Chapter two is here!

Disclaimer: The last time I checked I was not James Patterson *checks again*, no, still little old me. *dang it*

Fang POV

I looked up, surprised to see an actual ceiling above my head. It took me a minute before I remembered where I was. I was at Liv's place. On the top bunk in her little brother's room. You should have seen the look on her mom's face when she brought me home. Mister tall, dark and winged.

*Flash back* the night before, Ozzy's.

I briefly considered her question. And I couldn't help but tell the truth. "No." was all I said. Liv nodded, as if expecting the answer. She took another sip of Sprite. "You wanna stay with me?" She looked serious enough. I thought about it. Though not for long. "That would be nice." I finally concluded. She grinned, finishing the last bite of her Philly cheese steak.

She waved, and the waitress brought over a little black folder. Liv quickly signed a check and handed it over. The waitress laughed, and asked Liv some questions about people I didn't know before Liv closed the conversation.

We ran to the back parking lot, and Liv shot ahead of me. I flapped to keep up. Ten minutes later we dropped into a gravel drive way. The house next to us was white, a little run down, but cute with all the plants around it.

Liv didn't hesitate running up the back porch steps. I paused, cautious. She looked back at me, flashing a killer smile. She smiled more often in the hour I knew her than Max had in fifteen years. I followed. She didn't turn around as she spoke, "Your not afraid of dogs are you?" I shook my head, realizing she wasn't looking at me, therefore didn't see it. "No." I replied. She chuckled, "Well, prepare yourself anyway." I didn't really know what she was talking about, but I braced myself nonetheless.

She opened the door, and my ears were asualted with barks from a million different dogs. She plowed forward, her knees gently knocking aside the furry bodies that pressed around us. "Y'all HUSH!" she yelled, making me flinch. She was lucky she didn't have any neighbors close by, it was eleven o'clock at night. The dogs quieted for about a second before they really got to smell me. then they went crazy.

"Momma? Momma, I'm home!" She called over the barking down the long hallway. She led me the short distance into the kitchen before scolding the animals back and propping up a baby-gate. "Sorry 'bout that, they get a little excited." She apologized. I just shrugged. Total could be a basket case too sometimes. She pulled out a chair for me, before pulling down two glasses.

She got a jug of something brown out of the fridge. "Sweet tea?" she asked, looking nervous. I nodded. She poured me some and then herself. "I'm sorry." She whispered, before and walking to the kitchen doorway. "Momma? can you come in the kitchen?" she asked, her hands shaking.

I was begining to freak too. I sipped my Tea quietly, trying to compose myself.

"Why?" came the shouted reply. Liv sighed. "Beacuse I have to show you something!" she yelled down the hallway. I heard the creak of a computer chair, and the sound of gentle wading through the ocean of dogs. Liv brushed aside the baby gate, the plastic clicking.

Her mom locked eyes with me. Liv's mom was short. shorter than Liv. She had short brown hair, and eyes bluer than Liv's. Liv had gray eyes. Not that I'd noticed or anything...Anyway, I was honestly shocked at how similar Liv and her mother looked. This woman couldn't possibly be Liv's biological mom. Could she? It just wasn't possible.

Max found her mom.

I shied away from the thought. No matter how true it was. Ms. Martinez was Max's biological parent, and Ella her biological sister, but finding them was pure chance. A one in a billion shot in the dark.

The woman sized me up, and I pulled out my stoic 'you don't bother me' face. She then turned to Liv, her features quizical. Liv's eyes pleaded with me, but for what I wasn't sure.

"Momma, y'know how I've been out alot the last couple weeks?" She started. I was already lost. Her mom put her fists on her hips. I could see her back tense. "Well, I've been looking for him." she finished, cringing. I started out of my chair, half of me screamed to comfort Liv, the other half looked for an escape. Things were turning a little too sci-fi for my taste.

Her mom put her head in her hand, swaying slightly. Liv grabbed her shoulders. "You're pregnant!" Her mom accused. Liv stumbled back, shock registering on her face. I ran to her, one hand catching her waist, the other grabbing hold of her wrist, her head falling into the crook of my neck. Then she burst into laughter. She laughed long and hard, wiping tears from her eyes. I joined her. I couldn't help it. Her laughter was contagious. Her mom looked like she was fighting giggles herself.

"Mom, I am not pregnant." she said firmly, occasional bubbles of laughter popping out of her mouth. Her mom drew a deep breath, beating back the last of the fit. Then her gaze locked on me holding Liv. I disengaged myself her as quickly as possible, taking a small step back.

"Is he one of your friends from church?" She asked, taking in my black-on-black ensamble. "No." Liv replied, a new, lower, hidden steel in her voice. It was shocking to hear her voice so transformed. Her mother's face hardened. "What have I told you about letting strangers into the house?" Her voice getting louder. Liv sighed. "I didn't!" she cried. I could see the blush creeping up on her cheeks. Her mom waited for an explaination. Liv seemed to see this as a good sign. She reached back and took my hand, Pulling me up next to her.

"Momma, He's like me." She said. Her mom shook her head. Then she met Liv's eyes, will for will. "Every teenager on the face of God's great earth have given that exact speech before. 'oh, he understands me, our souls are the same, you never got me like he does, no one understands me but him! Please, after eight children, I've heard it all." Her mom practically screeched. Liv giggled one time before getting herself under control. I balked. Eight children? They can't all be hers. But you never knew..."Momma! it's not like that. You know me, you know I don't go for stuff like that. If I was in love with him, I'd get his name tattooed on my butt and elope." Jeez, tell me how you really feel, I thought. She squeezed my hand, I realised she was still holding it.

