Through the Darkness to... (M/L/TEEN) PART 17 3/10/08 [WIP]

[Crusty Nut]

Part Eleven

She had never been so nervous about making a phone call in her entire life, and the fact that the voice on the other end belonged to her best friend only made the situation that much more unsettling. Needing answers desperately, she swallowed the dinner threatening to reenter the esophageal world. She ripped her hand away from her mouth sharply the second she saw the intense shivering that wracked her fingers and palm. For the life of her, she could not remember a time when she had felt more determined and scared at the same time.

“Liz? Are you there?” when no response came, Maria’s voice resounded, “are you okay?”

I don’t know. It was the answer she’d given Max when he’d come into the breakroom and it hadn’t changed. If what she had written in her journal was true, then Max Evans, lifetime crush and annual lab partner extraordinaire, was an alien. Denial wasn’t an option because she knew that either Max Evans was an alien or she had a serious case of amnesia. Whatever the truth was, she was about to step out.

“I’m here, Maria.” As she spoke, the voice she heard could hardly be called her own, but she knew that it was, just like her journal entries.

“Are you alright? You sound upset.” Ever the best friend, Maria could always hear Liz’s moods in her voice. Almost immediately, Liz’s breathing became erratic and was separated by long pauses and heavy huffs. She had been holding in a bundle of flammable emotions all afternoon, and all it needed was Maria’s sincere concern to spark the fuse. The tears chased each other down her cheeks and her shivering hands returned to her face to catch them before dampening her clothes.

“I’m really scared, Maria.” She barely made out through sniffs and sobs.

“Lizzie. What’s the matter? Is this about Max?” At her question, Liz stiffened. The air around her began pulsing as the truth began to suffocate her. She released the phone from her hand and sat in a catatonic stupor with eyes widely staring out the window across from the bed she sat on. She could hear Maria’s frantic voice coming from the receiver on the floor, but didn’t bother making out what was being said.

On the outside, she was a stone; unmoving and emotionless aside from the trails of tears that were flowing freely not seconds before. Inside however, her heart constricted with each beat and her head was throbbing with the realization that Max Evans was an alien. Isabel was. Tess was. So was Micheal. Not only that, as if it weren’t enough, but they must have done something to make her lose her memory. Aliens were in Roswell, and they were doing something to her.

She broke from her stare and rushed over to her desk, to her journal. Rereading the words she had etched into her memory, it all started making sense. Since the incident with the little girl, Liz had been on a quest for the truth at whatever cost without taking into consideration that Max Evans may not like being looked into. It was obvious to her now that the aliens knew she knew something. She didn’t know what powers they had, but she realized how naïve she had been when she thought she could just investigate people without getting hurt in the process. Fully aware that actions have consequences, she shut her journal and returned it to its stationary position on her desk. Thinking twice, she grabbed it and walked over to her bed and as she lifted the mattress and plopped it on the box spring and fixed the blanket. She rolled her eyes at her cliche choice of hiding spots and sat down on the mattress, as if her sitting on it would hide it better.

Lost in thoughts of conspiracy and agents of truth, it took her a second to realize that Maria was standing in her doorway, breathless and looking scared out of her mind.

“Oh my God. Liz!” she squeaked out before she fell to her knees with her forehead in her head. She raised her head and looked at Liz penetratingly. She felt as though if she didn’t look hard enough, her best friend wouldn’t be there.

Liz hurried over to Maria and bent down in front of her and pulled her into a tight hug. Both girls held onto each other as if they only had each other in this life because that was exactly how they felt. They cried out of relief, out of happiness, and out of the fear that still consumed both of them. It was only ten minutes, but it reaffirmed what each girl was to the other; a sister. Neither needed to be related by blood, but their friendship and trust was reaffirmed in that short period of time. Maria was the first to let go.

“Liz, what happened? I was so scared that something happened to you.”

“It did.” When Maria gave her a terrified questioning look, she calmed her down. “I’m fine. No, that’s a lie. I am so scared right now. Max Evans is an alien.”

“Liz, we’ve been over this. I know you think that’s true but..”

“If you’re so unwilling to believe Max is an alien, then why did you rush all the way over here so quickly?” she said smartly as she stood up and walked over to her bed and reached between the mattress for her journal. She threw it on the bed in front of Maria. When she continued sitting there not answering, Liz took that as a sign to keep going. “I woke up this morning and it was just like any morning. I took a shower and was getting ready for work. I remember, I walked over to my desk and pulled out my journal to write in it, but I didn’t recognize the previous entry and as I kept looking back, I didn’t recognize a lot of entries. So, naturally, I read them. Guess what I read about?” she prompted.

“Max Evans.” Maria stated without fervor.

“Exactly. I read two weeks worth of entries that I have no memory of writing! How is that possible Maria?” She looked over at her best friend who was still on the floor leaning against the door with a look on her face that said she was in way over her head. “In the last entry I wrote about a conversation I had with you where I told you everything I knew. You didn’t believe me before, but I need you to now because there is no other explanation. They must have known I was close to discovering the truth and decided to erase my memory!”

The accusation forced Maria into a standing position. She didn’t say anything for a full minute, obviously processing everything Liz just told her. She shook her head and chuckled to herself before looking at Liz. “I believe you.”

Relief washed over Liz because there was no way she could continue on this quest on her own. After everything, she couldn’t just let it go and pretend it hadn’t happened. Granted, she couldn’t remember what had happened, but that was the exact reason she knew she had to confront Max Evans. And that was exactly what she told Maria when the next question out of her mouth was, “what now?”

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Among other things, Liz had learned through her journal entries that Max was attracted to her. If it had been under any other circumstances, she would have been jumping up and down for joy, but unfortunately Max was no longer the innocent boy she thought she knew.

Never having been one to use what little sexuality she had, she truly had to build up the nerve to pass the note to Max in a seductive manner to get him to meet her in the eraser room the next period. Maria’s idea had been to have her waiting for Max and Liz so they could corner him as a team, but Liz had deducted that the aliens didn’t see Maria as a threat, which meant one thing; they didn’t know she knew anything. So Liz figured she would corner Max herself and get as much as she could out of him.

As the class sat, some listening intently, others pretending to do so, Liz tried her hardest not to let her body show Max how nervous she was. She hoped her plan would work. Before class she had put on enough lip gloss to make Tess’ lips look dull, and she outlined her eyes because Maria always said her eyes were her best quality. Holding her breath, she sat up straight and crossed her legs from right to left, to left to right. She agreed to the short skirt Maria let her borrow, but absolutely refused the high heels. After all, she didn’t want to seem too conspicuous, just a little more attractive to get his attention. The second she walked into class and saw Max, she knew she had it. It may have been her imagination, but she felt like he hadn’t taken his eyes off of her all morning. A part of her was excited by it, but another part would not let her forget the task at hand. With that in mind, she turned to look at Max.

