Her brother's pleas for consciousness were lost in the activity of Amy's mind. Despite the heartfelt plea behind them, she heard not a sylable. Amy's mind was still trying to come to terms with what she faced in front of her.
"How?" she asked, scared at who had revealed them self to her.
"I was always here, deep in the dark recesses of her brain, my dear," the woman in front of Amy told her, each word seemingly dripping ice of it.
"But, you disappeared, that night at Sunnydale..."
"And you brought me back, you stupid girl," she laughed at her. "Not that I'm not grateful. Actually I'm sort of impressed. Messing with Magic and sorcery."
"I don't MESS," Amy's protested, getting noting more than a raised eyebrow from the other party.
"Really? Surely you never meant to bring me back, even if it is only in here with you." She walked over and cupped Amy's face, roughly bringing it up to look it straight in the eyes.
"Or maybe you did. Is that right? Did you miss, Mommy dearest?"
Nominated by Erin, written by Andrew.
"I'm an intern there, nothing too exciting to brag about. I might not get this chance again so I better give this a go. If I asked you out for dinner and movie would you say yes?"
Buffy had been nodding her head along with the first part of his answer, when he changed the conversation abruptly by asking her out. "Ou wah?" she gaped, her mouth dropped slightly in surprise. 'Oh, brilliant answer, Slayer. Just brilliant.' Buffy tried to redeem herself by thinking of a semi- intelligent response. Did she want to say yes? Hell yeah! Okay two problems with that. Uno, being totally and completely tied up with Slaying and other mystical crap going on in Alienville right now. Dos, and pretty important, Angel. She did have a boyfriend. And they had gotten so much closer during the summer to the point where Buffy was confident that they were made to spend the rest of lives together. But then he had to die and get all vampy again. Did Angel even want to still be with her? She honestly wasn't sure. He might start pushing her away again for all that "better for her" stupid stuff he insisted. But Buffy couldn't do that to Angel without knowing how he felt. And it would be wrong and unfair to Ben, no matter how much fun a normal date might be. Right, she definately couldn't go.
"Yeah, I would. When?" she inquired politely.
Nominated by Erin, written by Patricia and Diana.
Lone Wolf were just starting their second set when trouble entered UFOnics. Blending in with some of the more rowdy looking clientel, four leather-clad bikers started scoping the crowd, licking their lips.
"Ok Slashers, let's pick something off the f***ing menu and tuck in" the lead one wearing a Van Halen t-shirt drawled.
"'Bout time. I could use a happy meal" said the palest of the four, wearing a Motley Crue t-shirt.
"F*** the burger and the fries, I just want the f***ing drink. And no stinkin' coke this time" the one wearing an Aerosmith t-shirt added.
"How about we just go home and f-feed off some rats?" the one wearing a Debbie Gibson t-shirt feebly asked. "I don't like killing, makes my stomach turn." The other three turned and growled him into silence.
"Where did you get this runt?" Aerosmith guy asked Van Halen guy. "He's a f***ing pussy. Can't f***ing believe he's a f***ing vampire."
"Nailz said to bring him, we're f***ing bring him, so shut the f*** up."
"F*** you and f*** you!" Motley Crue guy interrupted, swearing at each of the speakers in turn. "I'm starved, let's go eat for f***'s sake."
"F***ing A" Aerosmith guy agreed and grabbed the nearest person by the hair, yanking her head down and ripping her throat out. The clubbers near her yelled in shock, trying to get away from the pale bikers. Van Halen guy and Motley Crue guy each grabbed their own meals, Motley Crue guy having to knock his around a bit before he became more complient (or unconscious, but who cares which) to feed off.
By this time, the panic was spreading. Everyone started screaming and trying to make it to the exits. The band on stage played on, but looked unsure towards the dance-floor.
Being shoved out the way from behind knocked Nikki out of her trance-like focus on the band. "Hey, watch it!" she said to the person who disturbed her, but the look of sheer horror on his face wiped the annoyance from her own. "What the hell?"
She whipped round and saw a commotion in the middle of the dance-floor coming closer to the edges where she and Oz were. As a brief gap appeared between running people, she glimpsed a flash of hair and the image of teeth tearing through flesh. Nikki's blood momentarily turned to ice. "They're here!" she murmered. A conflict of emotions built up within her. Part of her wanted to follow everyone's example and get the hell out of here right now. Another part of her made her hesitate though. She ran once and thought she'd escaped this. Could she just keep running? She started to doubt it.
