He turned his head slightly, his cheek brushing hers.

"For me, too."

She slid a small, delicate hand up the side of his arm and snuggled in even closer.

Touching him was still like coming home for her. She couldn't get used to the fact that he wasnıt pulling away, wasn't afraid anymore. He was her Max now, and everyone at school knew it. Not that they were making out in the eraser room all the time and cutting classes like before...

She smiled at the memory of the explosive beginning to their physical relationship two months before. It was still somewhat of a mystery, the whole visionquest thing. But at least things felt more normal now. And they were being careful this time...which was the only condition anyone would leave them alone together.

Every so often, Maria would still barrage her with questions.

"Any glowing hickeys? Any rashes? Anything past second base?" And Liz would sigh inwardly but answer her well-intentioned questions. It wasnıt like Liz understood herself what had happened. She could only guess how it must have looked to everyone else.

Her parents would only leave them alone together one night a week, if they were in by 11:30. Sure, it was a pain, but Liz knew she had to gain their trust again and it was worth it to spend any time with Max.

He gently disentangled his arm from her and reached for the ignition on the Jeep.

"No, not yet," Liz whispered.

Max lowered his hand again and rested it on her thigh gently.

"We barely have time to get back."

Liz put her hand on top of his and laced their fingers together.

She looked up at the stars one last time. This stretch of desert by highway 42 had become one of their favorite spots to be alone, ever since that night when they found the orb. It was romantic, secluded, and was a constant reminder of the intimacy they had almost shared.

A small smile played around her lips. She would never forget the tenderness he had showed in even their most passionate moments.

But when Max leaned over and gently placed his lips against her own, the sensation drove all further thought from Lizıs mind. She relaxed against him and reached up to feel the smooth muscles at his neck. Their kiss deepened, but finally Max pulled away.

"Time to go," he whispered.

Liz glared him half-heartedly. "Do you always have to be so responsible?"

"Yes, when it means the difference between your parents tolerating our relationship or calling out the dogs on me every time I come near you. Iım not going to mess this up, Liz. Itıs too important."

She nodded guiltily at the fervancy in his eyes.

He smiled at her and touched her cheek.

"I'm doing it for you, for us. For our future."

He reached for the keys and started up the Jeep.

Liz glanced back at the desert, longing for a last glance of their private sanctuary, as if to reassure herself it would always be there.

She found herself frowning as a dark, ominous cloud drifted over the moon. She could no longer even see the transmission tower.

How did it get so dark so fast? Must be a storm coming.

Liz shivered and glanced back over at Max, but the darkness covered his face as well.

She reached out and slipped her hand through the crook of his arm as he shifted gears. But not even touching him could dispel the uneasy feeling she had.

It stayed with her the rest of the night.

******

It wasn't until the Monday morning that Liz could put a name to her feeling...

Tess Hart.

A petite blond who normally wouldnıt have even registered on Lizıs panic scale. In fact, Liz had been staring at her all morning, trying to figure out why her instincts told her to hate this girl.

Sure, there was already a faction of girls at West Roswell High who hated 'the New Girl,' but that was out of sheer jealousy. She was blond, cute and curvy...and new.

The guys were falling all over themselves to get a glimpse of her, prompting the formation of the very bitter 'Old Girls Club.' Membership into this society consisted of two things: hating Tess Hart and conniving to keep her away from West Roswell guys.

Liz glanced to the door of the classroom as the teacher walked over to close it. At least five or six guys were making fools of themselves as they fought for Tess' attention. She was holding court at the doorway like a reluctant queen bee.

As Mr. Solomon stood behind her clearing his throat, Tess smiled a very sweet smile and disengaged herself from the boys.

She looked over the class in front of her and gave Max a smile before heading his way.

The look on his face was unmistakeable.

He looked...interested as he watched Tess move by his desk. In fact, he turned in his desk and watched her with his mouth hanging open.

Liz stared at him in unbelief, then turned away to see Maria also watching Max.

She gave Liz a questioning look as she whispered, "Ready to join the Old Girls' Club now?"

With wide eyes, Liz turned to watch Tess take a seat, suddenly recalling the darkness that had rolled across the desert Friday night.

Tess glanced around the room, her eyes finally meeting Liz's casually.

Liz quickly turned back around in her chair.

There was something... almost like a... warning... that had brushed against her mind.

And Liz knew.

She just knew...that nothing would ever be the same between she and Max again .

******

Lunchtime was tense. Liz couldnıt get Max to say five words as he wolfed down his sandwich. Even Isabel was staring at him.

"So, has anyone else got any suggestions," Michael looked from one face to other. "I mean, this thing has to do something."

"It makes a great paperweight, right, Max?"

Max completely missed Isabelıs sarcasm.

"Yeah, sure," he mumbled through a mouthful of sandwich.

The group just stared at him and moved on with the conversation.

"So, you don't get any kind of impressions at all from this orb thingee," Maria looked at Michael with raised eyebrows.

"No, and Iıve tried everything I know to do," Michael shook his head in frustration.

"Well, isn't this always how it is at first," Alex broke in casually.

"What are you talking about," Isabel frowned at him.

"Well, this search seems to be moving forward on someone elseıs timetable. Just like always, you won't know what this is until whoever it is that sent it lets you know what it is," Alex threw a few cheese balls in his mouth and crunched loudly.

Michael frowned at him.

"That's the last thing we need to be doing is just sitting around and waiting for something else to happen. Thereıs got to be an answer somewhere."

Maria watched Michael drum his fingers on the table.

"Well, unidentified glowing objects are not exactly in my range of expertise, so I'll just have to pass," she waved her hands vaguely.

"My first thought was that it was just a signal beacon, that the shaft of light was communicating with someone else," Liz ventured.

"Which means, again, that we just sit and wait to see how they respond, right, Michael," Isabel asked pointedly.

Maria stood up quickly and grabbed her leftover lunch.

"Okay, guys, enough shop talk. This stuff gives me the creeps. Just let me know when the Czechoslovakians have landed, okay," she spat out as quietly as possible and headed for the trash can.

Liz blinked in surprise and grabbed her uneaten lunch.

"Maria," Liz called after her, running to catch up. "What's wrong?"

It didn't take much encouragement for Maria to vent quietly as they walked across the quad.

"This orb thing is too much. I mean, how do we know they didnıt just make contact with their people? They probably did. And theyıre probably killers. Like Nasedo. What if they donıt like the fact that we know their secret?"

"I don't know, Maria," Liz began.

But Maria stopped suddenly and turned to face Liz.

"What if they come to get them now? What if we just wake up one day and theyıre... gone?"

Liz just stared back for a moment.

Liz put her arms around her friend and pulled her close as Maria's chin started quivering.