Part 2 - Confrontations

Alex Whitman got out of his car in front of the Evans household. He took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and walked up to the door. He couldn't believe he was doing this. So much for my decision to not be Isabel's lapdog anymore, he thought wryly. Way to keep your independence and your distance. Recognizing how stupid he was being, he smiled and kept on walking. Like he ever had a hope of keeping his distance from Isabel.

Mrs. Evans opened the door and smiled at Alex. "Hello, Alex. Are you here to see Max or Isabel?"

"Isabel, actually," he smiled brightly at Mrs. Evans. "Is she home?"

"She hasn't been anywhere except home or school for days," she said, her smile fading into a look of motherly concern. "Her father and I have been worried about her, actually. All this isolation isn't like her at all. Maybe you can find out what's the matter and help her, Alex."

"Well, I'll certainly try." Alex went on inside and headed to Isabel's room. It looked like Michael had been right - there was definitely something wrong with Isabel. Of course, it might have been helpful if Michael had actually told Alex what that something was, but that was obviously too much to expect from Surly Alien. He supposed it was progress that Michael suggested Alex come over here at all.

When he reached the door to Isabel's room, Alex paused and knocked. "Isabel," he called. "It's Alex. Can I come in?"

For a minute, there was no answer. Just as he was preparing to knock again, he head Isabel's voice. "Go away, Alex. I don't want to see anyone right now." Her voice sounded tiny, not at all the confident Queen of the World voice he was accustomed to hearing from Isabel Evans. He frowned. Now he was starting to get worried himself.

"Isabel, I'm coming in," he said, reaching for the doorknob. A part of him expected to find the door locked or to be on the receiving end of Isabel's alien powers, but instead he found that the door opened quite easily. He went in, closing the door behind him. He didn't think Isabel was going to want a parental audience for what was coming.

The minute he saw her, Alex knew that all his talk about being over Isabel, about avoiding her and not being a love-sick puppy anymore, was foolish self-delusion. Because when he saw her, all huddled up in the chair next to the window, looking more like a lost and lonely little girl than the most popular girl at West Roswell High, he knew that he was just as crazy about her as he ever had been. He wanted to fight her battles and make her smile again. The only problem was, he had no idea what battles she was fighting right now. Okay, he thought resolutely. I'll just have to get her to tell me, that's all.

"So, Isabel. What's up?" Isabel kept looking out the window, ignoring him. He went over and looked out to see what was so interesting, but didn't see anything. A few cars and people passed by. Nothing for her to be staring at so intently. From this, he concluded that she simply didn't want to look at him. Fine, but that's not going to get rid of me. "I haven't talked to you since everything that happened last week," he went on. "I thought you might want to talk to someone about what Lonnie and Rath said. You know, someone neutral, who isn't a Czechoslovakian." Aha. A response. He saw her wince when he mentioned Lonnie and Rath. Well, after what they did to Max and Ava, that wasn't too big a surprise. Still, she said nothing. "You know, Isabel, I'm pretty used to being ignored by you. I've had years and years of practice in fact. So if you think the silent treatment is going to make me go away, you are sadly mistaken, my lady. I am not leaving this room until I know what's been making you so miserable lately. So, I will just sit here and talk until you decide to tell me what's up."

Alex sat down in the room's other chair, and got himself comfortable. This might take a while. After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he started talking.

For over half an hour, Alex just talked. He let his mind wander from topic to topic, rambling on about anything that came into his mind. He told Isabel about the first time he had seen her in fifth grade and how he had thought she was some fairy tale princess come to life (he also told her how much Maria had laughed at him for this and teased him about his crush). He told about the time he went skiing and got tangled up while trying to get out of the snowlift, falling down in the snow, but laughing anyway because he had never been in snow before. He described the gig the Whits had the previous week, and the outfits that Maria had forced them to wear. He laughingly explained to her about how he had dared Liz and Maria to climb a tree when they were twelve, and how he had stayed up there for two hours with them until Liz got up the courage to climb back down ("I told her not to look down!"). He told her about how his father was trying to convince him to go on another camping trip, one where they actually had supplies and tents. And so it went. Alex didn't mind that he was telling her all the personal parts of his life. After all, he already knew her deepest darkest secret. It only seemed fair that she know some of his. He told her about the crush he had on Liz when he was in fourth grade, and how it lasted a year until they became friends. He shared with her the time that he snuck down in the middle of the night to watch "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" on television and was nervous for a week, watching his parents to see if they had been switched with Pod People.

