Skittles: Hey everybody, sorry for the huge delay in updates. I've been going through some really crappy times right now. Even with the stinking holiday gone and past.

Can someone please shed some light on the whole passed and past situation? I can't figure out which one to use in the sentence. Can someone help me on that? Thanks.

Anyway, I got a new laptop with wifi connections, so I should be able to get online more and update more. That is, if I can get over this block. I'm sorry if these next few chapters aren't as long as you wanted them. I'm making them short on purpose, all right?

Please enjoy these chapter. Reviews would be nice, thank you.

I don't own Maximum Ride. Or any songs of any bands I may use at times.

Bittersweet Denial

Mom drove me to school. Yes, I still went to school that day. Mom tried coaxing me out of it, but I wanted to. Kind of. I wanted to be away from mom and Ella. Not to make that sound horrible and evil of me. I just wanted to stay as far from the house as long as I could because f they were tracking me then they'd be following me, right? So if I'm at school, they'd follow me. Right? Right?

My logic sucks. I know. I'm only one girl, though!

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mom asked. She looked over at me as she pulled into the school's parking lot.

I pressed back in my seat, slouching a bit. Looking out the window, I watched the salmon splashed, powder blues sky brighten with every minute slowly ticking away. The school loomed ominously just across from us. It's dark, red clay bricks and dark brown colors casting an ebb of depression.

Maybe it only seemed that way this early in the morning because no one was here yet. Kids didn't start coming until later. Ella wasn't even with us yet. She wanted to sleep an extra half hour.

Taking in a deep breath, I sighed, "Yeah. I better." Giving her one of my best smiles, I joked, "The press would be mighty disappointed if the powerful leader of the bird kids didn't show up for her daily regime of learning." Sticking out my tongue, I made a funny face and mom laughed.

Making someone else feel way better about themselves or through a certain situation, I was a pro. Making myself feel better about something, not a clue.

We sat there for a few minutes longer in silence. Mom was looking at me. I knew she wanted to ask me about last night. She wanted to know what happened in the woods. Who was out there. And what I did to make it go away. Even without me telling her, I bet she could guess what I did. A war was going on in her mind. Her motherly instincts and realist logic were duking it out.

Finally, she asked, "How's Fang?"

I was startled slightly, but then I remembered she walked in on me when I was talking with him. Shrugging, I replied, "He's all right."

"Still causing trouble?"

"Nothing but."

"That's my boy."

We both laughed.

Once the laughter subsided, I shifted in my seat. I unbuckled my seat belt and reached for the handle. "See ya later mom."

She grabbed my arm lightly. The battle in her mind must have stopped. A winner took hold. I didn't even look at her. "Max, we need to talk about what happened." The words pressed on me like weighted sand bags. "We have to."

Shaking softly from her grip, I opened the door and stepped out. Putting on a fake smile, I turned around and said, "See you later mom. Have a nice day at work." Before she could say anything else, I turned tail and booked it for the front doors. I hit the glass doors in seconds. Inside in a few more. I looked back only once and just witnessed mom drive away. Her dismayed expression clear as day.

I did what I had to do, I thought sadly. No matter how much it hurts, I'm doing the right thing. I hoped.

Hey, just a little thing I had to add, I'm going to reposting the previous chapters. I went through and corrected any mistakes I found. So if you guys get any emails saying I posted a new chapter and you find out it was a chapter you already read, that's why.

Thanks.

Reviews and such are welcome!