Oh my God, he's back. Stay calm, Liz. Just breathe. It's only Max and a Mariachi band.

Oh, who am I kidding? Why won't he leave me alone? I've told him time and time again that I don't want to be with him. What's the friggin' problem? I don't think I could have been more clear. What does he want me to do? Tattoo Move-On-To-Greener-Pastures-Max on my butt? Why is he at the bottom of my balcony? AGAIN? This has to stop.

~*No mas tres dmas yo te ami
y en tu mirar me perdm
Hace tres dmas que no si de ti*~

Max grins at me and pulls a bouquet of red roses out from behind his back. He throws them up to me, changing them from red to white. Okay, now he's blatantly disregarding the rules about not using alien powers in front of people. What if one of the guitar players had seen him? They haven't right? Maybe I'll ask Isabel to check that out.

~*?Dsnde? ?Dsnde estas? ?con quiin me engaqas?
?Dsnde? ?Dsnde estas y qui estas haciendo?
Tres dmas y no si lo que es alimento,
Sslo con tomar me consuelo.*~

"Lizzie? What the hell is going on out there?" My dad comes bursting out of my window. "Is that Max again? Max, is that you again? It's 11:00. Tomorrow's a school day. . ." I smile sheepishly at him as he leans over the balcony to view the dark-haired alien below. Grimacing, he shakes his head.

"Aw, jeez. . . " Amen, Father. Max flashes me another grin and walks slowly down the street. Freak.

~*Ay, ay, ay, ay, Tu amor me va a matar
Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, No si qui hacer
Si me niegas, alma mma, tu querer.*~

"You know, Lizzie, this has to stop. I think that you should make a report to the sheriff." I groan internally as Max walks around the corner.

"Dad, no. We already talked about this." My father wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"Lizzie, you should think about doing something. Max isn't going away. He shouldn't be pressuring you like this. It isn't right."

"I know." Suddenly, I wish I could just be Daddy's little girl again. How can I explain this to him? Oh, Dad, Max is the reincarnated king of an alien race. Without him here, the evil aliens who took over his planet will take over ours. Even if we do lock him up, either he or the other aliens in Roswell will break him out somehow. That's going to go over well.

What am I going to do?

***

I shift my feet and raise my hand to the doorbell. I let it fall to my side for the upteenth time. Why is this so hard? It's okay, I can do this. I push in the small button and wait. The door opens, and Kyle's head appears through the crack.

"Hi." Okay, just breathe. You can do this, Lizzie. Kyle's eyes flash in annoyance.

"Well, you here for a reason, or you just rushed right over 'cause you sensed I might be experiencing some actual joy?" Oops.

"Oh, uh, actually, I need to talk to Tess." The aforementioned blond alien steps out from the darkness of the hallway. She looks right through me as her icy gaze falls on Kyle.

"We'll finish trimming my lamp later." Kyle nods his head quickly, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Right. I'll keep my equipment on the ready." What the. . . I stare blankly at Kyle for a moment as he retreats farther into the house. Do I even want to know what I've walked into? Tess gives me a once-over.

"Mmm. What's up?" I take a deep breath. It's now or never.

"I thought maybe we could talk."

"About what?"

This isn't going as well as I had hoped. From the look in her eyes, Tess doesn't want to make this easy for me. At all. "Look, Tess. . . um, I know that we got off to a bad start. . ."

"Look, I'm not into bonding." Augh, and augh again. Now I remember why I never liked Tess. I am definitely not going to feel guilty about handing everyone's favorite stalker over to her. If she wants him. . . I take a deep breath as I follow her into the living room

"Well, neither am I, but. . . I want to help you with Max." Tess' head snaps towards me as she looks at me, incredulously. She plops down on the sofa. That sure got her attention.

"What?"

"I know Max, and I think I can help you with him." Her eyes narrow to icy blue slits. Beady little icy blue slits. Calm down Liz, there's no reason to hate her. . . after all, you are working to grant her wish and yours.

"How. . . how stupid do you think I am? I don't know what your plan is, but I know you don't want to help me. You hate me. You all do. Don't you think I know that?"

