Far From Normal
By Nace (CrashDarby@aol.com )

Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own no Roswell characters, but Jason is entirely mine. All other copyrights go to Melinda and the WB
Summary: A new kid comes to town, but he's not like anybody they've ever met. Category: Other
Notes: Any feedback would be just grand.
****************************************************************************

The seemingly endless desert highway spilled out before him. When he first entered the desert all the way back in California he found the sparkling grains of sand, scattered green cacti, and vast mountains beautiful. But after three states and an uncounted number of miles worth of the same dull sand and endless mountain chains he was getting a little sick of it. He was still surprised his parents let him drive all the way to New Mexico by himself. They'd gone ahead with the movers a few days prior leaving him behind to say his good-byes. His parents had always trusted him and figured he was responsible enough to drive the distance alone.

"Boring" he thought dazing out the window again.

The only thing he liked about the desert was that out here there were no voices he had to block out. No endless rally of concentration to keep other peoples thoughts at bay. It was a rest his mind greatly needed. A road sign finally came into view, "Roswell 35 miles," it read.

"Yes" he thought, "about a half-hour to go."

He still wasn't too happy about moving, especially to thee Roswell, New Mexico of all places. He like every other sci-fi interested teen had heard the tales and seen alien autopsy and thought it was a load of bull. Sure he was open to the idea of life on other planets, you'd have to be moron not to be, but he wouldn't believe that such an advanced race of beings would waste their time ever coming to this mud ball. Let alone end up in a one-horse town like Roswell.

He cranked up his stereo and stepped on the gas, he hadn't seen a cop for about 300 miles and thought it would be safe to engage in a little unnecessary speeding. About twenty minutes and two miles out of town later he saw the red and blue lights flashing in his rearview mirror.

"Great," he thought, "Just great."

Slowing his 69' mustang to a crawl, he calmly pulled onto the shoulder. He looked behind him to see the sheriff get out of his cruiser and waltz over to him.

"License and registration please," said the sheriff.

He handed them over and glanced at the cops badge, "Valenti," it read. "What kind of name is that?" he wondered.

"Well, well," Valenti started, "Jason Matthews from sunny California. I'm sure aware the speed limit of sixty-five miles an hour is indeed the national limit."

"Yes sir," Jason replied.

"I clocked you at ninety," Valenti said. "Want to tell me what's your hurry?"

"Just anxious to get out of the desert that's all," said Jason.

"Seems like a lot of baggage to be a tourist," Valenti stated looking at his backseat.

"I'm moving," Jason responded.

"Moving huh? and just where is this El Dorado you're so eager to get to ?," Valenti inquired.

"Roswell," Jason said looking away, it took him a second to close off the sheriff's mind, and he still didn't want to admit to himself that yes that's where he was going.

"Really," Valenti replied, "Roswell huh? Well on account of your being the new kid in town, I'm going to be a nice guy today and let you off with a warning. But if I ever get you again you'll get more than just a ticket."

"Oh…okay, thanks." Jason said.

"Watch yourself," Valenti warned.

Jason nodded then started up his car and drove off.

Valenti stared at the mustang as it roared off. He couldn't explain this feeling he had about that kid, something was different about him. He only knew he felt it with those other three. He was going to keep a close eye on this Jason Matthews.

Jason looked down at the map laid across his hood, this town was harder to get around than he thought. He sighed and thought about that Valenti character, it took him a second to block off his thoughts but in that second he had gotten an interesting tidbit of information. The guy was a firm alien believer/hunter and was a little suspicious of Jason. He snickered at that a little, he wasn't an alien and having some ET hunting sheriff suspecting him was just to funny. His laughter quickly subsided as the revelation hit him. He may not be from outer space, but he still wasn't like anyone else he'd ever known.

As soon as he entered the town limits a wave of voices rushed over him. It wasn't as bad as when he lived in San Diego, Roswell was definitely much smaller and the meager population meant it was easier to control his power. Maybe he could even have some fun using it for a change. Jason's stomach started to rumble and he looked across the street to see the 'Crashdown Café.'

