I could lie and say that I was traveling for the holidays, but I wasn't. I was nestled in my warm bed procrastinating. Okay, that's not true either. I had writers block. :/ BUT, I fixed it. And I like the outcome.

EPOV

It was another quiet night as I lie on the couch and close my eyes. I intertwined my fingers and put my hands behind my head, tuning out the thoughts and…images that accompanied the near silence. There wasn't much I could do tonight. There was nothing worth watching on television, not that there ever was. I suppose I could play piano, but even the slightest noise would wake up max and her friend.

Her friend, Iggy was quite interesting. Blinded by scientists who wanted to enhance his already near-perfect night vision. Now he can't see at all. Well, that's not entirely true, he could see white. It's not much of a life though, the better parts of this world are in color.

I heard a small groan from upstairs—only it wasn't a groan. I sighed and stood up, headed towards the glass doors between me and the crisp midnight air. Was it already midnight? I moved my eyes towards the moon that was sitting in the middle of the darkened sky. The glass doors closed behind me with a quiet click as I was greeted with a gust of cool wind. I took in a deep breath and let the scents of the forest surround me.

I walked slowly into the trees, listening to the hibernating creatures stir in their sleep. I began to run, though I wasn't sure where I was headed. I caught the scent of a large deer and changed course, I hadn't hunted in quite some time. I soon found it and pounced, my teeth finding where the pulse was strongest and sinking in. Its heart stuttered then stopped completely. I straightened out of my crouch over the animal and brushed off my shirt.

I spent the rest of the night wandering aimlessly through the forest. Eventually I came dangerously close to the treaty line, unaware I had even been heading that way. I changed course and took it as my signal to return home. It was just past dawn when I came back through the glass doors. Max was lying on the couch flipping through television channels.

MPOV

Edward came wandering through the doors that led outside, letting in a small breeze as he entered. I closed the folder that was on my lap and slid it between my back and the couch arm. He didn't seem to notice. I sat up and put my feet on the ground, careful to keep the folder concealed. I hadn't slept very well, the voice kept sending me images throughout the night.

"Anything good on?" he smiled at me, trying to be casual.

"An X-Men movie is about to start, but I'm not sure which one." He sat down next to me, propping his feet up on the table in front of us. Turns out it was "X-men: The Last Stand". I had to close my eyes in the beginning, where a small boy named Angel (guess what? He had wings.) had shaved his wings off. I shuddered at the thought. Emmet joined us on the couch after a few minutes, while Rosalie, Alice and Jasper went hunting. Iggy came running down the stairs and catapulted himself over the back of the couch, landing between me and Edward.

"What are we watching?" He asked, putting his arm around me and pulling me closer.

"You're not watching anything." I said smugly, trying to get his arm off of me.

"You shouldn't be mean to your boyfriend!" Emmett was leaning forward to see us, smiling like always.

"I told you, he's not my—"

"You should stop lying to them." Iggy interrupted me, holding back laughter. "Not after what we did last night." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"What?!" I smacked him as hard as I could, the sound echoing through the room. I got up and looked down at him, he was rubbing his cheek. He stood up and held up his hands.

"I was just telling them the truth!" He had walked in front of the TV, giving the others a show. He smiled again and started chuckling under his breath. I growled at him and pounced, but he danced out of my way. I threw a punch and tried to get his shoulder, but he dodged it and countered, hitting me in the side.

"No fighting in the house!" Emmett said teasingly, holding the door open. Iggy flung himself at me and we ended up rolling outside. I grabbed him by the arms and threw him straight up, snapping out my wings and launching myself at full speed into his stomach. I could hear him coughing and hacking as we soared higher.

"I give! I give! Uncle!" He shouted over the wind that muted his voice. I stopped, hovering in the air and dropped him. He used his wings to slow his fall considerably, landing on his feet. I landed next to him and slapped him on the back.

"Why'd you go berserk like that? It was just a joke!" Iggy coughed again as Edward and Emmett stood wide-eyed. "Unless," Iggy looked at me, fighting a smile. "You like one of them." He tugged his thumb at the other two. "That would explain it, 'cause you wouldn't want him to think we…" his voice trailed off as Emmett burst out laughing, the sound echoing off of the trees surrounding us.

