Yo, SoonerMagic here! Yeah, I know that the title was probably a tad throwy-offy, but seriously, listen to the awesomeness of Brantley Gilbert's song Kick It In The Sticks. It's AMAZING! Seriously, I listened to it till my computer went dead. But no lie, it is pretty beast I love it. You may have to listen to the song to actually get what I mean in the story, but you might not have to. But it is a goooooooooooooooooooooood song! Promise!
This story has pretty much everyone in it, even Ari. I like Ari, but not like THAT. Don't worry, we're good there lol. And it's like a whole story, but kind of not cuz it won't be that long, maybe 10 chapters at the most. And I hope to update pretty fast.
P.S. Max is a city slicker in this story, but I ain't. No lie. I have a farm, I go to a school that barely has 500 students Pre-K to 12TH, and I do mainly all the actions in the story and song. It's fun as heck too.
P.P.S. Plz listen to the song already! It's short only 3:47 and it's so good!
Disclaimer: Don't own the geniusness of Maximum Ride or Kick It In The Sticks. But I wish I did! :)
I'm a girl of extremes. When I love something, I'm like a newborn puppy. When I'm ticked off, I'm like a whole swarm of freaking red wasps. When you try to harm me, Maximum Ride, I go all WTF-wanna-fight-you-F-head-hope-you-know-a-good-hospital-dummy on them. When someone tries to harm my family or friends – there's too many to name – I'm like a mama bear trying to protect her cubs.
Newborn puppy + crazy fighter + red wasps + mama bear = Dangerous.
But when you're a city girl who's never actually spent even an hour in the country before – and your boyfriend wants to take you to a party of his cousin's – you feel like you're on a different planet. And for those of you fellow city-slickers, you know that alien feeling of being out of the environment you're used too. Like you're an alligator among hundreds of crocodiles – or, more appropriately, a heifer among hundreds of fillies. And just for you clueless people, a heifer is a female cow that hasn't been bred yet, and a filly is a young female horse. See? You learn stuff in the country.
It didn't make it any better that my boyfriend Dylan had – without my knowing – invited my younger brother Ari and his girlfriend Monique, a.k.a Nudge. But what really bothered me is that his jerk of a best friend Holden decided to tag along too, bringing his girlfriend Kate as well. I liked Kate alright, and Nudge too, even though she was three years younger than Katie and me at fifteen. My little bro was cool too, but Holden was another story...
The scenery was actually beautiful, I guess. Being from up north in Tulsa, I never saw what I was seeing right now. Rolling prairies with tawny and light green colored grass and thousands of hay bales doting it; high, rocky mountains that stretched on for miles and created a valley; endless forests and woods, no doubt crawling with tons of animals and insects. Tulsa wasn't like this, and I didn't know if it was a good change or not. I was still mad about being drug along.
"Do we seriously have to go to a party in Monroe?" I asked out of habit, already knowing the answer but wanting to hope that he'd changed it and was just going through this one-horse-town as a shortcut into Arkansas, where we'd go to the movies and eat at an expensive restaurant and, heck, rent a motel and sleep there. Anything would've been better than this God-awful place that we were currently driving to. Seriously, I searched for the small town of Monroe on Google Earth and the only thing I saw was water and land. "Honestly, would your cousin be that mad if you missed this party?"
Dylan sighed, switching on the blinker of his 2011 Chevy Silverado and preparing to turn off the main highway, onto a dirt road that looked as if it went on forever. Great. "He's really a cool guy, and he throws some of the wildest parties," he answered me, rubbing his hand on my shoulder as he turned, smiling sympathetically at me.
If he knew that I didn't want to be here, then why the heck was he bringing me here? It was just a party; there were dozens of them in and around Tulsa all the time. And, since I was Maximum Ride, star on the basketball, volleyball, softball, swimming, soccer, and track team, and A+ student, I didn't have to go out of my way to be invited.
I sighed exasperatedly, crossing my arms, and heard Ari chuckling at my behavior. Usually, I didn't whine this much – tomboys have a reputation that's hard to keep up. But you can see the current dilemma my otherwise perfect life was presenting me with now.
"Who is your cousin, Dylan?" Kate asked Dylan, leaning over the seat enough to show her obvious cleavage that was visible through her pale yellow tank top. I did like Kate, don't get me wrong, but she was so open and easy that it made me sick. And the fact that she had a thing for Dylan just rubbed me the wrong way, but I knew how loyal he was and he'd never leave me for her.
