Once In a Lifetime

Classification: Michael/Isabel, Max/Liz, Michael/Maria, Alex/Isabel
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Roswell doesn't belong to be, but Max Evans will........lol. I wish.
Summary: Maria is in love with Michael and Alex loves Isabel. Hopelessly it seems until a familiar stranger shows up to help them both. Based On: The Time Travel challenge
NOTE: This is 2 years later. They are all seniors.

~*~*~*Once In A Lifetime, part 5: Uninvited ~*~*~*~

"I can't believe he did that!" Isabel said for the 20th time, pacing Alex's room.

She didn't want to go to Liz because she would try to analyze the entire thing and then give her advice. She definitely didn't want Max to tell her that he had known about this all along. And Maria would have taken Michael's side. She had wanted to talk to someone who would just listen to her and maybe agree with her. And Alex was the perfect choice. He always listened to her.

Alex sat on his bed, watching Isabel.

"I can't believe he." Isabel started yet again.

Alex caught her hand and pulled her down to sit beside him. "You are making my head spin." He said.

"But how could he." Isabel started again.

"Isabel," Alex said, cutting her off. "I agree that what he did was wrong but."

"Don't even TRY to defend him!" Isabel stood back up.

Alex just shook his head. He should have been contend with the entire thing, but he hated seeing Isabel upset.

Isabel started pacing again. "I can't believe he did that!" she said.

~*~*~*~*~

"If this is Michael Guerin, go jump off a cliff! Otherwise, leave a message and I'll call you back. Toddles!" Isabel's voice said on her answering machine.

"Isabel, pick up the phone!" Michael said into his phone receiver.

Isabel was not returning his calls and Max didn't seem to be at home. Michael hung up the phone.

~*~*~*~*~

".Found the dress. You guys have to see it. It totally goes with the tiara that Liz." Isabel stopped in mid-sentence as she saw Michael making his way towards them. Isabel, Maria, Liz, and Max were all eating lunch at the quad.

"Hey guys!" Michael said, taking a seat beside Maria.

"I have to go." Isabel stood up.

"Wait, Isabel." Michael started.

"Where are you going?" Maria asked at the same time.

"Cheerleading practice." Isabel said, ignoring Michael. With that she left.

"Trouble in Paradise?" Max asked, looking at Michael.

"She is so." Michael started, but then he stood up and went after Isabel.

~*~*~*~*~

"I think you are over reacting, Isabel." Liz told her, running a brush through her hair. Max was supposed to pick her up in half an hour for their date.

Isabel sat up. "I don't think so. I mean I just couldn't believe that he would keep something like this from me. He could."

"Did you tell him about your 'visions', Isabel?" Liz asked, cutting her off.

"No," Isabel said. "So you mean."

Liz put down her brush and came to sit beside Isabel. "Why didn't you tell him?" she asked.

"Well." Isabel said. "Because..I don't want him worrying about it if it's for nothing."

"Well, then, maybe he didn't tell you for the exact same reason." Liz pointed out.

Isabel sighed. Liz was right; she was wrong.again. But she would die before she would admit that. "If you say so." She said and stood up. "I am going to go now; Max should be here any minute."

"Bye!" Liz said, smiling. She of course knew that Isabel has decided to see reason and had gone to see Michael.

~*~*~*~*~

Michael came home to find Elena there. He was surprised. Sure, he had talked to her a few times, but for her to actually show up at his place was unexpected.

"Hello, Michael." Elena said, walking up to him.

"Elena." He said. "Is there something I could do for you?" he asked.

"No.I just came to see you." She said, coming closer.

"Why?" Michael asked, looking at her.

"Because I wanted to." She smiled, putting a hand on his chest.

Michael looked down into her eyes and was mesmerized.literally. He wasn't even aware of the fact that he was kissing her until he heard something break. He pulled away and pushed Elena aside, looking bewildered. He then turned to find Isabel standing by the doorway.

