"Max! Door!" Iggy called, staring at the TV.
"Iggy, I'm right next to you!" I yelled back, rubbing my ear. Nudge, Fang, Tess, JJ, James, John, Michael, Dylan, Lissa, Ari, Oliver, and Mike were all already over for Iggy's Guy Night, all stealing chairs and the floor, watching movies. At the moment, they were all watching Tropic Thunder.
Tess was Iggy's good friend who was a Freshman math teacher and was twenty-six. JJ and James were twins, JJ my friend form high school and James being Iggy's. JJ was extremely girly where James seemed to be too, but he was straight. They were both twenty-four. John taught woodshop at school and was thirty, the eldest one in the room, aside from Michael who was his cousin, same age. He taught cooking. Dylan and Lissa were dating and both were twenty-five. Dylan taught Biology at school, right down the hall from me. For a while, before I introduced Lissa to him, he had a thing for me. Ari was Iggy's and my cousin, twenty-nine. We never really saw him much because he was normally out of state but when he was here, we always took advantage. Oliver, or as we like to call him Omega, was the karate/martial arts teacher. Which is why we call him Omega; he was amazingly fast and strong and he helped all of us learn how to fight in the easiest and quickest ways. He was twenty-one. Mike, or Computer Mike, was, obviously, the technological teacher at school. He taught people how to use programs on the computer and how to operate cameras, boom mikes, etc.
(Notice something about these characters? Tess, JJ, Lissa- all from S.O.F./book 2. John and Michael- the scientists in books 4 and 5. James- the original author. Ari- duh! Omega- book 4. Mike: I think it was Mike. Do they even say his name?? Anyway, books 1 and 3. And, if you don't recognize Dylan…I'm almost 100 percent positive that he is the obstacle in Max's and Fang's relationship in Maximum Ride: Fang. So, there! I'm using all these unknown characters in the books! Look out for more!)
Anyway, I got up and went over to the door, opening it. Gazzy and Angel stood there, looking bored out of their minds.
"Come on in guys. Let me get my coat." I led them in while I went to my room to grab my wallet and jacket.
"Max! Why?! Why, Max, why, why, why?!" Iggy whined. I had reassured him earlier that they wouldn't set foot in the apartment during Guy Night. Of course, I had lied. I mean, come on. Iggy was being rude!
I came back out with my things and Fang was waiting by the door, looking at his foot, thinking. I smirked. He had no idea what I had in mind, letting him come along. First, I was going to make him pay for most of it all. Second, he had to do a lot of things in order to get the auditorium ready for the concert. And third…ha, ha, ha! He has no idea!
As I passed Iggy, I smacked the back of his head. "Dumbass," I muttered.
"Bitch." He muttered back.
Aren't we lovely to each other? Fang, Angel, Gazzy, and I walked out. Fang stared at me incredulously.
"What?" I asked as we walked to the stairs. I lived on the fifth floor.
"You guys really talk to each other like that?" He asked, still shocked. Sure, me throwing a shoe would seem normal but calling each other names? …Okay then.
"Yeah. That's how we say I love you to each other." And it was. Iggy and I weren't the greatest explaining our feelings. When we were by ourselves, yeah, we could talk but if there were witnesses…ha, no, no way.
"That has got to be the worst thing in the world." He scolded, mostly to himself, not looking me in the eyes. "Not telling each other properly, calling each other regretful things! You two should treat each other better because one of these days the other might just be… might... just be… gone." His voice was fading by the end of his light lecture.
We were outside of the building by then and Gazzy and Angel were hailing a taxi. I stopped Fang by putting my hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked at me before being engulfed by my hug. His sister only died two years ago. I know; she was one of my best friends. Her name was Marian and she was his adopted sister since he was three. She had grown up to be a famous millionaire who was also a scientist, very successful in the study of cross-genetics. Her husband had died when Ella was six so she raised her herself and then two years ago, there was an accident. And then… her funeral. And many others' as well. (In case any of you don't recognize the name [since this was a minor minor character] she was the Director in the books. Never really referred to by name but I searched for it.)
