A/N: Okay so good reviews make me happy and make me want to write lots and lots. Thank you so much! This is a new style of fic for me, normally I write things with a lot more dialogue so the first chapter and the amount of introspection of each character was new to me. I know I was slow putting out the new chapter but worry not, I'll be better from now on!
Tess stared at herself in the mirror, carefully dabbing another layer of strawberry lip-gloss onto her gently puckered mouth. She had to look perfect when she saw Max today. Sure she could have used her powers to darken and lighten the color at will, but it never managed to get that sweet taste the lip-gloss itself provided. Everything about her had to be perfect, so undeniably perfect that Max had no choice but to fall in love with her. Turning sideways, she admired her figure. Her red tank top clung to her curves and the black pants she'd selected served to make her petite form even tinier. As she smiled at herself again, she was disturbed by a loud pounding at the door of the bathroom. "Hey, uh, Tess? I know you're a girl but you've been in there a long time." Kyle Valenti's voice drawled through the door.
"I'm sorry." Tess opened the door, an apologetic smile dancing across her lips. With Nasedo gone Tess was alone, so the Sheriff had opened his home to her.
The smile diminished any anger Kyle could have felt. "Don't worry about it." He said with a smile of his own. "You look nice, you going somewhere?"
"Yes."
Kyle waited for a further explanation but none came. Tess was odd, there was no doubt about that; but then, she was an alien. Alien. Kyle rolled the idea around in his mind. Max, Michael, Isabel, Tess. Aliens. Aliens that he and his father were supposed to help protect. "So where are you going?"
"Over to Max and Isabel's." She replied simply.
"I was just going to take a quick shower and then go grab a bite over at the Crashdown. You could join me if you wanted to." He offered.
"No thank you." Tess flashed another smile and then grabbed her purse, heading out the door.
"Okay then..."
Michael walked towards the Evans' house, anxiety raging inside him. On one hand, he was looking forward to the meeting, to figuring out what they wanted to do now that they had learned of their mission, to eventually free their home planet. This excitement was tainted by the nervousness over the impending conversation about the new relationship he and Isabel had formed. He'd done a lot of thinking between last night and the night they'd found out their destiny, a lot of thinking. He loved Maria, he did, but when he started having the dreams and thought Isabel was pregnant, it changed things, it changed him. True, he hadn't thought of Isabel in a romantic context before then, but once he started to, it just all made sense. With Maria things were hard, and the bottom line was, she wasn't like him. She was human, he wasn't. Everything he did would indirectly hurt her. Isabel understood him, didn't try and change him into something he wasn't, and that was what a relationship should be. Of course, none of this even mattered if she told him today that the night before was a mistake. He didn't think she regretted it, but after being caught by Max she had gone to talk to him and it was quite possible that he'd changed her mind. Max was good at that, especially when Isabel was involved. She didn't have enough confidence in herself to dispute her brother, despite the strong exterior she presented. He would just wait and see; there was really nothing else to do about it.
When he got the Evans' he had to pause briefly. It used to be that he always went through a window, unless he actually came in with Isabel and/or Max. He furrowed his brow in thought, a bit unsure of how to act in this situation. Finally, with a shrug, he walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. When Max opened the door, Michael noticed he wasn't met with the normal smile of welcome, instead there was a strangeness to his best friend, which either meant something was going on that wasn't good…or that Max was going to kill him over this Isabel thing. He didn't really know which would be least painful for him. "Hey Maxwell." He said, his own face adorning a lopsided grin.
"Iz's still getting ready. You can stay out here." Max replied simply, walking into the kitchen and opening the fridge, grabbing a cherry cola. He shut the fridge, not offering anything to Michael.
Michael stared at his friend for a moment, but this time decided that starting a fight wouldn't help anyone at the moment, so he simply grabbed his own soda. "Tess here yet?"
"Do you see her here?" Max's tone sounded as if he were talking to a bug or some equally as low creature. It wasn't lost on Michael.
