I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. I forced myself to stop reading and drawing to come write. For taking forever, I made this chapter longer than usual. I hope you enjoy and review.

Chapter 4

Max's POV

As soon as the bell rings I disappear out of the classroom, scolding myself for hoping he would remember me.

I'm walking to my second period class when a girl with red hair stops me. She stares at me intently for a while so I dip my head making my bangs cover my face. "Can I help you?" I whisper.

She still doesn't speak, and I squirm under her stare. "I'm Lisa." She finally says.

"Max." I say just above a whisper.

"Speak up." She snaps.

I cower but do as I'm told. "Max." I repeat louder.

She smirks smugly and leans on one towering heal. "Good." She purrs. "I'm the queen of this school. You do whatever I say, no more, no less. Got it?" I give a small nod and she stalks away.

I surge forward and slip into my class. I slide into a seat in the back corner and slouch down. I sit there through class, not listening, and playing my favorite songs of Paramore, Green Day and Three Days Grace. I quietly tap my finger and stare out a window, wishing I could just jump out and escape. Not just school, but life.

A thick lump forms in my throat and I pull my gaze away.

I take a deep breath and push open the doors to the cafeteria. All heads swivel to look at me but I just keep my head down and hide behind my bangs and hood. I slide into a seat at an empty table and fiddle with my sweatshirt sleeve.

Everybody had gone back to his or her conversation, by Lisa's order, but I could feel a pair of eyes boring into the side of my hood. I turn slightly and look through my bangs.

Black orbs stare back unwavering.

Fang.

He sits with two other people. A girl with mocha colored skin and pretty, dark curly hair, and a boy with strawberry blond hair. I recognize him instantly by the devilish grin spreading across his face.

Iggy.

I wonder if he still likes bombs. To answer my question he shows the girl an object with wires sticking out. I recognized it as one of his many stink bombs that he used to set off at school.

My eyes flicker back to Fang, and his gaze bores into mine. Finally, my sight drops back to my hands, and I drown myself in music.

The screech of a chair makes me look up again. Iggy had stood up and was walking toward the cafeteria door, stuffing the bomb into his pocket. A mischievous smirk crosses his face.

My eyes widen, and I'm out of my seat in an instant, crossing to the emergency exit. I push the door open and jog to the other side of the parking lot and wait. Two minutes later, the emergency exit doors burst open. Iggy, the girl, Fang, and another boy with blond hair bust out. Iggy and the girl where laughing, the boy was cackling, and Fang just smirked. After they got twenty paces away, the school shook, and moments later, there was screaming. Then, a green gas leaked through the doors, and kids poured out of them.

By then, the small group had made it to my side of the parking lot, laughing. Abruptly, the blond boy notices me and stops laughing. A second later, everyone else notices me and are all staring.

I shift uncomfortably when the boy speaks. "Why are you out here?"

Before I can stop myself I reply, "I'd rather not breath in toxic gas." All but Fang look at me in surprise.

"How you know it was a stink bomb?"

"I know a stink bomb when I see one." I scoff, then realized my tone and words. I stutter to fix them. "S-sorry." I put my head down and retreat into my hood.

Iggy grins and steps forward. I flinch when he flings his arm around my shoulders, but he doesn't seem to notice. "Well it looks like we have another person who knows something about bombs. Hear that Gasman?!" The blond boy grins.

I struggle to get out of his grip but it tightens. His hand presses into my healing dislocated shoulder and I gasp in pain.

I close my eyes and count to ten, repeating over and over in my head, pain is just a message. Pain is just a message.

I open my eyes again, and the pain ebbs. No one seems to have noticed. Good.

"Welcome to the Flock!" Iggy continues obviously. Or he doesn't care. Probably the latter. "You are our newest member and friend!" he says happily.

I finally slip out of his grip and start to walk away. "No thanks. I'll pass."

"Hey, wait!" he calls and steps forward, grabbing my jacket. My hood falls and I turn to look at them.

There was a small silence and Iggy's eyes widen. Another second passes, and I was about to walk way we he said, "Max?! Is it really you?"

I fake confused, keeping my mask on. "Yeah?"

"It's me Iggy! Remember me?!" he says excitedly. It broke my heart.

I tilted my head and still faked confused. "I'm sorry… Am I supposed to know you?" His face sunk and I felt bad.

"Oh…" He dropped his eyes. "Never mind." He walks away sulking and the boy, Gasman, and the girl, follow. Fang stays, watching me intently.

I shift uncomfortably.

"Do you really not remember him? Do you remember me?" he asks.

I shake my head slowly. It would put him in danger if he were my friend. His whole face sinks, and my heart squeezes. So he does remember me. But I have to act like I don't remember him.

He pulls something out of his pocket and I suck in a breath. I'm about to shatter. "Do you remember this?" he asks.

I force myself to laugh but I still have my eyes trained on it. A plastic spider ring. "You keep a little kids ring? Isn't that a little childish?" I question.

It's not. I'm cracking at the edges.

His face sinks more. "Oh… okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

By now everyone has evacuated and was going home. "Bye…" I can't help but whisper to his back the last part. "Fangy boy."

I see him freeze and start to turn around with wide eyes. He had heard me. My heart squeezed with hope and fear. But by the time he fully turns around, I'm disappearing into the woods.

My heart is racing as I walk through the forest. When I'm a half mile from my house, I pause at a tree. Our tree. I ran my fingers over the carved bark and my heart squeezes more. I push myself to continue walking, even if I don't walk to go home.

I come to a stop at my front door and glance over at Fang's bedroom window. I see him looking down at me and I shudder. I push the door open and step into the home of hell.

(A.N. I was going to stop here but I decided to give you a peak into Max's home life.)

I was immediately consumed by the thick fume of alcohol. The door shuts behind me, and my heart speeds up. I take a step forward, and a bottle crunches under my foot. I wince.

A knife whizzes a millimeter from my head and wedges into the door behind me.

I swallow a thick lump in my throat. The next thing I know, I'm on my back with a weight on top of me, alcohol breath in my face.

"How was your first day of school?" he hisses in my ear. "Make any friends?"

"No." I whisper. His hand comes down, punching me in my throat.

"Speak up!" he bellows.

"No." I croak louder.

He grins down at me and pulls the knife out from the door. He spins it around his fingers and drops close to my stomach. He pulls up my shirt to reveal my bare stomach. He digs it into my skin and I bite my lip to keep from crying out.

Tears brim my eyes, but I'm Maximum Ride, and I don't cry. So I hold my breath and wait for the torture to end.

Eventually I slip into the safety of unconsciousness.

And that's it. My mom needs the computer so I have to get off. Don't forget to review.

This is feather flyer so,

Fly Free

Until then,

R&R?