A/N-Well, this has become my most popular story in such a short amount of time, so I'm posting this chapter rather early. It took me a while, I have such a headache. My new braces are hell. If you read my first MR story, you'd know that a while ago, I got my wisdom teeth out. So, this is hell, part two. xD Enjoy this chapter.

Memories of You

Chapter 5

Angel POV

I watched her run down the stairs and out the door. I heard her agonized thoughts, and I knew she remembered everything, and Ella had ruined it all. I had never wanted to kill anyone so much, and this was Max's sister. If I were to leap on her and strangle her now, I would give away my position and give Max an excuse to send me away forever. So I stayed where I was, even though it was killing me inside.

Iggy ripped himself away from Ella and stared after Nudge in shock and horror at what he had done. He had let Ella get to him, and he couldn't undo it. Only one day after sleeping with Nudge, I was so ashamed of him. Iggy, is that the kind of person you are? I thought blankly to myself.

Ella stared silently at the door, but tightened her arms around Iggy. Still sitting in his lap, his arms were still around her, she was desperately trying to salvage the last few moments before Nudge had seen it all. "Iggy," she whispered, "remember what I just told you? She's wrong for you. She doesn't remember you. She was crying because she was falling in love with you without her memories. It's just a crush." She soothed him, but he was unresponsive.

"I love you, Iggy," she breathed. "I'm here now. Let me take her place," she urged him, and rested her head on his shoulders, and convinced me that she really did care for him. But I would never choose Ella over Nudge. Never, never. Nudge was my family, and she had always been there for me. I would sooner go to hell than let Ella win. But then, I thought to myself, she's already winning.

I sighed with resignation as Iggy closed his eyes and made his final decision. "I guess that everyone loses their first love sometimes," Iggy stated. "I love you," he added, but it was like he was trying to convince himself. "And I've known you for so long, Ella. L-let's try it with us." Ella's happy smile could have melted Satan's heart, but I just sat there and glared down at her.

And she brought her lips back to his hastily, their lips mashing awkwardly together as their grips tightened around one another. Their closeness as they continued made me want to throw up, and when Ella asked, "Iggy, where's your room?" I couldn't take it anymore. I leapt off the railing and dropped at their feet. They seemed genuinely surprised to see me. Or, Ella did. Iggy didn't know what the heck happened.

"You little slut!" I screamed at Ella. "He just slept with my sister, and you think you can just take advantage of him right now when he's loved Nudge ever since he was fifteen? He doesn't know what he's thinking, but you do. You no good slimy idiot, crawl back into the hole that you slithered out of and leave my brother alone!"

I whirled on Iggy. "And I'm ashamed of you, letting her get to you so easily! I heard everything, you lying pig, and you know you love Nudge! She just ran away and you're here making out with this dog? Get off your ass and go get her!" I couldn't believe the words coming out of my eleven-year-old mouth. I turned around and yanked the door open to chase after Nudge. What hurt the most were the tears in my eyes as I heard Iggy tell Ella, "Don't listen to her. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

So, Iggy, you've chosen her.

Nudge POV

I ran out of there faster and faster, and didn't look back. There was no way I was ever going back to that place of hell if I had to see him there making out with Ella day in and day out from now on. I thought he loved me and that was why the whole cornfield thing had happened, but apparently I wasn't worth his time, and she was. Fine. I hope they're happy together.

I finally remembered and he was going to do this to me. I couldn't believe him. Not to mention that Angel had been sitting there and letting it happen. My brain was working super fast. I figured I could be halfway around the world in a day or two of flying, far away from them. I was sure as heck never going back there after what had just happened. Let him come after me, or let him stay there, it didn't matter. He couldn't change what he had done.

I soared up above the clouds and looked back, only to see Angel speeding like a rocket after me. I turned back and went faster, ignoring her completely. I kept a straight face as she pulled up beside me. "Get away from me," I hissed. "You just let him do it. You just sat there and let her get to him. And he fell for it! He loves her too!" I screamed at her. There were tears in my eyes by now.

