The sweat dripped off the side of my face as I stared blankly at Liz's gold necklace dangling in my hand. My breath was coming out in shaky pants as I swore to myself that I would save the life of this reality's Liz Parker to save the life of MY Liz Parker back home. Today was September 17, 1999 - The day of the Crashdown Shooting.

I slipped Liz's necklace around my neck, enjoying the feel of the cool metal against me. The necklace was also a constant reminder of Liz and my challenge.

Quickly, I got up from bed and took a shower (no, I'm not giving you the details of my shower! C'mon now! Is my being totally naked and wet ALL you girls think about?) and got ready for school. I was hoping that I could run into Liz before classes started today so we could talk. As I trotted out to the Jeep I heard a very angry Isabel yell the front door, "MAX! Where are you going?"

I turned to see my sister angrily striding across our lawn, backpack in hand, to the Jeep that we shared. Uh oh, I thought, Isabel looked furious. I wondered what I had done THIS time as I jumped into the drivers seat and started the car.

Isabel hopped into the Jeep and let me pull out of our driveway before she tore into me. "Max! What is wrong with you? Were you really planning on leaving me at home?" Her blue eyes narrowed, "What has been going on? Ever since yesterday afternoon you've been acting... strange... Max... it's not... anything bad... is it?"

I sighed as we pulled to a stop at a red light. If only you knew, Izzy, I thought sadly. "Uhh... I'm sorry Iz. I've just been preoccupied with thinking about someone lately. You know her, Liz Parker." I muttered, hoping that it wouldn't make her angrier and hoping that maybe my sister would understand.

"ARE YOU INSANE!?" Isabel screeched.

Okay, so I was wrong.

"Earth to Max!! There are two things wrong with Liz Parker. 1: She's HUMAN. And we swore we wouldn't get involved with humans... 2: She's dating Kyle Valenti... the Sheriffs son? Why make enemies with him?" Isabel huffed angrily as we pulled up to West Roswell High School.

"Isabel... Don't you ever want to... I don't know... be close to anyone else besides Mom, Dad, Michael and I?" I asked quietly as I pulled into the school's parking lot. "I just have this... feeling that some human companionship will be a good thing for us."

"I don't know Max..." Isabel said. "I don't want to trust people with our secret."

I sighed again. "Isabel... listen... I'm not saying that we have to tell anyone our secret right away... What I want is for you to give them a chance."

"Why does it sound like you're already talking about someone, Max? You're not planning any weird blind dates for me are you?" Isabel raised an eyebrow at me as I parked the car in our usual parking spot.

Damn... At least I didn't say Alex. "Izzy... I just meant... them as in humans... you know. Can you at least consider it... for me?" I asked.

Isabel nodded, grabbed her backpack and headed off to her first class.

I exhaled in relief as Iz left. I grabbed my backpack out of the backseat of the Jeep and started walking to my first class; already deep in thought on how I was going to save Liz.

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

By time my 5th period biology class with Liz had rolled around, I had come up two possible plans that would protect Liz, Maria and Michael today in the Crashdown. Plan A: I would wait until the two thugs came into the Crashdown, and then have Michael and I bring Liz and Maria to the back. I'll tell Liz that I saw one of them had a gun and to call the police, because we didn't know what he might do with the gun... Then Sheriff Valenti comes, arrests those two guys and yay for everyone because we're all alive and well... Sound good to you?

I hope so. Now, are any of you wondering why I'm not going to use my powers to just stop the whole thing from happening? Well, I don't want to rely on my powers, because I'm not sure where the thug has the gun and I'm not sure if I can alter the metal in the gun to a point where it wouldn't do any damage to anyone.

As I remember, Maria is standing closer to the thugs that Liz... and if the gun blows up or still goes off... it's too dangerous. I don't want any additional unpredictability to this situation. I don't want anything to be unpredictable when Liz's life in concerned. However, I'm not too sure if I want do use Plan A or not.

Here's Plan B: I sit in the same booth with Michael and wait for the thugs to come to the Crashdown. Then, when they start to argue, jump up, run to Liz and knock her down. Hopefully we'll both avoid the bullet, Liz will be alive, I won't have to use any of my powers... and maybe Liz will fall in love with me all over again. I'd like to point out in Back to the Future (yeah, I'm a sucker for old 80's movies) the Marty McFly's mom fell in love with him because he saved her life... so maybe it will be the same with Liz.

"Max?" Liz's voice again snapped me out of my deep thoughts.

I smiled at Liz, who was looking concerned. "Hi Liz."

"Max, you were totally out of it awhile ago... I had been calling your name for awhile now."

Oops. I shrugged a little bit and smiled again at Liz, just happy to see her. I'm just used to seeing her so much during the day that I had been going through 'Liz Withdrawals' and act like a dope every time I see her. "Sorry about that Liz... I guess I'm just kinda lost in thought about something."

Liz smiled and nodded. "Wow..." Liz suddenly exclaimed. "Where did you get a necklace like that?" She said reaching out and briefly touched the gold necklace that was around my neck.

My breath caught in my throat. Liz noticed HER necklace! I swallowed nervously, wondering how I was going to get out of this one and praying that the necklace wasn't engraved. "My Grandma Claudia has a necklace, almost exactly like the one you're wearing." Liz commented.

Cautiously, I reached up and touched the gold necklace gently with my fingertips. And suddenly - I was caught in a series of flashes.

