Chapter 10: As We Crumple

Liz

Well you could say that the whole Max thing didn't go well. I had never seen Max that angry before or that hurt. But as I watched Max walk out that door I got this sinking feeling that nothing was going to be the same. I tried to ignore the dreadful feeling but it kept popping back in my head even after Max left and Michael dropped me off at my balcony. I couldn't sleep and stayed up thinking.

I thought about how Max had been so cruel towards Michael and I and how much we had hurt him. Suddenly, a noise out on my balcony startled me. I cautiously looked out the window. "Michael?" I asked when I opened the window.

I got no response so I closed the window and I as soon as I turned around I heard the sound again. Only this time I knew what they were. Footsteps. My heart began to race and I began to panic. Was it Nasedo? There was no way I could go up against him with the bat I had under my bed. I jumped when I felt eyes on me. Forcing myself to breathe, I tried to contact Michael. The only time we had connected was when we were close. I didn't know if it work or not but I had to try. And it also didn't help that Michael was probably sleeping.

{Michael! Can you hear me?}

No answer. I heard the footsteps again and I frantically called out, {Michael, dammit! Answer me.}

I almost cried with joy when I heard him answer. {What? What's going on? Are you OK?}

He must have been sensing my panic because he was panicking too now. {There's someone on my balcony and I don't know who it is. Michael, you have to get here now.}

{OK. Just calm down, OK? I'm on my way. I won't let anything happen to you-I swear it.}

The noises were gone but I still waited in my room for Michael to arrive. It was the longest fifteen minutes of my life. I felt him coming about five minutes before he came. He opened my window, jumped in, and hugged me tightly.

"Are you OK?"

I snuggled into him. "Never felt safer. Was anybody out there?"

Michael frowned. "No. Are you sure someone was out there?"

"Yes. I'm sure. Maybe if I go out there and start touching things, I could get a flash. Y'know of who was out there."

Michael nodded. "Come on." He grabbed my hand and stood closely as I touched the walls, chairs, and candles. Nothing looked misplaced. I was thinking I hadn't heard anything at all when I saw it.

"Michael! Come here!"

He raced over and I held up what looked like to be dead skin. Michael and I looked at each other.

"What is it?" he asked. Before I could answer, the skin disintegrated in my hand.

"I don't know. But it's not human."

"What do you mean it wasn't human?" Isabel asked. She, Michael, Tess, Alex, Max, and I were at the quarry the next day. At first I was apprehensive because of Max being there but Michael did have a point. Our enemies weren't going postpone their agenda because we were having emotional problems.

"It was this patch of dead skin and than it kind of disappeared," I explained for the tenth time.

"But why would an alien be outside of Liz's window?" Isabel mused.

Michael looked down. "He probably saw me walk Liz home. Or she. Or it. I doesn't matter really. The point is we need a plan to get rid of our enemies and we need to find Nasedo."

"Has Valenti gotten anything on him yet?" Alex asked.

"He can change his form so it's probably going to be hard to find him," Tess said. "We should start working on our powers so we can fight them if they attack."

Michael glanced at me worriedly. "What if we had an extra boost of power that they didn't know about? Would that be an advantage?"

"Well yeah. But I don't see any extra alien here."

{Michael, don't.}

{We have to, Liz.}

{But Max…}

{We can't always protect him, Liz. We have to know more about our connection. Maybe Tess knows something.}

I regarded Michael solemnly and nodded. "I might be developing powers," I said to them.

"How is that possible?" Alex asked.

"When Max healed me, he must have changed something inside me. These abilities must have been developing and when Michael healed me they came to life."

"Nasedo told me once that our powers are just the result of accelerated human brains. All that has to happen is for Liz's brain to open a bit more and she has abilities that aren't human," Michael said.

"What can you do?" Tess asked.

"Michael and I can communicate without talking-in our heads. We can kind of feel each other's energy, emotions, things like that."

I tried not to look at Max but I could feel his eyes on me. "Why are you connected with just him?" he asked, his voice laced with hurt.

"Maybe because when he healed me, he really made the powers come out. And we're so close that it makes sense."

Max was about to say something when Michael's cell phone rang. He sent us an apologetic look and picked I up. "Hello?…Valenti?…What happened? Slow down…Yeah, I'll tell them…Bye."

Michael hung up and we all looked at him expectantly. "They found Ed Harding's body outside the city. It looks like a murder. Valenti was able to keep the cops away there long enough so they couldn't take the body and test it. He called to ask me if we knew anything about the dead skin he found around the body."

"Oh god," Tess gasped. For once, my heart went to her. Nasedo was like a father to her in a way and now he was dead. "Whoever these evil aliens are, they killed Nasedo."

We all stood in silence until Tess said, "Nasedo is stronger than us and they killed him. We're sitting ducks. He probably even knew who these things were. We don't know anything. We're screwed."

"Well maybe I could try to see if I can blast things," I offered.

