Roswell Fanatics

ALEX

I briefly watch Michael disappear in the ocean. Once again he decided to not help with Liz' birthday. I should have none that he has "better" things to do. Jerk.

Turning back to Kyle and Max, I say, "Michael suggested buying a keg but so far, Liz didn't strike me as a party animal, unless of course, that animal is very well hidden."

"No shit, Sherlock." Kyle agrees with me.

"So … a nice dinner in a restaurant then?" Max suggests.

"Sounds great." I grin back at him. "Maybe one with a club next to it so we can … party a bit more after dinner in case we want to. We have to ask Maria later if she knows a good place."

The guys nod in agreement and continue to fumble around with the food. Feeling a bit useless, I glance around. "Uh, should I start … preparing the "table"?" I ask, nodding towards the blanket we already laid out.

*Max*

I nod, glad that the guys have agreed with my idea. So, sure, we'll ask Maria about a place. I'll probably do a little internet search, too, if time permits.

"Go for it," Kyle says as Alex suggests preparing our make-shift table. "Max, can you get me the steak sauce?"

"Sure," I tell him, and I grab a bottle, while I hand Alex the stack of heavy-duty paper plates. Moving over to the fire, I hand it to Kyle and he starts to load it onto the cooked burgers and ribs. "This stuff smells great," I tell him.

ALEX

I guess I know now what Dad always meant with "male bonding" … not that Max, Kyle and I are talking about secret stuff alot. We aren't girls after all! But this - working in together peacefully without any yelling or complaining is nice. Even though I'm unsure if it officially counts as "male bonding".

We work quietly for a few more minutes, the smell of the steak getting more and more delicious with every second. As I look out towards the ocean, I'm suddenly realizing that I haven't been feeling so content in a long time. Sure, there is the unfinished business with Isabel and lots of other stuff, but right now, I'm feeling fine.

"And? You two content with how things are so far?" I can't help but ask, destroying the silence but well, the others should be back soon anyway, so damn the silence.

*MAX*

"I suppose so," I tell Alex. "Things aren't quite what I expected them to be, but I'm pretty okay with it so far. I think this could be a really great time." And I really mean it. I've almost forgotten the incident with the porn, and the black-eye. It's really a pretty nice group of people in a wonderful place. If Liz could be a close friend, then it will be nearly perfect.

Kyle shrugs and adds his agreement. He turns his attention back to the food. Funny how in a building, cooking is concidered 'woman's work' but outdoors, it's a guy's thing.

I nod at both guys, feeling ... well, content. I guess Alex had the right word there. "Hey, Alex," I say, quietly, not sure if I should mention this in front of Kyle. "Could you tell me what makes you think Michael doesn't like me?"

ALEX

I carefully look over to Kyle, but he doesn't give any indication whether he heard Max or not.

"I think, that he's ... jealous, I guess. I mean, you got all the female attention and since Michael seems to believe he's the next Casanova and James Dean in one, that didn't go well with him." I shrug. "At least that's my thoughts on that. I think the exact word he used to describe you was 'menace*."

"What?" Max cries out.

Kyle looks up at that, but I can't read in his face whether he knows what we talk about or not. I give him a small smile, hoping it appears to be sincere.

Putting the last few forks on the blankets I tell Max quietly, "A menace to us other three guys if we ever want to score with one of the girls I think. I don't believe him of course." I quickly add, I might have before we talked about Isabel and misunderstanding but now ... "I'm not sure if Kyle agrees with him or not though. Sorry."

*MAX*

A Menace. I can hardly believe it. It's not like I set out to be in this position. Quite the oposite. I mean, sure, I'm on TV and all, but I didn't really enjoy being the center of all that attention the first night, either.

"It's not like I was trying to steal all three girls," I complain. The one girl I was most interested in had no interest in me, but all that's in the past. "And Isabel is definately not acting that way anymore. Maria - well, I'm not sure about Maria. What girl is he interested in? Tess?" I ask, still trying to understand.

