Fumbling Toward Ecstasy 

Parts 1-10

By Actrez

Author: Actrez

Title: Fumbling Toward Ecstasy  (I don’t really know if the title fits or not)

E-mail: actress_03@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em. The song in part 4 is “Angles Would Fall” by Melissa Ethridge. The song in part 14 is “Damaged” by Plumb.

Spoilers: none that I know of

Rating: PG-13

Classification: M/L w/ M/M and I/A thrown in for a good measure

Distribution: if you want just ask

Feedback: Yes please! : )

Summary: sequel to “Let Me Let Go”- Jimmy’s back and the gang realizes how much they need each other.

All the fear has left me now

I’m not frightened any more

It’s my heart that pounds beneath my flesh

It’s my mouth that pushes out this breath

And if I shed a tear I won’t cage it

I won’t fear love

And if I feel rage I won’t deny it

I won’t fear love

Companion to our demons they will dance and we will play

With chairs candles and clothes making darkness in the day

It will be easy to look in or out upstream or down

Without a thought

And if I shed a tear I won’t cage it

I won’t fear love

And it I feel rage I won’t deny it

I won’t fear love

Peace in the struggle to find peace

Comfort all the way to comfort

And if I shed a tear I won’t cage it

I won’t fear love

And if I feel rage I won’t deny it

I won’t fear love

I won’ t fear love

I won’t fear love

~Sarah McLachlan “Fumbling Towards Ecsatsy”~

Part 1

            “Liz I love you” Max choked out  as it got harder to breath.

            “No Max, you can’t leave me here, I need you” Liz sobbed. Max smiled sadly at her as he took his last breath. Liz felt Max let go of her hand. “NO!” she sobbed.

            Liz woke up in a cold sweat gasping for breath. That was the third night in a row she had had that dream.

RING!

The shrill ringing of the phone filled the silence of the room, Liz quickly picked up the phone before it woke her parents.

“Hello” she said still groggy from sleep.

“Liz, oh my god! You’re never gonna guess what I just heard”

“Maria?” Liz asked looking over at the clock and noticing it was 1:30 in the morning.

“Oh, sorry, did I wake you, I didn’t realize it was so late…or early, or…whatever” Maria said apologetically.

“No it’s ok, what is it?”

“I couldn’t fall asleep right? So I decided to watch TV, and you know how the only thing that’s on this time of night…or morning, is like infomercials and the news? So I was watching the news and…..Liz there’s been a siting!” Maria said excitedly.

“Where?” Liz asked still a little groggy from sleep.

“Montana”

“Maria, Montana?”

“Yea, they described it just like the one we had a while back. You know looked like dry lightning.”

“Did you tell Max or Isabelle yet?” Liz questioned, Michael still didn’t have a phone hooked up in his apartment.

“No, will you call them, I’m gonna call Alex and let him know.”

“Yea sure” Liz said. They had all gotten a lot closer, especially over the last month since she’d been shot. She figured it was because she had almost died and the near death made everyone of them think, including her, how much they all meant to one another. Max and her were friends, things weren’t as weird as they’d been at first. She had told him that they couldn’t be together because she wasn’t sure if she could trust him no to break her heart. Things had been really weird at first because they had admitted that they loved each other, yet they were trying to be ‘just friends’, things were ok now though. She was learning to trust him with her heart again.

“Ok, maybe we should meet at the Crashdown tomorrow to talk about it, at like three” Maria said.

“Yea, ok, I’ll tell them.”

“Ok, bye Liz”

“Bye” Liz said as she hung up. She fell back on her bed exhausted. She hadn’t gotten much in the past three nights because of the dream she kept having. She would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat gasping for breath. The dreams always seemed so real  that she was never able to fall back asleep  because she would be so worried about Max until she saw him at school the next day. ‘It’s a good thing Maria gave me a reason to call him’ she thought, tomorrow was Saturday, ‘otherwise I probably would have had to come up with a reason on my own.’ She hadn’t told anyone about the dreams…yet. Just as she was about to pick up the phone to call Max it rang.

“Maria, I told you I’d call him” Liz said when she picked up the phone figuring at this time of night it could only be Maria.

“Ms. Parker?” she heard the sheriff’s cold voice on the end, he had been nicer to her ever since she was shot but his voice always made her shiver, it was so emotionless.

“Yea?”

“I just received a call from the Alberqurce jail” Liz shivered at the mention of the jail were Jimmy was, “I just thought I should let you know that Jimmy has escaped, just a few hours ago as far as I know. If you’d like we could get you police security, just let me know if you want it.”

Liz took a deep breath, ‘Oh God’ she thought. “Thank you sheriff” she said trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

“You’re welcome, just let me know if you need anything. Goodnight” he said and hung up.

Liz hung up the phone and quickly dialed Maria’s number.

Maria answered immediately, “Hello?”

“Maria?” Liz said her voice shaking with fear.

“Liz, what’s wrong?”

“The sheriff just called…..Jimmy escaped from jail earlier tonight.”

