Through the Eyes of a Servant | Chapter 17 | by: Rachel / Chapter posted September 25, 2010.
AU | Max/Fang | PG / 3,934 words
Max, Fang - 17 | Iggy - 19 | Nudge - 16 | Gazzy - 15 | Angel - 13 / The original age ranges have been changed.
When Max accepts a job as a maid in Fang's household, will it be love at first sight? Or will anything and everything come between them?
The idea for this story is my own, and no one else's. Everything else belongs to Jame's Patterson -although I will be next in line for the throne when he retires xD-. I made no money for writing this story, I simply write for reviews.
Nudge crawled out of her window stealthily, her hair blowing around her face in the already-cool air. Her hair was straightened and up in a high ponytail, and she had tried to dress as normally as possible, but it had been difficult.
She had managed to find an old pair of jeans in her closet, and despite the flashy design, they had faded considerably. In the back of the closet, she had found some regular tennis shoes that Max had bought for her a while ago.
Granted, she hadn't been able to find a single non-formal shirt in her closet, but she had managed to talk Fang into letting her borrow one of his less depressing shirts, one depicting a skull with a crack running straight over its head. Lovely.
Fang popped out of the window next to her as she climbed onto the tree branch. "I expect you to be home by eleven-thirty," he said strictly, having rehearsed various excuses to tell his mother regarding where Nudge had gone off to.
"Yeah, yeah," she replied, anxious to leave. But he wasn't finished yet. "If he's rude to you, leave. If he tries to take advantage of you, slap him. And please, please don't try anything with him. You're wearing my shirt!"
She blushed and cast him a dark look. "I wasn't planning on 'trying anything' at all! I'm only sixteen!" she protested. "Anyway, it'll be fine! He's Max's brother! Don't you trust him at all?"
"No," Fang answered promptly. "I've never talked to him, really. I met him at the Fourth of July party, but I don't know him. So be careful, just in case he's, you know, a serial rapist or something."
"Is that your loving way of telling me you're worried about me?" she asked cheerfully, and he looked away. "Right, right, I have to go," she remembered, and began crawling down the tree. "Cover for me, Fang, I mean it!" was all she said before she disappeared into the night.
The last thing Fang thought was that he was proud of her, as he watched his sister –and his shirt- disappear off down the driveway.
Once Nudge hit the ground, she took off running, cutting through the darkness as usual. It was getting darker in the sky, so even though it was only seven o'clock, the sun was fading from the sky. No one would see her.
Just beyond the wrought-iron fence, she could see Iggy waiting just where they'd agreed to meet. She ducked through the rosebushes and walked through the gate quickly, stopping to make sure no gardeners were around. They weren't, as this was around the time of year that they let the garden die.
"Nudge?" Iggy asked, turning around to stare in the general direction of the source of the noise. She glared. "Don't say that! What if had been someone else? What would they think if they heard my name coming from your mouth?"
"Sorry," he held up his hands in surrender. "I apologize for my blindness getting in the way of your lying to everyone in your household," he said sarcastically, and she hit him on the shoulder.
"That's no way to start a first date," she said as they started walking. She smiled. She still couldn't believe that she and Iggy were finally…together? Sighing, she walked along. What exactly were they now?
He'd told her that he loved her, that much was obvious. But sometimes people said things that they thought they meant, when, in reality, they didn't feel that way at all. And even though he'd sounded sure of himself…what if she had been wrong about him?
Just once, she wished she had Max's life. A normal life, where she could be completely sure that the guy she loved was hers. She wanted to have a life that wasn't perfect, but some things made it worth it in every way. And she didn't have that.
She couldn't ever have that.
They continued walking, down the city streets, looking up at tall buildings and small restaurants, past faded apartments and green parks. They walked past small houses, watching children play. She saw everything that she wanted, and couldn't ever have.
She saw him, too, and began to wonder if he was one of those things. And she thought that because he was blind, he wouldn't notice the silence. She thought wrong.
He grabbed her hand, and she looked up, surprised. "I meant what I said that day," he looked down at her. "Stop thinking too much into things. Stop trying to find a problem when there isn't one. I love you. That's all there is to it."
She gaped. "I thought you were supposed to be blind," she complained. "How did you know?"
He smiled. "I know that when you're not talking at light speed, something's wrong," he replied. She frowned and looked away. "But I like it about you," he tilted her chin back to face him, and she wondered briefly how he knew that.
"Stop thinking," he repeated, but she didn't know if she could. For once, she couldn't reply. Her voice had failed her.
And then every doubt in her mind vanished when he leaned down to kiss her. "Stop thinking," he whispered once again. She nodded vaguely before following him down the street. Even for a day, she decided, being normal had its advantages.
