything at all, music invigorated her. It didn’t matter if she had gotten into a huge screaming match with her family and simply knew they didn’t appreciate her, she had the words of the hundreds of musicians she listened to, to comfort her. It was the only thing she trusted.

You walk a good walk
You run a good race
You talk a good talk
'Cause you try to replace
Messages of loss and all that's sacred
Tell me you should learn to love my hatred

And I say
It's wearing me down, I realize
It's all in my head now, now, and I realize
It's not what you've done
It's what you said

Isabel felt a light tap on her shoulder. She quickly pressed the pause button on her cd player and pulled the headphones down to her neck. Her eyes sought out the disrupter of her thoughts. They fell upon the slim face of her sister, whose large brown eyes were swirling with irritation. Everyone could always tell when her sister was annoyed; Liz had always been a drama queen.

“Isabel, why did you close the window?”

“I felt like it.” she responded.

“Well, I want to look out the window.” Liz said with a quick pause before her afterthought. “That’s dumb. You insisted to sit by the window, but you close it!”

“It’s not dumb, but if you’re going to whine about it for the rest of the trip, then I’ll switch with you. Happy?” Isabel said stiffly. Liz crossed her arms over her chest.

“No. I want to sit next to Dad so I can keep talking with him. Just open the window.” Liz replied.

Isabel wanted to murder her little sister. There was no way she could win, since her father was no doubt hearing all of this, and would in a minute intervene, siding with Liz. Having her father mad at her was not pleasant, but she could most of the time deal with it. Right now was not one of those times.

“Fine.” Isabel muttered, close to grinding her teeth. Snapping the window open, she swiftly covered her ears with her headphones and pressed play.

It's wearing me down
It's wearing me down
Wearing me down
Wearing me down
Wearing me down
Wearing me down

And I say
It's tearing me down
It's all in my head now, now
It's not what you've done
It's what you said
It's what you said
What you said
It's what you said (“Wearing Me Down” – The Dashboard Prophets)

Isabel gave a heavy sigh, letting the music soothe her emotions. Liz infuriated her. She was the baby, the angel, the light of their parent’s lives. She took on every notion of their very opinionated father’s as if it were her own, she listened to every one of their mother’s drunken rants; she simply sucked up to them at every available moment. Sure, once or twice she had gotten them mad at her for stupid stuff, like not being responsible enough, but other than that, they were always head over heels for her. Isabel, on the other hand, felt like the odd man out. She had her own opinions and was fiercely independent. It didn’t matter that she was a wonderful student, didn’t do drugs or alcohol, didn’t break any laws, or anything; they classified her as the ‘rebellious teen’ out to make her family miserable. What mattered was that she quarreled regularly with her father and sister about issues having to do with current events, family, and her behavior, and fought her mother every second she was near her about absolutely everything. She was incredibly intelligent and witty, but that was never good enough. While Liz was thin with perfect features and long straight hair, Isabel had always been curvy with fuller, softer features and thick wavy hair. While Liz did anything and everything her parents asked, Isabel played by her own rules. She didn’t take crap from anybody, especially her parents, the only exception being her teachers.

When this began
I had nothing to say
And I get lost in the nothingness inside of me
I was confused
And I let it all out to find
That I’m not the only person with these things in mind
Inside of me
But all that they can see the words revealed
Is the only real thing that I’ve got left to feel
Nothing to lose
Just stuck, hollow and alone
And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own

I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I’ve felt so long
Erase all the pain till it’s gone
I wanna heal; I wanna feel like I’m close to something real
I wanna find something I’ve wanted all along
Somewhere I belong

Sighing, Isabel tried to shove down her anger. Jeff Parker would be furious with her if she was “picking on” his little Lizzie again. It was never, ‘Liz, stop being such a brat to Izzy,’ or ‘Nancy, stop being a bitch to my darling Izzy.’ No, no, no. I’ve always had to take care of myself, she thought. Little baby Lizzie needs to be nurtured, but of course I need to be yelled at and bitched out at every possible time. Isabel let out another deep sigh. Relax, she told herself. All this frowning is causing wrinkles, not to mention additional stress. Screw thinking about it! And with that, she turned the volume up on her cd player as loud as it would go; hoping Linkin Park would drown out her thoughts.

And I’ve got nothing to say
I can’t believe I didn’t fall right down on my face
I was confused
Looking everywhere only to find
That it’s not the way I had imagined it all in my mind
So what am I
What do I have but negativity
’Cause I can’t justify the way, everyone is looking at me
Nothing to lose
Nothing to gain, hollow and alone
And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own

I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I’ve felt so long
Erase all the pain till it’s gone
I wanna heal; I wanna feel like I’m close to something real
I wanna find something I’ve wanted all along
Somewhere I belong

I will never know myself until I do this on my own
And I will never feel anything else until my wounds are healed
I will never be anything till I break away from me
I will break away, I'll find myself today

I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I’m somewhere I belong
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I’m somewhere I belong
Somewhere I belong (“Somewhere I Belong” – Linkin Park)

TBC...

Thanks Kay & roswellluver for the fb! Here's the next two chapters, 'cause chapter 2 is kinda short....

Chapter 2

Isabel confidently strolled towards the baggage claim. She knew that her confidence showed through and attracted people’s attention…as well as her silver halter top and faded boot cut jeans that firmly hugged her butt. But, no matter how hard they tried, she wouldn’t let anyone in past that. She greatly admired herself for the thick wall she had blocking anyone from getting too close; the ‘Ice Princess’ they called her. At times she wondered if there was such thing as a lawyer gene, because often times she was convinced she had it. Her debate skills were tremendous and she thought like a lawyer. No, even better, a dictator, a ruler…a queen. She was always planning other people’s attacks on her, and plotting not only her defense, but her counter-attack. Her life was a game of chess, and she refused to lose. Her ‘Ice Princess’ exterior was to keep people from knowing her weaknesses, thus giving them less to attack her with. Chess.

“Isabel, slow down. God, why don’t you ever walk with us?” Jeff Parker exclaimed as he crossed the airport. Isabel rolled her eyes.

“You guys walk too slow.” She replied, slowing down none the less. That was only half the reason. Jeff always talked when he walked, and whenever he was talking, he was complaining, which she couldn’t stand.

Jeff made a little grunt and went on talking with Liz. Isabel glanced over at her sister. Liz’s eyes were focused on their father while intently listening to him. How she did that without going insane baffled Isabel. Fortunately, the baggage claim was only a few feet away, letting Isabel stroll forward to search for her bags, moving to the other side of the conveyer belt away from her family. She grimaced at the thought of lugging her over-packed bags around by herself. She only got to bring two large suitcases and a duffel bag of her essential stuff in addition to her backpack and her Gucci purse. Her father had mentioned something about not having enough space in the car for any one else’s bags in his lecture to her while she packed. Leaning forward, she peered around the bend to spot the first of her bags. Putting her purse and backpack on the ground next to her, she prepared to catch the huge black piece of luggage. Grabbing onto the handle, she struggled to pull it off the conveyer belt.

“Shit. Come on!” she muttered to herself, still working on the bag.

Suddenly, it lifted away from her and was set next to her. Huh? Isabel looked over to see who had helped her, and came face to face with a lean guy, dark blue eyes, adorable lips, and great side-burns. She paused, too amazed to move. He seemed to feel the same way too, until he spat out some words.

“Wow, that thing is really heavy. You happen to pack bricks?”

The words snapped Isabel out of her trance. Thank god he’s cute or else I would’ve had to have given him one of my trademark glares, she noted. She gave a flirty smile and brushed a strand of her long blonde hair out of her face.

“No, just clothes. Shoes can be pretty heavy.” She said, with the occasional glance at the conveyer belt, making sure none of her other bags passed her by. The guy chuckled.

“I can see that. I’m Alex, by the way.” He stated, extending his hand.

“Isabel. Nice to meet you, Alex.” She replied, giving his hand a swift shake. He grinned.

“Well, Isabel, you have any other bags you need me to help you with?” He queried. She nodded, pointing to the other huge black bag heading her way. Alex grinned and gently nudged her away so he could reach the monstrosity, giving Isabel the opportunity to give him a good look-over. He was tall, with nice lean muscle, and dark hair. He had good taste in clothes and seemed to have good posture. A rich athlete, probably. She could see his biceps flexing as he lifted her bag. The thing landed with a loud plop as it hit the ceramic tile of the ground. She winced at the noise while scooping up the burgundy duffel bag with the large ‘I’ taped on it as it neared her.

She’s gorgeous, Alex thought to himself as her back was turned to grab another bag. That long blonde hair, her soulful hazel eyes, her plush lips…she must be a goddess! She turned back to him, smiling. Man, that smile could melt anyone into a puddle, he thought. I must look like a grinning fool.

“So, Isabel, where you coming from?” he asked. Isabel laughed to herself at his repetitive use of her name. Is he scared he’s going to forget it or something? She slung her Gucci purse onto her shoulder.

“Maryl…”

“Isabel Parker! There you are! We have to go!” Jeff Parker interrupted.

Isabel gave a little groan as her father approached with a luggage cart. Alex frowned, unhappy he couldn’t talk longer with the muse in front of him. Jeff strode towards the pair, glancing quickly at the boy his daughter was talking to, but immediately brushing him off. He scurried to get her bags. Within seconds, Isabel’s stuff was piled on the cart and ready to go, forcing her to make a quick goodbye.

“Bye Alex. Nice meeting you.” Isabel said, her ‘Ice Princess’ mask firmly in place, thanks to her father’s presence. She could never be too careful, especially when he’s not in a good mood.

“Yeah, me too. I mean, bye, Isabel.” He garbled.

“Isabel!” Jeff shouted.

“Alright! Alright!”

With a queenly wave over her shoulder to Alex, she followed her father towards a taxi to take her to another new life. Sighing, she knew she should just forget Alex even exists. Just another missed opportunity, she reflected. Moving sucks.

Chapter 3:

Roswell seemed like a year-round carnival to Isabel. The corny flashing lights, the pathetic gimmicks, the lack of…style. She had seen her share of different types of cities, but this was by far the goofiest. There were pictures of little green men as far as the eye could see. She had been to Roswell once before, just to visit her grandmother. Isabel loved her Grandma Claudia. She had always made Isabel feel really treasured and alive. During the entire week stay, Isabel had followed Grandma Claudia around her café, helping with whatever she could and paying attention to every detail, while Liz yammered her head off about the fourth grade, especially the stupid science fair. Once again, her grandmother was the reason why she was moving here, but for a different reason. According to Claudia’s will, she left Liz most of her life-savings, her Volkswagen beetle, and her jewelry, she left Jeff her ranch in Northern New Mexico and her entire library, and left Isabel not only a convertible, but the Crashdown Café itself! When Isabel found out she was floored. She must’ve seen how into the place I was, she explained to herself. Her father was going to run it until she was ready to handle the position, but she still owned the damn thing! Her eyes widened as she saw her café for the first time in years; it was still as tacky as ever, but it didn’t seem to bother her quite as much as everything else in Roswell.

“There it is, girls. Our new home!” Jeff excitedly exclaimed, his face practically attached to the window.

Liz pretended to match his enthusiasm, but Isabel knew better. She spent many hours studying everyone around her, and she could definitely tell Liz wasn’t very elated. This amused Isabel. Have fun not getting paid for your acting job, she patronized in her mind. Meanwhile, the taxi pulled into the alley next to the building, stopping next to a large dingy door. Isabel got out, purse in hand, and decided to be the first to enter. She would let her father or someone get her bags. If they insisted that she was bitchy, then she would play it up. She swung the door open and looked over her surroundings. Lockers. A staircase. A couch. Doors leading to the kitchen and the dining area of the restaurant. Pretty basic…except for the petite blonde who practically bowled her over with her questions and comments.

“Hi! You must be…Isabel? Yeah, the new owner! I’m Maria, I’m a waitress here. I’m really sorry about your grandmother. She was such a nice person! I’m really going to miss her…sorry, uh, don’t you have a sister?”

