Prologue: One Year Anniversary

Hello guys! I know I'm a little late with this, but this is the sequel to Heartbreak and Mistletoe. This takes place around the same time of year as the last one, but a year later. This first chapter is a little bit awkward, and this story will definitely more "T" than the other one, but "T" only. Enjoy!

Max POV:

I sat nervously in front of the mirror as Ella and Nudge fussed around me, curling my hair and applying different shades of make-up only to wipe them off and try another one. Tonight Fang was taking me to a fancy restaurant for our one-year anniversary. Gazzy and Angel were running around with their costumes, getting ready for trick-or-treating. At ten and eight, they didn't have many years left for the activity and I knew they wanted to make the most of it.

Nudge was now thirteen and the Fang thing had long since passed. She had told Dr. M that she wanted to enroll in real school, so my mom had enrolled her in the eighth grade this year. Gazzy and Angel also attended, but Mom knew that making Fang, Iggy, and I go was probably a bad idea. I had no desire to try school at all. Crowds made me nervous.

Speaking of my mom, she and Ella had moved a little closer to us. She couldn't move all the way up to us because she needed to secure a job, and the nearest vet clinic that needed help was about two hours away. Still, she and Ella came up whenever they could, usually on the weekends since Ella had school. Mom and Ella had given us older kids some basic lessons in math, science, and history so we weren't totally uneducated. Mom also made sure that we had regular English lessons in spelling and grammar because what we knew was pretty scary.

But you don't care about any of that, do you? You want the juicy details of what Fang and I are up to, don't you? Well, we were getting along just fine. He was sweet at times and sexy at others. Of course we still fight sometimes, but that's just us. We both believe that we are always right, which of course leads to arguments where we try to prove that to each other. Then Fang and I would snuggle up together and apologize. Our dates were usually simple, things like pizza and kissing in Fang's room with absolutely no Flock interruptions allowed. Sometimes we would actually fly out to a restaurant, but it was never anything all that fancy.

Ella and Iggy had also coupled up. He had attended a few of her school dances with her, and they were probably the cutest thing I'd ever seen. I'm not into other people's romances or anything, but they were always giggling and blushing and being awkward, so it was pretty adorable. Fang and I did a lot of making out, but as far as I could tell Ella and Iggy didn't do much more then peck each other on the lips. But it's their business, so what do I know?

So now that you know all of that, let's get back to tonight. Fang and I were going to a pretty fancy restaurant. It wasn't quite wear-a-dress fancy, but we couldn't wear our jeans. Ella and Nudge were cleaning me up, tweezing my eyebrows and using hair-removal cream on my lip. They were very insistent on me looking like a beauty queen, so I tried to ease both their stress and mine.

"Guys, this isn't a first date. Fang hasn't cared what I looked like this whole year, and I doubt he'll care now," I pointed out.

"Max, it's your anniversary!" Ella cried, shocked by my statement. "It has to look like this is the most important thing in the world to you!"

"Ella, Fang knows me better than that. And he lives here. Fang is just down the hall, he knows that you two are the ones getting me ready."

Nudge added something to my eyes. "But still! What did you get him?"

"Get him?" I asked, confused.

Both girls froze and pulled back to look at me, aghast. "You didn't buy him an anniversary present?" Nudge asked.

"Well, no," I said, feeling defensive. "What would I have gotten him? I don't expect anything."

Ella put her head in her hands. "Oh Max, you've got to get each other something!"

I frowned at her. "Our relationship doesn't work like that. If it'll make you happy, I'll let him win our next argument."

Nudge shook her head and went back to my makeup. "I guess it's too late now," she said as she dabbed on some last color. "There, you're done."

Finally! I turned and examined myself in the mirror. I did look amazing. I had on a dark purple tank top with a frilly neck and some khaki slacks. My makeup made my eyes look full and round and my lips looked so plump that I almost wanted to kiss myself.

"I guess I do look really nice," I admitted. "Thanks."

