A/N: So the four of them are now beginning high school. We will start to see the human members of the group more and they will become a more important part of the storyline although maybe not in the order you would expect :-) Some canon events (not the shooting) may happen earlier than they did in the show. Also you might notice I don't have any of them driving yet but per the wonderful workup Gioia, EmilyluvsRoswell, Queenie, and Romantic Heart did, they can't drive until they're 15 and ½ and only Michael and Lyn are that age at this point and I figure they wouldn't have been able to get drivers licenses while living with Hank, at least not until they got jobs to pay for it. Max and Isabel will be that age soon but wouldn't be able to drive other people until sixteen anyways so none of them will be driving until the summer after freshman year.
Also in my story Michael may seem a bit OOC as he is going to be attending the majority of his classes and even doing well in them. My reasoning behind this is that the only reason Canon Michael didn't do well in school was choice. He didn't think he'd be staying on the planet; he didn't want to care about the human world because that made the inevitable disappointments hurt more. Now however he has a reason, a sister, who needs him and who he wants to protect. If she is in school then he needs to be as well in order to protect her and since she does well in school, such as taking advanced classes, he needs to as well in order to stay in as many classes as possible with her. However I promise not to sacrifice any of that gruff Guerin charm or loveable rebel tendencies on the altar of academics. His personality isn't going to change, just his grades.
Chapter Eight: Friends Like These
September 5, 1998
Raelyn walked through the doors of the high school, Isabel by her side, unable to repress the nervous butterflies in her stomach. She was not sure she could handle it, she was not sure that she even wanted to handle it. Ever since her abilities had grown, it had hurt to be around people and large groups were the hardest. High school? She had known the second they were a block away that it was going to be sheer torture. The emotions, the hormones - she shuddered, unable to stop herself or prevent her friend from noticing. Isabel reached out and rubbed her back, concern evident on her beautiful face.
"Are you okay? I know this is hard..." she trailed off as she felt Lyn's distress through their connection. "We could leave?"
Raelyn smiled. "Ditch on our first day? No one would believe that the perfect Miss Isabel would suggest such a thing, much less to me, Miss Bookworm. I'll be fine," she added reassuringly, "It's just...the boys."
Isabel nodded sympathetically. The two of them had both developed early and even in junior high had begun to attract more attention because of it, attention that with their gifts was even harder to take. "I'm just glad I only see it in their dreams. I don't think I could feel it all the time like you do."
Raelyn just gave her a brave smile, inwardly flinching from the constant bombardment of unregulated emotions; the students surrounding her were not the only ones directing attention her way lately. Her mind shrank from that thought, repressing it in an automatic gesture of self-defense to preserve what little emotional sanity she had left.
To her relief, the barriers she had been working on snapped up of their own accord and the roar of feelings and occasional thoughts died to a mere whisper. She only hoped it would last. "Let's go to class. I think Geometry is that way," she said, gesturing to the left. They entered the hallway, quickly disappearing into the chattering mass of students, just two more invisible teenagers the same as everyone else; if only that were true.
x
It was lunch and the four of them were sitting by a tree in the quad, eating silently as they watched the students interact, the ever-shifting groups and cliques. The outsiders watching the insiders; some things never changed.
Except when they did, she thought with a sigh as she saw two girls walk by and give Isabel a wave, a wave she returned. And Max, he had spent their entire lunch break talking about his lab partner, Liz, who had apparently returned to Roswell. She glanced over at her brother who was leaning against the tree and sullenly staring at the ground as Max chattered in his ear.
A small grin slipped over her face; he would always be the same, the angry rebel who didn't give a damn. His gaze rose from his feet to her face and a small answering smile curved his lips, disappearing a second later as the uncaring mask slipped back over his features. Yeah, some things never changed but she was glad; she wouldn't have it any other way.
November 2nd, 1998
"She actually talked to me today, asked me to hand her a beaker," Max said quietly, a dreamy smile on his face, and Michael groaned as his head thudded onto Max's desk.
"I agree that she's hot and all Maximillian, but either ask her out or get over it!"
Max frowned at him. "We can't let anyone in, Michael; you know that, you say it more than any of us."
"Dating doesn't mean telling her your deepest secrets Max," Michael replied dryly, knowing exactly how strong the pull of hormones was for both of them, alien or not. "I didn't say tell her you have extra terrestrial tendencies but I don't think any of us would mind if you took her to dinner or a picnic or whatever sappy thing you fantasize about."
In truth it was something he had considered himself when he realized, grudgingly, that Lyn was most likely going to want to date in a few years and that the only two people they knew who were in on their secret were family and not an option. But the only girl he thought remotely worth taking a chance on, was the same one his brother was over the moon for, so he would stick with glaring at any guy who looked at his sisters and ribbing Max every chance he got, hormones be damned.
