New Beginnings
Author: Deah
Category: Other
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Original Characters and Storylines are the property of Warner
Bros, Jason Katims Productions, Twentieth Century Fox, FOX, Regency
Television and Melinda Metz.
Summary: The story takes place 22 years into the future. It features the
Roswell characters & their kids.
Writers Note: Feedback is great (bad or good)
"I could stare into his eyes all day,
Mariah." Beth Evans wistfully concluded. What was the regurgitation factor
on your best friend talking soulfully about your twin brother? It had to be
pretty high, Mariah thought. She looked at her brother who was currently leaning
against a wall, sulking as usual. She didn't see it.
She let out a groan. "Stop already! The cafeteria food is bad enough
without your nauseating commentary about Matthew."
Mariah instantly felt bad as her best friend let a long, tortured sigh. She had
to find Beth a boyfriend. A normal boyfriend. One that deserved her. One that
wasn't her obnoxious brother. Of course, finding a boyfriend for herself
wouldn't be a bad idea either.
Lexi Whitman sat down next to her. Lexi completed their little group. "The
Trio" is what Matthew called them. Uh-oh, here comes the trio, he would say
with mock disgust. He would then poke his best friend, Lexi's twin brother,
Parker. Now, Parker was something to moan at. Ok, a little goofy, but that just
made him cuter in Mariah's book. That blonde hair, those green eyes... Oh God
she was sounding like Beth. Snap out of it, girl, she commanded.
Everyone thought it was weird that they were all twins. Even Beth had had a
twin, Ryan. He was quiet. A watcher, is how Beth described him. Beth and Ryan
were really close. Closer than her and pea brain. She never could figure out
what Ryan had in common with Matthew and Parker. They had other friends, but the
six of them were like a wolf pack. You just didn't mess with any of them or
you'd have to face the other five. Mariah liked it that way. Ryan was definitely
the leader. If anyone had a question or needed advice, you'd ask Ryan. One big
family. Except her feelings for Parker weren't exactly family-like lately...
"Earth to Mariah." Lexi called out. Mariah looked at her.
"I was listening."
Lexi ran her hand through her blonde hair. God, she was beautiful. She was so
lucky, great figure, beautiful features...she looked like a model everyday of
her life. "Sure you were." Lexi said, smiling. She glanced over at
Parker who had joined Matthew in wall leaning.
"I'll zap you." Mariah warned, laughing. They all had powers. Well,
that was a given since they were all half alien. She remembered the day that mom
and dad had sat them down to talk about it. Mom had talked, dad had nodded. That
was the way in their house. Dad was a whole lot like Matthew. Mom said that that
the brooding, silent thing had been what attracted her to dad in the first
place. Gross. They had been ten when they had the "talk". It wasn't
like they all hadn't figured out they were different by now. They had had a
pretty good idea of what was going on between the six of them. But they had
gotten the formal announcement at the same time and the warning about using
their powers. Mom had said they weren't sure they would have them since the six
of them were half human, but that year the kids had all started messing around
with the powers. Matthew had lit the backyard clubhouse on fire, trying to make
flashlight batteries recharge. Pea Brain. Before that they were careful to hide
their powers from their parents. They had agreed that they might scare them.
"Mariah!" Beth scolded.
"What?! No one heard me."
Lexi and Beth shook their heads at her.
***
Does she ever shut up? Matthew was staring at his sister from across the table.
He thought his head was going to implode from the steady stream of exclamations
his sister was spouting to their parents. Didn't she have to breathe or
something?
"And then Mr Schmucker did his impression of Jimmy Valenti. He had everyone
laughing! He was so good! I mean, mom, he sounded just like him! I hope
he doesn't get in trouble. Jimmy was really trying his patience and deserved
everything he got! I just think Mr Schmucker is the best teacher! I learn so
much in his class."
"That's great, Mariah." Their mom said, smiling. She looked at their
dad. "Isn't that right, Michael?"
His dad looked up, a little startled. "Oh, yeah...yeah, that's neat,
hon." Matthew smirked. Dad hadn't been listening.
"Dad! You didn't hear a word I said," accused his sister. God, she was
annoying.
"Jimmy Valenti. I heard." His dad paused, looking thoughtfully at his
mom. "Damn, Valenti's. He's just like his old man."
"Michael! Don't curse in front of them."
Matthew chuckled. His mom threw him her death stare. Oh boy, he had done it now.
"Just what's so funny, Matthew?"
Choose his words carefully, he warned himself, or mom would give him a 30 minute
lecture. She could talk longer than Mariah and that was something he didn't want
to subject himself to. "Mom, we are sixteen. We've heard a lot worse
than damn."
