Hello all of you lovely people!

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Maximum Ride!

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M.P.O.V.

Chapter Five:

"What?" I raised my eyes to meet Mr. Shayne's, fear clouding my mind. I had just barely made it to third period; now I had to sing in front of a bunch of strangers?

"Come on, Max!" He held out his hand to me. "I won't bite."

"Right," I muttered under breath. Fang chuckled oh-so-discreetly beside me and I spared a glare that should've been aimed at him. "It's my first day, Mr. Shayne. I'd prefer not to."

Mr. Shayne said nothing for a moment and the class was nearly silent. We all watched him as he carefully weighed different options in his head. Then, he looked directly at me. There was something in his eyes that spoke before he moved his lips. Before Mr. Shayne responded, I felt the pressure.

"Everyone sang something on the first or second day of class, Miss Ride. Considering that you are a new student, I highly recommend singing." He looked at me as though I were a wall.

"It's my first day," I argued.

"Better to get it over with, then," he smiled, "since you'll be spending a lot of your time practicing for our concert."

I groaned internally, glancing around at everyone in the room. They all stared at me, but I didn't stare back. Instead, I rose from seat cautiously. Mr. Shayne grinned triumphantly, clapping his hands encouragingly. Eventually, the rest of my third period class clapped right along with him. Robotically. Judgingly. Emotionless.

The clapping died down within a matter of seconds as I reached the front of the room. There were about twenty students in the class, staring directly at me, almost through me. It was as though I were a ghost and they were trying to pick out flaws they could no longer see. Therefore, they made rash observations and assumptions of me, based on what they could see.

I glanced at my clothes self consciously for the first time in a long time, taking in my own appearance. Black skinny jeans hugged my legs and a black t-shirt I had taken oh-so kindly and noticeably from my ex-boyfriend, who still lived in my little hometown of Kitscoty, Alberta, Canada. (A/N Dear SapphireAster, Kitscoty is a legit town and she does come from Canada, but she is not an alien c: .) The shirt was ideally loose, but after washing it so many times to rid it of his cologne, the shirt had managed to shrink a bit. No longer looking like a men's shirt, I could call it mine without question. Over it, I had pulled over a black leather jacket, courtesy of my former friend Jesse. She had spotted it in a mall (that I had been dragged to) and couldn't resist buying it for me. She claimed it was a "late birthday present," although my birthday was truly only two months away at the time. To top off the outfit, I had worn combat boots my sister Ella had bought me for my sixteenth birthday. The entire outfit contained memories I wanted to push away-why hadn't I remembered before?

"What are you going to sing to us, Max?" Mr. Shayne said cheerfully, sitting in his seat and relaxing. I hesitated for a moment, understanding that I should have thought about that before I stood up.

"I honestly hadn't thought about it," I admitted, "but I think I'm going to sing a Taylor Swift song."

"Taylor Swift?" He asked, and I nodded. "You don't strike me as a Taylor Swift fan."

Shrugging, I offered a weak smile to my teacher. "No, I'm not. But my sister is."

Mr. Shayne smiled at me and leaned back, "Which Taylor Swift song would you like to perform for us?"

Subconsciously stiffening, I questioned his choice of words. Singing in front of a class is not typically what I would consider a performance, and performing has not been a part of my agenda for quite awhile. There was something about the word- "performing" -that set off an alarm in my head. It took a moment to relax.

"Safe and Sound," I answered softly. He nodded and, facing my class once again, I parted my lips and breathed out the lyrics gently. (A/N In my head, she generally sounds similar to the girls in the Jayesslee cover of this song. You can listen to it on Youtube!)

I remember tears streaming down your face

When I said, "I'll never let you go"

When all those shadows almost killed your light

Ella is crying and the ache of her unhappiness tugs violently at my heart. My mother's hysterical voice reaches our ears and Ella bursts into another fit of sobs. Her whole body is shaking uncontrollably. She chokes down the sound but the tears flow freely.

I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"

But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight

I hold her closely, her face pressed against my shoulder. Through my t-shirt, her tears reach my skin and it takes all my strength not to cry with her, not to give up. She needs someone to take care of her, if our parents won't. I need to take care of her.

Just close your eyes

The sun is going down

You'll be alright

No one can hurt you now

Come morning light

You and I'll be safe and sound

Don't you dare look out your window, darling,

Everything's on fire

The war outside our door keeps raging on

I hug her tightly, my father's voice rising, and I realize that Ella is not the only one sobbing. My mother is wailing. My father is keening. They continue to yell at each other, neither one taking any blame, but so happily handing it out. I whisper soft words into my sister's ear, humming to her and rocking her. She's too young for this.

Hold on to this lullaby

Even when the music's gone

Gone

Just close your eyes

The sun is going down

You'll be alright

No one can hurt you now

Come morning light

You and I'll be safe and sound

Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh

Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh

La La (La La)

La La (La La)

Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh

Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh

La La (La La)

It feels like it has been forever when my parents' sobs cease and their yells decrease. They are still talking. They are still arguing. But they are no long battling. Ella leans against my and I continue to hold her, stroking her hair like my mother used to stroke mine. She is beginning to rest for the first time that night, and I allow her. I stay up, making sure she is safe.

Just close your eyes

You'll be alright

Come morning light,

You and I'll be safe and sound...

Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh oh oh. [x7]

Biting my lip, I drag my gaze off of my focused point on the back wall. My class stared at me, with what I'm not quite sure. To me, it seemed like terror. It seemed like I just scarred them with a song so horrible that they didn't know how to react.

But instead, they start to clap. And slowly, the clapping escalates to little whoops of joy, and eventually, impressed cheers. I smiled at them politely and shuffled back to my seat, next to Fang. He glanced at me, raised eyebrows, the only one not clapping. The rest of the class followed my path, twisting and turning in their seats to continue to cheer.

Mr. Shayne hushed the room and smiled brilliantly at me. "That was beautiful, Max," he said, and some sort of pride reflected in his eyes. I shrugged and smiled, thanking him as a normal person would.

"Where did you learn to sing like that?" he asked and I didn't quite know how to reply.

"I...honestly, my sister and I used to sing together all the time. I guess I just sang so much that I somehow managed to be a bit impressive?" I answered lamely.

He didn't mind too much, continuing to smile. He opened his mouth to say something when a redhead looked me straight in the eye and gave a loud comment. "A bit? Are you crazy? That was better than Taylor damn Swift!"

Faint colour crawled up to my cheeks and I laughed uncomfortably. "Thank you, but...I don't think I'm that great. Thank you, though. It's very nice of you to say that."

In the back of my mind, something was nagging me and I had a bad feeling about her. There was something in the way she looked at me, a curious glint in her eyes that I didn't like. It wasn't evil, but it wasn't innocent either. The compliment, although it may have been sincere, was not the only thing she was thinking.

I decided then that I did not like her.

She was about to say something else when the bell rang.

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I hope you enjoyed Chapter 5!

If you haven't yet, please read my A/N. It's a tad bit important, and plus, I posted this right after I posted the A/N!

Thanks! You are all the best followers ever :')

-TheseWordsSpeak