Random Quote of the Week: "THROW IT AWAY, FORGET YESTERDAY, WE'LL MAKE THE GREAT ESCAPE!" -Boys like Girls, in "The Great Escape"
I know I've done that one before. Anyone got a problem with it?
Aah, I love that song so much. I jammed so hard to that song on my guitar like every day this week.
COUNTDOWN TO 1000: 0! WE'RE THERE! THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE! YOU GUYS ROCK! I still haven't wrapped my mind around it...one-freaking-thousand comments...wowie. We've passed my initial goal (50) twenty and a half times over. Think about that. I hope you can comprehend it, because I can't for the life of me.
And 70 reviews over the past two chapters is crazy stuff...
Thanks to skellington. png for being reviewer #1000!
Much of the inspiration from this chapter came from "Two is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls. Many thanks to them for creating such amazing songs. Unfortunately, as bookgirl411 pointed out, they've been a bit slow lately coming out with new music...
Oh, and some more questions came in! Once again, feel free to skip to the break.
TheForsakenMist: Is it hard writing the opposite gender for you? Oh, and how do you feel about being surrounded by fangirls, for the most part?
Not really, actually...as humans we all feel the same way when it comes to romance, right? At least something similar. Most of the books I read are narrated by girls, so writing Max's POV isn't hard. It's more challenging than Fang's POV, though, and that's why I write it so much. I actually like writing from a girl's POV better than a guy's POV even though I'm a straight guy perfectly comfortable with my sexuality.
Hmm...it's unpredictable, to say the least. I never know when I'm about to get a death threat or internet flying bear hug. I love it! Writing on here surrounded by fangirls feels like a mellowed-down, low-key version of being a famous published author.
monettelassitter: Dude, why must you mess with me? Is it fun? does it bring you some kind of joy to know that you torture me with your awesome writing skills? What's it like to be in love?
Messing with people is fun. You should try it. :P
Um...it's tough to describe in words. I'll try my best...well first off, you're always thinking about the person you're in love with. All day, and sometimes even in dreams. It's not voluntary at all, it just...happens. And when you look at them you feel like you want to hug and kiss them senseless. It's an urge that comes from the heart, the only way to really know is to feel it yourself. The nervousness comes from the possibility that they don't feel the same way. If you want to hear some experiences just ask!
And I'm not sure if this qualifies as 'in love'...I'm in high school so this just might be 'crazy, obsessive, over-the-top crush'.
Marowren: On a scale of 1-10 how much do you like soccer? Do you play soccer? If yes to #2, what position? What is your faaaaaavorite music genre? Would you rather be pyrokinetic or hydrokinetic? Do you have an accent? (this may or may not be a trick question)
1) Umm...6?
2) I play on my school team every fall.
3) Anything, really...I'm the backup goalie, and I've played about equally as striker, defense, and midfield. I guess that's what happens when I have speed and leg but no dribbling or control.
4) Probably pop? Demi Lovato, Avril Lavigne, and T-Swiz are my idols.
5) Can I be both? Haha, jk...I'd probably choose hydrokinesis because it's more useful. But pyro is flashier. I'd be really happy with either.
6) A trick question? Now you got me skeptical...but to answer your question I don't think I have an accent. Someone told me I had an Australian accent when I was younger but in all honesty I don't know where their brain was since nobody else has ever said that.
Graceless0ne: If you had to get rid of one member of the flock who would it be; Max, Iggy, Fang, Angel, Nudge, or Gazzy?
Probably Nudge. No offense to her! She's awesome, but I just like the rest better.
I'm still happy to answer any more questions! I love doing it!
Oh and I just bought 1989! Best $15 I've ever spent! It came with a bunch of little pictures of Taylor with song lyrics written on them and of course I had to thumbtack them all to my wall. My mom was like "what have you become..." when she woke me up the next day and saw them. Thankfully she doesn't really care or think negatively of Tay.
Dang, this is a long Author's Note...I hope you guys don't mind. If you do, feel free to tell me and I'll make an effort to shorten them up. If you like hearing random facts about my life, tell me and I'll keep doing this!
Anyways, onto the story! Enjoy!
Fang's POV
I opened my eyes, and was greeted by a sky full of stars. Was today the day I was supposed to confess to Max? I couldn't remember. I wasn't thinking straight.
I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.
My eyes shot open again, just like some hours ago. The night sky lay before my eyes, without a trace of sunlight.
Oh goodness, this wasn't actually happening. Even though I was seventy percent asleep, I could feel the nervous energy coursing through my veins. I was sweating lightly despite the cool night.
I'd wait until morning to deal with this. I shut my eyes and rolled over, passing out immediately.
I regained consciousness and opened my eyes, again, and this time the a thin blue line at the edge of the horizon was rising to push the last few stars out of the sky.
What happened to the emotionless brick wall of the old days? Why did I not trust my ability to remain impassive anymore? I knew. Max would see it in my eyes.
Worst of all, what if the plan didn't work?
Failure was not an option. I had nothing to fear.
