BOOM!
Max sat bolt upright, her eyes wide.
One, two, three, four--
A flash momentarily blinded her. She blinked. The storm was pretty close. She'd been doing this for the past half-hour; she decided she wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon. And anyways, she was pretty thirsty.
Max got out of bed and slipped on the hardwood floor of her room. She realized suddenly that her socks were too big; Nudge always mixed up the socks when she was on laundry duty. These had to be Fang's.
Another clap of thunder met her in the kitchen, and she nearly slipped again. She shook her head, chastising herself mentally for being such a wimp. She grabbed a glass and was filling it with water when she heard soft footsteps behind her. It wasn't any of the little ones; they had tinier footsteps. And it wasn't Fang; she would have never heard him coming, he made such little noise. No, these footsteps were slightly clumsy, and they dragged carelessly on the floor, not caring if someone heard them (unlike Fang).
Max turned around to see a bleary eyed Iggy standing in the doorway, looking confused. "Max?" he questioned uncertainly. Max found herself slightly awed by his ability to tell her apart from everyone else from the slightest sounds she made.
"Yea, Ig?"
"What're you doing?"
She shook the glass so the water sloshed around. "I was thirsty," she half-lied. Iggy nodded.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
"Uh...same thing." Max narrowed her eyes. Then, she turned and took a big swig of water, listening to Iggy pouring himself a glass behind her. Suddenly, the thunder roared ferociously once again. Max made her best efforts to keep still; even the slightest movement would cause Iggy to think she was scared. And she wasn't. Nope, not one bit.
Okay, maybe a little.
But Iggy caught on easily. "Are you scared?" he inquired. Max whipped around to see him grinning impishly at her. She tried to intimidate him, not realizing that her penetrating Max-glare would be lost on the blind bird boy.
"No!" she defended quickly. Too quickly, apparently, because Iggy just grinned wider. "You are!" he laughed. "How do you know?" Max challenged. Iggy rolled his grayish-blue eyes at her. "Max, I'm blind, not deaf. Your heart sounds like a jackhammer and you're breathing like you just ran a marathon."
"Those are some very poetic comparisons, but they don't prove anything. Sorry, Ig."
The thunder roared with fury again; Max, now facing Iggy, saw the way he flinched and clenched the counter so that his already pale knuckles turned white. He closed his blind eyes, waiting for the sound to pass. Max couldn't help but laugh.
"Hang on! Are you scared?"
"What? Of course not!" Iggy tried to defend himself. Max smirked. It was good to be on the other side of the teasing. "I think you are."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Well, what about you?! You're scared too!"
"I told you, I'm not! Are you stupid?!"
Iggy, in a childish fit of rage, shoved Max by her shoulders. She went tumbling backwards, her elbow banging on the counter.
"Ouch, Iggy! That hurt!" Iggy looked slightly regretful after what he had done, but that regret evaporated to anger again as Jeb burst into the room, followed by Fang, who looked emotionless as ever, save for the slight creasing of his forehead, which showed he was concerned. His dark eyes fell on Max, who sat on the linoleum floor, still cradling her throbbing elbow.
"What is going on in here?" barked Jeb, his eyes trying to decide who to glare disapprovingly at. He apparently decided on Max, since Iggy wouldn't see it.
Max shot to her feet instantly, ready to plead her case. "Iggy pushed me!"
"Only 'cause you were making fun of me!"
"You started it!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yea-huh!"
"Kids!" Jeb snapped, his voice slightly hushed so as to not wake up the younger children. He rubbed his forehead tiredly, as if this was all too much for him. "I don't care who started it, I want you both back in your rooms. Now."
Max started to feel panicky. She didn't want to be alone in her room.
After about ten minutes of more thunder and counting, Max snuck into the living room and turned on the T.V., hurrying to turn down the volume so she wouldn't be caught. Rain pounded on the windows, as if it were begging to be let in. Max tried to ignore the sounds and began flipping through channels. She soon found herself giggling softly at a late night comedy show.
"Max?"
Max took a deep breath, willing herself to be patient. "Yes, Iggy?" her voice was slightly irritated.
Iggy came up beside her, his white wings fully stretched out, and they seemed to flash along with the lightning. He looked shameful and shifted from foot to foot.
"Um, about the thunder...I lied. I really am scared."
Max couldn't help but smile. "I know. Me too." She grabbed his wrist and tugged him onto the couch beside her, their wings brushing slightly. Soon they were lost in the funny T.V. program, the thunder easily forgotten.