"Happy Birthday, Max!" Ella said when Max came back down stairs.
"Hey, Ells. How was the first day of school?" Max asked, hugging Ella.
"Great!" Ella replied.
"Present time!" Dr. M said, pulling a chair into the living room.
Max sat in the chair and everybody else sat on the couches. Iggy handed her a small silver box. "From me and the Gasman." he explained.
Max opened it and gasped. "Thank you!" she said, giving them each a hug. She held up a chain with a charm on it. The charm spelled out MAX in fancy letters.
"It would have looked a little better, but somebody blew up the thing that carved the metal!" Iggy said, looking at Gazzy. "Then we got in trouble." he added sourly.
"Hey, guys, it's okay. I love it." Max told them.
"My turn! My turn!" Nudge said, running up to her room. In 3 seconds she was back down holding a small bag.
"Oh no." I muttered.
"Isn't that..." Max asked.
"What? Tell me!" Iggy shouted.
"What's in it?" Angel and Gazzy asked.
Dr. M fainted.
Resting in Nudge's hand, a pink bag with white writing on it was holding who knows what. And to Max's nightmare, the bag said:
Victoria Secrets.
"Um, Nudge, may I ask what's in the bag?" Max whispered.
"Oh, nothing embarrassing or anything. The lady that works there helped me." Nudge replied. She handed the bag to Max, who stared at it like it was a spaceship or something. I heard Max gulp, then peeked in. "No! You have to pull it out and show everybody!" Nudge ordered.
Max reached her hand in the bright pink bag and pulled out............................a headband. Wait, a headband?
"Victoria Secrets sells headbands?" Dr. M asked after recovering from her fall.
"Yup. The worker lady had some in the back storage room. I told her Max was turning 15 but didn't like all the girly stuff that they held." Nudge rambled on and on.
"Well, this is better than I expected." Max said, "Thanks Nudge."
"Ella helped me get it." Nudge added. Max hugged them both.
"Okay! My turn." Angel announced. "Happy birthday, Max."
Max took the paper from Angel and unfolded it. "Thanks, Ange." She said. "Your so sweet."
Max showed us the picture Angel drew of the Flock and Ella and Dr. M standing in front of the house. Gazzy and Iggy had bombs, Nudge and Ella had make up, Angel's left hand was holding Max's, and her right hand was holdng my hand. Dr. M was smiling down at Max.
"Angel, why are you holding Max's and Fang's hand?" Ella asked.
"Because, it's like Max is my mom, and Fang is like my daddy." Angel explained. I smiled a little. Angel was kind of like our kid.
"Angel, you draw wonderful." Dr. M said, studying the picture.
"Thank you." Angel said, pleased with herself. She hugged Max then sat back down in her seat.
"Here, Max." Dr. M threw a tiny box about the size of an egg into Max's hands.
"What is it?" Max asked, looking at it.
"Close your eyes, and let me lead you outside. Everybody else can come, too." Dr. M said, putting her hands over Max's eyes.
We followed them to the alley behind the house. Everybody gasped and the girls squealed. "What? What is it?" Max asked, prying her mom's fingers from her eyes.
"My thoughts exactly." Iggy wondered.
"Okay, Max, Happy birthday!" Her mom said.
Max opened her eyes and gasped. "No way! Really? For me? Oh my gosh! I can't believe it!" Max squealed-for the first time in her life- and ran to the black convertable Mustang sitting with the top down. "But, Mom, I'm still too young." Max said, running her fingers along the door.
"You can get your permit. Just not your liscence." Dr. M replied.
"Awesome!" Max said, opening the driver door and getting in. She opened the small box that was still in her hands and took out the key. "Can I?" she looked at her mom for approval.
"Yes, but I have to come. You have to have adult supervision." Dr. M said, getting in the passenger seat.
"Alright." Max said.
"Can I come?" Angel asked.
"Me too?" Ella asked with Nudge.
"Hm. Yes. The girls can get in the back, then we'll come back for the boys." Dr. M said, getting out to push the seat forward so they could get in. The car didn't have backseat doors.
"Fang, your in charge. Don't let them out of sight." Max warned, glancing at Iggy and Gazzy.