“Um, yeah. Okay, first off, nice to meet you, Maria. Second, thanks for your concern. And third, yes, her name is Liz and she’s getting her stuff out of the taxi.” Isabel responded, unable to say everything in just one breath like Maria. Maria seemed like a blonde pixie…on speed. Nice, though.

“Hey, what grades are you guys in? I’m going to be a sophomore. I’m guessing you’re gonna be going to West Roswell High, like me.” Maria asked.

“Yeah, West Roswell sounds about right. I’m going to be a junior there while Liz is going to be a sophomore.” Isabel replied as her sister and father entered the room.

“What about me?” Liz wondered, her sight settling on Maria. Isabel stepped aside to do a formal introduction.

“You’re going to be a sophomore. Liz, Dad, this is Maria. Maria, this is Liz and my Dad, Jeff Parker. Okay, so now that we all know each other, I’m just going to go upstairs now. See ya.” Isabel spat out. She really needed to be alone. Overbearing people were taking a toll on her nerves.

“That’s fine. Isabel, come down later and I’ll introduce you guys to my gang of friends.” Maria offered.

Isabel gave a smile and a nod, then retreated up the stairs. Dad is probably wondering when I ever got to be so rude, she thought. Whatever.

*****

After a few minutes, Isabel could hear Liz and their father coming up the stairs. Oh fun, now I get to fight with Liz over rooms. How exciting. As expected, Liz immediately went to scope out the bedrooms.

“Oh my god! This room is gorgeous! Look! It even has it’s own balcony! I call it!” Liz exclaimed from somewhere down the hall. Isabel frowned, following her sister’s voice to a large corner room with its own bathroom. She immediately crossed her arms and shook her head.

“No, no, no. Last time you got the bigger room. It’s my turn.” Isabel declared. Liz turned to face her sister.

“Uh uh. Our rooms were about equal. The time before that, you got the bigger room!” Liz complained.

“Maybe so, but I got the bigger room because you wanted the bathroom with the Jacuzzi in it! My turn!” Isabel pointed out. After overhearing all the arguing, Jeff entered the room.

“Isabel, let your sister have the room. You own the café and you did get the big room that other time. It’s only fair.” Jeff argued. Years of practice allowed Isabel not to show her shock.

“FINE!” Isabel shouted, storming out. Jeff shook his head.

She didn’t understand why she even tried. Whenever their father was concerned, Liz always got her way in the end. Fair? Hell no. Jeff Parker’s idea of fair was beyond warped. At least I have a car now, so I can drive away when I feel like it, she commented to herself. She stopped dead in her tracks. Car. Drive away. Lots of open desert. Good idea! Isabel made a beeline for the master bedroom. She remembered that Grandma Claudia kept her keys on a certain hook in her closet. Keys…keys…keys! Isabel grabbed the little alien attached to a key ring holding a string of shiny silver keys. Now to get to the car. Hmm, wasn’t there a parking lot behind the building? She pondered. Running out the door and downstairs, she was about to move through the dingy door once again, when she saw her father getting bags out of the alley. Shit, he moved fast! Need another way! Spinning around, she marched towards the dining room of the restaurant. As she began to cross the room, the nice pixie on speed appeared in front of her. Isabel nearly jumped.

“Isabel! That was quick! Hey, I’d like you to meet my best friend of all time, Max.” Maria said, pointing to the booth next to them containing a cute, dark-haired guy. He looked somewhat tall and somewhat built, but he didn’t have anything to strike Isabel’s fancy. He’s more of a brother-like type of guy to me, she thought.

“Hi, nice to meet you. Isabel, is it?” He asked, giving a little wave.

“Yeah, nice to meet you. Sorry, but I can’t stay and chat. Maybe some other time. See you!” Isabel said, a note of preoccupation in her voice. Maria frowned a little.

“Oh, that sucks. It’s too bad Max’s brother, Alex, and Alex’s best friend, Michael, couldn’t be here! You’ll get to meet them another time.” Maria stated. Isabel nodded, a little taken at the name ‘Alex,’ but she forced it out of her mind. Just a coincidence, she told herself.

“Well, another time, definitely. Bye, Maria. Bye, Max.” Isabel said in a rush, and with that exited the Crashdown.

*****

Isabel strolled around the building, wanting to get to her car as soon as possible. All she was told was ‘convertible;’ they neglected to tell her the color or style. Luckily, she saw that there was only one convertible in the lot. It was shiny and ice blue. An ice blue mustang convertible for the ‘Ice Princess.’ She wondered why fate loved to mess with her.

“Oh well, fuck it.” Isabel murmured to herself.

Pulling out the alien key chain from her purse, she grabbed a key at random and tried it on the lock. No luck. Oh please oh please just make this easy for me! Pulling out another key she tried it on the door. Yes! Voila! Yanking open the door, she dumped herself down onto the leather drivers seat. After getting all strapped in and putting down the top, she turned on the radio for some much needed music. She groaned repeatedly as she flipped the worthless stations, looking for some quality tunes. Finally after the millionth ‘lite rock’ station, a decent guitar rift flowed through the car. Singing along with Good Charlotte, she pulled out of the lot towards a random direction, not noticing the bright green car pulling into the lot. She moved herself onto the main road, hoping it took her to the desert pretty quickly.

“Hard days made me
Hard nights shaped me
I don't know they somehow saved me
And I know I’m making something out of this life they call nothing
I take what I want
Take what I need
They say it's wrong, but it’s right for me
I won’t look down
Won’t say I’m sorry
I know that only god can judge me

And if I make it through today
Will tomorrow be the same
Am I just running in piss
And if I stumble and I fall
Should I get up and carry on
Will it all just be the same
Cause I’m young and I’m hopeless
I’m lost and I know this
I’m going nowhere fast that’s what they say
I’m troublesome I've fallen
I’m angry at my father
It’s me against this world and I don’t care
I don’t care…” Isabel belted out, her hair whipping by her face as the desert became the only thing around her. She didn’t know where she was going, but she didn’t care.

“No one in this industry
Understands the life I lead
When I sing about my past
It’s not a gimmick, not an act
These critics, and these trust fund kids
Try to tell me what punk is
But when I see them on the street they got nothing to say

And if I make it through today
Will tomorrow be the same
Am I just running in piss
And if I stumble and I fall
Should I get up and carry on
Will it all just be the same
Cause I’m young and I’m hopeless
I’m lost and I know this
I’m going nowhere fast that’s what they say
I’m troublesome I've fallen
I’m angry at my father
It’s me against this world and I don’t care
I don’t care I don’t care...and now I don’t care
oooooo ooooo oooooo

I’m young and I’m hopeless
I’m lost and I know this
I’m going nowhere fast that’s what they say
That I’m troublesome I've fallen
I’m angry at my father
It’s me against this world and I don’t care
I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t care.” Isabel sang, pouring her emotions out in every word. A deep breath escaped her lips. Being out in the middle of the desert, all alone with her radio in her new mustang, she finally let herself relax.

*****

Alex was immediately grateful to see the city limits of Roswell.

“Home sweet home.” Alex commented.

His passenger just looked at him, but Alex knew he was probably even happier to be back. They had just spent the past week up in the mountains of who-knows-where doing what some called ‘camping’ but they called it ‘torture involving mosquitoes, bad food, no bathrooms, and horrible weather.’ The best part was the airport. Alex was very misguided when he thought it would be like camping out in the desert.

“Let’s go straight to the Crashdown. The need for a decent hamburger and French fries is overwhelming!” Alex stated. Michael just nodded.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into doing that. That trip was shitty.” Michael remarked.

“Oh shut up, I hated it too, but at least I wasn’t acting like a little whiny toddler without a nap the entire time.” Alex rebuked with a smirk.

“Well, at least I didn’t shriek like a little girl every time I got bitten by a mosquito!” Michael teased. Alex laughed in astonishment.

“Yes you did!”

Michael frowned.

“Fuck off!” Michael exclaimed. Alex just sneered at his best friend as they neared the Crashdown. The glint of a car pulling out of the lot caught Alex’s eye. That’s the old owner, Claudia’s, car! He thought. Must be the inheritor or something. Looking over to catch a glimpse of the driver, all he saw was flowing blonde hair. The sound of Good Charlotte’s ‘The Young and the Hopeless’ could clearly be heard coming from the car. Alex nodded in approval. The car sped off before he could get a good look at the driver. I’ll have to ask Maria about her; she knows everything about everybody, he thought.

TBC...

Thanks LXC, Trude, Kay, & roswelluver!! I pretty much have chapters 5 & 6 written (i think you guys have been waiting for 6 ), so I'll post them as soon as I'm done editting them...Hope you Like the next part!

Chapter 4:

Jeff Parker paced up and down the back room of the Crashdown Café. His daughter, Isabel, had taken off a few minutes ago in what he assumed was her new convertible. He had called her cell phone five times, but she hadn’t picked up. Throwing his hands up in defeat, he walked into the café and sat at the counter. He wished his first daughter would stop making things so difficult. Almost immediately afterwards Maria appeared next to him, coffee pot in hand.

“Mr. Parker, what’s wrong?” she questioned, noticing his glum mood…and pacing for the past fifteen minutes.

“Isabel took off in her new car a few minutes ago and I have no idea where she went.” He replied, barely glancing at the bouncy waitress.

“I saw her leave the café at around 4:00. Seemed a little preoccupied. Don’t worry, she’ll be back soon!” Maria said, trying to infuse hope into her words. Turning around, she headed back through the nearly empty diner towards Max’s table. Max noticed the dip in her mood.

“What’s wrong?”

“You know that girl, Isabel, I introduced you to? Well, it seems she just left without telling anyone where she’s going and her dad is really worried.” Maria explained. Max sat back in contemplation, his mouth turning down at the corners.

“Whoa, are you guys really that unhappy to see us?” A voice behind Maria wondered. Max and Maria instantly brightened. Alex and Michael had been gone two weeks, and even though they wouldn’t say it aloud, both Maria and Max missed their antics. Maria fell into Alex’s awaiting embrace. Michael’s eyes flickered at the affection, but he hastily shoved past them and moved into the booth across from Max. After a second, Alex joined him.

“Wow, it’s great to see you guys again! How was your trip?” she inquired. Both guys groaned, Michael leaning his head onto the seat, and Alex dropping his head onto the table.

“What a way to waste our last week of freedom before school starts. Let’s just say, be incredibly, incredibly grateful you didn’t have to be there with us! Now, me and my food-deprived buddy would like two bacon cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and two really big cokes as fast as humanly possible.” Michael told her. Max sniggered at them. Maria hustled off to get Michael’s order at the recommended speed.

“Oh come on, it couldn’t have been that bad.” Max decided. Alex laughed in disbelief.

“Oh it was, though. It waaas.” Alex elaborated. Michael nodded. Maria placed the two tall drinks in front of the guys, then went to retrieve their food.

“I hate camping now.” Michael declared after taking a big swig of his coke.

A few minutes later, four plates of deep-fried-goodness appeared on the table. Alex and Michael pounced on the food. As they gulped it down, Maria blathered on about the events of that day. After about half a cheeseburger, Alex decided to start listening.

“…and I nearly slapped her for giving me no tip! Oh and yeah, so the new owner, or owners, of the Cafe showed up today. They’re the Parkers, really nice people. It’s Mr. Parker and his two daughters. Mr. Parker is over there at the counter. The younger one is a brunette, her name is Liz, and she’s a sophomore. The older one is blonde, her name is…”

“Oh! Speaking of blonde, I saw this girl drive off from the parking lot in Claudia’s mustang. Is that her? I was wondering who it was.” Alex interrupted. Maria nodded.

“Yup, that’s Isabel. She’s gonna be a junior, and from what I’ve heard, she’s the actual new owner. Her dad’s just watching it for her until she’s ready.” Maria explained. Alex’s head shot up at the mention of name ‘Isabel.’ Could it be? Worth a shot to find out!

“Isabel. Hmm…is she about 5’9, green eyes, and was wearing a silver top?” he questioned. The other three looked shocked.

