Author: Liz

Email: [email protected]

Secrets

Chapter One

Liz Parker stepped off the school bus, glancing around curiously before walking up the sidewalk that led to the school. There were so many people, all of them running around and talking excitedly. The loud buzz of voices filled her ears, made her smile with giddiness.

She'd only been here for a few minutes, and she already loved it.

Her attention was immediately drawn to a tiny blonde girl, standing over against the wall by herself. She made a bee-line for her, pushing her way through the crowds.

When she was finally standing before the object of her attention, she stuck out her hand, flashing a huge smile. "Hi. I'm Liz Parker. What's your name?"

The other girl seemed a bit startled by Liz's advances, but eventually decided that she was okay.
She shook her hand, a bit reluctantly, smiling a little as Liz energetically pumped her arm up and down. "Maria. Maria Deluca."

Liz's smile got even wider, if possible. "Hi, Maria! So who's your teacher?"

Maria searched her head. She couldn't quite remember. "Umm…Mrs. Gregg. Yeah, that's right."

Liz let out a little squeal, her dark ponytail bouncing up and down violently. "That's great! She's mine too."

Maria couldn't help but roll her eyes a little as she laughed. "Yeah, great."

Max Evans exited the bus only moments after she did, his eyes glued the back of her head as she walked, moved gracefully across the lawn full of students. She was beautiful, the small goddess Liz.

By the time the bus had arrived at the elementary school, everyone had been introduced to her. She was far from shy, moving from seat to seat, shaking hands and learning names.

The moment she'd sat in the seat with him, he had decided that school was worth giving up cartoons.

Now she was over by the school, talking to a short blonde girl. He could see her hair bobbing and her hands waving frantically through the air. He smiled.

There was a tap on his shoulder, and when he turned around, he was met with the smiling face of his sister Isabel. "You ready, Max?" She squeezed his hand excitedly.

"Yeah, I am."

They turned, and walked into the building together.

The teacher that waited for them at the door seemed nice enough, shortish with dark curly hair and glasses. She wore a huge, happy smile, and her voice was upbeat and soothing.

Liz pulled Maria along as they waited in line to meet their new teacher. "Aren't you so excited?" Liz squeaked out.

Maria nodded, unenthusiastically. "Yeah, sure."

Finally, they had reached the door, and it was their turn with Mrs. Gregg. Liz stuck out her hand readily, imitating her earlier actions of the morning. "I'm Liz Parker."

The teacher dazzled her with her sweet smile. "Hi Liz. I'm Mrs. Gregg. It's nice to have you in my class, I'm sure we'll have lots of fun."

Liz beamed back up at her, turning to poke Maria.

Maria, who had been staring at the floor, jerked her head up immediately. "Oh, hi, I'm Maria Deluca."

"Hello Maria. You two can just go on in and sit down. Your desk will have your name taped to it."

Maria barely even had time to process what she'd said before they were off again, Liz dragging her eagerly into the room in search of their seats.

Max Evans couldn't remember ever being happier in his entire life. It was his first day of school, and he had already met the most beautiful girl on earth. On top of that, he was in the same class as her as well as his sister, with a great teacher.

Mrs. Gregg stood in the front of the small classroom, holding her clipboard before her and calling out names.

"Maria Deluca"

"Here."

"Isabel Evans"

"Here."

"Max Evans"

"Here."

"Micheal Guerin."

No answer.

"Micheal Guerin."

Still no answer.

She frowned, marking a quick X beside his name. "How odd.." she mumbled to herself.

"Liz Parker."

"Here."

"Alex Whitman."

"Here."

The day had flown by, and before Liz knew it, it was already almost time to go home.

The teacher was telling the class how proud she was of them all for doing so well on their first day of school…but she wasn't listening.

She was too busy staring at Max Evans, her gaze locked on the side of his head. She watched with interest everything he did, the cute little face he made when he annoyed, the way he laughed. He was by far the cutest boy she had ever seen.

She had noticed that he was sort of shy, but it didn't bother her. She was bold enough for both of them. It didn't seem to faze her at all if she had to do all the talking, as long as someone was listening.

Suddenly, he turned around to face her, and she averted her gaze quickly. She felt herself blushing, and she quickly hid her face in her hands. How embarrassing. Slowly, she lifted her head from her hands.

Max was still facing her, a huge grin on his face. His smile was contagious, and she felt the heat slowly creep away.

