Special thanks to my Anonymous reviewer, becca4life, and Birdhearted, QuEeNoFwHiNiNg, I'm The Almighty Spell Check, anony-mouse, and Jeb's-worst-nightmare for reviews, and Jeb's-worst-nightmare for Author Alert. I really love getting reviews. They just make me so happy. Thanks for making me happy.
So, admittedly, when I started this, I had no plot. This was just going to be a random fic where the flock met characters that were really odd. But, as I began writing this, I realized how very boring it is not only for m e to write it, but for me to write as well. Now you can relax because, why there is no intricacy at this moment, I do have a rough sketch. And things DO happen.
I'm leaving for the beach on Saturday, so I probably won't have internet service for quite a while. So, I plan on writing a few chapters (if possible). If only because I'm absolutely desperate for this plot to become a plot.
Disclaimer: Unless Hanyou gets her cloning machine working, and I bribe her with cookies, I don't own Maximum Ride. :(
"Really, Fang! She's harmless!" I objected for the millionth time.
"We though Anne was harmless, too!"
"No," I shouted, getting angry now, "you thought Anne was harmless. You and the rest of the flock!"
"That's right." His voice was calmer now, barely a whisper. I could tell he was trying to calm me down. "You're normally so sensible with things like this. What's gotten into you?"
What's gotten into me? What's gotten into me?! What's gotten into him? I was tired of him overruling me. "Look Fang," I growled. "I'm going in there; anyone that wants to eat off my credit card is coming with. If you don't like it, just go to freaking LA again!"
I could tell I had hit a nerve because his eyes glazed over with hurt for a few seconds before he was able to recompose it. When he spoke, his face was a blank mask. "I promised you I wouldn't," he said softly.
I blushed slightly, but regained my internal balance quickly. "Then you'll follow me, whether you like it or not. Regardless of what you think, I am still the leader."
The flock just kind of watched us openmouthed, except Iggy of course, but even he looked surprised. We didn't get into too many fights, at least not in front of the flock.
I spun around on my heel and headed towards the door. With my enhanced bird-kid vision, I could hear five sets of soft footsteps behind me.
(A/N: I can't figure out my line break on this Microsoft07, so just pretend there is one here, since we're going to a different part of the story, and the above just isn't a chapter. And this has gotten much longer than it needs to be.)
"So this is the rest of your family?" Em asked as she saw us again, smiling hugely.
"Yep," I said, smiling back. She was the kind of girl that was just so happy, her joy was contagious. Maybe that's why I had felt so comfortable around her earlier. I hadn't wanted to admit it, but I trusted her almost as much as Ella and Dr. Martinez.
Fang looked up, and nodded briefly, apparently immune to Em's happy disease. Iggy did the same, smiling lightly, and Nudge gave a huge grin to her. Gazzy had this cute little crooked smile that made my heart beat and Angel looked, well, angelic.
"Goodness, they're so cute!" Em exclaimed, rubbing her hand through with Gazzy's spikes. "Well, the younger ones," she added apologetically towards us 14 year olds. I nodded as Gazzy ran his fingers through his hair, trying to put it back with a grimace.
"Oh, sorry," Em said to Gazzy, blushing. "I always forget that kids don't like me to do that." Her loose hair moved gently as she laughed, the soft ringing reminding of a bell.
Iggy looked up, surprised, glancing around as to where the sound had come from; although I was sure he had been able to tell. He looked a little enchanted, and for a moment I was worried. With a glance back at Em, however, I thought of it as nothing.
She wasn't particularly beautiful, and her voice wasn't incredibly melodic or anything. Em's body wasn't nearly as model-like as ours, but she seemed so sweet. She appealed to me as a friend even more than she had when I had first met her. Actually, much more.
"Well, come on," Em said, laughing again. "Why don't we find a table, and you can introduce me."
"Oh, right," I said, turning a little pink. "I forgot about that." Em smiled and shrugged as if to say "don't worry about it."
"Em, this is Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel." I pointed to each member of my flock as I said their name. "Guys, this is Em." We sat down at a huge table, with enough room for ten people.
