Trying For The Storybook Ending 1
Hi everyone. My name is Isabel Evans and I'm 18 years old. I'm popular at school, and I'm beautiful. I also have a secret..well, I actually have lots of secrets but only two are relevant today. Number 1? Well- you aren't going to believe this but I'm an alien. No..no you heard right and I'm not crazy..so stop looking at me like that. I'm "not of this earth" to steal a phrase my brother uses. My brother's Max, I think you know him, he's the guy that stands alone in corners making googly-eyes at the brunette. But.(and you aren't going to believe this) he's also supposed to be the "leader" of the group of "aliens". You ask my opinion? - Bad idea. Do not ask an 18-year-old guy to make informed decisions when his love life is in tatters; they can sometimes be on the rash side. Anyway, other than Max, there's also Michael Guerin- he's supposed to be my "pre-destined mate" and I'm not supposed to consider him the brother we both thought he was. Yuck..I mean it would be like..yuck.. We nipped that idea in the bud kinda sharpish. Other than Max and Michael there is my dear "sister-in-law" Tess Harding, Max's former stalker. I still don't know if I like her again- she's the one that screwed everything up with "destiny" this and "destiny" that. I wanted to "poof" her into outer space after she lied and manipulated us.but we had to play nice after the whole message in a cave thing. I guess I also kinda have a "biological mother" (well as much as a clone can have one) who is enslaved on another planet that only we, the "Royal Four" can liberate. Yeah- whatever. You think that's bad? How about the fact that we also have assassins after us who have been sent to kill us. The catch? They're not "little green men- they look normal- they could be anyone.
Anyway, I'm not completely alone in this world with only aliens for company. I have adoptive parents: Diane and Philip- who I love more than anything. Max doesn't know, but I'm going to tell them everything soon...everything about us. Everything about me. I know I can trust her, trust them. And I need them. But not today, today is definitely complicated enough.
OK, other than that 5 other semi-regular people know about us. There's Sheriff Valenti and his son Kyle who Tess is staying with. She is having a real hard time dealing with the fact that she is falling in love with him...Kyle that is.not the Sheriff. (That would be too warped even for her.) I'll fix that today if she can stop trying so hard to make herself believe that she should only be in love with Max. Next is Maria De Luca, Michael's on/off/on again girlfriend. He treats her like crap all the time despite really loving her and she keeps excusing him because she feels the same and is afraid of driving him away. I think that that too is fixable. The next person up is Liz Parker, the brunette I was talking about and the love of my brothers life. She broke both of their hearts to save the world because she thought she had too. She made sure that Tess would stick around and we all wouldn't die. She thought the lie would save everything. She doesn't know I know why she did it, but I'm determined to make things right. They both deserve it. Other than them the only other person that knows is Alex Whitman.
Alex.
Alex, was the best thing that happened to me last year- but it didn't last. Why? Well, see when I was listing my qualities? I should have added the fact that I can be a cruel, cold-hearted bitch when I want to be. I broke his heart, more than once actually, and I pushed him away every time he thought he had gotten close. I always thought he would try again and come back looking for me. I never thought I'd lose him. Why am I telling you this? Well, today is Valentines Day.. and I'm terrified I've left it all too late to fix...do you remember that I had two secrets? Well I just recently realised what the second one was..I'm in love with Alex Whitman.
I used to love Valentines Day- it's an ego boost that re-affirms your importance in society. I've been getting cards since I was 12...not counting the ones that Daddy used to send me when I was younger. Anyway, every year I would get a card, amongst the many, which was anonymous stuck inside my locker, with a few words written inside.
"But to see her, was to love her,
Love but her, and love forever."
I never worked out who they were from until last year. It was of course Alex..no one else would do anything as sweet or as thoughtful for me.. the others never put any thought behind them. They would go and buy the tackiest or the most expensive cards and never care what the verse said.they didn't care about the words. Once I found out that it was him that had sent the cards I went scouring the Internet to find the poem that the verse was off. It was so beautiful and sad that I almost cried. Me? Isabel Evans crying? At a poem? I know you think I'm lying but it really applied to what might happen to us if we had to leave. It was about the poet losing his lover and his declaration that he would love her forever. I have no idea how he found it 6 years ago, but I know that last year he was thinking about how it would apply to his life if I ever left. You know what I'm scared of don't you? That I won't get a card from him this year, that he won't want to give me one.
I've begun the mending process of the others messed up lives to distract me from my own. I'm taking the girls shopping with me and each of their guys have gotten a note through their locker telling them to meet them later tonight. I swear to God that if Michael doesn't show up I will kill him. He's screwed with her emotions too much already. So here we are, 4 girls in a car..well a jeep actually. Each with a more depressed expression on their face than the other. I pull the jeep over.
