I don't own Roswell or any of its franchise. I do, however, lay claim to this plot idea and will defend it viciously. I have used a line from the first episode of Roswell. It's from the biology class scene. It's barely noticeable, but just to be safe; it doesn't belong to me either.
A/N First off, thanks for all the reviews. It really brightens my day that so many people seem to enjoy my little tale. Thank you. Having said that, I'm a bit afraid for this chapter, I can't decide whether to just hate it or like it. Some parts were so easy to write and others just annoyed me to bits. I hope that it's not too confusing and you'll remain patient, because I have no intention of rushing the story line. There are too many things to set up before we get into the issue of Tess, the Skins and whatnot. Enjoy!
Not Betaed, but if you find any glaring mistakes, please let me know and I'll correct them ASAP.
Isabel's POV
The next morning Isabel was awake before her alarm went off. In fact she'd been awake for several hours, just waiting for the darn thing to allow her to get up and start getting ready for her first day back in high school.
The moment the blaring sound of the alarm echoed through her room, Isabel was halfway through her room and she quickly grabbed a towel and ran past an equally eager looking Max to get to the shower first.
Fifteen minutes later, Isabel stepped out of the shower and dried off her hair. Too impatient to go through the hour long routine she'd firmly established as a teenage girl, Isabel simply used her powers to make the water disintegrate, before waving her hand before her face, applying her own unique brand of makeup.
"Iz, aren't you done yet?" Max's voice echoed through the door and with one final glance in the mirror, Isabel wrapped her towel around her and opened the door.
"All yours Max, I'll go get dressed. Don't take too long, please."
Max nodded and closed the door behind him quietly. Isabel ran into her room and immediately jumped over to her closet, suddenly anxious about what to wear.
And the fact that clothes is horribly out of style for my taste isn't helping any, Isabel thought with a grimace, watching the bright colors she'd been in love with in 1999.
Suddenly her eyes fell on an almost forgotten piece of clothing, a tight, bright red top. In the next second Isabel had to fight back a sudden urge to weep like a baby, when she recognized the top as the one she'd worn while trying to seduce Alex into not revealing his alien knowledge.
"He always did like me in red," Isabel muttered softly, fingering the fabric almost reverently as the memories of that time overpowered her.
Eventually Isabel finished getting ready for the day and walked down to the kitchen, where her mother and Max were eating breakfast. Or Diane was at least, Isabel noticed with an understanding smile as Max was simply stabbing his eggs absentmindedly while looking out the window.
Grabbing a piece of dry toast and kissing Diane on the cheek, Isabel headed for the door. "I'm ready to go when you are, Max."
With another smile Isabel watched her brother, the King of an alien race they'd fought with against Khivar's forces, act like an eager child. Well, King of a race that at least wasn't already brainwashed or dead, Isabel amended, her appetite lost as the memories of various battles flew through her mind.
Suddenly something else entirely entered her mind and Isabel turned to Max as he started the jeep. "Wait, where's Michael? When I left after our meeting, you guys were getting ready for bed."
Max smiled with a sudden sad glint in his brown eyes as he backed out of the driveway. "He woke up early and decided to head back to Hank's to grab some of his things."
Isabel nodded. Waking early had become the trio's code for something else entirely; woke up with a scream.
"So," Max's voice brought Isabel back from the dark mood she was entering and she looked over at her brother, "are you excited to see Alex?"
Isabel's mood turned changed back to its happy level from earlier and she smiled widely. "Yeah, I was awake for hours last night; just thinking about how lucky we are to be back here. I just hope that he'll want to be with me."
Max smiled and shifted gears while he stated calmly, "Iz, if there's one thing I'm sure of in this new world we're in; it's the fact that Alex Whitman is really not going to have a problem being with you."
Calmed by Max's words, Isabel leaned back in her car seat and watched the familiar scenery fly by. A nagging thought kept trying to bring her down and finally she turned back to Max, who raised an eyebrow inquiringly at her sudden serious expression.