"No worries, Ma'am. We'll be on our best behaviour." Iggy said in a soldier voice. Max looked at the road, smiled, and stuck the key in the ignition.
"Just a warning, Dr. M, Max drives like a maniac. Trust me." I said, shuddering, remembering the time we were escaping the Eraser's after they took Angel. Max drove that huge van all over the place.
"I'll do my best." Max said, biting her lip.
She slowly turned the key, and the car started. Max beamed, and pressed on the gas pedal. Soon they were out of sight, and I followed the boys in the house.
"That is like so cool! I wonder f I will get a car when I'm fifteen." Iggy sighed. "Probably not." he answered himself.
"Okay, I'm watching you two. No funny buisness. Max will probably take like half an hour." I told them.
We were all on the couch, watching t.v., when Iggy sighed. "Why do I even watch it? I'm freaking blind!"
"Dunno. Don't care." I mumbled.
He grabbed his iPod and went up to his room.
I'm countin the days since I began to live without you
I'm covered in rain but It feels just like it's it's the sun.
I could sadly hear him singing to Mitchel Musso. "Iggy!" I called. He came down with the earphones still in.
"Mitchel? Really?" I asked him.
"Whatever." he muttered, walking back up the stairs. I heard the tires screech out front and Gazzy ran to the window.
"She's back!!! Yes! Our turn!" he shouted, running to his room for shoes. I rolled my eyes and slouched down in the recliner.
"Hi!" Max said, running in. Yes, running, she was very, very, very happy. "You turn. Where's the boys? That is so much fun! The wind on my face, I actually did a pretty damn good job." she finished.
"Whoa, did you switch bodies with Nudge?" I asked. She smirked and the girls and Dr. M walked in with smiles.
"That was so much fun, like, I can't believe it! I felt all the wind hitting my face and blowing my hair, and I was like smiling the whole time, wow I can't believe it, Max has a car now! OMG now we can like go to the mall and stuff when Dr. M is at work and stuff that would be so cool and fun. I can't wait until the next time I go don't you agree? I mean come on you just can't hate that-"
"Oh my gosh! Nudge, my ears are bleeding!" Iggy said, coming down the stairs with Gazzy. Nudge wasted a glare in his direction and went up to her room with Ella and Angel.
"Max did a fantastic job!" D. M told us. "Now you boys get in the back and I'll be there in a minute, I need a rubber band." she added on her way to the bathroom.
"I'll take the last ride." I told Max, who blushed and went to wait in the car.
After a few minutes the boys got to start their ride and I was stuck for like another half an hour with the girls. "So...." Ella said, coming down the stairs with Angel and Nudge at her heels.
"Need something?" I asked.
"Well...we happen to know a little something about you...and we are willing to tell Max if you don't real soon." Ella explained. "And we will. No joke."
"Ya, you have a week. Max needs to know." Nudge added.
"And I'll know if you did or not." Angel warned.
I stared at them open mouthed. Who knew the smiley girls could torture you? I didn't. Until now. "C'mon guys-er-girls. I know you wouldn't really do that to me. Please? I'll do anything." I said.
"Nope. You have a week. That's it. No postpones, no excuses, nothing like that. A week." Nudge said.
"Since when did this come to mind?" I asked them.
"Since Max was thinking about you on our ride. Well, she always thinks about you, but she thinks you might not like her anymore because of her getting real mad about the bomb this morning." Angel explained.
"But how could she think that?" I asked mostly myself. "I haven't done or said anything that would make her think that."
"Well, then make her know that you care about her." Ella told me.
"Alright. Fine. You win." I said.
"Good." Ella smiled. They ran back upstairs in their usual happy excited moods. Must be hormones. Well, for Ella. Nudge maybe, but Angel's too young. Anyways.
Just then the car pulled up and everyone but Max came inside. "That...was...AWESOME!" Gazzy exclaimed.
"Hell ya!" Iggy added.
"Max is waiting for you in the car." Dr. M said.
"Aren't you coming?" I asked her.
"No. I'll give you two a little privacy." she replied. I grabbed my new leather jacket- I know, I'm cool- and got in the passenger seat. Max smiled at me and pressed on the gas pedal.
