Blood of Alien, Chapter One
TITLE: Blood of Alien
RATING: Undecided. Eventually either PG-13 or R.
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters are mine, nor are any of the plots that the fic is based on. They belong to the WB or Jason Katims or whatever.
PAIRINGS: Undecided
SUMMARY: "It was a strange trust. These feelings were completely alien and, impossibly but simultaneously, completely familiar."
Everyone reacts to the events of the prom in different ways. The characters explore their emotions/thoughts. Most of our heros are not currently big fans of Max, believe it or not.
NOTES: Takes place right after Heart of Mine. Prologue is here.
* * * * * * * *
They were nearly the last ones left in the room. It was just the two of them, a group of well-known druggies, the band, and the sheriff and Maria's mother--pretending to keep an eye on the dying crowd but sitting so far away in the bleachers that they wouldn't have noticed if one of the kids had actually whipped out a joint and started passing it around.
The band had finished playing their off-key music a few minutes beforehand, and was now packing up. Alex and Isabel were still standing there, not dancing anymore, but not moving away either, standing facing each other with his arms around her waist and her hands on his shoulders.
They had slow danced the entire night, not paying any attention to the rest of the group. Isabel thought that she'd seen Michael and Maria dancing earlier, which had surprised her because she'd thought that they were broken up again, but she hadn't seen anyone else in their group all evening.
"It's getting late," Alex said.
Isabel smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I don't think we'll end up locked in here after everyone leaves, if that's what you're worried about."
He laughed and shook his head, looking down at his feet and then up again at her. "No, I...I sort of don't want this evening to end. Do you want to go out somewhere? Just to hang out?"
"That'd be nice." She took his hands in hers. "Anywhere in particular?"
"Who knows?" Alex replied. "The night is young! Live for the moment! Be spontaneous! ...I don't have a car."
"So we'll walk around." Isabel turned and pulled him along. "Let's go."
They ended up at a small playground halfway between the high school and Alex's place. Isabel slipped off her shoes, leaving them on a bench, and ran over to the monkey bars. She got there, laughing and out of breath, and started to climb to the top.
Alex seemed to be taking his time walking over. "Come on!" Isabel called. "Where's your sense of little kid?"
He smiled and started to jog, stopping at the bottom of the bars. "I'm glad you seem happy."
Isabel turned around, resting on top of one of the lower bars. "I am happy. I'm going to college next year. I'm finally going to be free of Roswell."
Alex joined her on the monkey bars and sat next to her. "Have you broken the news yet to Max?"
Her good mood quickly sliding away, she could feel her face turn hot, and Isabel looked over Alex's shoulder at the tall rusting slide in the distance.
"You guys have always been really close, haven't you," Alex said. "But this year--"
"I know," she said, still not meeting his gaze. "It's probably my fault. I should have told him about that whole Vilandra business as soon as I found out."
Alex reached over and took one of her hands in his, and she glanced at him--just for a second, just long enough to see the concern in his eyes. It never failed to amaze her how much affection he held for her, despite everything.
But that's not where it started, Isabel continued mentally, rolling the scene in her head as if she were still talking out loud. It started with Liz. How could I ever trust him again when he put my life on the line to save hers?
But Isabel, how can you say that? Liz is our friend. She's one of the good guys. Plus, she makes Max happy.
Not lately she hadn't. Just because Isabel and Max had stopped telling each other everything didn't mean that she didn't see what was happening with the group dynamic, didn't notice when Max went out dressed all nice and came home punching a hole in the front door.
"Isabel."
She jerked herself from her thoughts and looked at Alex. He squeezed her hand gently. "It's going to be okay. It might take time, but you two will pull through. You and Max have...have, like, a connection, you know? You're closer than any siblings I know."
"He's not going to be happy when I tell him I'm graduating," Isabel said. "I feel like...every bad thing I do to Max is a little bit of a betrayal, something he could use to say that I really am Vilandra after all."
Alex rubbed the back of her hand and didn't say anything.
"I'm trying to be careful not to let him down," she continued, "but I have to get out of here. I need to go somewhere where I'm not defined by Max and Michael."
"That's completely understandable," Alex offered.
"But at the same time, they need me." She shifted positions, sitting up so that the metal line started to dig into the bottom of her thighs. "And I can't let them down. In my past life, I deserted the group. I don't want to be that person, Alex."
"Well, you know, you don't have to go very far to get out of Roswell," Alex pointed out. "You can go to college in Albuquerque and still come home every other weekend. That's a far cry from betrayal."
Although she'd been thinking more along the lines of San Francisco.
"It's not fair," Isabel spit out. "If Whittaker had never told me about stupid Vilandra, I never would have had this pressure in the first place. I would just be Max's sister and Michael's...Michael's friend, or whatever, and I wouldn't have had to worry about betraying my kingdom and letting down my family all the time."
There wasn't really an appropriate response to her outburst, Isabel realized as they sat in embarrassed silence for a minute or two.
"Do you want...me to talk to Max for you?" Alex said finally. "I could intervene, you know--explain how you're feeling, tell him about the college thing. Then when you talk to him, at least you won't be dropping this bomb at the same time."
Isabel thought it over for a moment, intrigued by the possibility. If Alex went to talk to him first then there was a possibility that Max and Isabel might not actually turn their conversation into a blow-out argument. On the other hand, the idea of needing an intermediary between her and Max, the person she had always been closer to than anyone else in the world, made her feel sick to her stomach.
She finally shook her head. "No. Thanks, Alex. It means a lot that you would offer something like that. But I'll tell him myself."
"You sure?" Alex asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's Max. He understands me. It'll be okay."
* * * * * * * *
By the time Max dropped her off, Tess was completely in the clouds. They'd spent the entire evening discussing various memories each of them had about their previous life--sometimes they remembered the same event, sometimes the same way, sometimes so differently that they could barely recognize the story from the other's point of view, sometimes they each remembered pieces that, put together, created a story that Tess had never quite remembered how it went.
They'd discussed the first time they'd met ("You were the cutest thing in the room." "That's funny, because I thought you were a little stuck up."), the masquerade party for Vilandra's birthday where they had met for the second time ("All the shapeshifting was nauseating; I couldn't stand it...but it was nice of you to hold me up when I vomited."), and that time when Larek and Rath had decided that it was a really good idea to get high on some Ersonic powder drug at Zan's "bachelor party" and Zan had contacted Ava panicking, asking her to help him sort out the mess. Tess talked about their wedding day, and the time they had thought that she was pregnant, and about his reaction when he had seen Vilandra and Khivar together. Max talked about their wedding night, and the ceremony when Larek's first child was named, and about her reaction when her father had died.
She felt like a different person. She had always had Ava somewhere in her head, following her around her entire life, but her Ava had always been alone. Nasedo didn't have memories; he had information, and he didn't care for the fantastic emotions of a half-human child. After Nasedo's death, Tess had started to feel sometimes like it was all a dream. She was born on Earth and she was going to die on Earth, adopted by Jim Valenti after her real father had died. Not that she didn't have strong feelings for Jim and Kyle, not that they didn't give her love and acceptance. But when she was in the Valenti house, she was just a human with powers. Now she felt real.