Twenty minutes after Nudge left, Fang gave up trying to teach her turtle to do tricks, and walked into her bathroom, deciding that it was a good time to start the illusion that Nudge was really at home. He and Nudge had set it all up last night.
Once inside, he walked to her shower and turned it on, full blast. He thought briefly that if the environmentalists of the world would kill him if they were to see him right then. Walking out of the bathroom, he grabbed Nudge's laptop off the desk, and carried it back in.
He typed in her password, which he'd figured out by way of Angel, and opened up a particular file. The day before,he and Nudge had made several recordings of her singing in the shower, which she never failed to do on a daily basis. He pressed play on the recording, which would go on for about twenty minutes and then repeat.
When he walked out, he shut the door behind him. Nudge took the longest showers of anyone in the house, around forty-five minutes at best. Not that they couldn't afford it, of course. He had around an hour until he'd have to start the second stage of the plan.
He flopped down on Nudge's bed, suddenly too tired even to walk down the hall to his own room. He looked at the fluffy pink ceiling, trying to control his urge to throw up from the general girliness of the is room. And he had some serious time to think.
Nudge was growing up, and he had to face the reality sooner or later. Everything was changing now that it was the end of the summer. Their lives were finally coming together. But at the same time, sometimes he felt like he was being left behind.
And Max…he just wouldn't have Max with him for much longer. He didn't know what to do, how to make it count, or just how to come out and tell her what he really wanted to say, that he wanted to find a way that they could be together.
"Knock-knock," the door swung open as Angel walked into the room, and flopped down on the bed next to him. He glared at her slightly. "Why is it that whenever you hear me thinking about anything important, you always think it concerns you?"
"Because it does," she answered, like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Fang, I don't understand you. Why don't you just ask her already? Do you really think that Max would give you up if you did?"
I don't know," he answered truthfully. "But I'm worried that it won't make a difference if I did. Even if when I turn eighteen, I take Max and get out of here, what am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? I don't have a plan."
"Life doesn't come with a plan, Fang," she said tiredly. "You didn't plan for your girlfriend to have wings. Heck, you didn't even plan for you to have wings. But it throws you curve balls now and again, and you can't dodge them forever."
"What are you saying?" he asked, slightly irritated.
"Face up to your problems once in a while!" she practically shouted, and covered her mouth with both hands. "God, Fang, I'm so sorry," she looked away, trying not to notice his shocked expression.
"I'm sick of hearing how you'll never change anything," she looked down. "If you really want to change things, then just do it! You can't just sit and wish for something! If you want things to change, you have to make them change!"
"You're right," he said quietly, and stood up. "I'll make them change. Right now." And he headed for the window.
"What are you doing?" she called after him.
"I'm going to Max's!" he pulled the window open and jumped out.
"What about covering for Nudge?" she asked, exasperated. "You take care of it!" he shouted, and then he was gone. She shook her head, smiling slightly. Fang could always act like an adult. But at least for a while, it would be impossible for him to grow up.
In reality, he didn't have any idea what the real world was like. She chuckled. But that was alright, wasn't it? Max would show him, even if they didn't have much time left together.
Gazzy stepped up to the house nervously, the large box in his hands weighing him down some as he rang the doorbell and waited anxiously. At the sound of the doorbell, the box yipped once, and he shook it. "Shut up!" he hissed. "You're supposed to be a secret!"
The door swung open seconds later, and he was glad that it was Angel and not someone else. She looked around nervously, making sure her mother was nowhere in sight, and yanked him through the door.
He was dragged along, up the stairs. The box shuffled nervously, and whined slightly. Angel didn't have time to be curious about what was inside. She was preoccupied with maintaining the illusion that Nudge and Fang were inside the house.
"Um, where are we going?" he asked, slightly confused. They usually hid in the closets and spied on the maids, or went to their secret passage under the kitchen sink, or even to her room. But they were going the wrong way. By now, he knew the house like the back of his hand.
"Nudge and Fang are gone, so I have to cover for them," she rolled her eyes and pulled him into Nudge's room. He'd been there once or twice before –mainly to spy on Nudge- and hated it. It was just too pink.
"Oh," he sighed, and set the box gingerly on the bed, hoping that it would stay quiet. He crossed the room to inspect Nudge's beloved turtle, sure it had suffered a fair amount of abuse recently.
"So why are you here?" she asked distractedly as she walked into the bathroom and switched off the music and the shower, just giving up and deciding that she'd control any minds that happened to want to enter the room.
"Well," he fidgeted. He hoped that what Nudge had said about giving girls gifts was true. "I came over to give you something," he said truthfully. She nodded vaguely and locked the door, looking through the keyhole to make sure no one was coming.
"That would explain the giant box, then?" she said as she squinted by the door. He gulped and nodded. At last, she got up and sat on the bed next to him, and she was hit by all of his thoughts. She bit back a smile, realizing what was in the box.
