Once she and Alex had finally come to the conclusion that Liz and Adam weren’t in the room in front of the Jetta or any of the rooms surrounding it (well, they realized it after they accidentally stumbled upon an embarrassing scene of a couple… making love), they decided they needed food. Well, Maria decided that she needed food. Alex wanted to just sit and wait for Liz and Adam, but Maria wouldn’t hear of it. She needed food in her belly, now.

“I don’t understand this whole food concept,” Alex stated with a very serious look on his face. He was perched on Maria’s Jetta, gazing intently at his obviously stale fry that lingered on his finger. “You pay for something you’re going to shit out anyways? It’s a moronic idea, if you ask me. And this food is gross anyhow, especially this hard, unidentifiable fry.” He chewed on said fry. Yum. Hard and chewy.

“Well, you could just not eat. Lets see how you’d do on that kind of diet.” Maria threw one of her fries at Alex and hit him right on the forehead.

“Ow! That was hard.” Alex rubbed the spot where the fry hit him, actually seeming as if the flying fry had hurt. What a baby.

Maria sighed, throwing her used burger wrap on the ground. She had eaten, so now she was bored. Being lazy only had so many perks. Waiting for people who you weren’t sure were coming back… well, that just plain sucked a big fat one.

“How long have we’ve been waiting?” Maria asked, twiddling her fingers as she rested on Hannah. She laid her head against the cool windshield, staring up at the fallen night sky. Stars winked at her, and Maria felt like she was being included on some otherworldly secret with them.

“Just over an hour. Hmm, I wonder where they went.” Alex too stretched out on the Jetta. He placed his hands behind his head in an action of relaxation, but was frequently checking if Liz and Adam were on their way back.

“You know, Sunny Oaks isn’t so bad. It’s nice and quiet. Somewhere you could just get lost in. I could live in a town like this.” Maria sighed dreamily.

“You do live in a town like this.”

“No, I live in a town like this plus aliens.”

“It’s still a town like this.”

“But I want a town minus the aliens. Maybe multiply the number of malls though.”

“Then you’d have to divide the number of trees.”

“Why? They make the town look so pretty.”

“Because you need room for the malls.”

“Oh. You’re right. Maybe I could just plant some flowers or bushes or something around the mall. Or perhaps- LIZZIE!” Maria’s sudden screech made Alex jump, and he fell off the car. Right on to the hard ground. Damn you, ground.

Maria catapulted towards Liz’s approaching figure. She whirled her arms around Liz’s body, embracing her in a tight hug. Whispering something softly into her ear, she pulled away and took a good look at Liz.

“Well, girlfriend, you look pretty damn good! As always. But I assure you, I look much better… no offense.” Liz’s face was still caught in surprise, unsure what was really happening around her. Before a moment of peace, she was swooped into Alex’s arms.

“Hey Liz, we missed you,” Alex said gently. He cocked her a smile.

“Uh, hi guys,” Liz choked, coming out of her flabbergasted daze. “What are you doing here? Did something happen?”

“Nope, girlfriend. We just wanted to see you!” Maria flashed Liz a great, big smile. “And you too, of course,” Maria added, turning to the quiet Adam. She hugged Adam, who was standing to Liz’s right, and apparently still in a daze.

“Guys, I told you that-” Liz started.

“Rules, schmules, Lizzie. I missed my best girlyfriends, so I came to see them.” Maria stood on her tiptoes and glimpsed behind Liz and Adam’s shoulders. There stood two people that Maria didn’t know.

Being the friendly person that she always is, Maria pushed Liz and Adam apart and stepped through the middle of them. Holding out her hand, she greeted the two new, unidentified characters. The guy looked like he was ready to bolt at first, and the chick just looked pissed. Ooo, a young Isabel Evans. Fun.

“Hi there! I’m Maria Deluca, resident best friend and ass-saver of Liz and Adam.” Maria’s tone was perky and energetic, completed with a toothy grin.

“That’s great, Marsha-” replied Sandy with a touch of sarcasm in her voice, and she crossed her arms insolently.

“It’s Maria, thank you very much. Learn it, love it, live it.” Flashing her teeth again, she blew Sandy a kiss.

Ben grinned, already liking Maria’s spunk. He extended his hand to shake hers. “I’m Ben, and this is my sister, though I rarely admit it, Sandy. Welcome to Sunny Oaks.” Maria smiled back and looped her arm with Ben’s instead of shaking his hand.

“I have a feeling we’re going to get along just fine!” She pointed towards Alex. “That’s my buddy Alex Whitman.” Ben waved at Alex, enjoying Maria’s candidness.

“So Benny poo, how do you know my precious Liz and Adam?” asked Maria.

“Adam and I are, uh, childhood friends. How about you?”

“Me, Alex and Lizzie go way back. You should hear us jam together! We sound-”

“Maria!” Liz shrieked, impatience evident in her voice. Maria looked over at Liz, apology marked in her eyes. She stepped away from Ben and moved towards Liz.

“Maria,” Liz whispered harshly, drawing Maria’s ear closer to her lips. “What are you really doing here? Where are the rest…?”

“Ah, my dear Lizzie, don’t I always tell you that you worry too much?” Maria waved her hands in the air. “We can talk later. You need to show me this lovely motel room of yours. There better be no door a-rocking, because you know I’m gonna come a-knocking.” Maria bounced towards the motel room, with five pairs of eyes gazing at her back with millions of questions in their mind.

“C’mon Adam, be the strong, handy man I know that you are, and pop open this door for me. I think Mother Nature is calling-” Maria’s voice was cut off abruptly when a loud roaring of a vehicle came rounding around the corner and into the parking lot.