"Liz, Liz, Liz...."Maria chided."We’re here to see if they have any information."She waved her hand."This is a collection of alien findings."

I glared at her, then glanced around, grimacing at my surroundings.

We were in the town’s UFO Museum.

Maria delighted in coming here, she thought it was amusing that human’s could be so off about alien life-forms.

I was just bored with it.

"What this is, is a collection of crap." I know I was being deliberately harsh, but I was a little mad at myself for agreeing to come. There was only one reason I would even set foot in this place.

And he was standing three feet away, painting a wall bright red with his best friend Michael Guerin. They both worked here.

He didn’t seem to notice my intense staring.

And I was thankful for that. If he in any way, shape or form returned my deep affections then he’d be in deep trouble, I’d be in deep trouble.

Because I knew, if we were ever in any kind of relationship that I’d spill my deep, dark secret to him.

And break a sacred pack I’d made years ago.

Not to mention Maria, and Alex, my brother, would kill me.

So I snuck quick glances at him. stared when I though he wasn’t looking.

Please, don’t let him see.

******************************************************************************

"So Max, Liz Parker’s staring at you again." Max looked over at his best friend since kindergarten, Michael, and confusion filled his face.

"What?"

"Liz, she’s staring again." He pointed behind me.

I turned, and there she was.

Liz Parker.

The most beautiful girl in the world.

Also the most unattainable.

She was sitting with her friend Maria DeLuca, in our little café section of the museum. She didn’t seem to even see me.

"Michael, would you quit that, she’s not even looking over here."

"Dude, she was just like undressing you with her eyes."

My eyebrow went up,"Undressing me?"

He nodded.

"With her eyes?"

He nodded again.

"Michael, were you smoking some kind of illegal drug during your break?" I asked sarcastically."Because the day Liz Parker undresses me with her eyes, is the day you stop listening to Metallica."

"Okay, but she was."

"You know even if she was, I’m with Tess." I sighed at his disbelieving look."And Tess is steady, and loyal, and dependable."

His face was now covered in disgust,"Sound like you describing a pug."

I was about to answer him when I heard shouting behind me, Michael rushed forward, brush in hand. I was stuck standing their, in that little alcove.

It all happened in a flash.

I heard something about money, and being late. The silver of a gun glistened in the shadowed museum, as one of the men lifted his hand.

Then I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen, and I fell to the ground.

Seconds later Liz Parker was crouching above me, ripping open my uniform and placing a warm hand over my stomach.

Over the bullet embedded in my flesh.

I could hear Michael shout my name, and see dimly as Liz’s friend Maria pushed him back, telling him to call for an ambulance. Then my eyes closed.

Their was a rushing sound in my ears, like a flood of water crashing over me. And I took what I thought would be my last breath.

The Liz’s face was above me, her left hand holding up my head. Her voice pleading desperately, telling me to open my eyes, to look at her.

And I did. I opened them, and stared up into her beautiful worried eyes.

"Max....Max please, you need to look at me."My eyes widened slowly, and I was finally staring fully into her deep gaze.

I sucked in a breath as she placed a her right hand once again over my stomach, over my wound. I gasped, as a warm, soothing sensation ran through me. My body felt light as a feather.

Her eyes widened, as she...healed...me. I saw amazement in her eyes, then shock.

And finally relief.

My stomach didn’t hurt anymore.

She looked down at me, her eyes were now filled with fear, and she turned at the sound of Maria’s sharp voice, noticing the audience of two nosy tourists behind her.

"Keys, now!" I watched as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a set of keys, and throwing them up to her blonde friend.

She looked frantically around us, her gaze falling on the red can of paint that I had been using only minutes before. She grabbed it, tilting it quickly, and poured some onto me Onto my blood covered shirt..

Her eyes were scared and desperate as she stared into my eyes.

"You fell, spilled this can of paint on yourself."

She stood up backing away quickly.

"Please don’t tell anyone."

I stood slowly, holding my shirt together. Almost my entire front covered in red paint.

I watched their retreating backs.

A look of shock marring my face.

I saw Michael walk over to me, he said something, but it didn’t register.

I was too bust staring at my savior’s back.