Again, like I said for my new Sonic the Hedgehog story, I'm in the mood for drabbles! And, since I'm starting to really like this series (thanks to XNight-waveX! xD), I decided to write drabbles for Maximum Ride! The genre's will mainly be drama/family/adventure. Anyway, enjoy, and onwards, march!

Chapter one

A-R-I

'A-R-I. That is how to spell my name.'

It was dark down here at night. The young boy shivered, feeling alone as he looked over at the others. Max had Angel, Nudge, and Total underneath her wings, in a protective and loving way. He listened as Max breathed slowly, and he took a small comfort in the fact that she and the rest were still alive.

'A-R-I. That's how I spell my name.' Biting his lip, the boy reached down into the dirt and attempted a capital "A". It turned out a little crooked and looked more like a doodle than a letter to the boy, but it didn't look too bad. He tried the "R".

'Why didn't Dad teach me how to write?' the boy wondered. 'Why'd he have to love Max more than me? What did I ever do?'

The "R" looked wrong. Growling softly to himself, the boy smacked at the dirt and wiped away to crazed "R". Why even try? He couldn't write his dumb name. And he was going to die soon anyway.

'A-R-I. Ari. What a stupid name.'

A tear ran down his face, the first tear in years. The seven year old liked to believe that he was as old as Max; Max who never had any problems and was perfect and didn't look like a failure, like he did. He swallowed back a cry of anger. It wasn't Max's fault, he reminded himself. She didn't choose a life like this.

"Ari?" At first, the young boy didn't recognize the voice. It wasn't Max talking to him, he quickly realized. Which was amazing, because no one else ever talked to him. The others were way too nervous of him. "Ari, you okay?" He stifled back a retort. It was Angel. Why the heck was she saying anything, and to him?

'You're the reason that Max's upset,' the boy thought, ignoring Angel as she called his name again. 'If it hadn't been for you, Max would still have Fang and Iggy and the Gasman. It's your fault the flock split.'

Another tear.

Another tear to the boy's already shattered heart.

'Max doesn't blame you.'

The young boy gasped. He hadn't put that message into his brain! He looked over at Angel, who sat up amongst Max's wings. Max shifted, but didn't awake, miraculously.

'She took you in because she wanted to show you love. And if Fang can't appreciate it, then that's his problem.'

'Angel?' The boy vaguely remembered that the girl could talk to people within their minds.

'Yes?' the child replied. She yawned on the other side of the room, and snuggled back into Max, thinking her work was done.

'I…I don't want…'

'I know,' Angel soothed. She closed her eyes. 'Max doesn't want you to die, and neither do I.'

'You mean it?'

'Yep. Now, try writing your name again.' The girl showed a picture of Ari's name in the boy's brain.

'A-R-I. That is how to spell my name.' The boy wrote another "A" onto the dirt, followed closely by an "R" and finally an "I". Comparing it to Angel's picture, he suddenly realized he hadn't done too badly.

'A-R-I. That is how to spell my name.'

The boy smiled.