"But that was life: Nobody got a guided tour to their own theme park. You had to hop on the rides as they presented themselves, never knowing whether you would like the one you were in line for...or if the bastard was going to make you throw up your corn dog and your cotton candy all over the place."- J.R Ward.
THE RIDE KNOWN AS LIFE:
In perspective, Maximum (Max) Ride saw this coming all along. Still, it hurts. More than anything else she could've felt. In fact, she's surprised that it hurt as much. She expected it to hurt less- be less painful because she wasn't ignorant towards the situation. But it burns, leaving her chest raw, and her heart broken into a million tiny pieces. But then again, that's life. No one gives you the guided tour to your own personal amusement park. You had to hop on rides as they presented themselves, see where they took you, or else you would be stuck on the kitty rides.
So, she took the leap of faith and rode the ride that was Dylan Faz.
His reputation in the school was to no innocence to her. He played with girls, struck there notes as if he was a professional guitar player. Which in some ways, he was. He had never taken any notice to the dirty blonde, until now.
Max wasn't one to like-like guys. She had a couple of boy friends, like Iggy and Gazzy, the two class clowns of her high school, but other than that she had taken the role of school's tomboy. The girl who narrowed her bambi eyes at any male who dared to come close. The girl who liked sports and books more than looks. The girl who despised shopping, and was friends with more guys than girls. So yes, she didn't pay any amount of attention to the male species in a romantic way.
But, of all people Dylan Faz had snuck up on her. Got her to loosen her guard down just enough for him to slip into her own ride that transformed into his own. He got under her skin, and she just couldn't shake him. So, Max decided to go along with the ride.
A ride that crashed and burned.
She sighed sorrowfully, holding the coffee in between her hands. Her brown eyes roamed the black and white words in the book, soaking in each word, as if her life depended on it.
"Can I get you anything else?" Her cute blonde waiter questions, his eyebrows wiggling. She rolled her eyes. She was aware that she had good looks, but Maximum had no intention of using them or becoming vain.
"How do you take your eggs?"
"Excuse me?" Max questioned in puzzlement. She had never ordered any eggs. Then, it clicked with her. Oh god, he was trying to flirt with her! Now, of all times. Just a few hours after she caught Dylan, her boyfriend for a good steady couple of months, cheating on her with the red haired wonder. (as her friends Angel and Nudge liked to nickname the red head.)
Flatly, her eyebrows narrowed, she replied, "unfertilized."
A look of shock spread across his face, obviously fazed by her ability to counter attacks of flirtations.
Max rolled her liquid brown eyes again, before brushing her hair from her face. "Is there anything else I can help you with? Or, are you content just standing there and gawking at me like a lovesick puppy?"
Poor kid. Perhaps she was taking it out on him a bit much. He looked terrified, but then again, it served a purpose. A message. A signal that no teenage boy, irresistible or not, dare break through her stony barrier.
Not after what had happened. Never again would she slip up.
There was a snicker from behind her.
The pretty boy and Max turned their heads.
Max narrowed her eyes.
Fang. The loner, bad boy from her school was sitting two tables away.
He was obviously laughing at the boys rejection, at her denial, but he made it clear that it was meant for her ears. Worst of all, Fang was just like Dylan.
A player. A bad boy.
Someone who would break her heart. In fact, she was mildly sure that Fang and Dylan were friends.
And any friend of Dylan was an enemy to her.
Scoffing, she turned back to her book, waiting for the pretty boy to leave her alone, and Fang to avert his attention to something else. She didn't like all this attention, more or less true. Maybe she would have appreciated it a bit more, if she wasn't going through such a rough patch.
She blinked as the blonde kid left, allowing the memory that she had been trying to block out resurface.
"Dylan? The door was unlocked and I saw you-" Max froze, her hand lingering on the doorknob. Obviously, Dylan hadn't heard her knocking, and if he had, he didn't seem to care. And that wasn't the reason that the sixteen year old froze.
She heard a girl's giggle. Fumbling around. A moan.
Was Dylan cheating on her? Just the thought made her breathless with shock and pain. She leaned up against the wall, her heart pounding rapidly, so loud, she was afraid Dylan would hear it.
He couldn't, could he? Didn't he care for her at all?
