We were camping out in a forest somewhere. Don't ask me where, because I'm not going to tell you. It was late at night and all the kids had gone to bed hours ago – we'd had a long day of flying and they'd dropped like stones. I wasn't that exhausted, so I'd offered to take first watch. I was staring at the flames in the campfire, transfixed by the colours. I was thinking hard about everything that'd happened lately – defeating Itex in Germany, then all that business in Antartica…I was pretty sure these kids were going to crack soon if they kept on like this.
"They need some fun," Fang said from beside me, reading my mind as always. I looked over at him. He'd just woken up and his hair was sticking straight up. I smoothed it down, laughing.
"Leave the Mohawks to Gazzy," I said, grinning at him. "And get some sleep, it's not time for your watch yet."
"Au contraire, Max," he said, holding up his wrist to me to show me his watch. The watch we'd bought ages ago in New York, the expensive kind that had somehow managed to make it through all of our adventures. Wow, New York. It seems like years ago, not months. I peered at the watch through the darkness, and was surprised to see my watch had ended half an hour ago. I still wasn't tired though.
"Your watch is over, Max. Get some sleep," he said, looking at me. The fire illuminated the bags under his eyes, and I'd realised I'd been working everyone way too hard lately.
"I'm not tired," I said, looking him in the eyes so he knew I meant it. "So you go back to sleep, I'm fine here."
"Well, so am I." We sat in silence for a couple of minutes, each waiting for the other to give up and sleep. I looked around at the campsite, my eyes passing over each member of my Flock sleeping peacefully. Total had been totally bummed these past few days, since I'd left Akila at my mom's house. Magnolia, their dog, had just died, so it was perfect timing. I felt kinda sorry for Total, but we couldn't be lugging a massive Malamute around the place. It just wasn't practical. My eyes returned to the fire, and I saw it was dying down. I grabbed the newspaper from next to me to feed it, and something caught my eye.
"Fang, when did we buy this newspaper?" I asked, my eyes fixed on the words at the top that said 24th March. It couldn't be that far along already, could it?
"Yesterday," he said, following my eyes and looking confused. "Why?"
"It's Angels birthday tomorrow."
The next day I woke my Flock up a little later than usual, because they deserved the break. I saved Iggy from cooking breakfast by going to the nearest Wal Mart and getting us all some food.
"Yum, Pop Tarts!" Nudge squealed. I smiled to myself, happy that she was happy.
"Listen up guys," I said, poking the fire with a stick. Five heads turned to me, alert, and I smiled again. I had trained them well. "We have been working too hard lately. We've eaten only scraps, never gotten enough sleep, and really, really, need new clothes. So I recommended a holiday."
Silence around camp. Nudge dropped her Pop Tart. Gazzy's mouth hung wide open, staring. And, suddenly, they all started jumping around screaming.
"A holiday! Yay! No more dirt! No more sleeping on the ground! No more scraps!"
I looked over at Fang, who grinned at me. If only they knew what we had planned for them.
"SO, does anyone have any ideas where we would want to go? Which state, or whatever?"
They all immediately started shouting out suggestions, and I raised a hand. They quietened down.
"One at a time please. Ange?"
My baby stood up and spoke.
"I really, really, to stay here in Florida, Gazzy to Ohio, Nudge and Iggy want to stay in Florida too and Fang doesn't care."
"Alrighty then." I said, clapping my hands together. "Staying in Florida it is. Nudge, you're with me, Gazzy, you're with Iggy, and Angel is with Fang."
The Flock stared up at me in confusion.
"Fang, explain." I said, waving a hand at him.
"Well," he said, standing up as I sat down. "We can't stay here like this with no preparations and just start living there. Max and Nudge will be shopping today, Gazzy and Iggy will be getting us plane tickets and sorting out which part of Florida we want to go to, and Angel and I will be searching for a house."
"What about me?" Total asked, jumping into Angel's lap. "I want to go with Angel."
"Uh, that's fine." I said. "We shall meet at the beach just north west of here at five o'clock. Be there on time."
They all nodded at me, glum about splitting up, but otherwise excited. Iggy and Gazzy looked the most miserable though, probably because their job didn't involve explosives. Little did they know…
"Okay, Fang and Angel, finish your breakfasts and hightail it to the nearest estate agents." They did so, waving goodbye to the rest, and soon they were gone.
"I suppose you want us to use Fang's laptop to find plane tickets?" Gazzy said unhappily.
"Yeah, but you can do that tomorrow or the day after." I said, and watched his little face light up with confusion and happiness.
