Isabel heaved her duffel bag onto the floor from her bed with an added shove. The bag hit the floor with a heavy thud that seemed to vibrate through the floor. She listened for a moment for any accusations from her mother at the sudden noise and breathed a sigh of relief when none came. She stood up and brushed her hair back from her shoulder absentmindedly. In Max’s room next to hers she heard Max walking back and forth as he traveled from his closet to his bed. They were both packing for the trip to Snowmass tomorrow which was scheduled to hit the road bright and early. Everyone was meeting at the Evans’ at seven in the morning for the drive north. Isabel was actually done packing and the night was still pretty young. She heard the phone ring twice before her mother picked it up and Isabel waited expectantly, hoping maybe it was one of the girls from school.
“Max! Liz is on the phone for you!” Diane called from the kitchen. Isabel sighed with disappointment as she heard her brother quickly open his door and practically run to get the phone. Isabel would never admit it to anyone, but she wished that she had someone other than Max or Michael that cared for her as much as Liz and Maria cared for them. Sure, she had lots of friends, she was one of the most popular, most envied girls at school. Sure, she went out every Friday and Saturday night with a group of the jocks and cheerleaders from school and she laughed and danced and talked just like one of them. But she wasn’t really one of them. She didn’t really want to be one of them. Where Max had tried to blend into the background and Michael had tried to fade from anyone’s attention, through the years she had managed to blend into the crowd of ‘normal’ people.
The three of them had learned long ago that their secret had to be kept at all costs. As three different people they had all approached keeping the secret in different ways. Max kept to himself; hoping people wouldn’t notice him because he was quiet and calm. Isabel picked up a picture on her dresser of Max and her in Snowmass last year. He had his arm slung around her shoulder at the top of the ski slope, the picture taken just before they had raced down the hill. They were both grinning at the camera and Isabel smiled at the memory. Max was always more open when they weren’t around crowds or strangers, because that was when he felt like he could be himself. Except Isabel had noticed that he opened up more when he was around those who knew his secret, like Liz, Maria and Alex. She’d also noticed that Michael reacted in a similar way.
Ever since elementary school when Michael was labeled as a “problem” child he had lived up to that reputation. Isabel thought that it was because people gave up on him quicker, assuming he was beyond help. He acted sullen and difficult because it kept people away. Max’s attitude was similar, and both made it hard to approach them. Isabel’s tactics had always been to be accepted, to be normal so that no one would question her presence at dances, parties, and football games and at the popular table in the quad at school during lunch. Problem was, she didn’t like where she was. She never got close to any of the girls at school because they weren’t interesting or even sincere. Max wasn’t the only one watching Liz at the Crashdown. Isabel had watched Liz and Maria interact and found herself longing for a friendship as close as theirs. She’d seen them laugh together, commiserate together and even help each other. The only people she could count on to help her were Max and Michael. Isabel thought back to when she had covered for Liz at the Crashdown a few months back. Maybe that was why she’d helped out, because she thought it was something Liz would have done for a friend. And Isabel did want friends. Especially friends like Liz and Maria who knew all about her and would still laugh and talk with her.
Isabel put the picture of her and Max back on the dresser and turned away, her elbow hitting the stack of books on the dresser, causing them to fall to the floor. Leaning over, Isabel picked up two of the books and put them back. She reached for the third book and as she pulled it towards her from where it had fallen open, partially hidden under her bed, she kneeled to the floor. Her eyes softened at what the book had flipped to. The book was hard bound, large in size and worn around the edges. It was her freshmen yearbook from the last school year. She knew that it was filled with signatures and phone numbers that she’d never called, but what had caught Isabel’s eye was the page the book had fallen to. She also knew that it was no coincidence that the pages had fallen where they had. Back in May she’d opened the yearbook to page 145 many times, pushing the bind down so that it would stay open. Sometimes she would lay it open on her desk for days, until someone walked in and she would quickly shut the book. It was a page she had stared at many times.
Isabel ran her finger over the glossy pictures of student life from the school year. Her fingers came to rest under a picture of students in the quad, though the photo was centered on one figure, a guy strumming a guitar. It was Alex, taken some time in spring when eating lunch outside was still a possibility before it got too hot. He had his hand wrapped around the neck of the guitar and he looked at the instrument as if he were listening to it talk to him.
