Yo! I'm sorry about the late update--- again! I think that I'm just going to have to start having a weekly update on Sundays 'cause it's the only time I have to write!

I am seriously starting to wonder why all of you like this story so much! I've never gotten a flame before… is that a good sign?

Disclaimer- I do not own Maximum Ride or anything associated with it. Nor do I own the song added in (I know the song is pretty old but it makes things funnier: D)

Chapter Fourteen!

"Max! Will you hold still?" Ella shrieked at me as I struggled to loosen her grasp on my hair. It was the night of the Christmas dance and she decided that she was going all out on my hair and make-up. I reluctantly agreed as long as she didn't go overboard. Big mistake.

She had already lined my eyes with navy-blue eyeliner and added black mascara and pale blue eye shadow. She glossed up my lips with some sticky stuff and then decided to move onto my hair. Apparently she really wanted me to look good for Sam.

"I'll keep moving if you don't stop pulling my hair!" I grunted, pulling my hair out of her hands and rubbing my scalp. "You are so violent sometimes!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry," She murmured, gently lifting my hair again and running the curling iron through it. "I'm just really happy you said I could help you get ready." She said, shooting me a sheepish grin. I felt my face soften and I smiled over at her. She could be great when she wanted to.

"Why wouldn't I want my sister helping me?" I asked, smiling over at her. "I just can't wait until next year when I get to dress you up and do your make-up!" I grinned, looking up at her.

"Uh," She said hesitantly, "Do you have to do my make-up? I think you might poke my eyes out!" She said, laughing at the thought. I tried to picture me doing her hair and putting on mascara and then accidentally poking her in the eye or painting a black line down her face.

"Well, maybe not the make-up," I said, thinking about it for a minute. "But I'm helping you pick out the dress!" I exclaimed, grinning evilly.

I really didn't like to dress up for fancy occasions but when I had to, I didn't really mind. Sometimes it was nice just to feel elegant and beautiful for a change. I was actually happy with how I was looking tonight.

My hair was falling into large ringlets as Ella curled it slowly. The top layers of it were up in a messy knot so the curls were falling down my shoulders. My eyes looked smoky, yet light and crisp and the gold in them was shining brightly.

"I'm done!" Ella exclaimed, standing back to admire her work. I twirled in the office chair I was sitting in and looked at myself in the mirror.

"Wow, Ells," I said, gaping at the girl I saw in the mirror. She didn't look like anyone I knew. "I look-"I stuttered, becoming speechless.

"You look amazing." She said, grinning widely. "All thanks to me." She added, looking over at me smugly. "Now go get your dress on before Sam gets here. I stood up and smiled at her, hugging her before leaving her room and walking down the hallway into mine. I walked over to my closet and slid my sapphire dress off of the hanger. I walked back to the middle of the room and changed, tearing my sweats off but sliding the dress on effortlessly.

I smoothed out the wrinkles in the dress and smiled to myself as I felt the silky material. I adjusted the straps on my shoulders and tugged the bottom down awkwardly. I was a little mad at Ella for convincing me to get such a short dress but, hey, I was only going to wear it once, right? I crossed my room and looked at my reflection in the mirror and gaped at what was staring back at me.

A gorgeous girl, dressed in a satiny, royal blue dress that went down slightly above her knees. The neckline was just in the right place to fit her body perfectly and the back of the dress swooped down into magnificent folds, reaching her lower back. A necklace with a single pearl sat on her neck, in between her clavicles and two pearl bracelets graced her right wrist.

I heard a knock on the door and I jumped, tearing my eyes from the mirror. I looked over at the door and frowned. "Come in!" I called, preparing myself for what was going to happen next. I watched as the door swung open and two people walked in, immediately bursting into squeals.

"Oh my gosh! Max you look amazing!" Ella almost screamed, "I'm glad you went with that dress. The white one would have been totally wrong for that hairstyle and you probably would have gotten punch or something on it anyway!" She rambled, walking over and fixing up points in my hair and make-up what may have gotten messed up when I put the dress on.