It was 6:00, and Liz was sitting at the bar of the Crashdown, spinning around wildly.

She was extremely bored, already. She wanted to be back at school, with all of her new friends. And Max.

Slowing down for a moment, she took a quick drink of her coke. At least Maria was coming to stay with her Friday night. It was something to look forward to. She was having fun just planning what they would do together. The restaurant was empty for the moment, having just recovered from a tiny rush. Soon the supper rush would start, though, and she would have to go to the back.

It was the one thing she hated about her parents' restaurant; the feeling that she was always in the way.

They were always rushing around, too busy for her or anything she had to say. Most of the time the only time they stopped to speak to her was to tell her that she needed to move, that they were too busy for her to be out front, taking up space.

She couldn't understand then, of course, that they were just starting out in the business, and for awhile it needed their full attention. She was just a child, and all she wanted was some attention.

Her spinning was disturbed by the door, the small bells ringing as it opened. Looking up, she saw a tall, dark-haired man walk in and sit down in the first booth. He was shortly followed by a woman, also tall and blonde and very beautiful. Right after her came two children…Max and Isabel Evans. She didn't even notice as the huge smile spread across her lips.

"Liz!"

She groaned quietly at her mother's voice. "Yes momma?"

She turned around on her stool so that she could see her mother, standing behind the corner with an irritated expression on her face. "Liz, you need to go upstairs now. Supper's about to start."

Liz pouted. "But Momma, there's only one table. Surely it won't hurt for me to stay out here just a little longer. I promise I'll leave when it gets busy."

Her mom looked angry. "Just do what I said, Elizabeth."

Liz rolled her eyes. Her mom only used her full name when she was mad. "Fine." Scooting off of the stool, she landed on the floor and walked angrily out of the dining room, not even bothering to look in Max's direction….who was staring straight at her.

Max frowned, wondering what the woman had said to Liz to make her so mad. He wondered who the woman was, if it was Liz's mother or someone else. And he wondered what she was doing here.

Clearing his throat, he leaned over to his dad. "I'm gonna go look for the bathroom."

His dad nodded, and Max scooted out of the booth, walking away to where he'd seen Liz go.

When he found her, she was sitting on the bottom step, wiping her eyes. He felt sad that the woman had made her cry. "What's wrong?"

She glanced up at him, surprised. "My mom's just being a meanie."

He smiled a little. "My mom is all the time."

She laughed, which made him smile more.

"So..what are you doing here?" he asked.

"My parents own the restaurant…we live upstairs."

He nodded, impressed. "Oh, ok. That must be pretty cool."

She snorted. "No, it's really bad. My parents are always so mean. And they never let me stay outside and see all the people. I always have to leave."

"Oh."

They stared at each other for a moment, Max a little nervous to be here with her alone. He had no idea of what to say to a girl, especially one that he thought the world of. "So…"

"Max, I think you're cute."

He was taken aback by her boldness. "Thanks, Liz."

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

It was even more surprising. He felt himself blushing a little at the question, and at what his answer would be. "Y..yeah."

She smiled. He liked to see her smile, and liked even more that he'd caused it. "Good." She stood, stepping down from the stair so that she was right beside him. "Thanks, Max."

Leaning over quickly, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and promptly took off running up the stairs.

At the top, she paused momentarily, looking back down at the small boy who stood, dumbfounded, in her wake.

"See you tomorrow."

And then she was gone.

Secrets

Chapter 2

Max threw down the controller in disgust, dropping his head into his hands and desperately trying to block his ears against the awful sound.

"Hahahaha! I won again! Me, me, me, me, me!" Isabel did a little victory dance around him, sticking out her tongue and slapping at his hands.

He had lost to a girl...and not only once, but lots of times! It was getting ridiculous. "Shut up!" he yelled in annoyance.

She didn't seem to notice. "Loser, loser, loser."

Max balled his tiny fists up in anger, beating them down on the floor. "Shut up!"

His sister still continued to ignore him, though, and he finally decided that she wouldn't stop until she was tired of taunting him.

He let his face rest in his hands again.

Ever since the resturant, he hadn't been able to think of anything except for Liz.

He had not even been able to focus on Nintendo, even though he usually beat Isabel without having to try.

It even seemed as if his cheek still tingled where she had kissed him. Smiling a bit, he gently touched the spot.

Yes, it definitely tingled.

And he couldn't wait to go to school again tomorrow.

