Hey! Soo this is my first fanfic ever to be published online! I don't mind silent readers...'cause I do that all the time lol...but it would really be appreciated if I could get some feedback. I mean, of you want good writing, I'm not gonna learn from my mistakes if I'm not corrected! I enjoy and welcome constructive criticism, so please don't bash. I know the first chapter is a little boring but the action doesn't start off in the beginning! Hope you like it!

Disclamer: I do NOT own any of these characters! Everyone so far belongs to Robert Patterson! (:

Max's POV

I heard the pitter-patter of the rain falling on the roof; it had started to drizzle. I watched as water slowly drenched the dry grass, quenching it of its thirst. I was sitting on the porch outside my mom's house in Arizona, basically just observing my surroundings. I was actually keeping half an eye out for dangers like another mutant robot out to kill me or something. See, that's the good thing about being chased all your life: even in your darkest hour, in your most depressing state, you never let your guard down. But right now, I was certain nothing was going to attack me randomly from the sky, so I was just observing the rain. I found myself absorbed in thoughts of water for some strange reason. How could water be so soothing and elegant, and yet so dangerous and deadly at the same time? We need water to survive, but it could take us out in less than a minute if set in motion. Seriously, you'd be crazy to actually have the time to think about this, but on the other hand, I think it's worth giving a thought or two about. I was still so remarkably entranced by this concept that I hadn't even noticed that someone had been calling my name.

I blinked once at the sound, and before I could register what was going on, two hands had clasped down on my shoulders. "Max!" they yelled. I cursed under my breath for not paying close enough attention to my surroundings. Reacting to my natural instincts, I grabbed their hand, stood up, and twisted it above my head, making them kneel down in front of me. I was just about to land my traditional round-house kick on them when I realized who it was. I let go.

"Jeez, you're a way better fighter than I thought you were," Dylan chuckled, standing up and massaging his shoulders. I rolled my eyes, sighed, and drifted back to my spot on the porch. I continued to watch the rain fall, realizing it had become a lot heavier now.

"Max..." Dylan said, now adopting a serious tone.

"What?" I asked my throat dry like sandpaper.

"It's two in the morning."

"Thanks for the update." I found it a good sign that I could still give smart-ass replies even when I was supposed to be depressed.

"What are you doing out here, Max? Everyone's asleep." he said.

"Watching the rain," I replied, "and keeping guard." I heard Dylan smirk at that.

He said, "You're not acting like yourself. You haven't been sleeping regularly and you've been skipping all your meals. All you ever do now is sit out here. Max, you won't even talk to anyone." That was true; everything he said was true, and I even found it shocking that I HAD been skipping munch hours. No one in the flock would ever pass up a decent meal.

When I didn't say anything, Dylan said, "Max, get inside. You're getting wet. We're worried about you; I'mworried about you." He sounded close to desperate.

I snorted. "Don't be. I'm fine."

"Max. Listen to me. You can't stay like this forever. The flock needs you. Your mom and Ella need you. We all need you, Max. You're the leader. What are we supposed to do if you're just gonna mope around all day?" Dylan persisted.

He was really starting to irritate me now. "I'm fine, Dylan. If you're so worried, why don't you run this circus?" I answered.

"Max, I'm being serious!" Dylan shouted suddenly.

"So am I." I said evenly, without looking at him.

"What?" he was startled.

I turned to face him, my eyes narrowing. "So am I, Dylan. Why is it me? Why do I have to save the world? 'Cause up until now, it really hasn't done me much good."

Dylan was taken aback, unsure of what to say. I smirked, satisfied that I had finally rendered him speechless. "Max..."

I sighed. "Dylan I'm just tired of this, okay? Why don't you just leave me alone, it will do us all good."

"Max, I want to help you. If you'd tell me what's going on, th—"

"LEAVE! I told you, I'm fine! Just go away! Scram, I don't need you!" I finally snapped, not really caring if I had hurt his feelings.

I saw hurt register in his eyes but I turned away. I knew he would leave now; I had gone past my limits.

All of a sudden, faster then I could comprehend, Dylan was behind me. He grabbed my hand tightly and pulled me up.

"What are you doing?" Still holding my hand, he started to drag me into the house.

"Let—me—go!" I struggled to escape from his grasp, but it was useless. Even though I hadn't eaten right for weeks, I was still way stronger than the average human; but, then again, Dylan wasn't exactly human.

Not exactly to my surprise, Dylan didn't let go. In fact, in response, he grabbed my arm tighter and marched me up the stairs to my room. He whipped me inside, slammed the door behind him and then locked it. Then he finally let me go and turned to face me.

"What do you think you're doing?" I shrieked as softly as I could, worried that someone else in the house might hear.

He chuckled softly, sarcastically. "No Max, it's what do YOU think you're doing? You're the leader of this flock. You have a responsibility. You can't just ditch whenever you want."

I registered his words and realized he was right, once again. Of course, this only made me even angrier. "I'm not ditching. I think I'm doing a real fine job of running the flock anyway. Don't tell me my responsibilities, Dylan; I've been through a lot more than you're 1 year old mind could ever even imagine."

He flared. "Why are you doing this? You're the leader! Where's that leader Max that everyone knows? I always liked you for your determination to keep the pack together, and the fact that you try to stay strong for them!" He was raging now. I wished he would be a little quieter; Iggy had like super-sonic hearing after all.

I gave a little laugh. "Well isn't that a shame that you don't like me anymore? And you don't know me well enough to say that."

