Chapter Fourteen:

Michael sat on top of the table at lunch throwing the ball in his hands up in the air.  "Where were you last night?"  He asked.  "I stop by your place around midnight, but you weren't there.  Shit I waited a whole hour for you man."

"I slept at Liz's."  He said as he got up from his seat on the bench.

"You what?"  Michael demanded the ball forgotten as it bounced twice in front of him.  "Your joking right."

"Get your head out of the gutter Michael.  It wasn't anything like that."  He felt the lingering anger that always seem to be hovering lately in the back ground surface quickly inside him as he turned to face Michael.

"Okay… okay."  Michael said holding his hands in the air in front of him. "I wasn't trying to insinuate anything."

"Well don't."  Max yelled glaring at him.

"We have a problem."  Michael sighed turning away.  'Hell why didn't he keep his mouth shout when Maria started her deranged ranting.'  He shook himself mentally. She always knows how to get under his skin.  He differently needs to work on that.

"What?"  Max demanded.

"Here it comes now."  He said moving his head in the direction of Maria who was walking towards them.  "I told her…I know…I know, but I couldn't help it.  She attacked me early this morning, I was practically still a sleep and she was ranting on and on.  You know how she gets sometimes.  Like a dog with a bone."

"It's okay, Michael.  I told Liz last night."  He admitted covering his face for a few seconds with his hands.

"What did she say?"  Taking a deep breath he looked at Max.  'This differently can't be good.'

"She knew that I wouldn't just let it go."  He shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn't interested in the whole thing.  But Michael knew him to well to be fooled by the way he tried to brush it off.

"Hey."   Isabel stopped beside Max and sat down on the bench.

"What did you find out?"  Max demanded sitting down next to her.

"He's leaving tomorrow evening so if we're going to do this it has to be tonight."  She murmured, running her hands through her hair.

"We're not doing anything.   Max and I are."  Michael stated returning her frown with one of his own.

"If you think you're going to do this without me then you're dead wrong."

"This isn't up for discussion."  Max said turning to look up at Maria as she stopped in front of Michael.

"What's not up for discussion?"  She asked looking around her at the angry faces.

"Did you say something? Oh… I forgot your not one of my precious royal four so what you have to say doesn't mean anything to me."  Isabel yelled getting to her feet, her anger at Michael and Max quickly transferred to Maria.

"Okay…I guess I forgot to apology."  She crosses her arms over her chest.  "I'm sorry…I was wrong." She said as if she were talking to a two year old.

"Yea…well you were."  Isabel said, her voice laced with the anger simmering inside her.  Turning she glared at her brother.  "Max!"

"I meant what I said, Isabel.  This isn't up for discussion so drop it."  He frowned at her, his voice low, but insisted.

"Rewind here…isn't this where I first entered this scene?  What's not up for discussion?"  She demanded again, rotating her eyes between the three people in front of her.     

"These idiots refuse to let me help get back at Mike."  Isabel murmured, refusing to break the hold she had on Max's eyes.  "This male only bull is really starting to piss me off."

"Amen."  Maria said frowning at the two males in question.  "You may need her and I sure as hell want to be there to see that bastard go down."  She screeched.  'God how could they be so dense?'     

"God…"  Michael roared jumping off the table.  "This isn't a joke, damn it.  We're not going to play tic tac toe with that bastard."  He paced in front of them.

"Michael's right."  Max said.  "We don't need you there Isabel."

"Ohhhhh…I know you don't need me there."  She ran a hand through her hair in frustration.  "I need to be there."  She cried as she wiped at the tears running down her face.  "Look…you weren't there…okay.  You didn't see her when it happen… didn't hear her…hear what was happening in that room, but I did… and I can't…I won't let him get away with it."

Isabel…"   Max cried touching her arm, but she pulled away from the comfort he was offering her.

"No!  Max…don't you understand?"  She demanded.  "I…I…talked you into waiting.  I stopped you from helping her before any of this happen.  How can I not be there to make this right?"  She demanded.  "How can I not… when this is all my fault.  He…he hurt her because I stopped you from intervening… God… how could I be so stupid?"  She asked her tearing racing down her face.  "How could I be so stupid?"  She repeated covering her face with her hands. 

Maria pulled her into her arms immediately her heart braking.  "No…no…you can't blame yourself for this, Isabel. You can't." She cried her tear coursing down her cheeks.

Pulling away abruptly her anger overcoming her, her guilt racing she faced them.  "It doesn't matter what any of you say."  She laughed, the humorless sound echoing around them.  "It's still my fault…it's still my fault."  She cried.

Max enfolded her into his arms, burying her face within his shoulders.  Taking a deep breath, his eyes clouded with his tears he held on to her tightly.  "This isn't your fault, Isabel.  This started long before Mike showed up in Roswell.  Don't blame yourself.  I don't blame you and I know Liz doesn't blame you so don't do this to yourself."  He said as he held her.

"Oh…God…I'm sorry…I'm…sorry."  She cried as she held on to him as if she was drowning and he was her anchor.

Max looked up over her shoulder his eyes colliding with Michael's.  He hadn't said a word since Isabel's out burst and now Max knew why.  For all the other students watching them Michael seem so unattached to what was happening around him, but his eyes…his eyes ricocheted the rage running through him.   Max watched as he suddenly turned and walked away and he knew at that moment as much as he wanted to make Mike pay, Michael desire for revenge equaled his own.

"Michael."  He shouted to no avail as he watched Michael stormed away from them.

TBC.