AN: I'm so bored. That's the only reason I write one-shots. I'm pretty sure this is a cliché plot, but like I said, I was bored. I was trying to decide whether this should have a happy ending or a sad ending, but I couldn't decide so I decided to make two endings for this. One ending will be sad and most likely depressing and the other one will be happy-ish. So you can choose which one you want to read or you can read both.

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. Though I do own a copy of all the books.

Max had been broken beyond repair ever since Fang had left her. Nobody could fix her broken heart and she doubted that even Fang could do this if he ever decided to come back.

She felt cold without his touch, his kiss. She had never truly known what he had meant to her until he had left her. He had always been the one chasing after her—she had always assumed that he would always be there for her, especially when she was as depressed and lonely as she was now. But since his absence was the cause of her depression, he couldn't exactly help her out of it.

It had been 3 years, but it was still just as painful as when he had first left her. It could even possibly be more painful because he hadn't come back to her even though he had supposedly "chosen" her.

Max sighed. This was why she had been so afraid to get together with Fang in the first place. When you open your heart up to love, you would only get hurt. Love only leads to pain. She had learned her lesson. She would never be able to love someone like she had loved Fang ever again.

Max was in her room, sitting on her bed, staring out the window. She and the rest of the flock were at the house in Colorado the CSM had given them. She wished she was outside flying instead of copped up inside this house. But she hadn't flown since Fang had left. It brought back too many painful memories.

The wind in her hair…the sun warming her face…his hand in hers…his beautiful midnight black wings…how his eyes had twinkled as he bent down to kiss her lips.

Max felt a droplet of salty water trickle down her cheek and wiped it away hastily. She was disgusted with herself. She should be strong so that the flock would have someone to look up to, but she found that she couldn't. It was just too much.

Max walked over to the window and opened it, sticking her head out of it. She felt the cool kiss of a breeze on her face and started crying again. She would give almost anything to be able to get back up there in the sky. Then a thought occurred to her: Why couldn't she?

Sure, she hadn't flown in three years, hadn't even attempted it, but she should be able to fly again, right? Knowing how to fly wasn't something someone could forget very easily. Right then, she chose to ignore the fact that old memories would surely consume her if she flew again; she just wanted to feel the incredible, indescribable feeling of flying.

Before she could have any second thoughts, she jumped out the window and opened her wings, flapping them desperately, hoping she wouldn't fall. Her wings were unused to flying and were weak. She tired easily, and fell a few feet. Fortunately, she was able to rise again before she hit the hard, unforgiving ground.

Now, where could she go?

The cliff, she thought. It was the first place she could think of, and who knew, maybe Fang had decided to meet her there 17 years early. It was completely unrealistic to hope that, but maybe he was as drawn to the place as she was. Max smiled and began to fly with a new purpose.

Fang had been watching the flock, invisible, for the three years he had been "gone". In truth, he had never left the flock. He had been there all along, only they hadn't known that.

Fang had known he wouldn't be able to live without seeing the flock for 20 years. But he had promised Max she wouldn't see him again for 20 years. So Fang had compromised. He would watch them but they wouldn't be able to see him. He had put up mind blocks so Angel wouldn't be able to read his mind.

Currently, Iggy and Gazzy were outside, probably planning how they were going to test one of their bombs. Fang saw Angel come out of the house, her eyes looking confused. She walked up to Iggy and Gazzy and said something to them. Because Fang's hearing was better than a regular human's, he could hear her words perfectly.

"Max is flying again," Angel said. Fang almost smiled. This was the first time since he had left.

Iggy smiled. "That's great!" he exclaimed.

"She's gone to the cliff. The one where we first learned to fly with the hawks," Angel whispered. She must have read Max's mind.

Iggy's and Gazzy's faces fell. "Does she think Fang will be there?" Gazzy asked quietly.

Angel replied, but she spoke so softly that Fang couldn't hear her. He didn't dare come closer to them in case they would find out that he was there.

Suddenly, Fang had an uncontrollable urge to see Max. Even if he couldn't talk to her or touch her didn't mean that he couldn't at least see her, right?

Fang opened his wings and began flying.

Max sat in the cave, her head in her hands, crying. Coming here had been a mistake. There were too many memories of the flock together and happy. Max looked up to see the hawks who were flying high and majestically in the sky. She remembered being up there with Fang by her side.

What was the point of living without him?

Tears were beginning to blur her vision. It was just too much. She had practically been dead without Fang; would really dying make much of a difference? She wanted to end the pain once and for all. She wanted an out of the cold, cruel world.

And there was only one way she could think of to get out.

Max's fingers fumbled for the pocketknife she always kept in the pocket of her hoodie in case she ever met up with an enemy of hers. She smiled ironically. She guessed life was the enemy now.

