"Honey…time to get up!" Liz groaned and finally sat up. "Elizabeth!"

"I'm up," Liz called back. She slowly climbed out of bed and waddled over to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and nearly cringed. There were bags under her eyes and she looked half-dead.

She heard her mother open the door and shut off her alarm. "Your shift starts in 20 minutes," Nancy reminded her.

"I know," Liz mumbled back.

"Alex called. He seemed upset."

Liz nodded and walked back into her bedroom. "Is he here yet?" she knew Alex, and if he was upset, he'd be there in a few minutes.

"No, but Maria is. And she's running around frantic downstairs," Ms. Parker replied.

Liz nodded and got ready to take a shower. "I'll be down in a few," she called, walking back into the bathroom.

Liz took a quick bath and changed, just combing her hair and leaving it wet. She took one more glance in the mirror before running down the steps.

"Liz, we need to talk!" Maria said coming up and grabbing her elbow.

"Maria…it's too early for one of your talks," Liz groaned out as she was lead into the stock room.

"Liz, this is big!" Maria started to pace as soon as the door shut behind them. "Last night Michael broke a glass-"

"Michael was here?"

"Let me talk," Maria said quickly. "See, Michael broke this glass, or plate, or whatever-"

"Wait, what did he break?" Liz asked.

"I don't know; I didn't see it. But when I walked into the room, there wasn't anything broken!!"

Liz eyed her a second. "Ok, so, you didn't see him break anything?"

"No."

"And then you find out that nothing was broke?" Liz asked.

"Yes."

Liz eyed Maria as if she was crazy. "Ok, just to clarify: you've lost it," Liz said before walking out of the room.

"Liz," Maria called out, following her. "I heard the glass breaking."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Maria cried. "Will you listen to me?"

Liz stopped and looked at Maria. "Ok, so, what are you saying about Michael?"

Maria sighed. "I don't know…but something's up. I searched over an hour for any broken dishes or cups or glasses, but nothing. And after it, Michael freaked and ran out of here on top of it all!"

Liz thought back to last night. Michael had showed up at Max's looking upset and scared. Then Isabel freaked too.

"Liz…something broke here last night. I know it," Maria added.

"Liz! I need your help!" Alex called out, running up to the girls.

"Alex-"

"Maria, this is big," Alex told her.

Liz looked between them both and sighed. "Guys…can I at least have a cup of coffee before I start solving all of the world's problems?"

Maria and Alex both eyed her. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, you seem cranky," Alex pointed out.

"And look like death," Maria added.

"Sorry…I'm just tired." Liz walked over to the coffee machine and poured a cup.

"Ok, but you gotta help me," Alex said.

"Hey! Me first!" Maria said, walking between Liz and Alex.

"Mine deals with Isabel Evans!" Alex said with emotion.

"Ok, you win." Maria knew when to back down. Alex was head over heels for her. "But I got dibs on her after lunch."

"Hello?" Liz said. "Ok, 'her' is right here. And she has problems of her own!"

Alex and Maria both eyed her. "Like what?" Maria asked.

"Are you open?" a voice called from behind.

"Shit…ok, we've gotta talk," Maria proclaimed before walking away to take the customers order.

"Ok, what's your problem?" Alex asked, focusing on Liz.

"I thought you had one of your own?"

"I do. But yours comes first. So, spill." Liz sighed and took Alex by the wrist and pulled him to the corner. "Ok, this stays between you and me for now, ok?"

Alex nodded and let her talk.

"Ok, last night I had to meet my mom's boyfriend and his kids."

Alex waited then said, "Ok, and this did not go well?"

Liz shook her head. "Um, 'no' would be an understatement. See, his name is Phillip…Evans."

Alex just shrugged then his eyes bugged. "Evans? As in Max Evans?"

Liz nodded and slumped down in the nearest booth. "Alex…this is, is…not good!"

Alex looked at her sympathetically and then sat down beside her. "Its ok, babe. Listen…maybe your parents will find out they don't like each other."

"And what if they don't? They could get married!" Liz said, her voice getting high.

Alex knew this was bad and tried to calm her. "Liz, just calm down. No one said anything about marriage. They're just dating."

"But…she can't," Liz finally got out, her voice was soft and sad.

Alex knew how she was feeling and put his arm around her shoulder. "Look…I know you're freaked. But…have you talked to Max about this yet?"

Liz sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. "No…I was upset last night and…he asked me to stay after and talk, but…but I told him no."

Alex looked down at her and smiled. "Cause of your parents, or you?"

