Ride of a Lifetime
And somehow Ella had convinced Max to go shopping.
Correction: Ella had convinced Dr. Martinez to order Max to go shopping. She had agreed with Ella about Max needing some new jeans.
"Not something fancy, Max, just something un-ripped. Is that really that hard?" She asked.
Ella and Angel giggled as Max shuffled her feet and finally sighed. "No."
"Good." Dr. Martinez smiled. "You girls have fun!"
Which was how Max ended up driving around the parking garage at the mall, trying to find an empty space.
"This is stupid," she growled. "It's way too crowded here! If there's this many people outside, just think of how many people there will be inside."
In the backseat Monique and Angel laughed. "It'll be fine, Max. There's more room inside." Angel told her, than turned back to the story Monique was telling her. The two girls had become fast friends, even though they were two years apart.
Nick had also fallen in easily with Max, Iggy, and their other friends. At first, some of them thought it was strange how quiet he was, but they came to appreciate his ironic points and sarcastic remarks, along with the silence.
Max finally parked the car and got out, slamming the door. Ella, Angel and Monique tried not to laugh at the expression on her face, and failed.
"It's not so bad, Max." Monique said. "Shopping can sometimes be actually fun."
"I'm sure." Max muttered, following the others as they hurried towards the mall. She sighed. Why had she agreed to come?
*****
After what felt like hours of shopping, Max convinced the others to take a break. They bought snowballs and sat down to eat them at the food court. Angel and Monique went to get a soft pretzel while Ella and Max started on their snow balls.
"See, Max, shopping isn't horrible." Ella said loftily.
"I still don't think I even needed new jeans," Max said. "Let alone a dress."
"But Max," Ella said, "Now if we ever go to a party, you'll have something to wear!"
"Oh, yeah, that's definitely going to happen." Max said sarcastically. Angel laughed.
Ella glared at her sister. "Or you could wear it to school-I'm sure Nick would look at you then."
Max turned red. "I don't like Nick," she said.
Ella snorted. "Sure you don't."
"Don't make me hurt you," Max threatened.
"You wouldn't hurt me, Max, you love me! I'm your sister!" Ella said sweetly.
Max was about to retort when a boy about their age walked over to them. He looked at Ella, narrowed his eyes, and asked "Ella Martinez, right?"
Ella laughed. "Sam! It's been forever."
"I know," Sam said.
Max took another bite of her cherry snowball just as Ella said "Oh, Sam! This is my sister Max-I told you about her, right? Max, this is Sam. We went to camp together last year."
Max swallowed quickly and reached out to shake Sam's hand. "Hello," she said.
"Hey." He held her hand longer than necessary, his eyes going down her body. Max blushed-she wasn't used to guys checking her out. He turned back to Ella. "I'm having a party in a couple of weeks-you should definitely come. It's going to be a blast!"
Ella grinned. "I'd love to come!"
"What about you, Max?" Sam asked.
She nodded. "Ella will probably drag me along anyways, so sure." She said.
"Great!" Sam wrote down the address on one of their napkins and handed it to Ella.
"Is it alright if I bring my boyfriend?" Ella asked.
"Sure." Sam said. "Max, did you…?"
"Oh, Max isn't dating anyone." Ella cut in.
He grinned again. "Then you'll be there! Great to see you, Ella, nice to meet you Max," he said and walked away.
Max looked at Ella. "You didn't have to tell him that." she said.
"What? I thought you didn't like Nick?" she asked, just as Monique and Angel bounced up to the table.
"You like Nick?" Monique asked, eyes wide.
"No!" Max said, blushing. The last thing she needed was Nick's little sister telling him Max had a crush on him.
"Okay," Monique said smugly. Max swore in her head.
"Guess what?" Ella cut in. "My friend Sam just invited Max and me to a party he's having!" She turned to Ella with a smug expression. "Now you have someplace to where that dress."
* * * * *
Nick was standing on a cliff. The sky was a dangerous gray around him, the rocks covered in moss. The storm made the waves crash against the cliff side, splashing saltwater in his grim face. His eyes were closed, but slowly he opened them and turned back to face Max.
"We have to go now," he said. His voice was low, barely concealing the edge of panic in his voice.
