Roswell Fanatics

Although his first inclination was to simply give her his coat, Liz had looked so vulnerable shivering in the cold that Max hadn't hesitated to follow Liz's room mate's suggestion to open his coat and let her put her arms around him. Even his cerebral hemispheres had thought it was a good idea - something that would quickly protect her against what was obviously incipient hypothermia. In less than a second her arms were around his back and his arms - still in his coat sleeves were pulling her closer - trying to warm her and control her trembling. It would be seconds later before those cerebral hemispheres realized exactly what he'd done. His midbrain was slightly quicker on the uptake. His subconscious quicker still.

For a long time - damn near since third grade - his subconscious had been pushing for him to get closer to Liz. There had never been anything more pleasant - even before puberty - than being near her. She had been the brightest spot in a lonely life - his personal treasure that had gotten him through his inability to really identify with the rest of humanity and his subconscious had always wanted more of it. It was that damn conscious mind - those cerebral hemispheres with their uncertainties about Max Evans and their nobility about wanting Liz to have a life that wasn't fouled up by caring for someone that she'd be scared spitless of if she ever found out his secret that was keeping them apart.

Hell, she'd SAID she wanted to start dating, the least the stupid conscious mind could have done was to let it happen - to try to make it work, but NO..... it had to do the whole noble bit to hide it's own uncertainties. The subconscious mind wanted to get close to Liz - close enough that when Max eventually had to her the truth she'd at least consider her options - and hopefully have a life with Max as one of the options. No, the subconscious was grooving on this - at least at first. It pulled Liz tighter to him - felt her shaking start to get even worse, and without even a second thought decided to warm her up. No, not like that, thermally.

Max could manipulate molecules and heat was simply molecules in motion. All he had to do was to add a little kinetic energy to those molecules - get them to vibrate a little faster - then Liz would warm up faster. It wouldn't cause a glow or anything and Izzy would never know. Besides, the girl was threatening to shake apart. It was his subconscious's idea, but even his conscious mind initially thought it was a good one.

A lot of actions that are routine are done by the midbrain, not because it is particularly cerebral - by definition it isn't - but because it's fast. The midbrain used to be the whole shooting match - before evolution put in more computer capacity - and it still did quite a lot that really didn't require the cerebral hemispheres - or even consciousness. Like breathing and maintaining temperatures. It practically ran the whole autonomic nervous system that did all of the housekeeping functions of the body either through the autonomic system or through the endocrine system. In later epochs - as humans evolved - it sort of acted like a subprocessor for things that didn't need a whole lot of processing but just had to be done real fast. Maybe that's why Max's telekinesis powers used it for three dimensional mapping.

Just shaking up the molecules of Liz's pajamas didn't require a whole lot of energy really - the material was pretty flimsy. But it did require some accuracy. If the aim was wrong, Liz could be burned. Without even thinking about it, Max let his mind send out a tiny pulse of telekinetic energy to map the area where the energy would - and would not - be supplied to the molecules. He could do that without thinking about it because it was the midbrain that did that.

Max's midbrain had already been getting pretty enthused by this time. Liz always had a few pheromones floating around her, and the olfactory nerve had promptly brought these to the attention of the midbrain. The cerebral hemispheres are largely inhibitive to the midbrain - keeping you from scratching where it itches or giving the high sign to the guy that cut you off when you had the right of way - that sort of stuff. The midbrain wasn't expecting much help from Max's cerebral hemispheres in this suddenly pleasant situation and it was probably pretty flabbergasted when it got the signal to build a 3-D map of Liz and her pajamas. That command - broken down to its component parts - was to feel Liz all over. Had the midbrain had a jaw it would have dropped in disbelief - but even so it recovered fast - midbrains are like that - and in a millisecond or two went to work to build a 3D map of the surface of Liz Parker's body. The effect on the midbrain was sort of like getting to second base and halfway to third base over the entire surface of Liz.

Even before the second set of pheromone signals came in from the olfactory gland - triggered by the sheen of sweat that had been produced on Liz's body by the effects of her own midbrain - the stimulation to Max's midbrain was threatening to overpower the inhibitory signals from the cerebrum. Max's cerebral hemispheres were being noble - gentlemanly - and more than that didn't want to do anything that would embarrass either Max or Liz.

Liz's midbrain, frankly, would have just as soon started the mating process immediately, and Max's midbrain was realizing that even if Max's cerebral hemispheres weren't.

Max's midbrain had always liked Liz. Despite his cerebrums' obvious problems with socialization, Liz had always helped Max - right from the start. With the onset of puberty, the midbrain had looked at her in a different light - as a potential partner in carrying on the species. She would make someone a great mom.

Max's cerebral hemispheres were still in a dither of uncertainty - cerebral hemispheres were like that - over who Max was and what Max was. Midbrains are more earthy. His midbrain had no uncertainty whatever when it came to Liz Parker. Liz gave off the right pheromones that provoked the right endorphins - Max stimulating endorphins. Dogs didn't do that - cats didn't do that -Liz did that. Evolution didn't make that happen unless there was a reason, and there was only one reason that the midbrain could think of for that - they had to be the same species. What's more, the pheromones indicated that she was of the proper gender to do something that Max himself was unequipped to do independently - moreover the way she had treated the socially challenged Max had long since convinced the midbrain that she would be an excellent candidate to carry Max's DNA on into the next generation.

OK, so she was a little bit of a trouble magnet - so what? If Max and Liz ever REALLY got together, he'd protect her. Hell, if he'd actually been with her when the guy tried to kidnap her the guy would have been powerblasted into his component atoms. These two just NEEDED to get together - to cement their relationship in a way neither could deny it. At least that's how the midbrain saw it.

Now the fact of the matter is that Max's midbrain wasn't altogether dumb - it realized that probably WASN'T going to happen, but it could always hope and on the off chance that Max's cerebrum was overtaken by a sudden attack of what Max's midbrain would consider to be sanity AND if the perfect Miss Parker's midbrain somehow managed to overcome her cerebral hemispheres, his midbrain wanted him to be ready.

Even had the THIRD shot of pheromones not hit Max's midbrain, it probably would have gone totally out of the control of the cerebral hemispheres. It was just too damn stimulated. But as the midbrain's telikinetic sonar mapped the swelling in key parts of Liz's anatomy and the pheromones that accompanied the moisture released in her groin got to Max's midbrain, what would happen next became inevitable.

As he hugged her to himself, Max felt a few seconds of guilty pleasure - If only it could be....' he thought to himself. His next thought -as the sympathetic amines released from his adrenal glands made him shake almost as much as Liz was shaking - was that he was losing control of his body. At least as far as the cerebral hemispheres went, that was close to correct.

At the moment Max's midbrain was in control, and it was working the sympathetic nervous system - pumping as much blood as possible into his groin, while allowing as little as possible back out. Blood is not a compressible fluid. It was a simple matter of hydraulics. It HAD to go somewhere - and the only distensible part of the system was an area called the corpus cavernosum.

Suddenly disaster loomed for Max. He felt weak as a kitten and out of control. The weakness was easy enough to explain. His cardiac output was dropping significantly. The human heart - alien-human hybrid ones too, evidently - is just a muscular bag. It has no real problem getting blood out of it - it just contracts. Getting blood in to it is a more serious problem.

