Chapter 9~ Of Secrets And Dresses
PREVIOUSLY, ON BECAUSE OF A FIGHT, BELIEVE IT OR NOT
So, basically, the result of me almost kissing Max: she avoids me the entire day.
She doesn't talk to me at all. Not during our classes, lunch, or passing period. But I know she'll come around; we are "going shopping together" anyway. Now that I think about it, it might not even be about the almost kiss. However, I don't regret Iggy barging in; I personally think we'd be better off as friends.
Was she still mad at me for leaving yesterday during lunch? I couldn't blame her for that. Not after I found out a bunch of guys did the same thing to her.
But unlike them, I had a legit reason to leave. I had a legit reason to lie to her about where I was. Especially after meeting him.
Because in my life, shit just got real.
"So, wait, why are Fang and Iggy coming with us?"
"Ugh, Max! I told you a million times! I wanted Iggy to come, but he said he wouldn't unless there was another guy with us, so I invited Fang, and he said yes," Nudge replied, exasperated.
"Oh. Right." I frowned as I slumped down in my seat in Nudge's convertible, arms folded across my chest. Nudge was driving us to the mall in her car, which, might I add, was small. Extremely small. And guess who had to sit in the back, squished between Ella and Fang, while His Royal Igginess sat in the front? Me, that's who.
Blech.
I looked to my right to see Iggy and Fang entering the car. Fang's eyes met mine, and I quickly looked away, pulling my phone out, pretending to text as he sat down next to me.
"Everyone in?" Nudge called out, starting the engine. No one bothered to reply as she pulled out onto the road.
"You know, Nudge, I don't have to shop with you girls," Iggy began. "I have plenty of party clothes at home, and I'm pretty sure Fang does too."
"Yeah, but it's my Sweet Sixteen, and I need to find the perfect dress. Who could be better at helping me decide than my boyfriend?" she asked. As the street light turned red, Nudge turned to him and gave him a pleading look.
Iggy scratched his head. "Erm...ugh, fine. I'll stick to my promise," he grumbled. "But only as long as I'm not the one trying on dresses."
Nudge chuckled. "You're sweet," she said, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Iggy grinned bashfully and just as he leaned forward for one on the mouth, we heard a loud honk from behind us.
"Crap!" Nudge cursed, and turned to the left.
I glanced back to my phone and away from the couple. I had to admit, they could be cute when they wanted to. It was still gross, though.
My phone gave off a loud beep, signaling a received a text from...Fang? I looked at him from the corner of my eye. He had his cellphone out too, with his fingers poised over the keyboard.
Frowning, I looked at the text he sent me.
Hey.
I quickly tapped out a reply.
Um, dude? Ur rite next 2 me.
Yeah, but u wouldn't talk 2 me anyway..
FU
Love u 2. Um, About Sunday nite, can we 4get that ever happened?
... So, ur sorry that we almost kissed?
Wait, r u saying u were serious about actually wanting me 2 kiss u?
I turned my head quickly to see Fang smirking at the screen. Blushing red, I replied to his text.
No way in hell was I serious!
Then y did u say that?
U know what? I will admit it, alrite? Ur not that bad looking, u were way 2 close, and I wasn't thinking properly. THERE. I SAID IT. HAPPY?
More like amused, rly.
Go to hell.
2 late, I'm already there. But seriously, can we 4get that incident? I don't want our friendship 2 be awkward.
...
Sure, y not? I agree with that.
So we're good?
Totally.
I felt a hand poke my shoulder and turned to see Fang with the corners of his mouth quirked up in a small grin. I gave him a shy smile back.
"Uh, Max, Fang?" Ella said. "Could you guys stop texting for a minute? We're here, you know."
The mall came into view and we all got out of the car. Of course, I had to push Fang to get out, but I'm pretty sure he didn't mind.
If you ignores his evil glare, of course.
FANG POV
The girls split away from Iggy and me so we could shop separately to save time. Which, in my opinion, was quite a good idea. Being stuck with the girls in a shopping mall isn't my kind of fun.
I looked at my watch. "Alright, Ig. It's 12:30. Nudge wants us to finish and meet up with them at 1:30. If we finish in fifteen minutes, we'll have forty-five minutes to do whatever shit we want. You ready?"
"Game on, bro," Iggy grinned.
I smirked. That was all I needed to hear. With that, we ran into the first shop we saw. A tall brunette was at one of the clothes racks, rearranging clothing articles. She noticed us enter the store and turned to us with a bright smile on her face. Her name tag read "Hello, I'm Sarah."
