Max

"Excuse me?" I said. "We don't belong to anyone, and we certainly don't need taken care of." The words didn't sound nearly as threatening as I'd meant them to.

Color me way-freaked. First there's the giant Erasers; werewolves according to Angel. Of course, I wasn't entirely sure that Angel was sane right now, because as soon as the new guy appeared, OUT OF THIN STINKING AIR, Angel had leaned over and told me "vampire".

Then she and her "vampire" had their little moment and she stopped saying things.

By now, you can guess I'm pretty confused. But it's not over yet. Because things aren't weird enough, Dracula over there says "If you think that's necessary," and the reddish wolf, walked away! Then out comes this freakishly huge guy who is obviously the same person. How do I know this? Because he comes back with: "Yes, I do think it's necessary, leech!" This totally fuels my Eraser theory, because, don't werewolves need a full moon or something?

Which brings us back to here, where our Eraser and bloodsucker are fighting over who gets to "take care of them."(ominous much? ), and me trying to keep them from walking all over us. That doesn't sound nuts at all.

"We do not need anyone's help!" I shouted, sounding braver than I felt.

The "vampire" looked at me. "It seems we have a lot to learn about each other."

I was about to come back with something witty and brilliant, when Angel started walking forward.

"Angel!" I hissed, but she wasn't listening. What was wrong with her? Wasn't she the one who'd told me he was a vampire in the first place? Angel had obviously lost it.

The girl standing next to him looked worried. "Edward, what's going on?" I tucked the name into my head for later use. Names are always good. Unless they're fake. Then it's just a waste of time.

"Yeah, Edward," The "werewolf" sneered. "What are you doing to her?"

Angel was in the middle of all of us now. "Edward's not doing anything, Jacob."

"That's exactly what you'd say if you were under some vamp-" He stopped, looking nervously at us. Was he about to say vampire? Was everyone here delusional?

"Wait," Jacob said, looking at Angel quizzically. "How did you know my name?"

"Angel and I have something in common," our bloodsucker said.

Jacob looked confused. "But she's not…?"

"No," Edward said. "Think harder. Here's a hint; she'll know if you do." He winked and tapped his temple.

Jacob apparently figured it out because he swore. "She's a mind reader? But she's not a filthy, blood-sucking vampire!"

Everything was still as Jacob realized what he'd just said. So I stepped up. "So let me get this straight," I said. "You're a vampire, and their werewolves and-"

"You have wings." He interrupted me. The five of us froze; Angel looked completely calm, she'd been expecting it. Thanks a lot Angel for the heads up!

"How did you know that?" Something in common? I gasped. "You're a mind reader too!"

"I think it's time we were introduced properly. I'm Edward Cullen." He extended his pale hand toward me. "I'm a vampire."

I looked at Angel. "It's okay," she said. "He doesn't hurt people."

Jacob snorted. "Much." He muttered. I was beginning to wonder what his problem with Edward was. He didn't seem too bad to me.

"Okaaay," I said, hesitantly, taking his hand. It was cold and hard, like a rock. "I'm Max, well, Maximum Ride. I'm an avian-human hybrid."

Iggy snickered. "I don't know why you like that term Max, does it make you feel smart? You could just say bird kid." The girl next to Edward looked confused, she obviously wasn't following. I let my wings unfurl a bit. She gasped. That made me blush; it reminded me of the first time Ella had seen my wings.

Jacob let loose a few words that Angel could have gone without hearing. "So do you all…?"

I blushed harder. "Yeah, we do. I assume you already know Angel, so the dark one's Fang, the tall one's Iggy, next to him is Gasman, and last is Nudge." I stepped back to show that I was finished, and tripped over my own feet. I caught myself before I fell on my back, but it still looked pretty dumb. Of course I had to look stupid right now. Of course.