The next morning began almost the same as the first, save most of the students now stood in small, tight groups, having quickly chosen the ones they would call their friends.

Maria and Liz stood together in the spot where they'd met the day before, talking about their sleepover that weekend.

"My mom said we could go rent some movies, and get some ice cream..and we can even stay up as late as we want!"

Maria grinned. "Oh, wow, we are going to have so much fun!"

It had taken Maria a little while to warm up to Liz, but she had finally let go of any doubts she had. She'd never really had any friends before, and she hadn't known what to think of the girl who shared her friendship to easily. They were both leaning back against the brick wall, surveying the schoolyard. Liz was searching for Max, wondering why he had not been on the bus that morning.

Surely he would come on the second day of school.

Sighing, she turned to Maria.

But Maria was looking off too, her gaze held by something beside them. Following her gaze, she finally found what her friend was staring at. A small, pale boy with spiky hair stood just to the right of them, next to a circle of 1st graders but not quite a part of it. He looked awkward, like he didn't know what exactly to do.

Liz giggled. "He's kind of cute."

Maria jerked her head around to Liz. "Shhhh! He can probably hear us."

Her voice was a guarded whisper, but Liz saw the twinkle in her eye. "Go talk to him, Maria."

She looked panicked. "No, no, no, no. I don't know.."

A determined look on her face, Liz grabbed onto Maria's arm and guided her over to the scrawny stranger. "Hi!"

It almost looked like he jumped at her loud voice. A look of fear washed over his face. "Umm..hi."

"I'm Liz Parker, and this is Maria Deluca." Liz reached out, grabbing his hand, and placed it in Maria's. She waited a moment before gently waving their clasped hands up and down, seeing that they didn't understand she wanted them to shake hands.

Maria hesitated a moment before releasing the boy's hand.

"I'm Micheal."

Liz flashed Maria a brilliant smile. "Oh, yeah, you're in our class I think. How come you weren't here yesterday?"

She apparently did not understand the meaning of the word nosey.

"I...I was sick."

"Oh. Ok. Well do you want to walk with us to class?"

He looked reluctant. "Uhh...I guess."

"Great!"

Grabbing him by the arm, her other hand still clasped around Maria's, she bounded off, pulling both of them along beside her.

The school day had started, and the students were all seated in their proper desks, chatting quietly while the teacher called roll.

Glancing around eagerly, Liz frowned when she saw that Max and Isabel still were not there.

Mrs. Gregg reached Isabel's name.

Just as she began to call Max's, the door opened and there they stood, Max slightly panting and Isabel fluffing her hair.

"I see you two decided to come today."

Max inhaled deeply. "Yeah...we missed the bus...my mom had to bring us."

"Ok. Just try not to be late anymore. Take your seats."

Max hurried to his desk, slinking down in embarassment, while Isabel took her time getting to hers. She made sure to lightly brush against Alex as she passed his desk.

Alex grinned, blushing slightly.

The teacher finished off the roll, and then proceeded to instruct the class on what they would be doing that day.

Liz played with her hair absently, her eyes trained on Max. She had been so glad when he'd walked in. He was one of the reasons she loved school so much. And she also had something important to ask him today.

P. E. The joy of every first grader.

Except for Micheal.

Shading his eyes against the bright sunlight, he quickly made his way over to the huge oak tree in the corner of the playground, sitting down on a huge root that stuck up from the ground.

He hated school, and he hated P. E.

Home wasn't much better, though. He just wished that he didn't have to be stuck with such a stupid foster parent. Hank was nice enough somtimes, but then he would come home late at night and yell and break things for no reason. Micheal didn't know what made him so angry, but he did know to stay out of Hank's way when he was mad.

And now there was school to worry about, and all of the stupid little kids who did nothing but annoy him.

His eyes wandered around the playground. Stopping at the slide, he studied the two girls standing underneath the ladder.

Well, maybe school wasn't a total loss. He sort of liked the dark headed girl, even though she could be a little annoying...and the blonde interested him. She was pretty, and funny. Especially the way she talked really fast, and was always waving her hands around. If he had a little more courage, he thought that he might have liked to go over and talk to her...or something. But for then, he was content with his quiet spot under the tree.

Secrets

Chapter 3

"Okay class, get your things together. We only have 5 more minutes left."

Liz took in a deep breath. Max was standing next to Isabel's desk, talking about something that was apparently making his sister very angry. She could tell because the blonde's face was steadily growing redder by the minute.