"Great," he thought, "I hope this whole place doesn't have UFO's on the brain."

He stepped through the door and heard it chime the theme from Close Encounters. "Oh brother," he thought. A splash of emotions hit him as he took a seat on a stool at the counter. He looked over to the other end to see two waitresses leaning on the counter and talking to a couple of guys. Yep, love was definitely in the air. One of the waitresses was dark haired and had really pretty big brown eyes. Jason didn't look at her too long though; you didn't have to be able to read minds to see that the guy she was talking to had her heart indefinitely. You could just see it in her eyes. The other waitress girl had this head full of springy blonde strands. She seemed to be involved in a staring contest with a guy that had the strangest hair do he'd ever seen. It was spiky anywhere and everywhere it could have been.

The springy haired girl finally noticed Jason and walked over to him.

"What can I get you?" she asked.

"Cherry coke," Jason replied.

The remaining three at the end of the counter immediately turned their heads in Jason's direction at his order.

"Is that a rare request?" he asked the waitress glancing over at the other three.

"Nah," she replied. "But those two," she said pointing at the guys, "Drink it all the time."

"I see," said Jason. He looked down at the two guys, there was something off about them, and he couldn't explain but just felt it. He could tell that they had secrets, big secrets. Both of their minds weren't giving off anything and Jason was actually trying to read them. The spiky haired guy shot him and evil look, like he could almost tell what he was trying to do.

Jason's attention turned back to the waitress as she set down his drink.

"Thanks Maria," he said.

"How do you know my name?" she asked rather startled.

Jason was surprised by the shocked way she responded. He would understand if she weren't wearing a nametag or something. Although he knew that's not where he learned her name, he pointed to it casually.

"Oh," she said a little flushed.

"Do you know how to get to Arroyo Drive?" he asked.

"Looking for a relative or something?" Maria inquired.

"Actually I'm looking for my new house," he replied. "I just moved here."

"Really?" she said. "Why on earth would you want to move here?"

"Wanting to and having to are two different things," Jason said. "I had to move here."

"Well I feel sorry for you pal," Maria said smiling.

It was a cute smile Jason thought, but no way. He'd already gotten a flash of the spiky haired guy from her mind. Michael his name was, and the thoughts Maria had about him…

'Control yourself,' he thought, 'You don't need to know every little detail.'

"Hey guy," Maria said waving her hand in front of his face.

"Sorry," he said. "Must have spaced out there."

The dark haired waitress looked up and walked over to them.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello," Jason replied.

"You want to know how to get to Arroyo Drive right?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," he said.

She grabbed a napkin and began scribbling directions on it. Jason took a few more sips of his soda and glanced back at the guys. Michael was still eyeing him suspiciously as the other one stared intently at the dark haired girl. She finished with the directions and handed them over to Jason. Her hand slightly brushed his, and the contents of her entire mind were sent rippling through him. His whole body trembled as he knocked over his coke and almost fell off the stool; the two waitresses jumped back a step. A second later the harsh sensation stopped almost as quickly as it started.

"Are you okay?" the dark haired one asked.

"I'm fine Liz," he se said.

"I didn't tell you my…" she began.

Jason pointed at her nametag and held his head in his hands. He'd never felt a rush like that before, this girl Liz just had so much pent up inside her, it was screaming to be let out. He now knew what was so off about the two guys Michael and Max was the other ones name. He just couldn't believe it; they were…aliens, real life aliens and just sitting a few seats down. Jason looked up to find all four of them staring at him.

"I gotta go," he said. "Liz, Maria thanks for the directions, but I uh…I gotta go."

He threw a few bucks on the counter and quickly ran out the front door.

Max and Michael stared at each other intently.

"Just what the heck was that all about?" Maria asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," Michael said sternly.

"Max?" said Liz grabbing his hand.

