Fang stood in the shadows, keeping his face carefully composed. He didn't give away any emotion, his jaw set in a neutral expression. If anyone looked closer, they'd see his muscles straining to appear calm. Trapped in a thick, black oversize trench coat, his shoulders ached to break free from their restraints, but he couldn't, not now.

The School had been searching for him and his Flock for two months now. Max had decided for them all that the only way to keep safe was to hide their wings, and pretend, live amongst the humans, become one of them.

And when it was safe to move on, they'd leave.

Nudge, Gasman and Angel were ecstatic, to say the least. The proposition of friends, a normal life, school enticed them, and they weren't afraid. They'd been wanting this for a long time, and so this morning, as Fang watched Nudge chattering excitedly a thousand times a minute, Gasman jumping up and down happily and Angel clutching Celeste to her chest, a dreamy smile on her face, he'd simply swallowed his doubts and allowed them to continue on. After all, what could he say? I don't think this is a good idea. I think we should fight. Yeah, that would just go over great.

Max, on the other hand, was being uncharacteristically stoic, preparing herself for school calmly the night before. Now, standing beside him on the top of the big, grassy hill overlooking Kingridge High, she stood in thoughtful silence.

Max was like a sister to him, a mother almost. She'd cared for the flock her entire life, and in Fang's opinion, she'd had way too much put on her shoulders. Now, facing her, he kept his face neutral.

"I know it's a bit too late to bring this up, but I think trying to live normal lives is a really bad idea."

Max didn't even look his way. "It's for the flock, Fang. Put away your personal issues with trying to act like a normal person." She managed a cocky grin and began unsteadily walking towards the open gates of the school, where students swarmed in small clusters, their mindless chatter reaching Fang's ears.

He stood there for a while, his hands plunged in his coat's pockets, his shaggy dark fringe hanging in his unreadable eyes. He wasn't ready for this. Fighting a bunch of Erasers? Easy. Going on the run from the White Coats? Easier. But pretending that he was a normal human being? That was something else entirely. His wings ached against their leather constraints, the ones that Iggy had made, and his jaw hurt from being clenched so tightly.

"Trust me, I'm not looking forward to it either." Startled, Fang jumped and turned, seeing a girl standing there. The first thing he noticed was that she was really beautiful. She was dressed in an eclectic mishmash of a maroon jumper with badges pinned to the front, stripy gloves, tons of weird plastic necklaces, dark leggings, little dark brown boots and a sarcastic smirk. She had dark auburn hair, billowing gently in the cold wind, her eyes dark green and expressive. She was petite, tiny and dainty, but her eyes danced mischievously and she had an open bag of chocolates in one hand.

Fang blinked. He'd never seen someone so … bright and colourful in his life.

" Er, sorry?" He asked finally, and she shrugged, walking so she was standing beside him. "I'm not looking any more forward to that place than you are." She gave him a knowing look before holding out one creamy palm.

"Chocolate?"

Fang stared at her. "How could you tell I don't want to go down there?" He finally managed, and she shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's obvious. You're also feeling a touch sorry for yourself, but you're only here for the benefit of someone else. Or something along those lines. No offence, but you're very easy to read. That's just me… I'm good at reading people." She flashed him a wry smile, before popping another chocolate in her mouth.

He froze, confused. No one could 'read' him. He was Fang. Unreadable.

"Who are you?" He asked again, the words ruder than he intended. But she was walking down to the school, glancing over her shoulder at his question.

He stared at her retreating back, and then scurried down the hill after her.

"Wait up!" He called, and she turned back around, a smile playing on her lips.

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