Tess's eyes focused on me and they were filled with rage. "This is all your fault. If you hadn't interfered in the first place, Nasedo would be here to help us."

"And I'd be dead, Tess. What do you want more: Nasedo or me out of the picture?"

"Nasedo was important to the group! We need aliens fighting, Liz. Not some human who can read minds!"

"I don't know what your problem is, Tess! I'm not standing in your way to get to Max anymore and I sure as hell didn't *ask* Nasedo to try to kill me! So why do you hate me so much?"

"Because you are *human*! Don't you get it? You, Alex, and Maria have hindered this group. As much as you tell yourselves that you're helping, you aren't! So you can stand there with your telepathic powers but that doesn't make you one of us! And here I am, the fourth person in the four square that Isabel, Max, and Michael *need* and they value *you* more than they do *me*! We have to be a four square!"

Isabel stepped closer to me, "You've done nothing but lie to us since day one, Tess. We have to *trust* you before we can let you in. All you do is bitch about destiny!"

"She's right, Tess," Michael agreed.

"Haven't the two of you done enough?" Max asked suddenly, his voice thick with emotion. "You and Michael have been lying to me since the summer! Isabel, you've known all along about Michael and Liz and you didn't tell me! Michael, you betrayed me! I can't trust either one of you again!"

I've never seen Max been so harsh on Isabel before and I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder when I saw her eyes begin to tear. "So, no, there is no four square! The group is falling apart! Things are not *OK* and they are not *fine*! We are falling apart! Tess hates you guys and you hate her. None of you listen to me and I'm supposed to be the damned *King*! Isabel, I tell you not to go to college and you decided to go anyway! Things are changing and no one standing here right now is the same person they were last year!" Max looked pointedly at me, "I'm not sure who to trust anymore and my own sister is working against me!"

Alex stood tall and looked at all of us. "So we're going to give up on ourselves because Tess is having jealously issues and Max is feeling betrayed because Michael and Liz are together now? I may be a mere human but all I see a group of broken teenagers. We can't defeat anybody unless we band together! We have issues and I get that! We have been chased by the FBI, investigated by crazy guidance counselors and Valenti, and we always solve the problem by coming together. I know I may be the last one to join this group but I know enough to say that if we crumble now than we have absolutely nothing. We might as well sign our wills and plan our funerals. Now can we please just put our differences aside and defeat these alien bastards as soon as possible?"

We all hung our heads in shame at his words. We all knew he was right. And it was then, looking at the six of us, that I realized that we were destroying ourselves. I saw Max and Tess by themselves standing opposite from Alex, Isabel, Michael, and I. We had no four square.

Max and I were the heart of this group. And now without me, Max was lost and he was hurting. Tess was more mean than usual because now with Max and I broken up, she *still* wasn't with Max and that was hurting her too.

I hoped with all my heart that we could come together. Because all we had right now was a group split in two.

That's all I could think about as I was working later that day. Luckily, Michael was working that day too as I made my debut as a waitress once again. All I could hear was Nasedo's voice in my head telling me I was destroying the group. Maybe I wasn't directly responsible but I was playing a part. And we all knew how I could fix the group and that was by being with Max again but I couldn't do that. I refused to.

{Parker, I've been ringing the damn bell for three minutes now. The order is ready!}

{Oh right. Sorry.}

With Michael and mine new connection, orders came more easily. We both laughed when we realized if we couldn't use my powers to defeat evil, we might as well make food preparation more convenient. I walked over and took the order. He turned around from flipping burgers and regarded me with concern. "It isn't your fault. That's all you've been thinking about since the meeting."

With the order in hand I replied, "Tess was right, Michael. We can't defeat enemies like this, we might as well lay down and die."

"Don't, OK? We'll talk about this later. We are going to make it-I don't know exactly how-but we will."

I have to admit, I felt a bit better after talking to Michael. When I walked back to the tables I was witnessing, I saw Kyle walk in. I dropped the order off the customer and went in the back to find Agnes. "I'm going on a break, Agnes. Can you cover?"

She pulled a cigarette out her mouth, "Sure."

"Those things will kill you," I lectured.

She laughed, "So will working here for 15 years."

I rolled my eyes and went to the front. I smiled at Kyle and slipped into the booth across from him. "Hey, Kyle. What brings you here?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you real quick."

"Of course. You don't want a drink or anything? It's on the house." He nodded and I brought him his drink. "So what's up?"

"I want to help with this crisis-whatever you guys are doing right now. I mean, you freed my father and saved my life. I want to do something to repay you back."

I smiled, "Thanks but I don't know how much you can help. Unless you want to give us group therapy."

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"We had a group meeting this morning and you could say it didn't go well."

"What happened?"

"Well, Max is mad at Michael, Isabel, and I for not listening to him and betraying him. Isabel is mad at Max for telling her not to graduate this year. Michael is mad at Max for ,well, being Max. Tess is mad at everyone for not being a four square. Basically, we can't work together and it just so happens there is an alien race on Earth ready to kill us all."