"Huh?" he answered.

"What do you think that was?" she asked. "I've only seen that happen when you make a…" her voice trailed off.

"I have no idea," Max said.

"Wait a minute," Maria said. "Do you think he's, could he be one of…"

"No way," Michael interrupted. "We would have felt him, right Max?"

"Yeah," Max replied staring at the door.

The kid wasn't one of them, but he was still far from normal.

Jason ran as fast as he could out the front door of the Crashdown and into his car. Fumbling with the keys for a few seconds, he finally got it to start. He threw it in reverse, peeled out of the parking space, and floored it down the street. For awhile he wasn't even looking at where he was heading, or stop signs, or stop lights for that matter. He must have run three of them each.

"What the hell was that!" he shouted pounding his fist against the steering wheel.

Never before had he been jolted with such a rush of someone's thoughts. It felt like somebody had punched him in the face. Plus he still didn't know how to handle the fact that those guys, Max and Michael were aliens. Real life, in the flesh, honest to god aliens. The skeptic in him didn't want to believe it, but Liz's mind showed no trace of deception, there was nothing that would convince him that she was just crazy. Though right now he really wasn't wanting to dwell on them.

"Jeez," he thought. "Five minutes in this town and what happens? You expose yourself to complete strangers. I mean this is a small town, people just don't forget about these things.

After running what must have been his fifth red light, he saw a park out of the corner of his eye. Jason thought it best to pull over and try to calm down before he crashed into a phone poll or something. He swung his car into a parking stall and ran to the nearest bench. He held his head in his hands and rocked back and forth nervously.

"Do they know about me?" he wondered.

He knew they could tell something was definitely up, and now Jason would have to start answering questions. He'd never had to answer questions before, if he ever had difficulty blocking someone out he would just say he had a headache. It never went much past 'are you alright?' but then again he never did go into a full body spasm. It was the strangest thing, afterwards Liz game him a look like she'd this happen before. Jason closed his eyes and leaned against the hard grained wood of the bench. Reaching into his pocket he found the napkin with the directions Liz had written for him. He held it in his palm, looked around to see if anyone was watching him, and mentally willed it to unfold and levitate in front of him. This was his favorite power by far, who wouldn't like being able to move things with a mere thought? Feeling he had calmed a bit, he plucked the napkin out of the air. Glancing up at the sky he thought he better try finding his house before it got dark

Meanwhile back at the Crashdown…

"Max," Liz said pulling him aside. "I think, I mean he looked like he knew something."

"Yeah," Max said looking at the counter.

"You saw he spazzed out for a second," she continued, "I've only seen that happen when… her voiced trailed off.

Max knew what she was getting at. The only times they'd ever seen someone spasm like that was when he, Michael, or Isabel made connections. While their mind were still able to focus the rush of images caused the whole body to jerk around a little. The new kid couldn't be one of them; him and Michael would have felt something for sure.

"Why does everybody look like they've seen a ghost?" Alex said walking up to the counter.

"Yeah," Isabel said continued following close behind him. "Is something wrong?"

"Something kind of strange went down a minute ago," Maria said.

"Strange?" Alex said arching an eyebrow. He wondered if it had anything to do with the mustang that peeled out of the parking lot a minute ago. "How strange?" he finished.

Liz and Maria proceeded to tell them what happened while Alex and Isabel looked on stunned. Alex wondered why Max and Michael were just sitting over there wrapped in silence.

"So," Isabel began. "You touched his hand,"

"Brushed his hand," Max interrupted.

"All right brushed his hand," she continued. 'This is no time for Mr. Jealousy' she thought. "He looked like we did when we make connections?"

"Exactly," Maria said. A few more people entered the café and she sighed.

"I'll get them," she offered Liz, then grabbed some menu's and strolled over to them.

Isabel glanced over at Michael, she knew that look on his face, he was biding his time till he could break away and track the guy down.

"You guys say he's not one of you?" Alex asked Max and interrupting her train of thought.

