Part 4

They didn't go on their triple date that weekend. None of them were in the mood. They'd stayed at Liz's, watched television, ate more ice cream, but didn't mention any of the Czechoslovokians. There was nothing left to be said.

Maria couldn't stop thinking of Michael as she drove to school Monday morning. She turned her radio up, singing along loudly to try and drown out her thoughts.

"You think I'm always making

Something out of nothing

You're saying everything's okay..."

"You wouldn't understand. You don't understand anything about us!"

"You've always got an answer

Before I ask the question

Whatever you say..."

"You're avoiding me."

"I'm not avoiding you."

"Oh, the classic signs, Michael. Not looking me in the eye, lying about motives."

"You know what? Fine. If it's going to shut you up, I am avoiding you. Watch me continue that thought, all right?"

"Now we can change the subject

Pretend I never brought it up

Same old stoy anyway

Later we can work it out

Right now you're talked out

Yeah, whatever you say..."

"There he is."

"Him?"

"What, you think I'm wrong?"

"No, he's just so avoidable."

"If we didnt' need your car..."

"I know you can hear me

But I'm not sure you're listening

I hear what you're saying

But still there's something missing..."

Maria parked her car and walked into the school, her memories still flashing in her mind.

"You've been ignoring me the whole night. Look, I'm not some Pollyanna, okay? I don't think what we have is true love. I don't know what we have. I just...I don't understand why you have to avoid me. It hurts that's all."

"Whether I go

Or whether I stay

Right now depends on

Whatever you say..."

"I just don't really do this."

"Don't do what?"

"Get intense like this."

"You say yes you need me

And no you wouldn't leave me

And that should be enough to make me stay

And even though I want to

I don't hear 'I love you'

In whatever you say..."

"Sorry, I can't get this involved. I'm alone and that' s the way it's gotta be."

"Oh, I know you can hear me

But I'm not sure you're listening

I hear what you're saying

But still there's something missing..."

"Maybe we should've never started this."

"Oh, whether I go

Or whether I stay

Right now depends on

Whatever you say..."

"I have something to say to you. If anything like that happens to me again, like when I got sick, don't help me. I can't get indebted to anyone, and I can't get entangled. I got to be a stonewall. And when I'm around you sometimes, I don't feel like a stonewall anymore."

"Well, what do you feel like?"

"I don't know, like confused."

"Like human?"

"Yeah, and I don't want to feel that way."

"Oh, whether I go..."

Maria walked into her first hour history class, and stiffened as her gaze locked on Michael for a brief second. Then she sucked in breath and took her seat next to him.

"Or whether I stay..."

She could feel his eyes on her, watching her. Did he have any idea that she had spent the past three nights crying because of him? Did he even care?

"Right now depends on whatever you say

Whatever you say

Whatever you say..."

He watched her from his car as she walked into school with the other human, the boy. His eyes darkened as he wondered why Max had bothered to save the girl. She was the same as every other human, a lying, disgusting, cheating tramp. He hated her. He hated all three of them. All humans, really, but especially these three. The three that had the power to destroy him, all of them. They wouldn't get a chance to destroy him. He'd destroy them first.

Isabel swallowed hard as she walked towards the study hall room that morning. It was the only class she had with Alex Whitman, and she was getting nervous. She knew she owed him an apology, and she hated apologizing. But she would do it, and everything would be okay again. She sucked in a deep breath and stepped into the room.

He was sitting in his normal spot, two rows away from hers. She bit her lip when he didn't look up as he usually did. She sat down in her seat and pulled out a vial of fingernail polish. She was too preoccupied to pay attention to what she was doing and accidently spilled some of the blue polish on her desk when she snuck a glance at Alex.

She glanced around and realized no one was watching and she quickly cleaned up the spill with her powers. Then she capped the bottle and tucked it back into her purse, looking over at Alex again. He was writing something in a notebook, and didn't pay any attention to her staring.

Isabel suddenly got an idea, and she pulled out a notebook and a pen. She wrote something on a piece of paper, folded it up so that it was small and tapped the guy sitting next to her. "Hey," she whispered.

The guy looked over at her, and then his eyes roamed her body and a grin formed on his face. "Hey, yourself."

Isabel restrained herself from glaring at him. "Can you pass this to Alex?" she whispered, smiling sweetly.

