Sure, three months ago, he would have given his right leg to have a chance at Isabel Evans, the blond goddess who every guy wanted but never had a chance with. It had made him feel so exceptional when she had actually expressed an interest in him. For the first time in his life, he thought that his luck was changing, that someone was actually taking the time to see the real him and see that he wasn't the dork everyone thought he was but it had all been nothing but a lie. Isabel never had any interest in him, he was sure of it. He was just there to use as her doormat when she was trying to fight off her attraction for Michael. He couldn't let go of the notion that the only reason she wanted to try again with him this time was because she missed having someone bow at her feet now that Michael had chosen to be with Maria.

And what would happen if he did give her another chance? Would he be her lap dog until she found someone else more exciting? He wanted her badly, and before, he would have willingly played the roll of lap dog just to be near her but something had changed. What was it that changed? Simple, he had fallen in love with her - the real her and not just the fantasy. He could always try to push his love for her aside just to be near her but that wouldn't be fair to himself. It just seemed too much of a gamble to be close to her again when he knew she didn't return the feelings.

Suddenly Alex pulled himself away from his thoughts and looked around to see that he was nowhere near his cabin. In fact, he was near the girls cabin. He groaned inwardly, wondering what the hell had brought him there? It's not like he wanted to see Isabel at that moment. Did he?

No, he didn't. At least that's what he tried to convince himself but the truth was, he did want to see her. He just didn't want to talk to her because it was all too complicated and awkward and he just wasn't up to dealing with that right now. He shook his head and moved to turn away but couldn't help himself from stopping when he heard the groaning protest of a door and he squinted in the darkness to see Isabel step out and lean up against the flaking wood railing of the balcony. He took a few steps back to conceal himself while he watched her.

That was something he never got tired of; watching her. From this far of a distance, he could imagine that he was just an admirer of her beauty, like he had been for as long as he could remember.

Isabel seemed oblivious to his presence as she sipped on a soda and stared out into the dark. He couldn't read her expression exactly but he could tell by the set of her shoulders that she was feeling upset or something. He wasn't sure if it was because of him or what but he hoped it was. He hoped that she was feeling miserable because of the way she treated him.

But then again, he hated to see her so sad. "You are a walking, talking contradiction, my friend," he muttered to himself nauseated by the inner conflict he was having. Why couldn't things be more black and white? Why couldn't he just hate her and want her to be miserable? Why did he still have feelings for her? And most of all, why couldn't he just move on? He sighed loudly and shook his head, completely frustrated by it all.

"Is someone there?" Isabel asked, standing up and surveying the area with a sudden alertness.

Alex sucked in a breath and tried to duck lower to escape her view but he ended up stepping on a twig, the crackling sound ringing loud and hollow in the silence of the forest. He cursed and tried to turn around and get the hell out of there but he couldn't help himself from stopping when he heard Isabel speak again.

"Alex? Is that you?"

He froze and grimaced. What could he say? He was a sucker in love. "Yeah," he sighed against his better judgment. "It's me."

He turned to look at her as she slowly walked down the stairs and approached him. "What are you doing out here?" she asked.

Alex shrugged nonchalantly. "I was just taking a walk."

"A walk? Out in the middle of nowhere? By my cabin?"

Alex narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm not here because of you," he spat bluntly. "Don't think I'm trying to crowd you or suffocate you or anything. Been there, done that and you told me to leave you the hell alone."

Isabel shook her head fiercely, trying to conceal her hurt. "No, I never told you to leave me the hell alone, I just said that I needed some space. And...I know that you're not hear to see me. Why would you be after the way I treated you?"

"Exactly. Good, as long as we've got that straight."

"Sure. I mean, of course," Isabel said quickly, looking away. In the pale light of the moon, he could see that she was biting her lip as she always did when she was nervous. What did she have to be nervous about?

Alex snorted quietly and shook his head. What was he doing here? "Look Iz, I'll see you later."

She turned towards him, her eyes bright and shiny with surprise. "Oh, okay," she whispered in a dead voice. "Sleep tight."

"Yeah. You too," he sighed and turned away in the opposite direction - he didn't care where it took him as long as it took him away from Isabel Evans because even though he was being hard and careless on the outside, he felt as though he was being torn up on the inside and that's not how he wanted to feel.

