Title: What the Future Holds 3 (Part One)
Author: SpyGirl314
Email: GroupieChic319@aol.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell, although I really wish I did.
Summary: If you haven't read "What the Future Holds" or "What the Future Holds 2"..... you're gonna be TOTALLY lost. I have both of those stories up on my site at http://sentimentalbliss.crosswinds.net if you want to catch up. :) Anyways, on to the summary of this story. Everything is fine in 2021 Roswell.... until one day Katie comes home to find her parents missing. In fact, Michael, Maria, Isabel, and Alex are missing as well. Do the kids have the courage and the strength to beat the bad guys.... without their parents? This story takes place 5 months after "What the Future Holds 2" ends.
Category: Max/Liz
Author's Note: *sighs* This is all YOUR fault! Yes you! The person reading this right now. If it weren't for you, this story wouldn't have been written. But, stupid me, I decided today "Hmmmm, i should go back and read the reviews i got for What the Future Holds.... i got some really nice compliments....." And that was the beginning of this fic. I was SUPPOSED to write a completely different one.... but nooooooo, these characters just kept calling me back. But... if the people want more then the people want more, so i gotta give it to them. :) I hope you like this and don't forget to let me know how you feel about this part!
Katie sat at a table in the UFO Center food court, fidgeting around nervously. She sighed in frustration and twidled with her thumbs. She was doing it again. Feeling sorry for her parents and everyone around here. Feeling sorry because in a couple of months.... she was leaving.
College was supposed to be the best time in a young girls life, but to Katie it meant leaving her loving parents, 5 month old baby brother, the best friends she had in the whole world..... and the boyfriend -- no no -- isoulmate/i she loved with every fiber of her being.
Katie sighed again, just as an old friend of her parents walked up to her smiling.
"Is that my son's gorgeous girlfriend?" Jim Valenti asked her with a knowing grin.
"Sheriff Valenti!" Katie exclaimed. "It's great to see you. How's Amy?"
Jim slid into the seat in front of her and almost laughed at her 'Sheriff' comment. He hadn't been the Sheriff of Roswell in over 10 years, but still people called him that. "She's just fine, Miss Evans. Busy with work, as usual. How are your folks? Everything good?"
Katie nodded her head. "Everything is great."
"And the new baby?"
"Sleeping all night now!" Katie said happily, causing Jim to laugh.
"I bet everyone on your street is happy about that." He teased and Katie nodded her head. Jim cleared his throat, "So, Gabriel told me about your NYU acceptance." He paused when he saw sadness flicker in her eyes. "You must be thrilled...... but I'm guessing you're not."
Katie sighed. She could never get anything past this guy. "I just... don't know if I can go or not. I don't --- I don't know if I'm good enough. I mean... what if I go there and I flunk out of all my classes??"
Sheriff Valenti sighed and looked at her seriously. "That would never happen. You're a smart girl, Katie. They wouldn't have accepted you if you they didn't think you were up for it." When she looked away he sighed again. "That isn't ireally/i what you're worried about.. is it?"
Katie shrugged her shoulders and when she finally looked back at him, her eyes were watery with tears. "I just -- I don't know if I can leave everything and ieveryone/i behind. I just --- I don't think I'm strong enough."
Jim smiled warmly. "You know what's funny?" She shook her head and he chuckled. "I had this exact same talk with your parents when they were about to go off to college."
Katie's eyes widened and she smiled. "Really?"
He nodded his head and memories from 20 years ago swam around in his head. "Your parents were going off to Harvard, and they both came to me a couple of months before they left." He paused, laughing now at their nervousness of leaving Roswell. "They were just like you. Afraid to leave their families, afraid to leave their friends..... afraid to leave Roswell, because they didn't iknow/i what the world was like outside of this town. They were afraid of so many things..." His voice trailed off as he looked into her weary eyes. "The point is they took the chance. They risked it because they knew, they just iknew/i that if they didn't, they would regret it for the rest of their lives. And look how everything turned out. They're all back here leading normal lives, like they've always wanted."
She knew he was right, but she still couldn't shake the sad feeling in her. "But my parents had ieach other/i. I-- I'm not going to have that."
Jim sighed and looked down at his hands, which were resting on the table. "Gabriel still hasn't gotten any word from them yet, huh?"
