Chapter 9

"Crashdown Café, Liz speaking. How can I help you?" Tess asked cheerily into the phone.

"Hey, Liz, it's Max. I was just calling to make sure you'll be ready when I come to pick you up in twenty?"

"Oh, Max... I totally forgot and I promised my dad I'd work an extra shift for him."

"Oh," Max frowned. "I thought Alex would just appreciate it if you came with me when I went to see him. Moral support and all..." His voice trailed off uncertainly. "I thought he might be more comfortable if I tried," his voice dropping to a whisper, "healing him, you know, if you were there."

Tess sighed. "I know Max. I'm so sorry about this, but I think you should just go anyway. Tell Alex I'm sorry, but I know he'll be glad to see you anyway. Look, I have to go," she lied, "My dad is calling me."

"Okay, Liz," Max responded quietly. Then, as an afterthought, "Love you."

Tess faltered and then realized that she'd better start returning the words to him if she wanted to act like Liz. The real girl would probably sound totally love-struck and dazed when she responded to his endearment. "Love you too," she murmured in her best Liz impression. "Bye."

Max heard the phone click and held it in his hand still, staring at the numbers as though they would give him some answers. Something felt different about what was going on between he and Liz. Just like their date last night....

Liz was driving because Isabel had bullied and guilted him into borrowing his car to go visit Alex. She looked over and smiled at him.

"So, where do you want to go?"

Max thought for a moment and replied, "Well, since we're starting out again, why don't we go to the same place we had our first date?" He smiled at her and reached out a hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "Hair thing," he said quietly.

Her smile wobbled. "Yeah, sure. That sounds like a good idea." A moment passed. "Where was that, again?"

With a sigh, Max grabbed his keys and headed out the door. He'd get to Alex's much faster now that he wasn't picking up Liz, but left to his own thoughts he knew the ride would seem longer.

If he were completely honest, he would admit it was eating away at him how Liz hadn't remembered their first date. After all, it was his first date, ever, unless you counted the soap factory. Which he didn't, because nights ending up in arrests didn't qualify under his conditions. It wasn't that she didn't seem to not care, either, just that she'd forgotten. That hurt him more than anything.

Looking up, Max realized he was at Alex's house. He sighed, shaking his head and thanking whatever gods existed that he hadn't gotten in an accident while paying absolutely no attention to the road.

He'd never been inside the Whitman's house, Max realized. He wouldn't even know where it was except he'd picked him up a couple of times for a few alien incident meetings. Max wished he and Alex were close; there were only the 9 of them who knew or held the secret and it was a shame they weren't close. It was even more shameful that it would take Alex almost dying to make Max pay any attention to him.

He could not describe how guilty he felt for not paying enough attention to the boy to notice any signs of mind-warping going on through Tess' manipulations. If he were completely honest with himself, he would admit it was hardly like Alex had even been in Sweden for all Max had noticed.

His hand was reaching for the doorbell when the door swung open, revealing a tired-looking Alex. His hair was in a disarray, as though he'd been sleeping, and he rubbed his eyes. "Max, man," he greeted him. "How was Vegas?" He didn't seem moody at all, though, which Max was thankful for. At least he was feeling better in that regard.

"Good," Max replied, too busy surveying the circles under Alex's eyes and the outer signs of illness that were apparent on the boy to give an elaborate answer.

"So, where's Liz?" Alex asked. At Max's guilty face, he shrugged and answered himself. "I'm sure she had work, right?" Max nodded. "But you guys got back together, huh? Good for you. You deserve to be happy."

"Yeah. We got back together yesterday."

"Not very fast today, are they?" Liz commented to Max, after they'd been waiting for about twenty minutes for their food.

"No, I guess not," Max answered. "I was thinking before about what you said about Alex. Did he say anything more about what Tess was doing to him? When we go to visit him, if I can focus on some imagery about what was going on, it might allow me to reach the problem more easily and uncover what happened to him."

"I don't think so," she answered carelessly. "He just sort of snapped at Tess and told us all about how she was making him go to Las Cruces."

"To do what?" Max asked her worriedly. "Did he say why would she want him to go there?"

"I don't know," she responded. "He didn't remember that."

"I still think he might be hurt, if his memory is impaired. Will you go see him with me tomorrow at eleven thirty? You get off work then, right?"

"Sure," she said quickly. "Look, let's stop talking about Alex. It's just so depressing, you know?" She gave him a sultry smile. "This is our night."

He couldn't understand how she could dismiss something of such importance so easily, but seeing the excitement in her small frame made him push his doubts aside. Maybe she was right, he thought. They should just be happy to be together; after all, they'd been through a lot lately, and the world had almost ended on them as well. Things to celebrate were few and far between.

