Fang: You're updating this again?
Me: Felt like it.
Fang: What about your other fics?
Me: If I feel like working on one thing, I might as well work on it while I've got the inspiration. Plus, great background music!
Fang: What are you listening to?
Me: Stereo Hearts. :D
Fang: I don't want to know what that will inspire you to write.
Me: :P
Iggy's POV
It wasn't until I nearly crashed into a tall oak tree that I finally decided I needed to land for a bit.
I'd been flying aimlessly for what seemed like at least an hour, though I wasn't really sure. I hadn't been paying attention to much of anything. I'd just wanted to put as much distance between myself and my biggest mistake possible.
I'd complained so much about Fang not thinking that I hadn't realized I hadn't been thinking much, either. Why had I followed Fang home? Why did I ask to spend the summer with him? It sure wasn't just so two old friends could catch up. I couldn't believe that I'd not only developing a crush on my old friend but that I'd let it go this far.
It was ridiculous. I'd invented this little dream romance in my head, let myself live in a fantasy world.
And now that I'd realized just how untrue it was, I was crushed.
I sat down under the tree, burying my face in my hands. I wanted to be angry at Fang. Angry at his stupidity, how completely immature he was acting. Sure, I'd said before that he had needed to lighten up a bit, but now he was just being an idiot. All that was going to happen to him was that he'd wind up in a load of trouble. See how much fun his parties were when the cops showed up or when they ended up in the hospital.
But, as much as I tried, I couldn't be mad at Fang. His life was his business and I had just stepped in and tried to change it. And why? Because I wanted to make him fit into my fantasy. He was smart, funny, kind, and undeniable attractive. Just erase his party habits and he would be perfect for me.
Except, he wasn't. He had Jacy. He had Jacy. Wasn't that enough of a clue for me? Earth to Iggy, he's probably straight! Figures the first guy I fall for would be straight. Maybe this is a sign to stick to women.
Though, if I were really being honest with myself, as attractive as I found many women to be, I'd never been able to really connect with them, not like I'd connected with Fang.
It just wasn't fair.
In any case, I knew what I had to do now. Get home. I knew I could do it, I'd flown farther distances with the Flock. Thing was, I'd been flying aimlessly for so long, I wasn't quite sure which way I was supposed to go from here. I barely knew which direction I came from.
And, on top of all that, I'd left all my stuff back at Fang's house.
I cursed, getting to my feet, realizing I'd have to go back to Fang's. At that rate, I might as well call my parents and have them book me a flight or a bus or something. Kind of ruined my dramatic storming-off scene, but I had to admit, I was a bit relieved that I wouldn't have to fly the whole way on my own.
Now to figure out which way Fang's house was.
I could remember which way I had come from, but I also remembered zig-zagging a bit, so God knows from which way I'd actually started out. I considered just flying up and looking around until I spotted Fang's roof when a low rumble in the distance caught my attention.
Thunder. Great.
I got a running start, leaping into the air off of a nearby large rock. I'd have to find Fang's house quickly, before a lightening bolt turned me into a KFC party bucket.
I'd thought that I'd still have enough time before the rain started to search for a bit, but obviously, thunderstorms travelled faster in Vermont. It was only a couple minutes before raindrops began pelting me from above, slow at first, but picking up speed with every flap of my wings.
I really didn't want to have to fly too close to the treeline, especially with the winds picking up, but I couldn't really see through the rain so far up, plus I wasn't really to keen on finding out what it was like to be struck by lightening, so I descended a bit, telling myself that if things got too bad, I would just land and find shelter.
I decided at that point that someone needed to invent glasses with windshield wipers. As the winds and rain picked up, it was getting harder and harder to see, especially with rain water coating my glasses. I was soaked and trying hard not to shiver. I knew at that point I needed to land, but couldn't see any place to do so safely without hitting about fifty different trees on my way down. Damn forest.
The thunder was loud now and I could catch flashes of lightening around me. Where had this storm come from? Was the weather in New England always changing this suddenly? Why hadn't I seen a house or something yet? How far off into the woods had I flown? Was I even going the right way?