Katie shook her head, but quickly said. "But that doesn't mean he won't get in. It just means--"
"Katie, we both know Gabriel doesn't have the grades to get into a school like that." Katie opened her mouth to object, but he shook his head. "You helping him these past couple of years has helped tremendously. But let's face it, his Freshman year he ibarely/i passed any of his classes. And the fact that he had to take summer school after his sophomore year in order for him to stay with his graduating class.... it really hurts his chances of getting into a prestigious school."
Katie sighed. "I guess it was unfair to make him do all that stuff, just so he could go with me--"
Jim shook his head defiantly. "No no no. You helped him so much, Katie. Before you saved him.... he didn't care about anything. He considered school a complete waste of time. But when you started helping him..... everything changed. All of sudden I was getting progress reports that for once, didn't need my signature on them stating that I saw how bad his grade was! Without you, he wouldn't have walked onto that platform last Saturday and gotten his diploma."
"It wasn't all me. Gabe was the one that did all the work."
"But he had one hell of a teacher." Sheriff Valenti smiled and winked at her. Katie smiled at him, and he knew he'd gotten through to her. Just as he was about to say something else, Gabriel walked over to the table, instantly sliding into the seat by Katie and putting his arm around her.
Katie smiled at him sweetly and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. As Gabriel pulled back he cast a glance at his dad. "So, what were you two talking about?"
Jim smiled inwardly. His son was as protective of Katie, as Max was of Liz. It was uncanny. He chuckled and decided he'd give his kid a break. "Don't worry son, nothing bad." He saw Gabriel look at him expectantly and a light bulb went on in his head. He was silently asking him to beat it. He checked his watched and got up quickly. "I just remembered I had to--- I had... You see I have this...." He sighed and tipped his hat at the two. "I've gotta go. See you at home, son."
Katie laughed and leaned her head against Gabriel's shoulder. Gabriel brought his hand up to stroke her hair and he gently kissed the top of her head. "So, what were you and my dad talking about?"
"Nothing important." Katie muttered as she closed her eyes against his shoulder.
Gabriel sighed. "That seems to be a popular answer from you lately." He felt her swallow hard and he continued to run her hair through his fingers. "Something's been bothering you, and I want to know what it is." He paused and looked down at her. "I wanna help you."
Katie slowly lifted her head and tucked her hair behind her ears, avoiding his intense gaze. "Gabriel..."
Gabe shook his head and removed his arm from around her shoulders. "I'm not gonna let this go, Katie." He reached over and turned her chin over to face him. He slowly ran his hand over her cheek and just the sight of her looking so innocent and beautiful made him weak on the inside. "God, I love you..."
His statement was almost inaudible, and caused Katie to instantly cover his lips with hers. Her kiss was so soft to him and he couldn't help but get lost in it. He could stay like this forever.
**FLASH**
"Honey look! You got a letter back from NYU!" Her mother said excitedly and she took the envelope from her mother.
Her dad walked into the room holding Eli. He looked as excited as her mother.
She smiled at them nervously and she opened the envelope. "Now, don't expect me to get in, I mean.... NYU is almost Iimpossible/I to get into..." Her voice trailed off as she opened the letter and unfolded it to find the first words typed in bold print that read: bCONGRATULATIONS!/b The feelings immediately following that sentence were not full of excitement and enthusiasm... they were filled with despair and worry.
**FLASH**
Katie looked out at the thousands of people in the crowd and felt the hot sun beaming down on her face. She was almost done with her valedictorian speech. "And so to end this speech, I'll quote something my mother once told me. It was something my grandmother told Iher/I when she was my age." She paused and looked to her fellow classmates. "Follow your heart, no matter where it takes you."
**FLASH**
"Congratulations on NYU!" Molly Troy said to her after the graduation ceremony.
Katie smiled back politely, but inwardly she felt overwhelmed. This acceptance into college put the world, it seemed like, on her shoulders. Everyone said "I Iknow/I you'll do good" or "We Iknew/I you'd do great things after high school", and the most common was "Make us Roswellians proud!". Everyone in town seemed to know about her acceptance to NYU, and they all had an opinion about it. Everyone knew what she should do after high school... except her.
**FLASH**
Katie walked through the front door of the house and it was completely dark. "Mom.... Dad?" She asked and suddenly the lights flipped on and she saw her parents, Uncle Mike and Maria, Aunt Izzie and Uncle Alex, Kyle, Sheriff Valenti and Amy, and Gabriel all standing around a huge cake that read: CONGRATS ON NYU, KATIE!
She smiled brightly at everyone, but letters she'd come to Ihate/I over the past few weeks haunted her again. N. Y. U.
