"I feel bad." Isabel stated after a moment. She and Tess had taken off but they hadn't actually gone far. There was nowhere to go that didn't have the chance of them running into people they didn't want to see. They'd settled on just parking a few miles away and enjoying something from Starbucks. "I hate guilt."
Tess had a simple solution to all of this. Forget about the humans and these silly ties they were all hung up on to humans and focus on doing what they had to do. Of course she was the bitch for saying that any of the times she did and so she kept her thoughts to herself this time. "Well, why exactly are you guilty?"
It was a valid question really and one Isabel didn't want to answer. The truth was, she didn't feel guilty about hurting Alex. Sure, he was sweet and kind but somewhere inside of themselves they knew it wasn't the forever type of thing that Liz and Max had. What Isabel Evans felt guilty about was that she didn't feel badly about it. She felt that she and Michael weren't doing anything wrong and couldn't care less if this forced the humans out of their group. It was that coldness that made her feel guilty. She wasn't Max. She hadn't ever felt truly connected to their group aside from Max and Michael themselves. The only people aside from those two that she cared about were her parents. Her parents were a completely different sort of human from Maria and Alex. Liz though...
Liz was not Isabel's favorite person on a surface level. She felt the girl didn't try hard enough to show off her girl next-door looks, that she spent too much time studying and writing in her journal instead of being normal. Perhaps it was ironic that she faulted Liz for not being normal when Isabel herself wasn't human. Really, under it all, it was Liz's normalcy that Isabel truly faulted her for. She was jealous that Liz had two parents that were really her own and a job with the family business and quirky side kicks and that she was choosing to involve herself in something she didn't have to. Isabel would have given anything to be a normal girl and Liz was just throwing it all away. Even with all of that said, one thing Isabel did know about Liz was that she made her brother happy. Max truly loved Liz and, more than that, he needed her. That was enough to make Isabel accept the girl into their midst but now she'd left. It made life easier in some ways but mopey Max was not fun to deal with in the least. She could pretend that was because he was broody and even more sullen than normal but the truth was, when her brother hurt she hurt. They were close and his pain was very real to her.
Taking a cue from Isabel's silence Tess realized this conversation wasn't going to go anywhere. "Let's go to Michael's apartment." She suggested after a moment. "It's really the only option we have." Without a word, Isabel turned the jeep in that direction
"You know, technically I broke up with you." It probably wasn't the best way for Michael to start but he wasn't good at this sort of thing. He legitimately felt bad about this entire thing but being with Maria took so much work and being with Isabel just felt right. Right and easy.
The glare Maria gave him was of the sort that would literally kill a man if looks really could kill. "That's it? That's your big explanation, Michael? Well guess what? It's not good enough. You broke up with me to protect me. You broke up with me because you said you were in love with me. How does that just change? You learn you're supposed to be with Isabel and suddenly-"
"It wasn't suddenly!" Michael snapped. "Don't you get that? You, Alex...you were our attempts to avoid it. That awkward day outside the eraser room? We knew our destiny then, we were trying to avoid it because it was too weird to accept. Yes, I told you I love you and...and I do, alright? I do. In my own screwed up way I do. You're part of my family now but our relationship wasn't healthy and we both know that. You wanted to find the Max to your Liz and that's just not me. That will never be me. But he is out there."
This time it was Maria's turn to cut in. "Don't. You don't have the right to say those things. Don't sit here and tell me why this is better for me and how there are other fish in the sea. I knew I was too good for you. I've always known I was too good for you. I didn't want us to be Max and Liz, I wanted us to be Michael and Maria but even that was too complicated for your screwed up head to figure out. I'm better off without you but not because you say so. Because I say so." She spun on her heel, done listening to him talk. She had to get out of that room before she either cried or slapped him. Both ideas were threateningly close to occurring at that moment and she did know in theory that neither was a good idea. Since when did Maria choose logic over what seemed right at the moment, though? She couldn't count on herself to do the right thing much longer.
"Maria, wait." She paused, knowing what was going to come, that this was the part where he would tell her he was sorry and that he did love her. "I know you're upset but...you can't tell anyone about us. No matter how mad you are." With that, the right thing flew out the window. She turned, tears in her eyes, and slapped Michael Guerin hard across the face before storming out.
