When they had searched the whole apartment and found nothing out of the ordinary, they walked to Aura, who still had not moved since they had entered the apartment. Max shook her gently, trying to shake her out of her reverie. She swayed on her feet unblinkingly. Suddenly she screamed and collapsed.

How do you think I've lost so much?
I'm so afraid; I'm out of touch.
How do you expect I will know what to do,
When all I know is what you tell me to?
If I turn back I'm defenseless,
And to go blindly seems senseless.
If I hide my pride and let it all go on,
Then they'll take from me 'till everything is gone.
If I let them go I'll be outdone,
But if I try to catch them I'll be outrun.
If I'm killed by the questions like a cancer,
Then I'll be buried in the silence of the answer
(By myself)

Max and Michael looked at each other and picked Aura up off the ground. They laid her on the couch and sat on the floor waiting for her to wake up. She did, moaning groggily.

Max spoke to her gently, "Aur, what happened? Why did you need us to come here?"

Aura looked at his concerned face and started crying. The feat seemed impossible. She hadn't wanted to put them in danger, but now she had. She swallowed, knowing her news wasn't going to be taken easily. As she was about to speak, Liz walked into the room and rushed to where Aura was now sitting. She hugged her quickly and kept an arm around her waist for comfort.

"Nicky was here." Aura said quietly, looking at her lap. She didn't see the looks of confusion the others shared. 'Nicholas' Liz mouthed to Max and Michael.

Michael looked annoyed and worried at the same time. He moved and sat on the other side of Aura. He patted her clenched hands and noticed how cold she was. "Aura, look at me." She slowly lifted her head to look at him in the face. "What happened? Why was Nicholas here? What did he want? Where did he go? We searched the whole apartment and he's not here anymore."

Aura licked her lips slowly, putting together all her thoughts. "Nicky was here for me. He wants to take me back. Kivar promised him he could have me if he found me. We made a deal. You guys are the deal. I wish I hadn't done it, it was bad. I'll go back with him. I never wanted to put you in any more danger, but I did. Please forgive me." Aura choked out an apology before bursting into tears.

Michael and Liz wrapped their arms around Aura, trying to comfort and calm her. Max looked at her silently and started pacing. "Max," Aura looked at him, through her teary vision. "I'll make it all right, I promise. I can get rid of him."

Max looked at her and asked one question. "How?"

"I've killed before; I can do it again." She looked straight ahead and all her tears vanished. "I know where he is. If Michael will help me, I can get rid of half his people. Kivar gave him power, and a new husk. He's not a kid anymore. Nicky and I have a special relationship. He would never hurt me, but he doesn't know that I would have no problems killing him."

Max sighed; he hated it when they had to kill. It wasn't the same as killing an innocent, this was his enemy, but it was killing nonetheless. Michael interrupted his thoughts. "We don't like to kill. But we can make an exception for Nicholas. How do you know where he is?"

"Nicky and I are connected. I can find him like I can find Michael and Isabel. I can't explain it. He's at the old granolith chamber. We'll deal with him after school. He'll stay away from you. I scared him off when I told him that you were stronger than him. He laughs, but he knows when he is wrong. I have to go." Aura explained. She stood waved a hand over her body straightening her appearance and fixing her makeup in one deft swipe. She straightened and walked out of the apartment, giving everyone half hugs. "Thanks for being here for me. I'll find you after school. I work at 5, I'll be here at 4." With that she left the building.

Aura drove to school shakily, leaving her bewildered relatives behind her. She took advantage of the drive to school to settle her shaken nerves.

'Why does it feel like night today?
Something in here's not right today.
Why am I so uptight today?
Paranoia's all I got left.
I don't know what stressed me first,
Or how the pressure was fed, but
I know just what it feels like
To have a voice in the back of my head
It's like a face that I hold inside
A face that awakes when I close my eyes
A face that watches every time I fall
So I know that when it's time to sink or swim
That the face inside is hearing me, right underneath
my skin.
It's like I'm paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a whirlwind inside my head
It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin.

Aura quickly pulled into a parking space at school. She took a deep breath and grabbed her belongings. Her 'Nicky radar' was saying he was in the school building. She steadied herself and walked into the school. A new couple was making out in the corridor. "Oh get a room." She said to their oblivious backs. Aura always knew who the newest couples were; her locker was right next to the eraser room.

She grabbed her books, slammed her locker shut and walked to class. As she walked past the shadows, she could feel eyes following her. She peered into the darkness but could find no one standing there. 'Of course not,' she thought to herself. 'In all my dreams, Nicky always melts into the dark.' She discreetly raised her arm and aimed it at the shadows; they lit up revealing Nicky.

Aura smiled to herself. Finding his hiding spot was going to be no problem. She had no intention of letting Michael help kill him; it was her job. As Aura walked down the crowded hallway, her 'Nicky Radar' clicked off, saying that he left the school grounds.

As soon as Aura got through the door to her homeroom her friend Claire ambushed her. Claire was one of the most popular seniors at West Roswell High. People said that she and Aura were like twins. Claire was the same height as Aura, and had the same complexion and eye color. She had strawberry blond mermaid-hair. Even though Claire was so popular, she wasn't a snob; she was the first person Aura had met at the school, and totally her favorite at the school.