"Max, I just can't help think about the fact that we're not teenagers in spirit anymore. Take away the whole miracle of us actually being back here and think about it. They're barely sixteen years old and when we left our own time we were in our late twenties. That's a huge age gap and I…"
Max drove into the high school's parking lot, automatically parking in the spot Isabel recognized as their old one, before he turned sideways and looked her intently in the eyes. "I know what you mean, Iz. After you went to bed yesterday, Michael and I actually touched the subject, but you know what we decided in the end?"
Isabel shook her head, with her bottom lip between her teeth.
"It doesn't matter and as Michael said in his own unique way; let's just be happy we're not dealing with all this crap in our childhood bodies."
Laughing, Isabel leaned forward and embraced Max, who smiled a lot wider than he usually did. "Thanks Max. Come on; let's take on high school again."
They exited the car and started making their way inside the building. Isabel barely managed to set foot inside the hall, before she was literally torn away from her brother's side and looking into the faces of her old clique, whom she hadn't thought about in years; Michelle and Cindy.
"Oh my God, Isabel; Tommy Jenkins totally asked me about you earlier; he's so into you that it's not even funny!" Michelle squealed and grabbed Isabel's arm, while starting to jump up and down in her excitement.
Cindy followed suit, and Isabel looked over her shoulder at her brother, feeling the plea in her eyes. He too looked taken aback by the greeting that she'd been given, and didn't move for a long second. Eventually he snapped out of it and stepped in-between Isabel and her "friends", unconsciously taking on a much more dominate aura than he was known for at that point in time.
In a response to his silent dominance, Michelle and Cindy immediately backed away without even realizing it. "Ladies," Max said, taking a gentle hold on Isabel's arm himself, "I need to borrow Isabel for a while."
Michelle eyed Max with far more appreciation than Isabel had ever seen in her eyes before as she hurried to comply with his request, letting go of Isabel.
The siblings quickly made their way over to a more discreet corner. "Thanks," Isabel said as they tried to act as normal as possible. Inwardly she was nothing short of embarrassed about herself. I used to be called the Ice Princess and now I can't even discard two teenage girls? What is going on with me?
"Iz?"
Max's voice brought the troubled hybrid back to the present and she looked over at her brother with a frown marring her beautiful features. "I don't think I can do this," she blurted out a second later.
Max crossed his muscular arms and for the first time that morning, Isabel noticed that Max had dressed outside of the teenage comfort zone he'd never wavered from in their past. No sweater was hiding the fact that he was in good shape for his age. He was wearing a tight, black T-shirt that really showed off his physique. Maybe it just wasn't his aura that turned Michelle on? Isabel pondered, suppressing a shudder of disgust.
"You can do this, Iz," Max said and with a jerk of her body, Isabel was brought back to reality for the second time in just as many minutes. "You're not shallow Isabel Evans anymore. You won't have any problems."
For a second Max's brown eyes darkened even further and he added almost inaudibly, "at least you don't have to worry about a time transcending bond."
But maybe I'll make my own bond just by staying with Alex, keeping him alive, Isabel thought, taking a deep breath as a sudden flow of hope grew inside of her.
"Hey, look."
Isabel followed her brother's widened gaze and just for one short moment, everything was right in her world again. Walking towards her were Alex Whitman, he was looking down at a frantic looking Maria, seemingly not noticing that the Evans kids were staring holes through his skull.
"Alex," Isabel breathed out the name, all of a sudden nothing else mattered to her but the tall, gangly boy in front of her.
Before she really understood her own intentions, Isabel was on the move.
--
Alex's POV
"I'm telling you; something fishy is going on, Alex! I can't get in touch with Liz, we always walk to homeroom together and to top it all off; that Guerin kid is stalking me! He's really starting to weird me out! Will you focus here?"
The slap on the back of his head, barely registered in Alex's mind, he was busy trying to act as though he hadn't noticed that they were about to walk past the living Goddess that was Isabel Evans.
"Sure, Maria, but come on," he eventually turned to look down at his small, female friend, fulfilling his duties as her friend. "You've always seen drama where there just isn't any. Remember last week at Chuck E Cheese? I kept telling you that that kid wasn't about to explode, he was just heavy."
"Then how do you explain that Guerin freak showing up at my house? I swear he was giving me the evil eye or something."
Alex rolled his eyes and expertly avoided a second head slap with a small grin. If there's one thing I can always count on; it's Maria's drama gene going into overdrive, he thought amusedly.