“Yeaah, um, how did you know that?” Maria stammered.

Alex ignored her and focused on his overpowered glee. She’s the new owner! The goddess is going to be going to his school! He gets to see her again! Only...where was she? Alex looked straight at Maria.

“Do you know where she is?” he wondered. Maria shook her head.

“That’s the problem! She left and no one knows where she went. She just drove off and she’s not answering her cell-phone.” She explained. Alex frowned. Michael punched him in the shoulder.

“Dude, how do you know this chick? She just moved here!” he asked.

“You know how I told you about that girl I met at the baggage claim? That’s her!” Alex clarified. Michael looked at him in awe.

“She’s the hot baggage claim chick? Damn, you are a lucky bastard, you know that? Wait, Maria, didn’t you say that she has a sister?” Michael asked. Max laughed. Maria sent a scowl in Michael’s direction.

“You’re a pig.” She declared as she turned to help a customer. Alex shook his head. I wonder where she is right now…

*****

Isabel sat on a big cliff as she saw the sun melt into the ground. The sky was a blend of brilliant colors intertwined with each other, giving way to a silky dark night. Living on the east coast, she had never been really able to see the brilliance of a starry night away from the bright lights of suburbia. Night after night she had dreamed of it, of seeing the stars in all their glory. In the background, she could hear the soft music playing in her mustang.

Morning smiles
Like the face
Of a newborn child
Innocent, unknowing

Winter's end
Promises
Of a long lost friend.
Speaks to me of comfort

But I fear
I have nothing to give.
I have so much
To lose here in this lonely place.
Tangled up in your embrace
There’s nothing I'd like better than
To fall.

But I fear
I have nothing to give.

Wind in time
Rapes the flower
Trembling on the vine
And nothing yields to shelter
From above
They say temptation will destroy our love.
The never ending hunger

But I fear
I have nothing to give
I have so much
To lose here in this lonely place
Tangled up in our embrace
There’s nothing I'd like better than
To fall

But I fear
I have nothing to give
I have so much to lose
I have nothing to give
We have so much to lose... (Sarah McLachlan – Fear)

Isabel wished she could just stay out here looking at the stars forever, but she knew she needed to get back. She had been gone for six hours with her cell phone off and she knew that her father was probably having a complete spaz right about now. When she got home, he would make sure that she was okay, then would scream his ass off at her for leaving for so long without telling anyone where she was going. She laughed to herself, thinking about how his lectures had no effect anymore. Scream all he liked, she would do what she wanted. Period. Dusting the sand off her jeans, she moved herself into the car, but couldn’t get herself to start the engine. This place felt strangely like home. It was merely a bunch of boulders jutting out into the sky in the middle of the desert, but for some reason she felt attached to it. I’ll come back here again, she reassured herself. With a quick look around, she started the car, and headed back in the direction she came.

*****

Liz jumped up as she heard the jangle of keys outside the backroom door. Flying down the stairs, she yanked open the door, revealing her sister. She didn’t know whether she should hug her sister in happiness at seeing her safe or screaming at her for scaring them so bad. Liz decided on the first idea. She flung herself at Isabel, knocking Isabel off balance a little.

“Nice to see you too.” Isabel commented. Liz broke away and gave her a hard punch in the arm.

“Ow! What the hell was that for?!” Isabel yelled. Liz gave her a little glare.

“That was for driving away and scaring the crap out of us! You know, Dad has been in a frenzy for the past few hours! I couldn’t even stand to hear his rants.” Liz told her. Isabel honestly felt bad for her sister. Liz was normally very even-tempered, to a degree that was almost scary; only exaggerated circumstances got her very upset. Oh well, she could’ve locked herself in her ‘must-have’ room, Isabel assured herself.

“Well, I’ll go find him and tell him I’m okay.” Isabel sighed, moving past Liz. Liz pointed to the stairs. Isabel followed the aim of Liz’s finger towards the stairs.

Ascending the staircase, Isabel took in a deep breath, preparing herself for the argument about to happen. Moving towards the master bedroom, she knocked lightly on the closed door.

“Yes? Come in. Come in.” Jeff Parker called from inside the room. Isabel slowly entered. Jeff did a double take at the sight of his daughter.

“Isabel! Where have you been? I’ve been so worried!” He cried, taking Isabel into his arms.

“I’m fine. And if you’re going to yell at me, you might as well get it over with.” Isabel declared in a firm tone, not wasting any time. Jeff shook his head.

“I’m not going to yell at you. I’m going to warn you not to do that again, punishable by death, but I think you understand how worried we were and not to do that again.” He said. Isabel had mild surprise on her face for a fleeting moment. He must’ve taken a few shots of vodka or something before I came in, she thought. He never gave up an opportunity to lecture her! Jeff turned back to the papers covering the bed.

“By the way, I stopped by the school today and met with your new guidance counselor, Ms. Guerin. Lovely woman! Really pretty and very nice…but that’s not the point. I picked up all the forms to get you kids enrolled and you and Liz have to go in to talk to her tomorrow, but other than that, we’re set!” Jeff informed her, signing his name to one of the forms. Isabel nodded, backing gradually towards the door.

“Tomorrow. That’s great. Um, Dad, I’m really tired and I’m just going to go to bed. Goodnight.” Isabel announced, leaving the room before he changed his mind about yelling at her. Yay, that went so well!

Isabel walked down the corridor leading towards the other bedrooms. Peering in one of two bedrooms other than the one Liz claimed, Isabel searched for where her bags were placed. Not there. She continued on past Liz’s room towards the end of the hall. Opening the door, she walked the foot of hallway in the room towards the main area and spotted her bags on the large bed. My room, I guess, she thought. She walked the perimeter of the room, trying to get a feel for it. It was definitely beautiful. Not as fun-loving as Liz’s room but more elegant. There were light purple walls, two large windows facing the parking lot with satin drapes of a dark purple color, a wide, mirrored, sliding door closet, and a small, white bathroom. Walking into the bathroom, she noticed that there was a small white sink and what looked like an ancient bathtub surrounded by a sheer, white, embroidered shower curtain. It’s gorgeous, she thought. Now, I don’t care that Liz got that other room! Leaving the bathroom behind, she walked back to the windows. Pulling back the purple curtains, she finally noticed that there was a fire escape next to her window. Hah, Liz! You may get a roof, but I get a fire escape. We’re even! Isabel fell onto the bed, looking up at the purple cloth hanging over the canopy of the bed. A grin moved its way across her face. I got to see the stars out in the desert, flirt with a cute guy and got a kick-ass room in the same day, Isabel thought to herself. This day didn’t suck!

TBC...

As promised, the next two chapters...just finished.

Crashdown2006 - Yeah, Michael and Maria are not together. They like each other, but haven't done anything about it...yet. As for the Max/Liz thing, just read through chapter 6, and I think your question will be answered ! I'm glad you like Isabel's room, and you'll definitely get to see Jeff & Isabel interact some more.

Trude - Jeff likes to lecture Isabel, but she's more annoyed by it than upset. She's a no-crap type of person, so she barely listens ! And Alex is always a cutie like that, which is why we love him !

Thank u guys soo much!

Chapter 5:

“Izzy! Isabel, wake up!”

Isabel groaned. It was way too early. No time to get up!

“Come on, Izzy! Get up now or suffer the consequences.” Liz declared, pulling open the curtains and flooding the room with sunshine. Isabel flipped over onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. Liz headed towards her sister’s sleeping form.

“Fine. Have it your way!” Liz said playfully.

Liz leaned onto the bed and grabbed a pillow from beside the comatose girl. With a swift swing, Liz hit Isabel over the head with it, eliciting a shriek from the blonde.

“Get up, lazy-butt!” Liz declared, hitting her sister again.

“Aah! Okay! Okay, you jerk! I’m up!” Isabel screamed, sleep dripping from her voice. Liz jumped off the bed, seeming pleased with herself. Isabel glared at her.

“What a way to wake up.” Isabel mumbled, pulling her silk robe around her body.

“Well, you wouldn’t get up, and we have a meeting with Ms. Guerin in a little while.” Liz explained. Isabel looked confused.

“The guidance counselor.” Liz clarified.

With an understanding look, Isabel shifted from her bed towards her bags. After Isabel grabbed her cosmetics bag and sauntered over to her bathroom, Liz let herself out of the room. Isabel dropped her bag onto the sink counter and spun around to try and figure out the shower. Hmm, maybe turn this knob here and that knob there and pull this chain thing…Yay! It’s on! Isabel contentedly turned for her brush. Pulling the hair tie from her hair, she drew her paddle brush through her long blonde locks. She admired her hair; many people had told her before that she had the most stunning hair they’d ever seen, and she made quite sure that she treated it well. Removing her robe and pajamas, she climbed into the tub for a long, cleansing shower.

*****

The halls of West Roswell High School seemed pretty small to Isabel. She had been to two other high schools, and both of them were bigger than West Roswell High. Isabel smirked to herself. Reigning over this school would be a total piece of cake.

“Okay, the office is right over there. We’re a little late, so hurry up!” Jeff Parker remarked. Isabel kept her silence and continued on to the small office.

Jeff rushed over to the desk with two ladies behind it; the first was a little bit portly with a perm the size of Montana, and the second was a medium-sized woman with delicate features and shoulder-length light brown hair. The second woman immediately brightened and stood at the sight of Mr. Parker.

“Hi, sorry we’re late. Isabel took a long time getting ready.” He told her. Her smile increased as she looked at the two girls behind him.

“Oh, it’s no problem. I’ve been trying to catch up with all the paperwork I have anyway.” She said. Turning to the sisters, she added, “Well, right this way. Let’s get started.”

Isabel plastered a fake smile on her face and followed the woman down a narrow hallway, with Liz trailing close behind. The woman lead the two into an office covered in pictures and knick-knacks. Ushering Isabel and Liz into two cushioned seats stationed in front of the mahogany desk centered in the room, the woman then settled into the spinning chair behind the desk.

“I don’t think we were formally introduced. I’m Ms. Guerin, your guidance counselor. Um, which one of you is Isabel?” She asked. Isabel politely raised her hand.

“I’m Isabel. My sister here is Liz.” She stated. Ms. Guerin was nice but Isabel wanted to be out of there as fast as possible nonetheless.

“Lovely to meet you both. Well, let’s get right down to business! Here are your schedules. You two are tremendously bright students, so I’m sure you’ll see challenging classes on them, but with your previous records, it’s clear you two will do wonderfully. I….”

Ms. Guerin was interrupted by the abrupt entrance of a spiky-haired guy with his hands full of papers. His coffee-brown hair was smothered in gel, his toned muscles flexed underneath his simple pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt, and his pouty mouth frowned in shock at interrupting one of his mother’s meetings.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you had people in here.” He admitted, glancing at the two girls. Ms. Guerin smiled a forgiving grin.

“No problem. Mikey, this is Isabel and Liz Parker. Girls, this is my son, Michael, who is also a student here at West Roswell. Hun, are those the copies I asked for?” she asked. So this is Alex's obsession and her sister. Michael shifted his gaze and position towards his mother. He nodded.

“And, uh, also, the principal wants to talk to you for a few seconds.” He added. Ms. Guerin shot an apologetic look at the girls.

“I’ll be right back.”

While Ms. Guerin was leaving the room, Isabel decided that this would be a perfect opportunity to start her campaign. A small smirk graced her lips.

“So, Michael, what kind of classes are you taking? We might share a few.” Isabel questioned. Michael motioned to the sheet of paper in Isabel’s hands.

“Um, we have English together first period and physics together fifth. Hey, are you any good at science?” Michael noted.

“Yeah. What about you? Or do you want to be study partners?” Isabel wondered in a flirty tone. She choked down an outburst when Liz rolled her eyes. Michael tried to look indifferent. Alex would kill him for flirting with her.

“Sure. I’ve never been too good at science.” He said, as his mother walked back into the room. She paused to put a loving hand on his shoulder, before moving back to her chair.

