“Maria, if you don’t stop reading over my shoulder, I swear I’m going to throw this cherry coke right on your uniform.” Isabel swiveled in her seat, narrowed her eyes and gave Maria a pointed look. Maria grinned sheepishly and scampered off behind the counter.

Maria picked up a damp cloth and began to wipe the counter. The Crashdown was more than ultimately dead, so she had shooed Craig off earlier and told him to go home to enjoy his pies. He had willingly obliged (although Maria didn’t think it would have been much more than a twist of his arm). Jose was the only cook on shift at that moment, but knowing him, he was probably jacking off in the corner. She hadn’t heard a peep from him for a while, but she also didn’t want splatters on her if she walked in on whatever he was doing. So she just shrugged the whole situation off. What she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her. At least not in this situation.

Maria gave a heavy sigh, leaning her weary body against the cool of the counter. She stared out at the world through the clear, sparkling window (which she had just spent fifteen minutes wiping) and wondered what Liz was doing that very moment. Her very best friend was out there in the world without her and all she could think about the whole situation was that it made Maria feel trapped and incredibly lonely.

Liz had made her promise last night not to tell anyone that she visited Maria. And being the great best friend that she was, swearing to a best friend was an oath never to be broken. The worst part though, was that wasn’t the only secret she had to keep.

When Liz had first connected to her, Maria was absolutely peeing her pants (ok,

not literally). She was exceedingly terrified something had happened to Liz or Adam! What if an alien abducted her, no pun intended, or what if Adam was lying dead on the ground? Surely, Liz couldn’t expect Maria to save her ass.

But Maria quickly threw out that notion, because this was LIZ. Liz Parker, Maria’s best friend since grade school. If anyone knew Maria inside and out, it was Liz Parker. And Liz Parker knew that Maria Deluca would probably shit her pants if Liz were in trouble. The smartest thing to do was avoid telling her until necessary.

But Liz HAD contacted Maria, which meant it HAD to be important. The girl wasn’t even in calling distance. What could it be? Could it be life threatening? Was Liz going to die? Was Adam dead? Was Maria next? Oh god, SHE IS GOING TO DIE.

~“Maria, you’re not going to die,” Liz said, rolling her eyes at Maria’s overactive drama. Maria clasped her hands on Liz’s shoulder and looked her dead in the eye.

“And you’re still alive, right? Adam too?” Maria wasn’t kidding. Every bit of her voice held seriousness to it.

“Maria!” Liz moaned. “Will you stop? We’re fine. F-I-N-E. So don’t go all spastic on me, all right? I need you to stay sane.” Maria bit her lip and nodded her head. No going crazy until Liz left her mind. And having insane thoughts would probably drive the both of them off the deep edge.

“Ok, Maria, you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone I visited you. You have to promise me, because this is important. What I’m about to tell you is important and you can’t flake on me.” Another unsteady nod came from Maria’s head. “Ok, Maria, I’m going to tell you where I am, but you can’t tell anyone. I’m trusting this in your hands.”

“Liz,” Maria squeaked. “Why can’t you just tell all of us? You seem hesitant in even just telling me.”

“Because, Maria, if all of you know where we are, and Khivar comes looking for you, he can extract the information so easily from your mind that you won’t even realize it. That’s why Adam doesn’t want anyone to know.” Maria shook her head in confusion.

“Then why are you telling me?”

“Because if something happens, you’ll know where to find us. Because Michael, Max and the rest of them would never let you get hurt. Because I trust you. Because I just felt like I had to tell someone.” Liz bowed her head in attempt to hide her dam of tears. “Maria,” Liz whispered, looking up at Maria through her teary eyes. “Something is going to happen. I can just feel it. And I’m scared. I’m living my life second by second, not sure if I’m really living or slowly dying.” Maria’s heart broke into tiny pieces and she swept her best friend into a comforting hug.

“Liz, babe, you know we’re all here for you, and if for whatever reason something does happen, we’ll always be there for each other. Liz, I’m always here for you. I love you, girlfriend!” She hugged her friend closer. No matter what, she was going to be there, front and center, for her best friend. Until the end of time and even after then.~

“Excuse me, miss?” Maria’s head snapped up and she looked into the deep, enchanting eyes of a broad, captivating man. Every distinction about this man held importance, a magnitude of significance. Maria could sense the merit of this man rolling off of him, and he knew it. He knew he was so goddamn sexy. And to describe him was to simply unjust the man, no, the god that stood gorgeously before her.

“Yuh huh,” Maria mumbled, taken deeply into his eyes and depths of her own consciousness she never knew she even possessed. Maria shook her head. Bad, Maria! She and Michael may be in a little tiff but that certainly did not mean she could be drooling over stunning strangers... no matter how hot they looked in a suit. A very sexy, mind-activating suit.

“Er, I mean, what can I do for you today, sir?” Maria was greeted with a warm, hypnotic smile. Somewhere in the background she heard Isabel twisting in her seat, watching the stranger intensely. She probably thought the guy was a hottie too. Who wouldn’t?

“Actually,” he whispered lowly, bending to speak in her ear (as she just couldn’t deny him the intimacy… that would be rude, right?), “I was wondering what I could do for you.” He pulled away slightly, showering her in that sly, mystifying grin of his. He toyed with a loose strand of hair, his rough finger outlining her jaw and she felt the electrified tingles to her spine.

“What the hell do you think-” cursed Isabel’s harsh voice. She stood from her seat but before she could take a step she was flung against the solid wall with very little effort of a wave from the man’s hand. Maria didn’t take notice of anything in her surroundings, too enchanted by the dark mystery hidden in the mystically spirited eyes.