"Damn you!" she swore, her anger starting to build up. In the back of her mind, she realised Oz was still with her. Would he run? Could she protect him? Hell, could she protect herself? There was little time to make a decision. *Well, no time like the present to find out* she thought bleakly. Somehow she'd managed to tap into herself to free Michael, maybe just maybe she could do it again.
She quickly glanced to Oz. "I think we should go" she lied, having no intention of leaving the club herself, but wanting Oz to get out of danger.
Nominated by Sonya, written by Nick.
Aidan opened his door. "So, unless there are any further questions, Jeffery and Xander will take the back, while Faith, Amy, and I advance on the front. Breaking and entering is allowed, but try not to leave evidence." Aidan pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on, despite the heat outside. "I have several additional pairs in the glove compartment so we can avoid leaving fingerprints. We enter at our assigned locations and work our way through the house until we meet in the middle."
Faith shook her head and laughed, "What don't you have in this glove compartment? Holy water, stakes, gloves, crosses, we could make a whole TV show around your glove compartment, call it Aiden's magic glove compartment. I bet it's like that Doctor Who phone box, sure it looks like a glove compartment but it's really this whole thing with computers and stuff."
Faith smiled boldly at Aiden, she liked picking on him at times, plus it kills the tension in the air.
"We can meet at the staircase," Jeffery offered. "Last time, he was upstairs sleeping the day away."
"Good," Aidan agreed, and popped the trunk. "There is a bag and a set of chains in the back. Xander or Faith, one of you should carry them in. Perhaps you should, Xander, since your entrance should be less observed."
Faith grabbed some gloves putting them on quickly. Hopping out the car toward the trunk Faith opened it grabbing the chains and walking back over to Aiden, Faith looked at the chains with this scowl on her face. "Leather gloves and chains, you never gave me the leather gloves and chains treatment -- that's messed up Aide."
Nomiated by Sonya, written by Diana and Erin.
Alyssa still looking over at Aiden noticed he was eyeing her car. "Faith, I think he knows you're in here, let's just go talk to him."
Faith made sure to turn her head away from the window only giving Aiden a view of the back of her head. "Okay -- you win." Faith was not really sure how this would turn out but seeing that Buffy wasn't around the confrontation shouldn't be too bad.
Alyssa made a right turn and rove inside the Crashdown parking lot and stopped right behind Aiden's car. Faith looked forward at Amy and Aiden her expression vividly timid, Alyssa slid her and over Faith's tapping it gently doing her best to comfort Faith.
"Not bad, sure, he looks like this posh bookworm but I bet under all that he's a *stallion*," Alyssa remarked; a witty lustfilled inkling in her voice.
Faith shook her head a smirk coming to her face, "What you see is what you get with him--you'll see."
Nominated by Sonya, written by Diana.
After a moment, Liz stuck her head into the kitchen, where Alex and Maria were still standing. "Um... Kyle's out here... Don't... touch him or anything, 'K? And, Maria, there's a guy out there in a military uniform. You could go take his order..."
"Is he OK?" Alex said immediatley, wondering why he would normally have any reason to touch Kyle. Wandering away from the counter that had been holding him up for the last few minutes he peeked inside the forbidden room and was taken aback by Kyle's actions. Turning to Maria he said, "You have to see this. I think he's channeling his zen...or something."
Nominated by Sonya, Written by Erin and Danielle.
"Mmphf."
Dawn cracked an eye open and sat up slowly, trying to get a grip on her surroundings. She didn't wonder where her room had gotten to because she had never had any one room for more than a couple of weeks at a time. Most of the time, it had been a beanbag chair or a ratty sofa or whatever was available.
But this sure as hell didn't look like the child welfare place.
Abruptly it clicked. [Michael's room. I'm in Michael's room.] Then she sat straight up. [Michael!]
"I'm up!" She pulled on her pants from yesterday - mostly because they were the only pair she owned - but she hesitated to go with same shirt again. It was too far gone. And it smelled. After a moment's thought, she found the smallest shirt Michael owned and pulled it on.
After pulling her hair into the world's sloppiest ponytail, she opened the door and grinned hugely. "See? I'm up. I'm even perky and chipper." She didn't really know what chipper meant, but it sounded cool and British. "Need some help with breakfast? I can make Tang."
Nominated by Sonya, written by Lisse.
Maria realized she was grinning like an idiot, but she really didn't care. She had missed Alex a lot - and it made her feel better to know that there was one more person firmly on their side.
As the group started moving, Dawn squirmed free of Michael's hand and tried to edge closer to Alex. What everyone was saying was finally starting to penetrate happy pink cloud land. "So, uh, what did you mean by 'from above'? Is my brother an alien?" The huge smile on her face indicated that she was kidding.