**FLASH**

A young Liz, sitting on Grandma Claudia's lap, looking at the gold necklace around her neck.

**FLASH**

Liz, crying beside Grandma Claudia's bedside at the hospital.

**FLASH**

Liz at the funeral of her Grandma Claudia and she's being handed a small package. She opens it and finds the gold necklace inside.

**FLASH**

Liz, Maria, Alex, Michael and Isabel all sitting in Liz's room preparing to help Liz go into the dreamwalk with Isabel to find me.

With a loud "thud" I fell off my chair and hit the ground in my biology classroom. As I lay there, dazed about the images I had seen, I could faintly hear the giggles of Pam Troy, the nosy girl that sat a few rows behind Liz and I.

Liz had jumped down by my side and was looking at me concerned. She probably thought I was a freak, fainting dead away in class. Everyone look at slick, suave, Max Evans. Trying to be cool with Liz, but ending up falling off his chair. Great.

"Max... are you okay?" Liz asked as she was suddenly at my side. She pressed a soft hand to my forehead. "Can you get up on your own?" Actually, I wasn't on planning on getting up, hoping that they would just ignore me on the ground and I could slink off somehow.

"Mrs. Hardy!" Liz called out to our teacher. "I'll take Max to the nurse, I'm sure he fainted because of the heat." Liz held out her hand and pulled me up from the ground and helped me out of the classroom.

I was stunned, Liz was acting so concerned about me. My heart ached to hold her again, to tell this Liz who I was. As we made it outside the biology classroom, Liz turned to me, "Are you okay now Max?"

I smiled softly and squeezed her shoulder gently. "Yes... Thank you Liz, you saved me back there. I guess I owe you one, huh?"

Liz blushed, "It's okay Max... I don't mind. But why did you faint, was it really the heat?" I smiled again (okay, I am perfectly aware that I look like a goofy love sick fool, but c'mon now, this is Liz.) at Liz. Her strawberry perfume still filled my nostrils, strawberry shampoo from her hair... I looked at her, wearing cutoff shorts and a tee shirt... Liz's body against mine as she helped me...

"Yeah, it was definitely the heat." With that I excused myself and headed to the nurse's office before Liz could see her effect on me.

I laid on a cot in the nurse's office for a while, contemplating Plan A or Plan B. Each plan had good and bad points, but I wasn't sure about which one I was going to use this afternoon. I only had a couple of hours to figure out my plan... for the first part of the game.

"Max Evans?" The nurse suddenly was next to my side.

I sat up on the cot and looked at the nurse, who looked a little different all of a sudden. "Yes?"

"Very suave and debonair, Max. I like the fainting in class excuse." She said as her cold eyes stared into mine.

What the hell is wrong with this nurse? I wondered and couldn't do anything except look at her.

With a smirk, the nurse raised one hand and flashed me an image of who she really was... Nasedo.

Oh man. "Why are you here, Nasedo?"

Nasedo, with a hand still raised, turned to lock the nurse's office shut from where he was standing. Then, with a cold glance, he returned his glare back to me. "What do you think, Max? That I'd be stupid like all humans, to let you do whatever you pleased during the game? That I would let you walk all over and possibly win?" He chuckled evilly. "Oh no... I will be around, watching your EVERY move... So that I will ensure that no cheating has been going on, during MY game... But I'm sure that little Maxwell Evans wouldn't be a bad boy now, would he?" Nasedo turned his cold glare on to me. "Besides, you have 12 days left and you have accomplished NOTHING. I'm sure little Lizzie doesn't even know you're alive."

My blood boiled at the words 'Little Lizzie'. When I got the chance, Nasedo was going to pay for doing this to me. I returned his cold glare and stood up. "Nasedo, I don't have the time to deal with you." I brushed by him and quickly left the nurses office. It was 2:30 and I had little time to deal with Nasedo and his head games within this hellish game itself.

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

Furious about my encounter with Nasedo, masquerading as a nurse, I nearly forgot to bring Michael with me to the Crashdown. He was a little later than usual meeting me at the Jeep, but I needed to bring him along, in case anything got too weird. Besides... maybe he might fly through the air and save Maria or something. I could only hope right?

Michael came trotting up to the Jeep a few minutes after I had sat down. He was wearing dark sunglasses, so I couldn't see his eyes, but I knew as soon as I saw him that something was on his mind.

I put the Jeep into drive and left the West Roswell High parking lot and headed to the Crashdown. Michael waited until we were on the road before he hit me with his question. "So... Isabel told me that you want us to date humans now." Michael said casually, but I could tell by his undertones that he was really unhappy with the idea.

Sighing, I took a quick glance over at Michael. "Would it be such a terrible idea, Michael?" I didn't really want to get into an argument with Michael right now... I remember the tongue-lashing he gave me when I told Liz about us the first time. I thought he was going to pee his pants... He was so agitated.

Michael shook his head. "I don't want to become the subject of an FBI man-hunt, Maxwell. You were the one who made us *promise* not to tell anyone of what we are..."

"Michael, I was thinking that we should date... not reveal our secret." I quickly answered.

Michael shrugged. "Like any girl would want to go out with me anyway."

"You never know what might happen Michael, if you just take a chance." I told him as we pulled up in front of the Crashdown Café. "C'mon, let's get something to eat." Jumping out of the Jeep, I quickly headed into the Crashdown to stake out our usual table to we... I mean I could prepare for what was to come.