Scenes of an amusement park: kids are riding on the Tilt-A-Whirl and people are walking past the ferris wheel.

Michael pushes the button of a stand shaped like a grumpy man which immediately plays lively music. Michael caught up in the spirit of the evening twirls Maria around in a dance. Both of them have on goofy faces. Maria's laugh is infectious and Michael's own laugh soon joins hers. It felt so good to be laughing again, Michael thought. Before today he couldn't remember the last time he really laughed out loud.

Yet through all of this a voice was telling him to pull away. Under different circumstances that's what he'd exactly do. But this evening wasn't planned and Michael didn't have all the time in the world to be scared of intimacy. Time afforded you to be cautious of the consequences. He'd done that already once before and look where it got him.

Scene: Michael and Maria are walking down the amusement park. He snuck a glance at Maria. He had to find some way to quieten the nagging voices in his head.

"Can she be trusted?"

"Would she tell anyone if I told her?"

"Did she really have red shoes?"

"Maria?" Maria looked at him the lights of the amusement park reflected in her eyes.

"Yes?"

"It's Q&A time. You know when I ask you really annoying personal questions which you have to answer a hundred percent honestly."

He gave Maria a look that signified he wasn't going to be easy with the questions.

"What was the real reason you went with Liz to England? Don't say because there's something better for me outside of Roswell."

"It is," Maria insisted.

"I remember staying in a hotel and they had a Friendly's on the lobby. So I go down there to get an ice cream and the place is packed. Waitresses are running around trying to serve everyone. People waiting to be served are mad from hunger. Even the take-out line takes forever. There was this girl behind the counter . . ."

Flashback:

A pretty girl is running back and forth behind the take-out counter busy from the dinnertime rush. She had a mass of black curls tied from her face and alarmingly green eyes. Michael Guerin is at the front of the take-out line waiting for his ice cream.

"I'm sorry," the girl apologized for making him wait so long.

"Take your time," Michael assured her. He watched as the girl got two scoops of pistachio followed by a dollop of whipped cream and cherry on top.

Michael though about the past few days. He'd been scooping out the area and decided that it was safe enough to take residence in. Canada wouldn't be so bad.

He missed Max and Isabel desperately .

"Enjoy," the girl said. Their fingers brushed as she gave him the ice cream.

"Thanks."

The girl smiled looking at Michael.

"My shift ends in thirty minutes. I'll meet you outside." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"Maybe I won't be there." Michael smirked.

"Maybe you will," the girl replied as Michael turned to leave.

Later Michael and the girl are talking outside.

"People come here expecting a lot, but once they see the Falls they realize there's nothing else until Canada," she shook her head. "I once talked to someone who came all the way from Egypt to see Niagara Falls. I don't see the big deal. Do you like it here?"

Michael just shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm getting an apartment with two of my other friends in Canada in the summer. I can't wait to get out of this town."

"I don't think anyone likes where they've always lived," Michael realized out loud.

The girl looked at Michael as if caught off guard by his remark. Her green eyes softened. She really did have pretty eyes. "Like the clouds from home," Michael thought. "Wait where did that come from?"

"What's your name again?" She asked softly.

"I never gave it before, Dean Bentley."

Michael wanted a clean start. The girl held out her hand and he shook it. She had a good grip and cool fingers.

"I'm Claire Tyler." She cocked her head to the side and considered Michael for a moment.

"You're okay Dean."

End Flashback

"So you see everyone's got a reason to leave. What's yours?" Michael asked Maria. Of course he left out the parts in his story where he changed his name. She didn't need to know that about him.

"You said Claire would wander why people's expectations were so high. Well, I had my own. When I was a kid I used to stay up at night and watch the stars . . . "

Flashback:

A five year old Maria slips through the attic window of her house. She'd love to have a place like Liz's where her roof was like an extension of her room, but this would have to do. Maria still loved coming out here.

She carefully placed her My Little Pony notebook to the side and sat down slowly. The moon was bright tonight and so were the stars looking like punctured diamonds. Maria gazed up at them wondering where her father could be. She took out a purple crayon that was tucked behind her ear and started to make up one story after another. Maybe he delivered all her Christmas latter to Santa in the North Pole. Maybe he was some posh dignitary in India. Whatever her dad was she hoped it was an explanation good enough to leave Maria and her mom alone night after night wondering where he had gone to.