"Sure, baby," he answered, taking the note from her and tapping Alex on the shoulder.

He turned, startled, as though he'd been a million miles from school. The guy handed him the note and Alex unfolded it. Isabel watched as he read it. Then he folded it back up carefully and raised his hand.

"Mr. Whitman?" the teacher asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Can I get a bathroom pass?" he asked.

The teacher held it out and Alex stood up, note clutched in his fist. He took the bathroom pass from the teacher and headed for the door. On his way out, he tossed the note in the garbage can so hard, it nearly bounced back out again. Isabel jumped at the anger in his action, and immediatly stood up, momentarily forgetting where she was.

"Ms. Evans?"

"I'm going to the nurse's office. I'm not feeling well," she lied, grabbing her things and hurrying out the door. She spotted him down the hallway and she hurried after him. "Alex, wait! Please!" she called.

He stopped but didn't turn around.

"Alex, I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

He didn't answer.

"I didn't mean what I said before...About you suffocating me."

Alex remained silent.

"Please, Alex, say something!" she pleaded.

He turned to face her slowly. "Don't worry, Isabel. We're not going to turn you in."

Isabel frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Just because we're staying away doesn't mean we're going to turn you over to the FBI. So stop pretending like you actually care how I feel."

"Alex, I do care--" she began.

"No," he cut her off. "You're just making sure that you're asses are covered. Well, don't worry. We won't say anything."

"I'm trying to--"

"Just shut up, all right? Maria was right to tell me not to get involved with you people. She said you were all heartless, and she was right. You wanted us out of your lives, you got it. You can go back to your fake little friends, to the people who don't know you, to all the popular guys who want to get you into bed instead of being with someone who cares about you as a person, not as an object. But just remember, that in the end, you made that choice." Alex turned and walked away from her.

Isabel's eyes filled up with tears. Everything he had said was true. She had pushed him away, and she didn't deserve him now. She hadn't realized until then just how badly she had messed up. She ran down the hallway and into the bathroom, where she started sobbing. She'd lost him.

Max stared sullenly at the table at lunch. Michael sat across from him, lost in thought. "You were wrong," Max said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"What?" Michael asked in confusion, blinking.

"I said you were wrong. Liz is definitely sticking to what she said."

"What do you mean?"

"She didn't come to biology this morning."

"Liz Parker skipped class?" Michael said, in a mocking voice.

"Stop it," Max said sharply. "I care about Liz. A lot. I never wanted to hurt her."

Michael didn't answer, he just sat back in his chair, squinting at the sun. "Maria's ignoring me."

"This is wonderful," Max muttered.

"They'll snap out of it. They'll come back," he tried to assure his friend.

"Don't count on it," a voice snapped.

Michael looked up at Isabel, who's eyes were red and puffy. "What happened to you?"

"Let's just say I hurt Alex a lot more than I thought. I tried to apologize and he accused me of trying to make sure they'd keep their mouths shut about who we are," she said angrily.

Michael swallowed hard. "What did he say?"

"What we already knew. That they wouldn't turn us in, but that they were definitely staying out of our lives from now on."

"Maybe it's for the best. At least they won't be in danger now," Max said softly, staring down at the table.

Isabel sighed, and dropped into a chair next to Max's. Her eyes were getting teary again. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

Michael looked at the two of them. "Looks like it's just the three of us again." His voice was flat.

"Yeah," Max and Isabel echoed. They sat in silence for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts.

He smiled in satisfaction as he cut the brake line of the red jetta in the school parking lot. That should take care of one of the problems, he thought.

Part 5

Maria was walking to her car that afternoon, when she heard a voice behind her shout her name. She recognized the voice without turning around and she chose to ignore it.

"Wait! Would you just wait a second!" Michael caught up with her.

"What do you want?" she asked flatly.

"I just--I want to talk to you for a minute. That's all."

"Fine. Start talking. You have exactly one minute," she replied, looking at her watch.

"I just wanted you to know that it's okay. That you guys are staying away from us. It's for the best."

"Is that what you chased me down to tell me? Because you wasted your time. We have every intention of pretending you three out of existence. Starting right now," she said furiously, storming away from him.

"Damn it," he swore under his breath. He followed her again. "Would you just hear me out! The reason it's good that you're staying away is because I think you're in danger. I don't from what or who, but I feel it. And it has to do with us."