"I know you miss her." I whispered to his neck. "But you have to move on. You can't grieve forever." I knew exactly how he felt. She and I had gotten into a fight and we both said horrible things to one another. Fang had fought with her too, being on my side, and screamed nasty things to her as well. Both of us regretted it to this day. "Come on." I pulled away. "Taxi's here."
I pulled him over to the taxi-van which was big enough to hold all four of us in back, an extra row of seats.
--!--
"Yes! A strike!" Angel screamed happily, jumping up and down. She skipped over to her seat and sat down next to Gazzy who was glaring at her over his Mug Rootbeer can. "Your turn, Gaz!" She smiled innocently at him while he got up.
"Bowling? Really, Max? Never thought you were one to bowl." Fang said to me while Gazzy grabbed his ball. (Ouch…XD)
I shrugged. "I know Angel and Gazzy love it so…plus, I'm not that bad of a bowler."
"One thing's for sure: Angel's a pro." He nodded toward the scoreboard. We were on our last turns, Gazzy being the last. Angel's score was 270. Gazzy was 127, Fang's was 220, and mine was 259. Amazing, right? (For the unknown, a perfect 10 pin game is a 300, so Angel being that close is really an excellent play.)
"Who won?" Gazzy asked, coming over.
"Angel," Fang answered. Angel pumped her fist in the air. "Then Max, then me, and then you, Gaz." He chuckled at Gazzy's narrowed eyes.
He shrugged. "Oh well. I'm better at DDR!" He yelled, rushing to take his shoes off.
I swear, sometimes that boy reminds me of a nine-year-old. Fang, Angel, and I had taken our shoes off while Gazzy had bowled, our own shoes on our feet.
We turned our shoes in and went back upstairs where the games were. We went to the local Fun Way place where it had rollerblading, games, bowling, bumper cars, go-karts, laser tag, and rides. Fang put money into a machine and got hundreds of tokens, splitting it equally with all of us.
"Keep your phones on and meet back here in twenty minutes if you need to find us." I told Angel and Gazzy before they ran off. They may be in high school but Fun Way brings the child out in even the oldest, grumpiest geezer.
I put the tokens in my empty, clean cup that I had been holding and started walking away. Fang followed.
"I can't believe you're making me pay for everything." He grumbled, slightly angry.
"Not everything. Just games, rides, and fun. I'm paying for food and entry." I pointed out.
He scowled. "Still not fun."
I rolled my eyes. "It's Fun Way- of course it's fun. You're just being a big baby."
"Am not!" He protested, reminding me of someone.
"You're right. You're acting like Iggy."
His jaw dropped, taking the insult. "Hey! That is not-"
"Think about it." I interrupted him with a quiet, calm voice, walking ahead.
I knew I won because he stopped arguing. I stepped past a window and froze, smiling at the sight. Inside was an ice skating rink. Fang was next to me again.
"I haven't skated in a while." I mused, almost to myself, though out loud.
"Then come on." Fang nudged me toward the door.
"No. No, you're already spending enough. Plus, if we did skate, I'd like Gaz and Ange here too along with Nudge. They all love the ice." I watched the little kids sliding and gliding on the ice, so graceful. "More of a group activity. Plus, there's too many kids- I'd rather not trample them."
He chuckled. "Alright." He let it go and started walking toward the Rock Band station where there was a mic on a stand, the drum set, and two guitars. "Come on. Let's hear that choir voice that I've heard so much about."
I laughed and walked over. We split the tokens evenly between me and him. I was going to sing and play guitar while he played drums so he helped pay for the guitar since it was extra coins, like for an extra person.
"You choose the song." I allowed him while I fixed the guitar strap. He sat at the drums.
"Alright." He was flipping through before he stopped at For A Pessimist I'm Pretty Optimistic by Paramore. He beat the drum to choose it and we chose the difficulty setting. For guitar, I chose hard and for vocals I chose extreme. Fang chose hard for drums.
