Hey guys! I have come to resolve my evil cliffie! Thank you all for reviewing. I found three reviews in particular very amusing, so I shall post them here!
From Gabriel Wolfe: What the HELL?! No seriously, what the HELL?? You just. . . I . . . how dare you. . . Ah! (Bangs head against keyboard and then goes away and sulks in corner, silently cursing author). You're murdering me. Really. Better update fast. Or you'll be having a very, very long cyber death. Yeah, yeah, I'm insane.
From MidnyghtVampyrezz (this is such a good suggestion!): WHAT THE FREAKING HELL?!?!?! HE CAN'T JUST LEAVE! Hey, hey, let's all us fan girls form a posie and hunt him DOWN! He won't get far this time, eh? MWHAHA! MWHAHAHA! I think my meds are wearing off... Update when u can! I love this story!
And from Faxness Lover: NOT AGAIN! Ugh i hate cliffies. But i guess that's the point rite? Like 'hey, instead of making them happy, make them wonder how the story will turn out during every minute of the day, and fail all their classes and loose all their friends because they are so obsessively paranoid about this fan fiction.' Ok. I guess that's a little dramatic... oh, well please post soon! I love this fan fic!
I love you all, so keep up the awesometastic reviews!!!!
Ok, read and enjoy!
"What . . . what the hell are you talking about?" My arms dropped from his shoulders and I slowly backed away from him, just a few feet.
"Max. . . " He turned and looked at me, and I could see the desperation in his eyes and in the set of his mouth.
"Goddamnit, no! Tell me what the hell you're talking about!" I was screaming now, but I was far beyond giving a shit.
"Y-you have to understand, Max--"
"UNDERSTAND WHAT?" The hot tears spilled down my face, and I angrily swiped them away. "You promised us once you'd never leave us! That you'd never leave me! I get why you did the first time, but . . . why?! Why now?! Goddamnit, TELL ME!"
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU!"
I stared at him in shock. "What?" I asked in a small voice.
"I see them, everywhere, Max! Jeb, the Director, ter Borcht, all of them! And I sure as shit can't tell if it's real or not! And every single night, I have the same dream! The Erasers come in, and they're hitting you, and the others, and you're yelling for me to help you, and then I morph into an Eraser and kill each and every one of you! And I can't take the chance that it's real, you hear me?! I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN!"
"You don't know that it'll happen!" I cried desperately.
"Either way, I'm not putting any of you in danger, when I can protect you! Besides, based on Nudge's speech, you guys'll be fine. You can handle it." His voice went from slightly frantic to quiet.
Then I snapped.
"You son of a bitch!" I stepped forward and pushed him backwards, hard. "That is a pathetic excuse, and you know it! We can always protect ourselves, and each other! You leaving will just tear us apart again, and if you think we can bounce back a second time, than you're more cracked than I thought!"
"Max . . ."
"No! You bastard! I won't let you do this! Not to me, not to them!" I raised my hands to push him again, and he caught me by the wrists. I struggled a bit before collapsing against his chest, sobbing relentlessly.
His arms came up around me and held me tight as he rocked me gently back and forth, his hands pressing me closer to him. My face was buried in his chest, my tears darkening the fabric of his shirt, and my hands clenching large fistfuls of the material.
"Shh, Max, it's alright . . ."
"No, it's not. Promise me," I whispered brokenly. "Promise me you'll stay no matter what happens."
"M-Max . . ."
"Promise me!"
"I-I promise."
I heard the vague doubt in his voice, but I was so desperate to keep him with me, that I pretended it wasn't there.
IGGY POV
The Next Night
"Alright, guys," Max said, grinning. "Pizza or subs?"
All at once we all screamed "SUBS!"
"Holy, crap . . ." she muttered to herself. "Don't all shout at once now . . ."
She walked to the phone in the kitchen and dialed the number of a local deli. I heard her order everyone's subs (24 of them if anyone's wondering . . .).
Fang was sitting on the couch, and I could tell he was staring off into space. I walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, man. You wanna go practice some moves in the air?"
"Uhm, no, Ig . . . maybe later."
Something in his voice sounded . . . off. Something wasn't right, or something was bugging him. "Fang, are you ok?" I asked, pretty damned concerned.
"Yeah, course I am."
Yeah, I'm totally convinced now!
I shrugged. He'd talk about it . . . when he was good and ready. I wandered into the kitchen for a soda when I felt a tug on my sleeve. From the sounds of the steps as she had shuffled in, it was Angel.
"Iggy?"
Yup, Angel.
"What's the matter, Ange?"
"Something's wrong with Fang." She sounded even more concerned than me. "I can't tell what, because he's got his mental blocks up. I was gonna tell Max, but . . . I didn't want to upset her."
"You can't tell at all what it is?"
"No, but it's . . . bad."
"Hmm . . . alright, I'll keep an eye on him."
We walked back to the living room together, both of us silent, just in time to hear Max say, "Who wants to go pick up dinner?"
"I'll go." Fang said quietly.
At his words, I felt Angel grab my index finger, and her heart begin to beat a little frantically. Iggy, something isn't right, I just know it, please! You gotta try and stop him! she thought in my head.
I'll try. I thought back.
"Hey, Fang I'll go with ya, dude!" I made my voice sound cheery, but inside, something like dread had settled in my chest.
"Nah, don't worry about it, Ig, I promise I won't get lost."
"Really, I don't mind. C'mon, two heads are better 'n one!"
I heard him laugh a little, but it sounded tight, almost forced. "You make no sense, y'know that? Honestly, I'm fine on my own."
"But--" Unfortunately, before I could protest, Nudge spoke behind me.
