Mrs. Evans was midway through her preparation of the night's dinner when a knock sounded at the front door. Already confused as to who would be coming at seven o'clock she was even more perplezed at the pretty face at the door. Liz herself seemed caught off guard to have Mrs. Evans answer the door. She opened up her mouth and at first nothing came out.

"I'm here to see Max," she managed to say and Mrs. Evans' eyebrows raised at the comment. She didn't say anything and just seemed to be looking Liz up and down before she slowly turned around to call her son.

"Max, someone's here to see you," she announced through the house.

The two just stood in the doorway looking at each other awkwardly.

"I'm Liz," Liz finally broke the silence and the statement immedietly triggered a memory in Mrs. Evans' mind. That night Max had stormed out of the house, the night he and Isabel had fought so bitterly with each other. Isabel had mentioned Liz - had said something about being more than involved a little with her. It had seemed a tender subject with Max. It was that which had prompted him to storm out.

"Mom, what?" Max walked through to the front door dressed in a ragged short sleeved grey t-shirt and jeans. He stopped in his tracks and a smile appeared on his face when he saw Liz. He seemed to forget his mother was in the room.

"Hey," he called softly, walking towards her and brushing past his mother.

"Hey," she replied, her face brightening at his presence. Seeing as Max's mother still seemed curious as to her presence, Liz raised the book that was at her side. "You left your government book in the bio room," she said hurriedly and at the comment Mrs. Evans dismissed the two and slowly walked back into the kitchen to finish her chicken cacciatore.

"We don't have government homework," Max grinned and Liz just smiled, shaking her head slightly to rid a stray lock of hair in her face. She stepped closer to Max and he kissed her softly, seeming to forget his mother was in the other room. Max knew why Liz had come, she'd come to see him for the same reason he'd been unable to sit down and do his biology homework. He'd been thinking of her. "Umm - Max," Liz began to break apart, something seeming to be on her mind but she caught herself looking throughout the house and her mind sidetracked. "Where's your room?"

Isabel sat down at the dinner table at seven thirty that evening and was unable to dismiss Max's empty chair beside her.

"Where's Max?" and at the question her mother's mouth turned up at the corners.

"Max has a girl over," she said quietly to her husband and Isabel looked up, at first a look of surprise coming over her face.

"Liz is over?" she sighed, her expression quickly turning to one of disgust.

"Liz?" Philip Evans peered across the table to his daughter - seeming as delighted as his wife at the idea.

"Yes Liz - and they seem to know each other quite well," Mrs. Evans phrased slightly. "Isabel, how long has your brother been seeing her?"

"Talk to Max," Isabel steered her way around the question reaching for the salad across from her.

"Well girl or not -" Mr. Evans placed his napkin neatly on the table, "he still has to come to dinner."

"That's what I say," Isabel agreed haughtily and her mother couldn't help but detect the slightest bit of jealousy in her voice. Philip Evans walked down the hallway to his son's room. The door was half open and he knocked quietly before entering.

"Max - dinner's ready," he called and inside he could hear the sound of a kiss being broken apart, followed by a loud gasp and feet landing loudly on the floor. "So say good-night," he added, knowing perfectly well what his son had been doing. He had to admit he was happy for his son. Max always seemed so quiet, so disclosed from the outside world. So far from the normal teenage boy. He didn't get into trouble, he didn't seem obsessed with girls - Philip couldn't help but be happy by the month's recent events. First he'd joined the school basketball team and now he had a girl over in his bedroom.

Well, he wasn't *that* happy for his son and he peeked his head around the door. Liz, looking the slightest bit flustered, was sitting upright on the bed and Max was standing next to her.

"So thanks for the bio book," Max reached behind him for the book and Mr. Evans smiled.

"Government," Liz whispered, correcting Max and attempting to contain her smile.

Max just looked to his father nervously. "Government book," Max actually looked at the book for the first time all evening.

"Ummm..it was....it was no problem," Liz again tried to supress the smile at her last comment but both she and Max couldn't help but smile.

"Say goodnight," Mr. Evans repeated before he turned around to return to the table. Max followed close behind, Liz's hand in his as he led her to the front door. The family at the table attempted not to look, but no matter how hard they tried all pairs of eyes peered up at the two.

"Good night," Max mumbled, knowing his family was watching. He edged closer towards the door, and Liz began to walk out with him when she suddenly tilted her head up to his and kissed him lightly. Max felt his family's eyes on him and as awkward as he felt, and as much as he wanted to make the kiss brief, he was unable to pull away from her. His lips remained on hers and he had to have his hand drift towards her face in an effort to tenderly break away. "Night," he whispered, drawing away from her and Liz just nodded her head, backing out the door.