"I was in shock! I'm eleven years old, what the heck did you want me to do?! I never meant for that to happen, and I yelled at them so bad that five houses over probably heard me! They completely ignored me, Nudge? Do you think I didn't want to see you and Iggy together, with you and Iggy and Max and Fang as our parents? I can't do anything about it!" she was crying, too.

I hung my head. "I'm not going back," I decided. "I don't want to be around it anymore. My life has changed so much from what it used to be, I'm so afraid I won't be able to fix it, Angel. It's over. I'll leave Iggy alone, and he can have whatever life he wants. I don't have to be in it."

"And just where do you plan to go?" she shrieked. "Where are you going to live, Nudge? How will you get food?"

"How did we get food for years?" she answered. "Where did we live for years, Angel? We lived alone. We found desert rats, or scavenged in dumpsters. I can be good with anything. Do you think it matters to me anymore? The one thing I had, the one thing that matters, is in the arms of Ella, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm tired, Angel. Tired of fighting. She can have him, if this is how easily he gives up."

"Enough of your little pity party!" she exclaimed. "I'm tired of it! Iggy waited so long for you, and when you finally remembered, he slept with you and you forgot him! I don't blame him for being tired either, but both of you have to try! You can not give up like this, Nudge! Pick up the pieces of your shattered heart and try harder!"

I stared her down. Part of me thought she was right, but part of me knew I wanted to sleep forever, and I felt a thousand years old. I couldn't deal with this anymore. The last thing Angel would see was me speeding off into the distance.

Max POV

I unlocked the door to the house and came in with Fang and Gazzy, laughing like crazy. "It's true!" Gazzy said excitedly. "It's awesome, Fang! How surprised were those guys when they tried to pick up the quarter and it was hot-glued to the floor?!" he cackled with delight. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Ella and Iggy. Together, on the same couch. No, they weren't doing anything couple-y. But it looked very suspicious.

"Where are Angel and Nudge?" I asked casually, even though I was freaking out.

"That's what we've been meaning to tell you," Ella said, purposely interlacing her fingers with Iggy's. My eyes widened, and I felt sick. No. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. "Iggy and I were…together…" Ella hesitated, "and Nudge kind of saw us and ran out. A-angel ran after her."

"What?" I almost growled, and strode over to Ella. I picked her up by her shirt collar. "What are you talking about? What did you do to Iggy? He's in love with Nudge! She could remember him any day now!" I hissed at her, and she looked frightened, but she kept a poker face for the most part.

"As if," she managed to snort. "She was never going to remember him. Don't you want Iggy to be happy, Max? Iggy's happy with me! Nothing terribly like that will ever happen to me. Just leave us alone!" She had the courage to hurl those last words at me.

"Listen, you little brat," I growled at her. "Iggy's my brother. I want him to be happy more than anyone, but no one hurts my sister, you got that? I'm leaving this alone for now, because there's nothing I can do. I want Iggy to be happy, like I said before. But if Nudge comes back, there'll be hell to pay."

"If?" Ella raised one eyebrow. "You don't think she'll come back, do you, Max?" I reddened and threw her back on the couch, then stalked out of the room.

Nudge POV

Letter to Max

Max, I saw what happened between Iggy and Ella. I'm writing this to tell you it's going to be hard for me to live without all of you, but I just can't do it anymore. I can't deal with it if I forget again and Iggy's not with me. I know it will probably happen, but I want to be alone. It's going to be much harder if you follow me and force me to come home, and I'll be much more unhappy. If you care about me, please respect what I'm trying to tell you.

I remember when I'm writing this right now. Tell Iggy I'll always love him, but it'll be better and more stable for him if he's with Ella. I don't blame Ella for liking him. I mean, he's a great guy. I don't blame Angel, either, but I need to be on my own.

The thing is, Iggy can't change what he did, and I don't think I'll be able to forget it. It really hurt, and I don't want to relive the memory more than I have to. If I ever see him again, I'll fall in love with him all over again. So, try your best to keep him there.