"So tell me what it is you're mad about, because honestly, I can't quite figure it out. If this-" He was cut off by the sound of the doorbell. "You should answer that." He said with a shake of his head, walking to the living room and plopping down on the couch. This was all just too much.
Kyle walked into The Crashdown, dropping himself into a booth seat. His head flopped down on the table. What was so hard about being open with him? Why, when he finally knew everything, did they treat him like he was the enemy? He wasn't the enemy, not now that he understood, but honestly, who could blame him for his actions? Was he supposed to just sit there and let Max Evans steal Liz away? And his father, with all that stuff about not trusting Max…what else could he have thought? He'd done what he had to, he knew that and now…well Max had saved his life, he couldn't hate the guy anymore. He just wanted to be trusted, to be part of the group, because it was hard to consider going back to how life used to be with what he now knew.
"This is about the Czechs isn't it?" Maria DeLuca said, plopping a cup of coffee in front of Kyle as she sat down across from him.
"The what?" Kyle put his head up, a confused look written on his face.
"She means the aliens." Added Alex Whitman as he sat down, shoving Maria over into the booth. It was early, so the Crashdown was still pretty empty at the moment. "She and Liz made up the code name, which should explain everything."
"Ah." Kyle nodded, taking the coffee and sipping it. "Thanks Maria."
Maria laughed a little. "Not a problem. So is it? About them, I mean?"
"Yeah. Tess rushed off to some all important meeting…you'd think they'd invite us, I mean maybe we aren't aliens but we're involved in this just as much as they are."
"A secret meeting?" Maria raised her eyebrow. "Without us? Well isn't that just great."
"Maybe we only ever got invited because Max wanted Liz there…" Alex mused. "Not that you're not great, Maria."
"No, I know what you mean…but you know what? I'm going anyway. They can't just blow us off. He can't just blow me off. It's not right." Maria stood up, walking over to the other waitress. "I'm going on break." She said, pulling off her antennae headband and tossing it on the counter.
Alex watched her with a sigh, standing up himself as he had had to when Maria decided to charge out of the booth. "Maria, we can't just go storming into the meeting and-"
"Fine, don't, but I am."
Kyle looked at both of them. "I'm with her." He said with a shrug. "We can take my Mustang." Truth be told he wasn't very excited about riding around in Maria's mother's car, it was…old.
"Okay, I'll come to, but it's a bad idea, just so you know." Alex warned.
"Yeah we get it." Maria stated with a sharp tone. "Now come on, they've probably already discussed important information that we've missed because Alex is stubborn."
"Oh so now it's my fault?" Alex shook his head, laughing a little as he followed them outside to Kyle's convertible. It was a nice car, and one Alex had always wanted to ride in, but, well, he didn't think Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess would be too happy about them just showing up. Kyle and Maria seemed determined, however, so he'd humor them. Better for him to be there to mediate then for those two to barge in on their own.
Silence…four teenagers and they were sitting in silence. Isabel shook her head, casting a glance at Michael who was on the opposite end of the couch from her. Max had made a point of making her sit away from him, but tried to act as if he weren't. Whatever, he could deny things if he wanted, it didn't make them not true. She noticed as well that he wouldn't look at any of them, especially not Tess. It wasn't that she blamed him for being upset about Liz taking off, but it wasn't right to take it out on them, his family. She glanced at Michael, knowing she could always count on him to break the silence and was surprised to find him staring at her. She blushed, smiling gently at him, and as if he'd read her mind he spoke up. "So, is this about Liz, Nasedo, or Iz and I? Because apparently we haven't figured out your little guessing game."
"Stop it, Michael." Max replied. "Why are you acting like this?"
"Acting like what, Maxwell? Like you're being completely cold to us for no reason? We know who we are, we know our purpose, aren't you happy?" Michael shook his head and stared straight into his friend's eyes. "Or are you too selfish to be happy for everyone just because you're facing a little inconvenience."
