Maximum Martinez moves in with her sister and mother, in a city called Flagstaff. There, she meets a group of kids, close as a flock of birds, and doubly loyal. She has to adjust to a new location, new scars, and new friends. Will she be able to make it?

Cliche as all getup, but it's good, trust me!

"Max, are you alright? You look a little pale, and-"

"No, Ella, I'm fine." I couldn't help the harshness of my tone; I was tired, she had already asked me multiple times, and I didn't want to be here, flying away from my lifelong home (Boulder, oh how I would miss you) to some town in Arizona. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling quite the best. I wanted to stay in Boulder, with my father, and my school, and my friends! I wanted to be able to visit my little brother whenever I wanted.

But I couldn't, so I would just have to suck it up.

I glanced to my left, drinking in the unfamiliar sight of my mother and sister. They had moved away to Arizona when Ella was six and I was seven; after she and Jeb Batchelder, my father, had divorced. I was told that there had been a big fight about where I would go (Ella was much closer to our mother than our father, so it was a given that she would stay with her), but Jeb had protested that he would be all alone in our large house without me there to keep him company.

'I need you, Max,' he would tell me. 'You know how bad I'd be if I were out here all alone. I need to take care of Ari, and I won't be able to handle it without you.' I needed to keep him sane, watch over my newborn half brother, and be there, for him.

Not that I did that much- he was always at work, or in town, or out of the state, leaving his eldest daughter to fend for herself.

But I didn't mind.

At least, not until I found out who he had been spending all of his time with. A woman, not my mother, or even Ari's. His own boss, Miss Anne Walker. I had never liked her- her obviously fake sympathy set my teeth on edge- but the fact that she was sleeping with my own father made my stomach twist in disgust. Soon after they were 'found out', Ari was plucked away by his mother, and he was replaced my Anne. She was always there, drinking her protein shakes and cooking us frozen dinners (she was supposed to be a mom, right?). I had told Jeb multiple times that I 'strongly disliked' her, and that I couldn't be in the same house as her- she had to go.

His only response was that if I disliked his choices in life, maybe I should just move in with my mother.

I don't think he thought I would take him seriously, but here I was, seated on a plane headed towards Arizona. My mother and sister had been overjoyed, telling me that I would love it. The school was wonderful, the town itself was beautiful, and (as Ella added) the boys were adorable. That wasn't really a big concern of mine; I had very recently broken up with my last boyfriend, and I wasn't looking for another.

Really though, I was excited. It was the beginning of the school year, and I was going to be starting my freshman year in a new town, with new people. It would be… thrilling, for a lack of a better word.

By the time I stepped off of my plane, I was sweating. It was so much warmer down here in Arizona, much hotter than it had been in Colorado; despite the fact that it was only a few states away. I was thankful that I had worn a tank top, but my jeans almost felt sweltering. I should have worn the shorts that Ella and my mother had advised me on, but I had made my decision, and I was going to stick with it, for now. The first think I was going to do was change into some fresh clothes.

My mom assured me that the car ride would only be half an hour with bad traffic, so we piled into her car. Ella and I were forced to both sit in the back, because 'It would be unfair if one of you got the front and the other was stuck all alone in the back!'.

Really, she probably just wanted some alone time. She had been siting between Ella and I on the plane ride, and had to endure three hours of us talking around her as she tried to sleep. I felt kinda bad for her but hey, I hadn't seen Ella in years!

We continued our thread of conversation, which mostly consisted of my asking if we had any neighbors around our age in the neighborhood and what they were like. She was starting to explain a few of them -she had a best friend named Nudge?- when we pulled into the driveway. I jumped out of the car as soon as it was still, taking a deep breath. Here I was. There wasn't any turning back, no last moment decisions; it was all set in stone as soon as I stepped through this doorway.

Ella practically skipped inside, motioning for me to follow, and I did so with no hesitation.

This is my first Maximum Ride fanfiction- comments and reviews are always appreciated!