Hey Guys! I'm back with another chapter! I'm really glad you guys are liking my story and I am especially grateful to all the feedbackers!

kt: Yeah, Serena is a little harsh but you gotta admit she makes things interesting... ; )

cesca: Thanks for all the awesome feedback, it makes my day. : )

chrmd1: Yeah, it was kind of wierd for him to find out she was Michael's sister especially since he thought she looked familiar for some reason (ie Michael and Liz are twins and kind of look alike).

Speaking of which...if anyone can figure out what tv show I borrowed some of the dialogue between Max and Liz in chapter 4c...specifically:

M: You know, you look familiar. Have we met before?

L: Well if that's you usual opening line I suggest you work on it.

M: Are you sure? What did you say your name was?

L: I didn't.

Anyways, if anyone can guess they get extra brownie points or special cool points or something to that extent. : ) Now, on to chapter 5b.

Chapter 5b

Liz POV

Ever get the feeling that your friends know something you don't? It's really frustrating and you really want to know what it is. So you beg and beg for them to tell you…then you find out and you wished you never asked…

Liz POV

"Serena, have you seen that shirt that I bought the other day? You know the burgundy one that ties in the back?" I ask tossing clothes left and right out of the closet looking for the lost piece of clothing. That is so weird. It was hanging in the closet only two days ago! When I don't get any answer I turn to face my cousin. "Serena?" I say a little louder.

"Um… I know what shirt you're talking about but I don't know where it is, sorry." She answers quickly never looking up from tying her shoes. Darn it! I really wanted to wear that shirt today when I saw Jay again. Turning back towards my side of the room I turn over a clothes hamper thinking maybe I might have dropped it in there absent mindedly.

"CRAP!" I yell loudly sitting heavily down on my bed. I cringe as I notice the mess my search has caused. Where could it be? "Are you sure you haven't seen it anywhere?" I ask desperately.

"Nope; I haven't a clue, sorry." Serena answers quickly once again; a little too quickly. I stare at her suspiciously hoping if I look long enough I'll find the answer I'm looking for. She doesn't meet my gaze and after a few minutes she starts to fidget. She knows something. I narrow my eyes on her-.

"Liz! Serena! Hurry the heck up!" Michael yells from downstairs interrupting my thought. "If you're not down here in ten minutes I'm leaving without you!"

"Keep your pants on! We'll be down in a few!" I shout back angrily. Now, where was I… I turn my gaze back to Serena. "Okay Serena." I begin. "Here's what I think. I think you know where my shirt is…and you're going to tell me. We're not going anywhere until I get that shirt." I say pacing back and forth in front of my cousin. Serena swallows harshly and I know my interrogation tactics are working.

"I…I have no idea what you're talking about Liz." Serena answers; resting her eyes everywhere but on me. That's it. Squirm.

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about Serena. I'm never going to let you get a decent night's sleep until you tell me where it is." I threaten slowly never moving my gaze off of her. I wait for some sort of answer and I'm a little taken aback when I notice the smile slowly climb its way onto Serena's face like she's just remembered something good. I'm not sure when the tables turned but suddenly I'm afraid of what her smile means.

"Okay Liz…" She drawls out, the smile on her face growing with every word she says, "Say I do know where your shirt is…I want you to answer a question for me first." I stare silently at her waiting for her to ask her question. Time's running out. And on cue Michael yells up reminding us that we only have five minutes left before he leaves us.

"Serena, stop playing games and tell me where my shirt is so we can go." I tell her impatiently.

"You have to answer my question first." She says laughing.

"Fine!" I huff. "What's your question!"

"How'd you sleep last night Liz?" I'm taken aback by the random question and it shows because she's soon breaking into a fit of giggles. Okay…

"Serena, whatever you're on-."

"How'd you sleep last night Liz?" She cuts me off repeating the question. "Did you have any dreams?" She asks a knowing smirk on her face. Dreams, she couldn't know, could she? Looking back at her face I know she does. Before I can muster up an answer, she continues. "Liz, is there more to that story you told us about that guy who made you break your cell phone?" I feel the blood rush to my face and suddenly the carpet's the most interesting thing in the room. In an effort to change the subject, I remind her of the topic at hand.

