Disclaimer: I don't own Max Ride but I do own the plot and Liliana.

Liliana POV

"Class, we have two new students. Their names are Nicholas and Jeff. Their parents are traveling missionaries and I hope that you'll make them feel very welcome," the teacher eyed the class piercingly.

We have two temporary students. Their names are Fang and Iggy. They have no idea who their parents are.

I sighed and brushed my hair out of my eyes, studying the two boys at the front of the class. The first boy, Fang, was very tall, with dark hair and onyx eyes. He looked strong, but closed off and silent. He would be one to hold his secrets close. I smiled. Not that that would make a difference to me. The other boy, Iggy, was even taller and looked just as strong. However, he has the eyes of someone blind. Yet I could tell he was listening to every sound the class made and could probably distinguish our individual breathing patterns by now. Hmmm.

What would cause these boys to lie about their names and who their parents were? If they were nomadic, which it sounded like they were, then the weren't from an orphanage or they wouldn't even bothering enrolling in school. But they never knew their parents. Unless they……no. That was impossible. Nevertheless, I would investigate.

I went through the rest of the morning in a haze of impatience, constantly watching the clock, waiting for it to reach lunch where I could talk to Fang. When the bell finally rang signaling our release, I was out the door in seconds. Then I composed my self before walking over to Fang.

"Hello. My name is Liliana. I'm in your English class." I said quickly.

"Oh, hello. I'm Nick." Fang "Nice to meet you." He had an incredible voice. Slightly dark and alluring without trying to be.

"I'm glad you're in our class." Now why on earth did I say that? I must sound like an incredibly horny moron. Well, no taking it back now.

"Why?" Fang looked at her sharply.

"You're very intriguing. I have to ask. Have you ever heard of Itex?" There goes all pretense of subtlety.

"No, not ever." Yes.

I smiled. "I thought so Fang."

He seemed to tense up and go into a fighter's stance. "How do you know my name?" he whispered.

"You are not the only Itex experiment that is loose in the world. You know that already."

Fang POV

Well, I guess we could go to school for a few months. It's not as if the government officials can keep us for long, but having an expected bed and regular meals sounded a bit to good to pass up right now. I watched the class and the teacher introduced me and Iggy. I had already memorized escape routes. One face caught my eye. It was a girl in the fourth row, fifth seat from the right. She had hair that shown like a starless night sky that curled just under her chin. She brushed it away from her eyes impatiently. They were royal blue with just a hint of silver in them. She seemed to be listening to the teacher and something else at the same time. Kind of like Max with the Voice. I shook his head and walked to my seat to begin the day.

The rest of the morning was pretty ordinary. More introductions, more learning. Did you know that the scientists even demoted Pluto from being a planet? First they control what genes they put in people, then they control what is actually a planet. What next? Also, a lot of flirtatious glances from the girls. Is this what all 16 year old guys feel like? That the girls are determined to hunt them down and claim them? Anyway, things were ordinary until lunch.

Near the beginning, the girl I had noticed from first period walked toward me. Iggy was over talking to Nudge and I couldn't see Max so I was on my own. I sighed inwardly and waited to see what she had to say.

"Hello. My name is Liliana. I'm in your English class." Wow, her voice certainly matched the pixie looks. And those eyes. I had never seen anything like them.

I had to pull himself away from the force of those eyes to respond, "Oh, hello. I'm Nick."

"I'm glad that you're in my class." she said.

"Why?" I looked at her sharply. Was this going to be another Lissa? I did not want to go through that again, even though Max wouldn't get jealous this time. Just laugh.

"You're very intriguing. I have to ask. Have you ever heard of Itex?"

She couldn't possibly know. "No, not ever."

She just smiled. "I thought so Fang."

I tensed and slipped into my fighter's stance. "How do you know my name?" I whispered.

"You are not the only Itex experiment that is loose in the world. You know that already." Then a group of her friends swarmed up to her and swept her away, bombarding her with questions about various things. I just stood staring after her.