**END FLASHES**
"Whoa! Make-out city!" Mags voice broke through their heated kiss and they pulled apart and turned their heads towards Mags and Stan, giving them a mean look. Mags just rolled her eyes and sat down across the table from them. "Oh don't give me that look, you two deserve it."
"It's a good thing we always sit in the back." Stan said, making Katie blush as she moved out of Gabriel's embrace. He laughed as he saw the semi-embarrassed looks on his friends face. Stan always got a kick out of catching them like this. He Ilived/I to tease those two.
Gabriel sat back and put his arm around Katie again. He ignored Stan's jokes, his thoughts were preoccupied by what he had seen in those flashes. It was common, ever since she had healed him years ago, for them to have flashes when they kissed. It didn't happen Ieverytime/I, but enough to call it usual.
He felt her distress about this whole NYU thing, and he wasn't too surprised. Katie was good at hiding her emotions, like he noticed how her dad was sometimes. But she couldn't get Ianything/I past Ihim/I. She could try, but it just wasn't possible. He knew everything behind every little facial expression of hers.
"So..." Stan's voice trailed off as he opened up a newspaper and read the contents. "What movie do you guys want to see? American Pie 10?"
Katie and Mags wrinkled their noses and shook their heads. Gabriel shrugged, "If the ladies say no, then it's no on that one. What else is playin'?"
"Hey!" Magnolia suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Didn't that new Romeo and Juliet re-make come out today?"
Katie smiled and sat up. "I think so! Hey, Brad Pitt Jr. is in it!"
Gabriel and Stan groaned in protest and the girls sighed in disappointment. Katie shrugged her shoulders. "Guys say no."
"Hey," Gabriel exclaimed, grabbing the paper from Stan. "What about 'Alien Attack'. It's the new sci-fi movie that opened up a couple of weeks ago. I've been dying to see it." He searched the paper and found the ad for it. His voice was full of enthusiasm as he told them all about it. "It's about these blood sucking aliens that come to Earth to kill all the humans, and then this street gang from New York comes to the rescue and like... blows all their heads off." He folded the paper and tossed it back on the table, suddenly taken aback by the hard stares he was getting from the 3 other people at the table. He glanced at Katie, who had her eyebrows raised at him. "Oh!" Gabriel exclaimed, looking at the three of them and suddenly remembering that they weren't completely... um... Ihuman/I. "Yeah.... Maybe we shouldn't see that one..."
Katie burst into laughter and put her arms around his waist. "You are Iso/I cute."
Mags and Stan just rolled their eyes.
----
Liz walked around the house, straightening things up. She had been cleaning all day and was almost worn out. She never realized how hard it was to clean a house, let alone ikeep/i it clean, when you had a husband and teenage daughter. She lifted two teen romance novels off the coffee table and sighed. Then she noticed two psychology magazines next to it and she picked them up as well, shaking her head. Max and Katie were iexactly/i alike.
She walked over to the bookshelf and put Katie's books in it. Liz then walked over to the magazine rack and slide Max's magazines in. As she stood up she came face to face with a family portrait hanging on the wall. It was of herself, Max, and Katie. It was old, Katie must have been about 4 when the picture was taken.
Liz had to fight back tears when she looked at it. Her baby girl was growing up. She sighed in frustration and blinked the tears away. She was acting silly. Katie was only going off to school. *Yeah, on the other side of the country,* her thoughts reminded her.
She instantly felt Max's arms encircle her around the waist. He always knew when she got the least bit upset. She sighed and leaned her back against his chest.
"I know." Max said, looking at the portrait. "I can't believe in a few months.. she's not gonna be here anymore." He paused and laughed ruefully. "This must be how iour/i parents felt when we moved away."
Liz nodded her head. "I keep telling myself that she's going to be fine. That everything is going to be ok. But..." A few tears escaped her eyes. "I'm just going to miss her so much."
Max nodded his head, tears coming to his eyes now. "I know..... I know..."
Suddenly the front door opened and Katie walked through with Gabriel following her.
She immediatly looked at her parents and frowned. *What's going on?* She asked her parents mentally, not wanting to bring it to Gabe's attention.
Liz smiled at the two warmly. *Everything's fine, honey bear.* "Hey you two!"
Gabriel smiled at them. "Hey Mrs. Evans, Mr. Evans."
Liz rolled her eyes. "Gabriel, how many times do we have to itell/i you?! It's Liz and Max. Calling us Mister and Misses..... it makes us feel iold/i."