"No, at least I don't think so. Michael, Isabel and I can feel each other's presence. I got nothing from him, right Michael?"

"Right," Michael said staring at the door.

"I know what you thinking," Max said. "We can't just go chasing after him."

"Yeah? And why is that Maxwell," he said bitterly. "You saw what happened with your own two eyes. Anything outside of us doesn't happen that strange around here lately."

"Lower your voice Michael," Isabel warned.

"Sorry," he said through clenched teeth.

"What if was a trick?" Alex asked. "He could just be working for Valenti or something."

"All the more reason to go after him," Michael said.

"Someone should go find him," Max agreed. " But not just yet, and not any of us who were sitting right here when it happened."

"Then who?" Liz asked. She nodded when max pointed his eyes at Alex and Isabel.

Alex sighed. "All right, all right. You don't have to pull like my leg," he said, looking at Isabel.

"How do we keep ending up together?" she cooed.

"Fate," Alex said smiling.

Max and Liz rolled their eyes in unison while Maria walked back over to them.

"I better get one hell of a tip," she muttered.

"So when this going to happen?" Michael asked.

"When's what going to happen?" Maria asked.

"Alex and Izzy are going to the guys house…tonight," Max stated.

"Right, and as soon as you find out anything, you came back and tell us," Michael said in a rather drill Sargent like tone.

"Sir, YES SIR!" Alex said mockingly. "Where exactly are we going?"

"He was looking for Arroyo Drive," Liz said. "He was looking for his house."

"Did anybody happen to get his name?" Isabel asked.

"No, but he was kind of quick to call us by ours," Maria said.

"Yeah that was a little odd," Liz commented.

"What do we do till tonight?" Alex asked.

"Simple," Max said, "We wait."

Alex and Isabel sat parked in his car just a few houses down from the new kid's. Isabel wished they found out his name soon, this calling him the 'new kid' was getting a little repetitive. The house had been easy enough to find, the Realtor's sigh was still staked in the front lawn with a big 'SOLD' label stuck on it.

So his moving here story seemed to check out. It was a nice blue one-story estate; the kind typically found scattered across southwestern suburbia. Another big clue in finding the place was that the moving still parked in the driveway.

"How long have we been sitting here?" Isabel whined. "I think my butt fell asleep."

"Oh come on," Alex said, "We've only been here a half-hour."

"A half-hour hour to long if you ask me," she replied. "They said he took off in a mustang, and since I don't see it here, he must not be here. I really don't see the point in staking out someone if they're not even here to stake out."

"That's what a stakeout is Isabel, waiting for someone to show up," Alex informed her.

"How do cops do this?" she asked.

"We could get some donuts," Alex offered with a grin.

"Funny," she said nudging him.

Alex almost shivered at her touch, and felt the heat rising in his cheeks.

"Isabel?" he began.

"Ssh," she interrupted spotting a mustang pulling up to the house; "He's here."

The two would be detectives ducked just enough to where their eyes peered a little above the dashboard. They saw a man and a woman ran out of the house.

"Jason!" they cried. As they squeezed him into a bear hug.

"What did they say?" Alex asked.

"Jason," she replied, "I guess his name is Jason."

The three stood on the lawn for a few minutes having a rather heartfelt hello, until finally heading back into the house.

"Let's go," Alex said opening his door.

"Go where?" Isabel asked with that wide-eyed uncertain look of hers.

"To get a closer look," he replied exiting the car.

"I didn't know you had the commando instinct in you," she said quietly.

"Oh yeah, I'm a regular GI Joe," he replied. "Now be quiet we can't let them hear us."

They crept closer to the house and crouched in a bush just outside the living room window. They took turns glancing up through the window, and if they were quiet enough, could make out what the people inside were saying.

"How was the drive son?" the father asked.

"Pretty boring," Jason responded. "The desert looks the same no matter how far you've gone."

"Oh honey, you're always so cynical," his mother said.

