FPOV
"Everybody up!" Max ordered loudly, clattering down the hallway and flinging open bedroom doors willy-nilly. "I mean now!" she added, stepping into the room Iggy and I shared.
I sat up, instantly awake as I threw off my blankets. Iggy groaned into his pillow, pulling his comforter over his head in an attempt to shield himself from Max's voice.
It didn't work.
Max burst into the room, slamming the door against the wall as she did so. "Iggy Ride! Get your lazy butt out of bed now!" Max thundered, ripping the comforter away from Iggy. He simply groaned louder, clutching his pillow over his head. Max stripped that from him too, leaving Iggy lying on the bed in nothing but his boxers.
"Maaaax," Iggy whined, attempting to curl his wings around him for warmth.
"Get up," Max repeated sternly, aiming a well-placed kick at his exposed rear. Iggy yelped, tumbling roughly out of his bed and crashing to the floor. I stifled a laugh, watching Max cross her arms and smile in satisfaction. She turned on me next. "Fang, that means you t-" Max paused mid-word, realizing that I was already standing up and watching her and Iggy. "Oh. Okay then," Max muttered, turning away from me and heading towards the door. "I'll go get the kids up then." Without another word, Max hurried out of the room and down the hall. Her yelling echoed throughout the house again. "Zephyr! Into the shower, pronto!"
Iggy sat up from his sprawled position on the floor, and aimed a mischievous smirk in my direction. "Fang, you definitely are a ladies' man," he snickered.
I chucked my pillow at him, catching him on the side of the head. "Ow!" Iggy whined again, rubbing his head. "What do you keep in that pillowcase? Bricks?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, walking across the room to where Iggy sat.
"It means my face hurts now!" Iggy grumbled, rubbing his head.
"No, before that. What you said about me being a ladies' man," I reminded him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh." The pained expression melted off Iggy's face, replaced by a knowing smirk. "You know what I mean," Iggy drawled, wiggling his eyebrows suspiciously.
"Uh, no. I don't," I admitted honestly. "What the hell are you talking about, Iggy?"
Iggy just kept smirking as he grabbed his shirt and began to put it on. "Iggy," I said warningly.
He just kept smirking.
"Come on, Igs, just tell me," I wheedled.
"Fine," he sighed dramatically as he zipped up his pants. With yet another infuriating smirk, he slowly pulled on his socks.
"Iggy!"
"Okay, okay!" Iggy finally stopped teasing me. "Max has a crush on you, Fang." Before I could stop it, my jaw dropped. Whatever I had been expecting Iggy to say, that certainly wasn't it. "Frankly, it's very obvious," he added, obviously enjoying my shock.
"Wha?" I managed to say. "No she doesn't, she's-"
"Madly in love with you?" Iggy interjected, chortling happily at my discomfort.
"She's Max!" I insisted. "Max doesn't like me like that."
"Then why was she checking you out in your lovely sleepwear?" Iggy asked slyly, gesturing towards me. As always, I was clad in only my boxers. But Iggy had only been wearing boxers too, so he had no right to say anything about mine.
Plus, he just didn't make sense. Max didn't like me!
Did she?
"Max wasn't checking me out!" I protested.
"Fang, Fang, Fang," Iggy clucked, coming over to clap me on the shoulder. "You're in denial. Did you see her reaction?"
"Yeah, but-"
"How might you explain that?" Iggy demanded gleefully. I had no answer, and Iggy began to cackle. "You know I'm right! Fang and Maxie, sitting in a tree!" Iggy bounded out of the room, grinning from ear to ear.
I stood there, dumbfounded by Iggy's declaration. Max liked me? Since when?
Then something else occurred to me. "HOW WOULD YOU EVEN KNOW? YOU'RE BLIND!" I yelled.
Iggy just laughed in reply.
Damn boy.
MPOV
I rushed out of Fang and Iggy's room as quickly as I could without looking too conspicuous. Oh lord, that felt so awkward.