Gabriel laughed and nodded his head. "Ok, I'll try and remember that next time."
*I don't know....* Max's voice trailed off inside Liz's head. *I like hearing you called Mrs. Evans.*
Liz smiled. *iReally/i?*
*Mmmmm-hmmmmm....* Max said, tightening his arms around his wife's waist. *You know what else I like calling you?*
"We're going to see a movie with Stan and Mags. I just came home to change real quick." She said and walked down the hallway towards her room. Right before she shut the door, she sent to her parents mentally. *And you two might want to tune me out of your little mind convo, because I ireally/i don't want to hear where you two are going with this.*
That was like ice water splashed on their face and Max and Liz suddenly straightened. This soul circle thing could be annoying sometimes.
Max and Liz suddenly looked at Gabriel, who seemed to suddenly be nervous about something. Max raised his eyebrow at the boy, "Is everything alright?"
Gabriel shoved his hands in his pockets and looked over at them. Katie was now out of earshot, so he could ifinally/i ask them. He took a deep breath, and with a iload/i of courage, he asked them a question that he'd been idying/i to ask them for weeks now.
---
Katie pulled her house keys out of her pocket as she let herself, Gabriel, Mags, and Stan into the house. She flipped on the lights and they walked into the kitchen, getting stuff to eat.
"That movie has officially ruined my appetite." Mags said in disgust as she saw Stan make a salami sandwich.
"Sorry, Mags." Gabriel said as he got chips out of the cabinet. "I didn't think they'd actually ishow/i the alien's brains get blasted out of their heads."
Katie set her purse and jacket down on the table. She was glad to be home. Not that she hadn't enjoyed the company of her friends, it's just that she felt strange. It wasn't a sick feeling.... because she'd inever/i gotten sick before. It was an odd feeling... one that she'd never iever/i felt before. "Ok, you guys. I'm gonna go check on my parents."
Mags looked around. "You know, it's weird. They're usually up at this hour."
Stan looked at his watch. "It's only 10 o'clock?"
An uneasy feeling settled into Katie's stomach. "I'm gonna go check on them." Everyone noticed how quickly she left the room and suddenly the situation didn't seem as trivial as it had when they had left the movie theater. During the whole movie they could see Katie was acting strange.
Katie walked down the dark hallway to her parents door. It was closed and she knocked on it softly. "Mom, dad? Are you guys awake?"
There was no answer.
"Mom? Can I come in?" She asked louder and still she heard no answer. She sighed and opened the door, expecting to see her parents laying in bed asleep, but she didn't. In fact the bed looked like it hadn't even been touched. It was still made from when her mom cleaned house this morning.
Katie raised her eyebrows and walked back into the kitchen.
"So, is everything ok?" Stan asked as he munched on some chips.
Katie's eyes looked dark and a shiver ran down Mags spine. "Katie... what is it?"
"They're..." Katie whispered. "They're not here."
Everyone exchanged glances and Gabriel walked over to her. "Maybe they just went to the store to get something." He supplied, then suggested. "Or maybe a drive."
A cry from down the hall made them all jump. Katie's eyes widened and she broke out into a run. "Eli!" She burst through the nursery door and saw Eli lying in his crib, crying loudly. She picked him up slowly and gently rocked him back and forth in her arms. Her stomach twisted in knots. Her parents were gone.... and Eli had been here ialone/i.
The others ran into the room, confused. Katie turned to them and the panic she was feeling was evident on her face. They just then grasped the severity of the situation. Max and Liz would inever/i, iever/i leave Eli alone. Hell, they only started leaving Katie home alone when she was 14.
Mags suddenly ran into Katie's room and picked up her cordless phone. She carried it back to the nursery and dialed her number quickly. "Maybe mom and dad know where they are." The phone rang and rang and there was no answer. After the 5th ring, the answering machine picked up and Mags hung up. She paled and looked to the others. "No one's home."
Stan grabbed the phone from her and dialed his number. "I'm sure everything's fine. Mom will let us know what's going on...." His voice trailed off as the phone continued to ring and ring.... with no answer. He finally gave up and hung up the phone.
Katie held Eli in her arms, he was quieting now. But at that point she knew. She knew Eli, as young as 5 months old, could feel it too, and that's why he was crying. They were a soul circle and were in iconstant/i contact with their parents. They could ialways/i feel them. It was like a presence in their mind that followed them wherever they were.
But now.... their parents were igone/i.