Alex was sitting on a picnic table; his feet propped up on the bench. He was alone, though students surrounded him in groups; no one had joined him at the table. Isabel kept coming back to the photo because it seemed to speak to her. Alex was alone, but in that picture he was content to be alone. He didn’t know that his picture was being taken and he was completely comfortable sitting in the sun with a slight smile on his face. Isabel sat back on the floor, pulling her knees under her chin so that she could still look at the picture. She thought back to when she’d walked into Alex’s dream and had caught a glimpse of more than she could have imagined. What she’d seen had more than amazed her. Not only did Alex actually see her as a real person; he seemed to understand that she had something to hide and that her fear was a very real thing for her. What had left her speechless was that Alex actually had wanted to know what she feared so that he could know her better. The real her, not the her that everyone saw at school. Isabel closed her eyes, uncertainty flowing through her mind.
Alex had been naturally curious after Liz had told him the truth, but she still remembered the way he’d looked at her at the Crashdown. She knew he’d had a crush on her before, and she’d fully expected that to vanish once he knew the truth. What had unnerved her was the way he continued to stare at her with the same intensity. Nothing had changed in the way he’d looked at her, and that scared her more than she’d thought.
Isabel wondered if Max had the same experience with Liz. Liz had been shocked at first, but she hadn’t shied away from Max as though he was a monster. Isabel tried to understand what Max and Liz shared, but she wasn’t sure if she did. Max had chosen one person to tell their secret to, and he’d chosen the one person that he’d been in love with since that first day they’d come to school in the third grade. Isabel didn’t have to be told what an extraordinary person her brother was, she already knew. And she was just starting to understand how special Liz was too. She cared about Max not because of what he was, but who he was. Isabel hoped that maybe Alex was the same kind of friend. Suddenly, she couldn’t wait to find out. She stood, leaving her room and shutting the door behind her as she bounded through the house, grabbing her coat from the closet.
“Mom! I’m going out, I’ll be back soon!” Isabel called back to her mother in the kitchen.
“Okay, but honey, you need to be back soon, we have an early start in the morning,” Diane reminded her daughter. Isabel nodded and swung open the door just in time to see Liz standing on the doorstep, her hand poised to knock on the wood surface. She looked stunned, but quickly recovered, smiling at Isabel.
“What? Are you guys psychic too?” Liz said, getting a slight grin from Isabel.
“He’s upstairs, in his room,” Isabel commented, knowing exactly who Liz had come to see.
“Where are you going?” Liz asked curiously. Isabel hesitated and considered giving Liz a flippant and vague answer. Then she remembered how she wanted Liz to be someone she could confide in and trust.
“I’m going to see Alex. I have to--I have to ask him, umm tell him something--” Isabel managed to say. She wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to say to Alex, only that she needed to talk with him. Liz merely nodded and watched Isabel leave, backing the jeep out of the driveway. She shut the door behind her and looked up as footsteps approached from the kitchen. Diane Evans entered and smiled as she saw Liz. Liz nervously took off her coat as Diane took it and hung it up. She knew that Max’s mother liked the idea of her son and Liz as a couple. Liz liked the idea of Max and her as a couple too, that’s why she’d called Max to see if he was busy. She wanted their relationship clarified at least a little before they spent the next two weeks in each other’s company.
“Max said you were coming over. Can I get you anything?” Diane asked. Liz shook her head.
“No thanks, Mrs. Evans,” she replied.
“Okay, just yell if you need anything,” Diane said, returning to the kitchen. Liz took a deep breath and walked towards the back of the house, walking so lightly that she couldn’t even hear her own footsteps. She remembered where Max’s room was from when she’d come to his window months ago. It was a little different taking the internal route. She paused as she walked down the hallway, looking at the pictures that hung on the walls. Max and Isabel as kids playing on the beach. Max and Isabel hiking in Bryce Canyon. Max and Isabel ice skating in Colorado. Nearly every picture was of them together, smiling, goofing off and playing. Liz was reminded once again of the bond that Max shared with his sister, one she would never be truly a part of. She was an only child so she didn’t know what it was like to have a sibling, but more importantly, she wasn’t an alien. Max, Isabel and Michael were unique. She approached Max’s door and held up her hand to knock. But then, what she and Max had was unique too, she thought. She brought her knuckles against the wood door lightly.
“Come in,” Max’s voice carried through the door and over the music playing. She grasped for the handle of the door and opened it, coming into Max’s room. His back was to her as he looked through the closet; tossing a few sweaters on the bed and completely missing the bag open there. She looked around at the room and smiled. It was surprisingly neat for a guy. The computer in the corner was stacked neatly with CDs and discs and she noticed the globe to the right of the desk, near his school books and papers. His bed was made and other than the mess of his packing, Max was beginning to look a little like a neat freak. She knew he liked to be in control, just as she did, so seeing his room made her smile. The stereo near the window played music softly and Liz tried not to stare at the aquarium off to the side which seemed to have some kind of lizard basking under the heat lamp. Max was still rifling through his closet when his head looked up.
