The Stranger
By: Tammy
Category: CCs/AU
Summary: Stranger with a shady (shady shady) background comes to town. :p
AN: Any ep after Tess Lies and Videotape never happened; ps since this is AU there is not Tess, sorry...
* * * Maria turned to Liz after setting down a tray of dirty dishes. “Okay, that girl is really freaking me out.”
Liz looked over at the only female customer in the restaurant. She was sitting in the center of the Crashdown eating chocolate cake and reading a book. Liz rolled her eyes, “Maria, you’re over dramatizing again. That girl is just sitting there reading a book.”
Maria grabbed Liz by her arm and pulled her into the backroom. “Then why did she ask me for this?” She pulled out a bottle of Tabasco sauce.
Liz tried to stifle a laugh. “Maybe she just likes Tabasco sauce.”
“On chocolate cake? Okay, who do we know who likes Tabasco sauce on chocolate cake?” Maria groaned at Liz’s blank face. “Czechoslovakians!”
Now it was Liz’s turn to groan. “Maria. First of all, that’s impossible. I’m pretty sure when Max, Isabel and Michael came out of the…airplane…they would have seen the fourth…Czechoslovakian.” Liz spoke slowly to make sure if she were overheard no one would suspect anything. After exposing Topolsky as a government agent, Liz realized that she really couldn’t trust anyone outside of their group of six. “Secondly, just because she likes Tabasco sauce doesn’t mean that’s she’s a Czechoslovakian. She might not even have any…passports.”
“Fine then, don’t believe me. But something is up with that girl. I mean, who comes to the Crashdown on a Saturday night to read? Normal people have dates.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Maria, we don’t have dates.” Maria rolled her eyes at Liz’s comment and went back out to wait on the table of football jocks who just arrived.
~*~
Liz smiled when she saw Max sitting at his usual table. “Hey Max.”
Max smiled back at Liz. “Hey Liz.”
The two continued to stare at each other until Isabel interrupted, “Hi, Liz.”
Liz blushed. “Oh, hi Isabel. Michael.” She pulled her notepad and pen out of her apron. “So, what can I get for you guys today?”
“The usual.” Isabel replied.
“Okay, I’ll be back with your orders in a minute or two.” Liz left to go fill their orders reluctantly.
“God, Max. If you stare at her any harder she’s going to burst into flames.”
Max suddenly took an interest in dessert menu, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Isabel.”
“Sure, Maxwell.” Michael smirked.
“Like you should talk, Michael.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, let’s just say that I’m not the only person here who’s taken a liking to a certain waitress” Max teased.
“No idea as to what you’re talking about.”
“Whatever, Michael. Okay, let’s talk about why we’re really here.” Isabel said.
“Are you sure we should talk about it here? This isn’t exactly the most conspicuous place in the world.” Michael said while looking over his shoulder.
“Exactly. If anyone is watching us, it looks like we’re just eating dinner. Which we are, of course.” Max replied.
“Right. So what do we do now?” Isabel asked. In the recent weeks they had thought they had finally found the fourth alien. They had even seen ‘Tess’ magically put back together a broken statue. But that had only turned out to be another government conspiracy trying to lure them out and admit their real identities. The government had almost succeeded in their goal until Nasedo had warned the alien trio.
“Nothing. I guess we just wait until he contacts us again.” Max said, referring to the incident where Nasedo had entered their dreams to warn them of the government’s plan.
“I still can’t believe you guys believed her.”
“I guess we just wanted to believe her so much. Wanted to believe that we weren’t alone and that there were answers to all our questions. Even you wanted to believe, Michael.” Isabel sighed. “I’m just glad that we didn’t act on our suspicions until we were sure who she was. Can you imagine the disaster we would have caused had we decided to follow her or investigate her? It’s a good thing that when we finally decided to, we didn’t involve Liz, Maria, or Alex. Now at least they’ll never know.”
“I don’t understand why we can’t tell them. I mean, making up that lame story about there being a glitch in the tape that made us see Tess put that statue together was pointless. Why couldn’t we just tell them that it was a government plot?” Max asked.
“Because it just wasn’t a government plot. You heard what Nasedo said. It was also a test. To see how smart we were. If we want to protect them, it’s best if they not know. The less they know, the less likely that they’ll be used against us. Because we all know that if Liz was ever captured you would do everything in your power to get her back. Even if it meant revealing who we really are.” Michael shook his head. “I’m not saying that that’s a bad thing, I’m just saying that…it’s better if we never have to go through something like that where we have to make a decision like that.”
“Decision like what?” Liz asked as she set down their plates.
“Nothing.” All three replied in unison.
