Roswell Fanatics

I know there were plans to skip forward, but the mood to write this struck so I did. I hope no one minds this fly-by post.

But life is for living, we all know
And I don't want to live it alone
--Coldplay

(Listening to it, and I wanted to share a random lyric.)

~Sugarplum

<center>~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Liz ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~</center>

“Sounds good to me,” Max voices. He sounds like he likes the idea of it all. The more people that like the idea improve my mindset just a little. The more we all hang out, the less confusion there will be among us. Not to mention that misconstruing events and intentions will happen less frequently. We most definitely don’t need any more confrontations, like what happened between Alex and Max again.

Just thinking about that, my eyes concentrate on his face, where the prominent injury was. It definitely didn’t look as bad as it did the day before. That much is for sure. I wanted to go over and take a closer look at it, graze the backs of my fingers across the skin and ask him if it still hurt. But not only would that be inappropriate, this wasn’t the right time. And that was something that Tess had the privilege of doing and asking.

“Everyone will be there?” he asks, pulling me out of my thoughts. I don’t know if I had missed any conversation that had occurred, but if I did, I didn’t want to draw attention to that.

I smiled brightly and answered his question with a simple, “That’s the idea.” Even Isabel seemed to rethink her plans in order to make our impromptu beach plans, and possibly even invite her Jake friend.

“Not me,” Maria casually interjected. “I have plans with Isabel. We’re going shopping.”

I pressed my lips together at that. Did I want to be the one to tell her that Isabel was rethinking their prior engagement? That Isabel was planning to come to the beach with us, possibly with Jake? I looked over to Michael to see what he was planning on doing. He just had this smirk on his face. And I knew that if I let him break the news to her, he would be neither gentle nor tactful.

“Umm, about that,” I say a little uneasy. Maria looks pointedly at me, and I can just feel the nervousness spread throughout me. “When Michael and I left Isabel at lunch just a few minutes ago, she was calling Jake to see if he could accompany her to the beach. I am not sure as to whether she planned on canceling her shopping excursion with you, or possibly ending it at a time earlier than you had previously spoken of.

“But I do believe that it was her intention to attend our beach soirée, preferably with Jake.” After speaking, I bit my bottom lip and decided to stare down at the ground. I didn’t want to know what any of them thought of what I said, but I knew it was going to happen.

“What is with you?” Michael asked, confusion lacing his words. “Quite nice? Shopping excursion? Beach soirée?”

I tucked some stray hair behind my ear and Michael just continued speaking.

“You have to stop talking like this and use more colloquialisms.”

I continued to look at the floor but smiled at what he said. Slowly I could feel my nervousness abate, and I assumed that Max, Tess, and Maria looked at Michael with some surprised expression, for he replied, “What? I do know some “big” words.”

<center>~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ End Liz ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~</center>

YAY! I was hoping you’d post, Sugarplum(7)
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*MICHAEL*

I loved the look on Maria’s face as Liz explained that Isabel might be ditching her in favor of hanging out at the beach with Jake and the rest of us. I guess that leaves Maria stranded unless she wants to come along, too. But the thing I have to comment on first is Liz’s choice of words. What is with you? Quite nice? Shopping excursion? Beach soirée?” I repeated, shaking my head. “You have to stop talking like this and use more colloquialisms.”

I looked up at Max, Tess and Maria, expecting sympathy to my argument, and instead saw looks of amazement. “What? I do know some “big” words,” I told them, feeling somewhat incensed.

“Sure, Michael,” Max agreed, readily. “Never doubted it.”

I roll my eyes to the ceiling. What a liar. I'd punch him in the face myself, but I already know that won't work for me. Shaking my head, I’m about to make another comment when a light goes off on the panel in front of them. “Oh!” Tess exclaims as she and Max start hitting buttons and switches. Liz and I just stare, and a moment later they’re giving each other congratulatory looks. “What’s on now?” Tess asks breathlessly.

“The next song,” Max tells her with a grin. “That was close.”

