Chapter 14

Cha-badda-FANG POV! But not of the kiss, so psych! I know you guys wanted that, and I'm sorry, but whatever. You'll have to deal with me.

I was down on my stomach across my bed, scribbling at my art project without looking at it. Then Max came in. I tucked my pillow over the paper and rolled over. She had cold murder in her eyes. Lovely (note sarcasm). She opened her mouth, probably to yell at me, and then sighed and leaned back against the door.

"Did you have to make out with her?" she asked quietly, staring at the ceiling.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You made out with Matt," I countered, gauging her reaction. It was exactly what I knew it would be, some mix of surprise, anger, and defensiveness.

"I did not," she protested, "I just kissed him!"

"Right," I agreed, knowing she'd hate that.

"Well, you still made out with Nelly," Max said.

"Yeah."

"Are we even now, then?" she asked, leveling her eyes with mine. I shrugged.

"On one condition," I said. She raised her eyebrows at me.

"Which is…?"

"You don't forbid me or whatever to do this," I said, suddenly right in front of her with a handful of her shirt.

Max POV

Someone opened the door behind me and I fell, hitting my wings hard, with Fang right on top of me. We both froze. If it were anyone but my mom, we were cool. Except that it was not only my mom, but Jeb, Total, and Akila, too. My life is just one awkward moment after the next.

As if that wasn't bad enough, just then Gazzy came out of the bathroom, yawned, and saw us. He made gagging motions and ran off down the hall, probably to tell everyone. Fang saw him, too, and pushed himself to his feet. He held out a hand, which under any other circumstances I would have ignored, except that I was too frozen with shock to give a fuck about pride.

He pulled me up next to him and we faced the adults and dogs.

"Fang, go get a shirt on," my mom said. Fang appeared a moment later with his black shirt back on.

"Max, we can talk about this later," sighed Jeb," right now Total has news."

Total nodded his scruffy little black head.

"We're all going to Rio!" he announced.

"Rio?" I repeated.

"Yes, Rio. For the wedding!" Total grinned, if a dog can grin, "And there's more."

He looked at Akila, who showed her teeth in a smile.

"Vee have gotten a svimming pool installed," she said with a French accent. Fang and I looked quickly at each other. I gritted my teeth to keep my jaw from dropping.

"Since when can you talk?" I asked suspiciously.

"Zis man graciously found out vhat eet vas zey did to Total, and zee doctor Martinez helped zem do eet vis me," Akila said.

Zit man graciously found out rats eat Vaseline two total?

"What?" I muttered out of the side of my mouth to Fang.

"Jeb did whatever it was they did to Total to her with your mom's help," he whispered back. Oooooooh. Never mind the rat thing then.

"And you have a French accent?" I said.

"We're not sure why, but yes, Akila does have a surprising accent, though she doesn't speak French at all," Jeb answered for her.

"'We?'"

"Yes," Jeb nodded, "A few other scientist and I, along with your mother. Don't worry Max, they're fine people."

You mean like Bridget? I thought, but if my mom trusted them then I guess I did. Whatever, I was still totally confused. One minute Fang is talking to me, the next we're making out (I really need a new word for that), and then he's shirtless, and Jeb and the dogs are back from DC, and Akila can talk. All in about eight minutes.

"There's more, and it may sound a bit strange," mom added.

"We're mutant bird kids with two talking dogs getting married in Rio. Lay it on me," I sighed.

"There are going to be two marriages once we get to Rio de Janerio," she said. I tried to figure out who she was talking about, and completely failed.

"… Who?" I asked finally.

"Maximum, your mother and I-"

"YOU?" I practically shrieked, cutting Jeb off. I just then noticed that his arm was around her. I mean, I guess it should have been a dream come true and crap like that, but somehow I was just shocked. Were they even ever dating?

I think I was in shock. Fang put his arm around my shoulders just before I was going to ask him to and held me up.

"Now you might want to get back to your sleepover," mom said, smiling apologetically. Yeah, right, like I'd get any sleep tonight. Come on, mom.

The rest of the sleepover was cool, except for the part where I woke up with Nelly's foot in my ass. Extreme pain let me tell you, even for me. We had pancakes for breakfast and then Juliette and Nelly left.

