Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. Duh.
"Night Angel." I closed the door of my little angel/demon/I don't really know what these days. Ugh. Getting into this is so difficult. And I'm not dealing with anything difficult tonight. Nope. Nada. Not a single difficult piece of crap, like the fact that, a week ago, Angel put a gun to my head. Not the fact that Dylan, the newest member of "Winged Kids of America," had moved in. And definitely not the fact that a few days ago, Fang had left me.
He left everyone really. Not just me. He abandoned everyone, just when I thought things might be starting to come together. That the flock could be happy, and me and Fang could be together forever. Always by my side, I thought I would have Fang, if no one else.
But no. Even that idea is too far-fetched. I guess that when the mad scientists at the School made me, they grafted the "Can't ever be happy for more than 10 freaking seconds, because next thing you know, my boyfriend /bestfriend/right-winged man is gone," gene into me. Thanks Jeb. Really appreciating this one.
I guess the thing that gets to me most is, that he promised he would never leave me again. Back when we were reuiniting with the flock after some crazy kids read Fang's Blog, decided to trash Itex in Germany. Fang, Iggy, and the Gasman weren't there for that, because Fang was being a wing-nut, and left. Said he needed to go his own way, because he didn't trust Ari, who was traveling with us at the time. You know what? No. Just no. I'm not going back to the day I met up with Fang in that cave again, and we hugged for forever, and he straight, flat out promised he would never leave me again. I'm not dealing with it. So, there.
I climbed into bed in my clothes because frankly, I was too tired to take them off. Taking care of everything was hard work. Because well, someone wasn't there to help me. I got all the little ones in bed, made sure everyone was okay, etc. The only thing I didn't do was cook, and that was because I liked to keep the explosions to Iggy and Gazzy.
So I was winding down, trying to sleep and for once not think about anything difficult or stressful. But everyone who knows me, knows I don't relax easy. I'm always really wired up, like I had too much coffee. Even when I was trying to sleep. Which is why, when a hand appeared to be knocking on my bedroom window, I jumped up into the air and ran to the window, preparing for a fight. Natural battle instincts. Habit.
The hand reached down the bottom of the window to the latch and before I could lock it, it opened up and out climbed the biggest surprise since Total's wedding when I read the letter.
"Hey Max," Fang whispered.
After that, I'm pretty sure my body went into physical shock, because I stood there, mouth hanging open, reaching for the window, and frozen to the spot.
"Uh, Max?"
I looked at him. He was in perfect condition. He wasn't all bloody or bruised. His clothes weren't too messy. There weren't any visible bullet holes on him. He even looked like he had showered recently. So why the hell was he back? Suddenly, I was pissed. I mean, more than normal.
"What..are you doing here?" I asked, dangerously close to just beating him right there. "Why are you back? You can't just waltz back in here. You bastard!"
Fang just looked at me. If he was in shock, his expression wasn't registering it. He was completely calm. Which of course, only pissed me off more. Wasn't he supposed to be telling me he made a mistake? Wasn't he supposed to be saying he was sorry?
"Max.."
"Unless you're here to apologize, for everything, leave. Now. I'm serious Fang." I tried to look as menacing as possible but damn. I was tired. The whole week was just getting to me. So, I'm sure I looked pretty weak and vulnerable. Perfect.
"Max, I am sorry." Whoa. I actually wasn't expecting that. "I'm sorry for everything. But I didn't make a mistake. I did this for your own good. For everyone's own good. As for me being back, well, there's something I wanna tell you." Fang walked over to my bed, where I was now sitting, and sat too. After a moment, he put his arm around me. I didn't try and shrug it off.
"Max, everything I said in that letter is true. About how beautiful you looked, and how I'll never forget that. But I also meant it when I said you aren't focused when we're together. And that we need some space. And that if you're with me, the world is in danger.
"But the most true thing in that letter is how much I love you." At this point, all I could do was stare at him. That literally had to be the longest thing he's ever said. And the most emotional. And believe me, Fang wasn't the greatest with emotions.
"I love you Max. I love every part of you, inside and out. I love how stubborn you are, and demanding. And I love how comforting and caring you are. And I absolutely love how focused you are on saving the world.
"Which is why I need to let you go. Because it's the only way for you to save everyone and everything. Max, you don't know how much it pains me to do this. But it's the only way, you understand that right? You have to."
I nodded wordlessly because I couldn't talk right then. I was so stunned, that I actually started to feel tears form in my eyes. I tried to blink them out and turn away, but Fang caught me in his arms and held me there.
"I promise you," he said. "that I will see you again. When you've saved the world, and you have less important things to do, like spend time with me," he smirked, "I'll be there. Just like I always have been. I promise."
And just like that, he enveloped me in his arms, and placed his lips on mine.
It was a kiss that said goodbye.
It was a kiss that said I'll see you soon.
It was a kiss that said I love you.
And I kissed back with everything I had, knowing somewhere in my heart(or somewhere in that area) that Fang really did love me, and that he would keep his promise to me.
This was how it was supposed to be. Me saving the world, and then being with Fang forever. That would keep me motivated through the hard years to come. Seeing him again. Seeing his face. Hearing his voice and laugh. Holding his hand. Kissing him.
So I, Maximum Ride, would save the world. And then I would be with Fang. And everything would be okay. Forever. I just couldn't make any mistakes.
"I love you too Fang."