Tess looked once more at Max, who smiled at her from the front seat of his Jeep, before turning towards the Valenti's house. She picked up the bottom of her dress to avoid dragging it and walked up to the door, opened the door as silently as she could, and started to walk towards her--well, temporarily her--bedroom.
"Tess Harding!" a voice that sounded like Kyle's but in a tone that reminded her of his father's called to her from the couch. "Where were you, so late? Why was I the first one home, what justice is that?"
Tess shrugged and smiled impishly at him. "Well, sometimes that's what happens when you dump your date."
"You'd think I'd have been able to catch someone else after you disappeared, though," Kyle responded. "I mean, I showered and everything."
"And while we both know that's everything I look for in a guy, you're surprised that some of the other girls at Roswell High are a little bit more selective?" she asked, walking past him into the bedroom.
Kyle followed her in. "You could have helped me out. Mindwarped some poor girl into thinking I was more attractive than I was."
"You know that's not really how it works, Kyle," Tess started to say, but was cut off when Kyle started to talk again.
"But I guess that's fair, since you were a little bit preoccupied by making out with Max Evans and all." He smirked, leaning against the doorpost, laying his figurative cards on the table.
Tess squeaked up a cough. "What? You saw that?"
"Not first-hand," Kyle responded. "Not second-hand, either. I sort of freaked out at one of the guys earlier for making obscene comments about you, so no one was really in the mood to dish out the gossip to me, but I overheard the rumors. Everyone in school is saying that you and Evans were..."
"Kissing. Yes," Tess confirmed. "It's true."
"Wow." Kyle whistled and scratched the back of his head, raising both arms into the air. "I guess I just have a knack of pushing girls into his arms."
She rolled her eyes. "You know it's not like that."
"I know, I know," Kyle said, "but it's such a coincidence, don't you think?"
Tess opened the dresser and pulled out an oversized faded green T-shirt that looked like it belonged to Kyle, but wasn't anything she'd ever seen him wear. "Or maybe you two have more in common than you think. Can I wear this?"
"Sure," Kyle said offhandedly. "What could Evans and I possibly have in common? Except for a taste in girls."
Tess thought about it for a second. "Well, you both have these creepy incestuous vibes between you and your respective...sisters. Could you turn around for a second?"
Kyle dutifully turned around while she took off her prom dress and slipped the T-shirt over her head. "You noticed that too?" he asked. "I never wanted to mention it, because I thought everyone else would...I don't know, stone me for heresy. Are you done yet?"
Tess playfully tossed the shiny lavender dress she'd just removed at his head, but she missed and it dropped right outside the bedroom door, causing Kyle to turn around and laugh. He leaned down and picked up the dress, then laid it flat on top of the dresser.
"So what happened with him and Liz, then?" Kyle asked. "I mean, they were going together. Right?"
Tess shrugged. "I didn't really ask for details, but I think she broke up with him again. For good this time, he said."
Kyle shook his head. "That girl is no good. She's a heartbreaker, and she doesn't even realize it. I tried to warn him last year, but does he listen?"
"Never mind," Tess said quickly. "I don't really feel like talking about Liz. This has nothing to do with her."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"
"She's not related," Tess insisted. "We barely talked about her. Mostly it was about life on Antar." She paused for a second, wondering whether to continue, because she hadn't talked much to Kyle, or anyone for that matter, about Max before. "It's weird. Kissing him. I had memories of kissing him from back then, but those memories are vague. I mean, I don't even remember what he looked like. Physically."
"Just what he looked like mentally," Kyle filled in helpfully.
"Why am I talking about this to you again?" Tess asked.
He laughed. "Who else are you going to talk to about it? Maria?"
"I could talk to Maria about it," she said slowly, thinking it over. "I'm not quite sure that I could come out of the conversation alive, but I could try."
"Is it wrong for me to say that I'd pay to see that catfight?" Kyle asked, grinning. "Considering you're sort of like my sister and Maria may well be my stepsister in a few years?"
"Kyle, anything a boy says in front of a girl that refers to being attracted to girls is wrong by definition." She sat down on the bed and pulled the blanket over her legs. "I may not have grown up in a normal human household, but I've picked up that much, at least."
"You learn so well," Kyle responded with an amused edge in his voice. "Are you going to sleep now?"
"I'd like to," Tess replied. "That might involve you leaving the room. And turning the light off, if you're so inclined."
"See, I can take a hint." He flipped down the switch next to the doorway, and a calm blackness entered the room. "Night, Tess."
"Night, Kyle." She did something that was halfway between a sigh and a yawn as he walked away.
As she closed her eyes, Tess imagined the gel-like swimming water that she remembered from Antar. She wondered if she would ever feel that water with her human hands, if that water was for drinking (or eating?) or if drinking water was smooth with the same viscosity as the water on Earth.
If she had the chance to go back, Tess asked herself, but it meant that she could never visit Earth again, would she take it? It was a question she asked herself often. She knew what the answer should be--after all, she was created for a purpose--but she really did have a soft spot for Earth. She'd lived in three different countries, traveled all over the United States with Nasedo, and everything about the planet had fascinated her. And there were so many places she still wanted to see. Graceland, Universal Studios, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Bahamas over the infamous Spring Break, Madame Tussauds all over the world, Hong Kong, Venice, Jerusalem, Wales, Egypt. Since coming to Roswell, she'd seen both New York City and Las Vegas, which had crossed two places off of her list, but there was so much more left unexplored.
On the other hand, alien responsibilities aside, she wanted to see Antar. She wanted to trek across the planet to see if anything was familiar to her, to meet its inhabitants (her people) and find out what they were like. They wouldn't be like Nasedo, she knew that much. He was mostly of their species, but he'd been 'genetically designed to better fulfill [his] mission,' he'd told her.
In seventh grade, when they learned about DNA and genetics, Tess was the only one in the class who already knew what the teacher was telling them. She'd already known that DNA was made out of the same components in every living creature on Earth. She'd also known that it was the same across the known universe, but hadn't shared that information with the rest of the class.
She heard footsteps in the hall. "So do you think that means Liz is back in the game?" Kyle asked, appearing back in the doorway.
Tess rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. "Who knows, Kyle? Good night."
Kyle turned to go, then spun a whole three-sixty. "Not that I'm interested. I'm just thinking, if she's going to get together with DeLuca--Maria's cousin, I mean--are we going to have to include him in the alien gang?"
Tess pulled her cover over her head. "Good night, Kyle."
"Or will he have to die and be brought back by Evans in order to be inducted?"
"Kyle!"
"Okay, okay."
"Good night."
"Good night, Tess."
* * * * * * * *
Liz had almost managed to doze off when she heard a frantic knocking at her window. She instantly opened her eyes and sat up.
Max, she thought. She didn't know what he was doing here, not after the way he'd kissed Tess, but she was glad he was. Even if he was coming to tell her he was over her. Even if she was going to yell at him--not that she was planning on it, but even if it happened--she was glad that he had thought of her, that he'd dragged himself all the way to her balcony just to talk to her, whatever the reason was.