“Oh my god. I’ll be right over”

“No! Maria what if he’s out there…I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Liz I’ll be fine, you said he escaped earlier tonight, he was in Alberqurce, he couldn’t have gotten here that fast without a car, and he doesn’t have a car, now I’m coming over…I’ll bring Alex with me.” Maria said as she hung up before Liz could protest anymore.

A couple minutes later Liz heard Maria and Alex walk in, they both knew the key was under the mat by the door.

“Hey” Alex whispered as he walked in.

Maria went over to her friend and gave her a supporting hug, “How ya doing?” she asked.

“Ok….Oh! I have to call Max and let him know about the siting.” She said and picked up the phone quickly dialing Max’s number. Max’s answering machine picked up.

“Max? I know you’re there, pick up…”

“Liz?” Max asked groggily, “What’s wrong?”

“There’s been a siting Max, in Montana” she said trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

“There’s something you’re not telling me Liz, what is it?” he insisted.

“The sheriff called……Jimmy escaped earlier tonight” she said the fear evident in her voice.

~Part 2~

Alex woke up the next morning and carefully untangled himself from Maria and Liz. He quietly got up to go take a shower. They were all meeting at the Crashdown at three that afternoon to talk about the siting in Montana. He had a feeling he would end up spending at least part of his spring break in Montana looking for information on the siting, ‘but I wouldn’t want it any other way’ he thought smiling.

When Alex finished getting ready he walked back into Liz’s room to wake Maria and Liz up. When he walked in he saw that Maria was already awake.

“Hey, I was just about to wake you up” he said.

Maria looked at her friend, “Poor Lizzie” she said quietly.

“She’ll get through it” he reassured Maria.

“Of course she will, she has us!” Maria said smiling as she went to go take a shower.

Alex looked over at Liz’s clock and noticed it was already past twelve in the afternoon, ‘I should wake Liz up’ he thought as he walked over to her bed. “Liz” he said softly. Liz moaned something about not wanting to get up yet. “Liz, you need to get up it’s already past twelve, we have to meet the others downstairs at three, remember?”

“So?” she mumbled as she turned over facing away from Alex.

“If you get up now, I’ll make my famous pancakes” he bribed her. In sixth grade he had made pancakes for them one time and ever since then whenever they had a overnight thing like this they always begged him to make them, of course he usually did.

“Pancakes?” Liz asked suddenly awake, “I’m up” she said sitting up and getting out of bed, “Lets go, I’m starving!” she said as she and Alex left her room and headed toward the kitchen.

            “Pancakes!” Maria squealed when she came out of Liz’s room after she had finished getting ready. She quickly ran over to the table and sat down with Liz as Alex finished making his first batch of pancakes.

            “Are you guys wanting to do anything special for spring break?” Mrs. Evans asked as Max and Isabelle sat down that morning for breakfast.

            “Actually…” Isabelle started but before she could finish Max interrupted her.

            “We were thinking of going to Montana along with Michael, Alex, Liz, and Maria” he said quickly, he hadn’t had a chance to tell Isabelle about the siting yet.

            “We were?” Isabelle asked and Max gave her a look that said ‘just-play-along’ “I mean, we were.”

            “Montana?” Mrs. Evans asked.

            “Yea, um…..we were gonna go…..” Max started trying to think of a reason they would want to go to Montana.

            “Camping! We were gonna go camping, they supposedly have really good places to camp there” Isabelle said quickly, not quite sure why they were going to Montana but figured it had to be a good reason.

            “I don’t know if I want you guys going that far without an adult, maybe your dad and I could go….and we could invite the Parkers!”

            “No!” Max said quickly, “Um…I mean you don’t need to do that, Alex has relatives in Montana” he lied.

            “Yea, and we weren’t really gonna camp out like tent camp out, we were gonna rent a hotel room and then go hiking during the day” Isabelle said making sure her brother knew that there was no way she was gonna drive all the way to Montana and then have to sleep outside.

            “Yea,” Max agreed as he put his dishes away so he could hurry up and get ready.

            “I still don’t know if I want you kids going by yourselves. You can go but we might join you” Mrs. Evans said as Isabelle quickly put her dishes away so she could talk to Max.

            “Ok mom” Max said as he left to go get ready.

Isabelle quickly followed him and made sure they were out of hearing distance before she said anything. “Montana?! Max, why the hell are we going to Montana?”

Max turned around to look at his confused sister, “There was a siting there last night, it sounded a lot like the one we had here a while ago.”

Isabelle nodded then looked at Max closely, “Max there’s something your not telling me, what’s up?” she asked concerned.

“When Liz called last night to tell me about the siting she said the sheriff had just called her…”

“And?” Isabelle said she couldn’t help the fear that crept into her voice at the mention of the sheriff.

“And he said that Jimmy had broke out of jail last night” Max said. Isabelle could her the worry in his voice.

“Oh god” she whispered. What were they gonna do, the last time they had seen Jimmy Liz had just barley survived, Isabelle didn’t know if she could take almost losing one of her friends again.