"Honey, you look gorgeous." My mom said, walking over and looking at me in the mirror. I smiled and felt her hands on my shoulders. I looked down at my feet, trying not to blush. I was never told that I was beautiful or gorgeous except by Fang but… but now, that was impossible. I tried to change my train of thought to something else- anything else but nothing seemed to help. My mind just went back to him. I shook my head slightly and heard sniffling behind me.

"Excuse me, sweetie," my mom said, covering her eyes with one hand and smiling over at me weakly. "You just look so amazing." I smiled warmly and broke away from Ella's grip, walking over to my mom and giving her a hug. "I'll be downstairs." She said once I let her go. She took one last look at me and shook her head, smiling.

"You know, you are going to make everyone's heads turn!" Ella said looking through my mess of a closet for the shoes we had bought to go with the dress. "You'll look ten million times better than Lissa!" She pointed out. I snorted and shook my head. Lissa was probably going to walk in the doors in a gorgeous floor length gown and steal away everyone's attention. It's not that she wanted the attention; she just got it no matter what she did. Ah, the joys of being popular.

"I doubt it," I said skeptically. "I bet a lot of other girls will look a hundred times better than me but that's okay."

"Sure," Ella said, looking up at me, unable to believe what she was hearing. "You keep thinking that." I frowned down at her and sighed. She would never see things my way. I was a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl. Not one that dresses up for every little occasion. I was hardly ever happy with how I looked but today was a day where I was completely amazed. Ella came over to me and dropped the box of shoes down by my feet. I bent down to get them but she shot me a glance, telling me to stay where I was. She hopped onto the floor and took the pure white high heels out of the box and slid them on me, tying the long white ribbons attached to them up my calves. For a minute, I really felt like Cinderella.

"I'm sorry," Ella said suddenly, looking up at me and stopping what she was doing instantly.

"About what?" I asked, genuinely confused. I had no idea what she could possibly be sorry about. She didn't do anything wrong.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe something happened with you and Jeb. I'm sorry I made him come here and I'm sorry I made you see him." She said, avoiding my gaze and going back to lacing the other ribbon around my leg. I gave her a questioning look and I guess she felt my gaze in the back of her head because she continued, "I know why you don't like him. He tried to…" She drifted off in thought and I felt my eyes widen.

"What!?" I exclaimed, mentally punching myself for not telling my mom what had happened. "What did he do?" I asked urgently, helping her up to her feet.

"He-"

"Max! Ella!" My mom yelled, cutting her off. She opened her mouth to speak again but my mom's voice sounded from the stairs. "Sam's here! Get your butts down here!"

I looked at the door and back at Ella, deciding that I wasn't going until we talked about this. She just stepped forwards and gave me a tight hug. "Just go," She said, smiling. "We'll talk about it when you get back. Have a good time!" She grinned, backing away from me. I gave her a smile and starting walking to the door. "And Max?" She said. I turned and looked at her before leaving my room.

"Yeah?" I asked, grinning at my sister.

"You look like a princess." She said, her smile growing into a full blown grin. I smiled and walked over to her again, hugging her tightly once more. Today was like a turning point. Ever since what happened, Ella and my relationship had been strained and was really starting to disappear. We would never talk to each other or really acknowledge each other. I let go and smiled.

"Thank you."

"Max! Come on! Sam is waiting!" I heard my mom shout from the stairs again. I frowned, glaring over at the door.

"Way to go, mom," I muttered, walking over to the door. "Ruin the sister-bonding time why don't you!" I gave Ella one last wave before walking down the hallway and down the stairs.

"I'm here, I'm here!" I said as I turned the corner and walked into the living room where my mom and Sam were sitting. As soon as he heard my voice, Sam stood up awkwardly, straightening out his tie roughly. I stood in front of Sam and I felt my eyes widen. Man, that boy really could clean up!

Instead of his usual baggy jeans and tee shirt, he was wearing a black formal tuxedo. His chestnut hair was messy around his head and fell in front of his hazel eyes. He had a white shirt on underneath his black jacket and a dark blue tie to match my dress. For once, I was glad that the school makes us get really dressed up for these dances. Sam looked amazing. I blinked a few times, realizing that I was staring. I forced my eyes away from what he was wearing and looked up at his face. His eyes were open wide and his mouth was slightly open but I saw the corners of it turning up into a slow grin. I smiled and took a few steps forwards.

