Title:
All's Well That Ends WellAuthor:
Sweetie14cgDisclaimer:
I do not own any of the characters from "Roswell", nor do I own the Crashdown Café.Summary:
Romance heats up while a murder victim is found with a mysterious handprint.Notes:
The personalities of the characters are combined with the qualities of the books and TV shows. I am also living through the characters, especially Maria.Dedication:
This is for my "muchacha", Christina.The bell rang and students came rushing into the hall. It was time for lunch, and everyone was eager to get their food and go sit down. Max and Liz were the first in their group to get to the quad. Their time together had now gotten awkward and they sat in silence until Maria approached.
"What's with you gloomy gusses? Maria said in her happy, squeaky voice.
"Nothing. Sit down Maria," Liz said quit agitated. "So what's new?"
Maria let out a little squeal, "Michael asked me out!" She was obviously excited. "We are going to a movie tonight!"
"Wow!" Liz said as she looked at Max. He could tell she was thinking that if Michael and Maria could, why couldn't they. "Oh, here come Isabel and Alex," Liz quickly shot out as if she was trying to change the subject. "Hey guys!"
"Hey," Isabel and Alex chimed.
"Guess what?" Liz said, trying to annoy Maria. "Michael and Maria are going out!" Maria shot a quick look of disgust at Liz, but quickly calmed herself. She was glad they were going out and everyone was eventually going to find out. Isabel's expression changed. They could all tell she wasn't happy, especially Max. He saw her aura turn completely gray, but then he realized she wasn't looking at Maria, she was looking straight ahead. Max turned and saw Valenti walking towards their little group, but just as he was about four or five yards away, Michael came running up.
"Come on you guys! There's a big fight in the cafeteria," Michael panted. As soon as they were out of Valenti's sight Michael stopped. "I saw Valenti, and thought you guys could use a hand." He gently kissed Maria and she almost melted away.
**************
Max drove to work. He needed to get his mind off Liz for a while. As he was parking, his boss, Ray Iburg, came running out.
"Don't turn the car off! We've got to go!"
"What's going on?"
"There's been a murder. A silver handprint was found on the guy, but we have to get there before the FBI. They'll quarantine the place."
"Where am I going?"
"The gas station on North and Main."
Oh no!
Max thought. Michael works there. Valenti's gonna get us.They drove up to the convenience store and Max immediately went to look for Michael. When he didn't see him he talked to his boss. He said that Michael hadn't come in for work that day.
Max let out a sigh of relief. If Michael wasn't here there was no way Valenti could link them to the crime. Ray approached Max, "Hey kid, looks like they got here before us. It's a shame too. Think of all the things we could have done with that kind of evidence."
"Yea," Max said half-relived and half-disappointed. He thought about it and decided that it was better that they didn't find it. Ray might have found out about him, or even Michael and Isabel.
**************
"So, what movie do you want to see?" Michael asked Maria.
"I don't know. What about a horror movie?"
Michael liked the thought of Maria cuddling close to him. "Yea, that's fine," he said, trying not to sound to excited.
They want into the theater and the lights dimmed. It opened with an extremely scary scene and before Michael realized it, Maria had his hand clutched in hers. He could feel the warmth of her body against his. This is pure bliss he thought to himself.
**************
Max called Isabel and told her to meet him at the Crashdown. He said it was urgent so Isabel rushed down the stairs, grabbed her jacket, and was out the door, but before she could get to the car she saw Alex parked outside her house.
"Did you forget, Isabel?" Alex said sweetly.
"Ohmygod," Isabel quickly spat out. They were supposed to go star gazing tonight. "Alex, I'm really sorry, but I can't go."
"Well, I guess I should be going," he said half-heatedly. He drove away and Isabel walked to her car feeling very sorry for herself and Alex.
**************
Isabel sat down across from Max. She could tell he was not happy and something was seriously wrong. The color was completely gone from his face.
"What's wrong, Max?" Isabel all but yelled.
"There was a murder…." Ax stuttered at a whisper.
"Yes, go on," Isabel encouraged.
"A silver handprint," Max was really struggling, "was found on the victim."
Isabel gasped. "Are you sure, cause, I mean, it could of, been a hoax."
"No, Isabel…. Ray doesn't get this excited over nothing."
Liz looked over at Max and Isabel, and then she looked at her feet, and back at Max. She sighed and went on wiping the counter with a dirty dishtowel. She wished her best friend was here, but Maria was on a date with the man of her dreams, Michael, and she could barely even talk to Max anymore. Liz couldn't help but feel jealous of Maria.
Liz walked over to where Max and Isabel were sitting. "What's up you guy…" before she could get the words out of her mouth she noticed Isabel's tear stained face. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll come back later."
