Max's POV
If we're not just friends, and we're not lovers either, what are we?
I pondered that question to no end after I carefully wrote it in my diary. Fang and I weren't just friends. That much was obvious. If he was just a friend, we wouldn't be able to practically read each other's minds. Our relationship wasn't even one of best friends. We were….different than that.
Try as I may, I couldn't come up with an answer. I couldn't stand being confused about how I felt. But as long as Fang was with me, not knowing how I felt about him was bearable. If nothing else, I knew Ella was wrong. I was most definitely not in love with Fang.
I really couldn't explain my feelings at this point. I felt strangely drawn towards him, for some reason. Two days ago, I randomly grabbed his hand and buried my face into him. I had no idea why I did it. It just felt subconsciously right. The weirdest part was that Fang didn't push me away. He pulled me closer and gripped my hand harder. What was up with that?
The next morning, I already regretted it. It was embarrassing enough in itself, not counting the fact that I rolled on Fang's hand and re-injured it. Besides, how the heck did I roll on his hand? Was I…on top of him? No, that couldn't have been possible. I guess I just rolled a bit aggressively and landed on his finger.
Eventually, I decided the best course to take was to just forget it ever happened. Hopefully Fang would overlook it, too.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn't deny feeling my heart skip a beat whenever Fang smiled. How did he have this kind of power over me?
If we're not just friends, and we're not lovers either, what are we?
My question replayed in my mind until I drifted off at last, away from my problems into a world that never was and never will be in which confusion didn't exist.
When I woke up, my first thought was, cold.
Fang fell asleep several feet away from me last night, and I missed his warmth. Yesterday marked the first time in nearly a week I didn't sleep next to Fang. I hoped he wouldn't mind this..
As quietly as I could, I stood up from behind where Fang was standing and slowly inched towards him. Several steps before I reached him, I prepared to jump him. He always had enough body heat to spare.
Just after my feet left the ground, Fang sidestepped me and whipped around. I triumphantly hit my face on the tree Fang was standing next to.
"Ow!" I exclaimed. Fang smirked.
"I cannot be snuck up on. What do you need, anyways?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips.
"Give your friend a hug, Fang. She's freezing," I said, rubbing my face. I felt a small groove on my nose with a small flake of tree bark in it. Stupid Fang.
"All right. You could've just asked, you know," he said, opening his arms.
As I stepped into them, I said, "But that's no fun." When he wrapped his arms around me, I immediately felt his warmth spread through my body. I pulled in closer to him to heat up as fast as possible. Even though he hadn't showered for a week, he didn't smell bad at all. He had a nature-like smell that felt so much like home.
After a minute of hugging Fang, I reluctantly pulled back. Even though I wasn't cold anymore, I didn't want to let him go. His arms just felt so…revitalizing. My morning drowsiness was replaced with complete awareness within one minute. Something must've been up, since I was usually a zombie until breakfast. There was definitely something special about Fang. Then again, I knew that since day one.
We sat down on a thick log running parallel to the hill and took out our breakfasts. Fang snagged us a pair of forks at the store we robbed, so we didn't have to eat with our hands anymore. I was a bit wary about stealing luxuries like utensils, but Fang told me we needed it so we didn't get sick. I didn't question Fang's morals and just went with it.
Even though I was usually a faster eater than him, Fang scarfed down his breakfast faster than I could take three bites. He had a slightly panicked look in his eyes, like he had somewhere to be. He stuffed the empty can in his backpack.
"Fang? What's the rush? It's not even noon yet," I said. Fang shook his head.
"It's not that. I forgot about getting the finger tape yesterday." I stared at him.
"You're kidding…" I trailed off, knowing he was right. After all the planning we did, how could we just forget? I was no expert in broken bones, but I figured three days was an awfully long time to wait to tape a broken finger.
"Doesn't matter right now. Let's get going, though." I nodded quickly and went back to my food. After finishing, I met Fang at the top of the hill where he was already waiting.
In the town, we decided to head to the same store as yesterday, since it seemed large and likely to have tape. This time, I made sure I got in first so Fang couldn't embarrass me by holding the door. I knew he didn't mean any harm with it, and he was just trying to be nice, but I couldn't stand it. I absolutely hated needing help or feeling inferior to someone else. Like Fang, my fatal flaw was hubris. Fortunately, I learned to somewhat control it at home. I had to swallow my pride on numerous occasions when at the mercy of my parents. Frustration was a small price to pay compared to getting hurt.