~Part 3~

Max and Isabelle quickly walked into the Crashdown and over to the booth their friends were sitting in. They were the last to arrive. Alex scooted over enough for Isabelle to sit down next to him, Michael had pulled up a chair, Maria was sitting across from Isabelle she got up so Max could sit down, he slid down and sat across from Liz.

“Ok, now that everyone’s here, we should decide when we’re gonna leave for Montana” Michael stated. This wasn’t a big shock to everyone, they all knew that they were going to Montana as soon as they had heard about the siting. Michael had heard about it last night and showed up at the Crashdown around two that afternoon to see if the others had heard about it. “I say we leave tonight” Michael said.

“Michael we can’t just leave” Liz pointed out, “We’re going to need something to tell our parents.”

“We told our mom that we were going camping…..of course she wasn’t sure she wanted us going alone, she said that her and our dad might come” Isabelle said.

“Well I guess we can just say we’re going camping” Maria said, “And Liz once your parents hear that Jimmy’s back then they’ll definitely let you go” Liz hadn’t told her parents yet because they had left early that morning to go to Alberqurce to pick something up for the café.

“We’re gonna have to figure out a way to stop any one else from coming” Alex pointed out.

“We told our mom that you had relatives in Montana” Max said, “We could say that we’re staying with them”

“And Alex you could tell your parents that we have family there that we’ll be staying with” Isabelle said.

“So we can leave tonight?” Michael asked.

“Michael even if we have something to tell our parents their not going to just let us leave on such sort notice” Maria said.

“And even if they would the band has to play at the club tonight” Alex reminded everyone.

“Oh! That’s right I almost forgot!” Liz said.

“Liz, you know you don’t have to…” Alex started, Liz hadn’t sung with the band since the night she’d been shot. They had been planning on her singing with them tonight but with Jimmy back….

“Alex, don’t worry about it, I’m fine” she reassured him.

“Ok,” Alex said, “So I guess the earliest we can leave is tomorrow morning?” Alex said.

 “Does everyone think that that’ll be enough time to tell your parents and everything?” Max asked, everyone nodded.

“Ok so we leave tomorrow morning.” Michael said making sure everything was clear.

“Now that that’s done, we have work to do” Maria said looking at Liz and Isabelle. Both girls groaned, got up, and headed towards the back to change.

“How’s Liz doing?” Michael asked once the girls had left. When he had come by earlier Maria had told him about Jimmy.

“I think she’ll be ok” Alex said.

“Liz, how ya doing, are you ok?” Isabelle asked in concern.

“I’m fine, I wish everyone would stop asking me that” she said smiling.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Maria asked.

Liz let out a frustrated sigh and smiled at her two concerned friends, “I am fine” she said putting emphases on every word. “Really, I’m ok, I mean yea,  I’m a little freaked out but I’ll be ok” she said and gave her friends a brave smile.

~Part 4~

Isabelle sat at a table with Max and Michael listening to Alex’s band at the club that night. She looked over at Liz, she had acted so calm today during their shift, ‘If I knew my ex who tried to kill me had just escaped from jail I’d be a wreak’ she thought. Even though Liz had acted fine, Isabelle knew she wasn’t, she could see it in her eyes.

The rope that’s wrapped around me

Is cutting through my skin

And the doubts that have surrounded me

Are finding their way in

I keep it close to me

            Like a holy man prays

            In my desperate hour

            It’s better, better that way

Max listened as Liz sung the first verse, ‘she must be terrified’ he thought. He knew she was trying to stay brave so they didn’t worry about her, but he could tell that she was scared.

So I’ll come by and see you again

I’ll be such a very good friend

Have mercy on my soul

I will never let you know where my mind has been

Angels never came down

There’s no one here

They want to hang around

But if they knew, if they knew you at all

Then one by one

The angels, angels would fall.

Maria looked over at Liz out of the corner of her eye. ‘It’s a good thing we’re leaving tomorrow’ she thought, all of their parents had agreed to let them go, but the Evans’ and the Parkers both said that they might come, Maria didn’t think they would, she hoped they didn’t, it’d be harder to look for anything if there were parents there. ‘At least no matter what Liz will be out of town for awhile maybe by the time we get back Jimmy will be back behind bars where he belongs’ she thought.

I’ve crept into your temple

I have slept upon your pew

I have dreamed of the divinity

Inside and out of you

I want it more than truth

I can taste it on my breath

I would give my life just for a little, a little death

So I’ll come by and see you again

I’ll be just a very good friend

I will not look upon your face

I will not touch upon your grace

Your ecclesiastic skin

Alex half-listened as Maria sang and half-concentrated on playing the guitar. He looked over at Liz, she looked like she had it all held together, like knowing that Jimmy was out there somewhere was no big deal, but he knew she was terrified.

