Disclaimer: James Patterson owns Maximum Ride. I own this plot.

Chapter 26

Date: Saturday February 23

Location: Max's apartment

"You seem so much happier now," Fang whispered in my ear. "Nudge seems to have changed something."

"She was my biggest regret," I admitted, leaning my head on his shoulder as we sat on the couch. "Leaving her behind was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But now she's here, she's safe, and she's happy. So of course I'm happy."

"You had to do what you had to do, Max," he said. "I may not know everything about your past but I know you did what was necessary. You can't beat yourself up for that." My heartbeat sped up ever so slightly. It was when he said things like this that I began to wonder if he was buying any of my lies at all.

"Are you telling me you wouldn't have hated yourself if you left Ella behind?" I demanded, already knowing the answer.

"Of course I would have," he said.

"Then you already understand. I left her without anyone to take care of her."

"You've been taking care of her for years, right?" he asked.

I nodded. "Since she was twelve."

"Then you've taught her to be a survivor. If she's taken any lessons from watching you then she can take care of herself. You may have left her, but you'd already taught her how to survive on her own. And look at her now, she made her way back to you safely. That proves you didn't just abandon her."

"How is it you always manage to make me feel better?" I asked, nuzzling closer to him.

"Because I know you. I know how your mind works and I know what you need to hear to feel better."

"You do a damn good job at it, too," I said.

He chuckled, his chest vibrating with the sound. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation. "I'm just glad to see you happy."

"You said that the other day, right before Nudge found me, that I was happy," I pointed out.

"And you were," he said. "The happiest I'd seen you up until then. But now? Now your eyes light up every time you see Nudge. It may sound corny but it's true. I didn't realize there was something missing until I saw that for the first time."

I shifted so that I was straddling him, my face inches from his. "You're right," I said, "that was incredibly corny." I smiled. "But thank you for saying it."

"I'd do anything for you," he said, "even sound like a guy from a cheesy chick flick."

I wrinkled my nose. "I've never liked those," I said. "I prefer action movies." I did my best to give him a somewhat flirtatious smile. Ella had taken Nudge shopping again and Iggy, Angel, and Gazzy were at home today leaving Fang and I alone for the first time in days. And he was right; I was in an extremely good mood.

He made that noise in the back of his throat, the one that sounded like a growl, and I was powerless against it.

I crushed my lips against his as I tangled my fingers in his hair, holding his face securely against my own. His hands came up, one resting on my lower back, the other on the back of my neck. I moaned as I felt his tongue trace my lips, asking for entrance. I complied and we fought for dominance. Fang and I are both extremely competitive people and neither one of us was backing down. I moved my hand from his hair to cup the sides of his face as we fought. His hands disappeared from their resting place and I paid no attention to where they were again until I felt his fingertips ghosted across the bare skin of my abdomen.

I gasped at the tingling shock-waves his touch induced, losing the battle for dominance in the process. I dropped my hands from his face and to the hem of his shirt, tugging on it, deciding that if he was going to touch my bare skin I'd be damned if I didn't get to return the favor. I'd never acted like this before. I'd never had anyone to act like this with. And I was glad because doing it with anyone other than Fang would have been wrong.

His hands disappeared from my body for a moment as he helped me lift the shirt over his head. He had to break the kiss to do so and I made a noise of protest. But then he was back, bare chested and absolutely gorgeous as his hands returned to their prior position and his lips attached themselves to my neck.

"You know," I gasped, "that last hickey just went away."

"Time for another one," he murmured against my neck. Then his hands were pushing my shirt up and over my head. I found myself helping him.

"Beautiful," he whispered as he kissed my lips again, running his hands over my stomach and up my sides, ghosting over the curves of my breasts. I shivered against him, gripping his bare shoulders so tightly I was sure my nails were digging in. He didn't protest.

His hands returned to my stomach, tracing invisible patters as he kissed down my jaw line and back to my neck. I leaned my head back so he had better access.

His fingertips brushed over my scar.

We both froze. Me trying to calm myself down and him waiting to see how I would react.

I said nothing and he slowly traced his fingers over the raised skin, following the ugly mark from my stomach over my side and towards my back.

"You can tell me about it, you know," he whispered, his eyes flickering from my scar to my eyes.

"I already told you," I panted, trying desperately to catch my breath.

"I know," he said, "but you can tell me the truth when you're ready."

I didn't respond. I just closed my eyes and shook my head.

"Whenever you're ready," he repeated before kissing me once again. I kissed back harshly, trying to move past his words, trying to make him forget. I didn't want to bring it up. The permanent reminder was bad enough for me; I didn't want to see the look of sympathy that would show in his eyes whenever he looked at me if I told him the truth.

His hands moved past my scar and up my sides once again. His lips moved away from mine and continued their way down my neck once again. I shivered as they trailed lower. He placed light kisses on my collar bone and then went lower still. My body felt like it was overheating. My skin was too hot, my body thrumming with energy. His lips ghosted over the tops of my breasts. I moaned.

And the door flew open.

"Oh my god!" Nudge screamed, slapping her hand over her eyes. "Ella protect your virgin eyes!" she cried, blocking her from entering my apartment and finding me and her brother in a compromising position.

"Get out of my apartment!" I screamed, vaulting off of Fangs lap and grabbing at my shirt.

"I live here too!" she complained.

