“Oh good! Come on in, Liz.” Liz slipped into the office, shutting the door behind her. “I hope you don’t mind that I pulled you out of class.”

“It’s okay, I didn’t mind.” Liz noticed the two teens sitting across from the counselor, and nodded at them in greeting, curious as to what she had to do with them. “What’s up?” She asked Mrs. Jamieson.

“I’d like you to meet Matthew and Alyssa Johnson, two new students.”

“Hi.” Liz smiled warmly at them. They returned her smiles, but Liz couldn’t help but notice a strange look in their eyes…they were staring at her really intensely…she found it slightly discomforting.

“Would you mind showing them around a little bit? You know, giving them a tour of the school, introducing them to people…just help them get settled in here?”

“Yeah! Sure! It’s not a problem.”

“Thank you, Liz. They have their schedules already so you guys are good to go.”

“Thanks Mrs. Jamieson!” Matthew leapt up, pulling his sister up with him.

“Yeah, we really appreciate all of your help.”

“No problem. You kids have fun settling in.” Mrs. Jamieson turned to Liz with a smile. “They’re very eager to get going.”

“Yeah, I can understand that.” Liz smiled warmly at them. “Bye Mrs. Jamieson!”

Liz led the two new students outside and turned to talk to them.

“So…” She started slowly. “I’m Liz.”

“I’m Alyssa, and this is my brother Matt.” The girl greeted.

Liz nodded to the boy, who was standing there silently beside his sister, and was surprised to see him staring at her with a funny look on his face, as if he were studying her, looking for something in particular.

“Where did you move here from?” Liz asked curiously, trying to ignore Matt’s penetrating gaze.

“Oh just from a boring little town up north…nowhere special.” Alyssa responded.

“Well, welcome to Roswell…home of alien themed tourist traps…and not much else.” Liz joked. Alyssa chuckled softly at the joke, but a dark expression passed through Matt’s eyes.

“Well, it’s better than things were back home.” He responded bitterly.

Alyssa eyed her brother for a second before slipping a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“But we got out of there, Matt. It’s behind us for now.”

Liz was startled by the twins’ reactions to talking about their home. Whatever they had gone through there must have been terrible. She’d have to remember not to bring it up again, and to try and make them comfortable here.

Liz didn’t know why, but for some reason she already felt an instinct to help these two, protect them, make them happy. It was kind of unnerving to her. She had barely met these two five minutes earlier. Alyssa seemed really nice and really sweet…Liz was looking forward to getting to know her better, but Matt was so quiet and mysterious…kind of like Max.

The realization hit Liz suddenly. That must be it…Matt reminded Liz of Max. Protecting Max was one of the most important things in the world to Liz. His life was so complex, so dangerous. He was such a good person, he deserved better than the life he was forced to lead, and Liz intended to give it to him whenever she could.

But these new kids didn’t have to deal with anything like she and Max did. They didn’t know that aliens exist. They weren’t constantly fighting some intergalactic war. Their lives were simple compared to hers and Max’s.

“So, show me your schedules!” Liz exclaimed, trying to get her mind back on the actual issue at hand. “Maybe we have some classes together!”

They produced their schedules, which Liz examined.

“Let’s see…Alyssa, you’re in my gym class, and my science lab. Oh! And you have history with my boyfriend, Max. And let’s see…Matt. Hey, you’re both in the science lab! Cool! And you’re in my British Lit class. Oh, and in Max’s math class too. Cool, that will help.”

Liz smiled genuinely at the new students. “Come on, we have about 20 minutes until lunch. I can show you around a bit, and then at lunch I’ll be able to introduce you to everyone.”

“Everyone?” Matt asked curiously.

“Yeah. Max, my boyfriend, and the rest of the gang: my best friends Maria and Alex, Max’s sister, Isabel, and his best friend, Michael. The six of us always hang out together.”

“Wow! That’s really cool!” Alyssa commented, filing the names away. She assumed that the rest of the royal four was included in that list somewhere…she just didn’t know who. They’d know, of course, the moment they met them. Their entire childhood had been filled with stories of royal four, and how they were going to save them someday.