CHAPTER 7: Max POV
What the hell? I couldn't believe it when we had walked in to Itex, expecting to find cages of kids and instead, we found Fang. But he wasn't Fang anymore. And then Nudge had begged me to stay. I wanted to stay. I wanted to see him, but I couldn't forget that he left. But I couldn't help but want to be near him. Just like he said. I was focused on him. I saw how he acted around Gwen and it made me so mad. Even if he had left, I still wanted him to be mine.
When I volunteered to go with him to get breakfast, I wasn't thinking. I just said it automatically. There was a silence between us, but it wasn't a comfortable silence like we always had. It was so awkward. But I didn't know what to say. And then he broke the silence and we started arguing. His last words were still ringing in my head when we walked into the doughnut shop. "Because I love you!" I knew he had said that in the letter, but him leaving had hurt so much that I found it impossible to believe that he still loved me. Now, I didn't know what to think. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to kick his butt and then drag him home with us. But I didn't think I could handle it if he left again. It had taken so long to get used to not seeing his half grin, his stupid, perfect hair, and his dark wings. I didn't know what to do anymore.
We were almost back to the motel when Fang cleared his throat.
"How long are y'all staying?" He asked.
"I don't know. Why? Do you want us to leave?" I asked, scared of his answer.
"I don't know." He sighed.
"You have a concert tonight?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"I think Nudge wants to go."
"Just Nudge?" He asked, looking at me knowingly.
I felt my cheeks heat up.
He chuckled. I had missed that, too.
"Come if you want to. Just let me know so I can get tickets."
"I'm pretty sure you should get tickets."
He laughed again. "Alright."
"What's your band called?"
"Winged Fury. Fitting, huh?"
Now it was my turn to laugh. "Yeah."
We were silent for a few minutes, but it wasn't as awkward.
"Hey Fang?"
"Hn?"
"Why did you change your name?" I asked.
"I didn't want any reminders of what I left behind." He said quietly.
"I guess we screwed that plan to hell."
"Yeah." He said, a small smile playing on those lips that I wanted to kiss so badly.
We started walking up the stairs to his room.
"Fang?"
"Yeah?"
"We miss you."
"I missed y'all too."
I swallowed the lump in my throat, afraid to ask my next question.
"Come back." I whispered quietly.
He looked at me, startled, and then sighed. "I can't."
"Why not?" I was trying to hold back the tears that were pushing themselves out of my eyes. I hated crying. It made me feel weak.
"I can't just leave my flock."
"They can come, too! We can all make one big flock! Just come back!" I could feel tears slowly starting to make their way down my cheeks. I angrily wiped them away.
"Max." Fang grabbed my hand. " You can't focus when I'm around."
"I can't focus when you aren't either!" I screamed at him. "I can only wonder about you!"
He closed his eyes. "Why should I come back?" He whispered.
I froze. I knew why I wanted him back, but I couldn't admit it to him. "B-Because they miss you. They want you to come back. Especially the boys." I rushed through my explanation.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked at me. He shook his head. "That's not good enough." He sighed and then opened the door, turning away from me.
AN: Sorry, NOW the concert's next. Will Max confess her love for Fang before it's too late? Or will she continue being a stubborn mule and refuse to admit it? Let me know what you think! Hope you liked it, and sorry it's short. Fax says REVIEW!
-Haru
