Mr. Parker comes into the living room just then. "Alex, are you guys going to get tickets for the IG concert?"

"Yes." Alex grins widely. "The tickets are going on sale Sunday at 10am. We're going to UNM to get them. Do you want me to pick up a couple of tickets for you?" Mr. Parker was the one who took Liz, Maria and Alex to their first Indigo Girls concert back in 5th grade. It's always fun to sit next to him because he's got the harmony part to all their songs down. He always wears his tie dyed t-shirts to their concerts. He used to be a real hippie before he opened the Crashdown a few years back. Alex even saw pictures of him as a student at Berkeley when he used to have long hair. "Could you do that? It would be too cool. You guys got those great seats last year."

"We're already getting tickets for the whole gang, so that's no problem." Mr. Parker gives him some money to cover the price of the tickets as well as the exorbitant handling fees and leaves them in front of the TV.

Buffy is back on. Xander is hovering behind Willow, trying to see if she's getting close. This has to be one of the most dramatic plots in recent shows. How is Sunnydale's resident hacker extraordinaire going to find the encryption key and save the day? Another brilliantly written Buffy episode. Alex can't help but deeply relate. He squeezes Isabel's left hand to communicate his excitement.

Isabel glances at him. What she likes the most about Buffy, aside from her dreamy boyfriend Riley, is that she's a popular girl with special powers and she kicks butt. It is kind of fun to see Buffy sock it to the bad guys, even if Isabel's always been a bit confused about why Buffy is such a scrawny girl. Wouldn't someone bigger and more physical do a better job of this slaying business? In any case, it's always fun to watch Buffy with Alex. His delight at the campy moments is contagious. As a side bonus, they can justify making out a little when things get heated on the show. Tonight's show is a bit slower than usual though. Maybe they could put the dead time to good use? She squeezes Alex's hand back and he turns to her. She looks him straight in the eyes and gives him a slow smile. He usually can't resist that combination. She's had pretty good results with it.

This time is no exception. When Alex sees Isabel's inviting expression, his higher brain functions are momentarily suspended. She's beaming an irresistible smile at him. He knows she wants to kiss him and his heart rate accelerates. Every time she sends him a signal like that, he is stunned all over again that this goddess among women wants him. Suddenly, he is very conscious of how close together they are sitting on the couch. He only needs to move a little, like this, for the side of his body to be in contact with hers. The smell of the perfume she uses, Chanel No 5, invades his senses. He knows it will always be associated in his mind with Isabel. His eyes are drawn to her long eyelashes, the smooth curve of her cheeks, and her soft, luscious lips, which she parts slightly as he holds his breath. She is so beautiful. He's the luckiest guy on earth.

Isabel watches the emotions on Alex's open face. His look of disbelief is so adorable. What did she do to deserve him? She knows he still can't believe she's abandoned her popular friends for good to hang out with him and his friends. He's not arrogant like the jocks she's gone out with before. It's part of his charm. He never takes her for granted. With him she always feels special. He leans towards her slowly and touches his lips to hers gently while his fingers come to rest lightly on the side of her face, next to her right ear. She sighs and opens her mouth to let him in, touching her tongue to his. He angles his mouth to get better access and starts stroking her softly, urging her to do the same. This is usually the part where she forgets why she was ever scared to get close to him. He's so gentle and careful. She's always amazed at how great a kisser he is. Alex's eyes have closed, his senses are wholly focused on her as always when they are touching.

"Izzy, Alex, is that your cell phone I'm hearing?" Max's annoyance is obvious in his voice. Isabel jumps a little in surprise and sits up. Somewhere along the line they've fallen against the couch and Alex was half way lying on top of her. Just a few weeks back she would not have been caught dead in a public display of affection, but somehow it keeps happening when she's with Alex. It doesn't seem like she can control herself with him. Alex looks at her, still dazed. He's disappointed Isabel pulled away, but he figures it's safest. It wouldn't do to have their fearless leader pissed off at him. Also Max is right, a phone is ringing somewhere. In fact, it's Isabel's. She talks in the phone for a minute, then silently hands it to him. "It's Scott." Alex gave his bandmate Scott Isabel's cell phone number just in case. Scott is in charge of borrowing his sister's car for them to go to Albuquerque Saturday night. Last year they took sleeping bags and camped outside of UNM's ticket office so they could be the first in line to get tickets. There were already a couple of college girls in line when they arrived. Still, they were able to score fourth row seats, in the center. Scott was supposed to report success or failure to Alex, in case a backup plan was needed.

Alex sits up, and puts it to his ear. "Hello, it's Alex."

"Hey Alex, I got the car. My sister said we can have it as long as we get her a ticket too. She even gave me the money for it. What's the plan?" Alex looks at Isabel who seems to be having trouble following what's going on. "Let's meet at the Crashdown on Saturday at 6pm? We can have a bite to eat and leave after that.." Scott agrees and they hang up.

Alex is thinking about Saturday night. He's bummed out he'll be missing out on spending the evening with Isabel, but duty calls. The next moment he puts an arm around Isabel and grins at her. He just had a capital idea. "Hey Izzy, how would you like to go camping with me, Scott and Cathy at UNM Saturday night?"

Isabel is puzzled. Spending the night waiting in line for concert tickets sounds a bit too goofy even for Alex and his friends. Why would anyone want to do that? And yet she would hate to let him go by himself and miss out on some quality time with him away from the rest of the gang. "It's going to be a lot of fun, you'll see. It's like this bonding experience, we'll meet some fun people." Alex urges. Isabel hasn't refused outright. That's a good sign. Usually it means she's open to being convinced. Isabel is trying to consider her options. Falling asleep outside looking at the stars with Alex could be really nice. After that kiss, she can't really say no to him anyway. "Okay. I'll have to let my parents know, and pack...

"Hold on. The whole idea is that we're just going there and coming back Sunday morning right after 10am. You don't need anything other than your sleeping bag."