Whoa. An update. This feels weird…
Anyway, here's the truth. This is the last chapter. Good? Bad? I don't know. I was originally going to have one more before this one, but decided against it after I got half way through.
Also, PLEASEEEEE read the parting AN at the bottom; it will explain many things.
"I'll sport a smile
Take in some color
Under the stars
I'll be your lover
With no distractions I'm gonna treat you right"
-The Starting Line
Chapter 21
"What are we doing back here?" Nudge said, hovering above me. I just tucked in my wings and placed my hands on my hips, staring at the abandoned house in front of us. Everyone else landed behind me, waiting for my answer.
"I've been thinking…" I started.
Nudge slammed next to me as she landed her eyes, bulging out of her head. "You've been thinking about what?"
"Well, it would be such a shame to let a perfectly good house go to waste," I exaggerated, and Nudge grabbed onto my arm in excitement.
"Are we going to live here?" she asked, and on my other side Angel stepped forward so I could see her.
"No," I said slowly, "You guys can't leave your parents. That's the deal."
"But..." Angel said hopefully, knowing exactly what I was going to say next. I turned around to face everyone, Nudge was still hanging onto my arm.
"This could be like a meeting place. Somewhere to spend the weekends," I said.
"Like a vacation home?" the Gasman asked.
"Yeah, sort of," I said.
It was quiet for a moment while I guaged their reactions. Fang and Iggy were emotionless, but Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy looked hopeful, yet somewhat skeptical.
"So we would still be living with our families, but we would get to meet up on the weekends here," Nudge clarified.
"Yeah," I said, and she smiled.
"I'm in," Gazzy said quickly.
"Yeah," said Angel. "Me too."
"It'll be like a huge sleepover every weekend. Or even afterschool sometimes. I'll be here so much, you'll get sick of me," Nudge said excitedly.
"Nudge," I started, putting my arm around her shoulders. "I would never get sick of you. But it is kinda of a long flight for the rest of us to make it here every afternoon."
"Well, you'll miss me so much you'll just be dying to come see me," she smiled.
"Can we go in?" Gazzy asked.
"Yeah. We'll look around, kick out the spiders, then hit the store for some necessities. Sound good?" I asked smiling.
The three of them nodded, and they turned to leave, while Fang gave me a stern look.
"Don't go in without us!" I shouted over my shoulder, but didn't get an answer.
"Ok," Iggy started. "What was that?"
"What was what?" I asked, my eyebrows knitting together.
"'Oh, we can use this house as our vacation home!'" Iggy said, mocking me. "Why are you leading them on? You know that we can never stay here for long periods of time."
"Well, it's better than nothing. And we have an opportunity. And I'm not leading them on!"
"I'm just saying," Iggy started, "that these so called "people" you keep talking about, ordered us to split up, and you didn't do anything about it then, so why start now?"
"Because I have to do something," I said.
It was quiet for a moment, and Iggy sighed and walked towards the house, where the others were lingering. I turned to watch him, and they vanished around the side of the house. I looked back at Fang, who was staring at me intently.
"What?" I asked him. A large cracking noise came from the distance, and I sighed.
"I asked them not to go in," I said, and Fang raised his eyebrows.
"You really have no idea what you're doing, do you?" he said.
"What do you mean?" I crossed my arms over my chest, huffing.
"When did you get the idea to live in this house?" he asked.
"Last week. After we all went home."
"And what are we planning to tell our parents?"
"That we're visiting each other for the weekend," I said. "Why are you asking me all of these pointless questions?"
"I'm trying to figure out what's going through your head," he said, and I was taken back. Fang always knew what I was thinking, or so it seemed.
"I just don't think that you're thinking this through," he said.
"Fang," I said, annoyed. "I have a plan. I always have a plan."
He smiled, and I stepped back surprised. "You haven't said that in a while."
"Well, I didn't have a plan before. Now I do." I crossed my arms over my chest. He was still smiling.
"No you don't," Fang said. "I know when you're lying."
"I'm not lying," I defended. "Here's my plan. We're going to live here."
His eyes narrowed. "On the weekends," he clarified.
"Yup." I nodded.