"You know what Michael? Just because you have no concept of what love is and wouldn't give a damn if Maria had left doesn't mean-"
"ENOUGH!" Isabel yelled. "Can't you two just stop it and act like adults? I mean honestly. Look, Max, fact of the matter is, Michael is right. We get out of that cave, you say you're going for a walk and basically disappear on us for two days. That's not right, and you know it. Yes, so Liz went to New York, there's nothing you can do about that right now. Right now, you need to be with us, with Michael, Tess and me." She felt Michael move closer and take her hand. "Why can't you just let us breath a bit? We're safe, which is something we haven't been in awhile and maybe we just need you to tell us that it's okay!"
Max narrowed his eyes, looking at her. "Don't you have Michael for that now?"
"I feel like this is all my fault." Tess said softly. "But I didn't mean to come here and ruin everyone's life…I wanted to help you when I found out who you were. And honestly, I thought I was. I knew more than you all did and I wanted to share that…instead I just complicated your lives further."
"You know it's sad when I'm about to be the rational voice here, but I think we all need to just calm down here, myself included." Michael pointed out as Isabel moved into his arms, curling against him. "We all learned a lot, we had our time to think and now we need to discuss where to go from here. We have a mission; we are supposed to somehow liberate our people. Sadly, we don't know how to do that."
Finally Max gave a bit of a smile. "You're right, that is a bit sad. But maybe that's why you were my second in command, huh? Not afraid to question me when you think I'm wrong, and not afraid to step up when I'm being a jerk."
"Hey, just fulfilling my destiny." Michael shrugged.
"Yeah. I can tell." Max sighed. "Are you two sure about this? That it's what you want?"
Tess sat up a little more. "Can l say something?" She asked, and then continued before anyone could respond. "Max, I'm sorry about the way I pressed myself on you. You love Liz. I get that now. Isabel said something to me last night that made me think. She said that while we were programmed to look a certain way and such...love, and who we love, isn't something that can be programmed. And she's right. But just because you don't love me, doesn't mean that what Isabel and Michael feel isn't real. I trust them to be smarter than that. You should too." Tess knew she had Max with that last comment, she could see the change on his face. She'd been telling the truth in what she'd said about herself and her revelations as well. She believed Max loved Liz and she'd back off. That didn't mean she was giving up, she knew she and Max were meant to be but she also knew that the more she pushed herself on him, the harder he'd push back. She would wait, that was all she could do.
"She's right, Max." Isabel said softly.
"I know." Max nodded. "It's just going to take time to get used to."
Michael nodded, gently kissing Isabel's temple. "And that's fine." He replied as the doorbell rang. The sound caused all four to freeze.
Suddenly Max launched to his feet, one thought entering his mind: Liz. He yanked the door open, unable to hide his disappointment that instead of Liz he stood face-to-face with Alex, Maria, and Kyle. "What are you doing here?" He asked, not meaning to sound rude, but honestly confused at their arrival.
"What are they doing?" Alex asked, his eyes widening at Michael, who appeared to be kissing Isabel's shoulder.
Maria stared. "Oh...my God."
"It's huge." Liz gaped. All tiredness she felt left her when she entered the Majestic. Sleep had not come easily the night before and when it had it had been fitful. All she could think about was Max.
"Pretty impressive isn't it?" Came a strong male voice. "I've been working here for almost a year now and I still have to catch my breath."
June looked over at the sound of the voice. "You're here early today, Bryce." She noted with a smile. "This is my niece, Liz. Liz, this is Bryce Matheson, he's my apprentice."
"It's nice to meet you." Liz said, offering her hand. She smiled at the boy, even though she didn't really feel like smiling. Manners were important; she wouldn't embarrass her aunt by being rude.
Bryce took her hand. "You too. Are you enjoying the city so far?"
"It's...different." Liz admitted. "Very big. So if it's not rude to ask…most guys aren't into makeup."
He laughed, showing he wasn't the least bit offended. "I get that question a lot, and actually you're wrong. Some of the most successful makeup artists in the world are male. It came from having a lot of foster sisters...five to be exact."
