Roswell Fanatics

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Title: Long To Be
Author: Borders InSaNiTy
E-mail: BordersInSaNiTy@yahoo.com
Rating: TEEN/MATURE(language)
Category: AU – Alternating POV’s – Dreamer based as always. Is there anything other than that?
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING that pertains to Roswell. Just wish I did…
Summary: Liz finds herself in unfamiliar territory with no memory on how she got there. It’s not the first time she’s ended up in new surroundings and it probably won’t be the last. There’s so much more that I want to say here but I won’t because it will ruin everything so you know the drill… Hang in there and all will be revealed soon. Hopefully.
Author’s Note: Okay… I know this sounds lame but I have to tell you how I came up with this idea. I was sitting at home watching MTV2 and saw the video Faithless by Injected. Many of you have probably seen it, it’s in the top twenty and was at number three (week 4/13)… so anyway… The one scene that popped out at me is where the guy is dancing with a girl and another girl in the white shirt and hat walks past and grabs the guy’s attention. That one scene is what made me write this fic. I know… you’re saying I have to be crazy to do it. What am I going to do once I’ve written the scene my way…? Good question and I didn’t really know until I wrote the Prologue… I have the next few parts already written so just keep in mind to give it a chance… thanks in advance for hanging in there. I know that you will since there was so many that hung in there with Too Bad… Love you all! I only hope you will like it. Let me know if I should continue. Ok enough rambling and on with the story…


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could you be lost
are you so free,
do you long to be
when the sun goes down, do you feel that feel when no ones near you
you know it's such a mystery how you washed up over me
i couldn't breathe, and i couldn't speak, lest i drown

but it's my kind
i'll never be cruel and i'll always play the fool
to be as loveless, as shameless as you.
but i'm so blind
i'll do it again i feel your eyes sink in
so faithless as you've been.

yes i'm so lost
i am not free but i long to be
when life goes down, do you feel as though you're gonna drown
you're going down
you're gonna drown
you're going down

but it's my kind
i'll never be cruel and i'll always play the fool
to be as loveless, as shameless as you.
but i'm so blind
i'll do it again i feel your eyes sink in
so faithless as you've been.

yes i'm so lost
i am not free
yes i'm so lost
but i long to be
but i long to be
but i long to be

Faithless by Injected


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PART 1 ~ LIZ

I wake up knowing that it has happened again. I had given up the idea of freaking out a long time ago. As usual I lay here trying to see what is the last thing I remember doing. I lay here trying to remember what day this should be. All this helps keep me sane, because if I didn’t try and look at it logically I would definitely be in some loony bin by now.

I immediately reach for my journal when my memory comes back after being in the depths of sleep. I was a little surprised that it wasn’t there. The key word being ‘little’. I used to get freaked out when things weren’t where they were supposed to be but when it has been happening to you for as long as you can remember you learn to deal. I sit up in my bed and swing my feet to the floor. I try to take in my surroundings only to find that it’s too dark in my room to see anything worth a shit. I get off the bed and make my way to the door thinking that the light switch is there.

Sweeping my hand over the wall the light switch is flipped on and I squint as the bright light shines in my eyes. Some things are hard to forget. The light is always by the door no matter what room you are in. Word to the wise, if ever you wake up in a strange room go to the door and turn on the light. It will help you save your toes in the long run.

I was a little surprised to find that during my little episode that I had moved to a new apartment. Well, apartment is saying a little too much. This was a studio room of some sorts. To the right was my desk. At least I had the brains to bring my own stuff this time. There was a time that I had nothing, nothing at all. Talk about freaking out. You should have seen me then. I walk over to the desk to see if there might be a clue of where I was. Seeing none I continue to make my way around the room.

I’m facing a door that is closed. I reach out with my hand to open it up and notice that it’s shaking. What? Just because I’ve lived with this condition for my entire life didn’t mean that when it happens that I’m not a little scared to see what’s behind door number two.

Taking a deep breath and holding it to the count of ten I let it out. Turning my head to the right and letting my spine adjust itself and then doing the same motion to the left I’m now ready to face my fear. My hand is firmly resting on the knob. Come on Parker. What could be so bad? It’s either the bathroom or a closet and taking in the size of the room my guess is that it is a closet.

Closing my eyes I turn the knob slowly and pull it open. The door creaks as it makes its way open. I hate creaky doors. I make a mental note to find some WD-40. I open my eyes and look inside. Yep, I was right it is a closet. I’m looking at a closet filled with clothes. Rifling through them I see some that I recognize and I see a few that I don’t. Okay. I can handle this. Evidently while I was having my ‘little’ episode I went on a shopping spree. I can live with that. I hope that they don’t disappear sometime during another one of my episodes.

I shut the closet door and walk over to the dresser, which is on wall number two next to the closet door. If you are wondering what I mean by wall number two, it’s simple. The wall with the door on it is always wall number one working around the room counter clockwise the adjacent wall is always wall number two. The wall opposite the door is wall number three and the last and final wall is… yep… you guessed it. Wall number four.

Okay, let’s recap. Wall number one: Door and desk. Wall number two: Closet and dresser. Wall number three: Window and nightstand, which is a little bit too far away from the bed and the reason why I couldn’t find my journal earlier. Wall number four: Twin size bed. Standing in the middle of the room I immediately go to the nightstand and move it closer to the side of the bed. I open up the drawer to see if my journal is inside and I’m relieved to see it there. At least some things don’t change.

You may be asking what the importance of the journal is to me. Let me tell you. If you had moments in your life where you lost track of time, you would keep a journal just so you wouldn’t lose what little bit you did remember. Everything in there is my life. Well, my life as much as I can remember of it.

Once the nightstand is where it is supposed to be I decide it’s time for me to venture out into my new world. I walk to wall number one and open up the door. At least it doesn’t creak. I look left and then right. I understand now why my room is so small. I am in the loony bin. I couldn’t help but give a little chuckle. I’ve checked myself into a mental institute. Can you believe it? I sure in hell can’t.

The hall is lined with doors that have numbers on them. I look at my door and realize that not only does my door have the number 123 on it but there is a dry erase board on it as well. And look… there’s a message on it for me.

Liz… I tried to wake you but was unable to. When you get up get dressed and come out to you know where. I’ll be waiting for you there. M~

Well, okay. Clue number one. When I’m in my little episode I still go by the name of Liz. Clue number two. I evidently have a friend whose name starts with M~. Okay, okay. So that’s not much of a clue but when you’re me you take anything you can get. Clue number three. M~ expects me to know where the hell they are. Great. Can my life get any more confusing? Of course!

I turn to look down the hall again. It is now swarming full of teens, my age, both male and female. I now believe that I’m not in the loony bin and take another breath of deep relief. It’s always a comforting feeling to know that I’m not that crazy yet.

I begin to walk down the hall. “Hey Liz.” A boy says to me, and before you even ask, I have no clue who the hell he is.

“Hey, Billy.” I reply. Hey wait. I pause to try and remember. How in the hell do I know his name? I turn to look at his departing figure. He doesn’t even take a second glance my way. I guess I do know his name. I smile to myself thankful for small miracles.

I turn back around and I see a workstation facing the door that leads outside. I lower my head and act like I know what I’m doing. I’ve learned from experience that if you act like nothing is wrong and that you belong where you are that you usually don’t get hassled too much. I’m halfway to the double glass doors of freedom when someone calls my name from behind.

Frozen with fear of what is about to happen I slowly turn around. “Liz! You’re up. Thank god. I thought I was going to have to go out there by myself.” I’m looking at a blonde about 5’4”, 105 pounds with green eyes. She’s pretty and a little too brightly fashioned for my taste but I have a feeling this is her norm. She doesn’t even wait for my reply before she has her arm wrapped around me and is hauling me back to my room.

“I was worried that you wouldn’t get my message. Is that what you are wearing?” I look down at my attire. I’m wearing a pair of men’s joe boxer flannel pajama bottoms and a USC sweatshirt. Why didn’t I even think of looking at my clothes for any clues? I’m lost to the blonde’s conversation. My mind is racing. This can’t be possible. No fucking way can this be happening to me.

“Liz, are you okay?” She asks as we are now standing in front of door 123. The door that has a dry-erase board on it and has a message for me from M~.

“Um… Yeah, yeah, I’m fine Maria.” Ah ha! Her name is Maria. I knew it. Well, no I didn’t know it but I do. Never mind. I’m talking in circles. She’s M~. She opens the door and pulls me in. She walks over to the closet and flings it open.

“Tonight is going to be a blast. You haven’t told anyone about it have you?” I shake my head no. I can safely say that ‘I’ haven’t told anyone about tonight because even I don’t know anything about tonight. “Cool. This is going to be so much fucking fun.” She’s flipping through my wardrobe. “Nope, Nope… Here. Put these on.”

She throws me a pair of hip hugger, Levi jeans. They are faded and flared at the bottom. I start to do as she says. “Liz… you haven’t taken a shower yet, it’s too late now. Never mind.” She throws me a white thermal top with a little pink rose bud on the neckline. It’s new to me. I don’t remember it. But it’s definitely cute and it’s definitely me. “Ooh!” I hear her exclaim. “This is so going to work.” She takes a hat off the back of the closet door. It’s one of those tightly form fitting hats that are in fashion right now sort of a cross between a stocking cap and a dress hat. It’s loosely woven and sort of stretches when I tug at it. It’s white like the shirt and it too has pink rose buds only they are lining the edge. It’s actually pretty cute. She throws me a pair of thick socks and a pair of doc martens. They have thick soles and a buckle that covers the laces.

I’m dressed and Maria looks pleased. “How do you do it?” She asks.

“Do what?” I have no idea what she is talking about.

“You just woke up and you don’t have a stitch of make-up on and you look beautiful.” I know I’m blushing.

“There is no way that I look beautiful. I think you’re delusional.” I tell her as I go to my dresser and pull out the top right hand drawer and find my make-up. I look at myself in the mirror and begin by applying my blush. I move to my eyes and add pink metallic shadow on the lid. I line my eyes with a burgundy liner and I finish off my eyes with brown mascara. Digging around in the bag I grab my pink lip liner. I fill it in with pink frost lipstick and seal it with my strawberry lip-gloss that automatically goes in my right front pocket. Granted I’ve never been one to wear much make-up but after one of my episodes I looked at myself and realized that I was wearing just a little bit and ever since then I’ve been trying to duplicate what I remember from back then.

I throw the bag back in the drawer and shut it. “I guess I’m ready.” I don’t sound too confident and Maria notices.

“Look I know you’ve only been here a couple of weeks and you don’t know anyone yet but that is all going to change. We’re seniors and in our last semester. Now is the time to relax and party before we have to head off into the big bad world. Everyone that is anyone is going to be there. I can guarantee that you’re going to love the music and I even know a member of the band. He lets me sing with them every once in awhile. Don’t worry, Liz. It’s going to be fun. Besides I think it’s time that you meet the rest of the gang.” I begin to protest. “I know, I know. You’re not comfortable about meeting new people but they’re great people. You like me now, don’t you?” I shake my head hesitantly. I don’t really know her. Well at least this me don’t know her that well.

“Okay, then it’s settled. Tonight’s the night you meet Max, Michael, Isabel, Tess, Kyle and Alex.” She grabs me by the shoulders and pushes me to the door. “Let’s get going.”

I follow her because I still have no idea what is going on or where we are going. She walks around to a red jetta and climbs in and I instinctively go to the passenger side as if I’ve done it my entire life. The car starts and sputters and Maria backs out. She sings to the tune on the radio, I join in. I have to admit I really like her I haven’t had this much fun in a long time. I think we’ll be able to become really great friends. The ride to where ever we are going is a long tedious drive and I find myself looking out the window at the landscape before it is even over.

I can’t believe I’m here. I’ve lost at least two weeks of my life and not only that I’ve moved over three thousand miles during that time. You see; I’m Liz Parker from Newington, Connecticut. The last thing I remember is being home for the holidays. We had one of the best Christmas dinners ever and I had brought my boyfriend Sean Wimer home with me from college to meet my folks. God, Sean. What had happened? What do my parent’s think about me moving here?

I’m brought out from my daze when Maria parks the car in line behind a ton of others. “Well we’re here. Are you ready to have the time of your life?” I open the door ignoring her question and take a look around. I can hear a band playing already. A group of people is making their way to it and Maria and I seem to get separated. I follow the herd as if I’m one of them. My mind was still reeling from my new environment. Why was I here? I had no idea what the hell I was doing in California. I was just at the University of Connecticut, Stamford Campus and now I’m here in California.

I was too wrapped up into my thoughts and realized that I was no longer walking behind the herd of people. I walked over to the table that held the drinks. I grab a beer and take in my surrounding. Who would have guessed that we are on the back nine of a golf course at some country club? Not me. The band playing consists of all boys. I seem to be dressed appropriately because the bass player is wearing almost the same exact thing as me except in shades of blue. Right down to the hat.

I take a swig of the beer and start to listen to the music. There is a ton of people here. I would hate to be the one that let the information leak. The way that Maria made it sound was that this was a private party that no one was supposed to know about. Yeah, right. No one knows, and I’m the president of the United States.

I gaze over the crowd and my eyes come to rest on a dark hair man. He’s so amazingly handsome that I stare for what seems to be an eternity. “Liz! I thought I lost you! Are you okay?” Maria, she’s funny. She’s actually out of breath and is leaning over to try and catch it.

“I’m fine. I wasn’t worried. I seem to always get where I need to be. Don’t worry about me. What’s up with you? Why are you breathing so hard?” It was true. No matter what I woke up to I always seemed to get myself out of it. I can’t really say that I was lucky. If I were lucky I wouldn’t be suffering with missing pieces of time.

“Okay. Our gang is over here.” She takes my hand and I follow behind her. She had deftly maneuvered around my question about her being out of breath. She was smooth. Real smooth.

“So, which one of your friends is in the band?” I ask. “They are really good.”

“I told you they were good. Alex plays bass.” We just happened to be walking in front of the makeshift stage when she starts waving profusely. The man that is dressed like me waves back and winks at her. I watch Maria’s reaction. Is he her boyfriend? She hadn’t said that he was tonight. I see her thumbing back in my direction and Alex’s eyes make contact with me. He slides down to his knees and starts strumming the most amazing riff that I have ever heard. He was good. Hell he was fucking amazing.

“He approves of you.” She screams in my ear. “He’s only ever done that riff for Isabel.”

“Who’s Isabel?” I was hoping that I wasn’t looking stupid for asking. I had no idea who anyone was until I had a face staring at me. And according to Maria I had yet to meet them yet.

“Isabel is Alex’s girlfriend.” She said smiling. “Just a word to the wise. Ignore her until she gets to know you. Throw everything she says out the window. And whatever you do… Don’t talk back to her.”

“Great. Am I going to be in trouble with her because of what Alex just did?” I had to ask. That was the last thing I wanted to do was make a girlfriend jealous. I didn’t know him and I didn’t force him to do what he just did. The people are making a path for us. Maria is pushing and shoving and I’m thinking to myself that it’s only a matter of time before we get in a fight.

“No, don’t worry about it.” Maria stops in front of me all of a sudden. I walk right into the back of her.

“What’s wrong?” I ask. I look to see who she is looking at and I see a blonde giving me the evil glare back at me. “I take it that’s Isabel?”

“Yeah.” She turns around and grabs me by the shoulders. “It’s just her. I think we’ll wait until the break. I would hate for you two to get off on the wrong foot. And besides I need some reinforcements, someone that will take your side. I can’t hold Isabel off by myself. I’m no god.” Maria is shaking me with every word that comes out of her mouth.

“Maria… Maria. If you don’t quit shaking me I won’t have any beer left.” I’m holding my beer as far away as I possibly can, so I don’t get any on me.

“Oh, sorry. It’s just that I know how she is about newcomers. She doesn’t like them…” She realized the error of her words and began to back pedal really fast. “But she’s going to LOVE you. I just know it.” Yeah, right. Like I’m going to believe her. I take another gulp of my beer. If I’m going to meet Isabel, bitch from hell, then I’m going to be feeling pretty good.

I push pass Maria and walk right up to the blonde. She’s about 5’8 and looks like she could be a model. “Hi, I’m Liz. Liz Parker. Maria’s told me so many nice things about you I just couldn’t wait to come and introduce myself to you.” I give her my sweet as molasses kiss my ass smile and hold out my hand for her to take it. She hesitates for a few seconds and then takes it.

“I’m Isabel… Isabel Evans and the guy on stage is my boyfriend.” She sends me one of her go to hell smiles and I nod my head as we shake hands.

“He’s good and Maria’s already told me that he was your boyfriend. Don’t worry about me. I have a steady boyfriend at home.” Well at least I hope I still do.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” A guy’s voice enters into the conversation just behind me. I turn to my right and am eye to eye with yet another blonde. Doesn’t this group have anyone with brown hair? And then I remember Alex. I wasn’t going to be alone. Alex had brown hair and blue eyes. Well from where I was they looked like blue. Anyway. I’m looking at blonde number three and his blue eyes are sparkling and I realize why. He’s drunker than a skunk.

“Is this who you were telling me about Maria?” He looks me over as if I was a piece of meat.

“Kyle. I like you to meet, Liz. Liz Parker this is Kyle Valenti and forgive him he usually doesn’t act this way.” I looked at Maria and then back at Kyle.

I hold my hand out to him and he takes it and instead of shaking it he leans over and kisses it. He looks up at me and then he tugs me to the middle of the pack of people dancing. “Come on. Let’s dance.” I hear him say. I look over my shoulder to Maria who has her hands on her hips and then I take a chance to look at Isabel. She’s waving to me with one evil look in her eyes.

“Kyle, slow down; you’re going to make me spill my beer.” Yes, I still had the same cup of beer and to be honest it was getting flat and all yucky tasting. He turns around and takes the cup from me and throws it to the ground.

“There, now you don’t have to worry about the beer anymore. Come on Liz dance with me.” He takes both my hands and we start dancing. “So, where’s your boyfriend?”

“Umm. Back home.” What else was I supposed to say? I had no idea where he was. I don’t even know why I’m here or how I got here.

“Well then I would have to say that you don’t have a boyfriend. Back home doesn’t constitute as having a boyfriend. I can guarantee it that he’s not thinking about you on a Friday night.” He continues to dance. I do have to admit that he is pretty attractive. A little overbearing for my taste but hey, he had a point. What Sean doesn’t know won’t kill him.

“So. Tell me about you. Where’s back home for you and who did you leave behind?” It’s only fair to ask. If Maria wanted me to become part of the group then I had to know a little about them and it was safe to say I hadn’t met any of them during my little ‘episode’.

“Roswell, New Mexico is back home and no I didn’t leave anyone back there.” He smiled at me. Was that it? He can’t just leave it at that.

“So, did you meet Isabel, Alex and Maria in Roswell or did you meet them here?” I was swaying to the beat of the music that was playing.

“I’ve known Maria and Alex for like forever. We didn’t become friends with Isabel, Michael, Max and Tess until our sophomore year in high school. We’re inseparable now.” He stopped talking. No more information. Nothing. I let it drop because I wouldn’t like some stranger asking me all these questions. There has to be something here that caused me to come here.

There were so many questions that were running through my mind, I didn’t realize the music had ended. “I’m going to go get a beer do you want another one?” Kyle is looking at me as if he could tell I was in some serious pondering.

“Sure. I’ll go with you.” I follow behind as we dart in and out of the people that were swarming in front of the stage. "Wouldn’t it be easier if we just move the group over here that way we wouldn’t have to cut through all these people? This is my second trip through the masses.” I tell him. All it takes is a few swigs of beer in me and I’m miss originality.

“You know, Parker I’m glad that you’re here. They just don’t seem to understand the importance of being close to the beer table. Maybe with the two of us we could get them to change.” He looks back over his shoulder at me and smiles. He turns back around and runs into the dark haired guy that I had spotted earlier when Maria had interrupted me. “Hey man. We are all over there. We’ll be there in a minute. We’re just getting another beer. You guys want anything?” They both shake their head no.

So Kyle knew him and… I see a small petite blonde attached to his arm. Figures, he likes blondes. Doesn’t anyone know the benefits of a true brunette? I don’t think so. I watch the interchange between the two guys and I look at Kyle’s friend and get lost. His amber eyes flicker in the moonlight. A girl could get lost in there if she wasn’t careful. Kyle takes my hand and pulls me behind him. I smile as we pass the other couple and I don’t look back. Do you know how hard it was for me not to turn back and look at his ass? It practically killed me but I had a feeling that like Isabel the blonde on his arm was as possessive as she was. I didn’t need that. Two out of three girls not liking me was not for me. They would only be the death of me.

We get our beer and I follow Kyle back to where the group was. Their numbers had grown in such a short time. Now there was six of them standing there all eyes were on me as Maria was flapping her gums to everyone. Out of them all there was only three sets of eyes that didn’t look like they wanted to kill me for entering their little group. I’ll give you three guesses on who they are and the first two don’t count. Nope. Nope… Okay. I’ll just tell you. The three that don’t look like they hate me already is Maria, Alex and the guy that Kyle and I bumped into on our way to the beer table. Imagine that. There are now three guys and three girls. Alex and Isabel are standing by each other and then there is Maria and let’s just call him Spike until I get the name and then there is the dark head bombshell with his blonde bimbo.

“So, Kyle. Where’s your girlfriend? Everyone seems to be taken but you. What gives?” I ask before we get up there. I thought it was kind of weird that out of the entire group that Kyle was the only one without a girlfriend. It was probably the motivation behind Maria wanting me to become part of their little group.

“I’m a mover and a shaker and I haven’t found the right girl just yet.” He emphasized the word yet as he moved his eyebrows up and down at me and then gave me another smile. Okay. The score was four to three. I can live with that. I think. I’m not too sure if I like the idea of Kyle being on my side but I was willing to give him a chance.

“Hey. Okay. We are all here. Guys, this is Liz Parker. Liz this is the gang. Isabel, Alex, Max, Tess and this handsome man is my man Michael.” She was leaning her head on his shoulder and he didn’t look too comfortable about it either. So there I was. In a group of seven people that I had no idea who they were. All I had were their names and that they came from Roswell, New Mexico.

I’m asking could my life get any weirder? I think so. Let the inquisition begin.


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PART 2 ~MAX

“Tell me again why I have to go?” I ask as I’m being swept out of our apartment.

“You have to go so I don’t get hit on. You know that I hate getting hit on.” She says that is her excuse but I actually know for a fact that she is trying to remain free property in hope of Kyle asking her out.

“Why don’t you just take Kyle with you? I’m sure he’s not going with anyone.” The two of them are just alike. Kyle dates all these girls that are so wrong for him just to keep him busy while he waits for her to make her move and she dates no one but insists on hanging around with me just so she doesn’t get bored. “It’s what you want anyway.” That last comment is the reason why I receive a slap to the arm. “Tess! If you continue to abuse me I am definitely not going.” I tell her. She knows that I’ll go but it never hurts to toss out a threat here and there.

“Max. It’s going to be fun. It’s the party of the year and everyone who is anyone is going to be there. Alex’s band got the gig so Isabel will be there. And if Alex is there you know Maria is going to be there and if Maria is there Michael will be there because there is no way that he will allow her to go to a party without him. You know. He likes to intimidate any wandering eyes. So… please, please, please. You have to go.” I listen to her as we walk down the stairs. I’ve known Tess for almost seven years and I know how to play her.

I turn around and stop in front of her. “Well since everyone who is anyone is going, then you don’t need me. There will be plenty of people there to keep the mean, mean boys away.” I try to walk pass her but she grabs my arm.

“Oh no you don’t. You’re taking me to the party and that’s that.” She drags me to my jeep. “Get in and drive.” She walks around to the passenger side of the jeep and hops in. The night air is cool and so she reaches into the back and grabs her jacket. I haven’t had the time to put the top back on. Besides the days are too nice to drive around with it on. California’s winters are nothing. I think they are even warmer than Roswell’s.

I turn the ignition to start the jeep. It’s trying to turn over and I see Tess cross her arms over her chest. “Why don’t you get a new vehicle, Max?”

“Shh… He’ll hear you.” I pat the dash to my precious jeep to make amends for her evil comment. ”Bob is a very sensitive piece of equipment.” I tell her. Women. Sometimes I wonder if they even have a clue what it takes to keep things running smoothly.

“It’s an antique. If you didn’t have a way of making things for it, it would be in some junkyard by now. They don’t even make parts for this year of vehicle anymore.” I know just the way to shut her up. Listen to this.

“If you can’t appreciate the finer things that I have acquired then I think you should just go to the party by yourself.” I turn the key in the off position and act like I’m getting out. I continue my carefully planned maneuver. “You’ll have plenty of people there to ward off unwanted gentlemen.” I’m pretty please with myself.

I’ve become wise in my old age. They don’t like the idea of me keeping myself cooped up in the apartment all the time. I’ve told them on several occasions that I enjoy my peace and quiet. They all know that I am waiting for my special someone to give me the want to go out and live but I haven’t found her yet and I’m beginning to wonder if I ever will.

Tess acts like she’s going to begin to protest but I give her my look that says not to even bother. After going through the hell in Roswell during high school I’m entitled to a little peace and quiet. They just don’t give up though. Every party, every school function I’m being dragged to it as if I’m just an accessory to the group. Don’t get me wrong, there are times that I enjoy myself and then there are times I just want to run and hide.

“Maria’s bringing her friend that she’s been talking about for the past two weeks. You know the one that’s from Connecticut.” That’s all I need is to be hooked up with someone that just moved here.

“Tess if I go you have to promise me that you won’t let the new girl think that I’m available. Okay. I don’t want a girlfriend right now.” You’re probably asking why I don’t want to be hooked up. Well it’s a long story and one that I really don’t want to get into right now. Let’s just put it this way. I’m different than every other person on this earth, well almost every other. There are three others that are like me. Now it just so happens that there are three others that now how different the three of us are and I don’t want that group getting any larger. I’m the leader and it’s my responsibility to look after those few of us. I’m not about to give myself any more responsibility. Nope not going to do. That’s why Tess and I have the perfect relationship.

She doesn’t want me and I don’t want her, yet we make it look like we are together so that we keep the outsider factor to a minimum. Perfect. You agree? I thought you would. I’m drawn out of my own thoughts to see her jumping up and down with this huge smile on her face. “Yippee!” She screams as she is vaulted through the air to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I guess you can see that my going really makes her happy.

“You have to promise not to say anything more derogatory against Bob… he’s special and needs all the tender loving care that we all can give him. If it weren’t for him we would have had to stuff all of us in Maria’s Jetta. Keep that in mind the next time you want me to get rid of him.”

