CHAPTER 18
"What?" Liz burst out incredulously.
"I'm not really sure," Maria admitted slowly. "It all happened so fast. But I think I felt someone hit my back right before I went down."
"Did you see who it was?" asked Max.
Maria shook her head. "I was busy talking to Liz. I just know there were a lot of people around. And I..." She stopped abruptly.
"You what?" Liz asked.
Maria hesitated before reluctantly continuing, "I thought I felt Michael nearby."
"Maybe he saw something," Max thought aloud.
Maria tensed. "You can't ask him."
"Why not?" Max responded in surprise. He took in the look of alarm that was growing in Maria's eyes, then glanced at Liz and saw her concerned expression. "Okay, what's going on?"
Liz opened her mouth to speak but stopped at the almost imperceptible shake of Maria's head. It didn't go unnoticed by Max, who stood resolutely and asked again, "What's going on?"
Biting her lip, Liz looked pleadingly at Maria, who sighed and then nodded resignedly. "Go ahead and tell him. I've got to go, anyway," she said, grabbing her bookbag from the desk where Liz had dumped it. In the doorway, she turned back and smiled. "Thanks again, Max." Then she slipped into the hallway and headed towards the gym.
Liz watched her go before turning to Max, ready to explain the events of the day.
Rushing into the auditorium on now safely disguised and sneaker-clad feet, Maria breathlessly apologized to Ms. Bedinger. "Sorry I'm late. I had a little problem that held me up."
The teacher looked at her sternly. "Fine, but don't let it happen again." Her attention moved to the rest of the cast. "Now that we're all here, let's begin running the opening sequence, from the beginning through the 'Skid Row' number. Places, please."
Maria dropped her bag on an auditorium seat and headed towards the stage, to wait in the wings for her entrance. As she reached the steps leading to the stage, she gave a quick wave to Alex, who was sitting with his bass and amp. He cocked an eyebrow inquisitively at her and grinned when she shrugged helplessly.
As she headed into the stage right wings, she passed the doo-wop girls, who were waiting for the music to begin. "Nice of you to join us," commented Pamela with a sneer. Maria looked her directly in the eye, saying nothing. She just held Pamela's gaze coolly until the other girl shifted her eyes away, backing down.
Smiling inwardly, Maria continued into the wings to await her cue.
Two and a half hours later, Maria collapsed with a sigh into an auditorium seat. Ms. Bedinger had worked them mercilessly all afternoon, cracking a metaphorical whip. But at least she had dragged excellent performances out of them. And all without once raising her voice. It was a productive rehearsal, but on top of everything else that had happened that day, Maria was exhausted in both mind and body.
"Rough afternoon," commented Mark as he sat down next to her.
Maria nodded, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. "But good," she pointed out wearily.
Mark agreed, and they sat companionably for a few minutes. "You don't have to work tonight?" he asked.
"No, I actually have an evening off," she responded. "I'm going to head home and take a crack at my homework. I'm just waiting for Alex to finish packing up."
"He's done." Alex's voice came from the row in front of her.
"Hey Alex," she responded, her eyes still closed.
"Pretty good job today, Whitman," put in Mark. "You guys sound great."
"Wait until we actually know the music," Alex riposted with a grin.
Maria teased, "You mean that wasn't your very best?"
"Hey, at least I was here on time," the teen shot back.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she grumbled with a dismissive wave.
"So are we sitting here to make up the time you missed, or what?" he asked with a smile.
"I'm just trying to get enough energy to move," explained Maria.
"Yeah, me too," commented Mark. "And it's only Tuesday. Look what we get to look forward to for the rest of the week."
Maria relaxed further into her seat. "Don't even talk about it. I'm too tired to think."
"Well, I'm not in a hurry," said Alex. "So take all the time you need. Just so long as I'm home in time to get ready for school tomorrow."
Maria raised one eyebrow in his direction. "So that would be what, fifteen minutes before first bell?"