"Just talk yourself up And tear yourself down You've hit your one wall Now find a way around Well what's the problem? You've got a lot of nerve…" I started to sing.
--!--
Gazzy grabbed his fifth slice of thick crust pizza. Angel was on her fourth and Fang and I were done, having already eaten seven each. We had decided to save some for the two. I took a sip from my Coke and shook the cup.
"I'm out. I'll be right back." I got up and went to the soda fountain machine.
As I pushed the button for Coke, I felt a presence behind me, a little too close. I looked over my shoulder and refrained from groaning and screaming.
It was Sam.
I sighed. "Hello, Mr. West." I greeted formally.
"What a pleasant surprise, Max! I didn't expect to see you here!" He smiled, coming to stand next to my side.
I grabbed my cup and the cap to my drink, popping it on. "Yeah. I'm here. With Angel and Gazzy…and Fang."
"Mm… who?" His eyes started trailing down my body as my eyebrow raised up.
I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes. They whipped back up to my face. "Listen, I have to get back to them so…"
"Great! I'd love to join you!" He seemed overly cheerful.
"I didn't invite you." I stated rather harshly.
"Ah, but you were going to." He went to tap my nose but I stepped back…right into something hard. Oh God, don't tell me he backed me against a wall!
I turned to look and I saw a body. It was Fang. He was staring at Sam, face completely serious.
"There a problem?" He asked politely. Underneath though, there was hostility.
"No, Wolf. Why don't you get out of here and tend to that disobedient niece of yours?" He all but growled.
Fang's hand curled into a ball and my eyes flashed. A fist went flying into Sam's gut roughly. He grunted and the air left his lungs. Fang's eyebrows went up.
"If I had a knife…it would've been in my fist." I snarled at Sam. I leaned toward his ear, fist still in his gut, him slightly doubled over. "If you ever talk about Ella that way again… next time I will have that knife." I pulled my fist back to my side and turned to walk away.
Fang was by my side and his hand was on my hip, keeping me near him. I would have ripped his hand off for the possessive gesture but I knew Fang was using that to keep himself from burning Sam at the stake. We moved into the booth and Gazzy and Angel were applauding me.
"Amazing punch, Max!"
"Wham! Right in the stomach! He won't be able to stand straight for a month!"
Gazzy and Angel were laughing and then they started talking about how else I could have hurt the guy.
"Thanks." Fang murmured to me, eyes staring at the table, tracing the fake wooden patterns.
"No problem. Ella's like my little sister- I can't stand for anyone talking like that about her. Which is why I want to know who's hurting her." I informed him.
He nodded and he handed Angel and Gazzy twenty bucks each. "Meet us near the bumper cars in two hours."
They grinned like the Cheshire Cat, running out of the food court. I looked at him.
"What was with that?" I asked with a chuckle.
He leaned back in the booth. "Needed a break from their babbling."
I laughed when I saw a group of little kids come running in screaming and giggling. Fang narrowed his eyes at the wall, not wanting to scare them with his glare.
"Come on. I know a quiet place." I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the booth, bringing him to the elevator. This place had four floors: floor one was blowing, mini golf, and bumper cars, second floor was virtual reality games and wreck games along with the food court, third floor was laser tag, the whole floor being the obstacle, and floor four was the basement where no one really went.
I hit the fourth floor button. Fang and I stood in the elevator, waiting not very long.
"I didn't know there was a fourth floor." He told me.
I smiled at him. "Not many people do."
"Then how do you know?" He leaned against the wall behind him.
"Connections."
"Such as?"
"Iggy and Nudge."
He nodded.
The elevator dinged and it stopped but the doors didn't open.
"You have your license?" I asked.
"Yeah, why?" He took it out to show me while I already had mine in my hand.
I took it and put it up to the scanner after mine, the device reading our ages. The doors opened as I gave Fang his ID back.
"Whoa." His eyebrows disappeared behind his bangs.