To be continued...
Author: SpyGirl314
Email: GroupieChic319@aol.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell, although I really wish I did.
Summary: If you haven't read "What the Future Holds" or "What the Future Holds 2"..... you're gonna be TOTALLY lost. I have both of those stories up on my site at http://sentimentalbliss.crosswinds.net if you want to catch up. :) Anyways, on to the summary of this story. Everything is fine in 2021 Roswell.... until one day Katie comes home to find her parents missing. In fact, Michael, Maria, Isabel, and Alex are missing as well. Do the kids have the courage and the strength to beat the bad guys.... without their parents? This story takes place 5 months after "What the Future Holds 2" ends.
Category: Max/Liz
Author's Note: *sighs* This is all YOUR fault! Yes you! The person reading this right now. If it weren't for you, this story wouldn't have been written. But, stupid me, I decided today "Hmmmm, i should go back and read the reviews i got for What the Future Holds.... i got some really nice compliments....." And that was the beginning of this fic. I was SUPPOSED to write a completely different one.... but nooooooo, these characters just kept calling me back. But... if the people want more then the people want more, so i gotta give it to them. :) I hope you like this and don't forget to let me know how you feel about this part!
Katie sat at a table in the UFO Center food court, fidgeting around nervously. She sighed in frustration and twidled with her thumbs. She was doing it again. Feeling sorry for her parents and everyone around here. Feeling sorry because in a couple of months.... she was leaving.
College was supposed to be the best time in a young girls life, but to Katie it meant leaving her loving parents, 5 month old baby brother, the best friends she had in the whole world..... and the boyfriend -- no no -- isoulmate/i she loved with every fiber of her being.
Katie sighed again, just as an old friend of her parents walked up to her smiling.
"Is that my son's gorgeous girlfriend?" Jim Valenti asked her with a knowing grin.
"Sheriff Valenti!" Katie exclaimed. "It's great to see you. How's Amy?"
Jim slid into the seat in front of her and almost laughed at her 'Sheriff' comment. He hadn't been the Sheriff of Roswell in over 10 years, but still people called him that. "She's just fine, Miss Evans. Busy with work, as usual. How are your folks? Everything good?"
Katie nodded her head. "Everything is great."
"And the new baby?"
"Sleeping all night now!" Katie said happily, causing Jim to laugh.
"I bet everyone on your street is happy about that." He teased and Katie nodded her head. Jim cleared his throat, "So, Gabriel told me about your NYU acceptance." He paused when he saw sadness flicker in her eyes. "You must be thrilled...... but I'm guessing you're not."
Katie sighed. She could never get anything past this guy. "I just... don't know if I can go or not. I don't --- I don't know if I'm good enough. I mean... what if I go there and I flunk out of all my classes??"
Sheriff Valenti sighed and looked at her seriously. "That would never happen. You're a smart girl, Katie. They wouldn't have accepted you if you they didn't think you were up for it." When she looked away he sighed again. "That isn't ireally/i what you're worried about.. is it?"
Katie shrugged her shoulders and when she finally looked back at him, her eyes were watery with tears. "I just -- I don't know if I can leave everything and ieveryone/i behind. I just --- I don't think I'm strong enough."
Jim smiled warmly. "You know what's funny?" She shook her head and he chuckled. "I had this exact same talk with your parents when they were about to go off to college."
Katie's eyes widened and she smiled. "Really?"
He nodded his head and memories from 20 years ago swam around in his head. "Your parents were going off to Harvard, and they both came to me a couple of months before they left." He paused, laughing now at their nervousness of leaving Roswell. "They were just like you. Afraid to leave their families, afraid to leave their friends..... afraid to leave Roswell, because they didn't iknow/i what the world was like outside of this town. They were afraid of so many things..." His voice trailed off as he looked into her weary eyes. "The point is they took the chance. They risked it because they knew, they just iknew/i that if they didn't, they would regret it for the rest of their lives. And look how everything turned out. They're all back here leading normal lives, like they've always wanted."
She knew he was right, but she still couldn't shake the sad feeling in her. "But my parents had ieach other/i. I-- I'm not going to have that."
Jim sighed and looked down at his hands, which were resting on the table. "Gabriel still hasn't gotten any word from them yet, huh?"