It looked almost like she would cry for a minute, but it quickly passed and she simply stood and walked away from her brother.

Max didn't move, a satisfied expression on his face.

Liz frowned unhappily. Max was being mean to his sister. Even though she did like him, he shouldn't be doing that.

Stalking over to him, she lightly smacked his arm. "Meanie."

He looked surprised. "Huh?"

"What did you do to Isabel?"

His eyes darted away as he jammed his hands into his pockets. "I..uhh...I just was trying to get back at her."

"For what?"

The picture Liz presented could easily strike fear in any young boy's heart, small sturdy frame held high, hands firmly on her hips.

"She..she just made me mad."

Liz sighed in frustration. "Max, Isabel's really nice, and she's my friend. You are, too, but she's your sister and you shouldn't be mean to her."

Max looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry."

"You should say you're sorry to her."

"Yeah."

Liz turned her head, spying Isabel standing a few feet away.

Max looked at her too. "I'm.."

She cut him off. "He got mad because I was gonna tell you that he wished you were his girlfriend and then started being mean to me."

It was Liz's turn to be caught off guard. She glanced at Max. He was blushing up to his ears.
She felt a grin spread across her face. "Why are you so embarassed Max?"

He couldn't bring himself to look at her. "Umm.."

She laughed, reaching out to playfully ruffle his hair. "You're sweet."

He looked up this time, a small corner tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Really?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yeah."

Isabel looked disgusted. "You mean you like him? Ewww."

Liz giggled again.

Max just stood there, staring at Liz and grinning like a fool. His sister rolled her eyes, bored already by the two.

"Well..I'm gonna talk to Alex. Bye."

Neither of them seemed to notice.

"So.."

"So do you want to be my boyfriend or not?"

Max felt his face heat up again. "Uhh..yeah."

She smiled. "Okay."

She grabbed his hand, wrapping it around her own.

Max felt his whole arm tingle.

He had never dreamed that first grade could be this good.

Maria surveyed the stack of crayons on her desk, carefully contemplating her next choice.
"Blue," she muttered under her breath.

Grabbing up the fat crayon in her slim fingers, she began to draw a small, blue blob that was meant to be her dog.

"Hi."

The soft voice broke her concentrating and she looked up, surprised to see the slightly smiling face of Micheal. "Oh, hi Micheal." She smiled a little. She'd been wondering if he was ever going to talk to her again.

He settled down in the desk in front of her, sitting backwards so that he was facing her. "Whatcha doing?"

She glanced down at her picture. "Just drawing."

He leaned up a bit, studying the messy art. "Nice. Who's that in it?"

She pointed at the first stick shape on the left. "That's me." She slid her finger down a bit. "That's my mom...and this is my dog, Bluebell."

Micheal grinned. "Is your dog really blue?"

Maria looked a little offended. "Maybe."

He laughed. "I'd like to see that."

She returned to her drawing, trying to ignore her offender.

Micheal, sensing he had done something wrong, tried to make things better. "So..when are you going to draw your dad?"

Maria's head shot up, her eyes darting around his face frantically. How dare he? "I don't have a dad!" she said angrily, almost shouting.

She didn't give him a chance to say anything else before gathering up her things quickly, and stalking off to find Liz.

Micheal sighed, propping his chin on a tiny hand. So much for making things better.

Secrets

Chapter 4

The week had passed quickly by and before any of them knew it, Friday had come and gone, and the weekend loomed before them. The only one really even thankful for the break was Micheal.

For him, the week had been a series of disasters…all beginning on Tuesday, when Maria had made her command decision to hate him for the rest of her life. The tiny creature was a complete mystery to the 6 year old, such a feisty personality but quick temper.

One moment they'd been getting along splendidly and the next she despised him passionately.

Were girls really worth it?

A week ago he would have said no….the mere thought of anything to do with love or kissing or mushiness made him sick, but now…things had changed since Maria.

He rolled his eyes, rolling over on his stomach.

His house was immensely boring, but he had nothing else to do. Hank was hardly ever home in the daytime, so he was pretty much stuck here by himself for the entire weekend. Just as he'd been the whole of his short life. Alone.

Liz Parker grinned excitedly. Maria would be here in a few minutes, and she was counting the seconds anxiously. Finally, she would have some sort of distraction from the monotony of her normal daily routine….coming home, watching TV, spending a few minutes down in the restaurant before her mom made her leave.