"Why are you talking to me?" Maria spun around to face him, pure rage in her eyes. "Why aren't you thinking about mud? Why the hell do you even care what happens to us? In your opinioin, Max should never have saved Liz in the first place. Well, guess what. We'll pretend that the shooting never happened. That we never talked, any of us. We'll just go back to the way things were before. Now if you'll excuse me, your minute is up." She turned on heel and without giving him a chance to respond, she walked to her car and got inside, starting the engine.

Michael sighed as he watched her back out of the parking place and drive out of the lot. Then he shook his head and looked up at the sky.

Liz had managed to avoid Max, Isabel and Michael all day. She skipped biology and sat in the girl's locker room all hour instead. She had skipped lunch and gone with Maria and Alex to sit in the band room. She wasn't sure they could keep up the routine. She knew it was only a matter of time before she ran into one of them.

She sighed as she hurried down the hallway and headed toward her locker. As she rounded the corner, she ran directly into someone and her books went flying. "Damn," she muttered as she dropped to her knees and started collecting her things. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

Liz jerked her head up at the voice and swallowed hard as she met Max's eyes as he stooped down to help her out. She pushed his hand away. "I've got it," she told him.

His was stunned by the coldness in her voice. He offered his hand as she started to stand up, but she refused it and did it by herself. His heart ached in his chest. She looked so...hurt, so angry. So lost. "Liz," he said softly.

"Max, please. Don't make this any harder than it already is." She started to move past him, but he caught her arm.

"Liz, wait. I don't want things to be like this between us." His voice was pleading.

She was faced away from him, and she was glad. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the vulnerable sound of his voice. "This isn't about what you want anymore. This is about what I need."

"I know I've messed up your life, and I'm sorry for that," he said softly.

She turned to face him, shaking her head in disbelief as tears clouded her brown eyes. "You don't get it, do you? You never messed up my life until you decided that loving me was too scary and then you walked out. You walked out, Max. And now you want to walk back in? I'm sorry, but I can't do it anymore. I can't pick up the pieces of my life just so you can come back and break them again."

"Liz, I want-"

"Max, you don't know what you want! And even if you did, I don't think I could trust you to not walk out when things got intense again. Because that's not love. Love is when you stay and you fight for what you have, not walk out when things get bad or scary." She turned away and started walking to her locker.

He stared after her. "Liz," he whispered. "I do love you." But Liz didn't hear him.

Isabel was driving home from school that day by herself. Max had decided at lunch that he wanted to walk home to help him clear his head. She was still sniffling and wiping at her eyes as she drove. That's when she saw the wreck.

She blinked and slowed down as she saw the ambulance and the police cars surrounding the car, that had crashed into a telephone pole.

She stopped her car and waited impatiently for the traffic to clear up. She turned the radio on and leaned her head back against her seat.

"Share my life, take me for what I am

Cause I'll never change all my colors for you

Take my love, I'll never ask for too much

Just all that you are and everything that you do

I don't really need to look very much further

I don't want to have to go where you don't follow

I won't hold it back again, this passion inside

I can't run from myself, there's nowhere to hide..."

Isabel thought about Alex. About all the times since fourth grade that she had seen him sneaking glances at her, and making up any reasons to just be near her. The truth was, she had liked him long ago, even back in elementary school. But she never admitted it to anyone, not even Max or Michael. She had walked into many of his dreams before, but they used to always be about him hanging out with Maria and Liz, or him playing in a band.

Until December when the heatwave rolled around. And she'd gone into his dream and saw that he, amazingly enough, was dreaming about her. And it hadn't been a nasty dream like the dreams that most guys had about her. It had been sweet, and romantic, and Isabel had known from that moment that her heart was in serious trouble.

"Don't walk away from me

I have nothing, nothing, nothing

If I don't have you..."

And from then on, it had all been a steady five hundred foot fall with nothing to grab onto. She hadn't fallen slowly like Michael had for Maria. When she let herself realize it, there was no going back. She could push him away, but she couldn't push away the feelings. And she had fallen head first off the love-cliff.

Isabel sighed and sat up as the ambulance sped away. The traffic started to clear. Then she put the jeep back into gear and something about the car caught her eye. It was a small, red car that was completly bashed up into pieces. She frowned. Then she caught sight of the license plates that were barely hanging on the car and she gasped as she realized the car was a small, red jetta.

