He knew that Maria will be getting all excited, but he didn't know how to break the news to her that he couldn't dance. Michael never really bothered to learn how, because he thought he would never get the opportunity. However, that was all before he met Maria. He never thought he would be someone's boyfriend, but here he was in a committed relationship and he couldn't be any happier. But then he has the whole prom problem now.

"Hey Michael," Max Evans approached him in the school hallway.

"Max," Michael said still looking at the prom poster.

Max could see what Michael was trying to do, "You know staring at it won't make it go away."

"A guy can dream, can't he?" Michael finally tore his eyes away. "What's up Maxwell?"

"Nothing much, I've just been thinking about home a lot lately," Max confessed. "You know since the whole hostage situation with Brody." Max shared with Michael what he found out about their home planet when he healed Brody.

Michael questioned with curiosity, "So you actually remembered our planet?"

"Yes," he replied as they walked through the halls.

Michael joked, "What are the chicks like?"

"If you're not going to take this seriously…" Max's voice trailed off.

Michael continued to joke, "I seriously wanna know what the chicks are like."

Max just ignored Michael's weird sense of humor, "It's not that literal, they're just these images." Michael was now completely listening. "In one way I have this, this really clear feeling about everything. In another way everything seems so ephemeral. You know, uh…"

Michael rolled his eyes, "Transient, fleeting, impermanent, I know what ephemeral means Maxwell. It's my life."

"Michael, I remember everyone. You, Isabel…" Max looked up and saw Tess walking and laughing with Kyle. "For some reason Tess is the clearest."

"Well you have been spending a lot of time with her, are you sure your thoughts aren't clouded?" Michael suggested as he saw Tess watching them attentively.

Michael realized that Max was staring back at her. "I don't think so," he muttered as he began to walk away.

* * * "Michael!" Maria called from down the hall. She quickly started dodging oncoming student traffic as she tried to make her way to her boyfriend. "Michael, I need to talk to you."

Michael knew what she wanted to talk about, "Hey babe, what's up."

"Don't play games with me, I know you know what this is about," Maria said bluntly.

"Just kill me now," he groaned. "I don't do proms. I don't believe in them."

"You don't believe in them?!" Maria knew that she had to twist his arm, but she didn't know he was completely against going.

Michael saw her surprise, "The whole thing is completely bogus. It's completely unnatural."

"You know what?" Maria tried to keep her temper in check, but she knew she was slipping. "I find it to be really unnatural that you're half alien warrior and half Grandpa Dupree, but I make do."

Michael knew that this was going to be one of those arguments when they say a bunch of stuff they don't mean, "I know you were going to make this thing into a whole issue."

"Oh my God!" Maria exploded. "This is potentially one of the five greatest nights of my life!" Maria spat out words before they processed in her mind. "And if you're not going to do your part in providing that for me, then I'm just gonna, I'm gonna seek other options. It's what I'm gonna do."

"So, what are you saying that we're seeing other people?" Michael teased her.

Maria groaned in frustration when she didn't get what she wanted, "Oh my God, you are so annoying!"

She left in a huff, and Michael called after her, "Fine, then we're seeing other people!"

"Fine!" she yelled back disappearing into the crowd.

* * * "What's wrong?" Liz asked when Maria flopped into the empty seat between her and Alex in the library.

"Men, they're all scum," Maria then realized that Alex was a guy. "I don't mean you Alex, you're a prince among males."

Alex smiled, "I would prefer king, but prince will do."

"So what did Michael do this time?" Liz made sure to keep her voice down.

Maria replied not caring how loud she was, "It's not what he did, it's what he refuses to do."

"Something tells me this is about the prom," Alex guessed right.

Maria nodded, "I have only been dreaming about this night since I was a little girl. It's one of the few dreams I've had. Tess would laugh at me because I would watch Pretty in Pink over and over again."

"Well if it's any consolation, Alex and I don't have dates either," Liz spoke up.

"But you don't understand," Maria whined. "This is only the beginning. If he refuses to go to this prom it will be easier for him to refuse to go to next year's prom and it won't stop there. He'll refuse to have a big wedding and we're going to end up eloping to some tacky wedding chapel in Vegas. And I've been to Vegas and all it brought us was trouble."

Liz listened to her friend rant, "Ok, Maria calm down, remember we're in Roswell, not in Vegas."

"I'm sorry, it's just that Michael can be so aggravating sometimes," Maria took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Alex tried to comfort her, "Well I definitely know you rubbed off on him, because he's not the same Michael he was a year ago."

"Yeah, but he is still so stubborn," Maria groaned as she rested her head on Alex's shoulder.

Alex patted her on the head, "He's not the only one."

* * * "Why isn't he here? He's supposed to be here?" Maria adjusted her plastic alien antennae on her head.

Liz shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, maybe he called in sick."

"Ha! We don't get sick, so he is definitely up to something," Maria became more suspicious.

"Maria, stop jumping to ridiculous conclusions and just call him," Liz suggested as she retied her apron.

Maria shook her head in disagreement, "Michael is the one in the wrong here, he's the one that should be calling me and pleading for my forgiveness."

