Happy late Independence Day to all Americans! Sorry for the late update.

Two people wanted short chapters, two wanted long, and two didn't care. I guess I'll let whatever happens happen. Thanks for the feedback!


Fang's POV

I woke up to the sound of my friends' laughter, and unfortunately I could see why they were laughing. Max and I were lying in each other's arms, and even though I wasn't thinking clearly, I knew that it was their doing. Angel had been lying between us last night, and people couldn't randomly disappear in their sleep. Besides, Angel was laughing along with everyone else. I quickly let go of Max and sat up.

"Really, guys?"

"What?" Iggy asked, feigning innocence. I shook my head, unamused.

"Low blow, guys, low blow. Who did this?" I watched as everyone's fingers flew in a frenzy, directed at anyone but themselves.

Finally, amidst her laughter, Ella spoke up. "It was all of us. We needed you guys to realize your true love for each other before we left."

"True love?" I demanded. I instantly regretted it. Ella, Nudge, and Angel all bobbed their heads in unison as if they'd been practicing it. Iggy and Gazzy chuckled at the girls' antics.

"Say what you want now, but call me back in a month and tell me how it's going," Ella said. I rolled my eyes, not buying anything she said.

Next to me, Max groaned and slowly sat up. Her hair was a mess, possibly because my hands had been in it all night. Thanks a lot, 'friends'. At least Max didn't give a damn about her hair.

"Why is everyone laughing?" Max asked us, "and why is my hair messed up?" Everyone burst out laughing, sans Max and I. Max stared at us obliviously. "Someone better start talking!" she demanded. Unfortunately, no one was in a position to talk. The girls were laughing so hard that they were practically choking, Iggy and Gazzy would never ruin any kind of prank, and there was no way in hell that I would be the one to spill.

After she had calmed down enough to speak in full sentences, Angel finally told Max what had happened. She stared at all of my friends in turn, then at me,

"I didn't want to do that again!" she cried. Realizing her mistake, her hands flew to her mouth. Dammit, Max. What was up with her and all the slip-ups recently? She went from saying I was ripped to telling my friends this wasn't our first time sleeping in each other's arms?

"You two are so cute!" Nudge squealed. Giggling, the three girls eagerly whispered amongst themselves. They talked too quickly and quietly for me to understand, but I did catch wedding plans.

"All right," Angel began, "we've deemed you two the cutest couple in the world, even better than Ella and Iggy." Ella blushed but didn't say anything for once.

"And I've deemed that you guys should shut up now," Max said, not amused in the least. "By the way, for the last time, why is my hair messed up?"

"Yeah, Fang, why is her hair messed up?" Ella asked me. Realizing what Ella meant, Max turned to face me.

"Fang!?" she gasped.

"It was them!" I said. Thankfully, Max seemed to believe me. If she didn't believe me…let me just say it wouldn't be pretty for anyone involved.

Making a heart shape with her hands, Ella said, "You guys are so cute! You act just like a married couple!"

"Well, I don't see you and Iggy doing this crap," Max mumbled.

"That's true," Ella admitted, "we just don't show as much PDA as you and Fang do." My jaw dropped open, and so did Max's. We stared in shock as the girls burst into a new round of giggles.

"Let's just get breakfast," Iggy decided, saving us from further embarrassment. I mouthed him a silent thank you as I stood up. He mouthed back, Don't mention it. Thankfully, our bro code trumped his desire to annoy Max and me further.

As we walked back to the city, Max interrogated Nudge and Gazzy for details on their relationship, in hopes of humiliating them in return. And as much as I would have liked to see it work, it just wasn't the same. She didn't have the kind of practice Ella and Nudge did at this kind of thing. Needless to say, Max didn't learn anything from Gazzy and Nudge during her interrogation. Since Nudge did 90% of the talking, it came as no surprise to me. She'd make a great lawyer. The prosecutors wouldn't be able to get a word in.

"So, what do you guys feel like eating?" Iggy asked us.

"Ooh! Is there a Dunkin Donuts anywhere?" Nudge suggested enthusiastically.

"Yeah. Left turn in a half mile or so, then it'll be on our right," Max said. She apparently was paying attention when we walked around the city yesterday. I hadn't. I'd be hard-pressed to rack my mind for the location of the department store, much less some Dunkin Donuts we'd never been to.

As we walked, I couldn't help but notice how happy Iggy and Ella were. Iggy seemed a lot more laid-back, and Ella's eyes were full of happiness. As annoying as they had been, I felt really happy for them. Their relationship was a steady one without much chaos. Even before they got engaged, I figured marriage was bound to happen.