“Aw, honey, you underestimate yourself. Now, girls, I think everything is in place. As for Monday, I’ve set up a member of the sunshine committee to show you two around before school starts. Her name is Maria Deluca and she’ll be waiting here in the office at 7:00. She’s very nice, you two will like her.” She explained. Isabel and Liz noted that Maria would be the one to show them the marvels of West Roswell.

“Oh, we’ve already met her.” Isabel spoke up.

“Wonderful! Well, that’s it! You two are free to go. It was lovely meeting you!” she announced.

After goodbyes to Ms. Guerin and Michael, Isabel and Liz sauntered out of the room towards their awaiting father. Isabel wanted to be out of there as fast as possible. She wasn’t used to people being as nauseatingly nice as Ms. Guerin was.

“That was fast! Now, back to the ol’ homestead so we can meet the moving van!” Mr. Parker said, opening the office door for his daughters, tossing a glance over his shoulder. At what, they had no clue.

Isabel was disgusted. What is with Dad? She wondered. It wasn’t that she liked it when he was pissy and irritating, in fact she hated it, but it totally weirded her out when he was nice and chipper. This is your Dad; this is your Dad on drugs, she mimicked in her mind. He was never this happy. Ever.

*****

Isabel huffed as she let another box fall onto the hardwood floor of her room. Her room was now covered in boxes. A lot of it was clothes and shoes, but she also knew a ton of it was just random junk she had accumulated over the years. She gave the nearest box a swift kick, before sighing and grabbing her scissors. Ripping away the tape, she pulled the thing open. A box of books. How exciting. Peering in, she noticed the topmost book. It was a denim-patterned hardback journal. Her eyes softened at the sight of it. Grabbing it out of the box, she fell back against one of the bedposts of her bed, moving herself into a sitting position. She ran a hand over the smooth cover. This thing had been her only friend during some very hard times. She knew that some of the journal entries were stupid and whiny, but she was growing up while she wrote in it. Flipping to a random page, she began to read:

July 15, 2000
Dear Journal,
Today I feel icky. I can't think of a better word to describe my feelings. I feel that I have so many people hating me at this moment and even though a hate it, I know how to get rid of it, but I feel a need to keep it that way.
Mom was mean to me again last night. She is so sensitive. And no one believes me or understands me, especially her. I won’t go into the details, but Mom is always defending Liz! It doesn’t matter if it’s her fault, or I’m the one getting hurt, she always yells at me! And then Dad defends her! I know she doesn’t love me. She’s a liar when she says she does.
Today is very cloudy and gray, perfect for the mood I am in. I want to be totally alone today. I bet I will be. I think I will go do just that now.

A tear forced its’ way down Isabel’s cheek. Even when I was in seventh grade I had it right, she reflected. Damn that woman! It’s all her fault. It’s her fault for moving us around. It’s her fault for getting drunk all those nights. It’s her fault for my insecurities. It’s her fault for me growing up too fast. The thoughts wouldn’t stop coming. Vaulting herself off the floor, Isabel grabbed her purse from off her bed.

“I gotta get out of here.” She murmured to herself.

Isabel paused. Going out of the main or even side doors of the Crashdown would cause someone to know that she was going somewhere, and there would definitely be questions, especially since they knew she liked to take off. She didn’t want questions. Quickly heading towards the window, she wrenched it open. With a rapid movement, she moved herself through the window and onto the fire escape. After swiftly closing the window all but a crack, she snuck down the cold metal stairs towards the ice blue of her mustang. With the sun beating down on her body, she slipped into the car, revved up the engine, cranked up the radio, and took off like a shot towards the desert.

I just want to feel safe in my own skin
I just want to be happy again
I just want to feel deep in my own world
But I'm so lonely
I don't even want to be with myself anymore

On a different day
If I was safe in my own skin
Then I wouldn't feel lost and so frightened
But this is today
And I'm lost in my own skin
And I'm so lonely
I don't even want to be with myself anymore

I just want to feel safe in my own skin
I just want to be happy again (Dido – Honestly Ok)


Chapter 6:

“Days swiftly come and go.
I'm dreaming of her
She's seeing other guys
Emotions they stir
The sun is gone.
The nights are long
And I am left while the tears fall…”

Isabel started to move in her sleep. It couldn’t be morning already.

“Did you think that I would cry,
on the phone?
Do you know what it feels like,
being alone?
I'll find someone new

Swing, Swing, Swing from the tangles of
My heart is crushed by a former love
Can you help me find a way
To carry on again…”

A groan escaped from Isabel’s lips as she pressed a pillow into her face. No, it’s not morning! It’s not morning!

“Wish cast into the sky
I'm moving on
Sweet beginnings do arise
She knows I was wrong
The notes are old,
They bend, they fold
and so do I to a new love.

Bury me
(you thought your problems were gone)
Carry me
(away. away, away...)…And that was the All American Rejects with ‘Swing, Swing!’ It’s 5:30 am and I’m…”

The radio announcer’s voice was shut up by the firm slap of Isabel’s hand on the power button to her alarm. Damn it! Isabel normally enjoyed getting up, especially to decent music, but without much sleep the night before, she wasn’t a happy camper. She had been out pretty late in the desert, just thinking and exploring. She took a deep breath. It’s Monday, the first day of school. No day to look shitty. Gotta look like a million bucks. She hurried into the bathroom, dodging the boxes littering her floor. She turned on her shower and jumped in.

“Shit!!” she exclaimed.

At least the cold water had completely woken her up.

*****

An hour later, Isabel strode towards the kitchen. By now, she was perfect. Her hair was freshly dried and straightened, her make-up didn’t look overdone and flawlessly exaggerated her eyes and lips, and she smelled of her Hawaiian breeze body wash. Her father sat at the small round table in the middle of the room, intently reading his newspaper. The click of Isabel’s Steve Madden heels on the tile floor caught Mr. Parker’s attention, though he didn’t look up.

“Good morning, Iz. Sleep well?”

Isabel rolled her eyes. He was probably mad at her for disappearing last night. In her mind, she welcomed back the usual Jeff ‘I’m-always-annoyed-at-or-love-to-annoy-Isabel’ Parker.

“Yeah. Thanks.” She replied.

She opened the cabinets to look for her travel mug. It was one of those Starbucks ‘make your own design’ mugs. Pretty noticeable.

“Isabel, you shouldn’t have taken off again last night without telling anyone.” Jeff stated, still staring at his paper, while gripping it tight.

“Okay.” She replied coolly, rummaging through the cabinets. Here muggy, muggy, muggy. Come to Isabel.

“Is that all you have to say for yourself?” Jeff questioned with a tone of anger in his voice, finally looking up from his newspaper.

Ah ha! Found it!

“Yes.”

“Isabel Roxanne Parker! Do not take that tone with me!” Jeff shouted. Yeah, yeah, yeah, she thought as she headed for the exit.

“I’d really love to continue this thrilling conversation, but I don’t want to be late for school and I have to go find a decent cup of coffee. Bye now.” Isabel spilled out.

Jeff opened his mouth to further yell at his daughter, but she was already out the door, book bag in hand. He was speechless for an instant. Glancing at his watch, he thought of his other daughter.

“Liz! Time to get ready for school!” he hollered. The loud thump of feet running across the living room echoed through the apartment. At least I can handle one daughter, he thought.

*****

Isabel pulled up to the school ready to take on the world. Tossing her straight hair from her face, she started towards the main doors.

“Isabel!”

Isabel looked back to see her sister coming up behind her. She took a sip of her coffee.

“Hey, Iz. You left early.” Liz pointed out. Isabel held up her mug.

“Coffee. You should know by now that I can’t survive school without a caffeine high.” Isabel said. Liz laughed.

“Yeah, yeah. Ready to go meet Maria?” Liz asked, entering the building next to Isabel.

“As I’ll ever be.”

The office was pretty easy to find again. The hallways were still, for the most part, empty. Isabel glanced at Liz. She could tell her sister was nervous, because she was playing with her hair. The end part of a strand of her dark brown locks was being passed between her fingers over and over.

“Lizzie, relax. This school will be no big deal.” Isabel told her sister.

Liz smiled. Isabel was very attached to her bitchy persona, but beneath that was a heart of gold, and Liz knew that. Isabel just looked straight down the hall. She didn’t want any mush, but her baby sister was her baby sister. Maria spotted them coming and met them halfway from the office.

“Hey guys! Come on, I’ll show you your lockers first.” Maria began, linking arms with Isabel. Isabel was surprised, but took it all in stride.

Liz positioned herself behind the two. She didn’t like a lot of attention on the first day; she found it embarrassing. And oh boy, were there a lot of first days…

“And, the gym is over there, the science labs are down that hall, and the cafeteria is over that way, although most of us just eat in the quad. At least my gang does. A lot of people try to sit with us, but the guys are too picky.” Maria explained.

“The guys?” Isabel questioned. Maria nodded.

“Yeah, it’s me, Max, who you met, his brother, Alex, Michael, and my brother, Kyle. Oh and kinda this annoying cheerleader, Tess. She’s dating Kyle and it’s like they’re permanently sucking face. It’s so gross!” she clarified. Isabel perked up at the name Alex, but decided it was a coincidence.

“Poor you.” Liz muttered. Maria threw her free hand up in the air.

“I know, right! But, really, I think you guys would totally fit in with us! Isabel, I know Alex is excited to see you.” Maria said.

“What?” Isabel wondered. Maria grinned.

“Does a baggage claim mean something to you?”

Isabel eyes widened and stopped in her tracks. Maria giggled. Liz looked bewildered.

“What are you talking about?” Liz asked. Maria pulled her arm from Isabel’s and looped it over Liz’s shoulders.

“Hun, I don’t understand it more than you do. They met at the airport. They flirted. That’s all I know.” Maria told her.

“Know what?” a voice from behind them inquired.

Maria spun Liz and herself around to face with the person.

“Hey, Maxie! You know Isabel,” Maria pointed over her shoulder, then towards Liz, “and this is Liz.”

Liz couldn’t speak. The guy in front of her possibly was the hottest guy she had ever seen. Scratch that; he was the hottest guy she’d ever seen! His amber eyes bore into her chocolate ones. She was lost in them. She hoped she would never find her way out.

Both Maria and Isabel could easily see the sparks fly between Liz and Max. Neither of them had ever shown such a straight-out interest in someone like this before.

“Max, it’s not nice to stare.” Maria said. Isabel, her composure back in place, smiled at the two.

Maria’s words broke Max from his trance. Damn her, he thought. He needed to say something; that was for sure. Think of something, Max! Anything!

“Uh, h-hi Liz.” He managed. Smooth, real smooth, he chastised himself.

“Hi…Max.” Liz uttered. Her voice still couldn’t be trusted to say much.

Maria had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. It was really cute to see how struck the lovebirds were, but the fumbled words were still hilarious. Max and Liz didn’t notice. Isabel tapped Maria on the shoulder and motioned that they should leave them. Maria nodded and cleared her throat.

“Well, now that you two are acquainted, Max, why don’t you finish showing Liz around. You can also show her to the chem class you guys share first period.” Maria declared. Turning around, she looped her arm with Isabel’s and hurried down the hall.

Max could kiss Maria right now for letting him spend some time with Liz.

“So, did you just move here?” he at long last asked. He stood awkwardly in the middle of the hall.

“Yeah. My sister is the new owner of the Crashdown, so…” Liz said, playing with her hair. She wondered when she started acting so weird. Oh yeah, when I met the guy of my dreams and he’s actually talking to me!

“I heard about that from Maria. Uh, has she shown you to your locker yet?” he wondered, finally managing to get two full sentences out. Liz shook her head.

“Not yet. It’s locker number 835.” She responded.

“Then come on. We’re in the wrong part of the school.” He told her, bravely holding his hand out to her.

Liz gladly took it. Just holding his hand was the best moment of her life; it made her feel like she had never lived until this moment. Oh yeah, I love this school, she thought.

****

Maria let lose the laughter she had been holding. Isabel arched an eyebrow at her, but her laughter was infectious, and Isabel couldn’t hide her smile. Maria was definitely growing on her very quickly.

