"Let's celebrate!"

I put the key in the lock and froze. Staring at me, with a venomous glare was the old woman from next door. I nodded 'hello' to her and twisted my key and entered our apartment.

I swear, that woman gets freakier every single time I come home. First she used to mutter whenever any of us went past the door, then it was watching us through the hole in her door. Now she actually watches us, standing there and staring. She must be one of those… 'Anti-Mutant' lot. It's because of them we had to fight in court for rights! Can you believe that? Fight for our rights, that's so racist. And guess what? Generally Anti-mutants are racists, so I'm having a gay old time. Like this one time-

Sorry, babbling.

So anyway, I walked through the door, carrying bags of bottles, clattering against each other. The noise summoned Iggy, closely followed by Fang and Gazzy.

"Drink!" The cried in unison, running to the kitchen. Iggy had already got the lay of the land, so he was as good as sighted now, dodgy the chair that had fallen two days ago that no-one had bothered to pick up.

"Guys, you're 24 and 18, it's just wine, vodka, Alco-pops, whiskey and some strange blue liquid…" I stared at it for a few minutes, the put it in the fridge with the other booze. "How's the job hunting, Fang?"

The dark boy scratched his head and coughed. "Erm… Great, better than great. I picked up a newspaper today and actually read it."

"The job section?" I said, raised eyebrows in surprise.

"Baby steps, Nudge. Baby steps." He said, calmly.

"Wow, Fang." I said, sarcastically, "You'll be making a mill in no time."

Iggy was chuckling, he didn't have to work because he was blind, but all of the flock knows he's capable. It's just the Government who doesn't think so.

"Look, Max and I are having a hard time supporting you guys. Two jobs do not feed six uber hungry mutants. We only have enough to get by. If I didn't have savings, there would be no alcohol and I know how much that would ruin all of your lives. So get a job, Fang!" I slammed the fridge door closed and sighed. "Let's just say, 'Librarian' was no the job title I was hoping for. Can't even talk. Get to read though. Lots. And work with computers."

But the others had already gone back to their rooms.

That was when Max ran into the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Her hair was all over the joint, wild like it was when she flew, and her face was slightly panicked.

"That woman is nuts." She panted, slowly lifting herself away from the door she was leaning on and walking over to the breakfast bar. "I rushed to get in, purely to avoid the stare."

"I know exactly how to annoy her, too." I said, thinking of the most casual way to slip in 'How about we get drunk and loud?' without Max going all leader-y on me.

"Does it involve a stiff drink?" She asked me wearily, resting her head on the counter. So it turns out I needn't have worried.

Iggy's music was getting louder by the minute, the room was pitch black, bar the light from the street lamps outside, and I was staggering my way across the front room.

Why was I staggering across the room? Because, for the tenth time this evening, old Moany McMoanason was throwing her fist against our front door. It was our front door, what right has she got to bang on it? I carefully placed my bottle of wine down on the table we used for the key bowl, and opened the door, letting light pour in.

"Must you play that infernal racket?" she croaked. I'd never really looked, but boy was she old. And I mean old, her wrinkles had wrinkles, I kid you not.

As I grabbed the black door for support, and then smiled my sweetest smile, I said in my sweet, if slurred, voice "Sorry, but yes we must. Or else, our devil worship won't work properly." And then I slammed the door closed.

"That'll teach her!" Gazzy yelled from his spot on the Comfy Chair. Angel was sitting on the sofa next to him, cross-legged, staring around her in almost bewilderment. She hadn't had anything to drink on the grounds that it always made the people around her look stupid, and could you blame her? Gazzy was lying on the chair beside her curled up in a ball, mumbling from time to time and Fang and Iggy were now stumbling to their room (with the 'get a roomy-ness' face) like they had legs of jelly.

I always wondered about allowing Iggy to drink. Surely letting the blind guy drink means that his senses would dullen and then he'd have no idea where he was. But apparently Fang had solved that problem with his boyfriend around the waist and practically dragging him to there room.

Which left Max as the only person not in the front room.

"Ange," I started, but the blonde pointed to the door of mine and Max's bedroom. "Thanks." And she nodded back to me, Getting up herself and, with a last glance at Gazzy, must have decided to sleep in her room on her own, without his drunk bowl movements, because she went to her room silently.

With a flick I turned off the music, then walked gracefully (read: staggered) to our room. I found Max crying on my bed, hands covering her face, with loud, body shaking sobs.

Instantly I was beside her, arm around her shoulders, telling her to stop crying. I had been keeping check over everyone's alcohol consumption except hers. I thought she wouldn't just drink, you know? I thought I could trust her to be sensible. She is the oldest, the leader.

But then she spoke, clearly except the sobs, all I could smell on her breath was the mint drink we made her drink for a dare. "Why do you guys even stick with me? All I've ever done is be a total bitch, to all of you. I made you keep going back to the Institute, the School, and keep moving, never building a really home."

"What are you talking about? You were looking after us. Making sure we were always safe." I hugged her, feeling tears already soak my woollen jumper. "We love you Max, we always will. You helped us to be free, truly free. To never need to run, hide. You outted the School and made us exist. "

"But I got you hurt. I mean, we all got hurt, but you! I got you scarred, for life."

I subconsciously grabbed my right side. Underneath my jumper, was a scar that ran the length of my side, from just below my armpit to my hip. I'd blocked out how it'd happened. I won't let myself dwell, and neither could Max. "Maximum Ride, get a hold of yourself. You are a talented bright beautiful woman, who has saved our butts a million times. No, more than that." I had grabbed her now, holding her shoulders and was on the verge of shaking her. "Don't you get it? You didn't cause my scar, Ari did. And you saved my scrawny hide and beat him and the other Erasers to a pulp, quite rightly."

"But I-" Max started.

"But I, nothing! Max, you saved Angel from the School, Gazzy and Iggy from the Government, Fang from the Institute several times and me from Ari and Jeb. Without you, we'd all be dead. Probably because we never left the School. So for crying out loud," But I just couldn't verbalise my frustration at how she couldn't understand how much we need her. How much we loved and needed her. And I realised, as I told her, just how much I needed her.

Then I was kissing her. I guess that showed just how much I needed her. I suppose.

I pulled back sharply, stunned. We stared at each other, bewildered faces, trying to work out whether or not that had just happened. I thought she was going to slap me. I braced myself for it, waiting for her to react.

And boy, what a reaction.

So, what do we think?