The knocking started again. "Liz, open up!" a female voice called. "There is no way you're sleeping. It's not even one yet!"
Maria, of course.
Liz groaned and sat up. "One second!" she said, trying to speak loudly enough for Maria to hear but quietly enough so that it wouldn't wake either of her parents. She walked over to the window leading to her balcony and peered through.
Maria was still in her ivory-colored prom dress, but the wreath seemed to be gone. She looked happy--her eyes were lit up and there was a huge red-painted smile across her face.
Liz opened the window. "What's going on? Come in." She moved out of the way and Maria jumped through, balancing herself on the sides.
"You weren't sleeping, were you?" she asked.
Liz shook her head. "No, I was just...well, I was going to sleep." She hung her head in a mocking show of defeat, then looked back up at Maria. "I wasn't asleep yet, though."
"Sorry," Maria said. "I just, I had to talk to you. I had the most amazing night ever and I need to share. Best friends talk."
"That sounds good. Was it Michael?" Liz asked, trying to be happy for Maria but feeling emptier on the inside than she would have liked.
"It was so Michael." Maria sat down on Liz's bed and pulled Liz down to sit next to her, which the dark-haired girl did, carefully. "So, remember Juanita?"
Liz nodded.
"Juanita," Maria began, "is Michael's...dance teacher."
"What?" Liz responded, feigning absolute shock. Not that she'd known about the dance lessons. But she hadn't believed that Michael was actually taking another girl to prom, not for a second, not with Michael's history of pulling through for Maria at the last second, after Maria had practically given up. Unlike some other aliens she knew.
"I know! He was taking dance lessons all along to surprise me. I guess he felt bad after I chewed him out for not wanting to go to the prom. Maybe I should be more accepting of Michael. You know? Because he's really...I don't know how to say it. Dependable, but in an exciting way."
Liz nodded and smiled as Maria got up from the bed and started to walk around the room. She paused by the mirror and looked at Liz's reflection.
"I feel so alive," Maria continued. "That was a great night. Totally surpassed all my expectations." She paused for a second, seeming to note Liz's lack of speech. "Wait, sorry, I should stop talking about me. How about you, how was your prom night? Is Max an excellent dancer?"
Liz shook her head, not quite ready to talk about it. "No, tell me about yours. I want to hear."
"My God, I don't even know where to start," Maria gushed. "It was the most romantic thing ever. I mean, sure, he's an awful dancer and he totally scuffed up my new shoes that I bought specifically for prom, but it was wonderful, you know? I think--I mean, I don't want to jinx it or anything, but I think we might be getting to the level of you and Max."
Liz could feel her smile draining quickly. She sat back on the bed against the wall, blinking in order to try to keep herself from tearing up.
"What?" Maria asked, catching Liz's look. "You and Max. Did something happen?"
"Oh," Liz said in an offhand tone that she hoped sounded sarcastic, "not really. Except that he kissed Tess."
Maria's eyes widened. "Tonight?"
"No," Liz replied. "I'm talking about that time last year, I just haven't gotten over that."
"Oh my God! That jerk! I'll kill him!" Maria said. She walked over from the desk and sat on the bed next to Liz. "Come, put your head on my shoulder. I can't believe it. Why would he do that when he was at the prom with you?"
Liz drew up her knees and rested her head against Maria's chest. She didn't say anything. Not Actually, I was the one who broke it off or Because I practically begged him to, just leaned against Maria and whimpered.
"I'm really sorry, Liz," Maria whispered, and started stroking Liz's hair softly.
They sat in silence for a while. Liz didn't mind; it gave her a chance to think more clearly.
Once she got sick of the silence, once she decided that the thoughts bouncing around inside her head would probably feel better if let out, she spoke. "D'you think it's my fault?" She sat up and looked at Maria. "I mean, I did...push him away. I guess. I told him that it wasn't right...for us to get back together. And then I left him by himself and went to dance with you."
Maria shook her head. "No. Okay, Liz? No way. We do not blame the victim here. Would you have gone...would you have kissed Sean or anyone right afterwards? No way. Just because you're not together right now doesn't mean that he can fool around with other girls, especially that...oh, I don't even want to say what she is. The point is, you'll get back together one day. This destiny thing will eventually go away. It's not like he needs to make out with Tess in order to defeat the Skins, right?"
"Of course not," Liz replied. "But she's part of his past."
Maria took Liz's shoulders and held her out ahead of her, so that they were face to face. "And you, girlfriend, are part of his future. You know you guys are still in love. In the end, it's going to be you. And then, you know what? He's going to have to answer to you about his infidelity. And you, Ms. Parker, are going to make him get on his knees."
Liz laughed despite herself.
Maria tilted her head to show off her smile. "And I happen to know about getting guys to their knees. Michael took dancing lessons. For me. Do you know what that means? That means I've got him hooked. He's mi-i-ne." She finished the sentence with a sing-song tone and did a little dance with her head to match.
Liz smiled, and this time she really meant it. "I'm happy for you. You deserve this."
"I do," Maria agreed. "And you do, too! Don't worry, your day will come." She gave Liz a quick hug. "I should get going. Sorry for waking you up!"
* * * * * * * *
It was almost two when Max pulled up to the driveway. He started walking towards the door, then reconsidered and began to walk to his bedroom window, so as not to wake his parents or Isabel with his entrance.
He still wasn't sure how he felt about that night. It definitely wasn't bad, hanging out with Tess and reminiscing about things he hadn't even remembered until recently. He had enjoyed himself. And he had felt close to Tess. And for the first time since meeting her, he felt a deep trust.
But it was a strange trust. These feelings were completely alien and, impossibly but simultaneously, completely familiar. He thought of Liz and he loved Liz, but he loved Liz with everything he had known for the past nine years. His feelings for Tess were part of his blood, part of a being that was him and not him at the same time and he'd always wanted to deny that part of himself, but now that he had opened up to it, it wasn't bad. It fit, but it fit like a new pair of jeans--or more accurately, like an old pair of jeans fresh out of a load of laundry that needed to be broken in again.
He wondered whether he loved Tess, then pushed the thought out of his mind.
Max reached his bedroom window and, after looking around to make sure that no one else was there, used his powers to undo the lock. He slid the window up and climbed through, bumping his head very lightly.
As he opened a drawer to look for an undershirt to sleep in, he heard a scratching sound that sounded a lot like the window opening. Before he had a chance to think what he was doing, he'd spun around and raised his arm, and a green shield appeared between him and his bedroom window.
"Maxwell!" Michael's voice hissed. "Are you crazy? What if it had been Mr. or Mrs. Evans?"
Max lowered his hand and let the shield fade. "What would my parents be doing climbing through the window? For that matter, what are you doing here, Michael?" He noticed that, unlike when they'd met earlier at the Crashdown, Michael seemed to be wearing a black tuxedo jacket over a black shirt, giving him a strange papal look. "And why are you dressed like a vicar?"
Michael scowled. "You're pretty funny. For your information, this is my prom tux, and Maria was all over it. I saw you leaving when I came in. I thought you saw me."
"No, I was a little...I had a lot on my mind," Max said. "I thought you and Maria weren't going to the prom?"
