We're baaaaaaack!
So, couple things to say before I post this chapter, 1, you will get updates this week. Thanks greatly to testing, we have no homework, so nothing really to do afterschool. Well, I mean, other than practice my trumpet for the concert that's NEXT THURSDAY! HOLY CRAP! WHEN DID MAY 20TH GET SO CLOSE?!
Also, I get to go Sleep with the Sharks next Tuesday-Wednesday! -dances- Fun fun fun. :)
And 2, you know that competition I had with Vera to see who could update the most in one day? Well, that ended up as a tie, but someone pointed out that I did not update RDG, which I DID know, but I still got done with them all because I had RDG written, but it was not my fault that I couldn't update. I sent it off to my beta, that was unable to beta-read that night. And, I've had this for a little bit and just got around to posting it. Heh...
So, let's get to this, shall we?
Enjoy!
Iggy: And I'm just going to say this so that you all don't think I've been bound and gagged in a closet somewhere.
My brother that died twice is back, as is Superboy Wonder, Omega. Confused? So am I. I know that I never really killed Omega, but I thought that maybe he would've been destroyed since he failed to defeat me. I guess that was wrong, but who knows? They brought Ari back, I know he was dead. I helped dig the hole to bury him. Fang and I had talked about it, and thought that maybe it wasn't the real Ari, that maybe it was just a...clone. Like the Ari that had been in Utah. Maybe this one, too, was just made to freak me out. But Iggy insisted that he was the real deal, and even though I love Iggy and want to believe him, how does a blind kid give proof that this was the real Ari?
"Max? You alright?"
I snapped out of my daze and looked at Fang's concerned face, nodding.
"Yeah, just thinking..." I muttered. Fang's eyes flashed down to the plate of food in front of me that had barely been touched, then back up to my face.
"You sure? You've barely touched your food, and this is your favourite." I shrugged and began picking at my food absentmindedly.
"I guess a chicken fajita just loses it's taste when it's from a restaurant and not made by Mom." I said. Mom, who was sitting a couple seats down from Fang, smiled up and me, laughing lightly. I felt Fang's foot hook with mine under the table. I shot him a small smile before looking down the length of the table at the rest of my flock.
We were at T.G.I Friday's, they had to put two tables together to fit all eight of us. I looked around the rest of the restaurant, watching all the families, all of them with big smiling faces, bubbly laughs, all around happiness. There was one family in particular that caught my eye.
A family of five sitting in a booth not far from us. On one side of the booth sat two adults, an older man that looked to be in his 50s or 60s, I assumed he may be the kids' grandfather, and a younger woman who looked to be in her 30s. Three kids sat on the opposite side of the booth, a young child, she couldn't have been more than four years old, was sitting between two older children, both looked around my age, fifteen, one a girl with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, stealing a fry from the plate of who I guessed to be her brother. He had pale brown hair and wasn't paying any attention to his sister, because his silvery blue eyes were locked on me.
A shiver coursed through me and Fang sent me a concerned and confused look. I shook my head at him and looked back to the boy. I saw his sister's mouth move, curling into a smile. I tried hard to hear what she was saying.
"Hey, looks like...has his eyes...girl...Kelsey won't...happy now will she?" That was all I could make out, and after she said that the boy snapped his head towards her and hit her on the back of the head, causing a laugh to erupt from her throat. The boy's eyes flashed back to me for a second before he turned back to his family, not looking at me again for the rest of the night.
"So, what're we going to do now?" Nudge asked, bouncing in the seat in front of me. I sat in the very back beside the window. Fang, who was beside me, grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. I took this as permission to lean against him and lay my head on his shoulder, which he seemed to have no problem with.
"I say we go back to the cabin for the night." Ella suggested from the passenger seat, a yawn following her suggestion.
"I second that." Iggy piped up from the other side of Fang. I heard him shift slightly in his seat and looked over to find him resting his head against the window.
"But that's boring!" Gazzy exclaimed. "We should go...go...play mini-golf!"
"Yeah!" Nudge and Angel echoed. I saw Mom roll her eyes and chuckle in the rear-view mirror, her face illuminated by the dashboard lights.
"Kids, it's almost eleven at night, we should head back to the cabin." Mom said in her sweet yet stern motherly voice.
"Yeah..." Fang, Ig, Ella and I echoed tiredly. The younger kids were still hyped up from their deserts back at the restaurant. The only thing I could think of was that boy I saw. I heard his mom say his name later in the night, "Oliver", if I heard correctly. I couldn't help but think I'd seen him somewhere before, he looked so familiar, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I shifted and laid against Fang, staring out the window at the dark sky and darker outlines of trees we passed going down the road toward our cabin.
