Today was all about him and Liz. There would be no one there to get in the way, or to keep an eye on Max. There would be no parents breathing down their necks. There wouldn’t even be any other people around. Today it was just him and Liz, and miles of desert in every direction.

Max’s mind flashed back to the previous evening, the last time that he had stood on her front porch. She stood across from him as they said goodnight softly, and he kissed her softly on the lips, ending a night that had been incredible to say the least, even if it was far from perfect. They had both declared their love to one another one last time, before his angel disappeared inside her home.

Max had driven around for hours after the dance, marveling at all of the occurrences of the night. There were no more doubts in his mind about his relationship with Liz. He knew it was right, and he knew that it would work, and most importantly, he knew that she loved him back.

It was the most incredible feeling in the world, to know that Liz Parker loved him.

Liz opened the door for him, and without hesitation Max picked her up, and spun her around in a circle, kissing her breathlessly in greeting.

“Hi.” He smiled as he set her down.

“Wow.” Liz breathed out in response, gazing up into his eyes, adoration plastered across his face.

“I love being able to do that.” Max grinned mischievously.

“I kind of like it too.” Liz responded slyly.

“So, are you ready?”

“Let’s go.”

Max led Liz out to the jeep, and helped her up into the passenger seat. He slipped on his seat belt, and they sped off towards the edge of town.

“How long have you had your license?” Liz asked curiously.

“Just a few months…I turned 16 in March.”

“Really? You’re old for a freshman.”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s not my actual birthday though. No one knows for sure when I was born.”

“Because of your adoption?”

“It’s more than just that… There’s no record of my birth at tall. I was a foundling. My parents found Isabel and I in the desert. They assumed we were six, but no one knows for sure. I have no memories from before that night at all.”

Liz nodded thinking back to the night before, when she and Max shared their first kiss, and she imagined all those visions in her head. Strange…one of the things she made up was Max being found along a dark highway. It was kind of weird how much that hit close to home.

“So then what happened?” Liz asked remembering some of the other visions. “You didn’t start school for another two years.”

“Yeah…like I said, we don’t know what happened before that night, but when we were found we knew nothing. We couldn’t speak any language, we weren’t even toilet trained. We were like two newborn babies in the form of six year olds.”

“That’s strange, I wonder why?”

Max stared at Liz for a long moment. He could do it right now. He could tell her the truth about himself. It was a perfect opportunity. All he needed to tell her was that it was in actuality the first day of his life. He had emerged from a pod mere hours before being found by his parents. He was an alien. It wouldn’t be hard to do.

He was aching to tell her. He loved the angel beside him, and he wanted to be able to be honest with her, about absolutely everything. But there was Michael, and Isabel…and Max just couldn’t do it. It wasn’t just him who was in danger.

“I don’t know.” There was a long period of silence as they both listened to the humming of the jeep’s motor, before Max finally spoke up again.

“It was really hard for the first few years. Isabel knew right away that she had found her home. She and mom were really close from day one. But me… I felt from the start that I didn’t belong here. I didn’t know where I did belong, I just knew it wasn’t here. I used to cry myself to sleep every night, desperate to go back to a home that I didn’t even know.”

“That must have been really hard.”

“Yeah, it was. But my mom was amazing. She did everything she could for me. In particular, I remember she gave me this little toy house, and she told me that it would help me find my way home.”

“Did it?”

“No, you did that.” Max admitted earnestly.

“Me?” Liz asked him incredulously.

“Yes. Back in third grade, when I first started school. I was still miserable after two years, and my parents hoped that going to school and meeting new people might help me adjust, so the enrolled Izzy and I. You were the first person I laid my eyes on when I arrived that school that day, and I fell in love with you on sight.”

By this point Max had pulled off the highway and driven miles into the desert. He stopped the jeep in the shade below some huge, jagged rock formations, and turned to meet Liz’s eyes as he continued.

“You were what got me out of bed every morning and helped me get through every day. I could deal with anything that came along, as long as I got one glimpse of you , Liz. You made me come alive, and begin to see all of the good in the world. I guess you could say that I owe everything to you, Liz.”