"Yeah, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for Max. His future's you."

"And you just came to this?" Tess stands up and walks towards the window. Why is it that all aliens are so temperamental? Well except for Max, but he's a special case of creepy.

"No, no. Look, I came to it that day in the desert when I walked away from him. Tess, I. . . I. . . I am sick of living like this, and I'm not gonna be free to move on unless I get Max to move on." Tess eyes me suspiciously, as if she could see into my thoughts and see the real reason that I'm here. Wait, she can't do that, right? No, Max told me they weren't telepathic. She shakes her head and sits on the couch.

"Look, I don't need your help. If Max doesn't come around on his own, he can. . . he can go to hell for all I care. "

"Tess. . . it was really hard for me to come here. You can imagine, and look. . . I know that it's hard for you to admit that you need help. . . but you do. It's up to you."

***

I watch as Max walks towards Tess in the outdoor cafe. I close the blinds to Whittaker's office a little more and push my binoculars between the verticals. I lift the microphone to my mouth as Max draws closer. "All right, girl, he's coming, so work that shirt. Push and lift. . . don't just SIT there! Push and lift! All right, good, now let him come to you. . . show him the book. . . Steinback's your favorite author. . . good, good. Yes, Max, notice the lifting. . . okay, good, he's sitting. . . wait. . . wait, why is he looking over here? Oh my. . . does he see me? Tess. . . TESSIE!" I cringe as Max runs across the street and opens the door.

"Max." Max looks at me in a wide-eyed shock. Dammit. I should have went out the back way. Now I'm trapped with him.

"Were you watching?"

"Um. . ." I jump slightly as the door slams shut.

"So, it was all a setup."

"Yeah." Anger flashes through Max's dark eyes.

"You tried to get Tess and me together?"

"Look, I know that you must hate me right now. I, um. . ." Before I can react, Max's hands grab either side of my face, his lips crashing down on mine.

Visions tear through me like wildfire. The world slips away as images of Max and I flood through my mind. . . images of when I loved him. The passion, the desire, coursing through my veins with the speed of lightning, and I think that this feeling will swallow me whole if I let it. My breath and his mingle into some addictive perfume that clouds my mind further from the situation at hand. . . all which disappears with his hands.

All that is left now is this new Max that I have come to fear. That I've been trying to escape. From the way that he's looking at me, I know that he is not any closer to letting me go.

"I felt that. . .and I know you did, too, and I know you think that. . . that I need to let you go. . . for the sake of Michael, and Isabel, and my race. . . so you went to Tess. But she can't be you. Tess can never be you." I shudder as the salt of tears sting my eyes, still shaken from the memory of the passion I once felt. It would be so easy just to retreat to that. But I can't.

"Max, we have to stop this. We have to. I am telling you that we have to."

"Go out with me on Friday. There's a Gomez concert in Santa Fe. I have tickets." Max holds up two tickets, oblivious to everything that I am trying to tell him. Oblivious to any needs but his own. I swallow hard and try to make my voice sound forceful, desperate to hide my fear.

"No. No, Max. I can't go out with you ever again. Please stop doing this." He looks at me with the same heedless eyes.

"I can't."

***

I run my hands over the leaves of a bush. I don't want to do this. It seems too risky, but I am out of options. I wish I could have brought Maria, Alex, Michael, someone with me, but I need to do this alone. Face this alone. I knock on Max's window.

"Well, this is a surprise."

"It isn't what you think." Max reaches for my arm as I pull myself through his bedroom window." No, I can do it." Oh, my God, why is he half naked? Calm down, this IS his room. . . "Can you. . . um, put a shirt on, please?" Smirking slightly, he pulls a tee shirt over his head. I struggle to hold back a shudder. "Thank you."

"Liz. . ."

"Don't say anything, ok? Um, because I. . . I came in here with this whole speech, and once you start talking, my speech doesn't apply, and everything gets changed, and I just want to make sure that I say everything to you, so just don't say anything." He opens his mouth to speak. "Just don't say anything!" I look at him for a moment, waiting for him to protest. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding when he stands silent. I force myself to look into his eyes as I begin to speak.

