*********

"In the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle there is an increase in estrogen that causes the pituitary to secrete LH to the developing follicle..." The biology teacher droned on, unaware of how many students he had lost way back on ‘Good morning class.' Even his best students were in another world. Maybe another galaxy. Maria stifled a giggle as Max gave Liz a... finger job? Maria had never seen a girl go so ga-ga over hand stroking but if Liz was enjoying herself who was Maria to judge? Watching the normally composed Max tell the teacher he was ‘just returning her pencil' was classic. Nothing could ruin Maria's good mood. Once class was over, she was on a mission. Everything the teacher said about the inner workings of the human female went in one ear and out the other. It took decades for the bell to ring.

Maria walked down the halls of West Roswell High with purpose. She could just kiss Liz! Her best friend might not have been intending to but she had just given Maria the best, perfectly-tailored-for-one-certain-spiky-haired-alien-pickup line in the world with ‘It could help you find your home planet.' And Maria was not too proud(or dumb) to use it. She knew Michael only needed an excuse to justify their relationship in his mind, once she gave him that... Well, he was a smart boy and the school had many Janitor's closets.

Maria, in fact, was so intent on finding Michael she would have missed the real thing as she barrelled through the halls if one of Kyle's jerky friends hadn't picked that moment ‘to go long'. Right into Maria's petite frame. She had a moment to let out a startled yelp as she was pushed into Michael's arms before the world exploded.

Or maybe it was just her that was exploding. Hot sparks ran up her body, every place where Michael's flesh touched hers. They collapsed against each other, his face burying itself in her neck. Her world narrowed to the shivers his body pressed against hers produced. She couldn't get close enough. Her fingers twisted the bottom of his shirt, desperately trying to find flesh as his hand pushed up her black skirt. He groaned in annoyance at the black tights she was wearing. He needed to feel *her* not some fake silkiness. Maria opened her eyes staring at the warm sparks that rained down on her, dissolving against her skin, sending little messages of pleasure to her brain.

Her brain.

Her brain suddenly realized they were in the middle of a crowded hallway and white *sparks* were raining down on them. She pushed Michael away.

"What? No-" He reached for her unthinkingly. She moved away, frightened. Michael's brain unclouded enough to realize there were sparks coming out of no discernable place, surrounding them. Luckily strong emotion helped his powers and he directed all his interrupted lust into the flourescent school lights above them. They exploded into a shocking fireworks of lights. These sparks were hot and burned Michael's skin where they landed. He moved to cover Maria's body with his own but she cowered away from him, more scared by their sparks then the real ones exploding out of the lights overhead.

It was over and school officials were soon there. Maria kept herself carefully away from Michael as he explained how suddenly the lights exploded, maybe it was a power surge, whatever it was it was unsafe. No, he wouldn't sue. The nurse fussed over Maria but she was relatively unhurt, just a couple light burns on her hands. Michael had taken the brunt of it. After a couple million questions and almost as many band-aids, Michael and Maria were left alone in the now deserted school. He went to grab her arm, as he always did when he was trying to drag her somewhere but she shrank away and he pulled his hand back.

"We have to find Max." Maria nodded silently and bit her lip. She thought she could taste blood but wasn't sure. All of her was focussed on the boy in front of her and keeping herself from touching him. The violence of her need was frightening and Maria couldn't talk because she knew her voice would shake.

Michael followed her to her car, hands clenched at his side, slowly losing his mind as he watched her walk in front of him. He couldn't look away from her neck, the spot in the back where her soft blond hair curled, almost touching the collar of her shirt. He wanted to claim that spot as his, he wanted to let the little downy hairs tickle his mouth as he kissed her there, leaving his mark. Instead he let her unlock the door for him and slid into the passenger seat. He moved his hands from the safety of his pockets only to buckle his seatbelt.