Nudge and Gazzy were tentatively holding hands and talking. For once, Nudge showed signs of being tongue-tied. I had to learn his secret for silencing her. Unfortunately, it probably involved getting Nudge to like him, and there was no way I was going to do that.

As they were walking, Nudge suddenly broke away from Gazzy's grip and walked to me. "Fang! After we get food, my mom wanted to video chat you. You guys were, like, BFF's! You have to-"

"Yeah, I got it. Will do," I said, cutting Nudge off before she could get on a roll. I did want to talk to Dr. Martinez, though. She was basically a mother to me. I came to her if I ever needed help with anything, and she often checked in with me to make sure her daughters weren't taking things too quickly with their boyfriends. Besides helping each other, we were like friends, in a way. We talked all the time, about anything ranging from Iggy's latest destructive prank to Dr. Martinez's uncooperative patients. She was the one person with whom I could be honest with and pretend around. Even though we were both usually busy, we always made time for each other.

"Yo, Fang," Iggy said, approaching me. "Can I give you my number? If the girls are busy PMS-ing and I need a bro to talk to, you're the man."

"That'd be nice. I don't have a phone, though. I just use payphones."

"Yeah, I figured. But for what it's worth, here it is," he said, handing me a piece of paper. I looked over it, expecting to see Iggy's phone number. Instead, I saw a column of maybe five different unlabeled phone numbers.

"It's the top one. The other ones are Nudge, my mom, Ella's mom, and Gazzy," Iggy explained. That made sense. I was thankful I had the others' numbers too, in case I needed them. I just hoped I could remember which one was which.

"Oh, all right. Thanks, Ig."

"No prob, bro," he said, wiping his sunglasses on his shirt. "By the way, how do you afford to eat?"

"You've forgotten so soon? I used to work at the coffee shop with you. I picked up a few bucks there."

"It's lasted this long?"

"Nah, Max and I lifted a few bucks from a cashier a while back."

Iggy grinned and slapped me on the back as he put his sunglasses back on. "That's my man!"

"Ella won't like to hear that."

Iggy chuckled. "Dude, that's my move. But they say imitation is the best form of flattery."

"I'm pretty sure becoming a crazy pyromaniac isn't one of my life dreams."

"I don't know, Fang, but you seemed like you were enjoying it when you helped us with the eternal geyser."

"That was because it was revenge on Anne, not because I'm a pyromaniac."

"Whatever you say," Iggy said coolly, shrugging. "So are we eating or what?" Everyone was already at the entrance, impatiently waving at Iggy and me to join them.

"Sorry, guys," Iggy said.

"Don't mention it. Besides, none of us brought any money," Max said.

Iggy shrugged. "What are we waiting for? Let's get ordering!" We all ordered our breakfasts; Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel got two donuts apiece, Ella and Max got bagels, and Iggy and I got grilled cheese sandwiches.

"Mmm…this is so good," Nudge said, chewing a bite of her donut. Second to Gazzy, food was the best way to silence Nudge.

As we ate, Iggy asked me quietly, "So, how'd you guys lift the cash?"

"Tricked the cashier to go to the backroom. Max ran behind the counter and swiped a few bucks." Iggy whistled.

"Damn. I wish I'd been there for that."

"I wish I hadn't been there for it."

"Why not? It sounds fun. At least more fun than running fifty miles a day," Iggy said.

"You have a point, my friend."

"As always. So, wanna talk to Dr. Martinez now?"

"Yeah, sure," I said. "Nudge?" She looked up eagerly. Her mouth was ringed in pink strawberry frosting. "Can you call your mom now?" I asked.

"Yeah! Just a minute," she said, taking out her purple-cased iPhone. She tapped the screen several times and handed the phone to me. On the screen, Dr. Martinez's face was looking right at me. When she saw me through the camera, she gasped excitedly.

"Fang?"

"Yep. How's life back home?"

"It's great, but that's not important! Are you all right? Do you have enough to eat?"

"Dr. M! I'm fine, really. I met somebody a week ago and I'm traveling with her. I'm sure Ella and Nudge will fill your ears talking about her."

"Oh, really? Is she your girlfriend?" I let out an exasperated sigh. She provided Ella and Nudge with genes, after all.

"Nope. We're just close friends, even if your daughters don't agree."

