A/N- I got dozens of comments about eyebrow waxing, with the same consensus: it hurts like mad.

Thanks for the reviews!

Someone was screaming bloody murder into my ear.

"Wake up!" the voice said. "Up and at 'em!"

No, not a scream. More of an extremely high-pitched shriek directed to my general direction.

Bonnie.

What a perfect way to wake up.

"And it's your birthday today as well, I've heard!"

Hmmm. I needed to pay more attention to these things. In the back of my mind, I remembered Ella buying those concert tickets for my birthday a few days ago, but all in all, I had forgotten about what today was.

"Really?" I mumbled, somewhat interested. I rolled over and sat up tiredly. Our "fashion makeover" yesterday left me exhausted.

"Of course! So anyways, Lucia wants you downstairs pronto…don't worry about a shower or bath, you can do that later! Put these on-" she handed me a package of neatly-folded clothes, "-and hey, your eyebrows look good!"

I rolled my eyes. People actually paid attention to eyebrows?

Seriously…

Bonnie smiled again (as if she ever stopped) and left me to a wonderful, perfect, state of peace and quiet. I threw the clothes on and paused. I mentally racked through the dates…September the twenty-eighth. My birthday.

Another year alive.

Fifteen years. Well, approximately, since the Flock had chosen all their birthdays, but close enough.

I straightened my shirt and looked in the mirror. Would I make it to sixteen?

Oh God, I heard Fang say in my head. One more year before the government trusts you behind a car. How deeply terrifying.

I laughed. Where's the rest of the Flock?

Down here. Turns out you're the heaviest sleeper out of all of us.

I guffawed. It's just the bed.

I made my way down the kitchen, remembering the instructions from yesterday. Go down the hallway, third right, continue onwards. Turn left, then right at the painting. Continue to the landing, down the staircase, and you were in the lobby.

I never knew you could need a map inside a house.

"Look who's up!" Lucia crooned as I walked into the high-tech kitchen. "The birthday girl!"

I literally cringed. Apparently I was five again.

It was the same as before: everyone, sans moi, was gathered around the massive Victorian -style table. Lucia and Mom were at the opposite heads, the Flock on the sides, and Stella leaning against the counter with a bowl of cereal. Total, too, had a plate to himself on the floor. I didn't know if Lucia knew about Total's... abilities... or not.

"So I was thinking we could go out today and have fun, but with all of us!" Lucia cocked her head to the side. "You know, in order to celebrate. What do you think?"

I honestly wasn't listening. Her outfit -lime green pants with a contrasting yellow blouse- was captivating me. It was so ugly I would have bet my life that she was color-blind.

"Sorry, what?" I asked, realizing she had posed a question.

"I was thinking that I would treat us all. There's an updated exhibit at the museum on Lourdes Street. I thought we could go see it."

Oh, exactly what a fifteen-year-old wants for a birthday present. A trip to the museum.

I looked around at the Flock's faces (with the majority of them being crammed with food). All of their eyes were just as confused as mine. Catching Fang's eye, he just shrugged.

Can we trust her? Fang asked.

Innocent until proven guilty, I said.

"So what's at this museum that's so…exciting?" Stella asked. When she was just leaning there, it was hard to remember that I hated her for what she did to me in Germany with Ter Borcht.

Right?

Lucia sat back down. "Some friends say it was worth the trip. The Medieval section is supposed to be really neat. And besides, there's not much else around here that would interest you all, it's meant for retired millionaires."

Suddenly the tension in the air shot up exponentially. Mom snapped up straight, and Lucia jerked rigidly as if she had said some terribly taboo thing. What was going on between them? Did it have to do with the "bad blood"?

It was as if my life was turning int oa soap opera before my very eyes. I tried to relieve the horrible tension with a change of topic. "Hey, what ever happened with Jeb? And Ter Borcht?"

Stella shifted positions. "Jeb hasn't called me back yet. He won't answer his cell…or he can't."

I didn't miss the glare Mom gave her.

She saw me looking, and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry for not having any presents Max. There are some at the house…but…you know…"

I went over to her and hugged her, even though she had totally dodged the Stella thing. "It's fine. Just being here is great."

Other than the fact that that was probably the cheesiest line I've ever said in my life, it was true. No matter how creepy Lucia and her Houseful of Merry Servants were, she had supplied us with food and shelter. Other fifteen-year-olds probably wanted ponies…or whatever normal fifteen-year-olds wanted…not good old fashioned food.

