My breath had become short. Angel and Nudge were bawling, holding on to each other. My hand was to my mouth. I couldn't believe this. Fang. My soulmate. He was gone. He was really gone.

Behind me, Iggy and the Gasman were silent, tears streaming down their faces. I knew they were screaming inside.

I very much wanted to scream bloody Mary myself right now. I felt cold, empty, dead.

In my hands, the letter crumpled. I crumpled it up and threw it in the wastebasket. Then I stared at the ring on my finger that Fang had given me for our 'birthday'. I took it off and threw it to the ground, enraged. I was hurt, confused, angry. . .heartbroken. I felt like I was going to die. Fang couldn't leave. He couldn't. It wasn't possible. I didn't want Dylan. He wasn't meant for me. I don't care what the Voice told me. I wanted Fang, and Fang only. He was my one and only love, and would be forever.

I can't believe that stupid idiot had left us.

After everything that we'd been through.

In his letter, he'd begged me not to follow him. So what do you think I did?

I followed him. I took a running start, jumped out the window, and unfurled my wings, taking off into the night sky.

He's not far, said my Voice. My eyes widened, startled. The Voice hadn't made an appearance in a while.

Nice of you to join me, I replied. You know where Fang is?

My heart swelled with hope. When I found Fang, I was going to kick his butt from here to next month. No, next year. What he had done was so much worse than anything I'd ever been through in my entire life. The pain he had caused me hurt much more than any other cut or bruise or scar I'd gotten in my whole fifteen years.

He was so dead. I was going to kill that boy.

He 's on an island off the coast of Hawaii, the Voice chimed in. Hawaii? What was he doing there? For a moment, I thought about Dr. Brigid Dwyer, then let that thought sink out of my head. I knew that Fang loved me. He had poured out his heart and soul in that letter. He had summed up his feelings for me in at least three simple paragraphs. There was a lifetime of love in that letter.

I knew I wouldn't be seeing Dr. Wonderful anytime soon. That thought made me smile.

You gonna tell me which island? I asked the Voice. It was silent. "Of course not," I said out loud. "Because that would be too easy, wouldn't it?"

It took me at least four hours to find him, give or take a few. When I reached Hawaii, I searched up and down the entire state. If it really was a state. I never understood that.

Finally, I found Fang. I recognized his dark shape, lounging on the sand on a single small island. I would have missed it if it weren't for Fang, his black clothes standing out against all of the pristine white sand. I flew down and landed without a sound on the sand behind him.

"You asshole!" I screamed at him suddenly, without thinking. His eyes, which had been closed, shot wide open. "You bastard! Jerk! Freaking IDIOT!" My voice was as loud as it could get. Fang had stood up. He was staring at me, as if he couldn't believe it was really me. I stepped toward him.

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" I shouted. "Why? Why did you do it?"

"You know why, Max," he replied, his voice barely a whisper. "I had to. Staying with you was putting you and the entire flock in danger. I couldn't take the risk of staying."

"Are you kidding me?" I shouted. "Where have you been for the last two years? We're always in danger. ALWAYS. Not because of you, or me, or any one specific person. It's because of who we are, Fang. It's because we're genetically enhanced bird-kid freakshows with wings who can fly, and have other superhuman abilities. It's because we're worth millions of dollars," I said. I was on a roll, and I wasn't about to stop. "That's why."

I paused to take a deep breath, then started again. Fang was staring at me.

"And if you think that I am going to let you leave me again, you've got another think coming, pal. I. Love. You. The flock loves you. We don't care if you put us in danger, which you don't. Like I said, and you should know by now, we are always in danger. It's never going to stop unless we magically become normal human beings. So suck it up, get used to it, and do as I say. Listen carefully," I said. He didn't give any indication that he was listening. Instead, just stared at me. I went on.

"You are going to come back to the safe house with me. You are going to come back to me and the flock. And you are going to stay there. Forever. Don't tell me no, because I swear to God I will never forgive you. You belong with us, Fang. With me. I need you. We all need you. We love you. And I can't. Live. Without you. "

For a while after that, it was silent. I stood with my hands on my hips, waiting for Fang's response. My eyes were steely, and my mind was filled with mixed emotions. Enormous fury, hatred, anger, love. I was crying - had been ever since I left the house. It hadn't stopped. I was sure I was going to run myself dry.