"Can I open it?" she asked shyly, and he nodded. She laughed greedily and lifted the lid. The small black Scottie dog inside the box blinked at her for all of two seconds before barking and jumping into her arms.
Gazzy grinned sheepishly as she burst into a fit of giggles and the dog jumped on her, licking her face. She smiled and pushed off, and noticed what was around its neck. A necklace of some kind. She lifted it off and inspected it curiously.
Her name was printed on the front. The pendant was heart-shaped, and silver. When she turned it over, she burst out laughing as she read the inscription. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?
Gazzy scratched his head guiltily as she set it down. "Thanks," she whispered, and kissed his cheek. "It means a lot." The Scottie dog coughed indignantly, feeling quite ignored. She gave it an odd look, sure that she was hearing things. She had to be.
She put it out of her mind as Gazzy put the necklace around her neck. He smiled. Nudge had been right. Gifts…always turned out to be worth it.
Nudge looked around her as they entered the restaurant. "What is this place?" she wondered aloud. Granted, something smelled amazing. But the place was crowded, the booths all had holes in them, the people were revolting, and to make things perfect, a baby was crying somewhere.
"Pizza Hut," Iggy replied, and stepped up to the counter, ordering something that she couldn't quite make out over the noise. She huddled close to him, slightly afraid that someone would walk though the door and kill her. This was all so strange.
They received their order soon enough, and made their way to one of the booths. At one point, she was hit by a wadded-up napkin thrown by a fifth-grader, and when she sat down, she was glaring. Iggy remained oblivious.
And still, she couldn't help but enjoy herself. This was where she wanted to be. In a place like this, with people like this, normal like this. That was all she had ever wanted.
Iggy handed her a plate and a slice of pizza, and she eyed it curiously. He wasted no time in devouring his as she poked hers with a fork curiously. He seemed to sense that she was uncomfortable. "You eat it with your hands," he instructed.
She picked it up timidly and bit her lip, not sure whether to try it or run away screaming. She knew that she could still get out of there. But she mustered up the last of her courage, and took a bite out of it, waiting for death to close in on her.
Instead, her eyes widened, and she stared at the triangle of food in her hands. "This is amazing!" she almost shouted, and were it not for all the people in the restaurant, she was sure everyone around her would have heard. Iggy chuckled.
She proceeded to finish the slice of pizza in less than three seconds. Iggy smirked. "So you like it, huh? I knew it," he waved a hand, taking all the credit. She didn't mind as she grabbed another slice of pizza. "Keep talking, blind boy. You won't know if I'm here or not," she retorted, and she was silent.
"Yeah, right. Like you'd just leave," he chuckled. No answer. "Come on, Nudge. You can't just play with me like that." No answer. "Nudge? You're still there, right?" he asked, starting to sound paranoid. Again, no answer.
"I know you're there," he scoffed. No answer. "Fine, be that way," he said uncertainly, only hoping that she really was just playing tricks on him. She bit her lip to keep from laughing.
It was times like this that she had missed out on for her entire life. But it was also times like this that she could get back.
Jeb was reading a newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee when he heard a knock at the door. He dropped the paper and got off the couch as he looked out the window to see who it was. His eyes narrowed. Oh, great.
"Hello, Fang," Jeb sighed as he opened the door. The boy in front of him looked at him expectantly. "Is Max here?" Fang asked cautiously. He didn't know why, but something about Jeb bothered him. Or creeped him out, more or less.
"No, she went to the grocery store," Jeb answered. "Oh," Fang nodded and turned around to leave. "Wait, Fang," Jeb said suddenly, and Fang turned back around, his creeped-out feeling growing stronger by the minute. "What?" he asked warily.
"Come inside," Jeb ordered. "We need to talk about some things." Fang hung his head. He'd seen this in movies. This was either the part where Jeb murdered him and dragged him to the basement, or gave him the strict parent talk.
Nevertheless, he walked inside, and sat down on the couch, crossing his arms over his chest. Jeb sat on the chair across from him. "So," Fang said evenly. "So," Jeb said just as evenly. Fang twiddled his thumbs.
"Fang, how serious are you about seeing my daughter?" Jeb asked suddenly. Fang shrank back uncomfortably. "W-W-Why do you ask?" he stammered. Did Jeb have mind-reading powers just like Angel?
Jeb sighed. "Fang, for the last few weeks, you know Max has been worried about her school starting, and how things are going to work. She's been very upset, and I don't like seeing her that way. She cares about you a lot."
"I care about her, too," Fang said slowly. "What's your point?"
"I don't want to see her so worried and out of sorts if it's for nothing," Jeb almost growled. "I don't want her to come home every day so happy, and then worry so much about you, if you're not going to be around for very much longer."
Fang was silent.
