Sorry for the wait, everyone!
Zach: But hey! She's updating.
Abby: And he's being nice. -smiles-
Zach: Kinda..?
Abby: It's only cause we're getting married tomorrow!
Zach: -loses color in face-
Abby: Eh, I'm kidding you, I'm kidding you. We're getting married in ten minutes, so get a move on with the reading, fellas!
Zach: -turns green and whispers- help...

I shook my head, ridding my mind of the memory.

As the years went on, teasing increased by Ari and his dumb friends, but with everyone else it died down. Plus, I had my best friend.

The summer going into seventh grade, Nudge moved away. I was devastated, as was Fang. We felt alone, but we weren't. We always had and always would have one another. That same year, I was out of school and being taught by the one and only Fang for four months for chemo. He was there for me when I was barely even there. He held my hair for me while I was barfing my brains out. Projectile vomit? No problem. He promised me that he would always be there and for four years, he's kept that promise.

I had to tell him about this... I mean, how could I avoid it? I'm dying, for God's sake! What do I do, wait until I'm dead and have my mom apologize for us keeping him out of the loop? That'll fly over well, he'd probably kill himself. And that's just what we need; two dead outcasts.

Well hey, it would be like a less romantic, modern day Romeo and Juliet, if you're thinking positively. Face death with a smile, I always say.

I rolled onto my other side and reached for the cordless phone in its dock on my ivory bedside table. Dialing the number I had memorized by heart so long ago, I pushed the buttons to call Fang's house phone.

"Max!" I could hear a smile in his voice. Since I was eleven years old I've liked him. Well, okay, that's a little white lie. I've liked him since he defended me on the first day of fifth grade. And ever since, I always hope there's a little bit more behind his "Max!"'s when he answers the phone... There never was.

"Heyya, Fang." I cleared my throat; mistake number one for showing I'm nervous. "So... uh... Clyde says uh.. hi." I stuttered; mistake number two. He chuckled.

"That man's always had a liking for me."

"Well, you basically saved my life." I could sense a bad look through the phone; we never talked about it. It was the unspoken rule, which brings me to mistake number three. "About the tumor..." I dragged off. How do you tell your best friend you're a freshman in highschool and you're dying? I heard Fang stop breathing momentarily.

"Max... What happened? What did he say? The tumor's gone, right?" He was frantically searching for that glimpse of hope he always desperately needed. Suddenly, I heard Mrs. Allen in the background.

"Nick, honey, the turkey's ready! And I made your favorite, garlic mashed potatoes!" He gave a half-hearted laugh.

"It's the special dinner. I haven't heard one of these since... Jeez, since I had to leave Montana to come here. I can only imagine what news she has to break to me now. Maybe she's engaged to a real doctor." I laughed at his joke, but was worried. What would she have to talk to him about?

"Well... Okay, but after dinner can you bike over here? You tell me your news and I'll tell you mine." I heard a small thud.

"Ow. Stubbed my toe. Okay, Max. Miss ya, see you later!" He hung up with a click.

I sighed, placing the phone back in its spot and stared up at my ceiling. Before I knew it, twenty minutes passed. I dragged myself towards the green and purple pillows that engulfed my window seat and stared up at the clouds and the almost visible stars. I heard a sudden, tiny knock on my door.

"Come in," I quietly replied. My little sister, Ella, entered my room and closed the door behind her. I patted the spot next to me and she plopped down on top of a few throw pillows. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy so I could only assume that she had been crying.

"You put those tears away, okay? Nobody brings my kid sister to tears." I nudged my finger up against her chin, smiling. However, the dark look in her eyes only became worse.

"Max... I don't want you to die. I can't do it without you. Everything's hard enough as it is and you're the one who helps me get through everything." She stared up at the tie dye bandana that covered my bare head. I kissed her furrowed forehead and pulled her ten year old body to mine.

"Ahw, El. Don't you worry about me, ya hear? You hafta make sure Igs doesn't burn the house down and that mom stays alright." We gave our brother, Jeff, a nickname a few years ago because of his love for pyrotechnics. Ignite turned to Iggy and it stuck. She attempted at a laugh through her quiet sobs.

Another knock interrupted our moment and Iggy walked in. The sixteen year old shook off a few stray tears and hugged the two of us.

"Fang's here, Max. He brought Angel and Gazzy with him."

I chuckled, thinking of the time I helped Fang nickname his little brother. Word of advice: never give that kid a burrito. I grabbed Ella's hand and the three of us walked out to the driveway together. My mom kissed my forehead on the way out and we saw my best friend and his two siblings.

I ran up to him and hugged him strongly. I couldn't bring myself to form any sentences. I felt a little hand tug at my shirt and saw six year old Angel. I knelt beside her and gave her a hug.

"Hey, Ange. I missed you." I winked at her and tickled her tiny belly quickly. I noogied Zephyr and walked up to Fang.

"Okay, bud, your news first." For only the second time in four years, I saw tears fill in my best friend's eyes. He sucked a breath in and I felt myself become more and more nervous.

"Come on, you three. I'm pretty sure my mom just made some chocolate chip cookies." Iggy brought Ella, Gazzy and Angel inside, leaving Fang and me alone. We walked up to the two-seater swing on our front porch and he rubbed the cushion next to him.

"You're gonna want to sit down for this one."

He might as well have said, 'Welcome to hell, Maximum Martinez.'

Sorry for the cliff hanger! But I have this terrible rash on my face (it started swelling on Sunday) and my jerk doctor put me on prednisone. He told me that I could gain 20 pounds, think I'm seeing ghosts, and have mood swings! Oh, and the meds he gave me have side affects of swelling, itching and redness... Cause I would be able to identify the difference between the swelling, itchy redness on my face and the swelling, itchy redness that would be forming... I repeat, he's a jerk! Point is, its also been giving me hot flashes and making me extremely tired. So I hope you enjoy what I wrote for now!
Zach: Please review!
Abby: And for those of you who were kindly wondering, our wedding went surprisingly well.
Zach: Yeah, considering our priest was your My Twin Doll, Olivia.
Abby: Don't make me divorce you, boy. -scowls-
Zach: Yes, dear...
Abby: But as we were saying, review, please! Feedback makes me happy and I love knowing what y'all are thinking!

Love and Sister's Bras,
Abby

P.S. I realized that in the first chapter I made Monique, (Nudge), one of Max's sisters, but she moved away after being Max's best friends... So I had to change that. And Nudge might come back into the sequel for a short amount of time, but I'm terribly sorry for kind of excluding her. But long story short, (too late, I know), this is basically a Max and Fang story. Review, loves!

Max POV