Maria glanced up at a star. The brightest one in the sky the North Star. She made a wish on it. She had a vision of her dad coming to their house in a limo with a big smile and presents for her. He'd hug mom after she yelled at him for leaving for so long. They'd laugh happy to be together again. Then the white limo like Prince Charming on a white Horse would take the three of them to live off happily ever after.

Maria leaned back lying down her hands tucked under her head. The star seemed to wink at her wish.

"Or maybe he flew back to his home planet in Venus and would take us back in a spaceship someday."

Maria laughed her body shaking from her hysterical giggling for thinking of such a thing.

End Flashback

Michael was laughing at Maria as she said how she thought someone would get her in a spaceship. It so matched his own childhood dream. Maria joined in his laughter. When it died down she finished telling her story.

"As I grew up I realized he wasn't going to come back. That's why I went with Liz cause I mean I knew an airplane would get me farther than a limo."

"The spaceship would've gotten the most mileage," Michael smirked.

"I got tired waiting for my spaceship to come," Maria said a little sad.

"Are you happy you left Roswell?" Michael asked her softly.

Maria looked at Michael without a trace of the joking matter they were doing before.

"I'm happy I got off the train with you," Maria said in all honesty.

Scene: Michael and Maria pass by a Merry Go Round. Michael hopped on it hanging onto the pole. He grabs Maria's hand pulling her to him. The glow from the ride made her pale skin golden. Her lips hung slightly open. She put her arms around Michael's neck. He could feel her fingertips rub the back of his hair.

"I never knew you had hazel eyes," Maria said taking a closer look at him. She always though they were brown in the light.

There are a lot of things you don't know about me."

"It's before sunrise . . ."

Maria leaned in and presses her mouth against Michael's in one motion. He could hear the laughter of kids fading into the background and only hear the sound of Maria's sigh as the kiss deepened. Her hands held Michael's face as they separated he could feel her breath below his lips as she finished what she was saying before.

"We'll have the rest of the night to find out."

Scene: A horse drawn carriage pulls a couple in their middle thirties across the street. They sit side by side looking up at the stars. The view pans to a pair of monks having a conversation.

"Hey check these guys out." Michael indicates the two monks to Maria. We cannot hear what the monks are saying but Michael fills in the words we cannot hear as he does an impersonation of them.

"Hey Huns, I'm not wearing any underwear beneath this thing."

"Oh really?"

"Does that frighten you?"

Maria giggles at Michael's little comedic imitation of the two monks. Michael turns to her and feels an urge to slip his tongue between her teeth.

"Can I tell you my secret?"

"What?" Maria moves closer to Michael to hear what it is.

"Closer," Michael leans in until he captures Maria's lips with his. They weren't any different than when she kissed him at the carousel, soft. The faint taste of orange was there. Maria must've put on some lip gloss when he wasn't looking. A moan escaped from his lips as Maria started to stroke his cheek with her fingertips again. Her fingers dropped to draw a trail slowly down his chest landing short of his belly button.

Michael opened his eyes as they kissed. Maria's own eyes were still closed. He pulled away leaving her lips slightly open. Michael felt unwanted tenderness at the sight of her lips hanging in the air half parted. Her silted eyes beginning to fully open. Michael kissed Maria again feeling the cracks start to form. His walls were slowly breaking.

Michael wanted to have one last pure memory before he left for home.

Home.

Maria pulled away a content look in her eyes.

"You should tell me your secrets more often."

He could just tell Maria. Michael never told anyone besides Max and Isabel, not even Claire. The words just wouldn't roll of his tongue. He could just tell Maria. He looked away and Maria followed his gaze. A fortune teller was a few tables over giving a couple their fates.

"Look at the lady. Doesn't she look interesting?"

Before Michael could make a snide comment the fortune teller caught their gaze.

"Uh, oh."

"What?"

"I just made eye contact," Maria said quietly.

"Oh shit, is she coming over?" Michael asked annoyed.

"Yeah."

"Great."

"Do you want your palm read?" Maria asked Michael.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

The fortune teller approaches the table and takes Maria's hand. She opens it and immediately starts to look at her palm.

"Do you want your palm read?"

"Yes, how much is it?"

"For you twenty-five shillings, okay?"

Maria nodded her head up and down.

"Okay."

The fortune teller traces her index finger over the lines inside Maria's palm. She taps her finger twice and coos.