"No problem," Nudge said, slipping out the door to check on Fang.

Ella had one more thing. "Now, final order of business. Did you shave everywhere?"

I blushed at the personal question. "Ella!"

"What? I need to know!" she said.

"Why?" I asked, "You can't change anything now."

She frowned. "Max just tell me where."

I shrugged. "My legs and my underarms. The normal stuff."

Ella frowned. "Not…everywhere?" She asked, motioning somewhere personal.

I blushed furiously. "Why would I need to do that? He won't be seeing that part of me!"

"You don't know that," Ella warned. "And I thought most girls shaved there anyway."

I told her the truth. "I didn't even shave my legs very often until you came. And I do too know!"

"Not really. I mean, what if your hormones get the best of you?" she pointed out.

I glared at her, feeling awkward. "What do you mean? Fang and I are in control. I can handle myself just fine. It's never been a problem before."

Ella shrugged. "Well yeah, but tonight you two will be looking extra hot. And you're sixteen! You can't tell me you've never thought about it before."

I was pretty sure Nudge's blush was wasted as my natural blush was probably going to become permanent. "Well, yeah, but as a future event, like our wedding and our retirement. Have you thought about it?"

Now Ella was blushing. "Yeah, but like you said, as a future event. But I'm only fourteen, you're sixteen."

"Iggy is sixteen. He hasn't been bothering you, has he?" I asked, suspicious.

"No!" Ella said. "He makes dirty jokes sometimes, but he's a total dork."

"Whatever. Fang and I aren't having sex, and now I'm stressed out about everything. Thanks Ella." I said sarcastically.

She looked down, abashed. "I was just trying to help," she muttered.

I sighed. "It's fine. Now, I have a man waiting."

I walked out into the hallway to find Fang waiting for me. He was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing black slacks and a black button-down shirt with a dark purple tie to match my shirt. When he saw me, his eyes widened slightly and he walked over to me. Remember when I said my lips looked irresistible? I guess Fang agreed, because the first thing he did when he saw me was put his hands on my hips and lean in to kiss me.

"Easy boy," I said, putting my hands on his chest and pushing him back slightly.

"You look amazing," Fang breathed, putting his mouth to my ear.

I grinned. "Thanks. And we'll have plenty of time to get affectionate later, but I'm hungry."

"Of course," Fang said, holding his hand out to me. "Shall we go?"

I took his hand. "We shall."

I checked on Gazzy and Angel as we walked to the front door. "You two be good. Don't make trouble for my mom later, okay?"

"Okay!" they responded.

"Have fun," I added.

"We will, you too!" Angel said, hugging my waist.

Fang and I headed outside and got into my mom's car. She insisted on driving us to town so we wouldn't mess ourselves up or have to wear clothes with wing slits. Mom climbed into front. Fang and I sat in the back so we could sit together. Mom looked at us using the mirror above the dashboard. "No making out back there, okay you two?"

"Okay," we agreed, somewhat grudgingly.

It only took about fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant. Mom said she'd be back to get us in two hours.

Fang and I sat down and got our food, making small talk while we did so. While we were eating, Fang reached over and took my hand, which was resting on the table. "I love you, you know that?"

I smiled as I ate another forkful of cheese ravioli. "I know. I love you too."

Fang swallowed a bite of his chicken parmesan and said, "I got you a little something."

My heart dropped straight to my stomach. Oh no. Had Ella been right? Fang handed me a little box. Inside, a simple silver ring with a green gemstone glittered at me. My throat closed up.

"It's a promise ring," Fang said. "Do you like it? You look a little sick."

I shook my head. "No, it's beautiful. Don't worry."

"Then what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," I replied, but he insisted. "Well, Ella and Nudge said that I was supposed to have gotten you something, but I didn't, and now I feel bad because you got me something so nice."

Fang smiled. "Max, you didn't have to get me anything. I just wanted to get you a little something you'll always have."

I looked at him. "Okay. I still feel bad though."

