Hey there! I know, really long wait :( I'm sorry about that. I'm just trying to…get my life together :) Anyways, enjoy! New followers, welcome! Old followers, welcome back!
The soles of my worn, within-an-inch-of-their-lives sneakers slapped against the pavement as I walked down the sun-warmed street of my still relatively new home. We had unpacked a few more boxes, but things still felt weird and alien to me, no matter how little I let on to Ella. Weirdly enough, though, no matter how bizarre it was to pack your backs like you were running out of time and launch yourself into a new state to start a whole new life, I wasn't particularly bothered anymore. I was…even a little excited, maybe? Talk about weird. People change, Max, I thought to myself with a dry little smile. Then something hit me, and I slowed to a stop.
I hadn't really given any thought to my old friends, and hadn't gotten any calls, or texts, or even letters, for God's sake. Why hadn't I realized this until now? Was I really so busy I had put aside 12 years of my life? I mean, who does that? You know what, maybe I was just being paranoid. It hadn't been that long. And yeah, this was the 21st Century, the era of technology and yada yada yada, but my friends were weird. Who knew when they were struck with the need to feel paper against pen rather than skin on harsh, cold keyboard? Letters were coming, I could feel them. Still, I felt crappy. Who just forgets about the people you care most about, after family? Of course, making friends never exactly came easily to me. That was why I, y'know, treasured the ones I had. They were interesting and could make me laugh, which was a feat in itself. We played soccer together, memorized sonnets for English class together, and once we were up in front of the class, forgot immediately and stood up there with nothing to say but "Oops," and nothing to show for it but sheepish grins and an F.
I felt something horrible blooming in the pit of my stomach, and it reached throughout my torso, infecting my chest and throat. It was heavy and weighed me down. I plopped myself down on a bus stop bench and slid my phone out of my sweatshirt pocket. I scrolled through my contacts, searching for the one person whose voice could immediately put me at ease. There was only one problem. She wasn't there.
"What…?" I muttered under my breath, double-checking the list. "Aaron Benitoli, Arianna Clay, Andrew Tolin…" But no Aurelia Robinowitz. I frowned, then exited out of Contacts. Lucky for me and my camera-like mind, I had her number memorized. I quickly dialed it, my thumbs feeling huge and clumsy as the guilt in my stomach grew. I held the phone up to my ear, spastically tapping my foot against the pavement as I waited for her to pick up. DOOOOT. We're sorry, the number you are truing to reach is not available. Plea— I threw my hands into the air, hitting the End Call button. She either was pissed beyond belief or she just had better things to do than to talk with me. Whatever. The guilt was boiling over into anger. I pushed myself up from my seat on the bench and kept walking in the direction I had been going, my feet hitting the sidewalk much harder than before. Slight pain reverberated throughout my limbs but I didn't care. Pain is just a message. I shoved my phone into my pocket. You can choose to ignore it. I knew which decision I would make. I zipped up my hoodie, trapping the warm air inside. I took off running. It didn't matter where I was going. I never wanted to get there anyways, and besides, I had nowhere to be. Good. I grit my teeth, quickening my pace. Healing already.
….
I had been running for over an hour. I was exhausted, my face was throbbing with the effort that had gone into draining the feeling out of me. Those emotions were replaced with something new, something stronger. It felt good. I looked around at my surroundings, wisps of hair sticking to my sweaty face. At some point during the run I had been forced to take off my sweatshirt because of the heat, and now I tightened the knot I had made with the sleeves around my waist. I had stopped in front of a park. It wasn't very crowded, or very big. Its main feature appeared to be the basketball court that stood in the center of it. A couple kids were reclining in the shade of the few trees that dotted the grass. As I got closer, I realized that they weren't actually relaxing. They were dead.
Hah! Gotcha! No, yeah. I know. Terrible of me. Very insensitive joke. Anyway, no. They weren't dead, but they certainly were not taking a break from the many hardships in the life of a teenager. They were studying. And as I got even closer, I realized that I knew these crazy, motivated, college-bound party animals. Three heads leaned close together over one of the huge books that were just laying out in the grass as one of them pointed at something. Another head was nowhere near the books, but was instead resting on someone's backpack, eyes closed. It evidently needed a break from all the efforts of Algebra. Two identical, shiny, brown-capped heads snapped up to look at me as I approached.
"Max!" One said gleefully. Another raised their hand in greeting.
"Hi."
"Siddown! What's up? What brings you to this neck of the woods?" Corliss shoved a few books and backpacks aside to make room for me to sit, which I did at her request.
"An ill-advised hour-long run," I informed her, stretching out in the cool grass. "Aaahh." Cory laughed.
"Only you would go running around in this weather, Max," She nudged her sister, who was scribbling intently in a notebook. "And maybe someone else I know."
"I've already reached my quota for the day." Maeve replied, not stopping writing to look up.