As we were browsing through the shelves, I came across a roll of green electrical tape. It looked pretty sturdy, so I decided to show it to Fang.
"Hey, would this work?" I said, holding out the tape. Fang stared at me as if I was crazy. "What?" I questioned defensively. Fang let out a small chuckle.
"Max. You realize that's green?"
"Yeah. What's wrong with green?" He gestured to himself.
"Look at me."
"Um, you're ri-I mean wearing black?" I shut my mouth quickly. As much as I hoped Fang didn't hear my slip-up, I had no doubt he did. Thankfully, I didn't say anything too bad. He knew he was ripped, so it shouldn't have come as any surprise. I was glad I didn't say cute, or god forbid, hot.
"See?" he said. I shook my head, becoming slightly frustrated with Fang.
"Nope."
"Max, I just don't wear green. It's a simple fact." I stared at him.
"Does it really matter, Fang?"
"Well, yeah, it does. Considering it's electrical tape we're talking about."
"What's wrong with that?"
"It doesn't stick. Unless we want to use up the whole roll within a day, we should probably get some sort of cloth tape."
"Why didn't you just say that?"
"Because that's no fun," Fang said, in a pretty good imitation of my voice. He winked. I felt my annoyance suddenly surge. Without thinking, I slapped him across the face. Unfortunately, I hit him harder than I meant to. Fang stepped backwards, clutching his cheek.
"Fang! I'm sorry, I didn't-" I said, covering my mouth.
Fang cut me off. "It's fine. But we might want to get a pack of ice for that," he said, smiling slightly.
"You're not serious, right?"
"Nope."
"Good." I turned around to look for a better tape for Fang. I sifted through the shelves, looking for a cloth tape. That's what Fang said, right? Or was it a gauze tape? Nah, it couldn't have been. That doesn't exist. Wait, does it? You know what? I'll just let Fang find his own tape.
"Found it?" I said.
"Nope," he muttered, pushing several packages aside. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a young employee appear in our aisle and walk towards us. She was hardly in appropriate attire for an employee with her short skirt and ripped tank top. Her name tag read Lissa.
"Hey, can I help you with anything?" she said to Fang, flashing him a sweet smile.
"I'm fine," Fang responded.
"There must be something I can help you with," Lissa purred. She inched closer to him, deliberately sticking her chest in his face. That did it. The surge of protectiveness in me became a geyser of bitterness. Before Fang could respond, I stepped in front of her and gave her my best death stare.
"Stay out of our way! Who the hell are you?" I yelled at her. Unfazed, she looked around me and batted her eyelashes at Fang.
"Hey, can you go shop somewhere else? I need to talk with him," she said, motioning to Fang.
"Uh, nope. I don't listen to skanks," I said. She ignored me.
"You are single, right?" Lissa said, smiling at Fang. He cleared his throat.
"I don't have a girlfriend, but I do have standards," he said firmly. Lissa's mouth dropped open. Raising my eyebrows at her, I grabbed Fang's arm and led him away from the girl. She gave me the finger.
"Let's just get back to finding tape," he decided, making his way back over to the shelves of tape. Thankfully, Lissa had left. To seduce other guys, I had no doubt. I followed Fang back to the tape. On the outside, I displayed a mask of impassive calmness, but I was seething with anger on the inside. I mean, who did she think she was?
After a few minutes of searching, Fang finally found a box of brown cloth tape. We paid and left the store. According to a clock, it was 3:19 P.M., giving us nearly three hours to walk one mile to the park.
While we waited for Ella, Angel, and the rest of Fang's friends, Fang wanted to tape his finger at the picnic tables. He seemed to know what he was doing, and he was satisfied with his work within five minutes.
"Where'd you learn how to do that?" Fang smirked.
"Some of us actually pay attention during health class."
"Do you want me to slap you again?"
"Nope."
"Thought so," I said, grinning. He rolled his eyes and took out two apples.
"I'm feeling it today, Max." This time, it was my turn to roll my eyes. I didn't know he was so eager to get his butt kicked. Again.
After he ate his apple, Fang stood up and fired a shot at the trash can. This time, he missed the can completely. The core bounced in front of the trash can. Pathetic. I clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. Just then, something occurred to me.
"Maybe I should change, Fang. We still have two hours until Ella's coming," I said, standing up. Shrugging, Fang followed me out of the park and back to town. I quickly changed into a blue t-shirt and jeans in a bathroom.
"You look great," Fang remarked, as I stepped out.
My cheeks reddened. "Thanks," I said, forcing a smile.
