Max pulled the jeep onto Highway 280, stepped on the clutch and shifted into fifth gear, pointing the jeep toward the wonderful destination of Nowhere In Particular. The sun was just starting to peak above the horizon to his left as the engine growled its protest and the jeep picked up speed. It would be a good day to drive, he decided, no need to put the top up, it was not too hot, and it wasn't raining. Those were hardly the only reasons he was driving out of Roswell today. The very best one was just now stirring in the seat next to him.

Liz had woken up earlier than he did that day, the day they had planned to leave, and he remember clearly how she looked sitting on the curb outside the Crashdown, sitting awkwardly with her knees together and feet apart as she tried to scribble in her black covered journal, her green duffle bag, probably meticulously packed, was beside her. He remembered the smile she gave him as he eased the jeep to a stop, and the way she looked as she walked away from her home, her family, and all that was safe, and toward him. He remembered this as he remembered so much about her. They innocence of when they first knew each other as children, her helplessness as he saved her that fateful day at the Crashdown, and the longing in her eyes and on her heart when he finally kissed her. The heartache he felt bleeding from her when she walked away from him. Away from them.

They had hardly gotten to the edge of town before she drifted off, her enthusiasm for their little getaway finally giving way to the fatigue that went with a night without any real sleep. It had been a good hour or so now on the road before she was now stirring. Ironically, while one might think her sleeping would allow Max to concentrate on driving, the urge to watch her peacefully sleep, her chest gently rising and falling, was hard to resist. Once he noticed her eyes moving back and forth under their lids, and nearly drove through a patch of cactus as he dreamt about her dreams.

The trip had been her idea, as spur-of-the-moment as she was likely capable of. She had come to his window, for a change, not looking herself one evening. It was pretty late, and Max had been polishing off some fairly important work, but he gladly put it aside for her. She said hardly anything, instead just letting herself up and sitting next to him. He could tell she had been crying, at least a little bit, her eyes were red and glazed.

"Max," She finally asked. "Can we just go somewhere?" Surprise might have been the first thing that overtook him; Liz Parker, model student and citizen was not one to take clandestine getaways with anyone, especially people with whom she had, well, a history. She explained to him that everything was closing in on her as they approached the end of high school, between applications and admissions, awards and assemblies, she just needed a break. He agreed that she had been pretty stressed out lately, and told her he'd love to get away to anywhere with her. She insisted five times over that is was no big deal, that they were over and all, and he laughed, agreeing that a platonic getaway was, without a doubt, the best way to go.

Three days later, here they were, heading north towards...Well, anywhere.

She sighed now and squinted her eyes even more shut as the bright New Mexico sun painted her face a lighter shade of crimson. The next part of her to awake were her arms as she stretched them lazily toward the opposite ends of the jeep. She hunched foward in the jeep, and rubbed her eyes before finally opening them and looking over toward him.

"Mmm," She groaned with a yawn. "How long did I last?"

"Oh, about fifteen minutes," He said with a grin. "Just about to the edge of town until you drifted off."

"Oh well," She said, still shaking the cobwebs loose. "So much for our agreement," She said. "Sorry Max." Before they left, they had promised one another NOT to fall asleep. She glanced over at him with a priceless smile, the sort that went right through to your heart, the way only a smile from her could. She leaned back now and stretched her legs out, as she did her shirt peaked up just above her belly button. It was amazing, he thought, how crazy things like that could drive him. He had loveingly kissed and caressed that same stomach, and when he did he lost himself in her, everytime. Her soft skin the only narcotic he had ever really known, it healed his pain, and satisfied his cravings while creating new ones all at the same time. Did she know what it meant to him? Did she know that she healed him too, that her powers over him were stronger than anything, human or alien, he had known?

Snap out of it, Maxwell he told himself. You know how this movie ends.

"Oh, that's okay." He said, stealing another look at her as he gave the jeep more gas. "I got to see the sunrise for the first time in a while, and the weather's pretty good considering we're in the most deserted desert there is, so I just turned the radio and enjoyed the moment."

"The radio?" She said, crinkling her nose. "Why ruin a perfectly peaceful drive and sunrise with pop radio?"

"Well," He said, hardly skipping a beat. "Something had to drown out all that snoring."

She smacked him in the shoulder. "Smart ass." She said with a giggle. "I do not snore." She tried her best to look mean, but a mischeivious smile broke through her lips.

"Don't worry Liz, all the ranchers you woke probably just thought the muffler on the jeep was broken."

"Just keep 'em coming, Evans." She ribbed back. It would seem she was feeling a little better already. Consequently, he was feeling better too. I wanna sleep on the hard ground
In the comfort of your arms
On a pillow of bluebonnets
In a blanket made of stars

Oh it sounds so good to me

"Oh for God's sake light!" Liz Parker grunted at the pile of sticks and leaves she was trying her best to transform into a fire. She was sure she had learned how to do this, years and years ago in Girl Scouts probably. It seemed little easier then for some odd reason.

She felt Max's presence and heard his footsteps as he strolled toward her. Show off she thought to herself. He probably already had the tent hitched up and ready to go. Knowing Max and his love for the dramatic, he probably turned a few rocks and twigs into a Weber Grill.

She looked over her shoulder just as he was holding his hand up, palm out, fingers spread.

"Don't!" She said, grabbing his hand. "I am perfectly capable of building a fire, Max." Realizing how ridiculous she must look and sound, she let go of his hand and turned back around, hoping her blushing might be mistaken for sunburn.

"Okay," He said with a smile, not moving. "I was just-"

As she rubbed the sticks with even more vigor, Liz turned on her hip. "I know, I'm sorry Max, it's just I'm...Well, it's just that things-" As she spoke, Liz didn't notice that the sticks began to smoke as she rubbed them together.