That didn't stop Maria from having a momentary heart attack.
Alex gawked at Dawn for a moment before sputtering "No! Of course not I simply meant are you...heaven sent? Because...because you know, your brother here is such an angel." He said, playfully hitting Michael's arm while faking laughter the best he could.
When Alex noticed Maria's eyes start to roll back in her head he quickly wrapped his arm around her back, just in case she felt the need to collapse. He'd been reunited with the group for less than 2 minutes and he had already managed to nearly kill his best friend and recieve a death glare from an alien.
Nominated by Sonya; written by Lisse and Danielle.
Michael took the forms and looked at them, the words on the paper quickly dissolving into legal mumbo-jumbo. "Um... I'm not good at all this legal stuff." He gestured at the papers he held in his hands. "Care to give me the short version?"
"Essentially it means that you will assume responsibility for Dawn's well-being. You'll provide her with food and shelter, see that she gets health care and education, and promise you won't cause her physical or mental distress."
"I don't eat a lot," Dawn added hopefully. "I can live on Doritos. And I'm very good at not being distressed."
Nominated by Sonya; written by Lisse (1st paragraph by Sonya)
"Well, I admit it's an...unusual situation," Mrs. Weisman said as kindly as possible. After twenty years on the job, she was good at keeping a reassuring smile on her face even if her stomach was churning. Like now, for example. "If you had any other family, we might be able to arrange something, but - "
The girl watched her sullenly. "But what?"
"It's just that he isn't much older than you." Mrs. Weisman didn't add what else the file on the girl's new legal guardian told her. No, this was not a good situation at all. "He hasn't met you, correct?"
"He doesn't know I exist."
"Um. Yes." How was she supposed to go about this? "I haven't been able to get an answer at his apartment." She picked up the receiver again and started dialing the work number. "You understand that he may not have enough money to take care of you."
A shrug. The girl didn't want to be here and, quite frankly, Mrs. Weisman didn't blame her in the slightest. The poor thing had just lost her mother, after all - such a terrible car crash, all over the evening news - and her father had vanished off the face of the earth. He hadn't even been married to the girl's mother. And God forbid that either parent could possibly have left a will. Or blood relatives.
"All right, sweetie - "
"Don't call me that. I'm not a kid."
Mrs. Weisman didn't miss a beat. "Let's see if we can get through at work." It was late and she was tired. There was a festival going on all over Roswell, which meant this poor girl was probably overwhelmed. "I'm sorry, how do you pronounce your name again?"
"Guerin. Dawn Guerin."
"Guerin. Let's see if we can get through to your brother, shall we?"
The girl crossed her arms and waited. Mrs. Weisman suppressed a sigh.
Not a good situation at all.
Nominated by Sonya; written by Lisse.
Michael checked his watch for the fifieth time as he ran down the street.
"Shit!"
'Shit' was right. The evening shift at the Crashdown was long since passed and, since he'd been held up in a long, heated conversation with his landlord, Mr. Thomas, about the fact that the lock to his front door had been found melted... he was late. Again. But at least this time it wasn't really completely his fault...
Michael had forgotten his keys and needed to get into his apartment quickly, but hadn't had time to fix the lock (i.e. get Max to fix the lock) after doing his "alien-samantha-genie" thing - as Maria called it - before Mr. Thomas happened to walk by and notice it. And so he'd been pulled into Mr. Thomas's office and had to make up some story as to why his door lock was melted. He'd said that someone must've been trying to break into his apartment, but he scared them off when he arrived to change for work. The obviously lame story hadn't been very convincing, but it was the best that Michael could do on short notice. However, the worst thing was that now that Mr. Thomas had noticed the lock's sorry state, Michael couldn't just zap it back to normal. That would look too weird. So now he had to spend half of his last check from work on getting the lock changed. Which, needless to say, sucked. A lot.
So now here he was, sprinting down the alley to the Crashdown and hoping that he could think of a good enough story to tell Mr. Parker. He was just deciding that the "someone broke into my apartment and I was stuck talking with the landlord about getting the locks fixed" story would have to do when he triped on something and fell to the ground. His bag - which had his costume for the Festival and his work clothes - went flying off to the side of the alley. Michael slowly picked himself up, wincing when he had to put any weight on his left ankle. He must've twisted it when he fell.
"Just great." Looking up at the sky, he yelled, "Thank you *so* much! I really need this right now!"