"Oh!"

"What?" Maria asks curious.

"So you've been on a journey."

"Well life is a journey," Maria mimicked her wise tone.

"You're a very passionate person. Someone who feels the world with her heart. You look to other first and what is right in the given situation."

Michael smiles at Maria as the fortune teller says these things she was right so far.

"You're interested in the power of the woman, and a woman's deep strength and creativity. You're becoming this woman."

Then a frown crosses over the fortune teller's face.

"You must know people will like you for who you are, Maria. What you always were isn't who are now. Illusions will shatter once you learn to break down walls."

The fortune teller closes Maria's palm.

"You must resign yourself to the awkwardness of life. Only if you find peace within yourself will you find true connection with others."

She gives a small smile and looks towards Michael.

"He is a stranger to you?"

"I guess so," Maria shot a teasing grin at Michael.

The fortune teller opens Michael's palm. In doing so her face lights up. She looks straight into Michael's hazel eyes with a knowing smile. She leans in and whispers into Michael's ear so Maria can't hear.

"Tell her Michael."

She pulls away from a suprised Michael."

"You'll be all right. He's learning," the fortune teller patted Maria on the shoulder.

"Money," she opened up her palm.

Maria handed her the change. The fortune teller gave each of them one shilling back.

"To wish you both luck."

The fortune teller walked away, but turned around holding up Maria's change in both of her hands.

"You are both stars. Don't forget when the stars exploded billions of years ago to form everything that is this world. Everything we know is stardust. So don't forget you are stardust!"

The fortune teller laughed like a little girl and walked away waving her arms in air.

Michael and Maria turned around to face each other.

"I mean that's very nice and all that we're stardust and that you're becoming this great woman. But I hope you don't take that anymore seriously than a daily syndicated newspaper."

"Oh come on. She knew we didn't know about each other and I'm this great woman. She knew my name, Michael. How do you explain that?"

Michael didn't dare say that the fortune teller knew his name as well. How the hell did he know his name? Maria's was easy to explain.

"That big patch on your bag, 'The Whitts!!' It has all of your names on it."

Maria looked down at the black and white patch she'd made for herself and for all the other guys on the band.

"You're a pretty good singer," Michael confessed.

"When did you ever hear me perform?" Maria asked.

"You had a regular gig at Van Gogh's Ear Cafe."

Maria smiled. "Yeah we did."

"Do you remember the galaxy mural?"

"On the ceiling, I remember that! I loved the way stars glowed. I'd look up and make a wish on one for good luck before a set.

"I painted that," Michael said a little smugly.

"Was it during your geodesic dome period?" Maria laughed.

"It was the last thing I drew before today."

Maria stopped laughing.

"Michael why did you stop drawing? You were obviously very good at it."

"I had painter's block until you came along," Michael gave his trademark half smile at her.

Maria returned his smile back. She felt Michael wasn't telling her something.

"So what did she whisper inside your ear?" Maria changed the subject.

"Tell her. Tell her," the fortune teller's voice whispered like a song refrain in Michael's head. Maria's pixie face was looking expectedly at Michael. He wanted to kiss her again. he wanted to press his own lips against hers and experience the same feeling of free fall.

"Mud."

"Excuse me?" Maria looked confused.

"Mud. She said mud."

Maria shook her head at Michael regretfully.

"Whatever am I going to do with you?" Her words were a part wonder part sadness.

Michael let his head roll back and exhale loudly in frustration.

Scene: Maria and Michael are walking and playfully kicking each other at the same time like little kids. Maria kicks Michael's boot lightly. Michael returns with a kick above Maria's ankle a little harder than intended.

"Oww!!" Maria walks away from Michael in a huff muttering a French curse a friend taught her. Maria noticed some advertisements for an upcoming art gallery.

"Looks like there's going to be an exhibition tomorrow."

"We'll miss it," Michael answered coming up from behind Maria.

A picture caught Maria's eye.

"I saw this one before. I stared at it and stared at it. It must've been forty-five minutes."

Michael and Maria both stared at the picture, a drawing with a black background. It had two people clinging to each other. One's head seemed to be buried within the other's shoulder. It was as if the two people were being molded into one person.

"You'll never guess what it's about," Maria said.

Michael peered into the picture trying to figure out the meaning. It looked like two desperate people drowning inside a midnight ocean.

