AN: To lily1998: Yes, Iggy is definitely my favorite character to mess with, and just my favorite character in general. He's awesome.(:
To everyone: Thank you bunches for reviewing. I'm glad you guys are liking it so far. I also hope you like this, the second chapter!
The Battle of the Exes
Summary: Two years after Fang left, he's back, with his own flock, on Jeb's orders. Chaos ensues, as Dylan fights for Max, Max wreaks havoc on Fang and his new 'girlfriend', and Fang attempts to execute his own plans without revealing his ulterior motive for returning.
Chapter Two: Knock Off a Zero
Iggy and my mom made a great cooking team. Their styles perfectly complemented each other and the spawn of their "kitchen romance," as we called it, was absolutely the most delicious food in Arizona.
Tonight, they had prepared a sizzling wok of chicken fried rice, with just the right amount of soy sauce, eggs, peas, carrots, onions, spices I didn't know the names of, and rice and chicken. Iggy went around and served each of us a generous helping. When he passed by Ella, I saw him gently stroke her shoulder, when her mom wasn't looking.
Dylan came in just as Iggy was serving his plate. He sat down, looking a little gloomy. I hoped I hadn't been too mean on the porch.
Soon the sound of metal forks scraping against ceramic plates filled the air. My mom asked Ella and Nudge (or rather "Tiffany," as she went by outside of the family) how school had been. They replied with the usual "Goods" and "Fines." Apparently it had been the last of school for a while, though I rarely paid attention to which break was which and how long they each were.
It was all so quiet. No trouble, no kids kicking up tantrums, no ambushes leaping down from the ceiling.
It was too quiet.
So when there was a knock at the front door I, for one, was not surprised in the least. "I'll get it," I volunteered.
I shoved one more forkful of rice into my mouth, chewing it hastily as I walked to the entryway. I tried not to grimace when I heard Dylan's chair move, too, and he followed me.
I swallowed the last of my rice and opened the door. I almost closed it again, but that wouldn't stop the bad news. It was Jeb, and Jeb always brought bad news. With a sigh of defeat, I opened the door wider, revealing Dylan and a path for Jeb to enter the house.
My mom stood up the minute she saw him. "Hello, Jeb," she said pleasantly.
I didn't even bother to refrain from rolling my eyes. Grown-ups…
"Hello, Valencia."
I sat back down at the table, determined to finish my meal. My mother narrowed her eyes at me, displeased with my rudeness. I just smirked when she wasn't looking.
"Sit down," she offered, pulling out the extra chair. "Would you like some rice?"
Jeb turned down both. "No, I'm sorry. I can't stay long. I just came to deliver some news."
"Oh?" my mom replied.
"Yeah, uh…" He looked at our crowded table, looking at each and every one of us. Half of us were staring back with rapture.
"Do you want to speak in private?" my mom asked.
"Yes, I think I would prefer that."
So she led him to her study and closed the door. Of course, that meant that seven kids and two dogs went dead silent, straining to hear scraps of their conversation.
Jeb said something right off the bat that upset my mom. She responded loud enough for us to hear:
"WHAT!" There was a brief pause as Jeb tried to calm her, but I got a lot of my spunk from her, so my mom just steam-rolled right over him and continued. "YOU SERIOUSLY THINK—AFTER ALL THIS TIME? YOU HAVEN'T SEEN WHAT I'VE SEEN AND I NEVER WANT TO SEE HER LIKE THAT AGAIN! IF YOU THINK I'M JUST GOING TO STAND BY AND LET THE TWO OF YOU RUIN HER LIFE AGAIN, THEN YOU'D BETTER THINK TWICE!"
Jeb's voice was a whisper compared to hers. I guessed he was trying to get her to speak more quietly. But she didn't listen.
"I WON'T LET IT HAPPEN! IF HE SETS ONE TOENAIL OVER MY THRESHOLD, I'LL BEAT HER TO THE KILL!"
Jeb said something else. He was starting to get desperate now, his voice rising to the point where I could barely hear it. "…please consider it…probably won't be for long…him a chance…did what he had to…"
My mom had calmed herself down some at this point, but her voice was still loud enough to hear. "Fine. But the second I get a hint that he's gonna pull something like that again, I'll throw him out. Understand?"
I liked how my mom seemed to have total control of the situation and of Jeb. She was the one calling the shots. If Jeb could've seen me, I would've stuck my tongue out at him.
After two more minutes of inaudible whispering, which frustrated us to no end, my parents walked out of the study. My mom wore a mask of indifference. Jeb looked like he was exhausted after having faced the wrath of Valencia Martinez.
They strode right past us and to the front door. My mother opened it and all but pushed Jeb out. Before he was even off the porch, she had slammed the door shut.
We all dropped our forks and stopped eating when she sat back down. She ate two bites then looked at us.
"What?" she challenged.
We all stuttered and picked our forks up again, muttering that it was nothing. Her eyes narrowed, but she kept eating.
Since Iggy and my mom would always be the ones to cook, that left the rest of us to alternate clean-up nights. It was, unfortunately, my night. Iggy, in his perpetual brotherly evilness, always seemed to make the big, messy stuff on my night to clean. Curse that blind bird kid.
So there I was, scrubbing that stupid wok until every grain of rice and every soy sauce stain was gone. It didn't fit in the dishwasher, which meant that I had to get dirty.
After my torture was finished, I decided to head up to the room I shared with Nudge. Half-way up the stairs, though, my mom's voice stopped me.
"Max?" she said. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
I wanted so badly to just go to my room, but I decided I'd better go. So I climbed back down the stairs and sat by her in the living room.
"Yeah?"
She put her book aside, and that was when I knew this was serious.
"I think I should share with you what Jeb told me, Max."
I said nothing in response, waiting for her to go on.
She leaned back into the sofa, closing her eyes and massaging her forehead. "You see, he gave me some…disturbing news. He's going to bring someone else here. Well, five others actually. Another flock."
Another flock? Well this ought to be interesting.
"He said that you guys will all have to work together against…whatever's coming."
I cocked my head to the side, remembering the yelling. "What's so wrong with the other flock? Is there not enough room?"
My mom shook her head. "No, Max. It's not that. Not at all. I don't think there's anything wrong with the flock, it's just…who's leading the flock."
I knew what she was going to say before she said it, but I let her continue anyway.
"It's Fang."
That name, that stupid name that had been banned from my ears nearly shattered the mask I'd so carefully constructed to hide my feelings on this subject. Nearly.
I managed to shrug and say, "So?"
My mother was surprised by that, her eyebrows disappearing under her bangs. "Do you mean…you don't care?"
"No. Why should I? He's just some stupid guy."
My mom blinked, trying to take in my apparently unaffected persona.
Inside, of course, I was screaming.
I mean, I was promised twenty years. Two-zero. No way around that. He promised. So why did he think he could intrude on my life just two years after aforementioned promise? I would hit him, kick him, throw him out onto the street with his stupid flock. I didn't want him here. I wanted him to disintegrate the moment he crossed the Arizona state line. He would screw everything up, he and the family that had replaced us! Stupid ex-boyfriend…
When my mom was over the initial shock, she said, "Good. I'm glad it won't bother you. You might actually even try to be friends."
"I'll see. I'll just think it over first, ya know?"
She nodded, picking up her book again. "Of course. But you'd better get thinking; he arrives tomorrow."
And so went the death of my sanity.
I was going to go crazy. All over an idiotic ex-freaking-boyfriend.
AN: Fang enters the story (officially) next chapter, with his flock. And things start heating up right off the bat...
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