Sighing, he turned around and began to look around for his bag so that he could continue on his way, limp and all. As he took a step back, he felt his boot bump something soft. [Must be what I tripped over] he thought, reaching down to pull whatever it was into the light. When his fingers touched it, Michael almost threw up on the spot. It was a hand. A human hand. Attached to a human body.
"Oh my god," he whispered, choking back his revulsion long enough to kneel down and check to see if the person was still alive. He wasn't very surprised to find that they were long dead. But his stomach almost lost it. He managed to not puke... just barely.
"Okay, what do I do? What do I do..." Michael thought furiously, trying to think of a plan. He needed to call Valenti. He'd know what to do.
Standing up, Michael began to head down the alley again, still headed for the Crashdown since they'd have a phone he could use there. But he only got two steps before he realized that his bag was still here. Somewhere. And the last thing he needed was for the police to find something of his left behind at the scene of a murder.
Turning around Michael headed back to the body. Once there, he got down on his hands and knees and began feeling around, trying to find his lost bag. That was when the first sound of footsteps on gravel reached his ears.
Someone was here.
"Hello?" he asked cautiously. "Anybody there?"
No response. Just more footsteps as whoever it was moved closer.
[Shit. I've gotta get out of here!] Michael thought frantically, hurrying his search. Where was that damn bag?! Just then, his fingers brushed against a fabric strap - his bag! Grabbing it, Michael turned and jumped to his feet so fast that he almost lost his balance and fell backwards. Almost.
He couldn't hear the footsteps any more. Which was either a very good thing or a very bad thing. Michael wasn't sure which. And he wasn't planning on staying here long enough to find out either.
But apparently, someone had different plans. A hand grabbed Michael by the shirt collar and slammed him up against the alley wall hard. Then another hand punched him in the jaw, sending his head snapping back into the wall behind him and causing Michael to see stars. Then the hands let go of him.
Michael slid down the wall to his knees, fighting to keep fro passing out. The world was spinning around him and he really felt like puking now. A foot hit him in the gut and he cried out, clutching his stomach as he doubled over in pain.
That was it, there went lunch.
Gross. And painful.
Hands reached down and grabbed Michael by the shoulders, lifting him up with ease, even though Michael was a pretty big guy. Another punch and Michael was spitting up blood. Then a hand burried itself in Michael's spikey hair and wrenched his head to the side, exposing his neck.
Michael was about the slip into blissful darkness when he felt teeth tearing into his neck. The guy was *biting* him?! The weirdness of that alone caused Michael to snap back into full awareness. And the pain kept him there.
That was when something in Michael snapped. He felt his powers flaring to life in the palm of his hand, glowing white. The light was bright enough to fill the entire alley and the strange white light of his power. He could see everything clearly: the body on the ground. His bag by his feet. The blood all over his shirt. And the guy attacking him.
The guy... who was looking up in confusion, trying to see where the light was coming from. The guy... with the really weird face.
Michael didn't have time to think about what kind of birth defects this guy had, though. Because the power was done building and it exploded from his hands, hitting the guy in the midsection and sending him flying across the alley at such a great speed that his neck snapped against the far wall and he fell limp.
It didn't take a genious to know that he was dead.
Feeling light headed and slightly nausious, Michael stumbled down the alley way, not even remembering to get his bag.
Max. He had to find Max. Max would fix this.
Michael almost fell about half a million times before he managed to make his way out of the alley. He saw the lights of the Crashdown across the street from him and almost collapsed in relief. He was almost there. And Max would be there. They had a meeting tonight.
Though the time they'd spent planning that meeting seemed like a lifetime away right now.
Max. Find Max.
Michael retained enough presence of mind to remember to go around to the back. Coming into the front while bleeding profusely would not be the smartest move for an alien trying to keep a low profile.
Stumbling through the back door, Michael saw Mr. Parker talking to Johnny, who was on the grill. Michael ducked low, the world spinning danergously around him, as he waited for Mr. Parker to face away from him. After a few tension filled seconds, the older man looked away and Michael rushed up the stairs, praying that at least Liz would be up in her room, if not Max or Izzy. He was so weak that he had to crawl up the last few steps and it was actually a good thing that he did, because Mrs. Parker was sitting in a chair watching TV and she would have seen Michael had he just walked in. But on hands and knees, he was able to get by her without her seeing him. Once in the hallway, Michael half-stood and half stumbled to his feet and continued down the hall with Liz's door in sight. Just a few more steps and then he'd be safe. He could hear music playing softly in Liz's room. And the sound of a blow drier whirring. She was home. She would help him.