"Serena, what does this have to do with my shirt?"

"Liz, I have a deal for you. I'll give you your shirt but you have to promise not to hurt, maim or kill me in any way." Why? What'd she do to my shirt!

"I can't make any guarantees. That was my new shirt. What'd you do to it?" I ask almost afraid of the answer.

"Uh uh Liz," she says wagging a finger in front of my face. "That's not how this works. You have to promise me."

"Or what?" I ask challenging her.

"Or I tell Maria about your dream-."

"Maria won't believe you. You don't have any proof!" I say even though it's a total lie. Maria would believe her in a heartbeat. But she doesn't need to know that. I wait for the smile to turn into a frown but am sorely disappointed and even a little more worried when her smile only gets bigger. "You d…don't h…have any p…proof. Do you?" I stutter out worried of her answer. Serena's silent and doesn't give anything away as she gets up off the bed and walks towards the dresser we share and grabs her purse off the top of it. If she does, and she shows it to Maria, I'll never hear the end of it. It's then I notice something burgundy peeking out from between the mattresses. While Serena's back is turned I head over to the bed and snatch the fabric out from its prison. Oh heck no! "Serena! What the heck did you do to my shirt!" I scream looking down at the now heavily stained shirt. Her silence only makes me angrier. That was an expensive shirt! "Serena! I asked you; what did you do to my-."

'Yeah, sure Jay…I'll dance with you…mmm haha…yeah.' My face pales as the sound of my voice fills the now deathly quiet room. Turning fully to face my cousin I notice her cell phone in hand and the sound of my voice coming from it. Crap. She did have proof. I give her a withering look and she knows she's won. I move angrily back towards my closet, grab another shirt and throw it quickly on just as Michael opens the door to announce he's leaving. Glaring angrily at my cousin I grab my backpack and storm out after Michael; Serena following close behind me. It's not over and she knows it, but for now she's safe. At least until I can get to her cell phone and erase whatever evidence she has of that dream.

Max POV

"Can we please talk about something else?" I beg from the passengers seat of my mom's car which had been dropped of an hour ago by of the movers.

"No Max, come on. Tell me about Liz. When did you two meet?" My mom asks giving me no mercy as she digs for information about Liz. When I don't answer Isabel does for me.

"He met Liz last night Mom." Isabel says a smile on her face. "He walked out of the crowd to meet up with us again and he looked like he was walking on cloud nine." My mom smiles at me brightly then turns to look back at the road. Isabel throws me a grin and when I roll my eyes, continues to tell our mother all about my meeting with Liz. "…and then he's like 'I don't know, I kinda pissed her off'." Isabel says making her voice deeper to sound like mine.

"And then what happened?" My mom asked excitedly.

"Nothing happened." I say desperately trying to stop the conversation now before Isabel could embarrass me anymore. Isabel rolls her eyes at my lame attempt and continues on.

"Well, apparently he-."

"Oh look, we're here." I interrupt Isabel as we pull up to the front of the school jumping out. Thank you. I watch as Isabel and then my mother jump out of the car and follow close behind me as I look around for the office. I start to worry that Isabel's going to continue the story of how I met Liz when suddenly my salvation shows up dressed in khakis and a green sweater.

"Alex!" I yell loud enough so Isabel can hear. My voice has the exact effect I had hoped it would when Isabel looks up excitedly to see Alex's lanky figure walking towards us.

"Hey! Max and Isabel, right? Welcome to Roswell High." He says smiling brightly at Isabel. Isabel blushes and manages to mumble small thanks. Though neither of these things go unnoticed by my mother who gives me a knowing look. My mother clears her throat breaking the spell on Isabel.

"Oh Mom, this is Alex. He's a friend of Michael's we met last night. Alex, this is my mom." Isabel says putting extra emphasis on Alex's name.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Evans." Alex says amiably moving to shake our mother's hand.

