***

Later that day … at school:

Alex sees Tess sitting at one of the benches. She has a faraway look in her eyes and Alex thinks he sees a tinge of sadness in them. He decides to walk up to her. “Hey!”

Tess snaps out her reverie and says to him sharply, “Are you following me?”

Alex is taken slightly aback. “Uh, me? No, no! I just saw you sitting here and thought I’d say ‘Hey'.

Tess lets out a breath and motions Alex to join her.

He sits on the bench across her. “So … seen any good movies lately?” he starts conversationally.

Tess just gives him a funny glance, shakes her blonde head and shrugs.

“I asked Isabel once if aliens enjoyed cinema and she, uh, said she did. I was just wondering if you did,” he clarified.

Tess gives him a slight nod, understanding that he was just trying to make conversation, trying to lighten the mood. “I enjoy cinema. Why?” she prods.

“Well, Liz, Maria and I usually have a video marathon on Fridays but they’re kinda busy right now. I was wondering, maybe you’d like to check a movie with me. We don’t have to do a marathon or anything,” he offers.

“Where’s Isabel?” Tess asks.

“She was kinda tired so she took a nap,” Alex explains.

“Oh. What movie did you have in mind?” Tess questions further. “Ummm, I don’t know, maybe …” Alex starts saying.

“Please don’t suggest something sappy like ‘Notting Hill”. That movie was not one of my favorites,” she interrupts.

“Yeah, I know. How about Scream 3?” Alex winces, remembering that Liz and Maria hated the second installment of that series.

“Okay. I like that guy in the mask,” she smiles at him.

“She’s not so bad,” Alex thinks. Isabel was worried about her though. “Maybe she just needs a friend.” Alex finds himself staring at her blue eyes for a second too long.

“How about we meet at the theater later,” Tess suggests.

“Alright, I’ll be there.” Alex agrees.

***

The two hook up outside the movie theater. Alex buys the biggest tub of popcorn the concession stand has to offer.

“Insurance,” he tells Tess, “in case you jump up during the spooky scenes and spills out half the popcorn.”

Tess playfully punches him in the arm. “Ow! Remember you’ve got powers and I don’t!” he jests.

Throughout the movie, Alex is making wisecracks and putting the tub of popcorn on Tess’ lap, only to pull it away when she reaches in to get a handful of kernels. “Spooky part’s comin’ up! Don’t want you to jump up and have a popcorn accident!”

“I’m actually enjoying myself here. With Alex,” Tess thinks. “He’s a nice guy. And he hasn't once tried to jump me or push me away.” Instead he makes her laugh. And treats her like a … friend. A good friend. The words roll through her mind like unfamiliar strangers. “He’s … different,” she thinks to herself. That unnerves her a little.

Tess lounges back in her seat, surreptitiously glancing at Alex throughout the movie, waiting for something, for a sign that would burst her relaxed bubble. It doesn’t come.

She senses no subterfuge, no awkwardness within him. Alex is simply being Alex … friendly and goofy. She smiles as he talks about the rules of a horror movie. She relaxes.

Alex also finds himself looking, staring at Tess in between pranks and jokes. "She looks innocent, almost child-like. And normal, just like any other teen enjoying a movie." he thinks.

He wonder why Max and Liz were so worried about her, about what she might do. "Maybe we judged her too soon, too harsh," he wonders.

He catches Tess’ slightly wary glances. There is a questioning, almost lost look in her eyes. He resolves to make her feel comfortable. He wisecracks about the number of dead bodies piling up on screen. “You’d think they’d remember the first rule of horror movies, wouldn’t you? The one that goes, “Never separate yourself from the safety of a group when a masked serial killer with a huge knife is on the loose? Geez!” He grins goofily.

After the movie ends, Alex drops Tess off at her house. Ever the gentleman, he walks her to the door, making sure that she gets safely inside before he turns around and leaves.

As he drives off, Alex ponders the evening. “I had a good time with her. No, more than that. I had a great time." He's surprised at that. At how much he enjoyed being with her. At how he didn’t think of Isabel, or anyone else for that matter, when he was with her. Strange. Even when he was with his friends, thoughts of Isabel never strayed far away from him.