Liz produces and uncomfortable smile and says, “Well, I guess we should let you get back to work then. Maria, you sort out what you’re doing with Isabel and we’ll talk later.”

With that, the two of us quickly exit the booth. I walk her back to the elevator and then we both head back to our own offices. I spend the afternoon working on various projects although my mind is constantly drifting back to Maria, Isabel and Liz. Liz says I have to not come on to her and Maria would like it. She says she likes me when I’m treating her like that, but I’m still not sure how it’ll go over with Maria. Then again, I don’t even know if she’ll be around tonight, so I guess I don’t have to worry about it too much.

At the end of the day, I head down to Liz's office to see if she's ready to go. I still don't have a viable plan to darken Max's strange effect on the ladies of the house. With both Alex and Kyle out of it, it's going to be a little harder to manage, but I'm sure I'll come up with something. Maybe I can slip some porn into his car or something and let the girls discover it. I'm sure that'll go over big with is fan club.

I find Liz still at her desk, putting papers into a folder. "Hey, Liz. You ready?" I ask. "Time for a barbeque."

Hey again!


ALEX

"Hey Max!" I call out as I finally find him.

"Alex, what's up?" he asks me as I fall in step with him, walking towards the exit.

"Uh well, my car didn't arrive here at work but at our house, soo ... could I drive home with you and Tess again? I know I already bothered you two in the morning and you might wanna be alone and ..." Great I babble! and Max probably noticed too since he interrupted me.

"Alex, it's okay, of course you can drive with me." he gives me a reassuring smile, "Besides, it was fun in the morning - who knows maybe Tess came up with great matchmaker ideas."

I just groan at that. "I am not so sure about that anymore, Max."

"WHY? What happened?" Max asks alarmed.

"Nothing, really." I sigh. "But lets face it, she likes Jake, is probably bringing him to the bonfire where I can watch them and when we met up this afternoon ... well, there was no yelling, crying, hurting someone but ... she really wasn't happy with my company so ... who am I kidding?"

Before Max can say anything to that, Tess comes up to us. "Hey guys. Ready for a great ride back and an even better evening?"

I just shake my head with a grin, wondering if this girl is always so bubbly and full of life.

hey,all! Yeah, I reposted on everything when it first came back, except here, since the last surviving post had been mine. *shrug* I don't know where everyone's been.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*MAX*

I'm confused by Alex's apparent about-face. Not that I don't understand his insecurities on the matter, but I don't know what changed his mind. I know his feelings are strong -- strong enough to incite him to violence, as my face can still attest -- so I really don't think we should be giving up on that so soon.

I smile as Tess comes up behind me and Alex and starts to talk about our ride home. Her hand slips into mine, and it feels nice. She's a very fun person and I like spending time with her. Liz isn't interested, but Tess certainly seems to be, and that does make things nice.

"Yup. I'm ready," I tell her with a smile. "Alex is going to be riding with us again. What about Maria?" I ask. Things were still uncertain earlier about whether she and Isabel were going shopping or to the cook-out.

Tess says, "She's still going with Isabel, but I'm not sure if they're shopping or not. But she doesn't need a ride, in any case."

I nod, since that was actually the point of my question. No need to leave anyone stranded. "Okay then, let's go," I say and we all continue towards the parking lot. "Alex is talking about giving up on Isabel, but I'm not ready to quit yet."

"What? No way!" Tess says. "We haven't even started. Give it a chance, Whitman. We can definately turn the tide in your favor."

I smile at her confidence. I'm not so completely sure of success but I am sure we can give it a good try.

Sorry for the MIAness. Really. I hope this is okay.

<center>~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Liz ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~</center>

I look up when I hear Michael’s voice coming from the doorway to the office.

“Ready?” I ask, more just to bide myself some time to finish some things up and organize my desk a little. “Truthfully. No,” I say and laugh as I put the folder I was just using into a file cabinet by my desk.

