"Hey," Isabel replied not really acknowledging him.

Michael eyed the brochures, "So, this is the college."

"Yeah, yeah," Isabel began to sound a bit excited. "As a freshman, my housing choices are pretty limited, but this is the dorm I want. It's close to everything good."

Michael didn't know what to think, "Nice."

"Yeah," Isabel agreed.

"But you can't go," Michael hated to say.

Isabel was taken aback, "Excuse me?"

"Isabel, you know the drill," Michael reminded. "We have to stay in Roswell. We stick together, it's a given."

"I've made up my mind," Isabel hissed.

"What happens if we need you back here? What are you gonna tell your roommates or your professors?" Michael tried to conjure up the worst case scenario. "Oh sorry, Dr. so and so, but I gotta miss sociology because some fresh gandarium sprang up in the Roswell sewers."

"Michael," Isabel said.

"I'm not done," Michael continued. "I mean who's paying for all this cross-country travel? Do you know what a last minute plane ticket costs nowadays?"

"So, I'll change dollar bills into hundreds," Isabel couldn't think of anything better.

Michael wondered for a moment, "You can do that?"

"I just need a change," Isabel confessed.

"Look, when Alex died, none of us could have known how much it would affect us. You running away isn't gonna help you get over it any quicker," Michael could only wish it was that easy to tell Maria.

Isabel declared, "I'm just trying to have a life."

"Yeah, and I'm suggesting you don't make a huge decision right now," Michael told her. "Not when your emotions are still running high."

"Isn't that when you make all of your decisions?" Isabel questioned, because he was sounding hypocritical.

"This is final," Michael knew she had gotten him good.

Isabel reminded, "It's not for you to say."

"No, but I'm speaking for Max," Michael wanted her to know that it wasn't coming from him.

This angered Isabel even more, "You know what? You tell Max that if he has something to say to me, he'd best find the time to say it himself." Michael didn't say anything as Isabel stormed off.

* * * Maria looked down nervously at her watch as she waited for Liz to show up. They were supposed to meet with the yearbook staff to explain what they were doing, but Maria was pretty much working by herself.

Julie spoke up when she looked at the clock, "We can't wait for Liz much longer, Maria."

Mr. Felder, the yearbook faculty member told her, "Why don't you start explaining what you have?"

"It's gonna be great. I mean, there's still a lot of stuff left to collect," Maria spread out what she had done so far on the table. "Like, there's this poster of his first gig in Hondo, and then, we're trying to get a hold of this poem that he wrote about when his dog got his leg amputated, 'cause you know, you can't have a collage about Alex without capturing his sense of humor, so anyway, it's a work-in-progress, clearly."

"Well, Maria, you were supposed to be delivering camera-ready art," Mr. Felder reminded.

"Art, yet, I know," Maria felt a little embarrassed. "It's a lot better than it looks."

"Ok, but we're already holding the presses for this," he pointed out.

Maria replied in a small voice, "I understand."

"And as much as I think that we're all devastated about Alex, I don't think that it's in the wishes of the student body to not get their yearbooks until after graduation," Julie chimed in as she sided with Mr. Felder.

Maria knew that they just didn't understand, "Look, if you could just give me 48 hours."

Mr. Felder could see that this was important to her, "Ok, maybe we should think about compromising a little. I mean, do you really need to have every single piece of memorabilia in the collage?"

Maria couldn't even think about not including a memory she had of Alex, "Yes, yes I do, and I will…we will…Liz and I will."

"Ok, and where is Liz, anyway?" he questioned.

"I told her about the meeting, but she might have gotten the time mixed up," Maria made up. "Liz is usually very punctual."

"Well to be honest with you, it still needs a lot of work," Mr. Felder informed her. "I can only give you two days."

"Thank you, I'll have everything ready," Maria said as she began gathering up the unfinished pieces. "Where the hell is Liz?" she thought as she left the yearbook room.

"Maria!" a voice called from behind.

Maria turned around, "Hey Tess, what's up?"

"I know it is late, but can I use your car?" she asked sweetly.

Maria hesitated, "I need to go to the print shop this afternoon."

"Can't Michael take you?" Tess questioned.

"I guess," Maria dug her keys out and handed them to her.

"Thanks, see you later," Tess said as she took off and on her way out she bumped into Michael. "Speak of the devil, Maria needs to ask you something."

"What's up?" Michael asked after he kissed her hello.

"I need another ride to the print shop, do you think you can take me?" Maria asked seeming a little worn out.

Michael nodded, "Yeah sure, what time?"

Maria looked down at her watch; "I have to go find Liz, probably at four."

Michael kissed her on the cheek; "I'll be there."

