Chapter One: Expiration Date

"Max!" Nudge called from outside the bathroom door of our house. "Max, hurry up!"

"I'll be our in a sec, Nudge," I called back, pulling a brush through my long blond hair. "Just hold on!"

I was just pulling my hair back into a ponytail when I saw it in the mirror. On the back of my neck were three small numbers. Squinting, I turned my neck so that I would be able to see better. I paled when I realized what it was. My expiration date. I squinted trying to read the small numbers.

Oh crap! I thought, reading the numbers. That date tattooed on my neck read one week from now.

Stunned I sat on the toilet. One week. That was all the time that I had left. Groaning, I put my head in my hands. What was I going to do? How could I tell Nudge and Angel what had happened? Would I die before seeing my brothers again? This was all too much too soon.

Outside the door, I could hear Nudge murmuring to Angel. Any second now, Angel would start reading my mind. I quickly threw up my mental shields.

Max? I winced as Angel's voice floated through my mind.

What, sweetie? I replied.

Nudge wants to know if something's wrong. Is there?

No.

Then why were you thinking of the guys? she asked.

Damn Angel and her mind reading abilities. I was just wondering where they were. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. What would you and Nudge think about going to go see them?

The loud squeal from outside answered that question. With one more look in the mirror, I opened the door and found Nudge and Angel jumping happily up and down.

"Ohmigod!" Nudge was screaming. "This is going to be soooo cool! I can't wait to see them! I wonder if they've changed at all. Well, of course they've changed. We haven't seen them it four years. How are we going to find them?"

I gave a small smile and walked down the hall to our living room which held a T.V., two couches and… a computer. "I was thinking of checking out Fang's Blog. Seeing if he still keeps it up and if it gives us any idea about where they might be." I pushed the power button and the computer hummed to life.

"Nudge?"

Grinning, Nudge closed her eyes and pressed her hand to the computer screen. A moment later, Fang's Blog popped up on the screen. I scrolled down to find the most recent entry. I quickly scanned the paragraphs.

"New York," I announced before shutting the computer off. I turned to smile at the two jumping kids beside me. "We're going to New York."

It took us two days in New York to track down the boy's house. Now we were standing outside of their front door, hopefully. They lived in a large white house with black shutters, courtesy of Fang I'm sure.

"Are you ready?" I asked the girls, who nodded eagerly. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. I winced as I realized that it sounded more like pounding.

Me and the girls waited nervously outside for what seemed like hours. I was just raising my fist to knock again when the door opened.

A tall, blond guy was standing at the door looking out. Well, not looking out because his eyes were completely sightless. He was blind.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Hey Iggy," I said, trying to sound casual. "How's it been?"

Iggy frowned. "How did you know-" He reached out and took my hand, feeling my fingers. That's one of his skills. He can identify a person by feeling their fingerprints. When he found mine, he paled. "M-max?! Is it really you?"

"No, it's the Easter Bunny," I retorted, giving him a hug. "Yes, it's me. And Angel and Nudge too."

Iggy grinned and hugged me back. Then he reached out to hug Nudge and Angel who ran into his arms. We were all grinning like maniacs and for one moment, I forgot that I had five days left to live.

"I can't believe you guys are here!" Iggy said. "What will Gazzy and Fang say?"

"Where are they?" I asked.

"They went out to get some groceries," Iggy replied, leading us into the house. It was HUGE! Way bigger then out house. "They should be back any minute now. I can't wait to see their faces."

"Um, Ig? I hate to tell you this, but you're blind. You won't be seeing their faces."

Iggy scowled and hit me playfully on the arm as he led us into the living room. "It's a figure of speech." I laughed and flopped down onto the large couch. Damn, it was good to see him again.

As soon as I sat, we heard the front door open. Suddenly, I felt very nervous. What would they say when the saw me? What would Fang say? I glanced at my sisters and was relieved to see that they too were looking a bit nervous.

"Iggy?" a deep voice called out. "Where are you, man?"

"In the living room," Iggy called back.

We heard footsteps and a moment later, two guys entered the room.

Oh my gosh, Gazzy had grown! He was no longer the mischievous little kid. Now he looked, well older, and some how more mature. And Fang. As much as I hated to admit it, he had grown better looking then the last time I had seen him. His black hair was still too long. When they saw us, they froze.

"Um, sorry Ig," Fang said, looking at us. "We didn't know you had friends over."

"That's okay," Iggy replied, standing. "These are my friends Max, Angel, and Nudge."

"Nice to-" Fang said before cutting himself off. He squinted at the three of us and then looked at Iggy then back at us. By now we were all standing and watching each other.

Gazzy was the one to break the uncomfortable silence. Laughing, he dropped the bags that he had been carrying and ran over to hug me. Smiling, I squeezed him hard. Nudge and Angel joined in the little hug-fest and soon, we were all saying how much we had missed each other. Everyone, that is, except for Fang.

I looked up to see him watching me. Our eyes locked and through that special way we had I could tell what he was thinking. We'll talk later.