One month. Since his whole world changed. All he'd wanted to do was protect his father. Instead, he ended up being shot. He'd never been in so much pain. He could faintly hear his father's voice. Everything around him was blurry. He felt his life slipping away, when something pulled him back to reality. He opened his eyes and saw Max Evans looking down on him. Looking around, he saw there were a lot of people in the room. Max's sister Isabel, Michael Guerin, Alex Whitman, Maria DeLuca, Tess Harding and Liz Parker.
But all that was replaced by confusion. He'd been shot, he knew it. He was dying. But Kyle Valenti was still very much alive. The whole in his shirt had been proof he had really been shot. That night, when he got out of the shower, he saw himself in the mirror. A silver handprint. Like Liz had on her stomach... after the incident at the Crashdown in September. That's what had happened, what Max did to her, to him. But how?
He went to his dad, insisted he tell him the truth. At first, he danced around it, but he knew he couldn't keep it from him forever and he knew it.
"Tell me, dad. What's the deal with Max Evans?"
"He's an alien," he said calmly.
"Yeah, right."
"No, he is."
He was serious.
"But... how..."
"And he's not the only one."
Kyle's face must have lost all its color, because his father helped him sit down.
"Wh... wh... who?"
"Isabel, Michael and Tess."
No way. Okay, it made sense for Isabel, she was Max's sister. And Michael was so weird, how could he NOT be an alien. And it would probably explain Tess' strange behavior on occasions. This was unreal.
It had been 30 days since that day in the UFO center, and Kyle was still unsure on how he felt about all this. It had definitely changed his view on life. He had come to the conclusion that he respected the alien quartet. He would help them. He didn't know why, but he felt he had to. Liz, Maria and Alex had known for months and they seemed okay. And he was too. A little shaken, but other than that he was fine.
He'd went to Max a week after he found out. He explained it all to Kyle. But all this talk about destinies, aliens, pods, orbs and whatever only had him wondering more. Max and Tess, Michael and Isabel... that was something that intrigued him more than anything. He'd known them for a very long time, except Tess, of course. The idea of Michael and Isabel was just amazing. And Max was way into Liz to go to Tess. It would take a miracle to get them together. He would have to wait and see.
All the thinking had also made him remember certain events of the previous year. The time he followed Max and Liz to Michael's house, the thing at the cheesy motel, the FBI all over the place...
In the last days of the school year, he'd noticed an obvious rift between the seven of them. The aliens were avoiding each other as much as possible, and Liz, Maria and Alex stuck together and wouldn't say a word to the other four. It wasn't as bad now, but they were still very uncomfortable around each other. Kyle promised himself he'd try to fix it. But how?
The doorbell rang. He looked at the clock. 9:00. Who was that? His dad was on duty, and he had his keys. He hadn't ordered anything, so it wasn't a delivery person. He opened the door. It was Liz. What was she doing here? They just stared at each other for a few seconds. Then she smiled. Wow. She hadn't smiled, as far as he knew, for a month. She had this look on her face, like she was as surprised as he was to see her there. After a minute or two just standing there, he stepped aside to let her in. She did. He closed the door and turned to her. The smile was gone and she was crying. Not sure of what he should do, he pulled her to himself and held her close.
*
"Liz, are you okay? What are you doing here?"
"Kyle, will you help me," she said through a sob.
"What are you talking about?" he asked softly. She looked him in the eyes.
"Help me get my life back. Help me put the Max thing behind me. Please?"
"Hey, don't worry. I'm here for you. I'm here for you."
She let go of him and sat on a couch.
"Do you know what the last month has been like for me? Complete hell. But that's over. I don't want to feel sorry for myself anymore."
Her face was hard and determined, the only aspect of her previous emotions were the tear streaks on her face. He sat next to her.
"Liz, are you sure you're okay?"
"Can we just..."
She was interrupted by the loud crack of thunder. Liz let out a small scream and fell into Kyle's arms. They heard the rain start to pour. As the seconds passed, it got stronger and stronger. Kyle got up, Liz still holding on, and they walked to the window. It was now raining so hard, they could hardly see outside. Thunder and lightning followed. The two looked at each other, just as there was a loud crash and all the lights went out. It was pitch black.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Don't let go," she pleaded urgently.
"I won't. Now, you were saying?"
"Huh?"
"Before. You said, 'Can we just...'"
"Talk."
"Alright, well let's just find some candles first. Okay?"
"Okay."