~*~*~*~~**~Once In a Lifetime? Part 6: I need to Know~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Isabel drove to Michael's place. She was glad that she had talked to Liz. She decided that she was going to tell Michael about her visions. She didn't want to keep any secrets from him. And she expected the same from him. She had also decided to stay in Roswell with Michael. She wasn't going to go to N.Y.U. She couldn't wait to see his expression when she told him that. Isabel smiled as she got out of her car and walked to the house. Michael's door was open so she walked right in. At first, she couldn't believe her eyes, but there it was. Michael was kissing Elena! Isabel turned to leave and bumped into a vase by the door, making it fall and break.

Michael pulled away from Elena and pushed her aside. "Isabel." he started.

"Save it, Michael." She said and left, slamming the door so hard that a painting on the nearby wall fell off.

Michael gave Elena a look of pure hatred. "This isn't over yet." He said and followed Isabel only to find her gone.

~*~*~*~*~

"Goodnight," Max said, kissing Liz. Their date had just ended and he was dropping her off.

Liz reluctantly pulled away and got out of the car.

"Sweet dreams," she said softly, closing the door. She watched till Max's car disappeared, then turned to find Isabel sitting on her front porch.

"Isabel?" Liz said, worried. Isabel looked like she had been crying. "Oh, god. What's wrong?" Liz quickly opened the door to the house and invited Isabel in.

~*~*~*~*~

Isabel wasn't in her room. Max had looked everywhere. He knew she wasn't with Michael because they did not seem to be on the best of terms. Max was worried. He waited for half an hour and then left to look for her. He figured that she might be at the cave. She always went there when she was upset.

When he got to the cave, he parked his car and went in. "Isabel?" he called.

"I am here." She answered.

Max sighed with relief and went in further only to find it was not Isabel after all.

"Elena?" he said, surprised to see her. "I thought you were Isabel.why did you." he stopped. "I must have heard wrong. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" he asked.

Elena smiled. "I can ask you the same thing."

Max sat down beside her. "I came here to look for Isabel. She comes out here sometimes.usually when she is upset." He said.

"Yea, I know." Elena replied.

Max looked up at her.

"I meant.me too." She corrected.

Now that Max noticed, Elena did seem upset. He figured that she had been crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing." Elena said. But then added. "I am leaving."

"Leaving? Where? Now?" he asked.

"Leaving Roswell to go back. I am not leaving now, but tomorrow.probably."

"Will you come back?" Max asked.

Elena stood up. "No." she bent down and kissed Max on his forehead. "Have a nice, long life Max" she said and left before Max could say anything. He called his house. No one. Isabel was still missing. He had temporally forgotten about her while talking to Elena. He stood up to leave, wondering where Isabel was.

~*~*~*~*~

"I am so sorry, Isabel." Liz said. She didn't particularly felt like defending Michael. She had known Elena was trouble.

Liz might have not wanted to defend Michael, but Maria was a totally different story. "Maybe he had a reason.I mean, maybe they weren't even kissing at all." Maria said. She just couldn't believe that Michael would do something like that. "Or maybe." Maria stopped when she saw Isabel glaring at her.

"I should be going. It's late." Maria said and stood up.

"Thanks, Maria." Isabel said.

"No problem." Maria replied. "Bye, Liz." She said and left.

"I should go too" Isabel stood up.

"You want me to drive you? Or you could stay the night and I'll call Max and let him know?" Liz suggested.

"No." Isabel said. "I think I am over my emotional burst. I'll get over him." Isabel tried to smile. "It IS his loss."

Liz smiled. Isabel would probably never get over Michael but at least she was being optimistic.

~*~*~*~*~

"But why would Elena do something like that?" Alex asked Maria after she had filled him in on last night's events. "I mean, she knew Isabel and Michael were together."

Maria didn't say anything as she continued to wipe the counter. They were both at the Crashdown Café. Alex was sitting at the counter while Maria was working. Then it hit Alex that maybe that was the reason Elena did it. She had tried to talk him into breaking them up, why not just do it herself?

"Did you talk to Michael about it?" Alex asked finally.

Maria looked up. "Yeah, talk to him and say what? That he should have kissed me instead of Elena if he was planning on breaking up with Isabel?"