"Meet any local kids yet?" his father, asked lightheartedly.

"A few," Jason said looking out the window. He could have sworn he heard something, felt something.

"Possible friends?" his mother asked.

"I don't know," Jason said looking out the window again. He didn't want to have this conversation anymore; his parents were trying to hard to make him happy about being here.

"Can I see my room now? He asked.

"Of course," they said in unison.

They all filed out of the living room and into the hall as Isabel was glancing in the window again.

"They left," she said crouching back down.

"We'll just wait for them to turn the light on, then we'll know which room is his," Alex said scoping out the other windows of the house.

"Are you sure you haven't done this before?" Isabel asked giving him that little smile of hers.

"Not on purpose," he said blushing.

A light snapped on a few windows down as Alex and Isabel quietly snuck over to it. Alex gave her the shush signal with his finger so he could eavesdrop again.

"Do you like it?" the father asked.

"It's cool," Jason replied.

"Not to small?" his mother prodded.

"It's bigger than my old room mom," Jason said. "Can you leave me alone for awhile?" he asked, "I'd like to unpack and stuff."

"Sure son," his father said.

"We'll call you when we're ready to get dinner," his mother added.

Jason sighed as he closed the door behind them. They'd taken the liberty of setting up his bed for him, so walked over to it and sprawled out. After today he really needed to relax.

"If he's working for Valenti," Alex whispered, "They sure are going to great lengths to put on a good show."

Jason stared at all the boxes piled around the room. It would be a piece of cake unpacking them all; he just needed the motivation to do so. He laughed to himself a bit for almost forgetting he didn't need to get up at all. He stared at the first box marked 'Jason's room' the topped ripped open and he carefully willed the contents out. Jason smiled as his favorite books appeared before him, and he dutifully guided them across the room and onto a pre-installed shelf on the wall.

Alex looked up through the window and could not believe what he saw, books just seemed to be floating around in mid-air. He quickly ducked back down to Isabel and the look of sheer disbelief layered across his face worried her a little.

"What?" she whispered, "What did you see?"

Unable to spit any words out, Alex pointed back to the windowsill with a shaky finger. Isabel cautiously lifted her head to see Jason sitting on his bed. She thought she was starting to hallucinate when she saw boxes opening and closing and their contents floating around seemingly by themselves. It took her a minute to make the connection, but it was confirmed when she saw him raise his hand and guide a pile of clothes in a little parade around the room.

"He's doing it!" she thought. "Oh my god!" she shrieked.

Alex immediately grabbed her hand and sprinted toward the car.

"What did you do that for?" he cried.

"I'm sorry next time I'll plan my reaction to seeing something that," she shot back.

They reached the car, jumped in, and screeched down the street.

Jason heard the shriek and instantly froze causing his things to crash to the floor. He ran to the window to see a guy and girl running across his yard and down the street.

'Someone's spying on me!' he thought. 'Did they see?' they had to have seen. He felt his blood turn cold. Was it those kids from the Crashdown? It had to be them, he hadn't met anyone else yet, and after this afternoon it just had to be them. He felt the panic start to se it in. He wasn't going to just sit here and wait for the MIB or CIA, NSA, or whatever government agency that could use a gifted teen like him to come crashing through his door. He grabbed his keys and headed out the door…

Max, Michael, Liz, and Maria all sat waiting impatiently scattered about in the Crashdown. They'd closed about an hour earlier so the place was completely empty. Alex and Isabel and gone to investigate that guy about an hour ago and had yet to return. Liz tried to keep herself bust by refilling all the sugar bowls, while Michael and Maria were having the usual staring match. Max just sat and stared incessantly at the door, eagerly awaiting Alex and Isabel's return.

"Max?" Liz asked.

"Hmm?" he grunted.

"You know, I've been thinking. I really don't think that he could have been working for Valenti. You saw how scared he was when he ran out the door. I think someone sent to spy on you would have been a little more calm and collected."

