The Runaways – Chapter 1
By MyNameIsCAL
Disclaimer: As always, as much as we'd all like to call Fang and Iggy our own, all Maximum Ride characters belong to Mr. James Patterson.
The point of view which the story is being told will change from character to character in order to get what's happening to each of them. Since I won't cover all the characters in this first chapter, here's the rundown for how things will play out for each character:
Max: In order to get Jeb into the story, we will have him play Max's father, as he really is biologically in the story, but Jeb and Dr. Martinez, better known as Mom, are divorced and Ella will still have her father who died when she was young.
Fang: As he suggested in the book, Fang's mother will be a drug addict. His father may drift in and out of the picture, but will most likely be nonexistent. He will be the first to run away from home, leaving his mother to her own mess and finding a way to survive by himself.
Gazzy & Angel: The two and only related flock members in the book, Gazzy and Angel decide to run when they overhear their parents selling them from money into some kind of human trafficking ring for drug money. Iggy will be their neighbor and they will influence him to run away with them.
Iggy: Ig will still be blind. And he'll still get around quite well. Along with Gazzy and Angel, Iggy is forced into running away with them. He doesn't quite have anything to run from, but Gazzy and Angel do. Through school, Fang also knows Iggy. Iggy plays an important role of joining everyone together.
Nudge: While hesitant to run away from her parents, she must as they are arrested by the law. The last thing Nudged wants to do is get thrown into a foster home or be an orphan. She will meet Iggy one day and he will save her.
---Max's POV---
"If you need anything, call me."
I got out of Mom's car. "Thanks."
She gave me a small smile. It was the same thing she said to me every time she dropped me off at my dad's house. Well, I didn't call him Dad. To me, he would be Jeb.
"I'm going to the mall tonight," Ella said as I pulled my bag out of the back. "If you need to get away."
"I might tag along," I nodded.
That was Ella, my half sister. Probably my best friend through all the mess Jeb had made. The fact that I was forced to spend every weekend with him didn't seem right to me, especially since he was so involved in his work. Mom insisted it was important that I still had time around Jeb and that it was important for Jeb to still be part of my life. I thought that was a load of bullshit, but until I turned eighteen, this was what I'd be stuck doing every weekend.
I didn't knock or ring the door bell, instead, I unlocked the door with my key and walked right in, straight into my room, and passed Jeb's office. It was a routine. In exactly ten minutes, he would appear in the doorway of my room and ask me what I wanted for dinner. My answer was always pizza and he'd leave forty bucks on the table, money which I used to go out, either with Ella or just by myself.
The thing was Jeb didn't care about me. Sometimes I would sneak back to Mom's house and sleep there. He wouldn't even notice and Ella promised never to tell Mom.
And tonight would be no different.
I grabbed the money Jeb left on the table after he returned to his office and made my way towards the mall on foot.
---Fang's POV---
Friday night. I hated Friday nights. It meant two whole days of being stuck picking up after my mother. After I was born, my father left because he couldn't give a damn about me. My mom sort of lost it after that and drowned herself in drugs. Sometimes I would come home and find bags or drugs just out in the open, my mother on the couch wasted.
Tonight was one of those nights.
She was passed out already. I grabbed a bunch of the bags and shoved them into my backpack. She couldn't support me and I didn't have time for a job, so I stole drugs from my mother and sold them out to this one rich kid from school. He was generous with the money, so I left some of it for my mom and kept the rest for myself. Right now I was saving up for a car.
"What you got today, Fang?" Josh asked as I walked into his apartment.
Fang. A name I had picked up from the Josh and his friends.
"Some coke and heroin." I threw the bags out on the table.
"Nice, Man." He grinned. "I'd ask where you get it from, but that would be conflict of interest, wouldn't it?"
"Yes it would." And I was glad he thought that because I didn't think stealing from my mother would go over well.
He handed me a wad of cash. "I'm going to a party. You wanna come?"
I shook my head. "I got some stuff to do."
"Suit yourself." Josh stuffed the drugs into his own bag. "I'll see you around."
My next stop: The mall.
---Max's POV---
The mall was filled with people. I found Ella waiting for me at the food court, alone.
"I thought you were coming with other people," I said, approaching her.
She shrugged. "They're at a party."
"Why didn't you go?" Ella was too nice to me.
"Well I wasn't going to let you walk around here alone and there are always drugs at those parties. I can't stand it," she muttered. "Josh and his idiot friends. They're only there to dish out the drugs, get money, and get girls. It's disgusting."
"Don't let me stop you from doing other things on Friday nights," I said anyway.
She shrugged. "I'd rather be here."
We continued to walk around the mall, stopping to eat at the burger joint. There was a guy sitting at the table behind Ella. He was dressed in all black and eating by himself. I recognized him from school and his name escaped me now, but he always looked lonely.
"What are you looking at?" Ella questioned.
The guy noticed I was staring at him and he gave me a half smile.
"Nothing," I muttered, returning a smile.
Ella glanced over her shoulder but he had already disappeared.
---Fang's POV---
Max, for as long as I had been selling my mother's drugs every Friday night, was at the mall every Friday night. Call me a stalker, but I spent almost every Friday night at the mall too. She went to my school, although most of the time I cut class because my mom needed looking after. How I kept my grades up was a mystery to me. If I remembered correctly, Max was in most of my classes.
Tonight was the first night she had noticed me though. There was something about her that I couldn't quite put my finger on, but it drew me towards her. Alright, maybe I sort of was a stalker.
The mall closed around ten. I watched Max and her sister say goodbye before I headed back towards the place I was supposed to call home.
"Have you seen my stuff?" My mother shook me by the shoulders as soon as I walked through the door.
"What stuff?" It was the same old routine every Friday night.
She sighed, shaking her head. "I'll be back later. Do you have any money?"
I pulled out two twenty dollar bills from my pocket and handed them to her. She ran out the door, not even closing it or saying goodbye.
---Max's POV---
Jeb was still in his office when I returned. He didn't even look up as I walked pass the door. After a shower, I climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking how things always felt worse when I was here. At Mom's house, I felt like I had nothing to worry about. But here, it was like a prison.
At midnight, Jeb would walk up his creaky stairs and head to his room. By six in the morning, he was gone to work. Jeb was a scientist. He worked for the government. Other than that, I didn't know much about what he did and I liked it that way.
Only two more days until I was back where my real home was.
Right, so another new fanfiction. I hope you enjoyed that first bit here. Next chapter will be coming soon. As always, thank you for reading and reviews would be appreciated.