This is a one-shot based on the song "What if" by Ashley Tisdale. Max was separated from the rest of her flock after she broke up with Fang, seeing him *cough* with another girl. He never realized how much she was hurt. This is based about a year after being separated.
"Max?" Someone called from behind her. She turned around to see Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, and Fang all running trying to catch up with her. Max was at the mall shopping when she saw her boyfriend, Michael, around the corner. When she saw the flock, she immediately turned defensive. Shortly after they had saved the world, Fang had broken up with her.
That breakup, as predicted, caused the flock to be torn apart. But
Max had no idea how torn up the flock had been and still was, a year
and a half later. Because when Fang did that to her Max couldn't
handle leading the flock. They were always arguing, and she saw how
it hurt the younger kids. So about a week after they stopped dating
max left. She didn't worry about explaining why to anyone-her reasons
were obvious. It had killed her, when fang confessed that he had been
cheating on her. She had loved him with all she had. And now, seeing
him in her rightful leadership position, it hurt even more than the
night she left. She turned away and continued toward Michael.
As she drew closer, though, she noticed that Michael wasn't with his
normal friends. He was with a girl; the cheer captain at their high
school. Max recognized her almost as quickly as she recognized the
scene in front of her. Determined not to break down in front of him
or the bitch he was now kissing, she walked up in back of him and
said with such force, "Mike," That they both jumped. He
turned around slowly enough to rake in her pissed expression before
being slapped hard in the face, instantly drawing blood.
"Max-"
She cut him off with a motion of her hand. "Not now. I need to
talk to you in private." He stood up, nodded to the girl he was
*ahem* sitting with, and then followed Max to an outside table, where
she refused to sit. The flock followed from a distance, not wanting
to interfere but also not wanting to loose her, and still curious to
see how Max handled herself. She hardly noticed the audience sitting
a few tables away, but instead glared at Michael for several minutes
before he broke the silence. "I'm so sorry, Max. I didn't want
it to happen like this. I just-". But he wasn't able to finish,
because with that Max decided that she'd heard enough.
"Shut up!" She screamed, "You have no idea what you're
talking about! I have done this way too many times." "Wait,
only once before, right Max?" Iggy couldn't help to interject.
"Shut up, Iggy." She said, temporarily distracted, "and
yes, once is more than enough times to have your heart broken."
Fang looked even paler than before, realizing what she meant by what
she said. "I'm done, Michael. I am sick and tired of all your
games."
He opened his mouth to speak, but Max stopped him, looking close to tears. "Go." She whispered, "I'm not going to be the one who leaves this time. Just. Go." Michael hesitated, not sure if he would get hurt if he stayed any longer, before finally nodding and walking away. Max, forgetting that her abandoned family was still watching with a sick sense if de ja voo, broke down sobbing. She fell to her knees; head in her hands, crying as if someone had died. And in a way, she did. Because as he watched in agonizing silence, Fang realized just how much he had hurt Maximum Ride.
As Gazzy, Iggy, Angel, and Nudge watched not knowing what to do; they
learned that even the best don't have it all. That sometimes, you
just can't be perfect. And in that same moment, when Nudge finally
worked up the courage to kneel beside Max and comfort her,
rubbing her back and mumbling aimlessly, Max became aware of her
surroundings, and looked up. Fang was staring at her still,
unbelievingly that she would actually break down like that in front
of an audience, and he saw every emotion: betrayal, hatred, longing,
lonesome, defeat, and hurt, play across her face as she spoke with a
still quivering voice: "what if I need you?"
The
end
Review, please. That was my first one-shot, and I felt compelled to write it based on a song. I found it easy to relate the lyrics to Maximum Ride. Let me know what you think!
KTHNXBYE,
-Bergatron