Liz had never watched a Broadway show before, and certainly not one as iconic as IThe Phantom of the Opera/I. The music, the gothic undertones, the dark twisted story of the Phantom's love for Christine...she'd sat in awe the entire time and afterwards hurried to the stage door where she'd made plans to meet up with Caitlyn and Bryce. She had to wait at the back of the crowd waiting for pictures and autographs from the entire cast but finally she spotted a flash of red hair. She found her natural shyness kicking in, wondering if they'd even remember talking to her before the show or inviting her to this Connor guy's house. Caitlyn made her way through the crowd, followed by Bryce's tall figure. The latter caught her eyes, shooting her a smile and a quick nod and Liz realized that she had been remembered after all. Cait took her time, signing programs and chatting with people before finally making her way through the crowd and to where Liz was. "Come on, the subway station isn't too far from here. You have a metro card right?" The redhead continued to walk and Liz had to hurry to fall into step behind her.
"Yeah, I do. Aunt June got me one earlier. We rode the subway here but I'm definitely not used to it yet. We don't really have local transportation in Roswell. There's maybe two cabs and a bus to go out of town but...people either walk, bike, or drive themselves. Of course there's probably more in a block here than there is in my whole town." Even as Liz spoke, she smiled as she fondly thought of her hometown. Her mind drifted to the Crashdown. To Maria...Alex...as Max's face began to cross her thoughts she shook her head to clear it and then hurried down the stairs that led underground.
Bryce grinned at the conversation. Most people in New York had heard it before, at least if they talked to people from out or town. "The problem with cars here is that there's no space for them. Sure, you see a lot on the road but the bottom line is that to rent a place to park your car can cost hundreds of dollars a month."
"To park a car?" Liz shook her head, laughing a bit, the idea of someone paying what people in Roswell spent on rent to park their car getting her back out of her painful reveries for good.
"Yes." Cait grinned. "To park a car. So that is why we battle the crowds and push our way onto a somewhat unsturdy device that crawls around underground with giant and heavy buildings above us." She winked, seeing a look of concern cross Liz's face. "It's perfectly safe, don't worry." She nudged Liz forward onto the train as it pulled into the station, knowing the out of towner was going to try to pause and wait for people to disembark prior to boarding and that just wouldn't do. "Sit." She urged, nodding towards the one open seat on the train. "You're not ready to stand and hang on yet. Plus, I'm not sure you're tall enough to reach the bars up here." Her teasing was friendly but it really did seem as if she was testing the girl on some level. "Don't worry. It's not much further. Just wait until you meet Connor. You'll love him. Everybody does."
"Especially Caitlyn." Bryce chuckled. "Make sure you don't look at him wrong or she'll have your tail for it."
"I have a boyfriend." Liz stated immediately but then she frowned slightly, causing the redhead to lift an eyebrow.
"Are you sure about that? Because you don't really seem to be."
Liz frowned a little bit. "We're kind of on a break. I...there was a lot of stuff going on that he needed to sort out and he has a tendency to put everyone else before himself, especially me. The only way for him to really figure out what he needed to do was for me to leave. Which is why I came here. We haven't broken up yet, but I don't know for sure if he's planning to break up with me or not..."
To say that Max was angry would be an understatement. This whole night was ridiculous. He was angry at Liz for leaving, angry at Michael and Isabel for this new relationship thing, angry at the fact that it was his job to make everyone happy and fix all of this. Maria, Alex, and Kyle were livid. Max had always found Maria to be volatile but knew she wouldn't say a word, no matter how badly Michael had messed that situation up. Alex would be too scared that people wouldn't believe him to ever say a word, especially since sometimes Max felt Alex didn't even really believe it himself. But Kyle...sure Max had saved his life but as Kyle had stated, they had been the ones to endanger him in the first place. In addition, Max and the group were taking away the little time Sheriff Valenti had for his son. Kyle was the weak link at the moment and Max wasn't sure he had the energy to even worry about how to fix that.
After Maria had left, Michael had stayed in the room. He'd been in there awhile and Max figured he should probably go talk to him. Instead though, he sat down on the couch and did nothing. Eventually Michael did emerge, taking one look at Max and shaking his head. "Look, no one is asking you to break up with Liz. No one but Tess...and maybe Liz. But there is one part of your destiny that you simply can't ignore. You ARE our leader, Max. No offense, but get your head out of your ass and start leading. Liz is gone but she'll be back. She left so that you'd be able to look at things with a clear head so start doing that. You miss her, we get that. Now let's go, King Max." Michael headed outside and Max reluctantly stood and followed.