"So, which one is it?" Emmett managed to choke out between chuckles. I stood there, my jaw on the ground as Iggy started up again.

"Emmett's got a girlfriend. Do you like Eddie-boy?" I punched Ig in the shoulder and glanced over at Edward. There was a crooked grin on his face but his eyes were closed and he pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand.

It took a minute for the silence to hit me. Everyone had stopped laughing. The wind whipped my hair around my face as I tried to figure out what was going on.

"MAX!" I heard a voice behind me squeak my name, and then a little blonde girl wrapped her arms around me. "Max, I missed you!"

"Angel?" I spun around and picked her up, holding her close. "I missed you too, Angel." What's going on? I looked towards the trees where three silhouettes were visible in the distance. Gazzy and Nudge ran out, glomming onto me. They knocked me off balance and I ended up falling down. Angel was crushing my chest while the other two were on my sides.

"Okay, everyone get up." Angel hopped up and grabbed my hand, digging her feet into the ground and pulling me up. "Ow, Angel you're gonna pull my arm out of the socket." I laughed and stood up, rolling my shoulder. I looked towards the tree line, one person-shaped outline remaining.

Fang stepped into the gloom slowly, the dim light highlighting the dark circles under his eyes. He was wearing all black, but if he wasn't he wouldn't be Fang. He walked forward slowly, assessing the situation—and the two muscled behemoths behind me. He stopped in front of me and put his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off.

"What are you doing here Fang?" He raised his shoulders then dropped them.

"We were looking for Iggy. Angel heard his thoughts, along with yours." He whispered it so quietly I doubt anyone else could hear.

"I can't believe we found you! Did you know we've been looking for you for months? We missed you so much. I even heard Fang mumble about you in his sleep. Isn't that adorab—" Iggy covered Nudge's mouth with one hand. I couldn't help but laugh at the discouraged look on her face.

"Why don't you come inside?" Edward offered, holding open the door. Fang had a cautious look in his eye, but Iggy and I had already started walking in with the little kids following behind us. I sat down on the sofa and nudge sat next to me with Iggy on her other side. Angel crawled into my lap and her brother plopped down next to me. Fang just stood by the TV looking awkward. He shot a glance at Edward and ran his eyes over him looking worried.

"Well? Spit it out!" His onyx eyes shot back towards me.

"He doesn't trust them." Angel said, pointing at the two 'brothers', Emmett sitting in a recliner and Edward standing next to him. Angel cocked her head to the side. "Fang, they already know about the wings and the school. They're not gonna do anything to us." She paused, looking at Edward. "The one with the reddish hair doesn't like you 'cause you hurt Max though." She smiled well, angelically as a blush crept into my cheeks. Fang and Edward both looked outraged. I looked towards him.

"I failed to mention she could read minds, didn't I?" 'Eddie-boy' nodded, still looking ticked off. Fang was staring murderously at him before I yelled his name and snapped him out of it.

"Max, you and him?" Fang sounded seriously hurt; he wasn't even trying to mask the sadness in his voice.

"What? No, I've only been here… how long have I been here?" I realized I hadn't been keeping track of the days.

"You got here a few days before Christmas, stayed three days then left for about a week, then—"

"It doesn't matter!" Fang yelled. The sound of his voice echoed around the empty house. Alice, Jasper and Rosalie walked through the doors, back from hunting. Fang looked even more uncomfortable in front of the new audience. "Max, come back. We found an abandoned house a few hours away from here. We have your unlimited credit card and—"

"My credit card?! I was looking for that!" I stood up, Angel falling out of my lap. She ran back to the couch to her brother, both of them looking nervous. "So, you were willing to let me starve just so you could get away from the erasers?" I walked towards him, prodding him in the chest with my finger.

"It's not always about you, Max." He sounded steely; cold and detached. "What were the rest of us supposed to do?"

"Well, we under my leadership lived off of scavenging for, oh, about five years!"

"So, we eat garbage while you eat whatever you want?" He looked down at me—when did he get taller than me? All this yelling was keeping me from thinking rationally.

