A/N: This is an idea thats been bouncing around in my head for awhile, so i decided to go for it. It's slightly AU, but nothing too bad. Takes place durring book two, right after they left Annie's.

Read and Review and enjoy.

I DON'T OWN MAXIMUM RIDE

The Flock was on the run...again. After escaping Annie's, with Iggy, who had left them for his parents, they had flown until they came across a large forest. They landed and decided to stay in a clearing with a small lake near it for the night.

After sleeping through the night with no interruptions, Fang was awoken by the smell of Iggy's cooking. Iggy had the last watch shift of the night, and figured that he might as well make breakfast. The oldest male member of the Flock got up and went over to the fire. He sat down next to Iggy and said good morning. Iggy mumbled something back.

They decided to let the other members sleep for a little longer. They talked about whatever came to mind, which included Fang telling Iggy what had happened to make them leave Annie's. No one had filled him in, and he didn't question it, which Fang found un-Iggy like, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, Ig. If you want to change, we grabbed some bags before we left," Fang told the blind boy.

Iggy smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Fang," Iggy said, "Can you grab some stuff?"

Fang gave an affirmative answer before moving to get Iggy some new cloths. He threw the t-shirt and jeans over, and Iggy caught them. Iggy quickly stripped before he began to get dressed again. He didn't really care about what people saw, it's not like he could see anything back.

Iggy had his pants on, and was about to put on his shirt before Fang saw them. Iggy had bruises all over his chest. Fang gasped quietly, stopping Iggy instantly, not knowing why he had gasped.

"Fang, what's wrong?" Iggy asked quickly. Fang just starred at Iggy's bruised chest.

"Fang!?"

Fang snapped out of his daze when Iggy called to him in a worried tone. He quickly looked over at the others to make sure they hadn't woken up. He knew that Iggy didn't want them to know about this conversation. "Quiet, Ig," he warned, "Or you'll wake the others."

Iggy sighed in relief. He had stared fearing the worse when Fang hadn't responded. His relief turned to mild anger. "Then answer me Fang," the blind boy ordered, "I can't see and I don't know what's going on."

Fang heard the resentment in Iggy's voice. Everyone thought that Iggy dealt with his blindness well. And he did. But every once in a while something like this would happen, and Iggy would start hating his blindness more then usual. Fang was the one who found him on the occasions when Iggy got moody. "I know you can't see, and I'm sorry I didn't answer you right away," Fang apologized, "But I was... Surprised by what I saw."

"And what was that?" Iggy asked.

Fang bit his lip, unsure how to phrase it. He decided to be blunt and ask Iggy strait out; "Why is your chest covered in bruises?"

Iggy froze, cursing himself in his head. He thought that they would have all healed by now, seeing as it had been nearly a whole day. With their advanced healing, injuries hardly stay on them long. But, he knew he hadn't eaten as much as he should of recently. He didn't want to tell his parents that he needed so much he was afraid of what they would do. They already stated how they felt about having a cripple as a son. They were the cause-

"Iggy," Fang's voice broke through Iggy's thought filled mind. At some point, Fang had moved be be kneeling in front of the blind boy. He was worried about how Iggy had stopped responding. "Iggy," he said again, "Ig, can you hear me?"

Iggy nodded slowly, making Fang sigh quietly in relief. "You ok, Ig?" Again, the younger boy nodded slowly. "Then why didn't u answer me?"

Iggy shrugged, looking down even though he couldn't see. Fang found himself growing annoyed by Iggy's muteness. Iggy always talked to him. But he kept his frustration down, and keeps his voice calm and comforting. "Where'd the bruises come form?"

Iggy took a deep breath, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get out of this conversation. "My... My parents," Iggy finally told, "They weren't as good as they seemed."

Fang sucked in a breath quickly, shocked. He had expected it, but he had wished that it wasn't true.

"When you all left, they changed," Iggy continued, "They didn't want a cripple for a son, but things weren't too bad. I told them about my wings, and everything seemed to get slightly better. The I heard them saying they were going to sell my story, I told them it wasn't a good idea. But I wouldn't tell them why. They got mad at me and I don't know, it was like something snapped. They got worse then they even where before. My dad was started hitting me, while my mom was yelling at me. It hurt. A lot. And the next thing I knew, I was in the room they gave me. I jumped out the window and flew to Annie's. You know the rest from there."

Fang was pissed. At the world, at Iggy's parents, and at himself. The world always seems to have it out for them and, just when he thought Ig was going to get a break, it all goes to shit. His parents had seemed so nice. He couldn't understand why they would do that to Ig, a d he was pissed that he didn't protect his "brother."

Fang sucked at comforting, so he went to get a laugh out of the younger boy. "So, basically, it sucked?" To his surprise, a small chuckle was heard with an affirmative answer.

"And you know, Fang? I never felt a home there." Iggy informed the older boy, happy that he wasn't being pitied. "I felt as if something was missing. I now know that I was missing you guys."

Fang watch Iggy for a moment. The boy was nervously playing with his shirt that he had never put back on. Fang gave a low chuckle before responding; "Sentimental much?" The hybrids laughed quietly for a few minutes.

Fang took another look at Iggy, seeing how tired the boy seemed. "Get some sleep, Iggy," he ordered. "You won't get a lot of time, but it might help some." Iggy smiled at the darker boy before putting his shirt own and lying down. He didn't feel like moving, so he just stayed where he was.

Before falling asleep, Iggy thought of something he had to make sure of. "Fang?" When he heard Fang hum slightly to show he was listening, Iggy continued. "Please don't tell the others. I really don't want their pity."

Fang hesitated for a brief moment before speaking, "You're secrets safe with me."

Iggy nodded his head before falling to sleep.

It was only minutes latter that Max woke up. She came over to the fire and Fang handed her a plate. "I thought Ig had the last watch," she said.

"He did," Fang replied, "But I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. He looked tired, so I told him to sleep while I do the rest of his shift. And don't worry, he cooked the food."

"Good."

The two sat in silence. Gang watch Iggy as he slept, mowing what the cloths he was waring hid. But he kept his promise, and neathr Max (or any of the others) ever found out why Iggy really left his parents.

Not my best, but still good (I think).