AN - Thanks for the reviews. They keep my fingers typing and the ideas flowing.
Friday 17th August 2012, West Roswell High School
Biting the inside of her lip, Liz Parker wondered what to do now. She'd broken the bond with Max once again by removing her touch so she could concentrate. Liz needed a frame of reference but couldn't let on to anyone else in the class. Waiting until the pair at the bench behind her lent over their microscope, she replaced an unused toothpick with the one covered in Cheryl Wilson's cheek cells.
Still stunned, Max sat and watched Liz prepare yet another side. The moment she'd finished, she slid the small glass rectangle onto the specimen holder. Looking up, she caught Max's gaze before she took in a deep breath and placed her eye over the lens.
'Well,' Max asked a few seconds later, his anxiety transparent in his tone.
'Take a look,' Liz offered the microscope with a puzzled expression.
Building up his courage Max looked down the barrel. What he saw both relieved and frightened him. The general shape and colour seemed to be similar to those prepared from his and Liz's cheeks. However they looked altered in comparison to the last slides.
'I'm at maximum magnification,' Liz whispered into his ear. 'They don't look that different. See the edges on this sample. They're not as thick or angular as yours and mine. To make a final assessment, we'd need to use an electron microscope.'
'That's not,' gazing around the class, Max noticed the other students engaged in their studies, 'the issue here.'
'You think I don't know that,' Liz glared. 'I have questions, Max and you're going to answer them after class. For now we'll just use this sample for our lab report. I'm going to get rid of these,' she said, pocketing the unusual samples.
Holding Max's arm, Liz let the rest of the students leave when the bell went. Grabbing at him, she pulled the boy along in her wake desperately trying to shield her thoughts. It didn't take long to find the usually empty band room. Pivoting on her heal she opened her mouth but nothing came out as the sound of a beating drum stopped her dead.
'Kyle!' Liz exclaimed, finally noticing the boy already in the room. Dropping Max's arm, she approached the star quarterback cautiously. Since deciding not to date him, Kyle hadn't been able to understand why. He took every opportunity to reopen their nonexistent relationship.
'Hey,' he nodded at Liz. Noticing the contact between the pair standing before him, Kyle added, 'Hey, Max.'
They'd known each other since first grade. Kyle suspected Max Evans liked Liz for a long time. Until today, he'd never supposed Liz might return his feelings. Kyle Valenti hated to lose and he sure as heck wasn't about to lose Liz to this quiet, withdrawn and socially awkward boy. If he just tried a little harder and managed to get her on another date, he'd show her what she'd given up.
'Hey,' Max returned awkwardly.
'So'd you get my message?' Kyle lied, hoping to make use of the tension in the room. It became so thick between Liz and Max, he knew if they'd started dating it'd only happened recently. 'When I heard about the shooting at the Crashdown, I called to see how you were.'
'Oh yea,' Liz ignored the texts and missed calls last night as she struggled with her own feelings. 'I was uh, just a little...'
'Shaken up,' Kyle suggested, ensuring Max had no part in the conversation. By excluding him, Valenti hoped Liz would focus on his caring side. 'We're friends Liz, you know you can come to me with anything. I'll always be there for you.'
'I know,' Liz dropped her head. Through the curtain of hair, she chanced a glance at Max. He stood quietly, watching the exchange.
'So you guys are,' Kyle paused, indicating Max. It made his classmate even more nervous.
'Um, we're looking for a place,' she allowed her head to come up, 'to study, for our Bio midterm.'
'Oh right, it's only the second week of school and your studying for midterms already,' Kyle smirked. 'Okay, Biology. Interesting subject.' When neither Liz nor Max answered his taunt, he sighed. Maybe he was going about this the wrong way. Instead of attracting Liz's attention, he seemed to be alienating her further. 'All right, I was leavin' anyway,' he stated over his shoulder. Silently Kyle promised he keep an eye on Max Evans.
'So,' Max couldn't help the question, 'you're going out with the Sheriff's son?'
Little did Liz know, but the question made him quake in his boots and the answer might force his hand. Max, Isabel and Michael always knew about the differences between them and everyone else. Living in the same house, they'd been able to hide their unique abilities. Practicing together, the three High School juniors made a pact to hide the truth from everyone. Involving Liz made that difficult. If she dated the sheriff's son, it'd be impossible to contain their situation.