"Why?" he asked.
"Do you lot know what the date is today?" I asked Nudge, Iggy and the Gasman. They all looked like they were thinking, but all three shook their heads.
"It's the 24th March."
They all looked confused, but after a while it dawned on them.
"Ohmigosh," Nudge said, jumping up. "It's Angel's birthday tomorrow!"
"Yup," I said, smiling. "I think -"
But I was cut off. By Nudge.
"We should have a totally awesome party, this is brilliant! Ohmigosh this rocks! We absolutely HAVE to -"
But Nudge was cut off. By Iggy, who'd wrapped a hand around her mouth. I shot him a grateful look, then realised he couldn't see it.
"Thanks Ig." I said gratefully. "As I was saying, I think we should have a party, but I have the coolest idea for it. We're going to go down to the beach I told Fang and Angel to meet us at, and set up loads of preparations for a pool party. Nudge, you're with me – we'll be shopping for swimming costumes, goggles decorations, food etc. Iggy, Gazzy, you're going to enjoy your job. It gets dark very quickly around here, and I want you to make some fireworks. I want them tested beforehand though, so they're completely safe. Iggy, if you have time, please can you try and make Angel a cake? Enough for everyone…"
Iggy and Gazzy's faces brightened up a little, and Nudge's eyes were shining.
I sighed. "Iggy, release the Nudginator."
He did so, and as soon as that hand was off her mouth she was talking again.
"We can have like, a Hawaiian theme and get everyone hula skirts – even Fang! Ohmigosh Max, this was the best idea you've ever had! We could, no, no that wouldn't work. Ohmigosh, Max, shopping! I can't believe it… "
I cut her off this time, standing up and clapping my hands together.
"Alrighty then," I said, dreading the day alone with an excited Nudge. "Iggy, Gazzy, here is all the cash I've got. Buy yourselves whatever you need, as long as you don't tell me about it. Find another place to set up camp, and work on the fireworks there. As for us Nudge, we're going -" I swallowed "shopping."
"You two take Fang's watch, and meet us on the beach at three o'clock. Do not be late." I checked the time now – 10:14. Joy. "Off we go then."
We took off, Nudge and me flying through the skies until I spotted what looked like a mall below.
"Yo, Nudge." I yelled to her, the wind carrying my voice. "Down there! Land in that alley!"
We did so fine, and walked through the automatic doors of HighHorse Shopping Centre. Why HighHorse? I have no idea. Maybe that was the name of the owner (poor guy).
I saw the lights, the crowded corridors, and I regretted it immediately. I could already tell I was going to hate this place.
"Come on Max!" Nudge shouted over the noise of the busy shoppers and the music booming out at full volume. "Swimsuits first!"
She dragged me towards a seasonal shop that was selling stuff for summer. We went in, and as the door closed behind us we were glad to hear the glass front was completely soundproofed, and the only noise you could here was some quiet, relaxing music faintly in the background. A saleswoman glided up to us – no I swear, glided, she was so graceful – and asked us if we needed any help.
"Um, yeah," I said, pushing a giant inflatable shark aside so I could see her properly. "Where are the swimsuits?"
She pointed towards the far corner of the room, and we followed her to a few racks of swimsuits.
"Thanks," I said, and she nodded and disappeared. Nudge looked at me, and we both had the same looks on our faces, ones that said Creepy. I grinned at her and started sorting through the swimsuits.
"Okay, Angel first. Look at the 8-9 year olds swimsuits, and try to get her a one piece."
We found one within minutes, one we knew she'd like. It had a pink pattern, and on the shoulders and by the legs it had layers of frills. I remembered the tutu she wanted to get back in New York, and smiled. It was perfect.
We chose our own swimsuits next, Nudge searching through the 13-14 year old racks, and me through the 16-17. It was a pain, looking older than we were.
"Um, excuse me, Sir!" I said, attracting the gaze of another sales clerk. This one was male, and so obviously gay. He came over to me and glanced around, not seeing my problem.
"What's up, honey?" he asked, and I tensed. I tried to remember that he wasn't trying to hit on me, and he wasn't evil, just some poor ordinary gay guy and I shouldn't bite his head off for calling me honey.
"There don't seem to be any one pieces in my size," I told him, gesturing towards the rack. He looked confused.
"Darling, why would you want a one piece? Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately?" He wheeled me over to the full length mirror on a pillar and leant over me. "See how tightly this tee clings to you? You have an awesome body, and you need to show it off." He went back over to the rack, and started flinging bikinis into piles.