Hearts fill passively from the blood in the vena cava - the largest vein in the body. There really isn't all that much blood in the human body - only about four liters. Both Max and Liz were shunting blood to the region of their pudendal vessels and not getting it all back - Max somewhat more than Liz. Both were losing fluids to sweating - as well as to production of various fluids for lubrication and other uses. Their reduced available blood volume was dropping their filling pressure in the vena cava noticeably. But it wasn't just the volume depletion that was the problem.

Both midbrains were cranking epinephrine out of their respective adrenal glands. That was part of what was causing both Max and Liz to shake. A little epinephrine will dramatically raise blood pressure, but they had gone way beyond a little. At their current levels it had raised their heart rates above 150 beats per minute.

With high heart rates and no filling pressure the heart wasn't filling much before it was squeezing so even at the higher heart rate their was precious little blood coming out. Cardiac output had actually gone down and with it the blood pressure. They were also both hyperventilating which didn't help things either. Perhaps that's why Max was somewhat slow to react when he discovered his body was indeed out of control.

The problem occurs to most males sometime in their teen years. You get in a clinch with the right person and suddenly a part of your anatomy decides to show its interest in a very obvious way. It's bad enough, I suppose, if it just happens in the movie theater. A strategically placed bag of popcorn can cover the embarrassing protrusion long enough to get the situation under control. Unfortunately, Max wasn't in a movie theater - he was chest to chest with Liz Parker - part of the problem no doubt as he felt her breasts press softly againist him. More to the point, he was belly to belly and groin to groin with Liz Parker - and his normal cat -quick reflexes and fast thinking weren't working all that well right now. If something didn't happen quickly, there was going to be no hiding what was happening in Max's corpus cavernosa from Liz Parker.

In the other blanket, the conversation was continuing.

"What I need to ask you about your room-mate there," said Lexi softly, "... is if you think there is any chance that Max is... gay?"

"Gay? Lex, what brought this up...?"

"Liz really likes him, and he doesn't pay any attention to her - that way. I want to help her - that's why I've got them bundling - but it won't do any good if Max is really not ever going to be interested in her," explained Lexie, her own eyes still somewhat unfocused by the massage she was getting as well as from her own endorphins. "he once told her that they were 'too different,' to date, and it almost broke them up completely. If 'too different' means he's gay, Liz is going to be one sad young lady."

"Max is shy maybe - but he is NOT gay," said Doug. "You should have seen him on the bus when that little turd Drevins looked like he wanted to sit next to Liz. Max's reaction was pure Alpha-male. I'm not sure Liz even noticed, but Max's first instincts towards Drevins were excellent - and Max wasn't going to let him get near her."

"I'll admit Max is very protective, but that's different from being attracted to her uh - sexually," Lexie replied.

Doug just shook his head and smiled. "If you haven't noticed next door, I think your 'bundling' is about to put both of them in shock. If they were any more attracted, I think we'd have to get them a room."

Lexie looked away from Doug's gray eyes, not without difficulty, and turned to look at Max. "He looks more terrified than attracted," she said.

Ten feet over, things were getting critical for Max. With his arms around Liz - and hers around him -there was no quick way to put distance between the two of them. He sort of tip-toed back while swiveling his hips and at least bought a modest amount of distance between their hips. It would give him a few seconds to try to get things under control. He could only hope it would be enough.

Watching Max swivel his hips, Doug smiled, just managing to choke of the chuckle. He'd had to do that maneuver a few times himself in the first year that he and Lexie had been courting. It wasn't fair to the guys really, not that nature seemed to care. He and Lexie had discussed such matters on some of those e-mails that the lab directors never got to see. She admitted later that she'd been turned on back then as well - it just didn't show on girls. Or at least if it did show, you were already far enough along in your relationship that it no longer mattered - like he and Lexie were now. Back then it would have been not just an embarrassment - but some sort of an insult for him to accidently show Lexie that he was having those kind of thoughts. Today ... well, he wondered just how far they would have wound up going tonight if Lex hadn't had Liz for a room-mate. Once you reached a certain degree of commitment, everything changed. No, they hadn't gone 'all the way,' but they'd lost track of the times they'd made it to second base and even to third - a place that they had no doubt been headed when Liz had popped her head out of the bathroom. But it had all changed somehow. It was no longer about trying to get to third base - it was about doing what felt right for the two of them. The first time that Lexie had trusted him enough - not to just let him touch her - but to actually lose herself in an orgasm that he had caused - that was what counted. Not getting - but giving. Not that she hadn't reciprocated - but even then the fact that she could do that - wasn't embarrassed by him losing control of his body - that she wanted to give him that enjoyment. That part- the mental part - the love that made them want to give each other what pleasure they could in their totally screwed up long distance relationship - THAT was far more sensual than the physical release ever could be.

He and Lexie had discussed - in detail - the pros and cons of not going all the way until they were married and intellectually they'd agreed that when their father's went ballistic - the neutron flux hitting the lithium deuteride in Lexie's expression - they didn't want THAT to be something their fathers - especially Lexie's father - could throw in their faces. The firm agreement on that by e-mail had almost been overtaken by events on several occasions in person though. And maybe it'd happen this weekend - especially since it seemed unlikely they'd be able to get together for almost five months until their senior trips to Las Vegas. In fact, it was mainly the thought of going there with Lexie - and then NOT being able to see her for five months - that was currently making him at all interested in putting it off. It was bad enough to not be able to see Lexie very often when they shared what they were already sharing. He missed her every moment they were apart, even without ENTIRELY knowing what he was missing.

Doug smiled and shook his head - knowing that Max was desperately trying to NOT embarrass himself right now. The kid needed help. If he inadvertently got excited and poked Lexie in the belly right now, she'd probably make a private joke about it - and probably be no less excited. He wasn't at all sure a fourteen year old Liz Parker was ready for that from Max Evans though, and it was painfully obvious that Max wasn't.

"Oh, he's terrified alright," said Doug, massaging her buttock just a little deeper and growing warm inside as he saw her pupils constrict and her nostrils flare and as felt her pelvis push close against his. Lexie was getting a little over-stimulated herself - he loved it when he could make her do that. It warmed him to the core just knowing that he could make her respond like that. Whether petting was going to be enough to get either of them through the weekend - that he wasn't sure of. It was with considerable difficulty he pulled his eyes away from Lexie's eyes and looked back at Max. "... but he's plenty attracted too. Look at them ... both of them are on the edge of being out of control. Max isn't 'different' from Liz, or at least if he is, it's just opposite polarity of the same thing. Give those two a little time and they'll do fine."

Doug's advice was probably good, Lexie decided, but she still wasn't going to take it. She'd tell him later about Max's commitment to Liz - the attempted rape and they other near disasters he'd protected her from. Not only had the boy earned Liz's love, she was beginning to have doubts that Liz would survive to graduate from high school without him. No, these two were made for each other. Besides, she liked her 'little sister' and she had made a promise.

Max's cerebral hemisphere's did their level best to convince his midbrain to stop what was going on - but the midbrain was undeterred by the threat of embarrassment. Liz's midbrain was putting out the right pheromones - it was obvious that it was willing. Why stop now when things were going so well?

At first Max's subconscious fought him as well. It knew the truth. It wasn't just the fear of embarrassment - it was that he really did want Liz. Not sexually - well no, that wasn't true - but not JUST sexually. He wanted Liz completely - totally - not just to be her special someone but to have her love him as much as he loved her. But he couldn't let that happen - couldn't take the chance. Eventually she'd find out just how he was different and he'd lose her. More terrifying than never having her at all was having her and losing her. That, his subconscious knew, was the real problem. So at first the subconscious wasn't buying it.