Angels never came down

There’s no one here they want to hang around

But if they knew, if they knew you at all

Then one by one

The angels, angels would fall

Michael listened to Maria and Liz sing. He was amazed at how calm Liz seemed. ‘It’s a good thing we’re leaving tomorrow though’ he thought. That was one of the reasons he had wanted to leave as soon as possible, he knew Liz had to get out of Roswell as soon as possible. She tried to act ok about everything, but he could tell she was scared.

I’ll come by and see you again

I’ll have to be a very good friend

If I whisper they will know

I’ll just turn around and go

You will never know my sin

Liz shuddered suddenly, she had a bad feeling, she was pretty sure that Jimmy was in the club. ‘Don’t be ridicules’ she scolded herself, ‘he is not gonna come after you’ she tried to convince himself.

Angels never came down

There’s no one here they want to hang around

But if they knew, if they knew you at all

Then one by one

The angels, angels would fall

Jimmy listened as the last note of the song faded away, he briefly thought about leaving but then remembered that none of them would recognize him. ‘They don’t even know I’m here’ he thought smiling evilly.

~Part 5~

“Hey” Max said as he climbed onto Liz’s roof that night.

Liz gasped and quickly turned around, “Oh my God!” she said loudly then took a deep breath to try and calm herself down when she saw it was only Max.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you” he said softly as he walked over to her. She had been looking out her telescope when he had gotten there.

“That’s ok, I’m just a little jumpy tonight” she said and smiled at him, “What are you doing her Max?” she asked curiously.

“I couldn’t sleep, I thought I’d see how you were doing. I didn’t really get to talk to you today, are you ok?” he asked in concern.

“I wish people would stop asking me that. I’m fine…” she said but before she could continue Max interrupted her.

“I know you say you’re fine. But how are you Liz, really?” he asked he knew she wasn’t ‘fine’.

Liz looked up into his eyes about to tell him that she was fine and that if one more person asked her that she’d scream. But as soon as she looked into his eyes she knew she couldn’t lie to him. She looked down at her feet and said softly, “I’m scared” she looked back up into his eyes, “I’m really scared Max” he could see the tears in her eyes, “I keep trying to convince myself that  he’s not going to come after me, but I know that’s not true.” Max reached out and wiped away the single tear that fell down her check, “I’ve never been this scared before Max” she whispered softly. “I was afraid that if I went to sleep he’d come into my room” she admitted softly. Max walked over to her lawn chair and sat down. ‘What is he doing’ Liz thought confused.

“Come here” he said patting the space in front of him as he took the blanket off the back of the chair and leaned back.

“Max” Liz said softly. She wanted to tell him that they couldn’t do this, that she still needed time, but she couldn’t form the words.

“I know,” he said softly, he could tell that she still needed time from the look in her eyes, “but you should get some sleep” he insisted. Silently Liz made her way over to the chair and sat down in front of him. She sat stiffly at first afraid of what would happen if she let herself lean back into his embrace. He put the blanket around her and she slowly let herself lean back into him. “I’ll stay here all night ok?” he asked softly and she nodded as he put his arms around her, “I won’t let anything happen to you Liz” he promised as she fell asleep.

Max held Liz as he looked up at the stars, ‘What was I thinking, breaking up with Liz for Tess?’ he asked himself. ‘What ever happened to Tess?’ he wondered he hadn’t seen her since the night Liz was shot and he had broken up with her, she hadn’t even been in school for the past month. The rumor was that she moved back to where she lived before, he wasn’t quite sure where that was, ‘Like I really care’ he thought. Just as he was about to fall asleep, Liz sat up quickly gasping for breath.

“Liz, what’s wrong, are you ok?” he asked in concern. She turned her head to look at him, he could see the tears in her eyes. “Did you have a nightmare?”

She nodded silently, ‘Well it’s not a lie’ she thought as she slowly leaned back into his embrace. That was the forth night in a row, but this one seemed much more real. ‘Max is fine’ she reassured herself, ‘It was just a dream’ she tried to convince herself, but she knew deep down that it was more than just a dream.

~Part6~

            Max, Michael, Isabelle, Maria, and Liz stood outside the Evans’ house the next morning at six.

            “Was it really necessary to get going at six in the morning?” Isabelle asked yawning.

            “Iz, it’s a twenty-four hour drive, it’s gonna take us two days because we’re not gonna want to drive straight through” Max explained.

            “Are we ready to go?” Michael asked as he finished packing up Maria’s car. They had decided to put all their bags in her car and two or three people could ride in that car and the rest would ride in Isabelle and Max’s car. Their mom had let them borrow her Lexus SUV because she was worried that they would get to cold in their jeep.

            “Let’s go” Maria said as she headed towards her car.

            “Wait!” Isabelle said when she saw that Maria and Michael were planning on going in Maria’s car and the rest of them were going in the Lexus. “I need to talk to Liz and Maria, we get the Lexus” she said as she grabbed the keys from Max and headed toward the Lexus. She had seen Max come in early that morning and she knew he had been out all night, ‘There’s only on place he could have been’ she thought as they all got into the two cars.