“Oh my god, I’m going to have the best time teasing him about what just happened! He’s never going to live that one down.” Maria giggled. She tried to make a serious face.

“H-Hi, L-Liz.” Maria imitated. Isabel laughed.

“Yeah, I’ve never seen Liz act that way before. She’s totally smitten!” Maria gave Isabel a knowing look.

“Oh yeah, well what about you? I saw the look on your face when I mentioned Alex and the airport.” Maria said. Isabel was about to deny it, but Maria said something before she could even open her mouth.

“Speak of the devil.”

Isabel looked forward towards the end of the hall, where Alex was leaning against a locker talking with Michael. As if knowing she was there, Alex looked straight at them. The blue of his eyes were striking to Isabel, even from down the hall. Isabel inwardly swooned. Maria jerked her towards them.

“Hey guys! Michael, I’d like you to meet Isabel. Alex, I think you two have already met.” She said, with a smirk. A huge grin spread across Alex’s face.

“Hey again, Princess.”


TBC...

A/N - heres the banner --> http://www.geocities.com/lizevans1947/w ... edown.html[/url]

Thanks Trude & Max4Liz4ever (welcome, by the way)!!

Previously:

Isabel looked forward towards the end of the hall, where Alex was leaning against a locker talking with Michael. As if knowing she was there, Alex looked straight at them. The blue of his eyes were striking to Isabel, even from down the hall. Isabel inwardly swooned. Maria jerked her towards them.

“Hey guys! Michael, I’d like you to meet Isabel. Alex, I think you two have already met.” She said, with a smirk. A huge grin spread across Alex’s face.

“Hey again, Princess.”

Chapter 7

Oh. My. God.

I did not just say that out loud…

I did!

Dork!

Oh no, she looks kinda pissed…

Moron!

Fix it! Fix it!

“I mean, hi Isabel! I, uh, didn’t think I was going to see you again!” Alex sputtered, his grin rapidly disappearing as he noticed the look she was giving him. Like she was appalled by his saying that and was going to slap him for it. He desperately wanted to look away, but was too engrossed in her beauty to be able to. He didn’t even notice Michael cracking up beside him.

“Hey, Alex. Well, I told you before that I just moved here. You just never asked where I was moving to.” Isabel said. She’s talking to me! Good! Now, brain, keep working!

“Stupid me. Are you guys gonna be here for a while?” he asked. Isabel gave him a funny look, while Maria turned bright purple from trying to hold in the giggles. Damn it! Of course she’ll be staying for a while; she moved here. Brain, you didn’t listen to me!

“Um, yeah. I own the Crashdown now.” She told him. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking. It was either she was mad, nervous, irritated, or just damn intimidating…maybe all of them?

Before Alex could say anything more to humiliate himself, the first bell rang. The masses of students started to rush themselves around the quartet.

“Isabel, what’s your first period class?” Alex inquired quickly. Congratulations! I said something without sounding like a jackass! Good for me! She glanced at her schedule.

“Trig. You?” She responded.

“English. But,” he said, moving so he could see her schedule, “we have U.S. history and lunch together. Anyway, I’ll walk you to your trig class…I-if you want.”

Isabel smiled and nodded. Alex broke out his goofy grin. Isabel threw a look back at Maria, who was leaning on Michael for support. Isabel didn’t need to ask. Alex held out his arm for Isabel to take.

“Milady.” He said, with a touch of an extremely fake British accent. Nooo! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

Despite the comment, Isabel just smiled again and took it. Alex’s arm felt like it was being shocked with a bolt of electricity wherever Isabel’s skin touched his. No one had ever affected him like this. Not the smart girls in computer class. Not the girls he flirted with in the halls. No one but the goddess. I wonder if she feels it too…

****

Maria collapsed into deep laughter the second Isabel and Alex were out of sight. Michael held her up so she wouldn’t drop to the ground. Maria was a complete goner when she went into a giggle-fit. And Alex’s goofy antics around Isabel definitely pushed her over the edge. Even Michael, who only chuckled every so often at some stupid joke, was full-out laughing. Alex was pathetically head-over-heels for this girl. Sure, he said really dorky things when he flirted with girls. Hell, he said dorky things all the time! But, he had never acted that gawky when dealing with the opposite sex. He said stupid stuff in a friendly way; not an I’m-trying-to-impress-you-but-failing-miserably kind of way. Maria pulled a heavy breath into her lungs.

“Oh god, that was funny! First Max, then Alex! I’m set for life!” Maria exclaimed, clinging to Michael. Michael gave one last chuckle.

“Yeah. I don’t think I’m gonna let that one slide any time soon.” Michael responded.

Maria hid her giggles behind a smile as she looked up at Michael. As she looked into his face, she realized he was holding her very close. His grin faltered as the relaxed atmosphere between them was replaced by an acute awareness. Of her in his arms. Of her eyes. Of her hair. Of the feel of her skin. Of her lips. What am I doing?! He questioned himself. Kyle would kill me for touching his sister, and since when have I wanted to be with Maria?! This can’t happen!

“Um, we should get to class.” Michael said, extracting himself from her. He didn’t miss the somewhat thwarted look on her face. She stumbled backwards a bit and crossed her arms.

“Oh yeah….see ya.” She mumbled. In an instant she was down the hall, entering one of science labs.

Michael sighed. He hated that he had upset her. He hated that things were going to be weird between them. He hated that he couldn’t kiss her.

****

“Thanks, Alex, for walking me here.”

Alex smiled. He was only too eager.

“No problem! Um, so I guess I’ll see you at lunch?” he wondered.

“Definitely. Well, I gotta go in now.” She said, motioning to the classroom. Alex rammed his hands into his pockets.

“Yup. The exciting world of trig awaits you.” He told her, immediately feeling dumb…again. I must have a heinous alter-ego, he thought. One that makes me humiliate myself…I’ll name him Loki. Damn you, Loki!

She gave him a funny look, trying to suppress the smirk tugging at her lips. She turned and walked into the room. Alex moved towards the nearest locker and leaned against it, giving his head a light bang. Why did Loki make him look like a complete bumbling idiot? Oh yeah, he’s evil. I’m just going to have to find a way to kill him before lunch, he thought as he sauntered off towards his first period class.

****

Isabel settled into her seat in the back corner of the room. Seating charts were always handy when going to a new school; she didn’t need to already have a person to sit next to. The classroom was quickly filling with students, and she wondered who was going to sit next to her for the next quarter. Before long, someone was heading straight for the seat beside her. He wasn’t too tall, but definitely beefy and muscular, with medium-brown hair, and a letterman’s jacket. He threw his book bag onto the desk and fell into the chair. She crossed her legs away from him, and played with the pen in her hand, looking incredibly bored. He leaned onto the desk and looked her over.

“Hey, I’m Kyle Valenti.”

Isabel raised an eyebrow. She remembered Maria mentioning something about having a brother named Kyle. Didn’t she also say something about him having a girlfriend? Tess; that’s it.

“Hi.” Isabel pretended not to care. Out of the corner of her eye, she could tell he looked frustrated.

“Not talkative, huh? Let me help you out. And your name is…” Kyle said.

“Isabel.” She responded casually. Kyle leaned back in his chair.

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it? Are you new to the school, ‘because I don’t think I’ve seen you around?” he asked.

“Yeah, I just moved here.” She responded, her pen now tapping against the desk. Normally, she’d be flirting with the guy, but at that point, she didn’t feel like it. He was Maria’s brother, and he obviously was going to be a guy she was going to be hanging out with a lot. Plus, she wanted to be thinking about a different guy…

“Oh, really. If you want, I could show you around. Introduce you to my crew.” He offered. Was that a pickup line? I think it was! Isabel finally turned to him and gave him a crooked smile. Kyle looked slightly surprised, but returned the smile.

“I don’t know if Tess is going to like that you’re trying to hit on Me.” she mentioned with a knowing, teasing look.

Kyle’s jaw dropped. Isabel let out a laugh.

“Uh, how’d you know about Tess?” he inquired. He thought she said she was new.

“Your sister told me.” Isabel responded, noticing that a woman resembling a moose entered the room. Teacher’s here, she thought. A look of understanding crossed Kyle’s face, along with a frown.

“You know Maria. It figures. She knows everybody. And she never shuts up. Oh, wait! Isabel….You must be Isabel Parker! She’s been ranting about you and your sister for a good day or so.” Kyle stated, brightening up. Isabel was a bit flattered. Maria is definitely a sweetie; becoming close friends with her seems worth doing, Isabel decided.

“You going to be sitting with us at lunch?” Kyle whispered as the teacher began to talk.

“Definitely. You going to be introducing me to that girlfriend of yours?” Isabel whispered back. Kyle mouthed a ‘yeah,’ and then Isabel turned to the front of the room.

Isabel was excited for lunch. Maria was so bubbly and silly that Isabel knew something funny was definitely going to happen. She was going to meet Tess, who supposedly was a bitch, but she was dating Kyle, so she was going to be around her a lot. She would get to see Liz and Max act really lovesick around each other and get to harass Liz about it. And lastly, she would get to see Alex again. Earlier had been a little awkward with all the weird and dorky things Alex had said, but Isabel surprisingly didn’t care. She definitely was thrown off when he called her ‘princess.’ Okay, it had irritated her for a second. But she got over it fast. In fact, she got really anxious. She didn’t know why. She did know that Alex looked really cute when he was nervous. Normally, she would have scoffed at a guy who said something like ‘milady’ when extending his arm, but on Alex it was so adorable. And oh, when they touched, it had been like magic! Pure electricity. She had never felt before what she felt with Alex. She couldn’t explain it. Any of it. All she knew is that she wanted to feel that way forever.

TBC....

Hey! This part gave me a hard time, for some reason. Thanks to Sternbetrachter, Crashdown2006, & Roswelluver!

Trude - The loki thing; loki is the name of some god of mischief. i decided that having an alterego is goofy enough that alex would do it! lol! And, if I had made Isabel and Kyle attracted to each other, I think even I would gag! I'm really glad you loved that part!


Chapter 8

“And so, a vector is a…”

Isabel was rapidly scribbling down notes in her large notebook. She wondered why this class wouldn’t end, as she wrote down the hundredth boring fact her physics teacher told them. She wanted class to conclude as quickly as possible. She had lunch next, which meant she would get to see Alex. But time was against her. She had a feeling that it went by super slowly just to bug her. Swearing that she saw the long hand of the clock go backwards, Isabel dropped her head onto her hand. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this antsy to get to her next period class; she couldn’t remember the last time she was this antsy, period. Isabel glanced up at the clock once again. Time to go! Isabel closed her notebook and threw it into her back pack. As she tossed her pen into one of the smaller compartments of the bag, the much anticipated bell finally sounded.

“Finally!” she muttered to herself.

Isabel hurried through the crowd in her classroom to get to only another maddening crush of people. She veered to the right, towards the quad. Instead of finding her way through the crowd, she found her way straight into someone’s chest. Oh shit! She stumbled backwards but strong hands kept her from falling. A soft chuckle drew her eyes into those stunning blue ones she loved so much.

“Alex? Uh, what are you doing here?” she questioned, flustered. She looked straight into his chest; his eyes were too intense. The slightest blush spread over his cheeks.

“I saw that you had trig fourth period, and since you’re new, I decided to escort you to where we sit.” He poured out.

Isabel couldn’t get over it. Alex was undeniably adorable! And the way he, at that moment, was holding her was incredibly sweet; his hands gently clutched her upper arm and hip, keeping her steady yet not pulling her closer as to prove himself a gentleman. Most of the guys Isabel had known would have already tried to grope her, and the ones who didn’t only relucted because they were afraid of her and her attitude.

“So…can I walk you?” Alex asked, his voice shaking Isabel of her thoughts.

“Sure.” She responded simply. The feel of his hand on her hip disabled her from forming complete sentences.

Alex seemed reluctant to let go as he slid his hand away; first from her shoulder, then from her waist. Just as the tips of his fingers left the soft material of her satin pink top, she automatically reached out and linked her arm with his. She looked up to his face, which radiated happiness. This isn’t your typical school-girl crush, she resolved. Alex guided the two of them towards the quad, anything but unhappy to have the goddess on his arm.

