"Max, can we go shopping?"

"No, Nudge."

"Max, can we go for ice cream?"

"No, Angel."

"Max, can you buy me a bone?"

"No, Total."

"Max, can we pick up some explosives?"

"Definitely no, Gazzy. And no Iggy." I told him as he started to open his mouth. He grumpily snapped it shut.

What was with that kid? What was with all of them? Why couldn't they let me have two minutes to myself? Ugh, I wish I could just fly away.

But I'm trying to work on that. No more running or charging off.

So I gritted my teeth and practically tied myself down to my chair. Angel was ... bejeweling a crown while Nudge did the same thing to a denim jacket. They are so weird. Nudge was decorating around the slits that she had cut for her wings. It actually looked kind of nice... in a freaky kind of way.

Angel stopped working on her crown and stared at me with huge eyes. "Max" she said to me. "You don't think I'm a freak do you?"

Dammit. I forgot about her stupid, I mean neat and interesting, mind reading ability.

"No, honey." I told her. "I don't think you're freaky. It's just that..." Uh. "Never mind."

Angel shrugged and got back to her crown. It went perfectly with her golden curls.

"Thanks!" she said. Smiling, she danced around the room.
I rolled my eyes as she sang out "somewhere, over the rainbow!" off key.

"Creepy, huh?" a voice said behind me. Fang. He plopped down on a seat next , flashed me a smile and took my hand in his under the table. It felt nice. And even though it kind of freaked me out the while touchey-feely thing, I was slowly getting used to it. And I wasn't going to run off.

Not anymore.

I smiled back at him. Fang wasn't big on smiling (big surprise there) but he'd been getting better. He jerked his head toward the doorway. I glanced around at the other kids. Gazzy and Iggy were deconstructing the toaster. (Whoops!) Nudge was still working on her jacket and Angel was dancing around, her bright pink ipod in her hand. Her crown was lopsided but her smile was big.

They wouldn't mind if I snuck away for a while. I silently followed after Fang through the house and out the back door. He went past the yard and into the woods. When I got to a clearing where it looked like he hide gone up from, I spread my wings soared after him.

Just as I was reaching through the treetops, something grabbed my ankle and pulled me back down. Reflexes kicked in and I swung my arm around in a punch. My arm was stopped, however, and tugged behind my back where I couldn't move it. I tried to swing my other arm, but whoever was holding me, released his grip on my ankle, which caused me to kneel on the branch, and grabbed my wrist, again pulling it behind me. I struggled but stopped when I heard the person chuckle.

I twisted my head and looked over my shoulder. It was Fang.

"Arg!" I screamed. "Fang you jerk!"

He only chuckled more.

"Let go!" I shouted at him.

"The great Maximum Ride, captured by her own boyfriend." He sighed. "That's just sad."

I twisted and struggled but he just held on tighter.

"Fang!" I whined. "Let go!"

He leaned down close to my ear. "Maaax." He breathed.

I shivered. "Stop that."

"Make me." he said, with a smirk in his voice. I twisted my head and captured his lips on mine. He pulled his head back so he was out of reach but that little distraction was all I needed. I jerked my arms out of his grip and jumped from the tree limb to another, on a different tree of course. I turned, my hands on my hips, to see him standing up slowly, his mouth open in shock.

"You little sneak." he said.

I shrugged. "What can I say? You made me." He shook his head.

"All I wanted was a kiss." he said. He tilted his head, his black hair flopping to the side.

"You got one."

He laughed. God, I loved his laugh. "That doesn't count as a kiss."

"Sure it does. My lips touched your lips. It's a totally legitimate kiss!"

He rolled his black eyes. Or at least I think he did. It was hard to tell with his face in the shadow of the branches overhead. He flapped his wings once as he jumped to my branch. He landed crouching and looked up at me, shaking his hair out of his face. "That wasn't a kiss."

"Oh come -" I was cut off by him kissing me. His hand behind my head pulling me closer. I snaked my hands up his chest and around his neck, twirling his hair around my fingers. He deepened the kiss, opening his mouth. I arched my back and he pressed me up against the trunk of the tree.

It felt like I was on fire. Like someone had dumped lighter fluid on me and Fang has just ignited it with this amazing kiss. His lips were hot tasted like, well like Fang! My nose was filled with his scent and even the slightest touch burned me.

I don't know how long we made out for, all I know is that by the end, we were both breathless. I sat down on the tree limb, my back against the trunk. Fang sat opposite of me and between gasps of air said "Now that was a legitimate kiss."

We laughed. I was laughing so hard my sides were splitting and I fell off my limb and tumbled to the ground. I managed to hang onto a branch as I fell but I couldn't bring my wings out with so many branches around me.

Fang called down to me. "Max? Max!"

"I'm fine!" I shouted back. I swung myself back and forth, the bark digging into the palms of my hands. I let go and soured to another branch, landing in crouch. I looked up and behind me to where Fang was standing, wings out and ready to fly. I pointed upward and he nodded. Fang batted his wings and burst through the treetops, leaves fluttering down behind him. I looked up above me but the branches were all so close together I wouldn't be able to fully extend my wings. A lot of good that will do me. I let out of frustrated grunt and slowly started the climb from branch to branch to branch until I reached a space where I could let out my wings. With one beat, I was out of the trees and in the sky. I whooped as Fang circled me. "What took you so long?" he asked.

"Just some stupid branches getting in my way."

"You sure it wasn't that kiss?" he smirked. "Left you brain dead?"

I laughed. "No. Just some stupid branches." I repeated.

"Really?" he swooped toward me and we had another amazing make out session. It wasn't as long as the last time but it was twice as amazing. Maybe it was the fact that there wasn't a branch digging into my back or the fact that Fang was just an amazing kisser. When he stepped (well flew) back, he was smirking. I forgot to move my wings and dropped a few feet before souring upward again and heading east for a little joy ride. Fang followed close behind, dropping close so we could talk.

"Now," he said. "you sure it wasn't that kiss?"

"Nope!" I smiled at him. "Just some stupid branches!"