Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.

The flock and I were sitting in the trees, relaxed for once. Well, I still wasn't so relaxed, but everyone else was. As far as we knew, no one was after us. We were safe. Amazingly, we could actually sit and talk, and watch the sky grow darker as the sun set.

"Wouldn't that be cool if we could fly to the moon?" Gazzy said, gazing at the now starry sky. "That would be so sweet."

I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything. I didn't want to ruin it for him.

"Yeah, if we didn't have to breathe," Nudge said excitedly. "We could like, go out into space and stuff. Hey, I wonder how high we can go flying. We've never really tried before, have we?"

We hadn't, mainly because it got colder the higher we went. We usually flew to a comfortable altitude and stayed there.

"Well, eventually we would get to the point where there wouldn't be enough oxygen, even for us," Nudge continued. "But still, we've never tried."

"We should, sometime," Iggy said. "Just to see."

I decided not to point out how dangerous that would be. Especially if we fainted or something from lack of oxygen. In midair. That would be really, really bad.

I sighed. I should have been happy. But I just felt tired. We were headed toward my mom's house, and though I couldn't wait to see her and Ella again, I just didn't really want to go into 'happy Max' mode.

The flock kept up their easy talk, but eventually I cut them off. "It's late guys," I told them. "Let's go to sleep."

Everyone leaned in so we could do our hand stacking and tapping ritual, and then we found a comfortable position to sleep in on our branches. In several minutes, most of the flock was asleep.

"Max?"

"Yeah Fang?" I breathed quietly, my heart speeding up slightly. I saw his dark shape move towards me. To my surprise, he leaped off of his branch and landed gracefully on mine.

Show off.

"Fang!" I kept my voice low. "Get off, you idiot, before the branch breaks."

Fang gave a small grin, letting both his legs hang on the same side of the branch. I sat up and mimicked his position so we could sit close to each other.

"This branch could probably take the weight of the whole flock," he told me, a light in his eyes. You have no idea how it felt, seeing Fang loosen up. It was like he was opening up and letting me see him as he really was. He wasn't hiding behind his unemotional mask as he usually did.

"Better safe than sorry," I said softly, turning away.

"Max."

Fang's voice was so gentle, I looked back at him, into his endless eyes. I didn't want to move or say anything. I didn't want to break the spell. It was like one of those cheesy romance flicks, where the couple stares into each other's eyes, like they were once blind and suddenly they could now see...

He leaned forward, and I automatically closed my eyes. I felt his lips brush against mine, his warm breath on my cheek...

"Max and Fang, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S--"

My eyes snapped open, and I pulled away to give Angel a furious and embarassed glare. Thank God she had been chanting quietly, at least, so the rest of the flock was still asleep. I flicked a glance toward Fang. His face had become unreadable again, though I saw a spark of some emotion I couldn't identify.

"Angel sweetie," I said in a carefully controlled voice. "Go back to sleep, and stay that way. Okay?"

"All right," she said with a smile. "I'll just give you two some privacy then..."

"It's okay, Ange," Fang said, giving her a dark look. "I was just saying good night."

I watched Fang return to his branch. Angel, after giving me another knowing smile, went back to sleep.

Soon all was quiet again.

Although we technically weren't keeping watch, I stayed up anyway. The night was filled with trees rustling from the wind and the sound of the flock's even breathing. I could almost feel the brush of Fang's lips against mine. It was actually pretty peaceful, and against my will I was starting to relax.

Until I heard a branch snap.

I sat up in a flash, immediately scanning the woods around us. Fang was lying in a branch across from mine, and I gently kicked him with my dirty sneaker. His eyes flew open, and he sat up, silently and alertly. He sent me a questioning look, but I kept my eyes trained on the woods. I tried to not think about Fang, and how close we had been to kissing...

Focus, I chided myself.

There it was again, the quiet sound of someone stepping on a stray branch. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Fang tense, so I knew he heard it too.

Together we carefully woke up the flock. I felt so proud of them when they awoke without a single sound, Nudge sleepily shaking her head to get herself completely awake.

"U and A," I mouthed at them, quietly grabbing our packs. Five heads nodded at me, and just as I thought the situation was under control, I felt something pierce the side of my neck. Instantly I felt drowsy, and my vision turned fuzzy.

Crap.

"Max!" Angel cried out, and something whizzed by, hitting Nudge. I desperately tried to say something, to do something, to not pass out, but I just caught a glimpse of Nudge going limp, and then I finally blacked out.

I woke up with a splitting headache. For a second I panicked, my mind strangely blank. Then I remembered being hit with that dart.

"Report!" I yelled, only slightly surprised to find that we were in the same woods, only it was about noon. And we were all lying on the ground. Strange, but whatever. The top priority was the flock.

"Max," Nudge groaned groggily, while Gazzy gave a little moan sitting up. Total made a noise akin to a whimper.

Nudge, Gazzy, and Total, check.

I looked to see Iggy struggle to sit up, and then I turned worriedly to Angel, who was stirring slightly.

"Angel, sweetie? Are you okay?" I asked her, and I felt a burst of relief when she opened her big blue eyes.

"My head hurts," she said drowsily. "But I'm okay."

Angel and Iggy, check.

I was missing someone wasn't I? Fang. For some reason my memory of him seemed hazy, but I shook off the feeling, looking for him. He wasn't in sight.

"Fang?" I called, hoping he'd come walking through the trees. No such luck. I tried calling louder. "Fang!"

Nothing.

Okay, don't panic, I told myself. Keep it together.

I noticed the flock was staring at me. "What's wrong?" I snapped at them in anxiety.

They exchanged glances, looking worried. Iggy turned his head slightly, looking awkward.

"Max…" Gazzy started slowly, his blue eyes innocent. "Max, what are you looking for? Who's Fang?"

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