Chapter 9: Negative Energy

Alright, due to popular demand, I moved part of the Flock half of the chapter to the beginning. It was originally at the end. As I said, I didn't forget about them, I was just waiting for this part.

I lOvE gIrAfFeS, it's ok. (You read this story, right? If not I guess I'm talking to no one.) Anyway, chill. I'll type as fast as I can, but I've got stuff to do. You can't be a straight A student without a little effort. I'll update on weekends and I appreciate your dedication. Sorry I have to say this in public, but I can't PM you because you don't have an account.

Ohhh, this chapter has drama galore! Well, in my opinion.

Disclaimer: Yo no tengo Maximum Ride. (I think that's Spanish for "I don't own Maximum Ride".)

Nudge POV:

I stared listlessly at the TV. I missed Max. I missed her yelling at us to get off our lazy butts and be proactive. I missed complaining about her and Fang making kissy-face every time you turned a corner.

Things hadn't really been the same since they left. Dylan was doing the best he could, but you could tell his heart wasn't really in it. None of ours were. The bright side was Dr. M and Ella visited often to check on us, and Angel said Max's mom was considering moving up to Colorado to be with us. Ella and Iggy were still blind to how much the other one liked them, so they still weren't together. I was getting really close to just telling them how the other felt.

I felt sadness stab my chest again as I thought about Max and Fang, how they used to be the same way. Angel and I were so ecstatic when they finally got together. It was cute at first, but it did get a little nauseating to see them constantly shoving their tongues down each other's throats.

Then they left, and I couldn't help thinking, what if it as all an act? Maybe the whole teary letter was just a way of letting us off easy. Maybe they got fed up with taking care of us and left so they could make-out in peace whenever they wanted!

Nudge, I don't think that's it. Angel spoke in my mind.

I frowned. Angel and I weren't really on the same wavelength anymore, not since she had gotten all weird and power-hungry. Uh, Nudge? I can hear your thoughts, you know.

I don't care. It was true. Besides, I thought you said their minds were blocked, so you don't know why they left!

Well, I don't know the exact reason, but I'm pretty sure you're wrong. Besides, you saw the tear marks on the note. They were genuinely sad to leave. Even Fang.

I blinked rapidly to push back tears. I felt a strong hand on my back. "You okay?" I turned to see Dylan watching me.

"Yeah," I whispered, "It's just…I still miss them, y'know?"

Dylan pulled me into a hug. "Don't worry sweetie. I know how you feel." Before he could get up on his soapbox about him and Max and how perfect they were for each other, Iggy came in and asked if I could help him make dinner.

I walked into the kitchen, grateful that Iggy thought to include me. His meals had become more and more extravagant as he used cooking to distract himself from depression. On the bright side, everything he made was delicious.

We took turns running to the store for groceries and clothes and anything else we needed. Luckily, Erasers had only attacked once, two days after they left. The funny thing was, once they realized Max wasn't here, they left. None of us got hurt too badly, so all we really needed were band-aids.

It had now been almost two months since we had been left on our own. The Erasers' reaction to Max not being here made me realize that, in the scientists' eyes, we weren't important. Only Max was important, and whoever she chose as a "mate". It was pretty degrading.

"Hey, you okay?" Iggy's sightless eyes were focused on his cooking, but I knew he was worried.

"Yeah. It's just strange, you know? The wedding was such a happy occasion, but right after it our lives were flipped upside down and ruined and ever since we've been lonely and stressed and I don't know what to do because we obviously-"

"Nudge," Iggy chided gently. "I know."

We were quiet for another moment until I asked, "Do you think Dr. Martinez would enroll us in school? Or me, at least. I think that, since we obviously won't be chased unless Max is around, we need a normal life with jobs and stuff. And we could, like, have something to actually do, and we could have friends and a social life-" I was cut off again, this time by a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Gazzy called.

Iggy head turned in the general direction of the door. "Huh. I thought Dr. M and Ella weren't getting here until tomorrow?"

