The next day, West Roswell High
Max sat in the empty biology class, waiting. He'd received a note saying to go there at noon. He didn't know who it was from, and he had been unsure whether or not he should go for it. He kept on waiting, until he heard footsteps. He turned to see who was there.
"Tess," he said when he saw her.
"Thank you for coming," she said sitting across from him.
"You?"
"I needed to talk to you... in private." That made him slightly uncomfortable. She saw it and held up a hand. "Whoa, whoa, it's nothing like that... sort of..."
"Then what is this about?" She took a few seconds, then talked.
"I needed to talk to you... about destiny." The room became silent.
"What about it?" asked Max calmly.
"For ten years, Nasedo has been telling me the same thing, that I had a destiny and that I HAVE to follow it... except..." She looked down.
"Except what?" asked Max, "It's not what you want, is it?"
"Don't get me wrong, it's not because of you, you're... very handsome and all," she said, which caused Max to smile. "I just want to be able to choose who I'm going to spend possibly the rest of my life with."
"Trust me, I know how you feel."
"I do. I think it's pretty obvious what you want," she said with a smile, which made him laugh a bit. "Listen, I wanted to talk to you, because I need your help. If you, me, Michael, Isabel,... if we all want what I know we all want, it won't be as easy as it may seem. First we need to be... paired up... the way it... You and Liz, Michael and Maria, Alex and Isabel..."
"What about you?" Max asked, fully comprehending what she was saying.
"Well..." she said, not quite sure of whether or not she should tell him. "I have someone in mind... but that's not important for now. If we can get everyone in couples, the way we want them, we have to get through to Nasedo. THAT will be the hard part. "Having grown up with him, I can tell you, it might be one of the hardest things we'll ever do in our whole lives."
"So what are we gonna do about him?" asked Max.
"I really don't know. I have a feeling we'll pretty much be making it up as we go along. So for now, let's just worry about the pairings. Tell me... about you and Liz, details..." Max thought.
"Well... it started really, I guess... in September, the shooting. When I saw her lying there, my heart was just... beating furiously. I was so scared..."
"But you saved her."
"Yeah, I did. After that day, it took some time before Michael and Isabel accepted that they could trust her, and Maria... I tried to stay away from her, to protect her, but eventually, I... caved in, I guess." Tess smiled. "We hit a few rough patches, and as time went by, things got more and more serious..."
He told her about event after event, first date, first kiss. He told her about what had been happening... Liz's grandmother, the diary, the dome, River Dog, the heat wave, the camping trip, the blind date, the orbs... They must have spoken for over an hour.
"I think I have enough information."
"What are you talking about?" asked Max, confused.
"You want to get back together with Liz?"
"Of course."
"Well then I'm gonna help you," she said as she got up and headed for the door.
"How are you gonna do that?" he asked. "She turned back.
"Oh... you'll see..."
*
Over the next few days, Tess observes each and every one of the people involved. She needed to do so, to try to understand what was going on, and how she'd help them. She already had everything planned out. Now she just needed to do it. She just hoped it would work. If it didn't then there would be eight very sad, very unhappy teenagers in Roswell, New Mexico. Including herself. It wasn't all about her, but it still concerned her. So she began her observations in secret...
She began with Max. She made sure she wasn't seen as she watched him watch Liz from a distance. It just seemed so unfair that they were apart in a way because of her. She knew Max didn't blame her, but there was still Liz. She really wanted to make her understand. She wanted to be her friend, not her enemy or... rival.
There wasn't much else to do in this case, but talk to her. She had to show her, she didn't want to stand in the way of her relationship with Max, and that she wouldn't. She just wanted her and everyone to be happy.
She observed Michael and Maria next. The three of them were in class together. Michael and Maria sat just a few desks away from each other, and Tess had a clear view. She could see that Michael was trying to put on an expression like nothing was wrong. And he was failing. She could see the pain he had all over the place. He was hurting really bad, poor guy. Not only did he have to worry about his relationship with Maria, but also with the fact that he'd killed Pierce.
For Maria, however, the pain was completely visible. Her face was drained of emotions, too tired to show any. It had hit her really bad. Tess had heard her crying in the bathroom, although she hadn't told her she was there. Instead, she made sure no one would come in and bother her. The girl was in so much pain, it was the least she could do.
Then there was Alex and Isabel. She looked at them in the library. They were keeping their distances, but she could see t hem taking peeks when the other wasn't looking. They were so sweet.
She looked at Alex. He was more nervous than anything. Poor guy as well... she could tell he was head over heels in love with Isabel, but out of respect for her feelings, he remained away.
Isabel... Tess could see the conflict in her eyes. She doesn't know what to do. She wants to be with him, but she's afraid that he'll get hurt... She just needs a little push in the right direction. Then she'd wake up and go for it. Alex would take her back for sure if she asked for it.
So basically, all Tess had to do, was to get them talking. She would need to, first of all, talk to one in each couple, convince them to go to the other and the rest would be up to them.
Then there was Kyle... she looked at him, sitting on a bench outside the school. He was so confused. The last few days must have been awfully weird for him... being shot, finding out there were actual aliens in Roswell... Her being one of those aliens made her task slightly harder to achieve, but she'd do it... she had to.
She could sense that he might have feelings for her as well, the thought of which made her get butterflies in her stomach... but that wasn't important at the moment... the possible feeling he might have for her had nothing to do with why she was walking to him.