"That's a lot…you're adopted?"
"Yeah, it's kind of cool in a way, because when I went through the stage of thinking my parents were freak aliens who didn't understand teenagers I could remind myself that I didn't inherit their weirdness."
Liz flinched a bit at the usage of the word alien. She'd never noticed before how common of a word it was and how many different meanings it had. It was common vernacular really, and only to her small group did it really have an entirely different meaning. It wouldn't do to start thinking about that though…wouldn't do at all. "Yeah, there have been times when I've wanted to disavow all relation to my parents."
"But your Aunt is so cool. Surely your parents can't be that bad."
"My parents are actually really great." The words made Liz feel guilty. Her parents were really great and she'd left them suddenly, leaving them hurt, and the Crashdown short-handed. All to help Max. Her pain must have been evident on her face without her realizing it, because Bryce asked her if she was okay. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just wondering how a small-town girl like me could hope to survive here."
June, who had been walking in and out to get things in order, chose to speak up at this point. "You forget that I, too, was born and raised in your small town. You also forget that you're one of the smartest and strongest people I've ever known."
Strong and smart enough to walk away from her soulmate...but she couldn't let herself think about that. Liz smiled at her Aunt. "Well I always did say l wanted to get out of there and expand my horizons."
"I'm sure you'll love it soon enough." Bryce smiled. "Get ready. The actors will be here soon. "
Recovering from his own shock, Kyle instinctively put his arm out to hold Maria back. "What is wrong with you people? Or is that the problem? That you aren't people at all?"
"Kyle. Don't-" Max began, but found himself cut-off.
"Don't what, Evans? Don't tell it how it is? Don't call you out on the fact that all four of you are selfish and cruel? That you barge in on everyone with no care at all what you're doing to their lives? That you-" But this time it was Max's turn to interrupt.
"I saved your life."
"You're one who endangered it in the first place."
"Everyone just stop!" Isabel snapped. "Just...sit down and we can all have a mature conversation."
"That sounds great." Maria said with a smirk as she plopped down on Michael's other side. "I'll start. If you two wanted to be together all you had to do is be honest."
Isabel opened her mouth to answer but was silenced when Michael gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "This just happened. After you and l broke up." He said slowly. "I'm sorry if it hurts you. I had planned on telling you myself, in private. Which brings me to my question. Why are you three here?"
"We felt that if the four of you were making plans, we had a right to be involved in that process." Alex spoke diplomatically but his face made it clear that Maria wasn't the only one upset by the new developments between Isabel and Michael.
"And what plans do you think we're making?" Michael asked, leaning back against the couch. This was really all just too much. They were the selfish ones? Right, and who was it who was intruding on peoples privacy.
"More than likely it's something that will get the three of us in trouble and maybe even a free ticket to heaven." Kyle quipped.
Max sighed, rubbing his temples. "Well, you're wrong. The only thing we're plotting is how we're going to accept the message our mother sent and how to deal with our destinies."
"Seems like Michael and Isabel have already figured that last part out." Maria snorted.
"The whole bitterness thing really isn't appealing on you, Maria." Isabel shot back. The human girl had a right to be upset, but at the moment it was just plain annoying.
Michael knew this was going to happen, which is why he'd wanted to talk to Maria in private about it. "Alright, you two hate each other again. We get it. Now stop." He shook his head. "Unlike Max here, I refuse to give in to all the diplomatic bullshit. If the four of us want to get together and talk, that's our prerogative. Yes, you have all helped us when we've needed it and we do appreciate that greatly. But that doesn't mean you understand what it's like to be us. Only we understand that. And sometimes the four of us getting together isn't so we can "plot" but simply so we can cope."
"More like copulate." Kyle snorted. "Sorry. Joke."
"Such an amusing one too." Isabel noted, rolling her eyes. "Forget this. I'm done with all the bullcrap fighting." Isabel stated, standing up. "I'm outta here. Coming Tess?" She cocked an eyebrow at the other girl. It wasn't that she was being immature so much as she was trying to avoid adding to the conflict. Maria had a right to be upset, Isabel knew that, but if she wasn't being so damn nosey the problem could have been resolved much more easily.
