Isabelle ignored the phone, too absorbed in the latest fall fashions in Vogue to bother with a digital cry for attention. Mini skirts were coming back into style, along with a line of purple, mauve, and gray makeup from Estee Lauder.

"Rinnngg!"

Rolling her eyes and marking the page with a pen, Isabelle reached for the portable phone. If that was Bobby Holiday asking for a date again, she was going to fry his caller id system. A girl had to do what a girl had to do. It was a simple philosophy, and some sort of balance could be sustained.

"Hello?" She asked on the edge of exasperation.

"Uh, hi Isabelle." Liz Parker greeted uneasily. "I was wondering if Max was around. I heard his phone's been disconnected."

"Sure, hold on a second." Isabelle sighed, tucked the receiver into her shoulder and walked down the hall to her brother's room. After a brief knock, she pushed open the door and was surprised to see Max asleep at his desk. His work area was littered with school books, note cards, and pads of paper. He had been studying for the past few hours, and was in sore need of a break. For a moment she almost smiled. His sleeping face reminded her of the innocence they had once had as children. There was acceptance, contentment, and normality. Once upon a time, they had it all. Now, if the only peace either one of them had was in dreams, then so be it. Gently, Isabelle woke up the sleeping figure and slipped the phone to his ear.

"Have fun." She stated as she turned to leave.

"Thanks, Is." Her bother smiled sleepily before he focused on the voice over the phone.

Brief sketches of the conversation died as soon as Isabelle returned to the living room. After twenty minutes of half reading her magazine, she gave up, and closed the cover. One thought had entered her mind, and at one time it would have been a disturbing figment.

Liz Parker. What was it about Liz Parker?

She was a mystery. For most of Isabelle's life, Liz Parker had been one of the invisible girls in school. She wasn't a threat per say, but she had to be eyed critically. And from time to time, put in her place with a firm, and cold look.

Now that Liz was in on the 'out of this world' secret, they had shared a subtle, yet chilly, friendship. More and more of Max's time was spent pondering the complex relationship with Liz and less on his sister. At first, Isabelle had been inanely jealous. Sure, Max was allowed to follow his own heart during romantic endeavors, but not when it came to the well-being of his own kind. Her brother had risked it all to be with a tried and true human. But the enormity of his affection for the Parker girl was hard to avoid. The mere mention of her name brought an inscrutable look to his face. All the little brown haired beauty had to do

was walk through a room to get Max's attention. Isabelle noted, for those brief seconds Liz was in the picture, her brother was completely unreachable. The soft look in his eyes would burn with the warmth of a hundred candles. It was hard to ignore their polar connection. It engulfed the space between man and woman until only the smallest amount of personal space separated their minds and bodies. If it had happened to anyone but her brother, Isabelle would have shunned the notion of the soul mate principle.

Giving up her mental pondering, Isabelle wandered to her room for some alone time. Her mother and father wouldn't be back for a few more hours. The Evens household would be quiet until Popular came on the WB at 8 p.m. Vogue in hand, she passed by Max's door, unintentionally hearing her brother's conversation.

"Yeah, it's been hard for me too," said Max with smooth affection in his voice. "So, when can I see you again?" The time he spent apart from Liz could be painful, but it was necessary. It was important for them to keep sight of their bearings and undertake their actions one-day at a time. But, then there were other problems.

Just the other day, the Sheriff Valenti had sat in his police car outside the Crash Down Café after closing time. Valenti had seen Max climbing up the fire escape to the rooftop patio, and now the sheriff had a habit of indiscriminately barring Max from any night time rendezvous.

Although she had never been a big socializer, Liz needed quality time with Max in her environment, not just a few stolen minutes between classes or on break at the Crash Down. Regrouping time was her way of putting any current chaos into perspective. When she was alone, her mental wanderings were still bottled up. With Max around, that was a different story all together. Whatever either couldn't say, it was mysteriously understood.

Isabelle flopped down on her bed and clicked the button on her stereo system to 97.1 KBCQ, Roswell's local radio station. The upbeat rhythm of Third Eye Blind caused her to sigh and relax. For just once, she wished the world would just stop and allow all the people involved in all the craziness to breathe easy.

A rustling in the coat closet shook Isabelle from her mental dozing a few minutes later. Out of curiosity, she rose from her bed and peeked around the hallway corner. "Going somewhere?" She asked the noisemaker.

Max fumbled on his jacket and clutched the jeep keys in his hand. "The sheriff was called out to help handle some illegal aliens."

Isabelle smiled wryly. "What a coincidence. Who gave you the good news?"

The gentle spirit in Max's eyes shown with slight embarrassment. "Michael. His dad has a police scanner."

There was no awkwardness in the few moments that passed before them in silence. "So, what are you standing there for? Go see her!" Isabelle prodded.

A lopsided smile graced her brother's lips. It spoke of his undeniable thanks for sticking with him through all the hardship and compromise. No matter what happened in the future, he would never turn a dubious thought his sister's way.

"Liz is waiting for you."

"Thanks, Is." Max said, before he jogged down the hall towards an exit. The door closed with more of a clang than normal.

Content at last, Isabelle resisted the childish urge to skip back to her room. Sometimes life did give up to the hope of unselfish wishes.