"Nick? You look like you've seen a ghost. Or a girl that actually attracts your interest. If it is she must be positively gorgeous to compare with me."

I turned around and saw Max standing there. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes. One that I recognized as her finding a guy she thought might be worth the effort to date. She found one at every school but none of them had lasted beyond a month.

"Who is it now? I can at least tell you if they compare with your last one since we know none of them compare with me."

She just laughed. "I was thinking that guy over there. The one over there with the red-gold hair and the blue eyes. I think he is pretty cute and he was very nice and not to predatorial in science so I might have a chance. What do you think?"

"I think that he is too handsome to still be single but you could try your charms. They've worked well enough before. You might even find one that lasts longer than Brian's month. However, I don't think anyone will beat my year." Max punched him in the arm.

"So who's the girl that you think will beat my year? You haven't even looked at any other girls after me." She tossed her hair playfully.

I suddenly became far more serious and Max could tell. You lowered her voice and asked, "What happened?"

"Do you see the girl over there? Night black hair with the blue eyes. She knew my name."

Max raised her eyebrow. "You are at a school where people often use names."

I rolled my eyes. "No. She called me Fang." Max stared at me and her eyes opened wider. I quickly related the whole conversation.

She smiled grimly and murmured, "I think that I need to meet this girl."

I led her over to where Liliana was sitting. As one, all of her friends swiveled to look at me and fell silent. Their scrutiny made the beginnings of a blush creep up my neck. "Uhh…Liliana? Can I talk to you for a second?" I stuttered.

"Of course." she rose gracefully from the cluster of her friends and told them she'd be back. We walked for a short distance to a more secluded section. Then Max smiled at Liliana.

"Hi. I'm Max. I just wanted to talk with you about the conversation you had with Nick earlier. I have some questions. How did you hear about Itex and how did you know his name?"

"Well, it is as I told Fang, you are not the only Itex experiment that is living in the world. Not all of them have gifts like yours, but each gift that allows the experiment to survive is a blessing and a curse in its own way. I have my own gift and it tells me many things that no one else knows." she said.

Max was getting impatient. "Will you talk straight? Tell me exactly how you knew! What is your gift?"

Liliana suddenly blushed. "I'm sorry. I'm so used to talking in riddles and half-truths to disguise my gift. It is not as easily disguised as yours."

"Well, what is it then?" Max nearly screamed.

"I can always tell when I'm being lied to and what the truth is behind the lie. I'm an enhanced truthsayer."

"A truthsayer? And what is that supposed to mean?" Max asked. Her voice dangerously quiet. Uh-oh.

"Well, someone at Itex heard stories about people that could tell when they were being lied to and they wanted to see if they could enhance the quality so then the person would not only know that they are being lied to but would know the truth as well. I am the result. So that was how I knew Fang's real name. When the teacher spoke I heard what was actually true."

"So if you were such a successful experiment, why did they let you go?" Max had not gotten any less suspicious, and I had to admit, I was also suspicious of her story now.

"Because I wasn't a success. I was a failure. Oh I knew when someone was lying to me and what the truth was, but there was a side effect to this. Now I can not lie. Believe me I've tried." The bitterness is her voice on those last words could have been apparent to anyone with half an ear.

"So if you were such a failure, how is it you were not destroyed?" Max wondered, still looking daggers at Liliana.

"Both of my parents were high up in the Itex hierarchy. They pulled some strings arguing that since the only thing was that I couldn't lie and I knew the truth then I wouldn't be a danger to anyone. And I wouldn't interfere with Itex in anyway. So they brought me here and I live as normal a life as possible and the School comes and checks up on me every now and then." she shrugged her shoulders. "If you do not believe me that is ok. I did not mean any harm. But I needed to tell Fang that I knew his name somehow otherwise it would slip out some time and then you would all leave because you would think I was a spy. I just thought I needed to tell you."

Max looked at her. I could see the wheels turning in her head. Finally she gave a small sigh and said, "I think that you should meet the rest of the flock. It could prove interesting." Liliana merely nodded her consent.