Hey everybody,

Here's a new story inspired by Amy-Katherine914's story Your Existence Gives Me Wings. Just as a warning, it will be pretty sad!

I'm just going to say this in the beginning; the real plot will develop in the third or fourth chapter. So, just bear with me for awhile. This story is all human, Iggy isn't blind, and it has FAX.

Disclaimer- I do not own Maximum Ride.

So, here's installment one, enjoy!


"The blood results were taken and put through all the tests. They came back as Ben Greene." Fang said, looking down at the papers in front of him. "There is a very high chance it is him." He continued, looking up at the teacher.

"No way!" Lissa shouted from across the room. "It was Will Anderson and you know it! His fingerprints were on the gun. He shot the bank teller!" The debate got more and more heated as each team continued to argue.

"The information backs up the fact that he had a fresh wound when he was found and his blood was at the crime scene. It only makes sense!" Fang shot back, glaring at Lissa pointedly. I smiled as I watched them argue back and forth. They always got really into the debates and mock trials. I guess that was the beauty of an all-junior Forensics class.

"You're both wrong!" Iggy shouted from behind me, "It was the butler in the parlor with the candlestick!" the room burst into laughter. Even Fang grinned, breaking his usual impassive mask for Iggy's idiocy.

I turned around, slapping him a high five. We were the only two not taking part in the debate because we had decided to skip class when we did all of the information checks for it so, basically, we had no clue what we were supposed to do.

"As true as that may be, Iggy, we're running out of time." Mr. Patterson said picking up all of his papers off of the desk he was sitting at. "We'll continue this debate tomorrow. You can talk amongst yourselves until the bell rings."

I grinned and looked around at Iggy, talking to him softly as Fang walked over slowly, having had to make up an extremely detailed excuse not to talk to Lissa.

"I swear," Fang said, pulling a chair next to the two desks and sitting on it backwards, "Sometimes that girl just has borderline stalker potential!" I smirked and glanced over at her, seeing her staring over at Fang, mouth hanging open as she took in all of his features.

"Well, at least you know someone loves you." I said, laughing slightly. "Iggy, on the other hand, has no one to like him." I added, jokingly.

"I only have you, Maxie." Iggy said, draping his arm over my shoulders limply. I tried to shrug it off but it just stayed in place. After about five tries, I gave up.

"You two are crazy." Fang said, looking between me and Iggy. "Sometimes you act just like a married couple. I can really see you two going out." He added. Iggy and I took a fleeting glance at one another and immediately sprang apart, pretty much flying to opposite ends of the room. This seemed to amuse Fang greatly, so he just started laughing hysterically. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my backpack off of the floor, knowing the bell would ring any minute. Fang and Iggy both followed my example.

"Where are you two going next?" Iggy asked, looking at us. Even though we had been in school for at least three months, we never bothered to remember each other's schedules, let alone our own. I grabbed my schedule out of my bag and looked down at it, not feeling embarrassed for not remembering. Fang was doing the same.

"English," I said, getting excited for it. It was my favorite class. For some reason, writing was something I loved to do. It kind of just let me make things up that would be really cool. I'm not a good writer, per say, but I do come up with interesting concepts for essays or stories.

"History," Fang answered his lip curling down in disgust.

"Cool, me too!" Iggy exclaimed, doing a super secret handshake with Fang. I rolled my eyes and chuckled at them. They had made up the handshake when they were in the third grade and yet they still did it at least five times a day. That is what I call a good friendship. "I'm so excited!" Iggy added, grinning cheekily. He was the only person who actually liked history, probably because half of the time we're talking about some kind of bomb or war, which he had a very keen interest in. I smiled and shook my head.

"Don't you ever think that maybe we should actually remember what classes we have?" I asked as I shoved my paper back into the pocket on my bag.

Fang and Iggy both looked at each other and turned back to me, saying "Definitely not." I shook my head disapprovingly and sighed as the bell rang.

"Good luck in English." Fang called out as we left the room, he and Iggy already starting to walk down a different hallway than me. I smiled to myself and opened the doors to the stairwell, taking them slowly, one at a time.

