Maria and Liz were at the Crashdown alone. It was an hour till opening and they were getting the place ready to open.
"Do you know when Max will be back?" Maria asked.
Liz rolled her eyes. Her friend was never going to get the fact that she was over Max Evans. "No, Maria. Will you stop asking about him? I don't care."
"Liz, come on. You have to get over that. You love Max, I know you do. You guys are perfect together."
"No, Maria!" The anger and annoyance at Maria had finally built up. "I don't love him anymore. I've learned to deal with the fact that we aren't going to be together and even if we could, I wouldn't go back to him!"
"But why Liz?!"
"Maria! He slept with Tess! He's was an ass to me and Kyle! He trusted her and she killed ALEX! I get she's pregnant with his son and he had to let her go because of it but he still let her go! If he'd have kept it in his pants we would've let Alex's murder go! God, she wasn't even sorry! He fought with me after Alex died! He wanted me to believe Alex committed suicide so he wouldn't have to face reality!" Liz growled under her breath to calm herself. "Max is a different person and so am I. As much as he and you want us to go back to what we had, we can't. Too much has happened, too much has changed."
"Hey, what's up?" Michael came through the back putting on an apron.
"Morning." Liz smiled wanting to forget her conversation with Maria. "You're here early."
"Yea, well I just got off graveyard from Meta-Chem. I decided to come straight here or else I'd fall asleep. Is it ok, if I start my shift early?"
Liz nodded. She watched as Michael approached Maria and kissed her good morning. Her stomach did a little flip and she felt a twitch in her heart. She was happy Maria had someone who loved her. Michael and Maria looked like they were finally in sync. They looked happy. For the first time, Liz was jealous of Maria. Michael had stayed behind for her. He had given up the chance to go back to his home planet, the very thing he'd been wishing for his entire life, he'd given that up for Maria. He'd found his home with her.
Michael had told this to Liz about a week after Tess had left. Liz was grateful to Michael because he was making her best friend happy but in most part because if he hadn't come back out of the pod chamber then they wouldn't have been able to expose Tess for what she really was.
"Liz?" Maria poked her friend in the arm.
"Sorry. What?" Liz didn't know she'd spaced out for that long but Maria was beside her and Michael was looking at her with an odd expression.
"Are you ok?" Maria asked her.
She nodded. "Just thinking."
"Think a little less intense next time. You kinda freaked us out." Michael picked up a towel and started cleaning the counter.
Liz nodded and they all went back to work.
At lunch time, Isabel and Kyle came by to have lunch with the group. Maria, Liz and Michael took their lunch to sit with them.
"You guys wanna catch a movie tonight?" Kyle suggested taking a drink.
"I can't." Isabel answered.
They all looked at her and she answered quickly, "I have a study session."
Liz frowned but shrugged. O—kay.
"I work." Michael answered. "Thank God I have the next two days off!"
Liz gave him a sad smile. Poor guy looked over worked. "Michael, I'm sure you can take off. We've got the kitchen covered."
Michael shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. I need the cash"
"I have to help my mom with some deliveries." Maria answered Kyle's earlier question.
"How about you, Liz? You busy tonight?" Kyle looked so desperate, she had to smile.
"No. Did you want to go to the cinema or stay in for the night?"
Kyle thought about it and said, "Definitely stay in. I can grunge on pizza and snacks."
"Add some ice cream to that and you have yourself a good girls night." Liz joked.
Kyle smiled at her like he wanted to slap her behind the head.
Liz and the others laughed.
Not long after that, Isabel made an excuse about leaving because of home work, who nobody really bought.
Liz turned to Michael to see if he was concerned that something was going on.
Michael met her eyes and said, "I'm sure it's nothing. If she's keeping something, it's nothing related to us. Family stuff I guess. Don't worry about it. I'd know if something was wrong with her."
Liz nodded. I guess he's right. He knows her best and he wouldn't cover up for her, not if it concerned the group.
"I better get back to work." Liz stood from the table and started to pick up their plates.
"Yea, we better get up too." Michael nudged Maria get up.
"Hey, Liz. You think I can get a slice of pie?" Kyle took another sip of his drink.
She nodded and brought his the slice of pie. She'd noticed that since Tess had left, Kyle had stopped his daily exercise and was mainly eating junk food. Sometimes he'd eat like a pig and other days he'd go without eating. She'd ask him about it tonight.
"He's been eating a lot." Michael said when she went into the back to put the dirty plates in the sink.
She nodded. "That's what I was just thinking. But you know he's always eaten like this."
"Yea, but he's not going out. I haven't seen him play ball in a while and he stopped exercising. You think it's got something to do with Tess?"
"I'm going to ask him about it tonight?" She was now more concerned than before. If Michael has seen it, maybe I'm right to worry.
"You're going to ask who what?" Maria interrupted her thoughts.
"Kyle." Both she and Michael answered.
"Ask him about what?" Maria grabbed a strawberry from the counter, bit into it and looked at Liz and Michael like she was confused.
"About the way he's been since Tess left." Liz explained.
Maria frowned and looked out the window towards Kyle sitting in the booth. "The way he's been acting? What do you mean?"
Is she serious?
"You haven't noticed he's been acting a little weird lately?" Michael gave Maria one of his looks, like she was the one who was alien.
She shrugged. "Guess I haven't been paying attention." And then went about grabbing some orders and taking them out.
Liz and Michael stared after her. They turned to each other and shook their heads.
"She can be a little spacey sometimes. You know how she is." Liz defended her friend although she had a bad taste in her mouth while she made the excuse.