It was as if they didn't want to let go of each other.

"It looks like he's trying to protect her from danger."

Maria smiled at his answer. It was part of Michael's charm she realized then. You felt like he never told you the whole story. The part he left out was the one you wanted to know the most.

"See the one with their head in the other's neck?"

"Shoulder?" Michael corrected.

"No, neck."

"Okay neck." Michael played along.

"He's sucking on her blood," Maria said straightface.

"Excuse me?"

"He's a vampire and want's to suck her life source."

Michael rolled his eyes.

Maria looked at Michael for a moment with a small smile on her face. "You're okay Michael."

She reminded him so much of Claire right then. He felt himself panic at the thought.

"Yeah well, don't get too attached," he said with more feeling than he meant to let out.

Maria looked hurt by the comment. He saw her eyes contort trying to repress the pain.

"I didn't mean."

"I know it's not like we agreed to see each other again after tonight." Maria started walking ahead leaving Michael behind. Michael had to run to catch up with her. When he reached Maria he grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch me!"

Michael raised his hands. "You didn't say Simon says."

"How dare you say don't get too attached. To talk to me about pistachio and Ulysses and then to kiss me more than once at the ferris wheel and at the carousel. Ugh!" Maria felt like beating her fists into his chest.

"This isn't normal what's happening to us," Michael explained with a catch in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Maria looked at him warily.

"Being this open the first time you meet someone." Michael sat on the curb away from Maria. A hand touched his shoulder. He flinched at the contact. Subconsciously Michael felt himself putting space between them. She felt his reaction to her touch, but she wasn't going to let him get away so easily.

"What's so great about being normal?"

Michael let out a derisive snort at this.

"Don't ask." He felt Maria sit down next time to him. He could feel her body heat emanating from her. It was all he was aware of her almost touch. It drew him closer feeding the craving Michael had to pull Maria near. Maria tried again to comfort Michael. She let her arm snake around the inside of Michael's elbow. She felt him tense, but he didn't shrug her away. Encouraged, Maria let both of her hands link around Michael's arm.

"Didn't I tell you that we had the rest of the night to find out about each other," Maria said softly.

She moved closer to him letting her head rest on his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a few minutes in silence.

"Besides this isn't the first time we've met," Maria pointed out. "We've known each other. You used to pull my hair in kindergarten."

Michael let out a ghost of a smile.

"Your hair was curly back then."

"I hated it everytime you pulled my hair."

"I can tell by the way you used to beat me with your little fists."

Maria laughed and Michael joined her. Then Michael caught Maria's eye and stopped laughing. Maria's own laughter died down as she took Michael's cheek in her palm. Brushing her fingertips against his face he could hear his heart rapidly beat when he saw Maria lick her lips. Her eyes were like magnets pulling him closer. The way the moon pulled the tides.

Hank always said he was weak.

Michael bet Hank was never kissed the way Maria kissed him now. She let out a low whimper as her lips opened for his tongue. Her hands ran the length of his hair only making it more unruly. Without breaking contact Michael's hands hoisted Maria from her spot next to him on the curb and sat her on his lap. He felt liquid fire pour from Maria's lips to set his entire body flames. He felt her deepen their kiss. Michael moaned into her mouth.

"Michael," she breathed.

The sound of her voice broke Michael from their spell. He pushed Maria off his lap and she stood up to face Michael. A few feet separated them, but she could still taste his lips on hers and the warmth of his hands on her skin.

His face had become a mask showing none of the emotions Maria had seen earlier before.

"I don't do this."

"Don't do what?"

"Get intense like this."

Maria let out a bitter laugh at this. Now it was Michael's turn to look confused.

"You're bringing this subject up again? Michael I'm not like this either. I'm not this open or . . . intense the first time I meet someone."

"You're not?" Michael raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"I'm not," Maria assured Michael. She walked closer to him closing off the distance between them. She stopped within inches of Michael. She could feel his body heat again enveloping her with warmth to banish any of the cool breezes that June night. She brought her hand to Michael's cheek softly brushing against him. She let her fingertips trail along his jawline to his neck lower and lower until her palm rested on his chest. Michael felt a spot of warmth over his heart. It came from Maria.

Her voice was a few octaves lower than usual when she spoke.

"For two people who don't do this sort of thing . . . we do it so well."

too be continued

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