"I said we *can* go home. Not that we *are* going home." Max corrected her. They were all out in the desert.

"We can go home whenever now that we know where our spaceship is." Michael told Isabel.

Isabel looked around. "Where?" she asked.

"Here!" Max said, holding up a pumpkin.

"It's a pumpkin, Max." Isabel pointed out.

Michael took the pumpkin from him and put it on the ground. "Watch." he said to Isabel. He then touched the pumpkin and said. "Biddy-bee, Baddy-bee, BOO!" and low and behold, the pumpkin turned into a spaceship.

"So we are not going home?" Isabel asked after she was over the shock.

"Isabel...none of us want to. Do you?" Max asked.

Isabel thought for a moment. If she left Earth, then she would never get to be with the one she loved. She shook her head. "No. I want to stay here and spend the rest of my life with Ricky Martin." she said.

"But...but he is gay!" Michael told her, holding up a magazine article about Ricky Martin.

"WHAT?" Isabel snatched the article from him and scanned it. "This is SO not fair! I wanna go home!" she said and walked to their spaceship.

"I am staying" Michael said.

"Yeah!" Max said.

Isabel turned around. "You two will leave me alone?" she asked.

Max looked in the space. "I can't leave Liz alone." he said.

"I belong with Maria." Michael said.

Isabel looked at them, feeling completely alone for the first time in her life...

Isabel woke up with a start. She had been having the worst nightmare of her life. Something about Ricky Martin being gay. **Stupid rumors!** Isabel thought as she got out of bed.

The rest of her dream didn't come back to her until she was getting ready to go to school. She paused in the process of brushing her hair as she remembered. "It was just a dream." she told herself. Plus Max and Liz were broken up and Michael and Maria were never really together. She smiled and reassumed her activity.

"Liz and I are back together." Max told Isabel as they were driving to school.

"What!" Isabel said. "You said you were going to stay away from her, Max! We can't get attached." She said.

Max glanced at her. "We are already attached, Iz. Staying away is not going to help." He pointed out.

"I know, but when the time comes to leave, what will you do, Max?" Isabel asked, remembering her dream.

"I'll decide when the time comes, Isabel." Max said.

Isabel sighed and gave up.

"Where is Max?" Michael came up behind Isabel as she was looking in her locker mirror. She turned around to face him.

"Where else?" she asked, gesturing towards Liz's locker where Max stood talking to her. "I don't like this." Isabel added, sure that Michael would side with her.

"Uh-huh." Michael said. "I'll see you in class." He said and left.

Isabel entered her history class to discover that her seat next to Max was occupied with Liz. **Great!** Isabel thought. **Like Max wasn't enough, she has to take my seat too!** At least she could get that back.

"You are in my place." Isabel said, walking over to Liz.

"Hey, Iz." Max said.

"I'll move." Liz said, starting to get up.

"No. Stay." Max said, pulling her back down. He looked at Isabel. "Can't you sit somewhere else? Just for today?" he pleaded.

Isabel took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check. "That is my seat." She repeated.

"I'll move." Liz stood up and went on the other side of the room. Max followed her and sat by her.

Isabel sat in her seat. She hated this. Max always listened to her unless it concerned Liz. This whole situation made her feel scared. Usually when she could get Max and Michael to listen to her, it made her feel more in control of their situation. Though Michael hardly ever listened to her,which ticked her off. Max mostly did. Until now. She looked at Max and Liz as Kyle took a seat next to her. Isabel glanced at him. **Great!** she thought. **That day just gets better!** Max seemed to have forgotten that she was alive. Well, at least she still had Michael.

Michael and Maria both hadn't come to the history class and Isabel unfortunately found out why. As she was walking to her locker, she saw them both coming out of the eraser room. As she saw that, she felt a pang of jealous, one different from what she felt about Max and Liz, but she was too blonde to notice. Liz had Max, and she would die before she let the freak child have Michael. She had to keep him away from Maria.

Isabel looked around the Crashdown Cafe, bored. In the half an hour that they had been there, all Max had done was drool over Liz. Isabel was disgusted. If he was drooling over someone worth it, she wouldn't have been so annoyed. But Liz Parker was a certified geek, so whatever he felt for her went deeper than physical attraction. And that's what scared Isabel.

"I'll be back." Max stood up and went to the counter, to where Liz was.

"Bite me!" Isabel muttered. She then saw Michael entering the cafe. She smiled, seeing him. But he didn't so much as glance at her as he went straight to where Maria was. Isabel sighed. This was hopeless. Neither Max, nor Michael knew that she was alive. She looked at Max who was staring at Liz as she wiped the counter. He was a lost cause, but she might have something to get Michael away from Maria.