"Well, it is my credit card under my name." Apparently he didn't like that answer, because he grabbed the front of my shirt and looked into my eyes. There was something there, but I couldn't decipher it before I was swept away from him; Edward's protective arms were around my waist, Jasper's hand on Fang's shoulder and Emmett standing between us. I looked at Fang's balled fist and realized that that look in his eyes was the same one he gets before we attack erasers.

"Guys, we're leaving." The steel was back, Fang was all business now.

"But Fang," Gazzy spoke up. It was the first time I had heard his voice in months. The fact that he sounded like he was about to cry made me want to cry too. "We just got here."

He sighed, softening up slightly. "I don't care. Ig, you coming?" Iggy looked shocked, and then kept looking blindly between me and Fang.

"Yeah, I'm coming." He said with a defeated sigh. Everyone got up and started filing out, except for Angel. Edward let go of me as she ran up to me. I scooped her up and held her close, her head resting on my shoulder.

"Max, I don't wanna go." She sobbed into my shirt. There was a rip where Fang had been holding me.

"I know Angel, but you have to go." She sobbed harder and looked at my face, her baby blue eyes boring into mine. "Be good, okay?" She nodded and put her head back on my shoulder. "No controlling people's minds, all right?" She nodded again, her tears soaking into my shirt. I smiled as I felt tears streaming down my own face. I set her down and knelt to her height. "I love you."

"I love you too, Max." I kissed her forehead and wiped away the tears falling down her dirt streaked face. She ran out the door and joined the rest of the flock. They all launched off, one by one. Fang went first; his black wings the only thing darker than the sky. Next was Iggy, then Nudge; Gazzy then Angel last; her pure white wings brightening up the sky. I took in a shaky breath as they faded from visibility. I wiped away my tears with a trembling hand, and then ran upstairs. I slammed the door behind me. I didn't want to see anybody.

I climbed on the bed and sat there, my back resting uncomfortably against the wrought iron headboard. I pulled my legs up against my chest and buried my face there, my knees pressing against my cheek bones. I stayed there, sobbing silently for who knows how long. The tears eventually dried up, but I still couldn't move. I could barely breathe; it was like Angel was still sitting on my chest. My flock had abandoned me for a second time. There was only one difference this time; it hurt more.

I heard a soft knock at the door, but I didn't answer. I just took another shuddering breath, trying to block out Angel's voice. I love you too, Max. It's been floating around in my head since they left. It took me a minute to register the fact that Edward had come in and sat down, draping his arm around my shoulders. We sat there in silence for a few minutes before I assembled a coherent thought.

"What do you want?" I was staring straight ahead now, but his head turned and his eyes searched my face.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. I haven't heard anything from you in hours. I was expecting you to start throwing things out the window with the temper you displayed earlier." I looked at him, feeling a bit dead inside.

"My flock just left me for a second time and you're trying to make a joke?" The ghost of a smile that was on his lips seconds ago disappeared.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "I'm perfectly fine. My family walked out on my with my best friend, going to live God knows where without me." I got up and stood in front of the window, looking towards the ocean of gray that they escaped into. A few seconds later, his hand was resting in the space between my wings. It was cold, yet oddly comforting. I spun and looked into his eyes, the tears streaming down my face again. "I'm sorry, I'm being so stupid." I laughed at how pathetic I was while my vision was being blurred. I blinked away the tears as he cradled my face in one of his hands.

"No, you're not." I laughed at myself again and put my hand on his marble chest. I felt self conscious as I leaned in quickly, catching him by surprise as out lips met. He froze for a second, sending my heart into a nervous frenzy. Had I made a mistake? He slowly loosened up, moving his hands to my waist. Too soon he ended the kiss but he made up for it by wrapping his arms around me and holding me close.

"Everything will be okay." I nodded into his chest and flung my arms around his neck.

I have a mission for you.

Okay, so I have something to say. Ever heard of this thing called Twitter? I made one. Twitter(dot)com/Feliciousness

If you follow me on Twitter, you will know when I'm writing and sometimes WHAT I'm writing. That's right, you would get sneak peeks. For instance, if you followed me say, last week, you would've known the flock was coming back. ;)

Now, REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Please? For Max? :3