I shrugged, "Guess they're here early," Iggy and I walked towards the front door. Then we froze, just like everyone else, and stared gaping at the figure in the doorway. After a few heartbeats of dead silence, I choked out the one thing I knew everyone was thinking.

"Fang?"

*Three days earlier*

Max POV:

Fang opened the door with groceries in his arms. I glanced at him briefly before putting another spoonful of ice cream in my mouth and turning back to the TV. Fang set the bags down and looked at me. "You could come help, you know," he said as he started unpacking them.

"And you could be making me some hot chocolate, you know," I countered, "But I don't see you doing that either!" I had become really cranky lately and my food cravings were definitely coming into effect. I couldn't fly and I had back cramps. Did Fang have to go through any of that? No. No he didn't. So he needed to stop complaining and get me my freaking hot cocoa.

He looked at me in exasperation. "Now!" I snapped. Fang grabbed the hot chocolate mix out of the cabinet and irritably started making me my drink. I put the now-empty ice cream tub on the coffee table as my show came back on.

Two minutes later, Fang brought me a mug of steaming hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream on top. It looked amazing, but I wasn't in the mood to tell him that.

"What are you watching?" Fang asked as I took a sip.

"Sixteen and Pregnant," I said, which had, surprise, surprise, become my favorite show lately. "Did you put butter in this?" I asked him, detecting the flavor I was missing.

Fang gave me a funny look out of the side of his eyes. "Butter?"

"Yes! My freaking food cravings want butter!" Fang angrily snatched my cup and went to put a spoonful of butter in it. I didn't really want to be such a bitch to Fang, but I couldn't help it. My hormones made me moody and I yelled at Fang without really meaning to. Then I would cuddle and apologize to him later, and the cycle would repeat itself.

It seemed to be getting worse lately. I don't know why, but I think it was mainly residual anger from previous arguments. There was just a lot of negative energy between us.

Here's a quick update on the other aspects of our lives. It turns out public school is free, so that wasn't actually a concern. Mrs. Sonya was tutoring us and had enrolled us to start at the local high school next month. Meredith was currently living at the hospital because her baby was due in less than a week. Fang and I were planning to take the train over to Babies for Beginners this weekend and find out if our child was a boy or a girl. If I wasn't so damn moody, things would have been going great.

Fang brought back my cup and sat down next to me. After a few sips I turned to him again and snapped, "Put some peanut butter in here!"

"Do it yourself!" Fang retorted.

I turned to him angrily. "Ex-cuse me?"

His dark eyes met mine, pitch black. "You heard me."

I stood up, livid, "You're supposed to be helping me!"

"Yeah, helping you, not being your slave. You are perfectly capable of walking to the kitchen and putting crap in your own drink."

I slammed my foot down, "Look buddy, I've got soreness and troubles of my own as people I don't even know give me disgusted looks and give me a hard time for this!" I motioned to my baby bump, which had become prominent about a week ago, "You screwed me up bad so I would appreciate it if you would put some damn peanut butter in my cocoa!"

Fang stood up too, "I have to endure those looks too! People know I screwed you up. And for the record, it takes two to tango, Max. That baby is more than just my fault!"

"What are you saying? You know, if you were able to control your stupid hormones, we wouldn't even be in this mess!"

"AREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ME? IT'S YOUR FAULT TOO! THIS KID IS HALF YOURS!" I was starting to get the feeling that Fang was arguing the wrong side of the argument. Isn't the girl supposed to argue that the kid is partially the father's?

We were shouting now, "WELL I DON'T SEE YOU CARRYING IT AROUND WHILE IT GIVES YOU BACK PAIN AND MOOD SWINGS AND MAKES YOU WANT TO EAT TONS OF SHIT! PARDON ME FOR BEING PISSED! SORRY I FEEL LIKE I GOT THE WORSE END OF THE DEAL!"

