This is the place where fics that have not been updated in the past three months will be moved until the author asks a mod to move them back to an active board.
I am truthfully sorry that ithad taken so long for a new part. I hope that it won't take a lot anymore frome now for me to update. With having hoildays, I use the time to write. there will be a new update in September after I return from my vacations.
Hopefully you enjoy the new part. FB is appreciated.
CHAPTER XI: CROSSROAD
They drove through the desert without a certain destination. Emily knew that Alex had to calm down. His anger mingled with confusion was practically to feel. Some how for the first time since Emily knew Alex, she was kind of worried about him. It seems the more she got to know him the more she saw that Alex wasn’t alright. There was something going on with him which resulted in him acting out of character. Sure, he was still nervous around her; but she knew there was a site to him which was strong and confident. Emily wanted to see more of that site. She didn’t know how or when but she was enjoying her time with Alex more and more. He made her life in Roswell tolerable. He was her only friend. Where other guys had tried to get into her pants, he was just there and talked to her. He really listened to her. Mainly, he cared for her like no other boy before. He was there for her. That was what she needed.
Nonetheless it hurt and pissed her off how he seems to be hurt. From what Alex had told her, he was very hurt by his ex-girlfriend and his supposed to be friends weren’t really there for him. It was quite the opposite; Alex was the one to be there for them. He always came when they needed him but what did he get in return. It was crystal clear that Alex was a loyal and supportive friend but for which price. Getting stomped on your feelings and not being taken serious hurt; she knew that. There have to be a way to make him see what was in front of him.
He had to realize that sometimes his life had to revolve around himself and not around the others. It didn’t mean that Alex should become a selfish asshole, who didn’t care about his friends and family. Moreover he had to learn that he was also important. He should follow his needs and wants. Alex should put himself on top and then other people. Emily could see that it was hurting him that his close friends were treating him differently. She could see that his insecurities and doubts were coming to the surface. His insecurities were kicking in and that resulted in him doubting himself. Sometimes Emily wished that Alex would just see himself through the eyes of others. He was such a great guy but he wasn’t really himself.
There was his confident and strong attitude which she wanted to see more of. She just needed to bring this site to the surface. It was easier said than done, Emily thought to herself. Alex wasn’t the type of guy to just overthrow everything in a second. For so long Alex was more a sidekick that he probably didn’t even know how to step up and scream out to the world ‘HEY! HERE I AM, ALEX WHITMAN. DEAL WITH IT’. He didn’t know that and he certainly didn’t know how to do it. He was comfortable in his safety zone with not being noticed and being absolutely invincible. It was time to change that.
While they were still driving, Emily had glanced at Alex from time to time. It was kind of funny seeing his emotions being displayed on his facial features. She could tell that the boy next to her was thinking if he could tell her what was bothering him. He wanted to tell her but Alex was scared. He was scared of rejection that she wouldn’t take him serious. Right now it didn’t matter, if he needed her she would be there for him. All his emotions were slowly piling up; it was a matter of time until he would explode pushing him to the edge. It was then his decision to stay in this place or to go back to how his life was now.
Emily took another glance at Alex. He was focused on the street. She didn’t know where they were going but it seems that the more distance he put between them and the city, the more he was relaxing. In the last ten minutes, his grip on the steering wheel loosened and he didn’t seem to be so tensed like before.
Alex noticed that Emily was looking at him. Surprisingly he wasn’t uncomfortable under her gaze. Her presence was calming him. Before they went for the ride, he was angry, confused, frustrated and hurt. He was hurt that none of his friends thought it was necessary to inform him about the attack. No, they kept it to themselves. It just hurt to feel like a sidekick. The fact that they kept something like that from made him feel worthless. He felt as if he was not an important member to their group. He felt like he was the alien- the outsider. He wanted them to believe in him but Alex knew they didn’t. They saw him as the geeky weak boy, who wasn’t capable of anything. Before he got more depressed by his own thoughts, Alex glanced at Emily and saw that she was watching him.
“Why are you looking at me? Do I have something in my face?” Alex asked a bit irritated by the look on Emily’s face. Her head was a bit tilted and her penetrating look made him squirm in his seat. He didn’t like that look.
“You have kissable lips that’s what you got. I like your lips especially your lower lip.” The dark-haired replied shortly with a nonchalant voice.
Alex was surprised by that reply. It took his whole willpower to not lose control over the steering-wheel. It was the first time that a girl said that to him. Moreover, he tried his best to not blush near her. During the last couple weeks, Emily made it clear that his blushing had to stop. But she also added that it was fascinating how fast his blood could shot upwards. Therefore the comment mad him blush harder.
Just in that second something snapped inside Alex. He was tired of only feeling hurt, frustration and confusion with a good portion of anger. He looked at his companion and before Alex knew what was happening, he said it.
“Your lips look also kissable.”
When the sentence left his mouth, he was astonished that he really had said it. For the first time Alex wasn’t embarrassed or shocked. He felt good. Without realizing a little smirk formed on his lips, as he stole a little glimpse at Emily. She was looking out the window enjoying the scenery of the desert but he still saw the smile she wore.
Alex drove to the little Taco stand knowing that none of his friends would come to the place during this time of the day and they probably would head over to the Crashdown after school. He was thankful for the opportunity to have a private conversation with Emily without any disturbance. Alex was very certain that by now everyone in school would know that Emily and he had caused a scene as she had slapped him.
Somehow Alex could feel that this was just the calm before the storm.
After the whole ‘Slapagate’ ordeal; Alex and Emily were enjoying their lunch. A comfortable silence engulfed the both neither one said a word. Emily was quiet because she wanted Alex to be the first to say something. She wanted him to step up and tell her what was going on with him. She still couldn’t forget the incident in the school hall. Emily didn’t want to slap him but he pissed her off in that moment. Her anger was expressed by the slap. Now she was waiting for him to start talking. This time he should take this chance for letting everything out that had been bothering him. It had to be unhealthy bottling up all his emotions; maybe Alex didn’t realize it but it was eating away at him. Emily assumed that he would soon talk. Alex seemed to think about how he should approach her. It was amusing to see how he was battling with himself. Emily kept herself busy with eating while Alex was still undecided. She hoped he knew that he could trust her. She would not do anything what left him hurt. It was then that Alex won his battle.
“Do you know the feeling that everything is passing by and you are just a casual bystander? Everything is taking place but there is no place for you, you know. It is like you drift apart from the others but there is no one who is going to save you because no one is seeing you. And when they see you, it is just for that one moment where they need you. I mean, you come back into that place but just for a glimpse of a second and then you are back to being the outsider. And you really do everything in your power to not be a bystander but there is no chance in hell that you can be a part of it at all. You will always be the one who can’t get in. They don’t let you in and that is all you want. You know, you keep going and going to proof that you are worth it but in the end it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because they don’t see you. Even not the ones who had known you for so long; they start to see what they want to see and just care for that. I can’t fight against that. I just can’t.”
The last sentence was spoken so quiet but underlined with a despair that Emily was sure he would break down in front of her. Never had she guessed that his situation was that bad. She assumed that Alex had problems with two friends but it seemed it were all. She didn’t say anything because she knew it was important that he would need the time to say those things. She could see the hurt reflecting in his eyes. It was now that Alex realized it. Now that he said it, it was real. It was hitting him hard. It hurt him. Emily didn’t say anything; she was going to wait until he was done.
“I am tired of those games. Pull push pull push; it is always me. I am so tired of this. Sometimes I really want to say ‘fuck you’, turn around and walk away. Without a care I just go and do what I want. Sometimes it feels as if I am drowning and I can’t do anything against it. The more I fight the more I struggle. Right now at this point I don’t want to do this anymore. I am tired. I don’t deserve that. I…I want to change that but I don’t know how. Let’s face it, I, Alexander Charles Whitman, am pathetic.”
When he finished his little speech, Alex held his head in his hands. He never did that, talking about it all. His problems and how they were affecting him. He was torn between self-pity and gladness that he said it all what was bothering him. He let it out what was hurting him. Everything which was eating him up inside was out and he couldn’t take it back. What surprised him the most was it was a person outside of the Alien Abyss he could talk to. It wasn’t someone he had known for years, it was somebody who was herself an outsider to their secretly group. Maybe that was it; she didn’t know anything. He had known for a long time that he needed to change something. However his fear had got the better of him. He would have been willing to change something but it had meant that he needed to leave his safety zone what was scaring him. It meant to face the reality what scared the shit out of Alex. Nonetheless, he had to do it otherwise he had exploded with those bottled up feelings. For once he had done something that was benefiting him and not someone else. For once he cared for himself and not for the others. For once it was about him, his failures and his feelings. It was about him. That thought didn’t scare him anymore.
It felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Very slowly a feeling of calmness and satisfaction was washing over him. He felt good for the first time. Looking at the girl in front of him, Alex saw that she was going to say something. Probably something like he had to grow a pair and thinking of himself and for once not caring about others. Truth to be told, Alex had stopped to care. Today was the final straw.
Alex kept looking at Emily. She held her chin in her hand and had waited patiently until Alex was done. Now he was the one waiting patiently for her to say something.
“You can do it. Say ‘fuck you’, walk away and do whatever you want. It must have been hard to tell me this because you had realized that this shit is real. It became real and you are frightened but you don’t need to be. I think, you should act on what you say otherwise your little speech has no value. Try it, Alex. I can see that you are thinking about it because if you take that step forward, don’t you dare to step back. If you go this new way, everything is going to change, Alex. It could get good or bad, no one knows. Be sure about your decision. If you shouldn’t take this way, don’t complain about it. We have the chance to choose which path we wanna go. Your task is to choose and make it work the way you want it.”
Alex was surprised how calm Emily was. Normally she would give him a heated speech but this time it was different. It was his choice. He had to live with the decision. In that moment, Alex felt something which he hadn’t felt before. He was totally sure of himself that he could do it on his own. This was the first time; he decided on his own how he wanted things to be. It was about him.
Here is the new part. I hope you enjoy it and like it.
Feedback is appreciated.
have fun!!!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER XII: PLAYING DR. WHITMAN
“OK.”
“OK, what?” asked a bewildered Emily. She didn’t quite understand what Alex was referring to.
It was Alex, who felt like he was experiencing a déjà vu. It remembered him of Isabel’s and his first kiss on his porch. As fast as the memory washed over him, he dismissed it. He wasn’t going to think about her.
“OK as in let’s start a new chapter in my life without looking back and thinking what others would think of me. I am Alex Whitman. People should know about me for myself and not know me because they know my friends or otherwise with whom I socialize. It is about me.”
“OK.” Emily replied. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy with Alex. She liked him a lot especially his calm and caring demeanour but she didn’t like how everyone was treating him and that he did let them do it. He was a unique person but he had no clue of his potential and people didn’t see his potential. He had that special strength, it wasn’t that physical strength that you looked for. Moreover, it was the strength, which surrounded him. He would be there for you and treat you like you were the most precious thing in this world and in his life. It was sad that so many people didn’t see it. Emily was glad to know Alex and that he was the first person she met in Roswell. Without him, she wouldn’t be able to bear that town and the school where everyone seemed focused on the other’s life instead caring their own business. At least, Alex did choose the path he wanted to go and the journey was going to be rocky, that was for sure.
“OK, what?” Alex asked with a big grin just for the sake of it. But as soon the words left his mouth, Emily threw an onion ring at him and hit him on his forehead, which caused her to laugh. For the first time Alex heard her laugh so openly and he couldn’t stop his laugh.
*************************************************
She was an alien. Well to be correctly, she was a hybrid. A fantastic genetic cocktail of aliens and human DNA. She was confident, irresistible, attractive, and smart and belonged to a superior race. Nonetheless she wasn’t able to have a normal conversation with the boy in front of her. To be honest she was a bit more confused right now when she was this morning. It was her idea to get together after school and she was the one who should have the upper hand now. Her whole plan went to hell, the moment she sat down with him in the booth. It turned out that Tess was extremely nervous about her ‘non- date’ with Kyle, but it was a date. She was alone with him. They were eating together with no one around them. And most importantly she wanted it to be a date. Her problem was that she wanted it to be a date but Tess didn’t know if Kyle was feeling the same for her.