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So the party of the year is on some country club’s golf course. I don’t know who is responsible for setting this up and I’m not even sure I want to know. Tess is dancing in her seat. “You warming up for tonight?” I ask. I know she loves to dance. She had a hard childhood and now that she is out from under Nasedo’s thumb she loves to be normal. Just like the rest of us. Normal… if you were to look up the definition of normal in Webster’s you wouldn’t find us. WE are far from being normal.

“No. I’m not warming up. I just love this song. The beat is really awesome. I wonder if Alex’s band could play it tonight?”

“You could ask him.” Alex would do just about anything for any of us. I wouldn’t have picked a better friend to have if I had done it myself. We sort of acquired him and Kyle as a packaged deal when Michael and Maria began dating. Maria, the one that shattered our world only to make it a much better place, is the love of my best friend’s life. He won’t admit it to anyone but it’s true. Granted it’s been one hell of a ride but things have seemed to mellow for the time being. I’m continuously keeping my fingers crossed and if you really want to know I even cross my toes just for an extra safety precaution. Bad things just have a way of happening to us. It’s our normal.

The two of us travel in silence. The Highlands is about twenty minutes away from the apartment. Not only do the kids from the university like to go there for the awesome parties but the ones that have four by four vehicles go out back and drive the off road trails. Personally I say they are college students on their way to becoming a part of the ever growing economic future of our society and they need to grow up already but I’m one of the few that think that way. I’m sort of the group’s stick in the mud if you haven’t noticed yet.

“Why do we have to come so early?” I start to complain I’m only doing it to get on her nerves. Maybe she won’t think to beg me to go to the next function. “It’s not even dark outside yet and everyone that is anyone knows that the party doesn’t even start until it gets dark out.” I use her words against her.

She stops dancing long enough to turn in her seat so that she can look at me while she explains our current situation. Once she is situated she continues dancing and once she has found her groove she begins to tell me why. “I promised Maria that we would come in early to help Alex with his electrical problem. You know rig the broken generator so his band can play all night without having to worry whether or not its going to crap out.” I look at her to ask her why it had to be us and she’s still bopping to the tune on the radio. I have to admit that it is kind of catchy.

“Why couldn’t Michael and Isabel do that?” I had no idea why I was always the one being nominated for this type of thing but I was. It tends to get on my nerves but I let it slide. They only do it for my own good. Yeah, right and I need a hole in my head.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you call your sister? She might be able to enlighten you.” That was Tess’ way of telling me not to ask her any more questions. I could take a hint.

We pull up and park right behind another row of cars. I can’t believe that there are so many people here already. I climb out of the jeep and notice that Tess is taking off her jacket. Heaven forbid any thing cover up the outfit that she had picked out for tonight. Of course she’s wearing blue. Her favorite color is blue she says it makes her eyes stand out even more when she wears blue. I think it’s a load of crap personally. I tend to stick with the neutrals and the basics. Black. Can’t go wrong with black.

She takes my hand and pulls me off to the side. “I can’t take you anywhere dressed like that. If you and me are going to be pretending for the new girl then you have to be dressed like me.” She looks around and begins to drag me to the maintenance shed that is about fifteen feet away. “You are not wearing black. Not tonight.” She says on our way. I know what she is going to do but I follow anyway.

“If you didn’t like what I was wearing when we left why didn’t you just tell me before we got here. I would have changed.” She stops and looks at me. “What?”

“What would you have changed into? Another black shirt. I’ve seen your closet Max. There’s nothing in there but black.” We are safely inside the shed and she closes her eyes and sweeps her hand over my shirt. I look down at myself to see what kind of outfit I will be wearing tonight. It’s not too bad. It’s white long sleeve shirt with a blue stripe across the chest. She opens her eyes and smiles. “Perfect. Now come on. We’ve got work to do.”

I don’t even acknowledge that she did a good job. If I did then she would be doing it to me constantly and that’s just one thing that I don’t want to happen.

I follow Tess who is practically running to where the party is getting set up. For someone that doesn’t like going for fear that a guy might show her some attention she sure has a funny way of showing it. I follow her with my eyes to make sure I don’t lose her. It doesn’t take her long to find Alex. I look at him and he smiles back to me and waves. I wave back.

“Hey.” I say when I finally get close enough to talk to him.

“Hey, Max. I’m glad that you were able to grace us with your presence this fine evening.” He smiles even bigger because he wants me to know that he is only kidding me.

“Yeah, I didn’t really have a choice now did I. If I didn’t show up to meet Maria’s friend she would kill me.” It was the truth. We all did what Maria wanted us to do. I don’t mean to say it like it’s a bad thing it’s just become rule of thumb with her. She had a way of making all of our lives miserable when she was unhappy and if by the off chance that her tantrum didn’t work we were faced with Michael’s anguish because he had to live with her. We usually humored Maria more than anyone else in our small group.

“Well, the way she talks about her you would swear that this is her new best friend. I’m feeling a little abused myself.” I can understand. Alex and Maria grew up together. They had sleepovers at each other’s house until they hit junior high.

“I’m glad I’m not in your shoes, man.” I give him my sympathy look and stick my hands in my pocket because I really don’t know what to do. “So, what do you need done?”

“So what’s the deal with you and Tess tonight?” It was common knowledge to everyone but Kyle why we acted the way we did. “Umm… well unless there’s an act from a higher power that makes Kyle pop the question I will have to say that we will be acting like the normal college couple.”

“Yeah. Thought so. Have you ever thought about just telling Kyle what’s up?” He takes a nervous glance in Tess’ direction. She would definitely kill him if she knew that he was even thinking the thoughts that he was thinking. “You know that way you wouldn’t have to pretend all the time and you could be actively looking for your dream girl that you have been pining over since I’ve known you.” Don’t get me wrong the thought had crossed my mind a time or two but why throw away the life preserver until you know you are absolutely sure that you reached dry land. I don’t expect to reach dry land anytime soon. My dream girl probably isn’t even on this planet.

“And risk the wrath of Tess. Hell no. You forget we live together. As in share the same living space. I know when not to meddle and if my sister hasn’t taught you when to keep your nose clear then she’s falling behind in her girlfriend duties big time. And what about Maria? You should know that that is taboo from her. Only she has the power to meddle. If I were you, Alex I would wipe that thought from your mind and forget that we even had this conversation.” I look at him warningly. He nods in agreement and then starts to strum a little something on his guitar.

“I think I’m going to go do the generator thing now, that way if I feel the need I can leave. Don’t tell Tess that I’m thinking of leaving and you better not even think about telling Maria either or you are so on my shit list.” I smile at him to let him know that I’m joking and he chuckles back at me.

“Thanks Max. I’ll see ya later.” He turns back to his band and they begin tuning. I have to admit that I have a pretty good set of friends. It was only one person shy of being complete. I walk behind the stage and wave my hand over the broken generator and then pull back on the cord to start it. The years of practice with Bob has done wonders for my mechanical sense of mind. Whenever anything is broken they call me. Yep. I’m your average alien handyman.

With the task done that needed to be done I scan the crowd to see if any of the others have arrived. I don’t see anyone. Now would be the perfect time to try and ditch the party. No one would even notice where I went to and when Tess goes to find the jeep she’ll know that I had left. I begin to make my way to where I had parked when my shoulder is grabbed by a firm grip.

“You’re not thinking of leaving are you Maxwell.” Great, it’s Michael. And how many times have I told him not to call me Maxwell.

I turn around and give him my innocent smile. “No, no.” I shake my head for emphasis. “I wasn’t thinking about leaving. I was just on my way to see if anyone else had shown up yet.” He smiles back at me. He’s not buying it. Figures.

“Maria sent me here specifically to make sure that you don’t leave.” He smiles at me and nods his head to make sure that I understand the implications that we would suffer if I even thought about leaving.

“Fine. I can take a hint. What’s so special about this new girl anyway?” The way that Maria has everyone hounding me I’m beginning to wonder. Maybe I should stay just to see what was so special about the mystery woman.

“I haven’t got the foggiest clue. You know Maria. She said she got this vibe from the girl. She said something about her reminds her of you.” I’m sure my face is giving Michael the exact expression that he is expecting from me. He’s grinning from ear to ear. “What? You scared that you might actually meet your dream girl? It’s about time. You’re the last one of us that needs a significant other.”

“I don’t need a significant other I have Tess.”

“You don’t have Tess. Tess and Kyle are playing their game. They both know how the other feels about them. It’s only a matter of time that they hook up. Who knows they may have already done the deed. You never know man. Face it. You’re the last one. It’s time to live for the here and now, Maxwell. Quit hiding.”

Will this night never end? Yeah. Will I survive? Highly unlikely.

I hang my head down in defeat. “So that’s what this is all about. Maria wants to hook me up. I don’t want to be hooked up, besides Tess and I are doing the act thing tonight. I’m not interested. Tell your girlfriend thanks but no thanks.” As I begin to walk off Alex’s crew begins to play. The crowd swarms the stage area and they start to dance.

“They are getting better.” Michael says to me as he follows me.

“Yeah, they are. It’s amazing how far they have come since high school.” We stop and stare at him. The computer geek of our group has an alter ego as a rock star and it suits him just fine. Tess, who came running up to me from out of nowhere, latches onto me.

“Kyle’s here. You have to dance with me.” I look at Michael who has a disapproving smile on his face.

“If you wouldn’t encourage her you wouldn’t be in the position that you are in. You’ve made your own bed now lay in it, man.” He shakes his head and runs his hands through his hair.

“Tess, why must you do this to him? You like him. He likes you. Why must you torture each other and me as well?”

She stopped and turned around to look at me. “If you don’t want to dance, I’m cool with that. But I think Maria is looking for you.” She points over my shoulder and sure enough Maria was there. I grab hold of Tess’ hand and make our way to the center of the crowd. It’ll take her awhile to find us. Use the masses to hide our position.

“Why didn’t you say so to begin with? I thought you were doing the dancing thing for Kyle.” Sometimes I think she has a one-track mind. Kyle, Kyle, Kyle…

“Well, it was at the beginning and I didn’t see her until I turned around to talk to you.” I shrug my shoulders to tell her to forget about it.

The crowd really likes the song that Alex and the Whits are playing because we are being mixed in with the mosh group. People are jumping up and down all around us. Tess and I are getting pushed around quite a bit. We are unable to see the stage and I hear the riff that Isabel is always talking about. She must be up at the stage and he is playing it for her.

I have to smile they are such a cute couple. None of us thought that he would be the one to win my sister’s heart but some how he managed. The man has skill. I have to admit anyone that can break the ice princess’ ice castle is one hell of a man.

The music changes tempo and we slow down to accommodate the tempo. I look at Tess to make sure that she is doing okay and I see her staring off to her left. I follow her gaze and I see what has grabbed her attention. Or should I say who? Yep, Kyle and it looks like he’s found the next flavor of the night. I look at them make their way through the crowd. Kyle is leading and she is following. I would have to say that she doesn’t look like his average, know nothing, bimbo that he usually has on his arm to get Tess mad at him.

He hasn’t seen us yet and Tess realizes that so she starts to dance in the direction that he is walking. Her timing is impeccable. Kyle walks right into me. He had turned his head to say something to his girlfriend and when he turned back around we were right in his way. Imagine that. Who says you need alien powers to make things happen?

“Hey man. We are all over there.” Kyle points his finger back to where Isabel and Maria are standing. “We’ll be there in a minute. We’re just getting another beer. You guys want anything?” Kyle knows better than to ask if we want a beer. I guess he doesn’t remember Tess’ fiasco that one Valentine’s day in 2001. I shake my head and look back and notice that Tess was shaking her head as well.

She had a death grip on my arm. I think Kyle’s new girlfriend will give Tess a run for her money. I take another glance at her and our eyes lock. She has the most amazingly brown eyes that I have ever seen. I could get lost in them. They look like they go on and on and on. Her hat is covering most her hair but I see the ends of it peeking out from underneath. Dark, dark brown and it is probably silky smooth. She smiles at me but then she notices Tess and the smile fades. I smile back at her as they once again are in route to their destination of the beer table.

“Who was that?” Tess says as soon as they are out of earshot. I couldn’t help but turn around. I had to see all of her. I wasn’t able to get a good look because Kyle was standing in front of her blocking my view. I think he did it on purpose or maybe he was trying to keep the two girls away from each other. Who knows?

“I have no idea. I’ve never seen her before.” I get slapped on the arm. “Ouch. What the hell was that for?”

“That’s for staring at her ass.” My mouth pops open.

“I wasn’t staring…” I wasn’t really. I was admiring and if I told her that I would definitely get another slap. “That’s two. You do it one more time and I’m leaving you here by yourself.” I look one more time at the group and notice that everyone is there except Kyle and us. The music has stopped and Alex is standing next to Isabel. He’s talking about something and she looks pissed. I wonder what he did to make her so mad?

We walk up and all eyes are staring at us. “Oh, no you don’t.” Maria starts. “There is no way that the two of you are pretending. Not tonight. Max. I thought we were girlfriends. I’m looking out for your best interest and you do this to me? I’m hurt.” I look at her and she is faking the hurt teary eye thing. She immediately goes quiet when I notice that Kyle and his date have arrived. Great.

He knows better than to do this to us. You don’t bring in outsiders. You just don’t. It was bad enough that Maria was bringing a friend but for Kyle to do it as well was uncalled for. I notice everyone turn their attention from Maria to the new girl. Boy was she in for a treat.

Isabel is giving her the death glare. Michael is well, giving her the Michael glare which I have to say has scared off more than one girl in Kyle’s days. Alex is smiling. He likes her already. I don’t know what it is but she makes me smile. I don’t get a chance to look at Tess but I know by the way that she is holding onto me that she is probably giving the girl a go to hell look as well.

They are standing right in front of all of us. Maria starts to do her thing. “Hey. Okay. We are all here.” I looked at Maria all shocked and stuff. What does she mean we are all here? She’s got to be kidding. The girl on Kyle’s arm is the one that Maria wanted me to hook up with. I don’t believe it. Can this night get any weirder? “Guys, this is Liz Parker. Liz this is the gang. Isabel, Alex, Max, Tess and this handsome man is my man Michael.” Maria leaned her head on Michael’s chest as an attempt to simmer him down. But I would hate to be the one to tell her that it’s not working.

So, here we are; face to face, with Maria’s new friend, Liz Parker.

Let the games begin.

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<center>Best Portrayal of Michael Guerin in ROUND TWO
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PART 3 ~MICHAEL

I had just walked in from seeing Kyle. I shook my head. I still couldn’t believe what he had planned for tonight. What would the group do? What he wanted to do would change the whole group dynamic. I didn’t even have a chance to set my keys down on the side table before I heard Maria’s voice.

“Michael I’m going to go back. Maybe she’s back from where ever she was.” She grabs her purse and keys off the table by the front door and pushes by me. What am I? Chopped liver? “Please go to the party early and make sure that Max doesn’t leave before I get there.” So now I’m Max’s babysitter. First I’m Kyle’s shoulder to lean on and now I’m Max’s babysitter.

“I don’t know why you think that this Liz girl is going to be your answer to getting Max to date. He’s not going to do it. I know it.” I’ve known Max since we were kids. I knew right away that first day at school that he was like me. Isabel too. I just knew it and I know that Max wasn’t going to switch from what he was. No matter how much Maria wanted this to work she wouldn’t get Max to date until he was ready to date.

“Michael, please.” She throws her head and does that puppy dog look and what can I do? There’s no way that I can win. She holds the key to my heart and there isn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for her. I love her and who knows maybe one day I’ll get enough nerve to marry her. Did I just think that? Oh god! Hurry… back this train up before it derails. I just did not think that. NO. I forgot that Maria was looking at me with that look of hers until I heard her say, “He’ll love her I know it. Now, come here and give me a kiss before I leave.” I’m whooped. I do as she says. See like I told Kyle the minute he finds the one that he’s looking for is the last day that you have a mind of your own. You do and say what she wants you to. You wear what she lays out and you’ll love her for it. Because when you find the one that you love and the one that you want to be with for the rest of your life there isn’t anything that you wouldn’t do for her.

But a man can try. I stare at her like she has another thing coming. Like I’m really going to go over there and kiss her. Those luscious red lips of hers, pressing against mine. My feet begin to move as if they had a mind of their own. Who knows maybe my lips are sending their own orders to my feet to move it or lose it. I’m so close I lick my lips to get them ready to receive this gift from this goddess standing in front of me. As I lean in I close my eyes in anticipation and I’m pushed aside. “Oh, shoot. I almost forgot.” I open up my eyes to see where she is going. Doesn’t she know that we were about to kiss? UGH!

She runs into the bedroom for what I have no idea but she disappears for just a few seconds and she comes out flinging her hands in the air. “What did you forget?” I ask as she comes my way.

“Cedar oil. It won’t be easy bringing in an outsider. I’m actually kind of surprised at how well you are dealing with it.” She does a little jump thing and kisses me on the cheek. “Gotta run. Love ya. See you later.” And she was gone. I’m standing here looking at the back of our apartment door and am wondering where the hell was my real kiss.

I guess I better get going to the party so I don’t miss Maxwell. I really hope things work out. There’s so much going on tonight. So many people have high expectations and if I know our group it’s all going to come tumbling down.

I don’t bother changing for the party. It’s not like I have to impress anyone. I have a woman. I have my friends. Who cares what others think of me? I don’t. I went through that stage in high school and look at me know. I’m at college living with my high school sweetheart and I didn’t have to do anything special. Well… it wasn’t me that did it. It was Maria. If it weren’t for her I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be living with her and I sure in hell wouldn’t be in love with anyone. I would be doing what Max has been doing. I’d be holed up in my apartment not doing a damn thing to bring attention to myself.

I grab my keys and walk out the door. I believe Maria when she says that this Liz chick will be the one. I believe her because she’s been right about every last one of us. That girl has the gift of knowing how a relationship works. Well, everyone else’s relationship except ours. We have our moments and when we do watch out. I need to get away from this way of thinking if I want to be able to last the whole night babysitting Max. It would be just my luck that I drag Maria off by herself and I loose site of Max and he disappears. Not to mention that that would leave Liz open to Tess and Isabel’s wrath. I have to be strong. Maybe if I’m a good boy tonight Maria will reward me this weekend? It’s possible.

I park the bike next to Kyle’s mustang. I knew he would be here early. He had a lot to do before the end of the night. I just hope he doesn’t get cold feet. Good luck, man. More power to ya. Anyway, I begin to walk to the party. Taking in all the scenery as I go along. I know it’s too soon for Maria and Liz to be here. I can’t help but wonder what she’s like. The girl that Maria thinks will be the one for Max.

Speaking of Max there he is and I think he’s going to make a run for it. He’s looking around as if he were looking for someone. I wonder if he realizes that there is no way, he is going to be leaving early. No possible way. He doesn’t see me, which makes me smile. I just love doing this to him. Don’t get me wrong… I love the guy as if he were my very own brother. There isn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for him and I hope he realizes it when he’s forced to face the new girl.

I’m almost there and I can see what he’s thinking. He’s thinking that he’s almost there. Just a little bit further and he’s home free. Ut oh… Not so fast. I reach out with my hand and grab his shoulder. “You’re not thinking of leaving are you Maxwell.” I just have to smile, this is so going to be a great night. I get to watch him squirm. Not only did I stop him from leaving the party but I called him Maxwell. He hates it when I call him Maxwell. Did I say I’m going to love it? I will.

He starts to shake his head no as he says it. “No, no. I wasn’t thinking about leaving.” Yeah, right. Tell me another one. I can’t believe he’s trying to lie to me. Me, Michael Guerin, best friend for life. He should know better than that. “I was just on my way to see if anyone else had shown up yet.” I give him my signature smile that says, ‘yeah, right’. I have some ocean front property in Kansas if he thinks I’m going to buy this line of crap.

“Maria sent me here specifically to make sure that you don’t leave.” I continue to smile at him and shake my head so he gets the idea. He knows what I mean. If I suffer they all suffer. I may love her but Maria drives me crazy at times and I don’t appreciate feeling her wrath.

“Fine. I can take a hint. What’s so special about this new girl anyway?” Yeah, play it up, Maxwell. You’re just as interested as the rest of us. He’s trying to act cool but underneath it all he’s sweating like a pig. He knows she’s the best matchmaker there is. He knows he has no way of getting out of this.

“I haven’t got the foggiest clue. You know Maria. She said she got this vibe from the girl.” All she has told me about Liz is that she’s sweet and will be the perfect girl for Max. I asked her once how she was so sure that she was the one. She just said because she knew. Don’t ask me anymore. I plead the fifth. “She said something about her reminds her of you.” He looks at me with that look. I want to just shrug my shoulders and say how am I supposed to know what that means. If he can’t understand Maria’s psyche then what makes him think I can. I can’t help but grin at him. I decide to break the silence. “What? You scared that you might actually meet your dream girl? It’s about time. You’re the last one of us that needs a significant other.”

“I don’t need a significant other I have Tess.” Not for long. If he only knew what else was going to be happening tonight. The tides were changing there was no doubt about that. Max’s world was about to get turned upside down. And I was going to be there to enjoy it.

“You don’t have Tess. Tess and Kyle are playing their game. They both know how the other feels about them. It’s only a matter of time before they hook up. Who knows they may have already done the deed.” I like to keep him guessing. You know make him question every single thought that runs through his mind. This is our game. We’ve done it since as long as I can remember. “You never know man. Face it. You’re the last one. It’s time to live for the here and now, Maxwell. Quit hiding.” I have to chuckle. The look is classic. You know the one where you’re watching the lead actor in a movie and they are so scared that you can actually see his adams apple bob up and down. Well that was Max just now. He’s scared. Let him be. If it doesn’t work, we’ll all be there for him. No harm, no foul. But I doubt that is going to happen.

Maria has the vibe and she’s going to make this work if it’s the last thing she does.

He hangs his head down and slumps his shoulders some. “So that’s what this is all about. Maria wants to hook me up. I don’t want to be hooked up, besides Tess and I are doing the act thing tonight.” He’s whining. I hate it when he whines. I find it hard to believe that he was king in his previous life when he whines like that. “I’m not interested.” He says as he stiffens back up. “Tell your girlfriend thanks but no thanks.” No way I’m telling her that. You tell her that. He starts to walk off before I get the nerve to speak my mind, so I follow.

I hear Alex and his crew begin playing their first song. “They are getting better.”

“Yeah, they are. It’s amazing how far they have come since high school.” We stop and stare at him. The computer geek of our group has an alter ego as a rock star and it suits him just fine.

Just as I’m about to say something Tess comes running up from out of nowhere and latches onto Maxwell. She breathing kind of heavy and I wonder what she’s been doing. Probably spying on Kyle. Her world revolves around the poor guy. “Kyle’s here.” Knew it. “You have to dance with me.” I can’t believe that they are doing this, tonight of all nights. Don’t they know… well, no. I guess they don’t. I can feel my smirk fade and I can only imagine that I’m frowning at the two of them right now.

“If you wouldn’t encourage her you wouldn’t be in the position that you are in. You’ve made your own bed now lay in it, man.” I decided to tell him how I felt about it and if I didn’t leave soon, I would probably end up choking him. I shake my head and run my hand through my hair as I watch the two of them go off to dance.

I wonder if Maria and Liz are here yet? As if she has a homing beacon tattooed to my ass she suddenly appears. “Have you seen Liz?” She asks. She looks flustered and I wonder what is going through her mind.

“No. I don’t even know what the girl looks like.” She hadn’t given me any kind of detail about the mystery woman. I look around at everyone at the party and I can’t believe the number of people that are here.

“Michael! You’re not helping me here.” She starts to stomp her feet up and down and I almost laugh. Almost. I know better. Living with Maria for four years has taught me that much. I know when not to laugh. I don’t know how she expects me to help her.

“Maria. Calm down. We’ll find her.” She grabs my hand and she starts to pull me through the crowd. “Maria…”

“I can’t loose her, Michael. You should have seen her this evening when I went to pick her up. She was walking around dazed and confused in her pajamas at the dorm. She doesn’t know anyone and if I lose her I don’t know how she’s going to find her way home.” She’s pushing people left and right and I guess I’m not helping matters much by slowing her down.

“What’s she wearing?” I finally ask her and she stops dead in her tracks.

“What?” She’s looking at me like I’ve just sprouted two little green antennae on the top of my head.

“What is she wearing? I was thinking that if I knew what she was wearing we could split up and that way we could cover more ground. Is she still wearing her pajamas?” I wiggle my eyebrows up and down imagining a no face girl wearing a hot red teddy.

I get slapped. “No! She’s not wearing pajamas. She’s…” She stops in mid sentence and then starts running. “Gather the troops I think I found her.” And she’s gone.

Okay… so let’s recap. I’m Max’s babysitter, I’m Kyle’s go to guy and now I’m in frickin charge of gathering the troops. Let’s just get it over with and paint a big red ‘S’ on my chest and outline it in bright yellow. She must think I’m some sort of superman. I try to watch where she is going but lose her in the midst of all the people.

I can’t believe how many there are here. This was supposed to be for seniors only and I know for a fact that half of these kids aren’t seniors.

I slowly make my way over to where everyone is supposed to meet. While on my way I try to keep a look out for the others. I hear the riff that Alex plays for Isabel and have to smile. I have to admit that they are the group’s odd couple. But they’re happy so who am I to judge. After that Alex’s band really starts to rock and I get mixed into all the dancing. Some girl that I’ve never seen before starts to dance with me and who am I to turn a free dance down? So I dance the song out.

When the song ends I continue my way to where the group should be. I get there just as Kyle and some girl are leaving. I roll my eyes and shake my head. I thought he had plans for tonight. Well, I guess some things will never change. Our group dynamic will once again holds its figure. Kyle’s backed out of his plans at the first site of a new girl. Guess Max and Tess can continue their act. “Who’s with Kyle?” I ask as I finally get there.

“That was Liz.” Maria states with her arms firmly planted across her chest.

“That was Liz?” I ask.

“Yeah.” I look at Isabel she doesn’t look happy.

“What?” She practically yells at me. I hold my hands up to tell her to back down.

“What’s got you buggin?”

Maria doesn’t even give her a chance to answer before she gives the 411. “She’s mad because Alex likes Liz.” I look at Maria with my eyes wide open.

“Uh?” I look at Isabel she shake her head in agreement. “I don’t get it. I heard him play that riff for you. You have to be mistaken.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be so mad if he had played that riff for me but he didn’t…”

“He played it for Liz.” Ouch. Maria will never learn. If there was anyone on this planet that could rival Maria it would be Isabel and by the looks of things, Isabel was just two seconds shy of letting it rip.

