Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: How depressing...yeah, yeah. Not mine. Originally created by Melinda Metz, and now Jason Katims and the WB and a bunch of others who actually make money for entertaining us. :)
Rating: R (for language, violence, and sexual content)
Spoilers: Up through "The UFO Convention" and possibly for the first five books of the Roswell High series by Melinda Metz.
Author's Note: This plot was mentioned by some people on the onelists that I belong to...as possible spoilers for upcoming episodes. I don't know, but I agree with the people who were discussing this, so this is my version of what direction things could take on the show.
Feedback: Please? Please? Thanks! :)
In the Presence of Evil (Part One)
Alex Whitman plopped down onto a stool at the Crashdown. He laid his head down on the coutner. When he felt a hand touch his shoulder, he looked up into the eyes of his best friend, Liz Parker. "Hey."
"Hey," she said softly. "What's up?"
"Not much."
"Oh."
Alex could hear the hurt in her voice that she tried to hide. He watched as she began wiping off the counter and he grabbed her hand. She looked at him in surprise. "I'm sorry, Liz."
She blinked. "For what?"
"For being a jerk."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He squeezed her hand gently. "I didn't have enough faith in you. I was--I was really mean to you before and I'm sorry."
Liz's head dropped as her eyes filled with tears. "Alex, no. Everything you said ato me, all of your anger--it was all justified. You have nothing to apologize for."
He tightened his grip on her hand. "Neither do you. You were just protecting Isabel and Max and Michael."
She nodded but a tear slid down her cheek. She brushed it away with the back of her hand. "I have to ask you something, Alex, and I want you to be honest with me."
"Of course."
"Do you hate me for not telling you sooner?"
Alex's eyes widened. "No! Liz, I don't hate you."
"I just...I just want us to be friends again, Alex. You and me and Maria. I need you. I need my friend back." She lifted her face to meet his eyes and he could see she was on the verge of crying.
He quickly rose to his feet and moved around the counter. Alex wrapped his arms around her. "I'm here, Liz."
"I don't want to lose you, Alex," she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder.
He stroked her hair gently. "You won't. You haven't." He pulled away to look at her. "Liz, you're my best friend. I'm here for you." He brushed away her tears and kissed her forehead.
She hugged him again. "Thank you," she said softly.
Just then, the door to the Crashdown opened and Liz and Alex turned to look. Isabel and Michael walked in. "Uh, hey, Liz, can I go in back?" Alex asked suddenly.
Liz blinked in surprise. "Sure. Go ahead. In fact, my parents aren't home, so you can grab the key and go upstairs if you want."
"Thanks." Alex slipped away from her and went into the back.
Liz took a deep breath, wiped her eyes and then walked over to Michael and Isabel. "Welcome to the Crashdown. What can I get for you?"
Michael frowned at her formality. "Uh, the real Liz Parker would be nice."
"You're looking at her. Do you need a few minutes to decide what you want?" she asked calmly.
Isabel stood up and headed towards the door to the back room. Liz cut her off. "You can't go back there. Employees only."
"Alex just went back there."
"Alex is family."
There was no mistaking the cold edge in Liz's voice. Isabel locked eyes with her. "I need to talk to him."
"No," Liz answered flatly. Alex obviously didn't want to talk to her right now, or he wouldn't have gone to the back, Liz reasoned with herself.
Isabel stared at her in shock. "What?"
"I said, 'no.' Please go back to your table now."
Isabel, shocked, walked back to the booth and sat down across from Michael again. "Is?" he frowned.
"Who is that?" she demanded.
Michael looked over his shoulder at Liz. "Maybe that's something we should ask Max."
Maria came in through the back entrance of the Crashdown and ran directly into her friend Alex. "Hey, Alex."
"Hey. Czechoslovakians out front," he warned her.
Maria rolled her eyes. "Great." She opened her locker and then looked back at him. "That why you're back here?"
"Yeah, I didn't want to suffocate anyone." Alex turned and hurried up the stairs to Liz's family's apartment.
Maria stared after him for a moment, puzzled. Then she grabbed her order book and headed out front.
