Authors Note: So I realize I've been gone for months and months and months. But what can I say? College is like a time leecher. It just kinda attaches to you and starts sucking away all of your free time. I've barely had time to read fanfics, much less write them. However, Christmas break started yesterday, so I'm home (yay!) and have finally written another chapter. More on that, but I'll see you at the bottom after you've read it. :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will, own Maximum Ride.

Nudge's POV:

Humming, I skipped into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. Grabbing a can of cola, I popped it open. I turned around and took a sip, glancing at Iggy who was washing the dishes.

"How's it going over there, Iggy?" I asked casually.

Shooting a glare in my general direction, he replied snidely, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

I stifled the urge to laugh. Ever since I had won that bet with Iggy, he'd had to do all of my chores, much to his displeasure.

"Why, Iggy!" I giggled. "You sound like you actually don't like doing my work."

Iggy stayed silent as he washed the suds from his hands, but I noticed that he shut the sink off with a little more force than was necessary.

Smirking, I made to leave the kitchen when he suddenly spoke.

"Rematch."

I turned back around. "What?"

"What do you think about having a little rematch?"

I laughed. "Oh, so you wanna race around the backyard again?"

"No. But I want a rematch."

I considered for a moment. "Winner gets what?" I asked warily.

He smiled evilly at me. "We'll decide that when I win."

I laughed again. "Oh, in your dreams, Iggy!" I had a long history of betting incidents with Iggy, all of which I had won. Let's just say that luck was never in his favor when it came to card games.

Iggy shook his head. "Whatever, Nudge. Just tell me if you agree."

I cocked an eyebrow. So he was serious about this. Well, that would make it all the better when I won again.

"Sure." I smiled in anticipation. "Whatever you say, Iggy."

This was gonna be a piece of cake.

- 2 hours later -

I stared down in shock at Iggy's cards.

"That's impossible! You didn't...but I...and..."

"What was that, Nudge?" Iggy asked with a smirk. "Can't accept the taste of defeat?"

I shook my head in disbelief. How was it even possible that a blind guy could win at poker? I mean, granted, he'd had Gazzy read him his cards, and I'd totally slacked off this round because I thought it would be an easy win, but...

"So, ready to pay the price?" Iggy tilted his head and smiled an evil smile at me, no doubt thinking of terrible ways to get back at me for all the times I'd tortured him.

Uh-oh.

"Now let's see. Gazzy, what do you think would be Nudge's worst nightmare?" Iggy motioned toward Gazzy, who was currently shifting his gaze between me and Iggy, shocked and confused himself at the turn of the events.

"Uh, well. I mean...you could..." He drifted off.

"Really, Gazzy?" Iggy shook his head and turned back to me.

"I think Nudge's worst nightmare would be..." He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he considered, then grinned. "Not talking."

Oh no. I froze.

He couldn't.

I mean, did I look like Fang?

Iggy smirked as he took in my silence. "Hmm, seems I've hit a nerve, eh Nudge?"

Refusing to give him the satisfaction of revenge, I flipped my hair over my shoulder nonchalantly and replied, "You wish, Iggy. I mean, not talking? Fang does that every day. This is gonna be so pathetically easy." I gave an awkward laugh.

Iggy shrugged. "Sure, Nudge. Whatever stops the tears. Just remember that from the moment you wake up tomorrow morning to the end of the day, you're not allowed to say anything. Got it?"

I stifled a mock yawn. "Uh-huh."

Iggy gave me one final smile before heading out the kitchen door with Gazzy.

I grimaced as soon as he was gone. Tomorrow was going to be one interesting day.

- The Next Day -

I yawned as I shuffled into the kitchen in my bunny slippers and pj's. It was the morning of a seemingly normal day: Total was already intently reading the morning newspaper, Max's mom was flipping pancakes at the stove, and I was the third one up, as usual. I took a pitcher of juice from the refrigerator and poured some into a glass, carrying it to the island that sat in the middle of the kitchen. A vague feeling that I had forgotten something important washed over me, but I ignored it and returned my attention to the pancakes. I was about to tell Dr. Martinez that I wanted a couple dozen when a hand came from behind me and covered my mouth. Iggy's voice appeared next to my ear.

"Uh uh uuh." He chastised.

I turned to face him, confused for a second. I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant when another hand clamped itself to my mouth.

Gazzy appeared shaking his head at me. "Nope, remember Nudge? You can't talk."

That's when it hit me. I'd forgotten about the bet.

I opened my mouth to say something when Iggy covered my mouth again. "You think she'd last longer if we used this?" Iggy asked Gazzy, holding up a roll of duct tape. Gazzy laughed.

I was just about to tell them to shut up, when I realized that I couldn't. Well geez, it was five minutes into the day and I had almost already talked four times.

Glaring at the two boys, I got up and walked past them to get my own pancakes. Just then, Fang walked in. Glancing at me, he nodded in greeting. I glared at him, in sharp contrast to my usual perky, "Good morning!" He cocked his eyebrow at me questioningly.

"What's up?" he asked.

I silently seethed.

Confused, he turned to Iggy, who said, "I won a bet. She can't talk for the rest of the day."