Only reluctantly - after Max remembered that Liz had once told him that she had continuing nightmares about the kidnapping - did Max's conscious mind convince his subconscious mind that Liz might be traumatized by the unwanted intrusion of something that graphically indicated that there was yet another poorly self-controlled male wanting to have sex with her. The midbrain positively KNEW that was nonsense - but it found itself outvoted two to one - and the inhibitory influence of the cerebrum gradually forced the midbrain to switch everything back to normal. It did so - reluctantly and cursing evolution and uppity cerebral hemispheres continuously. As the erection partially subsided the midbrain lamented a golden opportunity missed.

Liz felt Max rotate his hips away from her and it seemed to break the spell. She looked around furtively - glad that no one seemed to have noticed. It scared her to feel like that - so out of control. Not that Max would hurt her - or that he'd take advantage of her. She could never see him doing that. But that she could want him so badly - not just sexually but - Oh God she wanted him to love her like she loved him. But it scared her to need him so badly, when he really didn't appear to need her at all.

She worked at controlling her breathing - getting her heart rate down to something that would let her stand without plastering herself to him. 'Be cool, Liz,' she told herself. 'Don't let him know how very much you need this ... not until he at least indicates you have a chance.'

As the fireman announced on the bullhorn, "All clear, you may re-enter the building," the two couples joined the crowd re-entering the building. Liz and Lexie each wore a blanket, Lexie discretely snagging Liz's jacket from behind the couch in the lobby where they'd left it. Max apparently was unaffected by the cold. He walked with his jacket held by the collar in his left hand - the rest of it covering from his waistline to mid-thigh.

On the other side of the building, Drevins caught up to the two guys from the ground floor room. "So, where are you going to be skiing?"

"He's going skiing," said the first student, ".. I'm going snowboarding." They looked to be freshmen, only about four years older than Drevins. "But we are going to go to Steamboat Springs."

"That is a long way," said Drevins. He was just guessing. He was from the Bay area and didn't have a clue how close Steamboat Springs might be to Boulder Colorado - but if it took four hours to drive there it could hardly be local though. "You spending the night?"

"Yeah, we got a youth hostel to stay in. We'll be back late Sunday."

"So, while you're away all weekend, what's going to happen to your room?"

"Well, hopefully nothing. Why are you asking?"

"There's going to be a dance in the dining hall tomorrow night . Those of us from the science fair are invited. I'm meeting a girl there but - you know they got us packed three to a room and the girl and I could use a little - privacy."

"No way," said the snowboarder, "...we don't need anyone stealing our stuff." By now Drevins was at the room and looking at their 'stuff'. There really didn't seem to be that much of it. He took his wallet out of his jacket and peeled off three twenty's.

"It's worth sixty bucks to me to have a little privacy - take it or leave it."

The two room mates looked quickly around their room. They probably couldn't see sixty bucks worth of stuff in it either - at least not after they packed their gear for the trip.
"Make it eighty...," said the snowboarder, holding out his key.

"Done," said Drevins, peeling off another twenty and adding it to the other three, then pocketing the key.

"Don't leave it a mess..." said the skier.

Drevins looked at him dubiously, "Too late for that..."

"Yeah, I guess so," said the snowboarder, smiling. "Leave the key in the room when you're done. What's your name so we can find you if you just happen to forget?"

"Max," said Drevins. "...Max Evans."

1:30AM, Room 401 Arapaho Trail Hall:

"Because I trust Doug, that's why I know Max was interested in you - that way, that's how...," said Alexis.

The conversation had been going on in the darkened room for about ten minutes.

"I just don't know...," said Liz. The episode in the parking lot had left her feeling so emotionally vulnerable. She wanted to believe that there could really be a future for her and Max that involved more than just being lab partners, but if she were going to tell Lexie the honest truth - which she wasn't - that would have been TOO humiliating - her near loss of control down there had been totally unnerving. It was one thing to just dream about Max. It was quite another to feel her body totally prepare to give itself to him when he hadn't committed to so much as a real date. She'd been afraid to ask him flat-out to take her to the dance. Pushing him to do boy-girl things last Spring had turned into an unmitigated disaster. So she'd just said that she thought that she'd be going to the dance tomorrow night and asked if she'd see him there - and he'd said probably. 'Probably....,' she thought, '....grrrrr!' And yet how could she be mad at Max - of all people - for a lack of commitment to her. It just wasn't exactly THIS type of commitment...

"Look, Liz, it wasn't just that the two of you seemed to be having a similar sort of good time down there under the blanket...,' started Lexie.

Liz was glad the darkness hid her face since she was blushing bright red. If even Lexie had been able to tell in the darkness of the parking lot and covered by a blanket that she had suddenly been overtaken by the 'hots' for Max, what must Max himself think of her? If asking him to start dating last year had driven him away, what must he think about her physically lusting after his bod, she asked herself. It seemed like there were only two possibilities, and both of them were bad. Either he noticed and she'd scare him even further away, or he hadn't noticed because he wasn't paying attention. The third possibility - the thought that Max might have been too busy reining in his own libido to pay attention to hers hadn't really occurred to her, but then she was only fourteen.

"...but Doug also told me about when he first saw you two on the bus - how Max sort of scooted over next to you to keep that Drevins kid from sitting near you. Doug described that as pure alpha-male activity."

The mere words - alpha-male - triggered a fluttering in Liz's abdomen. She'd read a Scientific American article about wolves. The alpha-male was the one who did the breeding in the pack. Her face heated up further. 'I don't want to breed with Max,' she told herself. 'Just start dating.' Chances are even her conscious mind knew that was a lie - her midbrain damn sure did - but it was a true statement in the short term, and the issue tomorrow night was a simple dance.

"Lexie.... If Max does come to the dance tomorrow night and he isn't interested - maybe I should feign interest in Drevins to see if that would make him jealous..."

"Bad plan, girl, don't even think of it..."

"But why? If Doug says it worked on the bus..."

"First of all, that's no way to build a relationship - you are trying to become Max's partner - not a bone for two dogs to fight over. Secondly, Drevins really is a dog - and a cur at that. Doug doesn't like him - he sent me three different e-mails telling what a jerk Jimmy Drevins was while he was waiting for his airplane to load in the fog of San Francisco. The less you have to do with a jerk like him the better. No, we are going to concentrate on stimulating Max to want you - not to get in a macho match with Jimmy Drevins. After the judging tomorrow and before the dance, we are going to take you out - get you a dress that will pop that boys eyes out - get your hair done - your nails - trust me, by the time that big sister Lexie gets done with you, Max would have to be some sort of an alien being to not be attracted to you. You'll probably be in his arms for every dance."

"That's really nice, Lexie, but you don't have to do this. I do appreciate it though - this isn't the sort of thing that I'm good at, I guess."

"Well, I was never good at it either until Doug came around, but for the right guy - well it's worth doing the things that make him excited. Doug thinks Max is just shy and I'd guess that he's right. Once we get him past his shyness he'll do fine."

"But you are going to so much trouble - and taking time away from Doug to do it. I know how little time you guys have together as it is..."

"Oh, this isn't totally altruistic. While you are downstairs in Max's arms I'm going to be up here in Doug's - probably RIGHT HERE in this bed. We are going to do some serious cuddling, and I'd appreciate it if you could stay down there for the WHOLE dance - if you get my drift?"