I basically took a walk around the school to avoid being the first person in the classroom but I still managed to be early. I sat down in my usual chair, noting that there was more pencil marks written all over it. I read the top left corner next to the indentation for a pencil or pen and almost burst out laughing; written inside of a large heart read 'Lissa Carmichael + Fang Keyes'. I rolled my eyes at it and erased it quickly, knowing that some rumor-spreading girl was going to see it and tell it to everyone she knew and I think we all know how much Fang wants that.

"Hey, Max," A voice said nervously and I turned around, seeing Sam Fuller behind me, grinning apprehensively from ear to ear.

"Hey Sam, what's up?" I asked, turning to fully face him. Even though it creeped some people out, I liked to make eye contact when I spoke to someone. Most of the time they just look away awkwardly when you stare them in the eye but sometimes you can have a war over who would break the gaze first. It was actually pretty cool. Sam was one to shy away from eye contact.

"The sky?" he said, probably not making it sound more like a question. I grinned at him and he seemed to loosen up a little bit. Sam had been known to have a crush on me for quite some time but neither of us really made anything of it. We had a pretty good friendship and why ruin that?

"Touché," I said, winking at him. He smiled, seeming to fully relax into his chair now. We always talked in class and sometimes even over the phone (whether it was talk or text). It was rare that there was a day where we didn't talk and I was perfectly fine with it.

"So, are you going to the dance on Friday?" He asked, looking at me hopefully.

"What day is that?" I asked, figuring that it would be helpful to know what day I would be going to the dance.

"The seventh," he answered, waiting for a reply. I just looked at him, urging him to go on. He continued, "Of December."

"Oh," I said. I honestly thought it was still October. I wracked my brain; trying to figure out what I was doing on the seventh of December (I was also extremely ecstatic that I knew what day it was going to be on). "I have to babysit the kids that live across the street from me."

"Oh, well can't you get out of it? You're always too busy to have any fun." He said, naively. I chuckled dryly, knowing what he meant. I never had any time to hang out with friends outside of school. I was always at work, babysitting, or doing homework. I was just an extremely busy girl.

"I promised them I would watch their kids while they went out for their anniversary," I said, looking at him, knowing why he was asking in the first place. He asked me if I was going every time there was a dance and each and every time I said no.

"Maybe next time," He said, standing up, stretching out his back.

"Next time," I promised, smiling at him. "I swear." He grinned and walked over to his seat, seeing as all of the other kids had come in and that he was sitting in the seat of the person who sat behind me.

Class started and let's just say that I was really eager to get home to work on my new essay prompt. This time we were allowed to write a persuasive essay about anything we wanted. The only requirements were that it be about something we feel strongly about and that it must include real life experiences. The only problem; I had neither ideas for it, nor any real life experiences I would be able to use. Luckily we had the whole year to work on this. It was the essay that would make most of our grade for the second semester. Maybe something would happen to me during the six months before I had to hand it in that would make an essay-worthy idea.

Class ended and I sighed in relief when I realized that it was the last class of the day. Sometimes, school was just way too long. I strode down the hallway, planning to just get to my locker and leave the premises as soon as I could but, of course, I just have to get stopped in the middle of the hallway by none other than my best friend himself.

"So, are you going to the game tonight?" Fang asked stopping me before I turned down the hallway my locker was in. He, of course, was referring to his basketball game. Unlike most schools, we have basketball year round. There are just too many kids who want to play to only have it during the winter so they have two teams. One plays during the winter and fall while the other plays during the spring and summer. Fang was obviously on the fall and winter team.

"I'll think about it." I said, smiling mischievously at him. I walked around him, looking forwards to going home.

"Please tell me you're kidding!" Fang exclaimed, following me down the hallway, grabbing my arm and pulling me around to face him. "It's the first game of the season and I'm point!"

I smiled at him and he seemed to calm down. "Relax; I wouldn't miss it for the world!" I said, starting to walk again.

"Good," He muttered, walking besides me as we went to my locker. Apparently he had already been to his. I looked over at him quizzically and he looked up, realizing that I had heard him. "It's just, uh; you're my good luck charm." He said sheepishly, looking at me carefully. As much as a lie as that was, it was possible it could be true. I went to almost every single one of his games and they never lost. I was convinced that Fang was just an amazing player surrounded by more great players but he continued to think otherwise.