She stood up and went to the counter. "Hey guys!" she said, taking a seat next to Michael.

"Hey, Isabel." Maria said.

"Hi" Liz and Max said together, making Isabel gag.

"What's up?" Michael asked as Maria went to take some orders.

Isabel lowered her voice. "I was thinking...do you maybe want to go out to the desert tonight?" she asked.

Michael frowned. "What for?" he asked.

"To look for clues..and Nasedo." Isabel said.

Michael's gaze wandered to where Maria was. "I can't. I have a date with Maria." He said.

"Excuse me?" Isabel blinked. "Did you just say 'date'? she asked.

Michael didn't reply. Isabel sighed. "Michael, is this date more important than finding our home planet?" she asked, using Michael's technique against him.

"Isabel!" Michael shrieked. "We can't talk like that!" he said in a very Isabel-ish tone then burst out laughing.

Isabel stood up and stalked out angrily.

Isabel slammed her bedroom door shut. She couldn't believe this was happening. And to her! All Max could think about was Liz. And Michael was beginning too. Isabel sighed. Who was she kidding? Michael wasn't just beginning to, he had like Maria for a long time now. On that day, when he had left the Evans' house, he had gone and spent the night with Maria. It had hurt Isabel more than she liked to admit.

Michael walked Maria to her house after their date and kissed her goodnight. Then as he was walking home, his conscience came into play. He felt bad for what had happened earlier with Isabel, even though he had been only kidding. He decided to pay her a visit.

Isabel put away her Cosmo and stood up to change her clothes. Just as she was getting ready to turn off the lights, there was a knock on her window. It was Michael.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed as she let him in through the window.

"Well." He started he walked further into her room. "I just wanted to say that if you still want to go to the desert, we can go tomorrow." He offered.

Isabel glared at him. "Apology NOT accepted. You can leave now." She said, walking to her dresser.

Michael sat down on her bed. "Why are you mad?" he asked.

"I am not mad." Isabel said calmly.

"Could've fooled me." He said, but didn't stand up to leave.

Isabel turned to him. "It's just that I am worried...you and Max are..." she trailed off.

"Me and Max what?" he asked.

"Well," Isabel said. "The whole Liz and Maria thing."

"You don't have to worry, Isabel. You know they won't tell anyone." He said.

Isabel sighed. "It's not that. It's just that I don't think that we should get attached." She said.

"Oh." Michael said. "I understand what you mean and I agree. But it's just that I can't help it. Maria is so nice and sweet and..."

**And whacky** Isabel thought.

"When I'm with her... She makes me feel..." Michael went on but Isabel stopped listening. She had to stop this.

She then came to a decision. It was a hasty decision, made as a last, desperate measure, but it just might work. She decided then that she was going to seduce Michael. She knew she would probably regret it and might even lose Michael as a result, but she was going to lose him to Maria anyway. If that's what it took to keep Michael from forgetting about her, so be it. She didn't stop to wonder if she had any other reason to do this. Isabel walked over to Michael slowly. He had stopped talking and watched her as she went to him. Isabel stopped in front of him, and realized that she actually wanted to do this. But she pushed that thought aside.

She caressed Michael's face. "Michael." She whispered.

Michael looked up at her questioningly.

Isabel smiled and brought her mouth down on his, slightly pushing him down on her bed, as her arms circled his neck.

Michael was too shocked to response in any way. But he did open his mouth as Isabel's tongue pushed against his lips. And as her tongue invaded his mouth, he gave up all resistance and kissed her back. His hands came around her waist and he pulled her on his lap. There was a thought in his mind that this wasn't right, but he pushed it asked. This felt right.

Isabel had never felt this way before. And she wasn't surprised. Somehow, she had always known that it would be different with Michael. Not that she ever thought about it, or at least that's what she kept telling herself.

Isabel was surprised that Michael hadn't pulled away. He was probably in shock still. Isabel wanted to make sure that he didn't change his mind, that she didn't change hers. She untangled her arms from around him and quickly unbuttoned her top. She managed to get it off just before Michael pushed her on her back. He finally tore his mouth from hers and looked down at her. Isabel closed her eyes, blushing, as she waited for him to ask her to put her shirt back on. Damn! She was beginning to feel like Joey from Dawson's Creek. But he didn't. He took off his shirt and once again captured her mouth in a passionate kiss. All thoughts were driven out of Isabel's mind as Michael's hands roamed over her body. She still couldn't believe that he actually wanted to do this. And he definitely didn't change his mind.