It was late, and Liz knew she should be in bed, since the next day was a school day, but she just couldn't get herself to crawl under the covers. Hours had passed since she had run from Max, and she had spent the entire time reliving her first memory flash, trying to figure out what it all meant.

Memory flash…it seemed such an understatement.

What Liz had experienced was more than just a memory flash. She didn't just see the moment in her head…she relived it… Liz could feel how she felt at that moment in Max's arms…it was almost as if she were transported to another time and place for those few seconds…and in retrospective she was left with so many questions, very few answers, and a weight of mixed up emotions anchoring down on her shoulders.

And yet she couldn't seem to channel it in any way.

Usually when she was feeling so emotionally mixed up and confused, she would head to her balcony, stare up at the stars, and feel at peace…but tonight it just wasn't working.

Liz stood, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders and hugging it tightly around her body as she paced back and forth across the short length of her balcony. There was a restless energy burning within her that just seemed to build as she sat letting her thoughts linger on the evening…and as each moment passed she felt a growing need to release it somehow.

Liz suddenly grinned in excitement, as she rushed to her bedroom window, stepping back into the room, and almost attacking her backpack with an overwhelming enthusiasm, as she searched out what she needed.

With a sigh of relief, she settled back down on the balcony a few minutes later, a pen and a bright, new notebook in her hand, as she slowly opened the cover and slid her fingers over the untouched page.

A peaceful smile spreading across her face, Liz began to write.

9/12/01

Wow…where do you even start when you need to pour your soul out? I guess I should start with this. I met someone today, and he managed to change my whole world in a mere moment…or should I say a series of mere moments…starting with the first time I saw him pass me in the hallway…to when I actually met him in Biology class…to the moment he walked into the Crashdown to see me tonight…to finally realizing that there was someone else out there who completely understood what I was going through.

And you'd think that would be enough right there to totally change everything…but that was just the beginning. Things truly changed when we said goodnight…when he…when he touched me for the first time, and I saw…the past. Our past.

With one touch, Max Evans managed to awaken feelings in me that I didn't even know I was capable of…he made me feel alive. He made me feel whole.

I should explain better…it's hard though. I've spent all night trying to put it in words in my head exactly what I felt in that one moment with Max Evans…and I can't quite describe it. It was like a familiarity that I haven't felt…well…basically ever in my short memory. The moment I saw him I knew that I was supposed to know him…and the moment I touched him I realized how important he is to me…both to my past, and to my future.

I believe that Max is the only person who can help me remember my past. Now it's just a matter of discovering what the key will unlock.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The night air was crisp, chilly…a hint at what was coming in the slowly nearing winter, and Max found himself pulling his black leather jacket tighter around himself, trying to keep warm long enough to clear his head.

Although who knew how long that would take…he had already been out for hours.

It suddenly occurred to Max as he lay back in the back seat of his car, staring up at the bright, distant stars, that he hadn't been home since before school that morning. Isabel was probably losing her mind worrying about him…but she could wait. Max needed time to think…and a lot of it.

So much had happened…so much had changed, all through the course of one day, and it left Max's head spinning, full of as much confusion as wonder.

Liz Parker was like something out of his dreams. He had only known her for one day, but for some reason that one day seemed like a lifetime. Max couldn't imagine how he had lived the past few weeks without her…and similarly he knew he wouldn't be able to survive the next day without her. As it was it took some serious will power not to start his car and drive straight back to the Crashdown to see her.

And aside from his own needs and desires that were fueling his restless energy…Max also was worried…about her. When they said goodbye earlier…when he had the flash…she ran off so suddenly. Had she seen the flash too? Was it an actual memory flash, or was it an alien thing? Max had gotten flashes from a number of objects over the past few weeks…although most of them he didn't understand or even try to interpret. The flash with Liz was not only the first flash he had with a person, but also the first flash that made any sense to him.

And it made all the sense in the world to Max.

It spoke loud and clear that he and Liz were important to each other before, as well as now. He and Liz had been close.

That fact in and of itself arouse so many questions within Max. If they were so close, what had gone wrong? Why were Isabel and Maria so against them growing close again? A part of Max wanted to run straight home and interrogate Isabel, but caution stopped him. She had her reasons, and perhaps he needed to discover those on his own.

But as it was…he couldn't get Liz out of his head. She was everywhere…inside his mind, inside his heart, inside his soul.

He was already addicted…and he couldn't wait to get more of her.

~~~~~~~~~~~

She couldn't get to Biology class fast enough the next day…but somehow the moment she walked through the classroom, Liz froze at the sight of Max sitting calmly at their table. His eyes found her immediately, and they locked, the rest of the world melting away, as Liz lost herself in his eyes.

Reality returned when an irritated student yelled at her for blocking the doorway, and with an embarrassed blush, Liz made her way to Max's side. Class was quickly called to order, and Liz couldn't help noticing the frustration in Max's eyes, and disappointment that they couldn't talk. It eased her fears a bit to know that he was as eager to talk to her as she was to see him.

The class couldn't have gone any slower. It was a lecture class, and they were forced to take notes and participate in a discussion, leaving very little time for small talk. The moment class was dismissed though, Liz turned her attention immediately to Max.

"So..." Liz smiled shyly.

"So how are you doing?" Max asked curiously, searching her eyes with concern. "I was worried when you ran off so quickly last night."

"Yeah…I know. I'm sorry about that. It's just…well, I don't want to go into it right now, but I really need to talk to you. Could we maybe go somewhere after school? There's…a lot to say."

"Yeah." Max agreed. "There is a lot to say…but I don't want to wait. Do you want to go somewhere now? Get out of here…go on a drive…get away from everything and talk?"

Liz looked up in surprise at his daring suggestion, but instantly her heart melted, as she knew without a doubt that she didn't want to wait either.

"Okay…let's go."