Working up all the courage and pride she could muster, she pushed open the door. It gave a creak, and Max proved her suspicions to be true, by the revolting sight in front of her.
"Max!" Dylan cried out, grabbing the blanket to the left of him, like he could hide the girl who he was having sex with. "You weren't supposed to be back here until the seventh!"
"It rained, so Ari and my dad decided to come back a few days early." She had recently been camping with her father and her brother Ari, but after the weather had taken a turn for the worst, they had came back.
She crossed her arms, trying to blink back tears. She had expected this to happen sooner or later, still, she had always hoped that he would never do this to her. He had told Max that she was different from the rest of the girls, and she had believed him.
How naive could she get?
She felt her eyes turn glassy and Dylan noticed this. "Max, I swear, this isn't what it looks like."
"Really?" She questioned, as a tear escaped her eye. She wipes it away angrily, confident not to let another one cascade down her cheek. "Because it sure looks to me like you were just about to have you're dick in her ass."
Her eyes flicker over towards the stripped girl, and besides the anger she feels, she can't help but feel pity for this young redheaded girl. She hasn't the slightest clue to what she's getting into.
She recognizes her as the red headed wonder from school. She's not sure of her name, but that doesn't really matter, does it?
The redhead speaks up. Max analyzes her features the quote 'know thy enemy' appearing in her mind. Her red hair obviously isn't real, from the indication that it came from a spray bottle. Her light brown/green eyes are wide in shock and regret. She's a slim figure, despite her view from the blanket in front of her. After all, how could vain Dylan pick someone who has flaws? Her red hair is straight, only frizzing up at the ends. Thin face, delicate. So unlike herself.
"I'm sorry! I had no idea he had a girlfriend and-" Max holds up a hand, signaling for her to stop. She obliges and Max gives a dark smirk. Smart girl. But, she does start crying, fumbling with her clothes through tears. It's obvious enough to her that those tears aren't faux.
"Hey, it's alright. It's okay." Max insists, and the red headed wonder pauses, choking down a sob. "You didn't know."
The girl nods her head in shame. "I'm sorry. I really didn't know he had a girlfriend."
Dylan doesn't look sad. In fact, the bastard looks smug. But, he also looks shocked that Max hasn't ripped the girl's head off yet like he had been expecting.
"Oh," Max says, cutting the girl off and averting her attention to Dylan. "I'm not his girlfriend." Dylan gives her a look of confusion, before he realizes what she's saying. "Max-" the smug look is long gone. It gives her a sense of pride. Maybe now he'll think twice before he cheats on the next girl. Sadness and remorse replaces it and he scrambles upward, sliding on his shorts.
"Goodbye, Dylan. Have a nice life."
Then she slams the door behind her.
He doesn't come after her.
Only when she gets to her car, and is a few miles away, does she finally let the tears begin to fall.
She swallows painfully, the memory seemed to be replaying over and over in her mind. Like a broken record.
She turned back to her book, drowning out everything else, except the words on the page.
After the incident, Maximum had taken a certain fondness towards books. They proved to be a way of escaping reality, a way of escaping the truth.
Her deep brown eyes roamed the pages, grinning eagerly as another person was killed off. She really did enjoy murder books. It was a good substitute for throwing darts at Dylan's picture. When reading books, she could simply take her anger out on fictional characters, mentally cheering when they died gruesomely.
Setting her book down gently, Max lifted the mug to her chapped lips, and frowned when she realized it was empty. Groaning almost silently, she pushed her novel away, and stood up, prepared to buy another one.
Normally, Dylan would accompany her to this quiet little diner when they were dating. They would buy coffee, and discuss school, life, anything and everything. Just like fictional characters, Dylan seemed to amazing to be actually real. He was perfect in every way. Slick blonde hair, muscular, nice, kind, sweet, athletic. The list could go on forever. Though, Max supposed she would have to add a couple negative pointers to the list, after witnessing today's actions. Therefore, breaking his perfect streak of perfection.
She opened her purse- normally, she wouldn't be caught dead wearing one. But, Nudge had picked out a plain, brown, small one, that suited Maximum. So, she wore it- empty!