"It's nice to meet you too Alex. Do you think you could show us to the office?" My mother asks knowing that without his help we probably would never find it.

"It would be my pleasure." He answers, then, turning to face Isabel he held his arm out for her to take. "My lady." Isabel's face turned an even deeper shade of pink as she grabbed onto his arm and let him lead us to the office. Falling into step with my mother I was finally able to exact my revenge on Isabel.

"So Mom…want to know how Iz met Alex?"

Serena POV

Michael immediately noticed the tension between Liz and me as soon as we got in the car. Not that it was hard to notice that Liz sat as far as she could away from me and continued to glare at me every opportunity she had. But no matter how angry Liz was at me it could do nothing to stop the temporary truce that was silently struck up between us as we walked onto campus to see Alex standing with a pretty blonde…that neither of us knew.

"Who is that girl walking with Alex?" Liz asked incredulously which I could understand because here was Alex, who's supposed to be our best friend, looking extremely cozy with a girl we've never met before; and he's never introduced us to her!

"I have no idea!" I tell her equally shocked that he hasn't even introduced us.

"Hey guys. What are we looking at?" Maria says showing up behind us and peeking over our shoulders.

"Holy Crap Maria! Get a frickin' bell or something, you scared the bejeezus out of me!" I shouted loudly at the blonde clutching at my racing heart. Surprise registered on Maria's face at the outburst but it quickly turned to a smile as she looked past us to see what we had been looking at.

"Hey, there's Alex and Isabel! Don't they look cute together?" She asked excitedly looking back to us. What. The. Heck. He told Maria about this 'Isabel' but he didn't tell us? Liz must have been thinking the same thing because the first question out of her mouth was 'who the heck is Isabel'.

"Oh, well, we met Isabel last night." Maria says as though it explains everything. We looked at her waiting for her to go on but when she didn't I took matters into my own hands.

"Maria, who's 'we' and who exactly, is Isabel?" I ask bordering on frustration. She's not telling us anything.

"Oh, Isabel is one of the new students you're supposed to show around today Liz. Kyle, Michael, Alex and I met them last night. Well, her and her brother Max."

"Looks like Isabel already found someone to show her around." I tell them pointing to where Alex and Isabel are walking off arm in arm. I do have to admit they do make a cute couple.

"What about her brother, Max?" Liz asks trying not to appear curious but failing miserably. Hey, I'd be curious too. If Max were anywhere as good looking as Isabel then heaven help the female population of West Roswell High.

"Well, actually Liz, there is something I should tell you about Max-."

"Oh, don't tell me he's gay." I say hoping that's not the case.

"Well, no, at least I don't think so." She says scrunching up her face in confusion. "No, Max is-." But before Maria could finish her sentence the bell rings and Liz is rushing off towards the office. "Liz, wait! I have to tell you something important about Max-."

"Tell me at lunch! I gotta go or I'll be late! See you later." Liz yelled over her shoulder as she rushed in the direction of the office. We watched as she disappeared out of sight and once she was gone I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"So…what's so important about Max? And is he cute?"

Max POV

"Well Max, Isabel, it's my pleasure to welcome you both to West Roswell High and I hope you enjoy it here." Principal Porter tells us standing up and shaking our hands. "Now, do you guys have any questions that I can answer?" Looking silently to Isabel who's sitting next to Alex and shakes her head no we both sit waiting for Liz to show up to show us around.

"Uh…actually Mr. Porter," Alex speaks up. "If it's alright with you sir could I show Isabel here," he says gesturing to Isabel, around? I have a free period right now and really it'd be no trouble at all." Alex says hopefully.

"Sure Mr. Whitman. Is this alright with you Ms. Evans?" Mr. Porter asks turning to address Isabel.

"Yes, Mr. Porter. I'd actually like that very much." Isabel answered causing Alex to smile goofily and head out the door with Isabel on his arm.

"Good luck with Liz." Isabel says on her way out the door winking at me knowingly.