"Nah," he objected. "I've got it down to a science. Make it ten."
Maria gave a small snort of laughter and the three sat quietly for a few minutes. Finally Mark broke the silence. "So what are you doing for Halloween?" he asked Maria.
"Actually, I'm dressing up this year," she said.
"Really? As what?"
"As a Crashdown waitress. I've got to work on Halloween, plus a double shift on Saturday when all the parties are. Gotta make up for all the time I've taken off to do the show."
"You get much business on Halloween?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, you know, the usual," cut in Alex. "You've got your commonplace, run-of-the-mill witches and vampires, your everyday goblins, werewolves and super heroes. Nothing unusual."
"Don't forget the parents who stop in after burning out on their kids' trick-or-treating," added Maria.
"Well too bad you won't be able to celebrate," sympathized Mark.
"Actually, I'm not really in the mood," Maria admitted.
"Huh. I would've thought that you'd jump at the chance to go all out on a costume."
Alex snickered. "She usually does. You should have seen what she wore the first time she sang with the Whits."
"That was not a costume!" protested Maria. "It was a well-thought-out, carefully chosen ensemble designed to enhance the mood of the music." She caught Alex's eye and together they burst into laughter. "Okay, so maybe it was a little bit overboard. But one of us had to look good."
"And which one of us would that have been?" Alex queried, then cowered away from the mock fist she raised in his direction.
"Cut it out, you two." Mark spoke with a smile in his voice. "Do I need to separate you?"
The two raised innocent eyes up to him as they spoke in unison. "We don't know what you're talking about."
Later, in the car, Alex studied Maria carefully. "Okay, DeLuca, what is going on with you?"
"I don't know what you mean."
He shook his head. "You can't fool me. I've known you too long."
Maria sighed and rested her head on the steering wheel. "So what was your first clue?"
"Well, I did notice that we've been sitting in the car for fifteen minutes and yet you haven't driven anywhere," Alex responded gently.
"Oh," she said, not moving.
"Big brother Alex here. Good for telling all your problems to. We guarantee you'll feel better or your money back."
Maria let out a deep breath. "It's...it's a lot of things. The show, school, work, everything seems to be piling up at once. Plus some other things have happened."
"What things?"
"Alex, do you promise to keep this a secret? You can talk to Liz--she already knows--but it's just between the three of us."
Alex considered for a moment. "Of course I'll keep whatever it is a secret. Unless it puts someone else in danger or something."
"I don't think it's anyone else, just me," Maria said.
"Okay, now you've really got me curious. Talk," he commanded.
Maria leaned her head back and stared at the sun visor in front of her. "Of course, the final straw was a big fight I had with Michael today."
He nodded. What else was new? "What was it this time?"
"Oh the same old thing, how he won't let me help him, and yet he doesn't do anything about it himself."
He looked at her for a moment, then spoke quietly. "You know, I'm really sorry I didn't come down on your side on the whole dreamwalking-Michael issue. We really can't afford to have him...well, disenfranchised right now."
"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.
He hemmed and hawed for a moment. "Oh, you know, just with so much going on right now. The whole 'they've got to prepare for an alien enemy attack' thing. Lots to think about. Anyway, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, me too." She brightened. "Well, if you really feel that way, then it would be you and me and Isabel against Max and Liz. Three to two."
"There's still Michael. Three to three. We'd need a tiebreaker. Maybe we could flip a coin."
Her voice grew sarcastic. "Maybe we could flip Michael. Heads, he's a jerk and we help him; tails, he's a jerk and we help him."
"Why don't you tell him that? Keep it up and I'm sure you'll win him over to our side, DeLuca," Alex mocked.
She sobered. "I can't. I'm ignoring his existence."
"You're what?"
"You heard me."
Alex burst into a fit of laughter. "I hate to burst your bubble, but you're not ignoring his existence. He's all you've talked about for the last five minutes. I think you need to redefine your concept of ignoring."
She groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I know. I suck at it. But I'll get better. I have to."
Alex opened his mouth to comment further, but changed his mind. Instead he said, "You said that was the final straw. So what's the rest of the haystack?"
"You promised, remember. No talking about it to anyone but Liz," she reminded him. He nodded and she explained about the ugly sketch, the threatening note, and then about her fall earlier that afternoon. When she was done, he sat silent. This was getting way too complicated. He couldn't tell Michael about the second note or Maria's broken ankle, because he'd just promised Maria he wouldn't. He couldn't tell Maria that the sketch she had wasn't the real sketch, or that Michael thought there was danger lurking, because he'd promised the alien he wouldn't. He couldn't tell Max or Isabel...well, anything. He gave a mental groan. Since when did all this weight have to rest on his shoulders? He suddenly felt as tired as he knew Maria was.
"You're taking the threat to my physical and mental well-being awfully calmly," he heard Maria complain.
"I'm just soaking it all in," he responded. "It's a lot to worry about."
"I didn't tell you to worry you. I just...Well, you asked!" cried Maria indignantly.
"Hey, I need to know about these things so I can help. That's what friends do."
Maria muttered, "Maybe you should explain that to Michael." Alex pretended he didn't hear.
"So what are you going to do about all this?" he asked seriously.
"I'm not really sure," she admitted. "Just try to keep a watch out, I guess. See if I can figure out what's going on."
He decided to try and solve at least one of his problems. "I know you're not going to like this suggestion, but why not tell Michael about the note? He's the best at getting visions from things. Maybe he can sense who's behind all of this."
"I just can't, Alex. He has his own problems. It's...it's too hard to see him every day in class as it is. I can't take any more."
"Okay," he acquiesced. The faintest glimmer of an idea began to kindle in his brain. "So you would let Michael help you if he were himself again?"
She thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess."
"Well then, all we have to do is fix him."
Maria gave a small scream of frustration. "He won't let us help, remember?"
Alex grinned. "He won't let you help. I don't recall his ever telling me not to help."
An expression of hope crossed her face. "So do you think you can--"
"Worth a try, isn't it?" He smiled as he considered things. Maria wanted Michael better before she would tell him about her stalker. Michael wanted Alex to help keep Maria out of danger. On the surface, they were playing at cross-purposes, but they really were just looking out for each other, weren't they? If he played things just right, maybe he could wangle an acceptable solution out of this whole mess.
Alex grinned as Michael approached from across the quad. He could almost feel opportunity pounding on his door. This might just be his chance to begin setting things right. "Come on, Mr. Spock. Come to Alex," he whispered.
Michael did. He sat at the picnic table and gave his usual laconic greeting. "Hey."
"What's up, Guerin?" asked Alex.
"How did things go yesterday?" Michael asked, getting right to the point. "Did you see anything?"
"Nope. All was quiet on the Maria front."
Michael stared pensively at the tabletop. Alex offered him a barbecue chip, which he took and held, looking at it without really seeing it.
"Barbecue chips are surprisingly good," commented Alex. "You'd probably like it, even without the Tabasco." Michael didn't seem to hear him. "Michael? You planning to join me here in the real world?"
The alien looked up, startled. "What?"
Alex laughed and said, "So, you going to eat that or keep it as a souvenir?"
Michael followed Alex's gaze down to the chip in his hand. Wordlessly he placed it on the table, then said, "This isn't working."
After a moment, Alex said, "I know you're going to explain eventually, so why not save us both some time and get on with it? What's not working?"
"Maria. I can't protect her if I can't get near her," Michael said sullenly. "And she's not letting me."
Aha. The moment was ripe for a friendly little trap. Now to lure him in. "So you need a good reason to be wherever Maria is?"
"Yeah. And I don't have one."
"I do," Alex said smugly.
Michael leaned forward intently. "What?"
