"Oh my God Michael! Why wasn't I there for her? She…she was so scared, so alone! I should have known something was wrong, that's what best friends do! Why wasn't I there?"

Maria had come over late last night as soon as Michael had called her, informing her of the situation with Tess. She felt so responsible, so guilty, yet she had no reason to be. He held her close to his chest as she wept for Liz.

"Maria, she's fine!"

"On the outside maybe, but mentally, she could be wounded! Why wasn't I there with her?"

"Maria, if you were there, Tess would have probably tried to kill you aswell!"

"At least I would know what Liz is going through!"

"Why don't you go and see her?"

"Kyle said that she's not home! I should have been there…"

Tired of trying to prove her wrong, Michael pulled her closer, her weeping elevating to crying. Max had hurt her best friend so many times, that there were no longer any excuses for it!



She lay on her back on his bed, listening to a Phantom Planet song on the radio whilst he had a shower, Alex Greenwald's voice floating throughout the room.

"Everybody knows that something's wrong, But nobody knows what's going on. We all sing the same old song, when you want it all to go away. It's shaping up to be a lonely day. I could tell from the minute I woke up it was going to be a lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely day."

Liz turned her head looking at the door as it opened. He walked out, still pulling his shirt over his head, giving her a small peak at his stomach muscles. Max leant over the top of her, placing a small kiss on her forehead, his wet hair still dripping. She cringed as a drop hit her cheek, the cold water leaving a trail down her skin. He laid down on his side, looking at her features as she sung along to the music.

Without even realising it, he extended his hand and turned her head so she was now facing him. His lips touched hers with a softness that made her want more. Liz wrapped her legs in his as his hands went around her waist, pulling her closer. Max slid his hands up her shirt, feeling her skin melting into his.

Liz pulled away, a thought just occurring to her. "What time is it?" Without waiting for an answer, she pulled his arm so she could look at his watch. "Shit! It's 6! I told Kyle I would meet him half an hour ago! I have to go!"

Before Max could process what was happening, she leant over and kissed him, letting her lips linger before breaking away and running out of his room, still trying to put her shoes on.

He lay there, listening to the music surround him.

"And there she was, like double cherry pie, yeah there she was, like a disco super fly, I smell Sex and candy, yeah, who's that lounging in my chair, who's that casting devious stares in my direction, mamma this surely is a dream…"

His thoughts went back to that day at the Crashdown when things really started to get serious with Liz last year. He remembered helping her pick up the strawberries and she looked at him seductively, the same Marcy's Playground song playing throughout the restaurant.



"Kyle, I'm so sorry! I lost track of time! I'm so sorry, I promise I'll make it up to you!"

Liz had literally run all the way across town from Max's house to the Crashdown. She had stormed through the door and collapsed in the seat opposite Kyle. He looked up at her smiling, finding her appearance comical.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"Shut up! I had to run all the way here!"

"You could have called and asked me to get you!"

"You would have said no!"

"Hence me saying 'could of'!"

Liz smiled at him, and he noticed that her mood had definitely changed since this morning.

"Listen, I hate to tell you that you running all that way was for nothing, but it actually was!"

"What?" Her face went from happy to disappointment.

"I sort of double booked with you and Dad! He said he has something really important to tell me tonight, and you were late anyway, so…"

"It's fine! So, what's he going to tell you?"

"Something good I hope!"



Maria walked up her footpath, staring at the ground, her eyes still sore from crying all morning. She looked up to see a small figure sitting on the boards of her balcony, huddling away from the wind.

"Liz?"

"Maria! Hey!"

"What are you doing here? I thought you were with Max!" She walked up to the door, sticking they key in the lock and turning it. The door opened and Liz followed Maria inside out of the wind.

"I just really need to talk to someone!"

"Oh, yeah, sure! Just let me get changed into something warm and we can start! The cookie dough is in the fridge!"



"How's your steak?"

"Dad, cut the crap, what's this thing you have to tell me?"

They sat in a booth at the Crashdown, eating quietly until Valenti broke the silence, trying to make conversation with his son, whilst avoiding the reason they were there. He gulped back a chip and looked at Kyle's neck, not being able to look him in the eyes.

"Okay, Here goes! A while back, I got an offer to transfer to Phoenix as sheriff, but as we had Tess here, I turned it down. Now, the offer has come up again, and as we no longer have any good reason to stay, I accepted!"

"What?"

"Kyle, I think that it'll be a good opportunity for both of us to get away from all of this Alien nonsense, to start a new life!"

"No Dad, I have a life here, I have friends here! I have aliens here!"

"You'll make other friends, plus you can always come back to visit! Please Kyle, think about it?"

"You've already accepted right?"

"Well, yes but…"

"Then I don't think I have much choice, do you?"

He stood up and walked out of the restaurant, leaving his father sitting there, dumbfounded.