Max looked lost in thought, maybe actually giving credence to something Michael had said. Michael didn't know whether to be happy at that small victory, or depressed at the thought of Max getting over himself and starting something with the tiny brunette that he couldn't help but find intriguing.
"Come on, let's go play Mario Kart. I still owe you an ass kicking."
The dreamy haze on Max's face cleared and he snorted as he leapt off the bed and shot Michael a grin. "In your dreams. That trophy is and will stay mine."
For the moment, Michael refrained from commenting, instead waiting until they were in the hall outside Isabel's room before calling out loudly, "Who wants to play Mario Kart?"
Both girls popped out of the room a moment later and followed them towards the family room with happy smiles. Max groaned and Michael smirked, punching his shoulder. "You might beat me, but Isabel trounces you every time."
"She trounces you too," Max pointed out with a raised eyebrow and Michael frowned, then shrugged, his next words putting the scowl back on Max's face.
"Still worth it."
December 20, 1998
Michael stared around the crowded store and mentally berated himself for agreeing to help Max with his shopping. Although, he thought with a smirk, he was better off than poor Lyn, stuck with the Christmas Nazi.
"How about this?" Max asked as he held up a red sweater with reindeer embroidered across the front.
"Sure, whatever," he replied, barely giving the sweater a glance before returning to glaring at the store clerk, who kept glancing their way as if expecting them to grab clothes and run. He followed Max silently as he walked around the racks after putting the sweater back, occasionally picking up things and muttering to himself, clearly having given up on getting any sort of feedback from his glowering companion.
Michael glanced at the clock on the store's wall and suppressed a grin as he realized that they were going to be late for the scheduled lunch with the girls at the food court. Isabel was going to flay Max. Apparently Max too had noticed the time, evidenced by the frantic rush to the counter. In his hurry to pay for his choices he dropped his money on the counter, sending coins bouncing on to the floor.
Michael let a rare public smile cross his face as Max went chasing after the rolling bits of metal, enjoying the priceless sight of his usually serious friend crawling around on the floor, weaving in and out of shocked female customers to find his money.
Ten minutes later, they made their way towards the food court while Max clutched his bags with an almost panicked expression on his face and Michael just smirked, hands in his pockets as he walked as slowly as Max would let him and cheerfully ignored his pleas to "Hurry!"
Spotting Lyn he gave a real smile. Her eyes were closed and she was leaning back in her chair as Isabel ranted to her. The two of them were surrounded by piles of bags, and, to his dismay, several groups of boys had sat close to them and were eying them with expressions that made him want to pummel their sneering faces into the linoleum floor. Glowering, he sat down in a chair next to his sister, staring menacingly at the surrounding tables, and then smiled inwardly with satisfaction as he saw several faces go pale.
"Finally!" Isabel exclaimed, her voice heavy with impatience. "I expect tardiness from Michael, but really, Max, you know better."
Her tirade continued with Max's blushes growing more and more intense, reaching a particularly awe inspiring shade of red when a gaggle of girls walked by and tittered his way, pointing and whispering behind their hands.
Michael and Lyn exchanged wry glances before Lyn decided to intervene, hoping to prevent Max from melting into a puddle of embarrassment on the mall floor.
"Come on Izzy, I'm starving and the line at Orange Julius is really short right now."
Isabel shot a few last parting remarks at Max, but grudgingly allowed the other girl to pull her to her feet as they headed for the smoothie bar, Lyn distracting her by debating the calorie count of regular hot dogs versus polish dogs.
Michael just laughed at the pathetic expression on his friend's face before 'gently' shoving him, the other boy almost falling out of his chair. "Go get us some food. Isabel will freak if we leave her bags unguarded." Not to mention, he thought with an internal scowl, the fact that he didn't have the money for food and that was the least embarrassing way for both of them since Max would insist on paying anyways.
Max nodded and jumped to his feet, heading for the pizza stand after receiving a 'what do you think?' look from Michael when he asked what the other boy wanted.
The rest of the mall trip passed in relative peace until Mrs. Evans dropped them off at the trailer. Luckily Hank wasn't home yet and they were able to safely ensconce themselves in their room, still shared despite their ages, and hide the few things that Lyn had purchased with the money she earned from tutoring.
"I'm going to start looking for jobs tomorrow," Michael said after a few moments of silence, his sister looking up from her notebook to stare at him.
"Just don't work too hard," was all she said after a moment and gave him a soft smile before turning her attention back to her homework.
He grunted and they fell into a companionable silence until they turned their lights off the moment they heard Hank's truck pull in and both silently wished that Winter Break was already over.