"Bye Max, bye Ella, bye Nudge, bye Angel, bye-"

"They get it, Nelly," Juliette said, dragging a waving Nelly away from the house by the back of her collar.

"Bye guys," Ella and I called simultaneously.

"Bye!" yelled Juliette just before she shut the car door. We watched them go, and then mom was in a hurry.

"Jeb and I are taking Ella and Iggy shopping, take care of the kids, okay Max?" mom called as she swung out side. Ella ran down the hall after her, skidding to a stop at the turn. Iggy bumped into her back and the two scrambled outside.

"'Kay," I said. Jeb got into the van and they were gone.

"Total! I'm making fruit kebabs and fruit salad, do you and Akila want any?" I yelled.

"Fruit Kebabs? We'll pass," Total yelped back. I rolled my eyes. It's not like I could ruin this: shoving sticks through pieces of fruit? You didn't exactly have to be a master chef. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed out an apron form the cupboard under the sink. When I stood back up Fang was leaning against the doorframe.

"I really don't have time to talk right now Fang," I said, tilting my head up to kiss him on he lips. Was it as annoyingly hot for Ella that bird-boys were so tall? I hoped so.

I kissed him for like three seconds that way, his face bent down and his hands in his pockets, and then passed by.

"Ugh, do you know how to tie an apron? It's really killing me."

"How you dress yourself in the morning I'll never know," he said, tying the strings in a knot behind me.

"Maybe you will," I said absently, poking my head in the fridge.

"What?" he said, sounding surprised.

"Oh you heard me," I replied, slapping him upside the head with the nearest pain-bringing device: a wooden spoon. He rubbed the back of his head and followed me around the kitchen.

"Fruit bowl," I said, opening the cabinet and stretching my hand out behind me. Something cold touched my palm-Fang's lips-and then the bowl was there.

"Gracias, Señor Schmexiness," I muttered. Then my wings decided holding me a foot above the ground so I could reach the top shelf was unacceptable, and I missed a beat. Did you guess what happened? Yeah, I fell. Fang chuckled, catching me bridal-style, and set me on my feet.

"De nada, mi amor eterno."

I rolled my eyes and shook out my wings, and then realized what he'd said.

"Very deep, Fang," I said. (A/N in Spanish, Fang said Your welcome, my eternal love. Doesn't get much more deep than that.)

"Hey, I'm a deep guy," he shrugged. I shoved him lightly on the chest. I was looking at him out of the corner of my eye, waving my hand over the bowl of fruit, searching for the spoon. I let my hand rest over one spot for a second to kiss Fang on the cheek, and my fingers closed around the wooden handle. I looked at it in surprise. My hand hadn't moved, which meant… the spoon had.

"Fang," I said in a strangled voice, "Watch this."

I held my hand out over the counter and thought of a cup. The cabinet actually opened, and a little glass cup sped down into my hand.

"How the hell…?"

"I don't know," I said, thinking fast, "We need to-"

It's a new power, Maximum.

I stumbled back about one step before I hit the counter and started shaking.

Voice? Great to know you're back and all, but WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED? I thought. It didn't answer. Right, new power.

"The Voice is back. It says it's a new power I have," I said, looking up.

"Well no shit," Fang said.

"Oh, shut up. Let's just make lunch. I've got a crapload on my mind right now, I don't need anyone else stressing." I sighed.

"Well, your stress is my stress, so it's kind of a lost cause," Fang said, "And what do you mean 'we'. I have about as much homework as you have family issues. I'll catch you later, Max."

I frowned. I didn't have that many family issues.

"Fine."

Fang POV again

I laid down and heard something crinkle under my head. I lifted up my pillow. It was my art project, a sketch of a girl with detailed wings and a halo cupping the earth between her hands. There was a shadow in the background, with the vague shape of a person. That would be me. A little stuffed Angel teddy bear lay on the floor, next to a TV remote, and there was a plate of cookies on a little table on the right. Next to the cookies was a knot of tangled up wires, and under it a broken vial.

It was basically all of our lives. The teddy bear was Celeste, which was for Angel, and the remote was our Nudge channel. The cookies were for Ella and Dr. M, and the wires were Iggy and Gazzy. And the broken vial was our past at the school, tucked away under a table, hopefully forever.

And the girl was Max, and her future to save the world. The halo just fit.

I did say I was deep.