They walked slowly, still holding on to each other. Kyle just felt for her. She'd gone through so much. It was unfair. Why her? She was the sweetest girl he knew. He intended to keep his promise to her. He'd help her get her life back. She was trembling against him, and he pulled her closer.
"It's okay. It's okay. Don't worry. It'll be alright."
He continued to whisper to her this way as they searched for candles and matches. It seemed to soothe her and he was glad. If she was feeling like this, he didn't even want to think about how the others must be feeling at the moment.
***
One month. Had it really been that long? He had barely seen it come and go. He was too busy feeling like he'd lost everything. But that wasn't true. He'd only lost her. And that felt like everything to him, somehow.
He'd admired her from the shadows. He watched her laugh and smile, yell and cry. She was like a goddess in his mind. With that gorgeous blonde hair, and those eyes. He'd seen so much emotion in them, like nothing else. That was the thing. So many people would look at Isabel Evans' eyes and see joy. But Alex Whitman saw beyond that. He saw fear. This girl was gorgeous, smart AND popular, and she was scared to death. That just fascinated him.
Then something happened. In September, there was an accident at the Crashdown. His best friends, Liz and Maria, started acting weird, lying to him, and they became 'friends' with Isabel, her brother Max, and their friend, Michael. Soon, he was sucked into it too. He helped twice, giving his blood and uncovering Topolsky's identity, before Liz told him the truth.
Aliens... in Roswell... it figured. As time went by, though, the pieces started falling into place. That fear in Isabel's eyes... fear of being found out, of being judged for what she was. He saw it in the other two. So for the next few months, he kept on helping when he was needed. Mostly, he'd keep the FBI away from the three aliens.
But then, the three became four.
When this new girl had come to sit with them, he never would have guessed. She certainly looked normal, but then so did the others. He remembered that day when they were spying on her and they watched as she waved her hand over the broken pieces of a statue and they came together. They were speechless. Tess was an alien, too. Then, there was her 'father', Nasedo, as they called him. He was a shape shifter, a concept that gave Alex goose bumps just thinking about it.
In that time, Isabel and him had started dating. Everything was going great. And then it became not so great. He found out the four of them, Max, Michael, Isabel and Tess had... destinies. He hated that word. How could Isabel be 'destined' to be with Michael? They were like brother and sister. All this... in the last month, it had made the lives of his best friends and himself miserable.
On that day, when he returned home, he cried. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he did. At one moment, that night, he felt someone watching him. It was her, he knew it. He didn't move. He let her see him cry. He didn't want to be angry with her, and really he wasn't. He knew if he started this, he would be hurt at some point. A small price to pay in his mind.
He was brought back to reality when he heard a knock at his window. Was it her? He couldn't tell. He wouldn't turn around, he didn't have the courage. But the knocking became more urgent so he turned to it.
"What?" he almost shouted.
He stopped short when he saw who it was. He opened the window.
"Hey, Alex."
"Maria... what are you..." he started, but she cut him off.
"I just needed someone to talk to. Can I come in?" she said all in one breath.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he stepped back and helped her in.
"Can we talk?"
"About what?" he asked, although he already knew.
"Well..."
"Never mind, I think I know."
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea..."
She started to turn back, but he caught her arm.
"No, stay. We can talk."
That did it. She turned back and grabbed on to him for dear life as the tears started to flood. And then he started crying as well... again.
*
A few minutes went by before she let him go.
"Are you okay?" he asked again.
"Are your parents here?"
"They went to visit an aunt in Florida. They're gone for a whole week."
She looked up at him.
"Why is this happening to us, Alex? I mean, we're good people, why us?" she said through her tears.
"I have no clue. But maybe it was made that way for something better to come along. Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'll be fine, we'll both be fine. What guy wouldn't want a great girl like you?"
She smiled and he pulled her to him again. They stood there, neither of them breaking the embrace.
Then all of a sudden, there was a loud crack outside the window. Maria tightened her grip on Alex. They heard the rain and saw the thunder and lightning. Then the lights went out.
"Oh great," they exclaimed at the same time.
They burst out laughing as they moved back, still holding on to each other. Before they knew what was going on, they tripped on something and fell on his bed, Maria on top. They were silent. She rolled over and lay next to him.
A few seconds later, she asked, "What now?"
"I think there's a flashlight on the table next to you."
She reached over and found it.
"Bingo," she exclaimed and turned it on. A beam of light pierced the darkness. She put the light on him. "There you are!" she said joyfully.
He got up and extended his hand. She took it and he helped her up.
