Hello again. I was bored, so I decided to write the next one quickly nn…
Disclaimer: I forgot to put this in the first chapter. Whoops. I don't own 'Maximum Ride'. Scott Patterson does. Just look on the cover of the book, see? points out author's name I also don't own 'Not That Kind of Thing' or 'Your Eyes' from Rent, or 'The only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage' by Panic! At the Disco. Dang, that was long.
So. I've decided to put random (or not so random) lyrics at the beginnings of the chapters.
"Tell the night to save its moonlight,
Tell the birds not to sing,
Tell the stars in the heavens they've been misaligned,
'Cause it's not that kind of thing."
'Not That Kind of Thing' from The Wedding Singer
LullabyI grab a blanket and head outside the cave for my turn on watch. It's abnormally cold tonight, but that's okay. There are footsteps behind me, and Fang sits down next to me.
"So." He says. I wait for a minute.
"So." The word hangs in the air for a few minutes.
"What do you think of her?"
"I think she's hiding something." He nods.
"I know, I get the same feeling. I think Angel knows, but she won't tell me. I asked." I rest my chin on my hands, not asking the question that's bugging me: Does he like-like her?
Max, you need to embrace the fact that he matters more to you than the rest of the flock. The Voice tells me. I roll my eyes.
It's really none of your business. Shut up, Voice. I reply. Nothing from the Voice. I sigh.
"What's up?" he asks. I shrug.
"The Voice."
"What'd it say now?"
"Oh….Nothing."
"It was about me, wasn't it?" I turn away from him. Maybe if he can't see my eyes, he can't tell I'm lying.
"Don't flatter yourself." I hear something and lean towards the mouth of the cave. Words float out.
"Your eyes, as we said our goodbyes…Can't get them out of my mind, and I find I can't hide from your eyes…The ones that took me by surprise…" I stand and lean in to see who's singing. I see Psyche leaning against the wall, stroking Din's hair back and singing, eyes closed. I shake my head slightly and sit back down.
"She's good." I frown. I agree with him, but for some reason I don't want to hear him say it.
"Yeah," I say.
"Max, what's bugging you?" he asks. I shrug.
"Normal stuff. I have too much to think about, and no time to think about it. It's giving me a headache."
"Do you want me to leave?" he stands to go. I grab his arm.
"Stay." I tell him. She's in the cave…and I don't want him to go back to her.
"The night you came into my life…And , where there's moonlight, I see your eyes. How'd I let you slip away, when I'm longing so to hold you? Now, I die for one more day 'cus there's something I should have told you. Yes, there's something I should have told you. When I looked into your eyes…Why does distance make us wise?"
"I guess it's just kind of comforting to have someone there you can hold on to when you've got no one else, you know?" I tell him. He shrugs.
"You were the song all along, and before the song dies…I should tell you, I should tell you…I have always loved you. You can see it in my eyes."
"Sure." He replies. I take a deep breath and let it out.
"Did I ever thank you for helping me back up when I'm down?" I ask him. He smiles slightly.
"Nope."
"Well, thanks anyways." He nods.
"No problem. If I didn't, something tells me we'd all be dead by now." I shrug and look at the stars. They're strangely close tonight.
"Sing another one!" I hear Nudge chirp from inside the cave. I shake my head a little bit and smile.
"Well, what do you want me to sing?"
"Sing something fast!"
"Okay…Um…Sit tight, I'm gonna need you to keep time, some on, just snap, snap, snap, your fingers for me. Good, good, now we're making some progress. Come on, just tap, tap, tap your toes to the beat. And I believe this may call for a proper introduction around. Don't you see? I'm the narrarator and this is just the prologue…" I'm unconsciously tapping my fingers against my leg. I stop.
"Catchy, isn't it?" Fang asks me. I nod. I can hear the kids giggling from inside. I peek again. Nudge, Gazzy and Angel are laughing in time with the music. Iggy stares in the general direction of Psyche with a surprised look on his face. I poke Fang.
"Hey, come look," I hiss. He leans over and looks in, then looks at me.
"Sounds like fun." I nod.
"Yeah. They really should be going to sleep… It's, what, ten o'clock?" he gives me a look.
