Later that day I ended up leaning against my car with Fang in front of me leaning just barely on his black motorcycle parked beside my mustang. He was telling me about his younger sister, Nudge, who was Ella's age but she didn't come to school today because she had to go to a dentists' appointment. Somehow I got Fang to talk just by telling him I liked his motorcycle and that just started our conversation until it stretched to the point we were talking about our families. I never mentioned anything about Jeb but I did tell him my real dad was killed during a bombing when he was sent across seas to serve our country. He told me his dad was working on a book and his mom was the woman that sold our house to my mom; he was actually fun to talk to. And I didn't once notice the eyes staring at us from over at Iggy's and Ratchet's golden mini-van that I found very un-California-like.
The rest of the school day was filled with Ella, Maya, and I sitting in the library filling out the paper that asked us what three extra things we wanted to do. Tomorrow I would be starting my music class, cooking class, and art class and Fang surprisingly was going to be in all three of those classes with me. He can barely cook while I can't cook at all without burning the water; yes I can actually somehow burn water! Mom thinks I'll be the worst housewife the world has ever seen, yeah she only knows about my school records but she doesn't really care as long as my grades are up, and they are really up there. Gym was a riot since everyone in our group, or flock as we like to call ourselves, was in that same class and today we played dodge-ball like we were still in middle school. It was gym that made me and Fang become awesome friends in just a matter of that one hour.
*Flashback to Gym Class*
Girls swarmed the locker rooms when I walked in and started changing into my gym clothes in front of my locker with Kate, Star, Maya, Ella, and JJ somewhere close to me. We finished changing and I slipped my foot into my last blood-red tennis shoe to match my baggy red jersey that covered my black sports-bra and my really-short black gym shorts. Then we left the changing room together when I finally saw the school slut that Iggy was talking this morning, the Redheaded Wonder Lisa Berns. She was wearing her sports bra but with nothing over it and a very-short skirt that barely covered her butt let alone parts of her legs. I was disgusted just watching her waltz over to Fang in her way-too-high high-heels and I'm pretty sure I saw her slip some money into our Gym Coach's hand as she walked by him.
She whispered something in his ear and ran her rather-long fingernails down his arm and then to his stomach where she kept inching her nails down to the buttons on his jeans. For some reason my jaw clenched and I stalked over to them with Star and Kate trailing behind me already betting on what I'll do to this skank. Lisa was saying something along the lines of "Come to my place tonight and we'll entertain each other," to the point where Fang was pretty much gagging. He actually shot me a pleading look and I nodded before mouthing 'Go along with it,' and he just barely nodded his head and started inching away from Lisa. I walked right up to them and tapped this idiot Lisa on the shoulder to where she spun around and tripped on her stupid even-inch heels. "What?" she screeched in a voice that resembles a mouse.
"Get your hands off of my man," I growl dangerously low and Lisa gulps but doesn't move away from a wide-eyed Fang, who obviously wasn't expecting this. I narrow my eyes at the red-headed bimbo and repeat, "Get your dirty hands off of my man or you're going to need another nose job."
"OOOOHHHH," Iggy yells and I smirked a little as Lisa's hand suddenly snapped out to try and slap me but my awesome reflexes caught her skinny wrist in between my fingers. She was wide-eyed as she jerked her wrist out of my grasp and pushed away from Fang to try and out-glare me but her glare couldn't make a butterfly flinch.
She squeaked, "What did you say to me?" and I smirked as I crossed my arms lazily but kept up my glare as I just barely gave Fang the single to get away with my fingers.
And I continued, "He doesn't like you. He will never like you. So get your hands off of my man and take your slutty ways elsewhere to a guy that wants a free night with you," my voice was a dangerous growl. Lisa screamed and I rubbed my ear because now my ears were actually ringing from that high-pitched screech that I bet dogs were attracted to.
"DODGEBALL TIME!" our coach blew into his whistle as I turned on my heel and walked back over to my group of friends that were snickering together. I joined them and Ella burst out laughing on my shoulder with tears leaking out of her eyes while she was taking in gulps of air to try and calm down.
"What is so funny to you people?" I ask and see that Fang is equally confused.
Dylan, another person to the group and the guy Maya just so happened to bump into this morning, started to explain but then he rippled back into laughs. So then Ella explained as she straightened up, "You sounded like one of those idiot blondes on reality TV that act for the fame during that whole scene with Lisa. But you really took it to the next level when you said 'Get your hands off of my man' and that just killed us!" she did another round of giggles when she finished.