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” I go to stand right between the two of them. I wanted to be able to stop the blows in case Isabel decided that she just couldn’t hold it in any longer. “It was nothing. Really. Alex only has eyes for you.”

“Oh, stuff it Michael.” She crosses her arms and I step a little closer to Maria. It’s quiet. Too quiet. The music has stopped, which is a good sign because Alex will be here soon. Neither one of them is talking and I don’t do so well under pressure and believe me this is pressure. On one side I have the love of my life. On the other side I have my betrothed from my previous life that is like a sister to me in this life. Decisions, decisions. Please, please, please. Someone save me.

Some of the tension begins to leave the minute I see Tess and Max walk this way. Yeah, Maxwell is going to get it now. The act that him and Tess is doing isn’t going to sit well especially when Maria is already upset. Alex just barely beats them here and puts a comforting arm around Isabel. She turns her cheek away from him and I hear them quietly discussing the error in his ways. My attention leaves the squabbling lovebirds and is focussed in on Max and Tess and my honey bun giving them her wrath. I try not to smile because I know that there is going to be some way that this will get turned into being my fault.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Maria starts. She’s pointing a finger at them. Go Maria! Give them hell! “There is no way that the two of you are pretending. Not tonight. Max. I thought we were girlfriends. I’m looking out for your best interest and you do this to me? I’m hurt.” I see her give him that ‘I’m going to cry unless you do what I say’ pout and I’m practically jumping for joy. I’m in the clear. I’m in the clear. HAHA! Woohoo!

Ut oh. She’s gone quiet. I look to where she is looking and notice Kyle and Liz coming our way. Heaven forbid we show the new girl what we are really like.

“Hey.” She claps her hands together. “Okay. We are all here. Guys, this is Liz Parker. Liz this is the gang.” She starts off by skipping me. I can’t believe she skipped me. Maybe she’s saving the best for last. I'm hoping because if she is then I’m not in that much trouble. She finishes off by saying, “and this handsome man is my man Michael.” My man Michael. How caveman-ish is that? My man? Get over it, take in the new girl, I tell myself.

Is Maria right about her? What do I think about her? Well besides that she’s with the wrong dude she seems all right. There’s just something about her. She seems a little freaked out or something. I can only imagine what must be going through her mind right now. We don’t do well with outsiders and it immediately becomes clear when I hear Tess say, “Come on Max. Let’s go dance.”

Jeez, Tess can you be any ruder? I have to say that I’m impressed with Max he actually tells her that she’s being rude. She doesn’t look too happy. I miss the question that Alex asked but figured it was, ‘Where are you from?’ Since she answered Connecticut.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Was Alex the only one that could ask a simple question? I began to look around at the others. They were all content to basically stand back and wait for the answers to come. “What are you majoring in?” Yet another Alex question. She answers. I’m impressed. She’s smart. Going to be a molecular biologist.

“What the hell is that?” Doh! Way to go Tess. I don’t know how she’s managed to keep out of trouble. She’s got a mouth that just won’t quit but what surprises me is that Liz doesn’t even miss a beat she explains to Tess and keeps on going as if it didn’t phase her. Point. And what do we have here? Max shrugs Tess off his arm. Can you say someone is interested? I want to smile so badly. Maria was right. She is perfect for him and he’s interested too. Go girl. I’ll have to remember to show her how good she is when we get home.

I start to get into this search and find information gathering that everyone is doing and decide to ask my question. “What made you move to California?” She looks like she’s a deer caught in the high beams of an automobile. Maybe I spoke too soon. Maybe there is a reason she moved her and she don’t want any of us to know. Maybe she’s here to spy on us.

“I needed a change of scenery. You know. Get away from the parental units.” What? Who moves from one side of the country to the other just to get away from their parents? Well, I guess if she had parents like I did. Hank was far from being a parent. Kept me around just to get the monthly check.

Her answer must have pissed Tess of because she pulls really hard on Max’s arm. I see him look down at her and then he looks at Liz and says, “It was nice meeting you, maybe we can talk later.” She pulls him again and they are gone. We all just stare at the two receding figures. Maria slumps into my embrace and Liz finally turns around and looks at all of us.

We are all waiting on the next move. Which one of us will be the one to break the ice? “Is she always that bitchy?” Liz asks. We all start laughing because she has no idea how bitchy Tess can really be. “What?” She asks. “What did I say? Maria?” She looks to Maria for help. I look down at her and realize that she’s laughing so hard that she’s wiping the tears out of her eyes.

“Nothing, nothing, just an inside joke. But you’ll get the hang of it.” Maria stands up straight and puts her hands on her hips. I follow her gaze and she’s staring at Max and Tess who just so happen to be looking in our direction. Tess quickly turns her head and Maria settles down a little. Her job is done. She looks up at me and beams that smile that she only shows me. Those luscious red lips moist from her tongue running over them take me into la-la land.

While I was busy daydreaming about Maria’s red lips I missed where Liz had gone and before I knew it Tess was back and saying, “What the hell is that?”

“What?” Maria asks all innocently.

“Don’t give me that. Her! What’s up with her? She bumps into us and rubs her hand all over Max and she leaves. He’s following her. What’s her story?” Tess had her hands on her hips and Maria was matching her move by move.

“Well, if you would have stayed you would have caught everything.” Maria says. Yeah! I know, I know. Tess is one of us but ever since she heard that her and Max were royalty in our other life she seems to think that we should all bow down to her and kiss her ass. Well I hate to tell her but the only ass I will be kissing is my little snookums. Maria is still going strong. “What’s it to you anyway? It’s not like you and Max are married.”

“You didn’t miss much, Tess.” I finally say. If I don’t do something now someone’s going to be getting hurt and I would hate for Maria to go home with green hair. She hates the color green with a passion and believe me Tess knows this little fact and won’t be afraid to use it on her. “Maria is just jerking your chain. She didn’t tell us anything really. She’s from Connecticut. Only child. Doing her last semester in molecular biology major. That’s it.” Sums everything up real nice and quick.

At least that’s what I thought until Isabel had to finally speak up. “Something isn’t right.”

“What do you mean?” Tess asks. Isabel had been quiet through most of the questioning and I should have known that it was too good to be true. I should have known. Isabel trusted new people as much as the rest of us and when it came to them showing interest in Max. You better watch out. “She’s…” Spit it out already. What is she? Friendly, nice, cute. Well cute if I were Max. But I had to admit that there was something about her that sent up my little hairs on the back of my neck.

“Thank you!” Tess blurts out while throwing her hands up in the air. I think that’s a little over dramatic but as I scan the rest of the group its hard to say what the rest are thinking. The jury is still out on Miss Parker I guess. “There’s something about her I just can’t put my finger on. She’s not Max’s type. She’s too plain, too normal.” Tess could probably go on forever on all of Liz’s imperfections. That’s what she was good at, finding people’s flaws and using them against them.

“Oh, for god’s sake, you two! She’s perfect.” Maria blurts out as she turns to Isabel to continue her rant. “Do you enjoy him sitting at home doing nothing? Have you ever thought about what it must be like for him to be alone? For once in your life you guys need to quit thinking about yourselves and think about him. He’s done everything for you guys and I’ve never heard you say thanks to him. He didn’t ask to be the leader. He never once asked what about me.”

She then turns her wrath on Tess. “And you,” she points her finger at her and I have to stifle a laugh because it’s just too funny seeing Maria take on an alien. How many humans would have the nerve to do that? Not very many. That’s for sure. “You don’t help matters either. If you would just ask Kyle out, Max would be free to get a girlfriend of his own.” Amen. Sing it loud sister. Give her the old one-two punch. “But no! You have to keep on pretending. We all know you want Kyle.” She turns to Kyle. “We all know you want Tess so enough of the games and just get it over with!” She throws her hands up in the air and grabs me by the arm and drags me away from our precious little family.

“Um, Maria… Where are we going?”

“Home. You’ve been sending me all these ‘I want to have sex’ vibes all night.” Cool. I’ll have to keep that in mind the next time.

“Um, Maria…” She looks up at me so I continue. “Can you explain to me what that look actually looks like so I can use it in the future.” She slaps my arm and then jumps up into my arms. “One more and I promise I won’t say anything else the rest of the night.”

“What, Michael?” She pulls away from me and looks me in the eyes.

“How’s Liz going to get home?” I knew I was a fool to ask that but Maria brought her.

“Max will find her and they will live happily ever after.” She leans in to kiss me the way she knows I like.

I had a hard time concentrating on what she had said so all I said was, “Oh, okay. If you say so.” I didn’t feel like arguing for I had other things on my mind

“I know so.”

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PART 4 ~ KYLE

“I can’t believe you’re going to do it, man.” I turn and look at Michael. He’s shaking his head in disbelief. “Is that” he pointed at what I was holding in my hand, “the reason you got your own place?” I shake my head up and down. I’m sure the reason he’s smiling at me is because I have the goofiest grin on my face. I can’t help it. The more I try to act normal the wider the grin gets.

“Do you think she’ll like it?” I hold the small black velvet box out for him to inspect the ring one more time.

“What do you think?” He looks up at me as if he’s expecting me to answer him. I don’t know that’s why I was asking him. “Don’t worry. She’ll love it.” He slaps me on the back of my shoulder and says, “I still can’t believe you’re going to do it. You’ve got major balls man. Major.” I normally wouldn’t go to Michael but he’s the only one that would know what I am going through. He knows the ins and outs of the one person that I want to be with, the one person that I can’t seem to have notice me. It’s complicated. My life’s complicated. So what else is new? I’ve died and been brought back to life by an alien. I can handle this. I can do it.

“Yeah, I know. I can’t believe it either, but this is it. Tonight I’m going to ask Tess to marry me.” Yeah, I know. I’ve tried to get as far away from the alien abyss as I could and it never fails I always get sucked back in. No matter how many times I’ve tried to get that girl out of my system I just can’t. Nothing works. So I’m jumping in head first with my eyes shut and hoping for the best.

We’ve been playing this game for the past four years. You know the game where we act like we don’t like each other. We do everything in our power to make the other one jealous. If it weren’t for Michael, Alex, Maria, and Isabel I would have never noticed it. I was blind as a bat. I had no idea that her and Max weren’t an item. Hell they lived together. They were married in their previous life for god’s sake. Every time we went out as a group they stayed closed to each other. How was I supposed to know that she liked me? I don’t have a clue in understanding women and therefore I don’t even try to. So yeah, someone had to tell me what was up and the minute I found out I knew it was now or never. Live or die.

“Hang on for a second.” I leave Michael in the room and run to my closet. “What do you think I should wear?” I yell. I’m standing in front of my closet looking at the same old stuff.

“Hell, I don’t know.” He yells back to me.

I grab something and run back out to the front room. “What about this?” I hold out the selection in front of me; the pants are down low and the shirt is up high.

Michael shakes his head and stands up. “I’m out of here, dude. You’re on your own. I just have one thing to say and then I’m gone. Be thankful that you can still pick out what you want to wear, because once you and Tess hook up she’s going to be telling you what to wear and what not to wear.”

“No, you can’t leave. I need your help. Michael. Dude.” I’m good at begging I’ve been doing it most my life. That’s how I got through high school. Well that and the fact that I was captain of almost every varsity sport there was. “You have to help me. I’m drowning. Look.” I hold out my hands palms down and I look at them. They are shaking like you wouldn’t believe. I look back up at him and he grins at me and opens up my front door and walks out.

“Michael! Michael… you can’t leave me here. I need some help.” Great. He left. I can’t believe I’m doing this. Breathe Kyle. Breathe. I shut the door after I see him get on his bike and drive away. He was the only one that I could count on. The only one that would give me sound advice, well, as sound as it comes when you’re dealing with aliens. I wonder if I should call Alex? Maybe Isabel can help me… “Crap.” I slouch into the lumpy couch. “This is just great. I wonder if Maria would get mad at me for not coming tonight?” I close my eyes and take in a deep breath. Maybe Buddha can help me. Yeah, that sounds like a plan.

I go back into the spare bedroom and sit down on the black mat and face the chubby little guy. “Yeah, it’s me. And yes, I’m asking for your help. Oh great one, please give me the strength to conquer my greatest fear.” I bow my head and close my eyes and focus. The key to meditating is that you need to focus. I sit there and breathe and meditate. I vision the night and the way that I want it to happen. I see Tess accepting the ring and bounding into my waiting arms.

With the help of Buddha I realize that it won’t be so bad. I’ll just grab Tess the first minute I see her and take her out to the 14th hole. It’s a water shot and has a bridge going out to the hole. I can lay a blanket out. Yeah… yeah… I start to get excited about all the possibilities of doing it tonight.

One: It was a Friday. We could celebrate all weekend. Ideas of being locked up in my… I mean our apartment, just the two of us. Can’t go wrong with tonight. Two: The Highlands Golf Course is an original idea and I’m not for sure but I think this would be the first time that anyone has proposed marriage out there. The moonlight shining down from up above and bouncing off the water at the 14th hole. Romantic. Three: All our friends would be there and it would be just perfect. Everyone will envy her and that will be the finishing touch.

Now all I have to do is figure out what to wear. I stand up and bow to the great Buddha and head back to my closet and search. I remember all the times she commented on what I was wearing and it finally dawns on me. It doesn’t really matter what I wear if she loves me then it really won’t matter but still I want to make a good memory for her.

I pull out my dark wranglers and my dark blue button-up shirt. I know how much she likes the color blue. I get dress and take another look in the mirror before I head to the party. I wanted to get there early so I could set everything up. Tonight just had to be perfect. If I didn’t do it tonight I don’t know when I’m going to get another chance to do it.

I shut and lock the door behind me. I got into my car. I put the CD that I had Alex mix for me in. Every song on it was one of Tess’ favorites. The drive out to the club does nothing for my nerves. I don’t know how any man gets up the nerve to ask a woman to marry him. My hands are sweating so badly that I’m finding it hard to hang onto the steering wheel. I wipe one off on my thigh and then wipe off the other one.

“Breathe. You’ll feel better when you get there.” I keep saying that to myself over and over. I hope that it will calm me down but as I park the car I realize that it’s not going to work. I’m still nervous. Was I doing the wrong thing? Did I really want to give up the freedom of dressing myself? No not really but there was just something about Tess that made that little detail seem like nothing.

I dreamt about it last night. Taking Tess over the threshold of our apartment after our honeymoon in the Bahamas. I know… I know… how am I going to afford a trip to the Bahamas? Well it’s a dream so deal with it. I do. Anyway. She was laughing and I was laughing and we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. I could go on but I don’t want to jinx it. And besides I probably should stop because if I continue on this train of thought I won’t make it to the party. All I know is having her as mine is worth me not being able to pick out my own clothes. She just makes me… me. I guess.

I park Betsy a little out of the way so she won’t get all dented up when the rest of the party goers arrive. She was a birthday slash graduation gift from my dad. Betsy is a fire engine red Ford Mustang with black leather interior and all the trimmings. She purrs like a kitten and that’s what I love about her, that and the fact that she’s a definite chick magnet. I wonder if Tess will still like all the attention when we are together. I wonder if the girls will look at me differently once the word is out that Tess and I are engaged.

I wonder if I’m moving too fast. I wonder if she’s going to want to date for a while or what. I’ve thought of everything. If she says that we should date for a while then I can say okay. We’ll just have a long engagement. I really want this to work. What if she says no? I go to the trunk and grab the bag of things that I will need for tonight. Inside the bag is a blanket… some flowers… some non-alcoholic champagne (sparkling cider). Well… they can’t handle alcohol and I want to be able to celebrate. What else was I supposed to do?

I stop walking and think about it for a brief moment. Will she really say no? I can’t think about it anymore so I do the first thing that anyone would do. I head for the beer table. Maybe after a few beers I’ll have enough courage to do it. Yeah… let me have a few beers. I grab the first one and knock it back. Before I can think about it again I grab another and start to work on it.

Feeling the effects of the beer, I start to smile. Everything is going to work out. On to setting up everything. The trip to the 14th hole takes me a good ten minutes to get there. I wave at some of the early gatherers and continue on my way. I try not to think about what I’m going to do. I hurry up and set everything up and leave a note saying that if I find anyone using this spot I’m going to kill them. I have some pull with the football team; there wasn’t anyone that was going to mess with my setup.

Satisfied with my work I get up and head back to the rest of the party. I hang around the beer table drinking as many as I could in hopes of killing all of this pent up anxiety before I see Tess. I’m scanning the crowd and I see Max and Tess standing there. I turn around and nearly bump into a girl that’s grabbing a beer. I’ve never seen her before. She takes a big swig of beer and then turns around and scans the crowd as I do. I was going to go introduce myself when she starts to walk away.

Alex and the band are playing already and I look to see him. He amazes me. Won Isabel’s heart in a matter of years and he still has it. But comparing Isabel and Tess is like comparing football and golf. Two different things entirely. Maybe I should just go up to Tess and do it now. Maybe I should stay here and get another beer. The latter of the two ideas won out and I down another beer. I look for Tess again and didn’t see her. I heard Alex’s special riff and knew that Isabel was here. Well I guess I could go meet up with the others. I’ll ask Tess to marry me when it gets darker. Yeah. That’s what I’ll do.

I cross the crowd and make it over to the group when I notice the new girl. She’s talking to Isabel and Isabel is just glaring. Oh god the girl at the beer table is Maria’s friend, Liz. I better save her before Isabel shoots some kind of alien voodoo at her. I don’t know what she did to piss Isabel off so soon but it doesn’t really matter.

“He’s good and Maria’s already told me that he was your boyfriend. Don’t worry about me. I have a steady boyfriend at home.” That’s my opening. I’ll grab her really quickly and give Isabel a chance to recover from whatever has her in her mood.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” I say just behind her. She turns around and looks at me and I can almost see her roll her eyes. I wonder what she’s thinking. I figured she would introduce herself but she doesn’t and I don’t want to presume that this is Liz so I ask Maria, “Is this who you were telling me about Maria?” I look her over up and down. She’s got possibilities and I think she would be the perfect match for Max. See that’s how I found out that Tess and Max weren’t an item. If they were why would Maria be setting up with the new girl.

Maria starts the introductions. “Kyle. I’d like you to meet, Liz. Liz Parker this is Kyle Valenti and forgive him he usually doesn’t act this way.” She looks at Maria and then back at me. She holds her hand out for me to shake it and at the moment I take her hand in mine I realize that this is the woman that has turned my life around. She’s the reason I now know that I can truly have Tess as mine. I mere handshake wouldn’t do so I lean over and kiss the back of her hand.

I look up at her and then tug on her for a few reasons. One Isabel is still giving her the death look and two; I have to thank her properly for coming into my life. I pull her and call back to her saying, “Come on. Let’s dance.” We move deeper into the middle of the crowd with all intents and purpose of dancing with her. I’m moving really quickly because I don’t want Tess to see me with her. I’m hoping that the masses will hide us and it will give Isabel some time to cool off.

“Kyle, slow down; you’re going to make me spill my beer.” I turn around and take the cup from her and throw it to the ground. She needed a new one anyway and we were halfway to the beer table.

“There, now you don’t have to worry about the beer anymore. Come on Liz dance with me.” I take both her hands and we start dancing. “So, where’s your boyfriend?” I ask her. She had told Isabel not to worry about her because she had a boyfriend. Surely Maria would have checked that out before she even thought about hooking her up with Max. But we never really know when it comes to Maria and the things she does.

“Umm. Back home.” I really don’t believe that she has a boyfriend and I want to ask her more but I see how unsure she is about herself and decide against.

“Well then I would have to say that you don’t have a boyfriend. Back home doesn’t constitute as having a boyfriend. I can guarantee it that he’s not thinking about you on a Friday night.” I continue to dance in hopes of her feeling a little more comfortable with the idea of being new.

“So. Tell me about you.” She asks me as we continue to dance. “Where’s back home for you and who did you leave behind?” Great… I hated being the one to answer the questions because if I were to slip it would really be the death of us all. Literally.

“Roswell, New Mexico is back home and no I didn’t leave anyone back there.” I smile at her and hoped that she didn’t notice that I didn’t give her too much information. It wasn’t about me it was about her.

“So, did you meet Isabel, Alex and Maria in Roswell or did you meet them here?” Great, she didn’t take the hint that I didn’t like to answer questions. She’s swaying to the beat of the music that the band was playing and finally thought of what to tell her.

“I’ve known Maria and Alex for like forever. We didn’t become friends with Isabel, Michael, Max and Tess until our sophomore year in high school. We’re inseparable now.” Phew, that wasn’t so bad.

Maybe if we quit dancing she won’t ask any more questions. I look down at her and ask, “I’m going to go get a beer do you want another one,” just as the music ended. She had spaced out for a moment but the minute I asked she came back from where ever she was.

“Sure. I’ll go with you.” I’m afraid to look back to see if she was following me or not. I was beginning to think that she wasn’t until I heard her say, "Wouldn’t it be easier if we just move the group over here that way we wouldn’t have to cut through all these people? This is my second trip through the masses.” She’s kind of funny. I have to admit that.

“You know, Parker I’m glad that you’re here.” In more way than one but I don’t tell her that. “They just don’t seem to understand the importance of being close to the beer table.” Probably because they can’t hold their alcohol but I’m going to tell her that either. “Maybe with the two of us we could get them to change.” I look back over my shoulder at her and smile. She smiles back so I turn back around and run right smack dab into the middle of no other… Max and Tess. Great. Just great. I was hoping to avoid her.

“Hey man. We are all over there. We’ll be there in a minute. We’re just getting another beer. You guys want anything?” They both shake their head no. I saw the small flinch at my question but then they realized that I was with someone. Tess realized and she latched onto Max as if he were her life preserver. Damn. She pushes him on. I guess I blew it. I pull Liz on so we can reach the beer table.

We get our beer and I head back to where the group was. We don’t talk much maybe she realizes something happened when we met Max and Tess. I should have introduced her to them. What kind of fool am I? The crowd clears and I see that the group is all there. Everyone paired together. Maria was reaming Max and Tess out for something. I can only assume that it’s because they are acting like the perfect couple.

They all stop and stare. I would have to say that the odds are in Liz’s favor. The usual suspects are giving us their glare but I wouldn’t expect anything less.

“So, Kyle. Where’s your girlfriend? Everyone seems to be taken but you. What gives?” I turn to look at her and she’s smiling at me. Nervously I might say. I can only imagine what she’s thinking. I would be thinking the exact same thing if I were in her shoes. She probably assumes that she’s here to be my date.

I want to give her some idea that I’m taken already so I blurt out, “I’m a mover and a shaker and I haven’t found the right girl just yet.” Yet being the key word. Well, maybe it wasn’t that key. I’ve found my girl but she hasn’t so much as found me. We come up to the group and Maria starts her spiel.

“Hey. Okay. We are all here. Guys, this is Liz Parker. Liz this is the gang. Isabel, Alex, Max, Tess and this handsome man; is my man Michael.”

I’m a little hurt when I hear Tess say, “Come on Max. Let’s go dance.” I understand where it is all coming from but that doesn’t mean that it makes me feel any better about her wanting to leave with Max.

I look to Max and have to smile. He’s rooted to his spot. He’s not going to budge. “Tess, you’re being rude.” He says to her. I had to agree that she was kind of being rude. She had a way of doing that every now and again. She crosses her arm and I can see her foot begin to tap. She’s not a happy camper.

Alex asks the first question. “Where are you from?”

“Connecticut.” She pushes a piece of hair behind her ear. It must be a nervous thing. She had to adjust her hat so it was back in place but she looked ready to handle the next question. She answered the questions like we all did. Very vaguely.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters? He asked in the calming voice that I know is one of the reasons Isabel adores him. He just has this whole innocent thing going on and if anyone can make a person feel comfortable while giving away the family secrets it would be Alex. She shakes her head no. She’s an only child. Aren’t we all? Well, except the Evans’ siblings. “What are you majoring in?” Yet another Alex question. Stand back boys and girls, Alex is playing twenty questions.

“I want to be a molecular biologist.” Molecular what? I never did well with the sciences, throw me a piece of pigskin and I will run fifty yards for a touchdown. Put me behind the microscope and I was as lost as the next jock.

“What the hell is that?” Ouch. I wanted to go over to Tess and put a comforting hand on her arm. When she made the comment Max shrugged her off his arm. I could see her going back into her shell just a little. It reminded me of her very first day at West Roswell High.

I was a little surprised when Michael asked, “What made you move to California?” It turned quiet. Really quiet. I look at Liz and she looks scared. I throw my hips into her and she looks up and smiles at me. Again with the hair behind the ear and she finally answers.

“I needed a change of scenery. You know. Get away from the parental units.” Okay, red flags are going up now. She doesn’t look like the type of girl that has had problems with her parents. She looks like the type of girl that has them wrapped around her little finger. I can hear the alien warning signal going off in the back of my mind.

Tess is the first one to react. I don’t know if it has something to do with the fact that Liz wanted to get so far away from a family that probably really loves her or if she’s scared that Liz Parker is here to spy on us? I don’t know but she pulls really hard on Max’s arm and he can’t ignore her any longer. “It was nice meeting you, maybe we can talk later.” She pulls him again and they are gone. It wasn’t the most graceful exit and we all just stare at the two receding figures. I wish it were me that she was pulling. I should’ve grabbed her the first chance I had and proposed right then and there. I’ve had a lot of ‘should haves’ in my life, a person would think that I would have learnt my lesson by now.

“Is she always that bitchy?” Liz asks and I practically give myself whiplash from turning my head too quickly. Everyone starts laughing. I go along with the group not wanting Liz to pick up on anything that I could give away. Yes, Tess was pretty much always that bitchy but I loved her and it took me a long time to get underneath to the real her. The others didn’t know her that well. Well, except for maybe Max but then I want to believe that she keeps the real her from him too. “What?” Liz asks. “What did I say? Maria?” She looks to Maria for help.

I hear Maria say, “Nothing, nothing, just an inside joke. But you’ll get the hang of it.” I look back to where Max and Tess are dancing. It should be me out there right now with her. It should be me being the one that is holding her and letting her duck her head into my shoulder.

“So Liz… Why did you wait so long to transfer? Usually it’s not a good thing to transfer the last semester of your senior year.” Alex asked an interesting question and from the look on Liz’s face she didn’t want to answer that one. She’s not so smart after all now is she? Come on Liz inquiring minds want to know. I realize the change in my thinking quickly and try really hard to push it back because I know it’s just because Tess is pissed off at her. So I should be too. Right? Nope.