Tess glanced first at Max, then back at Isabel. "Yeah, let's go." The blonde agreed.
"Yes watch as the two aliens who can't stay away from what's not theirs run away so they don't have to take responsibility." Maria snapped. God what was it with them? It wasn't enough to put everyone's lives in danger, no they had to horn in on their men to. She wouldn't put it past Tess to fake the image of Max and Isabel's mother just to get what she wanted. As if their alien enhanced model looks weren't enough.
Isabel just sighed. "Whatever." And she and Tess headed out the door.
"Now, a lot of the chorus and such will put on their own make-up and then come here to get it touched up." Bryce continued. He kept watching Liz's face, worried he was boring her, but her attention seemed mostly on him. She was still distracted but not as much as before. "Because of how this show opens, much of the cast has to be done at the same time so the leads generally go first."
"I think I should get first." A rather sarcastic sounding voice commented. "When'd you get an assistant? Cait Foster." The tall red-headed figure noted to Liz, holding out her hand. "Or, around here, Meg Giry understudy, ensemble." She laughed.
"Liz Parker. I'm June's niece." She answered with a smile. At least people seemed friendly and it was a good distraction. She was hardly thinking about Max at all…well, at least not constantly.
"Cool." Cait nodded and then sat down, letting Bryce begin to put her make-up on. "So, I talked to Millie and she said everything is set-up for the trip. I've cleared my time off, so have you, and so has she, but Connor's still working on it." Cait explained quickly before closing her mouth so Bryce could apply her lipstick. As soon as he was finished she continued. "But he said since they're hiring for the summer now it should be okay. He still has a month to work on it though."
"Where are you guys going?" Liz asked in an attempt to be friendly. It wasn't like she could add much to the conversation as she didn't know anyone they were talking about but questions were good.
Cait looked like she was about to answer but Bryce stepped in. "Nowhere interesting. You'd just laugh." He said, his face showing his embarrassment.
"Try me."
This time Cait jumped right in. "Roswell, New Mexico."
"It's probably just some hole in the wall tourist trap." Bryce piped up. "But you know."
Liz couldn't hold back her laughter. "Excuse me but my family and friends make our livings with that tourist trap."
"Wait, do you mean you're actually from Roswell?" Cait smiled at her. "Cool, ever seen an alien?"
Bryce shot her a sharp look. "Play nice."
"I was born and raised there. My family owns an alien themed restaurant, The Crashdown. I'm a waitress there."
"Well how 'bout that? Looks like we've found ourselves a tour guide." Cait gave Liz an earnest smile. "I'm actually really nice, I promise." She noted, hopping out of the chair. "Invite her to Connor's after the show. It'll be fun. Bye."
Liz watched her go. "She reminds me of my best friend Maria in a way."
"We've been friends for a long time." Bryce noted. "So, you want to hang out tonight? Caitlyn doesn't invite just anyone over to chill so you should feel special."
"Yeah…I think that'd be a lot of fun." Liz smiled, an actual genuine smile. She could still have fun, if she let herself.
"Can I borrow your room, Max?" Michael asked after Isabel and Tess made their retreat. When his friend nodded he looked to Maria. "Can we please go talk?"
Maria glared sharply at him. "I have nothing to say to you."
"Fine, then I'll talk and you can listen, alright?" Michael sighed. Here he was, trying to do the right thing and all she could do was make it harder. "This is the only time I'm going to offer to explain." Maria fixed him with a cold stare but then headed past him to Max's room. "Right then, we'll be right back." With a sigh he headed towards the room to where Maria was waiting. Her posture could only be described as threatening. Perched on the edge of Max's bed, both her arms and legs were crossed, and a very pissed off glare decorated her face. Taking a deep breath as he closed the door he finally opened his mouth to speak.