For some reason, I just couldn't look at Fang while he was standing there oh-so-casually in only a pair of black boxers. Iggy, I could deal with, probably because he looked so funny with his wings wrapped all around his body, and he was whining his ass off like a toddler. And Iggy wasn't Fang either, which probably helped.
After all, I hadn't ever kissed Iggy. Thankfully.
After you kiss a boy who's been practically your brother for over a decade, things kind of change. Before, I didn't even bat an eye when Fang wasn't fully dressed. Now, I felt very highly aware of everything about him, including how much clothing he was wearing at the time.
Especially how much clothing he was wearing.
"Nudge, are you getting ready for school?" I asked, walking into her room. Nudge looked up from her bed, where she was brushing her hair, and smiled at me.
"Yeah Max, I'm almost done," Nudge replied happily, gesturing towards herself. She had already put on her school uniform, and was brushing out her braids.
"Good job," I praised her. "Is Gazzy in the shower yet?"
"I'm going, I'm going," Gazzy called, hurrying past Nudge's room
towards the bathroom.
"Make it snappy," I called back. "I'm gonna check on Angel."
"I'll be downstairs in a few minutes, Max," Nudge sang, brushing her hair more vigorously.
I stepped into Angel's room next, only to find her still snoozing. Total was curled up on her pillow, and Angel was peacefully sleeping beside him. I shook my head, smiling as I walked up to her bed and brushed the hair away from her forehead. "Ange, sweetie," I murmured. "You need to wake up now. It's almost time for school."
Angel shifted, and after a moment, opened her eyes and smiled at me. "Hi Max," she breathed, still half-asleep.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," I sang back, smiling down at her.
Angel laughed, sitting up and throwing her blankets back. Total grumbled something in his sleep, but didn't move off her pillow. "I'll get ready now," Angel promised.
"Do you need any help?" I asked, already walking towards the door. I knew what her answer would be.
"I'm okay, Max. Thank you," Angel said, opening the drawer to her dresser and pulling out her skirt.
When I got to the kitchen, Anne and Iggy were already by the stove, collaborating on an effort to teach Anne how to make edible pancakes. "Good morning, Max," Anne told me, looking up from the mixing bowl she was hovering over. "Are you ready for school?"
I looked down at my Prep-School Barbie uniform, as Nudge had named it, with badly disguised distaste. "Unfortunately," I mumbled, opening the fridge and looking through for the orange juice. "Krystal should be here in a moment, Zephyr is in the shower, and Ariel is getting dressed."
"You're so on top of things, Max," Anne complimented me. "Thank you for getting the kids ready."
"It's not like I haven't ever done it before," I murmured quietly, so Anne couldn't hear.
"Where's Nick?" I asked Iggy, pouring my juice into a cup.
Iggy smirked, which was slightly strange, before replying. "Oh, he's probably still getting dressed," Iggy told me, like it was the funniest thing he'd ever said. I stared at him blankly, not understanding, while simultaneously trying to block out images of Fang getting dressed from my mind.
Before I had a chance to ask Iggy what he meant, Nudge and Angel skipped into the kitchen, both already dressed in their uniforms. Total trotted groggily behind them. He apparently hadn't fully woken up yet, because he kept bumping into the walls. "Good morning!" Angel sang, sitting down at the table.
"Max, Zephyr stole my makeup bag again, and I think he's trying to find a way to ignite my eyeshadow using only mascara and a magnifying glass!" Nudge complained, plopping down next to Angel.
"I'll talk to him," I promised, hiding a smile behind my hand. "Want juice?"
As I was pouring juice for Angel and Nudge, Fang slipped into the kitchen, thankfully fully dressed in his uniform this time. I could feel his gaze on me, but tried to concentrate on not dropping the juice pitcher. It was unnerving to have Fang scrutinizing me this early in the morning.
"Good morning, Nick," Anne greeted him.
"Morning," Fang mumbled, sitting down next to Nudge. "Can I have the juice, Max?"
"Sure," I replied, sliding the pitcher across the table and handing him a glass.
