This picks up from Chapter 123 in School's Out Forever. Just something that's been floating around in my head for a while. Fang and Max 2's point of view; begins in Fang's. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride, James Patterson does.
"Okay, how about some eggs?" Max opened the door to the minifridge and peered inside. I furrowed my brow and stood behind her.
"You're going to cook?"
She turned to look at me, and a confused look came over her face. Genuinely confused. Alright, it was already pretty obvious: this was not Max. This had 'sick-School-project' written all over it. "Aren't you hungry?"
"Not that hungry," I heard Gazzy say from somewhere behind me.
Iggy stood up and started walking over to Max. "I'll do it. Gaz, you pour juice. Nudge, get out the paper plates."
"But you're blind," Max said. Or, rather, the Max look-a-like said.
"You're kidding! I am?" Iggy brushed past Max and turned on the stove. "Who wants scrambled?"
"Me," said Nudge.
Max's expression suddenly changed from confused to confident, and she picked up a backpack. "Nudge? Come over here and I'll fix your hair. We could do, like, ponytails or something, get it out of your eyes."
"You want to fix my hair?" Nudge asked, looking up from the paper plates.
"Yeah." She bit her lip and looked around the room, which I usually thought was freaking adorable, but something about the way this Max clone was doing it took all the appeal away. "Oh, and hey-- you-- off the bed." She snapped her fingers at Total, who merely stared at her.
"Why can't he sit on the bed?" Angel asked.
"Because I said so." Max started to run the brush through Nudge's hair. I stared at her, and so did Angel and the Gasman. Iggy turned away from the stove to turn and gaze in her general direction.
For a minute she didn't notice, and then she looked up to see us all looking at her. "What?"
"Max, can I talk to you?" I motioned with my head to the door that led into the hallway. She nodded hesitantly and followed me, letting the door fall shut behind us.
I took a deep breath as I looked at her. If somehow I was terribly mistaken and this was the real Max all along, I would pay for what I was about to do. But it was the only way, besides having Angel throw aside her morals and invade Max's head, to confirm whether or not this was really my best friend.
Slowly, I inched forward, until there was me and Max and the wall, pressed together like a sandwich. I placed my hands on her waist and leaned down so our noses were just barely touching.
If I could ever be in this position with the real Max, I'd be the happiest man on Earth.
Pushing that thought aside, I waited for her to snarl or backhand me. It didn't happen.
Alright. So this was a clone of the love of my life. She'd no doubt been prepped on how she was supposed to act, Max's relationship with each of us.
She was in for a little surprise.
I inwardly smirked, thinking that this would be fun.
000
My eyes went wide as Fang rubbed his nose against mine. Why did nobody tell me Maximum Ride was dating the guy? Hello, that may have been helpful information to have!
Fang paused, his eyes half-shut, as if waiting for something. What was I supposed to do? I didn't know the old Max's mannerisms for making out!
Just as I decided I was going to kiss him and see what happened, he opened his eyes all the way and whispered huskily, "We haven't had any time alone in a while." His breath was hot, and I could feel it on my face, he was so close.
"Um, no, we haven't," I said.
"I missed it," he said.
"Yeah, me too."
000
It was so hard not to laugh, watching her try to play along, wondering why she didn't know about the real Max's relationship. I pulled my face away from hers but kept my hands on her waist. "Do you remember when we talked about going to Vegas and eloping?"
000
I tried to stop my eyes from going wide. They were going to Vegas? To elope? No wonder they wanted me to replace the old Max! She was too busy swooning over this emo bird kid to focus on the world!
"Um, yeah. I remember."
"I've thought about it and I really think we should do it. Right away. Tonight?"
And this was her second-in-command? Jeezum, he wasn't helping her stay on track at all. Maybe this flock wouldn't have needed me if the blind kid had been in charge!
"We're raiding Itex tonight," I said, forcing patience into my voice.
"Tomorrow, then?"
000
I watched in delight as the Max clone got a pained look on her face. If she stayed with us instead of the real Max, she was going to have to listen to me talk about eloping. All the time.
"Um, I think we need to break up," she said. "It's not working."
"But I love you," I said, trying hard not to burst out laughing.
000
Lovesick emo bird boy would not let the eloping go. I narrowed my eyes at him, wriggled to make him drop his hands from my waist, and crossed my arms. "If you really love me, you'll want me to be happy. And what would make me happy would be for you to leave me alone."
With that, I stepped around him and marched right back into the hotel room. The kid just got dumped by a girl he wasn't actually going out with, and he had no idea I wasn't her. What an idiot.
000
Once the door clicked shut behind Max's clone, I leaned against the wall, cracking up, barely managing to keep it quiet. She probably thought she had me all figured out now, that I was weak, that she had us right where she wanted us.
Well, she was sure in for a surprise.
I don't know if I like this… but I'm going to post it because I don't really have anybody to read over it. Tell me what you think! REVIEW!
