She yawned again as Maria chattered on. "I have been dying to get my hands on your face all year. How about plum eyeshadow? It'll look great."

Liz set her mouth in a stern line.

"Maria, I am not a Barbie doll. Just do my make-up the way I usually do it," she demanded. "...please."

Liz listened to the sounds Maria made carefully.

She was rummaging through the make-up bag for something else.

They had already fought once over what outfit Liz would wear. It had been like pulling teeth to make Maria get out Liz's jeans and plain red sweater.

Maria had wanted Liz to wear a skin-tight black dress with some shawl she brought with her.

Like Liz wasn't already going to call enough attention to herself by having to grope around the school like an idiot.

She tilted her head questioningly.

"Maria?"

"Fine. Boring brown it is. Shut your eyes," Maria sighed again as she started lightly touching the shadow to Liz's eyelid.

The sensation relaxed Liz and unbidden tears sprang into her eyes.

"Thanks, Maria," she whispered, "for everything."

Maria stopped suddenly.

"Hey, no tears when weıre doing the eyes, okay," she exclaimed with a choked voice.

Liz nodded and took a deep breath.

This was going to be hard enough without breaking down every five minutes.

Maria quickly returned to a professional tone.

"Okay, you just relax. You are going to look fabulous!"

******

"Well, Mrs. Parker," said Principal Adams quietly. "I assure you that we can accomodate the special needs of any student and weıll go out of our way to help Liz until she can get back on her feet."

Liz nodded slightly.

Yep, thatıs me. Poor little blind girl.

Maria slipped her hand into Lizıs.

"We have reworked her schedule so that she has Alex Manes or Maria in each one of her classes. She can tape the lectures, have one of her friends read her assignments to her and take her tests orally."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Adams," Nancy Parker said warmly.

"May I ask what the doctor's report was, as far as what the future holds for Liz?"

They were talking about her like she wasnıt even in the room!

Liz bit back angry words.

"Well..." Mrs. Parker hesitated. "It doesnıt seem to be a physical malady, so weıre assuming that she was just under too much stress. From work and from school. So...we're taking the specialistıs advice and trying to keep her in her normal routine as much as possible, just trying to back off the level of stress."

Just then Maria leaned over, a smile in her voice, "Thanks, babe. No more long shifts at the Crashdown for us. We'll be too busy working on your homework!!"

Liz managed a small smile into the darkness around her.

"Very good, Mrs. Parker. We will do everything we can to further your efforts in that area. Liz has always been a favorite with her teachers, and I know they will want to help."

Tears stung Liz's eyes at the unexpected kind words.

She could hear her mother stand up from her chair and knew she was shaking the principal's hand.

Oh god...

Liz gripped the arms of her chair. She wasn't ready to face this, not by a long shot.

******

Maria walked slightly ahead of Liz, trying desperately to ignore the stares and whispering around them.

Liz's hand on her arm felt burning hot.

She must feel like a freak show.

Think of something to say, to take her mind off of it....

"Umm...oh, you should see the tacky dress Bobbie Mayfield is wearing today. If sheıs going for that Oscar the Grouch look, why doesn't she just wear a trash can instead of subjecting everyone to that awful green color."

Liz gave a strained laugh.

"I just found a reason to be glad that I canıt see."

Maria grimaced but tried to join in the laugh.

Nice going, flake. Letıs try to NOT talk about seeing, O-KAY?

They were finally there.

"Here's your locker. Good thing I know your combination already....Now I donıt have you in this class, but Alex will be here in a sec to pick you up. Here's your book and workbook," she said, glad to focus on the task at hand.

Liz mutely accepted the items.

Maria stopped when she saw the tears standing in her eyes.

"Oh, god. I need to stop being so nice to you, or you'll never make it. Want me to smack you around a little bit," Maria asked with a small smile.

Liz laughed and wiped at her eyes.

