~Orison Swett Marden
****

Michael quickly crossed the quad, rushing to avoid Maria by the gym, when an unfamiliar voice called out behind him.

"Hey bro — wait up!" Uncertain if the guy was talking to him, Michael hurried on. He had been successful in evading Maria at school for three days in a row, and didn’t want to break the streak. "Hey! Guerin?" Michael turned, suspiciously. "Michael Guerin, right?"

He narrowed his eyes at the dark haired human teen, "Yeah. What do you want?"

"I heard a rumor that you broke up with Maria DeLuca. True or false?"

"How did... who told you that?"

"Rumor mill. In Roswell, it’s faster than Western Union."

"Who are you?" Michael asked.

"Nicky Huitt." He held out his hand, but the alien ignored it. "Lead guitar for the Whits... the band she sings in..." Michael said nothing. "Well, uh... the rumor. Yay or nay?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Come on! Maria is a hottie. If you let her go, then I want my chance," Nicky said, with a broad smile.

"Well then... I guess today’s your lucky day. She’s all yours. Best of luck to you." Michael ran off to his next class, the bitter scowl on his face which only made the other boy look so much happier.

***

Later that afternoon, the Whits all gathered at Alex’s garage for band practice. Before they started, Alex set his guitar down and picked up a piece of paper.

"We’ve got a gig."

"What?!?" the others said in unison. "Awesome!"

"Steffy Siegla’s seventeenth birthday party two weeks from this Saturday. It pays five hundred bucks."

"That’s great, Alex!" Maria exclaimed. He didn’t seem as excited as the rest of them. "That’s not great? Why is that not great?"

"Well... to quote Steffy," he tossed imaginary long hair over his shoulder and rolled his eyes comically, "'But I don’t want to listen to all your self-depreciating angsty love songs all night.'" He dropped the fake southern drawl and slipped back into Alex. "She wants us to play a ton of covers..."

Nicky piped in. "That’s okay. Dee’s really good at those."

"...of Brittany Spears songs."

The guys groaned. "You’ve got to be kidding me, Alex," said Markos.

"Nope." He set the contract on the tool chest for the others to study. "So the question is: Is five hundred dollars enough money to sell our souls for?"

Maria scowled. "I should have known that Steffy was a Brittany Spears fan... ugh, that no talent hack. Christina Aguilera is the real way to go. But, come on guys. This *is* five hundred dollars we’re talking about here... that’s one hundred a piece. With that you guys could buy some real clothes," she joked.

Nicky nodded. "I’m with DeLuca... except for the part about the clothes and Christina Aguilera – she’s right."

She punched the guitarist playfully on the arm and picked up the contract. "I mean, look – it’s not all Brittany Spears songs. There’s a Filter song on this list, Three Doors Down, Dave Matthews Band, Vertical Horizon." Maria read on, rambling off the band names. "Does she realize that the singer of this band is a chick?"

"Fine. I’m in," agreed Markos.

"Me too," Alex and Chris said in unison.

Nick grinned. "You know my vote."

Maria dropped the contract, which fluttered a short distance away in the wind. One of the boys, she wasn’t sure which one, ran after it to retrieve it.

"Are you okay, Dee?" Nicky asked concerned, using the nickname that only he took to calling her.

//You know my vote// she repeated in her head. Michael said that just a few weeks ago when they were discussing meeting with Topolsky.

"Dee? DeLuca – Hey Maria?" The lead guitarist was standing in front of her, snapping his fingers to get her attention.

"Yeah?"

Alex looked on, his face full of anxiety, "You okay, Maria?"

She sighed. "Yeah, yeah... I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?"

"You just kind of fazed out there. Had us worried for a sec."

"Oh. I’m just tired, um, and I could probably use some food. Low blood sugar and all."

"You sure?" he asked, skeptically.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah. I’ll just get some dinner after practice and I’ll be fine."

Nicky stepped to the side, picking up his instrument. "I could use a little dinner myself later on… you know, maybe just the two of us – uh, I mean all of us. Big group thing."

"Hmmm, sounds great. Okay, we better get to this. We only have two weeks to work on these songs before I become the faboo Brittany Spears!" She said, with a flourish of her arms. Maria pasted a smile on her face that she hoped would fool the others into thinking she was okay.

"Yeah, marvelous..." Alex passed around the new sheet music and they studied the pages for a moment. "I guess this one is as good as any to start with."

Chris counted off the beats and they all started playing. Maria stepped up to the mike waiting for her cue, then began signing.

"Oops... I did it again—"

*****

Michael was silent most of the night at work, until finally his curiosity got the best of him. When Liz arrived at the window for table four’s food, he got her attention.

"Hey..."