* * * Maria checked everywhere for Liz and called her cell phone at least a dozen times and she wouldn't answer. Since they were supposed to be working on Alex's collage they weren't scheduled to work. Right before she left school Max had told her that Sean and Liz had gotten caught breaking into the school the night before.

Maria decided to try Liz's bedroom. "Come in," Liz's voice said after she knocked on the door.

"Liz, you missed another yearbook meeting. The least you could've done was call," Maria said as she walked into Liz's room.

Liz apologized, "Yes, I am sorry to have to put all that stuff on you right now."

"Stuff?" Maria couldn't believe that was what she thought about Alex's tribute.

"Yeah, but you know what? I'm closing in on this Leanna girl. They went on a cross-country tour together. I've got everything mapped out, but this is where things don't add up." Liz continued to rant as Maria looked around to find pictures of Alex and maps of Sweden all around her room. "Alex's itinerary says they were headed for the Baltic Islands, and the date on the photo matches the schedule, but there is no building that looks like this in the Baltic Islands, or…or in any of the other cities that Alex visited for that matter. I mean, maybe she took him to…"

"Would you just listen to yourself?" Maria cut her off, but that didn't stop Liz.

"I don't even know where…to, like another country or another planet. Maria," Liz saw that Maria was looking at her as if she were crazy.

Maria realized that Liz was completely obsessed, "Stop it and listen to me, all right?" Maria was so distressed that Liz was no longer the same person. "I need my best friend right now because our other best friend just died, and I feel lost and scared and just completely wrecked, and I know what we're supposed to go to school, and go to work, and finish this yearbook tribute, but I can't…I don't have a handle on things." Liz was giving her an empty look as Maria continued to lose it. "I feel like everything is just slipping by me, and I don't even…I don't even know if I'm alive right now. So please, just stop focusing on this thing that isn't even there. And just be sad with the rest of us, ok?…please."

Liz stated in a small voice, "So you don't believe me, either."

"I'm…no," Maria took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I guess I don't, Liz."

Liz looked extremely hurt; "Leave the Sweden stuff. I need it."

"God, you know, you're doing this for Alex, but you don't care whose life you screw up on the way," Maria snapped at her.

Liz was now on the defense, "That's not true."

"Oh it's not? How about Sean? Have you even thought about him for a second since he ruined his probation for you?" Maria shot at her during a sudden flash of anger. "God, I don't even know you anymore."

"Maria," Liz said.

"I don't even know me anymore, and I'm beginning to think that we died along with Alex," Maria declared in a fit of tears as she ran out the door.

* * * She was tempted to call Michael or Kyle for a ride home but then she figured that walking might calm her down. By the time she got to the Valentis' it was nearly four and Michael should be there any minute. Kyle was sitting in front of the TV watching a sports game. "Kyle, what time is it?" she asked.

Kyle looked at the clock on the wall; "It's 4:15."

"Where is he?" she said as she paced in front of the window. She used her cell phone to call his apartment but all she got was the operator telling her that the line had been disconnected. She grew more nervous, because Michael was the last person who would let her down.

Maria tried calling him again but it was useless and the more time passed the sicker she was making herself. All these bad images of what could have happened to Michael kept flooding through her mind.

"I can't take this anymore," Maria said out loud.

"Can't take what anymore?" Kyle asked from his spot on the couch.

Maria realized what she had done, "Nothing…um I'll be back." Maria grabbed her purse and left to find Michael.

Michael was at home watching the same game Kyle was watching when a knock came at his door. Michael opened it to find Maria standing there not looking too happy, "The print shop, I totally forgot."

Maria walked inside, "You were supposed to pick me up at 4:00. I called you and your line is disconnected."

"Yeah, I forgot to pay my phone bill," he explained.

"I was worried about you," Maria told him in a tired voice. "I thought something happened to you."

Michael felt bad for making her worry, "No, I'm fine. Come one, we'll go right now."

Maria shook her head as she sat down on his couch, "No, no."

Michael kneeled in front of her, "Maria, the print shop doesn't close until 7:00. We have time." Maria looked reluctant, "Maria, I'm right here. I just forgot."

She couldn't believe she had been let down twice in one day, "I can't count on you."

"Yes, you can," Michael didn't know where this was coming from. "I'll take care of this. I mean, I'm right there for you."

"But you won't always be," Maria sighed.

"What?" she surprised him.

"One day we're gonna leave. We're gonna get on a spaceship and go away, and you being the perfect boyfriend right now is really not helping me." Maria took on a more serious tone. "I can't lose anyone else, Michael. My heart can't handle it."

She got up to leave, but Michael lightly grabbed her arm, "What are you talking about? You are never going to lose me."

"You have a purpose Michael. And I'm starting to think that I don't belong and that I never did," Maria left that thought in his mind as she began to walk home.

Michael watched her figure disappear down the street when he realized that even thought she had lived in Roswell for about a year, Maria never really stopped running.

