A/N: SNOW DAY!!! I have successfully kicked my brother out of the house to go sledding and my mom left to go talk to the neighbors, so I have the computer to myself! Mwa ha ha.

I just checked the poll, and it was unanimous that I continue! Thanks, guys - it means a ton!

Any dialogue or names that you recognize belong to James Patterson, the rest belongs to me. And now, the chapter - Ella's secrets.

One: She wishes that she could remember her dad. Even just a little bit. Her mom tells her that he was a great man, that he was trustworthy and honest and loved her to pieces. But no matter how much Ella strains her memory, she can't remember anything. Not his smile, not his voice, not even his face. She knows what he looks like, of course - there's a framed picture of him on her mom's dresser, in her room. Her mom only looks at it occasionally, as if the very sight causes her pain.

But for Ella, knowing his face is not nearly the same as knowing him.

Two: Her mom taught her to always stand up for what was right and to follow her heart. "Whatever your heart tells you to do is probably right," Valencia Martinez always said. "Sometimes your head gets in the way too much. It isn't always something that you can think about. Sometimes you just have to trust yourself."

She took that to - well, to heart - and as a result became just a bit headstrong. Sticking up for what was right came before all of her other senses - even her sense of self preservation. That would get her into trouble - multiple times.

Three: Her best friend is a guy, Kevin Ortiz. He lives two streets over, and the two of them have been best friends since first grade, when they met at school. She has a lot of friends - mostly girls - but Kevin will always be her best friend. She has pictures of the two of them all over her room - making funny faces at the camera, grinning widely to show off missing teeth, standing in front of new bikes.

She used to get teased for it a lot, and Kevin did, too. When she changed from elementary school to middle school, the older kids thought that it was weird that a guy and a girl were best friends. Ella and Kevin see nothing wrong with it. Why can't they be best friends? Who says that her best friend has to be a girl?

"Just ignore them," Kevin always says. "They don't know anything. We've always been best friends, right? Who's going to change that now?"

She wishes that she could be like him and just let the taunts roll off of her back, but the words make her blood boil.

Four: The one thing that she really, really regrets is letting Kevin get mixed up with their town's gang. Well, it actually wasn't really something that either of them could prevent. But she had still let him go back into the school alone after their track practice one day, to pick up the running shoes that he had left behind in the locker room. It wasn't really her fault that he had walked in on three of the guys vandalizing the locker room. And it wasn't her fault that he had been beaten up so badly he could barely stagger out of the school towards her, causing her to cry out in alarm and nearly pass out from shock.

But she feels like it is.

He couldn't come to school the next day, too black and blue to do much at all. He had told her who exactly was responsible for it, but he refused to tell her why they had beaten him so badly. She was too afraid to confront the boys about it, however much she wanted to stand up for her friend, but instead contented herself with sending death glares at them when they weren't looking.

One day after school, the leader, José, cornered her. "I know you know what happened the other day with Ortiz," he told her. His breath smelled terrible, and she pushed herself against the lockers to stay as far as possible from him. "Don't tell anyone about what happened, you got that? It's between him and me." And with that he was gone.

So of course she had to tell.

Five: Ella had known, deep down, that it wouldn't be long before the gang found out that she had told on them. But what was she supposed to do? They beat up her best friend. They weren't getting away with that easily. She hadn't expected them to corner her on her way home from school, forming a circle around her. And she certainly hadn't expected them to be carrying guns.

"Look who it is," José sneered. "The squealer." The other boys laughed automatically. She was scared out of her wits, but she tried not to show it. She would stay strong, she vowed silently to herself.

His face turned ugly. "I told you not to tell anybody about my little situation with Ortiz!" he yelled. "It was none of your business. I had to teach him a lesson."

Ella bit her lip. Anger was coursing through her. How dare they? Teach him what lesson? Finally, she found her voice, praying that it wouldn't shake. "By beating him up?" she retorted. "He looks like he got hit by a car. And he didn't do anything to you!" Kevin still refused to tell her anything, but she knew him. He wouldn't have done anything to them, ever.

"He mouthed off to me. He exists. He breathes my air," José said arrogantly. The other boys laughed again.

Ella's eyes darted back and forth, trying to find some way - any way - to escape. Her eyes landed on a girl who had just stepped out from behind a building. She looked terrible - her cheek was scratched and she had a black eye. Had José and them gotten to her, too?

The gang had noticed her eyes widen, and turned to the girl. José glanced at her dismissively and turned back again. "So, Ella, what have you got to say for yourself?" he asked tauntingly. He was almost done talking, Ella knew. "Is there any reason I shouldn't teach you a lesson, too?"