Inside was every adults dream: a free bar, huge couches and reclining chairs, giant TVs, pool tables, dart boards, poker tables, and just tables to sit at. It was Heaven away from little children. (Not that this exists in Fun Way. Nope. There's only two floors at the one near my house too but I thought I should add to the fun- for all ages!)
Fang started walking toward one of the giant couches. Most of the people were at the bar and tables. The couches were for when you were really exhausted. I went to the bar and grabbed two beers.
Fang was laying down on the couch, head rested on a fluffy pillow. I laughed at his at ease expression and handed him one of the beers when he sat up, making room for me. I leaned back.
"I should come here more often." He stated thoughtfully.
I laughed. "It's a really nice place. Especially on Sundays. No one is ever here on Sundays."
"Thanks for the tip." He took a swig of beer. "Good thing we took a cab. I might take advantage of the free bar."
"It's only free until your fourth drink." I informed him.
He nodded, understanding and set his beer on the side table after taking a long sip. "I've got a question, Max."
"Shoot." I set my beer down, facing him cross-legged.
"Why'd you turn down the chance back in Senior Year?"
I blinked. I'm surprised he remembered that. I had gotten an offer to a recording contract in Senior Year because someone's dad was a scout and I sang at graduation, saying goodbye to the school and students. Fang had been sitting next to the guy. "I don't know. I… just didn't. I mean, I was happy and honored and all but… it's not what I wanted at the time."
He leaned toward me. "What did you want?"
"A degree in music and arts."
"You have that now, why don't you go after the chance again?"
I smiled softly at him. "Because I'm happy. I have great friends, a great job, great family."
He smiled and grabbed his beer. "Cheers to that." I clinked my beer against his and we both down the alcohol.
--!--
We slammed down the shot glasses, both swallowing the awesome liquor. That had probably been our seventh shot. We had three beers before, one glass of schnapps, and then the shots.
I leaned back against the couch and looked at Fang. He was shaking his head, opening his eyes really wide before blinking like crazy. I laughed at him. "You're not a hard drinker, are you?"
He leaned back while I laughed. "I so am. I just drink a little differently than you."
"Like?" I prompted, finishing off my schnapps that I had saved over this time.
"Not shots. Tequila." he smirked at me as he saw the smile come across my face.
"You're- you're-" I was laughing. "Tequila? Really? Like, chugging?" He nodded. "I haven't done that since college."
He chuckled and checked his watch. "We've got twenty minutes until we have to meet Angel and Gazzy." He told me.
I nodded. "Okay."
Maxine came over holding a tray near her ear. Since she had a name similar to mine, she and I made a joke calling her Max II or Maxie Clone, since I was a year older. She set down two glasses of red wine.
"You two better not be driving." She warned.
I shook my head. "No, don't worry. We took a cab here and we'll take one back." She nodded and left. I grabbed the cup, thinking of a toast. "To youth. Let's waste it like ourselves tonight."
He tapped his glass against mine and took a sip of his wine. "You said earlier something about great everything… what about love? Don't you have a boyfriend?"
I shifted, slightly embarrassed and uncomfortable. You don't normally talk about your love life with one of your friends of the opposite gender. "No. How can I with Sam lurking around every corner?" I took a sip of my wine and lowered my hand back down to my lap, gently cupping the glass in my hand. I smiled slightly. "Plus, you don't need love to be happy."
Fang didn't answer for a while so I looked up, thinking he might have fallen asleep from the alcohol consumption. He was staring at my carefully. "But you're not happy. Not completely." His voice was quiet, careful, fragilely touching the subject. He knew I had my outbursts. Example A: punching Sam in the gut and threatening him.