"Everyone thought that," Michael replied, his lips curving into a half-smile. "Listen, I came here because I have a theory. Well, not a theory, but this is interesting."
Max almost rolled his eyes but remembered the fight and the truce they had come to in Las Vegas and thought better of it. "So, what happened?"
"Well, okay." Michael started to pace slowly around the room. "Maria and I got into a fight about the prom. She wanted to go, and I pretended not to. But instead, I took dancing lessons so that I could surprise her there."
Michael had a weird concept of the romantic, Max decided, but he'd known that for a while.
"So I show up at the dance, in my tux and all, and she's totally floored," Michael continued. "But she's trying to hide it, so she's like, 'Oh, you should have brought Juanita.'"
Max stared at him, expecting the other boy to go on, but Michael was clearly waiting for a reaction from him.
"Juanita who?" Max asked.
"Oh. The dance teacher."
Max nodded. "So did you tell Maria that she was just your dance teacher?"
"Yeah," Michael answered, "of course. But then I got to thinking, how the hell does she know about the lessons? How does she know Juanita's name? I didn't tell anyone about it, not even you."
"You just told me now," Max pointed out.
"Maxwell, will you stop being an ass?" Michael didn't even crack a smile. "Don't you think it's weird that she knows this stuff? Maybe she's, you know, getting flashes."
Max raised his eyebrows. "Getting flashes? Michael, what were you guys doing while you were fighting? Wait, don't tell me, I don't want to know."
"Can't you ever take me seriously? We weren't even talking to each other, and yet she picks up the name Juanita? Don't you think that's a little bit strange? Maybe she can pick up flashes based on emotions running high, because you know hers always do, even if we're nowhere near each other."
Max shrugged. "She could have gone to the same dance school and seen your name under Juanita's list, or she could have met Juanita and asked her her name...I don't see why this should be an alien issue. Why don't you just ask Maria?"
Michael was silent for a few moments, and Max guessed that the thought hadn't even crossed Michael's mind until he'd just said it. "I could do that," Michael said finally. "After all, what's the worst she can do? She won't kick me. Probably."
"Probably?" Max repeated.
"You never really know with Maria," Michael explained. "To be honest, I'm a little scared of her."
Max laughed. "Shut up. Maria talks tough, but that doesn't mean she's violent."
"I was using a metaphor to illustrate my point. Maxwell." Michael rolled his eyes. "God, you're embarrassing to be seen with."
Max shrugged noncomitally.
"So I'll ask Maria about the flashes she's getting," Michael said, excitement rising in his voice. "Maybe it'll help us develop our powers some more. You know, because not all of us are getting memories from the mothership."
"All right, Michael, but I think maybe you shouldn't start out from the assumption that she's getting flashes when you speak to her." Max shrugged again. "Just a tip."
Michael seemed to chew on the idea for a second, then he shook his head. "What am I doing taking ideas from you anyway? Since when do you know anything about chicks?" He climbed out the bedroom window and took off, without saying goodbye.
Typical Michael.
* * * * * * * *
"And after I spend a year in Turkey," Alex said, "I'm going to come back and start college. Maybe I'll do college abroad. Maybe I'll do college in England and start a rock band there."
Isabel laughed in a low voice, her head resting on his shoulder and her left hand tracing his forearm. They had since moved from the monkey bars to the bench where she'd left her shoes and had talked for hours about the most random things. "Alex, don't you already have a rock band?"
"The Whits are little league, man." Alex yawned and stretched out his free arm. "My real band's going to make it big. Maybe we'll be a one-hit wonder and be featured on VH1's Where Are They Now? in forty years."
"That sounds nice," Isabel said.
"You think so?" he asked. "Maybe you'll get to be my number-one groupie."
Isabel looked up, a worried expression on her face. "I can't make a commitment like that. Who knows what planet I'll be on in five years?"
It stung, but Alex smiled. "Relax. I was joking, don't worry." She put her head down again. "I understand that you guys have this quest. I would never want to hold you back from it."
Isabel made a sound that he couldn't make out, then said, "Thanks. That's sweet."
A peaceful silence descended, and he stared ahead at the playground, watching the swings being pushed back and forth by a light breeze. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw a thin sliver of sun appearing over the eastern horizon. He checked his watch. "Look, Isabel. The sun is starting to rise."
Isabel sighed gently against his shoulder and said nothing. Her eyes were closed, an outline of silver shadow as clean and smooth against her eyelids as when she'd met him in the Crashdown eight hours earlier.
She was beautiful, it was easy to see that. And it wasn't just her looks--her loyalty and bravery inspired him, and her hidden tenderness made him want to take care of her forever. But still, after a year of being her friend and the ups and downs and ons and offs in their relationship, he still felt like he was looking at her from the outside. Max and Liz didn't even have to speak for the other one to know what they were thinking, and Michael and Maria were entangled in a personality clash that would never be reconciled. Even Kyle and Tess had a few jokes that no one else could possibly understand. But with Isabel, he so often felt as if it were a first date among strangers who were set up by mutual friends, or like he was observing her in a zoo.
He wanted to change that. He wanted to need Isabel, and vice-versa, like the others needed each other, like Liz needed Maria and Maria needed Michael and Michael needed Max and Max needed Isabel, and Tess and Kyle needed each other whether they would admit it or not.
Maybe with time.
Alex looked back over at her and realized that her skin was glowing. Not with sweat, but glowing--as if there was a light source on the other side, the way his hand would look if he held up up over a lit flashlight. He felt her forehead and it was so hot that he had to pull away.
"Isabel!" he whispered sharply, hoping to wake her up without shaking her. "Isabel! Wake up!"
Her head twitched, and she opened her eyes. "What--where am--Alex?" she said. Her skin had gone back to normal without his noticing.
"You were sleeping," Alex said. "Isabel, are you all right? Your skin was glowing."
"How odd," Isabel said slowly, a dazed, dreamy tone in her voice. "I was dreaming. And when I woke up, I felt for a second--but I don't remember."
"You don't remember the dream?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I feel completely normal now. But it was so strange! Or nice. Or scary. I forget."
"You forget? Isabel, I've never seen anything like that!" Alex held her frantically, but she seemed perfectly at ease.
"Well, it's over now, isn't it?" Isabel replied, a little more crossly than Alex was neccessarily comfortable with. "Look, the sun is coming up. We should probably both get home. Want me to walk you?"
* * * * * * * *
Max was sure that he hadn't been asleep for more than five minutes when he heard a knocking on his bedroom window. He groaned and stuffed his head into his pillow, hoping that it would stop and that Michael would go home.
There were a few seconds of pause followed by a louder, incessant knocking.
"God!" Max muttered. He gave up and started walking towards the window, rubbing his eyes as he walked. "Michael, just go--"
He stopped himself, because it wasn't Michael standing outside the window at all. It was Brody. Or Larek most likely.
"What is it?" Max asked, not opening the window.
"Let me in," Brody said. Max couldn't hear him, but he was pretty sure that was what it was, followed by something that seemed to be, I had breakfast on your Monday.
Max reached out and unlocked the window, then opened it just a crack. "What?"