"It's great to meet you," Em said, picking up a menu labeled "ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI." She turned it over to the back. "And I'll welcome you by giving you some of my favorites."
With another smile, she read off a lot of different rolls that she thought were best, including a PB roll, dragon roll, Japanese Lasagna, and spider roll. She also recommended the miso soup, seaweed salad, vegetable tempura, and edamame.
"Um, Iggy, would you like me to read your menu for you?" Em asked shyly, blushing slightly and looking down at the menu. Iggy, surprised, sat up at the mention of himself and then cleared his throat.
"Uh, yeah. Ah, that would be nice. Thanks, Em." Nudge frowned.
After getting us all green teas, the server came around again, asking for our order. "Now, remember guys, this is only our first round. They'll be plenty of time for more later." Em smiled, and then let us order first.
Despite the hunger that now almost completely overwhelmed me, I ordered lightly. Seaweed salad, edamame, miso soup, one order of vegetable tempura, three rolls, and a sashimi order of tuna, yellowtail, and salmon. Following my lead, the rest of the flock ordered more or less the same.
Em surprised us all by ordering my exact meal, plus one roll. "I thought this was supposed to be the first round," I said, startled.
"It is," Em said, smiling again, "I always eat a lot here. It's a buffet, so I can eat more than twice the amount I would get for this price if I ate somewhere else." She giggled at the thought. "Although their tuna can get a bit fishy sometimes," she added dreamily.
(A/N: LINE BREAK!)
We had all dug in, and it was nice to have a full stomach. I mean a really full stomach.
"Uhh.." I groaned. I hadn't though it possible, but I had eaten too much. The rest of the flock and Em moaned with me. Em had eaten a good share, but we had all devoured much more than her.
"You guys are worse than me, and I've been named "Bottomless Pit" here!" Em exclaimed, smiling though a little strained. Her stomach had expanded, and she now had a pooch, while the rest of our bodies hadn't been affected. Except for the fact I felt like I was about to explode. It would be impossible to fly tonight.
Please, please don't let there be any erasers, I thought pleadingly. I knew there was only one choice (A/N: I know, it's kind of OC, but there's no help for it.), and I had to take it.
I thought about how Em had tried to pay for us with the rest of her money, but I had rejected her. I hated to get charity, especially money, from my friends. I wondered if she would help us out in another way, though.
"Em, could we stay at your place tonight? We hadn't booked a hotel, and it'd b impossible to travel, like we had planned."
"What about your parents?" Em asked nervously. Oh, crap. I had been hoping she wouldn't ask that.
"Um, our parents are missionaries. We were traveling to our… Aunt Hattie's. But it's still a while away."
"Oh." Em thought about it for a while, looking kind of distant. After a long pause, she said, "Well, if it's okay with Dad and Regina, I don't see why not. I'm staying in a room with two beds, so the girls can stay in there, and there's a mattress in the hall that the guys can sleep on." Suddenly she looked apologetic. "I'm afraid it's only a queen, though," she said, eyeing Iggy and Fang.
"We've had worse, our parents being missionaries, after all," I said quickly, hoping she wouldn't change her mind.
"Well, okay then," Em said, shrugging. "Let me go call them." She got up from the table and headed towards the bathroom, tugging a silver RAZR from her jean pocket as she did so.
As soon as she was out of hearing distance, Fang spoke up.
"Max…" he said warily. I hushed him.
"Max…" he said, his voice sharper this time.
"Shush!" I told him. He tried once more, but after I snubbed him again, he just sat in his chair, shooting death glares at me.
A few minutes later, Em came out with one of her smiles. "Well, you can come!" she said happily. I smiled back.
So… that was still sort of pointless, but there has to be some of those in order to build up to the big events. This one just kind of introduced you to Em, and the next one may be similar. I think these chapters are needed, though, and it'll get better. :) Now review! And, just so you know, I really don't mind being flamed. It gives me motivation to get better. I'll try to write at least one chapter while I'm on vacation, and I'll post it as soon as I have internet!
Peace, Love, and Eating Way More Than You're Supposed To,
Emiline