"She really did want to come, but she was doing an extra shift for her dad as a favor," Max explained. Alex waved his hand dismissively.

"I know, Max. Liz is always being so responsible. That's what I love about her. But I guess you would know that, too. She missed you so much, Max, I don't think you have any idea. When I first sat down with her and had a talk when I came back from whatever I was doing..."

"I'm so sorry, Alex," Max interrupted. "God, I can't believe that Tess would do something like that to you. You've only done everything you could to help all of us." He moved closer to the dark haired boy. "I want to make sure you're not hurt, Alex."

"Okay," he replied. "But it's not your fault Max. Please don't blame yourself." He paused and stepped back to invite Max more fully inside his house. "C'mon, let's go to my room. In case my parents actually return, you know?" A dry laugh escaped his mouth, but ended in a small coughing fit.

Max frowned.

Alex's room was pretty much what he expected, filled with guitars, music, and electronic equipment. An acoustic bass lay on his blue bed, and some manuscript paper beside it was scribbled with messy writing. It heartened Max to see that Alex was well enough to be doing that.

"Well, here we are. Home sweet home and mecca of computer and music geeks around the world," he joked. "Let me move old Leanna here off the bed, and we can get settled." At Max's blank look, he explained, "Leanna's my name for this guitar. I read this article a long time ago that said if you name your instruments, you connect with them better. I tried it and I realized it did make me feel more intimate when I was writing and playing." He stopped. "Sorry, I'm pulling a Maria babble there."

Max laughed quietly, enjoying Alex's ramble. He was a truly funny person. "I understand," he smiled. "Music is an awesome power."

They'd left the restaurant a few minutes ago, with Liz suggesting they go to Buckley point. "To star-gaze," she explained, her eyes twinkling. Presently, she was fiddling with the radio, trying to find a song she liked.

Max's ears perked up when he heard the familiar chords of a song come over the radio waves, but Liz quickly bypassed it.

"Wait," he told her. "I thought you loved You Make Me Feel?" His mind flashed back to the day where they'd had the car accident, the way her hair flew backwards in the wind as they'd ridden down the highway.

She looked blankly at him, but obediently turned back a station. They listened in silence for a few seconds before she commented, "I didn't realize that it was this song. I do love it. It just describes exactly how I feel about you, you know?" He smiled softly at her, feeling his heart beat wildly at her words. The lyrics drifted over them soothingly, casting a spell around them. Max could only feel the warmth of her stare, and the rest of the night's awkwardness vanished abruptly.

"I'm going to have to touch you," Max explained to Alex. "If you just let your mind blank out and don't resist, the connection should form easily. I'm not going to read your mind or anything, and I'll only be searching for any damage."

"Yeah, sure. Are you going to try to see if I subconsciously remember anything about the mind-warping itself?"

"Only if you want me to," Max replied earnestly. "I don't want to go digging around in your thoughts, no matter how much I want to know myself."

Alex responded firmly, "Go right ahead. I want to know what I was a vehicle for, too." Max nodded and placed his hands on both sides of Alex's head. Both of their eyes closed and Max concentrated hard as the flashes began.

He saw images of Liz and Maria just hanging out with Alex with a sense of happiness permeating the vision, clips of his own sister and her beauty, sounds of guitars and drums. Then, the rush of images slowed as he willed them away, focusing on Alex's cell structure. Max's mind touched his, searching for hidden damages and remnants of Tess' meddling.

They were kissing passionately, Max's hands woven in Liz's hair. Her own hands were idle, as they rubbed his neck and back slowly. She was so warm against him, attentive to his every movement, but there were no flashes.

Max tore his mouth away from hers to breathe. "What about star-gazing," he panted.

Her eyes met his, their usual depth seemingly concealed by passion. "Aren't we already?" she murmured throatily, pressing her lips against his once again.

Max was shocked at the discovery of places in Alex's brain that felt as though they were decaying.

Max swallowed his panic, reaching out to find the power that would allow him to heal. Slowly and methodically, he repaired the damage done to Alex, until he was sure the physical evidence of Tess' intrusion was gone. Though Alex seemed fine outwardly, the healing took more out of Max than both Liz and Kyle's healings. He supposed it was because Alex's wounds were so much more than skin deep; the mind-warping had penetrated that many layers.

Gasping, Max pulled away, unable to stay connected anymore. He didn't have time to search for what Tess had done.

Alex opened his eyes when he felt Max's hands leave his head and looked expectantly at his friend. "What did you find?" he questioned, nervously noticing Max's pale coloring.

"Alex," Max whispered. "Do you know how long Tess was mind-warping you?"