            “So Liz, Max was over at your house all last night?” she asked, even though it was more of a statement than a question.

            Liz looked at her in shock, ‘How had she known Max was over last night’ she thought, ‘Did Max tell her?’

            “Max was over all night last night, why didn’t you tell me!” Maria insisted.

            “So what happened?” Isabelle asked.

            “Nothing happened” Liz said simply.

            “Liz, nothing happened? Are you guys back together?” Maria asked.

            “No, he just stopped by last night to see how I was and then he said that he would stay, and that he wouldn’t let anything happen to me” she said looking out the window.

            “Aw! That’s so sweet!” Maria squealed.

            “So, Izzy said that you were gone all night” Michael said looking over at Max quickly then turning back to the road.

            “Yea, I was at Liz’s” Max replied looking straight a head of him.

            “You two back together?” Michael asked.

            “No” Max said sadly.

            “Don’t worry Max, she just needs some time” Alex reassured him.

            Once they had stopped and ate breakfast Michael and Maria got into Maria’s car and Isabelle, Alex, Max, and Liz got into the Lexus.

            “Maybe I shouldn’t have let you drive my car.” Maria said as her and Michael drove down the highway with the Lexus behind them.

            “Are you saying there’s something wrong with my driving?” Michael asked remembering the time they had been driving to Marathon together.

            “No, I didn’t say that, all I said was that I shouldn’t have let you drive my car.”

            “Oh, why is that?” Michael asked smiling.

            “Because the last time you drove my car you ruined it,” she said remembering how he had fried the battery and Max had had to fix it the next day before they left for Roswell.

            “I did not”

            “Did too”

            “Did not”

            “Did too”

            “I hate you” Michael through in.

            “I hate you too sweetie” Maria said smiling and leaned over and kissed him loudly on the cheek.

            Liz looked out the window and watched as the land flew by. She fought to keep her eyes opened, ‘I can’t fall asleep,’ she thought, ‘If I fall asleep I’ll have that dream again’ she told herself as her eyelids slowly slid shut.

            Max watched Liz sleep in the seat next to him. She turned slightly in her sleep so that her head was leaning on his shoulder. He wished he could protect her from everything. He put his arm around her and held her close. She snuggled closer to him and sighed softly in her sleep. Max slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep with Liz in his arms.

            Alex turned around and saw Max and Liz. “Hey Iz” he whispered to his girlfriend.

Isabelle looked over at him quickly and saw him motion to the back seat. She adjusted the review mirror so she could see. She smiled when she saw her bother and Liz curled up together asleep. “They are so cute together,” she said as she readjusted the mirror. Alex nodded in agreement. Isabelle looked at the rearview mirror, she felt like someone was following them. ‘Isabelle chill’ she told herself, ‘of course there’s someone following you, you’re on a highway, there’s a bunch of people following you…. I am so paranoid’ she thought as continued to follow Michael and Maria.

Jimmy drove a couple of cars behind the Lexus but made sure he always knew where they were. ‘Where are they going?’ he thought.

“God, where the hell are they going?” Tess said voicing Jimmy’s thoughts.

They had both planned on following them but Tess said that it would probably be a lot easier if they just took one car and went together. ‘Why did I agree to follow them with her? She’s annoying as hell’ he thought as he continued to follow the six of them.

~Part 7~

When they found a hotel to stay in it was almost eleven o’clock. They got two rooms that were connected. Once the girls had gotten into their room and put their stuff down Isabelle turned to Liz and Maria, “I think I saw a pool downstairs, what’d ya say girls?” she asked smiling.

“Well I hate to break it to you Izzy, but I didn’t bring a swimsuit” Maria said.

“Yea me either”

“Who said anything about a swimsuit?” Isabelle asked smiling even wider as she started to take her shirt off. Maria and Liz looked at each other and than back at Isabelle, “Well are you guy going to join me?”

“Sure why not” Liz said as she started to take off her shirt.

“I’m up for a late night swim,” Maria said starting to take her shirt off too.

“Hey guys, we’re going for a walk” Isabelle called knocking on their adjoining door. She turned to Liz and Maria “Let’s go girls” she said and they all laughed as they left.

“Why are they going on a walk?” Alex asked, “It’s eleven we have to get an early start tomorrow.”

“Maybe we should go find them” Max said, “I mean none of us really know this town and Alex is right we should get an early start tomorrow.”

“Yep, I think we should go, who knows what kind of guys are around here” Michael said as they all headed out the door.

When the girls got there the pool was empty. Isabelle walked over to the deeper end of the pool and dove in. She came up after a minute; “Come on guys the water’s great!” Isabelle said. Liz and Maria looked at each other and dove in after Isabelle.

“Maybe they’re at the pool” Michael suggested as they walked around the hotel looking for the girls.

“But I don’t think any of them brought a swimsuit” Alex said. They all heard laughter coming from the direction of the pool. “They wouldn’t” Alex said.

“AH! Liz, Izzy don’t!” they heard Maria squeal.

“They would” Michael said as they all ran towards the pool.