Tell Fang and Gazzy and Angel that I love them. I didn't want to leave them. I don't know where I'll be, or where you can find me. It'll be somewhere far, far away, to be sure you can't find me.

This is the hardest thing I've ever done. It's the most grown-up thing I've ever been forced to do. I still wish it would have worked out between Iggy and me. I love him more than anything. Thanks for helping me all those years.

~Nudge

I looked down at the short letter that I had finished writing. There were small tear drops all over it, and I laughed at how cliché it was. I smoothed it out and sealed it in the envelope. I slid Max's window open and dropped it on the bed. I inched up to sit on the roof of our house, the home that I had known for four and a half years. This was really goodbye, and as much as I hated to admit it, it was probably for good.

Standing up and sparing one last glance at it, I spread my wings and jumped off all three stories of memories. The tears were still in my eyes as I flew off.

Max POV

"We have to find her," I paced back and forth across the carpeted floor of my room as Fang sat on the bed, rereading the letter for the hundredth time that day. "She's out there somewhere, and I don't care if her sorry ass wants to be saved, we have to save her. Iggy has to find her. We have to…we have to…" I huffed as I sat down next to Fang.

"Most grown-up thing she's ever been forced to do my ass," Fang grumbled. "She couldn't even tell us to our faces. Iggy doesn't even know that she remembers him. This is another huge mess that we need to fix."

"Would you focus? We need to get Nudge back! She can't be on her own, it's too dangerous, and Ella needs to leave…" my voice trailed off helplessly.

"Are you done?" Fang waited patiently for my nod. "I don't think she should come back. If she's feeling this bad, the best thing for her is to be alone. If Iggy wants to go get her, he will. Until then, see it from Ella's side and put up with it. Okay?"

"But, Nudge is all alone…"

"Nudge can take care of herself. She's seventeen years old."

"For Nudge's sake, I hope you're right."

Angel POV

I sat in one of the largest trees in the park, glaring down on everything and everything that didn't bother to look up and see me. That cheating bastard had turned his back on me and Nudge for that little slut he didn't even know. He had forgotten about her in a heartbeat. How could he? This was bigger than her little kiss, or his broken heart, even. Nudge remembered and he threw it away, just like that.

And I didn't know what I was talking about? I was the one who had to be stoic, hold together, even if everyone else wasn't. He was losing his marbles about this Ella thing, and I was the one who didn't know what I was talking about?!

Oh, but those idiots forgot how evil I can be. Even I remember the days when I could mind-control an Eraser into falling to its death, cheat the law, turn my back on anything, and cause someone's world to crumble and fall with one sarcastic word as well as Max herself. Yeah, I was good. They picked the wrong person to upset this time.

I had caused Max emotional pain all the time back then, and she was someone that I loved. Imagine what I could do to someone that I hated.

Operation Make-Ella's-Life-a-Living-Hell was about to being.

Nudge POV

I stopped for a break in a small gas station in California. I looked at the small amount of money I had with me. If I had remembered any money from home when I ran, I could have bought a lot of food and something to carry it, but I only had ten dollars in my jacket. There was no way I was going back there. I groaned as I remembered that I was really close to Hollywood, and everything, even the food, was really expensive around there.

I walked inside slowly, running right to where they kept the high-calorie snacks. I needed something to get me through the day. I settled on a bag of chips, a protein bar, and a bottle of water for the hot sun, and waited for the cashier to give me my change. When I walked out into the sun, I was instantly ambushed.

Cameras clicked wildly around me as reporters and the guys holding the cameras buzzed anxiously around them. Their expressions were a mix of excitement and the need to get at me first, and their eyes betrayed greed and hunger. I knew exactly why they were here. No one had ever found out where the flock had disappeared after it saved the world, and we had thought we were safe in that medium-small town where my family lived.

"Nudge!" shouted one. "You are Nudge Ride, from the famous flock of bird kids that disappeared mysteriously almost six years ago, aren't you?"

"Where's Max and the rest of the flock?" one piped up. "Are you here on another mission to save the world?" Dang, these people had imaginations.