“Will you excuse me? I have to find the restroom. I’ll be right back.” She turned and left. We all look at each other and basically shrugged. I look at Isabel and she’s watching Liz like a hawk.

While I was trying to read Isabel’s expression Tess came back and asked, “What the hell is that?”

“What?” Maria asks all innocently.

“Don’t give me that. Her! What’s up with her?” I just love the color of her cheeks when she gets mad. “She bumps into us and rubs her hand all over Max and she leaves. He’s following her. What’s her story?” Tess had her hands on her hips and Maria was matching her move by move.

“Well, if you would have stayed you would have caught everything.” Maria says. I move closer to Tess. I want to show Tess that she’s not alone. I’m on her side and with Maria is on a roll she’ll need each and every last one of us. I don’t think I can recall a time that she was this upset. “What’s it to you anyway? It’s not like you and Max are married.” I looked at Maria. Shock was clearly written on my face. I had to hurry and bury it before anyone caught it.

“You didn’t miss much, Tess.” Michael finally says. He pauses for a brief moment, probably checking to make sure that Maria wasn’t going to swing at him and then continues. “Maria is just jerking your chain. She didn’t tell us anything really. She’s from Connecticut. Only child. Doing her last semester in molecular biology major. That’s it.” Sums everything up real nice and quick. I wonder if any one else is suspicious like me?

“Something isn’t right.” Isabel finally says. I’m not really surprised about her saying something just a little shocked that she took that long

“What do you mean?” Tess asks. I stood back and take it all in. I wanted to know what she thought. It would be interesting. “She’s…” She was having a hard time deciding exactly what was wrong with Liz. I was too but I’m not the one that opened up my mouth.

“Thank you!” Tess blurts out while throwing her hands up in the air. I guess that was enough for her to think that the two of them were on the same wavelength. “There’s something about her I just can’t put my finger on. She’s not Max’s type. She’s too plain, too normal.” I took a small step away from her when she started off listing everything that was Max’s type or I guess I should say what wasn’t. It was perfectly clear that she thought Max’s type was somewhat like her.

“Oh, for god’s sake, you two! She’s perfect.” Maria blurts out as she turns to Isabel to continue her rant. “Do you enjoy him sitting at home doing nothing?” Him being Max. The dude stayed home more than any of us. Even Alex had more of a social life than Max did. “Have you ever thought about what it must be like for him to be alone? For once in your life you guys need to quit thinking about yourselves and think about him. He’s done everything for you guys and I’ve never heard you say thanks to him. He didn’t ask to be the leader. He never once asked what about me.” Maria was on her soapbox. There was something between Max and her that none of us could ever figure out, some kind of buddy thing. Maria’s heart went out to Max and she was going to make sure that he was just as happy as the rest of us.

She then turns her wrath on Tess. It didn’t really surprise me that much. I had a feeling it was coming sooner or later. “And you,” she jabs a finger in Tess’ direction. Maria’s the only one of us that has ever had the nerve to stand up to the hybrids. I definitely wouldn’t be pulling this much for some new chick. I say let her run. Leave out in the cold. Don’t mess with our group. We’re fine just the way we are. But not Maria. She speaks her mind when there is something worth speaking. “You don’t help matters either. If you would just ask Kyle out, Max would be free to get a girlfriend of his own.” Excuse me. I look at Tess and almost drop dead right where I’m standing. She’s looking back at me. “But no! You have to keep on pretending. We all know you want Kyle.” She turns to me. I take a step back. The glare from her is practically piercing me. I can’t take it. I know I’m going to crack. I feel like telling her off but I know better. I didn’t say a single word about Liz. I may have thought it but at least I didn’t say anything. I kissed her hand… I took her dancing… we made a beer run. “We all know you want Tess so enough of the games and just get it over with!” I feel the heat rising in my cheeks. I’m so embarrassed and all the beer that I drank before has now completely worn off. I’m relieved when she grabs Michael and they leave.

One by one the group leaves and I’m standing there with Tess and we are all alone. She looks at me and I can’t help but smile at her. Now is my chance. The moment I’ve been waiting for. No time like the present to act on my feelings. “So, you like me.” I do that thing with my eyebrows that makes her laugh and I can see the sparkle in her eyes and the blush color in her cheeks. I can’t believe it’s out in the open.

“I do not like you.” She says. I can see that she’s teasing me. She’s embarrassed. She doesn’t need to be. I take a step closer to her.

“Do you want to go get busy?” I ask with a little bit of huskiness in my voice. I guess that’s what women call it when a man’s voice gets all breathy and low.

She looks like she is actually thinking about it. Oh god… I didn’t mean it like that. I was just joking and then she begins to speak. “What about Liz? You guys looked kind of cozy earlier.” Ahhh she’s jealous. That makes my heart do all these weird kind of flip flops. Maybe it’s my stomach.

“Liz… Liz who?” I do my best to make her realize that Liz means nothing to me. I hold out my hand to her and hope that she takes it. I urge her forward just a little bit more and plead with my eyes as well. “Come on Tess. Maria’s right. We’ve wasted too much time playing around. Let Max take care of Liz.” She’s not going to take my hand so I grab at her arm and pulls her to me. She’s close enough to kiss but that’s for later. I whisper to her hoping that it will get the needed effect. “Besides there is something that I want you to see.”

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PART 5 ~ TESS

We were all standing in our little group when her and Kyle walked up. Kyle… what was I going to do? He was smiling like I haven’t seen him smile in such a long time and it was all because of her. I like it when he wears his wranglers and that dark blue shirt just makes me weak in the knees. Anyway… I looked around the group and see that there weren’t too many people that didn’t feel the same way about her as I do. We didn’t like outsiders and she was definitely an outsider.

Maria and Alex liked her almost instantly. Go figure. They didn’t have anything to worry about not like us. Outsiders were a threat to us not to them. I looked at Max and he was smiling too. I couldn’t believe it. I latch onto him even tighter for two reasons. Reason number one: He didn’t want to seem like he was available. I can do the jealous girlfriend act till I’m blue in the face. Reason number two: I wanted Kyle to be jealous.

I know, I know. If Kyle hasn’t acted jealous yet why do I think he’s going to act jealous now. Never mind. That’s a whole other ordeal.

The questions begin. You know the standard ones. Where are you from? Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are you majoring in? What made you move to California? You know the standard questions that always get asked when you are new in town. But the standard ones are never the important ones, there not the ones that are going to help us. It would look a little obvious if we went around asking everyone if they were part of the FBI or if they knew someone that was. It would look a little obvious if we asked if the Alien Hunter Special Division sent her to spy on us. When the first question hits the air I grabbed Max by the sleeve and pulled him out to where everyone was dancing. “Come on Max. Let’s go dance.”

He’s rooted to his spot. He’s not going to budge. “Tess, you’re being rude.” He says to me. Me… rude? I don’t do rude. Do I? No. I quit pulling on him and sulk. This is great. I have to stand here and watch everyone go ga-ga over some stranger. UGH!

Get this she’s from Connecticut. What’s in Connecticut? I have no idea. She’s majoring in Molecular Biology. “What the hell is that?” Oops I said that out loud. I hide behind Max.

She looks at me and proceeds to tell me that Molecular Biology is exactly what it says. “It’s the study of molecules.” Well, duh. Max shakes my hand off his arm. He’s impressed with the girl. Figures.

Michael asks his question. “What made you move to California?” Yeah, why’d you move? Inquiring minds want to know. She looks at everyone and we are all waiting for the answer. She looks like she’s a deer caught in the high beams of an automobile.

“I needed a change of scenery. You know. Get away from the parental units.” What? Who moves from one side of the country to the other just to get away from their parents? She doesn’t know how lucky she is to have parents. Just ask me or Michael. We never had any. I pull again on Max’s arm and he ignores me. So I pull a little harder and he reluctantly comes. I hear him say. “It was nice meeting you, maybe we can talk later.” I pull him one more time and he follows me.

We’re out in the middle of the crowd and I glare at him. “What?” He asks.

“Don’t give me what. It was nice meeting you, maybe we can talk later.” I mimic him. “What the fuck was that?”

“I was just being nice, Tess. There’s nothing wrong with being nice. What’s up with you?” He says to me. I had to admit. No matter who talked to Max he was always polite to them. Always the gentleman.

“Well, you do remember that you didn’t want to seem available and under no circumstances did you want to be hooked up with this girl. Right?” I don’t think that’s the case any longer. I’ve known him long enough to know when he’s not interested. Believe me I’ve seen it enough times I’ve even seen it when it’s been pointed directly at me. He’s interested. It’s only a matter of time before he crumbles.

“Yeah…” He turns back to the group and looks at them. I follow his gaze. They are all laughing. “I wonder what’s so funny?” He asks.

“Do you want to go back there?” I ask. I could tell that he was interested. It wasn’t really fair of me to drag him out here but until he told me differently then I was going to save him from his own worst enemy. Himself.

“No, no. I don’t want to even know. What I don’t know won’t hurt me. Let’s just dance.” He says. Yeah, sure, Max. Whatever you say.

We dance and now it’s me that can’t keep my eyes off of her. Kyle is so close to her it’s killing me. “Keep your hands off her.” I say as if Kyle can hear me.

“What?” Max asks.

“Nothing. Does she have to act all innocent and all? God. What does he seen in her?” I keep on spewing my thoughts about the group. I can’t believe this is happening. Sure we all know that Maria likes to play matchmaker but I can guarantee you that this wasn’t the match that she was hoping to make. Liz Parker was definitely meant for Max. Any of us could see it. Max was showing interest in a girl for the first time in his life here on Earth.

I wonder what Maria is thinking right now. Max is out here and Liz is there. I duck my head back into Max. Maria glared at me. Great. I’ve been made. She knows that I pulled Max out here just to get him away from the new girl.

“What are you doing?” He asks me.

“Maria, she’s spotted me staring. I think she knows what we’re doing out here.” I look up at him and he has this smile that just warms my being. Yeah, I know. He doesn’t want me like that. I have to agree that I don’t want him like that either. But the smile is just to die for. Ask any girl between the ages of sixteen and forty they will all say the same thing. ‘Max Evans is a hunk.’

Let me give you a little background. There are four of us. Yep, Michael, Isabel, Max and I. We aren’t from around here. We come from the planet Antar in a galaxy far, far away. We were sent here to escape from being captured. The kicker is that we have all lived before. Yep. We died in our previous life and so our families thought it would be a good idea to reincarnate us into humans. Well we aren’t full humans but are hybrids. On the outside we look like we are normal. Even on the inside everything is normal except our blood. We haven’t figured out why only our blood is different. Max is still working on that. But anyway… getting back to what I was talking about.

Max and I were married in our previous life. Isabel was betrothed to Michael. Max and Isabel were brother and sister and still are. They were both adopted into the same family so they were safe and able to grow up as siblings. Michael and I had it a little bit tougher. His foster father used to beat him but not anymore. He came up missing and Michael was emancipated at the age of seventeen. He’s got it made now. He doesn’t have anyone to answer to. Well, unless you count Deluca

I grew up with our protector, Nasedo. He despised the humans more than anyone I knew. He was killed our junior year. I was shuffled into Kyle’s house. I look back now and wish I had gotten my own place. That’s why Kyle and I don’t date. We’ve done the family thing. You know. I love ya like a sister type of thing. Yeah, if you wanted a sister you better keep on looking.

Anyway. Here we are. It’s been quiet for some time now. I look up at Max and he’s staring over at the group. “Oh, no…” He says.

“What?” I follow his gaze and begin to panic.

“She’s coming this way.” He’s getting all weird on me.

“So… act normal.” I tell him. I put my hands on his shoulders and we continue to sway to the music. He’s looking anywhere but where she is coming from.

We get bumped into. Yep you guessed it. Little Ms. Parker bumps into us. “Excuse me.” She says as she rubs a hand across Max’s back and down his arm. I stare at her and she doesn’t even notice. I look at Max and he doesn’t even see me. He’s too busy staring at her, goofy grin and all. I look back at Liz and she continues her way through the crowd. She pauses and looks back. She looks anything but happy. She looks almost scared. Like she’s running away from someone. She looks like we’ve looked like. I’ve seen that look a thousand times in my lifetime. I’ve seen it on my friend’s faces.

“I’ve gotta go, Tess.” He lets me go and follows after her.

I grab hold of his arm and say, “I thought you didn’t want to have anything to do with her.”

“So did I… but…” He stopped in mid sentence and looked around for her. Not being able to visibly see her he ran in the direction that he had last seen her.

“Max!” He didn’t bother turning around until he was at the top of the hill. He turned to scan the crowd and when he made eye contact with me a small shiver ran its course through my body. The worried expression that he wore on his face was eerie. Why this slip of a girl cause such a reaction in him I had no idea. He was looking to me for help but I couldn’t. I shrugged my shoulders and he turned back around and disappeared over the top of the hill. The minute he was out of site the shiver left my body and I realized that I had wrapped my arms around myself hoping to warm myself.

So here I am standing in the middle of the crowd while the band is playing a slow song and I’m alone. Great. Where’s a guy that wants to jump my bones when I need one. Well, I’m not standing here any longer. I might as well go get the evil eye of Deluca before her storm brews any longer.

“What the hell is that?” I ask when I get back to them.

“What?” Maria asks all innocently.

“Don’t give me that. Her! What’s up with her? She bumps into us and rubs her hand all over Max and she leaves. He’s following her. What’s her story?” Since we left before all the dirt was spilt, I didn’t get to catch the real scoop.

“Well, if you would have stayed you would have caught everything.” Maria says. “What’s it to you anyway? It’s not like you and Max are married.” I don’t know why we let her walk all over us. I could just get rid of her with a touch of a hand. Life would be better. Michael wouldn’t be as moody and we wouldn’t have to take orders from a human.

“You didn’t miss much, Tess.” Michael finally says. He knows that if he doesn’t intercept us that we will be throwing down pretty soon. Maria isn’t my favorite. In fact I don’t see what Michael sees in her in the first place. “Maria is just jerking your chain. She didn’t tell us anything really. She’s from Connecticut. Only child. Doing her last semester in molecular biology major. That’s it.” I rethink my earlier thought. He loves her and he would be even moodier if anything happened to her. But still…

“Something isn’t right.” Isabel says.

“What do you mean?” I ask her wanting to know if she had the same feeling about her as I did. Although I’m beginning to have second thoughts about Liz myself because of how Max reacted. That look he had when he was at the top of the hill flashed before my eyes again and I wondered if he didn’t knew something that the rest of us didn’t know. What was it about her? I just couldn’t put my finger on it but I knew there just had to be something.

Isabel trusted new people as much as I did and trusted them even less when they showed interest in her brother. “She’s…” It was somewhat of a phenomenon when Isabel didn’t have the right word. That never happens but I knew what she was getting at. We were on the same wavelength. We just didn’t know how to express it. I wonder if she was getting some kind of vibe from Max. Maybe that was the cause of her paranoia?

“Thank you!” I say with a little bit more enthusiasm than I meant to. “There’s something about her I just can’t put my finger on.” I was voicing my thoughts, which seemed to be happening quite a lot tonight. She’s affected us all and it’s really weird. “She’s not Max’s type. She’s too plain, too normal.” Yeah, that sounded good. But I knew it was too good to be true. Maria would definitely have something to say about it.

“Oh, for god’s sake, you two! She’s perfect.” Maria blurts out. I knew it. She can’t let us have the last word. I want to put her in her place but she’s too busy giving us the riot act. “Do you enjoy him sitting at home doing nothing? Have you ever thought about what it must be like for him to be alone? For once in your life you guys need to quit thinking about yourselves and think about him. He’s done everything for you guys and I’ve never heard you say thanks to him. He didn’t ask to be the leader. He never once asked what about me.” It’s a good thing that she has to breathe otherwise she probably could continue her rant for all of eternity. I switch my footing and cross my arms to show her that I just didn’t care what she was saying. She was human and had no say in the way we treated each other.

What Max did during his free time was his problem, not mine. Nobody told him what to do. Nobody.

She turns her wrath on me. “And you,” she points her finger at me and continues with more ferociousness than I have ever seen. I stand up taller; I didn’t want her to think that I was scared of her. I wasn’t actually scared of her I was scared of the influence she had on the others. I don’t really know how it happened or when, but when she says something they all take it to heart. She can be ferocious like me. Most the time we never agree on anything, we just walk away from each other with the matter not resolved. “You don’t help matters anyway. If you would just ask Kyle out Max would be free to get a girlfriend of his own. But no! You have to keep on pretending. We all know you want Kyle.” Great, I don’t even want to see the look on Kyle’s face.

She turns to Kyle. “We all know you want Tess so enough of the games and just get it over with!” She throws her hands up in the air and grabs Michael by the arm and drags him off into the throngs of the student body.

“Well our next number is up. Do you want to come with me?” Alex takes his cue to leave as well. He’s looking at Isabel I can only imagine what those two will be talking about. I’m screaming inside my head to Isabel. ‘Please don’t go!’ But she doesn’t hear me. Great. Remind me that Maria needs to be taught a lesson. I can’t believe she just said that. She’s blown my cover and I’m still not able to look at Kyle. I wonder what he’s thinking. I wonder if… wait. Did Maria say that Kyle wants me too? Oh my god! Should I look? I don’t want to look but I have to.

I hear Isabel say, “Sure.” I begin to protest but realize it would do no good. Isabel never did anything that I wanted her to do anyway. I watch as the last of my salvation leaves when Alex loops his arm around Isabel and the two disappear into the crowd.

I look at Kyle. “So, you like me?” He wiggles his eyebrows up and down as he asks me his question.

“I do not like you.” I protest to him. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. I’m so embarrassed. I’m so going to kill Maria the minute I can get her alone.

“Do you want to go get busy?” He asks. I don’t know how to take him. He’s just taking me as an easy mark or does he actually like me?

I think about what he just asked me. And wage my options. What the hell, go for it. I’m not getting any younger and I know that there isn’t going to be anyone else that I can relate to so I go with the flow. “What about Liz? You guys looked kind of cozy earlier.” Nothing wrong with making a guy squirm.

“Liz… Liz who?” He smiles at me. “Come on Tess. Maria’s right. We’ve wasted too much time playing around. Let Max take care of Liz.” He grabs hold of my arm and pulls me close to him. Will he kiss me? I hope he kisses me. Please kiss me. “Besides there is something that I want you to see.” Well, I guess the night is still young. The kiss can come later. Maybe there will be more.

“Okay.” I couldn’t believe he just came out and said that. Remind me to thank Maria when I see her next. Thank you! We walk off. I thought we would be going to his car but instead he’s pulling me further into the golf course. “Where are you taking me?” I ask as I stop and wait for him to answer.

“It’s a surprise.” He holds out his hand to me and there’s just something in his eyes that are pleading to me to take it. What if I don’t? Would I ruin the chance of us actually beginning to be a couple? I don’t want to take that chance so I take his hand and he smiles at me. His eyes are sparkling in the moonlight and I’m happy that I took his hand. I’m happy because this feels so right. I’m happy because this is the beginning for us.

As we make our way to lord knows where Kyle is taking me I begin to look around for signs of Max and don’t see him. Surely someone will tell him not to wait for me. Surely.

We walk in a comfortable silence. I would think that there would be some kind of awkwardness after Maria’s blatant statement but there isn’t. I lean into him without realizing it and he loops his arm around me. The warmth off his body warms me to the very core. I can’t believe I’m doing this, that we are doing this. I look up at him and he looks down at me. He’s smiling. I’ve never seen him act this way. “What?” I ask him and he blushes just a little bit more.

“Nothing. I’m just looking at you. Do you have a problem with that?” I pull away from him and we stop. I put my hands on my hips and give him a look. I figure he’d give me a hard time so I was ready myself.

“What if I do? What are you going to do with me?” I would have never guessed that this night would be like this. That Kyle and I would be here all by ourselves and it would be good. Well, I have dreamt of it but I never thought it would happen.

He doesn’t answer me. He just grabs me and pulls me to him. He grabs my face and we kiss. I lose my mind during the entire kiss and I have a hard time gathering myself when he pulls away. I feel my lips searching for more. And when I finally open my eyes to look at him I can’t hold back. I grab his face and kiss him like he did me. The tingling sensation that flows through my body feels wonderful. The force of my kiss must have caught him off balanced because we fall to the ground. His arms instantly wrap around my body and he rolls me over so he is now on top of me.

“Tess,” he kisses me on my neck. “I love you.” He continues to kiss me as he speaks. Between every sentence he kisses me. “I’ve been blind. And you haven’t helped matters either.” He’s now looking at me. Doesn’t he know that when two people make out that there usually isn’t much room for conversation?

He slowly gets up and I’m frozen. I can’t move. I’m wondering if he was able to read my mind and I’ve offended him now. He holds his hand out to me and I slowly reach up and take it. He hasn’t said anything to me and I’m wondering if I should break the ice. But I don’t. I’m such a chicken.

He pulls me and I follow him. We don’t speak and before I know it we’ve crossed a bridge and I see that there is a blanket laid out as well as radio. I look at him and he just smiles and says, “Just wait. Only a few more minutes and you’ll understand everything.”

I smile back and still don’t say anything. He’s busy rearranging everything and he gets back up and sits me down on top of the blanket. The radio starts playing and he lights a few candles that have been scattered haphazardly around the blanket. I start to say something but he stops me by holding up a single finger. “Not yet. Just give me one more second.”

He leads me to the blanket and sits me down. He kneels down before me and he looks me in the eye as he takes hold of my hand. “I’ve been blind for so long that it took Maria, Alex and Isabel to set me straight. I don’t know your reasons for doing what you and Max have been doing and I don’t really care. All that matters is that I know and just the thought of you liking me the way I like you sends my heart soaring.” I’m looking up into his eyes. He’s so sincere and his hand is shaking in mine. “I love you, Tess and this isn’t the way that I wanted tonight to go but I’m not going to wait for another night because with our luck all hell could break loose and we would never get to know.”

“Kyle…” He stops me from asking what this is all about. I’ve never seen him act this way and its kind of scaring the hell out of me.

“Shh… don’t interrupt. I may not get the nerve to do this. I know this is sudden and I know you deserve someone better than me.” What was he getting to? What was he going to do? He reached into his pocket and then looked me straight in the eye.

“I love you, Tess and I know I haven’t acted like I do but I really do. I love you and I’ve realized that for all the time I’ve spent trying to get out of the alien abyss, the reason that I couldn’t was because I would have to leave you. I don’t want to leave you. I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know the real you. Not the you that you show us. Not the you that Max knows. But you. I’ve thought about it and I know that it's a little weird to do it this way but after hours and hours of meditating with Buddha I’ve realized that the only way that I will ever be happy is if I do this. So…” he straightened and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before he continued. “Will you marry me?”

I shook my head slightly. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Excuse me?” Did he just ask me to marry him?

“You can say no if you want to. Just give me the chance for you to get to know me. For me to get to know the real you.” I could slap him. He was all ready for me to say no. But I wasn’t so sure I wanted to say no.

“What did you ask?” I wanted to hear it again. Just one more time. I’ve never been asked before and I think I like it.

“Will you marry me?” He tried to let loose of my hand but I gripped it harder. I didn’t want him to take away his touch. The tingling sensation was still flowing between us and my stomach was doing weird things. I weighed all the options of if I said no… and if I said yes. And to be brutally honest I so desperately wanted to say yes.

“We don’t have to get married right away. You know we can see how things go. I know this is kind of rash and unexpected but I’ve thought for the last three weeks when I first found out that you liked me and this was my solution. None of the others made me feel the things that you do when you just look at me. Please. Give us a try before you say no. Please, that’s all I ask. Give us a try, Tess.”

His eyes wrapped me up and took me to another world where things could be normal. What was he really asking me to do? He was wanting to know the real me. He already knew that I wasn’t human, he already knew that I came to Roswell with the sole purpose to find and get Max and he still wanted me. Me. Out of all the normal people in the world he wanted me. I could feel the smile creep across my face but he didn’t see it. He was looking down at my hand that he had slipped the ring onto. “Yes.” I whisper. He looked up at me and I could tell he thought that he had heard it and like me needed me to repeat my answer. “Yes!” I scream for him and for all the world to hear. I launch myself into him and yell, “Yes! Yes… I will marry you.” I kiss him and he envelops me into his embrace and it was the most amazing kiss that I have ever felt.

I felt like me for the first time. I was me. Not some tossed away queen that had been sent to earth to survive until the time to return to her home planet could be saved. I was no longer Ava queen of Antar. I was Tess Harding and Kyle Valenti loved me and wanted me to be with him until the end of time. We began to roll around and we were laughing and before we knew it we had rolled off the little island and were now up to our necks in water.

We laughed louder and louder between our kisses and our actions had caused a small group to come and investigate. When they saw us kissing in the water they started clapping and whooping. This was the greatest night of my life and it was only the beginning for me and Kyle.

He finally came to his senses and he climbed out of the water and grabbed for me. “Come on. If we start now we can be in Vegas by tomorrow afternoon.” I paused with my hand in mid air and looked at him. “I’m not giving you the chance to change your mind.” I grabbed hold of his hand and when I was on dry land I kissed him again.

“What about the others?”

“Forget about them. This is us. We’ll call them later when it’s all said and done. I want this for us. Not for them.” He pulled me behind him and five minutes later we were by his car. As we backed out I remembered that Max had parked beside him when we arrived in his jeep was now gone. I hoped he was all right. I would have to remember to call him later to let him know that I was okay.

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PART 6 ~ LIZ

And the inquisition begins with Alex’s first question. “Where are you from?” He wouldn’t have been my choice of the one in the group that would be the first to ask a question. Maybe he knows something. I feel my paranoia begin to seep through.

The image of me standing against a bullet-dimpled wall with the seven of them lined up about twenty feet away floats to the front of my mind. They have their sites to their rifles, centered on my small body and their fingers are poised in front of the trigger. I hope that none of them are trigger-happy but I know my luck won’t hold out. My hands are tied and chained above my head and I have this deep-seated feeling that the first wrong answer I give them will end very badly for me. I have no idea why this comes to mind. Maybe it’s because I don’t know what I said to Maria during my episode. Maybe it’s because Tess looks like she won’t even let me answer the first question. Maybe it’s Michael’s evil glare. That alone is telling me I should just turn around and bolt. Maybe it’s Isabel and the frosty chill that is coming off her in waves? Wherever it’s coming from it’s probably a good assumption that I’m not too welcomed into this little group. I’d have to be blind not to see that.