"I said, Let me in. I have a message from your mother."
RATING: Undecided. Eventually either PG-13 or R.
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters are mine, nor are any of the plots that the fic is based on. They belong to the WB or Jason Katims or whatever.
PAIRINGS: Undecided
SUMMARY: "It was a strange trust. These feelings were completely alien and, impossibly but simultaneously, completely familiar."
Everyone reacts to the events of the prom in different ways. The characters explore their emotions/thoughts. Most of our heros are not currently big fans of Max, believe it or not.
NOTES: Takes place right after Heart of Mine. Prologue is here.
* * * * * * * *
They were nearly the last ones left in the room. It was just the two of them, a group of well-known druggies, the band, and the sheriff and Maria's mother--pretending to keep an eye on the dying crowd but sitting so far away in the bleachers that they wouldn't have noticed if one of the kids had actually whipped out a joint and started passing it around.
The band had finished playing their off-key music a few minutes beforehand, and was now packing up. Alex and Isabel were still standing there, not dancing anymore, but not moving away either, standing facing each other with his arms around her waist and her hands on his shoulders.
They had slow danced the entire night, not paying any attention to the rest of the group. Isabel thought that she'd seen Michael and Maria dancing earlier, which had surprised her because she'd thought that they were broken up again, but she hadn't seen anyone else in their group all evening.
"It's getting late," Alex said.
Isabel smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I don't think we'll end up locked in here after everyone leaves, if that's what you're worried about."
He laughed and shook his head, looking down at his feet and then up again at her. "No, I...I sort of don't want this evening to end. Do you want to go out somewhere? Just to hang out?"
"That'd be nice." She took his hands in hers. "Anywhere in particular?"
"Who knows?" Alex replied. "The night is young! Live for the moment! Be spontaneous! ...I don't have a car."
"So we'll walk around." Isabel turned and pulled him along. "Let's go."
They ended up at a small playground halfway between the high school and Alex's place. Isabel slipped off her shoes, leaving them on a bench, and ran over to the monkey bars. She got there, laughing and out of breath, and started to climb to the top.
Alex seemed to be taking his time walking over. "Come on!" Isabel called. "Where's your sense of little kid?"
He smiled and started to jog, stopping at the bottom of the bars. "I'm glad you seem happy."
Isabel turned around, resting on top of one of the lower bars. "I am happy. I'm going to college next year. I'm finally going to be free of Roswell."
Alex joined her on the monkey bars and sat next to her. "Have you broken the news yet to Max?"
Her good mood quickly sliding away, she could feel her face turn hot, and Isabel looked over Alex's shoulder at the tall rusting slide in the distance.
"You guys have always been really close, haven't you," Alex said. "But this year--"
"I know," she said, still not meeting his gaze. "It's probably my fault. I should have told him about that whole Vilandra business as soon as I found out."
Alex reached over and took one of her hands in his, and she glanced at him--just for a second, just long enough to see the concern in his eyes. It never failed to amaze her how much affection he held for her, despite everything.
But that's not where it started, Isabel continued mentally, rolling the scene in her head as if she were still talking out loud. It started with Liz. How could I ever trust him again when he put my life on the line to save hers?
But Isabel, how can you say that? Liz is our friend. She's one of the good guys. Plus, she makes Max happy.
Not lately she hadn't. Just because Isabel and Max had stopped telling each other everything didn't mean that she didn't see what was happening with the group dynamic, didn't notice when Max went out dressed all nice and came home punching a hole in the front door.
"Isabel."
She jerked herself from her thoughts and looked at Alex. He squeezed her hand gently. "It's going to be okay. It might take time, but you two will pull through. You and Max have...have, like, a connection, you know? You're closer than any siblings I know."
"He's not going to be happy when I tell him I'm graduating," Isabel said. "I feel like...every bad thing I do to Max is a little bit of a betrayal, something he could use to say that I really am Vilandra after all."
Alex rubbed the back of her hand and didn't say anything.
"I'm trying to be careful not to let him down," she continued, "but I have to get out of here. I need to go somewhere where I'm not defined by Max and Michael."
"That's completely understandable," Alex offered.
"But at the same time, they need me." She shifted positions, sitting up so that the metal line started to dig into the bottom of her thighs. "And I can't let them down. In my past life, I deserted the group. I don't want to be that person, Alex."
"Well, you know, you don't have to go very far to get out of Roswell," Alex pointed out. "You can go to college in Albuquerque and still come home every other weekend. That's a far cry from betrayal."
Although she'd been thinking more along the lines of San Francisco.
"It's not fair," Isabel spit out. "If Whittaker had never told me about stupid Vilandra, I never would have had this pressure in the first place. I would just be Max's sister and Michael's...Michael's friend, or whatever, and I wouldn't have had to worry about betraying my kingdom and letting down my family all the time."
There wasn't really an appropriate response to her outburst, Isabel realized as they sat in embarrassed silence for a minute or two.
"Do you want...me to talk to Max for you?" Alex said finally. "I could intervene, you know--explain how you're feeling, tell him about the college thing. Then when you talk to him, at least you won't be dropping this bomb at the same time."
Isabel thought it over for a moment, intrigued by the possibility. If Alex went to talk to him first then there was a possibility that Max and Isabel might not actually turn their conversation into a blow-out argument. On the other hand, the idea of needing an intermediary between her and Max, the person she had always been closer to than anyone else in the world, made her feel sick to her stomach.
She finally shook her head. "No. Thanks, Alex. It means a lot that you would offer something like that. But I'll tell him myself."
"You sure?" Alex asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's Max. He understands me. It'll be okay."
* * * * * * * *
By the time Max dropped her off, Tess was completely in the clouds. They'd spent the entire evening discussing various memories each of them had about their previous life--sometimes they remembered the same event, sometimes the same way, sometimes so differently that they could barely recognize the story from the other's point of view, sometimes they each remembered pieces that, put together, created a story that Tess had never quite remembered how it went.
They'd discussed the first time they'd met ("You were the cutest thing in the room." "That's funny, because I thought you were a little stuck up."), the masquerade party for Vilandra's birthday where they had met for the second time ("All the shapeshifting was nauseating; I couldn't stand it...but it was nice of you to hold me up when I vomited."), and that time when Larek and Rath had decided that it was a really good idea to get high on some Ersonic powder drug at Zan's "bachelor party" and Zan had contacted Ava panicking, asking her to help him sort out the mess. Tess talked about their wedding day, and the time they had thought that she was pregnant, and about his reaction when he had seen Vilandra and Khivar together. Max talked about their wedding night, and the ceremony when Larek's first child was named, and about her reaction when her father had died.
She felt like a different person. She had always had Ava somewhere in her head, following her around her entire life, but her Ava had always been alone. Nasedo didn't have memories; he had information, and he didn't care for the fantastic emotions of a half-human child. After Nasedo's death, Tess had started to feel sometimes like it was all a dream. She was born on Earth and she was going to die on Earth, adopted by Jim Valenti after her real father had died. Not that she didn't have strong feelings for Jim and Kyle, not that they didn't give her love and acceptance. But when she was in the Valenti house, she was just a human with powers. Now she felt real.