"Ok? What's up? Why are you all looking down in the mouth..it is Valentines Day! We've cut school, we're going to a mall far far away and we have no guys to infringe on our good time. What is the problem?"
We all get out and Maria takes a deep breath as she starts her rant.
"Michael didn't get me a card..he didn't even say anything about it...you know he KNEW what day it was.I dropped enough hints to sink the titanic but did he listen? Like hell he did.I don't even know why I try with a hopeless case like that.he is by far the densest guy on this or any other planet."
Whhooo boy, this was going to be fun. I looked at Liz and Tess who were both looking awkwardly at each other although Tess was looking a little...mad. This couldn't be good and sure enough here it came.
"So.Liz? Did you get any cards? You know from secret admirers, first love...oh did you get one from the guy you lost your virginity to?"
I almost choked...Tess was getting at Liz: this was not good. She actually sounds jealous. Who would have thought that she had it in her. Anyway, there's enough time for that later. But right now? I don't need a stand up fight between the two of them...it could get ugly.
"No Tess, I didn't get any. What about you? Any from your housemate or your "destiny"? No? Oh never mind...you can go into their heads and make them send you one."
Liz gave Tess a sickly sweet smile as Tess' face flushed a deep red. She never, ever lost her temper like this. Maria and me exchange silent glances...This is not good! Maybe this wasn't one of my better ideas.
"Both of you calm."
"I would never EVER use my powers on Kyle like that! Not like you, you little slut, you click your fingers and he comes running to do whatever you want him to do."
"This coming from the girl that made my boyfriend think he was having sex with her in the science class!"
"Liz." Maria started.
"Tess just..." I began. Too late.
"I was programmed to love him, but he always loved you. Now, you decide it's not only him you want but Kyle as well? You greedy bitch!"
Liz looked stunned but definitely ready for a comeback before she bagan tearing Tess' hair out. I had to stop this...they were both saying things that they would regret later and I had no intention of explaining to Kyle why Tess was killed.
"Both of you shut up!! For crying out loud will you look at yourselves? Liz, your lying to save a future that doesn't exist yet and Tess you are so blind that you can't even see that you are the only girl on the planet that Kyle is looking at sending a card to. If you stopped pretending to pine for Max in front of him, he might know that he has got a chance with you"
Both of them looked at me like I was crazy as my words sunk in to the pair of them. Tess looked at Liz and with a soft voice asked her.
"You lied? To save the future? What did you lie about?"
Liz had tears in her eyes as she looked at me.
"How...how did you know? Maria, you didn't?"
"She didn't, you did. At least your nightmares did...you gave everything up because you wanted to save us all. I don't think you deserved to be punished for it. He still loves you you know?"
"I love him too..."
"You need to tell him. I don't think Tess is going anywhere now are you? Especially as she's in love with her housemate..."
"I'm...not...I mean, I like him, I care about him but...I can't love a human.It's not natural...we're too different. Besides we have a "de..."
"...Destiny?"
Maria and me finish for her simultaneously with the same exasperated expression on our faces. I look at her right for the first time in months and do you know what I see? I see a scared girl who is terrified to let anyone get too close if it means she might one day get hurt. I look and I see that she's just like me...and that's scary. She'll have fun with humans but to actually admit to loving them? "Don't go there, it's only pain that's down that path." I don't know what I can say to let her see that we can't have a destiny because we don't love those people in this life. That we can be happy finding our own soulmates. That some of us have already found them and they have nothing to do with "destiny". I want to explain all that but before I can Maria goes to Tess. I hope its not to whack her one...this is already awkward enough.
"Tess, I'm not going to pretend that I didn't hate you for a long time I mean you're..."
I want to cry but I don't have the energy to stop her from whatever she's about to say. Maybe she'll give her the shortened version of "10 things I hate about you" and we'll get away from here all in one piece.
"...manipulative, demanding, you have a totally one-track mind and you can be a total bitch. But, despite that, just now was the first time I think I could actually invisage us as friends, the four of us. You aren't the cold- hearted cow you pretend to be...and your barrage of insults at my best friend showed that you have emotions... even if they are all angry. And that you care for Valenti. I know you don't want this destiny crap anymore than the rest of us but that you were told from you were whatever age that you and Max were "meant to be". Can I ask you? What's the point of being together if you are making 4 people miserable? Don't you think you deserve to be with someone who at least wants to be with you?...Besides, girlfriend, we need you to level the group dynamics. 4 guys and 3 girls mean that we never get to choose the movie."
