Oh wow, it's officially been one year since this story has been up! Yay! Everyone gets a slice of cake. Strawberry shortcake, since that's the cake that I want to eat right now. If you don't like it, too bad. I'll eat your piece for you. Yummm. Well, actually, I'm celebrating today with a Pepsi and a Kit Kat bar, so all's well that ends well! Anyway, it seems that a large number of ya'll liked the last chapter! Well, last .5 chapter, I guess. But don't worry, there will be one for this chapter also, since that is what I had planned.
WARNING: YOU DON'T WANT TO SKIM THIS CHAPTER. IT'LL BE IMPORTANT.
Well, happy anniversary to We Found Love and here's Chapter 40!
Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride but I do own this story. And the Kit Kat bar I'm holding. Mine.
Chapter 40
Max POV
No.
No, it wasn't supposed to be like this.
"GAZZY GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW!" I yelled from the kitchen.
"Yes?" a small, sweet, "oh-so-innocent' voice answered at me, as a small, blonde boy appeared from behind the door.
And that small, blonde boy had cookie crumbs on his face. The suspect is guilty.
"Gazzy," I replied in a voice that could've been mistaken for poison, "were you the one who ate the cookies in my cookie jar?"
"No," he replied a little too quickly, as his hands shuffled from behind his back.
"Then show me what you're hiding behind your back," I said, holding out one hand.
"I'm not hiding anything!"
"Uh huh."
In an instant he had taken off running, me following behind him, gradually catching up, grabbing him by the shirt, and picking him up as he struggled.
"Now what do you say when you say when you steal someone else's food?" I said.
"I'm sorry!"
"Strike one."
"I'm very sorry!"
"Strike two."
"Please forgive me, I made a terrible mistake, I promise not to do it ever again, and I will pay you back by the end of the week, Ms. Max-king of the world!"
I sighed and put him down. "Good. You remembered."
He fled almost immediately, whimpering, leaving a trail of cookie crumbs and fear.
"What you just do to my little brother?" Fang said, as he just barely avoided the barreling child.
"Nothing. Just made him learn his manners."
He raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Good for him.
"Well, I came here to say that we ran out of frying pans again," he said. "So since you're the cause of this, you are going to come to Wal-Mart with me. Go change, we leave in five."
I looked down at my outfit; gray sweatpants, a t-shirt, and flip flops. Good enough. "You mean we leave now. My outfit is perfectly fine."
"Go change."
"I've seen people dressed like this at Wal-Mart! Except I'm sexier."
I headed towards the door, ignoring his comments, and opened the door only to get a blast of cold air hit my arms, feet, and face. But since I didn't want to look like a fool, I bore through the freezing air and bravely made my way outside. You think is easy? Well it ain't for me.
Trudging my way to the car, I shivered as I took each step, before I felt a warm jacket being draped across my shoulders.
"Here, take it," Fang said with a sigh. "You'll catch a cold. You wanted to go right? Let's go."
I squealed like a little child and pulled on the jacket, when I realized that he wasn't wearing a jacket now. Didn't he have any other black, emo jackets?
"Wait! Don't you need a jacket too?" I protested.
"The rest are in the wash. Now get in the car before I leave without you," he said while getting in.
Guiltily, I went to the car where Fang almost immediately turned the heater on.
"Sorry for taking your jacket," I said shyly, after he started up the car.
"No prob," he said.
Silence.
"Ummm… well-" I started to say.
"Have you decided?" he interrupted.
"Huh?" I said, wrinkling my eyebrows.
"Well, the due date for who you wanna marry is due next week. Have you decided who you want to choose?"
Aww, crud. I forgot about that.
"I still don't know!" I answered, flustered. Of course, I already knew who I wanted to choose.
"Seriously?" he said. "You're going to miss the Thanksgiving dinner, you know."
"If I need to, I will force Iggy to make me an entire course for Thanksgiving."
"Harsh."
"Isn't that what big sisters do their little sister's crush/ boyfriend?" In case you wondering I did find out that Iggy and Ella were now going out that very morning and our conversation went along the lines of this:
"We're going out now!"
The worst nightmare of an overprotective big sister had finally happened.
I narrowed my eyes at the sight of my little sister cuddling Iggy's arms, and pulled him away and out of the room, despite her protests and his fear.
"Ok hotshot," I said, holding him against a wall once we were out of earshot, "If you even dare touch my precious little sister than I will stuff you inside a dryer, decapitate you, then throw you into the lake. Got that?"
He nodded and I slowly set him back down onto the floor, all the while giving him the evil eye, and he immediately scampered away.
Some boys are such wimps these days, you know?
"Not really, but okay," he answered. "And I'm just saying this, but I think you should decide soon."
"Yes, yes, mother," I replied, even though I already knew exactly who I was going to choose.