"Careful, careful," Maria cautioned her as she caught Liz's hands in hers. "Eyes, eyes."

"Liz," Isabel exclaimed as she walked up. "You look fabulous! I like the new make-up."

Liz's jaw dropped and she glared in Mariaıs general direction.

"Maria! You said it was boring brown."

Maria smiled.

"Yeah, it is. And a few other more spiffy colors. Don't worry, you look gorgeous!"

Liz sighed, but she had to smile.

******

That night, Alex took one last swig of caffeine-blasted Jolt cola.

"Okay, Liz, I am now fortified to cram all night, if need be. Bring on the books!"

But one look at Liz told him that the all-nighter would have to be postponed. She was leaning over the counter at the Crashdown, eyes closed.

It was after hours and they had the whole place to themselves. Liz's parents had actually left them alone for a few minutes.

"Great, Alex," she whispered. "But I think I'll need a six pack of that stuff."

Alex raised his eyebrows.

"Liz, have you ever seen someone high on Jolt? It's not a pretty sight."

She laughed and lifted her head, smiling serenely at him.

But one look at her vacant eyes took away his smile.

He didn't understand why it bothered him so badly, but it did. He found himself longing for the old Liz, who always looked him straight in the eyes. That stubborn glare of hers used to frustrate him so bad.

"Alex," Liz suddenly looked apprehensive.

"I'm here," he said quickly.

That was something else to get used to. When you're with a newly blind person, you don't sit still and stare at them. They can sense that.

He grabbed his backpack and started shoving books around.

"So, Liz," he said lightly. "How are you doing?"

"Tired, but good," she answered, remaining maddeningly still. "How are you?"

Alex laughed at the exxagerated look of polite inquiry on her face.

"Okay, I know, pretty lame," he said as he sat in the stool beside her. "But I really want to know how you're dealing with this. We've been so busy trying to get stuff done that we haven't actually talked about...what happened to you."

"Yeah," Liz said softly. "I know."

Alex decided to go for broke.

"You know, I hate to mention the spawn of Satan without my crucifix handy, but what about Tess? I mean, where was she during all of it? I was really beginning to think that she was behind some of this stuff. Weren't you?"

Liz sighed.

"Yeah. Um...I don't know what happened to her. Max said she just...disappeared she talked to him."

"Yeah, he seems to have that effect on people," Alex said vaguely.

His instincts were telling him that something else was going on.

"Liz, are you sure you're okay?"

She turned her head towards him and smiled.

"Alex, I am fine. Everything is going to be fine."

He frowned.

He wanted answers. And he hoped he knew where to find them.

"Liz, I think I might have to go home early after all. Let's get through this Biology review quick, okay?"

"Sure. I'm not much good tonight, anyway. School is really...exhausting now," Liz reached out for Alexıs hand. "Thanks for helping me. I honestly couldn't have made it today without you."

That clenched it. Alex was now sure he had to do something. Liz was just...accepting this...like it was supposed to happen.

Forget it. Liz Parker was not going to stay blind. No way.

******

Max awoke in a sweat.

He was breathing hard, and the waves of need that were crashing through him were intense.

His body was throbbing with the heat.

It wanted relief, needed release from the urges pent-up inside of him.

What...what had happened?

He tried to clear his fuzzy mind.

What he was thinking was impossible...

Someone...somone had been touching him...intimately.

He could still feel the trail of fire down his chest, where it started, down through his groin and inner thigh.

Glancing down, he could see a glowing red line slowly fading.

But he was alone...

His mind raced as he grappled with the meaning of what had just happened.

If it had been a dream, it was definitely the most physically affecting dream heıd ever had, even though he couldn't remember a thing about it.

He eased himself into a sitting position, willing away the desires stirred up.

In this state, Liz wasn't far from his mind.

But had the dream been about Liz?

He frowned.

For some reason, he was almost sure it hadnıt been.

And he wasn't even about to whisper the name that first came to his mind.

Damn.