"Come on, we'll go around the house."
"What for?"
"Candles, matches, see if the phone works."
"Oh."
They walked out of his room, and started going down the hall. At that moment, nothing was wrong with the world for them. It was just fine.
But all that was replaced by confusion. He'd been shot, he knew it. He was dying. But Kyle Valenti was still very much alive. The whole in his shirt had been proof he had really been shot. That night, when he got out of the shower, he saw himself in the mirror. A silver handprint. Like Liz had on her stomach... after the incident at the Crashdown in September. That's what had happened, what Max did to her, to him. But how?
He went to his dad, insisted he tell him the truth. At first, he danced around it, but he knew he couldn't keep it from him forever and he knew it.
"Tell me, dad. What's the deal with Max Evans?"
"He's an alien," he said calmly.
"Yeah, right."
"No, he is."
He was serious.
"But... how..."
"And he's not the only one."
Kyle's face must have lost all its color, because his father helped him sit down.
"Wh... wh... who?"
"Isabel, Michael and Tess."
No way. Okay, it made sense for Isabel, she was Max's sister. And Michael was so weird, how could he NOT be an alien. And it would probably explain Tess' strange behavior on occasions. This was unreal.
It had been 30 days since that day in the UFO center, and Kyle was still unsure on how he felt about all this. It had definitely changed his view on life. He had come to the conclusion that he respected the alien quartet. He would help them. He didn't know why, but he felt he had to. Liz, Maria and Alex had known for months and they seemed okay. And he was too. A little shaken, but other than that he was fine.
He'd went to Max a week after he found out. He explained it all to Kyle. But all this talk about destinies, aliens, pods, orbs and whatever only had him wondering more. Max and Tess, Michael and Isabel... that was something that intrigued him more than anything. He'd known them for a very long time, except Tess, of course. The idea of Michael and Isabel was just amazing. And Max was way into Liz to go to Tess. It would take a miracle to get them together. He would have to wait and see.
All the thinking had also made him remember certain events of the previous year. The time he followed Max and Liz to Michael's house, the thing at the cheesy motel, the FBI all over the place...
In the last days of the school year, he'd noticed an obvious rift between the seven of them. The aliens were avoiding each other as much as possible, and Liz, Maria and Alex stuck together and wouldn't say a word to the other four. It wasn't as bad now, but they were still very uncomfortable around each other. Kyle promised himself he'd try to fix it. But how?
The doorbell rang. He looked at the clock. 9:00. Who was that? His dad was on duty, and he had his keys. He hadn't ordered anything, so it wasn't a delivery person. He opened the door. It was Liz. What was she doing here? They just stared at each other for a few seconds. Then she smiled. Wow. She hadn't smiled, as far as he knew, for a month. She had this look on her face, like she was as surprised as he was to see her there. After a minute or two just standing there, he stepped aside to let her in. She did. He closed the door and turned to her. The smile was gone and she was crying. Not sure of what he should do, he pulled her to himself and held her close.
*
"Liz, are you okay? What are you doing here?"
"Kyle, will you help me," she said through a sob.
"What are you talking about?" he asked softly. She looked him in the eyes.
"Help me get my life back. Help me put the Max thing behind me. Please?"
"Hey, don't worry. I'm here for you. I'm here for you."
She let go of him and sat on a couch.
"Do you know what the last month has been like for me? Complete hell. But that's over. I don't want to feel sorry for myself anymore."
Her face was hard and determined, the only aspect of her previous emotions were the tear streaks on her face. He sat next to her.
"Liz, are you sure you're okay?"
"Can we just..."
She was interrupted by the loud crack of thunder. Liz let out a small scream and fell into Kyle's arms. They heard the rain start to pour. As the seconds passed, it got stronger and stronger. Kyle got up, Liz still holding on, and they walked to the window. It was now raining so hard, they could hardly see outside. Thunder and lightning followed. The two looked at each other, just as there was a loud crash and all the lights went out. It was pitch black.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Don't let go," she pleaded urgently.
"I won't. Now, you were saying?"
"Huh?"
"Before. You said, 'Can we just...'"
"Talk."
"Alright, well let's just find some candles first. Okay?"
"Okay."
They walked slowly, still holding on to each other. Kyle just felt for her. She'd gone through so much. It was unfair. Why her? She was the sweetest girl he knew. He intended to keep his promise to her. He'd help her get her life back. She was trembling against him, and he pulled her closer.