Michael reached her door and almost fell through it, only his hand on the doorknob keeping him from falling flat on his face.
"Liz..." he groaned, feeling pretty pathetic but not able to do anything right now but clumsily close the door behind him and then slump backwards against it. He was probably getting blood on her floor, but he couldn't find the energy to put a hand to his neck to stop the blood. It had taken all his energy to just get here.
She was sitting in a chair, drying her hair and wearing a pair of beat up old sweats. She was the most wonderful sight in the world to him right now because she was Liz and she would help him.
With a tiny smile on his lips, Michael Guerin passed out on Liz Parker's floor, finally feeling safe.
Nominated by Erin; written by Sonya.
Buffy saw what Cordy was showing Aidan and resisted the urge to laugh. "Um, I don't know about that, Cordy. It's okay," she said reassuringly to Aidan. "I found my costume and it's not that bad." She showed off her MiB rip-off. "No sequins, Day-Glo, or unitard required. And look. Black. It's tresspassing-friendly so I won't be seen when I break and enter."
"Speaking of men in black...I have to pick up the rest of Xander's costume." Cordelia mumbled, heading over to the counter. After a very long wait in line she finally reached the cashier who did not seem to be in the best mood.
"Hi" Cordelia said, flashing a movie star smile. "I'm hear to pick up part of a costume for Xander Harris, you were holding it for him."
The cashier glared at Cordelia and then turned to a rack of clothing behind her. "Sorry, no Xander" she called.
"Try looking under Harris" Cordelia replied, leaning over the counter to try and get a better look at the tags hanging off the costumes.
"You said Xander!" The woman shot back.
"Harris comma Xander! Look it up!" a peeved Cordelia replied.
"Not here" the woman answered, hardly giving the rack a second glance.
Cordelia was very angry after her long wait in line. She looked for the closest way to get to the costume rack but the counter boxed it in on all sides. "Oh, What the hell" she said under her breath and hoisted herself over the counter to the other side. Ignoring the astonised worker she surveryed the goods and found one with a tag marked HARRIS, ALEXANDER. "I'm sorry, it was under Alexander. My mistake." she said in her best flight attendent voice. Hopping back over counter she handed over the deposit and then met back up with Buffy and Aidan. "Let's get out of here." she said.
Nominated by Erin; written by Danielle and Patricia.
'Why am I running after her?'
Isabel could hear her mind asking that question with every subsequent step she took in the direction of where Harmony ran off to. She had to time to analyse why she was doing so. That would come later, especially if it turned out to be a bad idea. All she knew now was that she felt it was the right thing to do.
"Harmony! Wait!!!" She yelled further hoping that it would halt the retreat of her fellow student. As she rounded the corner she found Harmony sitting against a wall, her head in her hands. Isabel took a couple of steps towards her softly calling her name.
"Harmony"
Harmony looked up in genuine surprise at the sound of Isabel's voice. The last thing she expected was for someone to follow her. Especially not someone she knew for less than a day. Mind you she also didn't expect any of the other occupants of the cafe to care either. Especially the Sunnydale alumni.
"Hey" she said a little pathetically.
"Okay, now I know I only met you like a few hours ago, but that doesn't sound like your normal self." Isabel said taking a seat beside her, not caring about what sort of grime she was sitting on.
"I'm sorry. Things just got a little too much for me and then you asked about Jeffrey and well I sort of flipped." Harmony hung her head, embarrassed by her outburst.
"What's causing it?" Isabel asked.
Harmony, not for the first time that day had to check herself on what exactly she said. The truth was that she had seen just one too many ex-Sunnydale folks today. At first when she saw Xander Harris in town, Harmony's mischievous side came out. But then she saw Jessica, Faith, Aidan, Willow, Cordelia and Jeffrey. Well, Jeffrey was the one person that she didn't mind seeing. Although as the others mounted up part of her wished that he wasn't in town either. Whatever was going on in Roswell, was big. Major. No more evidence of that assumption was needed when she saw that Buffy Summers had arrived as well. The fact that they had left Sunnydale slayer-less was the final nail in the 'Roswell is going to hell' coffin Harmony had been fearing since she saw he first ex-classmate.
Then of course there was the more personal reasons. Every Sunnydale Scooby Member was another reminder to Harmony of who she use to be. Who she didn't want her knew friends to know about. At least not from anyone else's mouths. She knew what they all thought of her. She also knew that she was the cause of a lot of it as well. But after gathering her strength all summer to start anew, to have all of the reminders of what she was changing from, hitting her in the face in one day. Well it started to boil inside.