At the moment she was seated in the empty dining room, but not at her usual stool at the bar. Tonight, her mother had decided to treat her for her first sleepover and let she and Maria have their very own table, next to the wall, while they ate dinner. The whole event was terribly exciting to little Liz, who had never even been allowed to sit at one of the tables during open hours. The door chimes sang out and she looked up quickly, expecting Maria and her mom to be walking through the doors.

But instead she saw Max Evans. She was definitely not disappointed. "Max!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Max smiled at her. "Hey Liz."

His parents looked at the two curiously.

Liz bounded over to her boyfriend, leaning over to lightly peck him on the cheek. "Hi," she repeated, a bit more shyly.

Max was blushing.

Mrs. Evans crouched down to the ground, turning her attention to the tiny brunette. "Hello. I'm Max's mom."

Liz flashed her that dazzling smile. "I'm Liz. Max's girlfriend."

The older laughed softly. "Well Liz, it's very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Evans."

The tall, dark haired man that looked just like a grown version of his son reached out his hand to her. "And I'm Max's dad."

"Hello." She shook his hand energetically.

"Well, Max, we're going to go sit down and order. Would you like to join us, Liz?"

"Her parents own the restaurant," Max interjected proudly.

His parents shared a knowing smile.

"Thanks for asking, but I'm waiting for my friend Maria. Umm…could Max eat with us?"

"I don't see why not. You guys have fun."

Grabbing Max's hand in hers, Liz dragged him over to the booth she had picked out. "Your parents are nice."

"Thanks."

They hopped up into the seats, little legs dangling above the ground.

"So…Maria staying with you tonight?"

She nodded. "Yeah. My mom let us eat down here and everything, and we're going to watch movies later."

"Sounds fun."

"It's going to be really fun."

They sat in silence for a moment, neither minding the lack of conversation. The chimes rang again, and this time it was Maria and her mom, the latter lugging a huge duffel bag.

"Lizzie!" Maria squealed out, immediately spotting her friend.

"Hey, Maria. Look who's here, too."

Max peeked out around the booth, waving slightly at Maria. "Oh, hi Max."

Maria's mom carried her bag over to the table, sliding it underneath. "Where's your mom, Liz?"

"In the kitchen probably."

Amy smiled. "Okay then. You guys have fun tonight. I'm just gonna go say hi, and then head on home."

Maria gave her mom a quick hug and kiss. "Bye mom. See you tomorrow."

"Ok, hon."

Maria turned back to Liz and Max, squealing again. "This is so great." She hopped up into the booth, grabbing one of the colorful menus. "I just love this place. All the alien stuff is so cool."

Max glanced up quickly at the word. Alien.

Something about it….was strangely familiar. But he had no idea. All he knew about aliens was they were green, scaly monsters from another planet. And that everyone in Roswell was obsessed with them.

Still…

"Max?"

Liz's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Isabel?"

"Umm…she went over to a friends, I think. Not sure."

"Oh. We were just saying if she were here, we might have asked her to stay, too. Even though I don't think she likes me too much…"

Max shook his head. "She likes you guys….she's just a little shy sometimes. But I'll tell you a secret, if you promise not to tell anyone."

"Pinky promise," Liz whispered, extending her outstretched pinky and linking it with Max's.

"Yeah, me too." Maria repeated Liz's actions.

"Well, I think Isabel likes that Alex guy in our class. The other morning, when we were late because we missed the bus…" He leaned in closer to the two, lowing his voice to a whisper. "She made us late because she took all morning getting ready. And when I got mad about it, she told me that she had to look good for 'someone special.' And then all that day, she kept on talking to him and being all weird."

Liz and Maria shared a look. "Yeah, I think she's got a crush on Alex."

Max leaned back, surveying them. "I hope not….he's just a little…weird."

The girls giggled. "Yeah, I know. He's nice, though." Liz was never one to disown people too quickly.

They talked a little while longer before Liz's mom came out and took their orders. "I see you have another new friend, Lizzie."

She grinned. "Yeah, this is Max, Mom. My boyfriend." She added a little more importance on the last word.

"Oh, I see."

Maria rolled her eyes, but laughed.

She left soon after, laughing to herself as she made their dinner. Those kids were just so damn cute sometimes.

Secrets

Chapter 5

The weekend had finally come to a close, and it was back to school as usual for the students of Roswell Elementary. The happy anticipation of the school year that had lingered in the air only a week before was now almost completely dissipated, replaced with the annoyance that can only be known as Monday.