"No," Max grabbed Liz's hand. "You deserve to know about this." He paused and Isabel nodded. "A murder victim was found with a silver handprint like the one I gave you." Liz gazed into Max's eyes, then stopped herself. This is serious and here she is going off on max. "Are you sure?" Liz looked confused. "I thought you said that you were the only aliens in Roswell."
"We thought we were, but apparently we are not," Max said solemnly.
**************
Michael and Maria left the theater. Maria was giggling wildly as Michael embraced and kissed her. They got in Maria's car and headed for Michael's, but Michael, on a whim, decided they should go to the cave in the desert. Maria agreed and they drove off into the desert.
When they got there, Maria grabbed a blanket and spread it down on the ground. They laid down and Michael grabbed her. They stared at the stars and just talked for a long time until Maria realized something.
"It's twelve o' clock, Michael!" Maria screamed. "My mother is going to kill me.
They got in the car and drove down the long desert road towards Michael's trailer. She then went home, snuck into her room through the window, and got into bed. Hopefully her mom was out on a date and didn't know.
**************
The next day Maria and Michael walked to her first hour class. Michael gave her a short and sweet "good-bye" kiss and she went into the classroom. Michael was still deciding whether he should go to class or skip, and after a long debate, he decided to go to class.
The hours went by slowly and finally lunch arrived. This time Michael and Maria were the first to appear at the quad. They sat down next to each other and waited for the others. Isabel was next and Alex was not far behind her.
"I wonder where Max and Liz are," Michael said.
"Yea, they are usually the first out here," Maria added.
Alex was, of course, staring at Isabel, and as usual, Isabel didn't notice.
"So…did you get in trouble last night?" Michael asked Maria.
"No, my mom wasn't even home."
"Well that's good." He was glad because he didn't want to be away from Maria any more than he had to. He did not know what he would do if her mom grounded her. Sometimes he would sneak into her room at night and talk for hours, but of course, Maria need more sleep than he did, so they couldn't stay up too late.
Max and Liz walked up holding hands. A smile stretched from one side of Liz's face to the other. Everyone could tell what had happened. Max and Liz had gotten together.
"Did you hear what happened?" Max looked at Michael.
"No, what?"
"A murder victim was found with a silver handprint. It happened at the store where you work…. Michael," Max's face turned into a frown, "Michael…what if he was looking for you?"
**************
The doorbell rang. Isabel walked towards the door. It rang again. "OK! I'm coming," she yelled. She opened the door and there was Alex standing there with a handful of dandelions. He had heard her when she said they were her favorite flowers.
"Alex?!" Isabel said curtly. Oh no she thought. That came out completely wrong.
I wanted to make up for the date, I mean uh… uh… night, you had to miss."
"That's so sweet." Did I just say that?
"I was wondering, maybe, if you wanted to, we could go out."
Isabel was screaming with joy inside, but at a lack of words for Alex. She calmed herself and weighed the pros and cons. "Sure," she finally replied. She really liked Alex and she didn't care if her friends didn't like him and now that Liz and Max had gotten together it made Michael and Isabel feel more comfortable with Maria and Alex.
"So…" Alex drifted off.
Isabel finished his sentence, "Do you want to go to the Crashdown?"
"Yea, I'll drive," Alex was very excited. They got in the car and drove to the Crashdown. When they got there Max was in his usual booth, but this time, dressed in her uniform, was Liz Parker, sitting next to him. It was the first time Isabel had seen him smile in days.
Alex and Isabel walked, hand in hand, to another booth. Isabel made sure Max saw them. Before they sat down Isabel gave Alex a short kiss and he stood there, bewildered, for a few seconds before Isabel pulled him down next to her and kissed him again.
**************
Michael was sitting in his room of the trailer. He was thinking about Maria when he heard a knock at the door. Michael got up and went to the door, but before he could get there, it opened. He looked at the man that was standing there and then at the doorknob. It was melted! This was the guy they were looking for.
**************
Max got a call from Michael at three in the morning. He sounded like he had gone crazy. He was talking so fast that Max had to yell at him to slow down.
"Max," Michael whispered, "he was here."
"Who, Michael? Who?"
"The guy, the guy who killed the man."
Max gasped. "Who was it?"
"Your boss."
"Ray. Ray Iburg!" Max's eyes almost popped out of his head.
"No, Max," Michael said, "it's not what you think. He was trying to save someone, but something went wrong and he died. There were no witnesses so he left." Michael paused and took a breath.
**************
"So Max's boss is one of us?" Isabel asked.
"Yes," Michael replied. It was an emergency meeting at the Evans'. Michael was sitting next to Maria on the couch. Isabel and Alex were on the loveseat, and Liz was sitting in Max's lap in the recliner.
