Me: Well, I've been working on this for a while, now. Tweaking it until I was completely happy with the result...and, you know, I actually like this chapter
Iggy: -gasps-
Me: -eyeroll- Yeah, I know I don't usually say that, but yeah -shrugs- Anyway, I hope you like it
Disclaimer: I do not own MR by J.P. or 'Just watch me' by Jordan McCoy.
By the way, 'Just watch me' is the song for this chapter and I suggest listening to it, and I think that this story is about to get much more interesting...
Iggy: Igell
Me: WOULD YOU QUIT THAT!?
Iggy: No
Me: DIGGY! -sighs- This is now an ongoing argument. Vera, you should know what we're going on about ;)...uh, maybe. lol.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter
The Flock and Ella were all sitting around the living room, chatting quietly to themselves while they waited for Max and her mom to come out of the kitchen and 'address' them.
"So, what do you think this is all about?" Ella asked Iggy as the two of them sat comfortably on the couch.
Iggy could have sworn that his heart had started to beat faster at the sound of her voice, but he quickly dismissed the idea and realised that he had to reply.
"I don't know," he answered with a sigh. "I think it may be something about the…uh, amount of musical talent we all seem to have."
"Oh," Ella chuckled to herself.
"What?" Ig asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's just hard to imagine the Flock, who kick butt and who've been on the run for most of their lives, have musical talent," Ella replied, and Iggy could feel her body warmth against his own, making him blush slightly.
He leaned back against the soft cushions and laughed slightly to cover it up. "Who knew?" he said.
"Alright guys," Max said, and Iggy heard her footsteps entering from the kitchen along with Dr. M's. "I suppose it's about time mom and I let you in on our idea…even though Angel probably already knows…"
Iggy smirked in the direction where he knew Angel to be sitting. The little know-it-all mind reader probably already knew what the rest of them had no idea about.
I don't know everything, Iggy. She interrupted in his head. But I did know about this though.
Iggy shook his head slightly and went back to listening to their 'Oh-so-great' leader talk.
"Anyway, mom and I have noticed how everyone seems to be writing songs, and singing in the hallway and shower…singing for no reason at all, in fact. So, we decided to do something fun."
Iggy leaned over in his chair and pretended to choke on air. "You, as in, Maximum Ride, always focusing on 'saving the world,' 'keeping us safe,' and 'laying low' wants to have fun?"
Iggy heard some of the Flock snicker at his comment and could practically feel the icy glare from Max. Maybe she was getting heat vision but with, like, ice?
"Ignoring that," Max said, getting ready to speak again. "I thought that maybe we could have a competition to see who could write the best song."
Across the room, Nudge squealed and Iggy felt Ella straighten up beside him, she was probably interested in what her sister was saying. Iggy, however, really couldn't care less. That song he wrote the other day had been a one off, and he had been working on it for a while, secretly, in his head. But writing another song? That probably wasn't going to happen.
"What are the rules?" Fang asked slowly, interrupting everyone's chatter and excitement.
"You'll have all of this week, since we're not going to school, and we'll present them on Sunday. You can't use a song that you've already written, and no cuss words. Anymore questions?"
"Can we work with a partner?" Angel asked sweetly.
"Yeah, but you'll have to split the prize-"
"There's a prize?" Gazzy asked and everyone except Fang and Ig seemed to yell excitedly at once.
"Quieten down, guys," Dr. M said over the ruckus and the noise turned to silence again. "There will be a prize. But it's a mystery and you only find out if you win."
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Fang sat in his room, guitar on lap, tuning the strings. When he was satisfied with the result he strummed them all experimentally and was happy when it sounded close to perfect.
Fang really didn't care about the competition or the 'mystery prize.' He was writing this song because, like his blog, he could release feelings and opinions without being judged. He liked playing guitar too, it cleared his head. There was only just one problem; he didn't know what to write about.
Whenever he started playing something it would sound wrong, and whenever he wrote something down on his notepad the words wouldn't fit properly and he'd end up scribbling them out.
In the end, he released a groan of anger and flopped back on his bed, his bangs falling back off his tanned face.
After a few moments, he propped himself up on one elbow and looked over at his dresser, hoping to find inspiration. There wasn't much on it but an old digital clock that continuously faded out and a picture of him and Max that her mom had taken. It was obvious that Max didn't want her to take it, because she looked angry and almost…sad? Fang bolted upright, holding the picture in his hands tightly.
He knew exactly what to write.
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Angel skipped happily down the hall with Total trotting quietly behind her. She held the notepad tightly in her hand as if someone were going to jump out at any second and take it off her. She came to a halt at the door and knocked loudly, then, knowing no one would open it, walked straight inside.