Alex sighed. "You don't have to mention it at all. Just go talk to him."

Maria went back to wiping the counter. "Yeah, I guess I'll go talk to him.soon. Hey, why don't you go talk to Isabel? You know, comfort her or whatever." Maria suggested.

"Yeah. I think I'll go do that" Alex said, standing up. "Just as soon as I talk to Elena. I'll see you later." He said.

"Good luck!" Maria called to his retreating back.

~*~*~*~*~

"Hello?" Max said, picking up the phone.

"Hey, Max! Is Isabel there?" It was Michael.

Max frowned. "Did you try her number?" he asked.

"Yeah. She is not picking it up though." Michael said.

"Then she is probably not there. I'll tell her that you called." Max said. As far as he knew, Isabel was home. But if she wasn't receiving her calls, then she didn't want to talk.

"But." Michael started, then said. "OK, thanks, bye."

Max hung up the phone and went to Isabel's room. Isabel was awake but her room was dark. Max turned on the lights. "Michael called." He told her. At which, she just nodded. She seemed really upset.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Max asked, sitting down beside her.

"Not really." Isabel said.

"Tell me anyway." Max said.

Isabel started to protest but saw no point in it. Plus, she wanted Max to know.

"Michael and I.well, he was cheating on me" Isabel replied.

Max looked surprised. "What made you think that?"

"You mean other than the fact that I saw him kissing Elena?" she said.

"You saw him with Elena?" Max was surprised.

Isabel nodded and looked down. Max couldn't believe that Michael would do something like that. Or Isabel. But he didn't say that to her, she needed support and comfort not doubt. He decided that he'll talk to Michael later.

"I am sorry." Max said, hugging her.

Isabel didn't reply.

~*~*~*~*~

When Alex arrived at Elena's house, he found the door open. He wasn't feeling especially polite at the moment so he walked right in. As he entered the house, he halted for a second at the sound of voices coming from the living room.

".won't work. It's too." Elena, he believed said.

She was cut off by a familiar male voice. "It doesn't have to. But you are going to try anyway. Now.we can do it the easy way, or the hard way."

"We are not doing this at all." She said.

"God! Why can't you." the man stopped as Elena noticed Alex.

"Alex!" she said. She looked at the man in the room. "I want you to leave." She said.

The man didn't move and started to turn to Alex. "Please?" Elena pleaded.

He nodded once and left through the back door.

Elena finally looked back at Alex, who was still looking after the man. "That was my husband." Elena said. "Now, is there something you wanted?"

~*~*~*~~**~Once In a Lifetime? Part 7: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elena finally looked back at Alex, who was still looking after the man. "That was my husband." Elena said. "Now, is there something you wanted?"

"Your husband?" Alex was surprised.

"Oh.Did I forget to mention that I had one?" she said.

"But." Alex started but figured that Elena didn't want to talk about it.

"I heard about you and Michael. Elena, how could you?" he asked.

"Jeez! Excuse me for trying to help." She said sarcastically, sitting down in a sofa.

"You've ruined their relationship." Alex said.

Elena picked up a magazine. "They had one?"

Alex sighed. Elena looked through her magazine.

"They really were in love." Alex insisted.

"Oh Please!" Elena put down her magazine. "If he was so in love with her, he wouldn't have kissed me. And I doubt that I am the first one." She said.

Alex thought about it. It made sense.

"I honestly think that I did her a favor. Better she finds out now than later."

~*~*~*~*~

"Hey, Isabel!" Alex said, entering her room.

Isabel turned away from her dresser to face him. "Oh, hey Alex!" she said.

Alex closed the door. "I heard about Michael.I am sorry." He said.

Isabel waved her hand in dismissal. "It's his loss." She said.

**Wow** Alex thought, **Isabel is holding up really well.**

"I am really glad you are here. I was going to call you." She said as she moved away from her dresser and sat on her bed.

Alex was flattered. He sat down on a chair by her bed.

"So..are you going to that party tonight?" Isabel asked.

"I was thinking about it." Alex replied.

Isabel smiled. "Good. Do you have a date yet?" she asked.

