A/N: so fricken cold outside!!! Sorry, I've been loaded down w/ hw lately… but I found time to post a new one-shot! Go check it out! I love doing one-shots : )

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Besides anyone I play at Halo.

Chapter 6

"I need a burger," Gazzy groaned. "Quick, Nudge, you're good at computers. Find me a Burger King before I starve."

Nudge gave a small smile, but didn't launch into a huge lecture about the dangers of fast food. She turned and saw all the terminals in the stations were occupied except one, on the end. Nudge touched the mouse and then froze. Was it…?

"Hurry up, I'm starving too," Iggy complained.

"Go get Fang," Nudge said urgently. He needed to know about this.

"Why?"

"Just – go! Before I kill you!"

Gazzy returned, grumbling, with Fang in tow. "What's going on?" he asked. Nudge started when she heard his voice. After Max had left, Fang had basically gone mute.

"Fang, I – I feel Max here," Nudge said, turning her attention back to the mouse below her fingers. An image of a beautiful sun-streaked brown-eyed girl flashed under her eyelids.

"What? Recently?" This was way more alive thatn Nudge had seen him in a long time.

"No…" Nudge said slowly, trying to get a fix on the date. Her eyes shot open. "Fang, she was using tis computer just before she left!"

"Whoa, really?" Gazzy exclaimed.

"What was she looking at?" Iggy asked.

Nudge closed her eyes and let the image of Max fill her mind. Still with her eyes closed, Nudge guided the mouse to the History button and let it travel down to a link.

Nudge heard a gasp behind her. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared at the monitor filled with words. Meaningless words.

Meaningless words describing the affliction of tuberculosis.

Max POV

Well. Start Week 3 of Public School.

Get this: I felt somewhat… normal.

I had friends. (I know, weird, huh?) Bianca had been to "my" house several times already. Same with Brandon, and a few other kids. I went to school. Studied at home (sometimes), goofed around in classes(always. The teachers always take pity on the new kids.). But the weirdest part? To me, anyway? The gift I had received last week from Margaret.

"A…phone?" I asked, stunned.

"Do you know how to use it?"

"Well, duh."

Yep, a phone. Maximum Ride, texting on her cellphone. It cracked me up every time I thought of how ridiculous it was. I had been so quick to dismiss Margaret, so quick to assure I knew how to use a phone… but I still had trouble accessing my voicemail, and remembering my number was way beyond me. So basically all it was good for was the texting part, and I was up to about a word a minute. On a good day.

So, my new life was as good as I could have hoped it to be, considering it was minus my five favorite people in the world. Plus a dog. Yes, pathetic, I know. I had actually grown fond enough of Total – in his absence, anyway – to miss him.

Then there was the reason I had needed to separate from them in the first place. Obviously I had struck out on my own so I didn't get anyone I cared about sick, but I unexpectedly cared for these new people, too. I hadn't thought about it much since I got here, but my "little problem" hadn't bothered me much at all in recent weeks. Strange. Well, I wasn't complaining. Okay, yes, I was. That retarded disease had taken me away from my family, and now it was spontaneously cured? How unfair was that?

"Earth to Max," Bianca said, waving her hand in front of my face.

I blinked. "Sorry. I was trying to decide what to get you for Christmas, but I guess it doesn't matter."

Bianca squealed. "Sorry! I won't interrupt you!"

I just smiled. "Are you coming over today?"

"Duh! Oh wait… I forgot. I have a family thing today. God."

I rolled my eyes. "It won't be that bad…"

She groaned. "Trust me, it will. My grandma's bringing pie."

I shook my head. "She can't be that bad of a cook. Bet you anything I've had worse." Food is food is food. A grandma's pie would be better than sifting through Dumpsters. Especially since the food usually taken from the Dumpsters was the equivalent of a grandma's pie…left in a Dumpster for a week.

Bianca looked at me almost sadly. "How young you are…"

I swatted her and ran off to Margaret's car, which had just pulled up outside of the school. "See you Monday!" I called, before shutting the door.