"I see," she said, sounding disappointed. As irritating as I found it, I wasn't surprised in the least. The three Martinezes were the ones to whom I went for advice when it came to girls. Dr. Martinez always thought that me having a girlfriend would be a 'healthy' and 'positive' experience. She was like a mother to me, which had its positives and negatives. The positives included her caring about me, sometimes letting me grab a bite with her family, and offering emotional support whenever I needed it. The negatives included being pushy about my relationship status, and….that was pretty much it. It was safe to say the positives greatly outweighed the negatives.

"Well, Ella and Nudge are always known to be right about these things," she said.

"There's a first time for everything."

She sighed. "That's true. I'm glad I was able to teach you something! Anyways, I have to visit you and your girlf-I mean your friend soon. What's her name?" Something told me she didn't almost say 'girlfriend' by accident.

"Max."

"I thought you said it was a girl," she said, a hint of horrified panic in her voice.

"She is a girl. Max is short for Maxine."

"Thank goodness!"

"Why? Do you have a problem with me hanging out with another guy?"

"No, I don't. It's just…never mind. I should get going now, Fang. I miss you tremendously, and I wish to see you sometime."

"Later," I said.

"Good luck and good fortune," she said, ending the call. I handed the phone back to Nudge.

"My name is not short for Maxine, I'll have you know," Max said.

"Really? Then what is it?" I said.

"Maximum."

"Oh, that's right. You told me a while back."

"You didn't even bother to remember my name? What kind of friend are you?" I shrugged. Since she always called herself 'Max', remembering 'Maximum' seemed like an unimportant detail. Then again, girls expected guys to remember every single detail about them.

After Angel finished the last of her chocolate donut, Ella announced that they had to leave. Gazzy and Nudge had soccer games and Ella and Iggy had a date. Oops, I mean a 'fun event'.

"See ya later, man," Iggy said, giving me a bro hug.

"Thanks for visiting, guys," I said, "and thanks for the food, Ig."

"No problem."

"Nice seeing you again, Fang," Ella said, giving me a hug. Admittedly, I stood rather stiffly while she awkwardly hugged me. Hugging people just didn't come naturally to me, except when it was with Max or Angel. Unless you counted bro hugs with Iggy.

After Ella let go of me, Angel threw her arms around me and whispered, "Call me sometime. When you're alone." I nodded and hugged her back. I was willing to wager she wanted to talk about Max. Unlike Nudge and Ella, who just wanted to see me get a girlfriend, Angel did usually have good advice for me.

I gave Nudge and Gazzy fist bumps as Ella exchanged a long hug with Max. As different as they were, they acted like sisters. I'd never noticed it before, but they even looked really similar; they both had light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. Looking at them next to each other, I wasn't sure why I hadn't noticed their similarities earlier. The only explanation I could think of was their drastic difference in personality. Ella was always sweet and was generally a passive person. Max was definitely nice, but she was more aggressive and pugnacious than Ella. I got along with Ella just fine, but Max and I were more compatible as a duo. If I got into a fight or argument, Max was the one I wanted by my side.

After Max and Angel said their goodbyes, Iggy whistled and shook his keys to get everyone's attention. "See you guys later!" he called, walking towards his car. Max and I waved goodbye to him as his car faded from our view.

"So…" Max began awkwardly, "guess it's just us again."

"Yeah." Honestly, I missed being alone with Max. I wanted to see my friends a lot, but I never realized how much Max's company meant to me until I went a day exchanging few words with Max. I missed her sarcastic attitude and trademark glare. Oddly, I felt as though I had known Max longer than the Flock.

"What's in the backpack Angel gave you?" I shrugged, slipping it off my shoulder. Angel told me it was just clothes and a watch, but the bag was far too big and heavy for just that. I unzipped it and undid the flap. As I shoveled the clothes to the side of the bag, I realized what was in the middle: my black Alienware laptop. I grinned, pulling it out.

When Max saw it, she gasped. "Is that….a laptop?" she said in awe. I nodded and handed it to her. She slowly opened it, being careful to not drop it. After checking it out for a minute, she closed it and handed it back to me. I set it on the ground and looked through the rest of my backpack. Several pairs of clothes, my watch, some money, the laptop's power cord, and a small cardboard box were inside. I took out the box and stuffed my laptop back inside. When I saw what was in the box, I let out a small laugh. It should've come as no surprise. I shook my head and showed it to Max, who took it from my hands and peered inside.

"Angel! You-you-" Max stuttered, dropping the box. A fake plastic wedding ring fell out. Well played, Angel.

