Jadefire305 : I´m glad you liked it. I hope this chapter is just as good
RedJewel2662 : Yeah Maria is pretty stubborn. But how could anybody resist Michael long?
Chapter 42 The truth and its consequences
Maria, Kyle, Liz, Alex, Isabel and Michael were sitting around the common room in the girls building. They thought it would be quiet at this time, because most of the female students were either making themselfs ready for a date, a night of partying or was really busy with learning. Except for a few boys, who were scurrying past them, obviously nervous for their dates, they were very much among them. Michael had confiscated the red comfy arm chair in front of the tv, which was showing the repeating of an old friends episode from season six with no sound, Kyle sat restless on the red couch besides a suspicous looking Liz and a calmly smiling Alex. Isabel had made herself comfortable on the smaller couch and bit her nails. They all observed Maria, who was silently eating her sandwich she brought from a subway near campus. She was too busy with her Turkey, Ham & Bacon Melt and the coke, which was standing in front of the wood table in front of her, that she didn´t notice the quietness which surrounded them at the moment. From time to time the silence was pierced through a munch from her or a slurp from her coke. Suddenly Kyle jumped to his feet, because he couldn´t stand this waiting any longer. He had been patient the whole time, although he knew something was wrong. But now he wanted answers dammit!
" What the hell is going on here? Why are you acting so strange lately? And why do I have the feeling you´re hiding something from us?".
Maria startled for a second and almost choked on her bite. Immediately she gripped her cup of coke and tried to flush it down. Slightly out of breath she looked at her friends, which were eyeing her strangly. Slowly she put the cup on the table again, after she was sure that the offending thing in her throat was where it should be. She was dreading this conversation and she thought if she would take her time eating, the others would forgot everything. Unfortunately she hadn´t that much luck. Well, now she had to bite into the sour apple. " I finally found the source of my powers", why beating around the bush too long. It was the truth and straight to the point.
Liz and Alex simultaneously shoot their glances in the direction of Michael and Isabel to observe their reaction to this statement. Strangly they didn´t seem to be so surprised to hear that. They were looking around the room without a care in the world. Confused Liz and Alex faced each other. Now they were as curious as Kyle, if not more. Kyle meanwhile didn´t give a damn about them. He turned away from his sister and put himself with his back to her with his arms crossed over his chest. His face showed anger and disappointment.
Maria was stunned about the cold treatment from her brother. She was under the impression he would be happy for her that she figured out why she was so gifted or that he at least would be glad. But she hadn´t expected such an angry reaction. She let her eyes wander to her two best friends. Maybe they would be more of a help. Thankfully they both were smiling at her and giving her an encouraging nod to continue with her explanation. So she told them what she remembered and what she was told from Nolak. She started with the story about antar, the escape from her home, the waking up in strange room, meeting this great people who took her in, the battles and the part where the essence of this person was injected into her. Here and there she glimpsed at Michael and Isabel, who were trying to hide their emotions from the others. Isabel was eying the ceiling with interest and Michael was acting like he watched tv. When she was finished with her story she waited for a reaction from her friends and especially from her brother. He hadn´t moved a muscle the whole time and he hadn´t turned around yet. Liz was speechless and Alex was obviously trying to choose between believing his friend or sending her into a looney bin.
" Now you know why I have been acting so strangly lately", she told them the truth and now it was up to them what they did with this information. She was scared to lose them, but she was glad to have everything out in the open.
Liz arose from the couch and went to her best friend. Carefully she laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it slightly. " Now that´s explains a lot. I was already thinking you wanted to get rid of us. I´m glad it´s not".
Maria turned to her shocked. " You believe me?".
" Of course. I mean I´m a little overwhelmed right now, but that´s expected. You don´t learn everyday that your friend is an alien, do you? ", Liz saw the emotions in her best friends eyes. That wasn´t something you could fake. Besides why would Maria lie about something serious?