"You do remember how Topolsky had us all fooled for awhile," Michael intervened.

"Well I don't think we should jump to anymore conclusions until we have a little bit more information," Maria said.

All of their heads shot to the door when they heard a car pull up. A few seconds later Alex and Isabel came strolling through the door. Their faces didn't give off anything other than total shock.

"What happened?" Liz asked.

"Well let's just say Isabel here shouldn't plan on a career that requires any kind of stealth skills," Alex said.

Michael's eyes were shooting daggers and Alex thought he'd better get to the point.

"What did you find out?" he asked before Alex could speak.

"His name," Isabel spoke up, "his name is Jason."

"Is that it?" Michael asked, his tone slightly annoyed.

"No," she said scuffing her foot on the floor. "That's not it."

"Then what?" Michael roared, "Is he working for Valenti or some other indiscrete government agency? Tell us!"

"Michael calm down," Max said. "Iz what else did you see?"

"Well um, he was moving things without…without touching them." She replied her eyes circling the room.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"She means we saw him unpacking boxes and putting things away without ever laying a finger on them," Alex said. "It was like he had, what do you call it? You know when you can bend spoons and stuff with your mind."

"You mean telekinesis," Liz answered.

"Wait a minute," Maria said, "That's impossible, isn't it?"

"If you believe that we can be sitting here," Max stated, "and not be open to anything else unusual, perhaps you should re-evaluate your state of mind."

"Okay," Maria replied. "But you guys have all sorts of neat little powers because your aliens, he's just a normal kid right?"

"As far as we know," said Alex.

"We still don't know that much do we?" Michael said. "I'm going back to get a little more than a name and a so-called ESP ability."

"You can't," Isabel spoke up.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because I, I uh…"

"She blew our cover," Alex finished.

"How?" Liz and Maria implored.

"I saw him doing whatever it was that he was doing, and sort of freaked out. I kind of yelled 'oh my god' pretty loudly."

"Smooth," Michael said sarcastically.

"Michael just stop it," she shot back.

"Well what are we going to do know?" Michael asked looking at Max.

"I don't know…I just don't know," he replied.

Jason drove in what seemed like endless lines across town. He had no idea where he was going, but a little voice in the back of his head told him where he'd end up. Low and behold, he found himself staring back at the Crashdown Café. It was only his second time ever setting eyes on the place, and he already detested the sight of it. This was the place he'd screwed everything up in. It was the first time since he discovered his powers he'd ever slipped up and in public no doubt. Now he had people spying on him, hell it was only his first day here for crying out loud. It would be at least another year and a half till he could escape the confides of Roswell.

"If I even make it that long," he thought.

He now had this nagging fear gripping the back of his neck. Today had instantly become the worst day of his life. It was all his X-files induced conspiracy theory paranoia come to life. Aliens, spies, what next Captain Kirk landing the enterprise in his backyard? He was most terrified of being turned into the government. He knew what a government agency would do if they ever got their filthy little mitts on him. He'd be brainwashed and trained into some CIA contracted assassin or something. Jason couldn't handle that, leading what he thought would be a normal life just to pick up the phone one day and hear 'Code word Lazarus' and end up killing the president. He just couldn't live like that, he wouldn't.

Jason turned his attention back to the Crashdown. He could make out six figures moving around inside, and figured four of them must be Max, Liz, Michael, and Maria. The other two must be the little spies sent to look through his window. He geared up all his courage to actually go in and confront them. Besides, they couldn't turn him in, not while he knew Michael and Max's secret. He stepped off the sidewalk and slowly crossed the street.

The chimes of the front door brought everyone out of their argumentative state. The sight of Jason standing right in front of them appalled the six.

"You know, if you want to play secret agent man you could at least ask first." He said.

All of them were still too shocked he'd come here to confront them, so he continued talking.

"Anyone care to tell me why those too were being little peeping toms?" he said pointing at Alex and Isabel. 'That's right,' he thought, 'Play it cool, don't let them see you sweat.'

