Okay this time I'm gonna keep it short! I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter and were patient with my Sydney trip meaning I couldn't update so here's your next chapter, I hope you like it because I do. And, just to let you know, I used ANOTHER line section from the series in here. I keep doing it because it makes it seem more... Maximum Ridey, if you get what I mean.
Okay, enjoy.
A mass of bodies surrounded us and Fang grabbed my hand and tugged me through, keeping a tight hold on me so that we wouldn't get separated. We couldn't see Adrian around here so Fang pulled me towards the stairs.
"Why would she be up here?" I asked as we went up, moving around couples making out on the stairs. That was kind of disturbing. Couldn't they keep their tongues out of each other's mouths for a night?
"Dunno but there are less people up here," Fang replied. We reached the landing and looked around. I couldn't see Adrian so I leant on the railing and then we heard laughter and I recognised Adrian's laugh.
"What?" I asked as Fang went rigid. I knew he was still uptight about their relationship- I was trying not to get my hopes up about the whole Fang getting sick of Adrian thing- but I still didn't understand the freeze motion.
Then I heard another laugh and Adrian laughed again. Fang and I looked at each other and walked towards the room we could hear the laughter from. It was the bathroom and Adrian and Chase were in here. Adrian was sitting on the cabinet and Chase was standing between her legs, holding her close with his tongue stuck down her throat. So not a pleasant sight.
Wide-eyed and shocked I glanced at Fang, afraid of his reaction. He was scary when he was mad. But he looked relatively calm. I could see his tight jaw and flashing eyes though. I hoped he wouldn't start a fist fight. I had a feeling Zac would back him but none of the other seniors would.
Fang just stood there, his eyes dark so I decided to break up the disgusting scene in front of us.
"Hey!" I shouted. Adrian and Chase broke apart and she made a strangled squeaking noise before untangling her limbs from around Chase and jumping down from the basin.
"Fang-"
"Don't start!" I hissed. "You-"
"Max," Fang said softly and I glanced at him sideways. He shook his head at me and I stopped. I should let him deal with this. It was his girlfriend.
"Adrian," Fang sighed. "Why?" He didn't sound too upset, more like he was going through the motions.
"Because you don't pay me enough attention!" Adrian snapped. "Maybe if-"
"Maybe I would have if you were nicer to my friends and made an attempt to get along with them!" Fang snapped before she could say anything else.
"Fine, we're through!" Adrian snarled.
Fang shrugged. "Good, I was going to do it tonight anyway."
"Do what?" Chase and I asked together and I threw him a dark look.
"Break up with her," Fang told me. "This just saves me the trouble. Come on Max, I'm thirsty."
"Hey!" Adrian shouted, stopping us from walking out. Fang looked at her expectantly. "That's it?" she asked.
"Uh yeah," Fang replied. I frowned. This was so not like him.
"You're not even going to fight me?"
"Like I said, I was planning on breaking up with you." Fang looked her over. "I don't date skanks."
My jaw dropped and so did Chase's but Adrian just took a stumbling step backwards and her eyes filled with tears. Okay I was thinking it. Everybody who was thinking it raise your hands? A lot of you? Yeah I thought so but Fang should not have said that.
"You don't mean that," she whispered.
"I kind of do," Fang replied coolly. What was with him?
"Fang," I murmured but he ignored me.
"This is it," he said. "See you." He turned and left and I took one last look at Adrian- yeah I hated her but I couldn't help but feel bad that he boyfriend had called her a skank- and then I followed Fang, grabbing his arm.
"I know she is one and she deserved it but that was uncalled for from you," I said. "I should have said it." Fang glanced at me and shrugged and I gaped at him as he kept walking.
"Fang!" I complained. "That was so, so horrible. Up until a minute ago she was your girlfriend! You can't say that to her even if it is true!"
"Max, I'm sick of the way she acts," Fang replied.
"That doesn't give you-" I shook my head. "What has happened to you? I feel like I hardly know you."
Fang turned and looked at me, frowning. He seemed to be assessing my upset expression and then he sighed and shrugged.