All eyes are on me and I give them the answer that I know. I hope that it’s not incorrect. I hope that it doesn’t clash with another answer that would have been given by my alter ego. “Connecticut.” That’s where I was from. Connecticut. I push a piece of hair back behind my ear out of nervousness but forgot that I was wearing this stupid hat. I wanted to rip it off my head but knew that I would have the noticeable hat head and decided against it. I adjusted it as well as I could and readied myself for the next question.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters? Alex asks the next question as well. I’m actually glad that he’s the one asking them. His body language coupled with the tone of his voice is very relaxing. I shake my head no. I’m afraid that if I say something right now all the comfort that I’ve built up will escape and I will crumble to the ground and curl up into a tight little ball. I wish someone would offer a little information about themselves, instead of it all being about me. “What are you majoring in?” I think he’s on a roll. He must be the reigning champ of twenty questions. I wonder what they would say if I asked him?

I wonder why Maria’s just standing there, leaning against her boyfriend. If she was such a great friend shouldn’t she be coming to my rescue? Maybe not. What about Max? He was smiling at me earlier and I really would like to thank him for keeping Tess abated for the small amount of time that she has been quiet, but I’m afraid that if I show too much interest in him she’ll scratch my eyes out. Let’s see what was the question again… What was I majoring in? “I want to be a molecular biologist.” If I do one thing in this life I want to become a molecular biologist.

The sciences interest me. There’s so much to learn and everything has an answer unlike my life. I’m hoping that maybe there’s some kind of medical reason for what I’m experiencing and maybe… just maybe, I can cure myself. I know… the incredible hulk reincarnated into a 5’2” brunette. I hope not. But anything would be better than what I’m living now. Then again didn’t the guy that was the incredible hulk forget what he did when he was the incredible hulk? Oh, I don’t know. All I know is that I want to get out of here. I knew this was a bad idea. I knew it!

“What the hell is that?” Okay, maybe Max isn’t going to be my hero. I look over at him and see Tess hide behind him even more. I shift my gaze unwontedly toward her and give her my definition of what molecular biology is. I make it simple so that the little blonde bimbo can understand it. I know if I tell her that the definition of molecular biology as it is in Webster’s that there is no way that she would get what that was. So I kept it plan and simple.

“It’s the study of molecules.” And left it at that. I notice that Max shook Tess’ hold off his arm and my stomach began to do those little flutters when I get an image of him without a shirt on. Where did that come from? I wish I knew because I would like to see more of that.

But then again I can’t really expect him to control the words that are coming out of her mouth. I’m just a little bit taken aback by her sudden outburst but since her rude comment earlier I just shook it off. It seemed to be her way, her character. She didn’t trust easily and therefore she was going to make my life a living hell until she did. I don’t want to rock her boat more than what I have already. If I were really on the ball and not so nervous about everything I would have thrown in something really sarcastic like ‘Well, I know there isn’t much you can learn while you’re in your little bubble world but molecular biology is the… you get the picture. There’s no point in me getting upset over her not being smart. I wonder if she’s a cheerleader. Maybe that’s why she’s in college.

I quit glaring at her when Michael asked his question. “What made you move to California?” Oh how I wish he wouldn’t have asked that question. Umm… I don’t know is the first thing I want to tell him. I want to be honest with this group of people no matter how they look at me. I want to feel like I belong. Because as I look the group over I notice that it’s not your average group of friends. You have the rebel and the daily gossiper. You have the homecoming queen with the class nerd and then you have mister sexy yet intelligent with the blonde bimbo. This is the widest mixture of friends that I have ever seen. What I want to know is how does the captain of the football team fit in here. He said that him, Alex and Maria grew up together but surely with him being ‘johnny football game’ and the peer pressure of high school it would have put a damper on that said friendship but here they are. All of them tighter than… well, tighter than Tess’ painted on paints. So to speak. I push the same piece of hair behind my ear but this time I remember the damn hat that I’m wearing and do it without hitting it.

“I needed a change of scenery. You know. Get away from the parental units.” I shake my head up and down and curl my lower lip in and start chewing on it. If they really knew me they would know that I’m lying my ass off but I’m lucky that they don’t know me. I don’t think there’s anyone on this earth that really knows me… Maybe I’m an alien that looks like a human. You know like Species… that movie with that blonde model that can’t really act all that well. Yeah, that one. I can’t act worth a shit either… see the similarities?

I don’t know what I said to make Tess upset but she practically yanks Max’s arm off at the shoulder trying to get out of the discussion. If I had known what would have made her leave I would have done it a few minutes earlier. I look at Max and our eyes lock. They’re trying to tell me something. I just know it. I want to frame his face with my hands and stare deep down inside the depths of them. He’s hiding something, something that he wishes that he could tell me. Or maybe tell someone. “It was nice meeting you, maybe we can talk later.” His voice is like music to my soul. I get all warm and tingly all over. It’s taking everything I have not to just grab his hand and run off with him. Leave all this mess behind. I so want to get to know him. I feel like I know him already. I nod at him and I turn to watch the two of them merge into the masses hand in hand. My heart falls into the black hole that it normally resides.

Even in all the time that I had dated Sean he had never stirred up emotions by a single look in my direction that Max had just did. Nor had he ever made my mind conjure up outlandish fantasies either like Max just did. I’m now angry with Tess for taking Max away from me. I feel the cold emptiness seeping into the depths of my soul and there’s a part of me that is telling me to follow him. Not to let him get away that this was the one that I’ve been waiting for my entire life. But I don’t move and I say, “Is she always that bitchy?”

I didn’t really mean to state it so matter of fact like but I did and the laughter that I received from everyone was a big relief. The tension that was hovering in the air around all of us left when Max and Tess left. Maybe there was something more that I wasn’t in the know, going on in this group. “What?” I ask as I finish off laughing. “What did I say?” I look from face to face and everyone quits laughing. “Maria?” This is the second time that I look to her for some answers but the first time I speak her name.

“Nothing, nothing, just an inside joke. But you’ll get the hang of it.” I take a look at everyone in the group. If there ever is a next time. She’s optimistic and I’m sure that she knows this group better then anyone but I have a feeling the next time any of them see me they will turn around and run in the other direction. That’s what I would do if I were them.

They’re all eyeing me. I know the questions are going to start coming again. I don’t know how much more I can take of this. There’s something inside of me telling me to leave. There’s something pulling me away from the group. I look around to see if there is anywhere I can go to hide. I need an out and I need it now. I’m not good with all these people around me. I feel like the walls are closing in on me. I close my eyes briefly and try to calm myself.

“So Liz… Why did you wait so long to transfer?” My eyes pop open and I’m looking at Alex. He’s good. He threw out all these simple questions and had my guard down and then he hits me with the real kicker. I knew I should have left. “Usually it’s not a good thing to transfer the last semester of your senior year.” I avoid eye contact from everyone in the group. I knew I should have left.

I wanted to say that I had no idea why I came here. I wanted to tell them that I lose gaps of time and that I have no idea where I’ve been. The only clues that I have are the weird scribbles in my journal. I didn’t even get to look at my journal before Maria found me tonight. I just want to go home. I want to be normal.

The walls are getting closer and closer and I can’t take the pressure. Maybe I can apologize to Maria later. Maybe Monday after school I can get together with her and see how much damage I’ve done tonight. That is if they even want to talk to me ever again. I’m so confused. What am I going to do? I can call my parents and see if they can come pick me up. They’ve done it before; they can do it again. I’m going to be in so much shit for this.

I wonder who paid for my tuition? I shake my head. That’s a whole other mess. Everyone is still waiting for me to answer Alex’s question.

“Will you excuse me? I have to find the restroom. I’ll be right back.” I’m slowly backing up as I tell them that I need to go use the restroom. I almost expected Maria to say that she would come with me. After all women always use the restroom in groups. Heaven knew that Isabel wouldn’t offer. She would rather cut my head off then take me to the restroom. Before they even have a chance to say anything I slowly turn and start walking. I don’t look back and I’m just waiting for someone to call my name to tell me that the restrooms are in a completely different direction then the one I’m heading in. But they don’t, so I continue on the path that I’ve started on.

I hope they believed that I would be coming back. I wouldn’t be and I felt bad about that, but I just needed to think about what has happened. I needed to make a few calls and see if I could piece together this jigsaw puzzle that happens to be my life.

Everyone is dancing and I’m fighting my way to get through the masses of people. I’m fighting the tears that want to fall and I’m no longer paying attention to where I’m going. I just follow my gut and my gut says to go this way. It’s never failed me before, so I don’t expect it to fail me now. The pull that I was feeling is getting stronger and stronger the further away from the group I get. It’s probably just my gut letting me know that I’m almost out of the woods.

I raise my hands above my head to get past the majority of the drunken crowd. They aren’t helping me any and when I bump into the back of someone I feel this sensation that I’ve never felt before. A sense of completion a sense of finally finding what I’ve been looking for. But I haven’t been looking for anything and I don’t understand these feelings that is happening to me. I look up and am immediately looking into Max’s amber gaze. He’s looking over his shoulder and our eyes lock. Flashes from one of my dreams fly across my eyes. I’m looking out my window and the sky is dreary. I’m sad. I’ve lost someone that I loved very much and all the people that are below in the courtyard blame me. A hand rests on my shoulder and I look up into the eyes of my savior. He’s here and all will be right once we marry. His lips don’t move but I know that is what he is telling me. I know this is from one of my dreams because nothing is like it’s from this world.

The scene changes and I’m getting married and I’m the happiest person in the world. I have found my king and our world will now have peace because together we can be everything my father was. Everything… and then it ends. Max smiles at me and I don’t know what I’m doing. The flash has thrown me for a loop. Maybe it’s Max’s eyes that made me remember it? Maybe it’s the way that I’m feeling when I’m near him. I feel like everything will be okay as long as we are together. I don’t know what is happening to me. I find myself slowly slipping away. I struggle to smile back at him and the momentum of my body is pulling me in the same direction that I was originally heading. My hand automatically slides to his side and runs the length of his arm. “Excuse me,” comes out of my mouth like it was second nature.

I forget what I was doing the entire time I’m in contact with him. Every fiber of my body wants to stay but my mind is telling me to run. That he’s one of them; he’s one of them that wants to get the answers that I can’t answer. The minute my hand leaves his arm I’m hit with a wave of emptiness. I remember that I need to get away from everyone and continue struggling through the masses. The pull is getting weaker and weaker the further away I get from him. I turn around and look at him. He’s staring after me. I see the concern in his expression but I don’t know what I could do for him so I turn back around and take off.

I run up a hill that is lighted by the moonlight and I feel like I’m losing focus. Everything is beginning to look like I’m looking at it from somewhere else. I don’t know how to explain it. I feel like I’m losing myself. I close my eyes forcing myself to stay focus. I have to get away from all of these people. The pain in my head is starting to ease its way up front from out of nowhere. I make it down the other side of the hill and hide behind a large tree.

I look around and there’s no one close enough. I have this feeling that I won’t be able to get myself home before it happens. I’m getting ready to have another episode. It never comes this soon after just having one. Something’s wrong. I can feel it deep inside. I feel like there’s another part of me trying to emerge. She… Yes, she wants to be here now when I don’t want to be. I desperately want to be taken out of this situation and she’s calling to me and telling me that she can help me.

“Liz!” I hear someone call for me. I look up but everything is so dark. I can’t see anyone. “Liz!” I scrunch down and pull my knees up to my chest. I try and make myself as small as possible. He can’t find me but it would feel wonderful if he were to find me. I’m so confused. The minute I laid eyes on Max from across the people dancing I knew there was something about him that called to me. From that first moment I’ve been drawn to him. Why? What is it about Max that does this to me? There is so many unanswered questions and I can only dream that one day everything will make sense.

I want to call out and say that I’m over here. I’m over here. But I can’t function. I begin to rock back and forth. Back and forth. I close my eyes and begin to mumble. I’m losing the battle to stay conscious. I start crying and I hear rustling off to the side of where I am. I sit up straighter to try to focus but I can’t and the tears fall.

“Stay away!” I call out.

“Liz…” He’s so close and I feel her wanting to go to him but I push myself away. I start to back pedal. Maybe it’s my imagination that felt him so close. If she wants him then I can’t be any where near him. It’s my only hope of staying me. I feel her pushing harder. She’s trying to rise to the front and I can’t fight her. The pain is increasingly becoming more and more agonizing. I see black spots scattered throughout my vision.

“Please, Max. Don’t come any closer. I’m sorry. Just please.” I grab my head in agony. It’s never been like this. She’s always just been and gone without it really occurring to me. I realize now that I’ve just accepted her to be there when I couldn’t. I’m backing away on my feet and hands. “I’m sorry. I should have said something. I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on? Tell me, I can help you.” I hear his panic in his voice and I want to forget what will happen so I can go comfort him. He’s hurting too. “Liz.” He calls out once more. His voice is so calming. I close my eyes and just listen to the roll of his words.

“No one can help me. No one.” I spit out when I hear the rustling begin again. He’s trying to work his way to me. The little sanity that I have left is laughing at how pathetic I sound. I should be where I belong; I want to belong here with him. I’ve changed my mind I no longer want to hide from them… from him. I shake my head no. I’m not going. I’m me. She’s me. It’s just a whacked up way of living, I say to myself. Maybe I can push her back. Maybe we can work out some kind of deal. She can have every other moment in my life if she would just let me be with him… just let me stay with him.

“Who do I need to get?” I stick my hand up to keep him at bay. He can’t come any closer. He mustn’t come any closer. “What can I do?” He stops where he is and he’s looking at me. I swipe the tears off my face and stare at him. “Can your parents help? Give me their number and I’ll call them to come get you.” I shake my head that I don’t want them. She doesn’t want them. She wants me to just go to him. I almost feel like we’ve agreed on my little attempt of sanity. It’s like making a deal with the devil.

“I have to get away.” I whisper. He leans in closer because of my whispering. “I have to get away.” I can’t move any more and the darkness is calling to me. I’m having a hard time focusing on what is going on.

“Tell me where you want to go and I’ll take you there. Please, Liz. Just let me help you.” He was slowly making his way closer to me every time he spoke.

The peacefulness is calling to me. It will all be over when I wake up. I won’t remember any of this. “I want to remember.” I call out. I want to know what happens when she comes and is with him. I want to know what it is like to be loved by the man that is calling her forward.

“What do you want to remember?” He whispers to me. He’s kneeling next to me, wanting to help me. I can practically feel the heat from his breath on my ear.

“I want to remember everything. I want to remember you.” I’m standing now and am stepping backwards. I face him and repeat my words from earlier. “No one can help me remember. No one can help me.”

“Liz…” He stands and takes another step closer. “Please.” I take another step back. His was bigger and I know I should take another step back just to accommodate his larger one but I don’t. I can’t deny it any longer.

“Whatever happens, Max, just know that it’s not me.” I look him in his eyes and I see the confusion lying within. “Just remember for me because I won’t be able to. Please. I want to remember everything. I want to remember you. Please. Max, stay with me and tell me everything that happens. Promise me Max?”

I moan out the last words as I feel my legs give out as the searing pain rips across my eyes and I begin to fall to the ground. I never make it. He’s instantly there; his strong arms keeping me upright and I feel my hands grip his shirt as if it were the only thing capable of keeping me in this world. “I’m here, Liz. I’m here. I’m going to take you home and everything’s going to be okay. I’m here and I won’t let anything happen to you.” He whispers to me. I give him a small smile in appreciation. He’s trying so hard to be strong for me and I know that he won’t be able to keep his promise to me. No one has been able to keep them in the past. I’ll forgive him. I have to remember to forgive him for not being able to keep me from slipping into another episode.

I fight to keep my eyes open and fail. My world is a dark void. I’m the only being that exists here.

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PART 7 ~ MAX

Right after the introduction I feel Tess pulling on my arm. I look at her and she says, “Come on Max. Let’s go dance.” I can only image what my expression could be. First I had forgotten that she was even hanging onto my arm and second I couldn’t believe she was being so rude. We were just about to find out about Liz. Didn’t she want to stay for that?

There’s no way that I’m leaving. I want to know everything there is to know about this beautiful woman that has finally graced us with her appearance. “Tess, you’re being rude.” She didn’t like that much and she showed it by ducking even further behind me. I hope she doesn’t blurt out anything else. She always has had a way with sticking her foot in her mouth.

I return my attention to Liz and give her a small smile and hope that she knows that not all of us are as rude as Tess and to be honest she wasn’t always like this. Maybe it was because Kyle had taken Liz for a beer run, something that he never asked her to do since she can’t tolerate alcohol. Who knows, Tess will be Tess.

Alex starts the games off with the first question. “Where are you from?” We all felt comfortable with him being the one to interrogate the newbie. No one bothered to ask any questions because Alex would ask them all. Our job was to observe. That’s what we do when an outsider tried to invade our space. We just observe. I don’t really know why we didn’t participate in the questioning. Maybe it was because we didn’t know what was a normal human question to ask. Our first question would be. Do you or any member of your family work for the FBI? No… see that’s why we don’t ask the questions. After all Alex had lived through it personally. Michael and I gave him the third degree until Maria and Isabel ganged up on us and told us we were out of line. He knew what was at stake if we trusted the wrong people. He knew what it was like to run for his life.

I looked at Liz and a part of me wanted to keep her out of this mess that is our life. I immediately had this instinct to protect her with every fiber of my being. I’ve never had this instinct before. The others can take care of themselves but Liz… Liz was special. I just knew it.

Part of me was glad that Tess and I were playing our little game to keep the outsider factor to a minimum. But then the other part of me wanted to take her by the hand and run away, to be with her and only her. To kiss every inch of her long curvy neck. I want to take that stupid hat off, although it was very cute atop her head, and run my hands through her shoulder length brown hair. I close my eyes briefly and imagine what it would be like to see it in the sun. Did it shimmer with shades of gold or bronze? Either would be fine. Maybe it shimmered a bright copper color and I bet it was as silky as could be. Not a tangle in it. My hands would be able to flow through it again and again and it would fall back into its original position.

I wonder what her skin would feel like. For a brief moment, I was less than a foot away from her, when we had bumped into Kyle and her in the middle of the crowd, I could smell the scent of strawberries and I still haven’t tossed the image away of feeding them to her. I open my eyes and watch her answer Alex’s question.

I wonder what’s going through her mind. Did she know that she was supposed to be my date for tonight? Me and my stupid ideas. I should have taken Maria’s warning when she told me a long time ago that the way Tess and I acted was going to bite me in the ass one day. I think my ass has finally been bitten.

My inner being is singing in Liz’s presence. I’ve never felt like this before. I was having a hard time trying to keep from staring at her. I want to grab her and go off. I want to take here away from whatever she is scared of and make everything better. How did I know she was scared? Where did that thought come from? Is she scared of us? She shouldn’t be. We’re scared of her. Isn’t it ironic? Us aliens… super powers and all. Her human… no powers at all and we are scared to death of her finding out our secret.

“Connecticut.” Her voice was like an angel singing to me. A sweet melodic sound that sends chills up and down my spine. I don’t know what is happening to me. My body is alive like it’s never been before. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve never met anyone that moves me like this. Maybe it’s the fact that I haven’t even looked at another girl like this my entire life. All of these sensations are making me feel lightheaded. I’m afraid to be in her presence any longer. I don’t think I will be able to control myself. I shove my hands down in my front pockets for fear that they might take on a mind of their own and grab her. I really don’t want to make a fool out of myself. I really don’t.

As if she were reading my mind she pushes a piece of hair behind her ear and I notice that she knocked her hat off to the side of her head. She rolled her eyes and adjusted it. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. She was just too adorable. She was… Perfect. After adjusting her hat she took a deep breath and then she let it out. The smell of strawberries was refreshed and I made sure to take another deep breath.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters? I can see where Alex is going with the questioning. Get some background information from her. I was a little disappointed when she just shook her head no instead of voicing her answer. I so wanted to hear it again. I liked the way it made me feel. I can see the tension begin to leave her body. She doesn’t have anything to hide. I can tell. Why would she have anything to hide? She was everything that all of us wanted to be. Well, except Alex, Maria and Kyle. They were normal too, well; they’d be a lot more normal if they didn’t hang out with us.

I’m surprised that none of us say anything to make her feel more welcomed. None of us had any siblings either. Well, except Isabel and I. That’s really weird. What a coincidence. I would have to admit that that was a pretty cool question. Once again none of us… others, would have asked that question. We just wouldn’t have thought about that. I find myself waiting for Alex’s next question so I can find out some other little tidbit about her. About Liz. She was no longer an unknown outsider to me. She was Liz. Liz Parker from Connecticut. Liz Parker only child from Connecticut. I wish I could say her name out loud. I wonder what it would sound like. Would she like to hear her name as I spoke it, like I longed to hear her say mine?

Ask another question Alex, I have to know more. Of course I don’t say this out loud, that would be so embarrassing. I really don’t want to make a fool out of myself. She would never even consider dating me if I said that out loud. I wish someone would create some kind of device to make sure that something stupid wouldn’t fly out of your mouth when you didn’t want it to… But then that would really look dorky. “What are you majoring in?” Good question. What does Liz want to be when she grows up?

I notice that she takes a glance around the group and it hesitates just a little bit longer on Maria. Why would she look to Maria for her answer? And before I know it she looks at me. I can feel the beginnings of a blush coming on and it’s so hard to swallow. I need a drink. Anyone… I look around to see if any of us have anything to drink and of course we don’t. I hope she doesn’t ask me a question because I wouldn’t be able to answer her if I wanted to.

“I want to be a molecular biologist.” I feel my coloring start to slip away. A molecular biologist. The thoughts of the White Room come back and I fight hard to calm my scared reaction. She would never do what they did to me. Not her. She would use her knowledge to help the sick, to make the world a better place, not to torture innocent people just because they were different than the rest of the population. She would never do anything like that.

“What the hell is that?” How could I forget about Tess? I can’t believe she said that. Maybe I should think about inventing one of those devices for her. Lord knows we could put it to some good use. I should just leave. Or better yet Tess should leave. I take a quick glance back to Liz to see if she was okay. I was surprised to see her push that same small piece of hair and tuck it back behind her left ear. It must be a nervous twitch kind of thing. All of us have it. I push my hands into my front jeans pocket when I’m nervous. Isabel starts to play with her hair when she gets nervous. Tess gets angry when she gets nervous. Alex strums his fingers on the countertop when he gets nervous. Michael just glares in hopes that no one will see that he’s nervous and Maria… Well, she sniffs cedar oil when she gets nervous. We all do something when we are nervous. No harm with tucking a piece of hair behind your left ear. No harm in sucking in your lower lip so you can chew on it in hopes of not saying something stupid.

“It’s the study of molecules.” I quit thinking about the nervous twitch thing when I hear her simple answer and realize that that was far from the definition of what a molecular biologist was. I shook Tess’ hold off my arm. I no longer wanted to be associated as being in a relationship with Tess. Here Tess was being so rude and Liz, with everyone’s eyes on her, was trying to be nice. She was trying to make others comfortable with her. I wondered if she knew what an angel she was. I wonder if she was hiding something by giving us vague answers. I wonder if she could tell that we are hiding something.

“What made you move to California?” My head shot up to Michael. He knew what the protocol was for our questioning. Alex did all the questioning. Didn’t he know that when he opened his mouth things came out a little bit more abrasive then they were supposed to be? Didn’t he know he was going to ruin my chance to know her? She’s going to run. I can see it now. She turns and runs right out of my life and all I’m left with is the faint memory of her voice and the obsession with fresh strawberries.

She pulls her lower lip into her mouth and she starts to chew on it. How cute is that? And I wait for her to do the hair thing and… Yes! She’s just too adorable. She looks at everyone once again and I shift my eyes as quickly as I can for fear that she’s going to see me staring at her. Why did she move to California? Did she have this pull that made her gravitate here? Or was there something else behind it?

She looks like she’s really wondering what to tell us. How hard can it be? Was there a reason you chose this particular school? Did it have anything to do with your major? Wow. I didn’t think I could come up with normal questions. I guess I’m not as paranoid as I thought I was.

She does one more glance around the group. She’s probably just checking to see how much detail she should give us. I want it all. I have to know it all. I want to know Liz Parker forwards and backwards, inside and out.

“I needed a change of scenery. You know. Get away from the parental units.” I can’t believe what she just said. How bad could her parents be? She looked like she had a great life. She looked normal. She didn’t look abused. I’ve seen what it’s like to be abused by a parent. Michael lived it. Tess never had a parental figure so I really don’t know where this is coming from. It just doesn’t seem right. She’s shaking her head up and down as if it will some how persuade us to believe the lie that she’s just told us. And I know it’s a lie because she just pulled her lower lip into her mouth and started chewing on it. She’s nervous about her last statement and she’s going out of her way to make us believe that it’s the truth.

I really should have expected Tess’ reaction from Liz’s answer but I wasn’t ready for it to happen just yet. She tugs on my arm and I ignore it. That was the first time. The second time she practically rips my arm out of its socket when she pulls on it to go back out where everyone is dancing. I had to go… after all we were acting as the couple this evening no matter how much I was regretting the decision to do that, I followed Tess but not before I could say good bye to Liz. “It was nice meeting you, maybe we can talk later.” Tess pulls me one more time and I slowly and reluctantly follow her out into the masses of dancing and drunk people.

When we finally get far enough from the group I finally find my voice. “What?” I had to know why she was glaring at me. I also wanted to know why she had to pull me away from Liz. I wasn’t ready to leave just yet.


“Don’t give me what. It was nice meeting you, maybe we can talk later.” She tries to mimic me. She doesn’t really do me justice. Her voice is too whiney for it to be anything like me. I’m man hear me roar… Yeah, right. I usually don’t say anything at all. “What the fuck was that?” Boy Liz had rubbed her the wrong way. It wasn’t like Tess to cuss. She usually just stomped off.

So I tell her what that was back there. “I was just being nice, Tess.” Liz was trying to be nice. We had her in the hot seat for crying out loud. Alex was throwing questions at her left and right. She did well under pressure. This was all running through my mind and I knew it would do no good to voice my opinions when Tess was this upset. Give her time. She would adjust. After all isn’t that what we do? Adjust. Learn to hide things better the next time. That sort of thing.

“There’s nothing wrong with being nice. What’s up with you?” If she wanted to attack me I would attack right back. I said nothing to Liz that I wouldn’t say to anyone else. I did my normal routine so I wouldn’t raise any unwanted eyes.

“Well, you do remember that you didn’t want to seem available and under no circumstances did you want to be hooked up with this girl. Right?” She’s apologizing for her actions. Tess was never one to apologize she would just make a few laps around the bush and all would be okay when she was done. She was right that’s what I wanted to do tonight. But I had no idea that I would be so attracted to Maria’s friend.