Tess looked once more at Max, who smiled at her from the front seat of his Jeep, before turning towards the Valenti's house. She picked up the bottom of her dress to avoid dragging it and walked up to the door, opened the door as silently as she could, and started to walk towards her--well, temporarily her--bedroom.
"Tess Harding!" a voice that sounded like Kyle's but in a tone that reminded her of his father's called to her from the couch. "Where were you, so late? Why was I the first one home, what justice is that?"
Tess shrugged and smiled impishly at him. "Well, sometimes that's what happens when you dump your date."
"You'd think I'd have been able to catch someone else after you disappeared, though," Kyle responded. "I mean, I showered and everything."
"And while we both know that's everything I look for in a guy, you're surprised that some of the other girls at Roswell High are a little bit more selective?" she asked, walking past him into the bedroom.
Kyle followed her in. "You could have helped me out. Mindwarped some poor girl into thinking I was more attractive than I was."
"You know that's not really how it works, Kyle," Tess started to say, but was cut off when Kyle started to talk again.
"But I guess that's fair, since you were a little bit preoccupied by making out with Max Evans and all." He smirked, leaning against the doorpost, laying his figurative cards on the table.
Tess squeaked up a cough. "What? You saw that?"
"Not first-hand," Kyle responded. "Not second-hand, either. I sort of freaked out at one of the guys earlier for making obscene comments about you, so no one was really in the mood to dish out the gossip to me, but I overheard the rumors. Everyone in school is saying that you and Evans were..."
"Kissing. Yes," Tess confirmed. "It's true."
"Wow." Kyle whistled and scratched the back of his head, raising both arms into the air. "I guess I just have a knack of pushing girls into his arms."
She rolled her eyes. "You know it's not like that."
"I know, I know," Kyle said, "but it's such a coincidence, don't you think?"
Tess opened the dresser and pulled out an oversized faded green T-shirt that looked like it belonged to Kyle, but wasn't anything she'd ever seen him wear. "Or maybe you two have more in common than you think. Can I wear this?"
"Sure," Kyle said offhandedly. "What could Evans and I possibly have in common? Except for a taste in girls."
Tess thought about it for a second. "Well, you both have these creepy incestuous vibes between you and your respective...sisters. Could you turn around for a second?"
Kyle dutifully turned around while she took off her prom dress and slipped the T-shirt over her head. "You noticed that too?" he asked. "I never wanted to mention it, because I thought everyone else would...I don't know, stone me for heresy. Are you done yet?"
Tess playfully tossed the shiny lavender dress she'd just removed at his head, but she missed and it dropped right outside the bedroom door, causing Kyle to turn around and laugh. He leaned down and picked up the dress, then laid it flat on top of the dresser.
"So what happened with him and Liz, then?" Kyle asked. "I mean, they were going together. Right?"
Tess shrugged. "I didn't really ask for details, but I think she broke up with him again. For good this time, he said."
Kyle shook his head. "That girl is no good. She's a heartbreaker, and she doesn't even realize it. I tried to warn him last year, but does he listen?"
"Never mind," Tess said quickly. "I don't really feel like talking about Liz. This has nothing to do with her."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"
"She's not related," Tess insisted. "We barely talked about her. Mostly it was about life on Antar." She paused for a second, wondering whether to continue, because she hadn't talked much to Kyle, or anyone for that matter, about Max before. "It's weird. Kissing him. I had memories of kissing him from back then, but those memories are vague. I mean, I don't even remember what he looked like. Physically."
"Just what he looked like mentally," Kyle filled in helpfully.
"Why am I talking about this to you again?" Tess asked.
He laughed. "Who else are you going to talk to about it? Maria?"
"I could talk to Maria about it," she said slowly, thinking it over. "I'm not quite sure that I could come out of the conversation alive, but I could try."
"Is it wrong for me to say that I'd pay to see that catfight?" Kyle asked, grinning. "Considering you're sort of like my sister and Maria may well be my stepsister in a few years?"
"Kyle, anything a boy says in front of a girl that refers to being attracted to girls is wrong by definition." She sat down on the bed and pulled the blanket over her legs. "I may not have grown up in a normal human household, but I've picked up that much, at least."
"You learn so well," Kyle responded with an amused edge in his voice. "Are you going to sleep now?"
"I'd like to," Tess replied. "That might involve you leaving the room. And turning the light off, if you're so inclined."
"See, I can take a hint." He flipped down the switch next to the doorway, and a calm blackness entered the room. "Night, Tess."
"Night, Kyle." She did something that was halfway between a sigh and a yawn as he walked away.
As she closed her eyes, Tess imagined the gel-like swimming water that she remembered from Antar. She wondered if she would ever feel that water with her human hands, if that water was for drinking (or eating?) or if drinking water was smooth with the same viscosity as the water on Earth.
If she had the chance to go back, Tess asked herself, but it meant that she could never visit Earth again, would she take it? It was a question she asked herself often. She knew what the answer should be--after all, she was created for a purpose--but she really did have a soft spot for Earth. She'd lived in three different countries, traveled all over the United States with Nasedo, and everything about the planet had fascinated her. And there were so many places she still wanted to see. Graceland, Universal Studios, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Bahamas over the infamous Spring Break, Madame Tussauds all over the world, Hong Kong, Venice, Jerusalem, Wales, Egypt. Since coming to Roswell, she'd seen both New York City and Las Vegas, which had crossed two places off of her list, but there was so much more left unexplored.
On the other hand, alien responsibilities aside, she wanted to see Antar. She wanted to trek across the planet to see if anything was familiar to her, to meet its inhabitants (her people) and find out what they were like. They wouldn't be like Nasedo, she knew that much. He was mostly of their species, but he'd been 'genetically designed to better fulfill [his] mission,' he'd told her.
In seventh grade, when they learned about DNA and genetics, Tess was the only one in the class who already knew what the teacher was telling them. She'd already known that DNA was made out of the same components in every living creature on Earth. She'd also known that it was the same across the known universe, but hadn't shared that information with the rest of the class.
She heard footsteps in the hall. "So do you think that means Liz is back in the game?" Kyle asked, appearing back in the doorway.
Tess rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. "Who knows, Kyle? Good night."
Kyle turned to go, then spun a whole three-sixty. "Not that I'm interested. I'm just thinking, if she's going to get together with DeLuca--Maria's cousin, I mean--are we going to have to include him in the alien gang?"
Tess pulled her cover over her head. "Good night, Kyle."
"Or will he have to die and be brought back by Evans in order to be inducted?"
"Kyle!"
"Okay, okay."
"Good night."
"Good night, Tess."
* * * * * * * *
Liz had almost managed to doze off when she heard a frantic knocking at her window. She instantly opened her eyes and sat up.
Max, she thought. She didn't know what he was doing here, not after the way he'd kissed Tess, but she was glad he was. Even if he was coming to tell her he was over her. Even if she was going to yell at him--not that she was planning on it, but even if it happened--she was glad that he had thought of her, that he'd dragged himself all the way to her balcony just to talk to her, whatever the reason was.
The knocking started again. "Liz, open up!" a female voice called. "There is no way you're sleeping. It's not even one yet!"