Maria had to concentrate on driving. Turning the left hand signal on, coming to a complete stop, checking her rearview mirror. She could not allow herself to be distracted by Michael. Not be the way he was shifting uncomfortably in his seat or the way he kept glancing at her with heavy lidded eyes. Maria let one hand drop from the steering wheel, rubbing her sweaty palm against her knee. She began rubbing nervous little circles into her leg. Michael's left hand escaped from it's pocket prison and began rubbing his own leg, unconsciously mimicking Maria's movements. She ran her hand through her hair letting her fingers drift against her face for a moment, he repeated it. She licked her lips, recklessly. His tongue wetting his own lips while his dark eyes stared at her with incredible hunger was the last straw. Maria pulled off the road wildly, not caring where she ended up. It took too long of a second to unlatch her seat belt but then she was on him, lips crushing on to his, legs straddling his hips. It didn't even take a moment for Michael to respond, it was if they had never stopped touching. His tongue ran over her lips greedily and then dropped to her neck, attacking the pale, white flesh. Her hands pushed up his shirt, running her fingers over his flat chest. They climbed higher, brushing over his nipples. He groaned in pleasure and tried to pull his shirt over his head with one hand, the other holding her tight against him. He was only partially successful, seat belts were not conductive to undressing, but the rip sound couldn't bother him, not when Maria was kissing her way down his chest with little licks and nips. He tried tugging her shirt off but couldn't without her help and she was more focussed on his belt as she knelt before him on the floor of the car. The fumblings of her fingers against his groin made Michael grimaced in the unbearably teasing pleasure.

The sparks were lighting up the car.

******

Little Melissa Eden was bored. She had seen this Rugrats Movie like, a *thousand* times and Mommy had fallen asleep beside her on the couch. She knew she shouldn't wake up Mommy.

*SCREECH!*

Melissa's small ears perked up. That sounded interesting and the noise was just coming from the front yard. She sneaked a peek at her Mommy. She was still napping. She knew she should go anywhere without Mommy but it was just her own yard. Melissa slid off the couch as quietly as she could and walked to the front door.

There was a car in her yard. Melissa knew there just shouldn't be cars on the front yard. Cars went on streets or in garages. You learned that in Pre-School. Melissa was in Kindergarten and she knew that cars shouldn't be on her grass. Kindergarten hadn't talked about this specifically but Melissa was pretty sure cars should lit up from the inside either. But this one did. She couldn't really see in it because the windows were fogged up but all these bright lights were coming out of it like the fourth of July. She scampered a little closer. Daddy was always telling her that curiosity killed the cat but Melissa was sure that didn't include sparkly cars. Getting a closer look at the car Melissa realized that this car had run over her mailbox. *Her* mailbox! It was in the shape of a Frog and she had helped Daddy paint it. It was a big bullfrog and you had to open the mouth to get the mail out. Melissa *loved* that mailbox. Full of indignant fury, Melissa knocked on the window of the offending car. Cool lights or not, she was mad.

She knocked harder. "Hello??" She called. "Anyone home?" She heard some sound rustling about in the car and a muffled word that Melissa knew meant something bad because her Daddy only used it when he dropped a hammer on his toe.

The foggy window was rolled down and a big boy, like the kind that went to the high school down Melissa's street, stared at her. His mouth looked kinda funny, like when her Mommy kissed her goodnight before she went out on a date with Daddy. Melissa giggled. His hair stood straight up. It was funny. The boy stared back at her like he had never seen a little girl before.

Out of the other of the door came a pretty big girl. Her hair didn't stand straight up but her mouth was the same mushy red colour as the boy's. She looked at where she had pulled off. "Oh God." Right into someone's front lawn. She turned to the little girl with the big brown eyes beside her. "Is this your house?" Melissa nodded and remembered why she was so upset.

"You broke my mailbox." The big girl looked down. Mr. Bullfrog had been run over. Melissa's lip began to tremble. The big girl knelt beside her.

"I'm sorry, we'll fix it, I promise." She got back in the car and backed up on to the gravel shoulder. She got out and this time the big boy came with her.

‘Okay, Michael, fix it." She said to the boy, hands on hips.

"Here? Are you crazy?"

Melissa's lip trembled harder. "You said you'd fix it!" She wailed. The big girl put her arms around her.

"Shush, we will." Turning to Michael. "Jeez, Michael she can't be more then 4."

