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By: Jen
Rating: PG ///// Category: Max and Liz mainly, other couples included
Spoilers: Just briefly for the begining of the Pilot episode.
Disclaimer: The characters and main event discussed in here do not belong to me. They belong to Jason Katims and the rest of the Roswell television show.
UFO crash on the outskirts of Roswell and Corona, New Mexico! Unearthly debris discovered! Flying Saucer discovered at Pohlman Ranch! That was the buzz around here last July, about two months ago. But then the headlines changed, just a weather balloon they claimed. Nothing crashed. A lot of speculation about the government testing some new military weapon even more advanced than the atomic bomb. But they're all lies. Everything, except the truth. The truth which I along with my two best friends, are the only ones to know in our hometown of Roswell, New Mexico. That something did crash out there last July fourth. Journal Entry One. Its September 23, 1947, I'm Liz Parker, and five days ago, I died. And then, life got really weird….
"Maria! Maria DeLuca!" I shout into the backroom of my parents' restaurant, the Crashdown Café. Ever since the war ended two years ago, and most of the homeboys returned, our small restaurant, located in a formerly unheard of town, has thrived. Okay, so it wasn't always called the Crashdown Café, it used to be known as 'Parker's,' but that was before the supposed UFO crash occurred. And even in two months, it has radically changed the outlook of this town.
"Coming, coming," she replies, entering the area, tying the apron around the new uniforms my dad had ordered when changing the theme of the restaurant. It was the grand opening, and extremely busy. "So, how do I look?" Maria spun around, showing off the new outfit. A wacky pair of antennae crowned her short blond hair. The new blue and silver dresses, along with an alien face apron, looked perfect on her of course. I was wearing a similar outfit, though my long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail.
"Terrific, how else Ria?" I abbreviate her name.
"Don't look so bad yourself Lizzie," she laughed and tossed me the antennae I had purposely left behind in the other room. "Well, I hope the customers are ready for us," she jokes, "we are some fine looking alien gals."
"Maria, we are not aliens. Besides, you know it was a hoax. They do not exist. And even if they did, why would they want to come here?" I place the antennae in my hair and she grabs my arm and drags me out to the front of the restaurant. I ignore Maria's comment on my seriousness.
As we enter the restaurant, I gaze around the area. Gosh, Daddy was right, he did need more help. The reason Maria and I were interrupted from our studies. I gaze around, not even recognizing half the people here. Must be a lot of out-of-towners brought to our town by the 'crash.' As I study the booths, I observe a pair of deep brown eyes watching me carefully. When our eyes meet, he quickly looks away, talking to his spiky haired friend across the table. They look about my age, though I had never seen them in the town before. Maria leaves my side to serve some burly men. I walk over to the table with the two boys. It looks like they had been waiting here for a while.
"Hi! Welcome to the Crashdown Café. Can I take your order?" I put on my best waitress smile. Though, for some reason, my eyes hardly ever leave the one with the eyes that were staring at me. Not only did he have those soulful eyes, but a cute, serious face, a topped with slightly wavy dark brown hair. I smile, a smile just for him. Then I snap out of it as his friend answers my question.
"Yeah, we'll have two burgers and cherry cokes," he answers gruffly.
"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes." I walk to the counter to give Jose my order. As I do, Maria joins me again.
"Oh girl. He has it so bad." Maria smiles as we place our orders on the counter.
I look at her. "Wait, who has what bad?" I ask.
"That guy. At the table. The one with the eyes." She turns around and points him out. "He's starring at you again." As she says that I see him look at me and quickly lower his head. I whirl around, trying to prevent from blushing.
"No way. Maria, that is so in your imagination. That stranger? This?" I point to myself. "No, uh uh, not in any possible…"
She cuts me off again. "And with your cheeks," rattling something in Spanish that I don't understand. So what if she was better in that class than me?
"Maria!!!" I shout, ignoring the stares of the many hungry patrons in the restaurant. "And even if it weren't I'm going out with Kyle, remember? He's a good guy. I mean, he's steady and loyal…and, and he appreciates me." I finish lamely.
"Sounds like your describing a poodle or something." As Maria turns to head back to the customers, she makes quiet dog noises. I giggle.
"I want the money! Now!" Time seems to stand still as the two men Maria was serving begin to argue. Then one of them pulls out a gun. I hear Maria shout my name as the bullet goes off and everyone in the café ducks. Everyone but me, I think, falling to the ground, feeling the blood pour out of my stomach.