Maria tried to swim away from Liz and Isabelle as they splashed her. “AH! Liz, Izzy don’t!” she said laughing. All of a sudden they heard the door burst open and Michael’s surprised voice.

“What the hell is going on?!” Michael said when they burst into the pool to find the girls swimming in their bras and underwear.

“ Michael, what are you guys doing here?!” Isabelle asked in surprise as the girls covered their chest because their bras were see-through because they were so wet.

“We came to find you guys because we have to get an early start tomorrow so we figured you’d want to get some rest” Max explained trying not to stare at Liz.

“Oh, well you found us and you let us know so bye!” Maria said.

Just then two older guys walked in and looked at the three girls in the pool in their underwear and bras.

“That’s it! Get out right now!” Michael yelled.

“Michael calm down, we’ll be up in a few minutes,” Liz said trying to get the guys to leave.

Max and Alex pulled Michael out of there, he was about ready to pull the two guys heads off. “Why would they do that?” Michael asked still angry about the two guys that had checked his girlfriend out.

“Michael calm down, it’s not a big deal, most the time they were the only ones there” Alex said trying to calm Michael down, even though he was pretty upset about the two guys checking Isabelle out.

Max just stood there in shock holding Michael back from running into the pool again and killing those two guys. He couldn’t get the image of Liz in the pool all wet in just her bra and underwear out of his head. He shook his head to clear it, ‘It’s a good thing they weren’t skinning dipping, I’d never be able to look at Liz again’ he thought.

Isabelle, Maria, and Liz got out of the pool laughing. “Did you see the look on the guys faces when they saw us?” Isabelle asked causing them all to laugh harder.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on Michael’s face when those two guys checked us out!” Liz said as they all got towels.

“Did you see Max?” Maria asked laughing, “He just stood there!”

“You guys realize that we’re never going to live this down” Isabelle pointed out. Maria and Liz shrugged.

“Oh well, it was fun” Liz said.

“Yea, we should do it again sometime,” Maria said as they walked out of the pool and toward their room.

“So how mad do you think the guys will be?” Isabelle asked as she slid the key into the door.

“They’ll probably still be in shock” Maria said causing all three of them to start laughing again.

Max, Michael, and Alex were sitting in their room when they heard the girls go into their room laughing.

“What are we going to say to them?” Michael asked, finally over his anger.

“Nothing” Max said.

“Nothing?” Michael asked.

“Max is right. We’re not their parents Michael, they can do what they want” Alex said.

“But…” Michael started even though he knew Max and Alex were right.

After they had changed the girls opened their door that connected the two rooms, the guys had already opened theirs. “We’re gonna go to sleep guys” Isabelle said after they had opened their door. The guys nodded in response not really saying anything. Isabelle turned back to Maria and Liz and shrugged her shoulders; they had all excepted a big lecture, especially from Michael.

The next morning at about seven the guys walked into the girls room to wake them up. “Time to get up” Michael said loudly receiving three pillows to the head.

“Trust me that is not how you want to wake Liz and Maria up this time of morning” Alex said.

“Yea, I wouldn’t suggest waking Isabelle up like that either” Max said quietly.

“Then why don’t you show me how to do it” Michael said to the two guys.

“Ok” Alex said as he walked over to Liz, “Liz it’s time to get up, we have to get going” Alex said softly. Liz moaned and buried her head in the pillow, “Come on Liz” he said.

“Looks like he’s having about as much luck as I did” Michael said.

“I guess I’ll try and wake Izzy up” Max said as he walked over to his sister.

“I’ll try Maria” Michael said to no one inparticular as he walked over to his sleeping girlfriend.

“Come on Izzy it’s time to get up, we have to get going” Max said but Isabelle just turned over so that she was facing away from him.

“Let me try” Alex said as he sat down next to Isabelle. He had finally managed to wake Liz up and she was taking a shower. Max got up to let Alex try and wake Isabelle up and he went to go take a shower.

“Izzy,” Alex whispered to his girlfriend.

“I don’t want to get up” she moaned.

Alex leaned down and kissed her neck. “If you get up now then there might be a reward later” he bribed her.

She turned over so she was facing him and smiled, “Promise?” she asked.

“Promise” he said smiling and kissing her softly on the lips.

“Maria come on” Michael said softly.

Maria buried her head in the pillow “Idon’twannagetup” she mumbled.

Michael smiled and kissed her neck all the way up to her ear and then whispered, “Please get up? I’ll give you a cookie” he joked. She laughed into her pillow and brought her head up.

“Fine,” she groaned, “but if I have to get up early one more time on my spring break you’ll be sorry.”

~Part 8~

“I saw you and Max yesterday when you guys were sleeping in the car” Isabelle said quietly so the guys didn’t hear. Her and Liz were sitting in the back of the Lexus and Max and Alex were up front, Michael and Maria had taken Maria’s car.

“Oh….um…yea” Liz replied not really knowing what to say.

“Are you guys back together or….?”