It kind of scares me how much of a wimp I am, too.
Silence settled again, making the situation even more awkward, and I finally strengthened my nerves. I'll tell him.
"Fang?" I said, as urgently as possible.
"Yeah?" he said, glancing a bit at me from the corner of his eye.
"Actually, I wanted to tell you-"
It all happened instantly.
Suddenly, I was lurched forward so fast that I felt I might puke, and everything turned red.
Everything had gone wrong in just one second.
'Wake up,' I could hear someone whisper to me. Or was that just my food talking to me? Either way, I felt horrible.
'Please wake up!' the voice now pleaded.
"What?" I said groggily, wiping away the blood from my eyes. "What's going on? Fang?"
"We got to get out of here. Now," he said, his eyes dead serious.
"Wait, Fang? What's happening? Where are we?" I questioned again, fumbling with my seatbelt.
"We just need to get to safety. Everything's fine, just stay calm," he tried to convince me. "C'mon!"
I undid the seatbelt quickly, and flung the door open.
No.
No, it wasn't supposed to be like this.
"Fang…" I whispered.
Everything around us was in ruins. Flames ate at anything and I could hear screams of terror fill the air.
"Let's go!" he urged, running to my side, and pushing me towards an opening in the fire. "We don't have much time till this car blows!"
For the first time in forever, I listened to him and ran as fast as I could towards that beam of light, like a starving man in the desert that had just found a Snickers bar.
I burst into the area, and scanned the crowd.
Red, black, and white.
"We made it, Fang," I said, relieved, turning around. "We made-"
Only to face the burning fire, heading towards me at an amazing rate.
Fang?
"Miss! Please move out of the area!" I heard a person shout.
I ignored it, and looked into the fire in a daze.
"Fang?" I whispered. No answer. I repeated my words a little louder. Still no reply.
Where was I?
The sun was setting and I couldn't see anything through the thickness of my tears. I could hear a chorus of animals around me, all seeming strange and unfamiliar.
Where was home?
I could hear the leaves shuffle and I shivered at the thought that there was something lying in wait somewhere.
Where was my mom?
I looked around at the unfamiliar trees, all looking the same and all going up for miles.
Where was hope?
Suddenly, I heard the leaves shuffle even more. Then a squeak. I screamed as loud as I could, making some of the birds fly out of the trees.
Where was Fang?
"MISS! Please move away from the area!" the voice repeated. I ignored it again.
"Fang!" I now was shouting. "Fang, where are you?"
I moved closer to the fire like a moth attracted to the light, even if I knew that I would die if I moved into it.
Rough hands grabbed me by the shoulders and I roughly pushed them aside with all my strength. "Fang!"
I ran towards the oncoming wall. Where was he?
I rushed into the fire, and barely registered the stinging feeling of the flames as I immediately burned my legs and feet. All I cared about was finding him.
Blindly, I called into the fire. "FANG! WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Fang, where are you?" I shouted, tears streaking down my face. "I'm scared!"
I ran. My dress was torn from the branches and my legs were full of scratch marks from the trees.
How could such a simple game of hide and go seek go wrong?
Suddenly, I felt something grab onto my arms and I screamed as loud as I could. It was scary.
"Get away from me!" I shrieked, flailing around like a wild goose. "I'm not eatable!"
"Calm down, it's just me! And it's edible, moron."
I stopped moving and turned around. "Fang?"
"Yeah."
Just like that, I broke down and cried in his arms, not caring that I looked like an idiot.
"It's okay, I'm here now. You don't have to worry anymore," he said, gently combing my hair with his fingers as my sobs turned into hiccups.
But there was some weird noises... a-and t-then... and then..." I repeated, before he shushed me again.
"Don't worry. There aren't any real predators in this forest," he assured me.
Even though he had used a word I still didn't really get, I knew one thing.
Everything was alright now.
Where was that voice I longed for now?
Where were those hands that had saved me from falling into the dark?
Where was the man I hated the most out of all the people on Earth?
Where was the man that I had adored, cherished, and looked up to for so many years?
"Fang…" I whispered, now giving up. I felt my knees give in, and the overwhelming amount of smoke intoxicate me. I clutched the black leather jacket with blistered hands and hoped for the best.
Just like that, strong arms picked me up and carried me back into the light. But those arms weren't Fang's. My burns and cuts tore into my skin. I didn't even feel them.
My heart had already been ripped out.
…
Ohmigosh, I feel so terrible now after writing this chapter. I've been planning this for forever, yet I'm crying. WHYYY Yes, by now you probably hate me so much, you want to stuff me inside a cell and force me to rewrite this into something happier. I guess I could say, look forward to the next chapter. Not really. Kind of. You'll have to see what happens to Max. Btw, the more reviews I get, the quicker I can update! So, R&R?