Still puzzled at the feeling of contentment washing through him, Alex heads for dreamland. Instead of a tall, statuesque Amazon goddess, he dreams of a petite, curly haired doll with the bluest eyes he had seen.

***

Tess is feeling disconcerted. “Alex is sweet, a gentleman. Unlike most guys," Not a single thought about Max, or destiny or being hunted plagued her tonight while she was in his company. She seems taken aback by that discovery. It amazes her that someone she barely knew before that night could make her forget Max and the all-consuming thoughts of destiny that had been with her for so long.

She shakes her head slightly as she lays down to sleep. Sleep comes without alien visions or brooding watchers. Instead it brings dreams of lanky men and popcorn.

***

Isabel wakes up from her nap and decides to call Alex. Mrs. Whitman tells him that Alex caught a movie with a friend. “Probably Liz or Maria,” she shrugs.

Feeling a little restless and unable to go to sleep, Isabel decides to dreamwalk. Into Alex’s head. She missed seeing him tonight and thought maybe she could just pop in for a while. What she finds do not please her. Alex and ... Tess?

***

In dreamland, Alex and Tess are playfully pelting each other with popcorn as they watch a video of Scream 2, a flick Isabel hated.

“What’s your favorite scary movie, Alex?”

“Return of the Jedi!” he responds to Tess.

“What?” she retorts, puzzled.

“Think of it, all those furry little Ewoks trying to hump Han Solo’s leg in that one scene. I tell ya, that’s scary.”

Tess screams with laughter at the sight of a short Ewok trying to get it on with the tall captain.

Alex looks down at her, smiling as she convulses with laughter. He reaches out to push back a patch of blonde curls that strays across her face.

Giddiness washes throughout him. “She’s beautiful,” he thinks. Not in a stunning Isabel sense but in a bewitching elf sense. He is mesmerized.

Tess catches Alex’s brown eyes looking at her with wonder. Brown. That color always seemed unexceptional to her. Yet, within Alex’s eyes, it came alive, radiating with intensity.

Something about Alex stirs her. Was it his laugh? His smart aleck comments? The way he made her feel? Like she was simply a teenage girl, not a distrusted alien or a conquest to be bandied about?

The realization saddens her. Was her life really that abnormal that an ordinary night out at the movies all of a sudden seemed so special? Or was it Alex who was special?

“So, would you like to dance?” Tess invites Alex, all of sudden wanting to feel his arms around her. She holds out her hand.

“What?” Alex is puzzled.

Suddenly the scenery shifts to the desert, near midnight. The stars are shining brightly and soft, dreamy music plays in the background.

Alex looks at Tess who is now dressed in a flowing gown.

His breath releases. He doesn’t realize he’s held it. There is a soft yearning about her, an unspoken plea for a connection.

“She … needs someone,” he realizes. It’s there in her eyes, that need. It’s in her empty outstretched hand. The hand held out to him. He swallows and takes a step towards her.

Tess goes into his arms and together they sway slightly. Click. Something clicks in place. Like a puzzle coming together.

She tilts her head back to look at him, almost in wonder. Alex flashes a smile and she responds.

With the music lulling her, she rests her head on his shoulders. She hears his heart beating in a steady rhythm. Its drumming soothes her, comforts her. She snuggles closer.

Alex raises his hand to gently touch her hair and smooth down a few strands. She sighs and closes her eyes.

No awkwardness glides within Alex as he brings Tess close to him. It feels as if they danced like this a million times before. Perhaps she feels natural in his arms. Solid, real. Connected.

A rush of warmth fills him as she lays her head on his shoulder. His grip tightens and his eyes close.

***

Isabel peruses the scene between Alex and Tess, not altogether too happy with it. She walks past a video monitor showing the last scenes of Scream 2 and gets closer to the dancing pair.

“Alex? Tess? What are you doing?” Isabel thinks with slight venom.

Tess’ eyes fly open and she disengages herself, albeit reluctantly from Alex. “What does it look like we’re doing?” Tess says with smug innocence.

“We were dancing, Isabel,” Alex states, still in slight reverie.

Isabel ignores him to focus on Tess. “Nobody dances with Alex but ME!” Isabel declares to Tess.

“Well, YOU were taking a nap. Have any interesting dreams?” Tess taunts her.

Isabel sees red. “Get out of his dream, you bitch!”