Maria was so relieved that her best friend didn´t think she was a nutcase. Happily she embraced her wholeheartly. All of the sudden a weird noise broke them apart. Startled they both watched Alex. He was holding his belly from laughing so much. " What is so funny?".
Alex tried to get his laughter under control to speak so that everybody could understand him. Hastily he wiped his eyes dry and looked at Maria. " You. I mean you´re an alien and you were growing up in Roswell, the town of the famous crash of 1947 and you were working at a alien themed cafe. If that´s not funny then I don´t know what is".
Liz and Maria thought about the irony of the situation and they started to laugh, too. Now if one put it that way it was pretty hilarious. Here she was living all her life in a town, which was famous for a supposedly crash from outer space and she was surrounded by alien dolls and other things and nobody knew that she was a real living prove that life on other planets really existed. She could make a fortune with that. Michael and Isabel had to smile about what Alex said. They were thankful for growing up in another cities, where aliens were not an topic everyday.
" Are you alone here?", the cold question from Kyle stopped the laughter instantly. He was still turned with his back to everybody and it was obvious that he didn´t found this so funny like the rest of them.
Marias mood changed immediately. She couldn´t understand what was going on with him. He was always so supporting regarding her powers. And now he acted like she was a evil creature with the mission to destroy the planet. " Why are you asking me that?".
Finally Kyle turned around and glared at his sister with so much hate, that it was scary. " Because I want to know if I have to expect more of your kind".
" What the hell has gotten into you to attack my like that? I´m still your sister and not some monster", Maria was hurt about his behavious towards her. Suddenly she was thrown back in another time and she saw Nicolai standing in front of her. He had the same expression like Kyle right now and the pain got worse. History repeats itself, wasn´t that the exact words her history teacher in high school told them. Maybe he was right about that.
Kyle broke out in laughter. But not the funny kind, more like the crazy kind. " You´re not my sister anymore. You´re some reincarnation of a warrior from this strange planet".
Now Liz interfered, because she could see that her best friend was close to start crying and because she thought that Kyle was acting like a first class jerk. " How can you say that? I advise you to shut your trap or I will personally kick your ass to hell and back!"
Isabel, Alex, Maria and Michael glanced at her a little stunned. They had never heard her say such nasty things, they didn´t even know that she knew those words actually. Even Kyle was taken aback for a moment. But he recovered really quickly and continued with his ranting.
" What do you expect from me? That I would be glad for you? Or that I would do like nothing changed. Well, newsflash, that´s not the way this works in our world".
Maria stood up from her seat and was just in the process to walk out of the building, because she couldn´t be in the same room with her brother any longer. It pained her that he thought like that about her. Her own brother was going against her, while her best friends accepted her. But she was stopped when Tess and Max came towards her with big smiles on their faces. They both seemed to be happy about something.
" Hey guys".
Tess was the first who noticed the depressed mood in the room. Her brother was burning Kyle with his eyes, Liz and Isabel were worriedly looking to Maria and Alex seemed to be on the brink to jump someone. Kyle was glaring at the wall in front of him and Maria had looked better. " What´s up? What did we miss?".
Maria faced her and she wished intensly that she decided to try it again with Max, just to hurt Kyle. But she regretted the thought before it was even finished. No matter how cruel he may be at the moment, he was still her brother and she loved him. " I told everybody the truth".
" You told them about us?", Tess´ heart began to beat like crazy. Now that would explain the weird vibes she was getting from everyone.
" Us? You´re an alien, too?", Kyle exploded fully at that. It was bad enough that his sister kept things from him, but also his girlfriend?. " How much of you are here? Tell me are there still human people in this room?".
Finally Michael jumped from his armchair and went straight to his roommate. Angrily he grasped him at his collar and lifted him a few feets from the ground. His eyes were sparkling dangerously. " Lower your voice or I´m forced to shut your mouth. And believe me, it won´t be nice".
" Michael, stop it. Let him down", Tess ran to her brother and tried to keep him from hurting her boyfriend. She didn´t want him to scare Kyle more, he was afraid enough, judging after the fear in his eyes and the expression on his face.
