Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Okay, so I come out of class..right, there is a government agent outside the school gates" Maria said silently looking sideways at Liz as she continued driving, the two friends were coming from delivering some of balloons from a neighboring town, balloons that Maria's mom specialize in making. The balloons were green and looked like martian aliens, you know, the ones that didn't exist. Maria still remembered that those balloons where how she and Michael had connected. The day he tried to steal her car and then kidnapped her and the two ended up in a motel...get your head out of the gutters. The night actually turned out pretty, Maria had finally understood what Michael only wanted to go home and that night Maria was a willing participate in Michael's little road trip.

"So?" Liz asked, just to make conversation. She wasn't still sure how she had been roped into going on this deliver route with Maria especially when she knew the importance of being at Michael's apartment. Max had told her to come to Michael's straight after school and that he wanted to tell her something and guess what she wasn't there. He must be out of his mind worrying about her and where she must be...or he was too occurpied with his little girlfriend that he hadn't noticed that she wasn't there.

"I'm telling you, Liz, he had a picture of Tess" Maria said as retold the story once more, "Golden hair, the body, the queen of Antar in all her glory and asked if I had seen her and I...think that we should give her up..Tess I mean"

That snapped Liz into attention as she glanced sideways at Maria, giving her best friend an interesting look, "What?"

Maria looked at Liz for a moment before returning her eyes to the road and then gave a shrug, "You heard me, why not?"

Liz was wearing a small smile, seeing herself turn Tess over to the government gave her pleasure beyong measure then Max's face floated into her little fantasy and Liz's smile was wiped of her face, "Max wouldn't go for that?"

"I was talking about you and me" Maria declared with a conspiring smile, "Max isn't thinking clearly right now and I still think that she had mindwarped him and I think that if she is far away from Max...that you know he will snape out of it and..."

Maria stopped talking as her car made weird noises, going fowards and then jerking backwards. She turned and stopped short of the sideway, she tried to start the car but the little bugger wouldn't move.

"Don't tell me" Liz said after a moment of silence and just before smoke began to come out. Liz and Maria looked out and with perfect understanding of the situation, knew that they had to get out incase this was a serious case. Maria made a note to grab her keys, her bag and her cellphone, she was going to need the cellphone to call for help.

"Great, this is just great" Liz screamed snapping the car door shut while looking a the smoke and shaking the head at the same time before looking above the car to the other side were her best friend stood, "Isn't this great? Just the perfect ending to the perfect day and we are suppose to be at Michael's Maria"

"I know" Maria said giving out a tired sigh, opening her cell and dialing the number before she realized that there was no dial tone, "And we have an even better problem, no dial tone"

Liz was quiet for a moment realizing that the first theory she had the first time was right on the money, the universe was conspiring against her. Whatever powerful being that existed beyong the stars, God, Goddess, the one who created all that lived and existed hated her because this should not be happening to her. She hadn't done anything, she wasn't a bad person, she tried not to be a bad person yet that wasn't enough but someone like Tess...

"It isn't fair, Maria" Liz said feeling the tears again.

Maria resisted the urge to roll her eyes, just sighing and stared sadly at her friend. What was it with Max Evans? Liz and Tess, both equally beautiful woman but one was a murder and the other wasn't. Seriously, if she had been given a choice like that, one with a guy who murdered one of my best friend and another guy who wasn't, it wasn't really a choice...Max had to make everything hard. Okay, so it was a complicated situation and Tess and Max shared a lifetime of love but so what, didn't Liz and Max share a love in this lifetime.

Maria shook her head in time to see a red mustang blaze just up ahead of her and she began to wave her hands wildly above her head. It was high probability that the car was going to stop but she had to try, yes? And right enough the car sped right past her, just as she sighed with fastraution, the stopped and revised coming to stop right in front of her. Maria's mouth dropped with shock...

Sitting in the driver seat was the cutest guy Maria had ever seen, even more so that Michael and that was saying something. He was wearing a black shirt and jeans that fit him perfectly, sun-glasses covering his eyes but his face was darkly handsome.

"Hi" The guy said with a very enchanting smile, and his voice was musical, "You guys need help?"

Maria didn't even speak, she just looked at the guy blinking furiously. The guy seemed to be amused by the situation considering that he was waiting for Maria to speak and she hadn't said anything.

