~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

'Why couldn't I have just said yes?!' Liz screamed at herself in her mind. 'Max Evans, one of the most popular, and let's admit it, HOT, guys in school asked me out today. Twice. And I had to act like a scared little girl and say no!'

She hugged her pillow to her chest. She wished Alex would get home so she could talk to him. At least then she'd have something to think about other than Max Evans.

She heard a door open and close downstairs. She got up and ran down the hallway and down the stairs. She practically knocked Alex over.

"Whoa, Liz, slow down!" he said. "What's up? I mean, you came running downstairs like your pants were on fire!"

"How was your date?" she asked, dragging him up to their kitchen. She pushed him into a chair. "I'm dying to know what happened! Tell me!"

"Calm down," laughed Alex. "Well, Isabel loved the dinner surprise…" Alex told Liz about his whole night, getting a dreamy look on his face as he told Liz that Isabel had kissed him.

"Wow, Alex. This is so great for you! Do you think you two will go out again?"

Alex shrugged. "I hope so. I think so. Anyways, how was your night? Do anything fun?"

"Not really. Just played video games."

Liz must have looked like she was hiding something because Alex raised his eyebrows and said, "Just video games? Nothing else happened?"

"Well…earlier, during my shift, Max Evans asked me out."

"Oh man, that's great Lizzie! You two-"

"I said no. And then at about 9:30 he called and asked me again."

"You said no?! Why? I mean, he's popular and he must like you if he asked you twice today."

"Yeah, well, maybe…" said Liz. She decided not to tell Alex about the weird dream thing she'd had about her and Max in the desert.

"I'm tired, Alex. I'm gonna head for bed."

"Good night Lizzie," said Alex. She went to her room and shut the door. She walked to her phone and dialed *69. She got Max's number and called him. She had something she needed to tell him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria waved goodbye to Michael as he climbed onto his motorbike. She closed the front door and went upstairs to talk to Max.

Michael had told her that Max was having some fantasies and although Michael tried to convince her that it wasn't alien-related, she was worried.

She knocked on his door and opened it. She saw Max sitting on his bed, looking confused and worried.

"Hey Maria," he said, smiling when she walked in. "What's up?"

"That's what I should be asking you. Michael said you were having these flashy fantasy things."

"He told you about that?" asked Max, making a mental note to never tell Michael something private ever again.

"Yes, and I'm offended that you didn't tell me, too. All alien-related stuff should be told to all the rest of us!"

"Maria, calm down! It's not alien-related! It's just about a girl. A girl I like…that's it.'

"No, that's not it, Max. It has to be alien related. Michael said that you said that these were more intense than anything you'd ever experienced. It's not just about some girl you like. For all we know, she could be some kind of enemy, or a skin, or-"

"Maria, you're wrong. She's not an enemy. Calm down. I need to get some sleep now."

"Fine," muttered Maria, trudging off to her room.

Max walked across the hall to brush his teeth. He never heard his phone ringing. The answering machine clicked on. "Hey, this is Max. I'm away now, but leave me a message and I'll get back to you soon."