What can be said in New Year rhymes,
That's not been said a thousand times?
The new years come, the old years go,
We know we dream, we dream we know.
We rise up laughing with the light,
We lie down weeping with the night.
We hug the world until it stings,
We curse it then and sigh for wings.
We live, we love, we woo, we wed,
We wreathe our prides, we sheet our dead.
We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,
And that's the burden of a year.
Mostly, Angel thinks of New Year's as one of the only days of the year when Iggy and Gazzy can set off their homemade fireworks and Max doesn't yell at them. She's never watched the ball drop or what can only be described as complete chaos in Times Square. Well, until today.
They're sitting in Dr. M's living room, crowded around the TV. Nudge is talking Ella's ear off, Gazzy is stuffing his face with chocolate-chip cookies, and Max and Fang are… well, she thinks the term is making out. And Iggy's bored out of his mind, considering he can't see the TV or anything.
"Iggy?"
"Hmm?"
"Why are Max and Fang kissing?"
She can hear him think, Oh, god. "Uh… because they like each other, Angel."
"No, I mean… Fang's thinking something about tradition," she explains. Which he is. Well, he used to be. It's actually kind of weird, because Max… and Fang… and she's seven. Jeez. Well, normally they're not like this. Not in front of anyone else, anyways. It must be something about that tradition thing.
Damn it, Fang, Iggy thinks, something that Angel suspects she wasn't meant to overhear. "It's… well, um… if you get a kiss at midnight on New Year's Eve, you're supposed to have good luck for the rest of the year. Fang's just being a-" smartass, Iggy thinks "-uh, he's trying to be funny."
"Oh." She pauses, reaching for one of the few cookies that Gazzy hasn't already eaten. "Well, that's a stupid tradition."
"Hmm. Yeah, it is." He reaches over and ruffles her hair with perfect aim, and she ducks away from his hand, giggling. Ever since Fang came back, Max has been all wrapped up in him. Well, after she got over the whole you-stupid-blank-blank-jerk-how-could-you-leave-me-again thing. And just about everyone in the flock is kind of really sick of it already.
Still, it's New Year's. And apparently, it's traditional.
On the TV screen, a reporter has to yell to be heard over the crowds gathered in Times Square. Why would anyone want to do that? Angel thinks. There's so many people there. Much more entertaining is the conversation- or, rather, argument- between Nudge and Ella that started with a discussion of Breaking Dawn and evolved into a debate over Team Edward or Team Jacob. Angel doesn't really understand the whole Twilight thing, but it's still kind of funny to listen in. Especially because Angel can read their thoughts.
Ella takes a break from viciously defending her Team Edward point of view to yell, "Mom! Countdown's starting!"
This is so weird, Angel thinks. Honestly, she prefers the fireworks. Much more exciting than watching some kind of glowing ball drop down the Times Square tower thingy, especially that time a couple years ago when Iggy "accidentally" set Max's hair on fire.
Ten!
Dr. M runs- literally runs- into the room and sits down beside the couch, looking almost as excited as Nudge.
Nine!
Max and Fang get a head start on the traditional kiss thing. Again. Gross.
Eight!
Nudge starts bouncing up and down on the couch.
Seven!
Angel bites back a sigh and wonders if they'll be allowed to use the fireworks anyways.
Six!
She's sure that either Iggy or Gazzy smuggled some kind of exploding device in their backpacks. They always do.
Five!
Iggy throws a pillow at Max and Fang, which they ignore.
Four!
Angel reaches for another cookie. Dr. Martinez can cook pretty well, she decides.
Three!
Iggy thinks, Of course I'll have bad luck again this year. Bad luck is practically the norm nowadays. Especially for blind mutant bird kids. She can't tell if he's joking or not.
Two!
Angel reaches for the last cookie, but Gazzy beats her to it. Stupid brothers.
One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Just about everyone cheers and claps. The excitement is contagious, and Angel's only seven. Well, somewhere around there. She smiles and claps her hands together and remembers If you get a kiss at midnight on New Year's Eve, you have good luck for the rest of the year.
She kisses him on the cheek and says "Happy New Year, Iggy."
A/N: I was shooting for "brother/sister adorableness" with this one. Not exactly my forte. (No, I don't ship Iggy/Angel. He's eight years older than she is.)
Happy New Year! Let's hope that 2012 is better than 2011. (And that the world doesn't end. That would suck.)
I do not own Maximum Ride, Twilight, or the poem at the top, which I shamelessly stole from my friend's Facebook status. If you know who wrote it, please tell me and I'll give them credit.