Although a pony would be nice.

Haha, right.

After everyone had "washed up", as Lucia called it, we all assembled in the front lobby of the house for the museum trip. Mom and Stella looked particularly out of place.

Fang came up beside me. "Your hair is different," he said, fingering it.

"Yeah. They styled it yesterday at the spa," I said, getting slightly self-conscious.

"It's nice…" he said, trailing off. He twisted so he wasn't facing me. "So I guess your birthday means that I'm technically dating an older woman."

I grinned. "Oh, of course."

I would have liked to have finished the conversation, but Lucia came striding down the stairs at full speed, clapping her hands. "Good! Good! I see you're all here. There's a limo waiting outside for us."

Is it just me, or is Lucia getting weirder by the minute? I said to Fang. We shouldn't be doing this. Something feels wrong.

Fang huffed a bit behind me. I feel it too. But we can't afford to say no…we have to find out as much as possible.

I shoved my hands into my sweater pocket. I was about to say something else when a new voice yelled, "What about me?"

It was Total. He scurried along the floor and landed at Lucia's feet. "Can't I come?" he whined.

I was mortified for a minute…did Lucia know about him?...but she obviously did.

"Shh, you don't want any of the servants overhearing you!" she whispered to the dog, holding him up. "Why do you want to come?"

"I'm so lonely!" He said, quite melodramatically. "This big, massive house…and me…alone. You couldn't do that to a dog like me now, could you?"

Lucia sighed and put him down. She disappeared down one of the many halls, and a moment later came back with a backpack.

"Get in this," she said, unzipping it and bringing it to the floor. "I'll throw some things on top. Security guards there are pretty lax, since there's nothing of spectacular importance there."

I rolled my eyes. "Total, whatever you do, don't talk to anybody."

Total hopped in the bag happily, not replying to my question, and Angel grinned. "Can I carry him?" she asked.

Lucia shook her head. "I'd better, actually. Maybe later, though."

The morning air was crisp when we went outside for the brief amount of time before we got into the limo. Inside, it was incredible. The elongated interior was well-lit, and even had a small TV in a corner and a refrigerator. Next to my ear, I barely heard Mom growl softly.

The driver obviously knew where we were going, as he took off as soon as Gazzy, the last person in, closed the door.

"So how does it feel being fifteen, Max?" Nudge asked, breaking the silence as we drove along. She sat opposite me, in between Fang and Iggy.

I took a moment before answering her question. "Honestly, no different. And for all we know, I'm sixteen."

Nudge sighed. "I'd love to be fifteen. That's when all of the good stuff happens."

"Oh, really?" I said, and my (very stylish) eyebrows rose.

She didn't answer, which surprised me. I narrowed my eyes. Was it just me, or was everybody different lately?

Max didn't realize how difficult the limo ride was for Fang. He sat there, with the encounter with Iggy still running through his mind…

"Fang…how do you know if you're in love?"

That sentence had really stricken him. They were teenagers. Hell, Max was the oldest at fifteen now.

And teenagers didn't fall in "true" love.

He sat there, watching Max talk with Nudge. He loved the way she moved her hands as she talked; the way she blinked rapidly when she was confused; the way she laughed when she was truly happy.

But was it love?

There was nothing to compare the feeling in his stomach to. And when Iggy had come to him, Fang honestly hadn't known what to say.

"Iggy, what do you mean?"

"It means I'm confused. Very confused. I don't think I'm supposed to feel this way."

As if their being two-percent bird hadn't been enough of an issue, some bloody stupid thing called "hormones" had interfered.

Fang took a breath. He really, really, really loved being with Max, but he also just loved being himself. At fourteen you didn't make any long-term commitments.

Throughout the course of the ride, Fang wrestled with his thoughts, and didn't come to any conclusions.

And he knew the time was coming, when he would have to tell her…

We drove for about ten minutes, with small talk filling the awkward pauses. Nudge's question was still bothering me. Did fifteen make me any different? Hardly. In a few months, Fang would be fifteen as well, followed by Iggy. That is, if they lived that long.

I plan on making fifteen, thank you very much, Fang said. I met his eyes, which were filled with determination.

Naturally, I said.

We eventually came to a stop. "Here we are!" Lucia said, looking through the tinted windows. We got out of the limo one-by-one, and we ended up in front of the museum.

The style was definitely Greek-based, as it was all white, and pillars supported the overhang that was overtop of a wrap-around porch. Tall, thin trees lined a pathway up to the main doors. It was rather medium-sized, and didn't strike me as anything of interest, as the surrounding buildings were of the same style. It was exactly the place I would expect to see celebrities donating to.