I want to hug Maria. Tess is crying at Maria's words and she even manages a soft laugh at her joke. Maria gently pulls her into a quick embrace before releasing her as Tess begins to speak.
"So...Liz? You didn't sleep with Kyle? Why did you say you did?"
"To save you all. In.in the future you left because Max and me were together. The skins came and.and killed you all and because you weren't there they...they won. Max, in the future, came and told me that I had to make sure he didn't love me in the present...to save the future...I knew he'd never forgive me for betraying him. And it worked. He...he has...hasn't.."
Poor Liz, it must have been killing her to tell everyone that she didn't sleep with Kyle. That she didn't betray Max.
"Liz.he forgave you a long time ago. He could never not love you."
I'm saying the words but I know she isn't hearing me through her sobs. Tess walks over to her and puts her arms around her shoulders.
"Liz? Max will always love you. I'm so, so sorry, I caused all this. But let me make it a little better. I don't love Max anymore than you love Kyle. And he doesn't love me.he'll never love me...it'll always be you."
"You think?"
"I know! So, let's make a deal. I will trade you one slightly emotionally scarred leader and you can give me one romantically challenged football player. And I swear I'll stick around indefinitely.."
I look at Maria who is smiling like a Cheshire cat and I can't help but stifle a laugh. This was such a great idea by me. I'll treat myself later. Liz begins to laugh and her and Tess begin to whisper and hug. Things are going great. Maria walks over towards me and throws her arms around me. I pretend to be shocked when she smiles and says.
"I thought you might be feeling a bit left out.of the huggy action.."
I fake a scowl and head back towards the jeep as I call to them.
"C'mon people, get your butts in here so that we can get at least a couple of hours shopping done."
I see Maria making a face at the other two as they begin to laugh. I could kill her if I didn't like her so much. I hear her talking to the other two as they climb in the back.
"So.what should I do to Michael!! Tess, you'd fry him for me now that we're friends right?"
We finally get going, we've only got a couple of hours to get back and get things ready, but you know that feeling you get when you know things are going to be good? I have that, and I know that things are going to be great tonight for at least 3 of us. Me? I don't know yet...that future's still cloudy. I guess I'll find out tonight.
TBC
Hi everyone. My name is Isabel Evans and I'm 18 years old. I'm popular at school, and I'm beautiful. I also have a secret..well, I actually have lots of secrets but only two are relevant today. Number 1? Well- you aren't going to believe this but I'm an alien. No..no you heard right and I'm not crazy..so stop looking at me like that. I'm "not of this earth" to steal a phrase my brother uses. My brother's Max, I think you know him, he's the guy that stands alone in corners making googly-eyes at the brunette. But.(and you aren't going to believe this) he's also supposed to be the "leader" of the group of "aliens". You ask my opinion? - Bad idea. Do not ask an 18-year-old guy to make informed decisions when his love life is in tatters; they can sometimes be on the rash side. Anyway, other than Max, there's also Michael Guerin- he's supposed to be my "pre-destined mate" and I'm not supposed to consider him the brother we both thought he was. Yuck..I mean it would be like..yuck.. We nipped that idea in the bud kinda sharpish. Other than Max and Michael there is my dear "sister-in-law" Tess Harding, Max's former stalker. I still don't know if I like her again- she's the one that screwed everything up with "destiny" this and "destiny" that. I wanted to "poof" her into outer space after she lied and manipulated us.but we had to play nice after the whole message in a cave thing. I guess I also kinda have a "biological mother" (well as much as a clone can have one) who is enslaved on another planet that only we, the "Royal Four" can liberate. Yeah- whatever. You think that's bad? How about the fact that we also have assassins after us who have been sent to kill us. The catch? They're not "little green men- they look normal- they could be anyone.
Anyway, I'm not completely alone in this world with only aliens for company. I have adoptive parents: Diane and Philip- who I love more than anything. Max doesn't know, but I'm going to tell them everything soon...everything about us. Everything about me. I know I can trust her, trust them. And I need them. But not today, today is definitely complicated enough.
