A/N: And now the real story begins. Yea! I really have no idea where I'm going with this story. Mostly just making this stuff up on the spot. Which is freaky for me, because I usually have story's planned out to the very word before I write them. So this is a change for me. Let's see how it goes. BTW, when it "SC" that means scene change. Kind of annoying, but the computer was being stupid and not letting me do it another way, so I've resigned to this. You'll see what I mean. All so, some of the stuff that's supposed to be italizied isn't, so those pieces will have +at the end of them.Got it? Let's fly.

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I really hate goodbyes. You'd think by now I'd be used to it, seeing as how I'm always on the move. Never in the same place for very long. But I didn't usually have anyone to say goodbye to. The people most important to me always moved along with me.

Not these last few times. Saying goodbye to Iggy for the second time was painful. Leaving Nudge was tough. Letting go of the Gasman and Angel had been heartbreaking.

But I knew already that this was going to be the hardest goodbye of my life.

At exactly midnight, I knocked on Fang's bedroom door. I'd already told his family I was leaving and thank you for letting me stay for so long earlier this evening. They gave me a decent enough farewell and his mom Angela had packed me a lot of food, but I could tell they were glad I was going to be gone in the morning.

Fang opened the door automatically, almost as if he'd been waiting for me. Maybe he had. Without a word, he let me in and shut the door. Fang unlocked his window and gave me a boost up onto the roof. I dumped my bag and then pulled him up with me.

We sat up there on the roof for a while, just the two of us. This was the last time we be with each other for a long time. Even when I visited, it wouldn't be the same. From here on forth, everything would change.

The moon looked impossibly far away tonight.

"You don't have to go Max," Fang said finally. I closed my eyes. I was already prepared for this argument. "I'm sure if I ask Angela and Robert, they'd let you stay."

"Fang-," I began reluctantly.

"-Or we could just call up Angel and have her make them let you stay."

"Fang," I said again, a little more forcefully this time. "I don't belong here."

He fell silent. He knew I was right.

"This is your family, not mine." I murmured softly.

Fang shook his head stubbornly. "Max, you and the flock are my family. I just met these people not even two weeks ago. And Robert's not even a bit related to me."

I reached out and touched his shoulder. "They're still your family."

Fang sighed. We'd already had this argument six times in the last couple of days and I'd won every time.

All was deathly quiet for a while. Finally, I knew it was time to go. And since there was no way in heaven Fang was going to say bye first, I had to start things off. I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

"…Well…"

"Where are you going to go?" Fang asked suddenly.

That threw me off. "Uh… no idea?"

Fang rolled his eyes at my lack of planning. "Give me a general direction then."

I thought about it, my bird instincts muttering to me. "South. No. West. Southwest." I decided. Yeah, that felt about right.

Fang nodded as though I'd confirmed something, though God knows what. Then he stood up. "Okay. I'm flying with you to the border."

I blinked. We were in Chicago, which is about as northeast Illinois gets. "Isn't that kind of far?"

"Just about 230 miles," Fang shrugged. "Angela and Robert won't even notice I'm gone." He grabbed my hand and helped me up. This he took off and hovered in the air. "I'm coming whether you like it or not. Now shall we get going?"

He's just putting off saying goodbye. Any other day I might have fought with him about it a little, but not tonight. I was too weary to fight.

I slipped my backpack on, which isn't the easiest thing to do when you've got seven foot wings on either side of your spine. "Okay. One last night flight."

Fang smiled when I didn't argue with him for once and together we flew off into the dark.

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"And what's the house phone number?"

I groaned. "Didn't you already ask me that? Like, ten minutes ago?"

"Number, Max."

I rolled my eyes and quickly rattled off, "Area code 358, 426-9715. See? I told you I know it."

Fang laughed. "I know you know it. Now. I'm making sure you don't forget it."

I pretended to be highly offended. "My memory's not that bad."

"Oh?" Fang raised his eyebrows ever so slightly. "Tell me then, what was your School ID code?"