“Well, tough. It’s time to go, and you’re coming with me if I have to carry out over my shoulder and out of the building.”

I pause at what he said and then look up at him with a highly skeptical look. He just grins back at me and says, “You think I’m kidding. Want to put it to the test? Touch another paper on your desk and I’ll prove it to you.”

I look at him once more, shake my head, and laugh lightly. There’s no way he’s serious. He has to be trying to call my bluff.

“You’re such a liar. There’s no way you’d do it.”

“Are you sure?” His expression darkens mischieviously, enough to make me think about it again. “Touch a paper.” He leans back against the door frame, his posture totally relaxed. His arms cross across his chest, and he says, “I dare you.”

He’s bluffing. There’s no way he’d do it. I call his bluff and gather more papers that were piled on my desk and place them back in my inbox.

<center>~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ End Liz ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~</center>

Oh, what is Michael going to do? ::giggles:: I had fun. I hope everyone approves.

ALEX

I give Tess a sympathic smile. "I like your optimism but ..." Tess just ignores me and continues.

"I mean Alex, have you even had a conversation with Isabel yet?" I vaguely think back to last night and wonder if that would count as conversation.

"Uh, kinda, I guess." I say after a moment.

"See!" Tess says triumphantly. "So, Isabel hasn't really talked with you yet and doesn't really know you but when she does ..." she trails off for a moment. "Hm, I'll talk with her in the next days and try to find out what she likes and with that information, you won't have problems knocking her off her feet!"

I glance at Max who just shrugs and then turn to Tess. "Uh, isn't that a bit much ... spying on her like that? Isn't there some sort of girls-rule that doesn't allow such things?"

Tess ponders that for a moment. "You are right, it's really not nice to get information from a girl so a guy has it easy with her." But after a moment, she brightens again and turns to me and lays her hand on my shoulder.

"Alex, by the power of the females of this world, I officialy declare you as a "girlfriend". Now we can spy on Isabel all we want!" She says satisfied.

I just stare at her - surely looking mortified while Max starts to crack up.

Tess immediately turns to Max. "YOU are a girlfriend too, of course."

"What?" Max cries. "But ... but..."

"No buts, girlfriend. Otherwise, you'd surely tellMichael and Kyle about this and make fun of Alex here." Tess says with a raised eyebrow. "It's bad enough that Alex starts drooling whenever Isabel enters a room, we don't need the guys to make fun of him."

"Hey! I do NOT drool." I cry, turning to Max for help, "right Max?"

*MICHAEL*

I can't believe that Liz ignored me like that. Challenged me, really. Going for another stack of papers when I told her not to. I smoothly push myself away from the wall, silently walking up behind her.

Liz glances over her shoulder and gives me a look of triumph, like she's won something. She doesn't know that this is not yet over. I may be a bit thicker across the torso than some, but believe me, it's not fat. I was a lifeguard for four years and I've spent a number of hours in the gym, too.

I put one hand on her shoulder and she ignores me. In the next moment, she's whooping as I hook my other hand under her butt and sweep her off her feet.

"MICHAEL!" she shouts, but this time I'm the one who's grinning. I hoist her up so her waist is even with my shoulders and she's draped over my back. She pounds on my back lifting herself up a bit, screaming my name again.

My grin only broadens as I walk towards the elevator. I'm totally loving this, but I don't want her to make me lose my balance with her struggling. "Knock it off, Parker," I tell her with a growl. "I'll pin your pretty arms with a fireman carry if you can't be still."

*MAX*

"What?" I cry out as Tess declares me to be her girlfriend. I thought she was my girlfriend. How can I be her buddy and still have something romantic maybe happen? Not that we've been getting hot and heavy yet, but that's kinda the direction I assumed we were going in. "but... but..."

"No buts, girlfriend. Otherwise, you'd surely tell Michael and Kyle about this and make fun of Alex here. It's bad enough that Alex starts drooling whenever Isabel enters a room, we don't need the guys to make fun of him," Tess tells me.