*~*~*~*
"Max. Max, what do you think you're doing?" I ignore my companion as I run over to the beautiful waitress. Liz, I had seen her name on the nametag.
"Michael, let go of me," I yank myself out of his grip and run over to Liz. Her legs are sticking out from the counter. I fear the worse, that she was hit.
"Oh my god," I hear someone whisper. Whoever it was, I shove away, telling them to call a doctor. Police won't help now. The two humans escaped. I drop to my knees and kneel over her. The blood has been seeping out, forming a pool on her uniform. I pull it open and place my hand over the wound.
"Look, Liz. You have to look at me, please. Its going to be okay," I beg the girl I only saw first a month ago as I was wandering the streets of the town. Only a few minutes ago did I actually learn her name. But, whenever it was, I knew I loved her. And I think I have loved her forever. Her eyes slowly open a bit, though it was enough for me to make the connection.
As we connect, I see images of her life. A smaller girl wearing a cupcake dress, feeling completely embarrassed. Then, I see her grow older. Her fears of the draft during what humans call World War Two. Her relief when her father was not among the unlucky individuals. Then I see her on the street corner a month ago, looking me in the face, as I studied her. And the bit of unknown desire in her heart. Then the connection breaks and I hear Michael telling people to move away. Good.
I see her eyes really begin to open. Her face becomes aware again. "You're all right now. You're fine."
"Max, keys." Michael shouts. I fish them out of my pocket and toss them over. I then return my attention back to Liz. There has to be some way to cover it up. Then I realize.
I grab the bottle of ketchup from the shelf and break it against the counter. "You broke the bottle when you fell. You spilled ketchup all over yourself," I say, dumping it all over her. "Please. Don't tell anyone. Don't say anything." I look at her once more before running out of the restaurant, cursing my actions.
As I look behind me, I see her standing, clutching her dress. An amazed, scared look across her face.
*~*~*~*
He leaves. And I stand there watching him go. I don't even know his name. And now, now I don't even know what he is. I tuck a fallen strand of hair behind my ear and gaze around the restaurant. Everything seems normal, but then, why isn't it. I should have died. I should be dead right now! I shudder. Maria comes over to console me. The trauma has gotten to us both. She moves me over to a table to sit. I don't tell her what has happened. I won't, I 'm going to keep his promise.
My father walks in from upstairs. He takes one look at me and runs over. "Oh my god, Lizzie!" Luckily, I have the buttons of my uniform fastened, so I stretch my arms over him in a hug. "Are you all right?" he asks with concern.
"Daddy," I sigh in relief. "I'm fine. Really. Look, I- I just spilled the ketchup over myself." I show him the apron to prove it, practicing the lie I was memorizing those last couple of minutes. "Honestly."
"Are you sure?" he asks with the typical over protectiveness of a father.
"Yeah, positive."
"Good." We turn to the front of the café as Sheriff Valenti and his deputies come in. I shiver as he walks over to me, his dark glasses blocking any emotions in his eyes. This man has never scared me before, I mean, he's Kyle's dad so of course I know him. But now, I think I would jump at my own shadow given the chance.
"I heard there was an incident here," he says in that know-it-all voice of his.
"Uh, yes. Sheriff." I say taking charge of the situation. "And you know, no one was hurt," answering the question hanging in the air. I see Maria talking with the Indian deputy, probably describing the two men she was serving. I look around. There are two people in the back, acting like the characters in a Judy Bolton mystery story.
"Um, maybe you should take care of that," I point to the people, trying to take any attention off of me.
"Hey! What are you two doing back there?" The Sheriff shouts and leaves Daddy and I.
"Searching for the bullet." The man answered plainly. "The bullet went off in this direction," I watched him demonstrate with his hands, "But yet, look, no bullet hole."
"That's cause the girl got shot. And then some guy came up to her, and placed his hand on her. And she's still alive," his female companion said excitedly.
"Have you two been listening to Orson Well's 'War of the World' broadcast too much?" The sheriff asked sarcastically, referring to the famous prank that occurred a while back in New Jersey. "That is impossible."
"It did happen sir," the man replied as Valenti's officers pushed them out. I let out the breath I was holding. They saw something. That wasn't good. I made up my mind at that point. I needed to know what had happened to me. And I wasn't going pretend it was ketchup anymore.
