Liz Parker glanced at the clock impatiently, sighing in annoyance. It was nearly midnight, and the last group of customers for the evening still sat in a corner booth of the Crashdown, laughing obnoxiously at comments that weren't, in her opinion, all that funny. Liz knew that the group of seven men and women in their early twenties were all far too drunk to operate a motor vehicle properly, so she had already taken the liberty of calling them a few cabs. She just hated being the one to tell a bunch of highly intoxicated people that they had to stop their fun and get home so she could close the café and get to sleep.

Liz sighed once more, then turned and pushed her way into the break room, where five people already sat waiting for her to close up. Max Evans was tossing something small and green (which strangely resembled a toy alien) into the air and catching it over and over, looking very bored. Maria DeLuca and Isabel Evans were chatting about the new craft store that had opened down the street, and Kyle Valenti and Michael Guerin were immersed in what was unmistakably sports talk.

As the door swung shut behind her, all eyes went to Liz, and five voices immediately asked, "Are they gone yet?"

"Not yet," she said, shrugging. "Their cabs are waiting outside, but I'm just having a hard time-"

"Kicking them out?" Michael cut in. He got up and made his way past her, muttering "I'll do it" as he slipped back into his chef's apron. Liz smiled appreciatively at him as she went up to her room to change.

She changed quickly, running a brush through her straight dark hair and tying it back. She paused to check her reflection, and decided to add lip-gloss, just for good measure. It had only been a month since the day that Tess had left, and things were still a little shaky amidst the whole group. It wasn't easy to close the large rift that had come between she and Max, and even the tension between Max and Isabel was still noticeable, but they had been having these nightly get-togethers for the past few weeks, and that had helped a lot.

Michael and Maria, on the other hand, couldn't be closer. Liz had always known that they really loved each other deep down there somewhere, but since that day at the Granilith, it seemed like they weren't the least bit afraid to let their affection for one another show. And Kyle, despite his previous criticism of her relationship with Max, seemed rather keen on hanging around Isabel these days.

All in all, it seemed that things in Liz's life were finally beginning to return to normal. Well, as normal as is possible when three of your best friends are aliens.

She skipped down the steps just in time to see Michael reentering the break room rubbing his head. "Stupid drunk started swinging his arms around and hit me upside the head," he grunted, walking over to the couch and flopping down next to Maria.

"My poor baby," she said in a mockingly sweet voice. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

He grinned devilishly back at her and said in an equally sing-song voice, "You'd do that for me? Really?"

"Did the drunk really hit you?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Nah. Do I still get a kiss?"

Maria smirked, edging closer. Just before her lips reached his, she grabbed a cushion and hit him upside the head for real.

"Ow! What the hell?" he laughed.

"That's what you get for lying to me, honey," she responded in the same sweet tone she used before.

"I know you don't think you're getting away with that," he said, grabbing another cushion. Maria leapt up just as he lunged for her, resulting in Isabel being hit in her place.

The pillow fight that followed was a record in Liz's memory book. For the next fifteen minutes, the six teens raced around the Crashdown with pillows of varying shapes, colors, and sizes that they had picked up from various couches, chairs, and beds. They only gave up after they had completely exhausted themselves, and they collapsed into a giggling heap, feathers scattered everywhere. Liz leaned into Max's shoulder, and he leaned back. She smiled, thinking how nice it was that, just for that moment, they felt like six ordinary teenagers. Just six friends having fun.

As soon as she had established a normal breathing rate, Maria hopped up and smiled down at the others. "Who wants ice cream?" she asked, clapping her hands like a little girl.

"Ice cream?" Isabel asked, glancing at the clock. "Maria, it's like one in the morning!"

"I know!" she laughed. "C'mon, you guys. What's the point of living in a desert if you don't get to have ice cream whenever you feel like it?"

So they went from pillow fights to ice cream sundaes. They laughed and talked some more, and at last, around two-thirty, they were ready to call it quits. Liz's parents were out of town for the weekend, so she said it was fine if everyone wanted to crash there. They all agreed hurriedly, yawning. Max and Kyle went to go pull down a couple of sleeping bags while Liz, Maria and Michael set about cleaning up their mess. Isabel had already fallen asleep on the break room couch.

"A Crashdown employee's job is never done," Maria sighed as she picked up one last handful of plastic spoons and feathers and stuffed it into her trash bag. She saw Liz yawn, so she grabbed Liz and Michael's garbage bags as well and began marching out to the dumpster in the alley.

Liz saw Michael stop Maria and ask if she needed help, mild concern in his eyes. She just smiled and kissed him, telling him she was fine, then moved to the back door. Liz watched Michael as he smiled after her, then climbed the steps to the upper floor.

On a whim, she called after Maria. Maria stopped at the back door, and asked, "What is it, Liz?"

"Maria, what's gotten into you and Michael all of a sudden?"

"Huh?" Maria asked nonchalantly, but Liz noticed that she almost dropped the bags she was carrying.

"Well, I mean, I know you guys really love each other and everything, but you were never as, well, open about it before, I guess. He was always distant and stuff, and he's not anymore."

Maria looked at the floor, then back at Liz. She swallowed, the answered, "He stayed for me, Lizzie. Like you said, he was always so distant, but then he did an amazing, open, loving thing. He gave up something he'd been chasing his whole life for me." She shrugged and looked back at the floor. "I guess that the sacrifice he was willing to make tore down all the walls."