She plunged the blade into her wrist, making a deep cut. She hissed in pain. It hurt more than she thought it would. She cried out from the pain. Pain is just a message, pain is just a message, she repeated to herself, a continuous mantra.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Max saw the blood pouring out of the wound, but now strangely felt disconnected from it, like she didn't care anymore. She had already given up on life.

But the cut wasn't bleeding fast enough. In a split second decision, she cut her other wrist. She blinked a few times but refrained from making any sound to show her pain. She had to be strong right before death, right?

Damn it. The cuts still weren't bleeding fast enough. Then a fact hit her, making her smile. She was on a freaking cliff.

She walked toward the edge of the cliff with her wings tucked in. At least this will be a quick death, she thought. She would just hit the rocks and then die. Max got ready to jump.

What the hell was Max doing? She's so close to the edge, Fang thought, staring at Max standing on the cliff with wide, horror-stricken eyes. Wasn't she afraid of falling off, even if she could fly? She might not be able to fly very well because she hadn't flown for so long! Suddenly Max's intentions were clear to Fang.

He realized what she meant to do. But it was too late.

Max jumped off the cliff.

"Max!" Fang yelled, extending his wings and flying toward her frantically. It was a yell filled with anguish. Fang tried to pack a lifetime's worth of love into that one word. Max.

She can't die. She can't die. Fang repeated those words in his head as he rushed toward her. Had he broken the great Maximum Ride so much that she had wanted to do this? He hadn't meant to. He thought that she would just move on with her life. He would even understand if she fell in love with Dylan. Fang wanted to cry, but held the tears in. He couldn't cry. Couldn't…just couldn't.

Imagine, Fang the Emotionless Rock crying.

The wind felt nice blowing through Max's hair as she fell. She smiled for what she was sure was to be the last time. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the rocks rush toward her. She fought her natural instinct to open her wings, to fly, to save herself. She just fell.

AN: Okay, here is where the end starts. There are two ways this story can end. If you want a happy ending, read the second ending. If you feel like reading a sad ending, read the first ending.

Ending Number One

Fang was sweating from having to fly so fast. But he had to keep going. Max's life depended on it. But he was still so, so far away. And she was falling so, so fast. It was a race against time. Could he get there before Max hit the ground?

Fang felt a burst of adrenaline. Yes, adrenaline was what he needed. His strong, powerful wings propelled him forward toward Max. Fang smiled. He was close now. She was only a few feet away. Fang breathed a sigh of relief. He would be able to save her. He began to relax his muscles a little.

That was his mistake.

In his moment of relaxation, he had slowed down a bit, underestimating the rate at which Max could fall. He reached out his arms to catch her, to stop her fall…

Only to have his arms miss her warm body by a few inches. He had misjudged the distance between them, thinking that he could close the distance between him and her with his arms and catch her when he really couldn't.

She kept falling, and Fang was unable to do anything about it.

She was gone forever. Dead. He word repeated itself in his mind. It hurt so much. It felt like he had been cut open and been left to bleed. He could have saved her. But he hadn't been able to. And that was what hurt the most. He had been so close, and now she was gone forever.

Fang felt the first of what he was sure would be many tears trickle down his face.

AN: I didn't like the ending very much, but I like this other ending. It's less…depressing. Remember, this isn't a continuation of the first ending. It's just another way for the story to end.

Ending Number Two

Fang was flying faster than he had ever flown before. Adrenaline coursed through his body. He only hoped he would be able to get to Max fast enough. Seeing Max fall like that—just giving up on life—was one of the hardest things Fang had ever had to see. She was always the strong flock leader. He had loved her. Still loved her. He never thought she could be so vulnerable.

Tears clouded his vision and he couldn't even tell where he was going anymore. All he knew was that he had one destination: forward. To Max. He didn't even know how far away he was from her, he just kept flying as quickly as he could, knowing if Max died, he would die too.

Suddenly, something landed in his outstretched arms. He blinked away the tears in his eyes and saw Max's face. Her eyes were closed and she probably thought she was still falling, not realizing that she was now in somebody's arms—that the only person she could ever love had stopped her. She obviously hadn't expected anyone to stop her from ending her life. She didn't know Fang still cared about her enough to want her alive.

Max's wrists were cut and bleeding. Her hair was limp and looked like it hadn't been washed for weeks. Her face was pale and she looked unbelievably skinny. In spite of al that, she was still beautiful.

Fang leaned down to kiss Max on the lips lightly. It was a quick, gentle kiss, but it was still sweet.

The girl in Fang's arms was still alive. And that was what mattered.

AN: Probably not my best work. But I kind of liked it. R & R?