"Woah," Gazzy said, staring at the building before us. "Look at the prices."

I followed his gaze to a sign posted. It read that anyone over the age of two cost fifteen freakin' dollars to get in.

"Why's it so much?" Angel asked to no one in particular.

"It's the only way they make money," Ella answered. "But that's a little much. Seriously. There are ten of us…that's one hundred and fifty dollars!"

"Welcome to Nevada," Lucia said, taking off her sunglasses. "Land of Overcharging. But I'll pay, naturally. And my friends said that the exhibit was amazing."

Fang stood next to me. Are you feeling as bad about this as I am?

I shivered despite the heat of mid-morning sun. Yes, I am. I would boot it out of here, but we might be needed to fight.

We went inside the building. Inside, it was your typical museum lobby: large, impressive roof with a skylight; walls lined with old artifacts no one really cared about. Several people milled about, glancing at the odd object. A desk with two secretaries was at the far corner.

The two secretaries were very clearly not being paid enough. After saying we needed ten tickets, they plopped them down quickly. "The right hall leads to the Cavemen exhibit. From there, follow the signs. They'll lead you around the building in chronological order. You got that?"

Lucia nodded. "Thanks."

We headed over to the hallway on our right. There were two guards standing there, next to a metal-detector and a table. To them we must have looked suspicious: six kids with weird windbreakers, three adults (one with a severe color-matching disorder) and one average girl.

"Please place any metal objects on the table and pass through the gate," one of them said.

We all did, and nothing caught. "Please remove the jackets," the other guard said.

Frenzied looks were rapidly exchanged. Was this Lucia's plan? To expose all of us here?

"Here," Fang said. He opened his windbreaker and spread it open, so that it was clear he wasn't hiding anything, but his wings were covered. Everyone else did the same, secretly praising Fang's brilliance.

So caught up in the windbreakers, they didn't even bother to check Lucia's backpack with Total. Score one for stupid guards!

"You're clear," the guard said, and we went through the archway to the Cavemen exhibit.

The exhibit itself was interesting, but remarkably boring. It was mainly a bunch of tools and posters describing life back then. Everything was behind a glass pane, and glancing up, I saw that they were hooked up to various alarm systems. Video cameras watched our every move as well.

Poor Iggy was just standing there, with Nudge and Ella describing everything to him

After that exhibit came the Egyptian one. It was much more interesting, with more artifacts and information. But it was obvious we were rushing it: we all wanted to get to the Medieval exhibit, no matter how nerdy it sounded.

"Here it is," Lucia said, turning down a conjoining hallway. "Let's see what the hype is about. Apparently it was here before, but it's the first remodeling that all of the exhibits will undergo eventually."

Turning the corner, I couldn't help but be really surprised. It was sick.

The walls, instead of being painted one solid color, were murals depicting the Medieval period. Instead of everything being behind panes of glass of the walls, now things were in the middle of the room.

In the back of the room were several hooks with renaissance clothes hanging off of them: you could play dress up. The ceiling was painted black with sparkles, as if it was a night sky. As well, it was twice as big as the other exhibits. There was a twisting iron staircase leading to an upper level.

There were a few Medieval video games lining the walls periodically. In each one you learned something different about the period.

"Cool," Ella said, eyeing a sword that was on the wall. She read the piece of paper tacked beside it. "According to this, whoever cuts their thumb on the blade of this sword means that they have to name it."

Total stuck his head out of Lucia's backpack and looked around. "Did they have dogs back then?" he asked.

I leaned my head towards a statue of a dog. "According to this thing they were quite honored as loyal pets for knights."

Total beamed, or beamed as well as he could for being a dog. "Naturally."

We wandered around, discovering more and more things. A series of books lined the upstairs walls, each one on a different topic. There were plush leather chairs as well: you could sit and read for as long as you wanted, apparently. I was leaning over the upastairs railing, watching everyone on the lower levels look through the mass amount of information compiled here.

There were several other people in the exhibit, I noticed. If I had been on top of my game, if I had been the old Max, I would have seen what was wrong. But being perfectly content in my little world, I didn't see what was wrong until too late.

Way, way too late.

A/N- I love how I don't even start writing these chapters until after midnight.

Pressing the purply-grey-blue button in the lower left-hand corner would be most greatly, greatly appreciated! I honestly can't tell you how much they help.