"She can't be that self involved Liz. She doesn't pay attention to anyone but herself sometimes. It's like the only thing that matters is that she's happy. You guys lost a friend last year because of what Tess did. I don't want us, you, to loose Kyle to her too. There's something wrong with him and it scares me that Maria isn't seeing it." Michael washed his hands and threw the dish towel he used to dry them at the wall.
Meanwhile, Kyle finished his pie, left some cash on the table and walked down Main Street.
What can I do? I have to stay distracted. Can't stop to think. Bad memories. Keep yourself occupied. Don't let mind clear. Bad memories. Alex in a body bad. I loaded him in the back seat. Bad memories. Have to keep busy. What do I do? He spotted the grocery store. "I'll buy some stuff for tonight. Yea, have the snacks and food ready so we'll be ready to watch a movie soon as Liz get to my place."
He walked in and instead of getting a small basket, he grabbed a cart.
He made a mental note of everything they needed for the night and kept his mind going on the list. He hated when his boss gave him days off. He had too much time on his hands and not enough things to do or think of to keep his mind under control.
He turned the corner and hit a couple who were making out in the isle. "Oh, sorry. Didn't see—" but he stopped short when he met Isabel's eyes. He smiled when her face turned pink.
Isabel finally cleared her throat. "Jesse, this is my friend Kyle."
The man named Jesse, who Kyle suspected was at least 8 years Isabel's senior turned and shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you." Jesses smiled.
Kyle smiled as well.
"Kyle, Jesse just started working at my father's office." She gave him a 'don't say a word' look and Kyle almost laughed.
"Well, I guess I'll see you later then." Was all Kyle could say to stop himself from laughing. "Nice meeting you, Jesse."
Jesse nodded. "You too, man."
Kyle pushed his cart down the isle and almost died. Gosh, that was great. I knew she was lying about studying tonight. I wonder how long she's been lying to us?
Later, at the Crashdown, Liz noticed that Michael had left his check in the back. Knowing that he'd need it, she put it in her back pocket and made her way to his apartment.
She knocked a couple of times and waited for him to answer. When he didn't, she looked for the spare key Michael kept outside and went inside.
"Michael?! Michael?!"
She put the keys on the table. When she looked up, Michael was coming out of his room with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He was towel frying his hair and looked confused at seeing her in his apartment. Liz felt her cheeks get warm and she looked toward the key on the table to hide them.
"Liz? What're you doing her?"
"I came to drop of your check." She pulled it out of her back pocket. "You're off for the next two days and I know you'd probably need it."
He came over and took it from her. "Thanks. I have errands to run in the morning and I wouldn't have been able to pick it up."
Liz smiled. "Glad I could help."
"Grab something to drink I need to talk to you." Michael suggested, grabbing a chair to sit on.
Liz, not knowing what this was about, did was she was told. She opened the fridge and grabbed a peach Snapple.
"Why do you have a box of peach Snapple in your fridge? I didn't even know you could buy a box that big."
"You can't." Michael answered without thinking about it.
Liz was confused. "So, how did you get it?"
"From work." As soon as Michael answered he winced. Why did I say that?
"From Meta-Chem?! Michael, you just got that job!" She put her Snapple back in the box. "Please take that box back."
"Why?"
"I don't want you to get in trouble." She said honestly.
She could tell Michael was annoyed with her, so she decided to drop it for now and change the subject. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
Wow, she's not like Maria at all. Maria would have kept nagging and making me feel guilty until it would turn into a fight.
"Michael!" Liz waived her hand in front of her. "Hello?"
"Sorry." He cleared his throat. "I wanted to talk about Max and Maria."
She groaned and rolled her eyes. She thought he was different and wasn't going to give her a speech. "You know what, Michael—"
"Let me talk, Liz." He interrupted her. "Max called me and asked me to watch out for you. He and Maria keep talking about how you and he should be together because you guys love each other. And I'm going to tell you the same thing I told them."
Here it comes.
"I told them to leave you alone."
Liz was in shock.
"He kept saying that you guys make your own destinies and I told him that you had chosen it and he wasn't in it. Maria keeps obsessing about it. She doesn't understand why you aren't together. Like I said earlier, she sees what she wants to see. I can see he wasn't making you happy, Liz. He hurt you too much and didn't treat you right. He let you down too many times. I'm sorry you've been put into this situation. To them, you're being difficult and you're the bad guy cause you don't want to be with him. I just wanted to let you know that I'm with you. I understand what you're going through and I'm not judging you. Max isn't the good guy everyone sees him out to be. I told him I'd watch out for you but not for him. We, Isabel, Max, Nasado and Tess have put you through too much over the last 2 years. I want you, Maria, Valenti, and Kyle, I want all of you to be able to live normally, to live happy. I'm sorry for all the times I made things harder for you. You've given up a lot for us." Michael was being so open that Liz didn't know how to react.
She'd never seen someone look so vulnerable, open and raw with emotion.
"Thank you, Liz." Michael scratched him eyebrow, not knowing what to do or say next.
Liz smiled and blinked away her tears, knowing full well that it would make Michael even more uncomfortable than he already was.
"Thanks, Michael. That means a lot. I know how close you are to Max and I know how much you love Maria, so I know how hard that must have been for you. You stood by me in that way and I'll never forget that." She walked toward the door and opened it.
"Liz."
She looked back at Michael.
"Call me when you get home tonight. You know, after you talk to Kyle."
She nodded. "Hey, Michael."
"Yeah?"
"Take that Snapple back Guerin." And she shut the door, making her way back home to get ready for her night with Kyle.