The Wild One

homework the last week of school.'

'I don't get it.' Maria shook her head.

'Oh yeah, I keep forgetting to tell everyone.' Michael suddenly got very busy moving her aromatherapy vials from the bed to the nightstand. 'I'm going to be moving foster homes in a couple of days.'

'Oh.' That seemed like a pretty major thing to 'forget' to talk about. Maria wondered what the story was. But if Michael wanted her to know, he'd tell her, right? She grabbed the movie off her desk and popped it into the VCR. The first of the billion previews came on.

She sat down on the bed next to Michael. Then she grabbed a pillow and stretched out. If he was going to be totally casual about lounging around on her bed, she wasn't going to act like it was a big thing. Even though being so close to him made her body feel like there was a big spring inside it, all tightly wound.

'So are you packed and everything?' she asked.

'I will be. I know the drill. It's no biggie.' He stared at the TV as if the preview were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.

No big deal. Right. I believe that, Maria thought. She couldn't imagine what it must be like moving from home to home, new 'parents' at every stop. She was living in the house where she grew up. Her mom and her brother were right there with her, same as always. Although it still felt horrible that her dad wasn't there with them. After the divorce he'd only moved across town, but it felt as if everything in her life changed.

'It hasn't even started, and I'm nervous already,' Maria said. 'If my mom isn't home when it's over, do you think you could crash here? I have a sleeping bag in the closet.'

Maria knew for a fact her mother wouldn't be home when the movie ended. Which meant Michael wouldn't have to spend a night in a place where he obviously didn't want to be.

'Sure. You don't have a thing to worry about, missy,' he answered. He gave a loud sniff. 'Do you smell something funny? Like cough drops and flowers?'

'Yeah,' she answered. 'I think it smells good. It's a weird combination-but it works.'

*** 5 ***

Isabel tightened her arms around Nikolas and pressed her cheek against his back. She had no idea where he was taking her, and she didn't care. She knew she should care, but she just didn't. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the sensations-the smell of Nikolas's leather jacket, the heat of his body soaking into hers, the warm desert air blowing her hair away from her face.

Max would have a fit if he knew she was out riding around in the desert with some guy she barely knew. Michael would, too. Actually, so would Alex, but for a whole different reason.

But there was no way she could have let Nikolas just walk away from her. From the second she'd gazed up into his golden eyes, she felt drawn to him. As if she'd been looking for him her whole life, even though she hadn't realized she'd been looking for anything at all.

Isabel couldn't believe she was having all these gooey, mushy thoughts. She was starting to sound like Tish, the girl who thought that Certs commercials were romantic. She reminded herself that Nikolas was just a guy and that all guys were basically alike. Totally predictable. Totally easy to manipulate. Fun to play with, yeah. But nothing to get all in knots about.

There was only one little problem with the speech she had just given herself. Isabel had gone out with a lot of guys and flirted with a lot more, but none of them had made her feel the way Nikolas did. None of them made her knees go all soft just by looking at her. And that meant Nikolas was different from any guy she'd ever met.

But that didn't mean she had to let him know that. She opened her eyes and sat up a little straighter. She left her arms wrapped around Nikolas's waist. That was okay. That was necessary. She didn't want to go tumbling off the motorcycle or anything.

Isabel tried to focus on the scenery flying by. She wanted to get her mind off Nikolas for a while. The cave! she thought, realizing where they were. Nikolas is heading right toward the cave.

Suddenly Isabel remembered Max and Michael saying that someone on a motorcycle had been following them a few nights ago when they were doing one of their searches for their parents' spaceship. Was that Nikolas?

Why would he follow them? Who was he?

This was so stupid, Isabel thought. What if Nikolas is working for Project Clean Slate? What if he's working for Valenti? What if he knows the truth about me? Her heart began to pound. She could feel it beating in her throat, hear it thudding in her ears.

Nikolas sped right up to the crack in the desert floor that opened into the cave. He brought the motorcycle to a squealing stop. He climbed off the bike and lowered himself into the cave without even glancing at Isabel.

She thought about taking the motorcycle back into town and telling the others what had happened. All she had to do was just rev it up and go, leaving Nikolas far behind.

But that would be giving Nikolas way too much power. Besides, if he worked for Valenti, he wouldn't leave her up here by herself, giving her the chance to escape. Right?

Isabel jumped off the motorcycle and swung herself into the cave. When her toes hit the big rock she used as a stepping-stone, she let go, caught her balance, then hopped down to the cave floor. She crossed her arms and stared at Nikolas. 'I'm waiting.'

He laughed. 'Does that usually work for you?' he asked. 'Do the human guys quiver in their sneakers when you give them a little of your attitude?'

Isabel did not believe this. Didn't Nikolas know the rules? Didn't he know he should be trying to impress her? Didn't he know that she could have any guy she wanted and that it was his job to make her want him?

Wait a minute, Isabel thought. Did he just say human guys?

Nikolas crouched down and ran his hands over the metallic surface of the incubation pod Isabel and Max had shared. 'Bigger than mine,' he muttered.

'Than yours?' she repeated. Nikolas was trying to get her to believe he was an alien, too. But that was impossible. There were no other aliens. She struggled to act calm. She needed to think. She needed to figure out what was going on here.

Could this all be a big setup? she thought wildly. Was Nikolas working for Project Clean Slate? Was his assignment to pretend to be an alien so that he could get information out of her?

Isabel took a few steps toward the mouth of the cave, ready to bolt. But that would look totally suspicious if Nikolas was some kind of agent trying to figure out if she was an alien. Just act like you have no idea what he's talking about, she ordered herself.

Nikolas straightened up. He studied her coolly. 'I can feel the fear pouring off you. I'm disappointed, Isabel. I thought you'd be someone worth my time. Not a scared little mouse.'

Could he feel her fear because he was another alien? Or was he just guessing?

'No, I'm the one who's disappointed,' Isabel shot back. 'Like I'm supposed to think this is fun. If you want to hang out with me, you have to do better.'

She stared right at Nikolas, meeting his gaze directly. No matter what happened, she wasn't going to give him any clue that she knew about the cave or the pods or anything else.

Nikolas raised his eyebrows. 'That was almost convincing. Except, like I said, I can feel your fear. You really should learn to block your emotions. I bet you can't feel a thing coming off me.'

'Isabel's bored. Isabel's leaving.' She turned away from him. She had to get out of there. She needed to go home and discuss this with Max, Michael, Liz, Maria, and Alex. They would help her figure out what Nikolas's game was. And then they would come up with a plan to deal with him.

'What about all your questions?' Nikolas asked. 'Didn't you want to ask me something about my dream? You know, the one you just walked into, uninvited.'

The dream. It was the dream of another alien. Isabel hesitated.

'The second I got back, I felt you,' Nikolas whispered from behind her. 'I had to meet you. If you hadn't come walking into my dream, I would have come into yours.' Nikolas stepped over the rock next to Isabel. He sat down and pulled her down next to him.

'Got back from where?' Isabel asked. Her heart was still pounding, but somehow she didn't know whether it was from fear or from the excitement of feeling him so close to her.