Jeb glared. "I'm making myself very clear, Fang. If you don't care about her as much as you possibly can, if you don't l-love my daughter, then I'm asking you to get the hell out of here."
Fang looked him straight in the eye. "Thanks for your concern, sir. But I don't plan on leaving her anytime soon. Put simply, I'd rather die. No, I don't know what I'm going to do yet, and frankly, I'm only seventeen. But I don't plan on just leaving when her school starts."
"So you do love her?" Jeb asked incredulously.
"Sir, I'd walk on blindfolded on broken glass on my tongue for her," Fang answered solemnly. Jeb fought back a grin. "If you hurt her, I'll shoot you," he warned. Fang shrugged. "I've gotten the same threat from Iggy and Gazzy, sir. If I ever get that crazy, I'll be prepared."
Jeb nodded as Fang walked to the door. And strangely, he wasn't worried. He knew his daughter was in good hands.
An hour later, Iggy was walking with Nudge down by the river that ran through the middle of town. They were on the outskirts now, away from all the traffic and people. And walking hand in hand, Iggy was happy. So was she.
It was silent, and she knew that he was thinking. She didn't mind. She was thinking about some things herself. For once, she didn't want to be anyone else. She was happy, right then and there.
"I'm not going to college," he said as they continued to walk. She could swear she felt her jaw hit the sidewalk. "But it's your dream!" she protested. "That's why Max is working for us in the first place! What are you going to do, work in that crappy gas station for the rest of your life?"
"Nudge-" he began, but she interrupted him. "Iggy, I can't let you go through with something like that! Don't you want to get out of poverty and do something important? You used to! What's wrong?"
"It's really not that-" he started, but she cut him off again. "Is this because of me? I mean, I don't want you to leave for college, but if you want to, I'm not going to hold you back! I want you to be happy!"
"Nudge, what are you-"
"No!" she protested. "You have to go to college! Max has the money for you by now? Why are you just giving up like that?"
"Nudge!" he shouted, and grabbed her shoulders. She was actually on the verge of tears. He leaned down and kissed her cheek tenderly. "I'm not going to college because I met you."
"What?" she exploded. "So this is all my fault! Well, guess what, mister? You're going to college! I'm not going to be responsible for this decision of yours! If you want to go, then go!"
He calmed her before continuing. "Nudge, it's not that," he sighed. "Because I met you, I…I felt happy. And I know now that I don't need to go to college and make a boatload of money when I'm older to feel that way."
She looked up at him with watery eyes. "If I can just find a normal job, with enough money to support me and the person I want to be with," he stammered, looking anywhere but at her, "then I can be happy!"
"I see," she looked away, the thought of Iggy with anyone but her making her feel sick inside.
"Nudge," he began, sweating buckets. "If I make that dream come true…that is, if I can be with anyone and be happy…then I want it to be you."
And for a moment, time was still as she processed it. What had he just said? Was it a promise? A proposal? Had Iggy just told her that he wanted to be with her, and only her? She wanted to believe it was true. But she was afraid.
"Iggy, I'm...that is, I love…I like…but I'm only sixteen!" she shouted, and shook her head. She looked up at him. "I'm sorry, but I'm still…just figuring love out."
She looked at the ground. "Where is the line between like and love?" she asked. "I don't really know. But I have a lot to figure out, and things that I want to do! Things that I want to see! And I still have to grow up. I still have to live."
She sighed. "I don't know what I want yet. I know that I…that you mean a lot to me. But I don't know where we stand, and we've never even had a real first kiss, and I'm so confused!"
He scooped her into his arms then, and her eyes went wide as his lips came crashing down on hers, and she just didn't care anymore. She went with it, because it was a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing. And maybe she did love him.
When he pulled away, he was smiling softly. "I know. And I know you can't make a decision yet. But I'll promise you one thing," she blushed as he leaned down so that he was level with her ear.
"I'll definitely make you fall in love with me."
And he pulled away, taking her hand. She followed him down the sidewalk, not really sure what had just happened. But for the moment, she decided that it was alright not to be sure.
She'd figure it out one day.
Yes, yes, I know that I updated this late, but my dad's laptop broke and the computer I'm using is being a bitch. At least it's still on the same day -yay for the schedule! 8D- Next week I'm probably going to update a little early/late, as I'm going on vacation next Saturday.
I officially HATE writing fluff, by the way. I'm not a fluffy person. I'm not all smiley faces and rainbows. I'd much rather write angstangsangst. So the Gazzy/Angel in this chapter literally killed me. I am now dead. I SO can't wait until next chapter, when you get tears and angst and all that crap that you love. ^^
I officially LOVE all of you who have been reviewing every single crapload of a chapter. ^^ You're awesomer than the Swiss Miss hot chocolate with the little dehydrated marshmallows in it. (Fo shizzle, that's a whole lotta awesome.) Peace,
~Rachel