I took a deep breath and plowed past them. "I don't know what you're talking about," I gasped. "Who's Max, and what are you saying about a flock?" I made my eyes so genuinely surprised, they backed off just a little bit. "I have to go. My family's waiting," I said, and walked through the mob.

That wasn't the end. I felt something grab me by my jacket, and yank it up to reveal the slits in the back. "She's lying," declared one of them. "The slits in this jacket are for her wings to come out. She is Nudge from the flock. She fits the description perfectly."

"Let go of me!" I exploded, and wrenched myself away from the guy. I got him with a roundhouse kick to the chest, knees, and crotch. He fell over, and I smiled with satisfaction. "Anyone else want to try that?" I challenged.

"So you can still fight," one said eagerly. "Tell us, Nudge, where's the rest of the flock, or are you really on your own?"

"I'm not telling you where they are," I brushed past them. "I left them. They're not with me, but I'm not telling you where they are."

"Tell us the story," one begged. "You must want to tell someone, and we're the only ones you have to tell." I growled at him, when I realized he was right. "You don't have to give out their personal information, but America has been waiting years to know what happened with you guys. You all, you're their heroes. You at least owe them some information."

I could have given him a million reasons why I owed him nothing. My heart had been stamped on so many times, I didn't care about America or anyone in it right now. But that didn't change the fact that I had a story to tell, a story they wanted to hear, and a story I needed to get out of me right here and now. "The story, huh?" I asked, not turning around. "Well then…"

Angel POV

The next day, Nudge, our Nudge, was on the cover of every magazine in the country. People, Oprah, Star, the National Enquirer, the list went on as I picked up every magazine at the checkout line at Wal-Mart. With titles like "The Flock's Nudge Ride Returns", "Nudge – The Heartbreaking Truth", and "The Bird Kids are Back", I was completely appalled. Where was Nudge, and how did they find out about her? It wasn't like I could read minds from far away.

I held the magazine up to a random person who picked up the same issue. "What's this about? What happened?"

"You mean you don't know?" she wondered aloud. "One of those bird kids came out and told everyone the truth. The only thing she didn't tell was about the rest of them. Don't you watch the news? She's all over everything. I think they found her in California somewhere. She's gonna be quite the celebrity."

I had turned pale. I threw the magazine down and ran out of the store. Quick as a flash, I whipped out some money for the pay phone. "Max?" I asked finally as she picked it up. "We're in trouble."

Max POV

I flipped on the TV. We might as well see what we were up against. That girl better not have told them where we lived, or by this time tomorrow, fifty reporters would be dead and I would be in jail. Right there, my jaw dropped. I closed it with my hand. Nudge was on the TV. On Oprah. In front of the whole freaking world. On Oprah.

"So, why did you decide to leave your flock?" Oprah asked politely.

"Well, I lost my memory a few months back in an accident, and I was in a coma. I just found remembering what happened to be too unstable, as in, my memory comes and goes. So I figured I was better off on my own, at least until I know how long my memory's gonna last." Oprah looked touched, and wiped a fake tear out of her eye.

"And you've decided not to give the whereabouts of your flock yet?" she asked casually. Nudge shook her head no.

"They don't deserve that. That's why they're living in secret, because otherwise, the reporters would attack them again. I can't do to them."

"I understand. So, what made you talk to those reporters at that gas station, Nudge?"

"They must have known I'd be there, because when I got out, they were just waiting for me. I was literally ambushed. It was really freaky."

"So, where are you staying? Not in the forests again, I hope!" The audience laughed with her.

"No, the publicity people gave me a room in a fancy hotel," Nudge smiled. "With real food, too. That was really nice."

"Well, Nudge, it sounds like you're off on another adventure." She smiled at Nudge. "We'll talk more with Nudge Ride of the flock when we come back."

I flipped off the TV, walked into the bedroom and shook Fang awake. "Wake up, Fang," I ordered. "We're going to California. Start packing."

Weeeeeeeeeeeellllllll? xDDD Review~

~Rachel