Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, and 20th Century Fox.
Pairings: UC; Polar, Fifth-wheeler, In Crowder
Rating: Teen
Summary: Halloween takes an unusual turn when the pod squad and our favorite Roswellians car breaks down and they get stuck in a remote New Mexico town with no way to get home. Based on 18 drabbles written for the How To Survive a Horror Movie drabble challenge on Roswell Heaven. Originally started posting them as drabbles in Polar Moments, but was convinced to combine them into a story.
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Seeing is Believing
“I don’t know about this guys,” Maria said shakily, her voice wavering, eyes darting between her friends and the building nervously as they stood outside the darkly lit motel they’d stumbled on after being stranded when the jeep broke down. “It looks a little spooky to me.”
“Kind of reminds me of the Bates Motel,” Alex agreed with a shudder, wrapping his arm around the petite blond at his side protectively, smiling down at her as she snuggled deeper into his side.
“Well, you have any other ideas?” Liz quipped, cocking an inquisitive brow at the group, resting a hand on her hip and her smirk fading, eyes growing serious as she faced the motel’s dilapidated, shaggy appearance when they shook their heads in negation.
“Nope,” Alex confirmed, nodding his head sagely and fixing his friends with a knowing glance as he warned with a slight chuckle and a wink. “As long as you remember the rules, it should be fine”
“Rules? What rules” Isabel asked hesitantly, eyes darting to Alex questioningly, lips pressing together as he snickered and rolled her eyes, not even sure she wanted the answer to her own question now.
“For surviving a horror film,” Kyle agreed pertly, exchanging a quick amused glance with Alex as he walked up and wrapped an arm around the tall blond, smiling when she looked at him skeptically before snorting indelicately.
“Oh please,” Isabel scoffed disbelievingly, rolling her eyes as she turned her back on her snickering boyfriend, shoving him away lightly and faced Alex and Tess, cocking a skeptical brow and sharing a commiserating grin with the other blond.
“It’s true,” Kyle insisted, and pulled Isabel back into his side, whispering near her loudly, “But stick with me, babe, and you’ll be in good hands. I’ll keep you safe.”
“Remember, no sex,” Maria called over to the blue-eyed boy, snickering at his irritated glance and sent him a sly grin. “After all only virgins get out alive. So unless Isabel has given it up since last time we talked, brother, you’re safe.”
“I wouldn’t talk, Blondie, you have three strikes against you,” Kyle snarked scathingly, glaring balefully at his stepsister. “Blond, big boobs, so not a virgin. You’re every psycho’s wet dream and prime for plucking.”
“Whatever,” Maria spat, edging toward Michael, who had nonchalantly propped his back against the flickering motel sign, watching the proceedings with amusement and scowled when the blond latched onto him with a smug grin. “Michael will protect me.”
“No way in hell,” he shuddered, hurriedly detaching the blond barnacle from his arm and walking away swiftly, throwing an exasperated look at his fuming ex-girlfriend as he came to a standstill beside Liz, snickering. “If that’s the Bates, I’m sticking with Parker here, because she's the safest bet of me getting out of here alive.”
“Why Liz?” Max asked, his brow furrowing as he looked over at Michael, frowning when he saw his brother slip a finger through one of Liz’s belt loops and tug the affronted brunette closer to him with a sly grin. “Wouldn’t a guy be a better bet?”
“Nah...your boobs are bigger than hers,” Michael cracked, chuckling when Liz turned to him with an outraged look, smacking him on the chest repeatedly before he could trap her against his chest and whispered loudly next to the mortified girl’s ear. “But they are the perfect mouthful,” he husked, brushing his lips over the sensitive skin and laughed at her horrified glance for outing them to their friends, then wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging her towards the motel.
“And you'd know this how?” Max asked contentiously, frowning as he watched the two saunter towards the motel, the rest of the group snickering at his question and following behind them as Isabel shook her head sadly. “And our parents call you the smart one.”