Tess was nervous as hell and she didn’t know how to be herself. She was on dates before but she dated guys she didn’t care for. Now, Kyle was different. She liked him a lot. Tess would even dare to say that she cared a lot about him. He was funny, witty, and smart and he was a good looking guy. Moreover, Kyle respected her. He didn’t treat her like the outlaw she felt. When she was with him, he made her feel like a part of his life. He never judged her or thought that she was unworthy of his time. When they were together, even just teasing each other, his whole attention was on her. It took Tess a long time but she finally realized that being human was not as bad as she thought. She felt alive whenever Kyle was with her. With him it was alright to be vulnerable and just a girl. She didn’t need to pretend to be a person who she didn’t was. She was sick of pretending to be that superior alien queen, who treated everybody like crap. Tess knew she was wrong about a lot of things but finally being able to be herself gave her the opportunity to make things better.
At first, Tess was going to improve her relationship to the other girls. The way she treated Maria and Liz was unforgiveable but she wanted to make it up to them. The first step would be the girls’ night they would have on Saturday. Good thing was that then was also Halloween. Maybe they could do some scary stuff.
At last, there was Kyle. He was her strength and her weakness. Whenever Kyle would smile at her or show his concern for her, her heart began to beat like crazy. Tess had finally realized what she really wanted in her life. She wanted love and a family, which she got with Kyle. She wasn’t stupid to think that Kyle was feeling the same for her but she could hope.
“Uhm Tess, are you alright? You seem to be with your thoughts in another galaxy by the look of it.” Kyle asked her with a cheesy grin on his face. He didn’t know what was going on with her but he was determined to make it a special “non-date”, though he wished it was a real date.
“Uhm…oh, no I am fine. I am just thinking about life. Sorry for not paying attention.”
“It’s alright. The time you spaced out, I enjoyed the fantastic greasy alien themed food” and again there was this grin that made Tess' heart pound wild in her chest. It was now or never. This was her chance to turn her life the way she always wanted to be.
He loved it to make her smile and then there was this light blush, which covered her cheeks. It was now or never. This was his chance.
“Would you go out with me on a real date?” Both teens said at the same time. Staring at each other with wide eyes, it took them a moment to realize what the other said. As clarity sank in, there were smiles on their faces. A little bit shy Kyle reached over the table and took Tess hand in his and squeezed it slightly, showing that there was no need to be afraid or shy about their feelings for each other. Stroking her knuckles with his thumb, Kyle whispered the answer, Tess wanted to hear.
“I’d like to take you out on a real date.”
Slowly a big grin appeared on Tess’ face.
*********************************************
“Do you think Alex is coming by? I mean after everything that happened at school, he probably wants to be alone.”
“Oh please, Liz, you know he will come by. After that bitch hit him I don’t assume he would want to be alone. I mean…he will be here and will want to talk about it. Then we comfort him and tell him that this chick is just bad news and that he should stay away from her. Alex isn’t the type of guy to just to…you know what I mean.”
“Maria, I am really worried. They went off together. Alex skipped school just like that without a serious reason, not like one we have with the Czechoslovakians. What would be the best reason for him to leave with Emily? Do you think there is something going on between them?”
“WHAT?”
Maria shouted as answer to Liz’ quietly asked question. Maria wouldn’t believe anything like that Alex would start having a thing with a girl like Emily. In her eyes that chick was not worthy the time Alex was spending with her. She didn’t trust Emily. Maria was afraid that she was using Alex as a toy. After she had heard that Emily slapped her best friend, the only thing Maria wanted to do was to find Emily and hurt her in so many ways.
“Maria, calm down. The customers’ attention is on us. I don’t think that there is something going on between them but what if. I mean in the last few weeks they became close and today they drove off together…holding hands. What if they are really an item? What should we do?”
Liz was nervous. On the one hand she was worried about Alex. She wondered if he was able to handle the situation with Emily, if there was a situation with Emily. Liz and Maria knew that they needed to talk to Alex and see what it was about Emily and him. Before Liz could think more about Alex, he himself entered the restaurant.
As the bell chimed, all eyes turned to the person who stepped into the restaurant. Liz, Maria and Michael –who was working the grill-, looked at Alex as he entered. They expected to see sad and upset Alex but what they saw surprised them. Alex wore a calm and relaxed expression. Even his posture was speaking a different language; he stood straight and not like expected with slumped shoulders being upset about the day’s happening. No, there was a change in this Alex they saw. As fast as Liz and Maria were surprised about Alex’ appearance, soon their own emotions overtook them. They quickly went to Alex and as fast as they ran, they bombarded him with questions.
“Where Have you been?” “How have you been?” “Why the hell did that chick slap you?“ “What took you so long to get here?” “Why did you skip school today and more why did you leave with her?” “Where did you go?”
Having enough of the questions, Alex stopped his two friends in their rant.
“Enough! Hello to you, too. I will only say that much that it’s none of your business what’s between Emily and me. I did upset her earlier in school and she got mad for it and reacted the way she did. We left together to speak about our …uhm…how should I put it…we spoke about our little issue and that’s it. We talked and solved our argument.” Alex replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Maria and Liz couldn’t believe what they had heard. They couldn’t believe that everything was alright. It wasn’t like him to be so nonchalant about such an issue. Normally, he would be sad, upset and a bit angry and Alex would try to analyze the situation trying to find a solution. But just talking and forgiving so easily wasn’t like him.
“Excuse me, could you repeat that? I think I misunderstood you. Did you really say that everything between Emily and you is solved?” asked a confused Liz.
“Yeah, that’s what I said. There is nothing else to say. Like I said, it’s between Emily and me. And I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Alex replied his annoyance getting the better of him. He knew that the girls were concerned and confused. The day was even confusing for him but they needed to understand that he didn’t want to share everything with them. He was still a bit upset about them that they didn’t tell him about Tess and her encounter with the Congresswoman Whittaker. Not wanting to think about it anymore, Alex quickly changed the subject by ordering two slices of the lemon cream pie as take out. Sharing a thoughtful look with Maria, Liz left both friends alone. Maybe Maria found out more when they were alone. But before Maria could utter a word, Michael’s voice echoed through the whole restaurant.
“ORDER’S UP!!! The waitress, who is standing behind the counter and doing nothing, come and take the order.” Michael was looking at Maria and everyone who was standing near her could see how red her face turned because of her anger. Ignoring Alex, Maria stomped towards Michael to give him an earful about how he had to behave during work. Alex was shaking his head at the display and waited patiently for Liz to return with his order. As she finally came back, she could only shake her head at Michael and Maria, who were too engrossed in their argument to notice anyone.
Alex was chuckling as he walked over to the casher with Liz and paid for his pie. Before he walked out, Alex squeezed Liz’ hand and told her that everything was alright but somehow Liz couldn’t believe it.
**********************************************
The week went over without any further scandals or incidents. School was as usual: been there done that. The whole student body was looking forward to the weekend. Since it was Halloween, there were a lot of parties in Roswell. There were some at the community college and then some thrown by the students of the high school.
Like usual on a Saturday night the Crashdown was a madhouse. The most customers were teenagers, who were all disguised in their Halloween costumes. Like usual Liz and Maria were running around like crazy to satisfy the customers’ wishes. Far away in a booth sat Max, Isabel, Tess and Kyle-the later holding hands under the table. They enjoyed the new development in their relationship. Kyle was careful to not push Tess too far in their relationship. Such a physical contact with him was still new for her and he promised to take their time. Michael was working the grill and was harassed by the waitress Courtney, who took a big interest in getting near Michael. Michael was happy when it was time for his break and he could escape Courtney’s poor attempts at getting close with him. Michael walked over to the booth where the others sat and squeezed next to Max.
They all fell into a conversation about the usual things. They spoke about school, the newest alien threat and of course the guys were talking about sports. Isabel and Tess waited for the two human girls for finishing their shift so they could start their girls’ night. Tess was really excited for it and she hoped she could improve her relationship to both girls. Isabel was also excited, though she would never admit it. Like Tess she hoped to improve her relationship to both human girls and also to Tess.
It was a few minutes later when Alex entered the Crashdown. What got his friends’ attention was that that Alex dressed up as a doctor. He wore the white lab coat, green scrubs and he also wore a stethoscope around his neck. You could say that Alex got everyone’s attention. Everybody was looking at him and his friends’ jaws dropped to the floor. They didn’t expect to see Alex that way. Alex knew they were looking at him but he decided to ignore their stares. He walked over to the booth. As he sat next to Kyle, everybody was still staring at him. Michael thought the silence was too much so he was the one to break the silence.
“Nice outfit Whitman. Trying to impress someone?” Michael smirked at Alex. Alex thought it would be nice to have some fun with Michael. Alex placed his hand on top of Michael’s and told him with a sultry voice.
“Just for you, honey. I know you want me.” Alex finished with a wink at Michael. Not expecting such a retort, Michael was speechless while Kyle was laughing his ass off. Kyle’s laughing was so hard that he didn’t see the furious look on Michael’s face but Kyle felt Michael’s foot.
“OW!!! That was my foot.”
“So what.”
Not wanting to get into an argument with Michael and Kyle, Alex decided to get away from them. He stood up and excused himself going to the restrooms to freshen up. Isabel was looking at Alex’ retreating form, she wondered why he was dressed up. It wasn’t like the guys had any plans. Well, Max didn’t say anything. She was really curious about that. Isabel was a bit upset that she didn’t know what was going on in Alex’ life. She felt left out but she wanted it that way and couldn’t go back. Before Isabel was more engrossed in her thoughts about Alex’ life, she was interrupted by someone. And as she saw who it was, Isabel felt a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was Emily- who else. What angered Isabel the most was that Emily was disguised as a nurse. She wore the white uniform, which was really tight at all places and it ended only mid thigh and did leave not much for the imagination. To top it, Emily wore red high heels which matched her lipstick. You could say that she gained everybody’s attention. Isabel didn’t want to think why Alex and Emily wore the same kind of clothes.
“Hey guys. Did you see Alex? I am supposed to meet him here.” Emily asked the occupants of the table. It was needless to say that Michael and Kyle lost their ability to talk and Max was too shocked to say anything. Isabel was angry and tried to ignore the girl. While Tess glared at Kyle, she also didn’t want to be impolite to Emily.
“Hi Emily, you look great. Alex is in the bathroom, he should be back soon. What are your plans for tonight?” Tess asked out of curiosity and for the sake of Isabel, who looked like she wanted to kill someone or better said like she wanted to kill Emily.
“Yeah, Alex and I are going to a Halloween party.” Emily replied as she glanced towards the door which led to the backroom. Not wanting to answer anymore questions, Emily took off and wanted to look for Alex. Just as she was about to walk through the door, Alex came rushing through it. Before both collided with each other, Alex put his hands up to prevent crushing into Emily. But by his fast move, his hands were placed in a place, they shouldn’t be but they were. Several gasps brought Alex back into reality and his eyes froze on the spot where his hands were.
They were on Emily’s breasts. His hands hold her breasts and in that moment, Alex wished the floor would open up and swallow him. Alex himself was so shocked that he couldn’t move at all…or better said anything. Michael, Max, Tess, Liz and Maria were shocked as they saw Alex and Emily. On the other hand, Isabel ways beyond the state of being shocked and just arrived in the wonderful world of rage and anger. Her mind was screaming ‘MOVE YOUR HAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’.
“Uhm…uhm…I…I…I…” stammered Alex who was still catatonic. As much as a stammering Alex was cute, Emily liked it more when he could coherent. Moreover, Emily was going to have some fun since Alex was wearing the doctor outfit. Emily leaned more into his hands which caught his attention and he looked up into her face seeing her smirk.
“Well Doctor, what do you say? You enjoy the examination. I hope there is nothing wrong, doctor.” Emily teased Alex and she was hoping for his sake that he got himself under control to play the game.
As she waited and all the others for an answer by Alex, Emily was disappointed as Alex removed his hands. She was right he was far too unsure to take her bait. But to her surprise, Alex was full of surprises.
“Everything is fine to me. From my point of view you have nothing to worry. Good thing is you’re naturally blessed on that subject.” He pointed with his index finger at her boobs.
Everyone was surprised by this reply.
Emily was taken back for a second but as she got over her shock; she smiled about this ‘new’ Alex. Immediately she grabbed him by his collar and pulled him to her, their bodies touching.
“Come on Doctor Whitman, there is a party waiting for us.”
Not waiting for a reply, Emily was dragging Alex to the exit and both left the restaurant and the other teens.
Last edited by chanks_girl on Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Note: I will have a author's chat today on Roswellheaven...If you want to come be my guest. You can ask everything you want. I'd be happy to see you there. It's starts 5pm EST.