By this point, Alex was starting to run out of breath. But he was determined to keep talking until she did. He decided to think of Maria and take encouragement from her example. Maria could talk for hours if you let her. If she could do it, so could he. However, he did take a brief pause to try and think of his next topic, when he noticed that Isabel had turned and was looking at him.

"Why do you care?" she asked.

"About what?" he replied in confusion. "About whether my parents were Pod People? Well, it seemed like something to worry about at the time. Of course, in retrospect, maybe not such a strange thing." He smiled at her, but she shook her head.

"Why do you care about me?"

Alex closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he looked at her directly and answered, "Isabel, I think you already know the answer to that."

"No," she said, shaking her head again. "It doesn't make any sense. You care so much about me. You always have. I've never understood it. You don't even know me."

He smiled. "Of course I now you. You're Isabel Evans, the most beautiful girl in West Roswell High, inside and out." He reached out for her hand, but she pulled it away.

"You don't really know me," she whispered.

"Isabel, why don't you tell me what's going on? Maybe I can help."

She looked away. "What did you hear from Rath and Lonnie?"

Alex thought back a week. "They called you by another name, Vondra or something. I really didn't catch it. We were a little busy at the time," he finished wryly.

"Vilandra. That's who I am, or who I was. It's who we both were - Lonnie and I. In our other life." She looked at Alex. The last thing she wanted was to have him hate her, to look away from her in disgust, but she couldn't keep this inside anymore. She had to talk about it with someone, and Alex was the person she trusted most in the world. She would never say it, and couldn't really understand it, but Alex, geeky skinny Alex, had a strength to him that she always felt she could rely on, even more than she could rely on Michael and Max. So, she decided to take the chance and hope that he would still see her in the same way, even after she told him.

"I found out about Vilandra on my birthday. Congresswoman Whitaker told me. Vilandra betrayed everybody, including her brother, for her lover Kivar." At Alex's look of recognition, Isabel nodded. "Yes, the same Kivar who is the leader of the Skins. The one who took over Max's throne back home. Whitaker told me that I belonged with them, the Skins. Nicholas said the same thing, that he had been sent by Kivar to bring me back home."

"I see," Alex nodded slowly. "And Lonnie confirmed this?"

"Yes. She said that she knew about it, too. Michael and Max know the truth about me, but I didn't want to have to tell the rest of you. But then when Lonnie and Rath made such a big deal of it," she shrugged. "Well, I guess I can't keep it a secret anymore."

Alex nodded again, but seemed to be thinking. Isabel waited for his response for a minute, but then couldn't wait anymore. "Well? What do you think? Do you hate me now?"

Alex looked at her in confusion and laughed. "Why would I hate you? That doesn't even make sense."

"Weren't you listening? I betrayed everyone and got us all killed. Our deaths were my fault. I was a traitor, Alex."

Alex shook his head. "Okay, first things first. Have you gotten any of this information about Vilandra's supposed treachery from someone who wasn't trying to kill you?"

"Well, no, but...."

"Well, maybe the Skins and the dupes aren't the most reliable sources of information in the world, Izzy. This might just be Michael's paranoia rubbing off on me, but I'm thinking they might just possibly lie on occasion."

Isabel opened her mouth to answer, but Alex cut her off. "But let's say that it's true. That there was an alien princess named Vilandra who betrayed her brother and caused him to get killed by Kivar. Okay. And then the aliens took Vilandra's essence and combined it with human DNA to make you and Lonnie. You aren't Vilandra. You're a different person - different DNA, different life experiences. So whether you believe in nature or nurture, you're different from Vilandra on both counts."

