Disclaimer: Okay, i don't own Maximum Ride and I'm not James Patterson. I'm just a fan who likes writing. So here goes:

I had tried not to run, honestly I had. But here I was, sitting in the top of a maple tree with leaves that were just starting to change color. I turned and leaned my forehead against the smooth bark.

Idiot! I though angrily at myself. I remembered my most recent talk with Ella, my half sister. You wouldn't find her running away from a kiss, I was pretty sure of that one. What was that boy's name again? Shaw? I'd have to ask Angel for help on that one. She was already planning to go to the Spring Fling with him, whatever his name was.

Of course, Ella probably wasn't used to playing mom and leader to a group of mutant bird kids.

And, right now, I wished that I wasn't in that position either. I wished that I could be a normal kid—okay, maybe not quite, that school back in Virginia was annoying as heck, but closer to normal than I was. Like, get rid of the whole Voice-in-my-head, 2% bird, constantly on the run thing.

I was so caught up in recreating my perfect life that I didn't notice that I was about to get company until Fang was just under a hundred yards away.

Holy (insert swear word here)! He'd followed me? I leaned back against the tree, trying not to move.

Don't see me, don't see me...

Except for the problem was, I wanted him to find me. Go figure. I guess teenage hormones are another thing I'd throw out the window in my perfect world.

Of course he saw me. So I did a bit of fast thinking and shook my hair down over my face. If I was lucky, it would cover the bright red I was sure my face was. Wait, why am I talking about luck here?

"Yo," Fang said, dropping neatly and almost soundlessly onto the branch next to me. Sometime I was going to have to make him tell me how he always managed to be so quiet.

"Hi," I said quietly.

Silence. My heart began to pound against my chest.

"So, you wanna talk?"

Gulp. "Um, are you mad at me?" God, I hated this. Just give me a plain old fight to the death any day.

"Not really."

Okay, that caught my attention. Especially since if it was me, I'd probably be pretty p. right now. No need to remember the whole Red-Haired-Wonder or Brigid. I peeked sideways through my curtain of hair.

To my amazement, Fang was grinning. Slowly I sat up a bit straighter and tucked half of my hair shield behind one ear.

"You aren't?"

He smiled at me, and I could see he was trying not to laugh. "You can thank Angel for that one," he informed me.

Sh...! Who knew what my thoughts had been like when I'd run away this time. "And?" I asked cautiously.

He just shook his head, fighting hard to keep from bursting out in laughter. I sat up completely straight and pushed the rest of my hair out of my face. "What?"

Fang seemed to collect himself. "Do you want to hear what she said, or should I spare her from your wrath?"

I cringed. "It was that bad?"

"Let me see... confusion. Definite confusion. Also fear, elation, longing, loneliness, um, and pain. Oh, yeah, confusion. I think that's it."

Why did this have to be the one subject that Fang was downright talkative about?

"Yeah?" My voice was tiny. I immediately hated myself for sounding like a wimp.

He shrugged. "Angel told me that you kept running, but I wasn't ever going after you. So I decided to try."

Something caught my attention. "So, is the whole flock in on this now?" Please say no. I could already hear Iggy and Gazzy laughing, and Nudge would never shut up.

"Just our wonderful little six-year-old."

Okay. I could manage that.

"Max?" Fang asked.

"Hmm?"

"What is it that you're scared of?"

I bit my lip. Gosh, Fang, good question. Let me get back to you when I figure it out. "I'm not sure," I said.

"Then can I try my theory?"

I nodded. At least if he was talking I wouldn't have to.

"We know you like to be in control, in charge of the situation." I started to retort, but he cut me off. "It's how we've all survived, because you've always known what to do. So I was thinking that maybe because you can't bluff your way through this, you're refusing to acknowledge that anything is different."

Which was pretty much the longest speech I'd ever heard Fang give. And was definitely annoying, because it made a bit too much sense for my liking.

I looked away, watching an actual bird land on a branch a few trees away. "Maybe. Is that a problem?"

Silence. I chanced a sideways glance at Fang. He was watching me with an exasperated look.

"Okay, so maybe it is a problem," I said.

Fang sighed. "Max, I don't want to scare you. If it wasn't for the problem that you obviously had with Lissa and Brigid, and what you said in Arizona, I might just let the whole thing drop."

I could feel my cheeks starting to burn. I couldn't believe he'd bring that up now. I'd acted pretty dopey when Mom took my chip out. It was even worse that Fang had actually heard the stuff I'd said. Suddenly, I remembered something I'd realized on the way to Antarctica.

"You never said anything back," I told my shoes.

I kept my gaze trained on my shoes even when an arm snaked around my waist and Fang pulled me against him. "I thought you'd guess," he said quietly. I was getting the 'how stupid can she get' vibe, but that didn't stop my heart from pounding even more at his closeness.

I looked up at him reproachfully. "You still could have said something." I almost asked if he'd said anything to the Red-Haired-Wonder or Brigid, but I didn't. No need to make him really mad.

Fang sighed. "You are the most annoying person that I know," he said flatly, "and you'll probably be the death of me, but I love you anyhow. Got that, Maximum Ride? I love you."

Angel had told me as much, but it was amazingly nice to hear Fang actually say it. Except... now it was probably my turn and I didn't want to make things worse by saying the wrong thing.

So, I tilted my head back a bit more... and I kissed him.

And let me tell you, it was amazing.

This is my first fanfic, i hope you like it. tell me what you think!