Liz raised her eyebrows. “Um…okay.” A second later Maria ran over.
“Liz! She just turned down Nick Jones for a date.”
“Who?”
“Liz,” Maria whined. “Who do you think? The girl! The possible Czechoslovakian. She just confirmed my suspicions. Nick Jones just asked her out and she turned him down. I mean, what girl in her right mind turns down Nick Jones?”
“Big deal, She didn’t want to go out with him. Only if she said, ‘No, I can’t go out with you because I’m a Czechoslovakian,’ does your stupid theory ring true.”
“But get this: Nick said, ‘Hey is that Windex on your pants?’”
Isabel groaned and interjected, “Okay, I can already see where this is going.”
Maria waved her hand flippantly and continued as if she wasn’t interrupted, “So of course, she says no.”
“And let me guess. He said, ‘That funny because for some reason I can see myself in your pants.’” Isabel rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“Only because he says that to every girl.”
“Anyways, so get this. She says, ‘No thanks, I’ve already got an asshole in there.’ Can you believe that? She has to be a Czechoslovakian.”
Isabel, Liz, and Max struggled to hide their amusement. Michael, on the other hand, looked confused. “Wait, what does that have to do with being Czechoslovakian?”
Maria glared at him. “Oh wait, I forgot, Liz. In order to be a Czech you have to have an I.Q. of an imbecile. No offense Isabel.”
“Hold up. You think that this girl is an,” Max lowered his voice, “alien?”
“Yes.”
“And your evidence to back this up?”
“Okay, well, um…she likes Tabasco sauce. And she…”
“And she’s got enough brains to turn down Nick Jones. Sorry, Maria. I don’t think you have a case.” Isabel stated.
“Fine then, no one believes me!” Maria threw her hands up in the air and stomped off.
“What’s her problem?”
“Oh, she’s just mad. Ever since she figured out that Topolsky was some alien hunter, she’s positive that she can spot people with Czechoslovakian tendencies a mile a way.”
“What’s up with you guys and the word Czechoslovakian?” Michael asked.
Liz smirked, “What’s up with you guys and the word mud?”
~*~
“Liz, I can’t take it anymore. No one believes me. I’m telling you, she is an alien.”
Liz sighed, “Maria. She’s not an alien. We thought Tess was an alien and it turned out she wasn’t. And we saw a lot more with Tess to think that.”
“You know what, I’m just gonna have to prove it to you guys,” Maria huffed.
“What are you going to do, Maria? Ask her if she’s an alien?” Liz went back to wiping down the counters. It was almost closing time and the only people around were Michael, Isabel, Max, and the female customer Maria was stressing over.
“That’s perfect, Lizzy!”
Liz groaned. “Oh no, now look what I’ve done.”
Maria walked over to the female customer who was engrossed in her book. She stood there staring at her until finally she looked up. “I’m sorry. Do you need something?”
“Actually, yes. I have a few questions that I really need you to answer. So if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother, could I just sit down here and ask them? I won’t take up too much of your time. It’s just that-”
The girl pushed out a chair noisily to stop Maria’s babbling. She squinted her eyes at Maria’s nametag. “Maria…the name’s Sara. Have a seat and ask me your questions.”
“Great. Um…okay.” Maria stared at Sara for a few moments.
“You had questions, right?”
“Oh, yeah. So, you’re like sixteen?”
“Yeah.”
“And you live in Roswell?”
“Well, that’s where I’m currently residing.”
Maria raised her eyebrows suspiciously, “Then why haven’t I seen you at school?”
“Because I just moved here and haven’t had a chance to enroll yet.” Sara sighed, obviously bored. “Is there a point to all these questions?”
“Yeah.” Maria paused, trying to think of the best way to confront her. She hadn’t actually thought that the girl would have answered her questions. She figured the best way would be the direct approach. “Are you an alien?” she blurted out.
Sara laughed and Maria nervously joined in. She nodded and then replied, “Yes.”
“Good. I didn’t really think you were. I just had this crazy notion that you might be. And then one thing led to another and my friend practically begged me to come over here and ask you, so I-wait, you said yes?”
Sara nodded her head.
“Look, is this some kind of joke? I mean, people in Roswell take this stuff seriously so-”
“Did you freak out this much when your friends told you that they were aliens?”
“What-what? Who are you talking about?” Maria sputtered.
“Your three friends.” She pointed over to Michael, Isabel and Max. “The ones sitting over there in the booth.”
“What-you…no…oh my god. Liz!” Maria shrieked. ‘Oh god. Where the hell is my cypress oil?’ she thought to herself.
Sara sighed as she saw the commotion this Maria girl was making. Another waitress had run over and one of the boys from the booth had followed suit. She cocked her head to the side as she examined the boy with the crazy hair. He looked familiar…almost.