"You look-"He started, shaking his head, at a loss for words. "You look absolutely beautiful." He gasped, looking up from my dress to my eyes. I saw a special shine in his eyes and I smiled. I stepped forwards so I was standing next to him and he gently put his arm around my waist. With the high heels on, I was almost his height. He was still about an inch and a half taller than me though. I glanced over at my mom, who was smiling at Sam. I guessed that she approved of him or something. I grabbed my jacket and slid it over my shoulders, staying by Sam's side the whole time.

"Wait!" My mom called right as we reached the door. "I need pictures!" She exclaimed, tearing the room apart for a camera. She found my digital camera sitting on the table and held it up, waiting to take a picture.

"Oh, come on!" I frowned, "It's not like its prom or anything!" I said, groaning.

"One picture, Maxie! You two just look so cute together! I can't believe you didn't say yes to this boy sooner!" She exclaimed. I looked over at Sam, who was blushing. I smiled, realizing how cute he was.

"Just one picture," He whispered in my ear. His breath tickled my neck and I smiled. I turned around in his arms and felt his grip tighten around my waist. We posed in crazy ways for about five minutes as my mom pretended to be a fashion photographer, running around the room snapping pictures from different angles with different light effects. She finally lowered the camera and I let out a sigh of relief. I felt Sam's arms around me and I smiled, looking down at our intertwined feet. We started to turn to leave when I felt his kiss my cheek softly. I blushed furiously and smiled, looking up at him. I saw a bright flash of light from next to me and saw my mom looking at the screen of the camera. I frowned and let Sam drag me out through the door, chuckling softly.

We left the house and made it to his car in all of two minutes. I climbed into his truck and smiled as he opened and closed the door for me. "I'm sorry about all the pictures." I said, smiling at him apologetically. "I didn't know she was going to go all out with them."

"It's fine." He said as he starting the engine. "Now I know where you get your personality from." He said simply. I smiled at him and looked down at my fingers, inspecting the pearly white nail polish thoroughly. "But I do want a copy of that last picture, though." He said, looking at me as we pulled out of my driveway.

"I think that can be arranged." I said, smiling sweetly at him before looking out the window. I saw two people exiting Fang's house and I felt my heart constrict. I saw Fang, clad in a black tux and red tie, with his arm around Lissa, kissing her cheek roughly. She was giggling in her light pink, flowing gown. What did I tell 'ya? She draws attention from everyone!

"She has nothing on you." Sam said from beside me. I twisted my head and looked at him, confusion masking my face. She glanced over at my and smirked, letting his gaze fall back on the road. "Lissa; she has nothing on you. She may look nice when she dresses up but, Max, no matter what you're wearing, you always look stunning." He said, turning slightly to face me as we hit a red light. I blushed and looked down at my hands again.

"Are you kidding? She looks amazing and I just look like… me." I said, trying to think of the right words to describe how I was looking.

"And you think that looking like you is a bad thing?" Sam asked incredulously. "Max, girls should envy you! You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my entire life!" He exclaimed, looking down at me, his eyes shining.

"You really think so?" I asked in denial.

"There is no doubt in my mind." He replied, stepping on the gas once more. I smiled to myself. He thinks I'm beautiful? I wondered why I cared so much about Sam liking me. Sure, he was a great, cute, smart, funny guy but was he really that perfect. The voice in the back of my head answered that for me. Yes. He was perfect. Perfect for me, at least.

I turned to face him and for the rest of the trip to the school, we talked about what we thought the dance was going to be like. Every dance was always different so everyone was always surprised. I was pretty excited considering that this was actually my first high school dance. Sure, I'd been to high school parties before but dances? No way.

