"Where's Liz?" Tommy asked.

Kyle shrugged, "Must be running a little late," he said casually, although his stomach was churning.

"Really? 'Cause I saw her getting into a white car," Paulie said.

Kyle could feel his stomach getting tighter. "You did?" he asked calmly.

Paulie nodded. "She left right after school."

Kyle shrugged and looked away from the group. "Well…best that she isn't here anyway, she'd just distract me," he said slowly and deliberately. His face was set and grim. He plastered a smile on his face and spun back around. "And who wants that?" he asked with a laugh.

***

Isabel felt a shiver and pulled her legs up against her chest. "I was just scared, that's all."

Michael stopped his pacing, which he had started as soon as he had arrived, and looked at Isabel. "Alex looked like he had seen a ghost. So, I'm assuming, you were more then just scared."

Isabel gave a little smile, thinking about Alex. He was so sweet to her.

"Isabel…I think Michael's right. We have to think clearly about this," Max said from the couch.

"Don't tell me your falling for Michael's option?" she asked, a little fear creeping into her voice.

"It's not an option if it's real," Michael sated in a grim voice.

Isabel shook her head. "No, Michael…it's just a weird coincidence."

Max looked at his sister with an ache, then said softly, "Isabel…we need to look at every angle."

Isabel stood up. "You two have read way too many of those books. Your brains have been corrupted with thought of little green men-"

"Isabel, who said anything about little green men?" Max asked.

"I think it fits in with having magical powers!"

Michael stepped in front of her. "I never said that. I said we might have some special powers."

Isabel shook her hands. "Special powers, magical powers; it's all the same thing!"

Max stood up and pulled her back from Michael. He directed her to the chair, and she sat again. "Let's just calm down."

Michael sighed and looked at him. "Max…we need to think about this. First that whole dream thing, then me and Iz and the ice cream-"

Max looked up. "What happened with the ice cream?"

Isabel and Michael shared a look. Max saw this and prodded. "Isabel…Michael?"

Isabel sighed and started. "The other day, when you came home and we had ice cream all over us?"

"Her, Maria, and Liz had covered the whole kitchen in it just minutes before you got here," Michael added, picking up the story.

"Well, Michael had, not so gently, implied that he would help me clean it up so Liz and Maria would leave."

"We needed to talk about what I had found out, about the dream thing," Michael added.

Max nodded. He remembered. "Wait…if that was right before I got home, how was the kitchen spotless when I got here?"

Isabel sighed again. "That's the problem…we don't know," she said in a small voice.

"What we do know though, is that me and Isabel were fighting over who was gonna clean it up…when it did itself."

Max looked dumbstruck. "You're telling me it just disappeared?"

"Yes-" Michael said at the same time as Isabel replied.

"No!" she looked at Michael then back at Max. "This is just stupid."

"Where did it go?" Michael asked.

Isabel squared her shoulders and said in a stern voice. "I am not gonna sit here and let you tell me that I'm some sort of monster or something with powers."

Max looked at her. "Isabel…no one said that." "But you're both implying it!"

"I never said-" Michael said but stopped when the doorbell rung.

Max glanced out of the window and said, "It's Liz and the others." Michael sighed and looked at Isabel.

"I'm not giving up good friends for this," she spat as she went for the door.

A second later Liz, Maria, and Alex walked into the living room. Max and Michael watched from the couch, both of their faces set on the new coming girls.

"We were just worried something had happened when you guys left and then Michael didn't show back up," Liz said.

Isabel smiled. "Well, I'm fine. My blood pressure was just a little high."

Maria smiled. "Glad you're ok. We thought we'd have to find a new member for a girls night out," she joked.

Alex looked at them. "I said I'd join in."

All three girls rolled their eyes.

"So, you feel up to coming to the Crashdown?" Maria asked, looking over at Michael and Max. "What?"

Michael tore his eyes from Maria. "Um, that really isn't-"

"We'd love to," Max cut in, looking at Liz.

"We could probably score ya some free food," Alex added when Michael didn't seem up to it.

"Yeah," Liz added. "We're in pretty tight with the owners."

"Wonder why," Isabel joked. "It sounds great."

"I think I'm gonna skip it," Michael said.

Isabel and Max both looked at him.

"Ok," Maria mumbled. "But you're gonna miss lots of fun," she added.

Michael shrugged. "Um, we'll catch up with you guys, ok?" Isabel asked.

Liz nodded. "Ok, we need go anyway, me and Maria gotta get to work."

"And I need to sit at the counter and look like an idiot," Alex added.

"You get better soon," Maria told Isabel. "Bye guys," she added.

"See ya," Max said.

"Bye," Isabel said.

Liz looked at Max. "Bye," she said.

Max smiled. "Yeah…see ya later."

Liz smiled and looked at Michael. "Bye, oh-Ms. Leery said to tell you that she needs your homework tomorrow morning."

"We had homework?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, that's the stuff you don't do," Maria said.

Michael shot her a look and Maria shrugged. "Come on, we better go," Alex said. "See ya guys later."

As soon as they were gone, Michael looked at Isabel and Max. "We have more important things to do then sit at the Crashdown and slurp cheery cokes."

"Like what? Giving up my friends for your little joy ride into crazy land? I think not," Isabel said.

"And I don't wanna give up Liz-or the others," Max added. The last part was more of an after thought.

"Fine…you can sit there and have your little perfect lives, but I'm gonna find out what's going on," Michael said before storming out of the house.

"Well, I think that went great," Max mumbled. Isabel sighed and crossed her arms. "Considering who we were talking with? Yeah, it went perfectly."

"Isabel…"

"What Max? Even you have to admit he's out of his mind."

"Maybe we should think about this," he considered.

"Think about what?" Isabel asked.

Max eyed her. "What you saw, for instance."

Isabel stiffened and looked away. "I gotta get ready," she called as she walked into the hallway.