Killjoy: Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear that you liked Tess in that. It made her nervous because for once she decided who she liked and wanted to be with. Those are all her decisions and she is a bit scared that she will make the wrong move. In addition, a nervous Tess is somehow cute.
Flamehair: Thanks for the feedback. Like I said to killjoy, Tess is on her own now deciding about her life. So her being nervous will happen a bit more. I’m glad you love Alex in this. He will change a bit in this fic but he remains our sweet Alex just a bit different and in his own way. I agree with you, jealous Isabel is a dangerous but at the same time funny.
Rim: Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking of having Alex as priest in this since he played one on a TV- show and Emily as nun. But I had the idea for the doctor for so long that I kept him Dr Whitman. We get to see a bit of the doctor in this part. And in the next part, we see how the doctor behaved. By the way thanks for the bump…I didn’t forget about this but sometimes I change the whole chapter for this that it takes longer for the update.
Timelord31: Thanks for the feedback. Will Alex get to play doctor? The night is long and playtime isn’t over yet.
Sternbetrachter: Thank you for the feedback. Good to see you back here...for a bit. Yeah, the doctor and his nurse were fun for me as well. They are quite a couple. Tess and Kyle are really cute together. They deserved.
Buddha-boy: Thanks for the feedback. Tess and Kyle are great for each other…they need some love as well and will get it (on). Alex and Emily having the same costume theme was funny and surprising. Like you already pointed out, Isabel was fuming inside since she thought she was the one girl being close to Alex. In addition, Isabel thought she has the rights on Alex. As for green aliens in Roswell? Nah…let the city keep that bit of sanity that it still has. Roswell has Isabel and she is scary in her own way. As for Alex and Emily getting more serious? We’ll see.
Disclaimer: In this part dialogues from the END OF THE WORLD episode will be used. Roswell and the said words aren’t mine. I just burrow them.
AN: I mentioned it once in an earlier note, in this fic there is no Future Max.
Have fun and enjoy the new part.
CHAPTER XIII: A COLLEGE PARTY, A PSYCHIC, A MARIACHI BAND, A SKIN, A FORMER KING, A FORMER GENERAL, A PISSED OFF FORMER PRINCESS & A FEW BRUISES Volume I
“Did…did you see that? Please tell me you all saw it and I’m not hallucinating. His hands were on her…on her tits. Alex that lucky bastard had his hands on her tits.”
“Shut it, Valenti. We saw it and we don’t need your skilled art of observation to tell us again what happened.”
“You don’t need to get mean. I know you aren’t blind but Whitman really got a jackpot with that girl...OW…Damn it, Maria what was that for?”
“Kyle, I swear if you mention anything about Alex and that girl again, I’ll hurt you much more then that. I can’t believe that all, Alex was touching her. When I get my hands on him, I really hope he is ready for me because I’ll rip him a new one.”
“Maria, calm down. It was an accident that they bumped into each other and that his hands landed on one of her female attributes.”
“Max, if you’re going to try to say that it was harmless what we saw then you are so wrong. There is something going on between them and I don’t like it.”
“You don’t know that and it’s not your business so leave them both alone before you get us all in trouble.”
“What do you know Michael?” Isabel inquired with a glare thrown at her surrogate brother. She didn’t like it at all that Alex was spending tonight with that Emily girl. She knew she had no say on that matter but she didn’t need to like it.
“What do I know about Whitman and about his new chick? Nothing. I don’t care with whom Alex is doing the nasty. We have more important things to think of…like, who our enemies are. First Nasedo was killed by them and that Congresswoman was able to get too close to us. We should be more careful instead thinking about Alex’ teenie lovey thing with Emily.” with that said, Michael rose from his spot and headed back into the kitchen working the grill.
Maria was frustrated because so much changed over the last few weeks that she couldn’t control or even knew about. Michael was still an enigma to her. She knew he loved her and she loved him. They had their good moments, sometimes. This worried Maria, they sometimes were good. She still couldn’t understand what went terribly wrong but she wasn’t giving up. Maria DeLuca wasn’t somebody to give up easily. She knew it was worth it to fight for being with Michael. It was worth it, Maria knew that.
Not like others, who were still caught in their own thoughts. There were things happening which didn’t mean always a good change.
Isabel was still pissed at what she saw. Alex…her Alex had his hands on another girl’s breasts. Well he wasn’t hers anymore but nonetheless Isabel thought Emily was no proper company for someone like Alex. He was more the quiet, shy, sweet and observant kind of boy. Alex was a compassionate person, always there for his friends. Isabel knew that Alex was also her friend though they weren’t dating anymore or hanging out together. Isabel decided that a break up was better for them, especially for him. It became too dangerous to keep him in the Aliens Abyss.
To protect Alex, Isabel broke up with him. It was the only solution for her. Though it had hurt her to go through with her plan, she was kind of glad. Alex had kept his distance in the beginning but then he started his persuading in having a relationship with or he tried to convince her to spend time with him. Isabel couldn’t do it. She knew if she would come near Alex physically and emotionally, there was no way back for her. She was already too involved with Alex. He made her feel. She felt things, she tried to deny for so long. He made her see who she really was. She was a girl with a loving family and great friends. He made her see that she wasn’t a princess from another galaxy. He made her see the real Isabel Evans and that scared her to her core. She couldn’t be a normal girl. She needed to be strong and untouchable.
Now after Alex stopped being persistent about them being an item or even hanging out as friends, Isabel was worried. Worried that things between her and Alex changed. He was spending so much time with that Emily girl, that Isabel barely saw him or even talked to him. And he was different now, the way he behaved sometimes and how he was talking with them, especially with Michael changed. Alex was more open and he didn’t seem to be clumsy and nervous around people like when she met him. Of course, there were still moments where Alex was this clumsy teenager; stammering and blushing his way through a conversation. Nonetheless Isabel was worried that this time, she was losing him for good.
Isabel’s attention was brought back to the others by Max, who was talking to Kyle.
“Uhh Kyle, what are you doing?” Max inquired by the only male human. Kyle had his hands in front of him on the level of his own chest, spreading his fingers and then clenching them a bit. It was quite a disturbing view for all the other occupants of the table, who weren’t sure what Kyle was doing.
“That lucky bastard…I can’t believe what a lucky bastard he is.” Kyle murmured not making any sense to the others.
“Kyle, what are you talking about?” Tess asked her boyfriend of two weeks. She was still in the process of understanding that she, Tess Harding- former queen of a planet in a far away galaxy- was dating a human. By the way a human, who was behaving weird at the moment; still having his hands in that gripping motion.
“I mean Alex. He had his hands on Emily’s boobs. And let’s be honest the chick has a rack that would put every playmate to shame.” Kyle replied with a dreamy look but also with a serious expression.
“Kyle, if a bit of your brain is still intact, you better be quiet now.” Isabel advised him before the former princess unleashes her wrath. Isabel was not in the mood to talk further about the boob incident. At least you could hope Kyle knew when to stop.
“Did you ever realize how big Alex’ hands are? I’m not surprised that her breasts fit in his hands. They just fit. What a lucky bastard Alex is. I bet he is a boob’s man. He likes more the upper attributes of a female body. He has big hands so that would explain a lot. Boobs fit in his hands. Look at Emily, she is hot as hell. She got the curves, the look and she’s a beauty. Who wouldn’t want her? Then comes Whitman and snatches her of the market. Though it would not be a big surprise if they were dating. I mean, Alex seems to have a thing for boobs…he dated Isabel and her rack has potential to stab your eyes out.” Kyle was soliloquizing about the female upper attributes.
“Hey! They have normal size to my body. Why the hell am I even defending myself? Kyle if you know what’s good for you and your somehow healthy mind, you shut up. Let me tell you one thing, Alex sees more in a girl than just her looks.” Isabel stated with glare thrown at Kyle, who didn’t notice Isabel at all.
“Alex is much a male as any other. It isn’t obvious because he has that whole nice, geeky, sweet façade going on. You can’t tell me that Alex hasn’t had a thing for your breasts when you were dating. I’m certain, he did.”
“Oh god, I don’t need to hear that about my sister and her ex-boyfriend. Stop it, Kyle. I should leave. I have better things to do than sitting here hearing you talking about hands on my sister.” Max stated disgusted. There were things a brother didn’t want to hear about his sister. And discussing the body of said sister belonged to that category. He rose from his spot and attended leaving. Max shot a glance to Liz, who gave him a small smile.
“Oh please Max, as if you never thought about boobs. It’s natural for guys to do so. They are the first thing we get after we were born…well the majority of men do. I know you don’t fall into that category.” Kyle stated with a grin that indicated that he was lost in lala- land.
“But I do not think like that about my sister. Tess what do you see in him?” Max shot the question at the second female hybrid.
“You should have seen his naked chest. Just one word: yummy.” Tess gushed. Tess knew she should do something to stop Kyle from digging a bigger hole for himself and his big mouth. But it was amusing seeing him like that. In addition, Tess thought she should stay out of this time. If her boyfriend needed to learn it the hard way to shut the mouth in the right moments, then so should be it.
“See, even Tess is into chests.” Kyle stated with a proud grin.
“That’s it, I’m leaving. Girls have fun tonight and don’t let more crazy people cross your way on Halloween.” Max had enough. It was a crazy conversation and he wanted to keep his sanity for tonight. Max didn’t need more distractions. He just hoped that his plan would work. It had to work. By the end of the night, Liz would be with him again.
Max turned and walked away from the table. Max couldn’t help himself but brushing his hand against Liz’. The gasp that exited her lips created a sheepish smile on Max’ lips, knowing he still had an effect on the dark haired girl. Max knew, he had the chance to make it right regarding a relationship with Liz, he was going to use it right.
“Great, Evans is running away from boobs.” Kyle shook his head.
“Kyle!” all girls yelled at him.
*********************************************
The music was loud. It was nearly impossible to hear your own words or even to think straight with all that noise. The people were dancing. If you could call it dancing; the moves on the dance floor remembered more of exercises in dry humping than dancing. It was ridiculous how people could behave when you gave them liquor and loud music. Nonetheless it was fascinating to see how similar the behaviour of a crowd of strange people can be.
Alex never considered himself as a party animal due to his lack of invitations to high school parties. Those parties were mostly hosted by the popular people and since Alex was more on the lower scale of the high school social rank, he spent many Friday or Saturday nights at home alone. Now that changed with being at that Halloween college frat party. Alex was unsure how he should behave here. He recognized some of his female classmates. He didn’t want to think about their activities. He was here to have a good time and letting go. He needed to loosen up and this was the place to do it for tonight. Having fun was his agenda for this night. Now he just needed to find out how to do so.
Emily walked back to him having all eyes on her but she didn’t care. She just walked through the throng of people. That’s what admired Alex about Emily; she didn’t worry about others’ opinions. Either you liked her or you didn’t. In the weeks Alex had time to get to know Emily, he had established the knowledge that both teens had a lot in common. She was also categorized by people who didn’t know her. Her family situation was very familiar to his own. Both had to grow up and be responsible for themselves in an age where you should be a teen and not an adult. And both dealt with it on their own. In comparison to Emily, Alex dealt with all in a calm way. He accepted all in a calm way. He never raised his voice or did object in any way. He was always sweet Alex.
Emily was the opposite. When she was unhappy about something or forced into situations she didn’t like, she stated her objections. She was out going. She was loud. She had a temper like he had never seen before. She was the centre of attention wherever she was. She didn’t care about that what people thought of her. She was herself. She was confident. Emily had all those character traits that Alex wished to have. She wasn’t invincible. People saw her for who she was. Like it or not.
“Why you’re standing here? You should go and talk to some girls. I heard college girls know how to party.” Emily yelled into Alex’ ear grinning at him. Her breath was tickling his skin. This sudden proximity was intimate making Alex more nervous than he already was. Having girls standing that close to him made him always nervous. He felt kind of intimidated. He felt like he should say something funny or charming but without being too pushy. Alex knew some girls misunderstood compliments easy as cheap pick up line. There was always a thin line which a boy shouldn’t dare to cross.
“I don’t know what to do. I’m not used to being at parties like those. Add to that I’m not an expert in hitting on girls.” Alex confessed honestly slightly embarrassed about his non existent social life. The heat crawled up his neck and Alex felt more out of place than before.
“Don’t think so much, Alex. Just act. You can worry later about your actions but now you should have fun. Just don’t do something drastic. Start slow, let’s dance. Come on.” Without any hesitation Emily grabbed Alex’ hand in hers and pulled him towards the crowd of dancing people.