Max sat in the empty biology class, waiting. He'd received a note saying to go there at noon. He didn't know who it was from, and he had been unsure whether or not he should go for it. He kept on waiting, until he heard footsteps. He turned to see who was there.
"Tess," he said when he saw her.
"Thank you for coming," she said sitting across from him.
"You?"
"I needed to talk to you... in private." That made him slightly uncomfortable. She saw it and held up a hand. "Whoa, whoa, it's nothing like that... sort of..."
"Then what is this about?" She took a few seconds, then talked.
"I needed to talk to you... about destiny." The room became silent.
"What about it?" asked Max calmly.
"For ten years, Nasedo has been telling me the same thing, that I had a destiny and that I HAVE to follow it... except..." She looked down.
"Except what?" asked Max, "It's not what you want, is it?"
"Don't get me wrong, it's not because of you, you're... very handsome and all," she said, which caused Max to smile. "I just want to be able to choose who I'm going to spend possibly the rest of my life with."
"Trust me, I know how you feel."
"I do. I think it's pretty obvious what you want," she said with a smile, which made him laugh a bit. "Listen, I wanted to talk to you, because I need your help. If you, me, Michael, Isabel,... if we all want what I know we all want, it won't be as easy as it may seem. First we need to be... paired up... the way it... You and Liz, Michael and Maria, Alex and Isabel..."
"What about you?" Max asked, fully comprehending what she was saying.
"Well..." she said, not quite sure of whether or not she should tell him. "I have someone in mind... but that's not important for now. If we can get everyone in couples, the way we want them, we have to get through to Nasedo. THAT will be the hard part. "Having grown up with him, I can tell you, it might be one of the hardest things we'll ever do in our whole lives."
"So what are we gonna do about him?" asked Max.
"I really don't know. I have a feeling we'll pretty much be making it up as we go along. So for now, let's just worry about the pairings. Tell me... about you and Liz, details..." Max thought.
"Well... it started really, I guess... in September, the shooting. When I saw her lying there, my heart was just... beating furiously. I was so scared..."
"But you saved her."
"Yeah, I did. After that day, it took some time before Michael and Isabel accepted that they could trust her, and Maria... I tried to stay away from her, to protect her, but eventually, I... caved in, I guess." Tess smiled. "We hit a few rough patches, and as time went by, things got more and more serious..."
He told her about event after event, first date, first kiss. He told her about what had been happening... Liz's grandmother, the diary, the dome, River Dog, the heat wave, the camping trip, the blind date, the orbs... They must have spoken for over an hour.
"I think I have enough information."
"What are you talking about?" asked Max, confused.
"You want to get back together with Liz?"
"Of course."
"Well then I'm gonna help you," she said as she got up and headed for the door.
"How are you gonna do that?" he asked. "She turned back.
"Oh... you'll see..."
*
Over the next few days, Tess observes each and every one of the people involved. She needed to do so, to try to understand what was going on, and how she'd help them. She already had everything planned out. Now she just needed to do it. She just hoped it would work. If it didn't then there would be eight very sad, very unhappy teenagers in Roswell, New Mexico. Including herself. It wasn't all about her, but it still concerned her. So she began her observations in secret...
She began with Max. She made sure she wasn't seen as she watched him watch Liz from a distance. It just seemed so unfair that they were apart in a way because of her. She knew Max didn't blame her, but there was still Liz. She really wanted to make her understand. She wanted to be her friend, not her enemy or... rival.
There wasn't much else to do in this case, but talk to her. She had to show her, she didn't want to stand in the way of her relationship with Max, and that she wouldn't. She just wanted her and everyone to be happy.
She observed Michael and Maria next. The three of them were in class together. Michael and Maria sat just a few desks away from each other, and Tess had a clear view. She could see that Michael was trying to put on an expression like nothing was wrong. And he was failing. She could see the pain he had all over the place. He was hurting really bad, poor guy. Not only did he have to worry about his relationship with Maria, but also with the fact that he'd killed Pierce.
For Maria, however, the pain was completely visible. Her face was drained of emotions, too tired to show any. It had hit her really bad. Tess had heard her crying in the bathroom, although she hadn't told her she was there. Instead, she made sure no one would come in and bother her. The girl was in so much pain, it was the least she could do.
Then there was Alex and Isabel. She looked at them in the library. They were keeping their distances, but she could see t hem taking peeks when the other wasn't looking. They were so sweet.
She looked at Alex. He was more nervous than anything. Poor guy as well... she could tell he was head over heels in love with Isabel, but out of respect for her feelings, he remained away.
Isabel... Tess could see the conflict in her eyes. She doesn't know what to do. She wants to be with him, but she's afraid that he'll get hurt... She just needs a little push in the right direction. Then she'd wake up and go for it. Alex would take her back for sure if she asked for it.
So basically, all Tess had to do, was to get them talking. She would need to, first of all, talk to one in each couple, convince them to go to the other and the rest would be up to them.
Then there was Kyle... she looked at him, sitting on a bench outside the school. He was so confused. The last few days must have been awfully weird for him... being shot, finding out there were actual aliens in Roswell... Her being one of those aliens made her task slightly harder to achieve, but she'd do it... she had to.
She could sense that he might have feelings for her as well, the thought of which made her get butterflies in her stomach... but that wasn't important at the moment... the possible feeling he might have for her had nothing to do with why she was walking to him.