:D you lovely people do make me happy. This chapter is for all the subscriptions, reviews and favourites I got when I woke up this morning…and NOT an aversion technique to not do my maths homework….ish. Anyway, I shall try to give you more chapters this week if I can, because I go away for the week on Thursday, so you'll have a little break, sorry.

I do not own this. Well, actually, I lie, this story, I own, the characters, and characterisms, I do not.

Max POV

Iggy, damn you. I really wanted to tell Fang how I felt. But now I can't, because stupid Iggy had to arrive at the wrong stupid moment. Stupid. So instead I just stood there looking like a dumb thing, not saying anything.

I sighed and slid into the back of the car. I was never going to be able to tell him that I liked him. Maybe I should just face that, maybe I'm not meant to tell him. Maybe he really doesn't like me, and the world is trying to protect me. Stupid world.

When we got back, I went back to hanging with everyone again, I wasn't going to try and avoid him any more, at the very least, he was telling the truth about Brigid, I think.

After dinner, everyone disappeared to do various things, Angel had gone to a friends house after school, Iggy and Ella went to watch a film, Nudge was no doubt giving make-over's to herself and Gazzy was suspiciously absent somewhere in the house, I'm not 100% sure I want to know what he is doing.

I ended up sitting in a tree at the end of the garden, pondering over my thoughts, knowing that Fang would come find me eventually, well, it didn't actually take him very long at all. He climbed the tree effortlessly, and rested on a branch across from me, and just sat there, looking at me.

"Hi," I muttered lamely. Hi? Was that it really?

"Hey."

Silence. Awkward….Why though? It's never been awkward with Fang before, not even a little bit. Why now?

"What did you want to tell me?" He asked eventually, looking deep into my eyes, searching for answers. There was something else there in his that I couldn't read.

"Urm…" Tell him, Max. Tell him how you feel! Shut up head. "I got asked on a date today." What? That was the best you could come up with Max? Now he's never going to think you like him. Stupid idiot! Why did you say that? Why am I having an argument with myself in my head?

"Oh." A strange look came across his face momentarily, he almost looked…hurt?

"Yeah."

"So, did you say yes?" He looked like he was relying on my answer to stay here.

"Urm, I said I didn't really want to right now. I mean, I'm still new here, and well, he's a nice guy, but…"

"But…?" He looked relieved kind of, but he wasn't pushing me really, more like he wanted to be here to listen, like I could tell him anything and he would just be there for me. Like I should tell him exactly how I feel, right now.

"But… I have to go do homework. I'll talk to you later Fang." With that I jumped out of the tree and bolted for the house. As soon as I got up to my room, I leaned back on my door and took a deep breath. What was all that about? Why couldn't I just come out with it and tell him. Was I that scared of rejection?

Fang POV

"Hi," Max mumbled when I got in the tree, or something that resembled hi anyway.

"Hey," I replied. Cool Fang, really cool. That was the best thing I could say? And then I just sat there not saying anything. Urgh.

"What did you want to tell me?" I finally managed to say something intelligible.

"Urm…" She looked like she was finding the right way to say something. "I got asked on a date today." What? Is that what she wanted to tell me? She got asked on a date? Is this her way of telling me that she doesn't like me, well not like that anyway.

"Oh," I breathed. Not really knowing what else to say for a second. And then, "so, did you say yes?"

"Urm, I said I didn't really want to right now. I mean, I'm still new here, and well, he's a nice guy, but…" She started. There was something else there, something she was dying to tell me. The real thing she wanted to tell me to start with.

"But…?" I prompted her, hoping she didn't think I was pushing, just encouraging her that I'm here.

"But… I have to go do homework. I'll talk to you later Fang." Then she ran off.

WTF? She obviously wants to tell me something else, but what is it? Does she like this guy? Does she like me? I was beginning to doubt that even more now. Why would she like me after all? I mean, I'm nothing special. She's only been here for like 2 weeks, and she said herself, she's still new here. She used it as an excuse. Maybe she's not looking for anyone right now. Maybe she knows how I feel about her, and is using this as a chance to try and say, no, not right now. But there was still a small voice inside me, telling me not to give up, and to tell Max, and that I would never know if I didn't try.

Max POV.

I stayed in my room for the rest of the night, playing my guitar, writing songs, feeling like an idiot. Why can't I just talk to Fang properly?

At some point, I logged into my laptop, and signed into chat, to discover Fang was online. And we spent the rest of the evening, and far too long into the night talking about the pro's and con's of world domination. It was so easy to talk to him on there, when it wasn't face to face. But I couldn't tell him how I felt online, it just didn't feel right. It had to be to his face, if I could ever pluck up the courage to tell him.

Fang POV

The rest of the week went along fairly similarly. Dylan, the jerk resitting the year was the one who asked Max out, I reserved the right to dislike him based on the fact that he was trespassing all over my territory. Not that I own Max, lets just say he's been stepping on my toes, and he's not exactly been sorry about it. Every time he sees me glaring, he grins evilly, and finds some way to touch her, hold her books, put an arm over her shoulders, anything to piss me off. If he could tell I liked her, why couldn't she?

Max never got around to telling me that But… And I never got around to telling her how I felt. We didn't get as much time alone at school. But we did have art together, and she would occasionally sit by me now, as well as Dylan, and we'd have fun. The best part of my week though was my maths lessons, where I had Max, and no Dylan or Brigid. It was great. What was better was when Max struggled and I had to go sit by her and explain it, or explain her homework to her, feeling a little smug that I had this one over on her. I got it at least.

In the evenings, I helped Max with her homework, or we went off and did it separately, and played guitar, again either together or separately, I loved that I could hear her every night from my room though.

By Friday I made a decision. I was going to tell Max. She didn't have to feel the same way. I just had to know.

"Max," I caught her just as she was getting out of the car when we got home. "Can I talk to you a minute?" I asked, when she turned.

"Urm, yeah." She looked curious, and followed me out back down to the bottom of my garden, because it was always quieter there than hers.

"Max, I was kind of wondering…"

"Yeah?" she looked like she'd hit me if I didn't come out with it. That was rich considering her performance of telling me things. In fact, I was going to ask.

"What was the 'but' for when we were talking last week, when you ran off?"

She blushed, well that I wasn't expecting. She looked amazingly pretty when she did that. Ahh I needed to focus.

"Urm. About that, I kind of decided to give him a try in the end." She looked at the ground, even redder.

What? Give him a try how? Had she agreed to go out with him?

"Just the once, for now," She continued. "We're going to the cinema tonight." Now she looked up at me, as if she was trying to read my eyes. Oh, yeah, right, blank expression. Don't show her how upset you are, she needs to see that she can tell you stuff like this, and not have you freak out on her. And if she really likes him, she deserves to be happy, right?

"Oh. OK" I replied. "Let me know how it goes?"

She nodded and turned back to go home. Had I done the right thing? Should I have told her anyway? Or did she deserve just this little bit of happiness? Would she get happiness? This guy was a jerk. Should I try and protect her?

I turned to go after her, without really thinking. "Max," I called. But she had already disappeared inside. Great. I'd let her go. I couldn't stop her now.