“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I could ask the same question of you,” he said.

“I’m meeting Max to study,” Tess said, tossing her head.

“I need to talk to you. Isabel said you’d probably be here.”

“What is it?” Tess asked, noticing the urgency in his voice.

“Nasedo taught you things, things you still haven’t told us about,” he said gruffly, staring her down.

She returned the stare, smiling a little at him. “What makes you think that?”

“Nothing. I just have my suspicions.”

She got to her feet and walked around him. “You’re not ready to know everything yet,” she said. “Nasedo taught me for years. You’re all still taking baby steps.”

“What do you know about the granilith?” he asked.

“Lots of things,” Tess said. “Unfortunately, I’m not too well versed in what its actual purpose is. I just know some of its quirks.”

“Like time travel?”

Tess stopped. “What?”

“Time travel, did you know it could take you through time?” Michael asked.

“How do you know about that?” she asked, suddenly accusatory.

“It’s already been used,” he said.

“What are you talking about?”

“Good old Max paid us a little visit from the future,” Michael said. “But that’s not what’s important. You have to teach me how to use it.”

“Michael, I don’t think this is a very good idea,” Tess said.

“Tess, you have to understand something. The things Max said, what had happened, he said we’re defeated, that we all die. I have to know if it’s the truth. I need to make sure Liz isn’t lying.”

“Wait, so Max from the future came to see Liz?” she said, shaking her head and trying to make sense of it all.

“Can we hold off on this Max-Liz thing and focus on what’s important?”

“And what exactly is that, Michael?”

“Teach me how to use the granilith,” he said.

“I can’t do that, Michael. I don’t know enough to risk it. And we’d have to talk to Max.”

“No. He has nothing to do with this.”

“He will have something to do with it if you go and get yourself killed,” Tess cried, her voice rising.

They were interrupted by a sudden opening of Max’s bedroom door. They looked up guiltily, then let out a sigh of relief. It was Liz.

“Where’s Max?” she asked.

“He’s not here,” said Michael.

Liz looked warily at Tess, then back to Michael. “You’re not still doing it, are you?”

“Does it matter?” He turned on Liz. “You were going to tell Max about it, weren’t you?”

“I’m worried about you, Maria’s worried. Max would be upset too if he knew what was going on. He is in charge here, after all.”

“But he doesn’t have all the information, does he? And you forget, Liz, you’d be in a pretty sticky situation if you had to explain to Max just exactly how you know about the granilith.”

Liz squirmed, losing her nerve. “Fine. I won’t tell Max. But I will go with you.”

*************

“What are you doing in here?”

Kyle spun around. Tess was in the doorway, her hand on her hip.

“It was my room, once upon a time. There’s still a few of my things in here.”

“Could you please leave?”

Kyle sighed. “You know, it seemed for a while that things were going really well between us. We were living together in some semblance of harmony. It even seemed that something could’ve developed between you and me. What happened to that?”

“You tell me,” Tess said, walking past him.

“What do you mean, you tell—“ Kyle stopped as he saw Liz and Michael standing in the hallway. “Oh. Oh, okay, I get it. It was Max. He told you. Look, Tess, it isn’t what you think.”

“This isn’t the time, Kyle,” she said, rummaging determinedly through a box.

Kyle stepped out of the way as Michael crossed the room to Tess. He stepped back into the hall, looking confused. The door slammed behind him.

“What are you looking for?” Michael asked, trying to look over her shoulder.

“The crystal. Nasedo had it, it’s necessary to activate the granilith’s power. I’m not quite sure how we’ll be able to do it, but I should be able to get it to work.” She stepped back, triumphant, and held out her hands.

“Is this it?” Michael said, gazing at it.

Tess nodded. “We’ll have to go pretty soon. I don’t know how long this is going to take.”

“Sure,” Michael agreed, stiffly. He was starting to feel a tingling sensation in his fingertips. He wasn’t sure if he should do it, but what else could he do?

*************

“You know, if I’d realized the repercussions that would be attached, I would never have agreed to your little plan,” Kyle said as he dropped dejectedly into a chair.

“I’m sorry, Kyle,” Liz said, taking a seat beside him. “I wasn’t thinking about you, I was only thinking about Max. I never thought that-“

“It’s okay. I mean, why would things go my way? Since when is that how it works out?”

Liz smiled at him. “So you and Tess, huh?”

“Almost. So close. But Max must’ve let the cat out of the bag.”

“So she thinks that you and me-“

“Yes.”

“Oh,” Liz said solemnly, nodding. “Kyle, can I tell you something?”

“Like what?” he asked.

“Like the real reason I did it. I know I wasn’t too informative, and right now I feel like you’re the only person I can talk to about it. You were there, you know what really happened, and you’re not so deep in this alien thing like the rest of us. I think I can confide in you.”

Kyle shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

“Do you believe in time travel?” she asked.

Kyle chuckled. “Truthfully, no. But I don’t believe in aliens, either.”

“See, what happened was that Max came to see me. Max from the future. He told me all these things that were going to happen, all these terrible things. And it was because Max and I were together. I had to—to make Max fall out of love with me. I had to do something to drive us apart. Forever.” Liz paused, she could feel herself getting choked up and she tried desperately to regain her composure. “I tried and tried, but every time I pushed him away, he just kept coming back stronger. So I asked you to—“ She sniffed. “To, you know. And it worked. Maybe too well.”

“So you and Max are over for good?” Kyle said softly, placing a comforting hand on Liz’s shoulder.

Liz nodded and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “I’m sorry it worked out this way for you.”

“It’s okay. If everyone thinks I’ve slept with someone, at least it’s you. Makes me look good.” He cracked a smile. Kyle reached for a tissue and handed it to her. She took it gratefully and wiped the tears from her face. A tug at his heart suddenly reminded him how it used to be when they were dating. It had been comfortable, easy. He even thought for a while that she loved him. He was struck with the sudden impulse to kiss her, right now, while she was vulnerable. All he had to do was reach over, put a finger under her chin and turn her face toward his…

“You coming?” It was Michael, with Tess behind him.

Liz looked up at him, trying to pretend as if she hadn’t just been crying. “Um…you know, I think I may stay. I’m scheduled to work tonight, so I probably shouldn’t miss. I’ve got homework, too.” She paused and looked at Michael. His face was set into a stubborn smirk. “Be careful,” she added. “Don’t do anything stupid. They can’t lose you.”