"Liz..." He said, pointing at the newly born fire.

"Max, just let me fin-"

"Liz..."

"Max, what do I have to do to get you to be qu-"

"Liz!" He finally shouted. As he did, her head swiveled and she let out a yelp, dropping the two sticks into a stack with the rest, and fell onto her backside. Max smiled and got on all fours, blowing hard onto the two sticks. Slowly, a few yellow flames rose from the pile. It grew quickly, and soon began to crackle in the fuel beneath it.

He turned back to Liz, who stuck her bottom lip and couls scarcely look up at him.

Nice one, Ace. She said to herself, silently chiding her actions. This, of course, made her want to chide herself even more for caring so much about what Max thought.

They were past that, just friends, good friends. And like good friends, they would laugh it off.

Right?

"You okay?" He said, with that laugh of his that could be really endearing but also really annoying. Alright, she admitted to herself, it was never annoying. It was just annoying that she found it endearing. Yes, that was annoying.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said, trying to stand up. As she did, he noticed she was holding one of her fingers gingerly.

"Did you-" He said, motioning toward it.

"No." She said, matter-of-factly. In reality, the fact of the matter was that her finger hurt like fire.

He smiled again, and as usual, she was reassured with an ease that was almost unnatural. "Let me see it, okay, you might have burned yourself."

"Max, I'm sure it's-"

"Liz, if you have a cut or something, you don't want it to get infected all the way out here. They don't exactly have Safeways on every corner."

She looked at him wryly, then smiled, and put her hand in his. He looked down at her finger and saw a brown stilleto buried deep within her finger.

"See, a sliver. If you hadn't listened to me, it would have gotten some nasty infection and this escape we'd been looking forward to would have been a nightmare."

"Rub it in, why don't ya?" She said, raising an eyebrow at him. "And then you'll probably try to impress me with your magic trick, as per usual." She waved her hand mockingly in the air. "Poof." He couldn't surpress his amusement at her sass.

"Is that a challenge?" He asked.

"Well, all I'm saying is that you're on your high horse about this wilderness stuff, and seeing as how I'm the one who started the fire, without the advantage-"

"Okay then," He said, interrupting her with a cocky grin. "I'll do it the old-fashioned way." He walked over to the jeep and retrieved the first aid kit from the glovebox. He walked back over to her and sat beside her on the ground, popped the kit open, and pulled a sterile needle from the kit.

"Give it here," He said, nodding toward her finger. "Watch and learn, smart girl." He dug the needle into her finger and prodded for the sliver. She jumped a inch as he did.

"Sorry," He said, looking up at her. Neither of them realized how close they were to each other, and Max paused for a second, half lost, as he looked at her.

"Max," She said. "My finger?"

"Right." He said, sounding to casual to be anything but awkward. He felt the needle catch hold of the sliver, and he gently pulled on it, guiding it out of her skin. With a final tug, Liz winced a little and the sliver was free. He held it up like a fisherman, and grinned.

"See," He said. "All better, and with nothing more than a needle and some skill."

She smiled back and shook her head at him. No matter where they're from She thought boys will be boys. She sat still for a moment and looked toward the horizon, as she did she noticed Max doing the same. The pink clouds native to the twilight New Mexico sky were gradually dissolving into the bright stars and velvet black skies. She looked at him, and he didn't look back, and she understood why. They were a little bit more than just stars to him.

As they both rose to stand up, Liz stumbled forward on a rock, and their heads softly bumped, causing them both to recoil a little. She smiled and he laughed, both rubbing their respective noggins. As he chuckled, Max put his hand on her face, laughing as he did so. He probably didn't mean to, but his gesture changed the mood.

Their smiles faded, and Liz bit her lip unconsciously as Max's fingers trickled down her cheek and came to rest on her shoulder. They stood, both desperately wanting the same thing, for what seemed like three eternities.

"I, um, I guess we should get so dinner going," She said finally. As if snapped from a hypnotic trance, they were both suddenly very conscious of what was happening.

"Probably." He nodded, his voice nearly monotone.

She turned and took a few steps toward the jeep. "I remember you said to bring some can-"

Her sentence was interrupted by Max's hand on her arm, and the next thing she knew she was being flung, almost violently toward him. He took her face in his hands and pressed his lips onto hers. Cowboy take me away
Fly this girl as high as you can
Into the wild blue
Set me free oh I pray
Closer to heaven above and
Closer to you closer to you He felt her kiss him back, and he admitted to himself that he was relieved, a least a little, that she wanted him too, at least part of her did. Her hands were up at first, aimlessly waving in her excitement. They had regained their purpose now, grasping his neck and the back of his head as she pushed back with her lips and tongue. As Max moved his lips gradually away from her lips, she kissed his forehead and nipped at his earlobe as he worked his way down her neck to her clavicles. She moaned in an agony of longing and threw head back, closing her eyes and feeling a cool desert breeze brush over her face. How Max had ever convinced himself that not having this on a regular basis was good was beyond him right now, but then again he was hardly thinking straight.

Not thinking straight sure felt good just then.

Max suddenly ducked his hips down and scooped his arms under her knees, picking her up around him. She wrapped her legs around him and dug for his lips with her own. She kissed him hard and he retailiated. She felt more and more a part of him as he kissed her.

"Tent?" Max offered suddenly, pulling away from her.

"Tent." She agreed. With that, he dropped her to feet to the sand, only to scoop her up again, his right arm under her legs, his left supporting her torso.

She never stopped kissing him, now moving on to his shoulders and neck. He carried for what seemed like an eternity back to their tent, finally setting her down gently on their pile of sleeping bags and clothes. He knelt down himself and began to unbutton his shirt. She reached up and and held his wrist, telling him to stop.