"I'm not kidding, Max." Way to make things complicated, Fang. Wonderful job.
"Yeah, okay. Let's just go," I said quickly, not meeting his eyes. We made it back to the park well before six, giving us time to relax for a few minutes before Ella came. I was really curious to know what they looked like. Fang gave me a description of each of them, but there were millions of people who fit each description. I needed faces.
After several minutes of anxious waiting, Fang suddenly stood up.
"FANG!" several voices chorused from behind me. I whipped around to see five kids running towards us. Fang was grinning. As the approached, Angel jumped up and tackled Fang in a hug. She really was adorable. The reunited siblings hugged each other for nearly a minute, and broke apart. When Angel let go, she skipped towards me. She looked me up and down with her big, blue eyes that could melt even Vladimir Putin's heart.
"Max?" I smiled and nodded. She hesitantly stepped forwards as well. I picked her up and wrapped her in a tight embrace. She looked nothing like Fang, but their hugs both comforted me all the same. Meanwhile, Fang and the blonde boy were doing the half-hug bro handshake that guys do. Fang gave the pretty brown-haired girl, which I assumed was Ella, a small hug and ruffled Gazzy and Nudge's hair. Everyone looked happy to see him.
Ella looked at me, and then back at Fang. "She's gorgeous! And you know it!" she said playfully, getting in Fang's face. My cheeks reddened, and Ella knew it. Her eyes flitted between Fang and I as her smile grew.
"Oh, drop it, Ella. Will you?" Fang said, uncomfortably fiddling with his jacket.
"Fine. But you lied to me, Fang. She's beautiful, not maybe a little cute." Fang suddenly took interest in his black sneakers.
"Here, Fang. Everything's in here. I also brought your watch, in case you needed it," Angel said, handing Fang a big bag.
"Thanks, Angel. Wanna sit down, guys?" Fang said, leading us to the picnic table. Everyone followed him and sat down. Ella and Iggy were holding hands. Gazzy and Nudge were in that awkward pre-dating stage that all thirteen-year-old couples go through. They looked cute together, though.
When we sat down, Nudge didn't hesitate to speak. "So, Max! Ella told me about you yesterday. Um, she didn't tell me what your personality was though. All she said was that Fang thought you were hot. You are! You guys should, like, totally get together. Fang always needed a good girlfriend. He used to date weird girls. But he was way too good for them! He needs someone wh-" Gazzy clamped his hand over Nudge's mouth, sighing. Nobody acted like Nudge's speech was out of place, though. I guess I had quite a bit of learning to do when it came to the ways of Fang's friends. My ears were ready to fall off.
Iggy cleared his throat. "Anyways, how's it going, Fang? Ella told me a little but I need to hear it from the man himself."
"Besides missing you guys, it's actually been great. I've learned a lot, had some fun, and made a new friend." He emphasized the word friend for Ella's sake, I presumed. "I can come back someday, perhaps."
"Whatever makes you happy, man. You better invite me to your wedding, though," Iggy said, looking at me. Fang took a deep, deliberate, and careful breath, causing Ella to giggle. "Hey, don't blame me! Wedding food is good!" Iggy said. This time, everyone laughed. Even Fang chuckled.
Fang turned to Angel. "Found any boys you like yet?" Angel cringed.
"Eeew, no way!" Everyone laughed again.
"Ella and I are definitely going to set her up, though! I mean, Angel's gorgeous! How can Angel the angel not have a boyfriend? It's simple logic. Angel should definitely get together with someone. How about Shaw Akers? The blonde guy in your class?" Nudge said. I breathed a sigh of relief when she finished her speech.
Angel's rosy cheeks reddened. "Um…." she said quietly. She was so cute, it melted my heart. Nudge and Ella exchanged a glance and broke into grins.
Gazzy spoke up. "Max, Fang, how did you guys meet?"
"Well, I needed a place to sleep on my first night away, so I went into a sewer. I was going to go to sleep, but Fang appeared out of nowhere and interrupted me," I said.
"Actually," Fang interjected, "if I remember correctly, I was there first. Max was the one who came down and crashed my party."
"Anyways, that was ten days ago. We were fifty miles from Tucson then, and we ran here."
Iggy whistled. "You guys ran all the way here?" I nodded. Suddenly, Nudge gasped. We all looked at her.
"ZOMG! Taylor Swift is dating again!" she squealed, looking up from her phone.
"Who was it this time?" Ella said, bored. Nudge looked back at her phone, tapped a few buttons, and even shook her phone. What was that supposed to do? Break it? I'd never had a cell phone before, so I wasn't one to talk. But I was pretty sure shaking a phone didn't do anything.