"Don't ever call me King Max again." He didn't feel like a King, didn't want to be one. His hand went to his pocket for his keys and then frowned. "Isabel took the jeep."
Michael shrugged and headed to Tess's car, hand moving over the door and quickly unlocking it. "Doesn't seem like a problem to me." He noted with a roguish grin. Another quick movement of his hand over the ignition and the car easily roared to life. There wasn't the least amount of guilt over "stealing" Tess's car. She'd have encouraged exactly what they were doing right then. Usage of powers, to Tess, was a good thing. Even so, he could feel the glare given to him by Max as he did it. "What?"
Max shook his head, "Nothing. Where are we going?"
"My place."
Maria sat in the back of Kyle's Mustang, a vehicle filled with the awkwardness of silence. Glancing up, she saw Alex in the front seat and it was enough to make her snap. "How can you just be okay with all of this?" She finally asked.
"Because I knew it was going to happen. Isabel Evans is...so far out of my league. The only reason she even looked my way was because I already knew her secret and she didn't have to hide who she was." Alex shrugged a little. "I spent every day with her like it was the last because I knew it probably was going to be. Now it's happened and, in a way, it's a relief because I can stop dreading it."
"Wow, that's a load of pathetic." Kyle snorted. "You two really aren't even taking into account that the people you were dating aren't even human. You should be relieved, not upset." He parked the car outside of the Crashdown and then turned and looked at them both. "Besides. They can't shut us out for good. We know too much. Just give it time. Things happen for a reason. They'll come crawling back. In the meantime, I say we go for cheese fries."
Maria knew that parts of what Alex and Kyle were saying had merit. Half of her had always thought that her already knowing was the only reason Michael had been interested in her in the first place. But they really had had a connection. Even just now, in that room...he'd told her he did love her. She didn't understand any of this, couldn't understand it. She missed Liz. Hadn't her friend realized that by taking off she wasn't just leaving Max alone? She was leaving everyone alone. "Order something for me." She said after moment, interrupting whatever it was the boys were chattering about. She headed into the backroom for the phone and dialed Liz's number. It went directly to voicemail.
"So...I don't know why you're not answering but a lot is happening back home and I'd just really like to talk to you. Call me as soon as you get this message, no matter what time it is. I just...really need you right now." Even though she wanted to pour her heart out, she couldn't do that to a cold and unresponsive machine. She'd just wait for Liz to call her back.
"See, I told you they'd find us here." Tess grinned as her car pulled up, and the smile grew as she saw Michael driving. Michael and Isabel were embracing this. Michael had had enough control to start her car and that thought made her overjoyed. The happiness died down a bit as she looked at Max's sullen face as he climbed out. Even so, she pulled open the door for them. "Hope you don't mind that we broke into your apartment."
"As long as you don't mind that I hot wired your car. You could have left us the keys." Michael pointed out, immediately heading to his fridge to pull out a soda.
"Where's the fun in that?" Tess giggled, blonde curls bouncing a bit. "Isabel went to lay down a bit. Her head was hurting. In case you were wondering where she was."
"Can't you two lay off the happy family routine for a few minutes?" Max snapped, sitting down hard on the couch. "Nothing that is happening right now is normal, okay? We shouldn't be sitting here acting like it is."
"Max." Isabel's voice entered the conversation full of empathy and concern. She stood in the doorway and though her eyes went to Michael she didn't approach him. This moment was about her brother. "I know Liz being gone hurts. I know you feel betrayed by Michael and I and I know you don't want to trust Tess because you're afraid that getting close to her will be betraying Liz. And all of that makes sense. But we've got to stick together, the four of us. No matter what. Right now? I'm happy. I know where I belong and what this is all about. We have Nasedo on the inside, controlling those who wanted to hunt us down. We are safe, Max. We're safe and I got to see our mother and hear her voice and I know why we're here. Please, Max. Let's look at the positives. Let's find a way to stay this way. To stay safe and happy. Please."