Michael didn´t listen to his sister, nor did he register that Kyle got quiet all of the sudden. All he noticed was the raging hate inside him. The anger towards the person who dared to hurt his beloved Marianna and verbally attacked his sister. No one was allowed to cause them any kind of pain, even if the someone was someone he thought was a friend. In that moment he felt the power building in his body and his hands started heating up. It wouldn´t take any longer and Kyle would just be a big pile of dust. Suddenly he sensed another presence in his mind, which was telling him not to do it. That he wouldn´t hurt someone he cared about. Confused he turned his head in the direction where Maria was standing. Again the voice pleaded with him to let Kyle go. Strangly it sounded like Maria, but her mouth hadn´t moved. Startled Michael let his roommate fall to the ground and stepped back.
Tess went immediately to her boyfriend, who was lying stunned on the ground and watched the weird staring contest between Michael and his sister. " Are you alright?".
Kyle´s head snapped in her direction and he looked at her like she would be something disgusting. Quickly he scrambled to his feet and held his hands in front of him in some kind defence stance. " Keep away from me and my friends". With that he went out the door.
Maria broke the eye contact with Michael and watched her brother fleeing the room. With tears in her eyes she glanced at her friends.
Liz understood instantly and arose from her seat. Then she took the arm of Alex and lifted him up. " We´re going after him. Maybe we can knock some sense into him".
" Thank you", Maria saw how they both made their way outside. When she was sure that they were alone again she turned her attention to Michael once more. He was still staring at her confused and a little surprised. But she didn´t care about that at the moment. With a quick movement she shoot her arm forward and punched him really hard on the shoulder.
" Ouch. What was that for?", Michael rubbed the sore spot. Damn he forgot how much strength she had.
Maria glared at him. Actually she should punch him again just because of that stupid question. Unfortuantely she hurt her hand at the punch." That was for attacking my brother. What were you thinking?".
Michael´s jaw almost hit the ground. She couldn´t be seriously asking him that? Wasn´t it obvious why he did what he did?" I was trying to help you. I couldn´t just sit there and listen to the things he threw at you".
" Great help you were. Now I´m probably losing my family because you wanted to play hero", Maria went to the couch and sat besides Isabel, who immediately laid an arm around her shoulder to comfort her friend.
Michael raised his arms in the air and groaned. Some things would never change, no matter which life they were living. " Great. Now it´s my fault again".
If the situation wouldn´t be so fed up Maria would have probably laughed about him. She loved it when he was in a snit. But she wasn´t in the mood right now. She was already trying to find an explanation for her parents when Kyle told them everything about her. Would they react exactly like her brother? Her father was Sheriff in Roswell and he had sources. Would he sent her away? Maybe deliver her to the FBI? And her mother. How would she act when she knew the truth about her daughter? Would she still love her, despite her uniqueness? So much questions and so many kinds of answers. Slowly Maria rubbed her forehead. All this worrying was giving her a headache.
" And what are we doing now?", Max had been really quiet all through the little scene. But now he wanted to know what they should do, if Kyle would lose his cool and tell the information the wrong people.
Tess slumped on the couch next to Maria and put her head on the other girls shoulder. She felt pretty down at the moment. The words Kyle threw at her were still echoing in her mind and she couldn´t get the picture of his look out of her head. She never knew that words could hurt so much. " What can we do? I mean he´s not a threat. At least not yet".
Isabel shared a glance with Maria. If anyone should decide what to do then it should be Maria, because she knew Kyle the longest and had to know what to expect from him. " What do you think?".
" I really don´t know. I can´t explain this behaviour. He was always so cool with my powers. It´s like he´s a different person".
Michael took a seat on the couch opposite the girls and propped his head in his hands. Like it wasn´t already hard to be unique in a world where people were rated after their standard. But then to know that you couldn´t trust anybody outside your cycle, was pretty sad. " Do you think he will do something stupid?".