"I'm five!" Melissa declared between her sobs.

The big girl smiled. "Five. She won't tell anyone."

He let out a exasperated sigh. "Fine." He picked up Mr. Bullfrog and ran his hand over the flattened face and then... Mr. Bullfrog wasn't broken anymore! Melissa forgot her tears. "Cool!" Michael placed the mailbox back in the ground. Melissa ran her hand over Mr. Bullfrog. He was better! There was no sign of tire marks and all the paint was as bright as the day she and Daddy had painted it. When she looked back at the two big kids all the mess to her grass was gone too.

"All better, honey?" Melissa smiled brightly at the big girl. She was pretty. The boy was staring at her, he probably thought the big girl was pretty too. "You better go back inside before your parents worry."

Uh oh, Melissa remembered her sleeping mother. She better be still napping.

"Bye!" The big girl waved and even the boy with the weird hair gave her a little smile. Melissa watched them from the inside of her screen door. The big girl got back into the car and the boy, Michael, reached for other door.

"Oh no you don't!"

"What?"

""You, buster, are walking!"

"Maria, you've got to be kidding! You're the one that ran over the kid's mailbox!"

"And *why* did I do that? Because of you."

"Don't blame me if you can't get your hormones under control!"

Even Melissa knew that was the wrong thing to say. The girl slammed the car door and gunned the engine. "It's not *My* hormones that caused that incident in the school and what ever those lights were! Normal boys do not produce sparks!" With that she peeled out of the street leaving the boy alone on the grass. He turned towards the house and Melissa ducked so he couldn't see her peeking.

"Women!" He said to the grass and heard the little childish giggle coming from the small house.

Michael started the long walk to the Crashdown.

*********

Maria entered the Crashdown on her second mission of the day. Hopefully this one wouldn't work out as strangely as the first. All she had wanted was a couple kisses from an alien, maybe a vision or two. Was that so much to ask? Instead she got sparks, uncontrollable lust and a flattened mailbox.

"Liz." Maria almost sighed in relief at the sight of her oldest, most reliable friend. "I have to talk-"

"Oh my God, Maria, you won't believe what happened today. They called our parents! And I think I saw the crash." Liz's cheek were bright red and her voice had a husky quality Maria had never heard in it before.

"What?"

Liz pulled her into the semi-privacy of the back of the Crashdown. "Max and I, um, were making out in the eraser room and they heard us and called our parents! It was so embarrassing. But when we were kissing I got this vision-"

"Wait, they *heard* you?" Maria was momentarily distracted.

Liz let out an embarrassed little laugh. "I think I was a little.. Loud."

"Go Lizzy! Usually I'm not pro alien/human relationships but- Wait." Maria shook her head. "This is so not what I meant to talk about. I have a problem."

Liz put her best concerned best bud look on her face and settled down to hear her friend's story. Or would have if Max hadn't entered the Crashdown.

"Max." She breathed, her body coming alive at the sight of him. Her mother had made her come right home after school, she hadn't been able to say goodbye. Or finish what they had started. Liz needed to know what the visions meant, she need to follow were they led, but more then that she needed the feel of Max's lips against hers.

"Liz! Snap out of out!" Maria waved her hand in front the face of her Max-absorbed friend. "Liz, I need you to focus here, get your mind out of the Max-gutter! I'm having chemically addictive sparks with an-" Maria had the decency to lower her voice at this. "- an alien! I need an objective scientific view on this!"

"Chemically addictive sparks? Maria, what are you talk- Hi Max." Liz's voice had that husky thing back. Maria shook her.

"No, come back from the dark side! You too, Max!" Argh! They were both getting that glazed over, puppy dog look on their face. Maria snorted. Yeah, if the puppy dogs were in heat. Maria dragged both of the goony, love birds up the stairs to Liz's room. She sat them down on the bed, then though better of it and pulled Max to his feet. "Okay, I know you both are having your own horny visions here but we have a problem."

"I thought you had a problem, Maria." Liz said confused.

"I do, so does Michael, so do you," Pointing to Max. "And Isabel because Michael and my problem isn't nearly as easy to conceal as visions in the eraser room." Maria took a deep breath. "We have sparks."