"I dunno Max," he muttered. I growled and stamped my foot, then realised how childish it was.
"Fine! Don't talk to me until your sort your attitude out, and I mean it Fang!" I snarled and he blinked.
"But, you're staying at my house!"
"So? Sort yourself out before we go home then." I stormed down the stairs and felt Fang staring after me. It was his fault. If he wanted to be an arse than he could be, I wasn't stopping him.
I went into the kitchen and filled a large cup with some of the punch on the counter and drank it all quickly and then I filled another one and left the kitchen drinking as I went. I found somebody from my year to talk to and we chatted and I drank all the punch. It tasted kind of funny.
"Excuse me," I muttered and went to get another cupful, nearly tripping and doing a face plant but I wanted more of the funny tasting drink. Anything to stop me thinking about how messed up the last few weeks have made my life. I sipped the drink and started down the hall towards the living room where I thought Zac might be. I stumbled slightly and leant on the wall. Whoa my head was thumping so badly and my legs felt like they'd been made of jell-o and- Whoa those lights were so pretty.
"Max?"
I looked around at Fang who was frowning at me. I waved to him, accidentally slopping my punch everywhere.
"Hi Fang!" I said, my words came out slightly slurred… hmm, weird.
"Max? Have you been drinking?" Fang demanded coming over to me. He put one arm around me to support me and took my drink and sniffed it.
"I haven't been drinking!" I exclaimed. "Give me that!" I made a swipe for it but Fang kept it out of my reach. "Fang!"
"Max!"
Uh-oh. Zac. I giggled slightly as he came up to us. I waved to him and stumbled slightly and he caught me in his arms.
"Is she drunk?" he asked Fang. Fang frowned.
"I think so," he replied. He took a sip of my punch and I felt really annoyed. I was not drinking! Why would he think I was? I stumbled again so I decided to lean on Zac, it was taking away some of my dizziness but my head was still throbbing.
"Urgh, Max I think this has vodka in it," Fang stated. "Vodka doesn't have a strong taste but this definitely does not take like punch."
"Someone spiked the punch?" Zac asked. Then he frowned. "No, Chase was have done it on purpose. That loser."
"I'll go teach him a lesson," Fang stated thrusting the cup at Zac but Zac didn't take it, he instead grabbed Fang's arm and held him in place. I wanted to go to sleep, I felt so tired.
"Not a good idea, let's just get Max out of here," Zac said. Fang looked torn between wanting to go and smash Chase's face- he now had two reasons- and wanting to help me. I hoped he didn't pick the first one, I felt like I was about to collapse and I wanted to see Fang deck Chase, not just hear about it later.
"Alright," Fang sighed. "Come on." He dropped the drink making sure that the red spread into the nice cream carpet and came over to my other side and supported me around the waist, pulling my arm over his shoulder. Zac did the same on my other side and they helped me out of the house.
"Where to?" Fang asked.
"My car," Zac replied. I don't remember reaching the car. I think I fell unconscious.
--
Fang rested Max's head in his lap as Zac started the car. He pulled away from Chase's party and Fang was glad Iggy hadn't ended up coming. Maybe Fang should have gone trick-or-treating with the others, it would have been better.
"To your place?" Zac asked.
"Sure," Fang replied. "My parents are probably still at Dad's company party so I'll get Max asleep before they come home. What time is it?"
"About ten," Zac said.
"Angel will be over at Iggy's place with the others, that's cool." Fang looked down at Max's face and his heart swelled as he once again noticed how unbelievably beautiful she was.
Zac pulled up outside of Fang's house and carried Max to the front door as Fang unlocked it. Zac took Max down to Fang room, his forehead creasing as he did so. Fang ignored it, Zac would just have to put up with it because Fang wasn't putting Max on a lounge when she was drunk.
"Just put her here," Fang said. "I'll go and find her pyjamas and put them on the bed for her when she wakes up."