The winds seemed to be reaching hurricane force, and soon, I wasn't even really controlling where I was flying. I just had to fly in whichever direction the wind decided to blow, because to fly against it was to risk having some feathers ripped off. I was desperate to land now, to get out of the sky. But everywhere was just trees, trees, trees. My only real hope was that the storm would clear up just as quickly as it had appeared, but with how it was moving, that didn't seem likely.
A strong gust of wind swept up under my wings, causing me to lose what little control I had. I went spiralling downward, flapping madly to try and regain flight. I braced myself for impact, hoping I'd be able to grab hold of whatever tree I hit rather than have any bones broken by it.
I was hit much sooner than I expected, causing me to yell in alarm. Something had slammed into me, wrapping around my waist and chest. Now I and whatever it was were both falling. And fast.
I didn't have enough time to even process what was happening. We hit a tree and I heard a yell from whatever was holding me, he had taken the brunt of the impact. Then we were falling, both of us hitting branch after branch all the way down. I'd been able to think fast enough to use my one free hand to grab hold of my glasses before they were lost or broken in our freefall. Though it was a painful trip down, the branches slowed our fall, so that when we finally hit the forest floor, it was like we had just fallen out of bed rather than falling out of the sky.
By then, I had no question about what had grabbed me out of the sky. "Fang? Fang, are you ok?"
"Ow..." Fang croaked after a few, nerve-wracking seconds.
I untangled myself from Fang's grasp and, trying to be as gentle as I could, took hold of him around the chest and half-carried, half-dragged him under a pine tree. I knew trees weren't the safest thing to be under during a thunderstorm, but I needed shelter from the rain. I was a bit surprised I was able to move so well after our fall, but Fang had taken most of the hits, it seemed. He didn't protest me moving him much, except with a couple low groans, which had me worried about how badly he'd been hurt.
As soon as I got him under the tree, I took my glasses off, wanting to dry them so I could get a better look at Fang. But it turns out to be pretty much impossible to dry something when everything you have to dry it with is soaked.
But I wasn't completely helpless. I'd been blind before, I knew how to manage without sight. I closed my eyes and used my hands. I checked around his head first. There was a small bump on the back of his head, but nothing serious, as well as a small scratch on his left cheek. His wings were fine, though I did take a minute to gently brush some feathers back into place. He defintely had some bruises on his back as well as his arms, but thankfully, no broken bones. My hands gently began to move over his chest, looking for broken ribs, when his hand shot up, taking hold of one of my own.
"I'm alright, Ig," Fang said. "No need to feel me up."
I felt heat rushing to my cheeks and could imagine just what shade of red they were turning. Damn him! "Had to check." I told him, opening my eyes. "And kind of hard to see through rain-soaked glasses."
"Right, right." Fang said, sitting up against the tree trunk. "Are you ok?"
"Yes." I answered. "Thanks to you."
"Don't mention it." Fang said. He held out his hand. "Give me your glasses. I might have something still dry in my pocket I can clean them off with."
I handed my glasses over to him. I tried to watch what he did, but my vision was so blurred, I could just make out him removing something from his pocket.
After a minute, I made out his blurred figure moving closer to me. "Hold still." He said. He reached forward, gently placing my glasses back on my face.
I was finally able to get a good look at him. The cut on his cheek, was still bleeding, but it was small and only skin-deep. He was wearing the same clothes he wore yesterday, minus his jacket. I could see a dark-colored bruise forming on one arm. His hair was a tangled mess, the red streaks were finally starting to fade, leaving more of his natural jet black. He leaned back up against the tree, wincing slightly as he tried to find a comfortable position. I detected a slight shiver. With only a t-shirt and soaked jeans, he must have been nearly frozen.
How was it that, when he was at his worst and most vulnerable, I had never found him more attractive?
The things this kid did to me were totally unfair.
"This storm came out of nowhere." I said, breaking the silence before it became awkward.
"Yeah, that's New England weather." Fang said. "Wait five minutes, it'll change." He sighed, looking down at his lap. "Iggy... I'm sorry. I-"
"No, I am." I said, cutting him off. "I shouldn't be barging into your life and telling you what to do."