"Would you really think I wouldn't come?" I asked, stopping at my locker. I started to turn the dial as I continued, "I've only missed one of your games since freshman year and even then I had Nudge tell me everything over the phone."

He smiled, probably remembering what had happened. I had gotten sick about halfway through his season during sophomore year so I wasn't able to come to the game. His adopted sister, Nudge, called me and explained every detail of the game to me including the pointless things that only she would talk about like 'how hot' all high school guys are. She wasn't in high school at the time seeing as we were two grades above her. So, seeing as we're juniors now, she's a freshman.

It was amazing how much Fang and Nudge were different even though they got along every second of every day. Ever since Fang's parents adopted Nudge when she was four, he had loved her with all his heart. Of course, being the typical older brother, he had to be the person to rain on her parade sometimes (mainly when it came to boys and dates) but she always knew that he did it for her which is the part that amazed me. I had honestly never seen them fight. Ever. I was still really good friends with Nudge, seeing as she was my best friend that was a girl while Fang and Iggy were my guy best friends. She was pretty much the exact opposite of me though. She liked boys, fashion, boys, parties, and boys while I liked friends, an occasional boy or two, and sports. She wasn't the slutty kind of girl when it came to guys; she just fit in with them just as much as she did with girls, thus proving that she could automatically become a great person for guys to talk to considering she knew almost everything about every kind of electronic device out there.

"Hello? Earth to Max!" Fang shouted in my ear, waving his hand quickly through the air in front of my face. I blinked twice and looked over at him. I guess I had zoned out for a little bit. I didn't even notice that we weren't even at my locker anymore.

"Sorry," I said, walking with him out the main doors to the school. "I was just thinking about something." I added, knowing he would want an explanation of what I was thinking about. I figured he would be able to go one day without knowing what I was thinking.

"It's okay. Sometimes you need to clear out all the junk in there." Fang said, lightly hitting me on the top of the head, as if he were saying my brain was too cluttered which, in a way, was actually true.

"So, guess what I saw today?" I asked him rhetorically. He usually never actually guessed when I said 'Guess what?' but I was hoping he was creative today.

"You saw a zombie UFO with dinosaur stickers?" He asked, mock enthusiasm oozing off of his words. I rolled my eyes, wondering how in the name of James Patterson he came up with that.

"Uh, no," I said, looking at him pointedly. He hung his head in feign shame. I laughed at him and continued what I was saying. "I saw a wonderful drawing on my English desk involving you and a certain Red-Haired Wonder." I had always called Lissa the Red-Haired Wonder, obviously, because of her red hair but some of it was because I didn't really like her. It wasn't that she was mean or anything, I just thought she was a little too hyper active for me. She was always talking and going out with a different guy every time I saw her but once she met Fang, she had eyes only for him. It was enough to make me sick.

"Oh, great," He said, groaning. "Just what I need: more rumors circulating about us 'going out'." He had raised his hands up and made air quotes as he said 'going out'. He really didn't find her too appealing in the boyfriend and girlfriend kind of way but they were still friends which really didn't bother me as much as it used to.

"I erased it. Don't worry." I said, smiling at him. I rocked back and forth as we walked through the parking lot to Fang's car. I always caught a ride with him because we were technically going to the same place anyway. Oh, did I forget to mention that Fang and I are neighbors? Oh, well, we're neighbors!

"Thank god," he said, grinning as I pushed him slightly in my rocking motion. "I don't know what I would do without you." He said, putting his arm around my shoulders and bringing me into his chest. I felt myself immediately warm up as soon as I felt his skin on mine. It was a nice change from the crisp December air but his touch sent cool electric jolts down my spine.

"You would be a wreck." I pointed out, thinking of how many times I've had to help him with the littlest things that really should be common sense. "You would be absolutely nothing without me!" I exaggerated proudly, grinning cheekily at him as we split up to go to opposite sides of the car. He unlocked it and I practically jumped in, realizing how cold it was out without Fang keeping me warm. He started up the car and looked over at me as I shuddered from the chilly air. He leaned over and rubbed his hand on my leg, smiling. I felt a tingling sensation run through all of my nerves as he touched me.