Dylan looked over his shoulder at Kate and smiled a genuine smile; Kate sat back and crossed her arms, satisfied by his easy smile. "His name's Travis Hawthorne, but we all call him Fang," he answered, and the way he said Fang – like it was a sacred, holy name, only allowed to be spoken with the highest respect of anyone – sent tingling, sensational shivers down my spine. Just who was this Fang?
Nudge, never one to be excluded from a conversation, added, "When is it going to start?" Her high pitched voice sounded weird compared to Kate's husky tone, and I had to remember that Nudge was fifteen; Kate and I were eighteen, graduating in the spring of next year along with Dylan and Holden. Nudge's curly dark brown hair was tied back into a loose pony tail, a small tendril escaping as the winds from the window whipped it against her face, and she had a lavender colored streak dyed into her side bangs. She was always fashionable, unlike me.
Dylan chuckled, meeting Nudge's curious golden brown eyes in the rearview mirror. "Nudge, hon, this is the country. When someone has a party, it doesn't start at a specific time. It's whenever the first person shows up," he answered, reaching out an changing the radio from my favorite channel 93.7 to some country music station, like 99.1 or something. I gave him a cold glare, silently asking why he changed it. In response, he shrugged. "People around here don't listen to that kind of music."
"Since when do you care what other people do?" I challenged him, my sour mood affecting the way I talked, adding a vicious tone to it. And I had to admit, I liked it. I was never one for following the rules or ways of other people; rules were meant to be broken, and I was too original to copy anyone else.
Dylan pulled on his collar, and opened his mouth to respond but the jerk Holden interrupted. "You see, he wants people to think that he's from around here so no one tries anything with you , Maxie," he said, his amused voice making my hands clench. Have I mentioned how much I hated him? "Isn't that right, Dylan? Mess with another man's girl, and you're just asking to get your ass kicked."
I turned around and slapped Holden upside the head, repulsed at his immature explanation. That didn't really happen here, did it? Because if it did, I'd be gone in five seconds flat. Deciding to put my pondering into words. "Dylan, that doesn't really happen, does it?"
Dylan refused to look at anyone, and I knew he was choosing his words carefully. Preparing for the long wait, I turned my head and looked out at the forest that outlined the old dirt road, watching as the orange sun slowly sunk below the tops of the tallest pines, leaving hot pink and purple streaks throughout the pale blue sky. I guess this place was gorgeous, and it smelled heavenly, like freshly mowed hay and wet asphalt. But that didn't mean that I liked it.
"It depends on which guy's girl you try it with," Dylan said finally, and I turned to him, perking my ears up as he readied himself for an explanation; the others followed my example. "Like, if Holden here tried to move in on Fang's girl, Fang would probably pound him so hard he'd have to spend a couple days in the hospital. That's Fang, though. There's much worse."
Here are the questions that entered my brain right at the moment: Was Fang really that badass? Why did Dylan talk like Fang was a freaking god? Who is this guy? Did he have a girl? And why am I bothered by him having a girlfriend?
"Dang, your cousin sounds totally cool," Ari said, laying his arm across Nudge's shoulders as she settled against him. Aw young love. They were a cute couple; Ari with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, and Nudge with her dark brown hair, golden brown eyes, and mocha skin. They contrasted perfectly with each other, and they way they looked together complement their features.
"I guess," Dylan said as if it were nothing, but a minute ago he was talking about Fang with the utmost respect, like he held Fang high above everyone else. And that ticked me off to no end. "He's different, though. Wild, crazy, and he won't hesitate to hurt any of you, so watch your backs. He's my Dad's brother's youngest son, and he isn't that much older than us; he's only nineteen."
Time for Holden to put in his two cents. "Then why are you taking us here, man?" God, I hated him so freaking much. I just wanted to crack open the back glass and shove him through it. Does that qualify as abuse?
"Because, Holden," Dylan started as he switched on his blinker on again and turned off the dirt road, onto a gravel-paved driveway. "Fang asked if I would come, and he said to bring you guys. Simple as that." Simple as that? Simple as that! I was about to meet a guy that would (possibly) kill someone if they tried to make a move on his girlfriend. Yeah, that sure was simple.