"Hey, Maria," Liz said. She bit her lip and looked over at Michael and Isabel.
"Liz, babe, chill. Alex warned me already." She smiled. "Have they ordered yet?"
"No, but I've got it," she said quickly.
Maria waved her hand. "Actually, let me. It doesn't matter. I have a date tomorrow night."
Liz's eyes widened. "With whom?"
Maria smiled mysteriously. "Actually, you, me and Alex all three have dates."
"What?"
"Details later. The foreigners are starting to look hungry." Maria walked over to their table. "Hi, Isabel. Michael. What can I get ya?"
"Saturn rings," Isabel replied, still staring at Liz.
Maria wrote it down and then looked at Michael expectantly. He was staring at her. "Take a picture. Lasts longer."
Michael blinked but he couldn't take his eyes off her face.
"Michael?" Isabel questioned. She reached across the table and touched his hand.
Michael leapt out of the booth, standing so close to Maria that her heart started beating double-time. "What's the matter with you?" she asked.
Michael turned and bolted towards the door and out of the cafe.
Maria, Isabel and Liz all stared after him. "What the hell was that about?" Maria wondered aloud.
"Max! Maxwell!"
Max sighed and sat up in bed. He stood up, unlocked and opened his window. Michael climbed in.
"What's going on? Why are you sleeping in the middle of the day?"
"I wasn't sleeping. I was thinking," Max answered, sitting back down on his bed.
"About Liz."
Max glared at him. "Yeah. I was. At least I can admit it."
Michael frowned but ignored the remark. "Something's wrong."
"What?"
"I don't know. I just came from the Crashdown and, first of all, Liz was acting really weird and then--"
"Wait. What do you mean by weird?"
"I don't know. Upset or angry or something." Max frowned but Michael continued. "But the strangest part happened when I saw Maria. I got a vision, Maxwell."
"A vision?"
"Not exactly a vision. More like a feeling. Something's wrong, Max. I can't explain it, but I think something's about to happen. Something bad."
Max studied him for a moment. "Like what?"
"I don't know. But whatever it is, they're all involved somehow."
Max frowned again and then he stood up and looked out the window. It was starting to rain. He turned back to face his friend. "You think they're in trouble?"
Michael shrugged, averting his worried eyes from Max's. "Maybe."
"We need to talk to Isabel about this when she gets back."
Michael nodded in agreement. "We need to have a meeting. All of us."
"All six of us," Max answered. He met Michael's gaze. A chill ran down his spine.
"So, wait a minute. Where did you meet these people again?" Alex asked Maria as he, Maria and Liz sat around Liz's kitchen table.
"At the aromatherapy store at the mall."
"And you just...asked them to go out with us?" Liz asked in amazement.
"Yeah. There were two guys and a girl. I mentioned to Neil that I had a couple of friends..."
"And bam! We all have dates to dinner and a movie," Alex finished.
Maria grinned. "Yep."
Just then, the telephone rang. Liz picked it up. "Hello?"
"Liz?"
She swallowed hard. "Yeah."
"It's me. Max."
"I know."
"We need to talk. All six of us."
Maria raised an eyebrow at Liz, who mouthed the word, "Max." Maria rolled her eyes and took the phone from her. "What do you want?"
Max blinked in surprise. "Maria?"
"Duh."
"I was just telling Liz that the six of us need to talk. It's impor--"
Maria cut him off. "Save it, Evans. We've got the picture. No entanglements. Wouldn't want to complicate anyone's life or throw them off balance. Now, I have to go because--"
This time, someone cut her off. "Listen, it's not about the three of us. It's about the three of you," Michael said sharply. "Is Alex over there?"
Maria glanced at her friend and then frowned. "Yeah."
"Well, then stay there. We're on our way." He dropped his voice a bit. "Please. It's important."
"Okay. Fine." She hung up the phone and turned to Alex and Liz, who were waiting curiously. "You have plenty of ice cream here, right?"
Liz nodded, her eyebrows furrowed in concern and confusion. "But why?"
Maria sighed. "Because I have a feeling we're going to need the comfort food by the time the Czechoslovakians leave."