Kyle took a deep breath, "That's a lot of problems. But you guys always bounce back. I mean, you guys have been through a lot this past year."

I shook my head, sadly. "But what if this is the final straw? There is too much tension and emotions running high. We can't be in a room together without arguing."

"Has this ever happened before? I mean you guys didn't *always* get along, right?" Kyle suggested.

"Well, no, of course we didn't. In the beginning, Michael and Isabel had major trust issues with Maria, Alex, and I." I couldn't help but frown at that period of time.

"So how did you get past that?"

"Well Isabel dream-walked Maria and she opened up to Alex. She also began to realize that I wouldn't take Max away from her. Michael stole my journal and then he began to trust me."

"Wait. Michael stole your journal? Why?"

"Because he didn't trust me. He returned it. It made sense, he and Isabel spent all their lives not trusting anybody and then I came into the group." My head jerked up. "Oh my god! Kyle! You're a genius! I got it! I know how we can fix things!"

"How?"

"I can try to connect with everyone at the same time. That way all of our feelings will be out in the open and we can deal with them."

Kyle looked at me as I were crazy. "How do you expect to connect with six people?"

"I can connect with people and get flashes. Michael and I can sense each other and talk to each other in our minds."

Kyle's mouth grabbed open. "Are you becoming an alien?"

"I don't know."

Kyle's eyes filled with fear. "Is that going to happen to me?"

"I don't think so. I got healed twice and you got healed once. And I think mine is under special circumstances."

He nodded, "It's just that I accept that aliens exist, I do. But I'm not going to lie to you, I'm terrified of becoming one."

"It's OK. That's understandable. Anyway, Max didn't take it so well when Michael and I told him about us."

"I didn't think he would. You forget Liz, I went through the same thing. It's a major kick in the ego when someone passes you up for someone else. And it must be ten times as hard because it's Michael you passed him for and Max loves you so much. I feel for the guy."

I smiled at him, "Wow. Kyle, Buddha really is getting to you."

He laughed. "What can I say? I've been enlightened. There's something else I wanted to tell you. Maria's mom called our house yesterday and she said that Maria and she are coming home soon."

I went pale, "How soon?"

"I don't know, Liz. I wish I could tell you more."

I knew it was foolish but I worried about Maria. I knew Michael never loved her but I was still a bit insecure about the whole thing. What if he realized that he did love her instead of me? Kyle snapped me out of my thoughts, "I got to go, Liz. I'll talk to you later."

I nodded mutely and watched him go. {Meet me in the backroom, Liz.} Michael thought to me.

I walked to the backroom and tried to stop thinking about Maria so Michael wouldn't sense it. Before I could open the backroom door, Michael pulled me in.

Michael

I could feel her thinking about Maria loud and clear. It really was impossible to keep things to ourselves with this connection of ours. Max and Maria seemed to bring out the insecurities in the both of us. I knew it was only a matter of time before Max stopped being angry with me and tried to get her back again. Pushing the thought out of my head, I heard Liz walking towards the back room. I immediately pulled her in.

"I don't love her," I said as soon as she got in.

She blushed and looked at her feet, "Michael.."

I used my thumb to gently lift her chin so she looked at me. "Don't, OK? I love *you*, not Maria. There is not a second in the day when I don't think about how amazing you are. Maria is my past and you are my future. Just don't doubt that, OK?"

Liz relaxed a bit. "I don't know what came over me, Michael. It's just with all this going on.."

I interrupted her the only way I could. I began to kiss her and at first she was shocked. The connection roared to life and energy began to course through us. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her body closer to mine. Placing my hands on her hips, I began to trail kisses down her neck. "Feel better now?" I asked breathily between kisses. I sent a strong wave of love to her and she smiled against my chest.

She nodded incoherent and rasped, "Less talking, more kissing."

I chuckled and recaptured her lips in mine. She moaned lightly when I plunged my tongue into the deep recesses of her mouth. I felt her hands pressing on my chest, the slight heat seeping through my shirt. Liz began to tug on the hem of my shirt and I pulled away.

"You sure?" I asked softly. I had very little control left and I sent it through the connection. Liz gazed at me and swallowed hard. She kept her eyes locked with mine as she pulled my shirt over my head. My breath caught as she began to move her fingers down my chest in a light caress. Her eyes went wide when she saw that my chest began to glow where she touched.

Looking at her for permission, I unbuttoned the first button of her uniform and traced one finger along the top of her collarbone. A trail of light followed. I daringly moved my hand lower and was about to….

Suddenly the door opened and Liz and I pulled apart. Not that it wasn't obvious what we were doing. Liz's hair was tousled and her face was flushed. My shirt wasn't even on my body. I silently prayed that it wasn't Liz's dad.

Only it was worse: because standing at the door was Maria.