He continued to walk away when he heard her whisper something else but he was too far out of range to hear it. Unable to help himself, he sighed and turned. "What was that?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, wrapping her arms around herself and studying the ground with great interest.

But he couldn't let it go. "No, tell me what you just said."

Isabel slowly raised her face and met his eyes, swallowed the lump in her throat. "I...I said that I love you."

Alex's breath caught in his throat. Isabel Evans just said that she loved him? No, he must not have heard her correctly. And even if she said it, it couldn't be taken seriously. Hell, Liz and Maria always told him that they loved him when he was leaving. "Oh," he replied, his tone non-plussed.

"Yeah, well good night, Alex," she whispered and turned back to her cabin.

Alex groaned, curiosity eating at his mind. "What do you mean that you love me?" he asked, silently cursing himself and wondering why he had to always be so inquisitive? Why couldn't he just let things be?

Isabel sighed impatiently and dropped her hands to her sides, balling her fists. "What do you think it means? Exactly what I said; I love you. Not that it makes any difference but I just had to let you know before you walked out of my life."

"Well thank you," he responded with biting sarcasm.

"Huh?"

"Thank you for feeling the need to unburden yourself. What do you expect me to say about that? That I love you too? That everything is magically okay because you say you love me? Well I'm sorry but it just isn't. Yes, I love you but that doesn't change anything." He stopped to take a calming breath. "As I have already said, I can't let you back into my life and forget everything that happened simply because it happened and I came out of it in the end with a trampled heart."

"Yes, I know you did. What I did was horrible and I can't imagine what it felt like to see me with Michael that day but it was all just a charade. We did what we thought was right and we didn't even think about who it would hurt."

"That's right Isabel, you didn't think because deep down inside, you only care about yourselves. You have no compassion for anyone else. You don't even know the meaning of the word compassion. I know that you feel the need to protect yourself because of your differences but that doesn't mean that you have to shut everyone else out. You shut me out and you used me because...what? You felt that it made you vulnerable to get close to someone who really loves and cares about you?"

"But I see now that what I did was terribly wrong. I knew how you felt about me but I didn't think it was right for us to be together. Now, I know that I can't hide behind what I am. I have to do what Liz told me to do. I have to follow my heart. And now I know that you're my heart Alex. Only you!"

"NOW you do. But it's too late now. I did everything I could to make you happy but you only made me feel like a burden or an annoyance and I can't live like that. I think that the only thing you miss about me is that you don't have a love-sick puppy dog following you around and bowing at your every command anymore. Well, too bad. I can't chance being hurt again by you."

"But if you give me another chance, you'll see that that's not what I'm about. I would never hurt you again for any reason. I miss you desperately and I didn't realize it until the damage was already done."

Alex snorted, the fury draining from his voice. He couldn't argue anymore; he was just too exhausted. "I wish I could believe that you wouldn't hurt me again, but I can't."

Isabel nodded softly begin to cry. "Okay, I understand," she choked as she turned completely and walked back to the cabin, taking a seat on the small, weathered stair-way.

Alex hesitated before following her. He took a seat directly to her left and glanced at her. "You okay?" he asked. What was wrong with him? Seeing her sobbing quietly to himself completely melted his resolve. He couldn't bear to see her so upset. He actually felt guilty for yelling at her even though he knew that made no sense. She deserved it but at the same time, it still left him feeling horrible in the end.

She looked away, and shook her head. "Not really. Not that it matters. I can't even get you to talk to me without getting mad." She began to rub her eyes and he heard her take in a deep, shuddering breath. "Alex? Can't...can't we even be friends?"

Alex thought about that for a moment, in which Isabel didn't dare take a breath, and then sighed. "Okay."

She looked at him sharply with hope shining in her lovely eyes. "Do you really mean that?"

He hesitated and then nodded very slowly. "Yeah, I do," he replied softly, looking into the darkness of the woods for a second before training his eyes on her again. "Yeah," he muttered again as though he were speaking to himself. "I'd like that."

A brilliant smile flashed on Isabel's face which she concealed immediately. "Thank you, Alex. You won't regret it," she promised with steely conviction in her voice.

"Let's hope not," he whispered under his breath and Isabel raised an eyebrow.

"What was that?" she asked.

