Jeb and Max, on his regrets. He's not allowed to have them.
-
Jeb watched Max, standing there, her back to him. She was so beautiful.... He could read the tension in her shoulders, in the tight set of her wings. He gave a small, sad smile, even though she couldn't see it.
"What do you want, Jeb?" Max asked, her voice harsh. She didn't turn around. Maybe that could be a sign of trust, but he knew this was Max's way of saying you can't hurt me.
"Nothing. Just thinking."
A pause. She decided to bite. "About?"
Jeb hesitated just a little brfore answering. "You. The Flock... and Ari." Max wound even higher, looking ready to fight or fly. Jeb pressed forward, perhaps stupidly, perhaps blindly, maybe sorry. "I truly regret betraying you. Can you ever for-"
Max exploded. She whirled, every movement showing rage. Her face was twisted in anger, her wings flared--it makes her look like a vengeful angel how could we ever think to control this force--her eyes on fire with fury. "You have no right to regret!" She screamed at him. It had the undertones of a bird's screech. "You made a choice, a decision, one you could have made differently. It was an option for you, unlike most of ours. You're not allowed to have that regret. Be a man for once and take responsibility for what you got the luxury of choosing to do! You could have stayed. Things might be worse or better or exactly the same, but you aren't allowed to regret a decision that was yours and yours alone to make." By the end or her rant, Max was practically spitting her words at him.
He opened his mouth, maybe to defend himself, maybe to protest, but found no words would come to him. Even as he was trying to refuse it, the epiphany came to him. It took three seconds for Max to tire of waiting for a response from Jeb, and she took off. The downdraft of her wings beat at him, and Jeb found he could only agree.
He couldn't regret even one thing that made Maximum Ride the young woman she turned out to be.