They stopped in the middle of the dance floor. It was just Alex luck that a slow song was being played. He looked like a deer caught in the head light. He wasn’t afraid of embarrassing himself while dancing. Alex was quite a good dancer. It was more the fact that for the first time Alex was going to dance with another girl than Liz or Maria. He didn’t think about that but it made him more nervous than he thought. Even while he was with Isabel, they never danced together besides in his dreams. But he never held Isabel in his arms like he was going to hold Emily. On the one hand it made him sad and somehow mad as well. Isabel and he never got to this level of a relationship. On the other hand, it showed what kind of relationship they had.
It was in that moment that Alex realized that his liaison with Isabel was not close to something people called a relationship. They were just two people knowing each other and trying to establish a connection on another level. It didn’t work out. Isabel was the one who realized it and Alex was the one holding on to the idea of a relationship. A relationship had never existed between them.
He was her crutch whenever she needed somebody to make her feel better. He was the one running to her when she called. He was the one doing everything she wanted and she never did anything for him. The realization hit him hard. Everything was on him. Everything they went through, he was there for her. He gave her the space she wanted and needed. Whatever she asked for, Alex had always been willing to give it Isabel. It was him, who worked for them.
What did he get in return?
Nothing.
He realized it finally for real.
He and Isabel had nothing.
He realized it finally.
The rejection, the pushing away and the pain weren’t worth it to mourn for a relationship, which never existed.
Slowly Alex put his hands on Emily’s hips, drawing her closer to his body. Their bodies didn’t touch but Alex could feel the heat of her body radiating. Emily rested her left hand on Alex’ chest while she had put her right hand around his neck. As the song went on she drew him closer to her.
*********************************************
“Can somebody normal explain to me why we’re going to see a psycho?” Isabel inquired impatiently. She really started to think that this whole girls bonding night was a bad idea.
“Isabel, I told you not to call Madame Vivian a psycho. She is a psychic.” Maria replied slowly as if she was talking to a little kid.
“As if there is a difference.”
“Listen now, Madame Vivian is amazing. I swear she is really great. We can ask her what our love lives will be in the future. Or in my case what will happen with me and this big, pigheaded dumbass called Michael Guerin. Madame Vivian will straight everything out for us. Telling us what we have to expect from the men in our lives. She's a prophet. My mom lives her whole life based on her advice.”
“Are kidding us? You really believe in that bullshit and now you want us to go to that charlatan wasting our time.”
“Come on, don’t be a killjoy. It might be fun. I really like the idea going to a psychic. We could find out how our lives will be in five years or what will be the next great event in our lives. In addition, it’s Halloween. Let’s have fun.” Tess pleaded with her friend who seemed to be more and more annoyed. Tess understood that Isabel was pissed but releasing all her anger on her friends wouldn’t help anyone.
Tess didn’t know how she would have reacted if Kyle would have been in Alex’ place and her being in Isabel’s place. Truth to be told it would have become ugly…very ugly. With a flip of her hand, Isabel indicated her agreement to Tess’ request.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this but Tess is right. It’s Halloween and it might be fun. Don’t forget we have this girls’ night out to get to know each other better and to get away from the Alien Abyss for once. Let’s be open minded and try to get along.”
Liz tried to calm the girls down. Having Tess, Maria and Isabel in one car together was actually a dangerous and frivolous act. Those three blondes had quite a temper due to that Liz tried everything to keep it calm between them. Otherwise it would end in probably starting World War III.
*********************************************
Surprisingly the girls made it to the psychic without killing each other. Isabel was glaring because she thought the whole idea was idiotic. Maria was shooting daggers at Isabel for making fun of her and her idea going to the psychic. Liz was playing peace maker between Isabel and Maria trying to prevent a fight between them. Tess was just sitting in her seat. The girl was just excited for her first girls’ night and going to the psychic.
Since this was all Maria’s idea, she was the first one to have her session with Madame Vivian. The other three girls were overly happy to let Maria be the first.
Of course Maria was going to talk about her relationship or the lack of it with Michael. She knew there was a chance for them. Her only concern was the timing of said chance. Maria wanted her Space boy back as soon as possible. When he would come back to her there was no way that Maria would let him go again. She would make sure that Michael didn’t think of ever leaving her again. She would give loving an alien a new meaning.
“This boy...very volatile.“ Madame Vivian stated a bit unsure how she should interpret the cards. She never saw before such a constellation of two people. It was very confusing and didn’t mean anything good.
“That's good for sex, right?” Maria asked her psychic. She saw in everything a positive site. It could be that Michael’s yelling was more a sign for a vivid sex life.
Madame Vivian liked the girl in front of her. Maria was open minded, funny and full of life. It broke Madame Vivian’s heart to squash this girl’s hope.
“This relationship will not endure.” Madame Vivian said without hesitation.
Michael and she had no chance. This was so wrong. Maria knew that Michael and she had a chance together. They were good for each other in their own ways. Truth to be told, their relationship was unconventional for a high school couple. There was no way that some stupid cards could tell Maria how her love life would be. She was young and deserved some romance in her life. Heck, she was sure there was something between her and Michael.
“Look, lady, I am not necessarily looking to tie the knot myself, but do I at least have a few months?” Maria implored by the elder woman.
“48 hours, tops.“
Maria blinked at that revelation. That couldn’t be true. Michael and she had something special. There was something between them, which had potential for more than just 48 hours. There was more to them. It couldn’t be all bad.
“48 hours? Ok, are they a good 48 hours?”
Maria got worried when the other woman didn’t answer her. She couldn’t and wouldn’t believe that Michael and she had a limit.
Liz was next having her session. Liz didn’t really believe in this whole thing but for Maria’s sake and for the spirit of their girls’ night, she would participate. Since love and boys were the centre of life for every teenage girl, Liz asked about Max. It wasn’t as if Liz’ decision about not being with him would be influenced. She still believed that Max needed to be on his own. He needed to grow into the role of being a king. He couldn’t do it with her clinging to him. Nonetheless, Liz knew that it wasn’t possible to let your mind rule your heart. There were things that Liz wasn’t able to control. So being here with a stranger who didn’t know anything about Max and her, Liz could risk it. She could ask about her non future with Max, it wouldn’t hurt to know what could’ve been.
“I've never seen the cards fall like this before. The boy, he's different.“ Madame Vivian was surprised and equally shocked.
“Yeah.“ Of course it couldn’t be normal when it came to Max. Liz knew how special Max was but there was no need to give anything away to that woman.
“He's very important, this boy. A leader.”
Liz didn’t know if she should act surprised so far Madame Vivian was doing a good job. Moreover, Liz knew that nothing of what she heard was becoming a reality. It was all going to be her fantasy a life with Max.
“Yeah, he has this whole other destiny...one that doesn't include me.” The D-word. Liz couldn’t put in words how much she disliked that word. It destroyed everything for her. It took the future away she had dreamt of. Now, it was just her fantasy.
„No. He chooses love.“ Madame Vivian stated without hesitation. She didn’t see that Liz was shocked.
“What?“
“He chooses you.“
It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible that Max would put her over his duties and his role as king. She wasn’t that important in comparison to millions of people who lived on his planet in another galaxy. Liz didn’t want to believe that her fantasy could become reality. Liz couldn’t let that happen. She realized that the psychic was right. Max would choose her above his people. He would do it. He would do it for his and hers happiness. It wasn’t right. Liz knew she had to stop that no matter what. It couldn’t be, Max had to choose his alien side in the end.
“No, no, no, no, see, that's impossible.” Liz defied the truth. She couldn’t let that happen. This was a mistake, a bad mistake.
“The reading is clear. You marry your true love. You have happiness. The card here? Intimacy, sex. You will not be left wanting.”
“This can’t be true.”
It was Tess’ turn to meet Madame Vivian. The girl was excited since this was her first time being in such a place. Normally, she would be cautious and annoyed by this whole psychic nonsense. But all changed. Since Tess was dating Kyle she became more open minded to spiritual issues. She accepted all how it was and would make up her own mind.
“Okay, this is my first time being at psychic. I don’t know exactly how this works here. Will you sacrify animals to know my fate? I’m just asking because in some cultures it’s common that you slaughter animals to read the future. So just to clarify something, I think that’s barbaric but if it is part of your performance, I have no problem with it as long as I don’t see anything.”
“You’re a very happy girl. Finally you found the happiness you craved for so long. You’ve had a long journey to get what you deserve. I see that there was a lot of darkness in your life.” Madame Vivian interrupted the blonde girl in front of her. There was a vibe around this girl; the woman couldn’t put her finger on it.
“If you don’t mind, I’d prefer talking about my future. My past should stay where it is, in the past.”
Madame Vivian smiled at the girl sitting opposite of her. She could understand the young girl. Keep the past in your past and focus on the future. And the cards told her that Tess was going to have a bright future.
“The cards tell me that you’ll be happy for a long time. There is a man in your life. He’s new and already has a special spot in your heart. You’re lovers. He gives you everything you want and need. I see family. You have a family that really loves you. Though I have to tell you there will be up and downs for you. But don’t worry too much about it, as fast as they will come, they disappear fast as well. I see, you’ll have a good life and what happened in your past stays in the past.”
“That’s it. I’ll have the life I wanted. I always wanted love and happiness in my life.” Tess murmured the words. She really didn’t understand the concept of seeing into the future thing but hearing that she would have a good life made her happy. It was real. It could be real.
“My dear, our fate is already written. It’s just depends on you if you accept it or change it. You should decide wisely”
Was she really supposed to believe in this nonsense? Isabel couldn’t believe that she was sitting in front of a psychic. She didn’t believe in all this stuff about reading cards and seeing the future. She decided about her life and none other. So she sat in front of that woman who was going to tell her some mystic crap and then she could go.
“Okay lady, let’s get this started so I can go.” Isabel stated without hiding her annoyance.
“The cards tell me that you are hiding a lot. You’re haunted by your past. It scares you. You’re afraid to lose your family and friends because of your actions.” The old lady looked Isabel in the eyes and she saw the fear in them.
To say that Isabel was shocked would be an understatement. It couldn’t be that this stranger knows that about her. Her fears were private. No one knew how it was to be her. She had been a traitor in her past life; she was told it could happen again. Vilondra was a part of her. She was that person.
“You have an old soul. You were hurt and still feel hurt. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that the pain will stop. More pain and loss will come for you.”
“But it can’t be…I…” Isabel was too stunned to form any coherent sentence. This was supposed to be fun now it turned out to be a nightmare for her. She didn’t expect to hear all that.
“My dear, you will soon lose somebody who is very close to you. This person means a lot to you but you refuse to let him beyond your wall around your heart. You will lose him for good. The only thing I can say is that you should wake up and do something.”
Isabel listened to her but the words made no sense to her. She felt as if everything was going to come crashing down on her. It couldn’t be that someone she loves was going to leave her. It couldn’t be that the sins of her past were going to dictate her life as Isabel Evans. She wouldn’t let that happen. Without saying anything, Isabel stood up leaving the other woman behind.
It was all too much for her.
She needed air.
She needed to breathe.
She wouldn’t believe in anything this woman told her.
In that moment, Isabel didn’t know that she was about to lose someone.
I know I suck as updater and believe me, I didn’t want that the next part took so long. I had some writer’s block regarding this fic. I’m so sorry. I hope it gets better…I really do. I want to thank you for bumps and that you still hang on. I appreciate it.
PML: Thanks for you feedback.
Timelord31: Thanks for the feedback and the bumps. I hope the new part made the wait worth it.
killjoy: Thank you. I’m not surprised you liked the boobs speech.
Flamehair: Thank you for you feedback. I’m glad you liked the talk with Madame Vivian.
Rim: Thanks for you feedback. Next part is here…after such a long time. I had fun writing the boobs speech.
Cameramandc: Thanks for the bump and keep reading this.
Mt Gazer: Thanks for you feedback. I also would love to see Isabel and Alex going through this together but unfortunately poorly made decisions left them in those positions. I don’t think Isabel realizes that she also needs to understands things and learn to deal with them. Alex is growing up. He started living outside the alien abyss. It’s like before the aliens entered his life. In my opinion, someone outside of the group is better to ”teach” or making you see things than someone who is in the same position.
Author’s note: Like I once posted in this story there’s no Future Max. So this is a AUish but follows events from the show. In addition, some events will be presented differently from the show.
Disclaimer: Some lines are taken from the episode “The end of the world”. I don’t own the show neither do I owe the words written for the show.