Silence.

Max and Liz looked at each other sharing a silent exchange: Has she lost it? Turning back to Maria they spoke in unison. "Sparks?"

"Yeah, you know, lights, explosions, fireworks."

"Metaphorically, right?" Max asked.

Maria smiled tightly. "No offense, Max but do you think I'd be talking to you about this if they were *metaphoric* sparks? No, we are talking about the real thing. Michael had to make the lights at school explode just to cover."

Max's eyes widened. "This happened at school?"

"Yeah. And in the car..."

"In the car? When? Where's Michael?"

Maria shuffled her feet. "He's on his way here. I uh, made him walk."

"You made him walk? Maria, that's not very nice!" Liz exclaimed.

"You don't get it Liz, I had to get away from him! If I didn't I...." She took a deep breath and tried to collect herself before she said something she'd regret. There was a point where honesty turned into too much information. "These sparks feel good." She tried to explain. "Like, really good." Maria refused to look at Max because if she did she would blush and once she started to blush it would be uncontrollable. "Like, *beyond* good."

Liz's hand flew to her mouth. "We'll be right back." Liz hustled Maria into the bathroom, leaving Max alone in her room.

Closing the door behind her tightly Liz looked at her, filled with shock. "You didn't-"

"Go beyond?" Maria finished. "No. But Liz. I wanted too. If it wasn't for that little girl.."

"What little girl? Where were you, Maria?"

"The little girl with the mailbox. I ran over her mailbox, Liz! I was just sitting beside Michael and then it was like, Wham! I couldn't help myself."

Liz placed her hands on Maria's shoulders, resting her forehead against her friend's. "Now, you know how I feel."

"Oh, trust me, I always knew, Liz." Maria sighed. "Do you ever wish for normal boys?"

"You mean boys that don't give us visions or sparks?" Maria nodded. Liz thought about it for a second. "Sometimes. When we're in danger or Max pushes me away but when he looks at me with that look... You know that look?"

"I'm well aware of the look, Liz. It's like you're this amazing mystery to them and they want to figure you out. Or it could just be the ‘I want to jump your bones' look, I don't know!"

Liz laughed and hugged Maria. "Well, when he gives me the look or when he kisses me... Normal just seems like the ugliest word ever invented."

"We just aren't built for this, Liz. I think they really have ruined us for all other guys."

"Hey Maxwell." Maria's body stiffened as she heard Michael's voice through the bathroom door. He had an amazing voice, it was low and rough and it sent little tingles through her body.

"Liz, lock the door."

Liz did as she was told. "Why, Maria? Are you afraid Michael will come in?"

Maria looked at her sadly. "No, I just want to keep myself in. But I think we'll need something more powerful then a lock that's on the inside to do that."

Max knocked on the door. "Liz? Maria? Michael's here, maybe we should talk about this." Maria shook her head strongly. Liz sat down beside her on the cool tile of her bathroom floor.

"We're just going to stay in here a little longer, Max." Maria squeezed her hand in thanks. Liz smiled but felt a pain of guilt. She wanted to help Maria but everything in her was calling out for Max. They needed to learn about these visions. It was horrible but Liz couldn't concentrate on Maria's problems. "I think we should get an objective third party here."

"But that's what you were supposed to be, Liz!" Maria cried in dismay. This was personal and embarrassing and Maria knew who Liz was going to suggest.

"I know, Maria, I'm sorry. But these visions... I have to see where they lead. I have to. We'll just call Isabel."

Maria sighed. It wasn't that she didn't like Isabel, she was just so.. Intimating. And Maria was pretty sure she didn't approve of Michael and Max's choices. "Okay, but call Alex too. I need someone on my side and maybe he can soften Isabel up." She smirked at the thought of Alex's little obsession. "We're all doomed, you know that? The three of us will be in a rockers in the Roswell Retirement home still unable to say the word ‘Czechoslovakian' with out a shiver."

Liz smiled too and pulled out Maria's phone from the blond girl's beaded purse. "That would be funnier if I didn't get the feeling it was so true." Maria and Liz shared a sigh.