A tiny crease formed on his mom's forehead. Mistake! I said the wrong thing!
Matthew silently threw a few curses out at himself.
"Well, I better not hear them." She told him. Whew! She must be
preoccupied with her latest book. Mom was a Science-Fiction writer. A really
good one, at that. He should know. He had proofread all her manuscripts since he
was twelve. His dad complained that she should write more serious stuff, but he
knew that his dad liked them too. He would walk into a room and catch his dad
smiling as he read it. Just one rule applied. No alien plots. Mom was okay about
that. She wrote mainly fantasy stuff. The knights and fairies type. What made it
interesting was that the characters were so personal. Everyone was in them. Even
Jimmy Valenti's dad and grandfather. Mom once had told him that they were easy
to write cause she just threw in all the things that had happened to her and dad
only in a fantasy setting. The lovey dovey junk was a little much...especially
knowing she was really talking about her and dad. But overall they were great
stories and they sold well.
There was a knock at the door. Mariah jumped up to get it, much to the dismay of
their mom. Mom had very few rules, but one main was that they ate together every
night. She said that her and dad hadn't had that growing up and it was important
to her. So, unless he or Mariah were staying at someone's house, then they were
here every night at 5 o'clock.
He looked up to see Parker grinning. Mariah was giving him her doe-eyed, bat her
eyelashes look that she had started over the summer. It was embarrassing. At
least Parker hadn't picked up on it yet. He was an incredibly smart guy, but not
when it came to girls. He'd get all geeky then. Matthew had overheard his mom
tell Aunt Liz once, that every time Parker opened his mouth he sounded just like
his dad. He had to admit, Parker's dad was the funniest guy he knew and Parker was
a lot like him.
Lexi and Parker both looked mainly like their mom, who didn't appear much older
than them. He could see Uncle Alex in Parker when he smiled, though. He had the
same exact goofy smile. He and Mariah looked like both their parents. He was
tall like their dad and she was small like their mom. They both had their mom's
eyes. Mariah had gotten mom's hair and he had gotten the wild mess from his dad.
He ran his hand through his hair, unconsciously. He liked it and he had an idea
that Beth liked it too. Maybe that was just wishful thinking. He scowled.
Another thing both he and Mariah picked up from their dad's side of the gene
pool. Well, that and the alien stuff.
"I just...I just thought I'd stop by." Parker stammered. "I
thought you would be finished with supper. I can come back later. I..."
"Parker." His mom interrupted.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Sit."
His dad glanced at Parker amused as he sat down. "Isabel still trying to
teach Alex to cook?"
"Yeah." Parker sighed heavy. "I wish she'd give it up before Lexi
and I starve to death."
Uncle Alex and Aunt Isabel. They were a strange match. Matthew and Mariah had
the strongest memories of any of the group. One of his first was of his aunt and
uncle getting married. Well, they weren't really his aunt and uncle, but when
you've been in someone's life as long as they and Aunt Liz and Uncle Max had
been then you deserved a title.
Matthew and Mariah had the distinction of being the first of the twins born.
Nine months before anyone else. Dad had laughed when he asked him at eleven
years old why they were nine months apart and the others were only born a week
apart. His dad had informed him that they were a 'test'. Everyone else was too
chicken shit to try, his dad elaborated. His mom had tried to get pregnant again
over the years, but to no avail. His dad thought maybe it was a limited time
offer and Matthew and Mariah had filled the quota. Matthew was more than happy
to accept that theory. He couldn't take another sister. A brother on the other
hand might have been cool...
***
Beth Evans stared at herself in the mirror. Why couldn't she be as beautiful as
Lexi or as cute as Mariah, she wondered. She looked at her straight brown hair
and brown eyes...pathetically normal. Maybe she should cut her hair...maybe then
Matthew would notice her...
She felt Ryan standing outside her door. It had always been like that with them.
She could feel his presence, his emotions, sometimes even his thoughts. It was
more than a twin thing cause the other twins weren't like that. Especially
Matthew and Mariah. They fought all the time. She and Ryan had never really
fought. Maybe it was cause her mom and dad were so much alike. It was like they
were part of each other's souls, she smiled.
"You can come in, Ryan." She called to him. He walked in with a
sheepish grin.
"Caught again."
"So, what's up?" Just because they were close didn't mean she wanted
to spend her dream time with him. She wanted to sit around and think about
Matthew...and other things, alone.
"I just wanted to see if you were ok." Ryan interpretation: I picked
up that you were downing yourself again and I'm here to tell you that look just
fine. She groaned. The drawback of having a sensitive brother who knew way too
much about you.
"Ryan, I'm fine."