Alex shrugged. "Nothing," he said, giving her a tight smile. "So," he said after a moment, keeping his tone both dark and serious. "Isabel, I have a question for you. It's something that's been bothering me for a real long time and you are the only one who can answer it."

She blinked, hesitating before daring to ask. "Oh yeah? Wha..." she stopped to swallow thickly. "What's that?"

"What the hell is the name of that constellation?" he asked, pointing up into the night sky and meeting her eyes as a genuine smile planted itself on his lips.

Isabel smiled as well, exhaling in relief and then looked to where he was pointing. A nervous giggle emitted her lips. "Well, that's actually Gemini. And that's Castor and the one right next to it is Pollux. Have you ever heard the story of Castor and Pollux?"

Alex shook his head. "No, but as a friend, it is your obligation to tell me."

Grinning happily, Isabel nodded and caught his eye. "Of course." She then looked back up at the sky and took in a breath before launching into the tale.

*****

"If I don't eat another marshmallow ever again, I will die a happy girl," Liz groaned as she and the others walked back towards the girls' cabin.

Max grinned and pulled her in closer to his side. "I told you that you might want to lay off after the first ten."

"Yes dad," Liz grumbled as she held her stomach, trying to prevent herself from gagging.

"Well Liz, if it makes you feel any better," Maria began, wrinkling her nose and sticking her tongue out in distaste. "My skin feels like it was roasted by that fire. It's so dry! All I want to do is bathe in a vat of lotion."

"Ooh, sounds fun," Michael teased, raising his eyebrows. "Want some company?"

Maria rolled her eyes in response but couldn't help but smile. What could she say? She loved the doofus.

"It doesn't make me feel any better Maria," Liz grumbled again, bringing Maria back to attention. "My stomach hurts AND my skin is all dry."

Maria rolled her eyes again. "Oh, quit being a whinny baby. You had fun tonight didn't you?"

Liz looked towards Max and smiled before looking back to Maria. "Yes, I did. But you should make that a wonderful time."

"Exactly," Maria smarted, squeezing Michael's hand. "So quit your whining and just enjoy yourself babe."

Liz didn't reply, instead she leaned in closer to Max and sighed. She couldn't think of anything that would make her any happier at that moment. Everything in her life seemed just perfect. She had Max back. What else could she ask for?

"Hot dogs."

Liz looked up sharply and her face pinched. "Hot dogs? What are you talking about?"

Maria smirked. "I was saying that even though I swore never to eat hot dogs, I am really craving one right now."

Liz made a face. "Yuck! Don't talk about food. Especially not hot dogs. They're so gross."

"Oh yeah?" Maria said, moving closer to Liz. "Mmmm, hot dogs. Yummy! Pig guts and hooves and even testicles. Yum yum! Hot dogs, hot dogs, hot dogs."

Liz put her hands over her ears, Maria's teasing making her all the more nauseous. "La-la-la-la -la. I'm not listening to you! La-la...."

Michael smirked and then shook his head at Maria.

"What?" she asked, innocently.

"Cut it out, you're making me sick," he muttered and Maria rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said, looking forward as she let out a big yawn. "Wow, I'm tired."

"Oh yeah?" Liz asked, sporting a smirk. "I'm sure you are. I mean, picking fights all day long must have been exhausting."

"I'm not the only one who picked a fight," Maria reminded her. "Why did Tess have that welt on her face again?"

Liz sighed. "She stalked up to me and smacked me and it pissed me off so I hit her back."

"Can we please not talk about her?" Michael said quietly.

Maria studied his face for a moment and then nodded slowly. "Sure, no problem," she said softly, her happiness ebbing. She suddenly realized that the scene with Tess earlier must have been hard for him. Sure, he had told her to go but he was her brother after all and part of a family he had always been searching for. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Michael looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," he sighed. "Just kinda tired and the entire day has been sorta overwhelming."

"I hear that," she remarked and then cuddled into his side in the same fashion that Liz was cuddling into Max. "Well, looking on the bright side, tomorrow's session should go a little smoother."

"Poor Gage," Liz sighed. "I thought he was going to tear all his hair out today with all of us. We were pretty horrible."

"That's for sure," Max agreed.

"Guys, look," Michael said suddenly, nodding in the direction they were walking.

Maria did but couldn't see much in the dark. She swore that she was going blind. "What?"