"Pancakes are ready!" Iggy announced, flipping a steaming one onto one of six tall stacks. I grabbed the plates from the counter and distributed them, leaving one by the empty chair for Gazzy. Anne had her own, much smaller stack to eat with her coffee, and she kept gushing about what an amazing cook Iggy was.
I poured a glass of milk for Gazzy, since he was the only one who actually liked it, and set it down by his plate. I tried to concentrate on eating my pancakes, but it was very hard to do when Fang kept sneaking glances at me every time he thought I wouldn't notice.
What was with him? I dearly hoped he hadn't picked up on any of the weird reactions I was beginning to get from seeing him more than half-naked.
And that was a very awkward sentence.
Gazzy walked into the kitchen last, dressed in his uniform and with his hair spiked up and still dripping. Without a word, he fell into his chair and started eating his pancakes. Gazzy never talked very much after showers-they always seemed to make him quieter than usual.
Sometimes I wished that was also the case with Nudge.
Right now, for instance, she was talking so quickly that I was convinced she would choke on her pancakes and die right there at the kitchen table. "ZOMG okay so this girl in my science class, her name is Lauren Hesselink, isn't that a pretty name? So yeah, she was pouring these chemicals into a beaker, and I was like, refusing to touch them 'cause they were really creepy, and she was all, 'OMG Krystal you're so weird!' and I was like 'ZOMG you don't know the half of it, Lauren!' And she invited me to her house after school tomorrow, is that okay Max?"
Anne looked a little put out at not being asked first, but I was secretly very happy. "That sounds fine, Nudge," I told her. "Just make sure you follow flock procedure first."
Nudge nodded, smiling happily as she continued to inhale her pancakes. She knew the drill: make sure they aren't dangerous, be polite, don't eat an abnormal amount of food, and mark all possible exits in the house.
"I'm going to go feed the animals now, call me when you're all finished with breakfast," Anne announced, standing up and putting her plate in the sink. We all nodded, watching as she walked out the back door.
As soon as Anne was gone, Angel, Nudge and Gazzy immediately erupted into some sort of argument over Nudge's makeup bag. I was about to break up the fight when Iggy tapped me on the shoulder. Startled, I almost punched his head off before realizing it was him.
Iggy was oblivious to how close he had come to being beheaded. "Hey Max, Fang, I wanted to tell you guys something," he started, a wicked little smile curling on his lips.
Hopefully he hadn't destroyed a national monument. Iggy had always said it was on his to-do list, and I could never quite tell if he was joking or not.
"What?" Fang asked, finishing his last bite of pancake. I kept my eyes on Iggy's face, trying to pick out any hint of guilt that would say he had torched something.
"I noticed at school that all of the guys have been drooling over Max," Iggy observed, grinning at me.
I resisted the urge to slap him, and instead I simply smiled. "Go on," I said pleasantly. "But please be aware that your life is endangered at the present."
Iggy pretended not to hear me. "I have also noticed that all the girls are drooling over Fang," he continued.
I glanced at Fang, who was busy impersonating a brick wall. "Do go on," I urged Iggy, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
"So I wanted to set up a little bet," Iggy plowed on, ignoring my comment once more. "Whichever one of you gets asked out the most by the end of the day is the loser, and has to pay the winner twenty bucks."
"I don't have twenty bucks," Fang pointed out.
"Neither do I," I added.
Iggy looked pained at our poverty. "Fine, then the loser has to do whatever the winner wants them to do. Sound good?"
Fang and I looked at each other, and shrugged. "Whatevs," I sighed. "Fang will get asked out more than me anyway, so it doesn't really matter."
Fang looked annoyed by my comment, for some reason. "What makes you say that?" he demanded. "The Sam-weiner already asked you out."
I glared at him. "Shut up. And don't call him that- Sam is nice."
Fang snorted. "Right," he muttered.
"Oh, and there's one other thing," Iggy said, interrupting the glaring contest Fang and I were having. "If one of you gets kissed, then you're automatically the loser."
"Oh, this will be easy then!" I exclaimed. "Lissa dearest can't keep away from Fang!"