"Too showy, too tacky, urgh, who thought of this?" he was saying, throwing bikinis over his shoulder. Then…"Aha, perfect!" He shoved a dark brown one with gold patterns in my arms and walked me to the dressing room. I sent Nudge distress signals, but she just grinned at me. I was going to kill her later.
I was shoved inside a cubicle and the curtain closed. I immediately felt uncomfortable in such a small space, but I knew if I went out there the gay guy would just shove me back in. I could always beat him up, but I didn't want to cause a scene. That was a last resort.
So I had no choice really. I checked for cameras, then stripped off and tried on the bikini. I kept my wings very flat to my back, so if I stood still from the front I'd lok like a normal person. It was awkward to tie the string around my back, but I managed it. Looking at myself in the mirror, I gasped.
I saw a suntanned girl, with blonde streaks in her hair from the sun. This girl was tall, slender and muscular. Her face was absolutely symmetrical and she could've been a model. Her legs were long and tanned light brown. She was beautiful. So not me. And yet so…me.
I tucked my wings even tighter into my back and opened the curtain. The gay guy gasped.
"You are beautiful!" he said, and it was only then I noticed the Italian accent. "Alfredo has done it again!"
And with that he was gone. I called 'Tiffany-Krystal' softly, knowing she'd hear and come rushing in. Which she did.
And she was the third one to gasp.
"Max you look so pretty!" she squealed, clapping her hands together. I felt my face getting warm and decided I must get the conversation off me.
"What about you Nudge? You look so hot! You'll have all the boys fainting at your feet in no time!"
She was wearing a black tankini with a silver emblem. She blushed, and I smiled.
"Whoa." This wasn't Nudge. Or me. I turned around, to see a guy in surfer shorts and flip flops stop and stare. I instinctively tucked my wings in even closer and looked at the guy, nervous. I looked at Nudge to see if hers were showing but nope, her back was facing into the cubicle – there was no way he could've seen.
"What?" I asked him, confused.
"Nothing…it's just…you know…" he stuttered.
"Come on, spit it out, I have better things to be doing." He blushed.
"You look so hot. What are you doing tonight?" he asked, all traces of embarrassment gone.
"Going out with my boyfriend. Why? Are you going out with yours? Maybe we can double date."
He blushed even harder, and I felt kinda mean. He turned away and scurried out of there. Nudge grinned up at me, and I scowled.
"Come on, let's get changed."
Half an hour later we walked out of that shop, weighed down by shopping bags. Nudge had used the bambi eyes on me to get that bikini, and she'd got her own tankini. We had also bought the swimming costume we'd found for Angel, and the boys got swimming shorts. Fang's were black (I wanted to get him the pink ones but after Surfer Dude I wasn't feeling evil enough), Gazzy's were orange with Danger across the leg and Iggy's had a fire pattern on them. Perfect.
We'd also bought swimming toys – that big inflatable shark we'd seen earlier, a couple of beach balls etc.
Now it was time for food. We'd grabbed a trolley and dumped all of our shopping in it, and I was wheeling it around while Nudge was dumping food in it.
"Cocktail sausages, gotta have some of them," she said, grabbing three packets and dumping them in. She led me over the sweet aisle and went totally overboard. Sherbets, boiled sweets, strawberry laces – we had six lots of everything.
"Okay, I think that's it," Nudge said, and I looked heavenward. Thank the lord. Even if I don't believe in him.
We wheeled the trolley up to the counter and unloaded everything onto the conveyer belt.
"It's my friends birthday party," I grinned at the shop assistant, who had been giving us weird looks. We paid and left.
"106.75 on food, Nudge? What did you buy, an elephant?"
"Nope, just enough to feed one." She grinned at me. "Where next?"
"Party shop for decorations," I said, pointing to the brightly painted shop on the other side of the shopping centre.
Five minutes later we had more bags to carry. Checking the time, I realised we only had an hour to get to the beach before Iggy and the Gasman turned up.
"Come on, let's go." I said, leading Nudge to the alley we'd landed in. Only this time we were about 20 bags heavier.
"I'll take the food and the decorations, since they're heaviest." I said, grabbing the appropriate bags from her and swapping them with my own. "And you take the swimming costumes and sea toys."
We took off, my wings working double time to support me and all of my shopping. But they got us there, to our little cove.
It had cliffs behind us and to either side, so no human could get down there whereas we could just fly in. It was perfect. I collapsed in the sand, exhausted from our shopping spree and felt the sand move as Nudge did the same. I felt my eyes start to close and was asleep within minutes.