She was only doing what was expected of her. So I said, “Yeah…” I just had to look at her. The one I’ve been waiting for my entire life was so close it practically hurts. I see them all start to laugh and I wonder what her laugh sounds like. I wonder if her laugh sounds as beautiful as her voice. I’m sure it does. “I wonder what’s so funny?” I really wanted to go back and be apart of the conversation. I really wanted to go back to have a second chance to get close to her. To smell the smell that is uniquely her.

“Do you want to go back there?” I look back at Tess. At first I thought she was just rubbing it in. But then I noticed that she was concerned. She would kindly step aside if I asked her to. She would do the friend thing and let me go back and get her.

But I couldn’t do that to her. I couldn’t do that to Liz. It wasn’t fair for her to get mixed up into all this mess. I couldn’t bring her in without her knowing the real me. I just couldn’t do it and I told Tess so too. “No, no. I don’t want to even know. What I don’t know won’t hurt me. Let’s just dance.” As we begin to dance I can’t help but look back to where she is standing. They’ve quit laughing now and all eyes seem to be on Liz again.

Tess brings me back to reality when she says, “Keep your hands off her.” I was just about to say the exact same thing but she beat me too it. Kyle looked like he was getting a little too friendly for my taste. I wanted to be the one there and here I was stuck dancing to a song I didn’t even know.

“What?” I had to do it to her. Tease Tess that is. She was in just as bad shape as I was. She wanting someone, just as much as I was. We are so pathetic. Two of a kind. That’s what we are.

“Nothing.” She sounds miserable. We continue dancing and Tess continues her rambling. “Does she have to act all innocent and all? God. What does he seen in her?” She’s acting innocent because she is. But I didn’t say that. I can see what Kyle sees in her. It’s clear. There’s just something about her that calls to me. I feel it now. Granted it not as strong as it was when I was only a few feet away but the pull is still there. It’s like she’s one of us but not. There’s no power lying within her. There’s no alienness about her. But there is definitely something that draws me to her.

I now have my back to the group and Tess quickly ducks her head into my shoulders. I’m tempted to look back and see what’s going on but I don’t. “What are you doing?” Tess is really acting weird tonight. I’m looking down at her and I know I’m smiling. It’s such a rarity to see Tess act this way. She’s acting almost human.

“Maria, she’s spotted me staring. I think she knows what we’re doing out here.” Of course Maria knows what we are doing out here. It’s Maria and Maria always knows everything. I continue to look down at her and smile. Everything is going to be all right. We’ve got a good group of friends that will look out for our best interests. She smiles back at me and I’m finally facing the group again.

I just had to take another look at the group and that’s when I noticed that Liz was no longer with them. “Oh, no…”

“What?” Tess turns us so she can see what has me all in a tizzy.

“She’s coming this way.” My heart starts to race and my hands start to sweat. Is she coming to get me? Does she want to dance? I wonder if she’ll say anything to me when she passes?

“So… act normal.” Tess puts her hands on my shoulders and she tries with all her might to make me act normal. Hell I acted normal every day of my life and it didn’t always work the way that it was supposed to. Now the girl of my dreams is coming this way and I’m expected to act normal. This is not good. I don’t know what to do.

I can feel her getting closer and closer without even looking. I know that she’s about ten feet away and getting closer. The pit of my stomach is tightening and my knees feel like they are about to give out on me any second now. What am I going to do? What am I going to say? And then it happens. She bumps into us and time stands still.

I feel her arm on my back as if she were trying to steady herself. Our eyes meet and I’m instantly hit with these feelings and images. Flashes really. Really weird flashes. Strange looking people almost alien like. The sky is a sickly green color and the clothes that are being worn are like something I’ve never seen before. But yet they seem familiar. And then the important one flashes. I’m standing across from the most beautiful girl that I’ve ever seen and the language is something that I’ve never heard before but I understand what is happening. I’m getting married and the woman standing before me is the love of my life. I’m to be her king and she my queen.

I try to shake out of it. I try and concentrate on her hand. It’s slowly traveling the distance of my arm and I’m dreading the minute that the momentum takes her and everything that has me so giddy away. My heart is racing faster and faster. I feel my throat tightening in anticipation of the loss of her and I don’t think I can take it. I don’t want to live like that. I’m nothing without her.

“Excuse me.” Her voice says but her eyes say something different. She feels it too. I smile at her. I expect her to smile back but she doesn’t. I can’t help but look into her eyes. Those incredible dark eyes do strange things to me. Feelings that I didn’t know existed were starting to awaken deep inside me. And then she’s gone. Her hands drops off of my arm and it’s as if a door was slammed shut. I follow her with my eyes as she weaves in and out of the crowd. She looks back and that’s when it dawns on me. She was frightened. Someone had asked one too many questions.

“I’ve gotta go, Tess.” I break away from dancing with Tess and start to leave but Tess grabs hold of my arm.

“I thought you didn’t want to have anything to do with her.” She didn’t feel it. She didn’t see what I saw. Liz is the one. She’s the one that I’ve dreamt about for so long. What can I say to Tess? She’s just the one.

“So did I… but…” Tess had drawn my attention and I realized that Liz was quickly getting further and further away. I’m going to lose her and I can’t do that. I can’t. I won’t. As her head drops from my sight I just take off. I run up the hill where I last saw her.

“Max!” I heard Tess yell just as I had taken off. When I reached the top I could no longer see her. What was I going to do? Maybe Tess saw which way she had gone. I turn and look across the crowd. I find Tess and silently ask her if she knew where Liz had gone. She shrugged her shoulders. I couldn’t lose Liz. Something was wrong. She was scared. Why would she be scared and why were none of the others coming after her. Didn’t they know that something was wrong with her?

I turned around and went down the backside of the hill. She had to have gone this way. I felt this weird sensation that made the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I’m running blindly into the wooded area of the golf course. Where could she be?

I stumble into the trees. “Liz!” I call out to her. Maybe she’ll answer and I’ll know where she is. “Liz!” I finally hear something off to my right and I squint to see if what made the noise was her or not. It’s my only clue and I have nothing else to go for so I head to where I heard the rustling and that’s when I see her. She sitting on the ground and has her knees pulled up to her chest, she’s so small. I’m only a few feet away when she starts to rock back and forth. She’s saying something but I can’t quite make it out. She’s crying now and I take a few more strides and I’m close enough to touch her.

I’m just about to reach for her when she looks up at me wide eyed. “Stay away!” She yells. I’m confused. Doesn’t she know that I won’t hurt her?

“Liz…” I reach for her and she starts to back pedal. Why is she scared of me? Does she know who I really am? What I really am?

“Please, Max.” She sounds so defeated. Everything inside me wants to grab her and comfort her but I’m afraid to take a step for fear she’ll just continue to run. At least this way she’s not going anywhere. “Don’t come any closer. I’m sorry. Just please.” She grabs her head and she winces in pain. What is happening to her? But she recovers quickly and she is beginning to talk again. “I’m sorry. I should have said something. I’m sorry.”

She didn’t have anything to be sorry about. I just wanted to get to know her. I just wanted to be in her company so I could feel all these wonderful sensations. “What’s going on?” There had to be an explanation for why she was acting this way. I wouldn’t get anywhere by making assumptions. “Tell me, I can help you.” She looks like she is going to tell me but she just sits there, so far away, staring into nothingness. “Liz.” She closes her eyes as if it would help make things disappear. But I know I’ll still be here when she opens her eyes. I’ll be here until she tells me she doesn’t need me or if she doesn’t want me.

“No one can help me. No one.” What is she talking about? I try to get closer because I can see that she is still so scared and there’s nothing I can do unless I find out more. She begins to shake her head no so I stop again. She doesn’t want me any closer.

“Who do I need to get?” I quickly forgot that I shouldn’t come any closer when I’m reminded when she sticks up her hand to keep me where I am. So I stay where I am. I crouch down so I’m not so intimidating to her. “What can I do?” She finally looks at me and she swipes what I can only assume are tears from her face. I can’t really see them because everything is so dark. I continue to talk to her. “Can your parents help? Give me their number and I’ll call them to come get you.” I’m willing to try anything. Anything that will calm her down.

“I have to get away.” She whispers softly and I can’t quite hear her so I lean in closer. “I have to get away.” Why does she have to get away? Who is she running from? Are they hurting her? So many questions and I’m not getting the answers quick enough.

“Tell me where you want to go and I’ll take you there. Please, Liz. Just let me help you.” I’ve gone to begging her. There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do and if she would just let me touch her I could find out what was going on. I could heal her if she needed to be healed.

“I want to remember.” She wasn’t making any sense to me. One minute she was talking about how no one can help her and then she needs to get away but from what I don’t know. And now she wants to remember. And still I have no idea what is really going through her mind. I want to help her so desperately. My body is aching because I’m keeping my distance. I’m closer to her now than I have been all night but still I’m not touching her. She’s made sure that I don’t touch her again.

Did she have a flash like I did? Is that what started all of this chaos. I’m getting lost in my own conversation and I try to get back on track. I’ll just have to wait for her answers. I’ll be here when she’s ready and I’ll make sure that she will be okay.

“What do you want to remember?” It comes out a little more breathy than and I could tell that she felt my breath because she shivered just a little.

“I want to remember everything.” She looks up at me as she stands up and then she looks down at me. “I want to remember you.” She starts to back away and before I can stand or say anything she begins to talk again. “No one can help me remember. No one can help me.”

“Liz…” I finally stand and take another step forward. Her words are like daggers. To see her standing before me and not have the ability to make it better for her is killing me. “Please.” I beg her to let me help her and she takes another step back. I mirrored hers, mine was a little longer stride than hers was, and I was now closer to her than when we first started out.

“Whatever happens, Max, just know that it’s not me.” What’s not her? I had no idea what she was talking about but her eyes were begging me to agree. I shook my head to signal that I understood but I was still confused. She wasn’t making any sense. “Just remember for me because I won’t be able to.” Another step back and I took another step forward. I was closer once again. “Please.” She melted my heart when she whispered her plea to me. “I want to remember everything.” Her voice was getting quieter and quieter with every sentence she spoke. “I want to remember you. Please. Max, stay with me and tell me everything that happens. Promise me Max?” My heart was no longer this dead weight that I kept in the center of my chest. It had come to life with her request for me to stay with her. She no longer wanted to keep me away. She was accepting me into her life. Asking me to help her. To stay with her.

I notice that she’s not looking too well. She looks like she is going to pass out so I quickly grab her and pull her to my body. Her hat falls off and I gently lower the two of us to the ground so I could get a better hold of her.

She grabs hold of my shirt and she rests her head onto my chest. She’s clinging to me as if I were her lifeline. The only thing that was keeping her grounded was the grip that she had on my shirt. “I’m here, Liz. I’m here. I’m going to take you home and everything’s going to be okay. I’m here and I won’t let anything happen to you.” I was just trying to make her feel better. Let her know that I wasn’t going to leave her and I must have did just that for she looked up at me and gave me a small smile. And then she’s out.

I pick her up and carry her to the jeep. I needed to take her home but I didn’t know where she lived and I didn’t want to leave her alone. I promised that I would stay with her. I promised that I would remember for her. She had to have known that this was going to happen.

I gently placed her in the front seat of the jeep and strapped her in with the seatbelt. I’m kicking myself for not putting the top and sides on early today. It’s going to be a cold ride home. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her making sure that she would be warm. I hurry around to the driver’s side of the jeep and hop in. The minute I get in Liz leans over against me and I hold my arm out a little ways so she has something to lean against. She wraps her arms around mine but that is all. I breathe a little sigh of relief having her this close to me. I would really hate to have anything happen to her when she is in my care and falling out of the jeep is something I definitely don’t want happening.

Starting the jeep quickly and backing out as smoothly as I can we head for my apartment. It was the only place I could think of going. The only place that I could safely take care of her. Watch her… remember for her.

I drove in silence and the entire time what ifs kept on running around my head. What if she needed medical attention or worse yet medication? She wasn’t carrying a purse. Surely if she needed medication she would be carrying it with her. The first thing I had to do when we got home was to check and make sure that she didn’t have any medication on her.

We were home before I knew it and I quickly parked the jeep and ran around to pick her up. She was still sleeping. Whatever was wrong wasn’t too terribly bad or else there would be some kind of sign. I would think.

Taking her small form once again into my arms I carried her up the stairs. I didn’t bother with the keys. I just slipped my hand over the lock and the door opened. I went to lay her down on the couch when I noticed that she had once again dug her hands into my shirt. I didn’t want to bother her so I just sat down on the couch and pulled her into my lap.

She was resting so peacefully I didn’t want to disturb her. At first I just sat there and then it dawned on me that now was my chance to feel her hair. I had been wanting to do that all night but I hadn’t had the chance until now.

I slowly reached up to her hair and hesitate just before diving in. I felt like this was wrong. I shouldn’t touch her unless she knew. I felt like I was violating her personal space so I dropped my hands and sat there. Waiting for her to move to say something but she didn’t.

I finally laid my head back on the back of the sofa and closed my eyes. Liz Parker had a force on me and it felt nice having her in my arms.

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PART 8 ~ ISABEL

I walk into my first class reluctantly. Economics 101. I hate it. The only highlight is that I share the class with Max. I look around and he’s not here. I wonder where he is. He still can’t be upset with me? Can he? I pull out my cell phone and dial his apartment. “Hi, you’ve reached Max and Tess.” God I hate that message. It’s one of those cutesy ones where Max is speaking and then Tess jumps in and says ‘Tess’ and then they continue together the rest of the message. Why don’t they just go with the anonymous number thing? I wait for the beep. “Max, it’s me. I was just wondering if you were coming to class or not. Call me. Let me know that you’re still breathing, okay? Talk to ya later. Bye.” I wasn’t about to bring up the subject of Liz. No point in pouring salt on an open wound. I knew when it was a lost cause.

I set the phone to vibrate so I can leave it on during class then snap it shut and slump deeper into my chair. The professor walks in and starts babbling and I don’t hear a single word he says. I stand up and walk out ten minutes into his lecture. I didn’t get a call from Max so he must not be home. I click open the phone and dial his cell phone number. “Come on pick up the phone.” I wait and start twirling my hair. “Oh, come on, Max. Pick up the damn phone.” Okay, I’ve lost it. I’m talking to myself. I look around to see if any of the students that are walking in the halls are Max.

It wasn’t like Max to not answer his phone. It's something that none of us do. We’ve been through the whole on the run thing and we know the others could get worried if we aren’t where we were supposed to be. Maybe he was just getting back at me for being so rude to Liz. He didn’t contact me all weekend and he didn’t come to Sunday’s dinner and I didn’t try and contact him either. He was upset with me and I can almost understand it. He’s probably even a little disappointed in me. I don’t know why he’s taking it so hard. It’s not like he was the one to introduce us to Liz. I thought it would be a good idea to let him settle down… you know basically forget about my actions from Friday night’s party.

I start to get this sinking suspicion that this has something to do with Liz. I can’t help what I feel and I felt something the minute I met her. It’s just that I don’t know what exactly it was. It wasn’t like she’s one of us. It’s not like I feel threatened by her. She’s definitely not our enemy. It’s just something. Maria was right, there was something about Liz Parker that made me feel like she was exactly who Max had been waiting for. Just something.

Alex seems to like her just like Maria. Damn, he even played my riff for her. But he also seems to think something isn’t quite right. She didn’t seem to have a problem answering Alex’s questions. She seemed truthful, but the answers didn’t ring entirely true. Alex will do some snooping and find out all there is to know about her.

I turned up my ringer again before I dial Maria’s number. She would have the scoop. Her and Max have this type of relationship. She calls him her girlfriend and all. It’s pretty cute. They get together every Sunday morning for breakfast and then they walk the streets looking for things. What they are looking for I have no idea but I’ve seen some of the things that Maria has purchased and I’m glad that I don’t go. I would rather be dead then caught with something like that in my possession. Maybe they’re looking for her, Max’s dreamgirl. Maybe they’re looking for exactly what they bring home. Who knows? I certainly don’t.

It’s ringing. On the second ring I hear… “Hello.” She’s whispering. Maria has music appreciation class right now. All they do all hour is sit around and listen to different types of music. Can you say easy? Definitely an easy class. Definitely.

“Maria. Thank god. Where’s Max?” Yes, I’m a little panicked. I have a death grip on my phone and am continuously searching the halls for Max.

“What do you mean, ‘where’s Max’? Isn’t he in class with you?” Uh oh. She doesn’t know. That’s not good. I was hoping that she would know where he was.

“No. He didn’t show up.” I begin to walk quickly out of the building. The phone held tightly to my ear as I start to scan the campus. I don’t see him anywhere. I start in the direction of his apartment. “I’m heading to his apartment now. Maybe he’s sleeping in.”

“Ha.” Maria snorts. “Max doesn’t know what sleeping in is.”

“I know. Work with me, Maria. I’m beginning to worry. I got the machine at the apartment and he’s not answering his cell phone. Did you see him at all this weekend?” I push the walk button on the street corner impatiently. The guys standing beside me looks at me weird. “Look buddy I know it doesn’t make it change any faster just… just humor me. I’m having a rough day.” The guy diverts his eyes to the open smog filled sky. I’ve got to get a grip.

“Isabel?” I hear her hesitation in her interrupting me and before I can answer she follows my name with, “Are you okay?” Maria was probably wondering what I was doing talking to some stranger. Well, I wasn’t actually talking I was almost yelling. I can feel the panic begin to rise. I’m not going to panic. I’m not going to panic.

“Yeah, I’m okay. What happened on Sunday? Did he seem okay? Was he still sulking?”

“Yeah, I went over there Sunday morning for our usual get together.” I sigh knowing that she will have the scoop on what happened when he went after Liz. Did he find her or not? She’ll know if anything happened between the two of them. Maria has a way of knowing everything. How she gets the information in the first place is beyond me.

“And…” I don’t know why she’s doing this to me. It’s like pulling teeth. She has to know how on edge I am right now. I feel like yelling at her too. Don’t mess with me, Maria! Don’t mess with me. But I don’t I just quickly ask, “Did he find her?”

“He found her.” What wasn’t she telling me? UGH!

“And! Maria, you’re killing me. What happened?” The walk light came on and I look at the guy that was waiting at the corner with me and smile at him. I quickly cross the street. I’m lucky, Max only lives four blocks from campus otherwise I wouldn’t be doing this. I would be going to get Alex out of his programming class and then we would go in the car. I hate driving in this town. The people that drive are raging lunatics.

“He doesn’t really know.” I finally hear Maria say.

“Maria!” How can Max not know what happened? And then it hit me. What if Liz was a skin and had kidnapped him? What if she was working for Khivar and Maria led her straight into our group.

“Look. Let me call Michael, he should be off work and just getting ready to hop into the bed.” She trying to calm me down and I know that’s what she’s trying to do but I don’t want to be calm right now. I want to know where the hell Max is. “Maybe he knows why Max isn’t in class.” She says quickly before I have the chance to speculate any further on what mishaps could have happened to Max over the weekend.

“Don’t you hang up on me, Maria! There’s a stranger among us and now Max is missing. And it’s a stranger that you brought in.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Isabel.” She’s speaking to me as if I was a child. I’m not a child. That was Tess’ function in the group. “You’re not in one of your acting classes.” She continues and I know she’s not going to stop yet. “Max is a big boy and he can take care of himself. Check his apartment and I’ll round up the troops and meet you there. He’s going to be all right. You hear me? He’s okay. Alright?” I don’t have a chance to argue with her. She hangs up before I can even say good bye. I hope she’s right. I slap the phone shut and stuff it into my purse. I walk a few more blocks before I finally round the last corner. Maria’s last few words were in an attempt to calm me down and I could tell by her tone that she was beginning to panic too.

The jeep’s not parked in front of his and Tess’ apartment. I reach into my purse and grab my phone. I hit redial and wait. Maria should know that Max isn’t home, that way she can be as paranoid as I am. It wasn’t fair that I was the only one that was dealing with this. I didn’t want to be the only one. It rings and rings and now I get Maria’s voicemail. Great. She’s probably still on the phone with Michael. Or worse yet, Tess. That girl doesn’t know when to shut up. Why didn’t I stop her from calling everyone before we knew for sure where to start? It’s been a long time since any of us have had to think under pressure. I hope Max didn’t get caught up in something that he couldn’t handle.

“Maria, the jeep’s not here. I’m going in to see if he left Tess a message on the fridge.” I slap the phone shut and walk up the stairs to the door. Putting my key to their apartment into the keyhole I turn it and push the door open. “Max! Are you home?” I call out. The apartment had a weird feel to it. Nothing was out of place, which was par for the course. Max was a neat freak. He didn’t do a lot so he spent a lot of time at home and he cleaned.

You never know. His jeep may not be out front but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be here. Bob is always breaking down at the most inopportune times. He loves the thing to death and I don’t have a clue why. Maybe it’s because it’s one of the few things that he can actually call his own. It gives him something to relate to. I don’t know. I never did well in psych class. I remember the one time it broke down on me. Radiator overheated and I was stuck on the side of the road. I was lucky that Maria just happened to drive by. I felt a smile begin to form at the memory. It was when Maria first found out about us. She was freaked and a little bit on edge.

I wouldn’t trade all our past experiences for anything. It was a long hard road but it was worth the trip.

I walk into the apartment and call out again. Still nothing. I walk down the hallway and knock on his closed door. “Max? Is everything okay?” No answer. I slowly open the door and peek in. I swing the door open wider. “Max?” His bed is made. It was always made. He was a neat freak like I said before.

My brother got up at five in the morning to go jogging before going to the gym, but he made his bed and did the breakfast dishes before leaving the apartment. I walk back out of the room and continue searching the apartment. I head into the kitchen and look at the fridge. Nothing, not a goddamn thing. He knows it pisses Tess off when he doesn’t leave her a note telling her where he’s going to be. I walk over to the machine. The light is blinking so I press the button to listen to the messages.

“Hi, this is…” Nope… some salesman trying to sell us something. I press the fast forward button to hear the next message.

“Hi, Max. This is your mother. I was calling to tell you that you left your sunglasses here. I know you’ll be looking for them and I just wanted to let you know that you should probably just go out and get a new pair. Uh… your dad accidentally stepped on them after he knocked them off the kitchen counter.” I hit fast forward again. Mom definitely wasn’t going to give me any information on where Max was. If push came to shove I would call mom and see if she had heard from him. Who knows? Max may have decided to make a quick trip home for the weekend.

“Hey, Tess. This is Steve. Maria said…” I almost broke out in hysterics. Steve Mason. Maria was one of a kind. You just have to love her. Steve Mason is this guy that doesn’t know what the meaning of shower once a day is. Giving Steve Mason Tess’ phone number was Maria’s way of pushing her towards Kyle. Her mind at times was hard to follow but I knew exactly what she was thinking when she tried to make that match. Tess was going to have to change their phone number now. That guy didn’t know what no meant. I hit fast forward to get to the next message.

“Max…” Click. That was all there was to that message. A girl’s voice calling for Max. I looked at the caller ID and it came up unknown. Who could have called him with an unknown number at… five in the morning this morning? The voice sounded familiar but I couldn’t really place it. Whoever it was he had to have been waiting for the call because he picked up almost immediately. Add another odd thing to a growing list. It’s not like Max to screen his calls. He’s one of those compulsive people that just has to pick up a ringing phone.

The next message begins. “Max, it’s me. I was just wondering…” Great it’s me. That was it. I walk out of the kitchen and scan the living room. I’m still clutching my phone so I dial Maria. It goes into voicemail. I leave her a brief message to call me. I don’t go into any details. There was no need for details. I didn’t really have too many to give anyway.

I sit down on the couch and look at the phone. I stare at it willing it to ring. Someone has to call me back.

Where could he be and who was the voice on the answering machine? I can’t take all of this waiting. I needed to think. I needed to try and figure out where he went. Maria said that they had met for their Saturday morning get together but she wouldn’t tell me anything else.

She had said that he had found Liz and when I asked how it went Maria said that he didn’t know. What didn’t he know? Maria wouldn’t have let him get away with an answer like ‘He didn’t know’? Not the Maria I know. She knew something and the minute I set eyes on her, she is going to pay for keeping me in the dark. I begin to relax and just about the minute I close my eyes, my phone rings and it scares the shit out of me. I almost fling it across the room but was able to hang on to it.

“Hello.” I answered the phone.

“Hey, it’s me.” Alex was whispering. “I’ve done some digging on Maria’s new friend and you’re not going to believe this.” Alex was in computer class right now. We had talked about him looking into Liz this morning. He was to start off with the transfer records and go from there.

“What? What did you find?” I couldn’t really kill him for stretching this out. He and Maria go back a long ways and for him to just blurt it out was against his ingrained nature. Years of hanging around with Maria will do that to a person. There was a lot of things that all of us had begun to pick up from each other over the past few years. Not all of them were as annoying as this habit was.

“She wasn’t lying about being from Connecticut. That was true. She was also majoring in molecular biology just as she said. Graduated valedictorian from high school. Overall, she’s a normal student. She was president of the Science Club. Active member in Who’s Who Among American High School Students for all four years. Member of the National Honor Society. Volunteered at the city hospital research department.” Isabel could hear Alex punching the keys to the keyboard. “I don’t see anything here that should set off any of our alarms.” I take a deep breath and let it out. She was normal. She wasn’t a skin. What a relief. “Hang on. They have something here that’s password protected.”

“What is it, Alex?” That can’t be good. Anything that is password protected can’t be good. What are they trying to hide? What little secret is Liz Parker hiding?

“This may take awhile. Can I call you back?” I wanted to say no, I’m not hanging up this phone until I have answers.

“Alex, Max wasn’t in class this morning and he’s not at home. I’m worried.”

“And you think Liz is the reason he’s missing, don’t you?”

“Yes. Please.“

“Isabel, maybe there’s a perfectly innocent explanation for why Max isn’t available.” Alex suggested as he tried to calm me down.

“Max always answers his phone. He wouldn’t ignore a call.”

“Well, maybe he’s… uh, not available. Um, maybe he got lucky.” Alex sounds embarrassed to suggest it.

“Oh, God Alex. We’re talking about my brother. Could we not go there.” I complain to him. Yeah, Max looked like he was really attracted to Liz. But hey, this was Max we were talking about. He wasn’t the first date type of guy. He would have to know a girl before he…. Eew, I can’t think about my brother that way.

“Okay, I’ll call as soon as I find out anything else.”