Maria, of course.
Liz groaned and sat up. "One second!" she said, trying to speak loudly enough for Maria to hear but quietly enough so that it wouldn't wake either of her parents. She walked over to the window leading to her balcony and peered through.
Maria was still in her ivory-colored prom dress, but the wreath seemed to be gone. She looked happy--her eyes were lit up and there was a huge red-painted smile across her face.
Liz opened the window. "What's going on? Come in." She moved out of the way and Maria jumped through, balancing herself on the sides.
"You weren't sleeping, were you?" she asked.
Liz shook her head. "No, I was just...well, I was going to sleep." She hung her head in a mocking show of defeat, then looked back up at Maria. "I wasn't asleep yet, though."
"Sorry," Maria said. "I just, I had to talk to you. I had the most amazing night ever and I need to share. Best friends talk."
"That sounds good. Was it Michael?" Liz asked, trying to be happy for Maria but feeling emptier on the inside than she would have liked.
"It was so Michael." Maria sat down on Liz's bed and pulled Liz down to sit next to her, which the dark-haired girl did, carefully. "So, remember Juanita?"
Liz nodded.
"Juanita," Maria began, "is Michael's...dance teacher."
"What?" Liz responded, feigning absolute shock. Not that she'd known about the dance lessons. But she hadn't believed that Michael was actually taking another girl to prom, not for a second, not with Michael's history of pulling through for Maria at the last second, after Maria had practically given up. Unlike some other aliens she knew.
"I know! He was taking dance lessons all along to surprise me. I guess he felt bad after I chewed him out for not wanting to go to the prom. Maybe I should be more accepting of Michael. You know? Because he's really...I don't know how to say it. Dependable, but in an exciting way."
Liz nodded and smiled as Maria got up from the bed and started to walk around the room. She paused by the mirror and looked at Liz's reflection.
"I feel so alive," Maria continued. "That was a great night. Totally surpassed all my expectations." She paused for a second, seeming to note Liz's lack of speech. "Wait, sorry, I should stop talking about me. How about you, how was your prom night? Is Max an excellent dancer?"
Liz shook her head, not quite ready to talk about it. "No, tell me about yours. I want to hear."
"My God, I don't even know where to start," Maria gushed. "It was the most romantic thing ever. I mean, sure, he's an awful dancer and he totally scuffed up my new shoes that I bought specifically for prom, but it was wonderful, you know? I think--I mean, I don't want to jinx it or anything, but I think we might be getting to the level of you and Max."
Liz could feel her smile draining quickly. She sat back on the bed against the wall, blinking in order to try to keep herself from tearing up.
"What?" Maria asked, catching Liz's look. "You and Max. Did something happen?"
"Oh," Liz said in an offhand tone that she hoped sounded sarcastic, "not really. Except that he kissed Tess."
Maria's eyes widened. "Tonight?"
"No," Liz replied. "I'm talking about that time last year, I just haven't gotten over that."
"Oh my God! That jerk! I'll kill him!" Maria said. She walked over from the desk and sat on the bed next to Liz. "Come, put your head on my shoulder. I can't believe it. Why would he do that when he was at the prom with you?"
Liz drew up her knees and rested her head against Maria's chest. She didn't say anything. Not Actually, I was the one who broke it off or Because I practically begged him to, just leaned against Maria and whimpered.
"I'm really sorry, Liz," Maria whispered, and started stroking Liz's hair softly.
They sat in silence for a while. Liz didn't mind; it gave her a chance to think more clearly.
Once she got sick of the silence, once she decided that the thoughts bouncing around inside her head would probably feel better if let out, she spoke. "D'you think it's my fault?" She sat up and looked at Maria. "I mean, I did...push him away. I guess. I told him that it wasn't right...for us to get back together. And then I left him by himself and went to dance with you."
Maria shook her head. "No. Okay, Liz? No way. We do not blame the victim here. Would you have gone...would you have kissed Sean or anyone right afterwards? No way. Just because you're not together right now doesn't mean that he can fool around with other girls, especially that...oh, I don't even want to say what she is. The point is, you'll get back together one day. This destiny thing will eventually go away. It's not like he needs to make out with Tess in order to defeat the Skins, right?"
"Of course not," Liz replied. "But she's part of his past."
Maria took Liz's shoulders and held her out ahead of her, so that they were face to face. "And you, girlfriend, are part of his future. You know you guys are still in love. In the end, it's going to be you. And then, you know what? He's going to have to answer to you about his infidelity. And you, Ms. Parker, are going to make him get on his knees."
Liz laughed despite herself.
Maria tilted her head to show off her smile. "And I happen to know about getting guys to their knees. Michael took dancing lessons. For me. Do you know what that means? That means I've got him hooked. He's mi-i-ne." She finished the sentence with a sing-song tone and did a little dance with her head to match.
Liz smiled, and this time she really meant it. "I'm happy for you. You deserve this."
"I do," Maria agreed. "And you do, too! Don't worry, your day will come." She gave Liz a quick hug. "I should get going. Sorry for waking you up!"
* * * * * * * *
It was almost two when Max pulled up to the driveway. He started walking towards the door, then reconsidered and began to walk to his bedroom window, so as not to wake his parents or Isabel with his entrance.
He still wasn't sure how he felt about that night. It definitely wasn't bad, hanging out with Tess and reminiscing about things he hadn't even remembered until recently. He had enjoyed himself. And he had felt close to Tess. And for the first time since meeting her, he felt a deep trust.
But it was a strange trust. These feelings were completely alien and, impossibly but simultaneously, completely familiar. He thought of Liz and he loved Liz, but he loved Liz with everything he had known for the past nine years. His feelings for Tess were part of his blood, part of a being that was him and not him at the same time and he'd always wanted to deny that part of himself, but now that he had opened up to it, it wasn't bad. It fit, but it fit like a new pair of jeans--or more accurately, like an old pair of jeans fresh out of a load of laundry that needed to be broken in again.
He wondered whether he loved Tess, then pushed the thought out of his mind.
Max reached his bedroom window and, after looking around to make sure that no one else was there, used his powers to undo the lock. He slid the window up and climbed through, bumping his head very lightly.
As he opened a drawer to look for an undershirt to sleep in, he heard a scratching sound that sounded a lot like the window opening. Before he had a chance to think what he was doing, he'd spun around and raised his arm, and a green shield appeared between him and his bedroom window.
"Maxwell!" Michael's voice hissed. "Are you crazy? What if it had been Mr. or Mrs. Evans?"
Max lowered his hand and let the shield fade. "What would my parents be doing climbing through the window? For that matter, what are you doing here, Michael?" He noticed that, unlike when they'd met earlier at the Crashdown, Michael seemed to be wearing a black tuxedo jacket over a black shirt, giving him a strange papal look. "And why are you dressed like a vicar?"
Michael scowled. "You're pretty funny. For your information, this is my prom tux, and Maria was all over it. I saw you leaving when I came in. I thought you saw me."
"No, I was a little...I had a lot on my mind," Max said. "I thought you and Maria weren't going to the prom?"