"Max," I said, deliberately changing the subject. "Maybe we should check on your criminal status now. We just need a place with Wi-Fi since I have my laptop now."

"My criminal status?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah. We should probably continue north before the police figure out where you are. They probably don't expect you to be this far away from Tucson already."

She sighed. "You're right. We should leave this afternoon. But I'll miss this city."

"I will, too," I said, and I meant it. We'd stayed here longer than anywhere else, and I loved the city. I especially liked the spaciousness of it. The city was full of stores, but they weren't jam-packed together and the streets weren't too loud.

"Let's go now," Max said. "I'd like to walk around the city one more time before we leave."


We walked around the city for an hour before Max spotted a 'free Wi-Fi' sign on the window of a Starbucks. We went into the store and sat down. I took out my laptop and turned it on. As I waited for it to load, I dug through my backpack to find my watch.

After I put my watch on, the login screen showed up. I entered my password and waited for my account to load. After I typed it in, Max looked over my shoulder.

"I've always wanted to use one of those," she said wistfully. I turned it around and pushed it towards her.

"Here you go. Try not to break it." She stuck her tongue out at me and set her hands on the keyboard. After a minute of staring at the keyboard, she frowned.

"How do you use this?" she asked. It hit me that she had never used a laptop before.

"What do you want to do with it?"

"I don't know, check the news?" she said, shrugging. I pulled my chair up next to hers and set my right hand on hers, which was already on the scroll pad. When my hand made contact with hers, I felt a shock go up my hand, and my whole arm began to tingle. But as weird as it was, I didn't want it to stop.

"This button," I said, pressing her finger to the left mouse button, "is used to select something."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If there's something you want to click, then move your finger on the pad to wherever the object is on screen. Then, you press the left mouse button to select it."

"Oh, ok. That makes sense."

"So the first thing we need to do is connect to the internet. Starbucks has free wireless internet, so we'll just use that." Max nodded slowly, trying to process what I said.

"Once we connect, the computer will have access to all information online. Including CNN, NBC, and every other popular news site. I'm sure those sites will have some news about your escape," I said. I told her the last part in a low voice so nobody else in the crowded shop would overhear.

"I just processed about ten percent of what you just said. Could you just show me?" she said. Max surrendering to an inanimate object? That was a first. And probably a last as well.

She wiggled her hand out of my grip. While I was lecturing Max, I completely forgot that my hand was wrapped around hers. As soon as she let go, though, my minor adrenaline rush faded. Wait, why did I get a random adrenaline rush? Could Max really influence me like that with one hand?

Damn, it sounded really pathetic when I put it that way.

Anyways, with a few efficient strokes and clicks, I was at the front page of CNN. Fortunately, nothing Max-related was in the main article. Unfortunately, there were seven articles dedicated to Max within the past week and a half. Did her parents want Max back that much? People confuse me sometimes.

"Here we go," I told Max, clicking the link to the most recent article on Max. We both read through the ridiculously long article about Max's parents' 'emotional distress' and 'sleepless nights'. Yeah, right. They'd make good comedians if they kept spouting that crap to the media. She should totally turn the tables on her parents and sue them.

"Wow," Max said, shaking her head. "I didn't know they'd stoop this low." Despite trying to sound casual, I could sense the hurt in Max's voice. She naturally wanted to be loved, and her parents didn't give her that. She didn't even have friends, mentors, or anyone else to help her. The fact that she was still sane and stronger than ever was a true statement about her toughness. She usually tried to keep her spirits high, but she looked slightly tired and depressed right now, and I didn't blame her one bit.

"Let's just go," I suggested, hoping to get her mind off of her parents.

"Sure." By now, it was already four in the afternoon. We wouldn't have much time to run today, so I figured it might not be worth it to start. We could take off tomorrow morning.


After we walked around the city a few more times, Max was ready to crash. We walked back to our sleeping spot a mile out of town.

As we settled down to sleep, Max told me, "Your friends are awesome."

"They really are," I agreed. "I'm glad you met them."

"Me, too," she said, yawning. She took out her diary and lay down next to me. Before I could remember to ask her what she wrote about, I drifted off.


Big thank you to my new beta, Xx-Twitch-xX for editing!

To keep everyone sane, I've cut down Nudge's speeches to a more reasonable length. In reality, they're two to three times longer than what I have here.

Question of the Chapter: Do you guys want more visits from Fang's friends, or do you want it to be just Max and Fang?