He looked back at her inquiringly and she answered his look with a sexy smirk and looked away right after. Reaching in front of her, she grabbed her notebook and ripped out a piece of paper, scribbling something down and folding it up. She flicked it across the lab table, but it went too far and fell on the floor on the other side of Max. Standing up from the stool, he bent over to pick it up only to turn around to find Liz obviously checking him out. Flustered, he sat back down and tried to hide the blush he knew had to be creeping up his neck and face. He handed the paper back to Liz, but she grabbed his hand and put the paper in his palm and folded it up, all the while giving him a meaningful look.

As understanding began to dawn on him, he felt foolish, and unfolded the note. He read it at least three times before looking at Liz only to find that her hair was covering any expression he’d like to see. Looking down at the invitation to the eraser room with the little drawn hearts and the “don’t tell ANYone”, he had no idea how to interpret it, especially with the occurrences of the day before. Twenty-four hours ago, Liz was upset about something, and now she was hitting on him…all of this happening right after Tess mind warped her. Something was off, that much he knew, and the only way to find out was to agree to meet Liz in the eraser room.

[Crusty Nut]

Part Twelve

Pacing around as much as she could in what little space the eraser room provided, she could hardly control the shaking of her hands or her erratic breathing, or how her heart leapt every time she thought she heard the doorknob jiggle. That’s what bothered her most about this whole situation; she had absolutely no control over it. Not only did she have no control, but she had no idea where this inevitable conversation with Max would take her. Was she really ready for whatever the truth might bring? Of all of this she was unsure, but in the end, she couldn’t leave it unquestioned. And so she resolved, once again, that this course of action was a necessary evil and no matter how frightened she was by what her journal told her mind and heart, she had to talk to Max.

Looking at her watch again, she nearly growled in frustration as only half a minute had passed since the last time she looked at it. That still meant that Max was another thirty seconds late and she wondered restlessly if he was coming at all. She reached into the pocket of the skirt Maria let her borrow and pulled out the little pink tube of lip gloss, figuring she might as well do something to calm her nerves and shaking hands. She spread the shiny pink substance on her lips and as she rubbed her lips together, her heart leapt once more as she thought she heard the doorknob jiggle. This time, she was right. Max opened the door and looked in at Liz intently. Embarrassed at the impression she was probably giving him, she returned the lip gloss wand to the tube and back into her pocket. She knew Max agreed to meet her under certain pretenses, but that didn’t make her any less nervous. In fact, it only heightened her anxiety.

He stepped all the way into the room and closed the door behind him. She could tell he was nervous as well, and even if she didn’t, his silence certainly clued her in. They just stood there looking at each other and trying to understand why each of them was there; one wondering why the other had invited them, and the other wondering what exactly they had invited. Max scratched his eyebrow hoping Liz would say something soon.

A heavy weight hung above and between them and when it came down to it, they both knew what this meeting was about, but neither was too anxious to get it started.

“So, umm..you look nice today, Liz.” Max stammered out. While he meant what he said (and he did) he honestly just couldn’t stand the silence any longer. In reality the time elapsed since he’d entered the room couldn’t have been more than two minutes, but it felt like a lifetime; and an awkward lifetime at that. However, even with the gravity of the situation, he couldn’t ignore the lip gloss Liz had been putting on as he was entering the eraser room, and suddenly he remembered her behavior in class, and the presumptuous room they were in that held so many promises waiting to be fulfilled. Maybe the subject they were about to discuss was going to be important, but until the topic was breached, he allowed his human side to drink in the sight of Liz in her miniskirt. It was as if the second he opened that door and saw her standing there all thoughts of serious matters disintegrated and all he could see was her over and over again; like two mirrors facing each other and every one held the picture of Liz and her lips.

She could feel the blush on her cheeks betray her. Whatever Max was, alien, angel, snowman, he was still an attractive one and she couldn’t help but be flattered at his compliment. At this, she turned around and grabbed her hournal our of her backpack and mentally berated her hormones, reminding herself that somehow her memories had been erased. Strengthening her resolve, she turned around. Still staring at the book in front of her, she wondered if Max would understand immediately or if she was going to be forced to say it aloud to him. Continuing her stay, she began the sentence she had been rehearsing since the night before.

“This is my journal, Max,” she paused and looked at him pointedly, “I write about everything of importance that happens to me in it. Everything.” She prayed to whatever God existed that he would understand what she was saying. For a split second she thought she saw panic and fear flash across his features. If she had seen it, it was gone in another flash and replaced with an indifferent questioning look.

“No offense, Liz, but what does that have to do with me? What’s this all about?” he asked almost accusingly.

Liz sighed in frustration. She really didn’t want to say it out loud; it had been hard enough talking with Maria about it. If her memory had really been erased, and indeed it had, then she had no recollection of the experiences spoken about in her journal. In other words, what was fueling her fire at that moment wasn’t that she had been lied to, rather that she had to know how her memory was erased, and the answers to her curiosity were insane at best.

Gently she opened her journal to a passage she had marked if the occasion arised. Letting out a deep breath, she began reciting the excerpt.

“The most amazing thing is that all this time, since Anna’s accident, I have been hunting the truth about Max Evans, but after the conversation I overheard this afternoon, I know the truth extends far beyond one boy. Max and Isabel Evans, Tess Harding, and Micheal Guerin are all aliens, and only God knows how many more.” She waited for him to say something, anything, but nothing came. Max had entered an almost catatonic state since she started reading from her journal, and the next thing she knew, he was staring intently at her and he started grinning. It was a smile bigger than she’d ever seen Max Evans smile and it frightened her. She took a small step back as he started laughing hysterically. He was laughing so hard that he had to bend over because his sides were aching so much, but Liz stood there watching the spectacle she was presented with.

“HAHAHA! Liz! HAHAHA! I can’t HAHA stop laughing! Oh my god!” When she didn’t start laughing along with him, he started pulling himself together. “Haha, okay, okay, I’m okay haha. Okay. Whew! I’m good.” And then he looked at her again. “Oh my god, you’re serious.” It was a statement, not a question. “Look Liz, I’m not sure what you’re getting at but you can’t possibly think I’m an..an ali…”

“STOP LYING TO ME!!!” She shouted loud enough for the entire hallway outside to have heard her. Max certainly heard her and his back straightened and his eyes widened. “I have weeks worth of entries, WEEKS worth that are unaccounted for, Max! How do you explain that?” At his silence, she continued. “Amnesia, right? Well maybe that would be the answer, except all of the entries that I mysteriously somehow don’t remember writing are all about you. And you know what they say? Yes, you do, because I read you part of one. I investigated you for weeks after that little girl was hit by the car. I don’t know how you did it, but you healed her. According to my entry, she was long gone before I left to call the ambulance. Now, I don’t remember this happening, but I checked it all out with the newspapers. I don’t even remember giving the Roswell Chronicle quotes, but apparently I did. Explain all of this to me, Max. Just tell me what you are.”

He stood there looking completely helpless.

“I can’t.”

“Just say it. I need to hear you say it.” She repeated as if she hadn’t heard his response.

He pleaded with her wordlessly, begging her to let it go, but he knew she couldn’t; it was one of the reasons he loved her.