"H-Hi Alex."
The soft spoken words reached Alex's distracted mind and he instantly recognized the speaker, snapping his head back to the front to stare completely gobsmacked into the dark brown eyes of Isabel.
"Hey, Isabel." He managed to say, inwardly congratulating himself for not stuttering. "Was I in your way? I can move." Of course the moment the words left his mouth, Alex knew that to be the truth. There was no way that living deity would ever speak to him voluntarily.
To his surprise, Isabel immediately looked dejected as though his offer hurt her in some way. She glanced sideways down at a staring Maria, before looking back into his eyes. There's something different about her, Alex realized, fighting off a peculiar feeling inside of him. There was a light in her eyes that had never shined in his presence before.
She looks like she genuinely cares about me…but that can't be right? Alex was a smart guy, but this was a puzzle he just couldn't figure out.
"No, Alex. It's nothing like that. I just…" Isabel hesitated, thus adding to the surreal moment Alex was having, "I just wanted to say hi. And now I have, so bye."
In the next second, Isabel was gone and Alex could breathe in again. He tried, but couldn't get his voice to work properly. Next to him, Maria didn't have the same problem.
"See? I told you things are getting weird around here! What was that all about? Maybe she and her popular jock friends have a bet going about humiliating you or something." Maria looked serious for a second, "if that's the case, I promise I'll give them all a big talking too. Liz can probably get Kyle to slip them some diarrhea tablets or something. Are you okay, Alex?"
Alex nodded unconvincingly. The fact that the woman of his dreams had spoken to him out of her own free will, didn't seem so special anymore, the distrust that Maria had spoken off quickly manifested itself into his brain, driving a huge, painful seed of suspicion into it. "Yeah, I'm fine, Maria." He eventually said with a sigh. "I just didn't think that Isabel would use those kinds of tricks. She always seems so…"
"Cold? Evil? Snooty?" Maria certainly didn't lack adjectives, but then again, Alex reasoned internally, she had never really taken to the tall blonde, always spouting something about her being, "evil incarnate," or of that nature.
"Let's just get to class," Alex muttered gloomily and started making his way through the student filled hallway. He felt Maria following him closely, eying him with worried eyes. He didn't care, but he knew that despite all her blustering, Maria truly was one of the most loyal friends a person could have.
When he reached the door to his class, Alex stopped and looked down at Maria, whose eyes still showed her concern for his dilemma. "I'm gonna be fine, Maria. I'll meet you in the quad for lunch," with some effort he managed to procure a decent smile as he added, "and then we can track Liz down and force her to spill everything. Okay?"
Maria nodded and leaned forward to envelope him in a quick hug, before she quickly ran toward her own class.
Alex watched her until she turned the corner and then walked into the room, settling into his usual seat in the back of the class. He was in the middle of digging through his bag for his pencil case when he felt someone sit down in the seat next to him.
Knowing that the seat usually remained empty in this class, Alex looked up to satisfy his curiosity and instantly wished he hadn't. Next to him, staring closely at him was one of the only people in the school that truly unnerved him. Michael Guerin.
There was also something different about the withdrawn boy, Alex noticed as he tried unsuccessfully to look away from the angry teenager's eyes. Then it suddenly hit him and Alex finally managed to look up at the blackboard where the teacher was busy writing quotes from the latest novel they were going through.
He doesn't look angry at all. The truth in that statement was almost as unusual as having Isabel talk to him, possible joke or not. Michael was known for two things. One, he only ever hung out with Isabel and Max Evans. Two, he really didn't have the most amiable social skills.
Frankly, Alex thought as he quickly copied the quotes down on his note pad. Maria is right; he really is acting out of the ordinary. I wonder why he's looking at me. I haven't spoken to him since fifth grade where he told me to be a look out for the teacher while he scratched her car.
"Hey, Alex?"
Alex looked over at Michael, realizing that the other boy still hadn't looked away from him. It really was beginning to creep him out. "What?"
"Got a pen I could borrow?"
The polite request was almost the last straw for Alex, but he reached out his pencil case, letting the other guy pick for himself. While Michael was looking through Alex's pencil case, the human noticed something else that was different about Michael.
