Me: Ok. Time warp time. This is about five days later. They've pretty much searched all the alleys in those days. Now for buildings. I think you're going to like this one.

Angel: Oh! Good one, Fighter!

Gazzy: What? What?

Iggy: Is it dirty?!

Angel: Hehe...

Max: No, don't even DARE to say anything even REMOTELY entertaining!

Me: Then don't do anything even remotely entertaining.

Max: *killer death glare*

Me and Angel: Hehehe...

Fang: ...

Me: NOW ON TO THE READING! (HA! I love that!)

I own nothing. Except my pure imagination. *smirk* Willy Wonka reference.

Max POV

Days have gone by. We've stayed with the awkward one-sleeps-on-the-bed-the- other-on-the-floor routine. It's still not working out that well. And sadly, we've all pretty much gotten used to the new routine of being handcuffed together. We sat at the table waiting for Iggy to finish cooking breakfast. I could smell the delicious aroma as it floated through the door of the mystery room that no one allows me into, (AKA: The kitchen. I wonder why...) all the way to where we sat anxiously waiting for our food.

"Food, food, food. Food!" Total kept whining from his chair next to Angel. Yes, our dog sits at the table. But he eats with his face. Thumbs, anyone? It can be a bit gross sometimes, watching as his snout got cover in anything from spaghetti sauce and noodles, to waffle bits and syrup. And cleaning the slobber off of his plate when he's done is something that we give as punishment. If no one's in trouble...well, let's just say that it's a good thing we don't have neighbors. The argument can get pretty loud.

(In case you didn't know, Mom owns an old farmhouse. All but the actual farm part included. We even had our own little lake. More about that later.)

"Here comes the food!" Iggy called. Oh, my mouth was watering. It swear, I think I was drooling.

Iggy strode in dramatically, holding a tray of food in each hand. His eyes were closed and he wore a very smug smirk on his face. Wow, hooking up with Ella has boosted someone's self esteem (Iggy, if someone didn't catch my sarcastic remark). His smirk ticked me off. But he deserved to be happy, so I'd resist the temptation of smacking his overly-happy face. He swept up to the table and set the trays down easily, despite his blindness. How does he do that?

Then I saw it. The glorious French toast. Bread dipped in a mixture of beaten egg, milk, sugar and cinnamon is divine. Sent from Heaven. The other tray had scrambled eggs and mounds of juicy, mouth-watering bacon. I grabbed and handful of bacon, and two pieces of French toast. And to answer any question, yes. I made a French toast and bacon sandwich. I handed that one to Fang, then made another one for myself. Then while biting into it, I dragged Fang to the front door.

Nudge started talking then. "Where are you guys going? Can I go with you? I won't dumpster dive, but it would be fun to watch you guys get covered in crap. Well? Please? I won't bother you! Too much... Can we wait 'til I'm done eating? Cause I don't want to walk around with my breakf-" That's when I shut the door.

"Gazzy! Gross!" we heard as Total's muffled yell reached us. I walked down the starch white steps, still dragging Fang along behind me. While Mom was away, our lawn's gotten a bit overgrown, but I'll just have Gazzy do it. I headed off towards the mall. Best place to look first, right?

First store we see? Rue 21. We looked through clothing racks, behind the counter, in changing rooms, and everywhere we could think of. Fang even broke into the cash register while the clerk was off helping someone. No key.

Next store? One of those underwear shops. But, really? This was a disaster waiting to happen. Talk about awkward! I shook my head and started to walk in. I wouldn't put it past the kids to hide it in here, just to see my embarrassment. Fang hesitated at the door.

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. I guess Mr. Emotionless was nervous about being in a underwear store with a girl. Figures.

"It's not like you can wait outside while I go inside," I reminded him. Sighing, he followed me in.

And a very plump lady, almost fat to be honest, ran past us, the stack of parachute-sized underwear tottering dangerously. Her heavy make-up (Blood red lipstick, horribly put-on bright pink blush, and sparkly silver eye shadow. Even I can tell how bad that looks. Time with Nudge does that to people.) I barely dodged a frilly pink pair that came flying at my face. This place was dangerous!

Fang and I decided to check the guy's section first. We walked in what I hope was a casual way towards the racks. When we got close enough, I dove into the nearest rack. To the average bystander, it looked like Fang had fallen and nearly cracked his head on the metal bar. And maybe the possible flash of my epic dive, but they would miss that if they blinked.

"Anything?" Fang asked.

"Nope," I replied. One down, about 99 to go. Not to mention the possibility that it was in the pocket of some purchased item of a different clothing store. This was so not going to be easy. And note to self: Never again hide in racks of underwear. Men's boxers slapping me in the face was not my idea of fun.