“No, no we’re just friends”  she said sadly.

“But you want to be with him again.” Isabelle said.

“Well, I don’t know I mean I feel like I might need more time but…”

“Do you love him?” Isabelle asked her, even though she knew what the answer was.

“Yea” she said without pausing, “I want to be with him….I’m just scared” she admitted. “Do you love Alex?” Liz asked after a pause.

“Yea” she said smiling.

“I don’t even want to know what they’re whispering about” Alex said to Max when he heard the girls whispering in the back.

“We’re not talking about anything” Isabelle said innocently.

After Isabelle turned back to Liz, Liz said to her “Does Alex know how you feel?”

Isabelle shock her head, “You should tell him” Liz  said quietly so the guys wouldn’t hear them.

“What if he doesn’t feel the same way?” Isabelle asked.

“Isabelle, I’m sure he does,  I mean he’s liked you ever since the fifth grade and he knows that your….. ‘Czechoslovakian’ and he still cares about you…..you should tell him.”

“God where could they possibly be going!” Tess said annoyed at how long it was taking to drive where ever it was they were going, ‘All I want to do is get Max back, but we’ve been driving for two days and I’m stuck in a car with some weird guy who tried to kill Liz….not that I’d care if she died’ she thought smiling evilly.

“Would you shut up?” Jimmy yelled, “Why did I even agree to go with you? The whole time all you’ve done is whine!”

“Don’t tell me what to do you ass hole! At least I’m not some homicidal maniac!” she screamed back at him.

“That’s it!” he yelled pulling over to the side of the road.

“What are you doing we’re going to lose them you idiot!”

“I can’t stand being in the same car with you for one more minute!” he yelled reaching to put a hand on her head.

“What are you doing?! Don’t touch me!” she yelled as he reached to put a hand on her head she tried to pull back but he was to quick and as soon as he touched her she felt pain in her head.

Jimmy concentrated on making a connection, once he was in he found what he was looking for and squeezed the molecules together. After a minute Tess collapsed in the seat next to him, dead. “Thank god” he muttered to him self. ‘Great now what am I going to do with the body?’ he thought. He shrugged, ‘I’ll just find a lake or something in Montana’ he thought as he pulled back onto the road making sure he knew where the two cars were, even though he knew where they were going, he wanted to watch their every move.

~Part 9~

The six friends arrived in Hardin Montana at about four that afternoon. “I’ll go check us in” Max said when they arrived at the Holiday Express.

“Ok, Liz, why don’t you go with him?” Isabelle said smiling. Liz gave her a look and got out of the car.

“Aren’t they gonna think we’re a little young to be so far away without any parents?” Liz asked as she and Max walked toward the check-in.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it all covered” Max said smiling.

“Afternoon” an old man behind the desk said when the two walked up. “Reservations?” he asked.

“Yea, Evans, Max”

“Ah yes, here we are. Aren’t you two a little young to be out here all alone?” he asked suspiciously.

“Actually we’re on our honeymoon” Max lied putting his arm around Liz. He could tell at first Liz was a little uncomfortable but she quickly relaxed.

“Newlyweds huh?” the man asked noticing the absence of rings on each of their fingers, “You don’t have our honeymoon sweet” he said looking at the computer and pressing few keys, “Looks like that’s already being used, let me see if I can get you a King sweet” he said typing in a few more things.

“Actually do you think you could find us two connecting rooms” Liz said speaking for the first time since they’d gotten in there the man gave her a questioning look, “Some of our friends are here with us, we…uh….” she said trying to think of why they would bring their friends on their honeymoon.

“Had a double wedding” Max lied covering quickly for Liz. The old man seemed to accept that answer and just nodded.

“Ok, here we go, two adjoining king sweets” he said handing them two keys.

“Thanks” Max said taking the keys and getting ready to leave, as he was about to turn to go Liz spoke up.

“So what’s there to do around here?” she asked hoping he’d tell them a little bit about the siting.

“Well there’s some woods to go hiking in about a mile from here. You have to be careful around them though, there’s a bunch of police around right now.”

“Why?” Liz questioned, hoping for a little bit more information.

“Well there was a siting a couple days ago there. Bunch of UFO freaks have been around. The police are trying to keep ‘em from ruining the woods while their looking for aliens and what not” he explained noticing the look in both Max and Liz’s eyes when he told them about the siting.

Liz turned to Max, “We should check that out while we’re here” she said casually, “Plus it be fun to go hiking.”

Max smiled and nodded, “Where did you say it was?” he asked casually.

“About a mile down the road” he said handing him a map.

“Thanks” he said as they left. Max took Liz’s hand in his as they walked out trying to keep up the image that they were married.

Liz felt Max take her hand as they walked out, just the simple touch sent tingles through her body. ‘I’ve missed this’ she thought as they walked out the door. Once they were outside Max dropped her hand. Liz wrapped her arms around herself suddenly feeling very cold.

“You cold?” Max asked noticing the way Liz had her arms wrapped around herself.