I wasn't going to make fun of him. The whole Alex/Isabel plot was my idea! She's gone and hi-jacked it and tries to make out that I'm the one who's going to ruin things. I know she doesn't really mean it that way, but I have to shake my head in amusement. Tess is a most unusual girl, I must admit.

"Hey! I do NOT drool. Right Max?" Alex asks, begging for support.

"Um," I say, trying to get my mind back on track. I hadn't been aware that Isabel was the object of his affection until this morning, so I guess it wasn't that obvious to me. "Not that I'd noticed," I tell Alex and I see a grin of triumph start across his face. "Of course, I'd been pretty much avoiding you since yesterday morning, and I haven't seen you with her that much so I'm not really sure..."

"Max!" he says, clearly affronted. His hopeful expression falling from his face.

"Don't worry, 'girlfriend,'"I grin. "We'll sort it out. Isabel does talk to me. She likes me, like a friend - or a brother." I clarify quickly. I don't need Alex getting jealous of me again. My eye is just starting to look better again. "I'll find some way to talk you up with her, and find out what she likes. And with Tess on the team, we'll find a way."

I'm feeling a little out of loop so I hope that this part is okay!!!

Isabel

“Are you ditching me tonight to go to the beach with Jake?” Maria asks abruptly, her arms folded across her chest as she glares at me. “Cause I thought we were going shopping!”

“We are,” I say quickly, wondering where Maria got the idea that I would be ditching her “I’m meeting Jake later at the beach. Pfft like I would give up the chance to go shopping so that I can go and sit on beach and get sand all over me”

“Oh right,” Maria says sounding kind of taking back “We you ready to go then?”

“I’m beyond ready! I’ve been looking forward to this all day” I state grabbing my bag. “I really need a new pair of shoes and of course I want to get Liz something nice for her birthday”

Maria nodded as we walk to the lift “What were you thinking of getting her?”

I shrug and try not to frown “I have no idea but I’m sure once I see it, it will just hit me and I will know its perfect!”

“I don’t really know her that well but I was thinking of getting her and oh my god!” Maria exclaims as we turn the corner

I look up to see what Maria is gawking at and can’t help but snort at the sight before us. Stood by the elevator is Michael with Liz slung over his shoulder.

“What’s going on here?” Maria asks raising both her eyebrows as she looks from Michael to Liz and then back to Michael.

“She wanted to stay behind and work,” Michael states with a careless shrug that causes him to nearly drop Liz.

“So you kidnapped her?” I ask raising an eyebrow, nothing Michael can do will ever surprise me

“Why didn’t you just drag her by her hair? Isn’t that more caveman?” Maria says

I snort in amusement before pointing out that Michael is in a league of his own.

“Shouldn’t someone be trying to help me?” Liz says in distress

Me and Maria both shrug before I say “Shouldn’t you like put her down or something? She’s looking a little red in the face!”

*MICHAEL*

I'm waiting for the elevator with Liz over my shoulder when Maria and Isabel suddenly appear. I still don't know if Maria and I were on a date last night or not, and I don't know how to figure it out.

Maria starts going off about what's going on and I shrug, mostly ignoring her. I wonder if she's jealous, but I push the thought from my head as she starts insulting me with cave-man references. At least, I think they're supposed to be insults. Maybe she's the kind of girl who likes rough treatment. I really don't know.

Then Isabel asks me to let Liz go. Part of me thinks this is a good idea. I mean, Liz is pretty small, but I know she's gonna seem rather heavy by the time I get her to the van. Still, it's actually kinda comfortable to have her here. She's light enough, yet, and she smells really nice, too.

"She's looking pretty red in the face," Isabel tells me.

I shrug again, carefully keeping Liz balanced. "That's her problem," I tell Isabel. "Besides, I think maybe she likes it up there."

"What?" Liz says and starts squirming again.

"Well, you did ask for it," I remind her, keeping a careful hold so she doesn't fall. She'd known what was coming and she did it anyway. In my book, that means she wanted it.