It's not too long after Isabel leaves when the door bursts open and in rushes Liz looking beautiful as ever. She stops in front of the principal's desk to catch her breath and I can tell she hasn't noticed me yet.

"I'm…so…s…sorry I'm…late." Liz wheezes out of breath apologizing.

"Oh, it's quite alright Ms. Parker. Actually we were just finishing up here. Ms. Parker, I'd like you to meet Max Evans and this is his mother Mrs. Evans. Liz's eyes fell on my mother first.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Evans." She says holding out her hand to shake my mom's.

"Please, call me Diane. I've heard so much about you from my daughter Isabel. I believe she met your brother last night and we met your father yesterday as well."

"Well, I hope it was all good." Liz answered smiling shyly. I can't seem to take my eyes off of her. She's so beautiful. My mom looks Liz over and looks to me and smiles. It's then that Liz turns to look at me for the first time since she came in the room. The next minute happened in slow motion. From the smile dropping from Liz's face as recognition set in, to the anger hidden behind the fake smile she plastered on after, to the words that came out of her mouth next. Turning back to face my mother and the principal she continued speaking. "It was a pleasure meeting you Mrs.-Diane." She corrected herself at my mother's look sheepishly. "Now if you'll excuse us, I'll start showing Max around." Smiling once more she turned on her heel facing me, grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door giving me just enough time to say goodbye to my mom before dragging me out of sight. As soon as the door closes behind us she whirls on me and starts poking her finger harshly at my chest.

"What are you doing here? Are you like stalking me now!" She asks yelling at me. Yep, she definitely remembered me. I felt myself getting angry that she was accusing me of stalking her that before I knew it I was yelling back.

"Don't flatter yourself. We moved here. This is the school we go to now." I tell her flatly. Is that disappointment I see in her eyes? Is she disappointed I'm not stalking her? Don't be stupid Max. Why would she be sad you weren't stalking her? But soon the sad look is gone to be replaced with a look of anger.

"Don't flatter myself!" She asks incredulously. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't you ask me out last night!" She yells accenting each word with a poke to my chest. Oww. "Plus," she adds. "You broke my cell phone!"

"Look, I said I was sorry. Besides, it's not like I'm the one who stepped on it!" I yell back indignantly.

"So! You made me drop it!" She says throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.

"What kind of crazy logic is that!"

"The kind of logic where you buy me a new one!"

"A new what; personality?"

"No! A new phone, Dip wad!"

"Dip wad! I-." But I don't get to finish my sentence because suddenly the door to the principal's office opens and out walks my mom. She takes in the sight in front of her and smiles at the picture we make. Liz stands close enough to me that if she exhaled I'm pretty sure I could feel her breath. Not that I'm complaining, but Liz is a different story. As soon as she sees my mother she takes three huge steps away from me and puts on a blank face.

"Max, Liz, what are you two still doing here?" She asks calmly. As if she couldn't hear us yelling through the office door. She walks over and pulls me into a hug. "I'm going to leave now honey but I'll see you at home okay?" She waits until I respond with an 'okay' before she lowers her voice and pulls me closer so only I can here her. "Don't worry, your father and I used to fight like this all the time." She gives me another squeeze before letting go. She smiles one more time and turns to leave. "It was nice meeting you Liz." She says as she walks out of the school.

"You too." She calls out after her. Although as soon as my mom's out of sight, Liz starts to leave walking swiftly down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" I shout running to catch up with her. Man she's fast.

"Away from you." She shouts over her shoulder.

"Wait." I say catching hold of her arm and turning her to face me.

"What?" She asks tapping her foot impatiently.

"Aren't you supposed to show me around first?" I remind her. She rolls her eyes and turns to keep walking. "Look, just show me around the school first and then I'll be out of your way, okay?"

"Fine." She sighs out heavily and continues walking down the hall.

"Fine." This should be interesting.

"So, your mom's nice. I guess that rules you out as the spawn of Satan…Unless you're adopted…" She says leaving the question hanging as I fall into step beside her.