"Actually, you should." Fang told me. "I should have more people with common sense like yours telling me what to do, since I don't seem to have any of my own."
"Fang..." I said, but Fang held up his hand.
"I don't really like parties that much. I mean, I like... I like people liking me. I like belonging to something." He went on. "When I was with the Flock, I didn't need to do anything to, like, get attention because I already just belonged. But when I came here, I was just this outsider. I got desperate, trying to find out where I fit in. And I guess I made some really crappy choices along the way. I don't even really like who I am anymore. It seems like almost everything I do is to get people to like me. I barely get to do things just because I like them."
I just sat there, silently listening as words came pouring out of Fang's mouth. Even with his more outgoing personality, I'd never heard him talk to much. It was like a dam had been broken, releasing a sea of thoughts and feelings Fang had kept held back for far too long.
"My life has just turned into this big stress ball. Like, I don't dare to let my grades slip because my parents will be disappointed. But I have some friends who I can't let know that I get good grades or they'll be jealous and hate me. I have all these stupid parties I throw and go to so people won't think I'm lame. I'm in so many clubs and activities and stuff I can barely keep them straight. And my dad wants me to get a job! How am I supposed to work and do all this CRAP!"
Fang's hands were clenched in his lap and he was staring down at them, suddenly not wanting to look at me. And I had a feeling why.
I reached over and took one of his hands. "Maybe you should just worry about impressing the important people instead of trying to impress everyone."
"I wanted to impress you." Fang said quietly. "You showed interest in me, more than the rest of the Flock did. You were interested in me when I was even trying to get your attention. You acted like I was someone... Cool. I didn't want you to find out that I really wasn't."
"But you are cool." I told him. "You're even cooler when you're not trying. That's when you're more real."
"You have no idea." Fang said, finally looking up at me. His eyes had a slight red tint and my suspicions about why he wouldn't look at me were confirmed. "I'm not even half as cool as everyone thinks I am."
"And why is that?" I asked him.
"I don't just like theatre, I'm obsessed with it." He told me. "I kinda want to do the school musical next year. Ok, I really want to. I kinda have this crazy Broadway pipe dream. I haven't told anyone about it because I think my parents will tell me its unrealistic and any of my non-theatre friends will just think I'm...I'm..."
"Gay?" I said.
"Y-yeah." Fang said, barely able to keep eye contact with me again.
"I think everyone should have dreams, and everyone should get a chance to follow them." I told him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "If that's what you want to do, Fang, you shouldn't worry what other people think. If anyone would actually make fun of you for that, then they probably aren't the kind of friend you want. And I don't think your parents would completely shoot you down if you explained what it meant to you. They seem pretty cool."
"But people-" Fang started to say.
"Screw people." I told him. "There are a lot of people out there, Fang. And some of them are gonna like you, and some of them will hate your guts. You're better off having the right people like you for who you are than having a bunch of assholes liking you just because you're playing the part they want you to play. It's like people hating, say, Tom Hiddleston just because he played a bad guy in Avengers, when he really might be a good person."
"Actually, most people like him." Fang said.
"Well, most of them like him for a part he played, not for who he really is." I said. "He's not Loki, he's Tom. And you're Fang the future Broadway legend, not Fang the future teen alcohol statistic."
"Future Broadway legend?" Fang asked skeptically.
"Don't sell yourself short, I heard you singing a lullaby to Meggy the other night. I nearly started applauding." I told him. "You get my point though, right?"
"I think so..." Fang looked up at me and smirked. "Something about me being the Tom Hiddleston of Broadway."
"Right..." I said, smiling.
Fang looked down to his lap again, his eyes falling on our clasped hands. I was afraid he would pull his away, but he didn't. "I'd like you to come back home with me." He said slowly. "Maybe after we get the house cleaned up I can work on just... Being myself rather than always putting on this... Act..."
"I'd be glad to help with that." I told him. A thought crossed my mind and I had to know. "Is... Jacy still there?"