Alex did have a date. "No," he said.

"Great! Pick me up at 7:00 pm?" she said, then added. "That is if you want to go with me?"

"There is nothing I would like better." Alex said, smiling.

~*~*~*~*~

Alex picked Isabel up at 7 p.m. sharp.

"You look beautiful." Alex said as he walked her to his car.

"I know.I mean, thanks." Isabel said. "You look great." She added.

Alex just grinned as he opened the door for her.

~*~*~*~*~

Isabel hoped that Michael won't be there even as she unconsciously looked around the room for him. Then she saw him across the room.with Maria.

**The slut!** Isabel thought.

"Is something wrong?" Alex asked.

"No.it's kinda crowded in here.Can we go outside?" she asked.

"Sure." Alex said.

Once they were outside, Isabel got really quite. Before, she had been talking almost non-stop.

"You okay?" Alex asked.

"Did you know that Michael would be here?" Isabel asked.

Alex shook his head. This was the first time she had mentioned him tonight.

"I saw him. He was with Maria." Isabel said, looking down.

Alex didn't know what to say. As he watched, Isabel buried her face in her hands and began to cry. He was appalled. He had never seen Isabel cry. And she had been perfect just a minute ago.

"Isabel?" Alex said, uncertainly.

Isabel finally stopped crying. "I just couldn't believe he did that. I thought..that.we.." Isabel sobbed and burst into tears again.

~*~*~*~*~

"You want to dance?" Maria asked Michael.

Michael shook his head. "I really don't feel like it." He said, looking around. "Are you sure Isabel will be here?" he asked.

The only reason Michael had come was because of Isabel. Maria had seen her earlier, but she didn't tell Michael because she was with Alex.

Maria sighed. "Michael." She said, finally getting the courage to ask. "Did you really kiss Elena?"

Maria was shocked when Michael nodded. "Why?" she asked.

Michael looked down. "I don't know. I know it sounds lame, but I didn't even realize I was doing it until Isabel came. I don't even remember it. Elena was there when I got home. She talked and then.I don't remember." He said again.

"I believe you." Maria said.

Maria did believe him, which meant Elena had something to do with this.

"I think I am going to leave." Michael said, getting up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Take care!" Maria called after him.

~*~*~*~*~

As Michael walked out the door, he saw Isabel.with Alex. **The jerk!** he thought as he walked over to them.

~*~*~*~*~

Maria waited a while after Michael left. She then went to see Elena. Elena seemed surprised to see her. "Maria?" she said, then opened the door wider. "Come on in."

Maria got to the point as soon as Elena closed the door. "What's going on with you and Michael, Elena?"

Elena stared at her for a second, then said. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh, that's." Maria started but stopped when the doorbell rang. It was Alex; Elena closed the door as he came in.

"Alex," she said coolly. "What can I do for you?"

Alex nodded at Maria, then turned his attention to Elena. "How did you get Michael to kiss you? Because." Alex stopped as Elena laughed.

"You really want me to show you?" she asked. Alex blushed. Maria looked longingly at the door.

"I don't know what you did, Elena. But I want you to fix it." Alex said, finally.

"I don't think." Elena started.

Alex cut her short. "Michael apologized to Isabel.and I could..."

"They are back together?" Elena finally lost her smile.

"I don't know.but you have to tell Isabel that it wasn't Michael's fault." Alex said.

"Oh, but it was." She replied.

"No. Michael told me that he didn't even." Maria stared.

"Did everyone just declared the Blame-Elena day without even telling me?" Elena sat down. "I was just trying to help y."

"You have ruined things more than fixed them." Maria said. "Michael doesn't deserve this. Neither does Isabel. Despite everything, I don't hate her. She is very nice and."

Elena smiled. "The only reason she is nice to you, Maria, is because she feels sorry for you. And guilty for 'taking' Michael away from you. When she started pursuing Michael, she knew that you were in love with him."

Maria didn't know what to say. What Elena had said made sense. She then shook her head slightly.

"The point, Elena, is that Isabel wants to be with Michael and you."