OK, other than that 5 other semi-regular people know about us. There's Sheriff Valenti and his son Kyle who Tess is staying with. She is having a real hard time dealing with the fact that she is falling in love with him...Kyle that is.not the Sheriff. (That would be too warped even for her.) I'll fix that today if she can stop trying so hard to make herself believe that she should only be in love with Max. Next is Maria De Luca, Michael's on/off/on again girlfriend. He treats her like crap all the time despite really loving her and she keeps excusing him because she feels the same and is afraid of driving him away. I think that that too is fixable. The next person up is Liz Parker, the brunette I was talking about and the love of my brothers life. She broke both of their hearts to save the world because she thought she had too. She made sure that Tess would stick around and we all wouldn't die. She thought the lie would save everything. She doesn't know I know why she did it, but I'm determined to make things right. They both deserve it. Other than them the only other person that knows is Alex Whitman.
Alex.
Alex, was the best thing that happened to me last year- but it didn't last. Why? Well, see when I was listing my qualities? I should have added the fact that I can be a cruel, cold-hearted bitch when I want to be. I broke his heart, more than once actually, and I pushed him away every time he thought he had gotten close. I always thought he would try again and come back looking for me. I never thought I'd lose him. Why am I telling you this? Well, today is Valentines Day.. and I'm terrified I've left it all too late to fix...do you remember that I had two secrets? Well I just recently realised what the second one was..I'm in love with Alex Whitman.
I used to love Valentines Day- it's an ego boost that re-affirms your importance in society. I've been getting cards since I was 12...not counting the ones that Daddy used to send me when I was younger. Anyway, every year I would get a card, amongst the many, which was anonymous stuck inside my locker, with a few words written inside.
"But to see her, was to love her,
Love but her, and love forever."
I never worked out who they were from until last year. It was of course Alex..no one else would do anything as sweet or as thoughtful for me.. the others never put any thought behind them. They would go and buy the tackiest or the most expensive cards and never care what the verse said.they didn't care about the words. Once I found out that it was him that had sent the cards I went scouring the Internet to find the poem that the verse was off. It was so beautiful and sad that I almost cried. Me? Isabel Evans crying? At a poem? I know you think I'm lying but it really applied to what might happen to us if we had to leave. It was about the poet losing his lover and his declaration that he would love her forever. I have no idea how he found it 6 years ago, but I know that last year he was thinking about how it would apply to his life if I ever left. You know what I'm scared of don't you? That I won't get a card from him this year, that he won't want to give me one.
I've begun the mending process of the others messed up lives to distract me from my own. I'm taking the girls shopping with me and each of their guys have gotten a note through their locker telling them to meet them later tonight. I swear to God that if Michael doesn't show up I will kill him. He's screwed with her emotions too much already. So here we are, 4 girls in a car..well a jeep actually. Each with a more depressed expression on their face than the other. I pull the jeep over.
"Ok? What's up? Why are you all looking down in the mouth..it is Valentines Day! We've cut school, we're going to a mall far far away and we have no guys to infringe on our good time. What is the problem?"
We all get out and Maria takes a deep breath as she starts her rant.
"Michael didn't get me a card..he didn't even say anything about it...you know he KNEW what day it was.I dropped enough hints to sink the titanic but did he listen? Like hell he did.I don't even know why I try with a hopeless case like that.he is by far the densest guy on this or any other planet."
Whhooo boy, this was going to be fun. I looked at Liz and Tess who were both looking awkwardly at each other although Tess was looking a little...mad. This couldn't be good and sure enough here it came.
"So.Liz? Did you get any cards? You know from secret admirers, first love...oh did you get one from the guy you lost your virginity to?"
I almost choked...Tess was getting at Liz: this was not good. She actually sounds jealous. Who would have thought that she had it in her. Anyway, there's enough time for that later. But right now? I don't need a stand up fight between the two of them...it could get ugly.
"No Tess, I didn't get any. What about you? Any from your housemate or your "destiny"? No? Oh never mind...you can go into their heads and make them send you one."
Liz gave Tess a sickly sweet smile as Tess' face flushed a deep red. She never, ever lost her temper like this. Maria and me exchange silent glances...This is not good! Maybe this wasn't one of my better ideas.
"Both of you calm."
"I would never EVER use my powers on Kyle like that! Not like you, you little slut, you click your fingers and he comes running to do whatever you want him to do."
"This coming from the girl that made my boyfriend think he was having sex with her in the science class!"
"Liz." Maria started.
"Tess just..." I began. Too late.
"I was programmed to love him, but he always loved you. Now, you decide it's not only him you want but Kyle as well? You greedy bitch!"
Liz looked stunned but definitely ready for a comeback before she bagan tearing Tess' hair out. I had to stop this...they were both saying things that they would regret later and I had no intention of explaining to Kyle why Tess was killed.