The only plus on the day was the most unexpected re-union with Jeffrey. But even that most joyous occasion was tempered in Harmony's heart with the realisation that Jeffrey was involved with the Scooby Gang. It was something she did not want a part of. But if the feelings she was feeling towards him today, grew, she would have to make a choice. One that she didn't want to think about right now.
And what was worse was that if she explained all of that to Isabel, then any secret identity the others had would be exposed for good. Truth be told she felt no great loyalty to them, except Jeffrey. But she also didn't want any of them to get hurt. Even Jessica Anderson. And for that she knew she had to lie to people.
'Well if they are making me lie, than I can use them to do it,' Harmony thought before replying.
"It's just seeing Jessica Anderson here in Roswell sort of confirmed my suspicions," Harmony answered Isabel's question.
"What suspicions?" Isabel countered, intrigued just slightly.
"Well Jeffrey and I may have had a thing, but I had to leave. Then all of the sudden he shows up here - Now that is beautiful co-incidence." The smile she had on her face was genuine. "But then Jessica Anderson shows up as well. She is at College with Jeffrey, but I never thought she would pick Roswell to come. So it seems as though she followed him, like that Felicity girl on that WB Show."
Isabel was a little disappointed. She had hoped that there would be a little more substance to Harmony than a simple jealousy. On the other hand in allayed a little any suspicions she had of her, for which Isabel was glad. Harmony may not have a deep problem, but she was good company. And that is what Isabel wanted. Of course now was not the time to tell Harmony that she strongly suspected Jeffrey was trying to flirt with her the previous night. She couldn't say that. She couldn;t be sure. Maybe he was just being friendly.
"Well, do you usually let another girl win?" Isabel asked, not picturing Harmony as the quitter.
Harmony grinned. "At my old school, they would usually be ground beneath my feet." Her grin vanished a little. "Except her. Jessica always rose above it and took great delight in making sure I knew she was above it. We really never got along."
"You think?" Isabel replied with a grin, already getting the icy feel from that relationship with out any further explanation from Harmony. "You did say Jeffrey was picking you up tonight."
Harmony nodded.
"and I was there when he ran into you at school. He certainly left the other girl alone when he saw you."
"He did, didn't he." Harmony smiled. It seemed as though Isabel had bought the excuse. She only hoped that someday she would get a chance to explain to Isabel why she had to lie. "Well I'll see what happens tonight."
"Alright. Pep talk over. How about we head back to the Crashdown. I've got to talk to Liz and you never know, Prince Charming may turn up."
"Okay." Harmony stopped before reaching out and lightly tapping Isabel's shoulder. "Thanks."
Isabel smiled back. "No problem."
Nominated by Erin; written by Andrew.
"Maria, may I kiss you?"
He held his breath and waited. Either this new approach was going to be an astounding success or he was just about to get slapped across the face. Michael was sincerely hoping for the former and *not* the latter. After all, Maria had a mean right hook.
"I should smack you, you know that?" Maria almost laughed at Michael's look; half the time he seemed to think that she could read his mind. "We're in a closet and we're ditching class and you can't think of anything better to do?"
Before he could answer - or possibly before he could think of a glib comeback - she reached up and gave him a very definite yes.
Strawberries. Maria always tasted like strawberries and now was no exception. Michael had never really thought much about strawberries before Maria entered his life. They were just something that tasted better with tabasco sauce, much like donughts, soda pop and chocolate cake. Nothing special. But after kissing Maria for the first time, the taste of strawberries took on a whole new set of sensations and emotions for him. He'd tried eating some strawberries once over the summer after the revelation of the alien's destiny, sans tabasco and sans Maria, just to prove that they wouldn't affect him, and he'd been only half vendicated. The strawberries themselves hadn't meant anything to him. They'd actually been fairly bland and uninteresting. But the unavoidable thoughts of Maria that resulted from his little experiment had been anything but bland and uninteresting.
Needless to say, Michael hadn't had any more strawberries over the summer.
Now he was finding out what he'd been missing so much. No strawberry could match the appeal of Maria and her fruity lip gloss, which was already almost gone now. She'd have to reapply later, he supposed. Not that he had a mind to think of what she was going to be doing to fix her makeup later. He didn't really have a mind to think of anything other than what she felt like in his arms. She felt like heaven. And he felt overwhelmed.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light that Michael could see dancing across his closed eyelids and he was somewhere else. He was sitting on a porch step, watching a little girl across the street with pixie-like blonde curls and bright red sneakers. They had blue shoelaces and a kermit patch on the right shoe. She was crying and her dalmation dog was licking away her tears.
