So. School starts tomorrow. I have soccer practice everyday after school. So, this means I will probably only be able to type on the weekends. *Sigh* Also, you guys must have noticed Fang was missing from the last few chapters. I got fed up wuth hum and locked him in the fridge. But here he is again.

Fang: Even though Starry is cranky enough to be a middle aged man, she does not own Maximum Ride, Max, and even though she really wishes she does, Max's boyfriend.

…L is hotter than you.

Fang: Not true!

And he's smarter.

Fang: Liar!

Anyways, since this is turning into a very long A/N, I have one other thing to say. The Maximum Ride awards are on! Go to http:/forum(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/forum/Maximum_Ride_Awards/97395 and nominate your favorite story!

Fang: What she's saying is she wants you to nominate her story

*Shoves Fang back into fridge*

Chappie 5

(Because. Chappies are cooler than chapters)

JJ cocked her head at me, but she didn't say anything. She led me back to the table.

Ella looked at me with a look that said, "What happened?"

"Tell you later." I mouthed.

Gazzy looked at surprised when I sat down and continued eating. "Max said she'd like to sit with us." JJ announced.

For a while, everyone just sat in comfortable silence. It was like they weren't sure what to make of me.

Suddenly, I heard a weird noise followed by an inhuman smell. I immediately slapped my hand over my nose.

"Gazzy!" Iggy complained through his shirt, which he had pulled over his nose. "That's nasty!"

Gazzy just grinned.

"Who fed him beans?" JJ demanded, hiding a smile. Fang also had his hand over his nose and mouth.

"Gazzy, are you trying to murder us?" he said, glaring. Suddenly, all the chatter stopped and everyone turned and stared at him. Despite the smell, JJ's mouth was hanging open.

Fang just continued eating like the whole table wasn't staring at him.

"Did Fang just voluntarily say something?" Iggy said.

"I think he did." JJ said, disbelief clear on her face.

Nudge, who had been trying to sooth her nose by breathing in her scented hand sanitizer, was staring at Fang with widened eyes. "ZOMG! Did Fang just, like, say something without it being an answer to a question? Usually he only talks when he has to, but now he just said what he was thinking! Out loud! To a person! I can't believe this!"

"The apocalypse is nigh!" Gazzy said, sticking his plastic fork in the air and waving it around. I smiled. These people aren't so bad.

The rest of lunch we were filled in on all the teachers, classes, and students.

Apparently, Mr. Smith is the nicest homeroom teacher a freshman can have. Lucky Ella.

Mrs. Williams was described to me as bipolar. She is overly enthusiastic one moment and handing out detention like it's going out of style the next. A lot of kids get sent to the principal's office for dumb things like doodling on their notebook covers. Usually Mrs. B just sends them right back.

The school mean girl and slut is Lissa Martindale. Apparently, she really gets on Fang's nerves by asking him out thirteen times a day. One of her minions is Brigid Dwyer.

After lunch, we all headed off to all our classes.

FPOV (ooooh, finally!)

I was sitting in social studies, trying to maybe learn something.

Keyword here being trying. My thoughts kept wandering elsewhere. This time, they landed on dinner last night.

When I saw her, the first thing I thought was daaaaamn. Which also happens to be the first thing I thought when I saw Gracie. Of course, she has to look just like Gracie too. It just brings back more painful memories. It's like Max is making it harder for me to live.

My thoughts wandered back to that awful night. I remembered the disbelief echoing through my head. The memory was like a bullet wound to my heart, always there, always bringing pain. I pushed them away, not wanting to think about it. Those were the thoughts that stayed pushed away in the deepest, darkest corner of my mind.

Yello. It rained 9 inches here. On the first day of school, which was yesterday, we evacuated at 1:30 and on the second day of school, which would be today, we have no school. It is a state of emergency here. Which is lucky for you, cuz I get to stay home and type. And we might not have school tomorrow. And tomorrow is Friday, so then comes the weekend. Talk about bad timing.

-Starry Eye

MPOV (Time snap! School is over now.)

As soon as the bell rang, I rocketed out of homeroom as fast as I could. I flew down the hallway, ignoring Mrs. Williams, who was yelling after me to slow down.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling me to a halt.

"Jeez Max. Slow down before you run into someone. Or rather, plow them down and leave them with shoe prints on their face. Speaking of shoe prints, do you ever look at the tracks the bottom of your shoes make? Some of them are just boring stripes but some of them have cool patterns and stuff. Like mine have diamonds and polka dots in an intersecting line with the brand name written on them, which is Tommy Hil-" the voice was suddenly cut off.

I turned around, and guess what I see. If you said Nudge with Ella's hand over her mouth, then DING DING DING! You win a fat lot of nothing! Have fun with that!

"I think my ears are bleeding." I said, glaring at Nudge.

She looked sheepishly at her feet.

"What do you want, Ella?" I asked.

"I was wondering if I could go home with Nudge. Her house is close enough so I can walk back home." Ella said, still covering nudge's mouth.

"Sure, but Mom's making dinner tonight so make sure you're home by six." I said. "And I think you can let Nudge go now." I added.

Ella peeled her hand off Nudge's mouth, which turned out to be a not so good idea. She immediately started babbling about all the fun stuff they could do and how much fun they were going to have and what her house is like.