“You’re right, Liz.”

[Crusty Nut]

mezz, clueless - I know! I can hardly believe I left it there myself. That was cruel. It’s one thing to leave a cliffhanger and write a new part a week later, but it’s been months. Thanks for the bump!

DreamerLaure - I did. Leave it there for long. Sorry! But I’m glad she pushed through too. You’ll have your answers.

begonia9508 - Well, you can lie haha.

dreamer19 - Well, he has to make some last ditch attempts at leaving her in the dark, and thanks for the bumps.

Michelle in Yonkers - Thanks for the compliments! I thought for a long time whether I wanted aliens to be a part of this story, and in the end, it only made sense that they did. AU stories without aliens are great, and I read them (don’t get me wrong), but there’s something inherently unroswellian about them, even though the use the same characters; and let’s face the facts, we all love Roswell, so let’s make it as Roswellian as possible

roswell4life - hooked huh? here’s your fish, take a bite!

katydid - thanks for the bump!

loviedovie - Glad you’re ready to read more. I’m ready to write more...AND more regularly!

Part Thirteen

“You’re right, Liz.”

The air around Liz seemed to suffocate her. Two weeks of researching and following and avoiding had passed, and all she wanted to hear was the truth; now that she had it, she felt limp with ignorance. She felt as though she had climbed a mountain, and now that she was on top, she had no idea how to get down.

“I...I’m right” she stated. Max seemed even more clueless than she did, and while it was obvious he was ready to talk, she could see that he didn’t know where to start. “Where are you from?” she prompted, although it was a miracle to her that her voice was still working.

He struggled with his answer and settled with a simple gesture of pointing upwards. Liz looked unsatisfied with his answer, but in actuality, it was the best he could give her, and he told her as much. “Look, Liz, we don’t really know a lot about where we’re from or who we are.” And just as he finished his sentence, he saw realization dawn on her face. He knew she was well aware he wasn’t the only one, she had read a passage from her journal aloud that confirmed that, be he had just inadvertently reminded her. Before she could even form the question, he jumped in. “Yes, we. As you read in your journal, Isabel, Micheal, and Tess are also...” Liz didn’t miss a beat.

“You and Isabel have been in Roswell since third grade. Micheal didn’t move to Roswell until fourth grade, and Tess until eighth grade. I don’t get it. Is Roswell like homebase for your species?” she paused and let that thought sink in. “Oh my God...how many more of you are there? And what about the fourty-seven crash?”

“Liz. Liz! Slow down,” he said trying uselessly to calm her down; surely an alien telling a human to calm down would do nothing but the exact opposite. “Let me try and explain,” this seemed to do the trick, as she stopped pacing and just watched and listened. “Okay. Like I said, we don’t know much. What we do know is that the four of us are the same. We were...” he chuckled nervously as he tried to get the next few words out because he knew they would be some of the more difficult ones to swallow, as they had left a bitter taste in his mouth when Tess had helped him retrieve his memories. “We were hatched. All four of us were in these incubation pods and when we came out in 1993, we looked like regular six year old children.”

“Okay,” she began, “but if you guys all hatched at the same time, that doesn’t explain why you all came to Roswell at different times.”

“Right. Well, that’s because we didn’t hatch at the same time.” Max took a deep breath and continued the story that was now as clear as day. Before he met Tess, the only access he had to these memories was wandering around the desert with Micheal and Isabel naked, and later being found by the Evans’, but nothing before that. “Micheal was the first one out, then me, and then Isabel. We were in some kind of cave and we didn’t speak English but we could still communicate with each other somehow.” Liz’s small intake of breath simply reassured Max that there would be more and more questions to answer, and he kept on. “Micheal went ahead of us and Isabel reached out for me. I turned around and saw a fourth pod. I didn’t want to leave, but we did. We ran through Pohlman Ranch until we reached the road. All of the sudden there were headlights coming closer and Isabel and I went towards them, not afraid, and not realizing that Micheal had stayed behind. Those headlights ended up belonging to the Evans’. We found out later that Micheal was in Roswell the whole time, but he was in foster care for a few years. When he was finally adopted by Hank, he came to our school and right when we saw him, we knew.”

“What about Tess?”

“We have a protector; he’s not exactly like us, but when he reached the pods, the three of us were already gone, leaving only Tess. Since then, our protector has been watching us for a long time, and we only met Tess in eighth grade because he wasn’t sure of our identities until then; it was the same thing with her, we knew instantly who she was and she actually provided us with a lot more answers, but only what our protector told her and what she could remember herself.”

“Wow. Even with all those answers, you still don’t know much.” He shook his head in reply. She thought about how freeing it would be to be able to be whoever you wanted to be, how a lack of identity creates an entirely new identity in itself. She thought about the first day she met Max and Isabel on that playground, but most of all, she thought about how no matter how alien he told her he was, it only made him seem that much more human. As she spaced out, the bell for the end of the school day rang and suddenly she was brought back to reality. How could she cope with this knowledge? And she decided the first thing she would do, was nothing. She would go back to work and stew in everything Max had said, and after that, she would leave it up to fate.

She reached down and picked up her book bag and shoved her journal back into it. Throwing it over her shoulder, she glanced over at Max, and the look on his face was utter vulnerability and fear and she knew what he must be thinking. The irony of it all was that, now that her suspicions were confirmed, everything seemed a lot less scary. Liz was certainly scared, but she firmly believed that fear of something you don’t know is much more suffocating and intimidating, than fear of something you knew.

“Max, I’m sorry, but I have to go to work and Maria will worry if I’m late.” She said hastily to instill some comfort in him, but apparently to no avail. As she reached for the doorknob and opened it slightly, he grabbed her arm, gently, yet firmly.

“Liz, you can’t tell anyone what I just told you,” his voice shook as he pleaded desperately. “You don’t understand what would happen to us if you did.”

With his face just inches away, his hand on her skin and his eyes penetrating every pore in her face, she could hardly hear a word he was saying, but she read it all on his face. This boy in front of her feared for his life in a way she could never comprehend and she could do nothing but nod as she walked out.

[Crusty Nut]

Part Fourteen

The hot New Mexican air threatened to knock the wind out of him with its intensity, but as it turned out, Liz’s indifference had already done the job.

He felt idiotic. After all those years of observing Liz, he had seen that she kept a journal that she wrote in it regularly and he felt idiotic because he hadn’t taken that fact into consideration before Tess mindwarped him. Of course, if he were honest with himself, he wouldn’t deny that it was probable that his subconscious intentionally blocked out that crucial bit of information. While it was true that he was very protective of his alien foursome and would do anything to keep them safe, he had longed for someone to share his greatest fears and secrets with; someone that wasn’t already a part of it, and he had always fantasized that someone would be Liz, and in that fantasy, all it took was a kiss to wash it all away. But this was reality, and Liz’s reaction to his extraterrestrial admission was extraordinarily unnerving. Where there should have been fear and disgust, there was only curiosity and indifference.