Michael tilted the side of his head to hers and pointed forward. "Look at the steps of your cabin," he said quietly.

"Huh? Oh," Maria breathed, a smile crossing her face as she caught sight of Isabel and Alex sitting closely together, apparently looking up at the sky.

"Tired my ass," Liz grinned. "Alex just wanted to go see Isabel."

"Come on," Maria giggled, tugging on Michael's arm. "Let's go say hi."

"Maybe we shouldn't. Maybe we should give them some time together," Liz said quickly but followed anyways.

"Not a chance," Maria called over her shoulder.

They all walked over to the cabin and as soon as Alex and Isabel caught sight of them, they sat up a little straighter and put some distance between them.

Maria grinned. "Hi Alex, hi Isabel."

Alex nodded. "So, is the bon-fire over?"

"No," Liz shook her head. "We just left early because we were getting kinda tired. So what are you doing?"

"Uh, watching stars," Isabel said, glancing back up at the sky with a slight smile on her face.

"I guess you weren't so tired after all, huh Alex?" Maria smirked.

"I am tired Maria," Alex replied, holding her gaze. "I just ran into Isabel on the way back to my cabin and we ended up talking."

"On the way back to your cabin?" Maria mused. "How is that possible when your cabin is no where near here?"

"Oh...shut up," Alex sighed, looking away. "I got lost."

"Sure you did."

"I did!"

"Hey man, whatever," Michael said. "I'm just happy to see you guys talking again." He held out his hand in a peace offering knowing that it wasn't only Isabel who caused the guy hurt. "Friends?"

Alex eyed the extended hand for a moment before taking it. "Sure," he replied and gave a curt nod.

Maria smiled and then turned so that she was facing Michael. She leaned in for a nice long kiss and then embraced him tightly. "I don't want to say goodbye and I don't want this day to end yet," she murmured against the soft flesh of his neck, relishing his scent. "But I'm so tired."

Michael nodded and ran his hands up and down her arms which had broken out in goose-flesh. "It's okay. You go ahead and go to sleep and we can spend all day tomorrow together, okay?"

"Okay," Maria said, stifling another yawn. She gave him another kiss, this one deeper and then sighed in happiness. "Good night."

Michael kissed her on the forehead, his lips tickling her eyebrows and then grinned. "Good night, Maria."

She smiled and then turned away. "Excuse me," she said dreamily to Alex and Isabel, side-stepping them as she made her way up the stairs and disappeared behind the door.

"Well, I'll see you all later," Michael said and turned away to go back to his cabin.

"Hey Michael! Wait up for a sec," Max called and kissed Liz good-bye. "See you in the morning?" he whispered.

Liz nodded and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, Max," she said softly and with one last squeeze, released him and moved to join Maria.

"I love you, Liz," he whispered before he released her and then watched her go. "Hey Alex, did you want to come back with us?" he asked a moment later.

Alex considered it for a moment and then shook his head. "Nah, I'll be there in a little bit."

Max glanced at Isabel, seeing a bright smile cross her lips and then nodded. "Whatever. Good night you two," he said and then jogged to catch up with Michael.

"Are you sure you shouldn't go to bed?" Isabel asked when it was just the two of them left outside. "We have to get up early," she reminded him.

"I know but if you aren't too tired, I wouldn't mind sitting out here for a little bit longer."

Isabel blushed and shook her head softly. "No, I don't mind."

She watched as Alex tentatively reached for her hand and laced his fingers around hers. "Thank you," he said quietly, their eyes locking for a brief second before they both sighed and looked back up to the sky without another word.

*****

The end

Oh and by the way....

Max and Liz are still together and happy, both getting ready to move to Cambridge where they will be attending Harvard and living together. Based on their exceptionally high SAT scores, school is completely paid for.

Michael and Maria are together as well, sparring as usual but happy nevertheless. Because their scores weren't as great as the others, they will be attending the University of New Mexico and also moving into their first apartment together. (Watch out Albuquerque!)

Isabel Evans, soon to be Whitman, is three months pregnant and she and Alex will be moving to Boston after the wedding. Alex will also be attending Harvard along with his friends but Isabel will be attending a performing arts school once the baby is born to pursue her life time dream of being an actress/supermodel.

Tess Harding was never, ever heard from again! Yay!