"Okay," Zac agreed, taking off Max's wings. Fang found Max's bag and tossed her pyjamas onto the bed near her and then pulled his quilt over her. He and Zac left her and went into the kitchen. Zac was still frowning so Fang sighed.
"If it makes you feel better I'll sleep on the lounge," Fang sighed, gesturing to the living room. Zac was surprised.
"What? No, it's okay," Zac laughed. "I know you and Max have slept in the same bed before it's just that… well, I'm allowed to be a tiny bit jealous aren't I?"
Fang actually laughed. As much as he disliked Zac for going out with Max, he still really liked him as a person. He was funny, smart, honest and he was always nice to people no matter who they were. Zac was a shoe in for Valedictorian this year. It was between him and Fang's friend Sasha Newton, this year's student body president.
"Okay, fair enough," Fang said. "I probably won't sleep anyway. I'll just sit on the window seat, drawing the garden."
"Max mentioned that you were a fantastic drawer along with your musical and acting skills," Zac chuckled. "A very artistic guy, aren't you?"
Fang shrugged modestly.
"You know, she always talks about you." Fang looked up. Zac didn't sound bitter or resentful, more like thoughtful, really. "It makes me kind of jealous- not in the I-wanna-rip-your-head-off way but in the I-wish-I-had-that-part-of-her-heart way."
"You have her heart," Fang replied.
"Not all of it." Zac smiled. "You have a connection with her that I can never hope to have. I just have to be happy with what I get but I'll never be the first person she goes to, I'll never be the one who she rushes to first if both of us were hurt. You have the first place in her heart whether it's plutonic or not, that's your place and nobody else will ever have it."
Fang sighed. "Sorry, man." He felt kind of bad that he was keeping Max from being completely totally committed to Zac. It wasn't liked she loved Fang it was just that well, like Zac said, she trusted Fang in a way that she couldn't trust anyone else. That was just how Max was. She only put her complete and total faith in one individual and Fang was lucky enough to be that one person. He didn't think he deserved it but he was grateful to have it.
"Nah, it's okay." Zac laughed. "I'm happy to be with her… I guess, I guess I'm kind of falling in love with her and I wanted to ask you if that was okay. Normally it would be her father or brother I should be asking but I don't know her father and her brother is younger than her so I thought I should ask you, her best friend, practically her brother."
Fang smiled and then laughed slightly. "You're asking for my blessing?" he asked. Zac nodded. "Well, just because you've amused me greatly I'll give it you; just don't hurt her, alright? It would kill me if she got her heart broken."
"I know. Thanks man." Zac clapped Fang on the shoulder. "I should probably head home. See you at school."
"Later." Fang watched Zac leave and listen to his car pulling away. Okay, Max had made a good choice in a guy. Fang was going to have to accept him no matter what now. If Max loved Zac then Fang would live with it, as long as she was happy.
Fang went down to his room and looked at Max. She was stirring slightly as he came into the room.
"Fang?" she asked, slurring his name.
"I'm here," Fang replied. He knelt down beside her and she rolled onto her side and look at him.
"I'm glad you're here," she murmured. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
Fang chuckled. "You'd be fine." Secretly his heart was thumping loudly and he felt warmed by her statement even if it was a drunken one. Drunk Max was just like half-asleep Max, she was completely and totally honest.
"No I wouldn't," Max replied. "I would be unfine, totally unfine." Fang blushed slightly as Max reached out and took his hand.
"Fang?"
"Yeah?"
"Fang, I love you," Max whispered. "I love you, so much. This much actually." She dropped his hand and rolled onto her back to hold out her arms. "See? I love you a lot."
Fang's heart stuttered slightly and he tried to remind himself that she was drunk.
But she's completely honest!
She's drunk she has no control over herself, she's probably only meaning as a best friend and brother.
But she said she loves me.
Only as a best friend.
The argument inside Fang's head was rather annoying so he ignored it and patted Max's hair.
"You just go to sleep, alright?" he said, his voice shaking slightly. Max's eyes shut and she smiled slightly. Fang touched her cheek and then went and sat on the window seat. Yeah, like he'd be able to sleep now.