I excused myself from everyone downstairs. Daddy sent Maria home. The Sheriff and his men left after not finding enough clues. Only Daddy stayed downstairs to clean up the slight mess. I ignored Mother as she asked me about all the commotion that had happened earlier. I went to my room and closed the door behind me, only after grabbing Daddy's travel bag from the hallway.
*~*~*~*
"Maxwell, what did you think you were doing?" Michael asked irritated as we drove to our makeshift house on the outskirts of Roswell, New Mexico. I could tell he was extremely angry. Michael only says my complete human first name when he is in that sort of mood. And after what I did, I'm not surprised.
"She was shot. I had to heal her." I say. How am I supposed to let him know that I'm infatuated with the girl. There are too many complications there. I don't even want to here Michael Guerin's reaction to my feelings. Or my sister, Isabel's, for that matter.
"She's human!" He nearly shouts to the empty highway. "Insignificant, unimportant. Nothing compared to the reason we came to this planet. And our cover? God," he says, picking up a human term, "We are supposed to be starting a normal human high school Monday! In this town! Remember, act normal till we will be able to find the others? Your master plan, oh great leader. How are we supposed to do that if half the town knows what we are. You know, we'll just be kicked to one of their primitive government labs. That's all. And all for what Maxwell? Cause she was dying? I want the truth! Now!"
I hate it when Michael explodes. It scares me, the anger he carries. Its times like this I wish I wasn't the leader. If I wasn't then everything that happens wouldn't be my fault. And maybe, I wouldn't feel so guilty about loving the human. "Michael, she was hurt, I couldn't sit there and watch her die. I couldn't."
"Fine. Whatever Max," he turned to look out the window, his anger vibrating all around us. I hope Isabel's home. I make a right turn off route 285 and drive another mile in the complete silence. Silence can be so deadly on Earth. I just wish I knew the right words to say. To make everything better again. And, in some sense, to make it all normal. Though I know our lives will never be normal on earth.
"Michael. Look, I'll," he turns from his view and faces me, eyebrows questioning. "I'll explain everything when we get home. With Isabel. I think its time I let you both know."
*~*~*~*
I walk over to the mirror in my room after glancing at the door again to make sure it was locked. In the silence, I pull of my uniform, after fingering the bullet hole in it. I move to stand in front of the mirror. As I look down at my stomach, I breathe in sharply. There, where the bullet was, is a silver colored handprint, unlike anything I have ever seen. My fingers gently touch it, as if it was some unknown substance. Now I really am determined to go through my plan.
I throw the uniform in my father's travel bag. Walk over to my dresser and pull out a fresh sweater and blue jeans. Somberly I put them on. I take my hair out of what's left of the ponytail that was holding it back and brush it straight a few times. Underneath the bed, I grab my piggy bank and then crack it open. I take out all the money in there and stuff it into my purse. I do not know how long I will be gone, but I'm not planning on coming back until I find him. I grab my coat and some other necessities and stuff them into Daddy's bag.
I walk over to my desk and scribble a note to my parents saying I'm out camping with Maria and our other best friend, Alex Whitman. Telling them it was a spur of the moment thing, something to do before school started Monday. Quietly, I climb out of my window to my balcony. I climb down the rooftop ladder into the alleyway next to the Crashdown. Drat, I need a car I realize. Maria! I walk over to the payphone and place a nickel in.
"Hello, operator?" I speak into the receiver. I don't wait for the response. "Can you connect me to the DeLuca residence?"
I hear the phone click and a new voice appears on the receiver. "Whoever's calling this late better have a good excuse." I stifle the laugh Maria's comment caused.
"Maria, it's me."
"Liz? What are you doing, calling so late? You're lucky my mother's a sound sleeper," she replies.
"Can I borrow your car? Please, just for the night. I'll return it tomorrow. I promise," I beg her without revealing the reason.
"This late? Are you out of your mind Lizzie?"
I shake my head, and then realize that I have to talk. "No, Ria, I'm not. I just…uh, I need to do something. Please."
"Fine Liz. 'Cause you're my best friend. But you better get it back or Mother will kill me."
"Thanks Maria. You're a lifesaver. I'll be over there in a few seconds." I hang up the phone and walk down the deserted street to where my friend lives, only a few blocks away. As I walk down the street, I wonder where I should begin looking. I know anywhere within the Roswell city limits would be a mistake, since I have never really seen the man before in town…except once, I think it was about a month ago. I smile at the memory.