...

So we finished the male section. Now for the females'. But now Fang was going to hide. You know, 'cause it's the girls' section. And Fang is obviously not a girl, and therefore cannot be seen hanging around the female section. I felt really weird just standing in front of a bra rack doing nothing. The store clerk obviously saw me, and mistook my awkwardness for a not-quite-sure-what-I'm-looking-for type of look.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked. All I saw was cleavage from her really green, really deep V-neck , her jean miniskirt and long, dark red hair. I looked at her nametag and read it as Lissa. The light dusting of freckles across her nose stretched as she smiled widely at me, her teeth almost blinding in their whiteness.

She started circling me like a vulture, looking me up and down. Then she got a strange look in her eye.

"I know just what you need," she said. Grasping my free hand, she started dragging me towards the changing rooms. "We need to get you measured."

The handcuff was pulling on my wrist as Fang tried to stay hidden. Then he tumbled out. Lissa stared down at him, then up at me. A knowing look came onto her face.

Smiling wryly, she said, "Lost the key, huh?"

"Um, it was hidden," I told her.

"Friends pulled a prank?" she asked.

"You could say that."

Fang pulled himself up and dusted off his jeans.

She glanced at him then continued, "Well next time take the key inside your room next time and make sure to lock the door." Then I realized what she meant.

"Oh, gosh no! That's not what I meant at all!"

Her bright green eyes stared at me in confusion.

"Then what did you mean?" she asked.

"Our friends thought it would be funny to handcuff us together and hide the key somewhere in town. Nothing else." She still looked skeptical, but didn't say anything else. She even helped us look. While we were looking for the key by the sports bras, and Fang was still hiding, she glanced at me smirking.

"If you don't want him, I'll take him off your hands," she whispered. I am sure that she gladly would, but for some reason, that sentence that she just said really got on my nerves. In simpler words, she ticked me off. I wasn't going to let it show of course. Luckily, that was the last rack to look in. We were done in this store.

I pulled Fang up, and said, "That's it for today. We'll start again tomorrow."

Lissa stopped Fang at the door, her hands on his chest.

"I'll be here tomorrow if you need any help." she murmured. Then she whispered something into his ear. Something that I couldn't hear.

"I'll see you later," she said. To Fang, of course. She winked at him then walked away, hips swaying.

...

Fang POV

I can't stop thinking about what Lissa whispered to me. She'd said, "I'll be here when you get those cuffs off too. For some alone time, maybe?" I have to admit, she is attractive. There was something about her long, dark red hair...

...

Max POV (Again :D Fun, right?)

I slammed the door shut behind us.

"We're home!" I yelled.

We walked into Angel, the Gasman, Nudge, Iggy and Ella all laughing over something Angel had said.

"What did we miss?" I asked.

"Nothing, nothing." Iggy choked out. I guess Iggy had made milkshakes because Gazzy just spewed some all over the dining room in a new burst of laughter. I glared at them suspiciously.

Slowly turning towards Angel, I said, "What did you tell them?" My voice sounded dark and dangerous. I gave myself a pat on the back. Good job, Max. Turning my attention back to Angel, I repeated the question.

"Well," she said, "Only everything that happened at the mall. You know, with Lissa and your adventures in the underwear store." Gazzy snickered.

"I mean, wow, that seemed so embarrassing, but, like, at the same time, sorta fun! But I know I wouldn't want to hang around in an underwear rack. But did you see how that Lissa chick dressed? Ok, she's a little bit pretty, but she sure as heck knows it! She was totally drooling on the inside over Fang! But on the outside, she's like, too cool for normal people. We aren't normal exactly, but still. Anyone want ice cream? I mean, I just got an overwhelming urge to eat ice cream. Who needs healthy? We're naturally skinny after all, well, not naturally, but anyway, why not use that to eat a whole gallon of ice cream?" Nudge said. Really fast. Like, a 7.5 second speech.

I woke up from the hibernation-type state that I go into whenever Nudge starts talking.

"You done yet?" I asked.

"Define done-mmmftt."

Everyone (except Nudge) started cheering when Iggy put his hand over Nudges mouth.

"She's licking me!" Iggy laughed. Nudge should have known that wouldn't work on him.

Well, I guess this is my family. Gotta love 'em. Even when they handcuff you to your best friend. Who happens to be a boy. This train of thought is not helping my love for my family grow, if you know what I mean.

Done? Sorry it took so long... D: I try. Next chapter coming soon! Hopefully. R&R. Peace out. Bro Fist. High-five. See ya.

Fly on,

Fighter