Ella looked at me helplessly.

I stuck my tongue out and took off again. I didn't stop running until I was home.

"How was your-" mom started to say, but I shot past her, shouting something unintelligible about where Ella was. I burst into my room and flopped onto my bed, panting.

I should do track.

I pulled on a pair of ratty jeans and a t-shirt, and was out the door again, this time with a helmet in hand and a pocketful of carrots.

My Mom was still standing in the same spot, looking slightly bewildered. I said, "I'm going to the barn!" and raced out the door.

I was at the barn in record time. I swung open the heavy door and walked inside, breathing in the smell of hay and horses.

I was going to get some brushes from the cabinet, when I heard some noise coming from the Indoor. (Short for the indoor riding ring. It's just a big, enclosed space with a roof and a dirt floor.)

Curious as to who was here, I went over and cracked open the door. It was Fang. He was walking a dappled gray mare towards the mounting block. I watched as he mounted and began riding around the ring. He stared off walking, then trotting, then he was running, letting the horse have her head.

It's inhuman to be able to look that sexy while riding a horse.

Wait, what? No! Bad Max! I did not just think that!

I quietly slipped away to go get King. Ella, who is a Harry Potter fanatic (Just like me!), insists on calling him Kingsley Shacklebolt. But she also insists that I wear makeup and fancy clothes. So screw what she insists.

After a very thorough brushing (Does anyone else here think that horses know when you're going to brush them and go roll in the mud right before?) I lead him into the Indoor, where Fang was walking his horse. I slipped in through the half open door, trying to be quiet. I was successful, but the half-ton beast behind me was not. He even hit the saddle against the door as he came in.

I think he knows I was trying to be quiet and did that on purpose.

Fang twisted around in his saddle to face me.

"Hi." I said, walking over to the mounting block. He kept staring at me as I got on, making me very self-conscious. Once I mounted, I trotted over and stood my horse next to his.

He tilted his head and looked me over. Again with the self-consciousness.

"Hey" he said quietly.

It was sort of awkward, so I unbuckled my helmet and plopped it on his un-helmeted head. "Try wearing this. It prevents brain injury, you know. I think the last thing we need is a mentally insane Fang." I said.

He cracked a small smile, which made me smile back. Fang should smile more often. It's nice.

Then I burst out laughing. I was practically doubled over on my horse. Fang looked at me quizzically.

"You look so funny," I said, trying to contain my laughter, "In my helmet." It was true. It was one of those black velvet helmets, and it was too small for him. He looked like a prep riding school kid. (Is that possible?)

We decided to go on a trail ride. Fang led, and I followed. We talked as we went, or rather, I talked and he listened.

By the time we returned, it around was 4:30. I hopped off King and led him inside. Fang was close behind. I put king in the crossties and pulled off the saddle and bridle.

As I was brushing him, I heard someone come up behind me. I whirled around, and there was Fang, holding a brush in his hand.

"Jeez fang! Where'd you come from? You scared me to death!" I said, glaring at him. Which didn't have the desired effect since he was a head taller than me.

"Need some help?" He said, holding up the brush.

"You, Sir, are an idiot." I said, and poked him in the chest.

Suddenly, his eyes glazed over, and he got this funny expression on his face. I couldn't tell what it was.

"Umm, I gotta go." He mumbled, and then took off.

Was it something I said? I sighed. I put king back in his stall and started the trek home.

FPOV

I ran home as fast as I could, the passing houses and trees a blur. I tried to push away the thoughts that were flooding into my brain. I reached my house and went straight past the front yard, stopping in front of a large oak tree. One of the branches extended right to a windowsill on the side of the house.

I leaped up onto the first branch, climbing higher and higher. When was the last time I did this? Probably almost a year ago. I still climbed with ease. I reached the branch that led to my window, and dug around in a small hollow in the trunk. Come on, it has to still be there.

My fingers finally closed around a smooth metal shape. I pulled the key out and inched along the branch. I put it into a slot on the outside of the window and turned. The lock was rusty and unused, but I eventually got it.

I slipped inside the window into a narrow room. The walls were covered in pictures. Memories lay scattered all around me. There was no keeping back those thoughts now. The memories rushed into my brain like a floodwall had broken. Screaming, police sirens, crying. The officer's words echoed in my mind over and over again.

Gone.

It wasn't like a bullet wound aching again, it was like someone tore open the wound and shot it again.

Gone.

All the emotions building up inside me, it was just too much. I slammed my fist into the wall. Plaster went everywhere, chunks of wall hung out. My knuckles throbbed in pain. I curled up into a ball, cradling my injured hand.

Gone.

CLIFFIE! WAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, the evilness. Sooo… I just got a phone call from my school. There's no school tomorrow either. And tomorrow is Friday. That means we had the first day of school, which ended early, and then we have four days before the second day of school. Send me a prayer for all the people who got flooded really bad, and have a review attached to that

QOTC: Do you read manga/watch anime? If so, what do you read/watch?

To answer the last chappie's question, I have one mouse and two cats. I would say a fish but today I discovered it was dead.

Ha. A mouse and cats. Oh, the irony.

Irony, the opposite of wrinkly.

-Starry Eye