His hairstyle wasn't the spiky mess he'd paraded around with for the last few years. Instead it was flat and for once it looked absolutely clean, like Michael had actually cared about his personal hygiene for once. The very idea was jaw dropping to Alex, who had once witnessed the bulkier Michael beat the crap out of a classmate during gym for mocking him about his gelled hairstyle.
"Thanks, man." Michael returned the pencil case and Alex nodded mutely, eager to get back to class and hopefully have a more normal day from then on.
He was so busy trying to put, not only Isabel's, but Michael's out of character behavior towards him out of his mind, that he didn't notice that once he'd turned around, Michael had continued studying him with an uncharacteristic smile on his face.
--
Max's POV
Max walked into his first period of the day. His eyes automatically scanning the room as he'd been taught after having lived through a war, and he noticed the looks people were giving him without caring. He knew that the moment he'd chosen to put on something formfitting and easy to move in, he was stepping out of his former geeky role.
Max Evans had no intention of blending into the walls as long as there was a possibility for danger towards the people he loved. Not this time around.
As he made his way through the tables, Max noticed Isabel sitting in the front, once again cornered by her former friends. That's one good thing about being me, Max thought with an internal smug smile, at this point in time in my life, I have no friends besides Iz and Michael.
As though she'd heard his thoughts, Isabel turned her head and looked at him with a half-hearted glare. Max took in the sight of her with pleasure. It was obvious that beneath the cool mask that Isabel was known for already in high school, she was very happy.
Max had witnessed her bumbling attempt to chat with Alex, feeling incredibly happy and for once completely sure that their journey had not been in vain. If nothing else, Alex would not die by Tess's hands. Max would see to that.
The thought of the fourth hybrid forced reality back into Max's mind and he took his seat with a sigh. While the teacher was droning on about the Second World War, Max was writing down everything he needed to take care of in his usual meticulous manner.
First off, Max thought, writing down Liz's name, I have to tell my secret so she can ponder about that for a while. I gotta tell her not to bring her uniform to school. Maybe I can make her give it to me, so I can burn it that way Topolsky will never arrive and cause Pierce to know about us. I'm not eager to re-visit the White Room.
The very thought sent chills down Max's spine as his memory took him back to the time he'd been tortured the first time. Although he'd suffered more extensive damages after a few days in one of Khivar's lieutenant's hands, Max still felt that the White Room was the hardest one to live through. Realistically he knew that it was due to it being the first time he'd ever been through something like that, and the fact that Pierce had threatened him with a lot more than bodily harm; he'd threatened the people Max loved and that was the scariest thing Max had ever been through; aside from the day Liz had died in his arms in the future.
Suddenly Max could barely breathe, the horrifying mental image of a bleeding, dying Liz wouldn't let itself be pushed away. He clenched his fists on the table, feeling his nails scrape against his palms painfully. It's not real, I won't let it happen, Max kept repeating desperately silently, swearing that he'd never again see Liz bleed.
"Mr. Evans!"
With a start Max looked up at the teacher. The moment his concentration was broken, Max felt a flash of power rush through him and he heard the window next to him explode in a million pieces. People immediately started screaming, diving out of the way of the impending glass.
The teacher looked dumbstruck, and Max's overloaded mind suddenly couldn't come up with a reason for the incident. Fortunately his sister didn't have the same problem, because just as the surprised screaming was dying down and people were looking curiously at the window, Isabel stood up with a dignified giggle on her lips.
"Whoops."
The teacher spun around, glaring at her and Max wanted nothing more than to jump in and take the blame, seeing as it had been his fault. "Ms. Evans? What did you do?"
Isabel's ice mask fell into place, like Max, she too had changed over the course of the war and the stare she subjected their angry teacher to, was the one some of their enemies had dubbed, "the glare of death". It worked as well on the teacher as on the aliens that he instinctively took a few steps backwards, waiting for Isabel's answer from a safer distance.
Max swallowed a smirk. Although he didn't enjoy the way Isabel's war face looked on her teenage self, he was pleased to note that it still worked perfectly.
"I'm sorry Mr. Pearson. I saw a spider on the window and threw my lucky rock at it. Apparently I hit the glass harder than I intended. I'll pay for the repairs of course. I just really don't like spiders."
