Goodbye and Good Riddance Chapter 5: Lissa gets burned!, a maximum ride fanfic

Just a forewarning this might be a ensy-bensy-itty-bitty little- okay fine! This might be extremely clique! But we have to FAX in there somehow right? RIGHT? Opps...sorry Coke does that to me. Well let's just say this will be a typical school day for Max and Lissa will still be the person we all know and...and... If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all! Oh yeah! I don't own Maximum Ride...yet. ONWARD!

I wake up and try to sit up. Nope! Pain courses through me and I heavily groan. I fall back on to bed. Bad idea. I have to stifle a scream and yesterday's events come rushing back to me in a storm. I sigh and try to get up again. It still hurts as a wave of incredible pain comes down on me but it's a milder version. I pick out an outfit of a very light green tank top to go under a long sleeved blue Hollister shirt with short denim shorts. Yeah, I know. I know. Is the Maximum Ride actually caring about fashion!?

The answer is: Maybe. The long sleeves cover most of the bruises and since Jeb never hits my legs –oddly enough- I can wear shorts. And this outfit just happens to match. This must be Nudge's doing!

I walked down the hallway biting my lip to keep from screaming "Ow!" And if I screamed it would wake Gazzy and Angel up. And I don't want that to happen. No, I didn't need that to happen. That would just completely ruin my morning. I got down stairs and went to McDonalds like always; this time wasn't Nudge's shift. I woke up Angel and Gazzy and told Angel to eat her food first this time.

And you're probably wondering what is so special about Angel eating her food first. Well, Gazzy hates bathes. It takes forever to even get in the bathroom while there's a tub full of water in there. So here we are now.

How to get Gazzy into the bathroom and take a bath, now for the sake of boredom I think you people have better lives than listening to me try to persuade Gazzy to take a bath so I'll just give the results.

Step 1) Ask him nicely.

Nope.

Step 2) Promise candy.

Nada.

Step 3) Promise a trip to the toy store

No dice.

Step 4) Say monsters are going to eat him if he doesn't take a bath.

Nothing.

Step 5) In a very calm voice tell him to get in the bath.

None.

Step 6) Tell him to get his butt in there before you reach over and drag him by his hair up the stairs to the bathroom.

BINGO!

And that my friends is how you make Gazzy take a bath. It may have been for only 7 minutes and me waiting outside the door listening to him splash around and smelling his hair to prove that he DID actually take a bath but it was a bath non-the-less.

We walk down stairs Gazzy grumbling about how being clean is awful and how much he doesn't like me as much anymore. When he says that I have to laugh. I mean how often does a little kid say that they don't like you after a bath? A lot. And how often do you also hear it? A lot. But funny non-the-less.

He sits down at the table and starts to eat his food. "Come on Angel," I say motioning for her to follow me. She nods and skips toward the stairs with me following close behind her. I start the water and make sure it's not to warm. She gets in the bath and we play hair style again only this time with silly spiky hair covered in bubbles.

I start to dry her off and she starts humming the lullaby I sung to her. "Hey Max?" she asks.

"Yeah sweetie?" I say focusing on getting the majority of water out of her blonde hair.

"Are you and Fang gonna get married?" she asks innocently. I stop what I'm doing and just freeze. WHAT? I scream mentally effectively giving myself a headache. Good job Max. You manage to give yourself a headache by silently screaming. That takes talent.

The words sink in and I barely sputter out a "What?"

"I said 'Are you and Fang gonna get married?'" She said again.

I get up and pick out her clothes: A plain light pink t-shirt, a bright pink tutu with white tights underneath, and a red headband that looks like a ribbon. I hand them to her and sit outside the bathroom door and attempt to answer her, "Angel we just met." I say softly.

She pauses for moment and I hear footsteps coming closer to the door and she sticks her head out looks at me confused, "What do you mean?"

"We just met and we don't know anything about each other."

She looks deep in thought then her eyes light up, "What about love at first sight?"

"I'm sure love at first sight exists." I say to her. Not wanting to impend on her dream of meeting a prince and loving him once she saw him. But personally I don't think love at first sight exists, and if it does than I've never seen it before.

