Hopefully I can start updating this story daily now. I think I'm far enough ahead to do that. Either way, it'll be frequent.
This is the chapter where the pizza blows up, and I've totally stretched the Faxness to the Maximum (haha… okay, sorry, that was cheesy). There's stuff that probably didn't really happen, but there's also more detail… like, there was one sentence about it in the book, and I'm like, he's protecting you, it's so sweet, how are you barely noticing this?
Done ranting.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride!
When the pizza guy came, the flock hid while Jeb paid him. Iggy and I moved around a corner, and while we were waiting, backs pressed against the wall, he whispered, "Fang?"
"What?" I looked at him; he was touching his upper lip.
"Do I have a mustache at all? Like, even the beginning of one?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Um, no, Ig. You don't."
"Crap," he muttered. "Max was right."
Alright… I heard the front door lock, and I immediately came out from my hiding place, grabbing Iggy's elbow and taking him with me. The rest of the flock immediately headed towards the kitchen table, Nudge chanting, "Yes, yes, yes."
Dr. Martinez put down the stack of pizzas with an "oof" and opened the one on top. "Who got the extra pepperoni and mushroom?"
"Me, me!" Max called, appearing at her mother's side. She looked positively giddy, really young; I fought a smile.
As Dr. Martinez reached into the box, a wide-eyed Gasman suddenly snapped out his arm and grabbed hers. "Wait!"
"Get away from that pizza!" Max said, whisking it away from him. "Yours is probably next."
The Gasman pointed frantically at the pizza box. "No! Look!"
I squinted from a few feet away and saw a piece of wire poking out from under the crust. I lifted my eyes to her face and saw the realization fall across it. "Take cover!" she yelled.
In the next half-second, as I realized that the pizza was about to explode and that it was in Max's hands, this is what was in my mind:
Crap. Max. Max. Crap.
I launched myself at her, knocking the pizza out of her hands and dragging her behind the couch in the living room. One arm wound around her middle, holding her tightly to me, while the other covered her face. She was sandwiched between me and the floor, my body covering all of hers. Anything that fell would have hit me, no question, but I didn't care. All that mattered to me was that Max was safe.
Silence filled the room, and everything was still for a moment more. My heart was still pounding as I thought about how Max had been holding that explosive in her hands… it'd been that close…
"You okay?" I asked her, resting my forehead on the back of her head. She squirmed under me, and I climbed off of her. Nodding quickly, she stood up and called, "Report!"
Immediately she started coughing, doubled over, tears coming to her eyes. I moved over to her and thumped her back with one hand, rubbing her arm with the other. Even though she was still coughing, she waved me off and staggered away.
I watched, standing there beside the couch, as she checked up on the flock. Leader Max, just like always. She was taking care of the others, too busy with that to let me help her. How could it be that I was freaking out inside when I realized she was in danger, and she didn't even see it? How could I have just risked injury to myself as I tried to protect her, and she thought nothing of it? Was it so hard for her to get through her thick skull that someone really cared about her?
I shook my head and looked at the floor. Why did I even bother?
Because you love her, remember? Angel said in my head.
I sighed. Oh, yeah. That.
Two chapters to the kiss! Yay!
Review, please?