Tossing her hair gently, Isabel daintily stepped off of the school bus, her scuff-less black dress shoes slightly sinking into the muddy ground. She wrinkled her nose in disdain at the now dirty shoes, half-heartedly attempting to shake off some of the offending earth.

"Dirty already, Izzy?" Her brother Max appeared at her side, apparently out of nowhere, only irritating her further.

"No, just fine."

Max rolled his eyes back at her, imitating her hair-flipping gesture mockingly as she walked away.
"Just fine," he screeched out in falsetto voice, scrunching up his face tightly. The soft laugh from behind him distracted Max from his teasing as he turned around to face Liz. "Hey."

He was still a little shy around her, not exactly sure of how he was to act around his new 'girlfriend.'

"Hi, Max. What'd you do this weekend?"

He wasn't surprised when she took his hand gently but commandingly, holding it tightly in her own.
Not that he minded, of course. It was…nice.

He smiled at her, that tiny but brilliant little grin that was all Max Evans. "Nothing much….we went to the movies. Is kept on talking about how she couldn't wait to come back to school. And we know why."

They shared a mischievous grin. "Yep."

They walked off gleefully, tiny hands entertwined and swinging gently between them.

Isabel stalked off angrily, knowing without looking that her brother was making fun of her behind her back.

But she didn't care, she didn't care at all what Max did. He didn't matter. He was just her stupid little brother, who only cared about his stupid little girlfriend too much to be nice to his own sister.

She was so mad, in fact, that she didn't even bother to pay attention to where exactly she was walking.

The fact didn't even hit her until…well, she hit someone.

"Ooomph." Micheal made a muffled sort of noise as she plowed right into him, knocking him a few feet backwards but not quite off of his feet.

"Watch it!" He tossed her an annoyed glance, wondering who this dumb girl was that had just walked right into him as if he weren't even standing there.

"S…sorry," Isabel stuttered, feeling herself grow warm. She lowered her gaze to the ground, this time not paying any attention to her soiled shoes. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Yeah, I could tell," he muttered sarcastically.

She felt the tears pricking her eyes at his response. Why did she have to be so clumsy sometimes?

"Umm..sorry," she repeated, this time turning and slowly walking away, her head still hung in embarrassment.

Micheal felt a pang of guilt as he watched her walk away looking so sad. "Hey…wait."

She raised her head a little, only partially turning around to face him. "What?"

He took a few tentative steps towards her, reaching out and gently touching her sleeve. "I'm sorry about being so mean. I'm just….in a bad mood."

She finally raised up completely, cautiously eyeing his face. He didn't seem to be messing with her or anything. "Ok. I…I was just mad at my brother, and wasn't watching where I was going."

He shrugged his shoulders. "No problem, really. Forget it."

She smiled. "Okay. Thanks."

He extended his hand to her, waiting patiently until she finally reached out her own and carefully placed it within his.

Instead of shaking hands, though, he raised her tiny hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on its back side. "Nice to meet you…"

"Isabel."

"Isabel. Pretty name."

She smiled a little more, blushing. "Thank you. What's your name?"

"Micheal."

He still held her hand gently in his as he stared at her.

There was something….something about her that seemed strangely familiar to him, like he'd already known her. But not just from school, or class. Some other time…

The same thoughts struck Isabel, at just the same time as they began to pass through Micheal's head.

Where was it…

"Oh! It's…it's you!"

It all hit her at once, the memories of that first night in the desert; thoughts and memories completely new to her.

Closing the remaining space between them, Isabel lunged at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "I…" She couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence as the tears rose to her eyes, this time not uninvited.

It hadn't taken Micheal long to remember as well, both of them seemingly on the same wavelength as the images sprung forth in their minds.

"I found you. We found you. We never saw you again, and I was so scared…I cried myself to sleep every night."

Micheal nodded against her soft hair as he held her just as tightly. "Yeah, me too."

Isabel was just so overwhelmed by everything, by the new memories that had so quickly faded from her mind after those first few weeks…everything coming back so fresh and clear, that night, the night they'd been found on the side of the road. When they'd found Micheal and lost him all at the same time. They'd been so confused, so lost, when those people had come and saved them. Their parents.

She and Max had been holding hands…and Micheal had been right there beside her. Safe, she remembered feeling safe, even though they were alone in the darkness, she was safe as long as the three of them were together. And then the lights had cut into the darkness and the man and woman had jumped out of their car, excited and worried and hugging them and pulling them into their car….and all Isabel could do was look around and wonder where Micheal had disappeared to.