"Aahh." Fang smiled slightly and turned back to me. "You should've seen this one coming."

I huffed angrily as I took a stack of pancakes back to the table and sat down to eat.

I could feel the others staring at me while I scarfed down my food, as if they were waiting for me to burst. Well, I wasn't going to give them that satisfaction. I managed to make it through breakfast without making a single sound.

Standing up, I rinsed my plate in the kitchen sink and placed it in the dishwasher before stalking out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Flopping onto the couch, I turned the T.V. on, hoping to distract myself.

I had just begun to relax when Max walked into the room and sat down next to me.

"Hey, you mind if I change the channel? Mom asked me to check the news." I handed her the remote silently.

Surprised by the lack of words, Max took the remote and changed the channel. We sat and watched the news for almost half an hour, with Max throwing hesitant glances at me because of my stoic silence.

I guessed she hadn't heard about the bet yet, and wondered what she would think of it. So far, everyone that knew about the bet had laughed at the idea of me trying to make it a day without talking, and I couldn't blame them. I mean, hey! I doubted myself, right? In fact, I was even a little proud of myself for making it this far into the day without a single word. Still, it would feel nice to know that someone believed in me.

Aggravated by these thoughts, I needed to distract myself again. I held my hand out for the remote.

Max glanced at me. "What?" she asked, confused.

I shook the hand held out toward her, then pointed at the remote control, then at the T.V.

"What's wrong?"

Sighing, I held my hand out again, looking pointedly at the remote.

"You...wanna change the channel?" She gave me a wierd look.

I nodded.

"...why aren't you talking?"

Fang walked in. "She lost a bet against Iggy." he explained.

Max grimaced at me. "Ooh, you shoulda seen that coming, Nudge. You know how he gets when it comes to revenge." She patted my knee consolingly.

I sighed again, nodding my head. Max handed the remote over to me and I changed the channel.

After watching T.V. with me for another hour, Max got up and left, only to be replaced by Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel.

"So, how's your day been so far, Nudge?" Iggy asked casually, dropping onto the couch beside me.

I grumbled in response.

Laughing, Iggy motioned a hand towards Angel.

"I've decided to hire Angel here to keep you company for the rest of the day. And, you know, keep an eye on that mouth of yours?" It was kinda obvious he didn't trust me.

I cocked an eyebrow at Angel, puzzled. She usually took my side in fights like this, just like Gazzy took Iggy's and Fang took Max's.

Angel replied, "Well, when he says hired, he means blackmailed." She gave me an embarrased smile. "See, I kinda did something bad that Iggy knows about that Max doesn't, and..." she drifted off.

I nodded in sympathy to show I understood. She and I were kind of in the same boat.

"Yes, exactly." Angel commented in my head.

Iggy rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Okay Nudge, I'll be checking in with Angel to make sure you stay quiet every once in a while, so don't think you'll get any slack from her, alright? I'll see you later!"

Jumping up from the couch, Iggy and Gazzy left the room and Angel sat down on the floor across from the couch and crossed her legs, giving me an apologetic look.

Frustrated that I couldn't even cheat, I turned the T.V. off in a huff and sat for a few minutes in angry silence before I heard a voice.

"You know, it's not that hard."

I jumped. I'd forgotten Fang was even in the room. I saw him sitting in an armchair, watching me.

I shot him a confused look.

"The not talking thing." he clarified. "You can do it. It's not as hard as you think. Just take a deep breath and count to ten when you get the urge to talk, and you won't need to anymore. It'll calm you down, so you don't break in front of Iggy."

I stared at Fang, surprised he had said so much, and gave him a small nod. However, I refused to believe that it could be that easy. Taking a deep breath? Where the heck did Fang even come up with that. I retreated back into my angry thoughts. After a few more minutes, Fang got up and walked out of the room.

"Don't worry, Fang was just trying to help." Angel offered kindly, obviously having heard my internal fuming. "I mean, it's not like he was trying to make you feel worse." I grudgingly nodded.

"Well," she went on, "of course, it probably makes you feel pretty bad when other people talk and you can't, so maybe he made you mad because of that, but he was just being nice. And besides, you could always try his advice out. Maybe it might work. And coming from Fang, you know he meant it because he only ever says stuff that's important." Angel nodded knowingly, ending her speech.

I glared at her for a second. Was it just me, or was she mocking me? And that too at my lowest moment? I didn't know what to say.

Oh wait. I couldn't say anything.

Well, now was as good a time as ever to try out Fang's advice. I took a deep breath, counting to ten, and by the end, I did feel surprisingly calmer.

Then, Angel, still staring at me, decided to speak up again.

"Was it something I said?"

Clenching my fists, I shot up from the couch and marched out to the back porch, intending to scream out a few choice words in the privacy of the backyard. Angel knew better than to follow.

Unfortunately, when I slammed the porch screen behind me, Total was already reclining in a lawn chair, nose buried in a book. I slumped down onto the chair beside him, hoping fervently for him to stay silent. The last thing I needed was someone yapping their mouth off when I couldn't.