He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands again, but it didn’t make the situation any clearer. He wanted to trust Liz, and his gut was already reassuring his mind, but there was no way he was going to feel okay about anything until he spoke with Liz again. Unfortunately, he had about six hours of waiting time until the Crashdown closed.

Swinging his backpack over his shoulder, he headed back out into the halls of the place he considered his home. Max didn’t play sports for the West Roswell Comets. He wasn’t involved in student government. He wasn’t in any social clubs. Max just didn’t participate, but that didn’t mean he didn’t love the place.

The yellow tiled walls and contrasting blue lockers filled him with a sense of normalcy that he couldn’t get anywhere else. When he looked from one end of the hall to the other, he thought of what each classroom meant to him or what it could mean in the future. The eraser room he now stood in front of was always in his daydreams. Room 405 was the classroom he and Liz had biology in. Room 408 was where they would, in all likelihood, take chemistry together. It was all of this that made Max feel like a teenager; feel human. And the most amazing thing was that it was all led back to Liz. Liz made him feel human.

He forced his feet to move in the direction of his locker. Most of the students had cleared out of the hallway, but there were still a few, like himself, slowly going through the movements that mark the end of another day. However, he, unlike his classmates, had just told the girl of his dreams that he was an alien. Yet here he was, just like them, opening his locker as if his biggest worry was a test in geometry the next day.

He had to talk to Liz again.

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That night, work passed in a haze of fried foods and Maria’s worried stares, but Liz couldn’t focus on anything but Max. She kept staring at the booth he always sat at and she couldn’t rid the feeling that he was nearby. Continually, she would turn around and stare out at the front of the store half-expecting him to walk in, or already be there, but she knew he wasn’t. To top it all off, she was getting the “we need to talk” look from Maria every five seconds. Her friend had concocted the whole eraser room plan and she knew Maria was dying to know what happened, but Liz continued to brush her off, hoping it would at least last until the end of the shift because right then, she was still trying to figure things out in her own head.

She still had so many questions to ask him that she wasn’t able to in the eraser room. He had to be leaving something out. What did he mean when he said his protector was different? She had a feeling the protector knew a lot more than Max let on, and if that were the case, then wouldn’t Max know too? What were his powers? And then she felt it again; the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and a subtle, nervous hum sang in her stomach. Immediately, she turned around and searched the diner for the cause of this presentiment. Again, there was no one there, and again, Maria gave her the look from across the cafe.

Liz resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead heaved a sigh of dread and clunked her feet in the direction of the hot plate counter for another order. Once the clock hit 10:00 pm, she knew she’d be in for it, but for now, she would just sort through the reality that Max Evans was an alien.

The bell over the door chimed and Liz silently wished the next thirty minutes would pass like it were only five, and as she turned around and saw who walked through the doors of the cafe, she knew they wouldn’t. Isabel Evans, Micheal Guerin, and Tess Harding stood at the register waiting to be seated. Liz’s heart rate quadrupled in less than one second and she was surprised she hadn’t fainted yet. There was no way she would be able to wait on them. Before any eye contact was made, she turned back around and stared at the galaxy sub lamely sitting on the plate. The spiced mayonnaise on the sandwich slowly dripped down the side of the sandwich.

“Liz, babe, you’ve got company and I refuse to take them. I’d rather serve a pack of wild dogs,” she paused and thought a moment, “yes, yes I would.”

“Maria. Pleeeeease take them. I don’t think I can handle them right now.” She pleaded and exercised her best puppy impersonation.

“Uh uh, Chica. I might have had more compassion if you spilled your guts about your little tryst in the eraser room. But as I have not been informed of those proceedings, I simply cannot help you right now.” She replied smugly. Sometimes Liz really despised her best friend, but she supposed she deserved it considering how she ignored Maria’s questions all night. Liz looked over at the alien trio and back at Maria who had an air of blissful ignorance surrounding her. This time Liz rolled her eyes.

Frankly, she was terrified. Max had to have told them what happened and now they were here to shut her up, but for some reason, she knew that wasn’t the case. As she walked, very slowly, to their table, she resolved to appear nonchalant, like nothing in the world could bother her. Pulling her shoulders back and lifting her head of, she decided to show these aliens what real acting was. And she wouldn’t even have to erase their memories to trick them. She stopped just short of their table.

“Hi, welcome to the Crashdown, can I take your order?” she recited effortlessly and without a tremor of nervousness.

Her fear must have triggered a shot of adrenaline up her spine because almost as soon as she finished her sentence, she felt a surge of self-awareness come over her. Tess, Micheal and Isabel were looking over their menus; they were here to eat, not interrogate her! Well, she didn’t know what Max’s plan was, but she decided she would have a little fun with the aliens who decided the best plan of action had been to erase her memory instead of reasoning with her.

“What planet are you guys from?” she asked.

“What did you just say?” Isabel demanded.

“What planet are you guys from? I mean seriously, you guys have been coming here for years. You’d think you’d have had the menu memorized by now.” she chuckled at her joke with them and at her inside joke with herself.

“Oh. Right. Well, I want the saucer side salad.” Isabel said and handed her menu to Liz.

“Can I get a Will Smith burger and a coke?” Micheal asked in a forceful manner, as if he weren’t asking at all.

“Actually, the burners are turned off for the night, so no burgers, I’m afraid.”

“What? Can’t someone just turn them back on? It doesn’t exactly take long to cook a burger.” He spat out rudely.

“I’m sorry,” though she was anything but apologetic, “but they’re off. So unless you want to wave your hand over a slab of meat, you can forget about a burger. Can I get you anything else?”

The three of them stared at her openly. She felt powerful. Finally it was she who had the upper hand and she could practically see their jaws dropping. But she instantly felt guilty. She remembered Max’s face in the eraser room, and the fear she saw there, and she saw the same look mirrored in the three faces that were in front of her. Jotting down the orders, she reminded herself that even though erasing her memory wasn’t the only route they could have taken, they did so under dire circumstances. For God’s sake, they’re aliens! If a sixteen year old girl had to carry around mace walking home to protect herself at night, then maybe an alien had the right to erase a memory. Her life was a mess right now, and it was utter lunacy that she was defending these creatures who got into her head, but she would just have to learn to accept that. Quickly excusing herself from their table, she pleaded with Maria to finish taking their orders until she finally gave in as long as Liz promised to tell her everything and do her biology homework for a week.

She took one last glance over her shoulder at the table that had made her feel powerful one second, and completely vulnerable the next. All three of them were still staring at her tentatively, sizing her up. If there was one thing she had learned with this whole fiasco, it was that consistency was a luxury, and one, she guessed, she wouldn’t experience for a while to come.

She pushed open the door to the employee break room and stopped to stare at the corner of the room she had been crying in only a few days earlier. Max had found her crumpled in a corner and concern was written all over his face, and it wasn’t for himself. In the moment, she had wanted to get as far away from him as possible, but now she just wanted to ambush him with the million questions she had. So that was her next move; go to Max’s house. With that determination in mind, she started unbuttoning her uniform on her march to her employee locker when she felt that prickling again, and the hum in her stomach. She had nearly screamed when Max’s hand covered her mouth and he made a hushing noise as she turned around to face him. Her chest was heaving and if she had had asthma, she would have passed out.