******

The quad wasn’t it’s usual busy self. On a slightly cooler day, the picnic tables would be taken within seconds and the grass would have a decent amount of students lounging on it. But it was hot, very hot, and the masses liked the air conditioning the cafeteria had to offer. Despite the heat, Liz and Max settled down at one of the tables, their hands still joined. Neither of them wanted to let go. They had spent the morning getting to know each other….and flirting….a bit.

“So, let me get this right. Maria is your best friend. Maria is the sister of Kyle. Kyle has a girlfriend named Tess. Maria’s in love with Michael, but doesn’t know it yet. Michael is best friends with Alex, who is your older brother. Right?” Liz stated. Max nodded.

“Good job. Now all you have to do is include you and Isabel and you’re set.” Max affirmed.

“Aw, you’re sweet. Speaking of, I hope she knows where to find us.” Liz noted. Max squeezed her hand.

“I wouldn’t worry. Alex is probably off trying to find her, if Maria hasn’t beaten him to it.” Max said, as Liz scanned the crowds.

“Oh, look! There they are!” Liz confirmed, making a little wave to Isabel.

Max looked over at the large double doors leading to the cafeteria. He saw Maria leading Alex and Isabel, who were attached at the arm, over to the table Max and Liz had claimed. Maria was talking about something and waving her hands wildly, as she liked to do, but Max had the feeling Alex and Isabel didn’t hear a word she was saying. He knew the feeling. Maria marched up to the table and sat down next to Max. Isabel sat next to Maria and Alex dropped down next to Isabel. It didn’t take more than two seconds for Maria to notice that Max and Liz were still holding hands.

“Hey guys! Have fun without me?” Maria asked, giving Isabel a little jab in the side while looking straight towards the area where Max and Liz’s entwined hands were in plain sight. Isabel gave Maria a knowing look.

“Of course not. The two words ‘Maria’ and ‘fun’ don’t work without each other.” Max replied jokingly.

“You know it.” Kyle said from behind Maria and Isabel. He leaned forward to give his sister a quick hug and winked at Isabel. The wink didn’t go unnoticed by Alex, who scooted slightly closer to Isabel so that they were barely touching.

“Oh, Kyle, this is Liz and Isabel. Isabel, Liz, this is my brother, Kyle.” Maria introduced. Before Kyle could say or do anything, a shrill voice echoed from behind the group.

“And I’m Kyle’s girlfriend, Tess.”

Isabel turned around to take a glance at the girl. With a critical eye and a smug look on her face, she looked Tess over. Tess was a short little thing with wavy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and a, well, slutiness about her. Isabel wondered if the word ‘tramp’ was tattooed across her ass. Maybe she would ask Kyle. She was already scowling at Isabel, probably because Kyle winked at her. Kyle realized Isabel nor was anyone else going to finish the introduction.

“Isabel’s there and Liz is there. Are you going to sit with us or what?” he pointed out. Tess scoffed at the girls, then pressed herself up against Kyle. Dragging a bright red nail across his chest, she pouted her lips.

“Nope. I was thinking of visiting the eraser room instead.” She told him seductively. Alex made a very loud gagging sound, as Maria turned around in her seat to yell at the couple.

“Stop! Kyle, you have better things to do than to hang around with her and disgust us with your bad taste. And Tess, I don’t think you’ve properly fucked every member of the football team lately, so why don’t you get on your way. We would like to eat our lunches in peace.” Maria announced, ready to vomit from seeing the public display of affection. Kyle was a little upset. He didn’t have that bad taste! Tess was fuming.

“They’re always like this. Maria calls Tess a slut, Tess says the dumbest comebacks, if any, and Kyle doesn’t really care, except for the fact that he loses out on a piece of ass for a few hours. He starts to care when Tess tries to insult Maria too much. You know, big brother thing.” Alex whispered in Isabel’s ear in explanation, his breath tickling her neck.

Turning her head towards Alex so that she could mouth the word ‘thanks,’ Isabel didn’t realize how close their faces would be. Now, instead of tickling her neck, his breath was against her lips. The both of them paused. This couldn’t happen; not here, in front of everyone. But neither of them could turn away.

“You’re just jealous ‘cause I have a man and you don’t ‘cause you’re a frigid bitch!” Tess retorted.

Maria started to get up to get in Tess’ face. In the process, she kicked Isabel’s leg by accident. It was distracting enough to break the connection between her and Alex. Maria started to go towards Tess, but Kyle blocked her.

“Shut up, Tess. Don’t call her a bitch ever again!” Kyle declared. Tess’ cheeks turned red and she stomped off. Maria grinned and hugged her brother from behind.

“Kyle, I could’ve taken her, but you made the right choice! Now, all this slut-bashing has made me hungry!” she announced, retaking her seat.

The table was joined in laughter. Kyle shrugged and took his place between Alex and Max. The guys made a few stray teasing comments about Tess. Kyle put up little struggle. More teasing. After taking a few bites of her snickers bar, Maria was ready to take charge of the conversation again.

“Okay, so I have an idea for tonight’s brooding night!” Maria began. The guys brightened, especially Kyle, who wanted to talk about anything other than him and Tess. At the confused looks of Isabel and Liz, Maria clarified herself.

“Oh, we have a brooding night the first day of school every year. We do something fun and eat a lot of junk food to make us happy, because otherwise we’d be all depressed about summer ending and school starting.” She explained.

“Wait, lemme guess! This year, I’m sensing…ice cream and movies.” Alex joked, a miniscule amount of tension showing in his voice. The near kiss between him and Isabel left awkwardness between them, and Alex knew it.

“Noo…it’s way better than movies….there’s ice cream though.” She mentioned. Max rolled his eyes. Maria was obsessed.

“O-kay, so what is it?” Michael asked, dully. Maria smirked.

“I’m not going to tell you. It’s a surprise. Just meet at my house after school. We can take the Jetta, the jeep, and maybe Isabel’s car to get….where we’re going.” Maria told them. Everyone looked like they pretty much agreed.

“The only problem is; I have no clue where your house is.” Isabel mentioned. Max spoke up before Alex could.

“Don’t worry about it. I can ride over to the Crashdown with Liz, and show you where you’re going from there.” Max suggested, looking predominantly at Liz. Alex frowned. He wanted to be the one to do that.

“That’ll be great.” Isabel said, her smile very noticeable.

“Yeah, thanks.” Liz added, looking straight back at Max. Maria nudged Isabel’s leg with her own.

“Where are we going, Maria?” Michael asked. Maria ignored him. Everyone was getting really curious.

“Yeah, come on. Please!” Kyle said. Maria stuck her tongue out at him, not saying a word.

Alex didn’t really care where they were going. All he knew is that he would get to spend even more time with Isabel. And somehow, he would eliminate the weirdness between them, and replace it with, hopefully, comfort. The bell rang, announcing the end of lunch. Alex and Isabel sent parting glances at each other.

“Remember! My house after school. See you guys then!” Maria announced as everyone began to walk away.

Max and Liz walked off with their hands still embracing. Michael, Kyle and Alex started towards the gym. Maria linked arms with Isabel.

“So, do I get to know?” Isabel asked. Maria sent her a sly grin.

“May-be…” Maria sing-songed. Isabel nudged her shoulder.

“I’ll bring you ice cream…” Isabel suggested, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Maria seemed to perk up.

“What kind?” she questioned.

“Cookie Dough.” Maria smiled.

“The roller rink.”

“What?” Isabel asked. Where did that come from?

“We’re going to the roller rink! There’s one about twenty miles from Roswell. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see the guys on skates!” Isabel laughed. This was going to be one hell of a funny outing!


TBC...

Sorry it took so long to post this! Hurricane Isabel is giving me some time to write, so I hope to have the next chapter out a little sooner ! hope u like it!

Chapter 9

Alex leaned back onto the soft leather of the backseat of Isabel’s mustang. He could hear the quiet chatter of two girls in the front gossiping over the sound of the radio. Isabel was driving god-knows-where with Maria in the passenger seat, and him and Michael in the backseat. Max, Liz, and Kyle were following in the jeep. Alex knew that Isabel knew where they were going. First of all, she was driving. Second, he saw that she brought a pint of ice cream for Maria, which suggested that Maria had been bribed. Why hadn’t I thought of that, he wondered. The minute they got into the car, Maria had dug into the ice cream and Isabel had turned on the radio.

Here in this diary
I write you visions of my summer.
It was the best I ever had.
There were choruses and sing-alongs,
and not a spoken feeling.
I'm knowing that right now is all that matters.
All the nights we stayed up talking
and listening to 80's songs;
quoting lines from all those movies that we love.
It still brings a smile to my face.
I guess when it comes down to it...

Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up:
These are the best days of our lives.
The only thing that matters
is just following your heart
and eventually you'll finally get it right…

Alex couldn’t hear a word they were saying, but he could definitely hear Isabel’s angelic laughter combined with Maria’s ditzy giggles. It amazed him how close they had gotten in the course the two of them had gotten in the tiny amount of time they knew each other. It was the same way with the whole group. It seemed like Isabel and Liz were made for this group. He noticed Maria shove another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

“Damn, I should have brought ice cream for Maria too.” Michael mumbled. Obviously, he noted that Isabel knew exactly where they were going. Michael wasn’t too into surprises. He leaned onto the inner edges of Isabel & Maria’s seats.

“So, Isabel, where are we going?” Michael asked.

“Nice try, Mikey. You’re right, you should’ve brought ice cream too, but you didn’t. You’re just going to have to wait and see.” Isabel responded, using Michael’s mom’s nickname for him. Michael made an annoyed noise and sat back in his seat, completely pissed off.

Alex laughed. You had to have some serious guts to call Michael ‘Mikey’ to his face.

Breaking into hotel swimming pools,
and wreaking havoc on our world.
Hanging out at truck stops just to pass the time
The black top's singing me to sleep
Lighting fireworks in parking lots,
illuminate the blackest nights.
Cherry cokes under this moonlight summer sky
2015 Riverside, it's time to say, "goodbye"
Get on the bus, it's time to go.

Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up:
These are the best days of our lives.
The only thing that matters
is just following your heart,
and eventually you'll finally get it right. (“In This Diary” – The Ataris)[/i]

The guys stayed quiet for the rest of the ride. Alex couldn’t stop thinking about Isabel. Michael couldn’t stop thinking about how he was missing the hockey game on ESPN. It was a good fifteen minutes before the engine stopped, the music ended and the two saw where they were.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Michael exclaimed. Isabel and Maria stepped out of the car to greet the arriving jeep.

Alex and Michael made no move to get out. Alex did notice the hilariously appalled look on Kyle’s face, though. He would’ve laughed if he wasn’t just as horrified. How was he supposed to win over Isabel if he was falling on his ass? Maria started to drag Kyle by the ear towards the building, Max and Liz quietly tagging along behind. She didn’t even turn around when she yelled at Michael and Alex.

“Come on, you babies! Get a move on!”

The two still didn’t move from their seats. Alex looked up at Isabel, who was standing next to his door, mock-glowering at them. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, her purse dangling from her arm.

“You heard her.” Isabel stated, smirking.

“Not going to happen.” Michael declared. Isabel glared at him, then quickly shifted her gaze to Alex.

“Alex, please!” she pleaded. Alex’s face softened. He couldn’t deny Isabel. Scrambling out of the car, Michael shook his head at him.

“Whipped.” Michael muttered under his breath. Isabel glared even harder at him. Alex stood closely next to Isabel.

“Fine. Have it your way. I’ll just go get a very pissed off Maria to come out here and get you.” Isabel said, grabbing Alex’s arm and walked towards the main door. Michael sighed. Roller skates or a pissed off Maria….roller skates or a pissed off Maria…..definitely, roller skates.