I heard a voice somewhere in the back of my head, and I was trying to ignore it so I could sleep.
"Yo sleepyheads."
"We're being attacked by Erasers!"
I shot up, eyes moving around us and my body automatically in a fight stance. No Erasers. I looked over at Gazzy and Iggy to see them laughing their asses off.
"That is NOT funny." I said, striding over to where the boys laid, rolling in the sand. I kicked them both lightly, and they got up. "NEVER do that again, do you hear me? Do I make myself clear?"
Gazzy looked quite scared, and Iggy looked sheepish. "Crystal," they said. I took in a deep breath, and caught sight of Fang's watch, which was now on Gazzy's wrist. 3:00. Crap! Only three hours until they arrived!
I glanced once again at Fang's watch, which was now on my wrist. 5:50. Ten minutes until they came, but I think we were doing pretty good.
We had a banner that said 'Happy Birthday Angel', which was meant as a nickname, but it worked. The cake was gorgeous, four tiers tall and chocolate heaven. We had draped decorations all around the cliffs that boxed us in, and the toys were all inflated and ready to go. The food was laid out on paper plates on a little bit of rock that jutted out at the bottom of the cliff, enough to feed an army. Basically, we were all done, and we were all exhausted. Now we just had to wait for Angel and Fang to get here.
Fang's POV"Why do I have to wear this?" she asked, and I sighed.
"I don't know, Max wouldn't tell me. All she said is to make sure you were blindfolded before we got to the beach. Now put it on already!"
Angel did so, tying the black fabric round the back of her head. I secured it tightly, making sure the sharp winds wouldn't blow it off. I took her hand, and down we went.
I was shocked at the sight I saw below me. Decorations were hung from the rocks, there was even a banner that said 'Happy Birthday Angel!'.
There were mounds of food, everything from cocktail sausages to the massive cake obviously baked by Iggy. There were toys floating in the water, and Max held a bag which I'm pretty sure had swimsuits in. She motioned at me to remove the bandage, so she did.
"Surprise!" we all yelled. Angel gasped, looking around, and started grinning.
"You guys! This is so sweet! You didn't have to! Oh mi gosh, I love it!"
After Angel had gotten over the initial shock of the party, Max had handed out the swimsuits and told everyone to get changed. I was glad to see she had gotten me a plain old pair of black swimming shorts. A couple of minutes later, the girls stepped out from this homemade changing room, manufactured by some towels and sticks. Angel was wearing a cute little pink frilly swimsuit, and the grin on her face was blinding. Nudge looked pretty good in a black tankini that showed off her legs. And Max…wow. She looked stunning in a brown bikini that had some gold emblem on it, but the bikini wasn't what I was looking at. The swimsuit showed off her hard stomach, her long legs and her tan from all the hot states we had flown through. Her blonde-y hair was down, and hung around her shoulders like an angel's. She looked amazing.
Whoa.I thought. I felt some eyes on me and looked around to see Angel grinning up at me. Angel! Get out of my head!
Why? It's so much fun.
How many times do Max and me have to tell you? It's rude.
Okay, okay. But I just want to know why you don't just tell her.
Tell her what? There's nothing to tell.
You forget I'm in your head, Fang.
Oh yeah. Now get out!
Fine.
I felt her presence leave my head, and I was glad to have my thoughts to myself again. I tried to forget Max, and just enjoy the party, but it wasn't happening.
Max POVI looked around, and smiled. Everyone was having fun. Gazzy was on the massive inflatable shark, and I could see Iggy's outline creeping up on him underwater. Suddenly, the shark was upside down and the Gasman was sent into the depths, spluttering. I let out a chuckle and looked over at Angel and Nudge. They were on neighbouring lilos inflatable bed type things that float on the water chatting. They had a can of coke in their hands and they look totally relaxed. Angel said something and Nudge nodded eagerly, and they both dived off their lilos into the water. They talked to Iggy and Gazzy and soon they were all smiling. What was going on?
I waded out ankle depth into the water, and I felt my feet knocked out from beneath me. My body immediately tensed, ready for Erasers before I realised I was floating in mid air. What the hell? I looked up to my left, to see Fang grinning at me. He had picked me up, bridal-style.
"Fang, what the hell are you doing?" I asked, but he didn't reply. He waded out until the water was lapping just beneath me, then gave me an evil grin and before I could protest, threw me up in the air.