We arrived at the school to see the lights in only one room and the hallway leading to it ablaze. I could hear the music from outside as Sam helped me out of his truck. Around us, couples were meeting up with their friends and waiting for other people before going into the party since once they went in, they wouldn't want to come back out. I gently stretched out my ankles and sighed, high heels were way too hard to walk in. Sam chuckled at my obvious trouble in walking in them and put his arm around my waist. I moved slightly closer to him and grinned, actually really happy that I had agreed to go with him.

"Sam!" A voice called out from behind us. Sam turned his head and once he saw who it was, he grinned.

"Hey Ig!" He shouted. I turned around immediately and smiled when I saw Iggy. He was in the usual black tux except he had a bright pink collared shirt on underneath it and a tie with Santa Claus on it. Typical Iggy.

"Oh. My. God!" Iggy said once his eyes rested on me. I watched him look at every inch of me, preparing for jokes about me in a dress, and I fidgeted awkwardly. "Max! You look hot!" He exclaimed, earning a smack in the head by his date, Tess. I blushed and smiled over at him. I looked over at Tess and my mouth almost dropped. She was one of the tomboy-ish girls in the school and she was wearing a gorgeous forest green dress that went down to her knees with a plunging neck line. She walked over to me and I gave her a hug, complimenting her on how amazing she looked.

"Come here, you!" Iggy said, holding his arms out to me once I was done hugging his date. "You know I get the first dance, right?" He said, winking. I laughed and took a step over to him, hugging him tightly. He put his arms around my waist and swayed slightly as he squeezed me so much I almost couldn't breathe. He loosened his grip and smiled. "Is he okay?" He whispered in my ear, obviously talking about Sam.

"He's perfect." I replied, breaking away from Iggy and looking over at Sam, who was talking with Tess. "He's absolutely perfect." I repeated, smiling to myself.

"Good." Iggy said, nodding over to Sam. "You deserve to have some fun." I smiled and we walked back over to out dates. Sam enveloped me into his arms and Iggy took Tess by the hand as we walked over to the school.

"Max! Sam! Tess! Iggy!" A shrill voice called out right before we entered the building. We all turned around and saw Lissa dragging Fang over to us by the arm. Iggy looked over at me nervously but I nodded. "Oh my gosh, Max! You look amazing!" Lissa said, taking my hands and spinning me around. I smiled and laughed.

"Thanks. I've been hearing that a lot today." I said, looking at her gently. She really was a sweet girl. "You look great too." I said, admiring her dress.

"Thank you! Fang helped me pick out the dress." She said, looking over at her date. I glanced over at him and expected to meet his eyes but I saw him looking me up and down. I shifted awkwardly as his gaze traveled over my dress and down my legs to my heels.

Sam put a protective arm around me and a smiled at him. Iggy walked in front of me, turning me around and pushing me inside, "We'll see you guys inside!" He said over his shoulder as Tess followed us, confused. I told her quickly that I would tell her what happened later. We all burst through the doors to the school and we hung up out jackets on some of the racks outside the gym. We handed the teachers at the door our tickets and walked into the room, seeing most of the school swaying along to the music.

There were streamers and balloons everywhere, all resembling Christmas colors. In all for corners of the gym, there were giant trees, decorated and lit up brilliantly. I looked up and saw three disco balls hanging from the ceiling in the shape of a triangle. Leave it to our student council to throw an amazing dance.

"I'm going to go request a song!" Iggy shouted over the music, leaving Tess with us and racing up over to DJ. I smirked, wondering what song he would request. We stood around talking for a few minutes, waiting for Iggy to come back. About five minutes later, he came back, grinning from ear to ear. We all looked at him questioningly until a new song blasted over the speakers.

Soulja boy I tell 'em. Hey I got a new dance fo you all called the soulja boy.

We all looked at Iggy in disbelief. "Do you know how old this song is?" I shouted over the beginning of the song.

"Yeah, but it's the only dance I know!" He yelled back, grinning. Tess shook her head and looked at me, laughing as the guys went onto the dance floor to join the rest of the school in doing to dance to the song.

"Come on!" Tess shouted to me, "Let's go outside!" I nodded and we fought our way outside to the commons. We sat on the ledges by the flower beds and I looked over at her. "Those boys are insane!" She said, finally able to speak in a normal voice.