"It's okay. It's okay. Don't worry. It'll be alright."
He continued to whisper to her this way as they searched for candles and matches. It seemed to soothe her and he was glad. If she was feeling like this, he didn't even want to think about how the others must be feeling at the moment.
***
One month. Had it really been that long? He had barely seen it come and go. He was too busy feeling like he'd lost everything. But that wasn't true. He'd only lost her. And that felt like everything to him, somehow.
He'd admired her from the shadows. He watched her laugh and smile, yell and cry. She was like a goddess in his mind. With that gorgeous blonde hair, and those eyes. He'd seen so much emotion in them, like nothing else. That was the thing. So many people would look at Isabel Evans' eyes and see joy. But Alex Whitman saw beyond that. He saw fear. This girl was gorgeous, smart AND popular, and she was scared to death. That just fascinated him.
Then something happened. In September, there was an accident at the Crashdown. His best friends, Liz and Maria, started acting weird, lying to him, and they became 'friends' with Isabel, her brother Max, and their friend, Michael. Soon, he was sucked into it too. He helped twice, giving his blood and uncovering Topolsky's identity, before Liz told him the truth.
Aliens... in Roswell... it figured. As time went by, though, the pieces started falling into place. That fear in Isabel's eyes... fear of being found out, of being judged for what she was. He saw it in the other two. So for the next few months, he kept on helping when he was needed. Mostly, he'd keep the FBI away from the three aliens.
But then, the three became four.
When this new girl had come to sit with them, he never would have guessed. She certainly looked normal, but then so did the others. He remembered that day when they were spying on her and they watched as she waved her hand over the broken pieces of a statue and they came together. They were speechless. Tess was an alien, too. Then, there was her 'father', Nasedo, as they called him. He was a shape shifter, a concept that gave Alex goose bumps just thinking about it.
In that time, Isabel and him had started dating. Everything was going great. And then it became not so great. He found out the four of them, Max, Michael, Isabel and Tess had... destinies. He hated that word. How could Isabel be 'destined' to be with Michael? They were like brother and sister. All this... in the last month, it had made the lives of his best friends and himself miserable.
On that day, when he returned home, he cried. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he did. At one moment, that night, he felt someone watching him. It was her, he knew it. He didn't move. He let her see him cry. He didn't want to be angry with her, and really he wasn't. He knew if he started this, he would be hurt at some point. A small price to pay in his mind.
He was brought back to reality when he heard a knock at his window. Was it her? He couldn't tell. He wouldn't turn around, he didn't have the courage. But the knocking became more urgent so he turned to it.
"What?" he almost shouted.
He stopped short when he saw who it was. He opened the window.
"Hey, Alex."
"Maria... what are you..." he started, but she cut him off.
"I just needed someone to talk to. Can I come in?" she said all in one breath.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he stepped back and helped her in.
"Can we talk?"
"About what?" he asked, although he already knew.
"Well..."
"Never mind, I think I know."
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea..."
She started to turn back, but he caught her arm.
"No, stay. We can talk."
That did it. She turned back and grabbed on to him for dear life as the tears started to flood. And then he started crying as well... again.
*
A few minutes went by before she let him go.
"Are you okay?" he asked again.
"Are your parents here?"
"They went to visit an aunt in Florida. They're gone for a whole week."
She looked up at him.
"Why is this happening to us, Alex? I mean, we're good people, why us?" she said through her tears.
"I have no clue. But maybe it was made that way for something better to come along. Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'll be fine, we'll both be fine. What guy wouldn't want a great girl like you?"
She smiled and he pulled her to him again. They stood there, neither of them breaking the embrace.
Then all of a sudden, there was a loud crack outside the window. Maria tightened her grip on Alex. They heard the rain and saw the thunder and lightning. Then the lights went out.
"Oh great," they exclaimed at the same time.
They burst out laughing as they moved back, still holding on to each other. Before they knew what was going on, they tripped on something and fell on his bed, Maria on top. They were silent. She rolled over and lay next to him.
A few seconds later, she asked, "What now?"
"I think there's a flashlight on the table next to you."
She reached over and found it.
"Bingo," she exclaimed and turned it on. A beam of light pierced the darkness. She put the light on him. "There you are!" she said joyfully.
He got up and extended his hand. She took it and he helped her up.
"Come on, we'll go around the house."
"What for?"
"Candles, matches, see if the phone works."
"Oh."
They walked out of his room, and started going down the hall. At that moment, nothing was wrong with the world for them. It was just fine.