~
“Anyone creeped out by the fact that this place seems deserted?” Tess asked nervously, shuddering slightly as she scanned the quiet, empty streets. “I mean, I know it’s the end of October and tourist season has died down, but it’s practically a ghost town.”“Yeah, it is a little unnerving,” Liz agreed, rubbing her arms to stave the chill snaking down her spine, chewing her lip thoughtfully as she met the blond’s worried gaze.
“I’m more weirded out by the look the front desk man was giving us girls,” Isabel refuted, all three girls casting an uneasy glance towards the motel office and she barely contained a shudder. “I’ll be glad when we get out of here.”
“Agreed,” Liz nodded, licking her lips, casting a skeptical, apprehensive eye over the motel before turning back to her companions with an inquisitive look. “Anyone know where the guys or Maria went off too?”
“Maria went to the bathroom,” Tess replied, nodding over to one of the rooms they had rented for the night, then tossing her head in the direction they’d just been staring. “Michael and Alex went back to the front desk to ask where we might find food at this time of night. The other two, I have no idea.”
The three girls startled as a familiar male voice drawled, his coming in high-pitched, creepy whine, echoing out into the night from the direction of their rooms. “Marrriiiiaaaaaaaa…”
“Never mind, found Kyle,” Tess quipped, snorting and sharing an amused glance with Liz and Isabel as they realized what was happening, their laughs deepening when they heard a muffled shriek, followed by a bang as something hit the floor.
“Who…who’s there?” Maria called out in a high-pitched squeak, making the girls wince as they turned towards the room expectantly, knowing all hell was about to break loose.
“Maaaaaaaarrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaa….” Kyle sing-songed, following his chant with a loud, “Boo!” Laughing hysterically as the girl in question let out a blood-curdling scream, he ran out the door as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels, as the blond screeched and burst through the door, a malevolent glare on her face as she barreled after her stepbrother, waving her fist in the air. “Oh, you are so dead, Valenti!”
“You should be glad it’s me, Blondie!” Kyle called gleefully, throwing a smirk over his shoulder as he ran down the street, quickly disappearing around a corner with Maria in hot pursuit. “If it had been some psycho, you’d be dead right now.”
“You know…she falls for that every time,” Liz snickered, shaking her head in disbelief and felt slightly guilty for laughing at her best friend, but Maria did bring it on herself with the mocking comments she had made earlier about Kyle’s apparent virginity. “You’d think, between him and Alex she’d learn by now.”
“That joke never gets old,” Alex snickered as he and Michael walked up, both boys chuckling at their friends antics and wrapped an arm around their respective partners while Isabel rolled her eyes and headed after her errant boyfriend and his squawking sister. Turning to the girls and Michael, Alex smirked and nodded toward the street, leading their little expedition to gather food before sleeping for the night, the couples unaware of the fiery eyes boring into their backs. “Come on, let’s go eat.”
~
“Hey where’s Max?” Maria asked, her brow pinching as she looked around the deserted diner, noticing for the first time that one of their members wasn’t with them and rubbed her arms lightly, the chilled air sending a wave gooseflesh dancing over them. “He said he’d meet us here,” Kyle smirked with shrug his shoulders, his eyes sparkling devilishly as he leaned over as if confiding some great secret. “His royal pain in the ass needed some alone time to pout or brood or something.”
“He was in the bathroom,” Isabel explained, shooting her boyfriend a quelling glance and sighed when he grinned at her unrepentantly. “Told us to go on without him; he knows where we are and will join us in a bit.”
“Like I said,” Kyle snickered, wagging his brows and fixing Liz and Michael with a pointed look, his lips curling into a sly grin as Liz flushed, looking away hastily and Michael glared at him. “Pouting. Likely because Guinevere over there chose Lancelot.”
“Shove it, Troll,” Michael bit out, fixing the shorter man with an unnaturally bland smile, his eyes sparking with an evil gleam that would have made most cringe. Unless you were Kyle, who just watched the two of them with unconcerned amusement, snarking. “That the best you can come up with, Goliath? I knew all those hair products would eventually rot your brain.”