The first few nights, weeks, had been terrible. Their new family was wonderful, of course, feeding them and giving them their own rooms, decorating it with whatever they wanted, as long as they were happy. But they had both been scared, despite the walls around them. Not exactly sure of where they'd come from, no memories of where they had been before that night or of who they were. They had not even been able to talk…but yet they understood each other, were able to communicate somehow. It was all very strange…but yet normal to them.

Eventually, though, the memories of that night slowly faded and they came to grow accustomed to the new ways. They learned to talk amazingly fast, and were soon just like the rest of their family. Isabel and Max forgot about being discovered in the desert, forgot about all of their questions, forgot about Micheal.

Apparently, Micheal had done the same.

Isabel gave him a last squeeze before finally stepping back, looking at him in an entirely new light.

"Wow." It was all she had left to say. "Max! Max, I have to talk to you! Max, listen to me!"

Max walked faster, dragging Liz along with him, as he continued to ignore his sister's pleas.

"Max! Come on Max, please."

He heard her shoes clicking on the floor as she walked faster and faster, then began to run.
Soon she was behind him, and he felt her hand on his shoulder, jerking him around roughly. "Max!"

"What? What is it, Isabel?"

Her eyes were wide, her face pale. He could feel her hand, still on his shoulder, trembling with excitement. His sister cast a quick glance at Liz, then back at Max. "Come here. And Liz…stay here for just a minute."

Liz looked confused and a little hurt, but when she saw that Max obviously wanted to know what was up with his sister, she reluctantly let go of his hand and backed up against the wall. "Fine."

Isabel frantically grabbed Max's arm, pulling him over to the opposite side of the hallway. "You will never, ever believe who I just talked to!"

He tapped his hand gently against the concrete wall, only half paying attention. "Who?"

She lightly smacked his shoulder, disreguarding the angry look he shot at her. "Micheal Guerin."
She had a triumphant grin on her face, as if she'd accomplished some great feat.

"Umm..so? That guy in our class? What's so special bout him?"

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Stupid. He's the one."

Max stared at her with disbelief. "What one? What are you talking about, Izzy?"

She had forgotten that their memories of everything had been pretty much wiped out. "Well….you've gotta remember, Max. That first night. That our parents found us. We were out in the desert, and we were walking…we were naked. It was me and you, and we were holding hands. And then we saw this boy, and he was standing on a rock. You've got to remember, Max. We couldn't talk, but we knew that he was from the same place as us, because he was just like us. And then we just all started walking together, until that car came. And our parents got out, and they took us and put us in their car…but when looked for the other one, he was gone. It was him, Max. That was Micheal."

Max was still staring at her, completely lost.

Isabel, growing frustrated, reached out and gently shoved him on his shoulder. "You have got to remember!"

At the moment she touched him, though, he began to see things…flashes of memories, the same ones she'd been describing, of the dark night and the other little boy.

"I…I do, Iz. I remember."

She grinned happily. "There! There, you see. You have got to meet him, Max. He's soooo nice! I'm just so glad that he's okay….and that he's here, too. Everything, now…now that I remember…there are just so many things I want to know."

Max nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It's all confusing." His head was spinning around with questions.
Shifting his gaze, he felt guilty when he saw Liz looking completely lonely across the hall.

It did not go unnoticed by his sister.

"Max." Her voice was a whisper now, a whisper of warning. "You cannot tell her Max. This is our secret. You have got to promise me you won't tell."

"But….she's my girlfriend, Iz," he complained.

"No, no, no. I'm your sister. And Micheal is like us. But she's not. If we tell her, she'll probably think we're weirdos or something."

He hated to agree, but his sister was right. "Okay. I won't tell her. For now."

Isabel seemed satisfied by his answer, and turned to walk away. "Talk to him, Max. You'll really like him."

Max nodded again. "I will."

He watched as his sister walked away, his head still swimming with everything he'd just learned. Slowly, he walked over to where Liz stood in the now-empty hallway. "Sorry about that."

She smiled a little. "It's okay."

He took her hand in his, the first time he'd ever made the first move to do so. It seemed to cheer her up more, her smile growing perceptibly wider. And together, they walked off to class.

Secrets

Chapter 6

Isabel sighed dramatically. "I'm coming, Max!"