Here’s the new part and I hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER XIV: A COLLEGE PARTY, A PSYCHIC, A MARIACHI BAND, A SKIN, A FORMER KING, A FORMER GENERAL, A PISSED OFF FORMER PRINCESS & A FEW BRUISES Volume 2
When they were on their way home, it was obvious that the girls had different experiences at the psychic. Two girls were smiling, though they tried to hide it. The other two girls sat with grim faces in front. It was the best solution (in this moment) for the four girls having Isabel sitting in the shotgun while Liz and Tess shared the back seat.
While the sight of Liz and Tess being together in a cramped place was odd, it really wasn’t. Both girls were in a happy mood so it didn’t matter to them.
Tess seemed to be relieved that there was a chance for her to have a ‘normal’ life. There was no destiny. There was no alien drama. It was all on her. She would decide what to do and how to do it. There was a chance for her.
For her and Kyle.
Right now, Tess knew that Kyle was the one for her.
Though it was a new situation for her, Tess tried to adjust to it. She knew what she wanted. She wanted to be a normal teenage girl who had the stability in life she had always missed. Though Jim Valenti wasn’t her father or the person that raised her, he was family for her. No matter what, she knew he was there for her.
As for Kyle, she couldn’t be happier for now. Sure, the happy times weren’t going to last forever. Tess wasn’t naïve. She knew it was in her hands if her relationship with Kyle would work. Kyle wasn’t the perfect man but he was perfect for her. Besides, it was her decision to be with him because she wants to.
On the other hand Liz was barely able to contain her happiness. There was a chance for her and Max. They could work it out though she was afraid too much damage was done. Her escape changed everything. All the time she thought there was no chance for Max and her because he had Tess.
Tess was like Max.
Tess understood Max.
It didn’t matter how much Liz loved him, in the end Tess would win.
Then it was time to come back.
Facing life in Roswell and facing Max.
She thought her love wouldn’t be strong enough. However, Liz was wrong. Love was on her side and she got a second chance. Now Liz only needed to use that chance. Of course she had to think about Max as well. Though she doubted that he wouldn’t want to get back together, Liz had to make amends. She knew she had hurt him when she had left.
However, she also knew that Max still wanted a relationship. He never lost his faith in them. Max never doubted his and her feelings.
Now everything changed. And Liz was going to change her current situation as well. There was going to be Liz and Max…and it would last.
Therefore, it didn’t seem as if everyone’s visit at Madame Vivian went well. By the look on their faces it was easy to guess that Isabel and Maria hadn’t had a good time with Madame Vivian. Liz and Tess didn’t know what each girl got told but it probably wasn’t pleasant. Maria looked sad and angry while Isabel looked as if she was ready to kill someone.
Liz knew an angry Maria was a danger for everyone near her. It was clear that whatever Madam Vivian had said, Maria didn’t like it. Knowing the girl, it must have been something she didn’t expect to get told. It had to be bad if Maria didn’t say anything until now, Liz thought. She knew it was better to leave Maria alone for now giving her the time to get her emotions under control. Yet Liz hoped that Maria wasn’t about to do something irrational just because a psychic had told her some weird story.
Liz decided to leave Maria alone. She didn’t want to provoke her friend by saying or doing the wrong thing. And by pushing the issue nothing would be solved. The chances were high that everything would only get worse. Liz only hoped that Maria wouldn’t do something stupid regarding what Madame Vivian had told her.
She could only assume that Michael had been the subject of Maria’s séance and it didn’t go well like she probably had hoped.
It was no secret anymore that Michael had some strange thing going on with the new waitress at the Crashdown but Liz didn’t think that Michael would cheat on Maria. He loved Maria and wouldn’t risk losing her. So Liz hoped that both would get their act together and be the couple they used to be.
There was no doubt that Maria still loved Michael and Michael still loved Maria but everything had changed. One of the reasons was sitting next to her. Liz didn’t know what to think of Tess. The girl was still an enigma to her. Before tonight and the Whittaker attack, Liz wanted to choke Tess every time she saw the girl. However, this was before she had left for Florida and probably made the biggest mistake in her life. Liz knew she had should stayed. She wanted to make it better and tonight was a start. This was the first time the girls hung out together. So Liz hoped everything would be fine. Yet seeing the look on Isabel’s and Maria’s faces, it seemed that nothing was being to be fine.
Isabel had been another story. From the beginning she disliked the idea of visiting a psychic. It was stupid to believe in that stuff.
It seemed that the visit wasn’t stupid anymore. It seemed that Isabel’s séance hadn’t been as good as everyone else thought it would be. Since they had left Madam Vivian, Isabel had been silent. She hadn’t said a word. Nothing. She didn’t even complain about the whole thing.
It was rare to see a silent Isabel. Though no one knew what had happened and their curiosity was getting the better of them. They wanted to ask Isabel what she had gotten told but the risk was high to incur Isabel’s wrath.
The teenage girl looked as if she was miles away with her thoughts ignoring the other occupants of the car and everything that happened around her. Everything, that the woman had told her hurt. It hurt her that history was going to repeat itself. She was going to lose again someone she loved. It was happening again. So far it seemed that there was nothing she could do to change it. It was going to happen again.
Who was she to change it?
How could she change anything?
The worst was that Isabel didn’t know what Madame Vivian meant. She didn’t know what to do or how change anything when she was clueless.
On the one hand she wanted to ignore the stupid message the psychic had given her. She didn’t believe in that stuff and she wouldn’t start now to believe in it.
It was ridiculous.
Isabel didn’t want to believe and she wouldn’t.
It was all rubbish the woman told her.
There was nothing true she had got told.
Nothing.
Yet there was this nagging feeling that she was about to lose more than she bargained for. She couldn’t put her finger on it but the more time passed by, Isabel was starting to believe in Madam Vivian’s words.
Fear engulfed her at the prospect to lose someone she loved. It scared her to not have this person in her life. Regarding this she was scared that Whittaker was right. She was responsible for everything that had happened then and would happen now. Everything would change and she couldn’t stop it.
Looking in the review mirror seeing how happy Liz and Tess seemed to be, she wanted to feel the same happiness they had. She wanted to have this feeling as well. She just wanted to have normalcy and know that everything would be alright. There wouldn’t be any bad aliens and no teenage dramas.
She just wanted to have her life back before it got out of control.
Tearing her gaze away from the girls, Isabel tried to think of something else. She wanted to forget what Madam Vivian had told her. She wanted to believe that nothing of it was true. Instead she wanted to know that everything was going to be the same and nothing would change.
She was brought out of her thoughts when Tess’ voice intruded her thoughts.
“What do you think the boys are doing right now?”
Tess felt the tension in the car. For once it wasn’t between Liz and herself. The other two girls seemed to be the reason for the awkward mood which engulfed them. Though Tess wouldn’t call the human girls her friends but she wondered what had put Liz in that happy mood while Maria seemed to get more and more agitated. Something went terribly wrong. Tess didn’t know what Maria had gotten told but it certainly hadn’t been pleasant.
A quiet Maria scared her. Even she preferred the loud and wild thing Maria instead of the brooding version she was riding with.
Now Tess understood why Michael was scared of a silent Maria. It was the calm before the storm. That was for sure.
Watching Isabel, Tess couldn’t say what was wrong with the girl. Tess didn’t think that there was anything bad going on with Isabel. She had a boyfriend, loving parents and supposed to be friends (more than she needed).Yet she knew that Isabel hid something. There was this aura around her as if the girl was afraid something bad was going to happen.
Sometimes Tess wondered if she and Isabel could be considered best friends or if they just felt connected because of their alien heritage. It was hard to say; however she wanted to change that. And tonight was the opportunity. Tess hoped it was the right time. Somehow she had the feeling that everything was about to change within the group and there was nothing she could do. Before Tess could say again something to get the girls’ attention – until now neither girl had answered her question – Maria was the one to break the silence.
“What the boys are doing? Probably something they shouldn’t do. You know we shouldn’t think about the guys because it will lead us to misery. That’s what men do, they make our lives miserable. You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them…Well, except you’re a lesbian then you really don’t need men to get love and love somebody because you date women. That doesn’t mean that women are easier to handle than men but…you get my point…”
“Are you suggesting becoming lesbians?” Tess interrupted confused the other girl in her rant.
“No, don’t be ridiculous. This is a girls’ night but not that kind of night. What I mean is that we shouldn’t let men rule our lives. We’re young, hot and independent women. We don’t need men for everything. Tonight is about us…” Again Maria was interrupted in her speech about the evilness that men were.
“Did your mom give you again one of her ‘Every man on this planet is evil and wants to destroy the female kind by having sex with them’ speech?” Liz asked amused about her friend’s speech.
“No, she didn’t though you can’t say that mom is all wrong about what she tells us. Look at us. We’re four hot, young, sexy and smart women. And what are we doing? Pining over guys. No girl, I’m not going to let a walking penis rule my life. I won’t let him dictate my life. No, I won’t.” Maria emphasized her point when she slammed her hand down on the steering wheel.
“Are we now going to burn our bras?” Isabel asked annoyed.
Giving the girl beside her and tight smile, Maria replied, “No, we’re not. Besides yours would take too much time to burn.”
“Funny Maria, at least mine takes time to burn down.” Isabel retorted. If somebody was going to want to have trouble with her, she was ready.
“Ha, compared to you and your two chicas, I can see my feet whenever I want to.” Maria quipped not wanting to let Isabel have the last word.
“Do you really think that’s a good thing?” Isabel returned knowing that this will shut up Maria.
Opening and closing her mouth like a fish, Maria was really lost for words.
“Evans 1, DeLuca 0.” Tess muttered hoping that the loser wouldn’t hear her but all hope was lost when Maria turned in her seat and glared at the other alien girl.
“Maria, please watch the street.” Liz demanded.
“Oh my gosh, turn around and try not to kill us. Now!” Isabel requested more forcefully than Liz.
Turning in her seat directing her gaze back on the street, Maria took a deep breath.
“What I want to say is that we don’t need men. Tonight it’s about us. Tonight is our chance to be four girls as friends and of course to eat a lot of junk food without feeling guilty about it.”
“Can somebody tell me how we got from ‘what the boys do’ to the evilness of men to burning bras and boobs to us having fun tonight?” Tess asked confused. She asked a harmless question and without intending it, it got easily out of hand with one of Maria’s tirades about men.
“Well, you know…uhm we…Maria, please answer the question.” Liz struggled to answer the question. She also didn’t know how it could happen.
“Men have that effect on me. Pissing me off and making me want to choke them all.” Maria replied.
“Men or Michael? That’s a big difference when it comes to you.” Isabel mentioned without noticing the other girl tensing up and getting a hurt look in her eyes.
“Michael is another species so he has a special status.” Maria replied calm, too calm for the other girls.
Isabel knew she hit a sore spot and a wave of regret wash over her for causing the pain that Maria was in. Sometimes she wished they could go back to the time before FBI and destiny screwed up everything. She wished that everything was back to their own normalcy. It was just a wish and reality was their life.
“Kyle is probably at home watching some stupid sports show, reading his dumb hot babe magazine and later joining a date with his hand…” Maria told the other girls as the silence in the car started to suffocate her.
“Ew, that’s disgusting.” Liz cried mortified.
“No, that’s Kyle. That’s what he’s probably doing right now.” Tess said patting Liz lightly on the shoulder.
“Ew.”
“Max, being the wonderful guy he is, is mooning over our lovely Lizzie and thinking about a way to get her back.”
“Maria, please don’t start. This is not the time and not the place for discussing that.” Liz interrupted her friend before another one of the “Liz should give Max a chance”- discussions started.
Looking at her, Maria noticed the plea in her friend’s eyes. She didn’t want to hurt Liz but she couldn’t understand why Liz didn’t take the chance given to her. Maria would do anything in her powers if Michael would come back to her. She didn’t have the chance and after the visit at the psych, Maria doubted that there would ever be a chance for Michael and her. However, Liz had that chance and she knew the girl was willing to give Max a chance. She just needed a little push in the right direction.
“I just hope that Michael has a horrible time at work. He deserves it. He really deserves it. Why the hell does he have to do what he does? What’s wrong with him?” Maria ranted and it was scaring the other girls, again.
“Maria!” Liz tried to get her friend’s attention.
“No, Spaceboy has the need to play damn stonewall. He needs a hard smack against the head. I can’t believe that…” It went on.
“Maria!” Maria still didn’t react.