“Kyle,” Isabel grated, eyeing the other boy with a less than pleased expression as she rubbed her temples, trying to stave the pressure growing behind her eyes and definitely not in the mood to listen to yet another of the boys’ pissing contests. She didn’t care for the feel of this place and just wanted to get the hell out of the town.
“What?” Kyle lofted, batting his eyes in exaggerated innocence as he turned to his girlfriend, swallowing thickly and squirming uncomfortably under her icy glare before he looked away, grumbling sheepishly. “Fine, fine…I’ll shut up.”
“Whipped,” Michael snickered, tossing the other boy a wicked grin and wincing internally when the pretty brunette at his side turned towards him with her own irritated glance and warned in a low, controlled tone, “Michael.” Liz huffed, her lips compressing as he opened his mouth to make a smart-ass remark, closing it when the waitress popped up, saving him from the girl’s wrath.
“So, what can I get you guys tonight?” the redhead asked, watching them with a bored, impatient look, obviously not pleased that they had descended on her diner so close to closing time. Lips quirking into a disgruntled moue, she took down each of their orders methodically, eyeing them suspiciously as she commented. “Haven’t seen you around these parts. Passing through?”
“You could say that,” Alex muttered, fixing her with his own suspicious expression, her actions and mannerisms making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. “Our car broke down just up the road and we couldn’t get anyone on the phone to come look at it.”
“Oh, well that explains it,” the woman nodded knowingly, her eyes flicking over the group coolly as she tapped her pen against the pad, her brow pinched as if she was deciding whether to say anything more to them or to leave them to their fate.
“Explains what?” Isabel asked hesitantly, the menacing look the front desk clerk shot the girls earlier flashing through her mind and sending a chill down her spine.
“Why you’re still here,” the waitress smirked, cold brown eyes flicking over the blond contemplatively as she arched her brow mockingly. “Surely you noticed that it’s a little deserted in these parts, didn’t you wonder why?” She paused momentarily as the kids looked at each other uneasily and nodded, before continuing in a bland voice. “Well that’s because of what day it is.”
“And what day it is?” Maria whispered faintly, the color draining from her cheeks and lips as her question drew the other woman’s gaze with laser-like intensity, the malicious glee in murky brown irises making her cringe.
“It’s the hundred year anniversary of Tears of Blood,” she replied with a negligent shrug and a sly glance, before her expression smoothed and she nodded to her pad before sauntering away. “I’ll go put your orders in.”
The teenagers looked at each other silently, not sure if the waitress was being serious or merely playing a sick joke on them because of the lateness of the hour and the fact that they were obviously out-of-towners who wouldn’t know any better one way or the other.
“Tears of Blood?” Maria asked fearfully, her hands trembling slightly as she cowered back into the cushions, wide, horrified eyes bouncing over her friends.
“Oh, come on,” Michael scoffed, snorting and tossing her a disbelieving grimace, shaking his head at her gullibility as he slouched into the booth, rolling his eyes as the girl glared at him heatedly. “You don’t actually believe that crap, do you?”
“I don’t know,” Tess replied hesitantly, chewing on her bottom lip nervously, snuggling into Alex’s side as she flicked worried eyes over the empty streets. She usually wasn’t an alarmist, but there was something about this place that struck her as disturbingly wrong. “It is unnaturally deserted.”
“Oh please,” Michael snorted skeptically, flicking a disparaging look over the redheaded waitress as she watched them from her perch at the counter, his lips twisting in a derisive sneer at her calculated interest before turning back to his quiet friends. “I’ll bet that’s just some locals joke used to scare the tourists or out-of-towners shitless.”
“Well all the same,” Isabel conceded uneasily, rubbing her arms to chase away the lingering goose bumps the woman’s words had elicited. “I’ll be happy when we can get someone to fix the jeep and get the hell out of here. This place is giving me the creeps.”