"Not that it's any of my business but ... have you and Doug ever sort of lost control of yourselves that way?"

"Constantly. Just never both at the same time yet. We keep telling ourselves it's only until June - but who knows, it wouldn't be the end of the world if that happened tomorrow night. Just the start of something I want to last a lifetime. Being sexually attracted to Max isn't bad, Liz. Eventually you are going to want to do that with someone - and shy or not, Max strikes me as someone that it'd be real easy to live happily ever after with. He's no Doug, of course, but he's kind of a hunk for a seventh grader."

Yeah, thought Liz, Max was sort of a hunk. She still felt the after-effects of the session down in the parking lot. She bit her lower lip, unsure if she'd rather he'd noticed or not.

"Well, pray for me to at least get a half dozen dances out of the boy tomorrow."

"Don't worry, he won't be able to resist you by the time big sister Lexie gets you ready for that dance. Trust me on this."

'I certainly hope you're right,' Liz thought to herself as she tried to drift off. It wasn't easy, visions of her moments under that blanket kept intruding. But eventually she did fall asleep.

“So, are you and Liz a couple, Max? Because if you aren't – or if that doesn't interest you – you need to be very careful with that young lady – because I think she cares quite a bit for you.”

Max lay in the darkness of the dorm room, thinking about the talk he'd had with Doug before Jimmy Drevins got back to the room. The sudden frankness had taken him by surprise – he'd scarcely recovered from his unexpected reaction to being bundled up with her. He'd told Doug no – that they were just friends and lab partners. Yet he knew the truth – Liz wanted to be a couple - that had been what had gotten her so upset when he'd said that they couldn't date – when he'd told her they were too different. The other part of that truth though – had been harder to admit. He wanted to be a couple with her too.

It wasn't just the reaction to her closeness tonight – surprising and somewhat frightening as it had been. He had, he supposed, known it subconsciously for a long time. Tonight only got it out in the open – got him thinking about it consciously – forced him to confront it.

He would, he knew, have given anything he had to have actually been normal. It would have been so wonderful to be someone totally human -someone who didn't have to conceal this secret from his parents to be accepted as their son – but most of all it would have been so wonderful to know that he could have returned Liz's affection without it being what it would be if he did so now – a betrayal.

It was one thing to let his parents think he was human. He cared for them and had no doubt they also cared for him – as long as he kept his secret. But he couldn't let anything happen with Liz – couldn't let their relationship go in the direction she obviously wanted it to go – not without telling her. And he couldn't tell her – not ever. Her friendship was the most valuable thing he possessed. He couldn't tell her – he might lose everything -even her friendship – but he also couldn't betray her by letting anything happen. Being her friend under false pretenses he could handle. Being her boyfriend under false pretenses he really couldn't. It was as simple as that - or at least that's what he told himself.

Liz deserved a good life with someone normal – someone who could make her happy. Someone who wasn't a freak. In the dim light from behind the curtains he found himself looking at Doug. He seemed like a nice guy – considerate and caring. That was what Liz needed. Not Doug himself of course – he'd seen Doug say goodnight to Liz's room mate – Doug was definitely locked up. But someone like him. Someone who could make Liz happy. Someone – normal.

Max sighed deeply, the sound lost among the snoring of Jimmy Drevins. He'd have to talk Liz into going to that dance. He'd get her to dance with someone – maybe a couple of someones. Alex Whitman was the editor - he would put the pictures in the school newspaper when they got home. The word would spread – it was OK to invite Liz Parker out – Max won't push you over a cliff if you dance with her - or take her to a movie.

In another two weeks the guys back home – the normal guys – would know that Liz was available. Life would be normal for her. She'd find her special someone – and Max was sure - well, almost sure - he'd be happy when it happened because then Liz would be happy. She wouldn't be stuck with a freak and if he did it right, she'd still even be his friend. Not boy-girl kind of friend of course – but friends nonetheless. And he'd be alright with that, he told himself, because if he truly loved her he should put her happiness above everything – even his own.

That's what you did when you loved someone.

It took another three hours of staring up at the ceiling but eventually sleep came to Max Evans.

It was 7AM in Boulder, Colorado

Frank Anderson was twenty-six years old and unmarried. He had no current girl friend. That was probably a good thing since he was almost eight hundred miles from home – or at least his usual assignment. He'd come to Denver as one of three FBI members of an interagency task force chosen – in no small degree – because he had no social encumbrances that would make it difficult for him to live in Denver for the last four and the next two months while working on countering interstate drug trafficking. What he was doing in Boulder was following a lead.

Agent Anderson showed his badge to the desk sergeant and was directed toward the drug enforcement office. Once called 'narcotics' the drug enforcement office now had a significantly wider area of responsibility as the wonders of science put other illegal drugs of abuse on the cities of America. Cocaine, meth, barbiturates, any of a dozen designer drugs of abuse, all these and more had joined the opiates that had once been the predominate mission of the department that had once been called narcotics. About the only residual of that history was that the officers in the department were still known as 'narks'. Detective Hofstra was a nark, and he was the one that Frank Anderson had come to see. Introductions were quickly made, then Detective Hofstra took the agent to the interrogation room where they watched as two detectives were attempting to question a man – the interrogation somewhat impeded by the man's public defender.

As they watched through the one-way glass, Detective Hofstra talked quietly.

“He was picked up about six hours ago – caught in the act of selling,. We didn't think too much about it until the lab did an analysis. The stuff was gamma hydroxy butyrate – real primo grade stuff – not the usual crap that gets made in cheap rural drug labs. I heard the task force was really interested in this stuff- that it's been spreading all over the West Coast, but this is the first evidence of it we've had here.”

“Who is the perp?” asked Anderson.

“His name is Bugs Quigley,” replied Hofstra, “... he's a real small time operator buty he hastwo priors and under the three-strikes law, we can put him away for a long long time. It also gives us an opportunity to put some real pressure on him to cut a deal – tell us anything he knows.”

“Assuming he knows anything worth hearing,' said Anderson. “The MO so far is to use numbered bank accounts in Barbados. Hell, the government there knows damn well that they are being used for money-laundering – they just don't care. Generally the pushers don't even know who they get it from. After the deal is set up, it comes in the mail – or by Fedex or UPS – and the just send money to that account number. Most likely the money is instantly transferred into another account and sometimes from that one into a third – all protected by Barbados banking privacy laws. Generally speaking, by the time we finally get a distributor in custody he's been working for months. He only has a vague idea of who his original contact was - and that's likely an assumed name - and when we try to find out who owns the account the money was getting wired to - the account is closed out. The assumption is that these are throw-away accounts - one for each new distribution point. It would be nice of course if the guy has some information that would be helpful - but I sort of doubt it. Of course, if this is the first time you've seen the pure stuff in your area, it's certainly worth a try."

"Well, Bugs there is looking at some real heavy time on this one. We've got the leverage to squeeze him pretty hard. I say we use it. Besides - my neighbor's daughter went to a rave ten months ago. She's only sixteen and she just had a little girl four weeks ago. Hasn't a clue who the father is. Bugs here and guys like him may just be middlemen but the guys who make this stuff couldn't stay in business without him. No, it won't bother me to squeeze old Bugsy here - not at all."

Agent Anderson nodded his head in agreement. Then he and Detective Hofstra left the observation area and walked down the hall to enter the interrogation room.