"I'M SORRY TOO! SORRY I KNOCKED UP SUCH A BITCH! I'M TRYING TO HELP BUT CAN ONLY DO SO F***ING MUCH! I'M AT BREAKING POINT, MAXIMUM!"

Fang's use of my full name shocked me, but not enough to stop the worst words in the world from leaving my mouth, "I WISH IT WAS DYLAN'S! I BET HE WOULDN'T HAVE CONSTANTLY COMPLAINED ABOUT TRIVIAL TASKS WHILE HIS PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND CARRIED HIS DAMN CHILD! HE WAS KIND AND UNDERSTANDING AND HE WASN'T SO. DAMN. PIGHEADED. I WISH I HAD CHOSEN HIM!"

Silence. Total, utter, crushing silence. I wanted to take the words back, but I couldn't. My mouth wouldn't work. Something slammed against my jaw, and I stumbled back onto the couch as our bedroom door slammed. Fang had hit me.

I sat there in shock until he came out again with his black backpack almost full. Fang grabbed a few things from the kitchen and stuffed them in there before turning to me. His mouth opened like he wanted to say something, but he just closed it again and shook his head before he walked straight out the door of our apartment.

Fang POV:

I flew for three days straight. I only stopped to sleep once and take two bathroom breaks a day. The first two days, I wasn't even going anywhere. I just flew in huge circles, begging my anger to burn off.

How could Max say that to me? Could it…could it even be true? I didn't want it to be, I really didn't. But what if it was? Maybe she just ran away with me because she felt guilty, because she didn't know how to tell him. Maybe our whole life here had been a guilt-ridden illusion.

I blinked tears away. That's right, that bitch made me, the great Fang, cry. I hated her, but I loved her. And now I was just really confused.

The third day, I decided what to do. Max was going to apologize or live like Meredith. It was that simple. I angled myself towards the Flock's house, praying they were still there. I needed a place to rest.

Nudge POV:

Fang. Was. Here.

After our initial shock, I opened my mouth to bombard him with questions. "What are you-" I was cut off by his aura/body language. It was like a wall of negative energy slamming into me. Never ever ever had I seen Fang so pissed off. He was livid.

"Need a place to stay," Fang's words were short and bitter. It was more than obvious that he and Max had fought, and it had been bad. I couldn't think of another explanation for him to be here without her and look so upset.

I blinked. "Yeah, your room is still empty. Go ahead." Fang nodded and walked towards his bedroom.

"Hang on," Dylan grabbed Fang's arm, stopping him. Fang's body stiffened and I think we could all tell that this couldn't end well. "Where's Max? You can't just leave us all and come back, expecting open-" Fang twisted around and pinned Dylan to the wall with one arm.

"You listen to me, you bastard," Fang voice was low and deadly. I almost wet myself, so I could only imagine how Dylan was feeling, "Max is none of your business. And if you bring her up or even get within ten feet of me while I'm here, I promise I will snap your neck. Understand?" Without waiting for an answer, Fang threw Dylan to the ground and stalked off, slamming his door behind him.

I knew we were all left with one question in our minds. What the Hell happened?

Max POV:

I woke up the next morning and immediately sprinted over to the bathroom, throwing my innards into the toilet. I waited for strong hands to rub my back, calloused but soft hands to pull my hair out of my face, but they didn't come.

I finished puking and stood up. I had barf in my hair, so now I had to take a shower. I felt a flash of irritation. Where was that boy?

I was about to step into the shower when I was slammed by a wall of memory. Last night, yelling, Fang leaving. Guilt crushed my chest and I burst into tears. How could I have said that to him? Now he was gone. I fell to the floor, sobbing, and faced with the realization that I was completely and I was totally alone.

What had I done?

O_o Dun-dun-duunnnn. And now you must wait two weeks until my next update. Unless…twenty different people review for this chapter. Then I'll try to squeeze in a sooner update after I finish my next chapter of AEC. It's up to you!