“Whatever, just for the sake of argument, if this is some anniversary or mumbo jumbo,” Michael placated with a roll of his eyes, grimacing when he felt a sharp jab in his ribs from the petite brunette at his side and rubbed his side, sighing when she fixed him with a quelling glance. “If we stay together, we’ll be fine.”
“Right,” Kyle agreed with a decisive nod of his head, wrapping a comforting arm around Isabel and pressing a gentle kiss to her temple, rubbing the back of her neck soothingly when she rested her head on his shoulder. “The rules say…”
“Shove it with the rules already,” Liz snapped, eliciting a snicker from the tall alien at her side before she shot him an equally irritated moue, rubbing the back of her neck to ease some of the tension, smiling gratefully when Michael rubbed it, sending a small burst of heat through to loosen the muscles. “They aren’t helping anyone’s nerves.”
“Stay together?” Maria asked faintly, her eyes widening as a thought struck her and her worried gaze flew to Isabel, who looked equally alarmed as they both recalled their missing group member. “But we left Max behind…what if…what if…”
“Oh geez…” Michael griped, sighing with exasperation as the girls exchanged anxious glances, smirking when he caught sight of their topic of conversation as he made his way into the diner. “Nothing is going to happen. See there he is now.”
“Hey guys,” Max greeted, looking around the empty dining room strangely as he slid into the booth before leaning in and fixing the group with a confused expression. “You notice anything odd about this place?”
“See!” Maria crowed, feeling vindicated that Max had justified her own uneasy suspicions, frowning when Michael shook his head. “I am not the only one who thinks something is off!”
“Great going, Maxwell” Michael griped, sending the dark-haired boy an irritated expression, slinking against the back of the booth fixing a squawking Maria with a disparaging glance, snorting when she glared right back. “Way to get the nuts riled.”
“Bite me, Spaceboy!” Maria growled, crossing her arms over her chest with a sulky glower and muttered petulantly. “I tell you something is weird with this town.”
“Yeah, I agree for once,” Max conceded, holding his hands up defensively when Michael swung his head around, an object in his hands catching the light and garnering everyone’s attention as he held it up with a bewildered expression. “I was walking along the street just now when this guy ran up to me talking gibberish and shoved this in my hand.”
Studying the object intently, the teens jumped as a loud voice ripped through the room, prompting them to turn toward the seething waitress, mouths agape as she glared at Max malevolently, her eyes fixated on the object in his as she accused. “You!”
“Great,” Michael griped, pinning Max with a heated glare as the boy stared at their waitress in bewilderment, unconsciously squeezing the little black cylinder in his hands, unmindful of the spark that jumped off of it at his action. “What the hell did you do now, Maxwell?”
“I have no idea what she’s talking about?” he stated, the faintest hint of a question lilting in his voice as he stared at his friends with a clueless expression and momentarily stopped the nervous twitch of his fingers. Looking back at the woman, he squirmed as she continued to stare at the crystal in horror.
“Right, like you didn’t know what Liz was talking about when she said you tried to kiss her the other day in the alley,” Michael scoffed scathingly, bourbon eyes sparking when the dark-haired boy turned back and shifted uneasily under his angry gaze.
“That was….different” Max defended weakly, his eyes flicking away from Michael’s uneasily and darting around the room as he really didn’t want to talk about his and Liz’s new relationship here or his actions the previous week when he was convinced Michael was just a passing fancy and nothing was serious between them.
“I’m sure it was…” Michael bit out contentiously, snaking a protective, proprietary arm around the pretty brunette sitting next to him, squeezing her into his side, ignoring her exasperated grunt as he held the other boy’s gaze implacably.
“Michael,” Liz whispered in his ear, voice filled with exasperation, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend’s caveman routine before pointing out the obvious. “Creepy waitress first, kiss later.” Michael grunted in acknowledgment, dropping a quick kiss on her lips before snapping his head back up at the sound of shattering glass and growled when he spied the woman walking hurriedly towards the back of the restaurant.