"I know. I can't believe Ig would really request that song." I pondered, looking up at the stars. "He is so weird." I said, chuckling.

"Hey! That's my date you're talking about!" She said, trying her best in keeping a straight face. I smirked as she thought about it. "But you're right. He is really weird. Amazing, but weird." I smiled at the love stuck expression on her face and shook my head. "So do you really like Sam?" She asked, sitting down next to me.

"I think so." I admitted, looking over at her. "He is just so great and I haven't realized it until now. I guess other things have just been getting in my way of realizing it."

"Other things like Fang?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at me. I opened my mouth to say something but she interrupted. "Before you go off denying things, what happened with you guys? You two were so close… inseparable even!" I sighed, trying to remember the whole story.

"Well, we were getting into fights all the time after the funeral. Things got so crazy that he even… he even hit me once. That was where all of the rumors of Iggy and I started." I explained, ignoring her worried looks. "Then, about two weeks ago, I thought that he was getting involved with Duncan Burke. I did something totally insane and I got his phone and I saw that he was talking to Duncan. Ever since then, we don't talk, we don't look at each other, and we don't acknowledge each other unless we absolutely have to."

She took a deep breath, taking my whole explanation in. "If you don't mind me asking," She started, looking at me curiously, "What did you do that was so insane?" my eyes widened as I thought about what happened that day in his room.

"I, uh," I stuttered, looking away from her. "I kind of kissed him… a lot to distract him while I grabbed his phone." I admitted, looking at the ground.

"Are you serious!?" She squealed, looking over at me. She jumped up and began hopping up and down. "How was it? Did he kiss you back? Did you like it? How long was it?" She exclaimed, torturing me with all the questions.

"Uh, yeah, it was fine," I said dully, trying to think back. "He kissed me back a lot. It was, well, it was amazing but I wish that it actually meant something to him. I don't remember how long it was. There were breaks where he would just kiss my jaw and stuff like that." I added. It was so easy to talk to Tess about things. She was one of my best friends so I felt comfortable around her.

"Did you feel any sparks?" she asked calmly, sitting down next to me again.

"Yeah," I said, thinking back to the kiss."I did. I felt so much more than sparks though." I added, raising my hand up to my cheek.

I just wanted to kiss him forever. He slowly traced my bottom lip with his tongue and I opened my mouth, granting him access. I felt his warm, sweet breath fill my mouth and I gasped. I felt him pull back slightly and I let him slowly nibble my lip. He began to place hot kisses along my jaw.

I drew in a deep breath and closed my eyes, dropping my hand down to my jaw and letting it fall onto my lap. "To me, it sounds like you really like him." She said, grabbing my hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

"What?" I asked, opening my eyes immediately. "I can't! I haven't talked to him in weeks and I can't feel that way about my best friend!" I exclaimed, frowning at the thought.

"Well, you still call him your best friend, so maybe there's hope." She said wisely, making me feel stupid.

"Yeah, maybe there is hope." A voice said. I looked over Tess's shoulder and saw Fang, dressed in all black, coming up behind her. I felt different emotions fill my heart. Tess turned her head, looking at Fang carefully. She turned back to me and saw me keeping a steady gaze with Fang.

"I'll let you two talk." She said, standing up and straightening out her dress. I watched her walk inside but she stopped at the door, leaning against the wall inside the school. I held back a sigh of relief. She wasn't leaving me completely alone with him. I stood up, wobbling slightly on my high heels and faced Fang, who had stepped forward.

"What do you want?" I asked coldly, trying not to melt as I stared into his eyes.

He ignored my comment and stared straight into my eyes. "You look absolutely beautiful tonight." He whispered, a smile playing on his lips. "Well, you look beautiful every day but you look especially, uh," He rambled nervously, blushing slightly. I have him a questioning look and frowned. What was he playing at?

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face as his cheeks flushed. He looked down and sighed, closing his eyes slowly for a few seconds. I waited for him to look back up at me.