I mean people just don't go screaming: "Hey I just met you! And this is crazy! But I love you baby!" at random people right? And yes that was a little parody of "Call me maybe" by Carly Rae Jepson. Don't look at me like that! If your six-year-old sister that you love dearly won't shush up about it then you WILL eventually learn the lyrics.

"So will you and Fang get married?" she asks perking up.

I sigh and look at her Bambi eyes. Damn. Those things will be the end of me. "Angel…" I say slowly. Then think about where I'm going with this extremely embarrassing conversation. Then a little light bulb goes off above my head, "I can't just go over there and tell him we're getting married." I say quickly.

"Yeah we can!" she exclaims running out of the room and down the stairs past Gazzy. I run after her and see her ring the doorbell and then I see Fang answer it.

Oh no.

She starts to talk excitedly and when I reach her I make out two words, "—marry Max?" she says innocently looking up at him wide-eyed. I stand behind her my hands on her shoulders squeezing tightly enough to know that she's in trouble but not tightly enough to actually hurt her.

"I'm so sorry-" I start.

"It's fine," he says cutting me off. I get a little agitated at this but shake it off.

"Still I'm really sorry about it." I say. Angel start humming the song where you put two people sitting in a tree and I give her a tight squeeze. She stops humming and smiles at Fang.

"So Fang…" She starts. I mentally groan. She. Just. Won't. Drop it! "Will you marry Max?"

He goes pale and I mouth "Sorry," to him while shooting an apologetic glance. "We're too young," he says.

"See Angel I told you," I say.

"No, you said I don't know anything about him and we just met, and then you said that you couldn't just ask him to marry you." At this Fang smirks, "But I said that you COULD and then I asked Fang to marry you." She explains taking a very long breath at the end like Nudge.

"Angel that doesn't mean- just come on." I say dragging her behind me. I hear Fang chuckle before he closes the door. But choose to ignore him.

Once I open and close the door I turn on Angel. I can't focus right now so I take a few deep breaths to look at Angel again. She has wide eyes that are a little afraid; I instantly feel horrible, but I still need to talk to her about this, "Angel," I start with exaggerated patience. A little bit of the tension in shoulders is gone. "Why in the world did you do that?"

She looks up at me smiling softly making her seem much older than she really is. "Max," she says so much like I said her name it's like she's mocking me. "You're like a princess. You always protect us no matter what. Always. And in all the bed-time stories you tell me the princess marries her prince. " She says like it's a fact.

I want to say that life isn't a fairy tale and if it was why would we be stuck here? Of all places? But I don't. She's six, and I'm not going to stomp on her dreams. I sigh, she should keep whatever innocence she has; because once it's gone. It never comes back. Ever. "Okay then." I say.

She looks up at me and smiles, I never, ever give up this easily. But her and Gazzy can break down almost all of my walls with a simple, genuine smile. I grab the car keys and get Gazzy. He put on a green shirt with a note "taped" to the front saying "Parents for sale! Buy one get one free!" I smile a little at that. He still looks like a little kid. "Come on slowpokes!" I call out as I get into the driver's side of the car.

"I'm not slow!" Gazzy and Angel say.

I give a little laugh at that and decide to have some fun. "Yeah you are."

"Nuh-uh!"

Really? We're already getting to the Nuh-uh and Uh-huh part? Oh well I made a bed now I have to lie in it, "Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

Just as I'm about to protest the most amazing song comes on: Baby by Justin Beiber! Gotcha! No I am not a blieber beaver. Even though Angel is. No the real song that came on was "Turn off the lights" by Panic! At the disco! And so me being me. Started singing.