“What the hell?” Max asked quietly as he watched her retreat, rubbing the artifact once again in agitation, startling when he felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down into disturbingly, bright green eyes; his brow furrowing as a child no more than six frowned menacingly at him.
“You should have stayed away,” the tow-headed child said quietly, very adult, knowledgeable eyes pinning him with a disapproving moue and she pointed an accusatory finger as he gaped at her. “You were warned.”
“What?” Max queried faintly, subconsciously leaning down to her level and jumping, a shiver running along the curve of his spine when she stood on her tiptoes, marking his forehead with some sort of sign.
“You have been marked,” she proclaimed, holding her hands out in front of her as she lowered herself to the ground and waved them dismissively, spinning on her heel to sashay out the door, intoning mournfully. “May the Shaitan have mercy on you.”
“Well that was odd,” Maria said quietly, mouth agape and eyes wide as she watched the child until she’d disappeared from sight, turning her dazed, horrified gaze to her equally stunned, gaping friends, breaking them out of their momentary paralysis.
“That was odd??” Michael sputtered, turning an incredulous gaze towards the blond, his mouth opening and shutting soundlessly as he tried to find the words to express his complete and utter exasperation. “She’s been shrieking at shadows all night and all she can say is that was odd? Unbelievable.”
Maria glared at the contentious alien, huffing and crossing her arms over her chest as she sank back into the dark blue cushions and stared out the window, the disturbingly empty streets making her stomach churn in dread, head swiveling back to the table when Alex spoke up for the first time since they’d entered the diner.
“Someone want to explain what the hell just happened to me?” Alex demanded, his blue-eyes flashing angrily as he flicked them over a stunned, sputtering Max as he sat frozen in terror, staring blankly at the space the young girl had just vacated.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Max croaked, finally snapping out of his trance, tossing his dazed expression over to the other boy, absently stroking the object in his hand, mind whirling as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
“Wait, wait…let’s back up,” Tess commanded, amazed her voice was even remotely steady after the increasingly bizarre events of the night and took a shaky breath as she focused on Max, asking tightly. “What the hell is that in your hands first and where did it come from?”
“Right,” Max said breathlessly, nodding his head in a daze as he began to explain. “I was walking here when this old man ran up to me out of no where and shoves this object into my hand, babbling breathlessly. I couldn’t understand him at first, but it sounded like he said something about a ritual and the Shaitan?”
“That’s what the girl just said,” Isabel whispered, fear shooting over her spine as she met her brother’s equally anxious gaze. “‘May the Shaitan have mercy on you.’ But why you? I mean, the waitress acted like she knew you.”
“I don’t know!” Max cried, shaking his head and waving his hands in frustration. “I’ve never seen either of them before and I know I’ve never been here prior to today.”
“Do you think they might be…Czech?” Maria asked, suddenly breaking through her own paralysis since the child had walked out the door, looking at her friends with concern.
“It’s possible,” Tess nodded, mulling the idea around in her head, dread curling in her stomach that they may have inadvertently dropped themselves right in the viper’s nest.
“Anyway, the guy said one more thing,” Max continued, still stroking the object absently, his brow furrowing as he tried to remember the old man’s exact words before disappearing into almost thin air. “He said don’t stroke the crystal long ways.”
“You mean, like you’re doing now?” Liz asked shakily, staring at the glowing crystal with growing horror, her eyes flicking to startled amber and gasped when Max looked at the object, dropping it onto the table between them as if scalded, the black, obsidian-like rod glowing with a faint red light.
“This is bad,” Kyle swallowed thickly, staring at the glowing object with trepidation before leveling shocked blue eyes on the group, his heart hammering against his chest as he realized that this was no longer a joke. “This is really bad.”
“Well there’s the understatement of the year, Samwise,” Michael commented sardonically, his stoic façade belying the trickle of unease coursing through his body, his protective instincts surging to the fore as his initial skepticism bled into alarm. “What now, oh horror movie gurus?”