Isabel wanted so desperately to believe him. He sounded so sure of himself. "I want to believe that, Alex, but I don't know if I can."

"Okay, Isabel. Let's try to approach this logically. When you found out that Rath and Lonnie were going to kill Max, what did you do?"

She looked at him like he was crazy. "You already know what I did. I got Liz and we dreamwalked Max to warn him."

Alex smiled triumphantly. "You mean, you saved his life? You didn't grab Michael and start celebrating Max's death? You weren't thrilled at the idea of being an only child and having the Jeep all to yourself?"

A little smile formed on Isabel's face. "Of course not."

"Well, from what you just told me, that's what Vilandra would have done. So obviously, you're not the same as she was." He saw that she still looked doubtful. "I mean it, Isabel. You're not like her. You would never try to hurt Max and Michael. I've been around you three, remember? You're like a mother bear when you think one of them is in danger. I remember how you acted when Michael was sick, how determined you were to nurse him back to health by sheer strength of will alone. I honestly don't know how he dared to stay sick. I personally would have been too afraid of you to stay sick, the way you were acting." Isabel tried to give him an angry look, but couldn't hide the smile that was spreading. "And I saw how you and Maria dragged his cocoon across the desert to the reservation. You love your family, Iz. You would never betray them."

Isabel relaxed for the first time since her reunion with Lonnie a week earlier. Alex sounded so sure of himself. He almost made her believe. Okay, maybe more than almost. She reached over and took his hand.

"Thank you for believing in me," she whispered, and then leaned forward to kiss him. For a split second, she thought he was going to pull away, but he didn't. Instead he leaned forward and returned the kiss.

Isabel had almost forgotten how good kissing Alex felt. She had done her best to block it out ever since learning about Vilandra. She never wanted to hurt him. But kissing Alex was something that just seemed right. Slowly, she reached up and put her hand behind his neck, deepening the kiss. When she was with Alex, she felt safe. It was the only time when she felt totally and completely safe.

Alex tried to convince his body to stop kissing her. He knew where this was leading, and he knew that if he started down this road again, any chance he ever had of being free of Isabel was gone forever. But then he felt her hand on his neck, and all rational thought left. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her as close as possible. He realized that he was never going to be able to stop loving Isabel, so he might as well enjoy the ride.

After a while, Isabel pulled away and smiled at him. "So," she said teasingly.

"So," he said with a shaky smile. "Is this the part where you tell me that I'm a great friend but you're not ready for a relationship right now?"

"You are a great friend," she started. At his groan, she laughed. "But you're more than that. Alex, thank you for giving me space. I needed to get my head straight, to figure out what I wanted. But I know now." She looked him directly in the eyes. He smiled again, loving her pride and self-assurance. "I want you, Alex. If you still want me, that is."

He heard the little tremble in her voice as she said the last part. He shook his head in disbelief. Isabel Evans, the goddess of West Roswell, worried that Alex Charles Whitman wouldn't want her. "Isabel, I understood why you needed time. And I told you that I would always be there to catch you. So, yes. I most definitely still want you."

She threw herself into his arms, and they kissed again. This day was definitely going better than Alex had expected. When they finally came up for air, he muttered, "I'm going to owe Michael a big thank-you later for this."

"Michael?" she said in puzzlement. "What does Michael have to do with anything?"

"He's the one who suggested that I come over and talk to you," he said, brushing back a loose lock of her blond hair. She really was beautiful. "Well, actually, it was more of an order than a suggestion, but you know Michael."

She gave another little laugh. "Oh, yes. I definitely know Michael. So he's been talking about me behind my back, has he? How.......... interesting."

Alex knew that look in her eyes. He briefly considered trying to convince her not to be angry with Michael, but then he decided that Michael could take care of himself. Anyway, he had better things to be doing with his time. With that thought, Alex proceeded to distract Isabel from thoughts of Michael, Vilandra, and anything and everything alien-related.

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