This was the third night in a row that she had had that dream. And every time, just as she was basking in the wonder of knowing she was changed, she awoke several minutes before her alarm clock was to go off. The sunlight streaming through her window was enough to make her realize it was just a dream, and she was the same old Liz Parker as she always had been, not an alien, and certainly not Max Evan’s destiny. And every morning she was hit with a renewed feeling of loneliness, knowing she couldn’t be with the one person she’d ever given her heart to.

<Don’t you know who you are? Don’t you understand?>

Not again.

<Only you can provide what the Zitan needs.>

I am not hearing voices! Liz thought, much less voices that make no sense! Of course I don’t understand! Leave me alone!

<You are his heart, his soul.>

Whose heart? What are you talking about? How is it that I, Liz Parker, who has never taken drugs, never mind hallucinogenics, could be hearing voices? Scratch that, a voice that is not my own. I must be going crazy.

<He told me once that he could not live without you. That he did not love her. Now they are both gone. But you can make a difference this time! Why can you not see that you must do this? You must go!>

Shut up. I’m going to be late for school.

<Please . . .>

"Liz, wait. I need to talk to you." Max grabbed her arm as she was about to walk away from her locker.

"Not now, Max. I have class."

"Liz, you have lunch now. You can’t be late to the cafeteria! Please. Talk to me! Why are you shutting me out? How many times do I have to tell you that the only destiny I have is with you? Don’t you understand who you are to me? You’re my heart, my soul. Please. Talk to me."

The echo of the voice’s words in his caused a shiver to run down Liz’s back. Max released her arm and reached a hand to her face. "Liz, are you okay? You look pale."

Liz shied away from his hand and shook her head. "I’m okay. I think I need to go to the bathroom. I may have lunch now, but you don’t, so go to class and leave me alone. We don’t have anything to talk about." She walked quickly towards the nearest restroom, luckily only a few steps away.

God, it was so painful to have to push him away like that! Especially with the memory of the dream hovering just beneath her consciousness. But what Liz realized in the cave was still just as true now as it had been when she walked away. She and Max might be soulmates, but their destiny was apart. She pushed open the door to the girls’ restroom, half-afraid he was going to follow her. Hoping she was the only person in the room, she still chose the farthest stall. She shoved the door open and dropped her bag, crumpling to the floor along with it as she began to cry.

<Why can’t you understand, he needs you!>

*****

I really wanted to follow her. But she was right; I had class. And I had no right to charge into the girls’ restroom after her. I was getting a weird feeling of déjà vu, seeing the door close in my face. It seemed like I could remember another door closing, another love disappearing behind it. Of course that couldn’t be real. Of course, because the love was blond.

I tried to forget that. But there was no way I could ignore the feelings I had for Liz. It was totally different than anything I had ever felt before. It was like I had to get her back, that something was missing in me that only she could provide. So many times over the past year, I had wished that I wasn’t alien, that I was only human and I didn’t have a destiny as a king. And that I could be free to love the human I love.