"Well I truly hope you get what you want," Liz said to her. "But if it doesn't you can always come with me and Max."

Maria caught the last part, "Wait a minute, you're going to the prom with Max." Liz nodded and smiled, "When did this happen?"

"This afternoon," Liz shared. "It was kind of weird, but we're not together. It would just seem to weird if we went with other people."

Maria asked, "So you guys are just going as friends?"

"Yeah, I guess," Liz replied.

"Well I'm happy for you," Maria patted her hand. "At least one of us will have a good prom."

Liz had a good idea, "Hey, why don't you ask Alex? That way you are guaranteed a good time."

"I would think he is waiting to ask Isabel," Maria told her.

Liz shrugged her shoulders, "According to Alex he claims he's over her. He has changed since he got back from Sweden."

"Yeah, plus he was with that chick, what's her name? Leanne?" Maria pointed out.

Liz corrected, "Leanna."

"Whatever," Maria responded. "Maybe I'll give Michael one last chance to redeem himself, then I'll hit up the best bud."

"Plus, there is always Kyle," Liz added.

Maria wrinkled her nose, "Ew! That would be like going to the prom with my brother."

* * * Michael stood in front of his locker the next morning trying to find his English book, but he didn't even know if it was in there.

"So, missed your shift last night," Maria stated from behind.

Michael lied, "Alien business."

"Why wasn't I called?" Maria questioned.

"It wasn't that serious, besides you were working," he continued when he found his book and shut the locker door.

Maria decided to overlook that, "Well, we're both off tonight, so I'm willing to let you take me to dinner and a movie so you can make up for your assinine comments yesterday. Which, um, by the way, I think is very big of me."

Michael would have gladly taken Maria to dinner and a movie, so they could forget that the argument they had the day before. However, prior engagements was prevented Michael from taking her offer, "I can't make it tonight."

Maria couldn't believe that she was getting rejected again, "You can't make it?"

"Nah, I got plans already," he started to walk away hoping to avoid anymore conversation.

"With who?" Maria demanded, but Michael pretended not to hear her. "That's it."

Maria was fuming and she decided if Michael wasn't going to take her to the prom then she will find someone who would. She remembered Alex telling her that he would be in the library, so that was where she was headed.

Maria spotted Alex sitting at a table with Isabel, and if she wasn't too absorbed in her own problems she probably would have noticed Isabel's upset demeanor. "Alex I have to an enormous favor to ask you," Maria sat down at the table.

Alex looked over at Isabel who now seemed uncomfortable. "I'll catch you guys later," Isabel sullenly got up and left.

"Ok, what's so important?" Alex asked.

Maria blurted out, "Take me to the prom."

"What?" Alex was taken off guard.

"Please Alex," Maria pleaded. "Michael won't take me and I would rather go with my best friend them some stranger."

Alex was hesitant, "I don't know Maria."

"Please Alex, it will be fun," Maria tried to convince him.

Alex thought for a moment, then decided, "Sure, I would be happy to take you to the prom."

Maria squealed with delight, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She gave him a loud kiss on the cheek. "You are a such a great friend."

Alex laughed, "Well you owe me big time."

Maria's smile faded, "If only Michael was as loyal as you."

Alex put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "He'll come around, because he's a fool if he doesn't."

"Yeah, I guess," Maria said, but inside she wasn't so sure.

* * * Maria had mixed emotions when she got home because she was happy she was going to the prom, but she was bitter because she wasn't going with Michael.

"Is that you Maria?" Sheriff Valenti called from the kitchen.

Maria threw her stuff on the couch, "Yeah, it's me." She walked into the kitchen to find him on the phone. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something."

Valenti covered the mouthpiece, "Amy was just telling me that she signed us up to be chaperones at your prom."

Maria's eyes grew wide, "Oh, really, um, that's great. Uh, is Tess or Kyle here?"

"I think they're in your room," Valenti replied then turned his attention back to his conversation with Amy.

Maria was glad that he had someone, and Amy DeLuca made him happy. Kyle had told her around Christmas time that he had never seen him so happy. "Hey guys," Maria greeted as she entered the room. "Kyle are you aware that your father is going to be chaperoning the prom."

Kyle didn't know because he looked surprised, "How the hell did that happen?"

"I think it was Amy's idea, he's in the kitchen right now talking to her," Maria informed him.

Tess chimed in, "It doesn't sound that bad, besides they'll be too absorbed with each other to care what we do."

"So you decided to go after all?" Maria flopped down on the bed.

Tess looked over at Kyle, "Yeah, I'm going with Kyle."

"Oh," Maria wasn't expecting that. "That's cool."

Kyle asked casually, "What about you?"

"Um, I'm going…with Alex," Maria replied.

"What happened to Michael?" he asked.

Maria looked away sadly, "I don't know, I guess he has something better to do."

"Don't worry Ria, you'll still have fun," Tess comforted her.

"I guess," Maria said softly. "I really don't want to talk about this right now." Maria got up off the bed and left the room. Her suspicions rose with each step she took, and she knew she was only upsetting herself even more. Valenti was still chatting on the phone in the kitchen, so Maria used her cell phone.

"Hello," Liz answered on the third ring.