Mr. Pearson blubbered something about detention, but fortunately seemed to buy the story and didn't give her one.
Max sent Isabel a grateful look and followed her outside, when Mr. Pearson ended the class early to help the janitor with the clean up.
"What happened in there?" Isabel immediately whispered, as soon as they'd sat down at the table in the quad where they normally spent their lunch.
He didn't get a chance to respond, because they were both distracted by Michael running out into the quad, looking murderous and ready for anything. When the large hybrid realized that there was no immediate danger, he slowed his run to a fast walk, reaching their table within seconds.
"What the hell just happened?" Despite the harsh tone in Michael's voice, Max could easily spot the concern, so he hurried to explain.
"I lost control for a second, but Isabel managed to scare the teacher into not caring."
Michael glanced over at Isabel with an approving glint in his eyes, but then he refocused on Max when Isabel added, "Yeah, well, lucky for all of us, all the attention was on Max because of his sudden meltdown that no one realized that my story was a load of bull."
"Meltdown?" Michael's face paled, obviously remembering the last time, Max's powers had exploded unexpectedly out of him. "What meltdown?"
Max sighed, running a hand through his hair awkwardly. "I just thought about something and it surprised me, that's all. Now, I have to go meditate somewhere before my biology class with Liz."
Isabel and Michael didn't say anything and Max elaborated quietly, "I'm okay again. I won't lose control like that anymore, I promise. I'll see you guys later."
Max literally jumped to his feet in his eagerness to leave his family and their concerned glances behind. He walked around the empty hallways, trying to find an empty classroom, before coming to a stop in front of the door to the eraser room. There's no way, I'll think about bad stuff in there, Max reasoned and slid inside, locking the door and adding his own shield, so it couldn't be opened no matter what.
The moment he sat in the darkened room, happier memories enveloped him and Max sighed in relief, not realizing that he'd been so tense in the first place. The feel of Liz's lips against his was on the forefront of his mind and as he sat down on the floor, Max quickly felt his calm return. Which is good, he thought,taking a deep breath, because I can't afford to lose it again. Especially anywhere near Liz.
--
Liz's POV
Her heart was hammering as she walked into the biology class. The one class where Max and she always partnered up because they were the only one even remotely interested in the stuff they were doing.
And then she basically deflated in disappointment, when she realized that Max hadn't even bothered to show up yet. I don't get it, Liz frowned at the closed door while her teacher started her lecture, I saw him getting out of his car with Isabel earlier this morning, so I know he's here. Is he avoiding me? Maybe he's planning to do something to me after school? Whatever he did to me wasn't normal, maybe he has to kill me now. Rolling her eyes at herself, Liz rationalized internally, Okay maybe not; if that was the case he wouldn't have saved me like he did.
The door suddenly slid open and Liz had to force herself not to flinch when Max walked into class. In that moment Liz could feel that odd sensation in her chest expanding, all but visibly reaching out toward the dark haired boy.
Over the renewed pounding of her heart, Liz barely heard the teacher's disapproving, "Mr. Evans, so nice of you to join us." A second later Liz tried to listen to the teacher, who was continuing with her lecture, while Max was sitting down next to her. …"take a sample from your cheek."
Out of the corner of her eye, Liz felt Max tense up and she quickly looked over at him. To her confusion however, he didn't look tense. Instead he looked oddly happy and as she watched silently, he reached out and put his pencil in his mouth for a second, almost deliberately chewing a bit on it.
The teacher reached their table, handing Liz the slides they were going to need and then Max stood up and started to exit the room again, muttering something a bathroom break.
Liz frowned at the door, completely mystified for a moment, before sighing and starting up her assignment alone. After a few seconds of looking into the microscope at her own cells, Liz spotted Max's abandoned pencil.
She bit her lip in hesitation, looking quickly around the busy room. The yellow piece of wood was glaring at her curiosity, challenging her to confirm her suspicions. A second later Liz reached out and took the pencil in her hands…
TBC…
A/N Hope you liked it. Share your thoughts and expectations with me, please ;) Next time in Antarian Timetravellers: Liz learns the truth, We finally hear a bit from Maria and Valenti makes an appearance.
Until next time
Ditte Mai