Thunder: Back Through the Rain-Chapter 14

My NameIsCAL

---Max's POV---

We're on a bus to Hollywood right now. I wanted to see the sights and Iggy wanted good food. It seemed like a good place to go.

"So how long is this bus ride?" Fang seemed impatient.

"Still more than an hour to go, plus traffic," I frowned.

His eyes met mine for just a moment. Fang looked like he was going to say something else. A sudden wave of sadness hit me and then Fang turned back to the window. Was that supposed to tell me something?

---Iggy's POV---

Max was quiet. I couldn't tell if she was asleep or not, but I didn't want to disturb her.

Except for Fang, who sat alone in front of us, the rest of the flock sat seats away from us. None of them seemed too thrilled about getting on a bus. I think Max was trying to consider Fang though. He certainly didn't seem like he could suffer through an entire day of flying.

I wanted to talk to Fang. He was hurting, in more ways than one. But Max had her head leaned on me, so I was stuck.

---Iggy's POV---

Los Angeles traffic was the worst. We were stuck in rush hour. Max was asleep, her head against the window now. I took the standstill of traffic to move up a seat next to Fang.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

Fang grunted. "Nothing, we're on a bus. The ceiling, the sky."

"Something bothering you?"

"Yes."

I frowned. "Like what?"

"My leg," Fang let out a sigh. "This bus, the traffic, my hunger, but mostly Max and you."

That hurt, just a little bit. I didn't say anything.

"But you go, and you be happy," Fang no longer was facing in my direction. "I'll be ok."

---Fang's POV---

It was clear that I had now distracted both Iggy and Max. They were starting to think about the rest of the flock. In fact, they even let me choose what to eat for dinner. I told them to find us a hotel where we could get room service and they agreed to it, surprisingly. Tonight, we all crammed into one room. That's what was left and within budget.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't really hungry. Food just gave me something to occupy myself with. It was like at a dinner party where you just continued to eat to avoid talking.

I ended up sleeping on the floor. Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge crammed onto the bed. Max and Iggy were on the opposite side of the bed. Nudge had insisted that they let me sleep on the bed, but I told them that it was better for the three of them to sleep on it than just me.

Yet I lay awake now. We were in the city. Cars still bustled by at midnight. There were probably people out there that partied all night long. Maybe they felt lonely too.

---Max's POV---

We sat on a tour bus which supposedly showed us houses of the famous people. I figured this would be better than forcing Fang to walk around a lot. Although I got the feeling he wasn't enjoying this.

Iggy put an arm around me, distracting me from my thoughts of Fang. "You know, we should do something, just the two of us. Dinner or something. I'm sure Fang wouldn't mine watching the others. He'd probably enjoy room service again."

I didn't hesitate to agree.

Iggy smiled. "I can't wait."

---Fang's POV---

I tried not to let Iggy and Max's dinner date annoy me. We were waiting for room service, which was extremely slow because we had ordered a lot. While we were waiting, Nudge and Angel decided to call Ella. I laid on the couch, listening to their conversation with her on speaker. Every now and then Gazzy would say something, but I was pretty much silent unless someone addressed me.

"Fang."

I raised my eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Do you think you'll ever find the cure?" Ella asked.

I paused to think. Now that I thought about it, I really did feel hopeless. "I don't know."

It took a while for Ella to answer. "Oh, well are you planning to go after Itex or something after your vacation?"

"That's Max's call."

"Why don't you push her to it?"

Because I'm a coward. "I don't know."

Angel frowned at me. She knew I was lying.

"Maybe you should all come home," Ella suggested.

"We probably should," I agreed.

But we won't.

---Iggy's POV---

We were sitting at a small corner restaurant eating Chinese food. Max and I were talking about our plans after California. The bottom line was that Fang needed help. We couldn't let him suffer. All differences put aside, the anger Fang and Max felt towards each other, he needed to be saved. He was part of the flock and the flock was family. No matter what, we couldn't let Fang fall apart.

"But I don't know where to start," Max said. Now that I thought about it, this usually would have been a conversation she would have with Fang. He seemed to have lost his position as second in command though.

"Jeb?" Would Fang have thought that?

Max hesitated. "That's all we have to run on I guess."

I nodded. We went back to eating.

Thanks for reading!!! If you're interested, I started a story titled Love is Blind. It's something different than what I've written before. Anyway, check it out if you have a chance. Reviews would be nice too. Thanks again!