“Liz, it’s me. I need to talk to you about,” his eyes darted around the room and landed back on her, “about what we talked about earlier.”

She nodded in response, not moving in any other way.
“Umm...can we go someplace more private?” He asked bashfully. She regained use of her brain then.

“Yeah sure, we can go to my balcony, but my parents are home. You’ll have to go up the fire escape outside. Meet you there in ten minutes?” He was looking down and she didn’t understand why. Was he still nervous? He looked a little flushed, like he was blushing, but she wrote it off as nerves.

“Okay. Ten minutes.” He repeated and left out the back door.

She had to compose herself again and then she realized that Max really had been blushing; the three top buttons of her uniform were undone. In all the surprise, she had forgotten that she was almost half naked. How mortifying. She thought to herself. Liz liked her body enough, but that was her. Guys liked curves and she was a stick. Then again, she must have been doing something right because he was staring. But it was of little consequence, as the conversation of a lifetime was waiting for her upstairs and she couldn’t prolong it any further. She changed her clothes, took a deep breath, and took the first of many steps towards fate.

[Crusty Nut]

I don't thank those few dedicated readers I have enough, so THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!! I may only have five readers, but at least I've got that. I hope you guys like this part.

Part Fifteen

He hopped over the balcony swiftly with seemingly the same ease as he would have walked over an anthill. One of the things that made Max more human was that he worked out. Once he entered high school, he started his exercise regiment, and that had significantly built him up. He had sworn an oath of secrecy with the others, but he still wanted Liz to look at him the way she had looked at Kyle Valenti last summer. Liz and Kyle had a brief stint as a couple during the previous summer, and while at least he didn’t have to see it everyday at school, the knowledge still tainted his Crashdown Cafe visits. And even when Kyle wasn’t at the Crash, Max felt haunted by their relationship, after all, Kyle was everything Max wasn’t: athletic, popular, typically attractive. Max supposed he could understand why Liz liked him, he certainly wasn’t unattractive, but he was missing something...oh what was it? Oh right, intelligence and mystery. Of course, now Liz had more mystery than she could handle, and that was why he had taken that oath to begin with, but he tried not to focus on the guilt because he knew when the others found out, he would have to deal with it then.

He looked around at the balcony and realized that it must be Liz’s sanctuary from daily life. She had a lawn chair with a blanket on it and everywhere seemed to be covered with candles, though very few were lit. On the end table next to the lawn chair, he saw a bright red boom box and a book that looked entirely too familiar; Liz’s journal. It called to him and there was a huge part of him that wanted nothing more than to sit down and make a good read of it, but if Liz came out and saw him invading her privacy like that, she would be furious, especially in light of recent events. And it pained him that in very little time, her silent, leather-bound confidante might be cursed into oblivion. Max knew how much it meant to have an emotional outlet, and he was secretly happy that she had reread everything she had written because now that she knew, he would be living out one of his very own fantasies.

Every pod person knew that Max had a crush on Liz, but only Isabel truly appreciated the extent of his feelings. On nights when she was bored, she would often walk into the dreams of her classmates, but that night, she had chosen Max as her subject. Once she entered the dream, she knew exactly where she was; the Crash Festival. The offensively bright lights and simulated alien crash after a countdown was as depressing in his dream as it was in real life. She saw a figure walking up the hill behind the festivities and decided to follow since she didn’t see Max anywhere in the crowd. Mulders and Scullies ran amock with aliens and predators and egg shaped alien faces with slits for eyes and finally all the costumed fanatics cleared in the parking lot. She saw a man in black go behind the cars and up the hill and she knew it had been Max. When she reached the top she immediately heard voices speaking softly and hid behind a tree to see her brother and Liz Parker. Without even touching, they stood in front of each other in a most intimate pose, just staring into each other’s eyes. He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear lovingly as he mumbled something about a hair thing. The silence was dripping with anticipation and Max must have felt it too because he spoke up against it.

“Liz, it’s not safe. I mean for you and, and me to...” suddenly feeling bashful he stopped short of finishing his sentence. “It’s not safe.”

Just as soon as he had finished his declaration, she tagged on her own opinion at the end, “I don’t care.”

“Liz, I really, really wish that this could be, you know, something more. But it can’t,” he said resolutely, “we’re just...”

“Different.”

“Yeah.” He paused before he added, “I’ll see you at school” and walked past her and left her there staring after him. He nearly got to where Isabel was hiding before Liz called after him.

“Max?” He turned around and looked at her questioningly and she took it as a sign to continue. She took small steps toward him until they were back in the same position with her staring up at him. Suddenly she had his hands in hers as she said, “I never got to thank you for saving my life.”

“Thank you.” And with only two words, he expressed a world of feelings and thoughts. Neither of them made a move to leave and Liz took Max’s hand and put it on her stomach where he had healed her and thus saved her life. Tears formed in her eyes and threatened to spill over, but the millisecond before that happened, she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her lips to his. The kiss was tender and heart wrenching; even Isabel could see that, and suddenly she felt like she was intruding.

She had left the dream then, but it only took a few hours the next morning for her to bring it up to Max. For those few hours, she debated whether incriminating herself was a good idea, but weighed her options and decided she could handle his anger. He had indeed been furious, and rightfully so, but had sworn to her that it was just a dream and even though those feelings existed, he would never threaten their livelihood in exchange for a gamble that wouldn’t roll in his favor to begin with. And Isabel promised she wouldn’t tell the others.

The dream had been a vivid one, and one that he clung to. Tess may have been his queen in some past life, but it was only ever Liz who took his breath away. And as she opened her bedroom door and climbed through her window, he stared at her and all he could think of was the dream kiss. The dream happened a lot, but it wasn’t always the Crash Festival. Sometimes it was the eraser room, other times it was the kitchen at the cafe, but the kiss was always the same; passionate, soul searching, and addictive, and all he wanted to do was kiss her and hide in it and save the questions for later. But this wasn’t the dream, and he knew his feelings weren’t returned. Most of the time, in fact, he detected a look of fear in her eyes and it killed him. His dreams were always of Liz finding out what he was and not caring in the slightest, but reality wasn’t as kind.

Anxiety never followed him around like a rainy cloud when Liz was around, but the past few weeks had changed it all. It was as if he was in the middle of a tropical storm because somehow, while it rained, he stayed warm. He had lied to Liz when she had confronted him about his origins and what he knew about himself because he was scared to let her in. It had been his deepest desire, and his deepest fear, but he’d had time to think about it and if there was one thing Liz deserved after everything he had put her through, it was the truth. Earlier in the day, he paced up and down the main drag of downtown Roswell and each time he passed the cafe, he would look in the window and find her. It was obvious something was bothering her, and he didn’t need to think long to figure out what it was; the guilt was consuming him and as he saw the look on her face, utter helplessness, he knew he had to tell her everything. So he would bear his soul to her, just like in his dreams, and he would await her response.