“Why does he have to ignore me? Why? I hate him. I hate Michael Guerin.” Maria emphasized every word by hitting the cartwheel.
Not exactly knowing what to say to make it better or ease the pain the girl felt, the other three girls remained silent. A wave of sadness and despair washed over them. They realized that love wasn’t as great as they always believed. It wasn’t like in the movies.
Love hurt.
Sometimes the girls wished it was like in the movies – in the end everything worked out and there was a happy end.
But movies weren’t the reality, the reality hurt.
“He’ll come around. He’s Michael. Don’t expect too much from him. He needs his time to deal with everything that has happened. He has stronger feelings for you than you think but don’t think he stopped loving you. Let’s face it, you have torn the stonewall down and that also scares Michael.” Isabel said without looking at Maria. Yes, she did feel pity for the girl next to her but Isabel wasn’t going to disillusion the girl about a ‘happily ever after’.
Maria glanced at the alien girl next to her and wondered what had happened to the ice princess. Isabel never showed compassion for anyone. Especially, it seemed that Isabel was sort of supporting a relationship between Michael and her. So Maria wondered what had happened.
“Stop analyzing me.” Isabel demanded nervously when she felt Maria’s eyes on her.
“I’m not analyzing you. I was just…just looking out the window.” Maria defended herself. She didn’t want to be a victim of Isabel’s wrath. Even after a year, Isabel still had the power to scare Maria.
“What do you think Max is doing?” Liz asked unexpected and the hesitance audible in her voice.
The other girls also didn’t expect the question. Several seconds passed before the remaining girls answered, ”Pinning for you.”
***********************************************
Everything was ready.
Everything was perfect.
It was going to be his night.
Tonight, Liz Parker was going to be his. There was no way that she would keep ignoring him and his love for her.
Max didn’t want to give up. He couldn’t let her go without trying for the last time that Liz was meant for him like he was meant for her. He had to. Max didn’t know what could be if he didn’t try again.
It had hurt when she left him and didn’t contact him at all. He felt lost and alone in a time of his life he needed her the most. He needed her like he needed air. And Liz would see that she needed him as well. There was no doubt that she still had feelings for him and that there was still the special spark between them. They just needed to work on it. He didn’t want to let go and he couldn’t do it.
Looking up the stairs that led to her balcony, Max knew he was doing the right thing.
He could hear the girls and hoped that this wasn’t a stupid and embarrassing idea.
Max hoped that Liz would like it and she would see that he would do anything for her.
Anything.
Of course, he was afraid that this was going to blow up in his face and he’d have embarrassed himself in front of the girl he loved. Everything was possible.
Looking at the mariachi band behind him, Max gave them the sign to start play.
Slowly the sound of the guitars engulfed him in a trance and Max knew what he had to do. He worked hard to learn the Spanish lyrics and now he hoped it worked out.
The music was getting louder and the words came out of his mouth.
Pouring as much emotions as possible into this, Max hoped Liz would see how far he would go for her.
Unfortunately for him, he didn’t know that his sister and his supposed to be wife from his former life were also with Liz. The three girls looked down at Max and couldn’t believe what they saw.
“Wow.”
“Double wow.”
“Oh my gosh, I’ll deny he’s my brother.”
“That’s embarrassing.”
“It’s humiliating but also cute. Look how cute he is. It’s sweet.”
“Only you would think that that’s sweet.”
“Kyle doesn’t do any cheesy stuff like this. He tells me what a great ass I have or other stuff then I want to smack him but this is just unbearable.”
“He sounds awful.” Liz admitted when Max didn’t hit the right tone, again.
“He does it for you.” Isabel said quiet feeling the jealousy rising. She knew how much her brother loved Liz and that Liz also loved Max. Yet it hurt to see that Liz was getting what Isabel also wanted to have.
Before one of the girls could say more, the singing immediately stopped when Maria appeared and dumped down a bucket of water on Max.
The other girls cried out while downstairs Max didn’t know what had just happened. He was wet from head to toe. Looking up, Max saw that Liz, Isabel and Tess wore shocked expressions while Maria had a strange look in her eyes. He was familiar with that look. Sadness. Something was terribly wrong.
Maria was breathing heavy and she gripped the bucket as tight as possible in her hands. The pain didn’t go away. It was still there. She couldn’t wash it away. It was going to still be there.
“Maria? What…how…why?” Liz stammered who still couldn’t comprehend what just happened.
“Love sucks. That’s for sure. Besides, it’s girls’ night and boys aren’t allowed. Max broke the rule and I’ve just given him his punishment. Maybe he takes his shirt off.” Maria tried to lighten the mood. She was happy for Liz that at least she was one of those girls who had a lucky hand when it came to choose the right guy.
Without saying more, Maria turned around and went back to Liz’ bedroom.
The remaining girls stayed glued to their spot looking down at Max who wore an embarrassed expression.
Looking up, Max’ eyes locked with Liz. There was no one else for him and he wanted to show her tonight that he meant it. Unfortunately he didn’t expect this. Giving a little wave, he turned around and left the scene.
Now it was Liz who had to decide what they should do.
As Max left, the girls went inside as well to see what had happened with Maria.
“Maria, you wanna talk?” Tess approached the girl who was sitting quietly on the bed. Tess was a bit scared that she might do the wrong thing and it would lead to further pain for the human girl. They might not have the best relationship and they were still away from calling themselves friends. However, that didn’t mean that Tess was heartless and enjoyed seeing people in pain.
“I’m sick and tired of this. I don’t deserve this shit. I tried. I really tried to help him and stand by him but he doesn’t want me. He doesn’t want me in his life. Good, he has Courtney. He can stay with this skank. I don’t need him nor does he deserve me. He’s with Courtney. What the hell is wrong with me?” Maria yelled the last part.
The other girls didn’t know what to say or what to do. In such a situation they wished a simple answer would make it better but it didn’t work like that. Nothing was easy.
“Let him go. Go on with your life and forget about Michael. There are other boys. So try to get one of those.” Isabel said. She felt sorry for Maria but Michael wasn’t a reason to feel self-pity, not now. Besides their relationship was long time over before it had really started. Michael was her brother but seeing him screwing up again, hurt Isabel as well. Sometimes it was better to end things. Isabel had hoped that they could work it out but it seemed something very bad had happened that changed everything.
“Excuse me? I don’t think you’re in any position to tell me what to do with my love life seeing how you’re replacing guy after guy.” Maria returned angry.
“Girls, maybe we all should…” Liz tried to intercept before an argument would broke out between the tow girls but it was too late.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Isabel asked.
“Oh please. As if you don’t know what I mean. You replace the boys by your side like other people change their underwear. You don’t hang on one guy long enough to even remember the guy’s name. It’s a wonder that your newest conquest is staying for that long by your side.” Maria accused Isabel of playing with men instead of looking for something serious.
“What’s happening between Alex and I is my business and not yours.”
“You mean Grant.” Tess interjected.
“What about Grant?” Isabel asked confused.
“You meant to say Grant and not Alex. You just have said ‘What’s happening between Alex and I’ but you meant Grant.” Tess looked strangely at the taller girl. Even Maria and Liz seemed to be confused about Isabel’s slip.
“Yeah, I meant Grant.” Isabel confirmed quietly. It seemed as if she couldn’t believe that such a mistake happened to her. Alex and she were done. She made it perfectly clear that there couldn’t be anything between them since she didn’t want to. So she wondered how she could have said the wrong name. There was nothing between her and Alex. And he finally understood that.
“I caught Michael and Courtney.” Maria revealed.
“What?”
“Oh god.”
“What do you mean?” Tess asked flabbergasted. She was sure that Maria didn’t mean what she was thinking.
“What do you think I mean? I caught them together as in Michael cheated on me with that slut.” Maria replied impatiently; her frustration increasing because she still couldn’t believe what she had seen.
“I can’t believe this.” Liz didn’t know what more she could say to make her best friend feel better. She could hardly believe what Maria just told her.
“Oh believe it. When we’ve come back and I stayed downstairs to talk to him, Courtney was also there and flirting the whole time with him. Of course, Michael didn’t do anything to stop her. We fought about our relationship – apparently our non-existent relationship. I asked what was going on with Courtney and he had the lousy excuse that he thinks that there’s something wrong with her and he needed to find out what it was. Do I have the word dumb written on my forehead? I don’t think so.” Maria ranted and by every passing minute her head got a deeper shade of red and her anger raised as well.
“What happened then?” Tess required carefully. She didn’t want to enrage Maria more but she knew there was more to the story.
“Since we couldn’t have a decent conversation, I decided to follow him after his shift because he had Courtney with him when he had left. Besides I needed to get the cakes my mom made for us and for the Crash. You wouldn’t think that my mom do it tomorrow. No, I have to do it though she knew I’ve got plans for tonight…” Maria babbled without noticing that it wasn’t the topic they were discussing.
“Maria!” The other girls interrupted together before Maria would tell another story instead of finishing her story about Michael.
“What? My mom’s cakes gave me the time and opportunity to follow Michael to Courtney’s house. Yes, her house. Her home. The place where any private shit can go on and no one would notice because everything happens behind closed doors. You’d think that would stop me but it didn’t. When Michael followed Courtney inside, I knew something was going to happen. I decided to wait in the car for several minutes and see if that intergalactic bastard would come out of there. Guess what happened?” Maria asked rhetorically. She knew that the other girls knew the answer to that question and none of them made the effort to answer.
“Nothing. He didn’t come out. Do you think I keep waiting in my car and let that him have fun with this skanky skank. Nope. I walked up to her window and Michael was there waiting for her or doing some other stuff. I didn’t know what to do or even to think. Making assumptions wouldn’t have helped the situation but I was right afterwards. I don’t know how but Michael noticed my presence. So standing in the doorway we’re arguing. He told me to leave because he was investigating Courtney. I told him I was also investigating her because there’s something fishy about her. You won’t believe this then from the bathroom she yelled that he’s a good kisser. They had kissed. We argued when Courtney emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She said something and he said something and I ended things. I’m done. I told Michael that it’s over. And that’s it.” Maria finished with a choked voice. But she wouldn’t cry in front of the girls. Michael Guerin didn’t deserve her tears and she wouldn’t cry over him.
“Maria, maybe it was all a misunderstanding and Courtney was just trying to push your buttons.” Liz tried to be reasonable one. It hurt to see Maria in that state.
“No Liz, I’m sorry to burst your bubble but this time it was no misunderstanding.” Maria looked at her friend with a sad expression none of the other girls had ever seen.
“What did Michael say?” Isabel asked and all eyes were suddenly on her. She didn’t like the looks she received but it could be that there was more to that Courtney thing then they all assumed. ”I don’t mean that what Michael has done was right but what had he told you about Courtney. He wouldn’t go after her if there weren’t some serious reasons for him.”
“We’re talking about Michael Guerin, the guy who’d also go after a beaver if it would look at him strangely.” Maria countered. “You know what? We’ll forget about it tonight. This is our girls’ night and I won’t let that intermezzo intervene with our night. Give me ice cream and all the other junk food.” She stated enthusiastically though the others knew nothing was alright and it was only a matter of time before the girl would crack.
*********************************************
The Crashdown was as usual busy. The only thing that kept Maria going was the knowledge that Michael wasn’t working with her today. However, it would have been a relief if Liz would work with her instead of Agnes. The elder waitress was no help and always on break. Maria wondered when Mr Parker would fire the woman.
Today Maria felt different. It wasn’t sadness. She just felt different. After the Michael incident, she felt different. Maria knew that she soon would reach her breaking point. Everything would crumble around her and she wondered who was going to be there for her when it was time.
Liz was busy with Max. Not that she wasn’t happy for her friend but she was afraid to be alone. Maria hoped that for Liz things would go better than with Michael and her.
As for Tess, she was never really close to the girl but after last night and seeing that they had some things in common, Maria wondered if Tess would allow herself to be close friends with them. Due to her relationship with Kyle, they would have more interaction together. Yet Maria was a bit cautious about sharing such private parts of her life with Tess.
Her mother was also out of the picture. She would walk around town looking for Michael and castrate him – clearly he deserved that treatment but Maria was a pacifist.
And talking to Isabel was for Maria the very last option. She didn’t think that Isabel possessed the needed finesse to handle such a situation. The girl would probably declare Maria’s situation as ridiculous and she should focus on other things then.
So what should she do?
Bottling up all her feelings and emotions was for Maria no option. She couldn’t do that. It was already hard to handle the situation properly.
