List: A crazed fan girl, and XNight-waveX!
Thanks for the review, guys! I love them you know! I think I've decided that with this story I'll just update it when I feel an idea on my mind. It won't be updated really to please anyone, I suppose (Sorry!). Anywho, this chapter is set somewhere between book six and seven… Yeah, this probably wouldn't happen, but hey, you never know…Enjoy, and onwards, march!
Chapter two
The Art of Saying No
The sun was setting behind the canyons, and the dark-haired boy watched the hawks as the circled back down to their nests, their wings magnificent, their grace enough to make the boy's heart stop.
Almost.
For there was only one thing that took his breath away. And that was Max.
Max. He scanned the area, half expecting her to fly up towards him, half expecting to see her beautiful form followed by the rest of the flock.
But who was he kidding? He'd told the whole flock, mostly Max, not to look for him. And he shouldn't even be here, playing with his heart strings. It was just too much emotion, as Max might say. He should be flying away from Colorado, where he had last seen Max, and he should be setting up camp for tonight. The sun was setting; he didn't have too much time. But something was keeping him here on this ledge, where he watched the last hawk nestle into its nest not fifteen feet away from Fang himself. He stared at the bird with awe, for it was his closest relative, way out here, in the middle of nowhere.
He wished he could talk bird. Then maybe he'd have a companion to complain to, to talk about Max to. For so long he had been wandering around the world, alone, his thoughts being his only friend. When people saw him walking along the streets of some city, he would be off again, into the wilderness. He couldn't take any chances of Max having the slightest idea where he was. He couldn't let her find him.
A sudden lone figure was flying towards him. Standing, Fang stared at the object stoically as it made its way towards the canyon, and stopped and landed on a ledge not too far from him. It looked like a very tall bird, with hands and feet like a human.
Fang gasped.
It was Max.
Suddenly, the fifteen year old boy was torn. Max was right there, right in front of him, scanning the area like she was in pursuit of something. Him, maybe? And he couldn't go out to her. Her lips parted slightly, and Fang grabbed onto the rocks by his feet, hardly recognizing that he had slid to the ground of the cave in his shock. She was right there. And he wanted so badly to get out of hiding and kiss her cracked lips.
"Fang?" The boy bit his lip. Had she actually found him? Max put her hands up to her face, ignoring the questioning glances from the hawks, as she again called her ex-boyfriend's name. "Fang? Are you out here?" She listened to the sound of the wind for a minute, as did Fang, who held his breath.
Breath, Fang…Don't go towards her…
"Dang it, Fang!" Max suddenly cried, and with his raptor-vision eyes Fang could tell she was beginning to cry. His heart launched into his stomach. "Fang, please!" she cried out in vain. "Come home! We need you! I need you!" Her tears were getting harder for her to control, but she didn't try pushing them away as she continued. "Angel and Gazzy and Nudge and Iggy and Total…and even Dylan. They can't stand not having you around!"
There it was. The traitors name. Fang glowered in his hiding place.
"Iggy won't talk as much anymore, and neither will Gazzy. Nudge misses someone to ramble to…you know I can't put up with much of it. Angel can't stand knowing it was her fault, even though I told her it isn't!" Max's tears started turning into hiccups.
Don't move, Fang…
"And I miss someone to turn to." Max's voice was so quiet, Fang hardly heard it, and he blinked. "Dylan…he's trying. And I admit I'm glad someone's taking care of me in this whole mess. But, Fang…He's not you."
Fang couldn't take much more of this. Hadn't he told Max not to do this to him? He couldn't say no to her. He just couldn't.
Slowly, he rose from the ground. He wanted to say something reassuring to her, something like, "I miss you too," or, "I love you," or really anything. But if he gave away his position he'd be going back with the flock, and he knew it.
There was a daunting silence. Fang watched Max as she struggled to control her tears, and suddenly she had her wings spread out, and she took off into the sky, making Fang start to tear up.
"I'll be back," he heard her say, and then she flew off.
Hastily, Fang wiped away a stray tear, and turned back to his cave. He knew one thing: He wouldn't be back until twenty years went by.