It was also 7AM in Rancho Buena Fe, Mexico

The air was thick with moisture from the tropical low - but just as the fog was beginning to form in the creek bed, the rays of the sun peeked above the low hills to the east. The sunshine brought more heat to the already warm state of Coahuila Mexico. As the temperature went higher it started to diverge again from the dewpoint and the trace of fog evaporated - almost fifteen full minutes before the passing weather satellite might have detected it. NOAA would detect only clear skies and sunny weather over Coahuila this day.

It was 7:15 at the dining hall that linked Arapahoe Trail Hall with Athens South Hall. Four people sat at a booth having breakfast. Two of those people were considerably more at ease than the other two. The two sitting on the west side bench were obviously sitting together. Doug's hip and lower leg were in contact with Lexie's - and there shoulders were generally touching. Occasionally Lexie's left hand would go down and place itself on the top of Doug's right leg - softly pressing against the anterior thigh as if to reassure itself of his presence. At times his right hand would go down to her left anterior thigh and return the favor - before returning to his fork or spoon. It wasn't even anything that they seemed to notice - certainly not any attempt to grope one another or instigate any sort of heavier petting. It was casual, comfortable, and pretty much was going unnoticed by everyone in the entire dining hall - except perhaps the two people sitting across from them.

Those two - well their body language said it all. They were NOT a couple.They were NOT QUITE crowded to opposite ends of their bench, but they were certainly in no danger of making any sort of incidental body contact.

Even as Liz passed the syrup and pepper to Max - she never had figured out why he liked so much pepper on his scrambled eggs, or that much syrup on his pancakes for that matter - Liz went to considerable effort to see that her hands didn't touch his.

The near loss of control she had exhibited last night was a little frightening. Max must have noticed it, she reasoned. She wondered if that was why he was acting more distant than usual. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd screwed up any chance at all of getting him to the dance tonight. It had been almost nine months ago when she'd first told him she wanted to start doing things as a couple - and that had ruined a summer and most of this school year. What if she'd done it again?

She was - she realized as she felt the distance between the two of them - totally and completely in love with the boy. It wasn't just lust like last night - although Max clearly did look good there next to her - dressed up to give his science presentation to the half dozen judges and thousands of public spectators that would go through the field house today. It was that she couldn't picture herself spending her life with anyone but Max.

OK, he was still a little socially awkward - not his fault. Whoever had dumped him in the middle of the desert was responsible for that - and he was getting better - a lot better Liz thought, as she remembered his awkwardness in the third grade. He was a work in progress, for crying out loud. She just wished that they were making progress as a couple, too.

Liz watched Lexie's hand go down and gently caress Doug's leg as they conversed. Those two were so - comfortable - with each other.

'Will it ever be like that with Max and me?' Liz asked herself. Normally she had a plan - but right now she just wasn't sure what to do.

Max watched Doug's right hand put the fork down as he picked up his juice glass with his left hand. It dipped below the table only briefly, but he knew Doug was touching Alexis again as her smile slightly broadened. It was sensual he supposed - but not demanding or even overtly sexual. Doug, at least, wasn't letting his body get out of control like Max had, despite the fact that he and Lexie were engaged and - at least according to what his mother and Mrs. Parker had said in sex education - would have been expected to be a little more attracted to each other that way than he had any right to be attracted to Liz that way.

Alexis seemed like a nice girl - no Liz of course, but nice enough - and Max wondered if Doug had any idea how lucky he was. Doug was normal - the lucky dog. Things like a girlfriend - a fiance' - those were possible for him. Max really envied him - not because he had Lexie of course - but simply because he was normal. Not that there was anything wrong with Lexie, it's just that if that if he were normal - well, Lexie wouldn't even be in the running, he thought as he glanced over at Liz.

'But you AREN'T normal,' his mind reminded him, and he almost nodded his head glumly, wondering if Liz was sitting that far away because she'd noticed last night. It hadn't been HIS fault that Lexie had practically pushed them together face to face - chest to brea....er chest - and it hadn't been like he'd been trying to have THAT happen either. He'd turned away as quickly as he could and hoped she hadn't noticed but... what if she had? He knew he had to get her to go to the dance if he was going to get the pictures - but he certainly couldn't ask her directly. Not after what had happened between them last night. He just wasn't sure WHAT he should say or do.

Lexie looked at Liz crowded to her end of the bench and Max crowded toward his - then looked sideways at Doug fighting back a giggle. When his eyes hit hers she knew he remembered. It had been back in seventh grade when a rainy Livermore winter had forced them inside during what should have been physical education and he'd wanted her to be his partner for the square dance the PE teachers had decided would substitute for the mile run planned for the day.

It had been incredibly awkward for both of them - him to find the words - her to accept. It was the first time they'd ever really done anything boy-girl, and it had been so hard. They'd thought they were the two most socially inept kids in the world back then. Doug smiled back in that near-telepathy that close couples sometimes have. Max and Liz, if anything, were worse. Lexie prodded Doug with her eyes and he responded.

"So, Max .... you planning on going to the dance here tonight?"

"Uh, probably. I mean it's going to be right here in this room and I have to go right by it. The college invited us and I guess it would be rude to turn down that invitation," said Max, hoping that would induce Liz to show up without either scaring her away by his presence or - if somehow he'd missed offending her with his arousal last night - keeping Liz from getting some idea of the two of them coming to the dance as a couple. Not only didn't he want that - but how on Earth could he take pictures of her dancing with other guys to let people know it was OK to date her if he was dancing with her himself?

Doug tried not to wince. He'd tossed Max a soft pitch - right over the home plate. What the kid should have done was say something gallant, like 'I'd love to go if Liz would honor me by accompanying me.' Now that would have gotten the shy kid half way to having a date. As it was he had ignored her - treated her like wallpaper. Man, this kid had a long way to go....

"How about you, Liz?" asked Lexie. "Are you planning on going to the dance?" The question, of course, was rhetorical. She'd already discussed this with Liz - the girl had promised that after Lexie went down stairs to the dance with her, she'd stay away from the room for a copule of hours while she and Doug had a little private time - a major make-out session probably with an option for something even more serious. It was going to be a long five months and these two hours were likely all the truly alone time she and Doug would get until they saw each other in Las Vegas.

"I suppose so," said Liz - relieved to find out that Max would be there. They'd be the only seventh graders at the dance. It would only be natural for him to dance with her. I mean, that's what you did at a dance.

Lexie winced. Liz wasn't any better at this than Max was. What happened to a little light flirtation? Something like, 'If Max will promise me a few dances, I'd love to be there.' The boy had said he was going anyway - he would have been mouse-trapped into agreeing to dance with Liz. As it was now, it sounded like she'd been forced to go to the dance by what Max had said - like she was going reluctantly to avoid offending the people in the college. You never wanted to make what could be a date seem like a duty. Talk about pouring ice water on any chance of romance.....


Across town, Bugs Quigley was a very unhappy camper. The FBI guy and the local nark had leaned on him hard. They'd told him under the three strikes law he could get twenty years to life - and he was damn near forty already swo even the low end of that meant he'd never see the outside again until her was ready for Medicare. They'd offered him a deal but they hadn't offered him much. If he cooperated fully AND they actually caught the kid who'd given him the sample drugs - then and only then, they would tell the judge that he'd been 'helpful'. They'd then promptly left so he could discuss the offer with his public defender.

"So what does 'helpful' get me at sentencing?" he asked.

"If you are lucky, five uears off your sentence. If you get 15 years and behave flawlessly, you might get out in ten with the last five probation."