“Hi.” She said meekly as she stood up all the way. She had changed out of her uniform into jeans and a t-shirt that exposed her midriff so subtly sexily that it was all he could do not to reach out and answer the one question he had never been able to answer: how soft was her skin? No shoes adorned her petite little feet that continuously shifted from one to the other; she was obviously as nervous as he was.

“Hi, Liz.” He said in a voice barely audible. After everything, he still couldn’t believe he was here, on Liz’s balcony, just a few feet away from the shrine called her bedroom.

“I’m sorry, this is just stupid. I keep saying I have so many questions, but when I’ve got you close enough to ask you, my mind just blanks out.”

“No, no. It’s okay, I know what you mean.” Her head perked up at this.

“You do?”

“Well yeah. I mean, it’s not everyday I go around revealing my biggest secret to a girl I...umm, to anyone.” He stammered out before he would embarrass himself any further. She nodded in response and he figured, he’d get the ball rolling this time.

“Liz, I have to be honest with you here. What I told you the other day was a lie.” Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and a hint of anger and he immediately understood her frustration and was eager to relieve it. “I mean, it wasn’t a complete lie, but it, well, it was and I’m sorry. We know a lot about our origins and our people. Micheal, Isabel, and I knew we were different from everyone else in the instant we met each other, but that was all. We didn’t know we were aliens, that is, half alien, until eight grade. That was when Tess entered the picture, and with her, Nasedo, our protector.”

She only nodded in response. Already, a few of her questions had been answered and she wasn’t about to interrupt him now when he was actually talking. His head was bowed and had his hands in his pockets, but she tried not to notice his behavior, only his words.

“We’re from the Whirlwind Galaxy on a planet called Antar. I was a King, Tess was my queen, Isabel was my sister, and Micheal was her husband and my second in command. My kingdom was under siege and it was clear our side wasn’t winning, so in a last ditch attempt at survival, our mother and a team of scientists took our alien DNA material and mixed it with the DNA of humans. We were incubated and sent to earth. Unfortunately, our ship crashed in 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico.”

“Okay, this is all really hard to believe to begin with, but Max, you’re sixteen years old. If you crash-landed in 1947, are you really sixteen or are you like fifty-two in a sixteen year-old’s body? Or do you guys just age differently? I mean, is like one alien year equal to three human years?” He looked at her quizzically and she instinctively felt ashamed at her question.

“Liz, it’s okay to ask questions.” he rushed. “I’m just glad you’re not running away screaming. And to answer your question, as far as we know we’re sixteen. We came out of the pods in 1989 and we looked like six year olds.” She had a thoughtful look on her face and he was certain she was going to ask him something, and when she held it back, he assured her that if she asked it, he would answer it.

“What powers do you have?”

“We don’t all have the same powers, but what we can all do is manipulate the molecular structure of things.”

“Wait wait, umm...what?” President of the science club in high school didn’t warrant supreme knowledge of the encyclopedia of alien power terminology.

He was about to explain himself, when he thought a visual representation would be better. Picking up a candle off the the floor, he held it in the palm of his hand. When his hand glowed, the candle melted. He held his hand out for Liz to touch the hot wax and when she recoiled at the heat, he manipulated it back into its original form and she continued staring at it even after he returned it to its place against the fire escape brick wall.

“And what are the powers unique to each of you?”

“Well, Micheal isn’t so great with his powers. For years he denied them. I mean, he knew they existed, he just never used them and that had the negative consequence of atrophy, but my guess is we’ll find out very soon. Isabel can dream walk, which means pretty much what it sounds like, and Tess can mind warp people. That means she can make you see things that aren’t there, and as you know unfortunately, she can erase memories.”

“And you?”

“I thought you’d have figured that out by now, Liz. Anna Garnet ring a bell?” He asked bemusedly.

“You heal people.” She stated.

“Yes. I form a connection with the person and heal them.” He couldn’t believe how good it felt to tell her everything. Surely, she was unsure of what to say or how to act, but that she wasn’t screaming said a thousand words she couldn’t think to say, but then she did.

“Can you heal me?”

[Crusty Nut]

I know I've been on writer's vacation, but I'm back! And I have to thank everyone who bumped my story. Who knows if I would have continued if it hadn't been bumpity-bumped. I hope you enjoy! Oh no...dog getting in the trash. Adios.

Part Sixteen

“Can you heal me?”

He stood frozen, just staring at her as if she’d spoken a language from another world. It was a fact that he didn’t know Liz as much as he’d like to, but he couldn’t imagine any scenario in which anyone would want to hurt her. The distance between them lessened dramatically and before he knew it, she was closer to him than he remembered her ever being, which only made it that much more difficult for him to properly process her request.

“Heal you? Liz, I don’t understand.”

“Don’t you, Max? A couple weeks ago, I was completely ignorant that there was life...’out there’” she said in obvious discomfort, “and when I finally started discovering the truth, my memories were erased!” And suddenly it all clicked for him; she wanted him to give her back her memories, but in truth, he didn’t know how to do that. As far as he knew, once a memory was lost, it would stay that way forever. Liz already saw the rejection in his expression, but she wouldn’t release the sob threatening to escape. She wouldn’t let it be free until she heard Max say the words she knew were coming.

“Believe me Liz, I really wish there was some way I could just heal your mind and bring those memories back for you, but I can’t. When Tess mindwarped you, it was a permanent fixture.” He paused in a way that made her brace herself for what was coming. “She didn’t exactly hurt you in a way that can be repaired. It’s not so much that she damaged a part of your brain as she just deleted certain moments of time for you.”

Liz’s eyes were brimming with tears, but she bit her lip to force them back, and Max knew that the only thing worse than experiencing something traumatic was knowing that the event took place, but not being able to remember it. It wasn’t the memories she really wanted, because she had written everything truly important in her journal, but it was that those memories were forcefully taken from her without her consent, and apparently it was something she would never be able to get back. And because it was Tess who had wronged her so thoroughly, it stung even more.

Already as close as they were, he dared take a step closer. He held back the hug that was raging underneath his skin and instead barely whispered five words to her before his hands slowly rose to cup her face. There was no doubt in his mind that Liz could hear his heart racing and as he told her “I’ll have to touch you” and she nodded, he swore their beats were in sync with one another.

He directed her to steady her breathing and think of nothing despite the fact that there was no way she could get the image of Tess’ arrogant smirk out of her mind; Max’s gentle touch on her cheek didn’t do anything to calm her or still her thoughts either. His hands were so soft and warm that it was all she could do to stand back those few inches from him. Her instinct was to kiss him, and she unconsciously wet her lips, but she was aware that whatever was about to happen was genres away from her and Max’s fictional teen angst story. But still, their proximity and his touch told a story completely different from the stark reality they were in. And just as she started imagining, not for the first time, what Max Evans’ lips would feel like on hers, a rush of images swirled through her head, and they weren’t hers.