As if this day couldn't get any better. She stifled a groan, snapping it arrogantly and angrily shut. Max grumbled something along the lines of 'I oughta sue this purse.' The least to say that Max wasn't exactly the sanest person right now and if she didn't have more caffeine soon- real soon- all hell would break loose. It was late at night, and she was already feeling tired. She might not even make it back home without falling asleep first. Or without drinking coffee.
"Excuse me?" A confident voice interrupted her thoughts about strangling her purse to death, and she quirked an eyebrow at the familiar girl standing front of her. Ella! "Oh, hey, Max."
Max sighed, blowing her blonde bangs to the side. "Hey, Ells." Ella was her half sister, even though they didn't live in the same house. Her dad really did get around. "What's up?"
She shrugged, and Max tried to contain her composure, so she didn't bite her head off. "Nothing much. You?"
Max gripped the edge of the table, resisting spilling everything to her sister. There could be so much to tell her. In the midst of it all, she chuckled darkly. Ella gave her a weird look, and Max sighed again.
"Same here. Did you need something?" Ella raised up a paper mug, with steam flowing through the hole at the top.
"Here." She handed it to Max, like it was a prized Christmas present. A proud look was spread across Ella Martinez's lips, like she had just won the lottery.
Her eyes widened in gratefulness and love for her sister, instantly and eagerly taking a gulp of the anonymous cup.
"Thanks, Ella. I owe you won."
To her surprise, Ella let out a giggle, her brown eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree.
"The sexy, loner guy sitting behind you ordered it for you. And paid for it, too." A low growl escaped Max's lips. Ella didn't go to her High School, so of course she didn't know about Fang. She already hated Fang. What kind of person pays for someone's drink without a favor in return? She blinked, realizing that she sounded very stupid.
Ella said, "okay. A hot guy ordered a drink for you. So why do you look like you want to slaughter a teddy bear?"
Blushing sheepishly, she stared at her shoes. Did she really look that enraged? Was Dylan cheating on her effecting her so much? Her jaw clenched in determination. She shouldn't waste another thought on Dylan, nor her emotions. He didn't deserve anything from her.
"Well, what do you want me to do?"
Ella rolled her eyes, and nudged her shoulder. "Go say something to him? Maybe 'hey, thanks for the drink. You're really hot. Wanna hook up?'"
Max scoffs.
Then, she glanced lingeringly down at the drink.
Ella's right. She couldn't not say thanks.
She closed her four hundred paged novel after sticking in a Percy Jackson bookmark, and then stood up. As soon as she did so, Ella squealed in delight, clapping her hands together like a little girl who saw a room full of pink.
"Martinez!" A deep voice boomed from the cash register. "I'm not paying you to socialize!" Flushing, she gave Max a small wave, before jogging back over to the cash register, an apology already laced across her plush, shiny lips.
Fangs head was ducked low, his eyes flickering to a book. She couldn't help but smile. So, the real Nick "Fang" Flock reads books? His black hair was long and shaggy, but seemed to be free of tangles. He made shaggy look...well, good. Max's nose crinkled, as she took in his features. He had pale skin, but at the same time, it was healthy. He was obviously tall, judging by his long legs, covered by black jeans. His shirt was black, too. His whole image screamed Goth, but he wasn't. He was Fang Flock. Loner, bad boy. He couldn't possibly be bothered by dressing like a Goth.
She caught the title of the book. Crave, by J.D Ward. "Nice. He's a good writer." He jumped slightly, before turning towards her a crooked smile appearing on his face.
"Oh. Hey."
"Hi," she says, suddenly feeling shy. Shy? What? Maximum Ride doesn't get shy. Especially around boys. Fighting off the blush that seemed to be emerging, she continued, "thanks for the coffee."
He smiles and she smiles back.
"My name's Max."
"I know."
Her eyes widened, and a faint blush appeared across her cheeks and nose. "You do?"
He chuckled, his empery eyes sparkling. Suddenly, she felt very self conscious, and brushed back her hair. "You've made quite the impression on me, Ms. Ride."
She wasn't sure how to take this as a compliment or an insult. "Um...thanks?"
"I heard about the breakup. That must've been rough."
Her eyebrows narrowed in hostility, jaw setting. "And why do you care?" Translation; why do you Fang, of all people, care about some spunky girl who wasn't on the same popularity scale as you?