Maria faced him with glassy eyes. Hell if she knew. A few hours before she could have answered this question with a strong no. But now she wasn´t so sure anymore. He was like a stranger to her right now and she didn´t know what was up with him. " I don´t know".
" Didn´t you tell me that I wouldn´t have to worry about telling him about me? That he would be ok with me being different", Tess was close to tears. Just at the moment when she decided against continuing the relationship with Max, because neither of them felt the same like before. She had feelings towards him, but it was like with Maria, more like a familiarity than anything romantically. And now she could forget everything, after all it looked like Kyle wasn´t interested to date a freak.
Maria sighed deeply. She had completely forgotten how it must be for her. She was just starting a relationship with her brother and now everything blew in her face, because she wanted to be honest with him and her friends. If she had known what would happen, she would have kept her mouth shut. " I really thought he would accept it. Well, maybe he would be shocked or even confused. But that he would react so cold? I didn´t expect that. And the way your brother acted towards Kyle wasn´t a big help either".
Michael rolled his eyes at her. How long would she hold that against him? He did what he thought was the right thing and he didn´t regret it. He would do it again if he had to. " Would you finally stop it. It´s over".
Isabel smiled at them both. They were finally behaving normal, at least normal for their standards. As long as they had something to fight over, they still had feelings for each other and that meant everything would be alright. She didn´t know how much she missed it until now. Her brother caught the smile on her face and he had to grin, too. They both would never change, not in thousand lifes.
" Don´t roll your eyes at me, buddy", Maria pointed with her finger at him and tried to look really mean, which obviously didn´t work when she saw the amused expression on his face. " And why are you smirking like an idiot?".
Michael chuckled lightly. He loved it when she was mad, especially at him. She always got this sexy twinkle in her eyes and it really turned him on. " Because you made the word buddy sound so erotic".
Maria raised her arms like she wanted to strangle him. But she decided to save that for something really important. " Why do I even try?".
Tess was in process to tell them they should clear their issues at another time, when she saw Liz and Alex coming back into the room. Judging after their expression the conversation with Kyle went better than they thought. Immediately she nudged Maria to direct her attention to the arriving people. Expectantly everybody looked at them and waited what they had to tell.
" And what´s the verdict? Should I start packing my things and leave the country?", Maria tried to read something from the faces of her friends. But she was too nervous to do that.
Liz smiled reassuringly at her best friend. " No. But I think it´s the best if you talk to Kyle".
Maria stared confused at her. What did she mean with that? Talk to him. Didn´t they already do that? Well, it wasn´t a really conversation, but she told him something and he responded. That was part of a conversation, even if it was in a more heated way. " What is there still to talk? He made clear what he thought of me".
" Please Maria. Can you just for once step over your pride and do what we say", Alex had never seen his friend so out of control like today. It had scared him actually. But now after they knew the reason for his outburst, he had sympathy for him. Even if he still couldn´t partly understand why he didn´t vocalize it more calm.
Maria stood up from the couch and went to the door. " He better be ready to apologize or else I´m gonna kick his ass back to Roswell with my high heels".
Outside
Kyle was sitting under the big tree where already Liz and Maria let their emotions go. The tree got slowly something like a sacred place for them, a place where they could pour their hearts out or to give free rein of their rage. Maybe they needed such a location far away from their homes and far away from the people they loved. In Roswell Maria would always drive to the desert with her moms car when she needed time to think about something. There was this old quarry, which had been the spot for many parties throughout the years. But for her it meant freedom, because there was this high point from where she could overlook the whole desert. Sometimes she thought she could see the end of the world and she wondered how long she would need to arrive there. She knew it was stupid, because there wasn´t an end, but she needed to believe that it existed. Where there´s a start, there´s an end. Such a simple phrase that explained everything. This words were circling around Marias head when she made her way to her brother. Was this the end for them?