Suddenly, I was in Fang's arms. His mouth was against mine, and we were kissing. He kissed me hungrily, and we had to stop every couple seconds to gasp for air. I kissed him back with all my heart.

"You got it, boss," he said as he kissed my neck. I was breathing fast, loving the feeling of his lips on my bare neck. God, he was such a great kisser.

"I love you," I said, holding his face between my hands. We pressed our foreheads together. "I will always, always love you. And you will stay with me. Forever."

He smiled. "That sounds like a pretty good idea."

For about an hour or so after that, we just lay on the sand, kissing. I loved the way he kissed me. Fireworks lit up my mind. He was the one. He had always been the one, and somewhere deep inside I always knew that. He was my best friend. We had grown up together. After all of the times that I thought I'd lost him, he had managed to come back to me. And this time, he would stay. For good.

If he ever tried to leave again, I would kill him. Then I would bring him back to life and kill him all over again for the pain and suffering and heartbreak he'd caused me.

But I knew that would never happen.

Because Fang was here to stay. . .forever. I hoped forever lasted a long, long time.

When we got back to the house, there were many tears of joy. Hugs and shrieks and kisses and lots and lots of love. After everything had calmed down, and the flock was sure that Fang wouldn't take off again, we all settled down for bed. I was in my room, just getting ready to go to sleep, when there was a knock on my door.

There was no question who it was.

"Come in," I said just as Fang entered the room, closing the door behind him. He smiled at me. I smiled back at him, patting an empty space on my bed. He sat next to me, pulling me into his lap.

"I'm so, so, so sorry," he whispered. "More sorry than you can imagine. I shouldn't have done. . .what I did. It was stupid. I wasn't thinking. I didn't know how much it would hurt you."

I was silent.

"You know I love you, Max," he said. "I always have, and I always will. And I promise that I will never, ever, ever, leave you again."

I believed him, but I couldn't help still feeling scared. My biggest fear now was that he'd take off again without warning and never come back.

But as I stared into his dark eyes, I knew that that wasn't an option anymore. Being together wasn't safe, but being apart was even less safe. I knew that. We all knew that. The phrase, 'Divide and Conquer'? Yeah, it doesn't apply to us. We were always better as a flock. We fought harder, we worked harder, and we took out every single one of our enemies with no mercy. We were a team. If one of us went down, we all went down. And we would go down fighting.

Suddenly, Fang's eyes shifted to something on the floor. I followed his gaze, and blushed, embarrassed. He slid me off his lap, walked over to the shining object, bent down, picked it up, and within milliseconds was back on the bed, with me in his lap.

"It's the ring I gave you for our birthday," he said, holding it up so that it sparkled in the moonlight.

"Yeah," I replied, my voice shaky. "I. . .I was reading your. . .your letter. I got-I was just so pissed off at you that I took it off and chucked it on the floor. I'm sorry. Is it okay?"

He nodded. "It still looks to be intact." He slid the gemstone ring onto my finger and kissed it.

"I really am sorry," he said again. A tear slid down my cheek. He wiped it away. "I will never forgive myself for the pain I've caused you."

"Don't you ever do that to me again," I warned, but my voice didn't sound as nearly as steely and dangerous as I hoped it to be. It was a silent, hoarse whisper. Fang nodded. He laid down on my bed, me on top of him, facing him.

"I promise, Max," he said. "I would rather die than leave you."

"No!" I almost shouted. I brought my voice back down to a whisper. "You already died once, Fang. And I couldn't stand it. I have lost you a total of three times, and I don't plan for there to be a fourth."

"You know what I mean," Fang said, brushing my cheek with his hand. It sent shivers down my spine. "I love you, Max. Forever and always. You are the most beautiful person that has ever walked this Earth. You are my soul, my life, my one and only love. You are the. . .wind beneath my wings." I couldn't help laughing out loud at the bird-kid pun.

"I love you, you stupid, idiotic, irresistible boy," I replied.

And just like that, we resumed our scene on the island in Hawaii.

I fell asleep in Fang's arms. It was the place I felt most comfortable, the one place I loved most in the world. Fang would always be mine. I loved him, and I knew that he loved me with a passion so great it was indescribable.

And that's how it would stay. Forever and always.