CrashDown after school. It had been tradition for as long as Alex Whitman could remember. Well, at least since elementary school when he'd become best buds with Hurricane DeLuca and CrashDown heiress Parker. The three of them would rush here straight from school to plop down on the stools at the counter and sip sodas or eat ice cream. When they'd gotten older Maria and Liz had rushed here straight from school to change into the alien-themed uniforms and wait tables. Alex still came along for the sodas and ice cream, but these days he usually slid into the back booth and knocked out his homework.

Despite the fact that very little had changed about the diner over the past few years, Alex's perception of it had recently been altered. He had always been amused by its UFO décor and ridiculous menu items. Now he knew that there were at least three residents of this town who had a genuine right to be offended by the tongue-in-cheek salute to the alleged '47 crash. It was a little ironic, he thought, that the very beings that restaurant was good-naturedly exploiting were actually frequent patrons of the diner. But no one would ever guess that the innocent-looking kid slouched in Alex's usual booth wasn't exactly a planetary native.

Well, maybe not innocent-looking, he thought wryly. Michael Guerin couldn't look innocent if he tried. But still, the image struck Alex as humorous and he grinned as he sat down across from the alien.

"Hey."

"Hey," Michael nodded absently.

The disinterested greeting was actually an improvement over weeks past and Alex took it as a positive sign. "What are you working on?" he asked.

"Art project."

"Can I see?" He hadn't really expected a civil answer and was surprised when Michael shoved the sketchpad across the table. It was clear why he was so willing to share, Alex thought as he looked at the pad. The page was completely blank. "Problems?"

Michael slouched lower in the booth. "I can't draw," he mumbled.

"Of course, you can," Alex stared at him. "I've seen you."

"Starfish in biology lab doesn't count."

"Well, maybe. But I've seen the painting you did of that dome. The whole school's seen it. It's great."

"That stupid dome is the only other thing I can draw."

"Besides starfish?"

Michael shook his head. "Besides..."

Alex waited. Michael stared out the diner's front window. Alex flipped back a few pages in the sketchpad. Michael sat up abruptly and started to grab for it but seemed to change his mind. He slumped back in resignation and let Alex look.

"These are... Wow!" Alex stared in astonishment at the sketches of Maria that filled several pages. "They're really good. How can you say that you can't draw?"

"But that's it," Michael said in frustration. "That's *all* I can draw. Her and that stupid dome. Look." He reached across the table to turn a few more pages. Scattered between the drawings of Maria were sketches that looked as if they had been done by a completely different artist. One was a barely recognizable scene of the CrashDown. Another was a childishly rendered still life. The rest were only half-finished and just as badly done.

Alex looked back at Michael. "You couldn't draw Maria like this if you didn't have some kind of talent. All you have to do is concentrate and it'll turn out fine."

"It doesn't work like that."

"Yes, it does. If you can draw Maria you can draw anything."

Michael shook his head. "Just because your band can play alternative music that doesn't mean that you can play R&B."

Alex sighed. "Think fundamentals. I play alternative because that's what I love. If I loved R&B then that's what I'd work on. But to play either style I have to know how to play the guitar. You obviously know how to draw. You're just good at drawing Maria because that's what you..." He stopped abruptly as Michael glared at him. "Ah, because you've had more practice drawing her. If you can look at her and draw like this then all you have to do is look at anything, pretend it's important, and draw it."

Michael mumbled something.

"What?"

"I said I didn't look at her."

Alex looked down at the drawings then back at Michael. "You drew all these from memory? That's amazing!"

"It's idiotic," Michael said. "I can't draw anything that I look at. I can only draw things in my head. Maria and that dome." He scowled as Alex burst into laughter.

"That's the strangest talent I've ever heard of," Alex said as he wiped at his eyes. "You're sort of like one of those people who can play music by ear but can't sight read." He laughed again at Michael's look of utter disgust.

"It's not funny. I have to do this project. It's twenty percent of my grade. And I can't draw."

"Okay, so you need help."

"I don't..."

"Have you ever tried drawing Maria by actually looking at her?" Michael stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. "I'll take it that's a no. Then we'll start there. We know you can draw Maria. So this time draw what you see, not what you think you see. Hey, Maria!"

"No!" Michael growled at him. "I can't..."

"Are you two finally gonna order something?" the blonde waitress asked.

"No," Alex began. "Well, now that you mention it, yeah. I want a coke. And some cheese fries. But that's not the point. Do you have a break coming up?"