Kyle, who had his legs tightly pulled at his body and hid his face on them, looked up when he heard steps nearing him. He swallowed visibly and his eyes lost the angry gleam, now there was just this guilty look. He observed his sister and noticed her stance instantly. She was pissed and hurt. " You came".
Maria stopped in front of him and folded her arms over her chest. Her face wasn´t giving anything away. It lacked the normal expression like usual. " Yeah. You can thank Alex and Liz for that, because I wouldn´t want to be near you willingly right now".
" I know and I understand. I just want you to know that I´m sorry for freaking out like that. I don´t know what came over me", Kyle was afraid that he had destroyed their connection with his outburst. He didn´t want to hurt his sister or make her feel bad. He had known that she would someday find the answers she was looking for. But he didn´t know that it would bother him that much when the day came.
Maria lost a bit of her anger towards him. She knew that it must have been a shock to him to hear those things. But it didn´t give him the permission to attack her like that. " You really hurt me in there and I don´t know if a simple apologize will be enough".
Kyle dropped his head in shame. He really messed up this time and it cost him the most important person in his life. He knew that it was unforgivable what he said to her and how much it must have hurt her. But he promised himself that he would do everything to mend things with his sister. After all they were family and they couldn´t just break up like a couple. " Do you think you can forgive me someday?".
" Depends", Maria went to her brother and sat besides him. " Maybe you tell me the reason for your outburst and I´ll decide if I can forgive you or not".
Kyle raised his head in her direction. Did she know something? Had she felt something through their twin link? " I can´t tell you that. You would hate me. Well more than you do right now"
Maria´s heart went out to him. She didn´t want him to think that she would hate him. Hate was such a powerful world and just reserved for people who really deserve it. He was definitely not one of those. Besides she knew how it felt to be hated from your family and it didn´t feel good. " I don´t hate you. I´m pretty pissed at you, but I don´t hate you".
" How can you not? I was very much out of line and I hate myself for the things I said. You didn´t deserve that", Kyle shook his head angrily. He couldn´t understand her. In her place he never would want anything to do with her. But she was so fing calm at the moment.
Maria took his hand and squeezed it. After she noticed his surprised expression she smiled at him. " If I didn´t know you, I would probably hate you. But I know there has to be a reason for your behaviour and I want to know it. Contrary to what you believe we´re still family".
Kyle winced at her words. He almost forgot that he said that to her. It must have been sounding aweful and had to have hurt pretty much. Now he felt more guiltily than before. " I´m really sorry. I didn´t mean it like that".
" Alright. Then you can finally tell me what´s bothering you", Maria would go on and on until he spilled. Her patience level was pretty high and she could sit her for a very long time.
Kyle looked towards the registration building. He couldn´t bare to see the horrified expression of his sister when he told her the truth or the anger in her eyes. She would probably slap him and he would even expect it. He would deserve everything she would do. " I didn´t want you to ever find out where you got your powers. I even feared the day you would figure it out".
" Why?".
Kyle breathed deeply in. He didn´t know how to vocalize something that was hard to describe. It was a feeling in his guts, a nightmare, a thought in the back of his mind, but nothing solid. It was just there. " I always thought that if you knew why you possess this gift, you would try to find other people like you", he paused to gather his thoughts. " I was afraid that you would suddenly realize that it would be better to hang out with other, who would be more like you and leave me behind".
Maria was stunned about this revelation. She didn´t know that he thought like that about her. Of course she wouldn´t leave him behind, no matter what. He was her brother, best friend and most of all one of the more important people in her life. She would not even think about that for a moment. " Why didn´t you tell me that sooner? We could have avoided this argument if you would have just told me the truth".
" I felt stupid for having these thoughts and I was scared to hear something I wouldn´t like", he felt ashamed to admit that he had insecurities like everybody else. It was something no one would expect from a guy like him. A boy who was sporty, popular and admired from the girls.
