"What the hell do you think your doing?"

Liz stood in front of Maria as she was trying to clear a table. Her hands were clenched, ready to strike at any point if the opportunity presented itself.

"Hey chica, what's wrong?"

"The nerve of you…to say those things to…how could you Maria?"

"Liz, what's going on?"

"I trusted you! I trusted you as my best friend and you went behind my back!"

"I don't understand what on earth your talking about!"

"Max! You told Max that he couldn't see me anymore!"
There was a knock on his window, and he stood up, hoping it would be Liz. When he opened it, Max was surprised to see Maria standing there, shivering in the cold.

"Maria? What are you doing here?"

"I…I need to talk to you about something!"

"Come in!" He held out his hand for her as she climbed over the windowsill, landing on both her feet. He walked over and sat down on his bed, ready to listen to what she had to say, but not expecting what cam next. "What's up?"

"It's about Liz!"

He stood up, alerted by the tone in her voice. "Did something happen? Is she…?"

"Oh, no, she's fine!"

"Oh…" He let out the breath he didn't realise he was holding. "So what's wrong then?"

She paced back and forth, debating how to put it into words. Maria had planned this entire conversation out last night, preparing for every possible answer and question, but she forgot everything as soon as her hand knocked on the glass of his window.

"You can't see Liz anymore!"

He wasn't expecting this. "Wh…what?"

"You can't see her anymore!" She saw the confused look on his face, and figured she better explain. "Every time you and Liz are finally getting good together, something happens, and she's left hurt. It's happened too many times, and I promised myself that I wouldn't let it happen again!"

"I…"

"I'm sorry Max, but being with you puts her life in danger, and I don't ever want to see her get hurt by anyone ever again, alien or not!"

"Maria, I've told her that so many times, she doesn't listen, she doesn't care!"

"Which is why I came to you! Max, I just want what's best for her, and you aren't! Believe me, I love seeing you two together, your perfect for each other, but in the end, she's not your soul mate, Tess is, like it or not, your meant to be with her, it's your destiny! No matter what you tell her, or no matter how hard you two try, in the end, your still made for Tess, which is why I came here! You have to break up with Liz! I'm not asking you Max, I'm telling you! If you don't stop it now, I will!

"But…I…I love her!"

"Then you'll understand why I'm doing this! She needs to live a safe life, and being with you definitely isn't!"

"And you being with Michael is?"

"I never said that, but it's a lot safer than being with you! Max, you're the king of some planet floating out there, you have enemies everywhere, God, your own wife is an enemy! Now try and tell me that Liz will be safe if she's with you?"

Maria waited for his answer, but he just stood staring through her, not being able to bring himself to answer.

"That's what I thought!"

She climbed back out of his window, leaving him standing there staring at the empty space that her body was once occupying.
"Liz…I…"

"How could you do that to me Maria?"

She backed away from the girl, afraid of getting too close, afraid of what her anger might make her do.

"Liz…please…. I did it for your own good!"

"No, you did it so you wouldn't have to listen to me every time something that was out of Max's control happened! You did it to make playing the best friend easy for yourself! You did it so finally, your relationship with Michael didn't seem as screwed up as before! You did it because you're a cold hearted little bitch, who doesn't like to see others happy unless she is!"

"Lizzy…I didn't mean to…"

"But you did Maria, you did!"

"Please…Liz, just listen…"

"No, there's nothing left to listen to! I trusted you!"

Maria stood staring at Liz with her mouth open, the words trying to come out, but the sounds of her crying getting in the way. Liz looked at her with hurt eyes; tears threatening to roll down her own cheeks. She wouldn't let Maria see her cry; she wouldn't give her the satisfaction. Instead, she managed to say the three words she never thought she would ever say to the girls standing in front of her, before running through the door and up to her room, locking the door behind her.

She leant against it as the tears streamed down her face, wondering how her life had gone from perfect to disastrous in just a few days. The three words had scared her heart as she said them, and it hurt just to think about it, but they wouldn't leave her thoughts. They lingered there in her mind, until she spoke them once more, but this time to herself instead of the girl downstairs.

"I hate you!"