"Hello...anyone up there?" The guy said with attempts to make light of the situation before he caught sight of Liz, he offered her a bright smile, "Do you guys need help?"
Liz walked over to Maria's side, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Do we need help? Nope, not really...me and my friend here are just standing in front of a brokedown car that has smoke coming out of the front, home for...you know the engines, just for fun"

The guy was silent for a moment regarding Liz silently before shrugging his shoulders, "It's a sunny day, I can understand how standing in front of a brokedown car could be fun, I could join"

The two stared at each other for a moment before Liz's rolled her eyes again and struggled not to smile. At that point Maria got out of her head and smiled as Eric got out of the car and walked over to the two girls in an amarzingly carefree way. He held Liz's eyes for a moment the introduced himself.

"I am Eric Vandercam"

"Liz Parker" Liz said in a rather bored tone of voice.

"I am yours" Maria quickly shook her head as two heads swang towards her, she could feel her cheeks going red and Eric's smile brighten, "I mean, could I borrow your cell?"

Eric handed the cell to Liz, as she was right in beside him, and the hands held on for a second. Suddenly Liz was uncomfortable as she turned to hand the cell to Maria. Maria silently recieved the phone, considering that she was feeling rather embarrassed at the moment. Eric stared at the girl as she walked far from them as she dialed a number. "What's her name?"

Liz was silent as she studied Eric study Maria and she didn't know why she said it but she did, it must have been the look that Eric was throwing Maria, "She has a boyfriend" Liz declared loudly.

Eric smiled to himself and turned to Liz, lifting his eyebrows showing his beautiful harzel eyes, "Didn't you hear, she said she was mine...besides, that's not what I asked?"

Liz shrugged then gave the name, "Maria"

"Maria" Eric repeated the name, throwing a look at Maria, "What a beautiful name, don't you think?"

Boy did this guy had some nerve, didn't Liz just tell the guy that Maria had a boyfriend and so what if Maria had a slip of the tough, it didn't mean anything. Maria was in love with Michael just as she was in love with Max. So even if the Mr. Hotti here had totally scrambled with Maria's brain for a milisecond, it didn't matter. Liz just hoped the guy didn't get the two words over his head if he hadn't already.

"Do you guys need a ride?" Eric asked as he got his cellphone back and looked between Liz and Maria.

"Not from you" Liz answered quickly with a small smile, "Maria got us a ride from one of our friends, right Maria?"

Maria froze as the two faces turned to her once more and then she realized that she hadn't called either Max, Michael, or Isabel to come and pick them up. She had completely forgotten and the only person she called was one of those pick-up trucks and to be completely honest with herself, she had hoped that Eric would offer them a ride. He was hot, incrediable hot and she had felt a little spark between the two...and the good thing was that he wasn't Max.

"I forgot" Maria said wearing the most innocent expression she could hold then turned away from Liz's suspecious gaze to Eric's instantly happy one, "I guess we are taking that ride from you afterall."

"So Maria" though Eric said Maria's name, he was secretely watching Liz's expression, "So I hear you have a boyfriend, is it a serious thing or is it time for a new one?"
"It's serious" Liz answered not even giving Maria the time causing her friend to glance at her oddly.

"Excuse me Liz" Maria said with a smile, looking at Eric, "I can answer the question myself"

"Well" Eric said, stepping closer to Maria.

"Give me a few day, and we will see how things go."

That's how things went down before someone came for the car, Eric and Maria's shameless flirting. The way Maria acted, one would think she had forgotten about Michael himself but who could blame the poor thing. The guy was pretty cute, too bad he was a pig. And he was, Liz thought to herself as she sat in the back of his car. Maria and Liz had found out that Eric himself was going to Roswell and that made things well sort of easy. Now considering that Eric was not only a jerk and a pig, boy did he know that he was cute. Eric knew well enough that he was very hot and that made him ignorant in his own right. Liz couldn't believe the lines that flew out of Eric's mouth was hilarius and the fact that Maria was giggle was beginning to worry.

Liz sighed in relieve as the car stopped at the crashdown, she didn't even bother to say anything but got out of the car and walked inside without so much as a glance at the two lovebirds. A only comfort was that Michael was not going to be happy when he found about Eric and that loser major will have some serious trouble from the warrior-soilder of another galaxy.

"Think she is cute?" Maria asked watching Eric turn his attention to Liz as she rushed into the crashdown.

Eric turned back to her and smiled, "Not as cute as you"

Maria giggled and blushed while smiling brightly before shaking her head, "I have a boyfriend who would kill you by the way but Liz is all free and could be all yours"

"Oh I am so going to love that story you are going to tell me about her"