'No,' Liz stated, turning to face Max. 'Well, it's kind of like we went out on one date over the summer. Kyle, he's been trying to get me to go out with him again.' Taking a steading breath, she demanded, 'okay, Max, can we just focus here for one minute please?'
Closing her eye, Liz lifted her shirt. Concentrating hard, she felt the marks reemerge on her stomach. This close to Max, it seemed to pulsate and the bond between them became stronger without touching.
'Wow,' Max muttered, confused. Watching as Liz closed her eyes again and made the mark disappear. 'How?' he asked, pointing to the pristine skin.
I don't know Max, Liz opened her orbs and glared at the boy before her, why don't you tell me? I don't understand anything. How am I able to speak to you telepathically? So help me out here Max. I mean, what are you? What am I?
'Well, I'm not from around here,' he decided they needed to interact in as typical a fashion as possible.
Isabel and Michael could both project their thoughts but they'd learnt to behave like other children. Their mother encouraged them to speak from the moment she found them in the desert. They'd known they had to pretend to be normal and fit in, that their survival depended on it.
'So where are you from?' Liz demanded, although she had some idea of the answer. The result of their cheek scrapings complicated it or at least the acceptance of whatever Max would say.
Without saying a word, Max raised his hand. Pointing into the air with his index finger, he made his face as impassive as possible. Feeling Liz trying to probe his mind, he held his shield in place.
'Up north?' she commented but without any conviction.
He continued the silent treatment. Max could see the pieces falling into place. Finally he moved his finger higher. A series of expressions crossed Liz's face as she contemplated and finally came to the only conclusion possible.
'You're not an, an alien, I mean,' she whispered. 'Are you?'
'Well I prefer the term not of this earth,' he managed to keep his neutral façade. Once again studying her expressions, Max opened the link between them. 'Sorry, it's not a good time to joke,' he apologized. 'I think I am. Wow, it's weird to actually say it.'
'That means,' Liz drew the only conclusion possible, 'I am too.'
Astounded, she didn't know what to think. Moving without realizing, Liz collected her books and started towards the door. She needed to be alone and think about this. Too much had occurred in the last twenty four hours for her too process it all.
'Liz,' Max called, attempting a mental merge to fortify his need for her to stay and ensure she'd keep their shared secret. However the confusion that greeted his probing told him how deeply this affected her.
'Um, Max,' she stumbled over her words, 'you know, I have, I'm gonna be late for my US Government class, so I'm just gonna…'
Making it to the door just as Liz reached for the handle, he put all his weight against it. 'Liz, listen to me,' he whispered harshly, leaning down and almost touching their foreheads together. 'You can't talk to anyone about this. Not your parents, not Maria. No one. You don't understand what'll happen if you do.'
For good measure, he sent her images of his deepest fears. Pictures of being imprisoned, held against his will, experiments preformed. Max reinforced the pictures with emotions. Hurt, pain, fear but most of all, terror at being something not human or maybe more than human. Then he added Liz into the collage, sharing the experience. She looked up at him with terror in her eyes realizing this could happen to her too.
'Liz please,' Max implored, showing her his life in Roswell, with a loving family. 'Now both our lives are in your hands.'
Unable to take it all in, she opened the door and slipped though.
Friday 17th August 2012, FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
'The plant at West Roswell High School called,' Agent Topolsky reported. 'She initiated the DNA protocol. It seems our kids are too smart to leave evidence lying around even in biology class.'
'Report to the school next week,' Deputy Director of Special Projects for the combined FBI and CIA taskforce, Wilson Bellmore sighed. 'I gather you have copies of the police reports and understand your assignment.'
'Yes Sir,' Topolsky nodded.
'That will be all agent,' Bellmore dismissed her. As she left another man came out from the shadows.
'Will she play by the book?' The Deputy Director demanded in a harsh tone.
'Yes, Topolsky has no choice,' he stated. 'I've called the others to Enclave. You just keep this a "hands off" operation and let my people take care of the rest. If those kids ever realized who or what they are fifty years of work will go down the drain.'