Liz groaned and hit him on the arm. "I have a boyfriend," she said in a stern voice.

"I know…we all know. So why do you keep reminding us?" he asked.

Liz could feel her face getting hot and rubbed her eyes. "I keep thinking back to elementary school."

Alex laughed and rubbed his chin. "Oh…little Maxwell."

Liz shot up and glared at him. "Maxwell?" she repeated.

Alex nodded. "Yeah. Remember, you named all of your 'Ken' dolls after him."

Liz thought back and slowly nodded. "And all of my fantasy dates after that…" she mumbled. "I forgot that."

Alex sighed. "Yeah…old age will do that to ya," he said jokingly. "So, why do you keep thinking about him?"

Liz shrugged and sat back again. "I love the memory of being innocent and in…"

"Love?"

Liz stared into space and nodded. "Yeah…love."

Alex pulled her closer and rubbed her shoulder. "Look, it's gonna happen. Maybe already has. So don't give up."

"Thanks," Liz said, looking up at his face. "I needed this."

Alex smiled and shrugged. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. Liz put her arms around his waist and they sat there, just enjoying being close friends.

***

Max and Isabel pulled up outside of the Crashdown and just sat in the jeep. They both just looked at their laps.

Finally, Isabel broke the silence. "I'll ask Liz about the dreams."

Max nodded and added, "Ok. And I want you to know that if…she did have them, it's gonna be ok."

Isabel looked up at him and shook her head. "Max…you've been sharing dreams with a girl you just met, Michael can fix broken glass by just waving his hand, and I saw…stuff when I touched a guy. How is this gonna be ok?"

Max could hear the tremble in her voice. "Iz…this…we need to figure it out. Do you think I wanna find out if I have powers or something? No, ok, I don't. I wanna have a normal life and be a normal teenage boy."

"And have a girlfriend?" Isabel asked, her face smiling slightly.

Max nodded. "Yeah…maybe one who doesn't already have a boyfriend," he added.

Isabel laughed and Max smiled. "Come on," he said, getting out of the jeep. "Let's get this over with…" Max trailed off as he looked into the window of the café and felt his heart contacting.

There, in a booth, were Liz and Alex, holding each other and laughing.

"Max," Isabel said reaching for his shoulder.

Max shook her off and looked at the jeep. "I'm gonna wait out here," he said, walking back to it.

Isabel looked back into the window and saw Alex was looking down at Liz, then she gasped and shoved him out of the booth, both of them laughing. "No, Max, you're coming in."

Max sighed and turned back around. "Why? So I can see them cuddle?"

Isabel wanted to ring his neck. "Max…Liz and Alex are friends. Just come in," she repeated opening the door and waiting. Max finally shuffled in and slumped into the first booth he reached, pouting like a little boy.

Isabel rolled her eyes and walked over to Alex, who had seated himself at the counter. "Hey…"

Alex spun around and just gaped at her. He finally looked down at the floor then back. "Um…hey."

Isabel sat down beside him and nodded toward Liz. "Is she ok?"

Alex shrugged. "A little upset…but she'll live," he replied.

Isabel nodded. "Yeah…it was awkward…to say the least. But at least her and Max'll have to spend time together."

"And maybe die of yearning," Alex ventured.

Isabel figured now was a good time and asked, "Has Liz ever mentioned anything about a dream?"

Alex looked at her weird for a second. "Why?"

Isabel tried to play it off. "I was just wondering if she liked Max. I mean, if she's dreamt about him, then…"

Alex thought for a second then cleared his throat. "Liz said she had a dream."

Isabel waited patiently for him to finish. But on the inside, she was jumping up and down. "About what?" she asked, looking back at Max, who was still in the booth, but his eyes were focused on the window to the back. Isabel looked and saw Liz.

"She'll kill me for telling you," Alex said, looking at her also. "She said it was really real. Like he was really there."

Isabel sat up a little and took a deep breath. She watched as Maria came up. "Hey Iz…you ok?"

Isabel nodded and gave her a smile. "Yeah…just a little tired."

Maria nodded back. "Me too. Listen…did you see Michael last night?"

Isabel froze then relaxed. "Why?"

"See...this is gonna sound weird, but…um see…" Maria blew out her breath. "Never mind," she said finally. "Hey, why's Max back there?"

Isabel looked over her shoulder at Max. "He's…he's tired too."

"Huh…so is Liz," Maria said. She then grinned and said in a joking tone, "maybe her and Max got together last night and kept each other up."