A/N: Two chapters in one week! Here we go! Spicing things up with some action in this one. Review and tell me what you think! I bet it won't be what you're expecting!

"Please, Max, just try it on," She said, handing me a skimpy red dress. "You and Fang will want to go out, and you need something decent to wear!"

Just like the old days. The last thing that I wanted to do was try on clothes, especially a red dress that looked shorter than average. I sighed and gave her a look, but she stared at me with an equally cold face.

"Fine! But this is not what I consider decent, Ella!" I snatched the dress from her and a huge smile spread across her gleaming face. I hauled myself into the dressing room and took off my clothes. I pulled on the dress and stared at myself in the mirror. The fabric clung to my body…in all the right places. Damn, Ella was right.

"Well?" She asked impatiently. I unlocked the dressing room door and stepped out, modeling the dress for her. "Max, that's amazing!" I guess it kind of was. It was still a little short for my liking, but it looked beautiful. "Fang is gonna freak when he sees you again!"

"Thanks, Els. I have to admit, you did a good job with this one," I told her, stepping back into the dressing room and putting on my regular clothes. When I stepped back out, Ella was holding a sling-back pair of black shiny pumps in her hands.

"Please?" She begged, before I even said anything. I gave her another look and slipped them on my feet. I have to say, as much as I hate heels, I've adjusted to them from all the times that the girls have made me wear them. I walked around in them a little; they were painful. Very painful.

"They hurt," I told her. But did she listen? No. So I dished out around sixty bucks for the outfit. "What about you? Are you getting anything?"

"I'm not sure," She said. She showed me a flowing purple dress that landed just above the knee when she held it up to herself. "What do you think?" She asked. I told her I loved it, so she bought it.

We left the overcrowded store and headed back out to the parking garage outside the mall. Ella was gibber jabbering about Iggy and about her friends, but I was distracted. I just… felt something, like we were being watched, or maybe followed.

By now it was dark out, and the parking garage was dimly lit. It was eery. At first I thought I was psyching myself out, but then I remembered that I'm avian. I have wings. I grew up around these instincts. I didn't feel just another person … I felt a threat.

"Ella," I whispered, as I looked around. I sensed movement behind us. "Go to the truck," Fang's truck. That's the car I use now. "Run," I said quietly, barely audible. Ella didn't question me. She booked it for the car, only about twenty feet away.

"Ella Martinez, you live at twenty five Marshfield Road, right outside of Arizona. Boyfriend: Iggy. Maximum ride, also residing at twenty five Marshfield Road. Boyfriend: Nick. Stop now," a voice boomed behind us, causing Ella to stop in her tracks. I turned around and faced the voice, only to find a group of five guys behind me.

I recognized them… I just couldn't remember where. Ella was frozen, giving me this look of horror. She must have known them. Who were they? Their faces were so familiar…

"Trying to remember who we are? We met about seven years ago, Max," The lead guy said, practically reading our mind.

"Ella sure knows us," Said another one, who seemed to be the second in command of their little possy.

Then it hit me, harder than a punch in the stomach. These are the same guys that were surrounding Ella (A/N: Either in the first or second book when Max saves Ella from that gang!) so many years ago.

"Look, the last thing that we have time for is your threats right now, so why don't you just get out of here before you get hurt," I said sternly, staring them all straight in the eyes. I felt my adrenaline rushing, ready for a fight.

"Why would we do that? You two seem so much more interesting, two young, beautiful girls all by themselves on a Tuesday night," One said as he grabbed Ella roughly by the arm, and dragging her over next to me. They circled around us like we were meat.

I clenched Ella's body and yanked her away from the tight grip of one of the guys. I roughly shouldered one of them, causing him to fall back briefly. It gave me enough time to push Ella out of their circle and punch one of them right in the throat. He fell down to the ground with a thud, making a gruesome noise.

Ella got in the car while the other four guys were distracted with the other, and of course me. I hoped to God that Ella would stay in the car.

"One down, four to go!" I yelled as I did a round house kick, just like in the good old days. I kicked him right at his back, causing him to double over. I kicked the other in the stomach as hard as I could, which made him fall. Then for good measure, I kicked him in the side. Two left. The biggest guys.

One grabbed me by the hair, as I faced him, forcing my neck back and causing me to grimace. "You're a toughie, but you're a beauty. You'll be better off with us, and we'll take you and your sister and have a grand time," He said, mocking me.