Elena exploded. "She is 17 years old! She doesn't know what she wants..I know be..."

"She is NOT you, Elena!" Alex yelled. He wondered if Elena's husband had something to do with her attitude.

Elena smiled ironically. "Isn't she?" she muttered. She sighed. "You all are making this so hard. Sit down, I'll tell you something." She said, gesturing to the chairs opposite her.

"I grew up here in Roswell." Elena started and Alex noticed that her accent was gone. "But I am not from around here. I am different.from humans." She said.

"Figures." Maria muttered.

"There were just the 3 of us.me, my brother and this guy that I eventually got married to. Well, once we got married, I suddenly got obsessed with trying to find our origins...I don't know why, because I never really cared all that much. I talked him into helping me. He eventually became the director of the new space center in Roswell."

Maria just stared at Elena. She had to be crazy, Maria figured. Didn't she know that Roswell didn't have a space center?

Elena continued. "After that, he send out lots of messages in space. I believe that he was contacted. By that time, I was convinced that it was dangerous so he pulled my brother into it. Well, to make the long story short. It turned out that we weren't the only 'out of worlders'. The people who contacted us were not even of the humanoid origins. My brother got killed. The aliens eventually took over the world." She sighed. "The only humans that survived were the ones my husband managed to get out. One week later, we finally found our origins. We were contacted by the Sastra..the alien race that we belonged to"

Elena was definitely crazy, Maria decided. Did she really expect them to believe her?

"Anyway. Once we got back to our home planet.along with the surviving humans..the Sastra suggested that we go back in time and try to undo our biggest mistake and that way we might be able to prevent what had happened." She paused for a second then continued. "I saw my biggest mistake as marrying Michael..so here I am." She looked up then, and Maria noticed that her eyes were no longer violet, but a dark brown.

"Oh, my god." Maria whispered.

"Isabel?" Alex said.

~*~*~*~~**~Once In a Lifetime Part 8: Is There Life After Love?~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Isabel?" Alex said.

Elena nodded.

"Oh, my god." Maria said again.

Alex looked at Elena in disbelieve. She did look a lot like Isabel..which was probably why he had been attracted to her. It all made sense now. The first time he had met Elena, he had thought that she was Isabel. And Isabel and Elena said the same things because they were the same person. Isabel had fainted when she had touched Elena because their brains had connected and overloaded, he figured.

"Oh my god." Maria said yet again. "I told Liz that she was like Isabel and she.." Maria trailed off. "Oh my god." She said.

"So that means that the world." Alex started.

"Not if you help me.at least I hope not." Elena said.

"Michael and Isabel might even be." Alex stopped. "Michael is here to, isn't he?" he asked.

"Oh my god." Maria said.

Elena nodded. "Yeah. He followed me here.. He doesn't want me to break us.Michael and Isabel.apart. But that's the only way." Elena looked at Alex. "You said Michael apologized to Isabel?" she went on before he could answer. "Oh, god. Michael must have talked to him." Elena stood up and went to the door.

"Where are you going?" Alex asked.

"To stop him. He can't ruin it now." She said and left the house.

"Isabel! Wait!" Alex went after her.

"Oh my god." Maria said and followed him out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Elena drove over to where the party had been. And of course she knew where that was. She still remembered the original party. She, Isabel Evans, had gone with Michael. She hated doing this because if she succeeds, everything will be like her and Michael had never gotten married. She would remember only that he had cheated on her and hate him. She would forget an entire lifetime of wonderful memories with Michael. She stopped the car as she came to the spot. She had to stop Mike.. And she'll kill him if she had to. Of course, as long as Michael was alive, everything would change as soon as she goes back to the future and Mike will be alright there. **Alright and with Maria.** Elena thought. But she couldn't go back now; she was too close. She saw Mike with Isabel then. Isabel seemed to think that Mike was Michael. Oh well, Elena thought, and took out her matrix gun. Once this was done, she'll go back and Mike's body will disappear, as he will be alive if he had never married Isabel. As Elena walked to her target, Isabel saw her. Elena couldn't help hating Mike for what he had done and she wouldn't consider giving up her life to save Mike's..not really. But all those years ago, she, Isabel had loved him above and beyond anything. And she would have done it; that's exactly what Isabel did then. She pushed Michael out of the way and was shot. Elena's gun dropped as she doubled over in pain.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Alex saw Isabel getting shot when he got over there. He also noticed that Mike had not gone to pains to change his appearance unlike Elena. He looked exactly the same.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael who had left Isabel only minutes ago as her insistence, heard the shot being fired and turned back around.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Mike took Isabel in his arms and checked her wound. Elena had used the matrix gun; he couldn't use his powers to heal Isabel. He saw Michael coming over to them. He caressed Isabel's face and quickly stood up to leave. Alex and Michael would take care of Isabel. He needed to get to Elena.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Isabel?" Michael got to her first. He looked up at Alex. "What happened?" he asked as he picked Isabel up in his arms.