"Look, I'm so-"

"Max! There you are!" A voice from behind me yelled. I turned and saw Iggy rushing towards me with Sam and Tess on his heels. Tess looked like she was trying to get them to stop and I was grateful for her to try but there was no stopping Iggy. I sighed, wishing I was able to talk to Fang longer. "Come on! We were missing you!" He said, grabbing my hand. I dug my heels into the ground and held eye contact with Fang.

"Max." He tried to say again, but this time it wasn't Iggy who interrupted him.

"Yo, Fang!" A deep voice boomed from the door. I turned and saw Duncan stride down to Fang and sling an arm around him. "What are you doing out here, man? The party's inside! Have you seen some of these chicks?" Fang's eyes glanced over to Duncan but then shifted back to me. "Speaking of chicks…" Duncan trailed off, dropping his arm off of Fang and walking towards me. He wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I tried to push him away but he just tightened his grip.

"Let go of her." Iggy growled, jumping in between Duncan and I. Tess grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I fell back, falling into Sam. He wrapped his arms around me gently and I buried my face in his chest. I wasn't sure of what was going on around me but I did hear the sound of a punch being thrown. I turned around, expecting it to be Iggy but instead, I saw Fang holding Duncan by his collar, his fist flying across his jaw. I felt my eyes widen as Duncan fought back.

"Yo! Fang! What are you doing?" Duncan grunted, feeling the blood that was flowing down from his nose and lip. "I'm not the enemy! She is!" He exclaimed, pointing to me. I felt like someone stabbed me through the heard as Fang nodded, agreeing with Duncan. "Let's leave these freaks." He said, grabbing Fang's arm forcefully and pulling him away from us. I caught Fang's eye one last time before he turned completely and jogged after Duncan, joining their dates on the other side of the commons.

"Come on, Maxie." Iggy said, leading me inside. I shuddered and looked over at Sam, seeing fear in his eyes. Tess frowned and grabbed my hand, giving me a reassuring smile.

"I don't know what's going on," Sam said, walking in front of me. I stopped in front of him and looked at him curiously. "But I want you to know that nothing is stopping me from being here as long as you need me." He finished. I felt my heart drop and I reached up, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you." I murmured, talking into his shirt. I broke away to face him and felt a tear fall down my cheek.

"Hey, hey, don't cry. It's okay." He whispered, wiping away the tear with his thumb. I nodded and hugged him again.

"Come on, Max, dance with us." Tess said, smiling at me warmly. "It'll help take your mind off of things." I smiled and wiped my eyes, looking back outside. I was surprised to see that Duncan and Fang had moved over to the spot where we just had been. Fang was staring at me though the glass doors. I glanced at him just in time to see him mouth, 'I'm sorry'. I shook my head and let Tess take my hand, leading me onto the dance floor.

Iggy and Sam both followed us through the sea of people to the middle of the dance floor so that we were surrounded by people. Tess dropped my hand and grinned as we started to dance, swaying our hips along with the music. I cracked a smile as Iggy started to dance outrageously. He smiled once he saw me smiling and then put his hands gently on Tess's hips, moving with her. I turned around, coming face to face with Sam.

"Hey." He said, smiling. I grinned and started to dance with him, letting the beat of the music take me away. Song after song played and I felt like I could dance all night. I turned around, looking to face Sam and I gasped when I realized how close we were. He smiled and hesitantly leaned down, pressing his lips against mine and wrapping his arms around my waist. I grinned into his lips and slowly moved my arms up around his neck.

At that moment, everything was perfect.

At that moment, I felt nothing could go wrong.

At that moment, I was kissing Sam and it felt right.

So, that was chapter fourteen, the dance! I really hoped you liked it!

Two things…

1. I know that Josh wasn't in that chapter… I don't want to go back into it and add him 'cause I like it the way it is.

2. THIS IS A FAX STORY!!! Before all of you review saying "Please don't make this a Sax story! I thought it was Fax!" IT IS FAX!!! THIS IS ALL PART OF THE PLOT!!! THEY WILL GET TOGETHER EVENTUALLY!!!

Anyway, review and tell me how you liked it :D