Part 6

Liz was sitting in her room on the floor, flipping through her history notes when there was a knock at her door. "Come in," she called, not looking up.

"Hey, honey," she heard her dad say as he stepped into the room.

"Hey, Dad," she said back, glancing at him. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you were okay. You seemed kind of upset when I saw you earlier this afternoon," he said, sitting down on her bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Dad. Just stressed out. You know, school and stuff." She stared down at her history book, none of the words sinking into her brain.

"Right." There was a moment of silence. "I was just thinking that maybe you were upset because of that Max fellow."

"Max?" she repeated, swallowing hard before she met his eyes.

"Yeah. I kind of sensed that...Well, that the two of you were pretty, um...close?" her dad asked uncomfortably.

Liz bit her lip. "Not anymore."

"Did something happen?" he asked gently. "Because I want you to know that you can talk to me."

She looked down at her book again. "Um...I know. It's just, um...It's complicated."

"I see. Well, if you change your mind..." He didn't finish his sentence as he stood up and headed for the door.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," Liz said softly.

His eyes softened. "Anytime." He left the room.

Liz sighed and pushed her book away. No way was she going to be able to focus on homework now. She stared at the picture of Max that was in the frame on her desk.

Her thoughts were interupted by the ringing of the telephone. When it was still ringing by the third time, she realized her dad must have left, and she pushed herself to her feet and picked up the reciever. "Hello?"

"Lizzie?" a voice choked out.

"Mrs. DeLuca?" she asked, alarmed at the sound of her voice.

"Something's happened to Maria. I'm at the hospital. I thought you'd like to know..."

Liz's eyes widened. "I'll be there in five minutes."

Alex was lying on his bed, staring at the cieling. He wondered what Liz and Maria were up to. He was bored and lonely. He thought back to what Isabel had said that afternoon.

"Alex, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't mean what I said before...About you suffocating me."

She was lying. She just wanted to make sure that they wouldn't turn them into the FBI or Sheriff Valenti. Alex knew it. He'd thought maybe he could reach her, make her open up to him and make her see that she wasn't that much different from him, that none of them were. That he and Isabel could be happy, that Max and Liz, and Michael and Maria could be, too. But it wasn't going to happen.

A sudden pounding on his bedroom door startled him and he sat up. "Come in!" he called, frowning.

The door flew open and Isabel Evans stood there, her eyes red from crying, her hair in tangles, and she stared at him.

Alex stared back. "Isabel?"

She started to cry and he jumped off his bed immediatly and was at her side in less than a second, forgetting all the promises he'd made to himself to avoid her. "I was so afraid..." Isabel cried, burying her face in her hands.

Alex swallowed hard and then wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry for a moment. She laid her face on his shoulder and he felt her trembling. "Isabel? What is it?"

"I thought...when I saw the car...I was so afraid...you were there..."

He frowned in confusion and then pulled away from her slightly, looking her in the eyes. "What?"

"There was an accident...Maria's car...I thought...I thought you were in it."

Alex's eyes widened. "Maria was in an accident? Is she okay?"

"I don't know. I drove straight here," she answered, wiping her eyes and trying to calm down.

Alex just nodded, and ran to his phone, quickly dialing a number. When it reached the seventh ring, he realized no one was going to answer it. "Liz isn't picking up," he said, with a growing sense of alarm.

Isabel's eyes widened. "Do you think Liz was with her?"

He grabbed his car keys off his desk. "I don't know but I'm going to the hospital," he said quickly, rushing past her out the door.

"Alex, can I--?"

Alex turned to her, met her eyes for a brief second, then without hesitation, reached out and took her hand as they hurried out of his house and to his car.

"Something's wrong, Max," Michael said as he paced the floor of his friend's bedroom.

Max swallowed hard and nodded. "I feel it, too."

"I keep getting flashes of Maria. I can't stop thinking about her. Something's happened." He picked up Max's phone and dialed her phone number. Max watched him. Michael sighed in frustration and slammed the phone down. "Machine," he told Max.

Just then, the phone rang. "Hello?" Max said, picking it up.

"Max, it's me," he heard Isabel say. It sounded as though she'd been crying. He could hear the wind in the background and he frowned.