After Fang and I told the rest of the flock about the whole Omega/Ari thing Mom suggested a vacation that she had actually been planning for a later time. We were staying in a cabin up in the Great Smokies, sounds like fun, right? Well, it did have a great view, upstairs it had three rooms, a family room, a kitchenette and a very nice TV; downstairs there was another room, a pool table, and a laundry room. And outside we had a hot tub, but I think that was mostly for Mom's benefit.
Since there were only four rooms, we had to share. The youngest kids got the room downstairs. To figure out who shared rooms Mom pulled names out of a hat, and I'm sure she was hoping that Ella and I would end up sharing a room. Unfortunately for her, when she pulled out names, Fang and I ended up sharing a room, leaving the last one to Ella and Iggy. Mom, of course, got her own room.
I felt Fang's lips press against my ear and a small smile formed on my lips.
"What are you thinking about?" He whispered, his breath running down my throat and sending a shiver down my spine. I shrugged, closing my eyes. He kissed my ear again, this time nipping at it slightly. I moved my head away from him.
"Don't, Fang..." I murmured warningly. He chuckled and kissed my ear a third time.
"What's on your mind?" He muttered. "You can talk to me, you know." I nodded.
"I know, but, I don't really have anything on my mind." I said.
"Max has a mind?" Iggy asked, turning to us. I rolled my eyes and reached over to smack his leg.
I buried myself under the blankets of the very comfortable bed I shared with Fang. I didn't bother changing clothes, I just threw my shoes off at the door and went straight to bed. I turned on my side and closed my eyes, listening to the light ruffle of clothes as Fang got himself ready for bed. I'm sure Mom wouldn't be a fan of Fang's sleeping apparel, especially not since we share a bed, but I guess what she doesn't know won't hurt her.
Fang slid into bed quietly, find my waist under the blankets and wrapping an arm around me, pulling me close to his bare chest. I smiled and snuggled up against him before being enveloped in darkness.
Ella's POV
I sat down on the bed and looked up at Iggy as he pulled his shirt over his head.
"How come you haven't told the others yet?" I asked quietly, pulling the blankets over my legs. He shrugged as he slid into the bed beside me, leaning back against the headboard. I rolled my eyes at him, and unnecessarily told him I was doing so until I realized I didn't need to anymore.
"I just couldn't find the right time." He sighed.
"Don't you think they're going to figure it out sooner or later? I mean, you're so sure about the Omega/Ari thing, but, how can a blind kid know for sure that those two were Ari and Omega without seeing them?" I questioned. "And...Let me just be the one to say, you're really bad at acting blind. It's easy to tell that you're focusing on stuff, and your eyes are clouded over like they used to be."
Iggy shrugged again. "I guess they can put two and two together then. Just, don't tell them. That's why I told you, because I needed to tell someone, and I trusted you to not tell the others."
"Why don't you want them to know? What's wrong with them knowing that you can finally see?!"
His hand clapped over my mouth as he shushed me. "I want to know if this is the real-deal or not before I tell them. For all I know, this could end any day now, this might not be permanent."
I grabbed his hand and pulled it from my mouth. "How long have you been able to see?"
"Not long...Pretty much since we got back from your aunt's over Christmas." His eyes fell, moving to the blankets he had clenched in his hand. I moved my hand over his, stroking the back of it with my thumb. I felt him let go of the blankets and intertwined his fingers with mine.
"I won't tell them," I whispered. "I promise I won't...if you promise me something in return." His eyes locked on mine; beautiful, bright blue meeting dull, boring brown.
"What?"
"If you can still see in a week, you tell them. Alright?"
He pursed his lips, letting his eyes move down to stare at our hands. His whispered response came a few minutes later. "Alright."
I smiled gently and leaned over, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. He turned his head, catching my lips with his own. I don't blame Carmen, my cousin, for liking Iggy. I mean, he's absolutely wonderful, caring, and an amazing kisser. His hands slid across my back, wrapping around my waist as my own hands tangled in his soft, strawberry blonde hair. Our kisses became more heated and needy, Iggy's arms tightened around my abdomen, pulling me closer to him. I ran my hands through his hair, catching tiny tangles, the only thing on my mind being, 'Oh, God, Iggy's amazing...Holy friggin' frigger nuggets, we've got to do this more often...Did he just touch my butt? Oh, heck, I don't care...Holy crap, his muscles are huge...Where did he learn to be such a good kisser?!'
After our hot-and-heavy make out session, well, to be honest, I don't remember anything after that except the wonderful bliss of sleep and dreams that night, laying happily snuggled in Iggy's arms.
Max's POV
"Max! Time to get up! We've got a busy, busy day ahead of us!"
I opened my eyes groggily, cursing under my breath at my mom. My eye caught the clock on the bedside table. It was seven in the morning, usually the only person up at this time of day was Fang and Mom, maybe Iggy on occasions. I looked over and, sure enough, Fang was already up. He hardly ever slept past eight. Talk about an early bird.