* * * "Maria, do you know what time it is?" Tess yawned as she wandered into the kitchen to find Maria stressing over the yearbook spread. "Look at you, you need some sleep."

"I only have one more day to finish this, and I am nowhere near done, so right now sleep is not an option," Maria told her as she changed the arrangement of pictures.

Tess got herself a glass of milk sprinkled with Tabasco sauce as she sat down at the table, "Why don't you just scrap the whole thing?"

Maria took offense, "How can you say that?"

"Well I mean they just spring this thing on you with a ridiculous deadline, and you have been bending over backwards ever since," Tess tried to justify her first remark. "This is for Alex," Maria reminded her. "I want to make sure that he will never be forgotten."

Tess couldn't look Maria in the eye, "Just promise me that you will take an easy after you finish."

Maria said seriously, "Promises are so overrated these days."

"Did I miss something here?" Tess felt out of touch with her.

Maria played it off with sarcasm as she rearranged the pictures again, "Oh it's nothing, it's just my whole life has completely fallen apart and I'm losing just about everyone I care about. But you wouldn't know about that because you have forgotten everything that isn't Max."

"That's unfair and untrue," Tess defended.

Maria snapped at her, "Well life's unfair, so get over it."

Tess got up from the table; "I'm not the one who has to get over it."

Maria was tired of losing people; she lost Alex to fate, Liz to her own blind obsession, Michael to fear and Tess to Maria's own temper. Pretty soon she was not going to have anything to lose.

* * * Maria felt like she was in a dazed trance the next day at school. She vaguely remembered going to class and she wouldn't be able to relay the reminder that Julie Walken gave her in the hall. There was no sign of Liz, Tess, or Michael, and she felt that they were avoiding her. She didn't blame them and in fact she was kind of glad. She was going to use the rest of the day to work on Alex's collage when Isabel approached her.

"I can't believe Max," Isabel began in a complete frenzy. "He thinks he can order us around like we are his little soldiers."

"What's the problem now?" Maria asked as she tried to be attentive.

Isabel continued her rant; "He doesn't want to face the facts that I'm leaving to go to college."

Maria walked with Isabel to the school entrance, "Yeah about that."

"Oh no, not you too," Isabel groaned. "Max already had Michael lecturing me."

Maria made Isabel sit down next to her on the front stairs of the school, "No, it's not like that at all. I think you should go. Get away from here. Life is too short to stay in this one little town, and you've been given a chance, Isabel. Take it." Isabel wasn't expecting that response, and she was completely grateful, "Thanks, Maria."

Maria gave her a small smile, "That's what friends are for."

"So, friend?" Isabel asked. "Can I get a ride home?"

"Sure," Maria replied as they both got up and started making their way to the student parking lot.

"So, uh…how's Alex's tribute coming along? I heard you've been working really hard on it," Isabel asked.

Maria nodded, but then confessed, "Yeah, but it is not as good as I wanted it to be. I still have one more day, and I don't know, I really want it to be special." Maria unlocked the doors to her car and they both got in.

Maria put on her seat belt, but Isabel just sat there. She slipped her hand into her organizer and pulled out a picture. "I don't know if it's too late, but I would really like you to add this picture."

Isabel handed her the picture and Maria couldn't help but smile. It was a picture taken at the prom of her, Isabel, Michael and Alex. "I remember this. This is photo that Kyle took of us."

Isabel added in a sad voice, "I never got the chance to show Alex. I wanted to show him that night, but."

Isabel didn't have to finish her sentence because Maria knew what she was thinking; "I would be honored to put it in the yearbook." Isabel gave her a weak smile, and Maria saw that she was hurting as much her. She also realized that talking to someone who was feeling the exact same way helped.

Maria dropped Isabel off at home, and then she headed over to the Valentis' to try to complete the collage. The house was quiet when she got there, but then she heard a noise coming from the kitchen. "What's this?" Maria asked in surprise when she found Michael sitting at the kitchen table where Alex' collage was spread out.

Michael got up and took her by the hand, "Sit down." Maria obediently sat as he continued, "We've been through some rough stuff lately. The thing is, you're right. I can't really imagine it happening, but we're gonna leave someday. It could be a year, or two, or fifty. But we're gonna leave. It sucks. It's the choice we made to be together. But there is one thing that I can promise you, and that is that no matter how important my responsibilities are you are and always will be the most important thing in my life."

Maria couldn't help, but cry as Michael opened up to her. She kissed his hand and realized she couldn't push the people she loved away because she needed them. "I love you Michael." Michael gently stroked her cheek before they both got busy on the collage, "Now, I was thinking, um, this could go with that." He placed the picture that Maria had taken of Alex's instruments next to the one of Alex strumming the strings of his favorite acoustic guitar.