Alex shrugs. "I'm not sure," he says. "I think he expects to get them all."

I shake my head. There doesn't seem to be much I can do about it. A thought crosses my mind and I raise an eyebrow, looking at Alex. "You don't suppose he'd try to do anything?" I ask.

ALEX

"Do something? I echo. "Like ... hitting you?" I ask with an embarrassed smile. "No, he was against violence. And so am I! The hitting won't happen again. Big promise." Okay that was a bit off topic.

"I didn't mean violence, Alex." Max explains patiently, "I was thinking more of ... placing certain things to certain places so that certain images could be created."

What the ...?

"You think that Michael put the magazines and mini trojans in your car? C'mon Max, I'm sure he ..." but then I trail off. Michael *DID* say something about destroying/hurting Max's reputation as nice guy. But he surely couldn't ... I mean, that's just mean and utterly stupid.

"What is it Alex?" Max asks urgently snapping me out of my musings.

"Wellll, Michael might have mentioned something about ... well, destroying
your "mr. nice guy" reputation to Kyle and me but i'm sure he'd not do
*THAT*."

*MAX*

I bite the inside of my lip, thinking about what Alex said. Michael doesn't like me for things I can't control and didn't plan. And now he wants to damage my reputation. I barely know the guy! Somehow, I have a feeling it's going to be a lot harder to bridge a friendship there than it was with Alex, and he actually hit me.

I reach out and tap Alex on the shoulder. "Thanks, Alex. You're a good friend."

He smiles and nods. "Sure," he says, sounding embarrassed.

"I wish there was someway to find out if it was him," I say.

"I bet they would know," Alex says, jerking a thumb towards the nearest camera operator.

"Probably," I nod. "They're with us everywhere. Or, almost everwhere," I grin, thinking of our little shopping trip. Not that grand an outing but fun because we'd ditched the cameras.

"But they're not going to tell and they'll never let us see the tapes. Unless one of our friends on the outside saw it and phones it in, I think we're out of luck," Alex says.

Before I have a chance to think of some other approach, Kyle speaks up. "Hey guys. Food's ready. Someone wanna get me a plate?"

"Uh, sure," I say, getting to my feet to grab one. I hold it while he loads on the food. "I hope the girls get back soon."

ALEX

I'm a good friend? After I hit him? What would've been if that hadn't happened - would we be best friends?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I'm just ... surprised by his statement, that's all. It#s nice though to be a good friend.

I watch Kyle filling the plate Max holds with goodies for a few seconds. "Uh, should someone go and get the others or can the food stay a bit longer on the fire/grill?"

Sounds good. Are you ladies going to do the girl talk without Maria, then? Or are we going to skip past that part? I was so looking forward to Liz/Tess trying to talk to Isabel about Alex.
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*MAX*

I nod at Alex's suggestion, glancing up the beach toward the building where the girls had all gone with Jake. I don't see any sign of them returning yet. "We really should," I say. "Don't want them to miss out on all of Kyle's good cooking."

Kyle nods, "We can put some of it here by the side of the fire to keep it warm for a few more minutes without over-cooking."

"Yo! You ladies having a nice time?" Michael asks as he approaches from the ocean. He's dripping wet and grinning like a fool, pushing his fingers through his hair and making it stand up in spikes. I nod, trying my best to act normal while wondering if he really did put that stuff in my car to embarrass me.

"Food's done," Alex says, ignoring Michael's question. He nods at me as he continues. "We were about to go fetch the girls."

"You?" He snorts, glaring at me. "Do you really think they want to see your face, porno-boy?" I grit my teeth but before I can respond, he gives an eleborate guesture. "I'll take care of it. Don't worry about it." Michael turns and starts striding down the beach without even toweling off at all.

"Well, that was fun," I say to Alex, shaking my head in amazement.

Michael snorts.