“Yea, a little” she said teeth chattering slightly, it was colder in Montana than she’d planned on it being, plus the fact that she had just recently lost the feeling of Max’s hand in hers.

Max didn’t have a jacket on so he wrapped his arm around Liz trying to keep her warm, “That better?” he asked softly as they walked toward their friends.

Liz nodded already feeling a lot warmer, Max always seemed to have that affect on her.

“We got two connecting king sweets” Max said when they reached their friends.

“Did you figure out where the siting was?” Michael asked, not failing to notice the way Max had his arm wrapped around Liz.

“Yea it was in some woods about a mile from here” Max answered.

“How did you get us checked in, didn’t they wonder what teenagers were doing here without parents” Alex asked.

“We’re on our honeymoon” Liz answered.

“And you got connecting rooms because….” Isabelle asked.

“We had a double wedding” Liz said.

“But how are gonna explain there being six of us?” Maria asked.

“Who said they’d find out?” Michael asked.

“Well Michael we kind of have to walk through the lobby to get to our rooms” Maria pointed out.

“Your friends of ours that already have a room and we meet you here” Liz said thinking fast.

“You guys, lets just get into our rooms so we can unpack” Isabelle said, “It’s cold out here, and I feel all yucky from traveling all day” she complained.

“Yea me too”

“Ditto” Maria and Liz both agreed.

They all turned and started walking towards the lobby.

Jimmy watched the six of them walk toward the hotel. He knew that they would probably be going to the woods sometime tonight to see about the siting. ‘Well I guess it’s time to make my presence known’ he thought smiling as he got out of his car and quickly put Tess’s body in the trunk of the car until he could find a better place to put it.

~Part 10~

“So,” Isabelle started as her and Liz flipped through channels on TV, Maria was taking a shower, “You and Max….”

“No were not back together, believe me if…..when we get back together, you and Maria will be the first to know” Liz said looking at Isabelle.

“So, Max…” Alex said as the three guys sat in their room waiting for the girls to finish getting ready so they could go on a ‘hike’.

“I know what your thinking, and no, Liz and I are not back together, but when we are you two will be the first to know” he answered before Alex could ask the question.

A half-hour later the girls walked into the guys room, “So are we going or not?” Maria asked.

“Well we were going to go but you guys took so long that now I’m hungry” Michael said smirking.

“Yea, I’m hungry too,” Alex said, “Why don’t we go get something to eat and then we can go to the woods” he offered and everyone nodded in agreement.

When the six arrived at the woods it was already getting dark. “So how exactly are we supposed to know where to look?” Liz asked.

“Well, I guess we could just look around for awhile and tomorrow we’ll come back and look where ever we didn’t look today?” Max offered, none of them had really thought about that.

“Well then lets get started” Michael said leading the way onto one of the paths that led into the woods.

Jimmy dumped Tess’ body in the woods away from where the six were heading, but where they would find it, and quickly followed after them.

“What’s that?” Maria questioned they had been walking for about a half-hour.

“Well I’m not to sure but I’m pretty sure that it’s a house” Michael said sarcastically.

Maria shoved him playfully, “I know it’s a house you idiot, but what’s it doing in the middle of nowhere?”

“Let’s check it out” Isabelle suggested.

“We’re not here to look at a house, we’re here to look for clues” Michael said, clearly annoyed.

“Michael it’s cold” Maria whined.

“Let’s just go in for a little while, it doesn’t look like anyone lives there. We can just check it out and warm up” Isabelle said rationally and lead the way toward the house.

Jimmy watched them go into the house and smiled evilly, things were working out better then he had excepted.

“It looks like one of those houses they use in horror movies” Maria said as they walked into the house.

“Better watch out, the killer will come after you” Michael joked.

Maria hit his arm, “That’s not funny” she said and kept walking.

After a while the six of them split up. “Max, lets get out of here, this place is really creeping me out” Liz said and shivered.

“You ok?” he asked in concern.

“Yea, can we just get out of here” she asked shivering again.

“Sure, lets go” he said as he put his hand on the small of her back and lead her out.

“Max” Liz said once they had gotten out of the house and walked a ways. He turned to look at her questioningly. “I think we need to talk…..about….us” she said softly. ‘Don’t be scared’ she scolded herself, ‘this is Max, he won’t hurt you.’

“Liz I understand that…..” Max started to say, but before he could say anymore there was a loud explosion behind them….where the house was.

“What was that?” Liz asked in fear, already knowing what had happened.

The two quickly ran in the direction. Max stopped suddenly and Liz ran into him, “What is it?” she asked fear creeping into her voice. Max moved aside so she could see. There in front of them was the house they had just been in, in flames.

“Oh, my god” Liz whispered, she turned to Max, “Max: Isabelle, Maria, Michael, and Alex were in there” she said a single tear running down her cheek.

“I know” he whispered in shock, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

Jimmy watched Liz and Max and couldn’t help but laugh evilly, everything was going so well, pretty soon he’d have to make his presence known. 

TBC….

Part 11-20