"How was your day?" Shay yawned from next to me. I swear, that girl was always tired. Like an insomniac. Unfortunately for us, we never even bumped into each other during the school day. Seriously, could we have gotten more unlucky? Lockers at farthest corners of the school, no classes together, different groups to sit with at lunch…

Shay unknowingly followed my train of that. "I never see you at school," she complained. "It sucks how we have no classes together!"

"I can fix that," Margaret said from the front seat, ever alert. She had probably bullied the school board into doing all sorts of things for her in the past. What kinds of things, I totally didn't want to know.

"No, Margaret," Shay assured her hastily. "I don't want you doing anything illegal." She turned back to me. "We're like, the exact opposite of you and Brandon."

I smirked. Brandon and I had five classes together and lockers just down the hall from one another. I knew his combination. It totally freaked him out to find half his school supplies floating in jell-o everyday. He was almost like a brother, except I already had three brothers. Not looking for any more, thanks.

As soon as we got home, Shay and I headed into the kitchen to make cookies. As soon as we had discovered how junk-food compatible we were, Shay and I hadn't let up at all. Seriously, would you pass up a bowl of ice cream with cookies and a brownie on the side with popcorn for a snack? Assuming the answer to that question was le duh, you now understand why I haven't had much free time most nights of the week.

When I said we headed into the kitchen to make cookies, what I really meant was I read the directions and Shay made the food. She had discovered as soon as I arrived here that I couldn't cook worth spit. That was after I forgot to add the cheese in the Mac n Cheese. My skills were definitely improving though. I had progressed from boiling water all the way to adding noodles just after boiling the water.

Right after I dropped our first egg on the floor, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Shay announced, running to the door.

"You just don't want to clean up the yellow crap all over the floor!" I called after her.

She was saved from a sure-to-be-pathetic excuse by answering the door. I couldn't hear what was being said, but I did hear her yell down the hall, "Max, some people here to see you!"

I looked up in time to see a familiar figure racing towards me. I jumped to my feet to stop a hurtling Nudge from crashing into the counter, but then I slipped on the egg I had yet to clean and fell flat on my back.

"ZOMG! Max, are you okay?" She knelt next to me and began hugging me fiercely. I hugged her back just as warmly. "You have no idea how much I've missed you," she said, near tears. "It was terrible, with you gone. I can't believe you could just leave us like that. Why did you leave? Cuz Fang thought some one made you leave, but I didn't see how that could be true, when he actually saw you fly off – "

I ignored her endless stream of chatter, jumping to my feet and pulling Gazzy and Iggy into a hug. Gazzy clutched me around my middle, and I realized he was close to my height. Iggy squeezed me and let go, saying something about missing me. But I wasn't really paying attention to them anymore. I had seen Fang behind them.

He hadn't moved from the doorway of the kitchen, and was staring at me intently. I knew he was angry. But I also read the relief in his eyes. I knew because I felt it in my heart too, once I saw that he was safe.

"I'm so glad to see you guys," I murmured to them, before disentangling myself and going up to Fang. He pulled me into a tight hug.

"Why didn't you just tell me, Max?" he muttered. "Why just – run off?"

I stiffened. So he knew the reason why I had left. They all knew. But…maybe my life wasn't gone. I had just been thinking earlier how it hadn't seemed to affect me at all in the past few weeks.

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me," I told him gently.

"But we did get hurt," he said, pulling back to look at my face searchingly. My heart jumped. "Especially – "

"Hi, Max!" I heard Angel's voice behind him. I cursed her terrible timing. "I knew we would see you soon! How are you feeling?"

She didn't look surprised at all to see me. I wished I could say the same of Margaret about the flock. I heard her come into the kitchen. Then I heard her voice.

"What is going on here?" she said angrily.

A/N: So sorry to keep you hanging on a cliffy! I just feel like if I continued the chapter it would be forced. This one already DID feel a little forced. It was also short, I thought. Am I going OOC? Tell me your thoughts! Review!