"May I help you two?" she asked sweetly. "If you're wondering, the merchandise with red marks on their tags are ten percent off, the ones with green marks are twenty, and-"
"Yeah, yeah," Iggy cut in. "Listen, we're going to a party, and the dress code is fancy but casual. You think you could hook us up with something like that?"
If possible, Sarah smiled even wider, showing off her brilliant white teeth. "Of course, sir." She checked Iggy and I out, looking at us appreciatively. "I think I might have something in mind," Sarah finally said. "If you could just excuse me for a minute, of course." She then walked away as she picked up various clothes from the racks.
I turned to Iggy. "She sure knows what she's doing, doesn't she?"
Iggy nodded, his eyes wide. "Oh, yes, she does." He put his arm around my shoulder. "Now, my friend, watch as the magic happens in two minutes instead of two hours."
MAX POV
You know what's a real pain? Shopping for dresses. It's not that it's too girly or gets in the way or anything like that. It's the fact that you have to go to so many different stores and try on so many different dresses when the reality is that you're only buying one.
I mean, WTF? The case isn't always like that, though. My sister found her perfect dress within minutes of looking. Even Nudge finally found hers. It's not my fault that the stuff I tried on is so...un-Max-like, if you know what I mean.
I opened the door of the changing room, the tight red dress clinging to my body. "Ella, could you zip me up?" I called out. There was no response. "Ella?" I tried again.
There was a muffled cough from behind me, and I turned around to see who it was.
"Hey," Fang greeted. He was holding a smoothie in one hand and the other hand was scratching the back of his head. Staring at me, he seemed to be... blushing?
"Uh, hi," I muttered, looking at the ground. "Where did Ella go?"
"She went to talk to one of her friends from soccer practice," he explained.
Damn her. "Could you, uh, you know, zip this thing up for me?" I asked, awkwardly turning around.
"Sure." He walked up behind me and pulled the zipper up. "Are you guys almost done? Or do we have to wait another hour?""
I rolled my eyes. "Ella and Nudge found some, but I'm still not sure. What do you think of this one?" I faced him again, but being the idiot I am, I forgot that he was right behind me. Thus, there was basically no space between us.
Yeah, I'm so stupid.
Our chests were brushing against each other. Fang was close, so very close. I couldn't help but get a sense of deja vu at the moment. And the fact that this dress was so damn skimpy, wasn't helping much either. Fang said nothing, only looking at me with a curious expression. "Well?" I whispered.
He snapped out of his reverie, suddenly seeming to realize that he was staring at me. Taking a step back, he shoved his hands in pockets. "It's not really you," he finally spoke, his voice hoarse, "but you look good anyway."
I blushed. "Oh, alright then. I guess I'll just go try on the next one."
"You go do that," he agreed.
Giving him a quick grin, I went back into the changing room and shut the door behind me. I leaned back against it and smiled for a while until I saw what dress I had to try on next. Oh, boy.
I tied my hair into a ponytail and adjusted my running shorts. "Mom, I'll be back in an hour!" I called up the stairs, and slipped out the door.
After putting my iPod on shuffle, I stretched my legs and arms. Then, I broke into a light run around the block, breathing evenly between each jog.
The wind was blowing through my blonde hair and the air was warm. It felt awesome.
I began to run even faster and started to sprint. I went on like that for thirty whole minutes until I stopped to catch my breath. There was a bench along the sidewalk, so I sat down next to a woman on the phone.
As I took out my water bottle, I couldn't help but notice that the woman seemed so familiar. With long dark hair and olive skin, she was speaking mildly into the speaker. "Yes, I'm almost home. What? Yeah, I am bringing groceries with me on the way. Okay, but be home by three, alright? Bye, Fang, I love you." And with that, she hung up and put her phone in her purse.
Fang.
I froze as I rose the bottle to my lips. She must be Fang's mom, I thought. Just as she was about to get up, I stopped her. "Excuse me?" I asked.
The woman turned around. "Yes?"
"Are you Nick Walker's mother?" I questioned.
She rose an eyebrow. "I am, in fact. You know my son?"
I held out my hand. "I'm his friend, Max Martinez. Nice to meet you," I greeted.
Mrs. Walker shook my hand, with a surprised look on her face. "Hello, Max, nice to meet you. Fang's certainly mentioned you to me," she smiled.
I chuckled. "He better have," I said. "Anyway, how is your husband? Is he getting better?"
At this, Mrs. Walker frowned deeply. "What are you talking about?"
"Um, didn't he get injured? Fang told me about him."
"Max, are you sure he said that?"
Now it was my turn to frown. "What do you mean?"
"Max, Fang's father lives in New York. We divorced awhile ago. And as far as I know, he's perfectly fine."
I narrowed my eyes.
What?
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