"Aura!! Oh my God! Guess what just happened! No wait; don't guess that takes too long! Brandon asked me out!!" Aura smiled as her friend rambled about how perfect Brandon was. She took this time and thought about her date last night, as if her friend could read her mind she interrupted Aura's thoughts."Oh, I forgot. How did your date with Jason go last night? Any plans for tonight?" Claire tried to wink, but failed miserably. Aura looked at her for a second and burst out laughing.

"Well.as a matter of fact.." Aura started as Jason walked into the room. He walked up to her and put his arm around her waist.

"Hey, baby, I just wanted to tell you I had a great time last night." Jason whispered in her ear. She blushed and turned around so she was facing him. She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She had dated a couple of other guys since she had arrived, but she thought she might actually be in love with Jason.

Jason and Aura walked to their seats to wait for role call. They chatted carefree about how much fun they had had last night. They managed to make plans to see a movie Friday night and to go to the new club outside of the Roswell city limits. It was the grand opening of the club Spirit; it should be fun, everyone was talking about it. When the bell rang to go to first period, Jason and Aura walked out of the classroom in the direction of her classroom.

When they got to Aura's room, she pulled her hand from his and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He pulled her back to him and kissed her gently on the mouth. She pulled away. "Bye, Jace. I'll call you later." She said quietly, smiling. She walked into the classroom and stopped quickly. Sitting in the room was Nicky.

The bell rang and Aura walked calmly to her seat, next to Nicky. "Class, we have a new student. His name is Nick. Everyone, please make him feel welcome. " The teacher introduced Nicky to the class. He looked at Aura and smiled. "Ok, class. We are starting a new project today. Everyone pair up with the person to your right." Nicky was on Aura's right. She grimaced.

Nicky stood as the teacher said to gather materials for the project. He leaned down and whispered to Aura, "Can you still sense me?" He stood again and walked out the door.

Aura walked to the teacher. "Mr. Williams, I don't feel very good all of a sudden. May I go to the nurses office, please?" Her teacher nodded his head and wrote a hall pass.

Aura walked calmly out of the door. She had no intent on going to the nurse's office. She ran down the hallway until she reached the door to Jason's class. She collected herself and walked in. Aura looked around until she found Jason; he was working on his pre-calculus. He looked up at her, and smiled slightly.

Aura walked to the teacher's desk and stood waiting for him to acknowledge her. When he did, she bit her lip slightly and began speaking. "Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt your class, but I need to borrow Jason for a few minutes. His mom is in the office, waiting for him." The teacher nodded, and walked over to Jason.

Jason had a look of confusion on his face when he and Aura were outside of his classroom. "Okay, Aura, I love that you came to get me out of class, but what's up?" She reached over and took his hand. They stopped walking and stood in the hallway.

"Do you trust me Jason?" Aura asked, a smile of innocence playing on her face. She was hoping he would say yes.

"With my life, Aura. I don't know why, but I do. Now what's up? Answer me." He took both her hand and looked into her eyes. Her face broke into a smile as she let go of one of his hands.

"We have to get out of here. I want to show you something. We'll be back later, I promise. I just want to get out of here. Please come with me?" Jason nodded, his warm brown eyes twinkling. Aura walked out of the school holding Jason's hand. She walked to her car and climbed into the drivers seat.

They drove into the desert, something New Mexico had an abundance of. Aura parked the car under a group of trees off the side of the road. She sighed and glanced at Jason. She smiled weakly; he was watching her intently.

"Jason, I want to tell you the truth. I don't know if you noticed, but there's something different about me." She paused to look into his eyes; he nodded. "Okay, this is really hard to admit. I've only told Claire' she was cool with it. All right, here it goes. Jace, I'm an alien." She blurted out quickly. "I'm not evil. I came to Roswell to find the people who used to be my parents. My parents were killed in a war about 50 years ago. Their essences were sent to Earth so the rulers could come back and save the planet. My mother put me in safekeeping, but the 'evil alien' who killed my father raised me as his child. I killed his new wife, and escaped Antar. Antar.that's where I'm from. Well, that about wraps it all up." She finished her confession breathlessly.

Aura looked at Jason; he appeared to be in shock. Every few moments he would mutter the word 'alien'. He quickly shook his head and looked at Aura in a new light. She was an alien. Not just any alien, but a princess. That's cool. He nodded to himself.

"Are.are, are you scared of me? Jace, please say something. Please Jace, tell me you hate me and never want to see me again," she pleaded with him. Her eyes teared up and the world around her blurred. She stared at her hand in her lap for a long time; while Jason was still processing the information she had told him.

Aura sighed and put the keys back into the transmission. She was about to start the car when a hand cupped her cheek. She turned her head and saw that Jason was looking at her with bright eyes. He moved in slightly and kissed her gently. Aura pulled away and looked at Jason. "So.you're okay with this?"

Jason nodded and laughed. "I always knew there was something different about you. Aura, it makes no difference what you are. I love you. Do you love me?"

Aura laughed and answered his question. "I love you more than anything on this planet or on Antar." Aura told him everything that was happening and all the danger knowing her could put him into. Jason accepted everything he was told. When Aura was extremely uncertain, Jason would calm her with a kiss.

Calm, and extremely happy, Aura turned the car on and headed back to Roswell. She glanced at Jason, and gave him a shy smile when suddenly the car flipped.

5 minutes later