She ignored yet another of Max's irritating little snort noises..the ones he always made when he was mad.

"We're gonna miss the bus, Is!"

Rolling her eyes, she continued sifting through her closet. "Hmm…"

Even at such a young age, she cared deeply about her appearance. That fact was apparent to everyone. She ran her hand across a fuzzy red sweater, smiling slightly. "Yes."

Pulling it out, she laid it across the bed next to the skirt she was planning to wear. She wrinkled her nose delicately after a few moments of inspection, reaching for the sweater again. It just wasn't the right color….

"If only I had a blue one like this…" She picked up the sweater, quickly carrying it back to the closet. But when she went to hang it back up, a stunned look of surprise came onto her face.

Somehow, in the time between picking up the sweater and hanging it up, it had changed from red to blue.

It was the weirdest thing that she had ever seen, and she was beginning to feel really freaked out.

"Max!" she screamed hysterically, dropping the sweater to the floor as if burned. "Max, come here!"

Max appeared in the door shortly after, a concerned look on his young face. "What?"

She simply pointed at the sweater, unable to find any words to explain what had just happened. "I…that…"

"What happened, Is?"

Her hand shook slightly. "That sweater..it was red. I took it out of the closet, and I didn't like it with the skirt…and I was thinking that if it was blue, it would be good. And then I walked over to the closet, and when I hung it up..it was blue."

Max rolled his eyes, a grin already forming on his face. "C'mon…you expect me to believe that? Now stop playing around and get ready!"

Isabel stomped her foot angrily. "I'm not kidding! I swear, it changed colors! And I don't know…how."

Staring at her, Max had no idea what to think. Was she just going crazy on him…or had something that bizarre just really happened?

Walking to her, he reached over and gingerly picked up the offending top. "O..kay. You're sure that it was red….before?"

She just nodded.

"And you wanted it to be blue…and then it was blue?"

Another nod.

"So…how did it change?"

"I told you, I don't know."

Holding out the sweater to her, he motioned for her to take it. "Just…see..if it happens again."

Slowly, she took the sweater back into her hand, almost afraid to touch it. For a few moments they just watched, and waited for something to happen. The sweater remained blue.

"Maybe…" Isabel sighed again. "Maybe I was wrong."

He shook his head. "No, just…you should think, like you did before…maybe wish that it's red, or something."

"Okay. I'll try."

Closing her eyes, she wished with all of her might that the sweater would be red again.

Hesitating, she began to open her eyes again….and saw the stunned face of Max. "Wow."

Looking down…she saw the sweater was once again red.

Rushing down the hallway, Max reached out for Isabel's hand. They were already late, again, but that was the last thing on their minds right now. All they knew was that they needed to talk to Micheal.

Yesterday, they'd been meaning to, but they just hadn't had a chance.

Today, though, time would just have to be made.

They walked through the door together just as the teacher had begun talking. Turning her attention to them, her face filled with disapproval. "Mr. And Miss Evans…late again?"

They both nodded. "We're sorry…we..uh.."

"Missed the bus?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. But please, no more tardies."

"Thank you, Mrs. Gregg."

Quickly, they both made their way to their respective seats.

Max just kept casting worried glances at Isabel, who had, after the incident, decided against the red sweater.

He doubted she would ever wear it again after this.

Just as he was about to whisper something to Micheal, a small folded piece of paper landed on his desk.

Confused, he turned a little. Catching Liz's smile, he smiled back, and turned again to the front.

Hiding the note underneath his desk, he unfolded it and quickly read. 'Max, Is something wrong? You look kind of mad or something.'

Picking up his pencil, he quickly scribbled a response, checking to make sure the teacher wasn't looking before throwing it back to her.

Anxiously, Liz tore open the paper. 'Just mad at Isabel for making us late again. She was trying to look good again for you-know-who.'

Smiling a little, Liz looked up at him. He was staring back at her, and he nodded a little. She smiled wider, sticking the note in her pocket.

Turning around once again, Max couldn't help but feel guilty for lying to Liz. She was his girlfriend..and although he wasn't exactly sure what all girlfriends were supposed to do, he had a feeling that he was supposed to be able to trust her. But he had promised Is yesterday and again this morning that he wouldn't tell her any of the strange things going on lately, and he couldn't break a promise to his sister.

He consoled himself by reminding himself that he would be able to tell her…eventually. When they had it all figured out, he could tell her everything.

Go to Chapter Seven

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