"Not so fast, my Czechoslovakian friend. There are other things to be taken into consideration." The alien raised a questioning eyebrow. "For instance, if Maria is fixed on avoiding you--and we both know she is--then she won't be too happy if I give you an excuse to hang around."
"Would you rather have her happy or safe?" came the terse response.
"Ideally, both. But for now I'll settle for her not being furious with me. I've already seen what it's done for you. No thanks."
"Alex," Michael said warningly.
"Tell you what. I'll give you your excuse if you make it worth my while," suggested Alex, taking a swig of his root beer.
Michael looked at him distrustfully. "What do you want?"
"Let Isabel and Maria dreamwalk you."
The reaction was swift and to the point. "No."
"Fine," replied Alex with a shrug. "Then no excuses for you, my friend."
"Come on, Whitman," Michael began.
"Nope. Ain't gonna happen."
Cursing under his breath, Michael ran his fingers through his spiky hair. "You don't understand. I can't do it."
"Then neither can I." Alex looked thoughtfully at Michael. "You want Maria to be safe, don't you? If you would let her help you, she would be much more likely to allow you to hang around. Then you could do all the protecting, or whatever, you wanted."
"Yeah, I want her safe. That's why I can't let her get into my head again. It's as dangerous in there as it is out here, and I can't protect her there. You don't get it. You can't."
"Then explain it to me so I can get it," said Alex firmly.
"How can I explain it when I don't really understand it myself?" responded Michael dully. "Not that it's any different from the rest of my whole freaking life. I don't understand any of the rest, so why should I get this?"
"Quit stalling and try. What's so dangerous about it?"
Michael was silent as he gathered his thoughts. Finally he spoke. "It's not like I like the way things are. The way I am now. But it's not worth risking Maria, or Isabel, or any of you to get me back. And whenever I think about it, about Maria and Isabel going back in there...everything I am shouts no. It...well, lets just say it doesn't feel great, okay?"
"It hurts you? Physically?" Alex queried.
Michael ducked his head affirmatively. "The other Michael--the one in my head--doesn't want it. He can't allow it, I can feel that. But I don't know why."
"Then maybe you need them to dreamwalk you so they can ask and find out."
"I told you, it's too dangerous," the alien snapped.
"Well, you're going to have to do something, Michael, because Maria isn't going to let you near enough to guard her unless you get yourself back together. So it's either the dreamwalk or trying to watch out for her from a distance. I guess it all boils down to one thing: which feels more dangerous to you: a walk inside your head, where she's already been, or whatever danger you're feeling from the real world? Then again, I suppose you could just warn her about the feelings you picked up from the sketch. If she were speaking with you, that is."
Michael stood abruptly and turned away from Alex, gazing up at the sky. A moment passed, then Alex heard a broken "Dammit!" from the tall alien. Michael eventually sat back down, leaning his head in his hands. "Okay."
"Okay? You agree to the dreamwalk?" asked Alex incredulously. Had his plan actually worked?
"Yeah. But Max has to be with them when they do it. He can pull them out if...if something goes wrong," Michael instructed.
"You've got it. We'll do it this weekend. I'll check everybody's schedules and coordinate the day," responded Alex. Michael nodded, and they sat for a few more minutes, each lost in his own thoughts. Michael's were considerably bleaker than Alex's. Finally, Alex spoke again. "So don't you want to know my plan to enable you to hang around Maria?"
Michael looked at him, surprised. "I didn't think you'd tell me until after they dreamwalked."
"Well, if all goes well with that, they'll figure out how to fix you up, you can mend your fences with Maria, and you won't need my excuse. So you can use it in the meantime."
"But what if I back out?"
"Hey, I trust you, man," Alex assured him.
Michael blinked for a moment before he was able to utter a surprised, "Thanks." He looked acutely uncomfortable, and changed the subject brusquely. "So what's this great plan of yours?"
Alex munched the last of his chips and said, "This is the plan. I've got to warn you, though. You're not going to like it..."
TBC...