Michael had seen this before. When Maria had unknowingly given him the flashes. Why was he thinking of this now, of all times? But then the scene changed and he realized that he wasn't doing this, not intentionally anyway. It was Maria. Maybe it was being with her after all this time apart or just the intensity of the monent... but something had allowed them to *connect*. However, this felt different from the last time he'd gotten the flashes. Before it had been like watching a picture show from in the front row seats, but now it was like he'd jumped inside the screen. He was feeling things that he shouldn't, by all rights, be feeling. Things that Maria had felt over the years.
The deep sorrow she felt when her father left.
The pain she felt when she twisted her ankle in the sixth grade.
The fear she felt when she saw Liz get shot. [There was so much blood! Michael hadn't noticed that from where he was standing...]
The strange mix of confusion, annoyance, anger and attraction that she felt that night at the "nooky motel" with him, when they'd each realized that the other was more than just someone to be tolerated because of a shared secret. When she'd heard her own thoughts coming out of his mouth. "There's got to be something better out there for me than Roswell, New Mexico."
How hurt she'd been when he told her that she had gotten "too intense" at the party in the old soap factory.
How happy she'd been when she'd found the napkin holder he'd made waiting for her in her locker at school.
How embarrased and yet pleased she'd been when he told her that he'd gotten flashes from her after all.
The bittersweet feeling of extreme pleasure and heart-wrenching pain that overwhelmed her when she heard him tell her that he loved her for the first and last time.
And there was something else that was different...
It was hard to describe, but he felt like some switch had been turned on. He felt like everything that made him Michael, which was normally hidden back in the dark corners of his mind as a defense mechanism, had suddenly been thrown into the harsh, unforgiving light. It was frightening, confusing, exhilirating and somehow liberating all at once.
[What the hell is going on?]
Was she seeing something, too? He knew that Liz had seen flashes from Max before: flashes of his past, of his secrets, of his feelings for her and even flashes of the crash. But Michael had always thought that he, unlike Maxwell, wasn't capable of being that open with another person. After all, Max was perfect. He had the perfect family and the perfect life. He had nothing to hide. And Michael had *everything* to hide.
What if Maria saw what life had been like with Hank? What if she saw how much of a coward he had been, taking the years of physical and emotional abuse because he was afraid that telling someone would just result in him being taken away from Roswell... from Max and Izzy, the only family he'd ever known.
What if she saw how he felt about her? What if she saw how many times he'd sat alone at his apartment over the summer, just thinking about her and drawing her face in his sketchbook?
Maria was dreaming. She was sure she was asleep, because this was what she had dreamed all summer. For all of her belief that she was not sappy and very much not caught in a Liz/Max relationship, she couldn't deny that, for the moment, she was in heaven. Next she was going to be swooning or something like that. She was surprised to find she didn't care.
Something flashed across her vision, lights dancing and twisting, shapes at the edge of sight. Her breath caught as she felt herself pulled elsewhere, watching through another's eyes and feeling what another felt. Flashes.
Loneliness. Loss. A desert, and a little boy. Michael. Some part of Maria smiled as she realized what was going on. She was seeing parts of Michael. At the same time, she felt something open up inside her, as if a floodgate had been forced open. Everything that was her flowed to Michael, just as everything that was Michael came to her in heartbeats.
Max and Isabel as children. Envy. Maria's smile vanished. More than envy. Pain. They had something Michael desperately wanted, but something that was beyond his grasp.
Heartbeat. Hiding from something. From someone. Envy and pain subsumed by fear. Hank in one of his drunken rages. A bottle shattering against the wall.
Heartbeat. Herself, glaring at him as he all but hijacked her mother's car to chase after Max.
Heartbeat. Walking away from her after breaking up with her. Had she really looked that hurt? His warring emotions mixed with her own. Pain.
Heartbeat. Strawberries. Her face on a notepad. An entire summer in a moment.
Gasping, Maria pushed herself away, stumbling until her feet rooted themselves to the ground. She was shivering and something damp ran down her cheek. [I'm not crying,] she told herself. [I'm not crying. I'm not crying. I'm not crying.] Remnants of Michael's life flashed through her head. How much had he seen? She scrubbed at her eyes before he could look up at her.
Michael pulled away from Maria so quickly that he almost knocked her down to the floor. He took deep breaths, trying to regain control. His knees felt like silly puty, so he reached out a hand and placed it on the nearby wall to steady himself. He was shocked to find that his hands where shaking.