"Mom called. She said she was running late." Beth frowned. Her mom
worked way too hard. Dad had said it was cause she was a perfectionist. Mom
countered that it was her love of Science that spurred her on. Grandma Parker
had said mom was always an overachiever. She had even delivered Lexi and Parker
when the midwife couldn't make it in time. None of them had been born in a
hospital. Her dad joked that they couldn't run the chance that they had two
heads each. When Aunt Isabel's water had broke a month early, mom had stepped in
and took over. She had been pregnant herself, but had everything in control.
Uncle Alex had insisted that they name one of the kids after her, hence her
cousin Parker.
Her mom was definitely amazing. She was a biology teacher at the high school as
well as running the Crashdown Cafe after her grandparents had retired. She still
missed them. They had moved to Florida because her grandfather said he was just
sick to death of Roswell. Mom and dad had decided to sell their house and move
in to the apartment upstairs. Mom explained it would be more efficient if they
lived above the cafe.
Dad was a little more laid back than mom. He was a sports editor... a job he
really didn't like, but he could stay at home and oversee the Crashdown. Well,
that, and keep tabs on her and Ryan. He said the quiet ones were the ones that
needed watching. Mom would laugh and shove him. She thought that her parents had
the best relationship. They were truly meant for each other. They could just look
at one another and know what the other was thinking. She wanted that, but fat
chance. She couldn't even get Matthew away from Parker and Ryan long enough to
try a little seduction. Seduction...dad was right, the quiet ones did need
watching.
Ryan stared at his sister as she went silent. At least it was a happy thought,
he mused. He worried about Beth's constant comparisons between herself their
cousin and Mariah. She was beautiful in the quiet, next door girl sort of way.
She had had plenty of boyfriends, something else that kept him alarmed, but it
never satisfied her. It was like she was waiting for a sign before she moved out
of the shadows.
Taking the hint, he shut her door and went into his own room. Posters of
constellations hung all over his walls. His dad never talked much about his real
home. Sure, he knew what had happened. All about Nasedo and Tess, but he really
needed more than that. Every time he broached the subject his dad would get
uncomfortable and tell him very little. He thought about asking Uncle Michael
cause if anyone would tell him the truth it was Uncle Michael. He never could
bring himself to do it, though. He figured dad would tell him when he was ready.
He could wait.
Ryan picked up his yearbook and flipped through the pages. He stopped on Jenny
Harper's picture. The girl of his dreams. Completely unattainable. She was a
nice girl, but she barely knew he existed. If he could talk to her maybe it
would help, but he went mute if she was within ten feet of him. He shook his
head, disgusted with himself, and flipped through more pictures. He decided that
maybe a dream walk would relax him. His parents had strictly forbidden dream
walking unless it was in one of the 'other's' dreams. That didn't stop him. He
had visited the dreams of everyone in town. Even Jenny's. That had only been
once when she first came to Roswell. She was dreaming about Jimmy Valenti. That
was enough to let him know that he was even playing in the same ballpark.
He fell into the dream walk pretty easily. As he called the orbs to him, he
noticed Matthew's was among them. He whistled, calling it to him. He would let
Matthew know he was lurking around. They did it all the time. It was much easier
to communicate in the dream realm. They told each other a bunch of stuff that
they would never say awake. He climbed in and noticed Matthew's dream setting
was the cafe. Cool. It's like being right at home, Ryan thought. At first he
didn't notice Matthew, but then he spotted him in one of the booths. He started
over there until he realized somebody was with him. It was Beth. She was
laughing like Matthew had just told the best joke she ever heard. Then the dream
took a turn for the bizarre. Beth was all over Matthew. He couldn't even tell
where one face ended and the other began. I've got to get out of here! He backed
up quickly, stepping out of the orb. What the Hell was that all about?! Matthew
had a thing for Beth? That was more information than he had ever wanted.
He snapped awake, completely alert. That was the last time he would do that.
He'd let Matthew in on any trips he planned to make. Except, Matthew didn't
really seem interested in visits from him, Ryan supposed. Oh man. How am I going
to deal with this? He was really pissed that he had played around in there. When
he saw Beth he should've taken off.
His thoughts settled back on Jenny Harper- red-haired goddess that she was. She
was one of Lexi's friends. Unusual cause Lexi wasn't known to hang with the
brainy crowd when she wasn't part of the trio. Jenny was smart. She made as good
of grades as he and Beth did. Should he ask Lexi to invite her to a movie with
them? No! That's just way too weird. He'd have to think of something else.
***Parker banged on Lexi's door, impatiently. For crying
out loud...what the heck was she doing in there? They were going to be late for
school-again!
"Lexi, come on," He urged.
She walked out wearing a skirt way too short and a blouse way too tight.
"Relax. I'm ready."