"Then go to your room!" I begged.

"It's your room you go there. Please! Just not on the couch. I sleep there," she groaned.

"Why?" I whined. "Why do we always get interrupted before things get good?" I demanded an explanation of Fang.

He chuckled as he pulled his shirt over his head, tragically covering his wonderful body. "I wouldn't say things didn't get good," he responded.

"Ugh I don't need to hear this," Nudge moaned.

"Hear what?" Ella's voice drifted from the hallway. "What's happening?"

"Your brother and our best friend are getting too friendly!"

"Chill Nudge!" I exclaimed. "Remember what I said about small towns and news traveling fast? God damn, we didn't even do anything."

Unfortunately, I thought. Because I was kind of looking forward to it.

Ella pushed past Nudge and came into the apartment. She glared at the two of us. "While I love you both and I'm happy that you guys are all in love with each other I do not want to walk in on you guys getting busy so please, put a sock on the door or something!"

"You'd think the door would be enough to deter some people," I muttered.

"Maybe we should try locking it next time," Fang whispered loudly.

I groaned. "Can you please leave now?" I begged. "I need a cold shower."

Fang laughed before leaning down to kiss me quickly.

"I think I need a cold shower too," he whispered in my ear. "But I'd really like to pick up where we left off some time."

I shivered.

"Oh I so don't need to know what he just said," Nudge whimpered before dropping her shopping bags. "I call bathroom first. I need to wash my eyes out with soap. Thanks for taking me shopping, Ella," she called as she disappeared down the hall.

"Drama queen," I muttered.

….

"So, have you and Fang done it yet?" Nudge asked as we sat watching a movie later that night.

"What?" I knocked over the popcorn as my body jerked in surprise, turning to stare at her, eyes wide.

"Have you and Fang had sex?" she asked, pronouncing each word clearly.

"I-I-I, we haven't even been dating that long!" I stuttered.

"Well you guys looked pretty close tonight," she pointed out.

I shook my head, cheeks flaming. "No," I said, "we haven't."

"But you want to," she pointed out.

I huffed and slouched back against the couch cushions. "I haven't even told him that I love him."

"But you do, don't you?"

"I…yeah. I do," I admitted.

"Then why don't you tell him?" she asked.

"Because we haven't been dating long," I repeated.

"So? Sometimes you just know, you know? You know that they're the right person for you."

"You mean like you know Iggy's good for you?" I asked with a smirk.

It was her turn to look flustered. "I..but…no, I mean…..really? That obvious?"

I laughed. "Only because I know you so well. Besides, he likes you too," I said confidently.

"Really?" Her eyes lit up.

"Yeah."

"Oh thank god because I thought I was the only—hey! That's not what we were talking about," she complained, realizing I sidetracked her. "You should tell him," she said.

"But….but what if he doesn't say it back?" I asked. "What if I tell him how I feel and he doesn't feel the same way?"

"Trust me, he does. Boy's falling hard for you. Besides, you heard Ella, even she can tell that you two are so madly in love. Besides, what does it matter if you don't tell him? It's still how you feel. Saying it isn't going to change it."

"Nudge," I sighed, "sometimes I wonder how you got so smart."

"I learned everything I know from you."

…..

Date: Friday March 1st

"Are you okay Max?" Nudge asked as we walked home from work a few days after the 'caught on couch' debacle. Nudge had gone for her interview last week and Dan had taken to her immediately. She'd done all of her training last week and had spent this past week flying solo. She had done a great job of it too, only messing up a few orders and nothing too drastic. The customers loved her.

"I don't know," I admitted, once again pausing in the middle of the sidewalk to look over my shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I feel…I feel like someone is watching us," I admitted as goose bumps broke out over my arms. "I've felt that way for a while."

"How long is a while?" she asked, concern lacing her words.

"I don't know for sure…since you got here I guess."

"Well that explains it!" she said, triumphant smile in place.

"What?" I asked.

"You're breaking the rules, Max," she said in a 'duh' tone as she dragged me on towards our apartment. "It's natural to feel like you're about to get caught at any moment. It's called guilt."

"But I…I don't know, maybe," I agreed dubiously.

"Just relax," she said. "Everything is fine."

I let her lead me home with no more talk of the subject. How could I explain to her that didn't feel like guilt haunting me but that it felt dangerous? Nudge was never one to rely on a hunch but me? I've always relied on my instincts.

Well you wanted Fax...I'm evil aren't I? Max and Fang can't get a break when I'm around. They always get caught. :/ But they just aren't at that point in their relationship...yet. I guess now would be a good time to bring up a question from a previous chapters review.

Question: Will there be a lemon? Answer: No. This is not a rated M story. And I'm not about to write about somebody's sex life. However...at the risk of spoiling the story (and I promise you this doesn't really do that) Max and Fang will take that step in their relationship. I feel like its an important topic to mention since every teenager struggles with the topic. I promise it will be clearly marked and if you feel uncomfortable with that then you do not have to read the chapter/the rest of this story. And the situation in that chapter will not get any more detailed than this chapter. I promise. I don't usually agree with teenagers thinking they know everything and taking that step in a relationship so quickly (and I am one!) but...we all know Max and Fang are meant to be. AND they're a bit mature for their age in this story.

Review and let me know what you thought of the chapter. Do any of you wish you had a shirtless Fang on your sofa? I know I do...

Peace!