Maria laid her head on his shoulder, a classical sign that she wasn´t mad at him anymore. How could she after he told her that. They were more alike than he thought. She would have done the same at his place. It was hard to admit your weakness to others and she should know it. " Did I ever give you the feeling that you couldn´t talk to me about everything? That I wouldn´t listen?".
Kyle was relieved when he felt his sisters head on his shoulder. He knew that she wasn´t angry with him and that she already forgave him. " No never. But I thought it would sound crazy when I said it out loud and you would think I went loco".
Maria started to laugh at that. " Hey you´re talking with me. An alien with memories from a past life, who lived all her life in Roswell, the alien capital of the world".
" Yeah, but I didn´t know it at that time. How should I know that you´re crazier then me?", Kyle followed the lead of his sister and laughed, too. It felt good to do that with her again. He didn´t like it when they fought seriously.
Maria lifted her head from his shoulder and glared at him. And because she couldn´t help herself she pinched his shoulder hard. Smiling satisfied after she heard his cry of pain, she relaxed against the tree. " You should be glad that I decided to forgive your sorry ass or I would kill you with my glance".
Kyle rubbed the spot she pinched. She almost peeled his skin off of his body with her nails. Damn her and her claws. But when he heard the word forgive he decided to let it slide for now. " Yeah like you can do that", slowly he turned his head and looked in her eyes. They looked normal. However he couldn´t be sure. " You can´t do that, can you?".
" Don´t know. Didn´t try it", suddenly a thought occured to her. " Maybe I could check it on you?".
Kyle jumped immediately to his feet. Bloody hell, he was too young to die. Even if his sister wasn´t mad at him anymore, he didn´t want to find out if she was serious with that comment. " I´m not a guinea pig".
Maria´s face broke out in a smile. She wasn´t angry with him, but that didn´t mean she couldn´t let him suffer for a while. " Don´t worry. I will spare you", slowly she arose from her position and walked to Kyle. " After all you still have to deal with Michael. And believe me he won´t be so charitable like me".
Kyle´s eyes widened at that thought. He already forgot about that. " Do you think he will believe me when I say that I was possessed from a bodysnatcher?".
" Come on, don´t be such a baby", Maria dragged her brother in the direction of the girls building. " He won´t hurt you... much".
Kyle tried to escape from her grip and run in the other direction. After what he saw before, Michael had much strength and it wouldn´t take the other boy much to rip him into pieces. And Tess would probably help him. Oh shit! He almost forgot his girlfriend? No wonder his roommate had been so furious with him. Great, he finally found the right girl for him and he blew it completely within the first day. Maybe he could act all clueless and say that he couldn´t remember anything? " I can´t go in there".
Maria stopped in her tracks and looked at her brother. " Of course you can. They´re just as curious what´s going on as me", she saw the scared look in his eyes and wondered if he believed the things she said earlier. " I was just joking with Michael. He won´t hurt you, believe me. I won´t let him".
" It´s not that. It´s Tess".
Maria needed a few seconds to understand the meaning of her brothers sentence. But when it dawn on her, she winced. Now that was something complete different. He really did a number on her and he even wasn´t there to see her crestfallen face. Maybe he should crawl back on his knees with a sad puppy look on his face? " Do you have money with you?".
Kyle stared at his sister confused. Why did she ask after money? " Yeah a few dollars. Why?".
" Give it to me".
Kyle got more confuser the more Maria talked. Why should he hand over his money? What did she want to do with it? " Why should I?".