"Oh, so you do still know how to talk in a normal non 'come-get-this-food-out-of-the-window-before-I-throw-it-at-you' tone," she said, sarcastically.

He frowned. "It’s not like you’ve been Miss Chatty since you ran from the chamber that day."

"Whatever, Michael. Did you want something?"

"Where’s your side-kick?"

She turned away, moving towards the customers and called out over her shoulder. "As if you really care, she’s at band practice."

//Band practice//, he thought, //with that guy// Suddenly Michael regretted everything he said to Nicky Huitt that afternoon on the quad. //WHY? IT’S FOR THE BEST. SHE DESERVES SOMEONE WHO CAN MAKE HER HAPPY//, came the response from the reasonable part of his brain. //Oh shut up!// he thought back at it.

"Uh hello! Earth to Michael!" Liz’s voice brought him back to the sweaty kitchen of the CrashDown. "Do you have that Eclipse Burger for the guy at the bar. He’s been waiting like a millennia." She cracked a smile, "His words, not mine."

*****

Band practice wrapped up about ten minutes before, and now they were all sitting around trying to settle on a place to eat.

"Sushi?" offered Markos.

Chris cringed, squeamish at the thought of raw fish. "Uh, no... Tacos?"

"No thanks," Alex was in deep thought. "How 'bout Chinese?"

"Can’t deal with all that rice. CrashDown?"

"Please, tell me you’re kidding," Maria responded, exasperated at just the mention of her work place. "I got it! The Pizza Pan. It’s Wednesday, right?" The guys nodded. "Perfect."

"What happens Wednesdays?" Chris asked.

Maria shot Alex a glare to silence him. "You’ll see. Come on... it’ll be a blast!"

One by one, the boys all submitted. "Yay!" she squealed.

****

The Pizza Pan was nearing packed, with the Whits grabbing the last available table near the stage.

"Karoeke?" exclaimed Markos. "You want us to do Karoeke?"

Maria grinned evilly, but Nicky spoke. "I’m in."

The others all reluctantly followed her to the sign up booth. "Hey Shirley," Maria greeted the owner of the place.

"Miss DeLuca... how nice of you to grace us with your presence. Ever since you started that band of yours, we haven’t seen much of you."

Alex stepped forward. "It’s *my* band."

"Uh-huh, whatever," the older woman flashed a slightly condescending smile to Alex, then turned to the girl at his side. "Will you honor us with the first song, Maria?"

"Sounds good. Uh, 2756-disc C."

Shirley set the song up to start, "You sing it, girl!"

As the guys stayed behind to look over the song book, Maria took the stage. The music started with a full scale run of the key of a piano, then Maria belted out the first few words.

"At first I was afraid, I was petrified... I kept thinking I could never live without you by my side..."

Nicky was mesmerized with every word she sang. Maria not only sang, she danced around to the beat compelling the audience to have fun.

"Come on, man. Pick a song so we can sit back down."

He blinked, focusing back to the play list. "Uh, I’ll do this one," pointing blindly, so that he could return his attention to the blonde beauty on the stage.

"Yeah?" questioned Alex, reading the book over his shoulder.

Chris snickered, "Dude, are you even reading the selections?"

"What? Why?" Nicky grabbed the book from Markos and reread his choice. 'The Right Stuff' by New Kids on the Block. "Uh, okay... gimme 6949 disc B."

"Sounds better." The teens returned to the table just as Maria finished 'I Will Survive' to a rousing applause.

"You were great," Nicky smiled, offering her his water.

She gulped the cool liquid down. "Thanks... that’s so sweet," Maria said, breathlessly. The other three boys started making kissey noises at each other, mocking Nick. "Oh grow up!" She swatted at the closest Whit.

They sat through the next two karoekeiers, one of who completely butchered Celine Dion’s 'My Heart Will Go On'.

"Wow, and to think I *used* to like that song," joked Chris.

"I’d wait to be so criticizing, drum boy, until you get up there yourself," Alex warned, mouthing the words tone deaf to him. "Remember, there’s a reason you play loud drums," he laughed.

Shirley took the mike, stopping any retort Chris could have given. "Great! Thanks, Gracie for that lovely rendition of the Titanic theme." She looked at the paper in her hands. "And next up we have Nick Huitt, singing Matchbox Twenty’s 'Bent'."

"Whoa... already?"

Maria nudged him towards the stage. "Knock 'em dead," she whispered. Nicky thought he was going to faint dead away from the combination of singing stage-fright and the extreme closeness of the girl he had a huge crush on.

The dark-haired boy rushed to the microphone. The sooner he started, the sooner it’d be over. Nervousness creeped into his voice as he started the first verse, but one glimpse of Maria pushed it away completely.