****

Alex rolled onto the slick floor of the rink. He hoped the times he had come here with Max and Maria back when they were younger would flood back to him. He hadn’t been that bad. Hopefully, the same would apply now. He could already see Max and Liz gliding across the floor, not too clumsily. Maria had probably made Max come here a bunch of times, so he must have experience. And Liz looked pretty nimble on her feet. It was scary how fast those two became inseparable! One second it’s “hi” and the next it’s “I can’t not touch you.” He would have to bug Max about his Liz-related tendencies back at home. Close behind him was Maria with Kyle on one arm, and Michael stumbling around, leaning on the other. Michael was not graceful, that was for sure. Alex could hear a staggering behind him. Isabel was trying to get over to where Alex was, but having a little trouble. Alex turned to help her with an outreached hand. An embarrassed Isabel, tossed her golden hair away from her face, then gladly took it.

“I guess I don’t have as much balance as I thought.” Isabel commented, gripping onto Alex’s arm as he steered them onto the floor. Alex was overjoyed; his fears about looking stupid melted away with every second that Isabel clung to him.

“I wouldn’t say that. I bet you’re really good at lots of other things that take balance, like skiing or skate-boarding or something.” He responded loudly, trying to be heard over the blaring speakers surrounding the rink.

Since the moment I spotted you
Like walking round with little wings on my shoes

“Oh, I love this song!” Isabel cried, gaining the confidence to throw one arm up in the air so she could sway to the song a tiny bit.

“So do I.” How could he not? Speaking the lyrics was like speaking his feelings about Isabel.

My stomach's filled with the butterflies... and it's alright
Bouncing round from cloud to cloud
I got the feeling like I'm never going to come down
If I said I didn't like it then you know I'd lied

Every time I try to talk to you
I get tongue-tied
Seems like everything I say to you
Comes out wrong and never comes out right

So I'll say 'why don't you and I get together and take on the world
and be together forever
Heads we will and tails we'll try again
So I say why don't you and I hold each other and fly to the moon
and straight on to heaven
Cause without you they're never going to let me in
And slowly I begin to realize this is never going to end
Right about the same you walk by
And I say 'Oh here we go again'

When's this fever going to break?
I think I've handled more than any man can take
I'm like a love-sick puppy chasing you around
And it's alright
Bouncing round from cloud to cloud
I got the feeling like I'm never going to come down
If said I didn't like it then you know I'd lied

Every time I try to talk to you
I get tongue-tied
Seems like everything I say to you
Comes out wrong and never comes out right

So I'll say 'why don't you and I get together and take on the world
and be together forever
Heads we will and tails we'll try again
So I say why don't you and I hold each other and fly to the moon
and straight on to heaven
Cause without you they're never going to let me in
And slowly I begin to realize this is never going to end
Right about the same you walk by
And I say 'Oh here we go again' (“You and I” – Santana featuring Alex Band)
****

CRASH!

Maria’s stomach was starting to hurt from laughing so much. Michael had just impressed her and Kyle with his show of his feet flying out in front of him, his skates up by his nose, and falling straight down on his ass. Michael had fallen all over himself non-stop since they got here. For some reason, it never got old.

“You, my friend, are a clumsy oaf!” Kyle told Michael. Michael groaned as Kyle tried to help him off the ground for the millionth time. Maria couldn’t stop laughing.

“What’s so funny, Blondie? Oh, so you think it’s hilarious that I can’t roller skate?” Michael accused. Maria nodded a few feet away from him, trying to muffle her sniggers with a hand covering her mouth.

“Fine. I’ll make you laugh yourself to death. Remember, I know where you’re ticklish!” Michael stated, starting for the girl.

Maria only had a moment of panic, before any tickling problems were solved. On his way to tickling Maria, he forgot that he would have to skate and immediately tripped over his own feet, sending him falling straight to the ground again. Kyle joined in with Maria’s incessant laughter.

Michael was completely fed up. He was missing a hockey game and for what? Maria laughing at how he couldn’t roller skate! It wasn’t like not being able to roller skate was going to affect his life any, except for the excruciating humiliation. Fuck this.

“I’m out of here.” Michael got up and started to stumble towards the exit. Still in hysterics, Maria tried to catch up to him. The minute Michael fell onto the wall of the rink, Maria was immobilized again.

“Come….come…back!” Maria choked out, holding her midsection. But Michael had already fallen out of her sight.

****

Isabel sighed as she fell onto the soft comforter of her bed. Today had been better than she could have ever imagined. She had really good classes and finally found a group of friends that she felt she really clicked with. Even better, they were popular and exclusive! But by far the best thing about her day was being around Alex. It was definitely fate that they were reconnected. That much was definite. There was something about him. There was something about her when she was around him. It felt like maybe….

“Izzy?” Liz’s voice echoed into Isabel’s room. Isabel sat up on her bed.

“Yeah, come in.”

Liz entered her sister’s room with a bounce in her step only Isabel could notice.

“What’s up?” Isabel asked. Liz shrugged her shoulders.

“Just wanted to talk,” Liz said, a sly grin enclosing over her lips, “and find out what’s going on between you and Alex.”

Isabel gaped at Liz, who took a seat on the bed next to her lounging sister.

“You’re one to talk Mrs. Max! You spill first!” Isabel exclaimed. Liz dreamily drew in a breath.

“Well, we aren’t officially a couple, but we both want to be! I’ve never met anyone like him! He loves biology. He’s sweet, caring, and intelligent….It was almost as if we were meant for each other! Though, that can’t be possible because fate doesn’t exist, but still!” Liz stated. Isabel glared at her sister.

“There is too such a thing as fate! I live by it! Come on, I know you watched ‘Serendipity.’” Isabel told her. Liz shook her head.

“‘Serendipity’ had a script. Those coincidences were created by a team of writers. Besides, I don’t like not being able to make decisions for myself.” Liz argued.

“You dork! They explained that in the movie! They had John Cusack do a speech about how fate gives us signs and puts us in different situations, but we choose how to interpret them!” Isabel explained. Liz looked skeptical, but Isabel could see the wheels in her head churning in consideration of what she had said. Liz decided for a subject change.

“Anyway, now about you and Alex…” Liz queried. Isabel blushed.

“I don’t know. We had a flirty thing going on when we first met, but I thought I would never see him again, so I tried to forget him. Simply another chance wasted. When I saw him again, I was just so happy. And, I know this can’t be just a pathetic, going-nowhere crush kind of deal! It’s more than that. You know, he called me ‘Princess’ and said some super nerdy shit, but I don’t care! In fact, I find it adorable. Oh! And when we touched, it was like…magic.”

Liz was stunned. Isabel was never gushy or feely or straight-out emotional like this, ever! Isabel was a very closed-off person. She had been for years. Isabel had once told her about how much she needed control over everything if she was going to survive their parents. Ever since, Isabel had been an Ice Princess. It had come in handy when they were battling their mother, but now it was a relief when Isabel showed herself in any sort of an emotional way, other than angry. But Alex had a real effect on her. In the few minutes they knew each other, they had created some type of bond. What they had between them was pure and wonderful, and Liz was excited to find out where it would lead. She missed Isabel.

TBC…

Ch. 10 here....I just wanted to get it out, 'cause chapter 11 is going to take me longer, since I wanted to lengthen it quite a bit (expect a long chapter).

Trude - Thanks so much for liking this so much! You should be the one winning the best feedbacker award!


Chapter 10

The following three days had passed pretty uneventfully for Isabel. Small squabbles with her father in the mornings, school, flirting with Alex, hanging out with the group after school in the Crashdown, and finally, talking with Liz about Alex and Max. The only vaguely out of the ordinary thing was Maria’s plans for this weekend. She had decided that everyone needed to come over and watch some movies all night that night. Isabel was happy for any excuse to be around the gang, especially Alex. She was happy just to be accepted. They made her feel special. They made her feel like she might just be able to trust them.

It was Friday and it seemed like the day just wouldn’t end. It was only physics class and already Isabel was going crazy. It started with her father screaming at her about something; she had no clue what he said, considering she just ignored him and walked out the door. Math was a sea of dumb formulas and class work that Isabel barely lived through. Now, her teacher was on some rant about their lab books and couldn’t be more boring. Her eyes kept drifting towards the wall clock to check the time. Every time she looked at the clock, the minute hand appeared to move backwards. After around 80 glances, she had five minutes until lunch.

“Oh, come on.” She muttered to herself, slumping back in her seat.

“Miss Parker? Did you have something you wanted to add?” the teacher questioned, noticing her lack of attention and quiet mumbling.

Isabel sat up immediately, disturbing the silence of the room with the scraping of her chair.

“Um…no.” she responded flatly. Her teacher gave her an irritated look, with his arms crossed.

The shrill sound of the bell echoed through the room. Isabel, along with the rest of her class, started to leave. But before she could go anywhere, the stern voice of the teacher stopped her.

“Miss Parker, sit back down. We have something to talk about.”

Damn it! She thought as she resigned herself back into her seat. Her teacher walked up in front of the desk. Isabel was humored by her teacher’s attempt to tower over her and instill intimidation in her. It didn’t work.

“It’s only the first week of school and already you’re not paying attention. This is not the behavior I want to see in my room again. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” he questioned. Isabel inwardly groaned.

“Yes, in fact, I would like to say I was simply anxious to get to my next class, but on Monday I promise to give you my full attention.” Isabel claimed. The portly man seemed to relax a bit.

“Very well, you can leave now.” He aggravatedly replied.

Isabel faked a smile and jumped out of her chair. It disgusted her to have to suck up to all of her teachers, but she couldn’t help it. She had a gift for letting people see what they wanted to see. She breezed through the doorway to find Alex leaning on a locker next to her.

“You’re late, Isabel Parker.” She smiled, authentically this time.

“Yeah, well, the dumb old fart in there was mad that I wasn’t paying attention. Is it my fault that he’s incredibly boring?” she defended, looping her arm through his. It had become automatic in barely any time at all.

“Ooh, making trouble for the teacher, huh? That’s…”

“…naughty?” Isabel finished for him. Alex glanced sideways at her.

“Uh, I wasn’t going to say that, but sure…naughty Isabel. Sounds about right.” Alex chuckled. He paused, as if to double take at his own words. Isabel sucked in a breath, a little nervous about where the tone of their conversation had gone. Isabel playfully gave him a swat on the arm in an attempt to lighten the mood, catching the attention of their friends at the table they approached. Maria and Liz glanced at each other.

“Trouble in paradise?” Kyle jokingly questioned, his mouth full of chips. Isabel glared at him while taking a seat next to him, Alex quickly moving in beside her. The smirks around the table weren’t missed by Alex and Isabel.

“Shut it, Valenti. And, I mean literally, ‘cause I seriously don’t need to see the crap you’re chewing.” Alex remarked, receiving a round of giggles from Maria. Kyle instantly locked his jaw, his cheeks reddening. Alex smirked and pulled out his lunch from his backpack.

“See, Kyle! I’m not the only person that thinks you have no table manners,” Maria flaunted, then turning to the table, commented, “I’m always trying to prove that he’s truly a caveman, but do you guys listen to me? Noooooo…”

Kyle scowled at Maria and gave her a sharp kick in the shins.

“Ow! You asshole! I’m gonna beat your ass soo bad!” Maria screamed.

Maria leaned forward, her wicked nails ready to tear up a bit of the flesh on Kyle’s hand, but Michael’s firm grip stopped her. He had wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her wrists, keeping her from mauling her brother.

“Let go of me! Damn it! I’m surrounded by impolite cavemen! Excuse me, but I would like to kill my brother now, if you don’t mind.” Maria exclaimed, trapped in Michael’s arms.

“Nope.” Michael responded. Maria tried to wiggle free, with no success.

Kyle wiped his brow of non-existent sweat.

“Whew! Thanks, man. Us cavemen gotta stick together you know.” Kyle thanked Michael, with a special wink during the word caveman. The table laughed, while Maria struggled even harder.

“Okay, okay, Maria, calm down. It’ll be more fun to kill him in his sleep anyway.” Max coaxed his best friend, through the laughs. Maria grinned.