Maria was close to choke him. It was a wonder that he always had a girlfriend when he didn´t even know the basics about women. He should be thankful that he had a sister, who help him out. " Because you can´t apologize to a girl without a gift. You give me cash and I get something nice for Tess"
Kyle was still slightly baffled, but he pulled a few dollar notes from his pockets and handed it over to his sister. He didn´t understand the concept exactly, but he had faith in her and she had to know how girls wanted to be treated. After all she was a member of them. Without a word Maria took the money, kissed his cheek and dashed away. The only thing he could do right now was to wait for her and hope that she found something Tess would like. Nervously he paced around the tree and shook his head every two seconds. He was trying to formulate a sorry speech for his girlfriend or hopefully still girlfriend. How do you apologize to the girl you like when you treated her like a freak? A simple I´m sorry wouldn´t be good in this case. Maybe he should really stick to his he was possessed from an evil alien concept. Immediately after the thought popped in his head he scratched it. It was pretty unlikely and it wouldn´t be right to tell a lie, not when they weren´t together that long. It wasn´t good to start a relationship with lies. Kyle was so busy with mulling over the things I wanted to say, that he didn´t notice that he was watched from the girls common room. Liz, Isabel, Alex and Tess were squeezed together, because everybody wanted to see what happened between the siblings, in front of the window.
" Where do you think Maria went?", Liz asked the others. She knew that she and Kyle had settled their differences. But where did her best friend disappear so fast?
Alex shrugged his shoulders. He wondered the same right now. " Maybe she got called from the mothership?".
Isabel and Tess glared at him simultaneously. It wasn´t nice to make such jokes in the presence of aliens. Michael, who was still sitting in front of the tv and watched a new episode of the simpsons, turned to the others and chuckled slightly. After he received two unbelievable glances he just paid attention to the tv again. Geez, he found the joke funny.
" Alex if I hear something like that again I will have to get nasty with you", Isabel had her right hand at her hips and she waved with her forefinger in the other boys direction.
Alex faced her with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. " Can I have that written?".
Isabels face turned three shades of red darker. Usually there had to more to make her blush, but she felt really flattered right now. Even if Alex wasn´t exactly the type of guy she would normally date. He was nice and actually not too bad to look at. She eyed him closer. On his own way he was pretty cute. " If you have a piece of paper and a pencil?".
Liz observed them and groaned. Great she was stuck between the lovebirds and Ms. Depressed. " Could you both stop that? We have other problems right now". But neither of them seemed to have heard a word she said. Annoyed she threw her hands in the air and went back to the couch. Everybody had someone. Maria had this strange thing with Michael, Alex was openly flirting with Isabel and Tess had problems with Kyle, but at least she had a guy. And what about her? She was alone like always. What was wrong with her? She was intelligent, cute and nice. However no guy had interest in her. Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted when she felt someone sitting besides her. Startled she looked up and saw the beautiful brown eyes of Max watching her.
" Are you alright?".
Liz felt heat rising in her cheeks. She wouldn´t admit it loud, but she had a little crush on him. He was the only one in his bunch, who wasn´t so dominant like the others. Tess was always so hyped up, Maria said what was on her mind, Isabel didn´t have to open her mouth to get noticed and Michael was pretty rude, at least to others. Only Max seemed to be quiet and thoughtful. He was more in the background and just said anything when he had something useful to tell or when he was asked. But other than that he observed more. She like it. " Yeah. I just think everything finally caught up with me. You know learning that aliens are real is pretty much overwhelming".
Max smiled at her. She was so cute when she blushed. " Yeah I can imagine. But you´re not scared of us, are you?".
" You´re one, too?".
Max saw the surprised expression. He thought she knew that by now. " Yeah. Me, Isabel, Tess, Maria and Michael".
Liz´s eyebrows nearly rose to her hairline. She had figured out Michael after she found out about Tess, because she was her brother. But she wouldn´t have guessed Max or even Isabel. " Oh wow. That´s unexpected".
Max just wanted to reply something when the door opened and Maria came into the room. She was alone and everybody was slightly stunned about that fact. They watched her walking in the middle and looking at every face.
" Alright. I talked to Kyle and he apologized to me. We´re good again. He knows he did something wrong and I want you all to listen to him now when he tries to apologize to you guys", it wasn´t a request it was an order. She let her eyes wander to Michael. " And I don´t want any kind of snide remarks or violence towards my brother, is that clear?".