"Both of you shut up!! For crying out loud will you look at yourselves? Liz, your lying to save a future that doesn't exist yet and Tess you are so blind that you can't even see that you are the only girl on the planet that Kyle is looking at sending a card to. If you stopped pretending to pine for Max in front of him, he might know that he has got a chance with you"
Both of them looked at me like I was crazy as my words sunk in to the pair of them. Tess looked at Liz and with a soft voice asked her.
"You lied? To save the future? What did you lie about?"
Liz had tears in her eyes as she looked at me.
"How...how did you know? Maria, you didn't?"
"She didn't, you did. At least your nightmares did...you gave everything up because you wanted to save us all. I don't think you deserved to be punished for it. He still loves you you know?"
"I love him too..."
"You need to tell him. I don't think Tess is going anywhere now are you? Especially as she's in love with her housemate..."
"I'm...not...I mean, I like him, I care about him but...I can't love a human.It's not natural...we're too different. Besides we have a "de..."
"...Destiny?"
Maria and me finish for her simultaneously with the same exasperated expression on our faces. I look at her right for the first time in months and do you know what I see? I see a scared girl who is terrified to let anyone get too close if it means she might one day get hurt. I look and I see that she's just like me...and that's scary. She'll have fun with humans but to actually admit to loving them? "Don't go there, it's only pain that's down that path." I don't know what I can say to let her see that we can't have a destiny because we don't love those people in this life. That we can be happy finding our own soulmates. That some of us have already found them and they have nothing to do with "destiny". I want to explain all that but before I can Maria goes to Tess. I hope its not to whack her one...this is already awkward enough.
"Tess, I'm not going to pretend that I didn't hate you for a long time I mean you're..."
I want to cry but I don't have the energy to stop her from whatever she's about to say. Maybe she'll give her the shortened version of "10 things I hate about you" and we'll get away from here all in one piece.
"...manipulative, demanding, you have a totally one-track mind and you can be a total bitch. But, despite that, just now was the first time I think I could actually invisage us as friends, the four of us. You aren't the cold- hearted cow you pretend to be...and your barrage of insults at my best friend showed that you have emotions... even if they are all angry. And that you care for Valenti. I know you don't want this destiny crap anymore than the rest of us but that you were told from you were whatever age that you and Max were "meant to be". Can I ask you? What's the point of being together if you are making 4 people miserable? Don't you think you deserve to be with someone who at least wants to be with you?...Besides, girlfriend, we need you to level the group dynamics. 4 guys and 3 girls mean that we never get to choose the movie."
I want to hug Maria. Tess is crying at Maria's words and she even manages a soft laugh at her joke. Maria gently pulls her into a quick embrace before releasing her as Tess begins to speak.
"So...Liz? You didn't sleep with Kyle? Why did you say you did?"
"To save you all. In.in the future you left because Max and me were together. The skins came and.and killed you all and because you weren't there they...they won. Max, in the future, came and told me that I had to make sure he didn't love me in the present...to save the future...I knew he'd never forgive me for betraying him. And it worked. He...he has...hasn't.."
Poor Liz, it must have been killing her to tell everyone that she didn't sleep with Kyle. That she didn't betray Max.
"Liz.he forgave you a long time ago. He could never not love you."
I'm saying the words but I know she isn't hearing me through her sobs. Tess walks over to her and puts her arms around her shoulders.
"Liz? Max will always love you. I'm so, so sorry, I caused all this. But let me make it a little better. I don't love Max anymore than you love Kyle. And he doesn't love me.he'll never love me...it'll always be you."
"You think?"
"I know! So, let's make a deal. I will trade you one slightly emotionally scarred leader and you can give me one romantically challenged football player. And I swear I'll stick around indefinitely.."
I look at Maria who is smiling like a Cheshire cat and I can't help but stifle a laugh. This was such a great idea by me. I'll treat myself later. Liz begins to laugh and her and Tess begin to whisper and hug. Things are going great. Maria walks over towards me and throws her arms around me. I pretend to be shocked when she smiles and says.
"I thought you might be feeling a bit left out.of the huggy action.."
I fake a scowl and head back towards the jeep as I call to them.
"C'mon people, get your butts in here so that we can get at least a couple of hours shopping done."
I see Maria making a face at the other two as they begin to laugh. I could kill her if I didn't like her so much. I hear her talking to the other two as they climb in the back.
"So.what should I do to Michael!! Tess, you'd fry him for me now that we're friends right?"
We finally get going, we've only got a couple of hours to get back and get things ready, but you know that feeling you get when you know things are going to be good? I have that, and I know that things are going to be great tonight for at least 3 of us. Me? I don't know yet...that future's still cloudy. I guess I'll find out tonight.
TBC