Instead of getting scared like she expected, (after all, all guys are scared of her) he laughed again.
She decided he had a nice laugh. But, that didn't mean he wasn't extremely annoying.
He placed his coffee down on the table, that same mischievous expression on his face. "Excuse me for trying to be a model citizen."
She came up with a retort instantly, "yeah, well, no one asked you to."
"Maybe I asked myself."
"Maybe that doesn't make any sense!" She spluttered. Looks like the casual conversation that she had started was at its turning point and the conclusion didn't exactly look good.
"Maybe I don't care what makes sense and what doesn't."
"Maybe you annoy me."
"Maybe I like to annoy you," he taunted.
"Maybe you should shut up!"
"Maybe I think you should make me." His eyebrows wiggled flirtatiously. She placed her hands on her hips, eyebrows narrowing.
"Maybe I don't want to."
"Maybe I think your cute." Cute? Cute! Where the hell did that come from?
"What?" Max gaps, her face blushing, doing an intimidation of a tomato. "Don't call me cute! I am not cute." She was fierce if anything. How dare he imply that she was less than scary?
Fang gives her a grin. "Would you prefer sexy than? Drop dead gorgeous, perhaps?" Maximum Ride glowered at him, but not before she took a seat. His eyes lit up as he did so.
"Don't try and butter me up, Flock. And don't think that me sitting down is some kind of victory on your part." He shrugs, raising his hands up in defeat. But, that same smile is still there. The smile that had never left his face since the moment she had seen him.
She snatched the book away from him, scowling. "You don't deserve to read such an amazing piece of literature."
"Then, I guess I don't." His dark eyes seemed to twinkle.
"You don't," she repeated, becoming very exasperated. Why did he make her feel so light and bubbly inside, at the same time make her want to strangle something to death? Dylan certainly didn't make her feel that way. She felt her face scrunch up at the very thought of his name.
He pointed at her, referring to her expression. "There you go again. Making that face when I mention Dylan. That's how I know you're thinking about him."
She remained silent. "He's a douche bag. I hate his guts, if it makes me feel any better."
Silently, she questions him, "it's already around school, isn't it? That Dylan cheated on me?"
The smile leaves his face for the first time today and forms into some kind of sympathetic look. "Yes. I'm really sorry, Max."
"I don't want you're pity."
"I'm not pitying you." He states, grabbing his book back, and flipping the pages until he found the page where the top of the paper is creased. "Here, read this." He points at a paragraph and she grabs the book away, her eyes glazing over it.
But that was life: Nobody got a guided tour to their own theme park. You had to hop on the rides as they presented themselves, never knowing whether you would like the one you were in line for...or if the bastard was going to make you throw up your corn dog and your cotton candy all over the place.
"So?" Max said after finishing reading it. "What's your point? Huh? What are you getting at?"
"The point is, you shouldn't just throw away everything for some douche bag. You should ride as many rides as you can. You can't just give up."
Tears prick in the corners of her eyes as he continues, "I know you think that I don't know you. But believe me Max, I do. I've watched you from the first day of Elementary School. And no Max, I wasn't stalking you. All I'm saying is that you're obviously a fighter. You shouldn't hide your emotions and turn stone cold just because some guy broke up with you."
"I broke up with him," she states.
"Exactly." He gives her another crooked smile. "You're a fighter Max. You shouldn't just wuss out from giving up entirely on the male species."
"I'm not a wuss!"
"Then, prove it." He stood up, and held out his hand to her. "Prove it, Maximum Ride."
She hesitates. What if this ride crashed just like the other one? She had already taken a leap of faith. What if this one ended up being worse? What if she never recovered from the crash this time?
But what if this ride soared instead of crashed? What if this leap of faith isn't worth nothing? What if this one ended up being better? What if this turned out to be her favorite ride?
She grabbed his hand, the man who she had known since kindergarten, but had never bothered with him. He pulled her upwards, flashing her a grin.
"Enjoy the ride, Max."
And that's how it starts.
"But that was life..." -J.R Ward.
A/N: Okay, I think this is my favorite one shot I have ever written so far! I really enjoyed writing it, not to mention that this is my first Maximum Ride fanfic. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Also, feel free to review/follow/favorite. Everything means a bunch to me!