"Hey Iggy, could you give me a hand here?"
I turned to look at her, and so did Angel. "Go ask Max," I said hurriedly, realizing Max had wandered out a few minutes earlier.
I turned back around, and Fang had gone. Shit, shit, shit. I turned my gaze in the vague direction of Angel heartbeat and breath sounds.
"Ig . . ."
"I know Angel." We both had that same inherent sense of anxiety.
15 minutes later, we all sat around, nervously tapping our fingers on our knees.
30 minutes later Max was pacing like a maniac.
6 hours later, we all knew something was wrong.
He left. That son of a bitch left us again. That bastard. That bastard!!!
GENERAL POV
Max laid on her and Fang's--no, her bed. She was on her side bawling her eyes out into the pillow she had clutched against her.
It was his pillow, and it smelled like him.
It was 2 am and Angel and Gazzy had sobbed themselves to sleep 30 minutes ago. Nudge was still sobbing.
She heard a light scraping on her door. A moment later, it opened, and Iggy padded his way across the room to crouch on the floor next to her.
"Hey, Max," he whispered, reaching out to gently wipe away her tears. "We searched as hard as we could, but . . . he's got up mental blocks, so Angel can't get a lock. And Nudge almost passed out from the intensity of pain and fear she sensed. I'm sorry, but, if he's coming back . . . it'll be on his own accord."
She nodded miserably, and he was at a loss. He just didn't know what to do for her, so he stood, placing a gentle kiss on her wet cheek before standing up and walking out, softly closing the door behind him and treading lightly down the hall to Nudge's room.
At least he knew how to help her.
Another hour went by, but Max was too miserable to sleep, though by 3:30 she was lightly dozing, her tears almost completely dried. Her nose was red, as was her puffy eyes. The rain poured down on the roof, almost as though the sky was crying with the inhabitants of the secluded house.
In her light slumber, Max didn't hear the window behind her slowly slide open. She didn't see the tall, dark figure who crawled in, folding his wings as he went.
He looked around and slowly approached the bed, shivering in the cold rain that soaked him through, with the water dripping off his black hair. His left eye was blackened, and his lower lip was split, swollen, and bleeding. He held his wrist protectively at his side, and was limping ever so slightly.
"Max . . ." he whispered, "I'm sorry. I fucked up, Max, I'm sorry . . ." Tears slid down his face. "It was all one big giant ruse . . . and I fell for it, again . . . Please forgive me, Max."
But she was sleeping, and didn't answer. His silent tears came faster, and he limped backwards to the window, his eyes never leaving the silhouette of her thin frame. He was about to leap out again when she rolled over and slowly opened her eyes.
They stared at one another, blinking in shock. She slowly sat up and looked at him. "F-Fang?" she stammered.
"Max, I'm sorry, I-I'll leave now . . ."
"No, wait, Fang!" she pleaded quietly. "Please, stay . . ."
He closed his eyes tight, his face pointed down with the fresh wave of tears. After all he'd done, she still wanted him back.
When he didn't move, she stood and walked to him, gently gripping his wrists. He yelped in pain and pulled back, the moonlight throwing his injuries into sharp relief.
"Oh, god, Fang . . ."
"It . . . it's nothing, Max, I-I--"
"Come on, tell me what happened. Tell me everything." She brushed the sopping wet hair from his forehead, then gently took hold of his elbow and brought him to the bed. They sat cross legged, facing each other, hands tightly entwined. "It's alright, Fang . . ." she whispered. He shivered once and began.
"I ran. I was an idiot and I ran again," he began quietly, looking and sounding ashamed. "I was flying outta here as fast as my wings would take me, but . . . I couldn't stop thinking about what you said. And I was turning around to come back and apologize for everything, and I . . . I got jumped by Erasers and Flyboys.
"I fought as hard as I could, all I could think was, I gotta stop these idiots, I gotta do this for them. I took out all the Erasers and 'bout half the Flyboys, and suddenly, the rest of them just . . . I dunno, just stopped working and collapsed.
"Then Jeb came out from the tree line and explained . . . everything to me. Why I didn't die, why I was seeing evil everywhere. . . I had this thing implanted in my head, when they had me a while back, and they were using it to plant false visions. He turned it off for me and apologized for everything. I still don't trust him worth a crap but . . .
"Max, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. Within the first 5 minutes, I realized how wrong I was and did a freaking u-turn as fast as I could! I made you, all of you, a promise, and I swear, I'll never break it again. But . . . if you don't believe me or trust me, I understand, I'll leave, and I promise you'll never see me again."
He couldn't meet her eyes. He stared at their joined hands praying to whatever deity was listening that he hadn't fucked up beyond forgiveness this time.
"Fang, you are such a moron."
He closed his eyes and nodded. "I understand." he said solemnly. He was about to stand up and leave when he felt her warm lips on his. His eyes flew open and saw her contented face.
She pulled back and studied his shocked face. She brought her hands up to his cheeks, running her thumbs along his cheekbones. "You're freezing cold," she whispered softly, making him shiver in a completely different way.
She crawled under the blankets and lifted up the edge, clearly inviting him to join her. He hesitated a moment and then complied, laying on his side next to her. He was soaking wet but she didn't care. She rolled onoto her side as well, snuggling up close to him so her head was on his chest and his arms were tight around her.
"You owe me," she whispered, a hint of teasing in her voice.
He lightly kissed her forehead and drew her even tighter against him, closing his eyes. "You have no idea," he whispered back, meaning every word.
This chapter has been ready for 2 F&$!G DAYS!!! UGH!!! It wouldn't let me freaking post!