"Ok, I. . . I just re-read "Romeo and Juliet", and you know, the first thing that I realized is that isn't even the title. It's called "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet". They die. You know, she's this young girl, she. . . she's younger than me, and she dies. Look, I think the reason why people think that it's such a romantic play is they don't know what it's like to be put in that position. . . but when your life and. . . and other people's lives are. . . are put at risk, there isn't anything romantic about it." I swallow slightly, trying to rid myself of the dry, sandy texture in my mouth.

"Max, you can't stop what's happening to you. I mean, your life will always be dangerous, but my life, it doesn't have to be. My life is only in danger if I am with you. I. . . I want to be in love with boys. . . normal boys. I. . . I want to see my 21st birthday. I. . . I want to have a wedding day. I. . . I. . . I want to have children. . . and I want my children to be safe." I emphasize the word "safe," hoping that it shakes something inside his thick alien skull. He looks away from me, not as confident as he was when I first came in.

"You know, Max, if. . . if you truly love me, you'll let me go. I may love you, but I. . . I don't want to die for you."

***

"What gets me is that. . . that Madame Vivian bitch was right."

Maria pulls herself out of my arms and brushes her hair away from her face, her eyes red and blotchy from tears that Michael has caused her. Cheating bastard. . . "Granted, Michael is the world's worst boyfriend. I know that. You know that. America knows that. But when I caught them together. . . that look of guilt on his face. . . I've never felt so awful, Liz." What is it with these alien boys? Is there not a good one in the bunch?

"Oh, my God." Maria nods her head, her eyes still brimming with unshed tears.

"I know. I mean, I guess it's a good thing, you know? 'Cause...when I saw that, I realized there was nothing he could do to make up for it. I know it's over." I try to look supportive as a thousand ideas about Max cross my mind. I would like to be there for Maria completely, but I have a plan.

***

Okay, this better work. This really better work. I am lying half naked in my bed with Kyle Valenti. What was I thinking?

"So Evans must have really pissed you off to get you to resort to something like this." Just because Max used to be jealous of Kyle. . . no. This will work. It has to. But JEEZ, I never thought it would be this awkward. . .

"I told you I don't really want to talk about why I'm doing this." I look away from Kyle, hoping he will take the hint.

"Jeez, I just figured since I'm giving you my last shred of dignity. . ."

"I. . . I really. I can't." Kyle nods and fidgets with the blanket. When he speaks again, his voice has gained an air of humor.

"So. . .we have something in common."

"Yeah? What's that?" Kyle grins slightly.

"We, uh. . . we're the only two people I know of who have died and were brought back by an alien." Ooo, the dreaded "A" word. I decide to let it slide, knowing that it will all be over soon.

"Yeah. You're right."

"You feel different?" Something changes in his voice, becoming more serious.

"Yeah. Kyle. . . when he healed you, um. . . did. . .did you see things?" God, I hope he didn't see me.

"See things?" I smile at the confusion in Kyle's eyes. Good. Max and Michael already have way too much insight into my soul. I don't need another guy knowing the inner workings of my mind.

"Flashes. Images."

"No. But since he healed me, I keep getting these flashes of Max Evans naked." I laugh loudly, grateful for the release in tension. I wonder if he envisioned the magic pecs. Kyle smiles at me nostalgically.

"Feels good to make you laugh again."

"It feels like this is the first time we've talked. . . since. . . " I stop talking. Why did I have to bring that up? Kyle takes it in stride, still smiling.

"Feels good to do that again."

"Yeah. It does feel good."

A shudder flashes through me suddenly, as if a cold breeze had blown through the window. I thought I shut. . . Max. He stands there, cloaked in shadow, two Gomez tickets crushed in his hand. I can't see his eyes. That is possibly the scariest part of all. I swallow hard, hoping I haven't endangered Kyle.

To my relief, Max just walks away.

"Well, I guess it worked."

Please.