Chapter 7

Iggy pulled out his phone as soon as school was over. He dialed Nudge's number, knowing it by heart, and pressed it to his ear. Please, please answer. He thought gripping the phone tighter.

"Hello?"

"Nudge!" Iggy said happy to hear her voice sound fine.

"Iggy, I can't really talk right now."

"Right, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You... you weren't here." He said as he walked out to his car.

"I'm fine. Really." Nudge's voice had the hint of a laugh in it. "Don't worry so much." She said softly.

"I know, it's just... last night." He replied back just as soft. He heard Nudge sigh and say she had to go. "Bye Nudge." Iggy said quietly and then the line clicked dead. By now he was in the car. Iggy hit his head on the steering wheel and took a few deep breaths. She was okay, for now. Just for now. That was the most Iggy could get at the moment.

Thinking about all this made him sick. If they would just tell someone, anyone that could help this could all be over. But that was the thing. In situations like this there was a reason they didn't. Sometimes it was love, sometimes fear, sometimes ignorance, and sometimes because it was too hard. It was too hard to open your mouth and say, save me. Help me please because I'm hurting, they're hurting me and I can't take it anymore. It's hard to admit to people the times that you are weak. It's hard to say that when you meet that person's eyes or hear their voice a shiver runs down your spine because you know that they will bring you pain. It's hard to let the world in after hiding from it for so long.

But, Iggy had a plan. He would stop this. He would save Nudge from something she couldn't save herself from. It didn't matter if she hated him for it, just as long as she stopped hurting.

Fang walked slowly down the road. Cars drove past him and caused a slight wind but his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about Max. The song Iggy had written was good and so was his plan. Fang wished he'd thought of it but the truth was Fang was too blinded by love, fear, and hate to think clearly. Sure, on the outside he seemed emotionless and in control but he was still human, he felt things. He felt every human emotion just as strong as everyone else; he just knew how to keep a calm mask in place because emotions hurt people. Not to mention it gave them a way to hurt you. He thought about this and many other things as he walked to Max's house. When he got there he could hear some silly poppy song blasting from inside. Through a gap in the curtain he could see his three favorite girls dancing and laughing. Max was the open who held his eyes though. Her face was glowing as she looked at her best friend and sister.

This was the Max he'd fallen in love with. She was strong, bright, happy, sarcastic, fearless, and beautiful. This was his Max. She wasn't perfect but he loved her. But, the person Aaron had made her he hated. When Aaron was around she was jut a shadow of Max, mocking the real thing. Looking at Max he couldn't bother her now, not when she was shining and happy. So, he pulled up his hood as it started to rain and walked away.

Max, Angel, and Nudge kept dancing and singing for hours not worrying about the world outside. But, when they heard a crash of thunder they stopped, smiled at one another, and ran outside. It was pouring and within minutes they were soaked. They ran around into the street and on the grass spinning and laughing. Finally, as they all shivered, they walked inside, changed into comfy clothes, and curled up to watch a movie as their hair dried. It was a relaxing day that reminded the two girls that life wasn't always as stressful as it had been lately. It felt nice.

"So let me get this straight, you need my help for this to work?" Nick asked Iggy and Fang looking at the two boys in disbelief. They almost never asked for his help.

"Yes." Iggy said calmly. Nick thought about it for a moment,

"I'm in."

"Okay, are we ready for Friday night?" Iggy asked everyone. It had been a week since he'd first written Face Down. They were all there, the band, the managers, Nick, everyone who was needed to pull this off. It had to work. It had to.

Max hung up the phone. "Angel!" Max called out and Angel came in. Max had just gotten off the phone with her mother. It was... weird that she and her other daughter wanted to come over for dinner because they were moving into town and Ella, the daughter, didn't know anyone. Max hadn't heard from them in years.

"My mom and her daughter are coming over for dinner tomorrow night." Max explained slowly. Angel raised her eyebrows before she shrugged.

"Okay with me." Angel said with another shrug. It didn't really matter if they came over. Max's mom was nice enough and meeting her daughter could be cool. (A/N; Max's mom is NOT Dr. M. It always bothered me that it turned out that perfect so... not in my fanfiction.) Trinity Jackson was a dark haired fair skinned woman. She kept her hair in a short serious style and wore lots of fancy clothes. She was a lawyer and her dark brown eyes were calm and collected most of the time. However, she did love Max dearly even if she didn't want to live with her. Max wanted to be with Angel and Jeb, not Trinity and Ella. Max nodded and they went upstairs. They would cook and clean tomorrow, Angel cooked, but today they just wanted to go get some sleep. It would be a long and interesting day tomorrow for sure. Max wasn't sure about meeting this Ella girl, she had a strong memory of the girl pushing her into a pond when they were little and trying to hold her down there.

The next day they went to school and invited Nudge to come to the dinner seeing as Jeb was still out of town. After school, and after Aaron and Mega said they could go, they hurried home. Max cleaned while Nudge and Angel tag teamed in the kitchen. By five the house was spotless and dinner smelled amazing. Everything was perfect, and then the doorbell rang. Maximum took a deep breath and opened the door to find Trinity and Ella before her.

"Hello Maximum." Trinity greeted her oldest daughter with a smile. They hugged and Max let them in. "Ella, say hello to your sister." Trinity told the other girl. Ella smiled and nodded to her sister. Max nodded back before introducing Nudge to them. After the slight conversation was over they ate. Trinity was very talkative and kind. Nudge liked Trinity a lot but Ella... something was different about her. The looks she sometimes saw Ella giving Max were strange. She hated Max, that was clear, but it was also something else. Jealousy maybe? Over what? Nudge didn't know.

"That was lovely Max. I hope to do this again sometime when your father is home." Trinity said, as they were getting ready to leave. Max smiled and nodded but the smile was tight. Max wanted them gone. She wanted sleep. Trinity and Ella said good-bye and finally the three girls were alone.

A/N: So, how was it? Be honest. If you'll notice I am updating fast thanks to my awesome Beta. Hope it's still good... Review please!

~Layla~Rin~