I don't know if I like this chapter much, but I've got plenty planned for the story, including a certain faerie company!!

Disclaimer: The usual love/hate thing between me and James Patterson is still going on. WHY won't he just SELL Maximum Ride??

Torture

Chapter Fourteen

He let me go and I got up. I grabbed his arm and started to pull him off the couch, he grabbed the top of it and leaned back, threatening to pull the couch with him.

I sat down for a second on the carpet. He smirked, another victory, and went back to sleep.

I got up and went to the kitchen.

Max was in there, the flock minus Nudge scattered around the kitchen and sitting on the stairs. They were staring at the bacon Iggy was cooking like they were starved half to death, ignoring the omelets.

I pulled a bucket out from under the sink and smiled to Max, standing next to me. I kept right in smiling as I filled it up with ice and cold water.

I walked down the hall and stood behind the couch, bucket hidden behind my back.

"Oh, Faaang." I sung and leaned forward. He smiled drowsily up at me.

"Kiss?" He mumbled around the sleep.

"Sure." I said it lightly, adding a smile to my voice. "Pucker up."

His eyes closed and I dumped the bucket on his head.

He lay there, stunned awake, as I let the last trickles of water drip onto him.

I beamed at him in all his rumpled shirt and messed up hair glory.

He growled back and tried to grab me.

I giggled, jumping out of his way.

He chased me back and forth through the living room, jumping over the couch and chairs.

I laughed and turned around, dropping the bucket and holding up my hands in fake surrender.

"I give, I give." I was almost laughing too hard to get it out.

He came closer, reaching out to hug me and I stooped to pick up the bucket, quick, and slam it over his head.

I laughed and he reached up to yank the bucket off but I beat him and pinned him to the ground with my knees on his legs and my hands holding down his shoulders.

The bucket fell off and he groaned.

I heard giggles and laughs break out behind us and I realized we had an audience.

I sat down on his legs and laughed.

He pulled his head up and saw Max, Iggy, Angel, and Gazzy laughing at him.

He groaned again and dropped his head back to the floor in defeat.

I stood up when Iggy heard the bacon crack and ran back to make sure it wasn't burnt too bad, the rest following, worried about the bacon.

Fang stared at me hard and I laughed again. It had just been so funny!

He sprang up and wiped his hands off on his pants. He smoothed his hair down a bit and pulled his shirt semi-straight. He huffed out of the room and all the way down the hall and to the bathroom.

I walked into the kitchen where everyone was eating and raised my hands in a victory cheer. Everybody started yelling and laughing.

They all calmed down and focused on their bacon and omelets again. I got out a plate and microwaved a heap of omelet and bacon for Fang. I pulled out a bowl and poured cereal in, bringing the milk jug and cereal box with me to the table.

I stood between Iggy and Angel, bending down to hug Angel and give Iggy a rough one. I whispered in his ear, "Fi. Mom told me my name. Fi." I smiled and ate my cereal.

My brother smiled a ghost of a smile and went back to thinking and eating. How he kept finding the food on the first try was beyond me.

"Nudge is grounded until she apologizes. I talked to her some for you, too." Max said and Iggy nodded, wincing a little.

I nodded and poured a second bowl of cereal and milk and went to work on it.

I heard the water shut off and a few minutes later Fang was thundering down the stairs behind me.

Angel and Iggy scooted their chairs over to the side and Max smirked. Gazzy stared behind me and I set my bowl down. I turned around to see what was so funny and bumped right into Fang, towel around his neck but no shirt, and I was caught too much by his muscles to notice the bucket in his hands.

I was drenched in burning hot water as everybody broke out in laughs again, at me in my soaking wet clothes.

I hissed at the heat of the water and came up with an idea.

I hugged Fang, pressing close to him, his eyes widening. I pulled his head down for a kiss and reached behind me for my cereal bowl, dumping it all over his head.

He kissed me anyway, then spun me around and wrapped me in the towel he had brought down, rubbing my arms roughly.

Iggy was laughing so hard he fell out of his chair and that made Max laugh even more, they were all wiping tears from their eyes.

I pulled the bowl off of its perch on Fang's head and rinsed it in the sink, picking up everybody's empty plates. Angel still wasn't done so I put hers in the microwave, pulling Fang's out and handing it to him with a fork. He sat down in Iggy's empty chair, shoveling the food in his mouth. I sneaked a piece of bacon off his plate.

Angel had calmed down enough to eat and was looking for her plate. Max, giggling, told her where it was and she took it out, shoveling almost as fast as Fang was.

He piled more bacon and omelet on his plate and wolfed that down, then scraped out the leftovers from the pot Iggy had put it all in together.

Fang walked over to the sink and washed his plate off, setting in to work on washing the plates. He glanced over at me and laughed again, short and loud. I hopped up on the counter and dangled m legs back and forth, waiting until everyone was gone to start talking.

Iggy gave me a rough hug, squeezing me a teeny bit, and high fived Fang's sudsy hand on the way out.

I watched as Fang rinsed the dishes off and started piling them next to me. He threw me a towel and I sighed, drying the dishes.

He leaned on the counter next to me and stuck his arm on my waist. I was beginning to think either Fang was big on this or he was still unable to let me go.

I dried slowly, torturing him, placing each plate, fork, and glass carefully in its place. Fang started to drum his fingers on the counter, fresh out of patience.

I smirked and finished up, leaning down to kiss him. He hugged me and lifted me off the counter, carrying me to the front room where Iggy was listening to tv and Gazzy was half asleep in the chair.

Fang sat in a chair next to the couch and sat me half on his lap. I hugged his chest and leaned back until I was looking at Iggy.

"I think we should all take a picnic day." I thought it was a wonderful suggestion, especially coming from my brother.

"Yeah!" Gazzy certainly sounded excited about it.

I looked at Fang and cocked my head. He nodded slightly, looking like he was already regretting it.