"Iggy?" She asked impatiently as he stared at the ceiling, his iPod turned up full blast to tune out the world around him.
"Iggy!" She said louder, and was completely ignored again. But before she had the chance to get inside his head, Total had jumped up onto the bed and ripped the headphones out of his ears with his small, doggy mouth.
"Hey! I was listening to that!" He said irritably, sitting up and pushing Total off the bed.
"Angel wants to ask you something," Total said, jumping back up onto the bed anyway and sitting down.
"What is it, Ange?"
"Well, I've already written my song and-"
"Already?" Iggy asked, surprised. "I haven't even bothered to try."
"I know, that's why I wanted to ask if you will play the keyboard while I sung," She asked and Iggy was even more taken aback.
"I was going to ask Max and Fang, but they're really busy with their songs. You're not," she said, answering his unspoken question.
Iggy sighed, already giving in to the six – I'm seven – year old girl. "Fine, let's hear it."
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"Gazzer!" Iggy called as he and Angel stormed into the living room to find Gaz sitting on the couch, watching a kids show on TV.
"I'm right here! What do you want?" He asked, turning the TV up.
"I wrote my song," Angel said happily, practically jumping up and down with excitement.
"Already?"
"That's what I said, Gaz," Iggy muttered, lifting up his guitar and repositioning it in his hands. He'd brought it along too just in case they needed it. "It's really good, but it's still missing something really important."
Gazzy sighed, already seeing where this was going. "Like, a drummer?"
Iggy nodded and Gaz flopped back against the couch.
"Please, Gaz, it won't take long," Angel pleaded and his expression changed.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," he said reluctantly, getting up and following them out of the room.
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"Alright, let's do it for real this time," Gaz said, spinning his drumsticks in his fingers. The three had moved to the garage – the only place that Dr. M had allowed them to keep a drum set – and had been getting their parts right by experimenting for about two hours.
"One, two, three," Iggy said slowly, placing his fingers over the keyboard then he and Gaz came in with their parts, complimenting each other perfectly for the first time. Then, after the intro, Angel began to sing.
"Don't tell me that I'm out of line, or
That I'm shooting way too high
I don't know any other way
For me to play it"
The three smiled at each other, Angel gave Gaz a thumbs up, and complimented Ig using her mind.
"I gotta give it everything, so
Call it just a crazy dream
But I can feel it getting closer
Every day, and
I'm not afraid of working hard
And there'll never be a guarantee
But I believe that I can be
Anything I really wanna be"
Gazzy did a small drum solo to introduce the chorus and Angel and Iggy began to sing and play louder.
"Just watch me, I'll do it
No matter what they say I'll prove it
Just watch me I'm flying
And no one's ever gonna clip my wings
I'll beat the odds if I know me
And if you disagree
Just watch me
Just watch me
Can't stop me"
Iggy smirked at the irony in her words. He knew exactly what she was going on about when she said 'can't stop me' and had to stop himself from laughing out loud.
"People say you'll crash and burn, well
That's the way I've gotta learn
But I know it's only gonna make me stronger
Doesn't matter what it takes, 'cause
I'm not gonna run or break
Everything in me is saying I belong here
I believe that I can give just a little bit of something more
They can try to shut me out but I'll break down that door"
I wonder what Max is gonna think of this song, Iggy thought with a smirk and Angel giggled, messing up the first line to the chorus. She then sung another verse and the chorus again before coming to the final chorus to finish off the song.
Just watch me, I'll do it
Just watch me I'm flying
And no one's ever gonna clip my wings
I'll beat the odds if I know me
And if you disagree
Just watch me
Just watch me
Can't stop me
Watch me"
The three of them all ended up on one note and cheered loudly.
"That was so awesome!" Gazzy shouted, throwing his drumsticks into the air and Angel and Iggy loudly agreed with him.
"Hey, Ange," Ig said and Angel turned to face him. "I think I have a new song idea."
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Me: So, if you haven't realised, I already have all of the songs for the rest of this story figured out :) And what did you think of Angel's song? I don't think you can get a better fitting one...haha
Iggy: I like the one that you've chosen for me
Me: -nods- It's freaking epic! One of my favorite songs for MR ;)
Iggy: You gonna finish?
Me: Yeah -yawns- It's really late...kuhbleh
Iggy: Zzzzzzzzz
Me: -eyeroll- Well, please review. I may have liked it, but I wanna know what you guys think. ;)
-Bell and Ig
P.S. Vera, I am gonna use your ideas in future chapters. Thankyou so much for the song ideas, they really help -huggles- We'll discuss it later over Skype maybe... :D
