Hi! :) Ok, this one's a bit shorter, but I wanted to update before the weekend, and I promise I'll get another one up soon! I think this chappie is a bit OOC, and its kind of a filler, but it's leading up to something. Oh, and not much Fang in here either. Kk, Imma stop talking, well, writing.

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride

When I was thirteen, I ran away from home. I had just gotten my first letter from my dad since he had left, and all it said was I'm sorry. Which is fucking bull shit. If he was sorry, he wouldn't of left us in the first place. So I burned it, nearly burning the whole house down in the process.

But can you honestly blame me? I was sad and lonley. He was my best friend. We were closer than I was with my mom, and he just left. Without any warning. I think that what was the worst part, was that he'd been thinking about leaving us for months, and he acted the same; looking at me with the pride and love in his eyes that I still miss.

At Gazzy's graduation party, Gazzy's best friend, Matt, came up to me. I was sitting alone in a corner, listening to my iPod, and he came up, holding a bottle of root beer and a bag of sour cream and vinegar chips.

"Here." He handed the chips to me, and took a sip of the pop, straight from the bottle.

It was the year my dad left, and I remember being a bit confused. Matt was the only one friend of Gazzy's that didn't talk to me. He wasn't mean or anything, he just didn't like me; so I returned the courtesy.

He looked at me and sighed. "Your dad's a jackass."

A tear escaped, and rolled my cheek, scorching the path it made. "Yeah, I know."

Being eleven, on the verge of turning twelve, I was still naive. Especially with boys. And being around Matt made me feel kinda uncomfortable. The silence that filled the air wasn't actually awkward, but my brain was freaking out, and it just made it all the more.

"You want some?" He asked, handing me the bottle. I nodded and took it, gulping it down, testing it first to make sure it actually was root beer.

"Why are you here?" I blurted out, unable to help myself. I flushed with embarrassment, thinking for sure he'd laugh at me.

He didn't.

Sighing he answered, "I was waiting for you to ask that." He sat up, cracking his knuckles. I winced, dad used to do that.

"You can't help who you fall in love with you know."

I looked at him. "He was in love with my mom."

"Maybe he wasn't."

I turned to him, tears in my eyes. "He was. He loved her."

"Okay. Sorry." He shurgged, chugging down the soda.

"So, why'd he leave?" I whispered.

He looked back up at me. "Like I said, you can't help who you fall in love with." He repeated.

"Well, thanks, I guess."

"Yeah, sure." He paused, staying silent for a minute, "Don't tell anyone I was with you okay? Just, tell everyone I got high and went to the strip club."

I nodded, confused once again. I had no idea what the getting high was, let alone a strip club.

All I've wanted since then was for my mom to be happy. Not myself, just her. My brother and I are independent, because of our stupid ass father, so we're fine on our own. But my mom- the divorce hit her hard. I'm pretty sure she tried suicide a few times, it was that bad.

One day, a month after the grad party, I went downtown. To the poor part of town; where all the rejects and druggies live. I wanted to be surrounded by people who had problems bigger than mine. I wanted to feel like I fit in, and what do you know? I did. The last time I went back there I was sixteen, but it was because a woman scared the living Christ out of me.

There I was- sitting on the curb, watching little girls play and boys chase them around, when a lady came and sat next to me. I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes, but didn't say anything. We sat like that for three hours. Finally at eight o'clock, I stood up. I was about to walk away, when she put a hand on my arm.

I stopped and looked down at her. When she opened her mouth, I expected some deep, heartfelt shit. But what she said surprised me.

"Life's a bitch, hun. Fuck it or it'll fuck you." She gave me an old, tired smile, and left.

Now, I'm seventeen and her voice still haunts me. It sounds like a load of crap, but her words hit home. And I have no idea why.

Fuck, I don't even know what she meant, but I still think about her words. It's like I need to find out what she meant, and when I do, I'll understand everything. Or not. Probably not, I'm just so sleep deprived that my brain's going all hormonal teenage girl on me.

I didn't go to school the next day. I didn't even go home that night. I just wandered the streets aimlessly until I found a place to stay; some run down cheap ass hotel. I had about twenty bucks in my pocket and one night there cost ten. Ten. That's how cheap it was.

I didn't even sleep. I just lay there on the pullout couch, staring at the ceiling. Gazzy was going to Afghanistan. He was going to fight for the country. But, why the fuck did he have to. Call me a selfish bitch, I don't care. When your family member goes to war, you'll see how I feel. Scared. He was going to leave me, just like my dad did.

At about three, I got up. I couldn't take it anymore. No matter how much I avoided it, there was still one question ringing out in my head. What if he dies?

I trudged up the walkway to my house at five the next day. It'd been almost a full day since I'd been gone and no doubt was my mom waiting for the second it has been to call the police.

I opened the door silently, and twenty pairs of eyes snapped up to look at me.

"Hi." I said sweetly, pulling off my shoes. I knew if I looked up, I'd feel the guilt immediately, so I kept my eyes anywhere but on the people in my living room.

"Max." Gazzy started, standing up. "You've been gone for twenty four hours. What the hell?"

Oh, whoops I was wrong, it had been a full day.

"Yeah, sorry about that." I replied stubbornly, making my way to the stairs.

"No, Max we need to talk about this!" Gazzy shouted. "You can't just leave whenever you feel like it!"

I ignored him, I'd let him cool down, then we would talk.

"Where'd you go anyways? The park? Meet Fang?"

I clenched my jaw, and whipped around to face, the jumped back, finding him right next to me.

"I already told you. I'm sorry. And, I can take care of myself. I don't need your help."

"Max. Your seventeen years old, and helpless. You need all the help you can get."

My head snapped back, as if he slapped me. We've all had firsts. First kiss, first car; well this was the first time Gazzy's ever hurt me. So, being Max, I hurt him back, but punching him.

I turned around, and bounded up the stairs before he could do anything, but a voice rang out above all the chaos.

"Max."

I froze, slowly turning around.

"Dad?"

OOOH! Cliffie? Thehe. Review! Hope you liked it! Recommend this story! If you give a shout out, I'll do one for you! :)