Chapter 4. Moving Forward

Iggy and Gazzy had a running bet going. Their way to keep anxiety at bay, Nudge guessed. Nudge, though, couldn't just wave today away with a wager and a grin. Every time she saw either Max or Fang, her heart would start up and her typical blabber became incoherent.

"You ready?" was the sum of a five-minute babble of words that Nudge blurted when Fang rounded the corner.

Fang crooked an eyebrow. His way of saying, I'm freaking out here, Nudge, help me. Or that's how Nudge interpreted it anyway. But how could she help? She knew how he was feeling. Dangling by a thin fiber, waiting for a rope to descend. Holding onto one last breath, waiting for the OK sign to release.

This was big. Their do-over. The chance to rectify their mistakes. Nudge liked to believe that this wasn't a one-time thing—if this went bad, Max and Fang could always try again—but she knew that this date was a turning point, and it had to be perfect.

"Where're you taking her? She doesn't like movies, remember? Too many people in too small a space for too long a time. She loves amusement parks. And fairs and such. So where are you taking her?"

"To dinner at the best hot-dog stand in the states, and a drive-in movie."

Nudge nodded her approval. "Food for the jet-speed bird-kid metabolism, and a classic movie to mock."

"Light-years away from other people and the perfect escape route—the sky." Fang gave Nudge a small smile full of pride.

Nudge's insides relaxed their knot a little. "You still know her. I mean—I was kind of afraid. That you wouldn't know her anymore." Fang winced, and Nudge put her hand on his arm. "I shouldn't have been afraid, though. I know I can trust you to know Max. You know her better than anyone."

Was it just Nudge or did Fang's smile falter a little? His eyebrows sank over his eyes; he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"What'd I say?" Nudge's grip tightened on his arm.

"Nothing," he assured, holding up a hand to stop her worries. Then he stuffed it back into his pocket. "You just brought up old fears. Thought I'd gotten rid of them. Sucks being wrong."

"You'll be fine. Nothing will go wrong, and everything will go right."

Fang gave Nudge a look that she read as You really think so, Nudge? Don't give me false hope. Say it only if you really mean it.

Nudge gave Fang a hug. Into his shoulder she added, "And Max will fall in love with you all over again."

Silence. The kind of silence that balanced on a thin line. The kind of silence so suffused with awkwardness, no one wanted to take another step on that line for fear they might topple over.

They went to the hot dog stand, bought ten puppies with everything on it except mustard. Mustard had a tendency to get all over Fang's black attire and make him look almost cheerful so he made a point to avoid it at all costs. Max could have made a joke about this, could have taken a mustard packet and squirted him—that would have been normal for them. But she couldn't bring herself to do anything except dress her dog in ketchup with a shaky hand.

The only time either of them opened their mouth was to take a bite.

Fang coughed once, causing Max's head to snap toward him, eyes widen in hope… But Fang just covered his mouth with his hand, and cleared his throat.

Ahem, ahem.

By the time they arrived at the Drive-In, Max had bottled up so many words, she felt something pressing at the back of her throat. She considered that the pressure might have been the warning sign for tears. But that was ridiculous. The thought of her shedding tears over this mute idiot made her mad. Her rage only increased the pressure on her tongue, until finally it all came out like a soda from a shaken can.

"SAYsomething already!"

Because when it comes from Max, it's multiplied to decibels that can break the sound barrier.

Fang smirked. The emo-bird-kid equivalent of "roflmao"-ing.

"Did you really think I was gonna start the conversation?"

His voice was low, and seeping into her, sneaking into her. She hated that for a brief second she thought it was sexy, that her ears craved for more of the sound. She hated how the thoughts made her blush. She hated how uncomfortable she felt under his intensity. She wasn't used to feeling like this. Emotions made her rattled enough, Fang made her…

She shifted from foot to foot, narrowed her eyes, finally couldn't take it. "What?" she snapped. Then she checked herself, and for a second was afraid she'd screwed everything up already. But he smiled and leaned in closer.

"I'm no good at conversations. But I can initiate something we don't need words for."

A blush cascaded down her body, covering her in crimson from head to toe. Max pivoted on her heel to turn her back to him. She folded her arms, biting down on her lip as she said, "You just said that to mess with my head. You love to screw with me."

She waited for his perverted come-back that she'd inadvertently set him up for ("No, but I'd love to screw you") but instead arms enclosed around her. Years of training hadn't prepared her for affectionate embraces, but they had prepared her for choke-holds, so Max jabbed him in the gut, kicked him in the shin, and sent him sprawling to the ground.

"Shit!" Physical violence could possibly hinder the budding relationship. She turned around and extended a hand to Fang, who lay on the ground, rubbing his stomach. "You know better than to sneak on me from behind. Sorry," she said, although she wasn't really sorry at all.

Fang reached for her hand, then pulled her to the ground with him and wrapped his arms around her, tight so that there was no chance of repercussion or escape. Not that she wanted to escape.

He laughed, and she felt the laugh more than she heard the laugh, because it came from deep in his gut, the same place where she was getting butterflies.

Right then, she knew it was impractical because there was no way in reality she could be certain of anything, but she felt—as if emotions could be trusted—but she felt that this might actually work.

Nudge empathized with Angel. She couldn't control any part of their date, and it was hard to just let them be without trying to help, but she knew that sitting back and watching Gilmore Girls re-runs was the best thing for all of them right now. She sat, and she waited.

When the two of them came home, they couldn't look at each other, and they went into their separate rooms, probably to scream out the bottled up joy. Nudge rushed to Max, and when they collided, they started squealing.

Max tried to stop herself because, honestly, what mad-scientist would fear a chick that squealed? But she couldn't help it, she was in love, and it might only be the beginning of something that would become twisted and painful, but the beginning felt pretty fricking awesome.

Gazzy knocked at Fang's door. When Fang answered, the Gasman immediately pounced. "I'm right, aren't I? Did Max hit you?"

"Ah, but you kissed her right?" Iggy came out from behind the Gasman. "I get five if you kissed her."

Fang didn't say anything for a while. Then, "Gazzy, give Iggy his five bucks."