Fang scowled at me, and for a second I thought he was going to punch me. "Shut up," he growled finally. "I don't like Lissa, and she understands that."
"Right, Fang. Whatever you say," I replied doubtfully.
Fang looked about ready to strangle me at this point. I grinned, happy to be able to get such a visible emotional reaction from him.
"So is it a deal?" Iggy pressed.
"Sure," I replied confidently.
"Fine," Fang growled.
"Shake on it," Iggy ordered.
Fang and I grasped hands and shook, staring each other down. "Max is gonna win," I sang. "Lissa's gonna help her!"
Fang was very peeved at me on the car ride to school. I ignored his mood, instead talking to Gazzy about returning Nudge's makeup bag. He was a bit reluctant at first, but he cheered up when I told him I would let him use the makeup kit Anne had given me.
Iggy spent the ride conferring with Angel. She was going to help out with the bet by looking in our minds at the end of the day and counting how many times we had been asked out. This ensured that we couldn't cheat. After all, Fang and I are survivors. We do anything to come out on top.
Anne dropped us off at school with a wave and a warning not to receive any more calls from the principal. We smiled and nodded until she finally left, then headed into the school.
The hallway was bustling with students, but they practically parted before Iggy, Fang and I. Not only did we tower over the majority of the other kids, but we were apparently popular now, too.
Frankly, I had no idea how that had happened.
"Hey Max!" I whirled around, only to see a blonde girl in a flowered sun dress waving at me, before disappearing into the crowd. I stared at the spot where she had been, utterly confused. I had never seen that girl before in my life.
"How did she know my name?" I murmured to Fang.
Fang shrugged. "I dunno. Everybody knows all of us, for some reason."
"ZOMG we're like celebrities!" Nudge gushed. "This is so cool! Hi Kaylee! Hi Liza-Beth! Hi Marta!" Nudge ran off to greet some random girls, and we lost her in the crowd.
After a few minutes, Iggy and Fang peeled off from our group to go head to their lockers. Gazzy and Angel waved energetically at me before disappearing down a flight of stairs to the lower house area. I pushed away the worried feeling that rushed me from the flock being separated, and walked up to my locker. As I dialed in the combination, I tried to relax. Crowds were normal for school. I needed to get used to it.
Yay crowds.
After stuffing the majority of my backpack into my locker, I shut the door and turned to go to my homeroom. "Hey, Max!" someone called.
I whirled around and instantly crouched into a fighting position. Had there been an Eraser infiltration of the school? Was my flock in possible danger? My mind raced through possible conclusions, my heart pounding, before I saw that it was only some random kid.
Not an Eraser, not a whitecoat, I tried to assure myself. I was safe. Safety.
The boy had come up to me now, and was looking at me expectantly. It took me a second to realize I hadn't responded. "Oh, umm, hi," I said lamely.
"I'm Jason, you know, from your history class," the guy said helpfully, flashing me a smile. I smiled weakly in return, wondering what the heck Jason From my History Class wanted.
"Yeah, I knew that," I lied. "What's up?"
"I know that we've only known each other for about a week," Jason began. I laughed internally. Buddy, I've only known you for thirty seconds. "But I think you're really cool. So, uh, would you go out with me?"
Hold the phone- did this guy really just ask me to date him?
I stared at him in shock. "Uh, what?" I asked stupidly.
Jason looked embarrassed. "I understand if you don't want to, it's just-"
"I'm sorry," I interrupted, forcing myself to smile at him again. "But I have to get to class now. See you in history!" Without another word, I practically ran down the hallway and lunged into my homeroom.
That was close.
I sighed, slumping down at my desk. With a glance at both the clock and the empty seats around me, I realized that it was indeed very early in the day. In fact, I had only been at the school for about five minutes.
This bet might be harder than I thought.
LOLZ. I really wanted to write this, for some reason. =PReview and tell me whatcha think! I'll love you forever! Even if your review is a flame!Gazzy: and she means it, too. -_-"~TMI~
