DISCLAIMER: Liz, Max, and all the rest are the property of Jason Katimis and the Sci-Fi network. I don't own them.

CATEGORY: Max/Liz

RATING: PG-13, of course

SPOILERS: None. This is an AU fic

So, who am I?

Are you sure you want to know?

Forest Hills, in Queens New York. A school Bus picks up a group of High School kids heading to school.

My name is Liz Parker, and my life�it gets out of control sometimes. It�s complicated, but what isn�t. My story is a bit different than some though.

Someone sits on the bus, his dark bangs hanging down on his forehead. A blonde girl sits next to him, putting her arm around him.

That�s Max Evans. My next-door neighbor/lab partner. Plus, the guy I�ve been in love with since I was six years old, when his parents moved in next door.

I�d like to say I�m that girl next to him, but I�m not. Want to see me, just look behind you.

The bus drives off, someone arriving just as it�s leaving.

She�s dressed in a typical school uniform�for the 1950�s. With a white buttoned-up blouse and plaid skirt. She has a pair of wire-framed glasses on, long brown hair, and is carrying a backpack full of books.

Sighing in frustration, Liz takes off after the bus, barely keeping up.

�WAIT!� she hollers. �STOP THE BUS! PLEASE!�

A bunch of students look back towards her and start to laugh. They always did that�laughed at her.

�WAIT!� she screams one last time, which catches Max�s attention. He looks back, and sees Liz running behind them.

�Stop the bus,� he asked the bus driver. �There�s a girl following us.�

The bus driver does not listen.

Sighing, Max places his hand on the window and begins to concentrate.

�What are you doing?� the girl next to him asks.

Max doesn�t answer. His hand glows faintly, and the bus screeches to a halt. His companion gives him a warning look.

�I was just trying to help,� he said innocently.

Completely out of breath, Liz climbs on board the bus.

�Th-thanks,� she tells the driver.

�Breaks stalled,� he responds coldly. �Sit down, girl.�

Liz looked down and started to search for a seat. She smiled when she saw that no one was next to Kyle Valenti.

�Hey,� she said. �Mind if I�?�

Kyle gave her a cold look.

�Actually, science girl, I do mind!� he spat. �Don�t even think about sitting down.�

Backing away, Liz saw a seat in the back of the bus. Sighing, she headed there�

�and then fell on her face. This resulted in the entire bus laughing at her.

Everyone except for Max Evans, who just looked at her apologetically. As if it were his fault. It wasn�t of course. His girlfriend, on the other hand�

�well, considering the grin plastered on her face, it was obvious that Tess Harding was the one that had tripped her.

�You�re such a klutz, Parker!� Tess laughed. �Hey everyone, check out Puny Parker here.�

�Just zip it!� Liz muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, she lost her balance again, falling back down. The thing that confused her was that Tess hadn�t shown a sign of doing anything, even though it had felt as if she�d been tripped.

Liz picked herself up, and wandered to the back. Once she was gone, Max turned towards Tess.

�Was that really necessary?� he asked. �She didn�t do anything to you. She�s not the enemy.�

�All humans are the enemy, Max, remember?� she asked him. �Besides, what do you care? She�s a geek. Why to you worry about her so much?�

�Maybe I feel sorry for her,� he responded. �She doesn�t have many friends. She must feel so alone��

�Well, cry me a river, Max,� Tess complained, rolling her eyes. �Who cares about Liz Parker, anyway?�

Max cared, though he wouldn�t tell Tess that. There was just�something about her that got to him. Liz was pretty. Not in the �bombshell� way that Tess or his sister Isabel was�but in a natural way. He always tried to imagine what her eyes looked like without those glasses. If he could, he would probably even have asked her out.

But he couldn�t, could he. The four of them: himself, Tess, Michael, and Isabel�they had made a promise never to let anyone in on their secret. They were the aliens from the Roswell crash in 1947. While Michael had stayed in Roswell (and Isabel went back there for college), the Evans� had moved to New York when he was six. That�s where he had found Tess, the fourth alien. They had all promised never to get too close to an ordinary human that wasn�t one of their adoptive relatives. They couldn�t risk being exposed�not after what happened to Nasedo.

Even so, sometimes looking at Liz made him think.

TO BE CONTINUED...