Chapter 10: Bowling and Jealousy

Ugh. I love Marching Band, but it's really time consuming. Do you know how long it took us to unload all 60 of our 10-foot tall mirrors we use as props in our shows? An hour! We didn't get to go home after the football game until about 1 am, and the game ended at 10:30. I love band. :)

Disclaimer: Those bird kids? Maximum Ride? Yeah, I disclaim them. That copyrighted stuff? I disclaim it too.

Max POV:

Bowling. The other kids wanted to go bowling. The last time I went bowling, my hand slipped and I knocked some kid's teeth out. That was about five years ago. So…yeah.

I begged Nudge to do something else-after all, we could bowl on the Wii at home-but I had no luck. We went into a bowling alley that was half bowling lanes, half arcade.

"Come on Max, have a positive attitude," Eliza said. Jennifer paid for our shoes and bought two games. "If you want, you don't even have to play."

"I'll play the first game," I muttered grudgingly. Angel grinned. Nudge was looking suggestively at some blonde dude with a cigarette. Ugh. Iggy was across the street taking some afternoon cooking class a local market. I didn't want to be here, but I didn't want to burn down the town by attempting to cook either.

Fang came up next to me as I was picking out a bowling ball. "So what's with the aversion to bowling?" He asked.

I turned away, picking up a reasonably heavy green ball. "It doesn't matter."

Fang picked up a black ball, not even checking the weight, and followed me. "Come on, someone who hates bowling that much must have a reason."

I turned around and snapped, "Why would I tell you?"

Pain flickered through his dark eyes, quickly switching to anger. "Oh, that's right. You're such a bitch, I bet you just want to ruin the first day the kids have had with their whole family in about forty years," he stalked off.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, remembering how much I had enjoyed talking to him during that storm. I ignored the feeling and walked over to set my ball next to everyone else's.

The game was pretty uneventful. There was one point that was amusing for everyone else but humiliating for me. When I swung my arm to roll the ball, I accidentally hit my leg and the bowling ball flew into the gutter of the lane next to us. I think the Flock laughed for about ten minutes straight. The blonde smoker Nudge had been checking out earlier had been playing in said lane, but he just cracked up and said he didn't mind.

After stupid Fang won the game, I strolled around the arcade. I made Fang fork over some money so I could play some stupid games and get a cheap prize. I played Ski Ball and Deal or No Deal and anything else there. I actually found I was kind of enjoying myself.

"Hey," A vaguely familiar voice said as I went back for more Ski Ball.

I turned to see blonde smoker standing behind me. "What do you want?" I asked, somewhat rudely.

A smirk graced his features. My backstabbing mind immediately compared it to Fang's and decided it wasn't as sexy.

"I was just being friendly. You did throw a bowling ball at me," he said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes, threw my last ball, and bent down to collect my tickets. "You came to hit on me?"

"You're quick."

"You're obvious." I walked over to exchange my tickets. "Anyway don't bother. I have a boyfriend."

"The dark-haired guy?" He guessed.

I blushed. "What? Fang? No way." I knew I spoke too fast, giving me away.

"Really?" The guy said, following me as I took my candy and junk and walked away from the counter. "Because every time you got up to bowl, he was staring at your ass."

My lips twitched. "Was he?" Had he not teased me about that very thing this morning?

"Yeah. Hey, I never caught your name. Mine's Ky," he said. We sat down at a table bordering both the bowling alley and the arcade.

"Mine is Max." I said, offering to share my Sour Punch Straws. He took one.

"So do you live nearby? I've never seen you around before," Ky said, munching his candy.

"No, I'm visiting with my friends and cousins, the ragtag group you saw with me."

"Is there a specific reason you visited here? Do you have family nearby? This town is pretty much the same as any other," He took more candy.

"Just needed a change of scenery," I said, taking more candy myself. "We live in a little Podunk town that basically consists of one neighborhood, a school for each level, and a grocery store."

The corner of Ky's mouth lifted. "Fun."

It suddenly hit me that I was talking to a total stranger for no reason. He didn't make me feel all safe and warm and fuzzy like Fang did, but it was nice to talk to someone normal who didn't act a billon years wiser than me.

Ky licked the sour crystals off his fingers and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He offered me one, but I shook my head no. "You sure? Live a little!" He urged.

"By inhaling burning shit into my lungs? Sorry, but that's not my idea of a good time," I said icily. Ky just shrugged and lit one for himself. I coughed as he exhaled a cloud of filth.

"Sorry," he turned his head away. I saw his eyes narrow. "Oh, fabulous."

"What?" I asked, turning around. What I saw made my blood go cold.