Fang took my hand. "I promise it's fine. I didn't expect anything. You're everything I could ever want."

"You're so sweet," I said, feeling depressed. "I'm a relationship failure."

Fang smiled. "Hey, you're willing to make out with me most of the time. That's all I need." I glared at him and he chuckled.

We finished up our food and ordered some chocolate cheesecake for dessert. Then we waited outside until my mom arrived to take us home. When we arrived, Angel and Gazzy were already back from trick-or-treating and Nudge was helping them count their candy. And I was wrong when I said Iggy and Ella didn't make out, I guess they were just sneakier than Fang and I. They were sitting together on the couch and really getting hot. I noticed Iggy's fingers riding high on Ella's torso, close to her breasts.

Mom noticed too. "Hands, Iggy!" she snapped. Ella and Iggy jumped, pulling away to a more innocent position.

"Sorry," he mumbled while Ella fixed her hair.

"Not so innocent after all, is he?" I asked her, giving her a slightly accusing glare. Ella shrugged, looking ashamed.

But now I understood. Ella had talked to me about hormones and stuff earlier because she had probably just heard the same thing from Mom. I felt Fang's hand touch my hip and he whispered in my ear, "Let's get somewhere more private, hm?"

I grinned and took his hand, heading back to his room. Fang's room was sort of our make out headquarters. I don't know why we picked his room over mine, but it was cozy and just being in there made my heart go a little faster. Fang turned me around and kissed me passionately. He slowly pushed me back onto his bed and leaned over me. I pulled him down and rolled over so we were on our sides.

I'll spare you the details of the next several minutes of face-sucking, but I eventually noticed that something was on my boyfriend's mind. "What's wrong?" I asked, pulling back to look at him.

"Hm?" Fang said, his brain a little fuzzy. "Oh, nothing."

I frowned. "There is too something wrong. I told you what was bothering me earlier!"

"I think you'll get mad," Fang said. "It's like, a guy thing."

"I understand guys. Better than girls," I said, confused. "Tell me!"

Fang sighed. "Look, it's just…fine," he gave in. "I'm a little jealous of Iggy is all."

I pulled back and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Not about Ella!" Fang corrected quickly. "It's…well, he was so close to second base, y'know? And they've only really been dating since May."

I felt confused. "You've gotten to second base before."

"Well, yeah, but only a few times and never under your shirt. Look, remember when I said it was a guy thing? It's just the concept of the matter. We've been dating for much longer than them and I haven't made much more progress."

I was quiet for a moment before giving an awkward shrug. "Well, that's not really the kind of thing I'm going to initiate. Why didn't you give some indication, like putting your hands under my shirt or something?"

Fang shrugged. "We fight so much that I didn't want sex to become a stressor on our relationship. Not that I would ever pressure you for sex," he said quickly.

"So you do think about sex?" I asked, my mind turning back to what Ella had said.

Fang just looked at me. "I'm sixteen, Max. Do you?"

I blushed. "Well, not as something we'd do anytime soon. I guess I always thought that, I don't know, we'd do it during our honeymoon or something."

"Look, as I said, I'm not going to pressure you," Fang said. "I only brought it up because you asked."

I smiled at him and sat all the way up, pulling my shirt over my head. Fang's eyes widened. Ella had Nudge had made me wear a real bra, not a sports bra, and of course we developed faster than normal humans, so….

"If this is what talking gets me, I'm never going to shut up," Fang breathed, pulling me down onto him and burying his face in my neck.

"Just second base," I clarified, then fell into his kisses.

Eventually we had to stop because Fang got too…excited by the whole ordeal. He snuck into the shower while I changed into my pajamas. He slipped into my room just as I was about to fall asleep and pressed his cold, wet hair against my neck. I jumped and slapped him, making him laugh. Then we curled up together and fell asleep.

Ta-Daa! I promise this story won't be sex-centric, that was just this chapter. It probably won't be much longer than Heartbreak, but I don't know. I just hope you all enjoy!