“Maria? Maria, what’s wrong? Oh my god, Max. She’s completely pale.” Liz said frantically as she held Maria by her arm.
Maria was hyperventilating and stuttering in incomplete sentences. She pointed her finger at Sara, “She’s…she’s…”
Sara was rummaging through her purse. Soon she found the small vial she was looking for and handed it to Liz. “Here, calm her down.”
“What is it?”
Sara rolled her eyes. “Cypress oil.” She said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world for her to be carrying around in her purse. She exhaled and sat back down in her chair. She looked back over at Maria who was still hyperventilating. The other waitress was now trying to get Maria to breathe into a paper bag. Sara stood up and walked over to Maria. She grabbed her by her arm and dragged her into the bathroom, where she locked the door behind them.
“Hey, look at me. Look at me.” She snapped her fingers to get Maria’s attention. “Jesus Christ, will you calm down already?” She sighed, exasperated. Finally she waved her hand in front of Maria’s face and she instantly calmed.
“How the hell did you do that?”
“Easy, I just ‘misdirected’ your emotions for a second. You know, sent them to a different part of your brain. The part you weren’t using.”
Maria opened and closed her mouth several times, astounded.
“Look, are you okay now? Cause any second your friends are going to knock down that door, so I suggest we leave before they do.”
“Leave? Leave? Are you taking me somewhere?” Maria was turning frantic again.
“What? I’m not taking you anywhere. I came in, ate some cake, and then you started asking me questions. That’s all that happened tonight, and that’s all that is going to happen tonight. Okay?” And with that Sara opened the door to the bathroom.
Max and Michael, who had been trying to break down the door, immediately fell to the ground. “Excuse me,” Sara said as she stepped over them. She then proceeded back to her table where she pulled out a few bills and set them on the table before exiting the restaurant.
Liz ran in after Sara left, “Oh my god, Maria. Are you okay?”
Maria was rubbing her forehead with a dazed expression on her face, “Yeah, I’m fine. Wait-no I’m not! That girl just told me she was an alien!”
Isabel laughed, “And you believed her?”
“Okay Ms. Know-It-All, she also knew that you guys were aliens,” Maria snapped.
“Wait, you told her that we were aliens?” Michael yelled.
“No, I didn’t tell her anything. I asked her if she was an alien and then she said she was. And then when I started freaking out, she wondered why I was getting so upset since I already knew that you guys were aliens.”
“This is great! Just great!” Michael pushed his way past the group to get out front. He was just about to leave when Isabel stopped him.
“Wait, Michael! What if it’s another test?”
“You think, Isabel?” Max asked her.
She nodded her head, “I mean it makes perfect sense. The FBI already thinks they know who we are, and then the Tess thing falls through, so what do they do? They send in another ‘Tess’ to see if we’ll fall for it again.”
“Wait, Tess thing? What are you guys talking about?”
Max sighed at Liz’s comment. “I told you guys we should have told them.”
“Tell us what? Tell us what? Will someone please explain to me what is going on?”
“Look, Liz, we don’t have to tell you everything. C’mon Maxwell, Isabel, let’s go.” Michael started to leave again, this time Max and Isabel following suit. Max gave Liz a sympathetic grin before leaving.
As Michael passed by the table that Sara was sitting at, he noticed that she had left the book she was reading. Ulysses. He picked up the book, only to be hit by a series of pictures, like back in the sheriff’s office a few months back.
*Flash*
A cave hidden in the desert.
*Flash*
Four pods filled the cave.
*Flash*
Outside of the pods were three children while a fourth remained inside one of the glowing pods.
*Flash*
One of the children, a boy, reached out to touch the pod, but the other two called him back and led him out of the cave.
*Flash*
Michael was pulled back into reality and the force of it threw him to the ground.
“Michael!” Both Isabel and Maria yelled.
Soon, Michael found himself surrounded by Liz, Maria, Isabel, and Max. All four huddled over him, concern etched in their eyes.
“I’m fine.” He stood up and brushed the imaginary dust off his pants. “But it looks like we’ve got another problem.” He paused and continued when they looked on expectantly, “She’s one of us.”
~*~
Sara twirled the lock on her locker to the left and then pulled down. She set the books she had just picked up at the library inside. She sighed. She hated new schools and she especially hated moving. The principal had assured her that West Roswell High was one of the best schools in the city and blah blah blah; she had soon stopped listening. After moving several times in the past year she had learned that all principals give the same speech and there really was no use in listening to the same thing over and over again.