The car tires screeched on the street as we drove what seemed like 100 miles an hour. "Whoa! Slow down." I told her. She laughed and slowed a bit. "Having fun?" I asked her.
"Yes. But I didn't open your gift. I saw you holding a box." she said.
"Oh, yeah. You can open it when we stop." I told her.
"Okay." she agreed. We drove for an hour, just driving. Not going anywhere in particular.
"Don't we have to get home?" I asked her.
"Actually, my mom had another little surprise for me. And you. She left a bag in the trunk, and said we could go somewhere. The bag has food and blankets." she explained.
"Really?" I asked. Max nodded.
"So, we're going to a little stream I found a while ago." she said.
"Cool." I said. I watched Max drive the rest of the way quietly. The wind blew her hair around her face, and her eyes were bright with excitement. Each time she looked in the mirrors, she smiled to herself, then glanced at me.
"What?" she asked, noticing my stare.
"Nothing." I said, shaking my head.
She smiled again and turned onto a little dirt path. It led to a small stream with flowers around it, and trees covered in moss. "Wow." I breathed as I got out.
"I know." Max whispered.
I got the bag out of the trunk and set it by a huge tree that gave us shade. "Isn't it great?" Max asked, looking at the flowing water.
I nodded. Every time the wind blew the water into a rock, Max smiled. Or when the leaves fell off the trees and into the water, she sighed. "It's so quiet." I whispered. For some reason I couldn't make myself talk loud. It seemed like it would ruin everything.
"Yes. And good for resting." Max replied, laying on a blanket I had set out. She crossed her ankles and linked her fingers behind her head. "So, what do you want to do first?" she asked after a minute.
"You could open my present." I suggested.
She sat up and smiled at me. "Ya." she said.
I got the box out of the car and sat next to her. "Max, honestly, I don't know what's in the box, so...just open it." I handed it to her. She frowned, then opened it. We both looked at what was in it open mouthed.
"Fang...." she started.
"I...I...wow." was all I could say.
"What-what-I...Fang, where did you get this?" she asked.
"Some guy gave it to me. He was James Patterson's son." I told her. "He just said to give it to you."
She took out the five books that were stacked up.
I read them off.
"Maximum Ride...The Angel Experiment. Maximum Ride...School's Out-Forever. Maximum Ride...Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. Maximum Ride...The Final Warning. MAX." I finished.
"They wrote books about us?" Max asked. "People know about us?"
"I guess." I said.
"What made the guy give it to you?" Max asked.
"I...I...oh. He told me his name and I started to say Fang, but changed it to Nick, so it sounded like Fnick. And...I guess it mentions that in the book about Anne." I said. "And he said I looked familiar."
"Well, your on the cover." she said, pointing to School's Out Forever and Saving the World. (I have the trade edition books, so I have the ones where Fang stands there and his hair is long. And there are eagles behind them.)
"Your on all of them. Except the the Final Warning and MAX. Those are different girls. And your not on School's Out." I said.
"Wow. Fang, thanks. I'm gonna start reading them soon. But for now, let's just rest...or talk...or something." Max said. I nodded in agreement.
So we sat and ate and joked around for a while. "What do you mean?" Max asked with a smile.
"I mean that if you cooked for the School or Itex, they would probably have left us alone." I said. She smirked and lightly punched me in the arm.
"Shut up." she muttered. I chuckled and hugged her. She sighed in my arms and looked up at me. "Fang, do you even like me anymore?" she asked hesitantly.
"Of course." I said, hiding the hurt.
"Okay. Because sometimes it seems like...like...you just don't." she mumbled. I held her tighter against my chest.
"Of course, Max. Why wouldn't I?" I said.
"I don't know. It was a stupid question." she replied.
"Max...I have something to tell you." I said.
"What is it?" she asked, pulling away.
"Um...well, Max...I...really do like you. Just remember that." I reassured her. I just couldn't make myself tell her yet. But she did need to know soon.
She smiled. "Okay." And she kissed me lightly.
We laid down, my arms wrapped around Max, and stared through the trees at the stars. We were quiet for about an hour, then Max fell asleep. I was thinking about her, about how I would tell her. It can't be that hard.
It's just 3 little words.