“Hey, you’re right! Thanks for the great idea, Maxie!” Maria squealed, sending an impending death glare at Kyle. Kyle groaned.

Then Maria realized that Michael hadn’t let go of her yet.

“Uh, Michael?”

“Yeah?”

“You can let go of me now.” Maria stated. Michael embarrassedly pulled his arms back beside him. Maria smiled a little at the light blush that appeared behind his ears. What? She thought. I’m just observant!

Liz decided to pull her eyes away from Max’s long enough to change the subject.

“So about tonight,” Liz started. Maria brightened and took over. Liz was right; it wouldn’t take more than three words.

“Tonight is going to be hugely fun! I’ve already bought the junk food. You know, the basics; popcorn, chocolate bars, marshmallows, coke, orange soda, pixie stix, tortilla chips, potato chips, curly fries and gummy worms. Then, for the main food, I planned out that we’re gonna order pizza at six and Chinese at midnight…”

The guys looked fiendishly happy. Isabel looked mildly sick.

“Maria! How the heck do you expect us to eat that much?!” Maria just laughed.

“Wait and you’ll see. With these guys, it’s never enough!” Isabel looked skeptical, but Alex, Kyle, and Michael all nodded emphatically. Max looked like he agreed, but Isabel had the feeling that he’d rather be nibbling on her sister than anything Maria mentioned. Maria didn’t care, since she had more to talk about.

“Now, about movies, we have some decent ones, but I guessed you guys wouldn’t want to see the same movies we’ve watched a million times, so I rented ‘Bridget Jones Diary,’ ‘Dogma,’ ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ and ‘Practical Magic.’ Any problems with that?” Maria stated. Michael and Kyle seemed alarmed.

“Hell yea! Where’s the action? Sounds like a shit-load of chick flicks!” Kyle argued. Maria wasn’t happy.

“Yeah, well you sound like a shit-load of…”

“Maria, don’t worry about it. I just bought this kick ass movie that the guys will love. You guys ever heard of ‘The Boondock Saints’? Movie with two Irish gun-wielding guys? Very bloody.” Isabel interrupted. Alex and Michael’s jaws dropped. Alex looked at Isabel adoringly…as did Michael.

“Uh, Isabel, what these two drooling slobs want to say is that they love that movie. They’ve been obsessed with it since they saw it when it came out in theaters, but haven’t gotten around to buying it, since they’re fucking lazy!” Maria explained. Alex and Michael looked at each other, and grinned madly. The bell announcing the end of lunch pierced their eardrums and forced them to pack up. None of them looked joyful at the thought of leaving lunch.

“Everyone! Meet me at my house by four! Bring your stuff! And, Isabel, don’t forget to bring the video!” Maria yelled over the chaos.

Isabel didn’t bother yelling over the crowd as she dragged a still-drooling Alex towards their history class.

TBC....

Chapter 11

Alex dipped back into his seat in an effort to make himself more comfortable. History was a long class that took a lot of patience that Alex just didn’t seem to have. He understood the importance of knowing it all, but he had trouble sitting still. Computers were much more his style. With computers you can do millions things at once, instead of copying page after page of detailed notes, needing to focus on just listening to some fact the man in the front of the room was dictating. But, he made sure to pay attention. He knew for a fact that Isabel loved this class, and he definitely liked knowing what she was talking about when she made historical references. For the billionth time, Alex wondered how Isabel could be so smart, so beautiful, so witty, so funny, and so wonderful all at the same time. She sat three rows in front of him and one row off to the right, and although Alex would’ve loved being as close as possible to her, he thoroughly enjoyed just watching her during class. With perfect posture, she sat straight up, her hair falling around her shoulders as her head bent to look at the stream of notes she was taking, only to be put under control with the flick of her hand sending one side of her golden locks to the other side. Her face was set in a pensive state, as if trying to hear every syllable uttered in the room. She didn’t seem to notice that Alex stared at her all period long. He could’ve easily sat there forever just looking at her, but unfortunately, the class only was 45 minutes long. A soft tap on his shoulder roused him from his daydreams.

“Alex, are you going to just sit there for another class period in a trance, or are you going to walk with me to class?” Isabel laughed. Alex shook his head, wondering where his mind went, and shoved his red history notebook, along with his pen, into his backpack.

“Yeah…” Alex mumbled, as he checked for any remaining junk around his desk, before running out into the hall after Isabel.

“So, Isabel, can you give me a ride after school to Maria’s? Michael is borrowing my car, and I’d definitely prefer hanging out with you instead of doing Maria’s errands with him.” Alex explained. Isabel arched an eyebrow at him, but immediately started laughing when he looked at her with his mock-innocent eyes.

“Okay, sure. Meet me out by my car after school. We have a little time to kill before we have to go to Maria’s, so I hope you don’t mind spending a few minutes at the Crashdown.” Isabel commented, leaving his arm for the excitement of her next class. Alex grinned and walked on. Maybe, just maybe things will get even better between me and Isabel tonight, Alex thought. I hope…a lot.

*****

Isabel was glowing with happiness at Alex’s cornball cracks as he opened the back door for her. That was one more thing she had only first experienced here; she had never before known a guy with such manners as Alex had. Every other guy she had lowered herself to never would have opened a door for her, but here was Alex, doing the gentlemanly thing. He had been complimenting her during the car ride, whenever he hadn’t been making little jokes. Isabel adored it. Smiling, she took his hand and began to lead him across the hard tile of the back room of the Crashdown.

“Come on, I have to get changed and grab the movie.” Isabel told him as she shuffled towards the stairs, him quick on her heels. Before she could reach the stairs, the phone rang. Turning to roll her eyes at Alex, she quickly ran to the wall and picked it up.

“Hello?” Isabel said sweetly.

Within seconds her face paled. The joy ran from her face and her mood. She instantly began to stand ramrod straight, crossing her arms defensively over her chest while keeping the receiver next to her ear.

“Don’t bullshit me. What do you want?” she responded coldly to someone over the line. Alex was perplexed. Who could it be that made her so upset so suddenly? The sound of the phone ringing brought Mr. Parker from the office towards where Isabel was at attention. Before he could motion to her to tell him who it was, Isabel’s yells filled the room.

“No, you don’t love me. You’ve never loved me….no! Don’t lie to me, you drunk! You…fuck you!” Isabel screamed and slammed the phone down. Mr. Parker and Alex both were struck. Mr. Parker’s anger boiled over.

“Isabel Parker, was that who I think it was? Didn’t I tell you to be polite?! How am I ever going to…” Mr. Parker began to lecture before Isabel cut him off.

“Shut-up! All you fucking care about is what people think! Leave me the hell alone!”

Isabel immediately shot up the stairs leading to the apartment. Tears blinked in her eyes, but she shoved them away. She didn’t have the time to worry about them. There was no need to think twice about what she was going to do; grab her things and use her fire escape to get to her car. She sprinted down her hallway towards the dark wood of her doorframe. Her hand reached for the doorknob, automatically turning the locking mechanism on its opposite side.

A body stopped the door from being closed. Isabel looked up into a pair of concerned eyes. In the background, she could hear her father storming up the stairs.

“Alex.” She pleaded. He immediately moved into the room, closing the door himself, satisfying them both with a click.

Meanwhile, Isabel pulled her Armani exchange backpack from her closet and began to fill it with some necessaries; her wallet, her keys, the videos Maria wanted, and her denim jacket. The forthcoming footsteps in the hall moved her faster and moved Alex to the window.
“Isabel Parker!”

“Go, Alex, go!” Isabel quietly urged. Alex slipped through the window, waiting for Isabel to follow.

The doorknob began to shake as Isabel slid the window shut. Isabel gripped Alex’s hand, her bag dangling from her arm, and rushed him down the narrow steps of the fire escape. Isabel knew her father was furious. There was no amount of money in the world you could offer her to stick around and deal with him that she would accept. Isabel climbed down the ladder nearby to her car as fast as humanly possible. Jeff would figure out they were trying to escape, and he would definitely try to cut them off. The moment Isabel’s feet touched the earth, she whipped her keys out of her pocket and jumped into the soft leather of the drivers’ seat. With a swift stroke, the engine roared to life. Alex, ignoring the existence of a door, vaulted himself into the passenger seat and threw her bag in the backseat.

Somewhere close by, a heavy door was thrown open and slammed against the nearby wall. Isabel instantly pulled out of the parking lot. Thank goodness there wasn’t much traffic at four in the afternoon; Isabel left little space between the gas pedal and the floor of the car. Her long hair whipped around her face as she sped towards the barren desert. She was almost too preoccupied to put on some music. Almost.

Now I will tell you what I've done for you
50,000 tears I cry
Screaming,
Deceiving,
And bleeding for you
And you still won't hear me
...go away...
Don't want your hand this time
I'll save myself
Maybe I'll wake up for once (wake up for once)
Not tormented daily defeated by you
Just when I thought I'd reach the bottom

I dive again
I'm going under (going under)
Drowning with you (drowning with you)
I'm falling forever (falling forever)
I've got to break through
I'm, going under

Blurring and stirring the truth that comes out
(I don't know what's real and what's not)
Always confusing the thoughts is my head
So I can't trust myself anymore

I dive again
I'm going under (going under)
Drowning with you (drowning with you)
I'm falling forever (falling forever)
I've got to break through,
I'm, so go on and scream
Scream at me, so far away
I won't be broken again
I've got to breathe
I can't keep going under

I dive again
I'm going under (going under)
Drowning with you (drowning with you)
I'm falling forever (falling forever)
I've got to break through,
I'm, going under (going under)
Going under (drowning with you)
I'm going under (Evanescence – “Going Under”)


***

All Alex could do was blink. Here he was, in the hottest car with the hottest girl in the world, and he didn’t seem to understand how he got there. He didn’t even know where he was going. He tried to go over it in his mind.

“Don’t bullshit me. What do you want?” she responded to someone over the line.

The only person Alex had ever seen her fight with was her father, and it couldn’t possibly have been him.

“No, you don’t love me. You’ve never loved me…no! Don’t lie to me, you drunk! You… fuck you!” Isabel screamed and slammed the phone down.

Love me? Wait…

“Shut-up! All you fucking care about is what people think! Leave me the hell alone!”

What people think? Was that…an ex-boyfriend?

It made sense to Alex. The person drank, which sounded like a teenager to him, they lied to her, and they said they loved her; it sounded like a relationship gone wrong. Alex couldn’t help feeling overwhelmingly jealous. You’re an idiot if you think she’s never had a boyfriend before, he chastised himself. She’s a wonderful person, and oh man, is she gorgeous. What was a guy like him doing going after a girl like her? You know what, she probably was still with the mystery phone man, and was leading himself on this whole time. He had thought she felt something for him with the way they had been flirting, but it must’ve just meant nothing to her! Alex felt seriously sick to his stomach. How could I have been so fucking stupid, Alex questioned himself. Without looking at her, he snapped off the radio.

“Pull over.” He declared icily. No words were needed for him to know that she was confused out of her mind. She probably is going to act all innocent, Alex fumed in his mind.

Isabel drove the car off the road and onto the desert. After half a mile, the pulled the car to a full stop. Alex pulled himself from the car and started to pace, his dark sneakers kicking up the dusty ground. A tornado of sand followed his feet back and forth in front of the car.

“Alex, what’s the deal?” Isabel asked, now emerged from the mustang. She was concerned. What could’ve possibly happened in the past few silent minutes to make him act like this? The music she played wasn’t that bad!

Without looking towards her, Alex started to spill his anger like a torrent of water from a broken dam.

“You weren’t going to tell me were you? God! How could I have been so stupid?! You come here, I see you once in an airport, and I think I’m never going to see you again, but to my luck, I do! Then I thought, ‘nooo, she couldn’t possibly be interested in me,’ but then we immediately got close, so then I thought you actually had feelings for me! Dumb little naïve Alex, huh? Well, guess what! I’m not going to be used like that! I’m better than that! That person back ‘home’ can sleep soundly knowing that I’m not going to take you away from them, don’t worry!”

Isabel was speechless. What the fuck was he talking about?

TBC…