"Yeah, but if the word gets out that I ratted on a source, nobody will ever sell to me again when I do get out...."

The public defender fought to keep from rolling his eyes. His job was working with sociopaathic idiots to make sure they got a fair trial. It was NOT an easy job.

"Well, I suppose that's true," he said, "... but if you get life you really won't have to worry about anyone selling to you when you get out either, now will you?"

Three minutes later Anderson and Hofstra were back in the room.

"I don't know much, but I'll give you what I got," said Bugs. "The contact was just a kid - looked like someone in high school - or maybe even younger. It was over near the mall and it was really dark. I didn't get that good a look at him, but I think I might know him if I saw him again. He said his name was Max Evans...."

4PM, Central Police Station, Boulder Colorado

“Thanks for your co-operation Miss Evans,” said Agent Frank Anderson. Miss Evans, it turned out, was a 72 year old spinster in Longwood, Colorado. She had been listed in the Denver book as 'M. Evans. She didn't know any Max Evans. She was his last call to make.

There were in fact only two Maxwell Evanses listed in the telephone book in the Boulder or Denver metropolitan areas, neither of them the right age group to be the sought after Max Evans. There were, however, ninety-five OTHER Evanses listed in Boulder Colorado and over a hundred in Denver. Since the Max Evans they were seeking was perhaps not old enough to have a telephone number of his own, each of these people had been contacted. No luck. Another twenty-five names had been added from unlisted telephone numbers – the telephone companies routinely cooperated with the police in such matters – without any luck. Perhaps the kid had bought a cell phone with preloaded time under an assumed name – many drug pushers did precisely that – and it fit the pattern of the throwaway bank account but if he'd done that they had no way of tracking him.

“I just crossed off my last name – how are you doing?” Anderson asked Detective Hofstra.

The man's eyes rolled skyward and he replied, “The good news is that I'm finally done. The bad news is that I didn't find a damn thing. Think that scumbag is scamming us? Just wasting our time?”

“Could be, or he could be giving us everything he's got and it's just not enough. Either way, we are coming to a dead end here.”

“Well, no results for us, no leniency for him – at least we didn't buy a pig in a poke. I did put out the word though – if Max Evans pops up on any reports, we'll be notified immediately.”

“Well, you do what you can. Sometimes you get the bear...”

“Sometimes the bear gets you,” finished Detective Hofstra.


4:30PM Balch Fieldhouse, Boulder Colorado

It had been a long day. Setup had started at 8AM and doors had opened at nine and there had been a continuing stream of public spectators since that time. Each participant had given their spiel innumerable times to the public and at least three and as many as five times to the judges - depending on whether or not they'd been selected for advancement in the preliminary round. Nobody had really left their exhibit more than a few minutes to use the restroom. Even lunch - a practically endless supply of pizza donated by a national chain of pizza parlors - had been eaten by the participants at the exhibit. It was only now - as the doors were being closed - that the two couples had the opportunity to get together and compare notes - or even see each other's exhibits.

In point of fact neither Lexie nor Doug actually needed to see the others exhibit. They had collaborated continuously be email - some of the emails that Lexie had decoded for the lab director and security guy had been about those collaborations.

Lexie had designed a new generation of inherently safe fission reactors - relatively small power plants that required no pressurized cooling. Reactors that would - if everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong - scram themselves while producing so little decay heat that they just couldn't cause the type of safety problems earlier fission reactors had caused. They were a sealed unit under any conditions - allowing no radiation leaks whatever, and were earthquake-proof. One unit could produce enough electrical power to power a small town and they could be ganged together to use for larger capacity. They could be located anywhere there was a shoreline or river wide enough to allow them to be barged there from the factory.

Doug had tackled the nuclear waste issue. He had designed a central processin facility to be colocated with the factory to produce Lexie's design. The spent reactors - 20 years later - would be returned to where they had been created and the fission products removed to be 'burned' in an accelerated reaction process. The process would produce only a relatively modest amount of energy - about the same as one large power reactor, but it would convert the long-lived radioactive waste products of Lexie's reactors into lighter isotopes that would decay in a relatively short duration. They'd be held on site for less than twenty years before being capable of being safely disposed of.

"Thats...wow ... that's just great," said Liz, as she saw how the two projects dovetailed together.

"Well, since our dads seem determined to make fusion a personal pissing contest rather than actually solving the problem, we felt we needed a backup plan so our grandchildren didn't have to huddle in the cold once the fossil fuels started to run out," said Lexie with a sardonic smile.

Liz followed Lexie's eyes to Doug when Lexie said the words - future grandchildren - the slight embarrassed grin he made that couldn't conceal his pride in what she'd said. Her eyes went quickly back to Max, wondering if Max would ever feel the way about her that Doug so obviously felt about Lexie. She was starting to doubt it. But Lexie had said she'd help her git her plan back on track. It certainly couldn't hurt. Right now Max seemed lost in the engineering.

"This is great, you two," he said. “One comes up with a means of producing carbon free power safely and economically, the other comes up with a way of cleaning up the resultant toxic waste. Hopefully the judges realize how great your projects are – yours and Liz's that is. You guys handle the fixed power requirements, Liz handles the mobile. That's sure better than any dumb old windmills. Doug, will you show me your notebook? I want to see how you accelerate the degradation of the reaction products.”

“Sure Max, come on...”

As the guys walked away Lexie turned to Liz. “Cheer up, girl – you look like someone took Christmas away from you.”

“Admit it, Lexie. You can't have been any more impressed than I was about Max's enthusiasm for taking me to the dance tonight. In fact, he didn't say anything about taking me – only that he'd show up.”

“Liz,” said Lexie, taking a deep breath, “... you told me last night about why you had to put your all into your science fair project – to raise your grade because of your idiot lab partner. Why do you think Max worked so hard on his? I mean... he doesn't even believe his is practical yet he must have worked his butt off to make the improvements he made in something that he doesn't even really believe in. Why do you think that is? I mean, he didn't need the grade....”

“I don't honestly know. Up until Clovis I really figured he was trying to submarine me – get the award so I couldn't– because he was still mad at me for choosing Miss big boobs instead of him for my lab partner – not realizing that intellectually she was the biggest boob of all and was going to almost cost me my 4.0. But after I saw how he helped me out at Clovis..... I tell you Lexie, I just don't know.”

“Well, I don't KNOW either, but I'll give you a hypothesis to consider – suppose he just wanted to be in Boulder Colorado when a friend of his was there – maybe that's what his motivation was.”

“But when we got here, Max didn't have any friends in Boulder...”

“No, before YOU got here, he didn't have any friends in Boulder. After YOU got here hs had one very good friend – someone I think he cares very much about – even if he can't bring himself to show you how much he cares about you yet”

“You really think so...?”

"Yes I do. The boy is painfully shy, but trust me - and trust Doug, he is starting to be very interested."

Liz looked off to where Max and Doug were talking engineering and shrugged. "Maybe. He sure doesn't show it much that I can see though."

“Well, while the guys go back to the dorm, you and I are going to go shopping,. The dance is informal but even so – we are going to get you some flashy informal duds – maybe get your nails done – ever tried French nails? It'd be a neat look for you. It doesn't matter if Max takes you to the dance or not, I guarantee you he won't be looking at anyone but you tonight when I get done getting you ready.”

“You really think that'll work?”

