Chapter 3- New Best Friend

"Max, get off the computer!" Nudge shouted from behind me, making me jump. "You've been sitting here for three days. MOVE. Go fly some where."

"I have not been sitting here for three days. It's only been 2!" I said defiantly. Okay, lame argument I know. But still- there was no need to exaggerate!

The truth was, ever since I'd seen "Nick's" comment on my blog, I'd been reading his non stop. I'd just gathered solid proof that he still cared about me. That he was checking up on me. It was a small victory, but I'd take what I could get.

"Do I need to set up an intervention?" She began again, "Because I will. I'll get Dylan to tie you down and I'll go in to non stop Nudge surround sound. Do you really want that?" She asked, threateningly.

"Fine" And I slid back on my new favourite chair 'accidentally' clipping Nudge's toe with the wheels.

"OW! MAX!" She shouted.

"You're tough, you can handle it." I said complacently. It was true! The girl had fought of more mutants than you could ever imagine and she was complaining about her toe.

Was I being harsh?

Maybe…

As I walked away I thought longingly of that comfy wheelie chair. It was really making a good run for my new best friend. My bed was pulling ahead by a long shot though. And then I spotted Iggy sitting by himself on the couch in the living room.

"Hey Iggy, what's up?" I asked.

"SHH, I'm hiding from Gazzie." He pulled me down to sit next to him.

From day 1, Gazzie and Iggy had always been inseparable.

"Your nine year old mutant bird kid best friend can only be so entertaining…" He went on.

And then it hit me. Iggy was 15, not 9. He was bound to crave some attention from other people his own age. I'd been so busy with 'Nick' that I'd completely forgotten about Iggy. Poor kid.

"The Gasman's bringing you down?" I tried to ask jokingly.

"That depends. Is Fang bringing you down?"

"Touché" I said slyly, "So other than that, what's up?"

"Small talk? Seriously Max? I've known you my whole life and all you can ask is 'what's up?'"

"Sorry… Well, I'm not very talkative these days as you may have noticed." I tried to amend.

"Nah. Of course not. You've just been a ghost for the past two weeks. But that's no big deal."

"Do I look like an idiot?" I asked him honestly.

"Well, I wouldn't know." He winked.

"I'm rolling my eyes Ig." I had to tell him because, well, Iggy was blind.

"But seriously? Do you think I'm an idiot?" I asked him again.

"No, of course not. Gazzie, Nudge and Angel are just kids, they don't get it yet. And I know how you feel sort of. I miss Fang too. No one can replace him and I just want you to know that I'll always be here for you. You can talk to me Max. I won't go anywhere." He said reassuringly.

"Whoa. That was actually pretty comforting. Thanks Ig." I said, hugging him.

And with that, the underdog had just pulled though. Sorry bed, sorry chair, I've found my new best friend.


Real nice. That's great Max. Hug Iggy but don't even give me a chance? What more did I have to do? I'd been kissing up to her, ALL WEEK, and I didn't even so much as get a 'hi' in the mornings at the breakfast table.

"Dylan, what are you doing?" I heard Angel ask from behind me. I spun around on my heels. Great. There was no lying to a mind reader.

"I'm...spying on Max." I said, ashamed.

"Oh. Well, you know, I can help you get with Max. It's pretty simple. You should've come to me sooner!"

"Teach me your knowledge oh wise 7 year old." I said sarcastically.

"You need to get to know her. Max hates kiss ups. She needs someone who can be his own person, but someone who can let her have space and be herself. You can't be a total doormat but you can't test her. She hates that. Never go against her unless you absolutely have to. Pick your battles. Now, you better listen because this next part is gold."

I nodded.

"You need to act like Fang. Learn how he acts, how he treats Max, what he loves about Max. But you also need to learn what you love about Max."

That was actually a good point. I didn't know what I loved about Max. I didn't even know why I wanted to be with her so badly. I needed to spend more time with her and to do that I'd have to get on her good side. Which, as Angel had pointed out, wasn't easy.

"Sit," She commanded. She pointed to a chair next to the desk. She opened up the laptop and clicked on a folder called "Fang's Stuff".

"This will help you. It's pretty much Max central. This is where you can learn how to be her perfect guy." She added.

And it really was. There were unpublished blogs, letters, notes, even pictures! I started clicking furiously. His blogs were filled with gushy details about his and Max's relationship. The pictures were his sketches of places they'd been. Surprise, surprise, Fang was an artist. I doubt he'd ever shown Max his pictures. The letters were addressed to Max and as I read them I wanted to vomit. The guy was a pile of corny love lines. How could Max be swept away by this guy? He clearly had some issues. My theory there was confirmed when I read a letter addressed to me. I had 'no right' to touch Max. Yeah right. He was out of the picture and he'd pretty much just opened up the door for me. Max would be mine and he'd do nothing about it for 20 years. And by then she'd have forgotten about him completely. This was gold. Pure Max gold. And I loved every second of it.