There was no one for her to talk to.
That knowledge made Maria realize that she couldn’t talk to anyone and there would be no one there for her.
Feeling how the tears were stinging her eyes and how it became impossible to her to keep her emotions in check, Maria excused herself running into the backroom. She couldn’t believe that Michael had this power over her. She didn’t want to cry over him. He didn’t deserve her tears. The more she tried to stop the tears the more it was impossible for her. Tear after tear ran down her face.
Pacing back and forth, Maria wanted to keep her emotions in check. She needed to. She couldn’t let her feelings get out of control.
Yet, she couldn’t get Michael together with Courtney out of her head. She still saw them together. She imagined what might had happened if she hadn’t disrupted their cosy time.
Walking to her locker, Maria opened it and pulled out pictures of her and Michael – and others she found in Courtney’s locker.
Taking a long look at them, she knew it was over. It was useless to keep them.
With rush motions Maria tore them apart. She didn’t need those pictures anymore and she certainly didn’t want them anymore.
She couldn’t stand to see them. They represented a time when she was happy and knew there was always someone to be there for her. Now, those times were over. Michael didn’t care anymore. So she didn’t need to care more either.
*******************************************
“We have the movies, we just need to stop by the Crash so I can get the food.” Alex said to Emily while she was typing a message on her cell.
“Alright. I just hope it doesn’t take too much time.” Emily replied glancing at him for a second.
“Don’t worry, Mr P’s service is the best. He told me to get it straight out of the kitchen. You’re okay with waiting in the car? It’s a matter of a few minutes and I’ll be back.” Alex asked carefully when he turned in the parking lot of the Crashdown.
“Yep, it’s fine with me. I still need to call my dad so you go and get my food while I talk to daddy telling him his little girl is fine.” Emily said with a sweet voice though.
Alex just smiled at her. He unfastened his seat belt and ran to the back door. He really hoped that his order would be ready as Mr Parker promised.
As he entered the backroom, Alex stopped in his tracks seeing Maria was standing by her locker and looking like she was crying. But seeing her ripping apart pictures of Michael was confusing him. He had never seen before her acting like this. Something bad must have had happened that Maria acted like that.
“Maria?” Alex made his presence known.
Maria knew that she was worrying him but she couldn’t deal with Alex now. She was afraid to say things to him she would regret.
“Hey…I’m fine. I just have something in my…” Maria didn’t finish her sentence as a sob escaped her throat.
Alex was torn between accepting her wish to be left alone because he knew Maria hated to show emotions in front of others. It was a sign of weakness. Then, he didn’t want to leave her alone due to her state. Seeing this Maria was a painful sight for him. He couldn’t leave her alone.
“Maria, what’s wrong?” Alex asked, hoping to get an answer.
Maria wouldn’t answer him. Alex wouldn’t understand it and she didn’t want to drag him into this.
“Could you just get out of here?” She requested. She couldn’t deal with him now.
It would be an understatement to say that Alex was surprised and also shocked by her demand. He couldn’t believe her. He wouldn’t go away and leave his friend in her misery. Still with her back turned to him, Alex approached her slowly. He didn’t want to pressure her and make her feel uncomfortable near him; but he wanted to help her. Touching her shoulder lightly, he turned her around and looked at her. He knew there was no way to get an answer by just looking at her.
“Come on DeLuca, tell me what’s wrong.” Alex urged her because he was becoming also anxious. He never saw Maria acting like this. She looked so fragile and small as if she was going to break any minute.
Reluctant Maria answered. She didn’t want to drag Alex into her mess of intergalactic, failed relationships. Michael was her business and not his. Yet seeing the worry in his face, Maria couldn’t defy Alex. She knew he cared and would do anything to help her.
Still holding pictures of Michael, Maria looked again at them and everything about last night came back. The betrayal and the feeling that a part of her was ripped off was growing with the memory.
“I found this picture of Michael in Courtney's locker...like some sort of surveillance photo or something.” Maria confessed with a choked voice.
“Oh, my God. Is he all right?” This revelation shocked and surprised Alex. He knew that the hybrids were extremely tensed because it seemed their enemies were closer than every before. Yet he hadn’t thought that they were already this close to them. It was needless to say that he was also worried about their safety, though Michael screwed up again and hurt Maria with his doing. Alex couldn’t deny that he was also worried about the other guy.
Alex’ concern for Michael was honourable but it only elicited a snort by Maria.
“Yeah, he's all right. Actually, he's terrific. I was worried about him, so I went all the way across town to save his ass, and I get there, and...he's already there, and so is Courtney...in a towel.” Again she was overwhelmed by her feelings when a choked sob escaped her. She couldn’t deal with it. She didn’t know how to deal with that situation.
Seeing how distraught his friend was Alex took a step closer and engulfed her in his arms.
Alex wouldn’t let anyone treat his friend like this. Maria didn’t deserve this treatment.
He would take care of it.
*******************************************
“You just want to talk to him.” Emily asked a bit suspicious.
“There’s just something I have to talk about with him. It won’t take long.” Alex replied. He hoped that Emily wouldn’t ask more questions. Knowing her she was already suspicious about his behaviour and why he was making a detour instead of going straight to her place like they planned.
Alex and she were sitting in his car that was parked in front of Michael’s apartment complex. She still didn’t understand what the matter was. One minute they were at the Crashdown to pick up dinner and dessert and the next minute an agitated Alex stormed out of the building. Seeing him in such a state, Emily knew something must have been happened – something bad.
When Alex departed the restaurant, he drove an unfamiliar way. Emily didn’t know where he wanted to go since they had agreed to go to her place directly. After a few minutes, Emily dared to ask him what was wrong.
There was no way he could fool her. There was something wrong with him but it seemed that Alex didn’t want to talk about it.
It was quiet in the car until Emily couldn’t take the silence anymore.
Emily was sure there was more to this flimsy excuse Alex fed her but she didn’t push the issue. Yet she was worried. Something had happened back at the restaurant and it had to be something bad seeing Alex in this condition.
Watching him closely, she saw how tight Alex held the steering wheel until his knuckles took an unhealthy shade of white. Usually, Emily would encourage Alex to tell her what was bothering him but right now she probably preferred his way of dealing with problems: suppressing his feelings.
Now here they were. In front of an apartment complex, Emily didn’t know. She also didn’t know for how long they were sitting in the car and she didn’t know when Alex would decide to go to the other boy. Time passed by without one of them saying anything.
She could see that Alex was struggling to get out of the car: either he wanted to talk to Michael or he didn’t want to. Emily wanted to help but it was difficult to help when you were out of the loop.
Before the girl could utter a word to him, Alex got out of the car and ran towards to the building.
*******************************************
There was just this door. Only the door separated Alex from Michael. He wanted to tell him everything that he had bottled up. Maybe Alex didn’t understand the intensity Michael’s and Maria’s relationship had but he knew it was hurting Maria. It was always her who got hurt in the end.
As Alex was ready to knock, he stopped his movement before his fist connected with the door. So far, Alex knew he needed to talk to Michael but he didn’t figure out what to say to the other boy. It was hard to admit but Alex was intimidated by the alien boy. It would be easy for Michael to shut up Alex.
However, he wouldn’t let go. Alex was determined to talk to Michael about his way of treating Maria.
Alex didn’t care how he was treated by the aliens but hurting one of his girls was a no go.
Taking a deep breathe, he counted till three then Alex would go into the lion’s den.
Raising his hand, Alex knocked several times until Michael had opened the door. Not waiting for an invitation to come in, Alex pushed past Michael to enter the apartment. Michael was kind of surprised by the sudden visit. There was nothing he had to talk about with the other boy. Maybe it was Alex who needed something. Waiting for Alex to say what he wanted, Michael went back to his current spot.
Michael sat back in a stool and was eating cereals while watching a game on TV when Alex knocked.
Alex didn’t know how to start. It was the first time in his life that he was in such a situation.
“What's up?“ Michael asked though he was more interested in the game than in Alex.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.“ Alex replied. His uneasy feeling didn’t go away. Actually, Alex doubted his intentions. He didn’t believe that he could change anything about Maria’s and Michael’s (non-existent) relationship. It was their deal and not his.
Since the other boy wasn’t about to say what he wanted, Michael decided to try to push the matter. The faster he got Alex to speak, the sooner the boy would leave and he could finish watching the game.
“Well, I was kinda watching the game, so if you got something on your mind...”
Alex couldn’t believe that Michael showed such a lack of interest. The boy didn’t seem to be hurting or suffering from his situation with Maria. He didn’t care. Of course Alex knew that Michael barely showed emotions but this was ridiculous.
Typical alien.
They don’t care and were cold as ice.
Having enough of this, Alex grabbed the remote and switched the TV off. He knew Michael didn’t take him seriously. So, Alex would make Michael taking him serious.
Ignoring Michael’s protest, Alex let it out.
“Do you have any idea what you've done to Maria?” Alex asked furiously. Though there might be a good explanation for the current crisis in Maria’s relationship, Alex doubted he would like any explanation Michael was going to feed him.
Michael winced inwardly. He wished Alex’ reason wouldn’t have been Maria but Michael knew it was just wishful thinking. Standing up, Michael tried to solve the problem.
“Dude, it was a misunderstanding.” was Michael’s lame excuse. It was a lame excuse. Alex didn’t believe him and he didn’t believe himself.
There were always misunderstandings between Maria and Michael. But this time it was worse than before. Someone got deeply hurt. Facing the other boy, Alex didn’t know what to say. Was there anything he could say to make it better? He doubted it. He wondered if Michael knew what pain his mess caused again. But it was typical for the aliens.
“Look. I don't care that you've got 30 pounds on me or...or that you can kill me with some...some twisted alien power. I will not let you treat her like that. I...I don't care that Isabel treats me like crap, but no one does that to Maria, all right? She's not just some girl!“ Alex wanted to defend Maria no matter what it would take. He didn’t care anymore about his and Isabel’s status – though she pulled the same stunt on him without showing any remorse – Alex wasn’t going to let Maria get hurt in the same way.
Michael was surprised that Alex was so angry. Before he had seen Alex being angry but knowing what caused this reaction Michael felt ashamed. Of course, he wouldn’t show it but he still felt it. It hurt him that Maria thought he was really capable of cheating on her. Even Michael doubted that someday Maria would forgive him. Right now, he didn’t see how and why she should do it. There was no reason for her to trust him again. But if he could convince Alex that everything was a misunderstanding and that he suspected there was something fishy going on with Courtney then he might have a chance.
“You gotta believe me...I have nothing…” Michael didn’t finish his sentence as Courtney entered his apartment.
Alex was surprised that Michael got silent suddenly, following the other boy’s gaze, he saw her. The one that caused Maria so much pain.
In the beginning it had been amusing to see how the girl tried to persuade Michael. But now, nothing was funny about it.
Anger rushed through Alex’ veins and before Michael knew it, Alex decked him hard. The hard blow caused Michael to stumble back but he could catch his balance. Reacting on his instincts, Michael advanced on the other boy punching him in the stomach followed by another punch in the face. Alex had problems to keep his balance but he succeeded and threw himself at Michael, who thought the fight between them ended and tried to catch his breath. Yet he didn’t expect Alex to keep going.
With all his might Alex ran into Michael causing them to fall together on the floor. Both boys threw punch after punch.
Both letting out their frustrations and anger of the last weeks.
Both ignored the pain. They just kept going on.
Engaged in their fight the boys forgot about Courtney who was still standing useless around.
The girl herself didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t break them up. One wrong movement and some skin could be torn. While Courtney decided if she should stay or leave. Michael was able to push Alex off him. Not expecting this sudden movement, Alex stumbled back and crashed into Courtney. Wanting to ease the fall, Alex grabbed onto Courtney, nonetheless both fell to the ground.
As Alex turned to see if Courtney was alright – despite his dislike for her he didn’t intend to hurt her – he realized that he was holding something in his hand. Looking at the something in his hand, Alex realized that he held a piece of skin that immediately dissolved leaving a handful of particles of her skin.
Michael came over to see why Alex was wearing a horrified expression; seeing why Alex was afraid Michael was about to blast the girl. He couldn’t believe that she was a skin. She was the enemy and able to come close to him. Michael was speechless and angry. He had been reckless.