"Where are you?"

"I'm with Alex. We're on our way to the hospital, Max."

"Hospital?" he repeated in shock. Michael's eyes widened in horror as he waited for Max to explain.

"There's been an accident. Maria's car...I think she's hurt. Liz might have been with her. Alex tried to call her, but--"

"How bad is it?"

"The car looked pretty bad, Max," she said, her voice breaking. His heart nearly stopped and he struggled to breath. "Max, you have to get Michael and--"

"He's here. We'll meet you there, Is." He hung up the phone and rose to his feet.

"Maxwell?"

Max dreaded the words that he had to say. "There's been an accident. Maria...maybe Liz, too," he managed to choke out.

Michael stared at him for a moment, then he rushed past him and grabbed Max's mother's car keys off the kitchen table. Max followed him, passing his mom as he went. "We're going to the hospital, Mom," he said, barely able to speak.

"What?" Diane Evans said, staring at him.

"Some friends of ours were in an accident."

"Okay." She kissed him on the cheek. Max hurried to the car as Michael started it and he had barely gotten in the passenger seat as Michael threw the car into gear and backed out of the driveway.

Liz rushed up to the nurse's station. The receptionist there was talking on the telephone. "Excuse me," Liz said politely, her voice strained.

The woman ignored her. "Right, June. I know. And so he said that I was out of line and I said--"

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Maria DeLuca," Liz interupted.

"I am on the phone," the woman told her, glaring at her. "So, anyway, I said--"

"My friend was in an accident, and I really need to--"

"I said, 'I am on the phone!'" the receptionist said.

"I don't care if you're on the goddamned phone!" Liz exploded, her eyes blazing with anger. "My friend was in an accident and if you don't tell me where I can find her right now, I will personally contact the hospital board of trustees and have you fired for not doing your goddamned job!"

The receptionist's eyes widened. "I have to go, June." She hung up the phone. "What's your friend's name?"

"Maria DeLuca," Liz said evenly.

"She's in I.C.U. right now."

Liz didn't bother to thank her, she stalked away from the counter and headed towards the I.C.U. waiting room, when she heard someone call her name. She spun around, only to be engulfed in Alex's arms. "Thank God," he said, hugging her tightly. "How is she?" he asked after he let her go.

She shook her head. "I don't know. She's in intensive care." Liz glanced past him to Isabel, who looked like she'd been crying. Without warning, the girl stepped forward and gave her a hug. Liz stared at Alex for a moment, but then hugged her back. "Thanks," she said softly.

Isabel just nodded.

Liz turned and hurried to the east wing of the hospital, towards the waiting room. Alex and Isabel followed her closely. She pushed the door open, searching the room for Maria's mother, but she wasn't there. The person at the desk wasn't in, either. Liz sighed in frustration.

"We may as well sit down," Alex said gently, touching her shoulder. Liz nodded and the three of them sat down in a row of chairs, Alex sitting in between the two girls.

Mere moments later, the door flew open and Michael and Max rushed inside. "How is she?" Michael demanded.

"There hasn't been any word yet," Isabel said quietly, standing up to hug him and Max. Max looked past her to Liz, who was standing beside Alex. He let go of Isabel and started to walk towards Liz when the door swung open again.

They all turned to see a doctor step inside with a pale Amy DeLuca. She met Liz's eyes across the room. "It's really bad, Lizzie," she whispered.

Liz moved past the group and to Maria's mom's side. She hugged her tightly. "She'll be okay, Mrs. DeLuca. She's a fighter."

"I hope you're right," Amy whispered back, crying. Alex moved forward and wrapped his arms around Liz and Maria's mom. "I'm glad you're here, Alex," Amy said.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else," he assured her. "But Liz's right. She'll be all right."

Max and Isabel turned to Michael, who was staring into space. "Michael?" Isabel asked softly. She knew he had to be scared to death. When she thought Alex might have been in that car...she was terrified. She touched Michael's arm.

He shoved her hand away. "Don't," he said harshly. Then he stalked past her and out into the hallway.

Max and Isabel exchanged a look. "He needs to be alone right now," Max told her softly. He watched Liz as she sat down next to Amy and tried to comfort her. For right now, all he could do was sit there with everyone else and wait to see what would happen.

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