Everybody agreed, some more vocal than others. After Maria was sure that it was safe for Kyle to enter, she gave him the sign to come in. Slowly and with a dropped head he walked in the room. He was scared to look at the angry face, which he knew had to be directed at him now. Quickly he glimpsed at Tess, who looked like she lost her puppy and he regretted instantly doing it. It let him feel more guiltily.
" I want to say that I´m sorry for being such a dickhead. I didn´t mean it like that. I know that´s not an excuse for the things I said, but I want you to know that I regret my behaviour terribly".
Tess, who was still standing at the window turned around and looked at him. She was still hurt about the things and she didn´t know if he could make up for it. " You should regret it. It´s not nice to attack people like that".
Kyle shuffled nervously with his feet. He knew that. But his brain and his mouth weren´t connected when he blurted this things. " Yeah. I feel aweful because of that. Believe me I would take it back if I could".
" Tess, he didn´t mean to hurt you. He was just angry with me and he let it out on you", Maria interfered, because she saw how much her brother suffered under the cold eyes of her roommate. She could understand both sides.
Michael arose from the arm chair and went to Kyle. Immediately Maria stopped in front of her brother and tried to protect him from harm. She knew her former lover and how angry he could be when someone hurt his sister.But to her surprise he told her mentally that he wouldn´t do anything and she should step away. Reluctantly she did what he asked of her. Now the both men were standing face to face. " You do something like that again to Tess and I will break every bone in your body".
Kyle nodded his head. He would say the same when it would be about his sister. " Understood".
" Then we´re clear", to prove his statement he let a smirk grace his face. After that he walked back to his place in front of the tv. In his eyes the fight was over and they could live like before.
Maria was slightly confused. Now that wasn´t the man she remembered. Rath would have been taken him and broke him in two pieces with his bare hands. Well, she was relieved that he didn´t do it, but it was strange. Shaking her head she watched Isabel and Max. They both didn´t say anything. It was like they didn´t include themself in this little argument earlier. " What about you two?".
" We aren´t angry at him. After all he didn´t attack us directly", Max had expected such a behaviour and he couldn´t be mad at that. Kyle acted still harmless, contrary to what he thought.
Isabel just nodded her head in agreement. How could they not expect a freak out? It had to be sounding crazy to a normal human being. And actually did she feel the same when she learned from her past. Only she didn´t act on her first impulse.
Maria was glad to get that out of the way. There was just still one person missing. The most important person actually. Tess had taken a defensive stance and it appeared like she wouldn´t be so accepting like the others. She would be a tough nut to crack. Maria nudged her brother and gave him a sign to give Tess the gift. Slowly Kyle went to her and handed her a little brown teddybear, who was wearing a blue sweater and a sad expression on its face. The stuffed thing was really cute and Tess´s attitude faltered slightly. Shyly she took the bear in her hands and eyed it. She found a red point on its right hand where stood push. Curious she did just that. Immediately the teddy blinked with his eyes and told her in a baby voice that he was sorry. A little smile broke out on her face, despite her effort to keep it in. But she found this gesture so sweet, she couldn´t just be mad anymore.
" Dammit? Why do you have to be so fing cute?".
Kyle´s expression brightend visibly. " Does that mean you forgive me?".
Tess faced him. She shouldn´t really, but how could she not forgive him? He was playing unfair and she like it. Boy was she far gone when she couldn´t even be angry at him. Damn boys with their sad eyes. She had to check her brain for any kind of damage. " Yeah. But just this once".
" Thank you", Kyle took this as his cue to embrace her. He was so happy that everything went good.
Maria smiled at them. A huge weight was lifted off of her heart. She didn´t want any tension between her two families. Suddenly a knock disturbed the peaceful scene. Everybody looked at the intruder leaning at the doorframe.
" I hope I´m not coming at a bad time, but I was told to come here from Nolak".
Kyle, Liz, Alex and Maria stared at the person surprised. They knew him quite well actually. With his mischievious smirking, the crazy blonde hair, the friendly blue eyes and the strange clothes, it could be just one person. " Brody?
TBC