They finally shut up when I hit Iggy in the head with a passing dodge-ball; he screamed when it hit his forehead and sent him crashing back into Ella. Then they both tumbled to the ground with Iggy landing on top of her with both of his hands on the floor on each side of her head. We all stared at the two until our coach screamed, "No PDA! Now let's start this thing, so line up and pick your captains and captains pick your teams!" The two teenagers on the floor scrambled up to their feet with Iggy actually pulling Ella to her feet with both of them blushing furiously.
In the end I ended up as a captain and Fang ended up as the other captain, so we started to call out the people for our teams going back and forth. I got Maya, Fang got Iggy, I got Star, Fang got Kate, I got Ratchet, Fang got Ella, I got Dylan, Fang got Holden, I got Sam, and Fang got JJ and so on. Most of the athletic people were on my team except for Lisa, who was the last person to get chosen; besides I don't want someone on my team wearing heels like hers and neither does Fang, apparently. My team was on one side of the gym and Fang's was on the other and each team started with seven dodge-balls; I got one of them first since I was captain and Maya also got one thankfully. The whistle blew and Lisa was immediately hit by a dodge-ball from Fang; she screeched and marched off to the bleachers grumbling about 'ungrateful men' or something.
A ball from Iggy went towards my head but I dodged it at the last second while throwing my ball at his shoulder; he tried to dodge but it hit him in the gut. He grumbled incoherent words and stalked over to the bleachers where he sat down and started cheering on Ella; she turned to grin at him. Ratchet took that chance and nailed Ella on the leg, and that's how the game continued until it was only me, Star, Holden, and Fang left against each other. The best part of the whole game came when Star and Holden launched the balls at each other and they hit their bodies at the exact same time. They stalked off the court and I balanced two of the dodge-balls in my hands while Fang stood with one in both hands; I threw one at his shoulder. He dodged and I threw the other during his time of weakness but he also managed to dodge that one so he was armed and I was a moving target.
"Come on, Fangy-poo!" I call tauntingly and he pretends to throw the ball but I, of course, fall for it and pounce at him to try and dodge it. Yes, I just now realized crossing the line in the middle of the gym was a fowl but we went rolling across the floor with me managing to snatch a ball on the way. I ended up hovering above Fang with the ball poised in my hand; his black eyes stared into my own and I smiled evilly at the teenager. Gently, I lowered the ball and touched it to his chest, "Got you," before I hopped up and pulled him to his feet; I still lost, though, since I crossed the line.
But ever since then Fang and I were awesome friends and I actually got him to talk in full sentences with me for the rest of the gym class period. The rest of the group was stunned when they found Fang and I actually laying on the bleachers with the top of our heads touching while he listened to me talk about how good my mom's chocolate chip cookies are. Simple story, simple friendship, and awesome match of dodge ball all rolled into one long day.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
And that is how I ended up standing here ignoring my sister's complaints from behind me in my car while I finish talking to Fang about the whole act today. He agreed that it was pretty amusing to see Lisa stomp away and almost break her ankle from doing so, and then Ratchet walked over with a grin. Ratchet and Star seemed pretty close and they always blush after someone in the group comments on them staring at each other for too long. They do twine their hands together under the table; I noticed this at lunch but didn't say anything because I knew they were in the middle of a secret relationship. Now Star was smirking at me as she walked up behind Ratchet and we all watched Fang put on his motorcycle helmet and get on his bike. "So, Max, we're all heading to the beach in about an hour, do you and your lovely sisters want to come down with us?" he asks and I pretend to think about it.
Now is the time where I should lie and tell him we had to unpack some more stuff even though we were already completely packed into the house before we got here in the first place. But this was my time to blend in and forget about my past and about all of the abusing I've been through; this was a new beginning for my family and for me. It was a decision that I could decide to make us friends for good or to break this off and go back to being a loner, but I knew what me decision would be before I opened my mouth to tell them. "Sure, we'll be there," I decide and then tell them I'll see them later before I slide into my car and take my grumbling sisters home when Ella decided she wanted to annoy me.
She starts with, "So you and Fang seem to be getting close," but she has to shout it over the sound of the wind rushing past our ears with the salty air stinging my face. I loved driving with my roof down so I could just feel everything that's hanging in the air and so I can help reserve energy and that kind of stuff. Ella has bothered me about this ever since gym class when we were in the library for our last two to three hours left of school; Maya was silent the whole time. Of course she didn't realize it but she was sketching her name and Dylan's name in little hearts all over the notes she actually took in Science today.