I spit in his face, wishing that Fang was here right about now. He'd be able to back me up, but that wasn't exactly reality right about then, so I forced myself to make some snap decisions. I pushed the outside of his elbow upward while grabbing his forearm and pulling it down, causing him to lose his grip on my long blond hair.

"If you think," I panted, "that I'm about to give in, I'm afraid you're terribly wrong." I slammed my fist into his face, then my other into his stomach. He fell down, and somehow, I managed to pin him down, punching him in the face at least three more times. The last guy left, the leader's side kick, pulled me off of him and tried to keep hold of me.

I whipped myself around and let him experience the worse pain in his life, if you know what I mean. No? I kneed him in the crotch with all my might. I swear he was crying.

"We'll getchou Mash," the leader slurred. "And Elsha too," he sounded weak. I, on the other hand, was full of energy.

"Oh, really? Try again, and I'll kill you. You better believe it," I stared him into his barely open black eyes, and I saw the fear. "Have a fucking great life, you loser."

I ran back to the car and got in, only to find Ella bent over with her face in her hands, sobbing. I started the car and drove out of the garage as quick as I could. "I'm sorry Ella, are you alright? Are you okay?"

By now we were on the highway, headed for home. "I'm-I-thank you," She choked, leaning over the console and wrapping her arms around me. "They're a-after me, Max, ever since that day."

"It's okay, they won't bother you again," I said, my voice still shaking from the adrenaline, and from Ella's reaction. "I promise you they won't."

I wrapped my arm around her, stroking her hair and trying to get home as quick as I could. Luckily there wasn't much traffic. I was going over the speed limit, but hardly any other cars were around to notice.

"Why won't they leave you alone?" I asked her softly, trying to keep cool so she wouldn't sense my fear.

"Because, that day, that day when you and Fang helped me, they wanted me to go with them. I don't know where they wanted to go but they said they'd do bad things to me if I didn't," She answered, her voice quivering. "Bad things. I was only twelve!"

"Oh, Ella," I was so angry. How could they threaten my sister like that? "If they ever come around again, I'll personally kill them, and make them suffer."

"Max, you're scaring me," She whimpered. "I never told you guys…one day when I was sixteen and walking home from school, the cornered me again. I don't know how I got out of there, but I did. I just ran, Max, I ran as fast as I could until I got home. They would've gotten me this time. Thank you. Thank you," she repeated.

"Why didn't you tell me about that?" I asked.

"I was afraid of them. They yelled that I better not tell or they'd come for me again, and I was scared," She answered as we pulled into the driveway. We both forgot about our bags as we rushed into the house.

"Hi girls," Mom said happily, until she me fuming and Ella's face streaked with tears. "What happened?" she exclaimed, making room for us on the couch. Ella collapsed into Mom and told her the story, telling her everything.

I, on the other hand, ran upstairs and knocked on Iggy's door. Thankfully he was home and I told him what had happened. He turned pale at first, then his skin turned red. I noticed the veins on his arms growing, which happens when he's angry.

"I'm going to go find them, fucking tear them apart-" He started towards his door, fuming, and I swear he literally was ready to go hunt them down.

"Hold up Iggy, calm down. We'll take care of them when we need to. Right now, you need to go calm Ella down," I told him, as I grabbed his arms and held him in place. "Calm down." He took a few deep breaths, and after a few minutes, we both climbed down the stairs.

Ella jumped off the couch and rushed into his arms, the two of them nuzzling together like they hadn't seen each other in ages. Mom and I trickled out of the room and into the kitchen. She wrapped me up into her arms and kissed my forehead.

"I'm proud of you, Max," She said to me, after letting me go.

"Thanks, Mom," I said, reciprocating her warm smile.

"Are you alright?" She rubbed my arm and looked me in the eyes with the same chocolate color as mine. "Fang will be surprised about this."

"I'm okay, Mom. I don't want you or Fang or anyone to worry too much," I assured her.

"I just don't want to put you or Ella through that again," She sighed, pouring herself a glass of water. "I just don't understand."

I nodded in agreement, then decided to go back up to my room. On the way past the living room, I saw Iggy and Ella on the couch together, his light and fluffy wings wrapped around them. Kind of like Fang and I loved.

A/N: Sorry for the swearing, I just thought that it would add more drama to the chapter. Please review, even if you don't have an account! Everything you say is so appreciated, good or bad!