Max looked into the pleading eyes of his sister, saw the way the other two of the Royal Four looked at him. What Michael had said earlier was true. He was their King, that part of his destiny could not be ignored. Walking over to Isabel he pulled his sister into a big hug. "Maybe I've forgotten what safe and happy feels like." He told her honestly. "But you'll forgive me for that right?" Isabel nodded, not pulling her head away from his shoulder. Liz had left so he could do what he needed to do. But she would come back, he was certain of that. In the meantime, despite the answers they had gotten, more questions had been opened up as well. Questions he knew they would all want answers too. As much as Isabel wanted to believe they were safe, he remembered Nasedo's warning. Using the communicators would draw attention to themselves from unwanted persons. Chances were good that something was coming, he just hoped it was something that they could handle.
"So you all met in foster care?" Liz asked the girl that had been introduced to her as Millie. So far Connor's place was entertaining. Sure, Connor had given her a weird look or two but in talking to the group it seemed they kind of stayed to themselves. Once Caitlyn had told Connor that Liz was from Roswell he seemed to understand a bit more of why she was there.
Millie pushed a strand of brown hair behind her ear and nodded. "Yeah. We were all there at the same time, all about the same age so...we stuck together. At least when we could. The foster system can be a revolving door sometimes and we each had a few families before getting adopted. Bryce was the first to find a permanent home, then me, then Cait. And Connor..." She trailed off, as if unsure if she should say anything else.
"Connor was adopted last." The blonde supplied for himself. "And then my adoptive parents died a few years later. So I went back into the system. I did it with a nice inheritance that's still helping all of us out." It was obvious he was trying to act like the whole situation was nothing but Liz had been around Michael long enough to know when someone was hiding their sadness over their home life.
"That must have been hard." Liz said softly, sympathy filling her eyes.
"I'll let you in on a secret. Life is hard. People die. The rest of us just have to keep surviving. I promise you, if you learn that lesson and keep it to heart then things will make a lot more sense to you." Connor warned.
Caitlyn slid her arms around her boyfriend's waist, kissing his cheek. "Did you get time off for our trip?" She asked him. She turned to Liz with a bright smile, trying hard to fix the dark mood Connor had just cast on the room. "Connor is a lawyer working for a firm in Manhattan. That's why he's the one with the hardest time getting time off. He passed the bar last year and is working on becoming a top corporate lawyer."
He nodded. "I did. Everything is all set, I bought our tickets, you two secured us a tour guide...we're ready to go. You just need to be patient one more month."
Millie laughed a little at that. "Caitlyn? Patient? Have you met the girl? Bryce can be patient, I can be patient. You can be patient. Caitlyn will be antsy until the plane lands in New Mexico."
"If you don't mind me asking..." Liz said softly, looking at the group. "Why do you want to go to Roswell in the first place?"
"To find aliens of course." Bryce answered with a smile. "It's kind of been a group hobby for us since we were younger and we're finally ready to go and see for ourselves what all the hype is about. See where the "weather balloon" crashed. You up for helping us find some little green men?"
Liz's laugh was an uncomfortable one and, if she were looking around, she'd notice that she wasn't the only one who wasn't happy with Bryce's statement. Connor's eyes had narrowed at the other male and he pulled away from Cait to head to the kitchen. "I'll see what I can do." Liz finally forced out somewhat weakly.
"So tell us about Roswell." Cait stated, changing the subject a bit, or at least thinking she was. "Tell us more about this boyfriend guy. Is he hotter than Connor?"
Liz chuckled, not about to walk into that one, but then her face turned a bit sad as Max's face appeared in her mind. "In my opinion he's the hottest guy in the Universe. His name is Max."
"Max huh? And what's he like?"
"He's sort of the mysterious type. Tall, dark and handsome...has a lot of secrets. He's adopted too. Him and his sister Isabel. But the Evans are extremely good parents. He's just...Max. He's extremely loyal and trustworthy. He'll do anything to protect those that he loves and I'm lucky to be counted among those. He's sweet and caring and a natural leader. He let's himself stress about not making the right choices but almost always does." She shook her head, feeling tears prick the back of her eyes. "He's perfect. And if it was just him and me then things would be great. But life likes to get in the way and try to mess all of that up."
Millie smiled, despite being able to see how much Liz obviously missed her boyfriend. "You're totally in love, aren't you?" The girl asked with a grin. "You're lucky."
"Yeah...I really am." Liz admitted.