***********

"What's going on in there?"Michael said, pointing at the bathroom door.

Max shrugged, running his finger over the titles in Liz's book shelf. "They started talking in code and then ran into the bathroom."

"Did you listen in?"

"No!" Max looked shocked. Michael shook his head in disgust. Max was too much of a gentleman for his own good. "So, what happened at school?" Max tried to phrase the question lightly but he couldn't hide his worry.

Michael gave Max a hard stare. "It wasn't my fault."

"I wasn't saying it was!" Max replied.

"Okay." Michael forced his muscles to un-tense. He just wanted Maria to come out of the bathroom, dammit! He needed to see her. "I was just walking to last period and some of Kyle's goons, I think it was Brent and Dave were throwing the football around. Brent went long and knocked Maria right into me." He didn't mention that he had been looking for her at the time, it was kind of private. "And when she touched me it was... Explosive." Michael cleared his throat and fought the urge to tear the bathroom door down for the forty thousandth time. "I couldn't think until she pulled away and then I realized these sparks were coming out of everywhere."

"Is that how you got your shirt ripped?" Max smothered a smile as he pointed at the torn seam in Michael's Metallica shirt that reached from the shoulder to the neck. Was it his imagination or was Michael blushing?

"No."

Max couldn't resist the smile now. "Did Maria do that?"

Michael glared at him. He wanted to tell him to mind his own business but after grilling Max for details about Liz he really didn't have a leg to stand on. "No."

Alright... Max thought. This was getting him nowhere and Michael was fidgeting more by the second. He should try to be scientific about this. "What did these sparks look like?" Max inquired.

"Sparks."

Max took a deep breath. Getting words out of Michael when he didn't want to talk was a torture just second to the rack. "Maria said you made the school lights explode to cover. That was quick thinking."

"Thanks." An awkward pause. Then the sounds of Maria's laughter floated into the room.

Michael looked at Max. He could see that his suggestion had taken root. Liz had an empty water glass by her bed...

Trying to act cool, both boys inched towards the bathroom door. Max stood with his ear to the door and Michael crouched under him, using the empty glass as a conductor....

.... Which is how Isabel and Alex found them when they walked in.

"Charming."

The boys jumped away from the door as if burned. Alex looked at Isabel, impressed. She certainly had them trained.

"Yeah, we were just, uh.." Max trailed off.

"Eavesdropping?" Isabel offered sweetly. "I'll assume the girls are in the bathroom then. What are they doing?"

"Hiding." Said Michael.

"Talking about us." Max volunteered.

"Hiding from what?" Isabel's eyes narrowed.

In unison. "Us."

Isabel moved them out of her way. "Well, I'm a girl, so I'm allowed in. You three wait out here." She placed her hand over the lock. There was an audible click and Isabel let herself in. Michael only saw a glimpse of Maria's blond hair before the door closed. He had to tell himself to unclench his fists. Blowing apart Liz's bathroom door, slinging Maria over his shoulder and heading for the hills probably wouldn't win him any girl points.

*****

Maria's laughter cut off as she heard the door unlock. She sighed with relief as the door opened, it was just Isabel.

"So, what was so funny?" The statuesque blond asked.

Maria peered at Liz, a grin lighting up her face. "I was just telling Liz I never imagined that she was a screamer." Liz turned bright red and kicked her friend in the shins. "Ow!"

"Shut up!" Liz hissed.

Isabel sat down on the closed clothes hamper. The small bathroom was getting kind of cramped. "Don't worry, I already heard it all. From everyone at school. Congratulations Liz, I think you upped my brother's image by about a thousand points. Second question, why did you two lock yourselves in the bathroom?"

"Maria put herself under house arrest." Liz answered shooting her friend a dirty look. Why did she have to say that in front of his *sister*? She deserved a little payback. "She can't be around Michael without jumping him and destroying little girl's mailboxes."

"That's not true!" Maria protested. Liz arched her eyebrow at her, disbelievingly. "Okay, it's a little true. But it's not just me, it's Michael too! And the sparks."

"Yeah, there's another question, sparks? You're kidding, right?"

