Rose's POV

Riding in a minivan with seven people really isn't fun. Gazzy had to sit in between the seats in the back only because he wanted to and because there wasn't enough room, and Total sat with Max, who sat shotgun.

"This is a neat car." Nudge said, looking out the window.

"Thanks." I replied, turning left onto my street. We had quickly stopped at Safeway, where I had gotten pancake batter and more M&M's

"Just a warning, I live in an apartment complex, with one bedroom. The other bedroom is my art studio. Someone can sleep with me, I have two couches, so two people can sleep on the couches, and three people are going to have to sleep on the floor. But I have an air mattress and blankets and sleeping bags, so we should be set. And there was something else…" I mused. "OH right! Total, I have a cat, don't eat him."

"Eat him?!" What kind of undignified dog do you think I am?" He huffed.

"I dunno, I've only known you for like, thirty minutes." I shrugged.

"This is all very nice. You don't have to do this for us." Max insisted.

"I see six kids out in the woods with wings and they're starving? What else am I supposed to do?" I parked in my parking spot, turned off the car, and hopped out.

We walked down the hallway, and I turned a corner, and there was my apartment, on the left. I took out my key and opened the door.

"Welcome to Mi Casa!" I said proudly, swinging the door open.

In truth, my apartment was a mess. I had uncleaned dishes in the sink, my computer and school work was all across the table, and there were clothes strewn all over my room.

"Wow. This is so neat!" Gazzy yelled, running inside. Total followed.

We all walked in, and Gazzy threw himself on the couch.

"Gazzy…" Max warned.

"He's fine." I waved it off. "He's just being a kid."

"Where's your cat?" Max asked, looking from room to room.

"He comes and goes." I shrugged.

"What's in here?" Nudge opened the door to my art studio.

If they thought that the apartment was a mess, they were not prepared for the art room. Everything was neatly in it's spot, my sketchbooks were on the table, surrounded by mason jars filled with paint brushes, colored pencils, and normal pencils.

"Whoa." Nudge whispered in awe, walking over to my bookshelf filled with books on how to draw anime and normal books, like Harry Potter and stuff.

"Yeah. I'm an art student in college." I said proudly.

"Hey Rose." Fang stuck his head inside the room.

"What?" I asked, turning around.

"Can I borrow your car?" He asked casually.

"Why…" I asked warily.

"I was thinking of Taco Bell."

"Oh, then yeah, sure." I said, relived. "Can you drive?"

"Uh huh."

"Then be my guest." I waved it off and pulled out a book to show Nudge.

"Can I come?" Gazzy asked from the other room.

"Yeah, why not? Max, credit card." After about two minutes I could hear them leave, the front door shutting.

"What's that?" Nudge asked, pointing to my electric guitar in the corner.

"My guitar." I picked it up and played a few chords.

"Awesome." Nudge grinned.

"Hey, Can I take a shower?" Iggy asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, do you need help?" I asked.

"Nah, I'm good." and he walked right into the bathroom.

"I thought he was blind." I asked Nudge.

"Yeah. But he can feel things and makes like, a mental map in his head of where things are." She explained, turning a page.

"Ah, right." I played some more chords and placed it down.

"What's this?" Nudge asked, picking up my songbook.

"I write songs in there."

"'Just like a needle in a haystack, another day when we run with the wolf pack'… That's real neat." She said, giving it back to me and giving me a smile.

"Thanks. It's a work in progress of course…" I trailed off and Max walked in.

"Wow. Very artsy." She said.

"Thanks." I replied.

"Hey, Total needs to use the restroom. Where's the nearest lawn?" She asked.

"Oh here." I walked into the kitchen, where Total was whining and scratching at the door.

"I gotta go!" He yelped.

"Here." I reached down and picked him up. He wrigled for a bit, and then settled. I opened the door, and shut it behind me. I quickly ran outside, and set him down in the grass.

"Ahhh." He relaxed. "Don't watch!" He yelped, and I turned around quickly, suddenly facing one of the cutest boys in the complex.

"Hey." He said.

"Oh! Hey Brian!" I yelped, blushing furiously.

"Hey Rose. I didn't know you have a dog. What's her name?" He asked, bending down to scratch Total behind the ears.

"Her name? Her name is… Luna." I stuttered, trying to come up with a name on the run. I saw that Total was getting pissed off.

"Hey, sorry I have to cut this short, but I have lots of homework to do, and I really need to get that done." I said as I bent down to pick up Total.

"Definitely, no problem." He said, winking. "Catch you around some time then." And he walked down the opposite hallway, as I stood there, stunned.

"Was he flirting with me?" I muttered.

"Her." Total fumed. "I look like a male, right? Maybe I just need a haircut."

"Was he?" I repeated.

"I don't know, humans are confusing." He grumped. A little dazed, I opened the door to the apartment, and found Fang and Gazzy distributing Taco Bell.

"Here's yours." Fang said, holding out my box. I set Total down and picked it up, the warmth flooding through my hands.

After dinner, we sat around and watched T.V. Then, we decided who was going to get what bed. We decided Nudge was going to sleep with me, Gazzy and Angel would get the couches, and Iggy, Max, and Fang would sleep on the floor.

I was sitting up in bed, listening to Nudge's soft snores and writing in my notebook, when I heard some talking from the kitchen. I slowly creeped out of bed, and opened the door a crack to find Max and Fang standing in the kitchen and talking in hushed voice.

"-The same scar? All these similarities connect. You need to talk to Jeb. Or your Mom, or someone." Fang hissed.

"She is not. In a few days we'll be leaving and all this will be over." Max hissed back. I frowned. Leaving? Why? They just got here!

"Why do we always need to be on the run? Why can't we just stay in one place in peace?" Fang snapped.

"You know why. It's not safe. It isn't now and it never will be." Max snapped.

"God damn Max, can't you think of someone other than yourself." Fang snarled.

"I am. I'm thinking of what's best for the flock-"

"What's best for the flock is if we just relax and get rest and just lay low for a while. Hell, lay low for years. That's what's best." Max paused, staring at the floor.

"Okay fine. We can stay. But at the first sign of danger, we're out of here, okay?" Max didn't wait for an answer, she pushed past Fang towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Fang asked.

"Night fly." And she shut the door behind her.