"So, are you still coming to the Crashdown this afternoon? We were going to, ya know, just hang out and talk or something."

"Alex, you know I'd like to relax and chat but........I-I don't know if I should."

Isabel looked preoccupied, her flawless face creased with worry. She had only been listening to Alex with one ear.

"Oh. Well, um, don't worry about it," Alex said in a hurt voice. He wasn't sure how to treat Isabel. It was like walking on ice. He had no idea how she felt towards him.

"Alex! It's not you. I'm just worried about Max. He's been really out of it today. I mean, he just walks around like a zombie. He doesn't answer me, he didn't eat dinner last night, he looks dead. Max is usually quiet but this, this just isn't right! It's like, the real Max is gone. This one is just a-a shadow of my brother."

During her nervous ranting, Isabel's voice was getting higher and higher. She looked at Alex her face extremely distraught. Alex on the other hand, looked confused and was having trouble picturing this "Max shadow."

"Did anything happen? Anything...un-earthly?"

"No. Well nothing out of the ordinary..."

"Well, I didn't hear anything. But I can only think of two things that would affect him that much. One of them is you guys, you know, something bad happening in Czechoslovakia. The other is..."

Both Alex and Isabel looked at each other, their expressions grave.

"Liz..." They both whispered at the same time.

"Hey!! Come on, moooove. You're blocking the doorway!"

Angry voices yelled at the two of them. For they had stopped abruptly outside their classroom. Startled, alien and human jumped through the door and went to grab a seat before the bell rang.

**********

Meanwhile, Liz fled down the hallway trying to locate the nearest bathroom. During the process, she was able to salvage a shred of dignity. She thrust open the door with the last of her strength and collapsed against the counter.

**Oh my God, that thing must weigh at least a ton!! I could barely get it open...**

Lifting her head, Liz saw the girl's bathroom was empty and sighed in relief. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. Not to mention, she would have to find a reasonable explanation. Liz let her bag slide off her shoulder and it hit the ground with a satisfying bang. Turning to face the mirror, she saw her face was already streaked with tears.

**So much for makeup.....**

She climbed up on the broad counter and sat with her back to the wall. Her body felt like someone had taken a sledge hammer to it. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. Liz's emotions were intense and a continuous rollercoaster.

**I-I should be able to handle this. He's just a guy, and I should be able to get over it. Get over him. I mean, we're only seventeen! How could I think he was the one? YOU were the one who abandoned him that day, Liz.**

She tried not to think of that fateful day last summer. How could one day be both the best of her life and yet, also the worst? The sun had shone through the dirty windows of the old van they were hiding in. She had woken up curled in Max Evans' arms. They had tried to get as close as possible, both for comfort and for warmth. Waking up next to Max, smelling his unique smell, gazing at his beautiful face, it was heaven. Liz had immediately decided this was how she wanted to wake up, from then on. However, within a matter of hours, reality had sent Liz's heaven crumbling down around her ears. As the sun set, she'd been running blindly through the desert, sobs racking her body. The memory was just too painful. That day, three months ago, Liz learned that Max wasn't meant to be hers. Max's destiny was with HER. With Tess. Nevertheless, Liz always harbored a distant hope, that one day they would work it out. Her and Max would eventually be together. But now, that hope was gone. Vanished.

**But our future selves stayed together. We even got married. Yeah Liz, wake up, look where that got us...PEOPLE DIED. Our friends died, they died because we loved each other. Because we stayed together.**

It was simply overwhelming. In addition, this foretelling was what had spurred Liz to consent to Future Max's wishes. But, after what she had done, what Max had seen, there was no turning back. She was no longer his. Max was no longer hers. There was no hope, just disappear. No more Max. No more laughing, no more loving, no more happiness.

**No more nothing.....** Liz cried out desperately in her mind. **I'll never get over him,** she concluded. **I'll always love him.**

She made a promise to herself.

**No matter what happens, I will be there for him if he needs me. He'll always have my heart. No one else will ever take his place.**

Having decided this, Liz felt a little better. Better enough to raise her head and look at the clock.

"Ughhhhh..." she groaned. Stray thoughts had been drifting through her mind for the past half an hour. She realized she should probably return to class, but the thought of facing people now was terrifying. She felt translucent, as if with one look, anyone could see what she had done. She knew her emotions were painted clear as day on her face.