But then, today wasn't exactly my day.

"Aah!" Total relished. "The joys of reading the words of Kipling! Nudge, just look at this! The beauty! The art! The words just roll off your tongue!"

I groaned inwardly and took the book he pushed toward me, knowing it was useless to argue. I glanced through the first few pages, taking in a few words from each and nodding and pretending I was paying attention to Total ramble on about this Kipling guy. After all, since when did I care about poetry?

Then again... maybe Kipling was smarter than I thought. He made good use of his writing. I mean, if I couldn't talk, I could always write, right? Or even type! I didn't have to talk to communicate with people!

Excited, I jumped up from the chair, causing the book to fall off my lap and onto the porch, much to Total's displeasure. I went inside the house and up to the girls' room and grabbed the first notebook and pen I saw.

After all, Iggy had never said anything about writing, had he?

Excited about the loophole I had found, I rushed back downstairs to show Angel my discovery. I rushed down the staircase, down the hallway, and was going full speed through the dining room when I tripped on one of the chair legs at the dining table. My notebook and pen went flying as I fell to the ground, and my ankle twisted as I fell, sending a sharp pain up my leg. Well great. This was definitely not my best day.

Groaning at my luck, I rolled over onto my back and rubbed my nose, which had (luckily) broken my fall. Opening my eyes, I blearily looked up, discovering that I had rolled under the dining table and was now looking up at the underside of it.

Wait...I was under the dining table...

The dining table Iggy and I had played poker at.

The dining table Iggy had won at poker at.

The dining table that, I could now see, had cards stuck to the bottom of it!

...Well, needless to say, I was furious.

As I lay there, I clenched my fist, thinking of various ways to get back at Iggy for cheating (all of which were quite violent). I couldn't wait to get my hands on him! I mean, I knew that it was wierd that he had won at poker, and I should have suspected him of doing something like this! However, just as I was about to jump up from my spot and find that cheating loser, Iggy's words from the day before came back to me.

"Just remember that from the moment you wake up tomorrow morning to the end of the day, you're not allowed to say anything."

Hmm...

I thought back over those words as my lips slowly curled up into a smirk.

'Well well well, Iggy,' I thought. 'Looks like I've found two loopholes.'

- 11:58 p.m. -

I giggled silently as I snuck out of my bed while trying not to wake Max or Ella. Angel gave me a thumbs-up from her sleeping bag before I slipped out the door, ready to execute my master plan.

I crept down the dark hallway in my pajamas, and paused when I reached the boys' room, looking down at my watch. The numbers glowed 11:59.

I smiled.

Then, turning the doorknob, I entered the room. Fang, already up at the sound of the doorknob turning, sat up in his sleeping bag. I ignored the questioning look he gave me as I silently moved past Gazzy's bed and approached Iggy's. I casually sat down on it, and looked down at my watch one more time before reaching over to turn on the bedside lamp. It was now 12:00.

Iggy stirred at the click.

"Wha? Huh?"

I leaned close to him, my smile growing bigger as I thought of how he wasn't going to get anymore sleep tonight.

"Hello, Iggy." I said simply.

For a second, I could tell Iggy was confused.

Then, his face widened into a gigantic grin as realized that I had just spoken. He sat up, punching the air. "YES! I knew you couldn't do it, Nudge! I knew you'd break before the day was over! YES!" Then proceeded to laugh in my face.

Which, of course, only made me smile more.

"Really, Iggy?" I asked. "Did I break before the day was over?"

At this, Iggy momentarily stopped his little victory rant and snorted. "Well, yeah, of course! You weren't supposed to talk until tomorrow, and as far as I know, it's only-"

"12:01, now." I stated, cutting him off. "Which I'm pretty sure makes it tomorrow. Right, Iggy?"

Iggy froze. I laughed as I watched the smirk dissapear from his face, replaced with a frown. "But...but you can't..." He drifted off, realizing I was right.

"What's going on?" Gazzy asked sleepily from behind me. I guess all of Iggy's yelling had woken him up.

"Nothing." I shrugged nonchalantly, turning to him for a moment. "I just proved Iggy wrong."

I turned back to Iggy, who spoke.

"Well," he fought to keep his pride. "Fine." he said, with venom in his voice. " You won. Alright?" He reached over to turn the lamp back off before I stopped him.

I laughed again. "Oh no, Iggy. It's not alright."

Iggy's face began to show dread as he realized that I meant to get my revenge on him.

"In fact, that's why I'm here." I made myself comfy on his bed, making it obvious I wasn't going to leave anytime soon. "After all, so much happened today. We have a lot to talk about, don't we? Almost enough to...say, take all night long?"

Iggy groaned. Tonight was gonna be a long night for him.

Okay, so not my best work, I know. You may berate me in your reviews, if you wish. However, this is probably my first time 'fun writing' in months, so cut me some slack? College essays are even less fun than they sound. :) Okay, so I make no promises on when the next chapter will be up. However, rest assured that there will be another one. After all, we're only, like 3 chapters into this, right? And I intend to finish it! So keep you eyes peeled if you're interested in more, and I'll try to update quick. Thanks for reading!