When he’d said he couldn’t heal her, her heart had sunken low in her chest, and when he’d raised his hands to her face, she hadn’t really known what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t this. Max was showing her his memories of the weeks that had been erased. She saw all of his memories as if they were her own, as if she were him for a few snippets of time.

His heart had almost stopped when he saw a little girl, Anna, get hit by a car in front of the Crashdown, and not even Micheal’s stubborn arm could keep him from helping. He rushed over to the body of the little girl lying there lifeless and immediately saw Liz crouching over her. He told her to call the ambulance as she sat there frozen, just staring hopelessly. He’d had to physically move her away and seconds after she ran away to call for help, he was healing the girl, but he knew the healing had to be fast, and incomplete. He nearly fell over when he felt Liz’s eyes on him all too soon. Ripping his hands away from Anna, he silently prayed Liz didn’t see anything, but her wide eyes said it all.

She was taken to another memory and this time it was of her. They were in Mr.Porter’s English class and Liz was standing in front of Max as he ate his lunch. Max’s heart was beating irratically, and faster than it ever had before. He didn’t want to face the truth that Liz knew something because that meant something would have to be done about it. He hadn’t told the others about Liz yet, and he silently begged her not to make him share this information with them. But the more she interrogated him, the less he could convincingly lie to himself. He disgusted himself as he did his best to make Liz think what she’d seen was his watch and not his glowing hand, but it was a necessary evil. At least, that’s what he’d told himself as Liz berated herself for being so silly, even though she was being anything but silly.

Again, she was taken back to Mr.Porter’s English classroom, and even though she had only read about this day in her journal, she knew exactly what day she was reliving. As Max, she stared in the eyes of Micheal, Isabel, and Tess, and as Max, she truly saw their vulnerability as outsiders and guilt clouded her conscience. True, Max and his posse had monopolized her life as of late, but as she saw them through his eyes, she felt guilty feeling angry at them. And as the Liz from Max’s memory stood up from her hiding place, and as Max almost fell over in shock at the sight of her, there was no blame to be placed, for both parties were merely seeking the truth.

The last memory he let her see was in some cave. All four of them were there and Tess was talking. She was saying that she could fix the problem and staring straight at Max when she said it, and each word cut at him like a dagger. The anger coursed through his veins, but he just focused on his breathing. Arguing with Tess was pointless, but he had to stand up for Liz because she wasn’t there to defend herself, and because he couldn’t stand the thought of Tess mind raping Liz with the same smirk on her face that was there now. And as she told Max it was already done and the others left behind her, the only thing he could do was stare at the pods and wish that Tess had never hatched. So he threw his energy at her pod and decimated it with every bit of anger and resentment he could fathom, and at that moment, it was a lot. The onslaught of images and emotions ended abruptly and she was brought back to her balcony and to the boy who had let her see more of himself in that instant than he ever had in his life. He was panting heavily and clearly exhausted from his efforts, but she appreciated everything he’d done more than she could convey in words.

As seemed to be the norm, she had no words for what she was feeling, but she desperately wanted to tell him how much what he’d done meant to her. For the life of her, she couldn’t get so much as a squeak out of her mouth. She stood there dumbly, just staring at him and thinking about everything she’d seen and felt, and a pang in her side reminded her that Isabel, Micheal, and especially Tess, would not be happy she knew about them.

“So now you have to tell them about me?” She asked meekly with a hint of pleading in her voice.

“Yes, Liz. I do. I owe it to them,” he replied. “They’re my family.”

“Really? Because I don’t think real family would disregard your opinion so easily.”

“It’s not that simple, Liz.” And he wished it were. With all his being, he wished that the four of them didn’t see everything as Us vs. Them, but how could he convince the others that Liz wasn’t going to turn them in? How could he convince them that Liz was different? He’d already tried.

“Isn’t it? I saw how you defended me in that cave. And...and I felt how you felt when they left you there, alone.” She pleaded with him because all she wanted was some time. If he told them now, they would simply destroy her journal and erase her memories again, and she couldn’t risk that happening again.

“You don’t understand everything.”

“And who’s to blame for that, Max?!” Her harsh tone even sent chills down her own back. What Max said was right, she didn’t understand everything, but that was only because the four aliens couldn’t find it in themselves to trust anyone outside of each other. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“Yes you did.” He said feeling defeated, and she instantly felt guilty because he was right.

“Guilt is eating all of us alive, and the ironic thing is that no one is at fault. I may be mad, very VERY mad, about what Tess did to me, but how can I blame her?” She walked over to her lawn chair and sat down, staring at the ground. “I felt your fear in those memories. I mean, I’m hardly a threat, but each time you thought that I knew something...well, let’s just say, until recently, I’ve never felt fear like that.”

Max stood in awe at Liz’s level-headedness. He could have only prayed to a higher power that this would be her reaction at his origins. It had been a bumpy road thus far, but that same feeling before all of this that tugged at him and told him Liz was different tugged at him then and told him everything would be okay. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t tell the others. He’d meant what he said, they were his family, and they did deserve to know.

“I just need some time, Liz.” Her head whipped up at the sound of his voice and she watched as he maneuvered his way around the lawn chair. “I won’t tell them tonight, but they are going to have to know eventually, I’m sure you understand.” He said as he began walking back towards the balcony ladder.

“Max, wait!” She’d flown towards him as fast as she could before he could even get one leg over the railing. Reaching out for his arm, she felt electricity before their skin even made contact, and when it did, she couldn’t have predicted what would happen. Just like before, a rush of images swarmed into her mind and they were Max’s, but this time, they were all of Liz; in class, at the Crashdown Cafe, with Maria, with Kyle, but the one constant there was the accompanying feeling of gentle admiration, and if she hadn’t known it before, she knew then that her life with Max in it was better than what her life was without him close by. The images stopped and she saw the look of concern on his face. “For what it’s worth, Max, you can trust me.”

“I know I can.” And with that he made his way down the ladder with Liz staring after him.

[Crusty Nut]

HELLO! I've come for my monthly check up, so to speak. Anyway, the usual thanks and apologies. And I just want to apologize separately for any gaps in the storyline or just usual things that don't make sense, should they occur. As I mentioned in my most recent comment, it has been a while since I've written the first few chapters...and when I did they were posted much more regularly. The point is that I'm lazy, haha. Seriously though, I am. I don't edit. I don't mean that to brag or anything, but it's just another avenue in which I can practice slacking. I don't think my first drafts are perfect, and I know for a fact that when I edit something I probably make it ten times better (okay, maybe five) (okay okay, maybe three, sheesh!) but I'm just happy that I'm writing at all. So there! Anyway, good news! And hopefully this time it means something. The comcast guy is coming tomorrow, so starting tomorrow I'm going to have reliable internet! WOO HOO!!! No more wandering around the apartment trying to find a two bar spot. How exciting!

Well, ENJOY!!!