"Umm…um…" Nudge looked up with wide eyes. "It's Harry again! If last time was trouble, this is double trouble." I stared at her. Harry? Who was that? I decided I didn't want to know.
Iggy stood up. "Who's up for some ice cream?" he said, deliberately changing the subject.
"ME!" Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy screamed. Fang, Ella, and I looked at each other.
"Why the hell not," Ella said, shrugging.
Half an hour later, we were all sitting back at the picnic table with an ice cream cone each courtesy of Iggy. As we talked, I began to like Fang's friends more and more. According to Iggy, they called themselves a Flock because Angel had a dream about them having wings. Even though I just met them, I felt like I belonged with the Flock. I was so thankful they offered to visit us here.
The part I liked best about them was their chemistry. Despite their age differences, they had enough in common that they could hang out as one group. I always yearned for a family like this one.
While Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel watched videos on Nudge's iPhone, Ella, Iggy, Fang, and I talked.
"So, why'd you leave, Max?" I tensed. I wanted to tell them badly, but I just couldn't bring myself to. It was painful enough telling Fang. Even then, I barely managed to choke out my life story before collapsing into Fang's arms.
"Family problems," I told him. It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth. Thankfully, Iggy could tell that I wasn't ready to share my past.
"That sucks. Well, so much for opposites attracting. Fang and you are practically identical."
"That's not true. Fang is really annoying, and he has dark hair."
"Besides that. Well, I guess opposites do attract in that regard," Iggy commented thoughtfully.
"Attract? You don't mean…" Fang said. Iggy laughed.
"Yep. I do." I groaned.
"Both of you? Really? Do we look like a couple to you?" I asked. Everyone except Gazzy assumed we were together, and he probably thought that to himself as well. Why did they think that? Iggy held out his arms and made a rectangle with his fingers, as if taking a picture of us. I scowled.
"Yep, looks like a couple to me." I turned to Ella and raised my eyebrows.
"Yep. I'm with the Igster on this one."
"Speaking of being with Iggy, how's the engaged life?" Fang asked, changing the subject.
Ella beamed. "It's wonderful," she said, squeezing Iggy's hand.
"It's great, but I did have to find a new detonator for the stink bomb Gazzy was making since I gave Ella the ring." Ella giggled and quickly kissed his cheek.
"By the way, guys, can I talk to Fang alone for a minute?" Ella asked. Nobody objected as she and Fang stood up and went to a different table. That left Iggy and I.
After making sure nobody was listening, Iggy leaned across the table and asked me, "Max, you don't have to lie to me. I won't tell a soul. Do you like Fang as more than a friend?"
I didn't hesitate before replying. "Nope," I said.
"You're lying."
"I'm not! I swear I don't love Fang. Not in that way, at least." Iggy grinned.
Iggy whispered, "Max, you are in love with Fang. Whether you realize it or not. I can read people like open books, and it's obvious to me that you and Fang are in love with each other."
"No! I'm not in love with him! We're just friends, Iggy. Besides, how would I be in love with him without realizing it?" Iggy just chuckled.
"Wait and see, Max. Wait and see."
"Well, I hope you don't put any money on it. Or else you won't be able to buy us ice cream next time." Iggy laughed lightheartedly.
"I'm not a serious person, but in all seriousness, you and Fang will get together. Just trust me on this. Ask Angel. She can practically read minds and tell the future."
"Angel!" I yelled. Her head whipped up from Nudge's phone, sending her long, blonde, curly hair through the air.
"What do you think is happening between Fang and I?"
"A romance. What else?" she said innocently, as if it was obvious.
"No, seriously."
"I was serious. You guys love each other, even if you're too stubborn to admit or realize it."
"Angel, dear, don't listen to everything Iggy tells you." She shook her head.
"Isn't it obvious?" she said. I was dumfounded. How was it obvious that Fang and I, who weren't in love, loved each other?
"Told ya!" Iggy whooped, his inner ten-year-old making an appearance.
"You guys are so weird.."
"We are, but we're right about this. And for the record, I definitely would bet on it," Angel said.
"Whatever, guys." Angel and Iggy exchanged a glance, and burst out laughing simultaneously. Despite driving me nuts, it gave me an insight to just how close the Flock's members were with each other. Iggy and Angel were on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of age and gender, and it was obvious they knew each other like the back of their hands. It wouldn't have surprised me if Fang and Iggy could read each other's minds.
