Wishing

Max

Nine

"Come on," Fang says slipping his warm fingers under my shirt so they can circle my belly button and leave a fire trail in their place. "How many times did you check out a guy after we split?" he urges for the hundredth time and I roll my eyes.

You people probably have no idea what's going so allow me to inform you of what has been happening for the past half hour. Fang and I have asked each other stupid questions just to clear away our boredom and curiosity. My head is currently sitting in his lap and one of his hands keeps slipping discretely under my tank-top. The other hand is combing through my hair and twirling it around his fingers before moving onto another strand. So we aren't a complete couple but our date had gotten us a lot closer to starting that relationship again.

I finally mumble the number under my breath and he raises an eyebrow down at me, "In my defense all of them had black hair." He chuckles and pushes me off his lap; I roll to the floor with a thump and I glare up at him icily; Nudge decides to run into the room.

"It's finally happened, Max! Come on! Hurry, hurry, hurry! What are you two doing? No, wait! Don't tell me! We have to get to the window! Hurry before it ends!" she screeches and practically drags me to the window of the living room. Across the street there was Gazzy talking to Lilly, who had a really big smile on her young face; Nudge and I share a look. Then Lilly kisses Gazzy's cheek before turning and walking into her house, leaving a stupefied Gazzy behind.

Fang watches us, "Do I want to know what all of this is about?" he questions but we barely glance at him. For the past week we've been waiting for Gazzy to finally give in and ask Lilly out when she gives him the chance. He chose the day closest to the day I bet on and now Nudge owes me fifty dollars and she's my personal servant for a day.

"Gazzy finally asked Lilly out and I am now fifty bucks richer. Hand it over," I hold out my hand while Nudge grumpily takes her wallet out of her purse. I watch Nudge count out five ten dollar bills and then she slaps them down into my palm. Just double-checking, I count the fifty bucks and then happily shove the bills into my gray skinny jeans' pocket.

Nudge pushes her shoulder playfully against mine, "Everyone always beats me in bets, ugh! Iggy and I bet on when you two would start going out and he won by, like, two days. Then we bet on the time you guys would do the deed and he won again. And then I bet with Angel when you two would get together again now that we're here and she's winning. Gazzy and I bet on when Angel would find her first boy and Gazzy won even though he isn't happy about it. Fang and I bet on when Iggy would ask out Ella and I am totally losing, which is so stupid because she doesn't even like him like someone could! I hate betting with people but it's so addictive! This is so unfair!" she exclaims grumpily.

"You bet on when Iggy would ask out Ella?" I look between the two of them then brush it off and almost bounce in place. "Gazzy got a girlfriend!" I practically squeal and Maximum Ride does not squeal under normal conditions.

"And this is a big deal?" Fang trails off and we both look at him as if he was the most idiotic bird kid on the face of the earth. Nudge and I share a look and glance back out through the window to see Gazzy making his way back to the house; our eyes widen considerably.

At the exact same time Nudge and I scream, "YES!" and we push and pull each other to get to the front door. It slowly opens and I crash into Gazzy with Nudge not far behind; we pin him to the floor and demand a full repeat of what he did to ask her out.

He looks at us as if we weren't sane, "First of all why the heck were you spying on us? And second do I want to know why you had to tackle me just to know how I asked out the girl across the street?"

"Nudge dragged me!" I yelled and stood up from a flushed Nudge and a quisitive Gazzy to walk back to Fang. Hurriedly Nudge tried to explain how she saw Gazzy and Lilly talking on the sidewalk when she was hanging up a poster in the room that she's currently occupying. "I want to hear about all of it later!" I shout over my shoulder before grabbing Fang's hand and tugging him to the front door.

He asks, "Where are we going now?" when I snatch up the keys to my car and start for my jeep in the driveway. Today I was clad in my gray skinny jeans, black ankle boots, shoulder-exposing black top, gray-white leather jacket, and the ring Fang gave me back when we were fourteen. He was in his usual black long-sleeved v-neck shirt that shows off his abs, dark wash jeans, and black combat boots with matching black leather jacket.

"To pick up Riddle and Angel, duh," I say like it's the most obvious thing in the world. He seems to start laughing mentally when he smirks and I raise an eyebrow at him, "What's so funny Fang?"

He smoothly slides into the driver's seat of my car and snatches the keys from my hand before I realize it. "It's just that you get so eager with everyone else's relationships but when I want to talk about our's you just brush it off." His eyes lock onto me as I slide into the passenger seat and refuse to meet his eyes anymore. "Just like your doing right now," he sighs as if I'm helpless but I still don't say anything.

We arrive at Riddle's school and I unbuckle my seatbelt with a short sigh, "Just stay in the car, Fang. If Lisa says one thing about us if she sees us together then I'm going to crack, so just try and refrain yourself." He smirks and gives a short chuckle; I swing out of the jeep and stride through the front doors of the small school. Sure enough now that I look closer I can see the fourteen-year-old Lisa from four years ago sitting behind that desk. "Lisa, I heard you were flirting with my boyfriend," I frown when the redhead practically growls at me.

"Max, seems that the rumors are true around here. Riddle's father has magically shown up and her mother is a total slut. Getting pregnant at fourteen, Maxie? Shame on you," she snarls and I narrow my eyes at her, walking up to the front desk.

I angrily narrow my eyes at her while I reply, "Look you little witch, I will not have you ruin my little family. Whatever you think you had with Nick is over now, in fact I doubt it ever began. It was a simple little crush that Nick got over in a snap and you were left wondering why the hell you weren't good enough. The answer is me; I was always the one he loved and you were just a roadblock slapped down in front of me." Her eyes have widened throughout my little speech and I felt obliged to smirk smugly at her reaction.