She gave them both suspicious looks. "Why?"

"Michael needs to draw you for art class."

"Why can't he just draw you?"

"I hate having my picture taken. Come on, just for a minute. It won't take five minutes. Will it, Michael? Maybe ten. Fifteen tops. It's for a good cause. He'll fail if you don't help out. Be a sport. Liz can get my order," he said as he slid out of the booth. He half-pushed Maria into the seat that he had just vacated. "Look, see, draw," he said to Michael. "It'll turn out fine."

Michael merely glared death ray glances at him. Maria propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands.

"All right, make it snappy, space-boy. I need the tips tonight."

Alex gave Michael a quick thumbs-up and headed for the counter.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked as he sat down.

He smiled innocently. "Oh, you know. Just doing my part to help keep interspecies relations peaceful."

She laughed. "Let's just hope that our ambassador and their ambassador don't kill each other," she said as she ducked into the kitchen.

"So, you and Michael seem to be pretty tight lately," she said when she returned with his drink and a plate of fries.

Alex shrugged. "He's my new biology lab partner."

"Really?" she looked at him in surprise. "How's it going?"

"Aside from his weird yet completely understandable aversion to formaldehyde?" he grinned. "It's going pretty well." He glanced over his shoulder at the temperamental alien thoughtfully. "He's... interesting."

"Interesting?"

"Yeah. He's a real piece of work, all right. Definitely has issues and really needs to work on his anger management. But he's interesting."

"Interesting how?" she pressed.

He shrugged again. "He's just... there's a lot more going on in that spiky head of his than most people give him credit for. Did you know he's read nearly every book in the school library?"

"I believe it," Liz smiled. "Maria says that despite all appearances to the contrary he's really pretty smart." She paused. "Has he said anything about...?" She nodded at the back booth.

"About Maria? A little. Not much. You know that's not his style."

"She really likes him." He could hear the worried note in her voice. He reached across the counter to give her hand a comforting, big brother pat. "I just don't want her to get hurt," she said softly.

"He's a good guy, Liz. Deep down under all the walls he puts up, I really believe that he is." He grinned suddenly. "I mean, I don't go around helping save just anybody's life. He's gotta be worth the effort." He looked at her in confusion as she turned away. "Liz?"

"You're a good friend to him, Alex," she said quietly.

"Yeah, well." He wasn't sure what was upsetting her. "It just seems like he needs a few these days. And it's not like he hasn't stood up for me a time or two." She looked up at him curiously then. "It's been a while," he admitted. "But remember back in elementary school when Kyle and his buddies used to get their kicks by beating the crap out of us runts? Michael actually stepped in once or twice. Okay, I know it was probably just an excuse for him to pound on Valenti, but the end result was the same."

"So, you're being his friend now because he saved you from a bloody nose five years ago?" she smiled.

"Absolutely," he grinned back. "That's why I'm friends with Maria, too. They both have a mean right hook. You want to stay on their good sides."

"Look! Look! Look!" Maria interrupted excitedly as she waved a paper at them. "It's me! Don't *touch*! You're all greasy-fingers," she said to Alex.

"Hold it still so we can see it, Maria," Liz told her.

"It's me!" Maria said again happily. "Isn't it cool?"

Alex and Liz nodded obligingly. It actually was pretty good. The lines were light, as if uncertainly drawn, but it was definitely Maria. It didn't have quite the spark that some of the other sketches in the pad had, but Michael did seem to be taking a step toward drawing the real world. If he could learn to combine the visions of his mind and eye, Alex thought, he really would be a great artist.

"So, you're letting her keep it?" Alex asked as he sat back down in the booth.

Michael shrugged. "She wanted it. I told her it was just a practice drawing anyway."

"A practice drawing, huh?" Alex gave him a knowing grin. "Which means that you'll have to draw her again later?" He laughed at the alien's faint flush. "You dog."

"I do need the practice," Michael insisted weakly as a grin flickered over his face.

"You need practice drawing something besides her."

"Eventually."

"Start with this." He picked up a sugar canister and set it in the middle of the table. Michael looked at it skeptically. "Maria filled it," Alex said.

"Doesn't help."

"Work with me here. Pretend you care." He smiled triumphantly as Michael sighed and picked up his pencil.

"You're as nutty as she is, Whitman."

"Must be something in the water," he agreed cheerfully.

Back to Area 51 (Section III)