There wasn't enough time for me to unfold my wings. I tried anyway, but I just ended up plunging into the water, wings out awkwardly. I came up, and I spat out salt water.
"Fang!" I yelled, and he grinned at me again. What was up with him? "And Angel. You knew what he was planning didn't you?"
She looked up at me and smiled, not ashamed in the least. I rolled my eyes and sent a wave of water over to where she and Fang stood soaking them both. I smirked at them and dove underwater before they could splash me back. I stayed under for a few minutes until my lungs were bursting (us Avian Americans can hold our breath for longer than the average human, but we still need to breathe!) and I surfaced. I opened my eyes, and whoosh…a wave of water drenched me.
And then the splashing wars began. Everyone was splashing everyone, until we were all giggling so hard we could hardly move. I held onto a beach ball to stay afloat, until the bouts of laughter were over. I hit the beach ball at Fang, and it bounced off his head. He looked around, confused, and the expression on his face got us all laughing again.
After that, we played a game of volleyball – boys vs girls. It was kind of unfair seeing as they had two older guys and one eight year old. Iggy could always sense where the ball was – he said something about a change in the wind whenever it was coming at him or something – so he was actually really good. But we had an advantage – Angel could sense where they were going to hit the ball next. We played for about an hour, before calling a draw. Then we all got out of the water, wrapped towels around our selves and got some food. Fang disappeared for a minute, and then brought back the cake we'd stored in a handy crevice. Angel faked surprise (of course, she already knew about it due to her mind – reading abilities) and blew out all her candles in one go.
The party was a lot of fun. We played games, splashed each other some more and ate so much we were sure that if we went back in the water we would sink. All in all, a good day.
I opened my eyes and looked around. Everyone was asleep. I got up and tried to brush the worst of the sand off me, and gave up and went wash it off in the water.
I heard someone stir from behind me, I turned, and the only person missing was Fang. Which was to be expected, because he was so still in his sleep his new power set in, making him invisible. But lately I could see his outline when he was asleep, oculd tell if he was or wasn't there.
"Hi Fang," I said, whirling around and staring him in his eyes. He was invisible again, but I could tell where he was. He shook his head and became properly visible again, and I saw the look of surprise on his face.
"How'd you know I was there?" he asked, shocked. I laughed, tapping the side of my nose in a secretive manner and turned my back on him to stare at the kids. They looked so…peaceful, so relaxed, and I was glad.
"You know, that was a real nice thing you did there, Max," Fang said, motioning to the remains of the party. That was going to be hell to clean up later. "You could've told me."
I shook my head.
"You were around Angel all day," I explained. "She would've read it easily out of your mind."
"How come she didn't read it out of yours?" he asked, confused again.
"I don't know. Lately, it's as if I'm becoming…I don't know, immune, to people's powers. I can see you when you're invisible, Angel can't read my mind as well, Gazzy's coloured clouds are becoming less vibrant…it's if I'm losing everything that has to do with me being a mutant."
"Hmm," Fang said, considering it. "Can you still fly super speed?"
I nodded, shaking out my wet hair. "That hasn't changed. In fact, it's almost become better. I went up to what must've been 300 mph yesterday."
Fang let out a low whistle. "Whoa, that's fast. It sounds like to me you're not becoming less of a mutant, but more of one. You're becoming resistant to other mutant's powers…maybe this is a power of your own? And the whole super speed thing? If you start to lose it, then come and talk to me. Until then, I don't think you have anything to worry about."
I smiled up at him, and wrapped my arms around his neck. He always knew what to say. Looking deep into my eyes, Fang leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.
And this time, I didn't run away.
One year laterIt was Angel's birthday again. She loved her beach party so much last year, that she decided to have another one this year. Major changes though. Angel was surrounded by new friends from school, a few of which she'd begged me to share her secret – and I let her. Since Itex was gone, there was no reason to worry bout a couple of seven year olds knowing our secret. If they blabbed, it's not like anyone would believe them anyway.
Hell, I'd even told a friend of my own – Liz, my best friend at school. Excluding Fang, of course. But me and Fang…we were something different. Ever since that kiss a year ago, we'd been dating. Yes I know – Maximum Ride, dating. The words just didn't mix. But it was going well so far, and hopefully it would continue too.
The whole living-in-Florida thing wasn't just an elaborate hoax – Angel and Fang had actually found a house on the day, and a month later we had moved in. We had decorated it and I even did silly things like put pictures up on my walls and get us all cell phones – we were just like normal teenagers now.
And I couldn't be happier.