"You have a quota?" The boy sitting to her left drawled, trying to sneek a peek at what she was writing over her shoulder. Maeve slammed the book shut abruptly, almost catching his nose. He was the boy she was always working with in Algebra, blond hair and intense blue eyes that could pierce you if you looked too long. Maeve seemed to produce much of the same effect the more time you spent around her, and they were a matched pair, though her eyes were the darkest brown I had ever seen. Today, however, in the sun, they glowed a honeyed color and seemed as deep as the ocean. The same was to be said for Cory, but on Maeve it was striking. Maybe because she never often seemed to look directly at you. The blond boy seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because he kept glancing over at her, staring for a just a little longer than most people would. His eyes were soft when he looked at her. Even I could tell. She didn't seem to notice.
"Yeah, and there should be one with how much time I spend with you in one day. Ignoramus," she said, still not looking up. The boy grinned a little to himself, and, lightening fast, snatched her eraser just as she was absent-mindedly reaching for it. Then began a tussle that involved much tickling, which apparently Maeve did not appreciate. I heard the boy yelp in pain more than once. I turned to Corliss.
"Whatcha workin' on?" I asked, not sure if I actually wanted to know, or if I would even understand the answer. Corliss made a face.
"Pre-calc."
"Pre-calc? But you're a sophomore! Why on earth would you do that to yourself?" From behind me where Maeve and the blond guy were still rolling around in the grass, kicking each other relentlessly, I heard the beginnings of a remark that questioned the intelligence of cheerleaders and their course selections before there was a loud thump, then silence. Corliss rolled her eyes.
"Math comes pretty easy to me," Cory shrugged. "It's not a huge deal."
"How many AP classes are you taking?"
Corliss looked at me sheepishly. I raised an eyebrow.
"…Three."
"Holy cannoli, Batman!" I whistled. From lower down, I heard a chortle.
"Something funny?" I asked the lump that had previously been asleep on its stomach. It arose, brushing stray blades of grass off of it's white shirt in the process.
"Not particularly," said Corliss's boyfriend, who was still laughing a little. "It's just…do you all talk like this where you come from?"
"Where I come from?" I stared at him. His faded blue eyes weren't looking directly at me; they were focused on a spot to my left. My ear, maybe. "Where do you think I'm from, Venus?" He laughed again, catching Corliss's hand with his. She leaned against his side, picked up a book, and resumed reading.
"No, I've just never met an Arizonian before." He addressed my ear. What could be so interesting about an ear? "Tell me, do they have toilet paper there or is that not a part of your culture?"
"No, we use cacti." By now I had realized what I should have known immediately: Iggy was blind. The eyes should have given it away, but I was too blind—sorry, let me rephrase, I was too short-sighted to notice. At least I hadn't asked any stupid questions. Iggy was grinning, and began to open his mouth to ask another ridiculous question when two more people approached, looking tired and sweaty, one with a basketball in his hands. I'll admit, my heart jumped a little, but only with surprise. It was Elias, and it looked s though he hadn't been expecting me either. His face in general gave away nothing, but an eyebrow jumped up a little. Monique stood beside him, tall and glowing from the energy she had exerted. Evidently they had been playing a game, and she had given him a run for his money. Elias set the basketball down. His arm nearing mine. My heart sped up. I must have just been getting hungry, which was justified by what spurted out of my mouth next:
"Why the hell are you wearing black?" I regretted it as soon as I had spoken the words, because I may have just succeeded in engaging him in conversation, which was a big no-no for me right then. I was already having heart palpitations. Man, I really needed to eat. This time, Elias's eyebrow really did raise. He didn't respond though, only looked at me. I rolled my eyes internally. So, I was going to have to have a conversation with a brick wall. What a waste of energy. "I mean," I continued, "It's like 85 degrees outside. Why would you wear black?" His eyebrow stayed up. He had some serious facial muscle control. So, I did the only thing I could think of to do, and raised mine right back at him. There we sat, for a good 15 seconds, neither one of us backing down. Somewhere around the 10-second mark I felt my eyebrow start quivering, but lucky for me, 5 seconds later, Elias broke the cycle. With a grin. It stretched across his face, his teeth gleaming against his olive skin. The world seemed to freeze. And as he leaned forward, just close enough that I was able to see the pupils of his eyes, which I knew were dark like his sisters', I realized I couldn't. I couldn't find the end of his eyes. They were completely black, deep and swirling and pulling me in. And as he whispered something in my ear, I realized I never wanted to.
Yay! Finally got a little more Max/Fang action. It's not romantic yet; there will be plenty of time for that later ;) Stay tuned for the next update, a chapter from Fang's POV! I love y'all and your reviews make my day. Also please keep in mind that I LOVE criticism! Okay, well, maybe not LOVE it, but I appreciate it. And, as always, any suggestions for the next chapter and chapters after that are always taken into account. R&R, and peace out, my lovelies. Hope to seeya soon.
M