Katie shook her head, but quickly said. "But that doesn't mean he won't get in. It just means--"
"Katie, we both know Gabriel doesn't have the grades to get into a school like that." Katie opened her mouth to object, but he shook his head. "You helping him these past couple of years has helped tremendously. But let's face it, his Freshman year he ibarely/i passed any of his classes. And the fact that he had to take summer school after his sophomore year in order for him to stay with his graduating class.... it really hurts his chances of getting into a prestigious school."
Katie sighed. "I guess it was unfair to make him do all that stuff, just so he could go with me--"
Jim shook his head defiantly. "No no no. You helped him so much, Katie. Before you saved him.... he didn't care about anything. He considered school a complete waste of time. But when you started helping him..... everything changed. All of sudden I was getting progress reports that for once, didn't need my signature on them stating that I saw how bad his grade was! Without you, he wouldn't have walked onto that platform last Saturday and gotten his diploma."
"It wasn't all me. Gabe was the one that did all the work."
"But he had one hell of a teacher." Sheriff Valenti smiled and winked at her. Katie smiled at him, and he knew he'd gotten through to her. Just as he was about to say something else, Gabriel walked over to the table, instantly sliding into the seat by Katie and putting his arm around her.
Katie smiled at him sweetly and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. As Gabriel pulled back he cast a glance at his dad. "So, what were you two talking about?"
Jim smiled inwardly. His son was as protective of Katie, as Max was of Liz. It was uncanny. He chuckled and decided he'd give his kid a break. "Don't worry son, nothing bad." He saw Gabriel look at him expectantly and a light bulb went on in his head. He was silently asking him to beat it. He checked his watched and got up quickly. "I just remembered I had to--- I had... You see I have this...." He sighed and tipped his hat at the two. "I've gotta go. See you at home, son."
Katie laughed and leaned her head against Gabriel's shoulder. Gabriel brought his hand up to stroke her hair and he gently kissed the top of her head. "So, what were you and my dad talking about?"
"Nothing important." Katie muttered as she closed her eyes against his shoulder.
Gabriel sighed. "That seems to be a popular answer from you lately." He felt her swallow hard and he continued to run her hair through his fingers. "Something's been bothering you, and I want to know what it is." He paused and looked down at her. "I wanna help you."
Katie slowly lifted her head and tucked her hair behind her ears, avoiding his intense gaze. "Gabriel..."
Gabe shook his head and removed his arm from around her shoulders. "I'm not gonna let this go, Katie." He reached over and turned her chin over to face him. He slowly ran his hand over her cheek and just the sight of her looking so innocent and beautiful made him weak on the inside. "God, I love you..."
His statement was almost inaudible, and caused Katie to instantly cover his lips with hers. Her kiss was so soft to him and he couldn't help but get lost in it. He could stay like this forever.
**FLASH**
"Honey look! You got a letter back from NYU!" Her mother said excitedly and she took the envelope from her mother.
Her dad walked into the room holding Eli. He looked as excited as her mother.
She smiled at them nervously and she opened the envelope. "Now, don't expect me to get in, I mean.... NYU is almost Iimpossible/I to get into..." Her voice trailed off as she opened the letter and unfolded it to find the first words typed in bold print that read: bCONGRATULATIONS!/b The feelings immediately following that sentence were not full of excitement and enthusiasm... they were filled with despair and worry.
**FLASH**
Katie looked out at the thousands of people in the crowd and felt the hot sun beaming down on her face. She was almost done with her valedictorian speech. "And so to end this speech, I'll quote something my mother once told me. It was something my grandmother told Iher/I when she was my age." She paused and looked to her fellow classmates. "Follow your heart, no matter where it takes you."
**FLASH**
"Congratulations on NYU!" Molly Troy said to her after the graduation ceremony.
Katie smiled back politely, but inwardly she felt overwhelmed. This acceptance into college put the world, it seemed like, on her shoulders. Everyone said "I Iknow/I you'll do good" or "We Iknew/I you'd do great things after high school", and the most common was "Make us Roswellians proud!". Everyone in town seemed to know about her acceptance to NYU, and they all had an opinion about it. Everyone knew what she should do after high school... except her.
**FLASH**
Katie walked through the front door of the house and it was completely dark. "Mom.... Dad?" She asked and suddenly the lights flipped on and she saw her parents, Uncle Mike and Maria, Aunt Izzie and Uncle Alex, Kyle, Sheriff Valenti and Amy, and Gabriel all standing around a huge cake that read: CONGRATS ON NYU, KATIE!
She smiled brightly at everyone, but letters she'd come to Ihate/I over the past few weeks haunted her again. N. Y. U.