We pulled out of the parking lot and started our long journey (about ten minutes) home. We sat in silence for half the ride, not really having anything else to talk about. It wasn't the awkward kind of silence that a lot of people get when they're with friends. It was a content silence. We were both perfectly fine with the solitude of being with one another. That is, until one of us breaks the peace.

"So is Iggy coming to the game?" Fang asked, looking over at me from where we were stopped at a red light. "I need him there too, you know."

"I think he is." I answered, not actually knowing at all. I just figured I'd call and ask him later. "I'm not sure though." He muttered something about us both being there and I chuckled, randomly catching his attention.

"What are you laughing at?" He asked, glaring over at me.

"It's just that you think you need us there in order to do well at your games when, in reality, even if we weren't there you would do absolutely amazing." I said, the explanation not coming out as well as I thought it would in my mind. I mentally scolded myself for no real reason.

"I do need you guys there, or at least one of you." He said stubbornly. "Anyway, it's not that boring. I mean, one, Nudge is there to keep you company, and two, you get to see me in a uniform." He added, winking over at me.

I scoffed and muttered, "Sexist pig," causing him to laugh, making me get goose bumps. "Nudge is the one who needs me there, remember?" I said reminding him that Nudge really wasn't a very big fan of basketball. She still thought that when you get the ball in the hoop it's called a touchdown. We've done all that we can to set her straight but she's convinced. "And I see you in your uniform all the time. It's nothing special." I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Real mature," He said, admitting defeat.

"I never said I was!" I said, grinning. He smiled over at me as we pulled into his driveway. "So, you're driving me to the game, right?" I said, making sure that we knew what we were doing. Even though I had my own car, I never really drove it anywhere because I was always with friends when I was out. The only place I actually drove my Jeep was to work. Fang and I had taken a partnership in taking care of his Mustang considering that I loved it just as much as he did. We both paid put our blood sweat and tears (well, maybe not blood and tears, but there was a lot of sweat) into making it the best it can be.

"That would be correct." Fang answered, looking over at me from where he was drumming his fingers on the leather-covered steering wheel. "And your finding out if Iggy is coming, right?" He asked.

"That would also be correct." I stated, copying his tone. We laughed as we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways; him into his house and me over the short patch of grass over to mine. I pulled out my key, sliding it into the lock, and opened the door, inhaling deeply as the sweet smell of freshly baked cookies filled my lungs. I smiled as I dropped my bag on a hook hanging next to the door and put my phone on a long table running throughout the hallway.

I walked into the kitchen, still taking deep breaths. I looked over at the stove and saw a tray of chocolate chip cookies being held by Ella, my sister.

"Did you make these just for me?" I asked, grabbing one off of the tray. I tried not to burn my fingers as I pulled it off but failed miserably. I grunted in pain as I stuck my fingers under the faucet.

"Yes, yes I did." Ella said, chuckling softly. "Mom had to go to work to finish up some billing." She added as an afterthought, probably figuring it would be helpful for me to know.

"Okay," I said shortly, not really listening to her but instead becoming entranced by Ella's cookies. Even though my mom's cookies were amazing, Ella's were heavenly. It was always a treat when she cooked because I couldn't cook to save my life. "How was school?" I asked, looking down at her.

"Eh, it was okay," She said, her lip rising in distaste. "I really can't wait until I'm in high school with you but I can't believe I only get one year in the same school as you! Then you go to college!" She said, frowning. Ella was in the eighth grade this year, which meant that next year would be the only year that both of us were in the same high school. I was planning on making it a great year for her considering that after that I was barely going to be with her because of college and what not.

"I know, I can't wait until next year." I said, grinning at her. "I have homework. I'll be upstairs if you need anything." I said, grabbing another cookie off of the tray and heading upstairs where I figured I could kill some time before Fang's game. I just went to my desk and opened my laptop, opening a word document.

I still had no idea what to write about.


So, I played with their ages a little bit but it all still works.

This chapter pretty much introduced most of the characters that will be showing up more and more (along with the parents of Max/Ella and Fang/Nudge who were, in fact, not in this chapter).