Mom poked her head into my room, smiling brightly at me.
"C'mon, Max, up an' at 'em. You know what they say, the early bird gets the worm." She said in a sing-song voice.
"Yeah, but the second mouse gets the cheese." I replied, my voice scratchy from having just woken up. "I'd rather not be the one to get my neck snapped by the trap."
Mom chuckled airily and walked out, moving with a jaunty step. Someone was in a very good mood today.
I climbed out of bed and sauntered over to the dresser. I caught a glance of myself in the mirror. My hair was a horrid rat's nest, my lip curled up in disgust just looking at it.
"Good God, Max, what is all that stuff on your head. It sure can't be hair." I muttered to myself as I grabbed for a hair brush. This was going to be a fun challenge.
Which will give in first? I questioned in my head. The handle of this brush, or these knots? I guess we'll see, eh? Lord, I've got to stop talking to myself. I'm just giving the flock even more reason to send me to the loonie hut.
After I finally combed through what most people call their hair, I finished getting ready for the day by brushing my teeth (No, I did not use a bottle of Jack. I am not like Ke$ha.) and changing my clothes. It was still mid-February so the weather was pretty chilly, especially where we were at.
"Good morning, beautiful." Fang enveloped me in his arms, kissing my cheek. Even though that's been his greeting to me every morning since, well, a while now, but I still felt a blush spread across my cheeks. I heard Mom's gentle laugh and turned to see her by the fridge, holding a carton of eggs. Iggy stood by the stove, mixing something in a pan over the burner. Mom handed the eggs off to Iggy and turned back to grab something from the cupboard, but stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes growing wide. I was about to ask what it was, but before I had a chance to open my mouth I heard a sound that made my stomach drop. Glass shattered behind me and I spun around quickly, landing in a fighting stance.
Ari. More like robot Ari. There was no way this could be the real Ari.
"Good morning, Sis. How weird is it that we both picked the Great Smokies for our vacation? It's almost as if fate wanted us to run into each other." He drawled. "But either way, it's great to see you again."
I snarled and threw myself at him, landing a solid kick right in his chest, but he only stumbled. In the blink of an eye I felt a fist come in contact with my head and fell to the ground. I didn't move, just laid there curled in a ball clutching my head. I heard heavy footfalls, grunting and cries around me, but I didn't move. I couldn't move. I tried to will myself up off the floor, but my body refused to do what my brain commanded it to do. It just laid there holding my head.
I don't know how long I laid there like that, but after some time I figured Ari had either been fought out or retreated because the grunts and footfalls stopped. I was aware of someone breathing heavily and moving towards me. The light steps informed me it was Fang. My shoulder tingled when his hand touched me. His voice was soft in my ear.
"Max? Are you okay?"
I commanded my mouth to move, to at least mutter out a small no, but it wouldn't budge.
"Max?"
No, Fang. I'm not! I can't make myself move at all.
"Max? What's wrong?" His voice was overcome with worry, he shook me lightly.
I don't know! I can't move!
"Maximum Ride, talk to me."
I can't! I'm trying, Fang. I'm trying. WTH?! Why can't I talk?
"She can't move, Fang. Or talk. She can't make herself do anything, and neither can I." Angel's sweet, innocent voice drifted into my ears. "I'm trying to make her get up, but I can't control her either."
"What do you mean she can't control herself?"
"No. She has no self-control at all. She can think, and she's trying to talk, but her mouth won't move. I can hear her thinking now. She says she's trying to talk to you, but she can't."
Thank you, Angel.
"You're welcome, Max."
"You don't think Ari did it, do you? Where'd he hit her?" Iggy asked.
In the side of my head, near the temple.
"Right about here, right?" I felt Angel's tiny finger touch my temple.
Yeah. That hurts. Please stop.
Her finger moved. "Sorry."
"Do you think he hit her too hard?" Fang asked aloud. "Can you lose mobility from getting hit in the temple?"
"I don't know." Iggy muttered. "Maybe...Maybe that's wh--"
Everything went black and I lost all consciousness before I could hear the rest of Iggy's sentence.
And there's that.
Iggy: How'd you like it? She worked her butt of writing it.
Me: I still don't think it's the best I could've done...but...-shrug-
Iggy: And there's a little 'contest'(for lack of being able to think of what else to call it)for you all to try.
Me: Si. It's basically just 2 questions, one is an opinion.
1, I made a cameo somewhere in this. Can you find it?
2, Who do you think that creepy kid was? Hint: It WAS someone from MR, and I described him exactly as he was described in the book...Good luck. :)
Iggy: So...now what?
Me: THIS!
R&R?