Fang shook his head. "You really had no idea what you were doing. You still don't. I don't know how you do it."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
He stared at me for a long minute. "Never mind," he said, then turned to walk to where the flock were waiting around the corner, but not before looking back to make sure I was following.
"Do you think Fang would get mad if we "accidentally" switch his gray paint with a lime green one?" Nudge asked, holding up obnoxiously bright paint cards.
"Yeah he would," the Gasman said. "Let's do it!"
"Uh, no," I said.
"Why not?" Nudge asked. "We could still buy his color, but then buy an extra one and pretend that that's the one we got him. It would be hilarious!"
"Well, for one thing, it would be hilarious for everyone except for Fang, and we also don't have unlimited amounts of money to spend on extra paint we won't use and we would have to carry the extra paint can with us," I said.
"I bet Fang would think it's funny," Gazzy said.
"No. Just pick out your color."
After a look around the house, we split up and went shopping. Iggy, Fang and Angel went to Wal-Mart to get cleaning supplies while Nudge, Gazzy and I hit up the Home-Depot for paint, and minor construction equipment. Our first move was to un-board all of the windows and clean up the cobwebs and the kitchen. Angel and Nudge wanted to paint, but unfortunately, we couldn't paint a dirty house.
"I still can't believe you get the biggest room," Gazzy complained, while comparing two different blues.
"Well, that's because there are three of us sharing," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. "And that blue would give you a headache."
"I still don't understand why I can't have my own room," he whined.
"I told you. The other rooms are unlivable. And don't you like rooming with Iggy?"
"How are they unlivable?" Nudge asked.
"The roof is collapsing," I said, putting my paint cards back into the slot.
"We've lived under worse conditions," the Gasman pointed out.
"Yes, but it's still not safe. And until someone fixes the roof, no one is going to be sleeping in there. Understood?"
"Fine. But why does Fang get a room all to himself?" Gazzy asked.
"Because that's just how we split up the rooms. You can ask to share with him if you want," I said.
"But I'm already sharing with Iggy," he said.
"Well then," I responded. "Stop complaining and pick a color so we can get out of here."
Thankfully, the two stores we had split up with were in the same shopping center, so when everyone was done, we took off in the back corner of the parking lot. Fang got stuck carrying the paint cans home, but he wasn't one to complain, so I wasn't too worried about him. I could easily pick up on the younger three's excitement, but I didn't understand why Fang and Iggy were so unhappy. If anything, they were the two people who knew close to everything I was hiding, so I expected them to be more grateful for our home improvement project.
"Hey Max?" Nudge asked, swooping down to be at my level. "Can I ask you something?"
I turned my head, taking in her troubled expression, her hair blowing in the wind, making her look wild. "Yeah, anything."
"Why did you change your mind? I mean, a few weeks ago, you didn't want to live here with us. What's the difference about now? And I know I asked to live her all the time, and we're not actually going to be living her, its just like a place to meet up on the weekends, but I wanted to know how come you turned my idea down before," she said, not looking at me.
I paused before answering, and she turned her head, facing mine. For the first time in a while, I noticed how grown up she was. She wasn't the little girl who used to tug on my sleeve and follow me around the School or curl up next to me on the couch while we were watching a movie, like she used to be. She realized that I was keeping something from her, from all of them, and I could tell she was hurt by it.
"Nudge," I started slowly. "It's pretty complicated. And I'm not really sure how long this will even last for. When you asked me, I was just caught off guard. I didn't have time to really think things through."
"You never used to think things through," Nudge said. "You always just kinda jumped the gun on stuff. And what's the big deal about living together again anyway? Don't you want to see us anymore?"
I blinked, and answered quickly, "Of course I do! Nudge, this was never about getting rid of anyone, all right? I'm just thinking of what's best for all of us."
"Oh," she said, uncharacteristically quiet. I got the feeling that she wasn't partically happy with my answer, but I couldn't tell her about my promise to keep us seperate. Things would just get messy.
On the other side of Nudge, I caught Fang staring at me. He was giving me an unreadable look, but he didn't seem too happy either. What was up with him?
"How did I get stuck with you?" Fang asked, as I dropped a plastic bag filled with cleaning supplies down on the floor.