I looked into his eyes. "No. No, you're right." I looked back at my lap before shifting my eyes to the table and finishing off the wine. "But I'm okay with it." I looked back at Fang. "I'm not one of those girls that need every bit of happiness to enjoy my life. Sure, it'd be nice but… my life is fine. It's fine- it's great- great! I… love it." My voice faded at the end and I looked at my cup, wishing for more wine to magically appear. Maxie Clone set down 2 more glasses. My eyes widened and I looked at her, smiling. "You can read minds, oh my God!" I cheerfully said. I stood and hugged her. "You're so awesome, more wine!" I went to pull away and stumbled a bit. I could balance perfectly fine when I was drunk but I was on one leg, the other resting on the couch. "Yeah, I don't think I should have anymore." I sat back down, giving her my empty glass. She took back the two full glasses, rolling her eyes.
Fang chuckled at my attitude. "I think you're done for the day." He set his wine glass on the table. "I am too."
"We should go."
He nodded and got up with me, both of us going over to the elevator.
--!--
Angel and Gazzy had been waiting for us but not for long. We called a cab and we were on our way back home.
"Oh, shit." I turned to Fang. "You can't drive home like this, Fang. Why don't you stay the night? Plus, we have all the necessities for a hangover."
He smirked. "I'm guessing you go there often?"
I made a face at him. "Hey, I'm trying to be nice here."
"Yeah, I'll stay the night." He wiped his hand over his forehead and eyes. He had taken the ponytail out of his hair a while ago so now it lay on his shoulders and in front of his eyes.
"We're here." The cab driver said.
I paid him the amount needed, plus tip, and we all headed to the apartment doors. We went in and climbed the five flights of stairs.
"Night, Angel. Night, Gazzy." I hugged them both before they disappeared into their apartment, both completely exhausted.
I opened my apartment door and saw that the place was actually clean. It was probably around 11 at night. Nudge was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes and Iggy was cleaning the garbage in the family room.
"Hey, Max." Nudge greeted.
"Oh, hey, what up, you two?" Iggy looked up for a moment before picking up more trash.
"I'm shocked. You didn't destroy the place." I joked. "Yo, any more Advil?"
They both froze and looked at one another. "Fun Way?" They guessed in unison.
"Yeah. Fang's staying the night. I just want to make sure there's Advil in case his head's exploding in the morning." I started walking toward the kitchen.
"Yeah, just restocked Hangover Supplies." Iggy informed me.
"Kay. Iggy, can you turn out the couch for Fang to sleep on? Nudge, thanks for helping clean up."
"No problem." She murmured with a blush on her cheeks.
"Did anything happen while I was gone?" I whispered to her while Fang helped Iggy turn out the couch.
She shook her head. "Not really. Almost everyone was coupled up on the chairs and stuff and I was the only one on the floor so… Iggy offered me a spot."
"Where?" I asked cautiously and warily.
"His lap." She whispered, blushing two more deeper shades of red. She had that smile on her face meaning she was holding in a squeal.
"What else?"
"Well, he rested his head on my shoulder so he could watch the movies too so he was really close." She smiled at me nervously. "Do you approve? Because if you don't approve, I understand. I mean, he is your brother after all and if you think we're not good for one another, it's fine- I guess I can find someone else-"
"Nudge, it's fine." I interrupted. I smiled at her. "It's fine."
She put down the plate she was washing and put a hand on her hip. Fang smacked Iggy in the back of the head as they went to his room. "You're extra cheerful today, what happened with you?"
I chuckled. "Let's just say you're not my drinking buddy anymore." I patted her shoulder and went to walk to my room but she stopped me.
"No, no, no! Explanation, Missy!" I raised an eyebrow and she licked her lips. "Please?" She gave me Bambi Eyes with her quiet plea.
"I had forgotten how hard a drinker Fang is and I enjoyed talking with him. We caught up and we were knockin' back crazy, let me tell ya." I laughed, moving my hair out of my face.
"So? Are they back?" She asked quietly.
"Are what back?"
"Those old feelings."
I blushed and looked away. "No. No, they aren't. And they won't ever be." Back when I was in high school, junior year, I had liked Fang. A lot.