“Iz, have you seen my ski--Liz! I didn’t know you were here,” Max said as he turned to look at her. He stood up quickly, shutting the closet door. He came over to her and tried to clear some room on his bed. She smiled at him softly, loving how he tried to take care of her.
“I thought I heard Isabel leaving her room, I didn’t even hear you come in,” Max said as he sat across from her in his desk chair.
“Isabel was just leaving as I got here. Your mom was in the kitchen, she said to yell if we needed anything,” Liz replied, trying to decide how to say what she wanted to. Max merely nodded, which was almost as responsive as his one word answers. She took a deep breath and continued.
“You know, your mom is pretty convinced that you and I are a couple,” she started. Max smiled, his eyes taking in her nervousness.
“She’s probably equally surprised that Michael and I aren’t a couple,” Max said offhandedly. Liz stared at him for a second before she laughed.
“Max! What do you mean?” she asked.
“Well, Mom and Dad were starting to wonder why I never go out and spend all my time with my sister and friend. I couldn’t exactly tell them the truth,” Max replied. Liz nodded, understanding what he meant.
“They weren’t the only ones who wondered,” Liz replied with a smile. Max raised an eyebrow at her comment.
“What?” he asked. Liz cleared her throat.
“You should know that there are a lot of theories about why Max Evans never dates,” Liz said. Max looked surprised.
“I never thought anybody noticed. I’ve always tried to fade--“
“Into the background. Max, even with how hard you tried, it was impossible not to notice you,” Liz said softly. Max held her gaze for a few minutes before he stood and moved to sit next to her. He reached a hand over and took her hand in his. Liz moved a fraction closer so that all he saw was her face in his vision.
“Max, what happens now?” Liz asked, trying to sound confident. She was trying so hard not to fear what Max might say to her. How it wasn’t safe, how they were too different, how he didn’t care about her. She knew she would be heartbroken if he rejected her, but she didn’t think she could wait any longer to know how he felt.
“I don’t know,” he said simply. He sighed and looked down at her hands. He picked one up and held it open against his own hand, palm to palm. Her hand tingled at the connection; her fingers were so much smaller than his and his hand nearly enveloped hers. She looked at Max, her eyes questioning.
“See, we look the same. We feel the same things. I just don’t know if any of this will work out,” Max admitted. Liz moved her fingers to interlace with his.
“But isn’t it worth it to find out?” Liz replied softly. Max looked into Liz’s eyes and saw the hope there, hope he’d never expected to see looking back at him. He’d never dared to hope that Liz would feel the same way about him that he did about her. She made him believe that he could be normal, she made him forget that he wasn’t.
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s worth it,” Max finally said, reaching up with his hand to brush back Liz’s hair. She closed her eyes in relief for a second as Max leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She leaned into him and breathed in the scent of his cologne, sharp and masculine. She buried her nose into his shoulder, feeling the softness of the sweater he wore next to the warmth of the skin of his neck. He moved to hold her closer and she complied easily, her legs moved until she was sitting in his lap. Her arms went around his shoulders as his encircled her waist and she felt his chest against her. They stopped moving and Liz closed her eyes. She could feel him breath. He could hear her heartbeat. Calm and steady like a grandfather clock. Max leaned against the wall with Liz tucked in his arms and he couldn’t stop the grin that spread over his face. He’d never felt as happy or satisfied with his life ever before. Liz moved with him until they were safely enclosed in each other’s arms, quietly listening to the music.
Isabel pulled the jeep into the Whitman’s driveway and cut the engine. She licked her lips nervously and ran a hand through her hair, which was a little windblown from the trip over. She saw the living room lights on and she got out of the jeep and walked to the front door. She chided herself for how she was acting. Isabel Evans was not fearful or hesitant. Isabel Evans was never apprehensive about approaching a guy. But even Isabel wasn’t really like the Isabel Evans that people thought she was. She reached the front door and paused. Alex might be the one to save her from her own image and that scared her more than she could have imagined. She knew his parents had already left for Europe and he was by himself that night. She wondered if she had the courage to find out if Alex was who she hoped. Slowly, she raised her hand to knock at the door. She tapped it three times, the noise sounding hollow. She waited and froze when she heard footsteps approaching. She took a deep breath as the lock was pulled open and the door began to open with a soft creak.