"Obviously, someone's mother didn't teach them their manners," I replied, as he rolled his eyes.
"And how did I end up cleaning your room?" he asked.
"Oh, Fang. It's just because you can't stand to see me all by myself cleaning and painting an entire room, while everyone else is already paired up," I said, semi-sarcastically.
"That must be it," he said, and switched the broom his was holding to his other hand.
"We're probably going to get the most work done anyway. Nudge and Angel won't do a great job dusting and cleaning and stuff, and leaving Iggy to check the electricity was probably not the smartest move," I said.
Fang didn't respond. He just started sweeping, making long strokes across the floor. I watched him for a moment, before unknotting the handles on the plastic bag.
"So, what's all this about?" Fang asked a second later.
I sighed understanding what he meant. "I just thought it would be a good idea to have a meeting place," I said defensively. "I don't see why it's such a big deal."
"Why now?" he asked, his back facing me.
"Because I didn't know what to do at the time," I said, starting to get aggravated.
"It was pretty obvious."
I stood up straighter and stared at his back. Fang didn't notice. I sighed again, and picked up a dirty rag and a bottle of Windex.
I was in the middle of cleaning the third and last window, when I noticed Fang was looking at me. He was giving me a look that I knew almost too well, and I narrowed my eyes.
"What?" I asked skeptically.
"Almost done? We can start painting."
"Yeah," I said, going back to the window. He stepped closer to me.
"I got all the cobwebs," he said.
"Really?"
He took a step closer. "Yeah, look."
I turned my head, and was greeted by a daddy-long-leg that was dangling from Fang's hand.
Instinctivly, I jumped back, dropping the towel to the floor, and gasped queitly, while Fang smiled.
"That wasn't funny," I said, and he shrugged.
"You never were one for spiders," he said, but I shook my head.
"That's not true. I didn't mind them. It was Gazzy who also got scared."
Fang smiled again. "Well, don't remind him of that. He thinks he's all tough now," and I smiled in return.
Fang opened up the window next to me, and dropped the spider to the ground. Leaving the window open to catch the breeze, he motioned to the bag on the floor that was holding the paint cans and brushes. "Shall we?" he asked.
I nodded and knelt down next to him while he pried the lid off. A liquidy yellow color dripped onto the wood floor as he held the top away from the can.
"Nice color," he commented.
"Hey, don't look at me. I told Nudge I wasn't sleeping in a pink room, and this was her second choice," I said, waving my hands.
"And so you compromised on..." Fang brought the lid closer, reading the name, "Lemon Tart?"
I shrugged.
He looked at me for a moment before putting the lid on the floor and digging out the brushes. "You know what this reminds me of?" he asked.
"What?"
Not looking at me, he answered, "When we moved into our house in Colorado."
"You mean the interior decorating?" I said, not understanding. They were completely different circumstances.
Fang shook his head. "More than that. When we moved into to the house in the mountains, it was like we were starting over. And we're doing the same here."
"Starting over?" I asked. "How so?"
He emptied his hands and looked me in the eye. "Once we left the School, it was like we had a different life. Now that we're not always running anymore, it's like we've started over again."
I nodded. "It's like our lives are split into sections."
"Yeah," Fang said. He paused before continuing. "It's like we're safe again."
I looked at him, turning my head slowly. "What do you mean?"
"The first time we moved in the Colorado house, we were finally safe. It's almost the same."
I paused for a moment. "You feel safe here?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said. He up at me and smiled slowly. "I do."
I smiled back and picked up a brush. I watched Fang as he slowly poured the paint into the plastic container. Some of it splattered as he dumped it too quickly, and the paint landed on my leg.
"Oh, thanks," I said sarcastically, and he looked down and smiled. Then he stuck his forefinger into the paint, and traced a line of yellow painted across my thigh.
"Oops," said Fang.
I narrowed my eyes and stuck my fingers into the paint before trailing it across his jeans, leaving parallel yellow stripes. "Oh, now you look like a bumble bee," I commented, and he glared at me.
"That's nice," he said, before dunking his hand in the can and then slapping the back of my shoulder, leaving a hand print.
My mouth opened it a slight 'O' as I turned my head and tugged on my shirt, trying to see the yellow paint. One glance at Fang's smug expression, and I got my game face on.