"Now?" Max asked. She stood a few yards behind him, freezing in her shorts and T-shirt. The cold seeped through her thin sneakers and sweater and she longed for the warmth of home.
Nick gazed at her steadily. He was wearing his usual black jeans and T-shirt, but he was also wearing a strange necklace Max had never seen before- it looked like some sort of shark tooth or fang.
"Now." He said solemnly. "Please, Max. You have to come."
She shook her head, unwilling. "I can't."
"Then I'll have to go alone." He said darkly. Suddenly, he snapped open his beautiful wings. They were fourteen feet from tip to tip, made up of long feathers so black they were almost purple.
He looked back at her once more and stepped toward the edge. "Goodbye, Max."
And he stepped off the edge of the cliff.
Max screamed, but then those powerful wings were beating, and he was rising into the air above her.
"Wait!" she cried, running to the edge. She wanted desperately to follow him, to fly through the night sky and away from the storm, but she couldn't. He was gone, and she was bound to the land.
"I'll never fly," she sobbed quietly, wrapping her arms around herself. "And now he's gone."
Max bolted upright, gasping. What the hell was that? She'd just had the freaking weirdest dream ever. Nick had had…wings? The image of him in her dream came into her mind again, and she shivered. It was completely unrealistic and yet frighteningly perfect, and she caught herself wondering if it was true.
She shook her head quickly. Yeah, right. She thought. Nick has wings. You're too tired, Max- go back to sleep.
She lay back down and tried to sleep, but all she could think about was her dream. Finally she scribbled it on a piece of paper so she'd remember to tell Nick- he'd get a kick out of it.
And then she fell asleep.
* * * * *
Fang sighed as he walked through the crowded high school hallways. This whole normal student act was quickly getting boring. Nudge loved it, but he felt like they were sitting ducks, just waiting for Itex to drop the cage on them again.
Suddenly, Max ran up to him. Her cheeks were red and it looked like she'd been running to catch him.
"Nick!" She said quickly, and Fang hid a grimace at the ridiculous name Nudge had made up for him. "I have to tell you about this dream I had."
Fang raised an eyebrow, letting Max catch her breath. "What was it?"
She shook her head, eyes wide. "It was so weird!" she exclaimed. "We were standing on this cliff, and it looked like it was going to start storming. I don't remember exactly, but you were saying how we had to leave and I was saying that I couldn't, but the strangest part was that you had wings."
Fang stared at her for a second, wondering how she had dreamed that up. What were the chances of a random dream being the truth of his life, and the secret he had to keep at all costs?
He swallowed. "That is weird."
Max laughed, relieved by him blowing it off. "I know," she said. "Seriously, who has wings?" Fang laughed with her, breathing a sigh of relief.
"No one," he said, and Max grinned.
"Sorry I freaked you out, it was just so- realistic." She told him. "Well, I have to get to class. See you at lunch!"
Fang waved at her weakly, his heart sinking. No wonder she said it had been realistic- it had been real.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, but I own my plot!
A/N: I know it's been a while since I updated but I'm so busy and I swear my tennis coach is insane and I'm rewarding you with an exciting and long chapter! (I think so, at least)! Thanks for your support-9 reviews for one chapter, I feel so special! :D Can I ask to have 40 reviews before I update-that's only four more, and this story has 96 visitors!
To answer the questions, there will be Fax later, just not yet, and I can't say much more about whether Max and co. are winged or not, but I can promise that it will make sense later, so keep reading! -Rowena
Anonymous review replies:
)( *wings* )( - I'm glad you like the story! I know it's confusing, but I don't want to say too much and ruin the plot for you. Still, I meant what I said, (they don't have wings yet) and I hope you'll keep reading to find out what I mean.
goldenwingchick – I'm glad you like it! It took me a while to update, but I did, so enjoy!
bookworm – I tried to answer your question, but all I can say is they don't have wings yet. I know it's not a great answer, but if you keep reading you'll find out. I'm glad you like the story, I hope you finish your homework (homework's what kept me from updating sooner), and I just did update. Hope you liked the chapter!
Sorry for the super-long A/N, but please leave a review!