Not only was he Iggy's friend then, he was mine too. We had gone to the same college and everything so we had known each other for a long time and were there for each other every step of the way. Iggy, Nudge, Fang, and I had graduated college in three years unlike the other kids in our classes because we had been ahead with what we knew.
Fang and I had known so much about each other. But when he moved out of town to go to New York, he sort of… left me. He kept in touch with everyone except me. I hadn't really trusted many people after that considering it felt like if I ever got too close, they'd leave me like Fang.
Iggy still didn't know that Fang broke ties.
I looked at Nudge. "Those feelings disappeared when he left me- us- me and Iggy: everyone. They went with him when he disappeared from our lives."
"But did they come back with him?" Nudge asked.
Fang and Iggy walked out of Iggy's room so the subject dropped. Nudge gave me a hug and said goodbye to the guys before leaving.
Iggy literally waltzed back into his room while Fang and I stared incredulously after him. He closed his door.
Fang looked back at me and I shrugged.
"I think he smoked his something a little too much today." I joked.
Fang chuckled and I went over to my room.
"Yo, Max," I turned back to him, giving him my attention. "Can I use your bathroom? I know Iggy likes to hog his."
I smirked. "Yeah, go ahead. Towels are under the sink if you want to take a shower."
He walked into my room and went right to the bathroom, closing the door.
--!--
Fang stepped out of the bathroom, hair dripping wet from the shower. He wore no shirt and a pair of dark blue flannel pajama pants borrowed from Iggy. And let me say, he was HOT! Completely toned. Six pack, everything!
He came over to me and sat next to me on my bed. I was already in my pajamas: a tank top and shorts with ankle socks. What? My toes get cold at night…
"I had fun today. Thanks for hanging out- I know I can be a bother sometimes." I smiled at him, showing my thanks. My head already started to throb a bit, meaning that the alcohol was washing through my system.
He smirked back. "No problem at all. It was nice to catch up."
I nodded, trying to keep my eyes on his face. On his eyes. "It was."
"I should let you get some sleep." He got off my bed after giving me a one-armed hug and left my room.
I groaned quietly and fell back on my bed, sighing.
All of the sudden, my bedroom door opened and Fang walked back in, the door shutting behind him from the force of him opening it so harshly. I sat up right when he came up to me, arm going behind me, holding me to him. He crashed lips to mine roughly and gently at the same time.
I froze for a moment and Fang, wanting a response, deepened the kiss by tilting his head. I closed my eyes and relaxed in his arms, wrapping my own around his neck. He put his other around me but a little lower to lift me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he slid his tongue into my mouth.
I kissed him back just as passionately, as fervently as he and a growl built in his throat, almost escaping but I captured it with my lips before it could come out and wake Iggy.
We fell back on my bed, my legs letting go of his waist. He used one of his arms to hold himself above me so he wouldn't crush me and held me to him with his other hand at my waist, right above my butt.
And then the best happened: he started grinding me. I couldn't help but kiss him harder and groan at the sensation.
And then the worst happened: I woke up. I was laying back on my bed, in my pajamas.
My bathroom door opened and there stood Fang, hair dripping wet from the shower. He wore no shirt and a pair of dark blue flannel pajama pants borrowed from Iggy. And let me say, he was HOT! Completely toned. Six pack, everything! He was the perfect amount of muscle.
He came over to me and sat next to me on my bed. I was already in my pajamas: a tank top and shorts with ankle socks. What? My toes get cold at night…
"I had fun today. Thanks for hanging out- I know I can be a bother sometimes." I smiled at him, showing my thanks. My head already started to throb a bit, meaning that the alcohol was washing through my system.
He smirked back. "No problem at all. It was nice to catch up."
I nodded, trying to keep my eyes on his face. On his eyes. "It was."
"I should let you get some sleep." He got off my bed after giving me a one-armed hug and left my room.
I bit my lip and stared at the door with pleading eyes. He didn't come back like in my dream.
I groaned and leaned back on my bed, sighing.
Okay, so maybe my feelings were still there.