"Like I could forget that. AGE010016M." I looked up at Fang, flying above me. He shook his head. "What is it then?"

"AGE001610M."

I flapped my wings harder to gain altitude so that I was level with him. "How do you still know my ID?"

Fang whacked me playfully on the back with one of his wings. "Unlike you, I have an excellent memory." He looked up at the fading moon, which seemed to be soaring along with us. "Unfortunately."

"What?" I asked. What's that suppose to mean?

Fang ignored me. "House phone number?"

"I just told you. 358-426-971…uh…"

"Five," Fang supplied. He laughed again. "Want me to write it down for you?"

"I'll remember." I pouted.

Something about flying makes everything seem better. Like, up in the air, reality's problems feel farther away. Almost like you could escape them. So even though I knew our farewell was rapidly approaching, I couldn't help but imagine everything was okay, just another night flight with one of the flock. Plus, Fang was a whole lot easier to talk to when he was flying. And a whole lot happier. Sometimes I wondered how Fang could stand to touch the ground.

Fang whacked my back again. "Promise you'll call if anything goes wrong?"

"Promise."

"And that includes Eraser attacks, being spotted, getting sick, getting shot, getting cut, getting majorly hurt in anyway, and brain explosions."

I readjusted my backpack as it started to slip. "I haven't had a brain explosion since New York. The last time we had an Eraser attack was three months ago and both wolfies were nearly insane. And when was the last time any of us were sick?"

"Iggy got a cold when he was eleven."

"Yeah. But only after he accidentally fell through ice into freezing water."

"Whatever. If you need help, call me, and I don't care if you're over in Kenya, I'll fly out to you as soon as I can. Okay?"

"Okay. I promise I'll call if I should happen to need help." No way was I going to call him. He'd only get worried and have more ammo in the you-should-stay-with-me and the I-should-stay-with-you arguments. As much as I was going to miss Fang, I wanted him to get to know his real family. He deserved that chance.

"Good." He brushed his wing gently against mine. "Or call me if you just want to talk. Because I know you're going to be lonely. So, call me."

"I will, Fang."

"If you can manage to remember the number."

"I will, Fang."

Fang snorted disbelievingly, and then put on a surge of speed before I could wing-whack him. I didn't bother trying to catch him the normal way, (the boy had a foot of wingspan on me plus all those sweet hawk moves), instead I poured on the speed with my turbo-drive power for just a second, more than enough to get ahead of him. Then I abruptly stopped and waited for him to zoom by. As he went past, I gave him a whack on the back, that would have shoved Gazzy out of the air. Fang just barely felt it.

"Hey! Not fair." Fang complained as he slowed down. "I don't have any super powers to cheat with."

"Better go buy some at Wal-Mart then," I teased as I started flapping again.

"Fine. How much do they cost?"

I laughed and then stopped when I saw the border sign. On the back it said, "Welcome to Missouri!", and on the other side, it said, "Welcome to Illinois!". We had reached the border.

Fang's carefree expression was replaced by a much sober when we landed. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and then looked up at me. "You got any paper?"

"No. Why do you have a pen, but no paper?"

Fang rolled his eyes and then grabbed my hand, turning it palm up. With careful precision, he scribbled, "1-358-426-9715" across my skin. "Don't wash this off until you have it written down on paper," he warned as he stuck the pen back in his pocket. "Because trust me, you'll forget it."

I sighed. And Fang called me Mom.

All was quiet after that. The joy of flight had worn off and the goodbye had sneaked up on us. This was it. I blinked back a few tears, willing myself not to cry, and looked across the dead highway. It all ends here.

"You'll be back in six weeks?" Fang asked, more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah." I said, pulling my eyes off the road. "Six weeks."

Iggy's sweet sixteen was coming up soon. It was going to be a sort of flock reunion for us. Fang and I were going to fly out to Idaho, Iggy's new home, together, making six weeks the perfect time for me to turn back to Chicago.

