A/N Chapter two, without further ado

What a poet I am!

I don't own Maximum Ride or Twilight

~MQ

Max

I yawn, and grin as Total does too. Fang, flying beside me, smiles one of his rare smiles. I tuck my wings in and do a barrel roll, showing off.

"Nice," says Gazzy. When I look at him, he rolls his eyes. "I meant the sunset," he tells me.

I roll my eyes too, and Angel laughs.

"Max, I'm tired and hungry," says Nudge.

I sigh dramatically but begin to swoop down. "Iggy," I call, "we're landing."

"Thanks," he says.

"How are we meant to find a good boarding school?" asks Angel once we've landed.

"I don't know," I say. "We could ask Dr Martinez. She's helped us before."

"Your mum," Fang corrects softly. I look at him, and he squeezes my shoulder. "You may as well accept it."

I shrug. "I don't want to put them in danger."

He removes his hand. "You won't put them in any more danger by naming them for who they are: your family."

"Okay, okay," I grumble. "Gazzy, Iggy and Nudge, can you guys hunt? I'll make a fire now" – I gesture, and a fireball goes to float just off the ground in the middle of the clearing – "and Angel and Fang and I can work out where we are."

I knock carefully on the door, hoping that they're home, hoping that they're not … I'm not sure what to hope for.

The door opens. I'm hyperventilating. Fang puts a hand on my elbow; I think that he's sure I'll run off if he doesn't.

"Max!" squeals Ella, enveloping me in a hug. "Come in, come in! Just let me get Mum," she says, bouncing down the hall. We follow her.

"Here we are, folks," I announce in a dramatic accent as the car pulls up in front of our new school and we climb out.

"I would never have guessed," says Iggy sarcastically, "seeing as how we're getting out."

I glare at him – a wasted effort – as I open the boot and begin pulling out our bags. Dr Martinez – Mum – and Ella stay in the car with the heater. Admittedly it must be rather cold for humans, but we don't really feel temperatures.

"Where do we go?" I ask Angel. Yeah, you might think that's weird – the leader asking the youngest for advice – but when she's a mind reader the 'normal' doesn't happen very much. Angel concentrates for a minute, listening to what everyone around us is thinking, and then points to a building with a sign saying Administration on it.

Total coughs a laugh. "Max, use your eyes," he tells me. Then, "Hey, don't look at me," when I give him an exasperated stare.

Angel zips to my side. "There's six minds here that don't feel quite right," she tells us in a whisper. "Not Erasers, but they have the same kind of predatory feel. I can't get a proper read on their minds – they're partially blocked … like anything that's less than 90% human," she finishes even quieter. Everyone freezes.

I frown and pass Fang, Iggy and Nudge some of our bags. "Everyone keep an eye out and we'll stick together as much as possible," I say, and they unfreeze.

"I hope you're properly grateful," Gazzy tells Total as he pulls a couple of bags out by himself. "These are both full of food for you."

"I hate dog food," says Total, shuddering. "And you must admit, most of it's for you lot anyway."

Gazzy gives a defeated sigh and Total looks triumphant.

Mum and Ella get out and hug us. "Good luck. We'd stay and help you get settled," Mum says, "but I have to get back to the clinic."

I nod. "Thanks. Bye Ells. Bye Mum." I watch as they drive away.

"Let's go," says Fang softly.

Bags piled high in our arms, we stick in a group as I lead the way to Administration.

"Total, no talking," I hear Nudge say.

"You're one to talk," mutters Fang, and I grin.

"I'm not stupid," Total protests. "Okay, let's rock this party."

"Maximum, Nick, James, Tiffany-Krystal, Zephyr and Ariel Ride," I announce. The lady behind the desk takes one look at us and her eyes widen. "Yes, I know we have a lot of bags," I say patiently, "so can you tell us where to go?"

"Sure," she stutters. "Follow me. Your – uh, foster-mother, especially asked if you could be put together in a cottage."