“Okay Alex, Hurry.” Now more than ever I wanted to be with Alex. I wanted to feel his arms wrap around me and I wanted to feel the warmth of his body next to me. I felt safe when I was with him. He grounded me. He kept me human more than I realized he ever did.

Funny what a person thinks about in the middle of a crisis. Everything that you take for granted suddenly is realized and you wish you were able to find peace within it but now that I’m four blocks away there’s not a single thing I can do but wait.

“I will. I promise to call you the minute I can get in. Okay. I promise. He’s going to be okay. Whatever is going through your mind about Liz Parker it’s not going to be that way. She’s not the enemy. She couldn’t be. Trust me. I’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise you. I love you. Call me if you hear from anyone else.” He was so sweet and he was mine. What did I do to deserve his love? I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m lucky. That’s all there is to it.

“I love you too. Hurry. I’ll be waiting.” I heard him hang up but I continued to hold the phone. I didn’t want to hang up. I wanted to have him here. I needed him. The phone went dead and I finally pulled it away from my ear.

I stood up and started to pace. Maybe I should try and dreamwalk him. Maybe he’s asleep somewhere. I knew it was impossible. If Max was kidnapped that would be the last thing he would be doing right now. I looked back down to the phone in my hand and wished that Maria would call me back.

I couldn’t wait any longer. I punch in the speed dial number for Maria’s cell and hoped that she would answer. It was ringing and ringing and I knew I was going to be thrown into voicemail. I was about to hang up when I heard the front door bang open. “Isabel! We have to go now!” Maria shouts as she storms into the room.

She stops the minute she sees me and the look on her face scares me to death. “What’s wrong? Is Max…”

“I’ll tell you when we get there. Have you heard from Tess or Kyle? They’re missing.” Why did she have to say that? I didn’t need that right now.

“I… I don’t know. I haven’t seen either one of them since Friday night’s party. Alex and I left right after you did. I don’t know… I don’t know.” Maria grabbed my hand. I know she was trying to keep me from falling apart but it wasn’t helping. “What aren’t you telling me? He’s my brother and I have the right to know. Don’t keep me in the dark. Please.”

She pulled me into a hug. I don’t know why but that’s when the walls came crumbling down. “Don’t worry. Everything is fine. In a while you’ll know everything that you have ever wanted to know. They made me promise not to say anything and just get you and Alex and meet them at the dorms.”

“Them? Who else is there?”

“Michael’s with Max. He’s been there all morning. It’s a long story and we don’t have much time. We have to get Alex.” She pulled on my hand and we left the apartment. I made sure to lock the door before shutting it.

“Max isn’t missing?” I dabbed at the tears that were running down my cheek.

“No, he’s fine. I told you. He and Michael are waiting for us.”

“Why didn’t he answer his phone? Didn’t he know that we would worry? Just wait until I get my hands on him. I’m going to kill him.” Maria ran around to the driver’s side of the little red Jetta and climbed in. I opened up the passenger side and slid in as well.

“I wouldn’t go that far. He’s had a rough morning. Yes, he should have answered his phone but he’s not all there. He’s had a lot on his mind.”

“What’s going on, Maria? You know you’re not very good at keeping things a secret so you might as well spill it already.”

“Let’s just say I was right about Liz. She’s perfect for Max. She’s in trouble and we have to help her. It’s going to take all of us to do it though.” Maria pulled out onto the street and then headed for school. “Is Alex still in the technology hall?” I nodded my head and Maria kept on talking. “Call him and tell him to meet us outside now. We don’t have much time.” There she goes again. What wasn’t she telling me? I could deal with anything but this suspense is going to kill me.

“Yeah, I’ll call him to let him know to meet us out front.” I was glad I that I now had a task of doing something useful. After an hour of doing nothing and coming up with nothing I was glad that it was going to end soon. At least I hoped that it was all going to end.

After I called Alex and told him to meet us out front I sat and looked out the window. Thoughts about everything that had happened in the last few days kept churning in my mind. I didn’t know what was so important about Liz that we had to jump through hoops to save her. What did she needed saving from? Why was she perfect for Max? I hope she doesn’t drag us down with her. That’s all we need after all this time of peace.

I notice a friend walking down the sidewalk; I have to remember to tell her that those boots definitely don’t go with that skirt.

I wonder if Alex had time to hack into the protected area of Liz’s transcript. What the heck would they want to hide in her transcript? Liz Parker looked like the proverbial All-American girl next door. All these thoughts were running through my head and it was really hard to keep them objective. All I want to do is forget that we ever met Liz. I was enjoying my life like it was, a great boyfriend that worships the ground I walk on, close to getting my degree, a fashion sense to die for… I don’t want to have to go through everything that we went through in high school. “Max left his sunglasses at mom’s when we were home for the holidays.”

“Umm… okay.” Maria looked at me weird. “Are you okay?”

“I listened to the messages to see if I could figure out where Max was and mom was on the phone telling Max that he should just go and buy himself a new pair of sunglasses. Dad stepped on them and broke them. I just thought that you would help me to remember to tell him. Those were his favorite pair.” I continued to look out the window. I knew Maria was probably thinking that I had gone over the edge. I was beginning to wonder if I had gone over the edge.

I needed to see Alex. I needed to have him hold me. Something major was going on and for some reason Michael and Max thought it best for me to be in the dark. I didn’t do well in the dark. The only time I did well in the dark was when Alex was there to hold me. And right now I needed to be held. “There he is.” I pointed to him and practically hopped out of the car before it came to a complete stop.

“Isabel?” I ran to him and hugged him and he instantly wrapped his arms around me and started to rock me. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, Maria won’t tell me.” I sounded muffled because I had my head buried into his neck. “Michael’s with Max. I don’t know. I just need you to hold me. Hold me, Alex.” He did as I asked and I was truly grateful.

“Come on… we better go before Maria freaks out.” I didn’t pull away from him I just let him take me to the car. He opened up the back door and I climbed in. I had hold of his hand and he knew that he was to sit in the back with me. As he settled next to me in the back seat of the car he waved his hand imperiously and called out to Maria “Home, James.” and I was really glad that he was here.

We didn’t have to drive for too much longer. Maria pulled in to the dorm parking and we all piled out and followed. Alex had yet to ask any questions and it worried me. But then again it was normal for Alex and Maria not to speak. They had their own frequency and they just knew when to speak and when not to.

We enter the dorm and made a turn. Maria’s pace had quickened and I don’t know if she felt what I did but I felt power. Lots of it, so Alex and I quickened our pace too. The hall was pretty much empty which was probably a godsend, I’m not really sure. I won’t know until I know what is going on.

Maria stopped in front of room 123. I notice a dry erase board on the front and it has Max’s home number written on it with a message telling Liz to please call him. That must have been the quiet female voice that I heard on Max’s machine. Liz had called Max at five o’clock this morning and he has been here ever since.

I look at Maria and notice that her hand is hovering just over the knob. She looks at me and she looks scared for the first time. I don’t blame her. It’s hard telling what we are going to find on the other side of the door. “It’s okay, Maria. I’ll go in first. You guys stay behind me.” She nodded her head and did as I said. Protect the innocents above all else.

I turn the knob and slowly push the door open. I peek through the opening and see Michael with his arms crossed. “It’s about damn time you guys showed up. Where’s Tess and Kyle? We need them.” At the sound of his voice I gained my backbone and pushed the door the rest of the way as I charge into the room.

“I can’t find Tess and Kyle. They’re out of range. I go straight into voicemail. Where ever they are they’re not where they can be reached.” Maria says. She’s still behind me. I had stopped at the entrance to the small dorm room. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. This can’t be.

“Max?” He looked up from the side of the bed. Tears in his eyes. “Max… What’s wrong?” I could feel his fear roll off him. I could feel the power he was using and I could feel it weakening.

“Shut the door.” Michael pulled us all inside. He was scared I could tell by how gruff he was being.

“What the…” Alex asked but never finished the minute he saw the situation. He stayed put and he didn’t move.

“Oh my god…” Maria said in a small whisper that was uncharacteristically of her. I didn’t even look at her. My eyes were locked on Max. He went back to concentrating on the small form on the bed and didn’t look at us when we entered the room.

I went down to my knees by my brother’s side. “How bad? How bad is she?”

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PART 9 ~ ALEX

Isabel was pacing and he was only ten minutes late. I hate it when she goes into a frenzy like this. “Just give him some time.” I said as I walked over to her and grabbed her arms so she would stop pacing. I was actually beginning to see the path that was being worn into the carpet. “Imagine what it must be like to be him, to finally find someone that interests you only to lose her at the end of the night. To not even get the chance to get to know her.” I must have said something wrong because she threw her arms up into the air and started pacing again.

“He hasn’t lost her, Alex. There’s always tomorrow. How long did it take you and I to get together?” She actually is acting a lot like Maria. If she only knew that I was thinking about even comparing her to Maria I would be so dead right now.

“Isabel you and I are totally different than Max and Liz.” Our relationship took years to cultivate. It was a long and hard road but was well worth the trip.

“It’s not like she’s going anywhere. She would have to be crazy to move to a different school when she’s so close to graduating.” She said as she chose to ignore me. It was like I wasn’t even in the room anymore.

“Need I remind you that she has already transferred once. What’s to keep her from transferring again?” I regret saying that last line because she immediately started chewing on her fingers. I hate it when she bites her nails. It’s just so unlike her. “Isabel you’re over reacting. Besides it’s not like he hasn’t missed one of your Sunday dinners before.”

“I know Alex,” ooh, she does know that I’m still in the room, “but he’s always called me when he knew he was going to miss it. He’s really upset with me. Really.” She’s probably right. Max is probably just giving Isabel the silent treatment. I haven’t seen him use this tactic often, but he knows it drives Isabel crazy. I chose to keep this information to myself. There’s no need in bringing up the obvious if she has decided to overlook it then I won’t mention it to her.

She throws me her little sad face my way and I can’t stand being this far away from her. She only uses that face when she needs comforting. I close the distance and pull her into me and hold her. A little comforting should do the trick. At least I hope it does.

The remainder of the night continued on like this… Her ranting, me comforting until I couldn’t take it any longer. “I’m going out to the sofa. I have Peterson first thing in the morning and you know that he likes to give pop quizzes on the first day of the week.” I rolled over and kissed her.

“I’m really sorry, Alex. I know I’m just over reacting but I just can’t help it. You know me… when things are going well, I’m always expecting it to turn bad. Go sleep on the sofa and I’ll see you in the morning.” She gave me one more kiss and then tossed her head back and covered her eyes with her arm. I was really hoping that she would leave me the bed since she’s the one that can’t sleep. I guess not. Sighing, loudly, I get up and grab my pillow as I head out to an uncomfortable night on the couch.

I throw the pillow on the couch and grab the afghan off the back. I lay down and toss the cover over me. As I turn on my side and pull the afghan up to cover my shoulders I feel a distinct chill on my feet. Damnit. Why is this thing so friggin short. I try to use it on a diagonal and that seems to work. I settle down on the couch but sleep doesn’t come.

I don’t know how she does this to me… I mean; I know Liz is going to check out all right. I have this feeling about her. Sure I know she ran off and never came back; that’s suspicious in and of its own. I watched for her the whole time I was up on stage and I never saw her return. Of course Max never returned either, so I just assumed that they were off getting to know each other. I could tell that they were instantly attracted to one another. The way Max just hung on every word that she said was enough to tell me that he was interested. I even saw him smile when she was struggling with her hat.

I hope they’re okay. I’m sure they are but nothing ever goes the way it is supposed to go with our group. We have this target painted on us that when the going gets good the bad comes a running. It’s not fair. They never did anything to hurt anyone. They don’t deserve to be treated like they are freaks. They’re normal just like the rest of us except that they have ‘gifts’. If you look at it that way it’s not so bad but when you look at their ‘gifts’ as being alien powers that sends up the red flags to anyone.

Isabel just has this way with me. I love her and I would do anything for her but sometimes she pushes me to the limit. We had a rocky beginning in high school. She was the Homecoming Queen and I was the nerdy, underdeveloped, class computer geek. I can understand why it took her so long to notice me. I haven’t changed that much. I’ve buffed up but I’m still no Adonis.

I’m not going to be very good on the computer this morning because I’ve got a stiff neck for sleeping on the sofa. I should have made Isabel sleep on the couch. She looked just as beautiful as ever this morning, as fresh as a daisy. I bet she wouldn’t look so fresh after a night on the couch. Ha… she always looks good. Even when we were running from the FBI she looked good.

She was quiet on the way to school. Maybe she was anticipating her Econ class with Max. I reached across the center console and grabbed her hand. She squeezed it as she looked up at me and gave me a smile but I knew it wasn’t a real one. She was hiding again. Neither one of us said a word until we went our separate ways. “Don’t forget to see if you can find anything on Liz.”

“I will, but believe me I’m not going to find anything.”

“You’re probably right but please,” she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek and then held my face so I had no choice but to look her in the eye, “just check for me. I love you. Have a great day and I’ll see you at the Union for lunch. Oh and Alex, call me as soon as you find anything on her.”

“I love you too. Good luck in Econ. Tell Max hi when you see him.” She was already ten feet away from me and moving fast by the time I finished. She just wasn’t really having a good day after all. That’s my girl. Keep the cool; calm exterior showing while the inside is slowly drawing the covers up over your head. I hope her and Max make up soon because this silence thing is killing her. I chuckle as I think, ‘the calm Ice Princess, made a nervous wreck by her brother’s silent treatment.’ If only the kids at West Roswell could see her now.

I walk to my class and am lucky… it’s been canceled. Scrawled on the blackboard is a note that says that the prof is sick so all classes have been canceled for the rest of the day. “Cool.” I had the whole lab to myself. “Perfect.” It would take me sometime to get in so I set my backpack on the ground next to the station at the very back of the room. This way I could see everyone and anyone that came in and I would be able to minimize any unauthorized screens that I may be in.

I sat down and rolled my neck to relieve some of the tension that had settled there over last night’s stay on the sofa. I then stretched my arms out in front of me and clasped my hands. I popped every single joint in both hands and then wiggled them to make sure that they were ready to do some hacking. I always enjoy a good challenge. Maybe that’s what I like about Isabel. She was definitely a challenge. No, Isabel is much more to me than a challenge. She’s my one and only.

About twenty minutes into my hacking I finally find what I’m looking for. “Bingo.” Elizabeth Anne Parker. “Okay Miss Parker. What are you not telling us?” I punch a few more keys and decide I better let Isabel know. She won’t care that I’m interrupting her in her Econ class for this. She did say that she wanted to know as soon as I found something out. So, like the good boyfriend that I am I do what she wants.

“Hello.” She has such a nice voice. It’s music to my ears. Well, most the time unless she’s bitching, which is quite a lot but that’s what make her, her.

“Hey, it’s me.” I say quietly. I don’t know why I’m whispering. It’s not like I’m in a room full of students. “I’ve done some digging on Maria’s new friend and you’re not going to believe this.” I know this is going to get her riled up. She just knows that Liz is hiding something and I’m going to enjoy proving her wrong. Knock her down a few notches. Make her realize that not everyone is after her and her family.

“What? What did you find?” Draw it out for effect. She hates this when Maria does it to her and I’ve found out that it comes in handy. She just can’t wait to hear what I’ve found out. I can hear it in her voice.

“She wasn’t lying about being from Connecticut. That was true. She was also majoring in molecular biology just as she said. Graduated valedictorian from high school. Overall, she’s a normal student.” I couldn’t believe what all Liz had done during high school. No wonder she could afford to transfer in the last semester of her major. She was a brain. To say that Liz was a normal student was a lie. The girl was extraordinary but I wouldn’t dare tell Isabel that. “She was president of the Science Club. Active member in who’s who among American high school students for all four years. Member of the National Honor Society. Volunteered at the city hospital research department.” It went on and on, page after page of extracurricular activities. I looked for anything out of the ordinary but couldn’t really find anything. “I don’t see anything here that should set off any of our alarms.” I can practically hear her sigh of relief. Maria was right when she raked her and Tess over the coals the other night. Isabel was too protective of her brother. Let the man live a life for Pete’s sake.

Just when I thought it was going to be smooth sailing I happen along a password protected area that I’ve never seen before. Whenever I was hacking I always talk to myself and before I knew it I had said, “Hang on. They have something here that’s password protected.”

“What is it, Alex?” Me and my big mouth. Now I have to tell her what I found. I can’t do this to her. It’s going to kill her. I search my memory for excuses that I could use to buy me some time. I needed to read the entire file before I told her what I was reading on the screen.

“This may take awhile. Can I call you back?” I could almost sense Isabel shaking her head ‘no’ on the other end of the line. She was nervous and desperate for any information that could tell her what was rubbing her wrong about Liz.

“Alex, Max wasn’t in class this morning and he’s not at home. I’m worried.” Just when I think I’m in the clear she had to go and throw that into the mix.

I know the way her mind works. I’ve seen it from every angle. Even the way she dreams. “And you think Liz is the reason he’s missing, don’t you?” Captain Obvious had to ask the question.

“Yes. Please. Hurry.” I can hear it in the tone of her voice; she’s nervous and wants to be held. It’s funny really, all those years in high school, watching her put on her act for the mere masses. Who would have guessed that she craved contact so much? That she was really a touchy-feely kind of person.

“I will. I promise to call you the minute I can get in. Okay. I promise. He’s going to be okay. Whatever is going through your mind about Liz Parker it’s not going to be that way. She’s not the enemy. She couldn’t be. Trust me. I’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise you. I love you. Call me if you hear from anyone else.” I pulled everything I had to get off the phone with her. It wasn’t a task that was easy but the fact that Max was missing made it a little bit easier.

“I love you too. Hurry. I’ll be waiting.” I don’t want to give her a chance to change her mind so I hung up.

I flex my fingers and try to remember who handled the transfer students. I think for a moment, ‘Ah, Mrs. Jensen. This shouldn’t take long.’ I type in ‘epark&83’. This is almost too easy. Jensen always uses the students name and year of birth. She throws in the “&” sign because of a security course she once took. I hit return and am surprised when I get the infamous “Access Denied”. ‘Damn! Getting tricky in your old age huh?’ I think. Then it hits me. Case sensitive. That’s easy, Epark&83. Triumphantly I hit the enter key and curse when I still get the “Access Denied” message. Think Alex, you only have one more chance before this IP is locked out for the rest of the day and an event log is created. Not good. Mrs. Jensen, you’ve become more security conscious. Now how would she remember the passwords to these files? Then it dawns on me. She needs something she can remember but different than in the past, but not too different. The capital must be moved around. How can she remember? Okay, epArk&83. The third letter, because her birth year ends in a 3?

I lean back in the chair. It seems reasonable. Doesn’t it? Then why don’t I just hit the damn enter key? Why am I second-guessing myself? Just as I reach out to hit the key my cell rings and when I jump my finger hits enter. “Damn-it!” I swear as I reach for the phone. I raise it to my ear and snap out “WHAT!” As my eyes nervously scan the screen in front of me. It takes me a second to realize that the “Access Denied” message didn’t instantly appear. That has to be good, right?

Just as the screen starts to fill up the person finally answers, “Alex, it’s me… Maria knows where Max is and he wants us all to meet him. I guess.” She pauses for a moment, as if she were confirming with someone what she was saying was true. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay. I’ll be waiting.” Great just when I had just gotten in. I started reading the highlights of what the report said. The reason for the password was clearly evident. I click on the link and am instantly thrown into the Newington Police Department. It looks like Liz was reported on several occasions as being a missing person.

I hurry and scan. On the first occasion she was found in New York at the age of thirteen. The report read that she had called her parents to pick her up and that everything was all right. The second time she was picked up in some town in Oklahoma that I have never heard of at the age of fourteen. Every year the same thing. Another town another year and at the end she was the one that called home to be picked up.

There was another link at the end of the page. I clicked on it and it took me to a psychological profile. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Liz Parker was diagnosed, as to being a schizophrenic. The doctor tried several methods of treatment and none of them seemed to do any good.

“The patient seems to experience periods of lost time. She finds herself in different locations without any conscious explanation as to why she was there. Patient has reported of experiencing these lost moments throughout her childhood.” It went on and on detailing each and every episode. She was in therapy for almost four years before they decided that it just wasn’t helping.

Liz’s parents must have found out where she was when the school asked for her transcripts as part of the transfer process. The password protected file was her parents one way of trying to keep track of their daughter. I read a little further. “Hello, this can’t be good.” Their other way was that they had a tracking device placed in her stomach. “Great… Liz is being tracked and she leading the police right to us.”

I looked at my watched and realized that I had used up more time than what I had wanted to. Isabel was going to be outside waiting for me and if I’m not out there soon she’s going to go ballistic. With Max missing she doesn’t need to worry about me too… I hit print and shut everything down. I make sure to delete any and all traces of my ever being there. I have a feeling that I’m going to have to go back in soon to see what else Liz Parker has in her past.

I pick up all the paper and shove them into my pack. I sling it over my shoulder and walk quickly down the hall. I let out a sigh of relief when I walk through the double doors and don’t see Isabel anywhere. I just made it for I heard the tires of Maria’s Jetta squeal as it rounds the corner.

I see Isabel point at me and I smile. She doesn’t even let the car come to a complete stop before the passenger door is pushed open. “Isabel?” She runs to me and hugs me as if she the last time she had seen me was ages ago. “What’s wrong?” It just wasn’t like her to show this much affection in public. I knew there was something going on that I just didn’t know.

“Nothing.” She has nestled her head into my neck and her ‘nothing’ comes out muffled. She’s trying hard not to cry and I slowly rub her back and add a squeeze here and there. “Michael’s with Max. I don’t know. I just need you to hold me. Hold me, Alex.” I did what she asks and then look over her shoulder to see Maria standing up and looking over the roof of the car. She’s motioning me to grab Isabel and get in the car.

“Come on… we better go before Maria freaks out.” I knew there was no way that she was going to let me leave her so I just led her to the backseat of the car. She held on tight to my hand and I knew what she wanted. I was to sit in the backseat with her. Isabel was in a complete panic attack and I needed to diffuse her before she exploded so I said, “Home, James.” She smiled at me and I kissed the top of her head and I knew that she was starting to relax the minute she leaned into my open arms. The lack of sleep from the previous night was starting to peak through and all I could do was hope that whatever was happening to Max didn’t have anything to do with Liz. I really didn’t want to be the one to tell everyone that she was going to bring the police straight to us if we continued to let her stay in the group.

I was surprised when we stopped in front of one of the dorms but I wasn’t going to say anything. I opened up the rear door and followed Maria. Maria was quiet. Too quiet if you asked me and I knew better than to ask questions at a time like this. She was just as frantic as Isabel was; she just had a better grip on it since she didn’t have Michael to lean on.

The minute we entered through the double doors both of the girls’ paces quickened. I had to too because Isabel had yet to let go of me. We rounded a corner and Maria stops in front of room number 123. The second thing I notice is that Max has been here. I assume that this must be Liz’s room because he left her a note on the dry erase board. I knew he had it bad for her. It was just a short note saying that he had a great time on Saturday and wished he knew what had gone wrong on Sunday to make her leave. Please call him and he left his home number. He had to be desperate because if he wasn’t there was no way that he would have left his number like that for any girl to get it.

Max Evans has evaded almost every girl on campus and here he was, just days after meeting Liz Parker, leaving his number for the entire female population to have it. I noticed that we were still stopped and noticed that Maria was hesitating on whether or not to open the door or not. I was just about to offer to open it when Isabel stepped forward and said, “It’s okay, Maria. I’ll go in first. You guys stay behind me.” Maria nodded her head and stepped aside so Isabel could go first. I had learned the hard way a long time ago. I tried to be all macho and nearly got myself killed. After that I promised Isabel to let the other’s go first no matter what. They were better equipped to protect themselves than we were.

She slowly turns the knob and pushes the door open just enough for her to see what’s going on inside. I hear Michael’s gruff voice and relax. “It’s about damn time you guys showed up. Where’s Tess and Kyle? We need them.” He was in his ‘second in command’ mode and it felt good to be told what to do.

“I can’t find Tess and Kyle. They’re out of range. I go straight into voicemail. Where ever they are they’re not where they can be reached.” Maria told him as she pushed Isabel out of the way. I realize now that Isabel had just stopped in the doorway and if I wanted to get into the room as well I needed to push her further in.

“Max?” Her voice is cracking and it sounds as if she’s about to cry. I had to look over her shoulder and then that’s when I saw him. He was leaning against the bed and was holding Liz’s hand. She looked deathly pale and was having a hard time breathing. Max didn’t look too well either and if I had to venture he wasn’t going to say anything for fear that he would break down and cry. “Max… What’s wrong?”

“Shut the door.” Michael pushed us all inside and closed the door. I had lost my voice for a moment. The only reason was because the conversation that I had with Isabel last night kept running over and over inside my head.

“Imagine what it must be like to be him, to finally find someone that interests you only to lose her at the end of the night. To not even get the chance to get to know her.”

“He hasn’t lost her, Alex. There’s always tomorrow.”

The way Liz looked didn’t make me believe that she would be able to see tomorrow let alone tonight. “What the…” That was all I could get out. The room was silent and my voice must have brought Maria into the real world. She was just about to let it all loose when she saw Liz lying on the bed.

“Oh my god…” She said in a tone that I have never in my entire life heard her sound like. Maria was quiet. The severity of the situation didn’t go unnoticed by any of us. Whatever was happening to Liz was alien related. We’ve all seen it before and I think that’s the reason why Maria was so quiet. The last time we had seen these symptoms was when we almost lost Michael.

I continued staring at the bed. Max was holding onto Liz’s hand as if it were her only hope. Isabel immediately went to Max’s sided and asked, “How bad? How bad is she?”

He didn’t answer at first he just bowed his head and rested it where their hands joined and his body slowly began to wrack as he released his sobs.

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PART 10 ~ MAX

I fought to stay asleep, not wanting this dream to end. I felt something move beside me as the angel in my arms snuggled closer. It wasn’t a new dream but one that I’ve had for some time now. Granted it wasn’t like the others, no, in this one the faceless woman that usually shared my bed had a face and it was Liz’s. Even though the woman in my past dreams had no face I still knew her. More importantly my heart knew her. Liz was there this time and I knew she would always be there from here on out. The faceless woman would never appear in my dreams again. I feel her warmth as I realize how perfectly she fits against me.

I take a deep breath and I am instantly hit with the smell of fresh strawberries. Liz… once again popped into my head. That was something new in this dream also, before I had never been hit with all these sensations. I slowly open my eyes and see her watching me. We were lying on our sides in each other’s arms.