"Six weeks? To the day? You won't be late or anything and freak me out?"

"Promise."

"Promise isn't good enough. You swear?"

"Cross my heart, hope to sing, take a chainsaw to my wing," I said. Fang smiled. It was something we'd made up when we were little. Fang and I were the only ones who knew it, so we only swore on sacred occasions. I think this counted.

"I'll hold you to that," Fang said grimly. I laughed, though it was a little hollow. Enough stalling. It was time to move on.

"…Well…" I tried again.

"Don't say it." Fang said sharply. "I hate goodbyes. And this isn't a goodbye."

I smiled a small, regretful smile. Fang always knew what was on my mind, always knew how to make me feel better. We'd gotten so close these last few years, that imagining life without Fang was near impossible. And painful. Don't cry. Don't make Fang change his mind. This is for the best. Don't cry.

The best can go screw itself, because I started crying.

Fang wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I leaned my head into his shoulder and let my tears soak his shirt. He stroked my hair and murmured soothingly, though whatever he said was indistinguishable. I cut my sobs short and bottled up my tears. I could cry later. When I was alone. Which would be soon.

"Max, are you sure…?" Fang asked, resting his chin lightly on top of my head.

"Yes," I said, trying to sound sure of myself. "Now shut up, I don't feel like arguing."

Fang obliged, rubbing me slowly between the wings they way he knew I liked. I closed my eyes. I wanted thing to stay like this, forever. I hate change.

I hate goodbyes.

I sighed and opened my eyes. "I have to go Fang."

I felt Fang nod and move his head so he could look down at me. "Don't do anything stupid."

"I promise not to make you worry."

"I'll be worried anyway."

"I know." I reached up and ruffled his hair. "I'll be back in six weeks, kiddo."

"You better be," Fang grumbled. "And don't call me kiddo, shorty."

I grinned sadly, and stood tiptoe to quickly kiss his cheek. Then I stepped back a few feet, checked for any cars, and finally jumped into the air, spreading my wings wide. Looking down, I could've swore I saw a faint blush on Fang's face, but then it was gone. Like me.

I pushed down with my wings and rose a few more feet, then I started to turn, until Fang suddenly yelled, "Max, wait!"

I turned back around, hovering midair. "What?"

Fang bent down, pulled something out of his left boot, and then tossed it a good twenty-five feet up to me. I caught it smoothly and looked at it, squinting slightly in the dark. A knife. Fang always had at least three knives on him. Armed and dangerous.

I flicked it open and the blade came out, stainless steel, razor sharp, and razor thin. Simple, but deadly. Perfect for shoving down your shoes. I recognized the blade immediately; this was Fang's favorite.

I stared down at Fang, who seemed so small on the ground. "What's this for?"

"A gift," he said, meeting my stare with an intense one of his own. "Since I can't protect you anymore. Try not to hurt yourself with it."

I rolled my eyes, but inside I was immensely grateful. "Thank you," I said softly, just loud enough for him to hear. Then I turned around again, and began to fly off without a second glance. Don't cry. Yet.

I waited until I was sure he could no longer see me before I hit turbo-drive.

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I watched Max go, feeling the blush I hoped she hadn't seen fade from my cheeks. I could still feel her lips there, soft and warm.

Max was gone. Everything was different now.

I sighed as a blanket of anguish settled over me. It didn't have to be this way. I could've stuck with her. But I knew Max wanted me to stay with my "family". And as far as I was concerned, what Max wanted, went. Even if it was stupid.

I remembered a conversation Iggy and I had had more than a year ago, in route to Florida after leaving Anne's.

I'd been keeping an eye on Max, who seemed a little distracted and completely zoned out, (probably the Voice again), when Iggy flew up beside me.

"Man, you so have a crush on her."

"What?" I glanced over at Iggy, whose face was turned my way.

"You've got a crush on Max," he said matter of factly.

I shook my head, which he couldn't see. "That's crazy."