Her mom nodded, accepting that. "Mom, he's like me..." She let her voice trail off as she extended her briliant blue wings just a little bit. In the light they shimmered ever so slightly, the blue so deep between feathers it was practically black. Her mom sucked in a breath, Her eyes searching me anew. I had few options at this point. I could run, and risk Liv catching me, and smiling that irresistable smile, Or I could stick around and investigate Liv's situation. I was intensely curious about her and her backround.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself, but failed. I was so tense, it physically hurt to move my wings. They emerged from my shirt slowly, some small pin-feathers catching on the edges of the fabric softly.

Liv squeezed my hand again. I could feel both of us relax. What's done is done.

Her mom took a step towards us, paused, and collapsed into a chair. Liv lurched forward, pulling me with her. My wings screamed as they jerked with me Maybe I wans't as relaxed as I thought I was. I could feel a few muscles pull in my shoulders. Liv's mother watched me, her face beyond surprised. I actually thought she was in shock.

"Oh." she finally managed, her breath rushing out her in a woosh. Liv laughed, scratching her mom's back gently. Liv let go of my hand to get chairs for both of us. I sat heavily, my body shaking. I didn't know trusting someone could be so scary. And liberating. And painful. I winced and reached around to poke my shoulder. Liv rested a hand on my thigh, not looking at me.

"Momma, he doesn't have anywhere to stay." She whispered, her fingers curling against my leg. I waited. Her mom looked at me, looked at Liv, and back again. "Fine. He'll stay in Gabe's room." She said briskly. Liv flung herself at her mom, her arms wrapping around her neck.

For one small second I wished I had a mom. Then I pushed the thought away. It was useless to think about.

Her mom stood, brushing off Liv. She shot us both warning looks before wading into the hallway once more. Liv squeeled. "Come on, I'll get you some clean clothes." She said, dragging me into the hall with all the now-barking dogs. She pulled me into the one doorway we'd passed on our way to the kitchen. She slung me onto the bed, and closed the door, only letting one dog in with us.

"Fang, this is Beanie." She gestured to a short black dog. He was unique, to say the least. He was short, with a long body, sleek and black, like a lab. He had small floppy ears, triangular brown eyes, and a tail that curled to the right. On top of that he was wrinkly. Just all wrinkles. His head was unusually large for his body, looking like he would tip over with the wieght of it any second.

He sniffed around my legs, before jumping up on the bed next to me. He put his big nose right in my face, sniffing. Liv didn't give us a backwards glance as she rumaged through what I was assuming was her closet. "You're supposed to blow in his nose. Like a horse." She said, without looking up. I hesitantly did as she had said. He sniffed for a good thirty seconds before sneezing straight in my face. She chuckled darkly. I Jumped back, wiping my face with the edge of my shirt.

She stepped out of her closet, triumphant, Holding a T-shirt and a pair of boxers. She walked up to the bed, Beanie's curly tail thumping his body as it wagged. She bent down, blowing in his nose. He only sat for about half a second before sneezing on her. She stood, drying her face with her sleeve. "He just does that. I have no clue why." She just said, kneeling to undo the laces on her shoes. "What kind of dog is he?" I asked, watching as he shared her pillow with two cats. She laughed quietly. "That is a subject continuelly up for debate in this house. It is my educated guess that he is a Ba-Shar/lab mix." She put her shoes on a chair by her dresser.

I watched as she gathered a folded wash-cloth from the top drawer. She just continued talking. "A Ba-Shar is a basset hound, Chinese shar-pei mix. very cute." She walked past me as she grabbed something off of her computer desk. She pulled me off the bed, dragging me along as we wandered down the hallway. She opend a door on our left. She turned on the light, illuminating a bathroom. She grabbed a towel from a cubby and handed it to me.

"You're gonna take a shower, and when you're done, find me in the kitchen, and I'll show you to Gabe's room." She handed me the pile of stuff in her arms. She pulled the shower curtain, turned the water on and left.

I enjoyed the shower as much as possible. I used all the hot water, took a long time drying off, and slipped on the clean clothes she had left with me. I grabbed up my dirty clothes and found my way to the kitchen. All the dogs safely behind another baby-gate farther down the hall.

I found her in a pink wife-beater and pajama bottems. Her wings resting limp against her back. She didn't hear me coming. She was engrossed in a book, a half-smile on her face. I cleared my throat. She continued reading for a minute before looking up, marking her place with a finger. She smiled wider, setting the book aside. "Did you like your shower?" she asked, pulling a plate of burritos out of the microwave. I nodded and slammed into the food. I was still hungry, even after Ozzy's. I got down Three and half and stopped, meeting her gaze. She cocked an eyebrow. I laughed. "I know how you have to eat. I'm the same way." She said, picking a burrito of the plate.

I Nodded, finishing the half I had left. I opened my mouth, preparing to ask a hundred questions. She stopped me. "It's too late for that. I'm just a curious as you are. But that can wait until morning. You're exhausted, sleep, get your thoughts together and organized, we'll go at everything tomorrow." She took another bite of microwaved americanized-mexican goodness. I was tired, and couldn't find anything to say, so I let her usher me into the hall, and into a room I had yet to see. She flicked on the light, revealing a little boy alseep on the bottom bunk of a set of bunk-beds.

"You get topsies." She giggled. I Sneered at her and pulled myself up. I fell into clean sheets and pillows. I could've sung it felt so good. "G'night." she whispered, truning ths light off. I don't remeber replying.

Super long, I know. I didn't mean to make it so long. Sorry. Please review. Love it? hate it?