IS IT? COULD IT POSSIBLY BE? IT IS! AN UPDATE! SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, BUT I HAVE A LIFE. IT DOESN'T INCLUDE MUCH FANFICTION TIME, IM SORRY TO SAY. ALL AUTHORS NOTES BEFORE THIS WILL BE TAKEN DOWN. THIS WILL ALSO BE THE LAST CHAPTER (UNLESS I GET A TON OF REQUESTS) SO I HOPE YA LIKE! THANKS FOR NOT ABANDONING ME!

~Arkell26

P.S. I JUST REALIZED THAT THIS IS A ROMANTIC STORY. AND IM NOT GOOD AT THOSE. SO IF THIS LITTLE PLOT BUNNY SUCKS...DEAL WITH IT! :)

ARKELL: IF I WIN THE LOTTERY, THEN I SHALL BUY MAXIMUM RIDE. UNTIL THEN, SPECIAL GUEST IGGY SHALL GIVE THE DISCLAIMER!

IGGY: WHERE AM I? WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!

ARKELL: THIS IS MY HOUSE, AND AS A REWARD FOR MY READERS WAITING SO LONG FOR AN UPDATE, I PROMISED YOU.

IGGY: WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?

ARKELL: …JUST DO THE DICLAIMER.

IGGY: ARKELL26 DOES NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM OWN MAXIMUM RIDE, OR ME, NO MATTER WHAT SHE WILL TELL YOU.

ARKELL: NOW ON WITH THE SHOW!

IGGY: …HELP…ME…

MAX P.O.V.

I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel. Why weren't the cars moving?! The light was green, for heaven's sake! Why am I in a car when I could be flying, you ask? The flock and I are currently in residence at my mother's house. I, being elected the most responsible of the merry band of mutant flying bird kids and only one with a viable fake driver's license, was chosen to go pick up groceries. And since I am supposed to under the radar, I can't be seen with my wings out in public. So here I am sitting in a car, waiting on the idiot in front of me to move.

Finally! I stepped on the pedal and pulled out into the intersection. CRASH! The car crumpled around me as I felt myself rolling. All I could think was: I am going to die by being enclosed in a giant metal cage. Just my luck.My head spun and I could literally feel my brain sloshing around in my skull. My head jerked forward, hit the dashboard, and everything went black.

Retina searing whiteness filled my vision. I quickly squinted my eyes to see what was around me. My jaw dropped. I was standing in a field of gold and silver flowers. Literal gold and silver. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of the precious metal surrounded me. As I started walking, I noticed the smell. Freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies. Not the smell I would expect in a field of flowers. I looked farther, and saw a golden-leafed tree in the distance. Under that tree was a white robbed man. I walked closer to him.

He looked up when I reached him. "Hello, Maximum," He said and smiled gently.

"Um, hi?" I said, ever the eloquent speaker. "Who are you?" Might as well get to the point.

He laughed. "You really must work on speaking to others, Max. I am God."

I blinked. "God? As in THE God?" He nodded. "So is this…heaven?"

He smiled. "Yes, Max, this is heaven. Or, at least, right outside heaven." He sat down. "Come, sit."

I slowly sat down next to Him, still wary. "Does it smell like cookies all the time?" I asked. A perfectly good question.

God laughed again. "The air is filled with whatever smell you prefer. So yes, you will smell chocolate chip cookies, while others will smell something else."

I looked at Him. "Wait, if this is heaven…am I dead?"

He smiled gently. "Not exactly. You have a choice. You may choose to stay here, or you can return to earth."

I stared at Him. "Do you do this for everyone?"

"Only for special instances. I think, though, that you might want to see what you would be leaving behind if you stay here." He waved His hand in front of Him. The air shimmered until I saw an image of a hospital room.

I looked at the figure in the bed. "Wait, is that me? Like, right now?"

"Yes, Max." God answered. "That is you. And the young man sitting next to you would be very upset if you didn't return."

I stared back at the image. "Fang?" I murmured under my breath. I leaned closer to the image, and was shocked to discover I could hear him speaking.

"Max, you can't die. What would we do without you? What would I do without you, Max?"

I started to cry. I quickly wiped away the tear and leaned back in I am Maximum Ride. I don't cry.

"Max, I...I love you. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to say it. And now that I finally say it, I'm not even sure if you can hear me. Please don't die. I don't know if I can live without you, and how am I supposed to take care of everyone. They need you, Max. If you won't wake up for me, then wake up for them, please."

That did it. I was crying. "Send me back. Please!" I begged God. He nodded once, and then suddenly the world spun around me.

I woke up to whiteness for the second time that day. A couple neurons fired in unison to my brain. My first coherent thought: Ouch! My whole body felt like it was on fire. I suddenly remembered why I had chosen to come back to this pain.

I felt something next to my ear. "I love you," Fang's voice whispered. I heard him walking away and tried to muster enough energy to say something.

"I love you too, Fang."

The footsteps stopped. I slowly opened my eyes, the pain making me wince slightly.

"Max…?" Fang's eyes searched my eyes franticly. I tried to focus on his face to keep me from passing out.

"Hey, Fang…" I whispered. He ran back to my side and buried his head in my blood soaked hair. I was shocked to hear him crying.

"Max…Max…" he whispered gently to my ear.

"Sshhh, Fang, don't cry. That will make me feel worse." I meant it. Knowing that I had made Fang cry made my heart ache.

"I thought I lost you," he said, most un-Fang-like.

"Are you kidding me?" I scoffed, "I am Maximum Ride. I'm not going down that easily."

"Please don't ever scare me like that again," he choked out through tears.

"I won't," I replied, "I promise."

"I love you," Fang whispered.

"I know," I muttered quietly, "I love you too."

He raised his head and looked at me. "You do?"

"Yes, now are you going to kiss me or what?" I answered mockingly.

He rolled his gorgeous, dark eyes and bent down and kissed me. It seemed to last for hours until we were interrupted by an overly excited voice.

"MAX!"

We broke apart and turned to the overjoyed faces standing in the doorway. The flock, Jeb, Dr. Martinez, and Ella all rushed into the room and surrounded my bed, knocking Fang out of the way in the process. I saw Fang crane his head over the small crowd. I met Fang's eyes and I sent him a silent message. We have to talk later.

He rolled his eyes and sent me a message back. Ya think?

After a while of talking with everyone, I began to feel tired so they all left for the night except for my mom, who would stay at the hospital and call them with updates. It had taken the entire flock plus Ella to force Fang to go home, but he had still refused until I told Fang if he didn't go home I would kill him in a horrible way which is probably to explicit to mention. He finally gave in and went home.

As I lay in the hospital bed, I couldn't stop thinking about Fang. Did he only say that because he thought I was going to die? Did I make a mistake in coming back? Then I thought of the way his eyes lit up when I told him I loved him back.

"He loves you too much to even think of taking it back, Max."

"How do you know, Mom?"

She smiled. "I've seen the way he looks at you. I saw how he lunged to save you from the exploding pizza. I also saw the pain he felt when he saw you lying here. I know he loves you. Now go to sleep and get some rest."

I closed my eyes and followed her directions. Surprisingly, I got some sleep after that.

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