I got so sick of being on my own
Now the devil won't leave me alone
It's almost like I found a friend
Who's in it for the bitter end

Our consciences are always so much heavier than our egos
I set my expectations high
So nothing ever comes out right
So shoot a star on the boulevard tonight
I think I'll figure it out with a little more time
But who needs time

Turn off the lights, turn off the lights
Turn on the show for me tonight
I've got my heavy heart to hold me down
Once it falls apart my heads in the clouds
So I'm taking every chance I've got
Like the man I know I'm not

So sick of wasting all my time
How in gods name did I survive?
I need a little sympathy
To sore my insecurities

Oh oh oh, mhm
A heavy heart on the boulevard tonight, oh
Shooting stars watch me fall apart tonight, whoa

Oh whoa, oh whoa, oh whoa
Oh whoa, oh whoa, oh whoa

And just as I finish we pull up to the elementary school. I get out of the car and hug Angel I try to hug Gazzy, but he rubs the back of his neck when I open my arms. "Max..." God. He sounds so much like a boy who wants to break up with a girl because he's been cheating.

I half expect him to say, "It's not you it's me." but he doesn't say that instead he says, "Hugging isn't cool." Hurt flashes across my face for the slimmest second and pools of tears spring to my eyes.

I nod and get up. He's just growing up Max. I tell myself. It's nothing out of the ordinary. But on the inside I feel like breaking apart inside. I sit down in my car and let the few tears that I had hidden slip out. And once that starts it turns into a full out sob.

Yeah, yeah. I know. Maximum Ride doesn't cry! But she does. This is the side no one is allowed to see. Not even Angel and Gazzy.

I wipe away my tears and start to drive to the high school. I park and look at the digital clock on my dash board and groan 8:17 I let out a few more sniffles before getting out with my head held high, behind a pair of huge sunglasses that cover a good half of my face.

And if your wondering why exactly I'm wearing huge sunglasses is that I can't let anyone see Maximum Ride teary eyed. I walk into first hour English and make my way to the back of the class.

The teacher sees my sunglasses and takes this as an oppertunity pounce, as if being late wasn't enough. "Ahh, Max." She says. I look up at her expectantly. "You are not to wear sun glasses on school grounds." I roll my eyes but the effort is lost behind my glasses.

"And..." I say rolling my arms around each other in the universal "Where are you going with this I have stuff to do people to see," gesture.

"Take them off." She says a little too smugly.

I roll my eyes again. If you haven't noticed I do this A LOT. But do as she says, no need to tick her off more. The class gasps as they take in my red, puffy, eyes. No one and I mean no one. Has seen me like this since mom died. I ignore them and doodle in my note book for the remainder of the hour.

I do this the next hour. And the next. And the next. Until lunch rolls around. I pick up my stuff and go to the cafeteria to see something... scarring. Lissa is...pole dancing, using Fang as a pole. I almost throw up. Fang meets my eyes over the lunch room pleading. I smirk. But walk over to them anyway. "Hey Fang," I say nonchalantly.

Lissa looks at me and "flips" her hair over her shoulder. "Max, like, go in a hole and, like, die or something." She says snidely.

"Sorry Lissa, if I die I'm taking you with me where I'll watch you from above."

It takes her a second to register what I said but the moment it does she gives me red hot fury, "I'm not going to hell!" She all but screams. "You will!" She says jabbing a finger toward me.

"Oh yeah," I say sarcasticly. "Because red is totally the color of the Angel."

"You- you-"

"You what sweetie?" I say cocking my head to the side. "You whore? Sorry you called me that yesterday." I tap my chin and pretend to think, "Here lets go over everything you've ever called me and how I'm the complete oppisite!" I say in mock excitment. "You called me a whore- I'm a virgin. Are you?" She blushes and I go on.

"Bitch- yeah I am you got me on that one. Fat- I'm only 130 sweet heart. Let's see slut- A slut implies a whore. Which," I say pointing my index finger toward the sky, "I am not. So Lissa..." I start. "Why do you call me ALL of these things when really you're describing yourself." She gets bright red and I smile and pat her head, "Don't work yourself to hard there Ms. Overachiever."

I start to walk away and call over my shoulder, "Come on Fang, if you don't move now she'll go back to molesting you."

Oh the wonders of my life. Raising two kids -one of which, doesn't like you anymore- being Ms. Badass, and rescuing Fang. I'm so busy all the time.

This is the longest chapter yet! Over 2,875 words! So...since I worked sooo hard could we get at least five reviews? Please?