"Max man, wanna play?" Kyle asked a bit breathlessly and the guys on the court seemed to give him a look. Max Evans didn't play basketball, he didn't play any sport. He just hung out with his sister.

"Dude, what're you doing?" the one with the blonde buzz cut poked Kyle in the ribs and Kyle ignored him.

"We got an odd number of players, want in?" Max was still a bit suspicious. Kyle never talked to him, neither did any of his friends. He glanced down at his watch and dropped his bookbag to the ground.

"Sure."

Mrs. Evans was, needless to say, a bit surprised when her son walked through the door at five thirty, hot and sweaty, his t-shirt soaked with sweat.

"Max honey, where've you been?" she inquired, pouring him a glass of ice water. She'd never once known Max to come late from school. In fact it actually worried her a bit. Yes, mothers see their children through rose-colored glasses but Max was a good-looking boy. Yet she'd never seen him go out on a weekend or on any other day with anyone but his sister or Michael Guerin. He was so quiet and always kept to himself. He wasn't like Isabelle. Isabelle had other friends, she'd gone out with boys. Max was different. She dismissed the thought and handed him the water.

"I was playing basketball," he dismissed sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Basketball, with who?" his mother's ears perked up.

"Kyle Valenti and some of his friends." And his mothers face shone at the comment.

"Kyle Valenti, the sherriff's boy? That's terriffic. Max, I didn't know you were friends with him."

"Mom, I'm not..." Max was quick to say. He picked his bookbag back off of the floor, "they just needed an extra man is all."

"Well, you should try to make friends with them - Kyle's a nice boy," she called as Max headed to his room.

"He's lucky..." Max mumbled softly to himself. He'd been tempted to ask Kyle about Liz during the two hour basketball game, but he knew he couldn't. He shouldn't. Kyle's friend however, the tall one who'd been on his and Kyle's team, asked Kyle about him and Liz. At first Max had smiled, curious as to what Kyle would say. But then the talks turned. 'How far' had Kyle gotten, did Liz 'put-out'? Max all but blocked his ears, a bit disturbed by how they referred to Liz. Talking about her like she was just a thing. "You gonna bring her to Janine's party?" one had asked and Kyle had shrugged. He actually, Max noticed, didn't seem all that comfortable with the way the guys were talking either. He avoided their questions, talked his way around them. He wasn't the Kyle Valenti Max had thought he'd be. The Kyle Valenti who walked the halls of West Roswell like he was the king of the school. Max didn't know why Kyle had invited him to play. What had possessed him to. He found out that before Kyle had asked him to play he'd been losing big-time with high stakes on the line. Max Evans, who according to the four other boys with Kyle, couldn't play basketball - had helped him win. Kyle'd been surprised, the four boys had been surprised. Max would get the ball and drive straight to the hoop for a perfect layup.

"Alright - Max, my man!" Kyle would laugh, slapping Max five as they would jog back to line up on defense. "Evans - for three...it's good!!" he'd announce as the ball sailed perfectly through the net. Isabelle had walked by then. She'd taken a double-take to make sure it was really her brother, then given him a queer look and walked on. "What were you doing playing basketball with Kyle Valenti?" Isabelle demanded completely dumbfounded by her brothers actions as she stood in the doorway of Max's room. Max didn't respond as he reached into his drawer and pulled out a black v-neck sweater. "What're you doing?" she suddenly asked as he pulled a clean shirt over his head followed by the v-neck.

"Isabelle, I'm changing - I just took a shower-"

"You're going out aren't you?" she interuppted, her voice was more angry than it was curious. Max didn't answer and he continued to grab a clean pair of socks from his dresser drawer.

"No..." Max denied, "I mean but what if I was Iz - you go out all the time." He finally addressed a matter that had been bothering him forever.

"Max I go out on dates with guys who I don't care about. Yeah, I like them and they're nice - but if you're going out I know where you're going," she shook her head, almost seeming to scold him. "Or more importantly who you're going to see."

"There's no other place to go to eat other than the Crashdown," Max looked at his sister mischieviously.

"Yeah, like you go there for the food," she rolled her eyes. "Max, I'm serious - you can't get involved with Liz. I mean you know that."

"What's wrong with being friends with her!" Max began to raise his voice.

"What's wrong with it - take a wild guess!" Isabelle said exasperatedly.

"I'm not going to tell her," he said honestly, lowering his voice and sitting down on the bed.

"Oh and what about that outburst last week?" she questioned the uncharacteristic action that she and Michael hadn't brought up much since last weekend.

"Look I know I can't tell her. Last week I was just...I don't know - frustrated."

"Max I know you like her," Isabelle finally softened up and sympathized with her brother, sitting down on the bed next to him. Like here was an understatement. He thought. "But..." Isabelle started to say and Max stood up before she could finish.

"Yeah, I know..." he grabbed his leather jacket from it's resting spot on the back of his chair and began to head out the door.

"Max-" Isabelle called to him before he left. He turned around to face her. "Don't do anything you're gonna regret," she said warningly, and he left.

