I was sitting there, waiting.

For what, I didn't know. Death? Liberation? Freedom?

My golden hair tickled the back of my neck-- I had hacked it off with my blade earlier today in my attempt to look decent. During the long trek on my way here, I realized that I looked terrible; dirt matted my face and hands, and my hair was practically snarling at me.

I resembled that girl that used to fly in the most breathtaking adventures, and I couldn't stand to look at her. Enough said.

I was now sitting inside the hawk's cave, holding back tears and hating Fang, who single-handedly split the flock apart and left me alone. He had caused me so much pain, and I wanted to kill him for it- or at least give him the beating of a lifetime, complete with at least twenty broken bones and countless bruises.

And yes- that might be the most of the old Max that you'll ever see in this excerpt.

I still missed him, though. I was still plagued by the disease that stupid people called a blessing. Love.

That was why I was here, in the hawk cave. Even though it was twelve years until our "date", I had been driven here to think. Very un-Max-like, I know.

My only warning of his approach was a shadow skimming the dusty cliff's surface and the bottom of the abysmal canyon. Just as I had scrambled to the rear of the cave, pressing into the wall and scrambling in the bone-dry soil, ebony wings folded and a tall, dark man dropped from the sky.

From my hind view, I could see that his hair had grown significantly longer. He had grown taller as well; his head would scrape the top of the cave if he tried to enter. All his previous baby fat was gone, as he was considerably leaner. Muscles rippled under his pale flesh, toughened over the years of living without flock members watching his back.

When inky eyes met my own, I could sense the shock behind them. After all, if you knew that you had practically murdered the person in front of you, and there they were, you would be too. Oh, what I would give to become invisible…

"Max?" Came his voice as a deep, velvety baritone. It didn't waver.

"Fang," I said. It hadn't been a question. "Why are you here?"

Silence.

So I asked again. "What are you doing here, Fang?"

"The same thing as you, I guess." He murmured, drawing out the words.

I could feel my features distort in utter rage. Anger pulsed through my veins as I stared into his eyes- the very ones that had once captivated me.

"You can't even say that anymore. You don't know me." I stood, crunching the earth beneath my boots.

Silence.

"Nobody has any idea of the things I've gone through. My life is a train wreck. I've wished time and time again that some eraser will just come to finish me off, or that my expiration date will show up."

"No. You don't want that-" came his quiet whisper.

"The flock followed your lead and left, just when I needed them the most," I rasped, "Whatever's left of anything from my old life is long gone, and it's all your fault."

On that note, my brisk footsteps echoed as I rushed out of the cave, hurrying to escape from him, but a long arm barred my way. I gave it a hard shove, and Fang let me though. Quickly, I strode up to the wall of sheer stone and began climbing to the uppermost level of the canyon. Sweat dripped down my brow as I worked my way upward. I was about 40 feet over the cave when he spoke again:

"Max."

I spun around in confusion and rage, seeing Fang once again, his wings spread out as he hovered behind me. As I moved to push him away, my hold on the rock vanished and I was plummeting downwards, not willing and not able to catch myself.

Air whistled past me in a way that it hadn't in what seemed like forever. I wanted to keep falling, just to feel like I was flying once more. There was adrenaline spilling into my limbs, and my heart fluttered deep in my chest. I let my torso go limp, and spread my arms out gleefully, as if I were about to take flight, relishing the familiar position. Though it was different from my usual experience, I cherished it, and almost released a laugh in the lengthy seconds that I dropped. I was flying in a different way; free-falling.

But in the end, Fang caught me, suspending me mere feet from my death.

Numerous offenses spun around my head, after all, why would I, Maximum Ride, ever need to be helped? Yet I remained silent. Fang flew me back up to a long ledge along the stone walls and gingerly let me go. When I faced him with steely eyes, his brow was furrowed, deep in thought.

I knew what was coming—and I would throw myself over again in order to avoid that one question. It would practically destroy me on the spot. So of course, he asked, feeling my distress through our mental connection.

"Why didn't you just fly?"

I could barely retain my stoic expression, as I responded, "None of your business."

"Max-"

"None of your business!" I hissed, "I-I…"

The words wouldn't leave my mouth. When I reached my hand up to deliver a powerful slap to his face, Fang caught it and held it in his strong grip. His hard gaze totally shattered my defenses. Sobs began to rack my body, and the tears spilled over my cheeks in a way that I hadn't since the flock dissipated. Oh, God, why was I so weak sometimes? How could Fang always melt me?

I nearly recoiled from shock as I felt Fang's black-clad shoulders embrace me and his long fingers caress my hair. It felt so foreign to be in his arms again, yet I was comforted.

"… It's because I can't, Fang." I felt like I was choking. "My wings… are gone…"

I looked up at his face, which had contorted in horror at my confession. We had grown up together, and he had known how much flying meant to me; it was my life, and it allowed me to survive. Wings were a blessing disguised as a curse- the whitecoats had hunted the flock for so many years because of it, but the raw joy of flying was not comparable to any other feeling in the world. My wings defined me, and when I lost them, it was like a piece of my heart had been ripped out, leaving a gaping bloody hole.

"What… happened?" Fang managed, his eyes glazing over.

I began sobbing again, pressing my face to his chest and soaking his shirt.

"I was alone. And the last of the erasers came to the house after everyone else left. There was a fight." I clenched my fists. "There were too many for me to take on my own, and they were just piling on me. I was lying on the floor, and one of them had a knife, so he sliced off one of my wings. Then, the next thing I knew, the world was black... But when I woke up, the knife was still on the floor by me, so I…I had to slice off the other. It was better that way. I couldn't fly with one wing.

"But Fang, it hurt so much. It wasn't just the physical." I winced as I remembered crimson spattered across the floor, and the blade in my hand, blurred by tears, "I couldn't bear it, not being able to fly all these years. That on top of the flock leaving was horrifying. All I could do was run- run far away from everything, and try to forget all those scars left behind.

"It was your fault." My voice hardened as much as it could, "You made the flock leave! When they were gone, it left an opening. When they were gone the erasers could do this to me! All because you weren't there."

My eyes searched his out, needing to see his reaction. The backstabber needed to pay. However, when I angled my head to look up at him, his lips descended onto mine in a saddening reunion kiss.

The boiling anger and misery vanished instantly, and for a moment, I nearly forgot the time we spent apart. The scars were healing.

Then, with me still in his arms, he unfolded his massive wings and lifted us into the air.

As we gained altitude, he whispered one simple phrase that made everything better, "I'm sorry. I can be your wings now."

A/N:

Ok, so this is my first Maximum Ride fic. It was very cheesy, and I'm sorry for that. For me this was a way to "jump-start" my fiction writing again. I haven't really written in so long. Plus I really, really stink with dialogue. But anyways, tell me what you think! I really want/need the feedback!!!

* Gives cookie* XD

Also, for those of you that read my SasuSaku stories, I'm sorry that the stories haven't been updated. I keep coming back to the computer trying to write a new chapter, but nothing comes to mind. Meep. I would say that I would update soon, but it's still indefinite. XP

R & R!!!