"Everyone thought that," Michael replied, his lips curving into a half-smile. "Listen, I came here because I have a theory. Well, not a theory, but this is interesting."
Max almost rolled his eyes but remembered the fight and the truce they had come to in Las Vegas and thought better of it. "So, what happened?"
"Well, okay." Michael started to pace slowly around the room. "Maria and I got into a fight about the prom. She wanted to go, and I pretended not to. But instead, I took dancing lessons so that I could surprise her there."
Michael had a weird concept of the romantic, Max decided, but he'd known that for a while.
"So I show up at the dance, in my tux and all, and she's totally floored," Michael continued. "But she's trying to hide it, so she's like, 'Oh, you should have brought Juanita.'"
Max stared at him, expecting the other boy to go on, but Michael was clearly waiting for a reaction from him.
"Juanita who?" Max asked.
"Oh. The dance teacher."
Max nodded. "So did you tell Maria that she was just your dance teacher?"
"Yeah," Michael answered, "of course. But then I got to thinking, how the hell does she know about the lessons? How does she know Juanita's name? I didn't tell anyone about it, not even you."
"You just told me now," Max pointed out.
"Maxwell, will you stop being an ass?" Michael didn't even crack a smile. "Don't you think it's weird that she knows this stuff? Maybe she's, you know, getting flashes."
Max raised his eyebrows. "Getting flashes? Michael, what were you guys doing while you were fighting? Wait, don't tell me, I don't want to know."
"Can't you ever take me seriously? We weren't even talking to each other, and yet she picks up the name Juanita? Don't you think that's a little bit strange? Maybe she can pick up flashes based on emotions running high, because you know hers always do, even if we're nowhere near each other."
Max shrugged. "She could have gone to the same dance school and seen your name under Juanita's list, or she could have met Juanita and asked her her name...I don't see why this should be an alien issue. Why don't you just ask Maria?"
Michael was silent for a few moments, and Max guessed that the thought hadn't even crossed Michael's mind until he'd just said it. "I could do that," Michael said finally. "After all, what's the worst she can do? She won't kick me. Probably."
"Probably?" Max repeated.
"You never really know with Maria," Michael explained. "To be honest, I'm a little scared of her."
Max laughed. "Shut up. Maria talks tough, but that doesn't mean she's violent."
"I was using a metaphor to illustrate my point. Maxwell." Michael rolled his eyes. "God, you're embarrassing to be seen with."
Max shrugged noncomitally.
"So I'll ask Maria about the flashes she's getting," Michael said, excitement rising in his voice. "Maybe it'll help us develop our powers some more. You know, because not all of us are getting memories from the mothership."
"All right, Michael, but I think maybe you shouldn't start out from the assumption that she's getting flashes when you speak to her." Max shrugged again. "Just a tip."
Michael seemed to chew on the idea for a second, then he shook his head. "What am I doing taking ideas from you anyway? Since when do you know anything about chicks?" He climbed out the bedroom window and took off, without saying goodbye.
Typical Michael.
* * * * * * * *
"And after I spend a year in Turkey," Alex said, "I'm going to come back and start college. Maybe I'll do college abroad. Maybe I'll do college in England and start a rock band there."
Isabel laughed in a low voice, her head resting on his shoulder and her left hand tracing his forearm. They had since moved from the monkey bars to the bench where she'd left her shoes and had talked for hours about the most random things. "Alex, don't you already have a rock band?"
"The Whits are little league, man." Alex yawned and stretched out his free arm. "My real band's going to make it big. Maybe we'll be a one-hit wonder and be featured on VH1's Where Are They Now? in forty years."
"That sounds nice," Isabel said.
"You think so?" he asked. "Maybe you'll get to be my number-one groupie."
Isabel looked up, a worried expression on her face. "I can't make a commitment like that. Who knows what planet I'll be on in five years?"
It stung, but Alex smiled. "Relax. I was joking, don't worry." She put her head down again. "I understand that you guys have this quest. I would never want to hold you back from it."
Isabel made a sound that he couldn't make out, then said, "Thanks. That's sweet."
A peaceful silence descended, and he stared ahead at the playground, watching the swings being pushed back and forth by a light breeze. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw a thin sliver of sun appearing over the eastern horizon. He checked his watch. "Look, Isabel. The sun is starting to rise."
Isabel sighed gently against his shoulder and said nothing. Her eyes were closed, an outline of silver shadow as clean and smooth against her eyelids as when she'd met him in the Crashdown eight hours earlier.
She was beautiful, it was easy to see that. And it wasn't just her looks--her loyalty and bravery inspired him, and her hidden tenderness made him want to take care of her forever. But still, after a year of being her friend and the ups and downs and ons and offs in their relationship, he still felt like he was looking at her from the outside. Max and Liz didn't even have to speak for the other one to know what they were thinking, and Michael and Maria were entangled in a personality clash that would never be reconciled. Even Kyle and Tess had a few jokes that no one else could possibly understand. But with Isabel, he so often felt as if it were a first date among strangers who were set up by mutual friends, or like he was observing her in a zoo.
He wanted to change that. He wanted to need Isabel, and vice-versa, like the others needed each other, like Liz needed Maria and Maria needed Michael and Michael needed Max and Max needed Isabel, and Tess and Kyle needed each other whether they would admit it or not.
Maybe with time.
Alex looked back over at her and realized that her skin was glowing. Not with sweat, but glowing--as if there was a light source on the other side, the way his hand would look if he held up up over a lit flashlight. He felt her forehead and it was so hot that he had to pull away.
"Isabel!" he whispered sharply, hoping to wake her up without shaking her. "Isabel! Wake up!"
Her head twitched, and she opened her eyes. "What--where am--Alex?" she said. Her skin had gone back to normal without his noticing.
"You were sleeping," Alex said. "Isabel, are you all right? Your skin was glowing."
"How odd," Isabel said slowly, a dazed, dreamy tone in her voice. "I was dreaming. And when I woke up, I felt for a second--but I don't remember."
"You don't remember the dream?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I feel completely normal now. But it was so strange! Or nice. Or scary. I forget."
"You forget? Isabel, I've never seen anything like that!" Alex held her frantically, but she seemed perfectly at ease.
"Well, it's over now, isn't it?" Isabel replied, a little more crossly than Alex was neccessarily comfortable with. "Look, the sun is coming up. We should probably both get home. Want me to walk you?"
* * * * * * * *
Max was sure that he hadn't been asleep for more than five minutes when he heard a knocking on his bedroom window. He groaned and stuffed his head into his pillow, hoping that it would stop and that Michael would go home.
There were a few seconds of pause followed by a louder, incessant knocking.
"God!" Max muttered. He gave up and started walking towards the window, rubbing his eyes as he walked. "Michael, just go--"
He stopped himself, because it wasn't Michael standing outside the window at all. It was Brody. Or Larek most likely.
"What is it?" Max asked, not opening the window.
"Let me in," Brody said. Max couldn't hear him, but he was pretty sure that was what it was, followed by something that seemed to be, I had breakfast on your Monday.
Max reached out and unlocked the window, then opened it just a crack. "What?"
"I said, Let me in. I have a message from your mother."