"Michael, I'm sorry, but I just don't trust her any more, neither does Liz!"

"Maxwell, this isn't about you and Liz anymore! Tess mind warped Maria, which means that she's probably still in Roswell! How do you know she's not going to do it to Liz again? Think about it, it all makes perfect sense!"

"Why would she go through Maria? Why not just try and kill Liz again? She knows that if she breaks us up, we'll find a way back together! Tess would never take a chance like that! Have you even thought about this Michael?"

"Of course I have! This just shows how desperate she's getting! Maxwell, who is the one person who Liz trusts most in the world, not including you? Maria! At least it used to be, until Tess got into her brain! I'm telling you, Maria would never say those things, she thought you two were perfect for each other!"

"Did you ever stop to think that the reason why you're pushing this so much is because you have feelings for her? If it was Alex instead of Maria, would you still be this worked up about it?"

"If I was up all night listening to him arguing with himself, trying to figure out why he said those thing, yeah, I probably would be! Maxwell, I know you and I never agree on anything, but please, believe me when I say that it wasn't Maria in your room the other night!"

"I have to go!" Max walked towards the door of Michael's apartment, confused thoughts running through his head.

"Will you please just tell Liz the theory we have? You never know, she might trust Maria more than you think!"

The door slammed behind him with so much force that the windows shook. Michael turned around and fell onto the couch, rubbing his eyebrow with the back of his finger, a giant sigh escaping from his tired body.

"I at least thought you trusted me, I was obviously wrong!" He flicked the TV on with the remote, ready to drown his sorrows in MTV.

"And you believe her?"

"I don't know! Maybe! It just seems like if it was Tess, she's getting desperate! I didn't expect her to just leave Roswell without a fight, but why would she go to such extremes when she could just try and kill you again?"

"Thanks!" Her eyes gleamed with anger, but the sarcastic tone in her voice was all he needed to realise that he had said something wrong. He went to pull her closer, but she stood up before he could touch her. The balcony was lit with candles, flickering light flowing over her face, her emotions more evident in the dark than in the light.

"Liz, I didn't mean…sorry!" He put his head down in his hands, trying to make sense of it all. He felt her hand on his shoulder as she sat down next to him.

"She knows that if something happens to me, you wouldn't be able to live with yourself, which would mean any chance she has with you now would be diminished."

Max pulled her in closer, kissing her forehead. She shivered as the light breeze picked up, giving her goose bumps all over her arms.

"Cold?"

"Yeah, just a little bit!"

His lips were soft and warm, breathing heat throughout her entire body. He pulled away so he could look into her eyes, their foreheads touching. The cool breeze came back as soon as he pulled away, sending the shivers back up her spine. She lent in closer, trying to get as far out of the wind as possible.

"Come on!" He took her hand as he stood up, leading her through the window into her bedroom. Max closed the window and turned towards her heater. Liz sat down on her bed, arms wrapped around her chest trying to keep warm. There was a sudden rush of hot air through the room, and she turned around to see his hand out in front of him, pointing at the heater. "Better?"

"Much!" A giant smile was spread across her face as she motioned for him to sit down next to her.

Max stood in front of her, kissing the crook of her neck, his touch setting her skin on fire. She lent back against the pillows, giving him more room to explore freely as he lay down ontop of her. His lips were now on hers, passionately kissing her with everything he had. She could feel his warm hands at the hem on her shirt, slowly moving their way upwards along her soft skin. Without breaking the kiss, he pulled off his jacket, throwing it on the floor as his arms once more went investigating all over her body.

She pulled away before they could go further, both suddenly sucked out of their own little world and placed back in reality.

"Max…we shouldn't, we can't!"

"I know!" His lips joined hers again, his tongue exploring the inside of her mouth. Max made a trail of kisses down her jaw line, tasting her soft skin against his lips. Her breathing was uneven, his touch driving her wild.

"We should probably…"

"Yeah…" The talking was meaningless, neither able to control themselves.

"No, stop!" She pulled away from his lips, her face inches from his. He brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, getting a clearer view of her face. "Max…we have to stop before we go too far!"

"I know…" the disappointment was evident in his voice, leaving her feeling guilty.

"Max…it's not that I don't want to! I really do! It's just that, I want it to be…"

"…perfect!"

"Exactly!"

Max stroked her soft cheek with the back of his palm. She closed her eyes, all of her other senses alive from his touch. His lips once more reached hers, slower this time, sending a tingling sensation throughout her body. She could feel his hands around her waist, drawing patterns on her back whilst pulling her closer. Liz's hands went under his shirt, feeling his bare skin against hers. He whispered in her ear, his lips inches away from her skin. The word sent a strange sensation through her body, a smile wide across her face.

"I love you Liz Parker!"

"Remember guys, it has to be ready for tomorrow!"

"Yes Sir!"

He stood in the UFO centre, glaring at Kyle as he mockingly saluted him. Isabel walked down the steps and dropped a box full of decorations down in front of Max.

"There, that's all I'm doing!"

"But I have to be out of here to get Liz in ten minutes! You have to stay and help Isabel!"

"Max, I have a life of my own you know! My entire social life is going downhill when all I do is spend time with you guys!"

"Issy, please, it's Liz birthday tomorrow, she's been looking forward to this for ages!"

"Funny, I haven't heard her say anything about it!"

Max turned around and stared angrily at Alex. Getting the message, he turned and went back to decorating the wall with streamers.

"He has a point! Max, are you sure that she even wants a party for her birthday? I didn't even know it was her birthday tomorrow until you told me!"

"Just because she hasn't mentioned anything to you, doesn't mean she hasn't to me!"

"Well, has she?"

"Not directly, but i know her, and i know she would want to be with her friends!"

"Which is why your going to hog her for the rest of today, and most of tomorrow aswell! How generous of you!"

"Please, I really have to go, can't you just stay and help for another half hour? This is really important to me Isabel, it's Liz's seventeenth birthday, I want it to be perfect!"

"Can't you guys just wave your hand and it'll all be done anyway?"

"Kyle, you really need to stop watching so much television! Fine, I'll stay for a little bit longer, but don't expect me to do much!"

"Thank you so much! Okay, I have to go! See you guys tomorrow!"

He ran up the stairs towards the door, and started across the road to where Liz would be waiting.

"That's your big plan? To kill her? Of course, why didn't I think of that! Oh wait, I did! It won't work, Max will figure out something wrong and he'll come to her rescue, that's what he always does!"

"Not if he's distracted!"

"Now I'm listening…!"