They had a jeep. I remember seeing the vehicle the two boys jumped in. That definitely means they have a distance to travel. It's hard to find parking outside the Crashdown. My pace increase, and I look up at the night sky. Many familiar constellations overhead. Including my favorite, a sparkly V-shape, that only appeared once in a while. For the first time in two months, I wonder if we really are alone out here in the universe, or not. Before I know it, I'm at the DeLuca home.
Maria's outside waiting, dangling the car keys. I see her and run up the steps. "Thank you so much Maria. You're too good to be true," I hug her and grab the keys.
"I don't know what you're doing. And I'm not fond of you going off in the middle of the night. And after the shooting today!" Maria's voice rises with every word. I motion to her to stop. "Liz, what am I supposed to tell your parents if they call?"
"I left them a note saying we're camping with Alex. I hope they will believe that," I turn and leave before I spill out my plan to her. Because if I did, she would find out my secret, the boy's secret, and in my heart, I know that can't happen. I wave one last goodbye before starting out on the road.
*~*~*~*
It was dusk by the time we arrived home. Michael made me stop at the grocery along the way to pick up some 'survival' food as he called it. He was being overly paranoid about this whole incident. I wish he would just stop. We pulled up the jeep in front of our small, one story house. It had been abandoned by its previous owners and in the worse condition you could imagine for an Earth building. But by using our 'gifts,' we were able to rebuild it to a condition safe for us to live in. There were two bedrooms we divided up into three, a small kitchen, facilities, and what humans call a living room. By human definition, it was cozy.
Isabel rushed out to greet us. Her long blond hair was pulled back out of her face. She looked exactly like a normal teenager, except she wasn't. Isabel did not expect us to be gone the entire day. I mumbled apologies and Michael hurried us inside the house. "Max, Michael. What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.
"Maxwell the saint used his powers to save a human," Michael grumbled.
Isabel looked at me in shock. "Is this true Max? Why? You're supposed to be our leader. What type of leader are you if you put the rest of us in danger like that. And we were finally going to start normal lives on this planet. Until the others rescue us. Max…" Izzy (the nickname Michael and I developed for her) was close to tears. I went over and pulled her into an embrace.
As I spoke, I looked Michael directly in the eye. "The girl whose life I saved is Liz. I read her nametag before she was shot. She lied. I know. Everyone thinks it was ketchup that she spilled. Maybe she even believes it herself."
"Max, we know these humans aren't that stupid," Isabel spoke up. "She'll realize you did something to her. How are we going to explain? I don't even have an explanation on your actions!" Isabel sat up and moved away from me, not a surprise. She was angry, and when she was angry, she certainly showed it. At least it was better than Michael's outbursts.
"I-I healed her cause…" I choke on the next few words. "I have feelings for this girl. Since I first saw her. I didn't think my infatuation would lead us to this."
I hear Michael begin to curse. Only Isabel asks the sound questions. "Max, how could you? What about home? What about Tess?"
I see the hurt on her face. "Izzy, we were sent to this planet to learn. And maybe, this education goes beyond the basics. Don't you see? Maybe we are supposed to learn how to trust other species, by letting individuals in. Isn't that lack of trust what brought us to this point in the first place?"
Michael nods his head, his anger slowly dwindling. "That still doesn't mean we could trust her necessarily. What are you going to tell her if you see her again?"
"The truth," I reply, the words sounding to brave to my own ears.
*~*~*~*
I drive down 285 South in the dark autumn night. The breeze coming in through the open window blows my hair back. I glance at the road map lying on Daddy's travel pack. What help it does. But in the faint moonlight, I see a turnoff coming up on the highway. Instinct tells me to pick this turnoff. I obey. Out of the blue, I see a small house appear on the road. Maybe these people will now the man I'm looking for. I figure it's worth a try and leave the route.
I park Maria's car behind a jeep. A familiar looking jeep, almost like the one from this afternoon. I grab the travel bag and sling it across my shoulder. Then I walk up to the door, ignoring the bitterness of the night, since I left my jacket in the auto. As I walk up to the door, I brace myself. Talking to strangers has never been one of my strong points, and I am a little nervous to do so now.
My fist knocks silently on the door. But it's enough to alert whoever is home. I here some shouting. An argument over my presence? I wonder why no one would just come to the door. Why would there be such a debate as the one I hear? I knock again, adding my timid voice to the sound. This was a mistake I think as my mouth asks if there was anyone home.
*~*~*~*
There's a knock at the door. It causes Isabel to jump off the couch and start pacing again. This only after Michael and I had been able to calm her. "What if it's him- that Sheriff guy?" she asks nervously.
TBC...