"Max!" he tousled his hair in irritation.

"Dylan. What do you want?" He stopped and looked up at me, a dark expression crossing his face.

I was taken aback. "What?" I asked, worried.

He slowly started to inch towards me, and I took a step back. He still started to walk silently towards me, though, and I started to become uneasy.

"Dylan, what are you doing?" I asked.

He didn't answer, just kept on striding towards me as I instinctively moved back. Okay, let me get one thing straight: Dylan is tall; like, really tall. I mean we all are, but he's almost as tall as Iggy! And trust me, when you have an angry, 6'2 boy who is extra strong and agitated than the average, the feeling isn't exactly pleasurable. And believe me when I tell you, now that he was creeping up towards me with an undoubtedly angry and strange look in his eyes, I got a little anxious.

"Dylan w-what are you doing?" I asked again. Still, he didn't answer, just continued to walk up, closer and closer to me. When we reached my bed, I plopped down and looked up at him.

"Dylan..."

He bent down over me, and placed his hands on either side of me on the bed, then leaned in closer and looked at me without saying a word. To my own embarrassment and guilt, I found myself staring into his beautiful turquoise eyes that reminded me so much of the Caribbean. For a long time, we just stayed like that, staring into each other's eyes, and the anger inside me slowly ebbed away as I sat tranquilized by his gorgeous eyes. Though I became a little calmer, I could literally feel the suspense building up and I waited patiently for what would come next. Dylan then quietly broke the silence.

"Is it Fang?" he whispered.

When he said that, it felt like I had been stabbed right in the chest. I snapped out of my trance and punched him, hard, right on his nose. I heard a sound like twigs snapping, only far more horrible, and I knew I had broken his nose. Following my punch, I kneed him right in the stomach, and elbowed him in the ribs. I would have gone for more, but he grabbed my hand to stop me from causing anymore damage to his fascinatingly flawless face; he had blood pouring from his nose. Against my will, I was forced to stop, weak as I was.

"So it is, isn't it?" he asked. "You're still thinking about him, even though he left you like that." he chuckled a sad, dry laugh. "I should have known. I should've—"

"How can you say that?" I hissed at him, most unlike me. "How can you say that when my baby isn't here? How can you say I'm thinking about Fang when Angel's dead?" I spat at him, close to tears.

Dylan's features softened, and he cast his eyes down, looking ashamed and embarrassed.

I sighed and stalked to the door. Before I could open it, Dylan stopped me. "Max...Max, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean that. It's just...the last time, you were like that too. I'm sorry I just didn't want you to be troubled. I want you to be happy. I'm sorry, Max." he sounded sincere.

"Yeah, well, stuff your sorry in a sack, I'm out." I said, and just like that I raced out of the room and down the stairs. Dylan followed me, right on my heels.

"Where are you going?" he shouted from behind me. I'm sure someone in the house probably heard us by now, but hopefully not. The last thing I needed was my mom questioning me the next morning about my feelings. I hate talking about emotions.

I fled to the balcony and was about to make my ever-dramatic exit of flying out, forgetting that it was raining cats and dogs outside, but Dylan's caught me just in time and stopped from taking off.

"Look Max, I'm sorry and I know that you're going through a hard time right now but you're not the only one. People are relying on you. The flock looks up to you, for you to tell them what to do. I look up to you Max. We need you." he said. For some reason, that made me mad too. Why does he have the right to stand here and lecture me? I knew he was right, but that didn't mean I wanted to hear it.

"Alright Dylan, thanks for the speech. You should take up preaching, by the way, you're good at it. Now, if you don't mind, could you scurry on back inside now?" I said coldly.

"MAX! Is this some sort of game to you? You know you're supposed to save the world, right? The whole world rests on your shoulders and you're just sitting here on your lazy butt moping about the past and staring at the rain. You're supposed to be a leader." He didn't bother even attempting to be nice this time.

"Well, it's good to know that I'm responsible for the world's survival. Thanks. That made me feel loads better." Dylan looked like he wanted to punch me.

"Max—!"

"Ooh, better not touch me, hot shot. If I die, the world dies, remember? Gotta keep me safe now, don't you?" I commented, oozing sarcasm, my mouth twisting into a cruel grin.

Dylan was angrier than I'd ever seen him. Even in the dark, it was as if I could literally see angry heat waves rising from him and steam coming out of his ears. His whole aura had changed, making the atmosphere deadly cold. I can't say I wasn't a little intimidated. I knew he was fighting the urge to knock me in the face, but after a long time, he finally only suppressed a sigh.

When he spoke again a couple minutes later, the atmosphere was back to normal and he had calmed down. The house was quiet.

All he said was, "Whatever, Max." And then, he went back inside the house, leaving me alone in the pouring rain.

I felt a sudden dread that I couldn't explain and I found myself more miserable than even before our little quarrel.

Why is my life so twisted? Why couldn't I just be a normal teenager? I thought and then I laughed bitterly. Normal life? Me?

"Ha, keep dreaming, Max." I muttered under my breath.

But when Dylan had left it stabbed at my heart, which really annoyed me, 'cause I shouldn't care what Dylan thinks. Then I realized that he wasn't the problem; well, not JUST him.

People enjoy abandoning me, don't they? I thought, because it was true. And that was the problem: everyone who I had loved had left me. They'd left me all alone, all by myself.

YAY! I just finished my first chapter. Really hope you guys like it and please do give feedback. I'd also like to give credit to:

SPYforYOU

for editing my fanfic! she rocks! :P