“Why are you all looking at me?” Alex cried defensively, throwing his hands up in the air when everyone’s head swung to him automatically at Michael’s sarcastic question. “I don’t have any clue what the hell is going on.”
“You’re the one who was spouting the rules,” Michael pointed out, shifting uneasily as he felt the familiar hum of energy thrum in the back of his head and clawed at his brow with agitation, trying to keep a tight rein on his powers.
“Let’s just get out of here,” Liz advised quietly, wanting to get Michael to a safe place before the energy bubbling inside him erupted. “I doubt we’re going to get our food now and even if we did, I’m not sure I’d want to eat anything out of that kitchen.”
“Agreed,” Isabel replied shakily, shoving at Kyle and Maria impatiently to get out of the booth, expelling a heavy breath as they scrambled out and headed to the front of the restaurant. “We should just call someone and get the hell out of town.”
“Don’t forget your glowing phallus, crystal, object thing, Max.” Kyle called over his shoulder, nodding the now opaque crystal, clucking. “Jeez, what is it with you aliens an phallic objects? I’m really starting to wonder about your planet.”
“Shove it midget,” Michael griped, scooting out of the booth and reaching for a worried Liz, tucking her into his side protectively, crossing the eerily silent diner quickly, both jumping as a familiar shriek cut the air, chilling the blood in their veins. “Lets get the hell out of here before things get weirder.”
“Tears of Blood the Black Mass,” Maria screeched, the blood draining from her face as she pointed at the wall with a trembling finger, her eyes rolling in the back of her head, babbling as she hit the ground in a dead faint. “Oh my God.”
“What the hell?” Alex exclaimed as he saw the blond hit the ground behind him, his brow pinching with worry and fear as he turned his face to the painting and paled, an uncharacteristic explicative spilling over his lips. “Well, shit.”
“What?” Max asked as Alex shot him a disbelieving grimace as he looked back and forth between the dark-haired boy and the painting speechlessly, prompting Michael to hurry over to see what the commotion was all about.
“Well fuck,” Michael swore, dropping his head into his hand and rubbing his eyes wearily, wondering if their night could possibly get any stranger before waving his hand at the picture. “Say hello to your donor, Maxwell.”
“Fuck,” Max hissed, staring at the likeness of him, standing in a floor-length black robe, his hands raised to the sky, the black crystal glowing brightly in one as several people cowered before his feet.
“Yeah,” Michael agreed dryly, turning to his pseudo brother with an arched brow, wondering if he made it past his own likeness to see the very diminutive brunette standing opposite it, her hand raised to the sky. “I’d say that about covers our situation.”
“We need to get out of here,” Max grated tightly as he stared at the menacing figure, chanting out an inaudible chant, his skin crawling as he felt something thrum in remembrance and he hastily stepped away, tearing his eyes from the painting before he could note his disturbingly familiar opponent.
“You think?” Michael snorted scathingly, clawing at his brow as he stared at the slightly more daunting likeness of his girlfriend, his eyes flicking to an equally pale Liz before he looked away, staring at the blond at their feet. “One problem. What do we do about that? Cause I sure as hell am not carrying her all the way back to the motel.”
“Maria,” Liz whispered faintly, snapping out of her trance, suddenly remembering her friend sprawled at her feet and hastily dropped to her knees, patting the girl on the cheek to try and revive her. “Maria, honey, wake up. Can some get me something wet?”
“Oh, yeah, not a problem,” Kyle responded, snapping into action at Liz’s request, a chill snaking down his spine as he threw another glance at the picture before muttering absently. “ I’ll be righ…”
“Kyle!” Liz, Isabel and Tess gasped, throwing him a horrified look, all now thoroughly creeped out by the evening’s events and not about to tempt fate further.
“Fuck,” Kyle muttered, visibly wincing as he swiped a hand over his face, throwing over his shoulder as he hastened away. “I’ll just get that…yeah.”
