A/N: sorry about the long wait, again. You know, school and crud and how annoying it can be :/ oh well. Enjoy! I really love this chappie ^_^

Ever and I pretty much ditched Aaron. Well, it's not like he can fly…what else could we have done? None of us wanted to carry him.

I flew over the ocean while Ever swam in it looking immensely beautiful with her metallic tale behind her.

…Wait.

I didn't just say that.

Moving on.

We were flying/swimming to the School to initiate Ever's ingenious plan. Well, not so much ingenious as it is an excuse to finally do something with this new gang of ours.

We'd been traveling for hours now and we were nearly there. My heart was racing in my chest. We were purposely going to the School. The place that held all the living nightmares and memories of my hideous childhood.

A cold finger rain down my spine and I shivered. Just thinking about it makes my blood run cold.

We finally reached it.

Ever crawled to shore and when she finally dried off her human legs returned.

"We're here," She said unenthusiastically.

"Woo-hoo," I merely said in the same tone. "Are you ready?" I looked at her in her emerald green eyes as she nodded slowly.

"Think so."

It was late at night, or early in the morning, so now the Whitecoats were letting all their "experiments" rest. It was the perfect time to break in.

We had to crawl through the air-vents to get in, which was utterly crowded. I was smooshed up against Ever the entire time; it was quite humiliating.

Finally we broke down a vent and crawled out, landing inside a janitor's closet.

Once we landed on the ground, Ever looked around, heaving in and out savoring the air after finally being in such cramped room for so long.

"A closet?" She asked, an eyebrow arched.

I tried opening the doorknob, but to my horror, it was locked. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No. Just, no." Ever pushed me over and tried rattling the doorknob while I shushed her in warning of anyone hearing us.

"No! I refuse to be stuck in here!"

"Who are you telling that to? The door? Let me tell you, it won't listen. Just stay calm." It's a freaking door. I've fought much worse. I could easily break the thing down, but I just didn't want to be too loud. But I guess it left me no choice.

I kicked down the door, and it made a loud thud noise that seemed to echo of the walls.

"Let's get out of here, fast." I didn't know where to, but we just had to get out of that certain area fast in case anyone had heard.

We took random lefts and rights in hopes of magically stumbling upon the lab where they kept the experiments, but of course, we aren't that lucky.

"Where are we going, Fang?" Ever asked eventually as we walked down a long, dark hallway.

I shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know. But don't worry, we'll find the lab."

We continued to trudge down the seemingly endless hallway.

"It's dark. And scary. And we're lost. And I don't see an air-vent. And I'm hungry."

"That's just dandy. You know how much I care? I care so much that I'm putting your hunger as my first priority instead of these people's lives. That's how much." Ever rolled her eyes at my sarcasm as I scanned the hallways in hopes of finding the door that lead to the lab. It didn't happen.

My heart stopped. I heard footsteps turning the corner.

Ever was about to open her mouth but I covered it with one hand, and with my other arm, I linked it around her hips and brought her close to me pressing myself against the wall and didn't move at all. And soon, we both turned invisible.

I loved that power, by the way.

As her body was pressed tightly close to mine, my lips were right near her ear. I whispered, "Don't. Move." And she didn't, not an inch. She rested her head against my chest as we stood with no space between us.

And to my horror, Jeb rounded the corner and continued to walk down the hallway.

I suppressed a gasp, but because Ever's head was on my chest so she could hear the fast pace beating of my heart and raised an eyebrow.

I suppose she didn't meet Jeb when she was in the School.

I bit down hard on my lower lip as he walked by, seeming to take forever and a day.

But finally when he rounded the next corner and out of my sight and earshot, I visibly relaxed. But we didn't move. Ever stayed in my arms, pressed entirely against me.

"Um, Ever," I said, "You can get away from me now."

Her cheeks reddened and she practically jumped away and I became visible. "Sorry. Still scared…Um…who was that?" She stammered.

"Jeb Bachelder. He's a whitecoat here. He helped us escape and took care of us for a few years, but it turns out he's a bastard who was still working for the School," I explained, my heart still racing, though I didn't know what from.

"I bet he's walking to the lab. You wanna follow him?"

I nodded quickly. "Good thinking."

So together, we slowly slinked down the hallway, keeping him in eyesight but standing far away enough from him so that he couldn't hear our footsteps.

When he turned another corner, and we peered around it, we saw that it was, indeed, the lab. My heart skipped a beat in joy.

But he didn't go in; he kept walking until he was away from it.

I suppose he didn't want to go in yet.

Ever and I exchanged glances and grinned.

We slowly tiptoed down the hallway. The door was half open, but it was so dark inside we couldn't see.

But before we went in, I grabbed Ever's elbow with a shaking hand.

She raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? You're shaking."

I just took a deep breath.

Ever visibly relaxed—she understood what I felt.

"I know, Fang. I'm scared, too. This place terrifies me."

I just nodded slowly and gulped.

"But you'll be okay. You're not in the crates," she nodded with her head towards the door, "They are. And we need to help them."

I pursed my lips and nodded anxiously, exhaling slowly.

"You'll be fine."

And then my heart stopped again—but not because another whitecoat was walking down the hall. No, it was because Ever was slowly leaning into me.

I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there until I felt her warm lips against mine. My eyes were wide open in surprise, but I soon closed them and put my arms around her hips as she deepened the kiss.

But when we finally broke apart, to my disappointment, she took my hand and walked inside.

And the first thing I saw made my heart break in two, even though just a moment ago it was speeding with joy.

I took a look at the first crate, and all I could breathe out was the word, "Max?"

A/N: DUN DUN DUNN! xD don't you adore cliffies? For me to update, I need to at least get four reviews! That's generous, right? Yeah, I know, I'm evil :D haha, oh and by the way, do I have fellow City of Bones lovers? I'm sort of obsessed with that book right now…Jace –twitch-. Sorry haha, love that book! xD