"Yeah... She told me she'd handle the mess so I could come after you." Fang said. "She, uh... I told her why you left and she thinks you're right. Told me what you've been telling me. That I don't need the parties..." Fang let out a quiet laugh. "She, uh, cut off the 'benefits' part of our friendship, too. Said it was time we had... More of the right people in our beds."
Well, well, Jacy. And to think, just yesterday I was imagining your head in a noose. "Must have been... Disappointing." I said nervously.
"Actually, I'm kinda relieved." Fang told me, letting out another laugh. "It was just another thing I did to be cool. I really just don't like her that way. I was beginning to dread her calling me because I was afraid of what that call might mean. I just wanted to be her friend, not her living, breathing sex toy."
I held back a laugh at that description. "I don't think she's your type, anyway." I told him.
"Then what is my type?" Fang asked me. With his hand in mine, one finger placed on his wrist told me his pulse had sped up. It just about matched mine.
"Your type, Fang, is someone who's going to apprieciate you for all you really are." I said. "Someone who you can tell all your hopes and dreams to and never have to worry about them shooting you down or thinking badly of you." Without thinking, I reached forward with my other hand, using it to gently lift his chin up so he could look me in the eye. "Your type will always make sure you belong so you never have to try to find your place on your own again. No matter what, no matter what the rest of the world thinks, you will always have that one person backing you up. Your type will see you for everything you really are, all the talents as well as all of the flaws, and love you for it."
Brain working on autopilot, I leaned forward, sliding my hand from his chin across his jaw, to the back of his neck. I kept waiting for him to protest, to pull back, to ask what I was doing, but he only sat there, watching me with his dark eyes. Only his pulse under my hand gave me any indication of his feelings; his heart was pounding. And it was that steady beat that drove me forward.
I leaned in closer and brought my lips to meet his.
At first, he didn't move, didn't react. He let my lips gently press a kiss onto his. I kept my eyes closed. No matter how this moment ended, I wanted to live in it for as long as possible. Just feel the warmth of his lips against mine, breathe in his earthy scent.
After a moment that seemed to stretch for an eternity, I felt Fang move, but not to pull away. Instead, his one free hand came to rest on the back of my head, holding me closer as he returned my kiss.
The kiss deepened as I tentatively slid my tongue across his lips and his mouth opened without a second thought. There was still a slight taste of alcohol to Fang, but it was toned down by a strong mint flavor; he must have brushed his teeth at some point. My hand slid from his neck down his chest to finally rest on top of our other two hands, already intertwined on his lap. Fang leaned back against the tree, pulling me with him using the hand that was now laced through my hair.
We probably could have stayed like that for hours, at least I could have. I was living a dream. But the slightest vibration, travelling down Fang's arm told me he was shivering. I relunctantly pulled us apart.
"We, uh, need to get you back home before you catch pneumonia or something." I told him. "You must be freezing."
"I didn't notice." Fang replied. His fingers were now combing gently through my hair.
"We really should get back." I said. I attempted to pull away from Fang, but his grip on my hair suddenly tightened.
"Iggy, that storm is going to be going on for another couple minutes, at least." Fang said, a smirk slowly working its way across his face. "And it's too far to walk back. We should stay here until the rain slows down, at least. I'm... I'm sure you could keep me warm until then."
"We'll have to keep each other warm then." I told him. I crawled over closer, letting go of his hand so I could wrap my arms around him. The way we were sitting, his head fit perfectly into my chest. One of his dark wings came out to lay over both of us like a blanket.
And, like that, we waited out the storm.
Me: HOW'S THAT FOR SOME FIGGY, BITCHES?
Fang: Oh jeez... You... God...
Me: Please tell me how well this little kiss scene went. I had a hard time getting it to a point where I was pretty much happy with it, so feedback is awesomesauce!
Fang: Why me?
Me: Will it make you feel better if I say it's 'cause you're hot?
Fang: ...Kinda.
Me: -eyeroll-
Fang: Also, I think this chapter is proof you spend way too much time on Tumblr. You're making Avengers refereces now.
Me: It's my life. :P
R&R?