"Good night," she bit her lip as she walked down the dark drive. Max just stood by the door and watched her go. He would have stood there until her shadow vanished entirely from his vision had it not been for his father.

"So Max, what other secrets you been keeping from us?" he called playfully and not at all upset by the actions - more like the exact opposite, but as was everything his parents said, Max heard the double meaning behind it that his parents didn't. The same double meaning that he and Isabel couldn't but apply to everything they said that made every conversation they had with their parents painful. It was like his conversations used to be with Liz. Max bowed his head and just walked over to take his seat.

"Real discreet, Max," Isabel whispered referring to his kiss in front of the entire family. He ignored his sister's comment. He knew he might have been able to get past his parent's interrogation had he not kissed Liz like that. But he couldn't help it. He hadn't been able to break away from her. After ten years of yearning, every kiss they shared was magical.

"Were you planning on telling us about Liz - ever?" Mrs. Evans asked and somehow the way she asked it, the words didn't come out as threatening as they should have.

"I would have," Max paused, "eventually."

"Well you care for her, that's obvious," Philip Evans said casually, reaching over for the salad. Max immedietly sensed this was a topic of conversation he didn't want to get into with his parents. He was having enough trouble figuring everything out. Figuring out how he felt about his relationship with Liz.

"How is it obvious?" he asked, smoothing the napkin onto his lap, looking down and not up at his parents.

"'Cos you look at her the same way you look at Isabel an' your mother," he stated matter-of-factly and Max's head immedietly shot up at the comment.

"So do share, Max - how long have you known her?" Mr. Evans quickly brought the topic back to the questions at hand that his wife and he were eager to discover. Max couldn't reveal what he wanted to, that he'd known and been infatuated with Liz since he was six years old and first stepped off the bus to elementary school. He couldn't tell them that. But anything else would be a lie. And he couldn't lie to his parents any longer. He couldn't. He could come up with no response however.

"Liz has gone to school with us since we first came to Roswell," Isabel suddenly answered casually helping herself to more caesar salad. "We just didn't get to know her until this year."

"We?" Mrs. Evans suddenly asked curiously looking towards her daughter, "Izzy are you friends with her too?" Max glanced over at Isabel. He wouldn't exactly classify them as friends. Especially not as of the past week's events, but he wouldn't say they were enemies either.

"Yeah," Isabel responded quickly and Max looked genuinely taken aback by the comment.

"So how long have you -"

"This year. We've been friends since -" Isabel began to answer quickly, but her father interuppted.

"Isabel why don't you let your brother answer? How long have uh you and Liz been...dating?" It seemed a foreign phrase almost, Max and dating in the same subject.

"Monday," Max admitted quietly, "well - Sunday," he began to correct himself thinking of the first time he'd kissed her, then he quickly changed his mind again. "Tuesday." "Which one is it, Max? It can't be that complicated," his mother laughed and Max just clamped his jaw shut. How little she knew.

"Tuesday," Max sighed. It was Tuesday that Liz had finally accepted him for who he was, it was Tuesday morning that she'd so dramatically marched over to him and kissed him. "Tuesday."

"Max that's two days?" Mrs. Evans asked, more than confused. And even Max seemed bothered by the statement. It had been more than two days. He and Liz had been much more than two days, the thing - that's all he could think to call it, a thing - had been going on for months. It was just the last two days that they'd both confronted it.

And it had been the best two days of his life. Max just shrugged and his mother looked up at him.

"She's very pretty," she commented.

"Mom -" Max began to protest and her mother held up her hands defensively.

"Well she is. I'm surprised she doesn't already have a boyfriend, she -" "She's Liz Parker, right?" Mr. Evans suddenly inquired. "Her parents own the Crashdown? Doesn't she works there?" Max didn't respond and Mr. Evans smiled widely.

"That's why you like that place so much?" he laughed, but Max didn't smile. "Come on, Max - lighten up," his father looked over to him and saw Max's solemn face.

"I just don't want to talk about it.." Max admitted honestly.

"But you always have your guard up. All the time. Your father and I have had no idea who this Liz person was until tonight - who knows how long you would have kept it from us then -"

"I would have told you -" Max began to defend but his mother continued.

"I mean we had to find out about the basketball team because we read your name in the paper! You came home that day and pretended like nothing had happened. I mean would you have even of told us if we -" his mother touched on what was still a bit of a sore topic between them.

"I would have told you about Liz," Max continued.

"It's like you have so many...secrets, why can't you tell us what's going on in your life a little more? I realize your a teenage boy, but you can let us into your life, Max. We're your parents." His mother said the last statement with some sadness in her voice, but again the double meaning came back to haunt him. Everything his mother said had that threatening intent to it. He wasn't the normal teenage boy. And he wanted to tell her that the less she knew about his life the safer she was, all he could say was the phrase he'd been repeating for the past minute.