On that thought, I closed my eyes once more and let myself melt into the grass below me and Max beside me.
I woke with a start and groaned. I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep this time. The bright, ten o' clock sun shone down on Max and me, filtering through my eyelids. I looked up to the trees, allowing myself to be distracted by the high-pitched chirping of the birds above us. Short chirp. Long. Short. Short. It was a pattern, repeated over and over.
Max woke up a few minutes after I did, her tousled hair damp from the dew. For some reason, I only noticed it today, even though Max probably woke up with slightly wet hair every day just like me.
"We should invest in a blanket," she suggested, yawning. My first thought was that would be nice for snuggling. I chided myself for thinking that. I chided myself again for not having faith in myself.
"We could do that," I agreed. I knew money was an issue for us, but did that matter when it came to Max? N-o. I did the math last week, and we had almost two hundred bucks to spare.
I tossed Max her breakfast, and we ate sitting next to each other with Max's leg pressed against mine. Our backs rested against a thick tree, which made me think of Max and I fighting back-to-back against an army surrounding us. In my mind, we won of course. We didn't know how to lose fights, except to each other.
"Fang, have you ever thought about how much money most people would use, having the same amount of fun as us?" Max asked me, rolling a blade of grass between her fingers. Her hair, glowing in the sunlight, lay gently on the back of her tight yellow shirt. The sun illuminated half her face, the other half resting in the shadow of the tree.
I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
Max looked at me and brushed a stray handful of strands of hair out of her face. "Remember the time we spent in Los Angeles? If I didn't screw up so much, it would've cost, like, a hundred bucks. A hotel there for two weeks, more substantial food, and more expensive entertainment would cost a couple thousand, at least."
I smiled at her words. "It's like we're little kids again. I remember, Iggy got so happy when he got a new toy even if it cost five bucks. Nowadays, teenagers are crazy for iPhones and stuff that cost hundreds."
Max laughed, plying the blade of grass apart. "That's not us, though."
"It's not," I agreed. "I love being us, though."
"It's great, isn't it? It's almost like we have the privileges of adults without having to work or support ourselves, for the most part," Max said.
"Best of both worlds."
Max raised her eyebrows, smiling at me with her lips slightly parted. My heart pounded in my chest just looking at her. "Hannah Montana fan?"
I stared at her, a mock horrified expression on my face. "Absolutely not."
That caused Max to laugh. "Seriously, how do you know about that song? It was so long ago."
I waved my hand. "Probably Nudge or Ella."
"It's always them," Max said, sighing. She turned towards me and ran her hand along the tree behind us, gazing across the clearing to the jungle gym-like formation of nature she climbed up yesterday.
"I saw you climb that tree," I blurted out, before I could talk myself out of it. It was the most upfront thing I'd said to Max—ever. I did whisper "I love you" to her yesterday, but I was fairly certain she didn't hear me. We were experts at skirting around the topic of romance with each other. And this, if Max interpreted it the way I thought she would, qualified.
Max looked at me calculatingly, the gears turning in her head. "I thought you were asleep," she said, and at that moment I knew for sure she heard me yesterday.
"I know," I said. "I didn't fall asleep until after you came back."
Max frowned. "That's weird. I heard you say something, but I thought I was imagining it." With that, I knew she was taking a leap of faith in me, too. Both of our hearts were riding on me right now. I didn't know if that was a good thing or not.
"Max, listen to me," I said softly, looking her firmly in the eyes. She gazed back at me, her mouth slightly open. I focused my mind on delivering the words clearly. "You weren't imagining it. I love you, Max," I managed, trying to sound confident but probably failing.
One second.
My fortress of confidence came crashing down, and it felt like my heart was being peppered by the shrapnel. But that wasn't a bad thing. I did what I had to do. My heart crawled up into my throat. I felt both tension and relief tugging at my stomach, neither emotion winning.
Two seconds.
Max still hadn't moved a muscle. Her expression remained neutral but open, reminding me of the way a tree's branches splayed out from the trunk. The adrenaline and nervousness was too strong in me to allow any sort of dread to set in. I either took the first step in a wonderful future or strongly jeopardized the best friendship I ever had. I'd taken risks before, but this time there really was no turning back.
I shifted slightly, my hands trembling. I felt a root dig into my leg, pinning my jeans to my skin.
Three seconds.
"I love you too, Fang," Max said softly, tilting her head up so our mouths were inches apart and the sunlight glinted off her rosy cheeks. Her trembling voice sounded so raw it sounded nearly impassive. But I knew better.
Max meant it.
I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers.
Cue the "ABOUT TIME, HUH?"'s. But more importantly, Fax has finally arrived! After a 51-chapter, 130K-word wait, it's here! I guess you could count this as my repayment to you guys for 1000 reviews. It was a complete coincidence it ended up being this chapter, btw.
Many thanks to Tokoloshe Monster for helping to make it more realistic and generally making it a legible chapter. This story since Chapter 30 - especially this chapter - would definitely not be the same without her.
Question of the Chapter: Am I forgiven yet from all the horrible trials I put the poor kids through leading up to this?