"Hey, they deserve to have a little fun every now and then," he says. I shrug.
"I guess." There's a slightly awkward silence.
"So…have any of those headaches lately?" I shake my head.
"Seen me rolled in a ball, crying lately?" I shoot back. He rolls his eyes.
"No, but I have seen you cry lately." Ah. The beach. I remember. Me, huddled up and crying into his shirt. I feel heat rise in my cheeks.
"You just had to bring that up."
"Just wanted to remind you of your promise."
"I remember just fine without your help!" I cross my arms and pull the blanket tighter around me.
"Max, I want to tell you something." Fang says. I feel my heart speed up.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"I think-" A violent scream comes from inside the cave. We both leap up and rush in at the same time. Psyche is curled in a ball on the floor, clutching her head. I hear a slight pause, then a wail getting louder and louder. A small puddle begins to form under her eyes. She shudders and turns so her face is in the growing water. Fang lunges forwards and pulls her head up as she starts to gag on her own tears. Iggy grabs her head and puts it in his lap. She keeps crying and blood trickles out her nose.
For a few seconds, she…Flickers and I see someone different in her place. But then it's gone, and I'm not sure if it ever happened at all. But it worries me…what if this is what she's been keeping from us?
After a while, she finally blacks out. Her body relaxes in Iggy's lap. He brushes her hair from her face, and that strange expression from before is back. She flickers again. Fang looks at me.
"Did you see that?" he asks. I nod. Angel frowns, and then smiles happily. Nudge pokes her.
"What?" she asks. Angel whispers something in her ear. Nudge giggles.
"Come on," I tell Fang. I grab his hand and pull him outside the cave and to the side.
"Did you see her flicker?" I ask him, putting my hands on my hips.
"Didn't I just ask you that?" he rises his eyebrow and gives me a look that says 'How did you get to be leader, you're a complete and total idiot!' I glare at him.
"Just confirming." I tell him. He shakes his head at me, and I think back.
"I hate to say this, but the other her…She was like your twin." He nods.
"I noticed that, too." He says. I wait for him to elaborate. Nada.
"Okay, well we'll just wait for her to slip up. It has to happen eventually." He nods.
"I'm going to sleep." I wrinkle my nose.
"I'll get you up when it's your turn on watch." He shrugs and goes back inside the cave. I hear a slight hissing noise and the firelight lessens considerably. I sigh and lean my head back against the rock wall, staring at the sky.
Yes, something was definitely going on. And I wanted to know what.
…:…
Fang glanced at his watch and stood to wake Iggy.
He walked into the cave then stopped, smothering a laugh. Somehow, Iggy was lying flat on his back in the middle of the cave, Psyche's head on his stomach. His hands were on her stomach, and she was holding on to them, her head turned towards Iggy's.
Fang shook his head slightly. He turned to where Max was sleeping, hair tousled, slight frown on her face and stopped.
He didn't want to embarrass Iggy. Iggy was like the brother he'd never had.
Also…there was something that told him Psyche didn't deserve more embarrassment. There was something about her that made him want to keep her safe, and make sure she was happy.
So, he shook Psyche's shoulder.
"Hey," he hissed. She stirred.
"Hey, wake up." She blinked and turned her head. Iggy turned a little. Her eyes widened, and even in the dark you could see her face turn a light shade darker.
"Careful, you don't want him to wake up." Fang whispered. Psyche nodded (as much as anyone can nod when they're lying on their back) and slowly disentangled herself from Iggy.
She winced as she stood and tottered uncertainly in place. Fang grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the mouth of the cave.
"Did anything happen between you two?" Psyche stared at him, twisting her wrists out of his grip.
"Is it any of your business? And, no, nothing happened between us, as you so coyly put it." She crossed her arms and tapped her arm impatiently. Fang crossed his arms, and glared back at her. She finally stopped and made a face at him.
"I feel like I got hit by a truck, so I'm going to sleep, now." She told him, rolling her eyes and leaving the small half-circle of light to go back to restful sleep.
Fang shook his head a little and reached for Iggy…
I know, not as long as the last one. It just seemed a good place to stop, so I did.
Until next time!