“Liz, I think you are going to reel that young man in some day no matter what, but he's come a long way from his home and family and I think he's done it just to be with you. Let's see if we can speed up the process just a little bit tonight,” said Lexie. She was talking about Max, of course, but it occurred to her that Doug was sort of in the same position. Maybe he needed a little encouragement tonight too. Five months was starting to seem like a long long time to wait. She might just have to get herself ready for one of the biggest nights of her life she decided,

After the fieldhouse closed for the night, everyone pretty much returned to the dorm rooms briefly before going their separate ways.

There were yet three hours before the dance, and with Lexie and Liz going shopping together, it seemed reasonable to Doug to pal around with Max. They toured an exhibition at the Colorado University Engineering Department for about an hour and then found themselves in the rathskeller – the informal dining area in the basement of the university student Union Building. They got a couple of plates of super-nachos and found a quiet table in the corner to eat together.

Doug had been wanting to talk to Max – or at least Lexie had been wanting Doug to talk to Max which was nearly the same thing. Lexie had suggested that he give Max a few pointers about the male side of male-female relationships while she worked on Liz, and while no lady's man himself – he had found and settled on his soulmate much too early to have broad experience in such things - he had gradually worked the conversation around to the social graces of courting.

"You know Max," said Doug, grabbing another nacho and putting a jalapeno slice - they were delivered on the side - on it, "... if you'd been paying a little closer attention you might have noticed that Liz really wanted to go to the dance tonight."

Max looked confused. He grabbed a nacho and put a couple of jalapeno slices on it. "Well - she is going to the dance tonight..." he responded with a puzzled look on his face. "What did it matter if I was paying attention or not?" he asked before chewing slowly on the nacho - wondering if it would be too suspicious to put a sugar packet on it too. The jalapenos were great but they would have been even better sweetened.

Doug smiled. It was apparent that Max's ignorance of the social graces as applied to young ladies was as complete as Lexie had feared. What's more, he appeared to be making this discussion into some sort of juvenile macho jalapeno slice eating contest ... and of course, if he was going to be the one to mentor the kid, he needed to keep Max's credibility. His lips already starting to burn just at the thought, Doug dutifully loaded three jalapeno slices on a Nacho chip and continued...

"It matters because Liz likes you - and I can tell you like her. You'd have made her a lot happier if you had asked her if you could have the honor of taking her to the dance."

Max winced internally. Easy for Doug to say... he was normal. Max would have given his soul if he could have been born normal - able to be to Liz what Doug obviously was to Lexie. He lost himself in that thought briefly - while his hands loaded four jalapeno slices on to a nacho - but then came to his senses. "It wouldn't work - Liz and me being a real couple that is. We are just too different..." Yes, as much as he'd love that, such a course could only bring pain for Liz and more pain for himself. He just couldn't let that happen, he thought - as he munched the nacho thoughtfully.

Doug winced, watching Max eat the nacho. OK, so the kid was from New Mexico - he'd probably been eating jalapenos all his life - still he was still only fourteen. Doug was NOT going to let a seventh grader get the best of him in a test of manhood.

Dutifully, he loaded five jalapeno slices on his nacho as he continued the discussion. "That's nonsense, Max. I've seen the two of you together. You aren't different at all except for being male and female and that isn't even really different - just opposite polarity for the same thing. She likes you a lot and I think you like her a lot. How can you even claim to be different?"

Max was lost in thought as Doug munched slowly on his nacho. His fingers worked mechanically - loading jalapeno slice after jalapeno slice - until the nacho chip disappeared under a greenish-yellow mass. "You don't understand - it's not about disagreeing with her on something. It's like - well our folks are very different and it just wouldn't work out," said Max That was about as close as he felt he could come to explaining that he wasn't sure he and Liz were even the same species. Somehow it was important that Doug understand - he cared for Liz - in fact he realized that he very much LOVED Liz - but it just was never going to be, and it was painful to even think about what he would miss by being different. He was almost in tears as he slowly chewed the nacho chip that had disappeared under the jalapenos.

Doug winced as he watched. OK, the kid was from New Mexico and possibly ate squashed jalapenos for baby food when he was still in diapers. He wasn't even starting to show the effect of the nachos. Doug's mouth was aflame - hell, his FINGERS hurt just from piling the damn things on the chips. But he loaded another chip with slices. If he could match Max without himself catching fire, Max would HAVE to respect him enough to at least listen to him.

"Look, Max - that's just completely dumb. Look at Lexie and me - her father hates my father and vice-versa, and that's been going on for a decade. Chances are in five months we'll BOTH be disowned by our parents. If you care for someone - truly care for them - and they care for you, none of that matters. You have to follow your heart, Max. Family feuds and that just aren't all that important. Your folks love you and her folks love her and if you just persevere it'll be alright. Trust me on this."

Max sighed and looked up at Doug. He really liked Doug. He was like the big brother he'd never had. He wished that he could just tell him the truth - just flat out tell him that he was an alien freak and watch his reaction - see if HE could handle that big a difference. But that was just dreaming. He wasn't that close to Doug, heck, he wasn't that close to his parents. If the truth be known he was closest to Liz. But if he told her and lost her.....

Max shrugged his shoulders. "We'll see....," he replied.

Doug looked at Max and hoped some of that had sunk in, but he wasn't sure it had. He was a nice kid - Doug sort of wished he'd had a little brother like Max - but it was obvious he could be pretty stubborn.

And besides, he really couldn't continue to press the issue, Doug realized. He needed some antacid - quickly.

The v-neck t-shirt was black silk, and along the right lower front there was a silkscreen of the Andromeda nebula complete with sequins and rhinestones. It tucked nicely into the black denim jeans that Lexie had selected for her, and the silver-adorned belt that went around her waist matched perfectly with the ponytail - keeper that held her hair back. The black low cut flats on her feet completed the ensemble. Her nails had been done and and she was wearing mascara - lightly and carefully applied in an understated fashion that simply brought attention to her natural beauty.

"Wow," said Lexie. "I think I've created a goddess. Do me a favor, Liz, keep away from Doug, OK?"

Liz blushed and looked in the mirror again. It certainly wasn't a look that her mother would have coached her about - probably not for another 5 years yet anyway - but she had to admit, she did look attractive. "I just hope Max thinks it's attractive," she said to Lexie.

"Liz, if Max doesn't like that look he isn't even human. The problem for him will be getting through the crowd to ask you to dance - or at least it would be if you weren't the only two fourteen year-olds that are going to be there. Even so, he better move fast. There are plenty of sophomore boys and even a couple of freshmen guys that will be asking you for dances."

The last statement wasn't exactly true and Lexie knew it. There were precisely three freshmen guys - the two she'd mentioned and that creep Drevins. The more she thought about the things Doug had emailed her from the San Francisco airport the more certain she was that Liz should have nothing to do with the kid. Drevins was pretty contemptuous of everyone but himself - but a few of the casual conversations he'd made about girls that Doug had written her about had been pretty contemptuous. Lexie figured Liz was bright - that she was smart enough to not do something stupid like going through with that half-baked plan of hers to not use Drevin to make Max jealous, but it was a big sister's job to worry, as well as to coach her little sister.

"Liz," Lexie said, "... about your plan to make Max jealous.... I hope you were just kidding. That wouldn't be a good idea, and it'd be real disrespectful of Max - you understand that don't you?"