She returned the lock after shutting it and turned around. She saw Maria, the waitress at that kooky restaurant and smiled. She stopped when she saw Maria’s eyes go wide. ‘Oh jeez,’ she thought to herself, ‘That one’s just a walking talking-’
Sara was pulled out of her thoughts when somebody grabbed her roughly and pulled her down the hall. Before she could protest, her assailant shoved her into a room. She fell to the ground at the feet of four others.
“Michael!” Isabel said reproachfully.
Max leaned down to help the girl up. “I’m sorry. I don’t know-” Max was hit with a barrage of images as the girl clasped her hand into his. He instantly felt as if he had known her his entire life.
“Max?”
Max was pulled out of his reverie by Liz’s voice. She stared at him, as if waiting for him to do something. He was about to ask her what when he felt an incessant pulling at his hand. He looked down and saw the girl who he had helped up trying to get her hand loose from his hold. “Oh, sorry.”
Sara turned towards the door as Maria ran through it. “Hey you guys. What’s going on? I saw Michael grab that girl that we think is an-” Maria stopped when she saw Sara.
“Yeah, I’d like to know what’s going on as well.” Sara looked around the room but didn’t get a response. “Considering you did grab me and pull me in here, I think I deserve an explanation.” She surveyed the room, waiting for an answer. She recognized the two waitresses and the three aliens, but the tall gangly dark haired boy was a mystery.
“You forgot your book.” Liz said, breaking the silence. She reached into her book bag and pulled out Ulysses. “By the way, I’m Liz.”
“I’m Sara. Thank you.” She grabbed the book and brushed her way past the guy who grabbed her to exit the room.
“Well, that was pointless.” Maria scoffed.
“What were we supposed to do? Ask her if she was an alien?” Michael rolled his eyes.
“Maybe you guys should have had an actual plan. You know, other than your brilliant plan of assaulting the poor girl and throwing her into the band room.” Maria snapped.
Michael took a step closer to Maria, his jaw hardening. “I’d like to see you think up a better plan.”
“Plan? You call that a plan?”
“Enough.” Liz stepped between the two as peacemaker. “We’re never going to get anywhere if we continue fighting. I think that we don’t actually need a plan to approach this girl. After all, she already knows you guys are aliens. So how about during lunch we just ask her to join us and then we can ask her how much she knows. Besides, we already know she’s an alien so I doubt she’s going to turn you guys over to the government.” Liz paused. “So are we all in agreement that we wait until lunch to talk to her?”
Everyone nodded their heads or mumbled replies except for Max. He seemed to be in a stupor, lost in a daydream.
“Max?” Liz asked, concerned.
Max shook his head, as if to clear it. “Yeah. Wait until lunch.” The bell rang and Max grabbed his backpack before leaving the room. The other four grabbed their things as well before filing out. Liz was left alone in the band room amongst the drums, staring after Max. They always walked to homeroom together because their classes were right next to each other. But Max had completely forgotten, lost in his thoughts.
Liz sighed. She was making too much out of it. After all, he had just met another alien. How often did that happen? “Not very,” she breathed. She decided to brush it off; after all, Max did have a lot of things on his mind.
~*~
Max slipped into his homeroom class just before the bell rang. He quickly sat at the only available seat, which was near the front. He normally got to class early, or at least in terms of the other students arriving. Even though he spent a few minutes outside of Liz’s homeroom talking to her, he still managed to arrive before the bulk of the crowd, allowing him the choice of seats. He usually picked a seat near the middle, towards the back. It was more habitual now than anything. Ever since he was little he had been quiet and he soon learned that if you sat in the front, the teacher usually called on you. And if you sat in the back, the teacher was more than likely to be more watchful of you since you were farther away from her desk.
He sighed as the teacher took roll. He had so much on his mind-even before the new girl/alien had arrived. And now... Max was surprised at the pull that he felt towards the new girl. It wasn’t so much that he was attracted to her; it was more like a connection. As if he knew her from another life. Or wait-was he attracted to her? Was this another ‘Tess’? He knew at once that he had to talk to Liz. Max raised his hand to be excused, unaware that the teacher was talking.
“Mr. Evans. Thank you for volunteering. I’m sure Ms. Roberts will be grateful to you for showing her around.”
Max opened his mouth, but nothing came out as he realized the Ms. Roberts Mrs. Stevens was referring to was Sara, the very girl he had been thinking about. Mrs. Stevens handed Sara back her schedule and then directed her to the seat next to Max’s.
“Now, Mr. Evans, if you’ll help Sara to catch up, I’m sure she’ll be caught up in no time. As for the rest of class, you’re free to have the period as study hall while I catch up on a few things myself.”
Max turned to Sara with a sinking feeling in his stomach.
TBC...