[Suck it up and act like a man, dumb ass! Since when has Michael Guerin been a sissy? Shape up before Maria sees how freaked out you are!]
Michael winced, hating that he always heard Hank's voice when he felt like he'd screwed up yet again, telling him that he was worthless, not worth spit. Only good for a monthly check.
[Look, it's damage control time, Mikey. You have to make sure that she didn't see anything. That it was all in your demented little brain.]
But how does one ask their semi-quasi girlfriend if they just received potentially incriminating flashes about your past from a kiss?
"Did you... feel that?"
Maria could only gape at him.
[Gee, can you vague that up for her a bit?]
"Did you... *see* that?"
Michael tried to look anywhere but at her, fearing what he'd see when he met her gaze. Loathing. Disgust. Pity. He didn't know which would be worse. All he could do was try to stop trembling long enough to recover control over himself. When she looked at him with something akin to horror in her eyes, he wanted to be prepared to cope.
[Stonewall. Gotta be a stonewall.]
Somehow he feared that wouldn't be enough this time...
"I saw...something." Maria leaned against the wall, as far from Michael as she could manage to be in the small confines. Great way to deal with your boyfriend. Kiss him and show him pieces of your life. Well, why not?
The flashes wouldn't go away. One in particular. "Michael..." She licked her lips and pressed on. He had to know what she had seen. It was only fair. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" she said finally. She didn't have to say what she was talking about. From the expression on Michael's face, he had probably guessed already.
Nominated by Erin; written by Lisse and Sonya.
Michael latched onto that conversational gambit like a drowning man grabbing a rope. Anything to take his mind off of the tell-all sketch he'd just drawn and Maria's presence beside him. "Most people wear costumes. Alien stuff. There's a little place on the outskirts of town that sells them. I'd offer to take you there, but the shop owner isn't all that fond of me." He winced, remembering the last time that he and Amy DeLuca, the queen of alien themed costumes and stuff, had been in the same room. She'd been thwapping him with a newspaper and kicking him out of her house after finding him in her daughter's bed. Which, granted, had looked bad to the casual observer, but totally wasn't what it appeared to be. He peaked over at Maria, wonding what she was thinking. She hadn't said a word since he'd finished the drawing of her. It was starting to freak Michael out. Maria's weren't meant to be silent. They were meant to be talkative and full of life. Just like Michael's were supposed to be moody and Liz's were supposed to be sweet and Max's were supposed to be calm. Why did everyone keep trying to go against type today? Maria being quiet, Michael being sappy, Max being upset and Liz dressing up in that killer outfit. It was strange and upsetting. Michael scowled, looking down at his picture and worrying the edges of the paper with his fingers. Well, at least he was back to normal. If this wasn't moody, he didn't know what was!
Nominated by Erin; Written by Sonya.
Buffy kept a straight face for about three seconds, and then burst out laughing. "You mean that you and Aidan are supposed to be a couple?" she asked, giggling. She stopped at the hurt expression on Willow's face. "I'm not laughing at you, Will. See my expression? Seriousity. Serious Face, thy name is Buffy," she said, trying to look innocent. "Back to work," she said, promptly. "What's the deal here?"
Nominated by Erin; written by Patricia.
Jeffery exhaled in a big whoosh when Isabel didn't descend on him yelling, "What are *you* doing at the high school! Are you some kind of skanky freak?"
He heard her begin a conversation with someone. Another girl. The new voice sounded familiar. He turned around slowly, unable to believe his ears. His mouth literally dropped open.
"Harmony!!!"
Secrecy, Jessica and anything she was saying, and everything else was completely blown from his mind. He couldn't believe he had finally found Harmony again, in Roswell of all places!
He and Harmony had bonded one night, and actually developed what seemed to be a budding friendship. It had been completely unexpected, but good. A real friendship. And then his father had died, and he'd had to go to Ireland. When he'd gotten home, Harmony had vanished without a trace. Their house had been emptied, and no one knew where she had gone. He'd tried to find her, but only found dead ends. He'd been afraid that dire had happened.
It took Jeffery less than half a dozen steps to cross the clearing to the place where Harmony and Isabel were sitting. He reached down, pull her up, put his arms around her and gave her a huge hug!
"I can't believe it's really you! I didn't know what happened to you! I was afraid..." He stopped there, unwilling to finish the sentence in front of Isabel -- he had that much presence of mind -- and he also knew that Harmony, a Sunnydale native, could fill in the blank herself.
Nominated by Andrew; written by Erin.