**END FLASHES**
"Whoa! Make-out city!" Mags voice broke through their heated kiss and they pulled apart and turned their heads towards Mags and Stan, giving them a mean look. Mags just rolled her eyes and sat down across the table from them. "Oh don't give me that look, you two deserve it."
"It's a good thing we always sit in the back." Stan said, making Katie blush as she moved out of Gabriel's embrace. He laughed as he saw the semi-embarrassed looks on his friends face. Stan always got a kick out of catching them like this. He Ilived/I to tease those two.
Gabriel sat back and put his arm around Katie again. He ignored Stan's jokes, his thoughts were preoccupied by what he had seen in those flashes. It was common, ever since she had healed him years ago, for them to have flashes when they kissed. It didn't happen Ieverytime/I, but enough to call it usual.
He felt her distress about this whole NYU thing, and he wasn't too surprised. Katie was good at hiding her emotions, like he noticed how her dad was sometimes. But she couldn't get Ianything/I past Ihim/I. She could try, but it just wasn't possible. He knew everything behind every little facial expression of hers.
"So..." Stan's voice trailed off as he opened up a newspaper and read the contents. "What movie do you guys want to see? American Pie 10?"
Katie and Mags wrinkled their noses and shook their heads. Gabriel shrugged, "If the ladies say no, then it's no on that one. What else is playin'?"
"Hey!" Magnolia suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Didn't that new Romeo and Juliet re-make come out today?"
Katie smiled and sat up. "I think so! Hey, Brad Pitt Jr. is in it!"
Gabriel and Stan groaned in protest and the girls sighed in disappointment. Katie shrugged her shoulders. "Guys say no."
"Hey," Gabriel exclaimed, grabbing the paper from Stan. "What about 'Alien Attack'. It's the new sci-fi movie that opened up a couple of weeks ago. I've been dying to see it." He searched the paper and found the ad for it. His voice was full of enthusiasm as he told them all about it. "It's about these blood sucking aliens that come to Earth to kill all the humans, and then this street gang from New York comes to the rescue and like... blows all their heads off." He folded the paper and tossed it back on the table, suddenly taken aback by the hard stares he was getting from the 3 other people at the table. He glanced at Katie, who had her eyebrows raised at him. "Oh!" Gabriel exclaimed, looking at the three of them and suddenly remembering that they weren't completely... um... Ihuman/I. "Yeah.... Maybe we shouldn't see that one..."
Katie burst into laughter and put her arms around his waist. "You are Iso/I cute."
Mags and Stan just rolled their eyes.
----
Liz walked around the house, straightening things up. She had been cleaning all day and was almost worn out. She never realized how hard it was to clean a house, let alone ikeep/i it clean, when you had a husband and teenage daughter. She lifted two teen romance novels off the coffee table and sighed. Then she noticed two psychology magazines next to it and she picked them up as well, shaking her head. Max and Katie were iexactly/i alike.
She walked over to the bookshelf and put Katie's books in it. Liz then walked over to the magazine rack and slide Max's magazines in. As she stood up she came face to face with a family portrait hanging on the wall. It was of herself, Max, and Katie. It was old, Katie must have been about 4 when the picture was taken.
Liz had to fight back tears when she looked at it. Her baby girl was growing up. She sighed in frustration and blinked the tears away. She was acting silly. Katie was only going off to school. *Yeah, on the other side of the country,* her thoughts reminded her.
She instantly felt Max's arms encircle her around the waist. He always knew when she got the least bit upset. She sighed and leaned her back against his chest.
"I know." Max said, looking at the portrait. "I can't believe in a few months.. she's not gonna be here anymore." He paused and laughed ruefully. "This must be how iour/i parents felt when we moved away."
Liz nodded her head. "I keep telling myself that she's going to be fine. That everything is going to be ok. But..." A few tears escaped her eyes. "I'm just going to miss her so much."
Max nodded his head, tears coming to his eyes now. "I know..... I know..."
Suddenly the front door opened and Katie walked through with Gabriel following her.
She immediatly looked at her parents and frowned. *What's going on?* She asked her parents mentally, not wanting to bring it to Gabe's attention.
Liz smiled at the two warmly. *Everything's fine, honey bear.* "Hey you two!"
Gabriel smiled at them. "Hey Mrs. Evans, Mr. Evans."
Liz rolled her eyes. "Gabriel, how many times do we have to itell/i you?! It's Liz and Max. Calling us Mister and Misses..... it makes us feel iold/i."