I mock my younger sister, "So you and Iggy seem to be getting close," and she shuts her mouth, "And you and Dylan seem to be getting really close!" Maya shoots me an irritated look but doesn't reply even when I pull into our new driveway and hop out of my car with my sisters following behind me. "We have an hour and then we're going down to the beach with everyone else," I tell Maya and Ella after I push open the front door and start towards my bedroom up the stairs.
Then Maya and Ella yell at the exact same time, "We get to pick out your beach outfit! It was part of the deal!" and I outwardly cringe at the thought. Clothes for school is enough but for the beach is pure torture, I don't even want to think about what kind of bathing suit they'll put me in. It wasn't until I got into my bedroom did I realize Maya knew about the deal, too, meaning she knew about my old street-fighting habits; this was just terrific!
*TIME SKIP*
Half an hour later my sisters burst into my bedroom wearing matching pink and purple bikinis; Maya got the purple and Ella got the pink, of course. Over their bathing suits were see-through cover-ups that really wouldn't do anything against the sun or to block the vision of their half-naked bodies. So when Maya pulled a pink bikini out from behind her back I screamed and protested and fought against them until they finally used one of the new bikinis in my closet that I didn't aprove of. This one was white with dark blue stripes going across it; my bra and panties covered more than the stupid thing did! Okay maybe not... oh be quiet! They paired it with white flip-flops, a white and blue beach bag with a rope strap, and black sunglasses and then they searched for a cover-up. I ended up in a sleeve-less black dress going to mid-thigh with white, pink, purple, and blue going down the middle of the front.
We left the house with Ari coming along since Star told me her little sister, Angel, was Ari's age and her little brother, Gazzy, was two years older than Ari. It took five minutes for me to drag Maya kicking and protesting after I told her that, yes, Dylan was coming to the beach with the rest of us. She didn't want him to see her in her brand new bikini that was so proud of until about five seconds into the walk when she asked about him. Now I was stabbing my new beach umbrella into the sand, sliding on my sunglasses, spreading my purple towel out on my relaxing lay back beach chair, and laying back. I had my ear-plugs in my ears so Paramore filled my ears until about six or seven shadows added to the shadow my umbrella was giving me. After another half second I yanked my plugs from my ears and sat up to glare at whoever interupted me to see the rest of the gang standing there.
"Max!" Star exclaims as she lays out her towel beside my chair and she drops her bag ontop of it, "We're glad you could make it but you should seriously come into the water." I was listening but I was also watching Dylan stare when Maya suddenly appeared from beneath the waves and she flipped her hair back out of her face. He watched her swing Ari up onto her back when he was trying to run through the waves and she flipped him over to throw him farther into the waves.
"Lover boy, stop staring at Maya!" Me, Iggy, Kate, Fang, Ratchet, Holden, Star, Ella, JJ, and Sam snapped at the exact same time so Dylan swiveled back around to look at us sheepishly. "That was creepy," Kate muttered but suddenly spread her towel out beside Star's and then she pulled her green cover-up over her head. "Come on, Ratchet, we're going swimming," she grinned as he yanked his shirt off and jogged after her into the crashing waves of the ocean.
Star suddenly pulled two young kids out from behind her and the little girl with curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes grins at me brightly, "Max this is Angel. And this is Gazzy," she gestured to the little boy with spiky blonde hair and the same bright blue eyes, but his were filled with this mischievousness only little boys can pull off.
Fang suddenly goes down next to my ear and says in a sexy, low voice, "She forced them to come here, so if a changing tent suddenly explodes don't blame Gazzy or Iggy." He gives me a wink and then very slowly pulls off his black t-shirt as if he was trying to tease me, and I seriously bet he was. It started out as a sliver of olive-toned skin and then his belly button until it was completely off and over his head to land in the sand. His eight pack of sexy abs were in full view now and I looked down when I saw him smirking down at me, and I realized I was suddenly blushing again.
JJ said, "Let's go you guys!" but I only laid back down as they took over their shirts and cover-ups to go crashing into the waves one after the other. I stayed where I was even when JJ yelled, "COME ON MAX!" over and over again until her voice almost went hoarse; then someone else came over to me.