Michael knew that it was an unusual sight to people, seeing him wandering around school. He rarely showed his face at school, so on the rare occasions when he did show up, people always noticed.

Michael wasn’t there to study or go to class though. He was only there for one purpose, to check up on Max. Max was his brother, and Michael wasn’t about to let the guy screw up like this. They couldn’t get involved with anyone. That was the way it had always been, and nothing was ever going to change that. Michael needed to make sure that Max remembered that.

Michael stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him, when he finally found them.

Max and Isabel were sitting across the quad from where Michael was standing, and they weren’t alone. Max was sitting with his arm draped over Liz Parker’s shoulder, and Isabel was sitting awfully close to Alex Whitman. That weird Maria-girl was with them too. Alex was gesturing wildly about God only knows what, when suddenly Isabel threw back her head and started cracking up. Isabel! The ice queen herself, who never let herself show any emotions.

The two of them looked awfully comfortable with their new friends, and Michael didn’t like it one bit.

Max had never been this happy before in his life. Being with Liz had made him so happy, but being with Liz AND seeing Isabel happy and comfortable with his new friends…Max had never believed that it could happen.

He watched his sister with a chuckle as Isabel laughed loudly at one of Alex’s crazy jokes. Isabel was laughing…Max couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

Liz had brought so much good into both of their lives, first his by giving him a chance, and letting him move forward with their relationship, and now with Isabel too, by making friends with her, and helping her to open up to someone for the first time ever. Now, 5 days later, Isabel and Liz were inseperatable, and Maria and Alex had accepted them as well.

Max owed Liz everything. For the first time ever he and Isabel knew what it was like to get involved with people, and they both loved it.

A figure caught Max’s eye from across the quad, and Max’s gaze fell nervously as he spied Michael scowling at them. There was just one thing missing from their newfound happiness…

“I’ll be right back.” Max whispered to Liz, as he got up and started towards his friend. Michael immediately turned and started stalking away.

“Michael, wait!” Max called out, jogging after his friend. “Michael!”

“What Max?” Michael shouted angrily, spinning to face Max.”

“Why don’t you come join us?” Max asked.

“I don’t get involved. Remember that? Our rules? The ones that don’t seem to apply to you and Isabel anymore?”

“The rules still apply, Michael. We’re not telling them anything, we’re just hanging out.”

“You’re getting in too deep, Maxwell.”

“I just want to have a life, Michael. I’m sick of going through the motions. We might as well make the best of our current situation, and try and enjoy our lives. I’m going to go back over there and join my friends now. If you want to, come join us. If not, go back into your little shell and hide, Michael. It’s up to you.”

Max turned away from his friend and headed back. Michael stared after him in shock, wondering when it was that Max had changed so much… It seemed to come out of nowhere…

“So what’s up with that Michael guy?” Maria asked curiously when Max returned to his original position, holding Liz in his arms. She had been watching the whole exchange between Max and his best friend, and she had to admit that she was a little intrigued. What was up with that weird Michael guy? He was such a loser. What was it about him that made someone as nice as Max Evans care so much about the guy?

“What about him?” Isabel responded cautiously.

“I dunno,” Maria continued. “He just never talks to anyone other than you two. What’s up with that.”

“Maybe he’s just comfortable around us.” Isabel shrugged.

Max stared off as Michael headed off the school grounds. His mouth just started going while his brain was still reeling over his argument with his brother. “We just have a lot in common. We understand each other. We’re the only 3 kids at West Roswell who are adopted. It kind of connects us to one another.”

Liz whirled around to stare at Max. “You’re adopted?” She asked him incredulously.

“Yeah.” Isabel responded. “You didn’t know?”

“I don’t know, it just never occurred to me.” Liz thought. “I was just surprised. I mean, you seem so close to your parents. I never considered that you weren’t actually related.”