The Crashdown was packed to it's fullest capacity and as Max entered and saw all the screaming kids and the dozens of classmates he began to head backwards out the door. Crowds weren't his type of thing. Then he saw Liz. His mouth turned up at the corners a bit and he just stood by the door and waited. Most of the students in the Crash were giggling girls clad in West Roswell High apparell. A few of them kept shooting Max glances from their seats, but they went unreturned. His eyes remained on Liz. He noticed Maria working with Liz and wondered if Liz had told Maria anything about last Friday. After all she was her best friend.

"Hey Max," Liz suddenly called brightly as she stood before him, wiping her hands on a towel. Neither said anything and suddenly Liz pointed to the giant group of girls behind her. "It's the field hockey team," she explained, "apparently we just won a really big game or something..." Max looked over Liz's shoulder to the hyperactive group of girls. "Apparently," he smiled.

"Yeah so - I have to, give them their check..." she stuttered and Max just nodded his head. "They'll be out in a...I mean - they'll be..." she continued to stumble as the smile remained on his face.

"Take your time." He assured and Liz nodded her head.

"Okay...I mean - yeah I will." She quickly turned around and held her hand up to her forehead. Oh my God could I sound like a bigger idiot. Liz mumbled to herself as she walked towards the counter.

"Mmmmm - what was that about?" Maria suddenly joined Liz as she looked at Max and then back towards Liz.

"I was telling him that I was going to seat him soon..." Liz dismissed - at least that's what she had meant to say. Her tongue had gotten tied when he'd kept smiling at her.

"Mmm-hmm, then why are you blushing?" Liz looked at her friend trying to hide a smile.

"Your customers are getting upset," Liz handed Maria two plates and Maria just smiled widely and walked away.

The field hockey team and their followers finally left and the Crashdown emptied out. Max walked over to his traditional booth and actually looked at the menu this time.

"Cherry Coke?" Liz came up beside him.

"Actually.." Max looked down the list of special beverages unique to the Crashdown, "I thought I'd try..a uh..." he continued to look down at the menu, knowing that her eyes were on him. "An alien encounter."

"The milkshake machine's broken," Liz pointed with her pencil behind the counter. "Sorry.." she smiled the smile that drove Max insane.

"Cherry Coke," he laughed, dropping the menu down to the table.

"Too predictable," she didn't even bother to write it down, "space fries?"

"Well I was looking to branch out a bit," Max shrugged, "you have any suggestions?" he picked up the menu again and she opened it for him.

"The pies are really good, Maria's mom makes them - " she showed him the desert section on the Crashdown menu. Max raised his eyebrows as he looked over the selection.

From her spot behind the counter Maria looked over at Liz and Max. They were both laughing and smiling as she pointed to things on the menu. She eventually sat down across from him and untied the alien apron from around her waist, wadding it up and throwing it on the seat next to her. They continued to talk, Max looking as shy and quiet as ever, but every now and then she saw the makings of a smile form on his mouth. Liz's shift didn't end for another half hour but Maria just smiled.

A party of ten had entered the Cafe and, a bit reluctantly, Liz had had to put her apron back on and finish her shift. Maria had insisted on working alone but with Agnes out on one of her eternal breaks Liz couldn't leave Maria alone to attend to the entire room. She was returning to Max's booth, smiling widely when Kyle and a group of his friends walked through the door.

"Oh - hi Kyle!" Liz suddenly called, caught off guard. She stopped in her tracks, walking no further towards Max.

"Hey Liz," Kyle called casually as he strode over to a table. "There's Max, my man.." Kyle glanced over towards Max, slapping him on the back. Max seemed a bit uncomfortable to be in the presence of both Kyle and Liz. Kyle threw a twenty dollar bill onto the table in front of Max.

"What's this?" Max was a bit confused as he picked up the bill.

"That's from todays game - I was just tellin' the guys about it," Kyle sat down at a table right next to Max's. "You should try out for the team next month Evans..." Kyle suggested good-naturedly and Max just laughed and shook his head. Liz listened to all this with open ears.

"Wait, what - what game?" she was a bit confused.

"Nothin' just a game after school," Kyle dismissed the matter. "So Liz, when do you get off?" he asked.

"Ummm...not for - not for another hour," Liz lied, her shift had ended exactly three minutes ago. Maria silently listened to all this from behind her friend.

"Oh really," Kyle chewed his gum thoughtfully, "I thought you said you got off at nine." He just shrugged casually, not seeming to be bothered by it, "oh well - you have any plans tonight?" Liz looked over to Max, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Umm...well-" Liz stumbled, and as much as she didn't want them to her eyes rested on Max. She'd wanted to talk to him for longer than they had. She saw Max pull a ten dollar bill from his wallet and place it onto the counter. Her heart sank when she realized he was leaving. He got up from the booth and dropped the twenty dollar bill in front of Kyle. Kyle laughed at the gesture. He had known Max wouldn't have taken the money. He was one of those good natured types who didn't gamble and didn't bet - but man, could he play basketball.

"See ya Max," he called, and as Liz watched Max - a bit dissappointedly - walk out the door, she sat down with Kyle.