Chapter 10 MPOV Revelation
"Hey, Gazzy, race you to the top of that boulder!"
"You're on!" Gazzy and Angel took off like rockets across the path, leaping up rocks and climbing to the top of the mountain. Even with their camping gear strapped to their backs, they seemed to do this with ease. 'Good thing they haven't gotten too soft,' I thought fondly.
The flock, plus Dylan, was going on a camping trip. It had been a while since the little ones ('Not so little anymore, Max') got to stretch their wings. Besides, they deserved a break from school. God knows I didn't envy them for having to go to school. Even working was better than that.
Dylan, Nudge, Iggy, and I were talking together (Nudge did most of the talking).
"I'm glad you could come with us, Dylan. I was surprised to find out that there was another one of us. How many of us do you think there are, Max? There could be dozens- maybe even as many as the erasers! All in hiding. But I'm glad Max decided she liked you, Dylan, otherwise we would never have met, and I think you're fun. It's good for all of us to have another friend. Hey Max, what do you think- Rock on your right Iggy! Oh, sorry, I mean your left-" I stifled a laugh as Iggy tripped over a rock and cursed. I drowned out Nudge's jabbering and began guiding Iggy. Nudge meant well, but she talked too much to give detailed layouts of the uneven mountain trail.
Once we reached our usual camp site, we all began pitching our tents. Nudge and Iggy had theirs under control, as did Angel and Gazzy. Dylan helped me with my tent, and then I helped with his.
"So Nick's going to show up tonight?" Dylan asked in a low voice. It took me a second to figure out why Nick was coming. 'Oh, right, Fang.'
"Yah he's coming later. Only Iggy knows about it. I still haven't told the others that he's back in the city."
"Why not?"
I shrugged. "Didn't know how to. I mean, I can't exactly be like 'Oh, guys, remember that guy I used to date? The guy who ran off with the Feline to work for Itex? Yah, well, he's back in town so I invited him for Sunday dinner. Isn't that great?'"
Dylan laughed, "No, I guess that would be weird.
We all laughed and joked, ran and swam, ate and ate all afternoon. We were sitting by the campfire, drying out wings, when Angel spoke to me through her mind-connection psycho powers.
'Hey, Max. It's good to see you're feeling yourself again.' I didn't take my eyes off Gazzy, who was telling a ghost story. I just let Angel feel my confusion.
'You looked like a zombie for a long time. Since you stopped crying over Fang- sorry, Nick. But you've slowly gotten better. I think it happened around the time Dylan got here. Nudge thinks he's the reason you aren't depressed anymore. She thinks you two would make a great couple.' I glanced at Angel just long enough to roll my eyes, but I caught Nudge watching Dylan and I. She winked before turning to Iggy. She didn't see my glare, but Angel noticed my slight irritation.
'Soooo…. Do you like him? I think he's really nice. I know he may not live up to Fang, but no guy-'
'Stop, Angel. Don't even go there.' Stupid little mind-reader was worse than Nudge. At least the brunet chattered on about insignificant things that we could ignore.
My angry thoughts were redirected toward the shadows beyond our campfire's warm light. Fang had arrived. Walking over to him, I smiled tightly. He nodded in greeting. I gestured for him to follow me to the circle, and then we walked back to the flock, who were all staring at us. They each had a different mixture of surprise, wariness, confusion, and greeting.
Iggy carefully got up any walked toward us. Throwing an arm around Fang's shoulder, he grinned. "Nice of you to finally join us, bro. I was beginning to wonder if you'd chickened out."
"Who, me? Never. " Fang said lightly. I could feel his tension under his easy-going manner.
By then, we'd reached my seat. Fang and I sat down next to Dylan, who greeted Fang with a grin. "Hey, man. Nice to see you."
I turned to Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge. Shock, wariness, confusion, and anger showed on their faces. 'Oh, yah. Iggy and I may have forgiven him, but they haven't heard his story yet.'
"Anyone care to explain what he's doing here? Last I heard, he was spying for Itex," Gazzy was the first to speak up.
"Um… yah…. There was some…. misunderstanding and bad communication. Fang, you want to explain it?"
Nudge caught that last part. Fang; not Nick, Fang. She looked even more surprised and confused.
"Not really, but I guess I don't have much of a choice." Fang took a deep breath and began explaining his story. Dylan backed him up on the part where they'd run into each other in LA. Iggy vouched for him having been here for a little over two months already (no attacks, no erasers, no problem), and I declared my trust and explained a lot of other stuff. I too had kept secrets from the flock.
By the time everything was explained, asked, answered, accused, defended, argued, and resolved, the moon was high in the sky. The fire had burned low, so I went to add more wood and rekindle the flames.
Gazzy had come to stand in front of Fang during the arguments. He still looked pissed at Fang.
"Hey, Fang," Gazzy called. Fang looked up, only to receive a strong, head-turning punch to the left side of his face. Shouts of surprise and reprimand came from around the campfire.
"What the hell, Gazzy? What'd you do that for?" Gazzy ignored me and stared at Fang. "You're getting off easy. I said I'd kick your ass if you ever hurt Max. You destroyed her, and you're still getting off with just a black eye."
To my complete surprise, Fang just nodded. "I know."
There was a silence that seemed to stretch for hours, everyone waiting for someone to say something.
"Oh no! My marshmallows!" Angel jumped up and started blowing on the flaming sweet.
When the fire was extinguished, Angel pouted at the sight of the blackened marshmallow. I laughed.
"They taste best that way. The inside is all gooey." Gazzy said. Angel took a bite, and smiled when she realized he was right.
"I can make the best marshmallows," Dylan declared, spearing one on the end of a stick, "you have you get down near the coals, not the flames." Sure enough, two minutes later he showed us a perfectly golden-brown marshmallow.
"What about you, Fang? You used to make the best s'mores," I handed Fang a marshmallow stick. He had just been sitting there, watching everyone else. He took the stick without comment, but I could have sworn I saw gratitude in his eyes. Friggin' git better be grateful; after all, I don't open up these camping trips to just anyone. We were an exclusive club.
By the end of the night, everyone had accepted Fang back as a friend, almost like old times. Almost. He still wasn't officially initiated a flock member, and there was still no way I'd date him again. He'd have to work harder to even have a chance at being considered family again. As for my boyfriend? Nuh uh, no way, not a chance. One heartbreak per person per lifetime.