He took another look at Isabel and felt that same odd vibe he got from Max and Michael.

'Wait a minute,' he thought, 'That must mean she one of them.'

He turned his attention away from her and focused on the humans, trying to get anything from their minds that would tell him why he was spied on. He looked at the guy that was there outside his house, Alex; his mind was mostly full of thoughts about the blonde haired alien girl he was sitting next to. This wasn't what he was looking for; he wanted information, anything that would tell him why. Then he saw it; the thought was playing itself over in his mind. He saw Max and Michael tell him to go after Jason because they were as scared as he was. It was basically the same worst case scenario Jason had envisioned himself in. With the assassin part changed to being dissected and studied.

"So that's why you were checking up on me," he said aloud.

He glanced around the room, as all their eyes were focused on him.

Michael shattered the silence… "Really?" he inquired, "just why were we as you put it 'checking up on you?'"

'Because you were afraid I was working for Valenti," Jason answered. "You thought I'd turn you in."

"Why would you think that?" Isabel put in, "What would you turn us in for?"

"Easy," Jason said, "Because you, Michael, and Max are aliens."

Once again Jason rendered them all speechless. It took everyone a few minutes to register what he'd said. Jason surprised himself by how calm and collected he was coming off. A few minutes ago he was practically sweating bullets and freaked out of his mind. He started to chew on his fingernails as he nervously eyed everyone waiting for some kind of response. Finally breaking the tension in the air Max was the first one to speak.

"How did you find out?" he asked.

Michael and Isabel shot him the most evil looks they could muster, why was he just coming out and confirming their secret? Max shrugged them off, what was the point in denying it? He knew for some reason that they couldn't lie to this guy. It was time to find out if they could at least trust him.

Jason felt cool as cucumberness rapidly fade away. Great…questions, the hard ones. The kind he feared most of his adolescent life.

"Well, um when Liz over there touched me…" It was just so hard to say this out loud.

"Yeah, yeah," Michael said with distinct impatience. "Tell us how, damn it, you know about us. I think we deserve to know just how the hell you found out. None of us would ever say a word to anybody, especially some stranger who just shows up out of nowhere."

"You didn't have to say anything at all," Jason responded quietly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Michael said rising from his seat.

"You only had to think it, well they did anyway," Jason replied pointing at Liz, Maria and Alex.

"Wait, wait, wait," Liz piped up. "Are you saying you know what we're thinking?"

"Basically yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying," He flinched a little as the last words escaped his lips. He was expected chants of 'freak' and 'weirdo' but instead found only silence. He looked up to see them all staring quietly.

"I don't do it on purpose," He assured. "I usually try to block out people's thoughts."

"What was that earlier then?" Liz asked.

"I have no idea," he replied. "Something like that has never happened before."

"So you know about us from them?" Isabel asked.

"Uh huh," Jason said. "I get nothing from you guys. I guess that's because you're not…human."

"What else did you see?" Liz asked shyly.

"Don't worry," Jason replied sympathetically. "Nothing too personal, except…"

"Except?" she questioned.

Jason didn't know if it was his place to say it in front of the whole crowd, so he projected his thoughts to her.

"I saw that you love Max," he thought. "More than you care to admit, even to yourself."

"Whoa," said Liz flinching. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Max said stepping closer to her. "What did you do?" he said glaring at Jason.

"It okay Max," she said. "He just kind of spoke in my head."

"I didn't think you would have wanted me to say that out loud." Jason stated.

"Well, thanks," Liz said.

Maria stared at Jason with a frightened look on her face.

"Did he see how I feel about…?" she thought.

"I'm not going to say a word to Michael," he promised sending his thoughts directly into her mind.

She trembled a little but smiled that cute little smile of hers, knowing he would keep his word.

"Well," Alex said, "What do we do now?"

"Yeah," Isabel agreed, "How do we know we can trust you?"