"Three guys against one girl. That seems about even." a voice said. Ella had to stop herself from gasping. The girl had just strode up, fury written clearly in every line of her face.

"Shut up, chick," one of José's buddies said. "You better get out of here if you know what's good for you."

"Can't," she said, walking to stand by Ella. Ella looked at her in alarm. What was she doing? "Actually," the girl continued, "I think kicking your stupid butts would be good for me."

The gang laughed. Ella looked nervously at José. His eyes had narrowed - a huge danger sign. "Grab Big Mouth," he ordered. The other two moved to flank the new girl.

It happened so fast Ella barely saw it.

In the blink of an eye, the girl had snapped a kick into José's chest that seemed to crack a rib. When the other two rushed at her, she grabbed the gun out of his hands and cracked it against his head so hard blood began to flow. Ella was frozen to the spot, unable to move. Who was this girl?

The girl turned to look at Ella. "Run!" she exclaimed. "Get out of here!"

Run? She was supposed to just run and leave this girl by herself? Ella looked at the gang, who looked more than a little worse for wear. It was obvious this girl could take care of herself. After a moment of hesitation, Ella turned tail and ran for home, envisioning her mother taking her into her arms and telling her everything would be alright.

That was the first time she met Max.

Six: She hadn't expected Max to show up at her house later that night as she let out Magnolia. She had figured that she would go home to her parents or something like that. She definitely hadn't thought that she actually would have been shot. The gang actually used those guns on her?

But she definitely hadn't expected Max to have wings.

Shock was the only thing that was going through her brain.

Max. Had. Wings.

That first day, she couldn't help but stare. What was she supposed to do? Her mom had somehow been able to act casual, but it wasn't that easy for Ella. As the next few days went by, however, it became easier. So Max had wings. Okay, no big deal. It didn't change the facts that she had saved her from José's gang, or that she had become something like Ella's cousin or sister in just three days. Ella had never had a sibling before - it was always just her and her mom. Max filled in that gap without even trying.

She never wanted Max to leave. But of course, she had to.

Seven: The sight of Max flying was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen. Her wings were huge, but gorgeous - speckled brown with the occasional white splash, as if someone had taken a paint brush and dabbed at her wings at random places. Ella felt jealousy rise up in her as she waved hard at Max, who was rising into the air. It must be amazing, to take off into the air on a whim, to feel like the sky could swallow you up.

But then she remembered how Max refused to talk about how she got her wings, how she had no home, how her mother had told her she freaked out at chemical smells.

She was no longer jealous.

Eight: In the days after Max had left, she could think of nothing else. She went to visit Kevin, who had returned to school. She acted like everything was normal. But she was always thinking about Max. Where was she now? Who were the people that she had to meet? Was she alright?

Kevin walked with her after school every day. The two of them probably couldn't do anything against José's gang, but it made the both of them feel safer. Besides, the three leaders seemed more than a little worse for wear after Max had run them into the ground. Kevin really wanted to know who had beaten them up so badly, but Ella lied to him - a first - and said that she didn't know. Some inner sense told her not to say anything about Max to him. Not now, probably not ever. She hated keeping secrets, but it was something that she knew she had to do.

She couldn't help but wish that by some miracle Max would return.

Nine: She hadn't expected Max to come back. Wished for it, yeah, but never actually expected it.

And to top things off, Max was her sister. Her actual, blood sister. How amazing was that? And Ella had gotten to meet the rest of Max's family. Well, flock, according to Max. That was what they called themselves. It was easily the best day of her life - sitting there filling herself up with her mom's delicious Mexican food, laughing at Max's crazy dog, watching in awe as cute Iggy did everything with no trouble even though he was blind, showering Angel with affection.

It was perfect.

Ten: She thought it was awesome that Max and Fang were best friends. After all, she and Kevin were best friends, so why would it be weird that Max was best friends with a guy? She thought it was amazing how in tune they were with each other, how Fang could say one word and Max would understand, how they could share a glance and know what the other was thinking without even trying.

As she watched them more, though, she couldn't help but notice how there was something there that was more. She couldn't put her finger on it. They weren't exactly like she and Kevin. She glanced at her mom, and she knew that she saw it too.

There was something else there.

A/N: Oh, come on. How could I RESIST adding some Fax in there? *grins* haha

So, who knew that Ella would inspire me so much? I've written extra secrets. You guys know the drill - review if you want the extra ones and I'll put them in my reply!

Oh, yeah, and good news! I found the extra Fang secrets that I lost. So for those of you that reviewed awhile ago asking for those, I HAVE THEM! hahaha

So yeah, extra Ella, extra Fang....anyways. CLICK THE BUTTON!

peace and love,

FF5