Gabriel laughed and nodded his head. "Ok, I'll try and remember that next time."
*I don't know....* Max's voice trailed off inside Liz's head. *I like hearing you called Mrs. Evans.*
Liz smiled. *iReally/i?*
*Mmmmm-hmmmmm....* Max said, tightening his arms around his wife's waist. *You know what else I like calling you?*
"We're going to see a movie with Stan and Mags. I just came home to change real quick." She said and walked down the hallway towards her room. Right before she shut the door, she sent to her parents mentally. *And you two might want to tune me out of your little mind convo, because I ireally/i don't want to hear where you two are going with this.*
That was like ice water splashed on their face and Max and Liz suddenly straightened. This soul circle thing could be annoying sometimes.
Max and Liz suddenly looked at Gabriel, who seemed to suddenly be nervous about something. Max raised his eyebrow at the boy, "Is everything alright?"
Gabriel shoved his hands in his pockets and looked over at them. Katie was now out of earshot, so he could ifinally/i ask them. He took a deep breath, and with a iload/i of courage, he asked them a question that he'd been idying/i to ask them for weeks now.
---
Katie pulled her house keys out of her pocket as she let herself, Gabriel, Mags, and Stan into the house. She flipped on the lights and they walked into the kitchen, getting stuff to eat.
"That movie has officially ruined my appetite." Mags said in disgust as she saw Stan make a salami sandwich.
"Sorry, Mags." Gabriel said as he got chips out of the cabinet. "I didn't think they'd actually ishow/i the alien's brains get blasted out of their heads."
Katie set her purse and jacket down on the table. She was glad to be home. Not that she hadn't enjoyed the company of her friends, it's just that she felt strange. It wasn't a sick feeling.... because she'd inever/i gotten sick before. It was an odd feeling... one that she'd never iever/i felt before. "Ok, you guys. I'm gonna go check on my parents."
Mags looked around. "You know, it's weird. They're usually up at this hour."
Stan looked at his watch. "It's only 10 o'clock?"
An uneasy feeling settled into Katie's stomach. "I'm gonna go check on them." Everyone noticed how quickly she left the room and suddenly the situation didn't seem as trivial as it had when they had left the movie theater. During the whole movie they could see Katie was acting strange.
Katie walked down the dark hallway to her parents door. It was closed and she knocked on it softly. "Mom, dad? Are you guys awake?"
There was no answer.
"Mom? Can I come in?" She asked louder and still she heard no answer. She sighed and opened the door, expecting to see her parents laying in bed asleep, but she didn't. In fact the bed looked like it hadn't even been touched. It was still made from when her mom cleaned house this morning.
Katie raised her eyebrows and walked back into the kitchen.
"So, is everything ok?" Stan asked as he munched on some chips.
Katie's eyes looked dark and a shiver ran down Mags spine. "Katie... what is it?"
"They're..." Katie whispered. "They're not here."
Everyone exchanged glances and Gabriel walked over to her. "Maybe they just went to the store to get something." He supplied, then suggested. "Or maybe a drive."
A cry from down the hall made them all jump. Katie's eyes widened and she broke out into a run. "Eli!" She burst through the nursery door and saw Eli lying in his crib, crying loudly. She picked him up slowly and gently rocked him back and forth in her arms. Her stomach twisted in knots. Her parents were gone.... and Eli had been here ialone/i.
The others ran into the room, confused. Katie turned to them and the panic she was feeling was evident on her face. They just then grasped the severity of the situation. Max and Liz would inever/i, iever/i leave Eli alone. Hell, they only started leaving Katie home alone when she was 14.
Mags suddenly ran into Katie's room and picked up her cordless phone. She carried it back to the nursery and dialed her number quickly. "Maybe mom and dad know where they are." The phone rang and rang and there was no answer. After the 5th ring, the answering machine picked up and Mags hung up. She paled and looked to the others. "No one's home."
Stan grabbed the phone from her and dialed his number. "I'm sure everything's fine. Mom will let us know what's going on...." His voice trailed off as the phone continued to ring and ring.... with no answer. He finally gave up and hung up the phone.
Katie held Eli in her arms, he was quieting now. But at that point she knew. She knew Eli, as young as 5 months old, could feel it too, and that's why he was crying. They were a soul circle and were in iconstant/i contact with their parents. They could ialways/i feel them. It was like a presence in their mind that followed them wherever they were.
But now.... their parents were igone/i.
To be continued...