Maria snorted. "Why does everyone think I'd make something like this up? Yes, sparks, no, not metaphoric sparks, real sparks. Electricity, explosions, whatever you want to call it, actually happens when Michael and I touch."

"Okay, easy solution. Don't touch." Isabel spoke.

Maria's mouth dropped open and she looked like Isabel had just told her there was no Easter bunny.

"It's not that easy, Isabel." Liz tried to explain. "These sparks... They feel good."

"So?" Isabel asked and Maria looked at the bathroom floor. She hoped Isabel and Alex would do something soon, this Queen of Self Control act was getting *really* annoying. Isabel took their silence as consent. "So, it's settled. You and Michael won't touch." She got up from the hamper, opening the door.

"Ever?" Maria squeaked and she cursed her own voice as a traitor.

Isabel took pity and amended her plan. "At least until these... sparks or whatever they are go away. Hopefully it will only be a couple days. That shouldn't be too hard."

"Easy for the Ice Queen to say." Maria muttered to Liz.

"It's probably for the best, Maria. Come on." Liz left the bathroom.

Maria stared at herself in the mirror. She could do this. All she had to do was get through the room and into her car without touching Michael, then she could be safe at home.

She looked through the half opened door and found Michael staring back at her from the other side of the room. His eyes were dark and Maria could see her own need written plainly on his face. She just wanted to be close to him, touch his hair, smell his skin, kiss his lips....

She slammed the door shut.

"Maria?" Liz tried the door knob. Locked. "Maria, come out."

"I will in a second. You go, I'll be fine."

Liz looked at the four teenagers in her room. "Maybe we should leave her alone for a while." They filed out of Liz's room. Except for Michael, who was still staring at the closed door with a strange look of fascination and hunger on his face.

"Michael, that means you too!" Called Isabel. He didn't respond. Only his hands moved, shaking slightly but his whole body was locked in a state of readiness. Isabel tugged strongly on his arm. "Michael, get yourself under control!" She pulled him down the Parker's stairs after her.

*********

Maria knew the moment Michael left her close vicinity, she didn't know how she knew, she just did. When he was in the room it was like being in the middle of an electrical storm. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she found herself holding her breath, just waiting for the lightning to hit. She expected to feel relief at his departure but instead her insides clenched. He was too far away, how could he have just left like that? Maria started to pace up and down the tile of Liz's bathroom. She would sit for a moment on the edge of the tub but then would go back to pacing. She refused to look at herself in the mirror again. Her eyes moved around too wildly to focus on anything and she was afraid of what her face in the mirror might show her. Why was she going so crazy? She had wanted him to leave, right? These sparks were too strange, too powerful. They were a reminder of how inhuman Michael was. She didn't like thinking of him as an alien, he was just... Michael. Maria licked her own lips and had to suppress a moan. The taste of him was still with her but it was just a tease, she needed the real thing. But fear kept her in the small bathroom. Not fear of him, but the fear of her own need. She was like a junkie gone too long without their fix.

Oh God, Michael...

***********

Oh God, Maria. He needed to see Maria. He stood at the edges of the group listening to them trying to dissect these recent developments: visions, sparks, what did they all mean? Why were they happening? Were the two connected? Michael couldn't care less. He could see a similar look mirrored in Liz's face. Get Max out of here, he silently urged the brunette. And while your at get rid of Isabel and the geek too! As if she could read his mind Liz placed her hand lightly on Max's leg as she made some point about constellations and star clusters. Bingo, instant distraction. Michael could see Max's pupils dilated from his pacing spot beside the Crashdown's booth. To illustrate another statement Liz gave Max's knee a little squeeze. Michael would have grinned if he hadn't been so tightly wound. Let's see how graceful this exit was. How does one say that they are going to go find somewhere private to make out until they find the secrets of the universe without actually saying that?

"Yeah, I think I have a picture of that constellation." Max said. "I think it's in one of those books I lent you, Michael." He turned to his constantly moving friend. "Right?" A slightly pleading look on his face. Michael grinned, a baring of teeth. Very smooth, Maximilian.