"For what? A strip club?" He joked, masking his concern. He had
to talk to dad about this. For all the good it would do. Dad was always
scatterbrained when it came to Lexi. He basically gave her whatever she wanted.
That was the problem. Then he'd just get a bunch of psycho-babble from him about
sibling rivalry. No thanks. Keep it at the office, dad.
Lexi gave him the ice princess stare. "Going to tell, Parker?"
Damn! She knew him like a book. "No. It wouldn't do any good, anyhow."
He could talk to Ryan about it. Ryan was the only one Lexi ever listened to. In
fact, he was the only one any of them listened to. "I know what's churning
in that computer brain of yours. Don't even think about going to Ryan with
this," She warned.
He sighed as she pranced down the steps. Their mom was waiting for them at the
door, handing Lexi her jacket. "Mom, it's way too warm for a jacket."
"Maybe it'll cover some of the skin, Alexis." Their mom said with a
smile. She was a cool mom. Overprotective, but cool. She ran a boutique in town
that Lexi helped in after school. All the girls flooded it for the latest
fashions. His mom had great taste.
"Don't worry, mom. I'll just tell everybody her clothes were hijacked by a
hooker and this was what she left."
"Cute, Parker," Lexi replied, moving out the door.
His mom patted him on the shoulder. "It's a phase. She'll grow out of it
when she realizes the ones worth catching aren't interested in the outside.
That's how your father snagged me. He just..." Uh-oh. Mom had that
far-away-I'm-gonna-tell-you-a-story look. He had nip this quick or they would
be late for school.
"Mom, I'd love to hear about the good ole days when dad was making goo-goo
eyes at you, but we're gonna be late."
She nodded. "Have a good day," She called as he got in the car. Lexi
and Parker waved back at her and sped off.
Lexi turned to him. "Do you really think I look slutty?" She
questioned, suddenly looking worried. She was that way. One minute confident,
the other minute vulnerable.
"No, I was just kidding. You look great as usual," He told her. She
flashed him one of her million dollar smiles.
When they got to school, Lexi hopped out the car and headed straight for Jenny
Harper. He noticed Ryan was standing in close proximity, gazing at Jenny like
she was the latest ice cream flavor and he just had to have a taste. He
definitely needed a twelve step program.
"Hey," He said when he got close enough to Ryan.
"Hey," He replied, looking perfectly miserable.
"You want to lick her and find out what the flavor of the month taste
like?"
Ryan looked up at him startled, then laughed. "You're demented,
Parker."
Mission accomplished, Parker told himself. They walked into the school, heading
for their first period together. They were lucky there was so many of them. At
least two of the kids shared every class. He remembered the time in junior high
when he was placed in Civics alone. It was the worst year of his life.
***
Lexi sat down in her third period English class. Yuk. Mr Holden had to be
the most boring teacher. She dreaded this class everyday. Usually she would pass
notes back and forth to Mariah, while Ryan looked on with disappointment. She
couldn't help it. It was sheer torture. Still, she hated to let Ryan down. She
wasn't cut out to be the student he was, though. She was smart enough, but God
it was so boring. Why couldn't they come up with a more entertaining approach to
teaching.
She watched Ryan file in. He looked pretty good today. Like he had gotten up
early enough to put some effort into his wardrobe. She wondered what the big
occasion was. Not that Ryan didn't look good everyday, he just was in a rut. She
had been meaning to drag him off to the boutique and have her mom give him the
royal treatment. Yeah, she'd do that this weekend, she promised herself. Lots of
maroons and purples...that would set off his brown eyes. Maybe then he'd get a
girlfriend. He and Parker were the only ones in the group who had never dated
anyone. Parker, she understood. He was weird. He had a set idea of his future
and it really didn't include girls at the moment. Time for that in college, he
would say. Much to the dismay of many Roswell High females. Poor Mariah. He
didn't even have a clue that she was nuts about him.
Ryan, on the other hand, didn't seem like he was adverse to dating. It was more
like he was waiting for them to ask him out. That wasn't likely to happen. He
was too quiet. It made girl's uneasy. She mentally noted that she would have to
fix that, also. He looked so much like his dad...
"Miss Whitman!" Mr Holden yelled, jerking her out of her thoughts.
"Yes?" She asked with syrupy sweetness. God, she couldn't stand him.
"I asked you to pass back the papers that I believe are sitting under your
nose. Of course, if that isn't too much trouble."
She threw him a fake smile and turned around to pass the handouts back. Mariah
was smirking at her. She wrinkled her nose at her in her mock 'Bewitched'
threat. Mariah let out a loud giggle, causing Mr Holden to clear his throat.
Lexi turned back around. Would this class ever end?!
The End
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