Before Michael could blast her, Courtney pushed Alex off her and kicked Michael in the shin causing him to almost fall. During that confusion, Courtney took the chance and ran out of the apartment as fast as possible. As Courtney ran down the hall, she crashed into Emily who was on her way to Michael’s. She wondered what Alex took so long. Seeing the familiar girl in that frantic manner, Emily dismissed the other girl and walked towards Michael’s apartment. Seeing the door being open, she saw both boys. One sitting on the floor and the other one standing. Both had in common their blood smeared faces and the bruises.
Emily wondered what had happened that left both boys in that state.
Alex saw Emily standing there without saying a word but her expression told him enough. She wanted an explanation. Before Michael or he could utter a word the next persons arrived: Max and Isabel. It was needless to say that the siblings were equally surprised and shocked about their current states.
Ignoring everyone else Michael wiped blood off feeling the pain increasing and Alex stood up, as well wiping off blood.
“You realize you just risked your life?” Michael said as he glared at Alex, who didn’t feel intimidated by the other boy. Max stepped forward intending to intervene if both decided to engage in another fight. And it was clear to him that Michael and Alex fought. Though he didn’t know what happened, the risk of a replay was too high.
“Yeah.” Alex replied shortly. Turning around to leave to avoid another confrontation, Alex saw the look on Isabel’s and Emily’s faces. Both seemed worried and sad yet Alex didn’t care. He just wanted to get home.
“You're a really good friend, man.” Michael called after Alex. He meant it. Max threw him a warning look. Any provocation could lead to another fight between Alex and Michael what Max tried to prevent.
Stopping mid way out, Alex turned around walking back to Michael until only few inches separated them. Looking the other boy straight in the eyes, one was swollen and the other one wasn’t, Alex kept quiet. He didn’t say anything for sometime. Michael kept the other boys gaze, though Alex had a cut above one eye. Several seconds passed until Alex broke the silence between them.
“Call me that again, and I'll really kick your ass.“ He growled.
Leaving the boy behind, Alex walked away taking Emily with him who still didn’t say anything.
PML: Thanks for you feedback. Right now, Maria goes through a tough time but it gets better for her. As for Isabel, she’ll need more than a little shaking. Right now, she doesn’t realize what is happening around her besides the alien stuff. She thinks she is doing the right thing but we know it is NOT.
Timelord31: Thanks for your feedback.
Killjoy: Thank you. I had the feeling you like the little Tess part. Isabel is ignoring her feelings and does the opposite of what could help her and make things better.
Maipigen: Yay, new reader. I know posting isn’t my best trait but I try to post as much as I can. I’m glad you enjoyed the parts that you read and hope you will enjoy also in the future the story.
Mt Gazer: Thank you for your reply.
Sundae: Another new reader…yay. Thanks for your reply.
Also I thank the lurkers for reading. RL slowed down a bit and I can focus on writing again. Here’s the new part. I hope you enjoy it.
CHAPTER XV: REPLACEMENT
“Does your face still hurt” Emily asked when she looked at Alex. She didn’t know what was worse that Alex fought with one of his close friends or that he hadn’t said a word since they left Michael’s apartment.
She wasn’t sure what had caused the fight between Michael and Alex but Emily had a suspicion as to what had led to the fight. She saw the other girl in Michael’s apartment.
Emily didn’t know everything about Alex’ circle of friends but she knew that there had been amorous connections within the group. She knew that there had been something going on between Isabel and him but Alex never told her the full story. When it came to his love life, he reacted closed off. It seemed as if he wanted to ignore his past relationship to Isabel. Though they had the same friends, Alex and Isabel didn’t seem to interact with each other. They barely spoke to each other or noticed each other – especially in school.
Emily had heard rumours. That Isabel lost a bet and she had to date Alex for a while. Another one was that Alex paid Isabel to go out with him so he could get a better reputation. Of course every single one was ridiculous and Emily believed there had been real feelings involved on both sides.
But sometimes it wasn’t meant to be.
It had to have been bad between them because it was a sore topic for Alex. He always avoided the topic relationships. Well, she wouldn’t say that it was a nice topic when you had bad experiences.
“Is it a good sign when the throbbing stopped but the acute pain remains?” Alex retorted lifting the ice pack off his face.
Emily winced when she saw his swollen eye, which had a dark purple shade, the cut on his lip and the bruises. It wasn’t a sight that suited Alex. His features looked different. Gone was the tender and boyish look which he had going on for him. He looked different and it wasn’t an enjoyable sight
“I don’t think it’s a good sign. But the purple and blue bruises bring out the colour of your eyes. Should be a fashionable advantage.” Emily said as she touched Alex’ face, eliciting a snort by him.
“Nice way to say that I look horrible.” Alex murmured.
He still couldn’t believe what had gone down in Michael’s apartment. It wasn’t in his nature to fight physically with somebody – especially with a friend.
When he had gone to Michael, he didn’t intend to fight with the other boy. Alex only wanted that Michael makes a final decision. Either he wanted to be with Maria or he would leave the girl alone and not string her along which resulted in hurting Maria. It wasn’t right towards Maria nor to himself playing tag-war with their feelings.
Alex had hoped Michael would see it.
Unfortunately, the situation escalated.
“You don’t look horrible. It’s a different look.” She replied. Things were different when it came to Alex. She appreciated his presence and enjoyed their time together. He was a real friend to her. Something Emily had missed for a long time. He made her life in Roswell liveable. “Do you mind if I stay tonight? My dad is out of town and you promised me fun tonight though that idea got shot down.” She asked him. She was worried about him. She didn’t think it was a good idea leaving Alex alone.
“Is that your way of telling me that you don’t want to be alone?” Alex inquired knowing by now that she didn’t like staying alone in the house. Add to that, Alex liked that she cared about him and wanted to stay with him.
“Not at all, dude. It’s more my laziness to go home since you were my driver. I don’t think that you’re capable of driving in your current state.”
“You can stay. My parents are out of town anyway.”
“Again?” Emily was surprised. Since she met Alex she couldn’t recall that he ever mentioned that his parents were home.
“What were you thinking? No wait…The better question is if you were thinking at all. God Michael, there were witnesses. That Courtney girl and Emily.” Isabel chastised Michael for his reckless behaviour. Moreover she was mad at him for fighting with Alex. Alex. The boy didn’t fight.
It wasn’t in his nature. What hurt more was the fact that Alex was being companied by Emily. Isabel didn’t understand what kind of relationship he had with the girl. It was odd seeing them together. The new girl wasn’t the type of girl he would date.
Emily was too edgy for him. She looked hard and was too outspoken for Alex. He was more introverted. Yet he spent time with Emily and it seemed that both had built a friendship that differed in his friendship to Maria and Liz.
So why was he spending his time with her? Why had she been with him when he went over to Michael?
“It got out of control when Courtney appeared. She isn’t human. She’s a skin. Courtney belongs to the enemies Nasedo warned us of .” Michael told them. He still couldn’t believe that he let Courtney come close to him.
“Wait, wait…Courtney is a skin?” Max asked shocked. It was unbelievable. Max hadn’t seen it coming that their enemy would be able to come close to them. Especially that Michael was the chosen one to get sought out.
“Are you listening to me? She’s a skin. Actually it was Alex who exposed her. He stumbled and fell on her. I don’t know what happened or how it happened suddenly Alex has held a piece of skin in his hands and Courtney escaped before I could do something. After that Emily and you guys arrived.” Michael recalled the events.
“How much has Emily seen? I mean, she didn’t see anything that wasn’t supposed for her to see.” Max asked uncertain. They had enough problems and didn’t need another person who would be suspicious of them.
“I don’t think so but you should ask Whitman.” Michael said pained when he placed a wet cloth on his injured lip.
“I assume mentioning you would be a bad move after your fight.”
“You’re right.” Michael replied shortly.
“You should Max let heal your wounds.” Isabel said to Michael when she examined his injuries closely.
“You know, I can’t. Emily saw me. In addition I don’t want to play into Courtney’s cards by showing that there’s something about us to pique her interest.”
“This is just great. As if we don’t have enough trouble.” Isabel was annoyed. The more she heard the more it infuriated her.
“Well, it’s not my fault Alex had his new girl with him.” Michael defended himself.
“What do you mean she’s his girl?” Isabel asked irritated. It couldn’t be. Michael didn’t mean it. Maybe he was wrong. He had to be wrong.
“What?”
“What?
“Isabel, not now. We have to take care of the new situation. I say, let’s call it a night and see what we can do tomorrow. Our first priority should be damage control regarding Courtney. I hope, nothing else will happen that can endanger us and the others.” Max spoke as leader. Right now, his biggest concern was finding Courtney.
“I think we should try to find her and find out for whom she works and what her plans are.” Michael expressed. He didn’t want to wait for tomorrow. Michael wanted to go out and look for Courtney.
“Michael, we won’t. It’s night. We have no idea where she could be. And we don’t know how strong she is. We won’t take the risk. We wait.” Max said with a stern voice.
“Sure, we wait.” Michael grumbled not liking the idea at all. But he knew Max was right. There was nothing they could do tonight and the risk was big to draw more attention to them than they wanted.
“Alright. Keep your cool for tonight. Tomorrow we’ll see what we do next.” Max reassured his friend. He hoped Michael wasn’t mad at him.
“I’m going to bed.” Michael said, walking to his bedroom leaving Max and Isabel behind.
Isabel didn’t know how it happened but their lives became more complicated than she thought it could be.
Everything was a mess.
Everyone had his problems.
Everything was spinning out of their control.
Nasedo was dead, their enemies were closer to home than they thought and their circle of friends wasn’t able to handle the pressure.
Isabel was barely able to handle the pressure and the truth she knew.
No matter what she did, it came back to her.
Whitaker.
Vilandra.
It was all going to effect them.
And Isabel knew there was more to come. She felt that the whole Whitaker and Courtney mess was about to come back and bite them in the butt.
Everything was getting out of control.
Her life wasn’t better.
Isabel tried to lead the normal life she believed to have. She tried to be a normal teenage girl but it wasn’t possible. No matter what she did, Isabel’s life was far from being normal.
It was alienated.
Even her fling with Grant wasn’t normalizing her life. In her hope to have a distraction, she realized it wasn’t helping. Though she cared for the man, there was something about him that prevented her from falling for him.
He was everything she wanted in a guy. He was smart, educated, and mannered; and he liked the version of her, she let him see.
Yet, it didn’t feel right with him.
Isabel wasn’t herself whenever she spent time with Grant. There was something missing. Isabel missed that special spark. She missed feeling special.
Grant was a nice distraction but that was it.
There was nothing more.
Deep down, Isabel knew there would never be more.
Right now, she was walking to the reason.
No matter what she did, it was all coming back to Alex.
Isabel knew that he wouldn’t welcome her with open arms. By any means, he wouldn’t tell her to go away but he would keep his distant. Knowing that she had done things that hurt him. But he was her friend and would always be there for her. She knew that.
After the current events, Alex would make her feel better when she talked to him. He always knew what to say and do to make it better.
Maybe she would find the courage to tell him about Vilandra. When she would tell him about her past and her sins then, he wouldn’t judge her. On the contrary, he would help her to overcome her fear to tell the others.
Isabel hoped it would be this way as she stood in front of Alex’ place in the middle of the night.
She also wanted to make sure that he was alright. After the fight, she didn’t know how to react when he stormed out with Emily. Isabel wanted to see him and be sure that he hadn’t serious injuries.
Of course she also wanted to find out what led to the fight since Michael wasn’t very talkative about it. Maybe Alex would tell her and then she could give him a piece of her mind for being so reckless fighting Michael.
Fighting wasn’t something she would relate to Alex.
He was more the kind and sweet guy. He didn’t fight. Alex always looked for the peaceful way.
Slowly Isabel walked around the house to Alex’ window not wanting to wake his parents. She hoped he was awake so she didn’t need to get his attention by making noise.
When Isabel reached his window, she wasn’t prepared for the sight that awaited her.
There they were.
Together.
Arm in arm.
Holding her in his arms.
Alex and Emily.
They lay together in his bed, sleeping.
Isabel couldn’t believe it.
Her Alex was with another girl.
She felt how her throat tightened. Even if Isabel would try to speak there wouldn’t come a word out. She was shocked. Alex was with somebody else.
They looked so cosy together as if it was their natural state. It couldn’t be. Isabel felt how her eyes burned with unshed tears. Seeing them together hurt.
Not able to watch them anymore, Isabel walked away.
She felt numb.
She felt betrayed.
And she couldn’t understand how it happened.
Alex wouldn’t hurt her. She was always sure of that.
But it seemed that things changed and she couldn’t stop it.