"Want me to prove it?" he asked.

"Go ahead and try."

"Okay. Reason number one: you're always watching Max."

"Not true."

Iggy laughed. "Fang, you're watching her right now." He nodded pointedly in Max direction, then turned to face me again.

"That's really creepy, you know?" I meant it to. Iggy was creepy sometimes. "How do you do that? And don't tell me you can hear me watching her."

Iggy ignored me. "Reason number two: you're always thinking about her."

I didn't bother denying that one. "I'm always worrying about her. Someone has to worry about Max."

"Same difference." Iggy snorted. "Reason number three: whenever someone attacks Max, usually Ari, you always start ripping the guy apart."+

"She's one of my best friends. I don't want her to get hurt."

"Yeah? And who's your other best friend?"

"You. You know that."

Iggy nodded. "So how come you don't start beating up people when they jump me?"

I looked away from him. "You can take care of yourself."

"And Max can't?"

I didn't say anything.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "Reason number four-"

"There's another?" I looked over at him again. "How many do you have?"

"This is the last one. Though I could think up some more if you'd like. In fact, why don't I just write a book about it? Why It's So Obvious Fang Likes Max. By Iggy, the blind kid who seems to be the only one who's noticed."

My turn to roll my eyes. "No thanks."

"Fine. Reason number four: when Max dated that Sam guy, you were all pissed off and jealous."

"It's called brotherly protection."

"Right. Brotherly protection. So, if I were to date some girl, you'd get all brotherly protective on me?"

"No. You're a guy."

"Yeah. And Max is a girl."+

"Exactly."

Iggy groaned. "I think you're missing the point…"

"Whatever." I turned my attention up ahead to Max, who seemed close to tears with frustration. Crap. What had I missed? "Got to go; the Voice is messing with Max again."

"Case in point…"

I ignored him and picked up my speed to fly beside Max, but not before I heard Iggy mutter, "Denial."

Back then, I'd put it off as another one of Iggy's insane conspiracy theories, but now looking back on it and watching Max fade from my vision range, I couldn't help but think that maybe Iggy had a point.

I sighed as the speck that was Max vanished. Six weeks. I could wait that long. Hopefully. The trouble was, a lot can happen in just six weeks. It only takes a moment to get hurt or killed.

"I promise not to make you worry."

"I'll be worried anyway."

God, Max. Why do you have to do this to me?

I kicked a chunk of asphalt across the highway. It skittered to a stop on the other side. "Max wants you to have a chance at a normal life," the last reasonable piece of me muttered. "She wants you to be happy."

Like that's possible. Hello? Wings? Crazy scientists? Wolf mutants? Our lives were never normal, were never meant to be. Never would be. Why didn't Max get that? I'd come to peace with the fact that I would always be a freak a long time ago. Why couldn't Max?

"She has. She knows that. But she still has hope."

I groaned. Logic can be so annoying when you've got a good rant going.

I glanced down at my watch. Three. A.M.. I had to head back. Get home before Angela got up for her morning jog. Home? Right.

I ran and took off, beating my wings. Once in the air, I felt a little of the sadness, anger, and loneliness wash away. But it was still there, just waiting to hit me when I landed.

If only I could just never stop flying.

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A/N: Man, that ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be. Hope I didn't confuse anyone with the weird symbols I had to resort to, (it's not my fault, the computer's being mean!).Reading back on this, Fang seems really… emotional. Oh well. It's mostly in his head. People think I lack emotion, but there is always feelings zooming around in my mind. Review please. I like reviews, even if they are bad. Oh, and in case anyone's interested, I edited the prologue because I thought it sucked. It's a bit better now. Go back and check it out. And of course, read Dentistry if you haven't. What can I say, I need advertisement. And if you just now heard of Dentistry, READ IT NOW! It has like, 72 reviews last time I checked. That's GOOD! I'm so proud of myself. Alright, happy moment over. Just… you know, review and all that.