“Maria,” Liz pleaded, her eyes drawn back to the painting once more, a shudder coursing through her body at her image bathed in white light and frantically patted her friend’s cheek, seriously contemplating giving her a good smack to wake her up. “Maria”
“Here, move aside Parker,” Michael demanded brusquely, pulling her away from the pale, unconscious blond and moving her behind him.
“Huh?” Liz responded, her face pinching in anxious confusion, eyes widening in horror as Michael pulled a pitcher of water out from behind his back and unceremoniously poured it over Maria. “Michael!”
“What? It was wet,” he groused, his annoyed whiskey gaze leveling on a screeching, spluttering Maria, shoving drenched strands of hair out of her eyes and glared at him malevolently as he commanded. “You okay? Good, then get off your ass and let’s go. I want to get as far from this town as possible even if we have to walk. Alex, go get Kyle. And don’t say anything.”
“Uh guys,” Tess noted shakily as Alex hurried away, her eyes nervously darting around the restaurant, her arms cinching around her waist uneasily as she turned back to her bewildered friends, lips and cheeks paling as she asked. “Not to freak you out anymore than before, but where’s Max?”
“What do you mean where is Max?” Liz asked faintly, a haze fogging her head as she looked around the diner, licking her lips nervously as she desperately fought the urge to study the painting, jumping when Michael placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. “He was right here…wasn’t he?”
“Maybe he stepped outside? I’ll go look,” Isabel replied, her brow furrowing, brushing past a still sputtering and drenched Maria, heading for the door when Michael’s hand shot out and clamped around her wrist, forcing her to halt, turning to him with a glare.
“No, no one is going anywhere,” he commanded, shaking his head in negation and holding up his other hand when Isabel opened her mouth to argue. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but we’re playing this by the rules. No one goes off by themselves.”
“Agreed,” Liz nodded emphatically, rubbing her arms lightly as she pressed into Michael’s side. “As soon as Kyle and Alex come back, we’ll go look for him together. No splitting up if we can help it.”
“You’re so lucky that we have more serious things to worry about, Spaceboy,” Maria grated, shivering as she glared at him wrathfully, baring her teeth at a snickering Michael. “Or you would so get your ass kicked right now.”
“Whatever,” Michael snorted, wrapping an arm around Liz’s shoulder, unable to resist poking at Maria despite the seriousness of their plight. “Be glad it was just water and Liz didn’t slap you like she was wanting to…”
“How did you know…?” Liz trailed off, looking up at her boyfriend’s wicked grin with surprise before turning back to affronted Maria, squirming under her disbelieving expression when she unwittingly confirmed Michael’s comment.
“I know you…” Michael smirked, wagging his eyebrows mischievously, grinning when his heated glance sent a rush of pink into her cheeks.
“You were going to slap me?” Maria gasped, her mouth agape as she stared at her best friend incredulously, a slow indignant burn glowing in cat-like green eyes.
“No I…only thought…that’s besides the point, Maria,” Liz stammered, tossing an unrepentant Michael an exasperated moue, knowing that if she didn’t handle this carefully, Maria was going to erupt into a full blown tirade which they didn’t need in their given situation. “Max. Missing, remember? Focus.”
“I can’t believe you thought about smacking me,” Maria griped, crossing her arms over her chest, making Liz roll her eyes and pray for strength.
“I’m going to do more than think about slapping you if you don’t shut up already,” Isabel bit out between clenched teeth, her eyes flashing as she scanned the back of the diner, a hint of worry creeping into her voice as she asked. “Where the hell are Alex and Kyle?”
‘I don’t know,” Tess murmured, her body tensing with every passing moment that Max, Kyle and Alex were missing, turning her eyes towards the bathroom. “But it shouldn’t be taking this long?”
“Great, just great, like we need this…” Michael muttered, running a hand through his hair agitatedly, head snapping up when he heard feet slapping against the tile.
“You guys, we have a problem,” Alex called as he ran up to the group, scanning their surroundings fearfully, as if he was looking for something or someone frantically, his face strained and worried as he said the three words they had dreaded. “Kyle isn’t here.”