"We should take her to Liz's. It's close from here." Maria suggested.

Michael nodded once and headed towards Alex's car. "Someone call Max." he said.

"Michael?" Isabel opened her eyes. "You are here." She said, trying to smile.

"Yeah." He said. "Don't try to talk. You'll be alright." He soothed her.

"If you say so" she said.

"What happened?" Michael asked again.

"She." Maria started but stopped when Alex shook his head. "I don't know.she was shot when we got here." She finished, glaring at Alex.

~*~*~*~*~*~

(This is Michael and Isabel from the future)

Mike/Michael got to Elena/Isabel. "Are you alright?" he asked, bending down beside her.

Isabel smiled. "Never been better." She said. "Damn! I couldn't even shoot right."

Michael touched her face lightly.

"Michael? Could you do something for me?" She asked.

"Anything." He said.

"Could you take me to our cave?" she asked.

Michael nodded and picked her up.

"Hey, I can walk." She protested but he ignored her.

He broke all the speeding limits getting to the cave. Once he got there, he took her inside.

"Great." Isabel said. "This is where is all began." She said.

**And this is where it ends** Michael mentally finished her sentence. He could tell that she was losing her strength quickly. If Isabel had died today, there would have been no Elena. And that was happening.

"This is where I fell in love with you" Isabel whispered as he lowered her to the ground.

Michael looked at her. He hadn't known that. "I can't believe you did that, Isabel!" he exploded finally. "If you wanted to get rid of me, you could've just asked!"

"I never wanted to get rid of you, Michael. I just wanted to undo my mistakes." She said.

"Marrying me was a mistake?" he asked.

"No.that was the best thing I ever did. I got you into the entire UFO thing. You would have been better off without me."

"I don't want to BE without you." He said.

"You know.. I would've died eventually. Better I die now when you love me then later when I make your life miserable."

"I never stopped loving you, Isabel. You know that. And if you die now..I would lose an entire lifetime of memories with you." He said.

Isabel heard his voice break. She knew that if he cried, she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears. She was in constant pain.physical and emotional. "I am so sorry, Michael. But at least now, it would say Isabel Evans on my tombstone..I never did like the name Guerin." She tried to smile.

"This is not funny, Isabel. God! Why did you do it?" Michael broke down.

Isabel couldn't stop her tears any longer. She caressed Michael's face. "Don't, Michael, please." She pleaded. "Just kiss me." She said.

Michael ran his hand through her hair, turning it blond. "I never liked the other color." He said as his mouth came down on hers.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"What happened to her?" Max asked as soon as he got there. He sat on the bed beside Isabel.

"No one knows" Alex said. Michael was sitting on the bed with his arms around Isabel, trying to sooth her. Liz was holding Isabel's hand and crying. Maria looked ready to break down any minute. And Alex kept staring in the space.

Max held his hand over Isabel's would. When it didn't work, he looked up at Michael. "I tried that." Michael said. Max looked horrified.

"It'll be alright, Izzy." Max said to Isabel.

She opened her eyes. "Michael already said that like a thousand times." She said.

"Isabel.." Michael said.

Isabel touched her wound. "What is this thing? It hurts so much."