As if reading my mind, Angel said, "Don't be surprised. We've known each other for our whole lives. We can all basically read each other's minds." I stared at her.
"I guess you can read my mind also," I said. She shrugged.
"I've always been the perceptive one of the group. Gazzy used to call me a telepath." That reminded me. I wanted to talk to all of Fang's friends, even Gazzy and Nudge.
"Yo, Gazzy? How's your latest bomb project going?" I asked. He grinned evilly.
"Glad you asked. Iggy and I were planning to set off a massive series of smoke bombs around Fang's house, so nobody can tell where the door was. We still have to get more sulfur, though. If Iggy didn't buy that ring for Ella, we'd have enough."
"Hey, we just gotta take it slow. We can still pull this off. Just gotta pick up a few bucks at the coffee shop. We still need that transmitter, though. I don't have time to make one this week," Iggy said.
"It's fine, I can do that part. Do you have that spare motherboard from your science fair project?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I? If we wire it to enough targets, it could blow up the city. Do you really think I'd lose that?" I stared at him in shock.
"Blow up the city?" I asked. What were they, ingenious pyromaniacs? Probably. Gazzy looked at me.
"Oh, we'd never do that. But we could, if we ever need to. We've never destroyed anything by accident."
"What about the rosebush in front of Fang's house?" Iggy said, raising his eyebrows.
"Ok, fine. I dropped a micro-transmitter there. But it's never happened besides that. And that was a small mistake," Gazzy said.
"Where do you guys get all this stuff?" I asked.
"We usually make it from scratch. But sometimes we get our complicated circuitry online," Iggy answered.
"Or you guys steal it from my parents. Not that I'm complaining, of course," Fang answered. We all turned towards him. He and Ella were back from their little chat.
"Dude, did you tell Max about the eternal geyser?" Iggy said to Fang.
"Nope." Iggy's eyes lit up.
"Well, we needed to get Anne back for whacking Fang, so we played around with her pipe system a little. We repositioned a few tubes here and there, and put explosives in other places. We timed them to go off in order, so Anne would get sprayed by water wherever she went. It was priceless," Iggy said. I shook my head.
"You guys are crazy. Glad I'm not on your bad side," I said.
"Yeah, I'm glad, too," Ella said. "Fang told me that you could beat him up any day."
"He's right. I can beat him up," I said, looking at Fang. He just shrugged.
"I'm getting tired, guys. Wanna stay the night with us in our oh-so-comfortable forest nearby?" Fang asked.
"Sure," Ella said, shrugging. Everyone else seemed okay with it as well.
"One sec, guys. What happened to your hand, Fang?" Iggy asked. Fang looked embarrassed, but he told Iggy what happened.
"A manhole cover, man? Really?" Iggy asked. Fang looked down and refused to comment.
"Let's get going. It's about two miles from here," Fang decided. As we walked, Ella and Iggy talked quietly with each other, Gazzy and Nudge were taking pictures of themselves, and Fang offered to give Angel a piggyback ride. I was touched by the affection he showed towards Angel. It didn't really fit in with his 'tough guy' image, but I liked that part of him nonetheless. When we arrived at our clearing, we all lay down to sleep. Gazzy and Nudge slept about a foot apart, thankfully, Ella and Iggy slept next to each other, and Angel lay between Fang and I. After we said our 'good night's, I took out my diary to write.
Dear Diary,
I wish this day would never end. Fang told me his friends were great, but I didn't think I'd feel like I belonged with them as much as I do. Talking with them feels so natural and normal. Besides the constant pestering about Fang and I being together, I feel perfectly in place with them. I can act naturally, and they accept me for who I am. I don't want them to leave tomorrow.
One thing still bothers me, though. Something Iggy and Angel said earlier.
"Max, you are in love with Fang. Whether you realize it or not."
"You guys love each other, even if you're too stubborn to admit or realize it."
What was that supposed to mean? I think I'd know if I was in love with somebody. And I'm pretty sure I'm not in love with Fang. Nah, I'm very sure. Even though I'm a stubborn person, I'm not denying anything when I say we're just friends. Still, Iggy's words bothered me. He looked like was telling the truth, despite how absurd it was. Could I be in love with Fang without realizing it? For that matter, could Fang be in love with me without realizing it?
Love,
Max
By the way: If anyone couldn't tell, Iggy is NOT blind. I accidentally said he was earlier, but it's corrected now. My apologies.
If anyone finds errors in the story, please tell me! I want to make the story as clean as possible.