Part Seventeen

When she realized that staring at her ceiling wasn’t accomplishing anything, she decided it was time to update Maria and hopefully devise a plan to let the rest of the aliens know they could trust her. She picked up the phone from the night stand by her bed and dialed the numbers without even look at the buttons. When she heard the familiar sound of Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater” coming from down the hall, she hopped out of bed and suspiciously made her way to her own living room where she first saw a carton of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream on the coffee table, followed by a smug Maria sitting comfortably on the couch and staring right at her with a huge grin.

“Hey, you don’t call me a best friend for nothing.” She said as she held out a spoon for Liz. Liz grabbed the spoon resentfully as she rolled her eyes.

“I’m not that predictable am I?” Liz asked.

“Probably not, but I knew your ass would have been grass if I didn’t get that phone call. Plus, you’d have mysteriously been out of ice cream, and I’d have mysteriously gained ten pounds.” She said as she pushed her stomach out and rubbed it.

“I don’t know about a mystery. When our ice cream is gone, you’re usually the culprit anyway.” Liz joked back as she planted herself on the couch and as Maria sent her a death glare. Both girls erupted in a fit of laughter and Liz remembered how good it felt to laugh. Her feet landed on the coffee table as their laughter died down. The past few weeks had been like a hurricane of stress, and the storm had only begun to lighten up. Through it all, Maria really had been her anchor and a true best friend. “Give me that.” She said as she stole the carton from Maria and dug her spoon in to take a bite.

“Hey chica, the ice cream was more for me as I listened to you spill the beans.” She said winking twice and nudging Liz twice as she took the ice cream back just as quickly.

Liz sighed as she rolled over on the couch and buried her face in the cushion. She stayed that way until Maria put the back of her spoon on Liz’s back and she squealed at the shock of the cold and flipped back over and proceeded to stare at the tv set that wasn’t on.

“Oh Maria,” she paused “I don’t know where to start.”

“The beginning?” Maria thought aloud.

“Why can’t you just be there when these things happen so I don’t have to recount it every time?” That Max was an alien was bad enough, but that she had to repeat it to Maria was unimaginable. “Well, he’s an alien.”

“Wait, wait.” She interrupted. “Were those his exact words? Like, did he really just say ‘Hey Liz, I’m an alien. Can I borrow your cell? I have to phone home.’”

“Kind of?” She replied dumbly. As she replayed the conversation with Max in the eraser room over again, that really was pretty much how it went. She recounted the eraser room conversation for Maria, but what she really wanted to talk about was the connection and Max’s memories.

“What do you mean ‘connection’?” Maria demanded curiously.

“Well, I mean, it was some sort of mental connection. I don’t really know, it was an alien thing he did. But the point is that I saw all of his memories about what’s been happening these past few weeks and it confirms everything in my journal.”

“Well that’s great! You’re not crazy, and aliens do exist. But here’s a better question. How exactly was this connection made? Did you guys practice making babies?!” She teased.

“Mariaaaaa. What are you, twelve? He just touched my face.” And this did nothing to stop Maria’s eyebrows from wagging furiously in every direction.

“Was it a ‘gosh I wish I could do anything but touch your face’ kind of touch or a ‘this is torture touching your face because at any minute I might explode from all of this sexual tension’ kind of touch?” She teased openly. Liz could do nothing but roll her eyes at her best friend’s antics. Although at that time she had wanted to kiss him, she’d known the heaviness of the situation would weigh down any lighthearted feelings of attraction between the two of them.

“I think it was more along the lines of ‘I’m an alien and to show you that I’m still the Max Evans you’ve always known, I have to touch your face’ kind of touch.” Maria yawned at the boring explanation and said as much.

“Booooooring. Liz, you can’t tell me you didn’t want to squeeze those cheeks and smother him with those lips of yours. And I don’t mean the cheeks on his face either.” Again dramatically wagging her eyebrows.

“Well there was something else I saw...” And Maria took this opportunity to squeeze in a sexual innuendo with just a look. “No! I mean, another vision.” Maria’s eyes begged her to continue or she might literally fall off of her seat. “Well right before he left, I grabbed his arm to let him know he can trust me, and I think unintentionally that connection opened up again and I saw me. I mean, I saw me through his eyes.”

“Whoa.” Was all Maria could say. But then suddenly her voice came back. “And what did you look like through his eyes?” This time without a hint of teasing because she knew that this whole ordeal, this whole experience was more profound than anything they had, and probably ever would, go through.

When Liz had grabbed his arm and the connection had reopened, for those few seconds she had felt what it was like to be the luckiest girl at West Roswell High School. Max had a number of girls’ hearts trailing behind him daily and though she liked to mock those pathetic girls who had nothing better to do but chase someone who was obviously disinterested, she couldn’t help but be a part of that very same group of misguided teenage females in love with Max Evans. So when she’d felt the intense attraction and loyalty Max felt when he saw her, she knew for a fact that the connection was unintentional. That and his completely clueless expression gave it away as well.

“I looked...beautiful.” She said with the unavoidable hesitation and blush. It was something that no matter how many times she would go over what she’d seen and felt in her head regarding his opinion of her, there was no way she was going to get used to it.

“Well, all I have to say, besides of course, I told you so!” and she paused to let the reality sink in “I told you so, soooo many times Lizzie. But I’m above rubbing it in that I told you almost daily that he was staring at you and how could you be so blind.” As if she’d forgotten what she’d begun saying, she reeled her focus back in by pursing her lips and bobbing her head lightly. “Right, right. All I have to say is that these aliens deserve Oscars.”

“But can you imagine the kind of fear they’ve been living in basically their whole lives?” And as if someone had called for a moment of silence, they both sat there and compared their privileged existences to that of the aliens’. They never really appreciated how lucky they were just to be human, and as the ice cream nestled between them melted, they truly felt the gravity of not only what it was like to be an alien in a human society, but what Max Evans, Isabel Evans, Micheal Guerin, and Tess Harding must feel like everyday walking around in a high school; how irrelevant it must all seem to them.

----------------------------------------------------

When the bell rang for biology the next day, Liz already had a plan in mind, and when Max made eye contact with her on his way over to their shared table, she prayed he wouldn’t be angry at what she had to tell him. He smiled at her timidly, and she rushed to assure his likely nervousness and smiled brightly right back at him. It were almost as if her small gesture had taken the weight of the world off of him. She had an innate urge to put her hand on his shoulder as he sat down, but considering Tess was in the same class she thought better of it.

As Mr.Seligman settled the class down, Liz ripped out a piece of paper from her notebook and scribbled down a quick invitation to the eraser room and passed it to Max. She wanted to meet him during lunch to discuss something important, but she hoped that wouldn’t strike him as anything out of the norm. The last thing she wanted to do was worry him, and as this news might worry him, she wanted to put those feelings off as long as possible. The paper was sent back just as subtley as it was delivered, this time with a succinct reply of “okay” written on it.

She laughed in her head because Maria had been right; Max and the others deserved Oscars for their performances, because from any outsider’s perspective, no one would know that that transaction had taken place. And no one could ever guess that Liz Parker and Max Evans would be meeting each other in the eraser room at lunch. The thought of what that would normally mean gave Liz goose bumps, but as per usual, things with Max were never normal.