Please Note: The Roswell Elementary stories are not to be archived anywhere, under any circumstances. Only linking to the stories is permitted.
By Kara
Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own any of this. Property of: WB, Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, Pocket Books, and Michael belongs to Maria. *g* Oh, and the title alludes to Heinlein, but he's dead, so maybe he won't sue me.
Spoilers: None, really, though seeing "Balance" helps...
Notes: This is a prequel to "Roswell Elementary," based on what Max described in "The Balance." Enjoy!
It was their second year at Roswell Elementary. Momma and Dad were proud of the progress they made. Max didn't ask about going home anymore, but sometimes they wondered why he liked to look in his telescope so much. Izzy still cried at night, for the boy, but she didn't wake Momma and Dad up. She just crawled in with Max, and let him rock her back to sleep.
He wondered what happened to the boy sometimes. It had been three years. The adoption went through, and all the social people finally stopped wondering where he and his sister had come from. They didn't remember. They tried to remember, but Izzy was already starting to think of this place as home. She was starting to care about what others thought of her, and to notice how people looked. She tried to blend in with everyone else during the day. But at night, she still cried for the boy they lost. If only Max had grabbed his hand, and held it tighter. Then they wouldn't be so alone.
They stepped off the bus. Izzy still held on to his hand when they went someplace new. He knew that she didn't want to lose him too. He could always find her by following her feelings back. And over the summer, she discovered that she could come visit him in his dreams. She didn't like it when he dreamed about the pretty girl, with all the dark hair. That made her cry too. Because she thought he might love someone more than her.
They felt the boy's feelings sometimes. Mostly anger, sometimes fear. Sometimes, when he laid in bed at night, Max could almost feel the other boy's tears. He wondered what made the boy cry so much. If only he hadn't let go.
As they stepped off the bus, he saw the dark-haired girl. She was jumping around and laughing with her blond friend that always reminded Max of TinkerBell, or the Energizer Bunny, without the drum. Izzy tugged at his hand and glared at him, trying to make him stop paying attention to his dream girl. But the girl filled his heart with warmth, right down to where Momma said his stomach was. The girl made him feel like he belonged here, instead of to the place before his memories.
And then he felt a sudden pang of recognition. From the way Izzy pulled on him, she did too. And then the boy was there, his dark eyes wide and scared. He looked around like that deer Dad's car had caught in the headlights. Like he didn't know what to expect. Like he was a stranger, all alone.
The blond girl noticed him too, and looked up from her hand game with the dark girl. She smiled shyly at him, and held out a hand. The boy glared at her, so she stuck her tongue out at him. The boy's face crumpled a little, and he ran his hands through his messy brown hair. Maybe that's why it stuck up so much, like the porcupine that lived under the rock in the backyard.
And then the boy opened his mouth.
"Cheesehead."
The girl tossed her blond curls. "Big Ugly Buttface." And she turned back to the dark haired girl, but still sneaking looks at the boy.
Izzy pulled him over to the boy, and when their hands touched, it felt like a shock, like the time he stuck the paper clip in the electric socket to see what would happen. Izzy took the boy's other hand, and they stood in a circle. The fear that he felt from the boy calmed, and something missing inside his chest filled. They were together. They weren't alone.
"What did they name you?" Izzy's voice was soft. The boy had tears in his eyes, and she used the hem of her dress to wipe them away. "Momma named me Isabel, and him Max. Momma and Dad are the Evanses. They're nice."
The boy squirmed a little before mumbling. "Hank doesn't like my name. He calls me Mickey, like the stupid mouse. But the ladies at the house with all the kids--they called me Michael. I'm sposed to be a bringer of glory or something stupid like that. Michael Guerin."
Izzy smiled. "Michael Guerin."
He gave her a lopsided grin. "Izzy Evans. Izzy Lizard breath." But the smile was real. And the feelings Max felt from him were happy ones.
"I'm glad we found you. We were worried. Are you okay?" Max felt something choking in his throat, the feeling that Momma said was tears. But it wasn't okay to cry all the time. That's what Dad said, because boys don't cry. Izzy could though, because she was a girl.
Michael nodded. "We're together now. I'll be okay." And their clasped hands tightened. And softly, they began to glow.
"Do you know who we are?" His voice sounded small again, alone. The light of their hands wavered a little bit.
Izzy shook her head. "But Max can put things back together again with his hands. And I can visit people's dreams sometimes."
The boy glared down at the ground. "I can break things. And then Hank gets mad at me." So that was part of the fear. He tightened his grip on Michael's hand.
"We're together now. We'll figure it all out someday." And they smiled at each other. Secret smiles. Smiles of best friends who found each other.
They were strangers in a strange land, but they weren't alone anymore.
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