If I fall along the way pick me up and dust me off. and if I get too tired to make it be my breath so I can walk

Soon all the uneasiness of singing in public was gone and he relaxed enough to enjoy himself.

If I need some other love give me more than I can stand and when my smile gets old and faded wait around I'll smile again

shouldn't be so complicated just hold me and then just hold me again

He was able to finish the song with confidence and was surprised with a loud applause at the end. When he arrived back at the table, his friends were all smiles.

"That was wonderful, Nicky," Maria gushed.

"Decent... decent. Who would have thought Huitt knew how to sing," Markos said, giving his pal a high five.

"Better watch out, Maria... pretty soon we won’t need you anymore!" said Alex.

"I’ve heard worse," Chris commented, but was interrupted by Shirley announcing the next singer.

"Next, we have Chris Keegan. He’ll be performing 'Shimmer' by Fuel."

"I think we’re about to hear worse," Nicky dodged a playful punch.

Chris did fairly well, his voice cracking a bit during the song, but he left the stage with most of his dignity intact. After him, a trio of girls from West Roswell High performed 'Wide Open Spaces' by the Dixie Chicks. Maria turned to the others with a glimmer in her eye, but Alex stopped her before she was able to speak.

"No, we’re not doing any Dixie Chicks songs."

"Oh, come on... I'm really good at those!" She called over to Shirley. "Hey, put me down for 10976 – disc A." The older woman nodded.

"Thank you, Shanna, Michelle and Gina. Now we have a blast to the past with Markos Griffin singing 'Blaze of Glory' by Bon Jovi."

The others looked at him, bemused. "Bon Jovi?"

"Hey don’t knock it till you hear it... then you can knock it!!"

Markos stumbled through most of the words as they flashed on the screen, but he wowed the audience with his amazing 'air guitar' solo. He was definitely up there for comic relief. The teen sat back at his table, the other occupants crying because they were laughing so hard.

"And you sing backup so well," Alex laughed, his sides beginning to ache.

"That’s cause I don’t have to know *all* the words! Okay, Whitman, moment of truth – you’re up!" he replied, as Shirley called out the band leader’s name.

The microphone squealed when Alex picked it up, and he chuckled nervously, sitting on the available stool. "Hope that’s not a bad omen." The audience laughed at his lame joke, and then the soft music began.

Love, I see forever in your eyes I can see heaven in your smile And when I hold you close I don't want to let go

He sang the 98 degrees song beautifully, the emotion in his voice echoing in every note.

Because deep in my soul, I know Girl, cause you are the only light I see Your love means everything to me I know that we will never part 'Cause you'll always be here, here in my heart

Maria knew that he was thinking about this whole situation with Isabel as he sang, and that just made it even more wonderful.

If the sun, should refuse to rise And the moon, doesn't hang in the night The tides won't change, seasons rearrange When the world is through I will still love you Oh yeah, still love you baby And girl, you're like an angel from above Sent here to shower me with your love Hold me beneath your wings...

As Alex made his way back to the table, she stood to give him a reassuring hug. "She’d be stupid not to choose you, Alex."

"Thanks," he replied softly, his mind wandering to Liz. //We’re all up against destiny verses desire.//

"Hey, Al – she’s not here... you don’t have to suck up now."

"At least I have someone to suck up to, Markos."

"Whoa… we don’t need to hear about your bizarre sex life, Whitman. The imagery, my friend, is frightening!" Nicky jumped into the banter after being strangely quite all night.

"Nice of you to join the party, Huitt."

"Now," said Shirley, her voice booming over the microphone, "if we could get the divas at table nine to be quiet, we could move on with Karoeke night."

"Sorry," the boys all mumbled, with Maria watching in amusement at their discomfort of being called out.

"Don’t be sorry... be quiet."

The night moved on with a succession of pop, rock and R&B songs sung by the talented, and not so talented, residents and tourists of Roswell. But most of all, it included the Whits having a great time.

"This is so much fun – I really needed it!" Maria smiled, reaching for another piece of pizza. Her hand stopped when she brushed against Nicky, who was also moving towards the last piece of extra cheese. For a moment when they made eye contact, everyone else in the room seemed to disappear and they were all alone... then the connection was broken.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Here, you have it."

"No, please you take it." Maria sweetened her voice up, but when Alex moved in for the piece, she barked at him. "Don’t even think about it, Whitman!"

"Whoa – serious."

She pulled the piece onto her plate. "We can share, Nicky."

That sounded like a good plan to him, so he searched around for a knife, but stopped short when Maria took a bite from the slice and passed it to him. "Oh. Okay."

"And to bring back an old Pizza Pan tradition, she who opened the night shall close it. Ladies and Gentlemen, Maria DeLuca."