Thank you, Mum, I think as we make our way out the door. We attract attention – more than I'm comfortable with – as we walk across the school grounds. Whispers of 'new kids' and 'wow' and 'hot, aren't they' fly around. I grit my teeth and ignore them. I'm glad to walk up some steps onto a porch. The cottage looks nice – simple, but nice. Better than a muddy clearing, definitely. I grin.

"It's a twelve-person cottage," the lady says – her name is Mrs Stephens – as she produces a key for the door, "so there will be six others housing with you."

"Okay," I say. Six others … we can deal with that. It'll be easier than staying in dorms, anyway.

"Come in," she says, opening the door. Total trots in ahead of us. She gives him a funny look, but doesn't comment. I know already that we're allowed dogs. It was one of our requirements.

We follow her in. We put our luggage in the living rom, but Gazzy, who's been carrying the food, drops his bags in the kitchen. It's spacious and spotless, with an island bench and a nice big fridge. Iggy runs his hands over the benches and grins.

"I'll leave you to unpack," says Mrs Stephens kindly, passing me the key.

I nod my thanks and she leaves. I go after her to shut and lock the door. There's an open living room/dining room area, with a lovely open fireplace and a TV set in the wall above it. There's two couches in an 'L' shape, with a coffee table between them. A couple of nice big armchairs sit away to the side, perfect for curling up in. There's a fancy-looking stereo in a corner. I smile.

The others have joined me by this stage, gazing at the cosy room as if it was a five star hotel. I hear Gazzy quietly describing everything to Iggy, and I smile.

"Who wants a fire? We can toast marshmallows before bed," I say. When everyone nods or grins, I flick my fingers and a tongue of flame appears in between my thumb and forefinger. I blow on it, and it flies to where someone has arranged a fire in the grate.

"Bedrooms?" asks Iggy.

I see Nudge look at him, then away, and – get this – she blushes. I raise an eyebrow, but don't comment. I'd thought that Nudge had been unusually silent lately, and now I think I know what's bothering her. I make a mental note to talk to her later.

We leave the living room and find a hallway with three doors on each side. All the doors on one side – our left, incidentally – are locked, so I assume that the other six people we have to share this place with inhabit these.

I open the closest door. There's two beds per room, it seems, and an en-suite for each.

"Ange, can we share?" asks Nudge. When Angel nods, Nudge squeals. "Great! I'll have this bed, and we can share the closet …" Her voice trails off as she and Angel go to get their bags.

"Iggy and I'll share," says Gazzy.

I guess that leaves me with … Fang. We look at each other, and he raises an eyebrow. This is … awkward, to say the least. I roll my eyes. "Whatever. I'll get my bags." I stalk off. I swear I hear him chuckling as I hoist my bag onto my back.

"Iggy, you've truly outdone yourself," I say in a posh tone as I shovel the delicious pasta into my mouth. "I appoint you Official Head Cook of this cottage."

"I thought he already was," jokes Gazzy, helping himself to thirds.

"That was unofficial," Nudge says. "Now that you're Official Head Cook, can you make us nice deserts? Ooh, we should have Pavlova sometime. I heard that it's really nice and creamy. Do you think we should have it with strawberries or raspberries? I like strawberries better, but maybe they wouldn't go with the cream. Ooh, we should –" She's cut off by Angel's hand slapping the table for silence and attention.

"Shh. There's people coming. Well, I'm not sure if they're people… The six different minds apparently belong to the people we share this cottage with."

"Oh, wonderful," I say, gritting my teeth. "Well, act normal, shield your minds just in case, keep your wings in tight, and be ready to fight."

They all nod. Nudge starts chattering, but I tune her out, listening instead for the noise of footsteps on the porch. It doesn't come, but I hear the door open. These people must be very quiet. I'm tense in my seat, every nerve on edge. A hand on my shoulder almost makes me jump to my feet, but it belongs to Fang. "Calm down," he mutters only loud enough for me. I make myself relax and he removes his hand.

The people are in the entryway now, talking and laughing. Their voices sound like wind chimes.

Then one voice rises above the rest: "Emmett, what is that awful smell?"

A/N So, we're about to meet their new boarding buddies. And what an insult for poor Iggy's cooking!

Please review - ideas, criticism and praise all very welcome :)

~ MQ