"Parties," Kyle interrupted.

"Drinking," Maria chimed in.

"Making out..."

"Going out after dark..."

"And don't go into the desert." Kyle smiled.

"We got it dad," Maria added.

"I guess I've said that one too many times, huh." The sheriff shook his head and grinned. "Have a great last day of school, you two."

"We will." Kyle rolled his eyes.

"And what was that for?" The three had made it to the edge of town where the convoy was ready to depart.

"We're not kids anymore," Maria supplied.

"I know, it's just hard for me to believe that my babies are gonna be seniors next year."

"Stop right there! There are people here. Remember what we talked about? No mushy talk in public," Kyle interjected.

"I know, I know. Okay, I'm leaving. Kyle, take care of your sister. I'll be home in two days. Love you both." He wrapped his arms around his daughter and kissed her forehead. It was remarkable, the way she embodied every nuance of her mother.

"Bye sweetie."

"Bye daddy."

They both watched him head the caravan of six trucks out in the early morning light. Then they drove back home to get ready for school.

***

"Kyle! Get your ass down here before we're late!"

He clammered downstairs noisily and snatched the keys out of his sister's hands before continuing to the family SUV.

"Fine, but I'm driving!" he yelled from outside.

"Oh, no you don't!" She ran out to continue their daily struggle. "It's my turn!" she whined.

"I'd like to get to school in one piece, Ria."

"Fine," she conceded, climbing into the passenger seat. "But I drive tonight."

"You drive a hard bargain, no pun intended," he joked.

"Well, are we gonna sit in the driveway all morning or are we actually going to pick up your girlfriend?"

"When you put it that way..."

Ten minutes later, they were out in front of Victory Café to pick up Liz. Liz's dad owned it and Maria, Liz, and Kyle's best friend, Eric, worked there.

Mr. Parker, Liz's dad, had told them many stories about life in Roswell before the war. He was the only adult that would talk about the past. Sure, the school covered history, but when it came to the war, they lied. The school tried to make the aliens appear as evil, death happy creatures who kill for fun.

But, Mr. Parker told them the truth. Back in 1991, a group of young nomads were found living in the desert by the reservation. Two were taken to the hospital for malnutrition where it was discovered that they weren't human. Panic overwhelmed the population and the government started experimenting on those that were found, looking for weaknesses. In all, the FBI captured twenty-two aliens and tested them until they died.

The war was started out of fear, not retaliation. The aliens were peaceful, but even still, the government had constructed the Razor’s Edge so that the aliens couldn't 'infect' the general population. Once the aliens realized that they were trapped, they felt the need to protect themselves, to drive the humans away. So they created a bomb and exploded it at the FBI headquarters Sunday afternoon. How could they have known that there was two tons of C4 stored in one of the rooms? They couldn't. They just wanted to warn everyone, but instead ended up killing 43 FBI agents, 67 Roswell citizens and starting a full-fledged war.

Maria was brought out of her reverie by a car door slamming shut. Turning around, she greeted her friends. "Hey girls! You ready to party tonight?"

Liz just grinned as she leaned forward to kiss Kyle.

"Ignore her. Ever since she and Kyle started dating, she's been EXTREMELY boring. I, on the other hand, am VERY single and looking forward to a good time!" Jessi bobbed up and down in her seat.

"You, me, and the boys it is, I guess," Maria concluded.

"No! We're coming!" Liz whined. "And we're NOT boring!" she added.

"Whatever you say," Maria laughed.

***

At lunchtime, they were all sitting in the grass signing yearbooks. Maria cursed herself for writing so much to everyone because now her wrist was killing her.

"Hey Kyle, toss me the keys. I want to get my magazine." After a bit of trouble, he fished them out of his pocket and flung them at her.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Jessi asked.

"Nah. I'll be right back."

She took her time going to the car, talking to people and signing more yearbooks.

She reached the parking lot ten minutes later and climbed into the passenger seat. Maria laid back and closed her eyes, letting all her muscles relax. Finally deciding she needed to get back, she sat up.

Opening the door, a dark figure caught her eye.

The teen was three cars down, wearing all black. His spiked hair added another inch to his already tall demeanor and his tight black shirt defined every muscle and ripple that he had. The most stunning feature of all, though, was his eyes. The way that he was staring at her was so intense that she should've felt embarrassed, but she didn't. They called to her.

Forgetting the magazine, she took a few tentative steps in his direction, as if she were afraid he would just disappear. Luckily, he didn't. In fact, he took a step closer to her as well. She let out a breath of relief. Maria was glad that he wasn't just in her imagination.

Carefully, she continued towards him until they were ten feet away from each other, then she stopped. She had no idea what she was doing. They just stared at each other until he broke eye contact to look at something behind her.

"Ria!" a deep voice loomed across the parking lot. She turned and saw Kyle weaving his way through the cars.

Maria glanced back but discovered that the mysterious teen had left.

"What are you doing over here?" Kyle asked. "It's been twenty minutes! Lunch will be over soon."

Maria decided against telling him about the boy, knowing all too well the wrath of an overprotective Kyle. "Sorry, I was just thinking about our plans for the night. You know, we're gonna be breaking TWO of dad's rules."

"Yeah, well, rules were made to be broken."