Maria quickly swallowed the bite in her mouth and took to the stage. Staring down at the table of boys to the right of the mike, she winked at Nicky.

I should go out tonight Get on with my life Break these chains of solitude With a little luck and a little help I might even find myself In the arms of someone new

Once you've loved somebody It ain't that easy to do Once you've loved somebody Like I loved you

The audience including the Whits, were spellbound at her rendition of the funk country love song. Nicky, Chris and Markos all looked to Alex, astounded.

Look what you've gone and done You've ruined everything for everyone Who tries to steal this heart away I can't get you off of my mind I've tried to tell myself a million times A little time is all it takes

"Fine," he said, evading their stares. "It’s on the list."

****

Michael was sweaty, smelly and tired as he walked to his apartment after work, but something made him stop and enter the Pizza Pan when he passed it. He tried to shrug it off as the desire to eat something that was not alien themed, although he knew it was because he sensed Maria in there. Ever since that day at the UFO Center, when he confessed his love to her, Michael had a strange and fairly accurate 'Maria-dar'. He knew where she was most of the time, even if he didn’t know where he was.

What the alien teen saw as he situated himself at the back of the room, didn’t help his already foul mood any. There she was, at the crowded table closest to the stage, laughing and smiling. It had been quite some time since he’d seen her look so happy, long before Topolsky had returned to Roswell.

//She’s having a nice time... get over it.// Michael’s heart sank when he noticed Maria and Nicky gazing into each other’s eyes. //That’s the way she used to look at me.// The final twist of the knife in his heart was when the two of them began to share the last piece of pizza. It took all of his human willpower not to get up and bolt right then. Or bash Nicky Huitt’s face in... either one wouldn’t be good.

The mention of Maria’s name over the sound system broke Michael from his thoughts, and his eyes followed her every step to the stage. Just when the boy thought that his heart couldn’t possibly get hurt anymore, she sang her soul.

Michael knew her... possibly better than anyone else. He had seen things in her mind that she had never shared with anyone else, things he didn’t even tell her that he knew. And with this intimate personal knowledge of the real Maria DeLuca, Michael knew that this wasn’t just another song that she choose to sing. This song *was* Maria… and him. This song was the very raw emotion of what he had done to her heart and how his destiny had driven her to another man. The three minutes of his emotional torture finally ended and she returned to her table, to the hoots and hollers of the Whits plus a standing ovation from the crowd. Michael used that opportunity to slip out the door, and run for home.

***

Maria was all smiles and giggles in the passenger seat of Nicky’s old Toyota as he drove her home. She alternated humming quietly to herself and singing out loud to the radio, then turned to her companion. "Thanks so much for the ride."

"Not a problem, Dee."

Her smile widened. "I like that. 'Dee'," she repeated. "You’re a really great friend, you know."

//Friend. Uh-oh... she said the F-word//, he thought. The signals she was giving earlier, in his opinion, were definitely 'more-than-friend-signals'. //Hmmm... what to say?// "Uh, I really like you, too." //Whoa, where did that come from?// The teen tried to gauge her reaction from the corner of his eye, but her expression didn’t change.

"I think that we should do a duet at Steffy’s party," she babbled on. "I mean, you were great – there has to be a song on that list we can sing together."

They reached her house and Nick walked her to the door. They stood awkwardly outside the back door for a moment, until he finally broke the deafening silence. "So... uh, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go outwithmeonFriday," he said in an exhaled rush.

She paled, definitely not expecting him to say anything like that. "Oh."

Nick started to backpedal. "I mean, you know, not a date, but something different..." but he stopped himself. "Actually I do mean a date. I really like you Maria, and I want to go out with you on a date."

"I really think you’re nice and all Nicky, it’s just that... well I have this complicated relationship thing with this guy... and well it’s really complicated."

"Michael Guerin, right? I know all about it."

"You do? What do you know?"

"You dumped him, right? I mean, why else would he be so willing to let you go."

"Let me go?"

Nick ran his hands through his dark hair. "When I asked him if it was okay if I asked you out. He said yes, and I figured that you dumped him and broke his heart. Uh, he would be a moron to dump you, so I just figured..."

Maria felt nauseous. "I have to go inside now."

He backed away. "I messed this all up, didn’t I?"

"No," Maria grabbed his hand. "I’m sorry, it’s just me. I wasn’t expecting anything like this. I need some time to digest this all…" she opened the door and started to go inside. "I’ll call you, Nicky. I swear."

The girl shut the door behind her firmly, and leaned heavily onto it. She took deep breaths, trying so hard not to break down into sobs, as the room began spinning around her... //Oh God, I feel so... so small. How can he do this to me?//