"Oh, you asked for it," I said, leaning closer to the paint can, just as he did.
I didn't know what I was thinking, attacking Fang like this. I knew him well enough to know how fierce he gets in a challenge, and boy, was he determined. I had stuck with my hands, grabbing random clothing material on him and leaving him pretty patches of yellow paint that contrasted amazingly against his black clothes. Fang was smarter and used a paintbrush as well as his hands, literally rolling the brush across my outstretched arms reaching for him.
With my hand dripping paint, I leaned closer to him, and connected my palm with his cheek, before sliding my hand down, leaving a trail of yellow. Fang's eyes widened in mock anger, and I smiled smugly. I turned my hand around and stroked his other cheek slowly with the back of my hand, laughing at his expression. Quickly, I ran that same hand through his hair, pulling the ends upward, so it looked like a mohawk.
Fang grabbed my wrist and pinned it to the floor. I protested semi-loudly, but he arranged himself so he blocked the paint can. Still holding onto my wrist, Fang leaned forward but I couldn't see what I was doing. I tried to lean around him, but he held me in place by jerking his elbow into my side, causing me to fall on the floor.
Fang turned to look down on me, a mischievious look on his face. Within a moment, he had leaned closer to me, and grabbed my face his his hand.
"Fang," I said, but it came out jumbled, as moved his paint-clad hand across my face and down my neck. I grabbed his arm with my free hand, and held it for a moment.
"Fang," I repeated.
"Max," he said calmly, staring straight into my eyes.
"Look what you've done," I scoffed sarcastically. "How did we end up like this?"
Fang looked down at me, because he was sort of on top of me, but not really. One hand was still holding my wrist to the floor, and my hand was holding his in the air, but Fang was still situated in front of me, leaning over me slighltly. "I'm not really sure," he said slowly, contemplating our current situation. He showed no signs of moving.
"Nice hair," I commented, and he smirked.
"You know, yellow suits you pretty well," he said.
"Oh really? Maybe I should wear it more often," I retailiated.
"You should," Fang said, his voice suddenly serious. I don't know who moved first, but our arms were moving down, until mine reached the floor. I was leaning back on my elbows, and Fang had one hand at each of my sides and was leaning down on a knee. Neither of us said anything, but Fang had a weird expression on his face, one I had seen before, but couldn't place where.
"Max," he said softly, before leaning in closer. My heart jumped, as his eyelids grew heavy. There was a slight pause, and I closed my eyes slowly, and felt his breath brush against my face.
I heard something sizzle and then a quiet burst, and my eyes flew back open. Fang was extremely close, and our eyes met with the same expression.
"Iggy," I whispered, and Fang sighed, before letting go of my wrists and leaning back off of me.
"What was that?" I called out, sitting up.
"Nothing!" Gazzy yelled convincingly.
Fang and I exchanged a look. "Just like old times, huh?" I asked, smiliing.
He shook his head, a slight smile on his face. "Yeah."
We stared at each other for a moment, before I burst out laughing.
"What?" he asked.
"Your hair," I said, pointing at him.
He grimanced. "Well, whose fault was that?"
I laughed again and started to stand up. "Well, we better check to make sure the two of them didn't burn the place down. Already."
Fang stood up as he shook his head again. "I don't know what you're worried about," he said. "Nothing has changed."
But that was where he was wrong. Everything had changed. But instead of telling him that, I just nodded, and let him follow me out of the room.
But in some regards, I guess things were meant to change.
THE END.
Alright, here is a list of my many confessions.
First, when I got this idea, it didn't really start off as this story. Like many things in my life, I tended to get caught up in the idea and voila! This specific story was born.
So I guess this could classify as a prequel to my original idea. Which means that I will be writing a sequel to this (which is what I originally wanted to write in the first place.)
So my plan is to get a majority of the sequel written over the summer. I already have it outlined and some of the first chapter written, and I think the updating will go a lot faster because I enjoy the idea more than I enjoy this story.
One last thing. PLEASE REVIEW. I want your opinions on the story overall and such. Even if it's like, "I hate you and you update soooooooo slowly," (because you know it's true). But anyway. Please review AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!