I open my eyes wider and I see that she is smiling at me. I can’t help but smile too. “Good morning.” I say with much effort. My heart was in my throat and my stomach was doing all sort of flip flopping motions. My heart never did that in my past dreams.

She smiles at me wider. “Are you real?” She asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

I nod my head and say, “I think I’m real.” I look at her and her eyes are searching mine. I don’t want to say anything until she does. I don’t want to move until she does. This dream is very vivid and I’m scared that if I close my eyes and slowly count to ten and then open them again she will be gone. I take a chance that this might be real and close my eyes and try to count to ten. When I open my eyes and look, she’s still there. “Are you real?” I ask her. The woman of my dreams was indeed still on my couch, in my arms and smiling up at me.

“I think I’m real.” She moves her hand and cups my face. She looks deep into my eyes. Usually I would want to look away. I’ve never been one to stare down a person. I’m not sure what she’s looking for but the touch of her hands on my face makes my pulse quicken. I’ve never felt anything like this before.

She kisses me. I instantly close my eyes and savor the warmth of her lips on mine. I tighten the hold I have on her and draw her body close to mine. I’m amazed at how easily we fit together and how well we mold together to fit comfortably on the narrow couch. I lose all conscious thought when she deepens the kiss and wraps her arms around my neck.

I open my mouth and take her tongue into it. This is the one I’ve been waiting my entire life for. This is the woman that I know will make me a happy man. I don’t know how I know but I do.

I break the kiss and frame her face with my hands. I look deep into her eyes; I’m asking her to trust me that we don’t have to rush things. I’m not going anywhere if she’s not. I am afraid that I would lose all appropriate thought, if we continue to kiss I wouldn’t be able to function and I definitely would not be able to stop from going further. “Liz…” She continued to kiss down the length of my neck. My hands against her face decided not to even bother with holding her back. Her lips felt warm and soft against the soft sensitive skin of my neck. “Liz. I think we better stop.” I breathe out with much effort.

“I don’t want to stop.” She’s still making her way up to my ear lobe. “I’ve waited for this moment when I would find you for a long,” kiss, “long time.” I force her to look me in the eyes. Did she know that there was someone out there for her like I thought there was for me? Did she think that that someone was me? I would think that she had a boyfriend.

There was so much to find out about her. She was so much of a mystery to me that I don’t know what to do about it. “Let’s get to know each other first and then we’ll see what happens.” I don’t know how I can look her in the eyes and say what I am saying. What I really wanted to do was rip off her clothes and get to know her body. I’d been Mr. Responsibility for way too long and its about time I let him hit the road. No! I can’t think like that. This wasn’t like me at all. I don’t know why I’m acting like this. I feel very possessive of the woman lying beside me. I just want to wrap her and me up and stay in bed with her for all eternity.

I slowly push my way up to a semi-sitting position. “I’ve got to shower and change and then we’ll head over to your place so you can shower and change. Then we are going to spend a day getting to know each other.” I saw a questioning look in her eyes before I continued. “No holding back, I want to know everything about you and I do mean everything about you.” I kissed her on the forehead and my hand lingers in her hair for far too long. I would say that I already have a fetish about her hair. I had a feeling I would from last night.

“Okay, as long as we are together.” She sat back on the couch and watched me walk to the bathroom.

I rounded the corner and just had to look back. What if everything that I was doing was a dream? She really wasn’t there right now. I had to see so I peak around the corner and she laughs. “I was just checking to see that you were really there.”

She gives me a cute smile and a wave, “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” She has such a beautiful smile. It could light up the whole place in the dark.

“Promise?” I wanted her to know that I really wanted her there while I got ready.

“I promise.” She waves her hand for me to go do what I need to do.

This was so weird. Last night I was cursing Maria for wanting to set me up with an outsider. Now, I want to promise her that I would name my first born after her, let her know that she’s the queen of matchmakers and bow down and kiss the ground she walks on for thinking of me.

I go into my room and start to throw clothes left and right. I don’t know what to wear. What should I wear when I’ll be spending the day with a girl that interests me, that I actually want to impress? I spread the blinds to the window and press my hand up against the glass to feel how cold it is outside. A sweater should do the trick. I go back to my closet and search my sweaters. They’re all black. I don’t feel like wearing black.

I grab my favorite one along with a pair of jeans and make my way to the bathroom. I wonder what her apartment looks like? I can see it now. The walls will be filled with pictures; I’m going to enjoy looking at all of them. Getting to know the real Liz Parker is going to be fun.

I can take her to the little deli that’s across from the museum. She might want to go see it. Who knows? What else could we do? I turn the water on and my thoughts immediately go to showering with her and running my hands over her naked body. I have to get my hormones under control. If I don’t, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it through out the entire day. I look down at myself. Gees, does he have no conscience? “We just met her.” I tell him. He doesn’t listen so I reach out and turn the hot water off. That will teach him to listen to the boss.

I scrub my hair, the whole time I’m wondering what she’s doing out there. Is she just sitting or is she looking around? I try to hurry because I don’t want her to wait any longer than she has already. Oh God, it hits me, the pictures of Tess and I together. I jump out of the shower and quickly dry off. I’m dressed and I’m looking in the mirror. I swipe my hand over the sweater and it turns to a deep burgundy color. No, that just won’t work. I swipe over it again and I about gag. There’s no way I’m wearing blue especially this shade of blue. That particular shade of blue reminds me of Tess and that’s the last person I want to be thinking about while I’m with Liz.

Boy, I wish Isabel were here. She would know exactly what color I should wear to impress the girl that is waiting in the other room for me. I swipe again and my black sweater has turned in to a red and blue tweed with a little bit of white mixed in. The collar is a roll style fake collar and the sleeves are rolled as well. They hang open just a little. It’s kind of cool looking if I do say so myself. Who says that girls are the only one with fashion sense? I pull on my socks and slip into my shoes.

My heart is pounding with anticipation. I feel like a little kid about to walk into the candy store but not quite the same. I know what I’ll be getting once I enter the other room. She’ll be there waiting for me. I take the final corner and enter the living room. She’s there and I release the breath that I am holding it doesn’t look like she wandered around.

She looks up at me when I enter the room and my heart beats even faster. “Wow! You look great.” She says as she stands up from the sofa and meets me halfway. She wraps her arm around my waist and I place mine around her shoulders. It’s like we were made for one another. We fit perfectly.

“I’m ready if you are.” I say as I lean over and kiss the top of her head while I pull her small frame to me.

“I’m ready.” She says as she takes my hand and pulls me to the front door. “I feel like I’ve been rolling around in dirt all night.” Did she not remember what had happened last night? Did she not know that that’s almost exactly what she was doing? The image of her kneeling on the ground rocking back and forth instantly flashed before my eyes. I shake my head to remove the image and continue on out the door.

Just as I was pulling the door shut I hear the phone ring. I pause and realize that it’s my mom… should I go in and answer it or should I just let the machine continue to take the message. Liz is halfway down the stairs when I decide to go ahead and let the machine take the full message. Mom could wait, besides I might have some good news for her later. She won’t be able to keep quiet once she finds out that I finally found the girl I had been dreaming of.

I smile when I remember the time my father came in and asked if I were batting for the other team. I had to laugh because he went immediately and said that that was okay as long as I was happy. He was more than relieved when I assured him that I wasn’t gay but merely waiting for the right one. “Son, how will you know that you haven’t missed the right one if you don’t go out and play the field.” I never really understood all the baseball references. Dad was never one to play sports and maybe he thought I would understand it more but all it did was leave me wondering if my dad wasn’t really all there at times.

“Hey, wait for me.” I yell down to her immediately after the little stroll down memory lane. She’s shining. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman glow like that before. I don’t even recall her glowing like that last night at the party but then again it was night; there wasn’t much sun out then.

“Hurry up you slow poke.” She calls back to me. I run down the stairs and catch up to her just as she’s standing by the jeep.

“Wait.” I say.

“What?” She asks.

“I just wanted to help you in.” I took her hand and help her up into the jeep. Her legs were so short and she was just too cute. “Do you think it’s going to be too cold for you? I could put the top on as well as the doors if you want me too?”

“No, you don’t have to. It’s going to be a great day and I don’t want to be cooped up inside. I love having the wind all around me.” I pulled the seatbelt out and buckled her up and then pulled on it to make sure that it was securely fastened. It was and when I looked up at her I couldn’t resist stealing a kiss.

She ran her fingers through my hair and I deepened the kiss a little bit more. It just felt perfect the way everything was just moving along with the two of us. I couldn’t help wondering if I was over reacting because nothing ever happened like this for me. Everything was a challenge for me. I had to work for everything that I had and then something’s just never worked out.

“We’re not going to get anywhere if we keep on doing that.” I scolded her. She pretended to pout and I had to chuckle.

I ran around to the driver’s side of the jeep and hopped in. I glanced over and saw she was pulling her hair into a ponytail using a scrunchy thing all girls seem to have. You have to wonder where they keep them because they always seem to have them. The ponytail makes her look about sixteen. She gets done fixing her hair and gives me a smile. I buckle in and I couldn’t believe what she did. She reached over and made sure that my buckle was fastened just like I had done to her.

“Am I buckled in okay?” I asked. I just couldn’t resist asking the question.

“I think so.” She said.

“Where to, my lady?” I was acting so silly. I reminded myself of Alex. This was exactly the way he acted around Isabel once she expressed her feeling for him.

“I’m staying at the dorms off of Taylor Street.” She told me. I couldn’t believe my ears.

“Taylor Street?” She shook her head. “I can’t believe it.”

“Why? What’s so funny?” She asked me when she saw me tilt my head back and laugh.

“Hang on. I’ll show you.” I started the jeep and put it into gear and drove around the block and onto Taylor Street. All this time she had been so close. Just a few blocks away from me and I didn’t even have a clue.

She starts to laugh and it’s the most beautiful sound I think I’ve ever heard. “I was so close all this time.” She says quietly and if I weren’t so tuned into her voice wanting to hear anything she said I probably would have missed it.

I reach over and grab her hand and she looks up at me. “We’ve found each other now that’s all that matters.” She smiles back at me but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. There’s something bothering her I can tell. Sure I don’t know her that well but I know when there is something bothering her. It’s weird to feel this connected so soon after we first met. I wonder what it’s going to be like when we are together for awhile. Will we have a relationship where we finish each other’s sentences like some couples? Will we act like Michael and Maria and bicker with one another just so we can make up with mad passionate sex or will be like Alex and Isabel that has a comfortable distance but know when the other needs some support?

It’s hard to tell right now. All I know is that I hope that she gives me the chance to find out. “What’s wrong?” I finally ask her. I hate that something could take her glow away from her so quickly.

“Nothing.”

“Come on, you can tell me.” I try to pull the information out of her.

“It’s nothing really.” She pushes another small smile my way and I notice that the knuckles on her hands are turning white. I hated the fact that the jeep was a standard instead of an automatic right now. I wanted to keep her hands in mine. I wanted to share in her discomfort.

“Liz…” I take a sideways glance at her and she’s looking out the window with a far away expression on her face.

“Really, Max, it’s nothing.”

I had had enough of this I hurriedly pulled into the parking lot of the dorms and parked the jeep in the first available spot. I shut the engine off and unbuckle my seatbelt. “Liz, I may have just met you last night for the first time in my life but I know that there is something bothering you. Please, tell me. Nothing that you say will change the way I feel about you.”

She looks up at me and I see the first signs of tears beginning to fall. “It’s really silly. I’m just over reacting over nothing. Really.” I unbuckle her seatbelt and pull on her legs so that her body is facing mine. I take hold of her face and I pull her in for a kiss.

I wanted to wipe her misery away. I held on to her tightly and I poured everything that I was feeling into that kiss in hoping that she would somehow realize how much I already loved her. I knew it was foolish to think that I was already in love with her. We barely even knew anything about one another, so how could I already love her. It was beyond me, maybe even beyond much more.

I felt the wetness of her tears trail over and around my thumbs. She was crying even more and when I went to pull away she wrapped her arms around my neck and deepened the kiss.

~*~FLASH~*~

There’s a woman standing in a glowing doorway. She has long dark hair that flows over her shoulders and down to her waist. There’s a voice booming in the background. “One more year. If she hasn’t connected to her other half by the end of this year we will allow her to come back. Now do it before it is too late. She’s already been here far too long as it is. Khivar will not be happy to find out that we have gone against his wishes. Do it!”

I feel her pull away but I hold her in place with my hands. For some reason I was getting flashes of information through her. What else did she know? Where was the information coming from? Why was I feeling so much heartache because of the closing door that loomed in front of me? There are so many questions; I can’t let it go. I can’t let her go.

I feel how scared the person whose eyes I’m looking through feels. Hearing his name makes her skin crawl with equal amounts of hate and fear.

As I continue to stare into the chocolate depths of her eyes I’m hit with another vision,

~*~FLASH~*~

The two forms lock eyes and a silent conversation passes between them. “You are our only hope now, for your success in finding the one you love will lead us to the freedom we crave for.”

The other nodded her head in understanding and sent back her own non-verbal communication. “My failure means Khivar’s success. My misery brings him happiness and I’m sorry to say that the man should be really happy for my misery has gotten the better of me. I came back today to stay for good but I believe in you. I know you wouldn’t send me away for me to fail. I’m hoping that you know something that I do not know because I’m not sure how long I can continue my search with so little information about the one I seek. I’m finding it difficult to follow my heart. My mind is slowly winning the battle and I’m beginning to think that this world is just too large for me to find him.”

“I will not give up. I will find him and when I do we will set our people free from Khivar.” The woman that was standing in the doorway was smiling. The other one could feel how proud she was of her boldness and her assertiveness.

“I wish you well, my daughter. I long to hold you in my arms again. You no longer can come back here this way, for if you do I have no choice but to keep you here. Please understand that I do love you and wish I could tell you more but always know that it is destined to be. You will be the one that will destroy our world as we know it and kill the king that now rules the lands. Good luck, your majesty. May you find your king and free your people from the clutches of the evil Khivar.”

She violently pulls away from me and I see that she’s still crying. She jumps out of the jeep and starts running. “Liz!” I yell after her. “Liz… wait!”

I get out of the jeep and follow her. She’s running like I’ve never seen anyone run before. I see her push through the double doors and I follow her. She goes down the hall and rounds the corner. I slow down not wanting to attract any attention that Liz is running away from me and that I’m chasing her. I had to see what she knows. Somehow she knew about Antar and about Khivar and she’s been searching for me all this time.

Who was she and what was she doing here? Why did the other call her “your majesty”? I was king and Tess was my bride. The communication orb told us so a long time ago. Is she someone that came after us? Is she a member of my royal family? Oh, god! I was kissing a family member… I was having fantasies about having sex with a family member. I’m awful! I can’t believe it.

I see her push open a dorm room door and enter the room. She slams it shut and I’m face to face with a door that has a dry erase board and a message that looks like it’s from Maria. I quickly read the message and have to laugh at how cryptic it sounded. “Breakfast, deli, I want details” ~M That was our Maria.

I knock on the door. “Liz, please… let me in.” She doesn’t answer. I knock again. “Liz… please.”

“Go away!” She sobs out.

“I’m not going away until I can talk to you. I can explain. Please, let me explain.”

“No one can help me. I’m here all alone. I have no one.” She was talking foolishly.

“You’re being silly, Liz. I can help you if you will just let me in.” I tried the door and it wasn’t locked. “I’m coming in.” I had to warn her that I was entering.

When I opened the door the room was so dark. “Liz…” my ears piqued trying to pick up the slightest noise. “I’m sorry that you feel this way. Please, let me help you. I just found you, don’t let me lose you. Again.” Where did that come from, ‘again’. I don’t know why I added again. It just felt right. I couldn’t help but hope that I had known her before. Before on Antar. “Together we can fit the pieces together and come up with a solution… only… we’ll have to work together.”

“Go away, Zan.” How did she know that was my name? “And quit calling me Liz. I’m not Liz.” What was she talking about?

“Okay, I won’t call you Liz anymore. Let me just turn on the light.” I went to reach for it and immediately stopped. Liz was holding up a small globe of light in the palm of her hand. “Liz…” I was beyond words. She was one of us and I didn’t even know. “You’re one of us? You’re like us?”

“I am one of you but I’m not like you. If I were like you I wouldn’t be having a hard time with this.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand how you can be one of us but not like us.” I walk closer to her and she allows me to. I was thankful for the small gesture, unlike last night when she kept me at bay for so long.

“I’m not sure really. All I know is that when I’m here I’m looking for you. I have this unnatural craving to find you to connect with you. To be one with you.”

“And when you’re not here?” I had no idea what she was talking about. She was always here. An image swept over the entire room. It was of the scene that I had seen earlier when we had connected but instead of a woman in the doorway the door was closed and she was in constant darkness.

“I wanted to give up. I had looked for you for so long and I wasn’t any closer to finding you then before. They had shut the door on me. I could no longer return for if I did I would have to stay. It was fine with me. I mean if I was meant to be with you then I would have found you much sooner right?” She looked at me not expecting an answer before continuing, “I figured they were lying to me to keep me from returning. I figured it was Khivar’s way of making me suffer.” I had to sit down. She was giving me so much information that I couldn’t process it and still remain standing at the same time. I leaned up against the closet door.

She stopped and watched me. “What?”

“You look so different but yet your eyes are the same. When we woke this morning I was lost in your eyes. I can’t pretend anymore. You’re not the same as I remember you. I remember a you that you don’t and it’s wrong for me to think that things could be the way that they used to be.”

I reached out and took her hand, “I know I don’t know who you used to be but the minute I met you I knew I knew you. Please, don’t run away from me. Please, let’s figure this out together.”

“I’m not running. I have nowhere to go.” She waved at the room as if she felt trapped here. “I don’t fit in anywhere. Not here and certainly not there.” She dropped her head into her hands.

“You’re wrong. You belong here, I know you do.”

Her head came up and she shook it vehemently before looking at my eyes, “No I don’t. I saw you with her. You married her after I had gone.” I didn’t know what she was talking about. “You were forced to take another back then but you didn’t know about that here and yet you still live with her.”

“Who, Tess?” That’s who she had to be talking about. Tess and I were married in our previous life but she said after she was gone was when I took another. “I was married to you before?” All the information that I had gathered was swimming around and around within my head. I couldn’t make head or tails out of it. I was hoping Liz would be able to.

“You were married to Ava, my cousin, daughter of Khivar.” I’m sure my jaw dropped as the information registered.

“But you said after…” I was broken away from my making sense of anything that she was telling me when my stomach growled and hers matched it almost at the same time. I realize that I hadn’t eaten since some time yesterday and by the sounds of it Liz hadn’t either.

I looked up at her and then stood up. I held my hand out for her to take it and she did with little to no reluctance. “Go shower and change and I’ll take you to get something to eat. We can talk more about what you remember and what I remember and then once we have everything straightened out we’ll go tell the others.”

I could feel how she was holding herself back from touching me any further. Was this the way it was going to be from here on out? I didn’t like this uncomfortable silence that was edging its way between us. I had just found her and I was actually looking forward to being happy with her.

I clasped my hand against her cheek and she leaned into it and closed her eyes. “Don’t push me away just yet. Please. Not until we find the answers to everything that we are looking for.” I pulled her into me and she wrapped her arms around me and I did the same. We stood there for a few moments and then I stepped back. “Go… before something else changes your mind.”

She smiled up at me and it still didn’t quite reach her eyes like it did before. I let it slide and watched as she opened up the closet and picked out some clothes. She went to the dresser and retrieved some more and before she left the room she bent down and grabbed what looked like a beach bag. I’m assuming that’s her shower supplies that she will need. She stopped just before leaving the room all together. “You will be here when I return, right?”

“Yes, I’ll be here.” And before she could ask I added, “I’m not going anywhere, you’re stuck with me, I promise.” There was no way that she was going to get rid of me that soon. No possible way. She closed the door and I had to turn on the light.

My eyes took longer to adjust than they normally did. I stood by the door and looked around the room. It was just like the rooms that I had seen in the brochures almost four years ago. I walked and looked at the desk and computer. There were no pictures. I made my way around the entire room and realized that there was nothing here that made it Liz’s room. There was no personality to it at all. She had been here almost a month and had done little to no decorating.

I sat down on the bed and noticed the drawer to the nightstand was open and I saw a leather-bound book inside. I wonder what kind of books she likes to read so I reached in and took it out. There was no title on the cover or spine. It was completely empty of any markings. I took a chance and opened it up.

To my honey bear –

For when the day comes and you need to look back and know what happened on a certain day in your life. I hope you are able to fill each and every page with the most wonderful of thoughts and events that you can look back and smile upon.

All my love
Grandma Claudia
3/17/98

I knew I shouldn’t go any further into the book, this was Liz’s most private thoughts and I would just have to wait until she could share them with me, but there was something that struck me funny. Her grandma said that this was for when the day comes and she needs to look back and know what had happened. What did that mean? Did it have anything to do with what she was trying to tell me before? Did it have anything to do with what happened last night?

Knowing this is an incredible invasion of her privacy, I still can’t help myself, and I turned the page and began to read.

Today I turned sixteen and I got this fabulous book from grandma. She always knows what I need and I hope that it will help me remember what happens when I’m not me.

I had to stop reading. That very first sentence made me realize what was happening to Liz. I should have known what was going on last night but I wasn’t thinking that she would be involved in anything alien related. It was like Brody Davis, a strange fellow that bought the UFO Museum back home. Talked about being abducted by aliens all the time and we didn’t believe him until I met him at an alien summit meeting in New York City.

He had been taken over by one of the five planet’s ruler. It was like they just used his body and he did what they wanted him to do. God, to be Liz living like that, must be awful. I had mixed emotions about it all. Was the woman that possessed Liz the one I love or was it Liz herself? How could I nurture a love with someone that really isn’t here and what would happen when the one using Liz’s body ran out of energy and she had to leave? Would Liz like me being around or would I have to hold back my feelings?

Does she know what’s happening to her? I thought back to last night.

“Whatever happens, Max, just know that it’s not me. Just remember for me because I won’t be able to.”

She did know what was happening to her. She wanted me to remember for her because she wouldn’t be able to. I put the journal back. I didn’t want it to tempt me into another peek.

What was I going to do? I had a human who was being taken over by alien royalty. Not only was that going to be a problem for me but Liz basically told me that she had feelings for me. She wanted to remember me when she came back.

I slumped back down on the bed and thought about what to do. This was going to be such a hard decision for me to make. Was it Liz or this other that I had feelings for? And if she’s not Liz who is she?

I don’t know how long I sat there and thought about it, but when “Liz” came back she had to touch me before she was able to get my attention. “You ready to go get something to eat?” She asked.

I stood up and took hold of her hand. “Yeah, I’m ready.” She opened the door and I waited for her to go through. “Do you have everything that you need?” She shook her head and we walked out of the dorm and got into the jeep.

“So what do you like to eat?” I didn’t help her into the jeep. I was already on the other side when I asked the question.

“Um,” She started laughing.

“What so funny?” I had to look at her. She was blushing. I think she was embarrassed about whatever she was thinking about.

“No, you’re going to think this is weird.” She began and then continued. “I absolutely love pancakes with peanut butter and hot sauce.”

I started laughing. “You have to be kidding me? I love that too.”

“Really?” She seemed to relax some.

“Yeah, really.” I relaxed some too.

Things were going to go well for us. We just needed to find where to begin. Hopefully breakfast will go well and we can do some more getting to know one another better.

“Well, then. Who am I to argue with a beautiful lady?” She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. “Off to the best IHOP I know and it’s close by too.” I had to add that in because my stomach rumbled and she was laughing at me.

Less than ten minutes is what it took me to get us to the pancake house. I looked at the clock and it was almost nine in the morning. I parked the jeep and met Liz on the other side and I helped her out this time. I realize that there’s no need to act any differently around her, not until I got to the bottom of what was causing her episodes.

I took her hand and led her to the door. I opened it and waited for her to walk through. When she passed me I placed my hand at the small of her back. I’ve seen my dad do that same exact gesture plenty of times and it just seemed right at the time.

We’re standing and waiting for the hostess to seat us when I hear a squeal from somewhere off to the right of me. I’ve heard that squeal before and this was not what I wanted to do this morning. Liz doesn’t even move, evidently she’s never heard one of Maria’s infamous squeals before. I slowly turn around because if I even attempt to ignore her, the scene will only become more obscene. I do a little wave and gently pull Liz close to me with my other hand. I lean down and whisper in her ear, “If you want to go somewhere else I’ll understand.”

She looked up at me with a confused look on her face and I pointed to where Maria was standing on her chair waving her arms widely in the air. Liz waved back. “You know Maria?” She asked.

“Yeah…” I had forgotten that this wasn’t the same person that I met last night. This wasn’t the Liz who was rocking back and forth on the ground clinging to me as if I was her one and only lifeline. “Maria and I are… well, she’s dating Michael. He was Rath when we lived on Antar.” It was really weird trying to explain to her who everyone was.

“Really…” She looked over to where Michael was. He continued eating as if Maria was sitting there eating a normal breakfast. “I’d love to sit with them. It’s been so long…” she stopped in mid sentence and then looked back up at me. “They don’t know about me do they?”

I shook my head no, “And they don’t have to know if you don’t want them too.”

“I’d like that. It’s kind of overwhelming to finally find you, let alone my cousin too.” I tried hard not to let my jaw hang open; she was Michael’s cousin? That was really weird. “Who else is… Is Maria Vilondra?”

“No… No… Maria is human. Vilondra is my sister, Isabel? She’s kind of tall and has long blonde hair…” She was still shaking her head that Isabel wasn’t ringing any bells for her. “That’s okay. You’ll meet her soon.”

“I have so many questions.”

“Let’s eat and then we’ll go somewhere to chat. I know the best place.”

“Okay.”

I placed my hand on her back and gestured to the hostess that we’ll be sitting with them over there. I’m not sure if this is such a good idea or not. Michael’s vote on Liz was still out for count and keeping this big of secret from him was only going to make things worse on her. I tried to look on the bright side but I didn’t really see one at the moment. Maria had jumped off the chair and came bouncing our way.

“Oh, goody, goody, goody.” This was going to go well. Maria hugged Liz and then she came and hugged me and while I was hugging her back she whispered in my ear, “How’s it feel to get laid?” I’m sure I turned bright red and that was enough of an answer for Maria to take it that we had done it last night. She pushed away from me and took one look at my face and squealed with delight. “I knew the two of you were going to hit it off famously. I just knew it.”

“If you only knew the half of it.” I said so Liz and I were the only ones that could hear. If she only knew the half of it.

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