Lisa hesitantly calls Riddle down to the office for an early dismissal while I occasionally glance through the window at Fang. He's obviously trying to see into the school without being too obvious but I could tell he was stressing about leaving us in a room together. It was his fault for kissing the bimbo in the first place, after all; I lean against the counter. Three minutes and twenty-two seconds later, Riddle bounds into the room with a wide smile on her face. Her black hair is pulled up into a new ponytail and I look her over, approving of how Fang dressed her. Less than a half second later, Riddle was hugging me around the knees with a giant smile.

"Hey, Hun, how was your day?" I question as I pick her up and settle her on my hip. I brush some loose hair from in front of her eyes while she nibbles on her bottom lip. She opens her mouth to reply then catches a glimpse over my shoulder and her smile seems to grow.

"Is that Daddy?!" she questions excitedly and I laugh but nod. Then I turn and sign the last paper saying Riddle was going home with one of her guardians. I walk her outside and Fang looks at us before unbuckling his seat belt and sliding out of the jeep. "Daddy!" Riddle squeals and Fang smiles, coming closer and taking her from me while I rummage through my purse for my cell phone.

He looks at me while I punch in the familiar number, "Who are you calling?" he questions and raises his eyebrow slightly. I put a finger to my lips and start towards the car, holding the phone to my ear as I walked and he followed. Then I hear Fang telling Riddle, "I was thinking Mac & Cheese for dinner, what do you think?"

"Yes!" Riddle exclaims while my phone goes to voicemail. My mom's voice comes from the automatic answering machine but I just hang up. It seems weird that my mom comes here with Ella and everyone else and yet we haven't talked ever since they arrived. Biting down on my bottom lip in worry, I slide into the drivers seat while Fang buckles Riddle into her carseat in the back; he slides into the passenger's seat a moment later.

I looked over at him then grabbed his hand and intertwined our fingers, "Have you spoken to my mom lately?"

He nods slowly, "I talked to her last night and she said everything was fine. She decided they would go back to Arizona next week because Ella's starting school again." I nod and he squeezes my hand then makes a move at changing the subject, "Iggy's starting to think he doesn't like Ella anymore. In fact, I hear he's taken quite a large liking to Nudge," he gives me a small wink and I smile widely.

"Uncle Iggy and Aunt Nudge are getting married?!" Riddle exclaims from the back in that chirpy tone she has. I almost slam on the brakes I'm so startled by the sudden sound of her squealing in the back. Fang had once again dragged me to our special place where nothing can break the barriers and drag us out kicking and screaming.

Fang chuckles and turn in his seat so he can look back at her, "Not yet, Princess. But when we get home I want you to ask them when they plan on getting married. And say they're perfect for eachother," Fang instructs and Riddle squishes her eyebrows together.

"Why do I have to, Daddy?" she questions and I shoot her a look through the rearview mirror, giving her a wink at her stubborn tone.

"Please, Princess? I'll take you for ice-cream tomorrow and let you get as much as you want," he bribes.

"Okay! Deal!" Riddle exclaims happily and goes back to hugging her panther to her chest and looking out the window.

I, however, slap Fang in his open chest with the back of my hand. "You do not bribe your three-year-old daughter, Fang!" I exclaim but there's a smile on my face. He straightens up and gives me this look; it's a look that tells me he's just faking and he wants to laugh.

"Sorry, Darling," he winks after and I turn back to the road, my cheeks starting to burn as he continues to gaze at me from the side. I pull up into the driveway and get out, unbuckling Riddle and helping her out of the tall jeep. She immediately runs inside, screaming for Nudge and Iggy to hurry and go into the living room.

Fang chuckles and follows her, while I grab her bookbag and shut the front door behind us. When I get to the living room, both Nudge and Iggy are on the couch with cheeks burning the color of a fresh red apple. Riddle is sitting on the floor, looking up at them expectantly with an innocent smile planted on her rosy red lips. Fang is probably blending into a wall somewhere because I knew he wouldn't miss this for anything right now. Nudge clears her throat and opens her mouth but, for once, she can't seem to come up with something to say. After five minutes of watching the two bird kids on the couch struggle and stutter to say something, I decide to help.

"Riddle, nap time, let's go!" I call and she frowns, sighs, then gets up and trudges with me to her bedroom. Halfway up the stairs, I reach down and pick her up so she can wrap her arms around my neck and snuggle her head in my shoulder. When I get to her bedroom, I sit her on her bed and remove her shoes and coat then I pull her hair free. It spills down and over her shoulders in smooth waves and I have her lay down; I pull the blankets to her chin.

"Mommy, I'm super tired," RIddle murmurs and I smile then kiss her forehead, brushing hair from her eyes.

"I know, so get some sleep. I love you, Hun, with all my heart," I whisper as to not disturb her as she was already falling asleep.

"I love you too, Mommy, with all my heart, and Daddy," Riddle says quietly right before I leave her room, shutting the door behind me. Trudging downstairs, I find Iggy and Nudge still on the couch and staring at the spot Riddle was just sitting at. Rolling my eyes with a small sigh, I slap the back of their heads as I pass behind the couch.

Nudge finally stutters out as if that gave her a boost, "May, I've always wanted to get married in May." Then she looks around and sees that she just embarrassed herself in front of us all. "Sorry, I'm going to go see if Angel needs help with her homework," she gets up and practically sprints down the hall to Angel's room.

Iggy gets up as well, muttering, "May," under his breath over and over again as he left the room and went to his own bedroom.

"Fang!" I shout and slap him on the back of the head as soon as he reappears, laughing at the others embarrassment. He yelps before I spin on my heel and go to the kitchen to start on dinner.