Fang was leaning very close to a slutty-looking redhead. He whispered something in her ear and she giggled. Her shirt was way too low, revealing ridiculously huge boobs that had to be fake. She had tiny skirt and actual fishnet leggings with her boots. Words from my questionnaire with Fang echoed in my mind. I don't think I actually got her name. She was blonde...

He was such a freaking player.

"That's my ex-girlfriend, Gemma," Ky said. "We had a nasty breakup. I hate her, she hates me," He looked at my expression. "Jeez, for someone who has a boyfriend that isn't that guy, you look awfully jealous."

I switched my glare from Fang to Ky. "Just shut it, okay? Maybe I feel a little more than friendly towards him," I looked over and saw a waitress carrying a pitcher of soda over to their table. Fang and Gemma had their backs to us, their backs to the waitress. I had to time this perfectly.

"Listen, keep your mouth shut about what I just said, and I'll make sure they know I've been hanging out with you. Deal?"

"Deal," Ky said, following my line of vision and guessing my plan.

I stood up and walked purposefully forward. The rest of the Flock had sort of scattered, they were all either flirting or in the arcade. No one noticed me.

I gave a fake stumble, said "Whoa!" for effect, and shoved the waitress. She gasped as the soda flew out of her hand and drenched Gemma, who shrieked. She spang up out of her chair.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said, acting the part. Fang turned around to glare at me.

"You bitch! What the Hell was that for?" Gemma shrieked. People turned to stare. This was so awesome, it was a struggle to keep a straight face.

"It was an accident! Ky and I were done talking, so I figured I'd come tell Fang I was ready to go," I grinned. "And you really shouldn't yell. You might cause a scene."

Gemma's green eyes locked on Ky, who walked up behind me. "What are you doing here?" Her voice oozed venom.

"Hanging with a hot chick, you?" That wasn't really how I wanted him to describe me, but whatever.

"I was doing fine with a sexy man until she dumped soda all over me!" Gemma said.

"Your voice is really annoying," I told her. It was.

"What's going on over here?" A buff-looking employee asked.

Gemma pointed at me, "That girl poured a drink all over me!" The worker turned to me.

"I was walking over to tell my friends I was ready to go, but I accidentally tripped and hit the waitress. And I did try to apologize afterwards," I said. I thought it was pretty convincing.

Buff-worker-man turned to Gemma and said, "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Gemma looked at Ky, Fang, and me before picking up her purse and stalking out the door. The employee headed back to the counter.

"Do you think I should have told her she had a little soda on her shirt?" I asked. I looked at Fang. Uh-oh.

He was tense, taking deep breaths, but I noticed that his eyes were completely black and his canines looked longer than normal. Only then did I remember that when Fang got mad he turned back into a wolf. Crap.

"Shit," I heard Nudge mutter as she ran over from another table, where she had been flirting shamelessly with some Goth. "Come on Fang, chill," He didn't move.

"Fang," she repeated, "It's time to go," she said firmly, grabbing his arm.

Fang took a deep breath and walked out the door. The rest of the Flock followed him.

"Well, it was nice talking to you Ky," I said.

He smirked. "Yeah, it was fun up until your not-boyfriend got all weird. I thought he was going to bite you."

I gave him a weak grin. "Yeah. He's weird. Bye, it was really was nice hanging out with you." Ky nodded.

I walked outside. "What the Hell were you thinking!" Fang exploded.

"I tripped," I said stubbornly.

"Max, we all know very well you didn't trip," Fang said angrily. I was secretly terrified that he was going to turn into a wolf and tear my face off.

"There you guys are!" I had never been happier to hear Iggy's voice. "What happened?"

"Fang was hitting it off with some slut, so Max got jealous and dumped root beer all over her," Gazzy said.

"I tripped and spilled soda on her!" I said again.

"Okay, Max, we love you," Owen said, "But how stupid do you think we are?"

Fang pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "I need to run," he muttered. "Meet you at home."

I turned away as he pulled his shirt off, revealing his ab-ulous stomach. He put the shirt in his back pocket and walked off towards the edge of the forest across the street. He transformed and shot off.

I decided to fly with Jennifer this time, so we also headed into the forest, and she carried me home. My mind churned. Why had I been so beaten up about the thought of Fang with another girl? And why did have the feeling that his jealousy at the end wasn't because I spilled soda on his slut, it was because I had been hanging out with Ky?

The next chapter will be about Ella and Dylan and how the people at Max's home feel about her being gone. Remember to check out myother story, What Happens in Vegas Doesn't Always Stay There!

My school has a football game against our rivals this Friday! It's a huge deal for the band, because wewant to be better than their band. Wish us luck!

P.S. Over 200 reviews for 9 chapters? You guys are amazing. I really do love you all. :)