"Same way I'll know if I can trust you," he responded. "Did you already forget I'm not your usual cup of joe? Any thought you've had about being carted off in some government bandwagon, I've had too. Except that I wouldn't be dissected, more like trained into some sort of killing machine. I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like a grand old time to me."

He watched as Michael, Max and Isabel all glanced at each other, knowing they could relate to everything he'd said. Maria, Liz, and Alex remained silent. They couldn't begin to imagine all the fear and worrying each of them went through. Jason was right; he may be human, but those abilities of his would also make him a target for anyone hunting down the alien trio.

"I have an idea," Alex said. "Max, why don't you make a connection with him. You know, like you did with us so you'd know we were trustworthy?"

"Sound like a good idea to me," Michael said still giving Jason that stone glare.

"Does this guy ever let up?" Jason thought. "I'm game," he said aloud, "How does it work?"

"I have to touch you," Max said. "And what happens is pretty much like what you saw from Liz."

"Okay," he replied putting on his brave face. "Let's do it."

Due to Jason mental abilities the connection was instantaneous. The images of Max's mind raced across his closed eyelids. He saw a small child around 6 or 7 crawling out of some sort of pod. A new image flashed before him, three children naked on the side of the highway. Max's house, his parents. Isabel his sister. The way she squeezed his hand the first day of school. Finding Michael. Seeing Liz for the first time. The three discovering what they were. The fear. Their powers. High school. Liz a little older. Liz in a pretty black dress and at a winter dance. Liz at the crashdown, on the floor bleeding, dying. Max saving her. Valenti suspecting. An old Indian man named Riverdog. A guidance counselor named Topolsky spying on them. Michael sick. 1000's more seemed to fly by mostly pictures of Liz. Jason saw all he needed to; Max was much too noble to spread his secret around. Even if he was human.

Max was surprised. He didn't even have to try to connect, the second he touched Jason the images came. The first one flashed before him. Jason around 3 learning to ride a bike. Him 5 years old starring in a cereal commercial. 7 years old, his mother nursing a scraped knee. 11 wanting a toy off the top shelf and moving it with his thoughts. Him lying in the corner trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Reading his father's mind. The fear it caused him. The day he decided to tell no one. Jason 13, having no friends because he was afraid he couldn't control himself. The sleepless nights when he couldn't block out the voices. Getting his car. His parents saying they were moving. Driving through the desert at peace. Valenti pulling him over, seeing his suspicion. The terror of being discovered when he spotted Alex and Isabel running from his window. 1000's more seemed to fly by, mostly of Jason mastering his powers. Max let go and the connection broke.

"Wow," Jason said. "I mean…wow."

"Yeah," Max agreed, "That was pretty intense."

"Well I know I can trust you," Jason said. "What about me?"

"We can," Max replied looking at everyone in the room. "I know we can."

Jason smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Roswell, New Mexico wouldn't be so bad after all.

***

Epilogue

It had been three months since Jason moved here and everything seemed to be going just fine. The group had come to accept him as one of their closest friends. Everyone but Michael at first, but that was just because he was…well Michael. Jason eventually won him over when he convinced Maria that Michael felt the same way about her. The two are almost inseparable now and Michael seems to thank him everyday for making him a happy guy for once. Little happened in the way of any government agencies cracking down on either of the 'special' ones. Valenti finally gave up his pursuit of them after awhile, due to a little help from Jason erasing a few choice memories from the sheriff's mind. Max and Liz finally declared their undying love for each other and were pretty much oblivious to life in general. Alex and Isabel continued to be Alex and Isabel, in the way of her still denying she has any feelings for him. But anyone could see that little sparkle in her eye whenever he was around.

Jason was happy enough himself; he was glad he now had these close friends and absolutely no secrets to hide behind. However with the six splitting off into the three little couples he couldn't help but the feel like the odd man out. He'd confided his loneliness to Liz and she reassured him that there was someone out there for him, maybe that new girl they've seen around. I think her name was Tess…