"It'll be okay." Michael said again.

"Yeah, right." Isabel said sarcastically.

"Don't, Isabel." Max said.

Isabel squeezed her eyes shut as another wave of pain overtook her.

"Isabel." Max whispered.

"Isabel?" Liz said.

Michael hugged Isabel and kissed her on the top of her head. "I love you, Iz." He said.

Isabel brought his hand to her lips and kissed it. "I love you, Michael." She said and went still. Just like that.

Maria burst into tears. Michael too broke down. Max took Liz into his arms and gave into the impulse.

Alex stood there, trying his best not to cry. He silently walked out to find Elena.

~*~*~*~*~*~

((This is Michael & Isabel from the future))

"She is gone." Elena/Isabel said, pulling away from Mike/Michael.

"That means..." Michael's voice broke.

"This is not the end of everything. You.Michael will find someone and..."

Michael cut her off. "No, Isabel. I could never love anyone as much and I don't WANT anyone else"

Who was she kidding? Isabel wondered. If she had been in his place, she would have felt the same way. Their love was once in a lifetime kind of love. She had been lucky enough to find it and stupid enough to have thrown it away. But what else could she have done?

"You didn't have to play saint, Isabel." He said, as if reading her thoughts. "If the world was gone, so be it. There could've been another way."

Isabel nodded. "I am sorry." She said again.

"Isabel?" Alex said from the mouth of the cave. He came in and looked at Michael. "Can't you fix it?" he asked.

"How?" Michael said.

"I don't know.go back to the future and than come back before this all happened and stop it?" Alex suggested.

Michael shook his head. "When I go back there, everything will be as it would've been if Isabel had died today. I wouldn't remember any of this. And if she succeeds in her plans, then earth would still be there. I won't get a chance to go back."

Alex nodded grimly. He looked at Isabel. "I can't believe you did that." He said.

Michael looked up. "I have to go." He said. He bent down and kissed Isabel lingeringly. "I love you. I'll always love you." He said and walked out the cave.

"I love you." Isabel whispered after him.

"How long?" Alex asked as he noticed as Isabel was losing substance.

"Any minute now." She said.

Alex sat down and took her in his arms. "I loved you, you know." He said, feeling relieved.

Isabel flinched at the word 'loved'. "I am not dead yet." She said. "And I always did know that you loved me." She paused. "I love you too, Alex. In a way, I always did."

Alex shook his head. "Don't, Isabel." He said.

"I am not lying." She said. "Why else would I have chosen you?" she turned around and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Good-bye, Alex." She said. And then she was gone. Just like that.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Almost the entire school turned up as Isabel's funeral. It even made the headline: "Prom princess killed mysteriously." The police had all but given up on it. Max had succeeded in preventing an autopsy. Isabel would've hated that. Not to mention that it would have freaked out the corner. The next day at school, Maria dropped out of the prom court, along with Iliana Harman and Lily Redfern in honor of Isabel's memory. Stacey was the only one who stayed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A Week Later.The Senior Prom

They all went to the prom. Isabel would've wanted them to. Maria wanted to be there when the prom queen was announced. She had pretty much talked everyone into going. Maria kind of went with Michael. Alex had asked Iliana Harman and Max of course went with Liz.

Maria had neglected.on purpose.to announce the remaining prom nominees on the school announcements. She held her breath as the selected staff went through the votes.

Liz saw the 'judges' frown going through the votes. She didn't feel like going up there to announce that Stacey was the Prom Queen. Isabel had so wanted.and deserved.. the title. She was sitting on the table with Max, Maria, and Michael.none of them felt like dancing. Alex had left them minutes ago to dance with Iliana.

Maria saw Liz smile brightly as she opened the ballot that held the name of the Prom Queen.

"This year's Prom Queen is.Isabel Elena Evans." Liz announced happily. She wasn't surprised that everyone had voted for Isabel, especially when Maria hadn't taken her out of the nominees. Liz was glad that Stacey didn't win. Isabel had deserved to win. Her only regret was that there was no one to wear the tiara that she had ordered to match with Isabel's gown.

The End