We drove the rest of the two miles in silence, Holden randomly saying how bad the animal manure smelled. I tried to count the T-posts, but quickly gave up because they were blurring my vision and making my head hurt as Dylan sped down the driveway. I was so not ready to meet Fang. I could tell by the way that Dylan spoke about him that he was one to be taken seriously, and could easily mess you up, and – you won't hear me admitting this aloud often – it scared me. Because, for once in my life, I didn't know what was about to happen. And I hated that feeling.
Dylan dragged me from my reverie as he stopped the truck and switched it off, opening his door as he pocketed his keys. "Well, we're here." They were people loitering all over the expansive yard, either holding bottles or cups that I guessed were alcoholic beverages, ranging from beer to moonshine.
The house at the end was big, two or three stories high, and it was nice; not what I expected a hillbilly's house to be like. It was painted snow white, and looked like it was well taken care of. It had a beautiful wraparound porch with rock under paneling, and pillars positioned expertly around the house, supporting the roof that had dark green roofing metal on it. The GIANT yard that surrounded the gorgeous farm house was cluttered with all kinds of farming equipment: tractors, balers, rakes, brush hogs, tillers, etc. Many different styled cars and trucks were parked everywhere, outlining the road and even pulled back behind the house, leaving room for whatever other people desired. There was a giant red barn about a football field's length away from the house, and beside it was a sawmill, manure spreader (don't laugh), and two metal silos. Behind the house was another barn, except it was smaller and the green paint was peeling off.
It was actually quite nice; again, not at all what I expected.
I rolled my eyes and reached for the door handle, not giving the people scattering the yard a second glance, but when I heard Nudge gasp and Kate sigh in pleasure, my head shot up so fast I swear I got whiplash. They started to giggle hysterically, practically jumping up and down with excitement and squeaking out some girly mumbo-jumbo that I couldn't – and didn't – want to understand. What was it?
My eyes eagerly searched the yard, curious as to what them two were making a big fuss over. My eyes caught sight of an extremely tall – tall as in, he towered over me and I was six foot – guy wearing a shaped Oklahoma Sooners baseball hat, smiling crookedly as he acquainted himself with a young couple that were wrapped up in each other as they lounged against a 2010 Dodge Challenger (nice cars, by the way). I narrowed my eyes skeptically, wondering what all the fuss was about, and studied the guy a little closer. But when he turned toward us and started to approach us, his long legs carrying him swiftly to where Dylan was reclining against the hood of his truck, my eyes about dropped out of my head.
The guy's – man, what was his name? – shaggy black hair was covered with a hat, glueing it to his head and allowing it to flow freely over his ears and neck. His skin was tanned, bronzed from spending so much time working outside probably, and his body was long, lean, and muscular. He was wearing a tight black Hanes T-shirt and dark blue Wrangler jeans, which outlined his perfect, masculine figure.
But his face is perhaps what took my breath away. His lips were full and pouty, covering into a welcoming smirk as his dark, dark – I swear, they were black – eyes roamed over us, sending wonderful tingles down my spine for the second time in ten minutes. His nose wasn't big at all, and was perfect – well, my kind of perfect. His cheekbones were well-defined, and the setting sun cast shadows across his gorgeous face, accenting his good looks. Oh my holy hotdogs, these guy was off the freaking chart! I swear I almost melted into a puddle of Max right there.
Gawking, my eyes about to bug out of my head, I asked Dylan, "Who's that?" Was it just me, or did I sound like I'd just swallowed a frog? Nudge and Kate weren't doing much better.
Dylan smirked in the satisfied way he had. "That, my friends, is my cousin, Fang," he answered, and I about started to cry.
What the crap?
Ohhh, yeah baby! 1ST chappie's a done deal! ;) I'm totally note good at details, but I think I made it a little clearer than I'd originally had. Hope so! This stories pretty much gonna be about Max and Fang hangin' out on the town with some buds and Max realizing that Dylan isn't the one for her. Was it that bad?
Is it too much to ask for you to press that little button at the bottom, and say something? Even a "Hi, your story sucks!" would be acceptable lol. Seriously though drop a line by and tell me what you think of it and what you think I could do to improve it. Plz!
Also, I had no idea what Fang's actual name is, so I just winged it. Travis, cause that's like a hot name, and Hawthorne, after Gale in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy. (Team Gale all the way baby!)
Virtual Fang kisses and shout outs to whoever reviews! ~ SoonerMagic