In fact, despite her greater social skills, Liz had no more experience dating than did Max. He was, after all, the only one she cared about, and there hadn't seemed any point in her learning by doing with anyone else if he was going to be the one - and in truth she hadn't totally abandoned that idea, but Lexie had been helping her for two hours now and the effect was pretty spectacular. "Yeah, Lexie....I understand. I just hope he pays some attention is all. You've been working hard and worked magic ... I just hope Max appreciates it."

"Don't worry, Liz, he will."

Liz looked in the mirror. Max better pay attention. If he wasn't attracted to her when she looked this good, it probably wasn't ever going to happen. Tonight needed to be a breakthrough night in their relationship. If it wasn't, they might never be anything to one another more than friendly lab partners, and that outcome was simply unacceptable.

"I sure hope so," Liz said wistfully.



Back at the dorm Jimmy Drevins had been busy too. The first floor room had been somewhat of a pit really. He'd cleaned it up - said cleaning consisting of shoving everything on the two desks and floor into one of the closet units and making up the cleaner appearing of the two beds, while just flinging the bedspread over the other one.

The entire contents of the refrigerator - some of it unrecognizable under greenish-blue mold - had been carted to the trash and a bag of crushed ice and the bottle of tequila was placed in the freezer along with two clean glasses freshly stolen from the dining room. A commercialmarguerita mix was in the refrigerator. A couple of limes - cut in quarters - were in the refrigerator and a small saucer of salt - to disguise the taste of the GHBA - was ready to apply to the rim of each class.

The glassine envelopes were at hand - one would be more than adequate if Liz Parker were willing to drink the tequila. Failing that he'd have to tempt her with a virgin marguerita and double the dose.

Even that wasn't guaranteed to give the girl the amnesia that he wanted her to have, but it would make her giddy and suggestible. One of the first suggestions would be for her to take a REAL drink - with tequila. Once she had done that, she'd have no idea what she'd done - not tonight - not this afternoon most likely.

It was a somewhat involved plan but it would, Jimmy Drevins knew, all work well. This wasn't blind faith - merely experience. He'd done this a number of times already.

Drevins walked back to the now empty dining hall and used an allen wrench to open the enclosure around the thermostat and turned it all the way up. The dining hall was heated through pipes in the floor radiant underground heating - a very environmentally effective method - but the floor had a high thermal mass.

It'd normally take several hours to warm up enough for anyone to care, but with a roomful of people dancing it would get hot enough to be uncomfortable - but even when it was turned down the temperature would rise for another forty-five minutes. He wanted the Parker chick really thirsty by the time he moved in on her.

Liz was waiting a good ten minutes before the start of the dance. She looked - to Lexie's eye – almost giddy with anticipation. Liz looked good – real good – thought Lexie as she finished applying the last of her own makeup. Liz really didn't need makeup, and with the exception of the trace of eye shadow and a little lip gloss, Liz didn't have any. The lip gloss was almost transparent - merely giving her lips a more inviting look – or at least that was what Lexie thought Liz was hoping for.

It didn't seem unreasonable – they'd been friends – no, they had been an awful lot closer then mere friends – ever since third grade. Even with Max's early history and obvious shyness, Liz was ready for her first adult kiss, and given their history together, Max sure deserved one. Lexie couldn't help hoping that Liz got her wish.

“Calm down, girl,” Lexie said, smiling at her younger room-mate. “Nothing looks quite as pathetic as being there before the music starts looking anxious. The dance is scheduled to go from 7 until 11. You'll have plenty of time to dance with him.”

“I hope...” said Liz, looking nervous, “....but what if Max won't dance?”

“Liz, don't worry so much. Lexie is here. I can't guarantee you'll dance all night with Max, but I'll get you the first dance with him. After that – well, you are on your own, girl. I may be otherwise occupied.”

Liz blushed and nodded. Come hell or high water, she had no intention of coming back to the room before 11, and she was going to knock on the door rather than using her key when she did.


“I think the long-sleeved black shirt would look good on you, Max,” suggested Doug. “I'm not too sure about the tie though – I think I'd wear it open at the neck.”

“Yeah, Evans – you don't want to look like a complete geek,” said Jimmy Drevins as he continued to primp at the mirror. It wasn't that he was actually concerned about attracting the females, that really wasn't an issue. He had, he figured, a sure thing going tonight. It was more just personal narcissism. “... not that you are going to get to dip your wick no matter what you do,” he finished, drawing a look of contempt from Doug while Max ignored him completely. Max wasn't sure exactly what that expression meant, but he figured he could probably guess. Drevins was simply a jerk.

Twenty minutes later Max was down in the dining room – now dance hall standing with Doug and watching for the arrival of the girls. He had in his pocket the camera – fortunately small and electronic and with an electronic zoom and image stabilization that ought to insure he got good pictures of Liz dancing with a large variety of other guys – and was waiting to use it. That's when he saw Lexie walk in with …. it was possible his heart stopped beating altogether for ten seconds or so as he saw Liz. It wasn't like Max hadn't always thought she was beautiful. He'd thought she was beautiful in the quarry dusty from digging and with skinned knees from kneeling on sandstone and gently brushing fossils clean. It was just that – that she'd never been THIS beautiful before, and her beauty suddenly just took his breath away.

“Breathe, Max,” said Doug. “You are starting to scare me...”

Doug's words really didn't break the spell – possibly nothing could have totally broken the spell – but it at least allowed Max to catch his breath. Max forced his eyes away from Liz – not without some difficulty – and concentrated on his job. He wasn't there to admire Liz – and certainly not to dance with her. He was there – he reminded himself – to get pictures of Liz. Pictures that would liberate her from him. Pictures that were going to let her get on with finding her own special someone. He silently reminded himself that he couldn't be distracted from that mission. That's when Lexie grabbed his hand.

“Come on, Max. I want to dance.”

There was little if anything Max knew about popular dance – he was the kid that scarcely appeared at lunch period, let alone school dances, but Lexie was not to be denied. Within seconds he was gyrating on the floor, much like everyone else, under the tutelage of Miss Rudman. Throughout the dance she coaxed him and – after a fashion – it was even fun. More importantly, it kept him from thinking too much about how Liz looked in that black and silver outfit.

The first dance finally ended and the second one was a slow dance. Max tried to slink away, but Lexie demonstrated that her middle name must have been persistence. Had he not been thinking about Liz – off somewhere in the crowd with Doug – Max would have no doubt been self-conscious – but he found himself strangely relieved to be safely on the floor with Lexie. Somehow even the mental image of Liz seemed to be disturbing his endocrine balance. Had Max actually had more experience with slow-dancing he wwould have perhaps realized that with his right hand in the small of her back he was actually supposed to LEAD Lexie, and she might have found at least a little bit of difficulty hazing him toward the dimly lit area in the corner of the room. Had the area been better lighted he might not have been totally surprised by the quick tap on his shoulder.

“I believe that's my fiance' you have there, Max,” said Doug as he cut took Lexie's hand from his – replacing it with Liz's. “This is called cutting in....”

Liz seemed as surprised as he was but there they were suddenly – two dark clad figures pressed against each other in the darkness – with a long slow dance ahead of them. Unsure just what to do, the two just continued dancing.

On the other side of the room, Doug pulled Lexie aside and looked back at the two figures shuffling slowly in the darkness, their eyes locked on each other.

“Think it'll work?” asked Doug.

“Whether it works or not, we've given them a chance to get together. We'll just have to see what happens,” said Lexie. “Speaking of which,” she continued, “...let's go up to my room. It's kind of crowded down here.”