“We are really close to them.” Isabel explained. “We owe everything to them. They took us in out of the cold, adopted us, and gave us a life. Without them, we’d be…”

“Where Michael is.” Max cut her off. “We’d be exactly like Michael. In a tough home, with a tough life, bitter and angry at the world. We’re lucky Izzy. We’re really, really lucky.”

“Yeah, we are.” Isabel smiled at her brother.

The five friends sat in a thoughtful silence after that, their carefree mood from earlier melting away. The bell rang, and they broke, all heading off to their separate classes.

“Hey.” Max greeted with a smile, as he walked up to Liz after school, giving her a tight hug.

“Hey.” Liz smiled back.

“What’s up?” Max asked her curiously.

“Are you busy right now?”

“No, I was just heading home, that was it. I was going to do homework, but it can wait.”

“Would you mind walking me home? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Sure, lets go.”

The two of them walked in silence for a few blocks, just holding hands and thinking about how lucky they were to have found each other. Her thoughts just reminded Liz more about what was bothering her, so finally Liz spoke up.

“Okay, Max. So something has been bugging me since lunch today, and I really need to talk to you about it, just get it out there, and all that.”

“Sure, Liz.”

“I don’t know you Max.” Liz blurted out. “I don’t know anything about you at all. I mean, we’ve been dating for 5 days, and I know nothing more about you than I did when we started. Except for the fact that you’re adopted, but that came as a huge surprise to me today. We only talk about me, Max, never about you. Part of what intrigues me so much about you is your mystery, Max. I mean I’ve known you since we were eight, but at the same time, I don’t know you at all. I want to get to know you, Max, not just hang out with you, although I’m having a blast with that too. But…who are you, Max?”

They had stopped walking somewhere during Liz’s tirade, and now Max pulled Liz down, so that they sat on the edge of the sidewalk facing each other.

“What do you want to know?” Max asked softly. “I’ll be honest with you, Liz. I have some things that I don’t really like to talk about, but aside from that, which really isn’t all that important, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

“Okay…” Liz agreed, trailing off realizing that she had absolutely no idea what to ask him now. “Umm…what’s your favorite subject in school?” She asked him.

“Science.” He told her immediately.

“Really? Mine too! Why?”

“Because I sit with you.” He admitted nervously.

“Oh…” Liz blushed. “Why do you only hang out with Isabel and Michael?”

“Like I said at lunch today, we understand each other because of our similar situations. We kind of consider each other our real family. Michael is like a brother to me. Kind of a pain in the ass brother who’s always getting into trouble sometimes, but still, a brother.”

“It’s kind of like Maria, Alex, and I then. We’re so close that we consider each other to be family too. Of course, I suppose yours is in the more literal sense.”

“Yeah. Isabel and I are all Michael has. That’s why he’s being so unsupportive of our relationship. I think he’s afraid of loosing me to you.”

“That must be really hard for him.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Maybe I should try and win him over, like I did with Isabel.” Liz suggested with a smile.

“I don’t know. Michael’s really…difficult to get to know. I don’t think he’d respond well. For now, let’s just leave him alone. Maybe he’ll come around on his own. He has to realize that he’s not going to loose us, and that’s something that we can’t help him with.” Liz nodded in understanding.

“Next question!” Max laughed.

“Okay….ummm….what do you like to do for fun?”

“Anything with you, next question.” Max grinned.

“No, really Max! There has to be something!”

“Umm, okay. I like movies. I like sports.”

“Such a guy.” Liz joked in response. “Announcement to the world: I have broken down Max Evans’ walls, to discover that he is a normal guy!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” Max mumbled under his breath.

“Okay then, what do you like to do that’s new and different.”

“I like the desert.”

“What do you mean?”

“I love going out into the desert, and exploring, and stargazing. It’s so peaceful out there. For the few hours that I’m away from Roswell, I can forget about how complicated the real world is.”

“That’s so cool, Max.”

“Would you like to go sometime? Out to the desert. It’ll be fun! Just you and me, out in the wilderness exploring the world.”

“It sounds like fun, Max.”

“How about Saturday. We can spend the whole day together.”