Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does but I do own Hallie, Tristan, Alyson, and Alec.

Chapter Five

Thinking about the pizza made my stomach growl in frustration. Damn, I was hungry.

'Total was right. "In time we hate that which we also fear."' My Voice adds in a quote. Very cute.

'I agree with you, surprisingly. Where is that quote from?' I'm very curious about where my Voice gets his stuff.

'William Shakespeare.' My Voice answers my question and is silent.

Okay, enough of that, time to eat. I grab the key card Jeb gave me and head out my bedroom and ran straight into Fang. He grabs my wrists before I fall from the impact of our collision.

"Hey," he said a little startled, "you okay?" He asks while searching my eyes. I look at his dark ones and almost forgot to breathe. Shit, inhale and exhale, I repeat to myself while Fang gets even more anxious. He starts to gently shake my shoulders and I, then, start to snap out of whatever trance I was in.

"Oh, sorry about that," I apologized while Fang relaxed, "the Voice came back for a bit."

"Anything wrong?" He asked searching my face and I shook my head. "Good," he replied and then something in his expression changed. I was about to ask what was wrong until I recognized his expression. It was passion.

"I..," I was cut off when Fang's lips met mine. Again my mind went blank. I completely forgot what I was about to say. Fang's hands move toward my hair from my wrists he grabbed when I was about to fall. Screw it.

I wrap my arms around his neck and to deepen the kiss. The fire started to spread throughout my body and all I could feel was just this insane passion I had for Fang. I pressed myself against his body and the fire spread faster. I swear my heart was beating so fast Fang probably could hear it. And then I was dizzy. Air…

Fang probably had felt the same too because we both stopped and looked at each other, panting hard.

Fang's stomach growled, loudly and I smirked at him because I can still see in his eyes what he would rather be doing.

"Damn it," he growls. I laugh.

"Come on, let's go eat." I grab his hand and led him out the door into the hallway.

"Wait, where are the others?" I ask Fang panic rising in my voice.

"They are already there," he says giving me a smile. "Their stomachs couldn't hold out any longer."

"Okay," I respond. We continued walking toward the double doors and I noticed Jeb coming out of his own room with a worried expression on his face.

"Hey Jeb!" I yell for him. He spins around and notices Fang and me. Fang looks at me with a 'What the fuck?' look on his face and I shrug my shoulders.

"Is there a problem?" Jeb asks us looking concerned. I shake my head and he relaxes. Wow, Jeb caring? This is too much.

"Nice quote," I commented to him, "very fitting." Jeb's face went to confusion, his eyes widening and his eyebrows lifted, but then he relaxed his face and shook his head.

"Max, seriously, that was not me." He told me for the third time since we've arrived.

"You can probably understand why I am having a hard time believing that," I told him.

"Yeah, I do and soon you will understand what is really going on." He replied but then his face returned to shock as though he was not supposed to say that.

A raise an eyebrow, "Then fill me in, Master All-Knowing." I told him in my stern voice.

"Sorry, Max I should not have said that," he said looking sad and then he started walking toward the double doors of the common room and we followed.

Fang and I looked at each other both reeling about what Jeb had just said. What the hell was he talking about? Why can't he just be straight-forward instead of these ridiculous games? And I was just starting to trust him again. AGH!

Fang notices my tension and wraps his arm around my shoulders. "It's going to be okay, Max," he whispers in my ear.

"I hope you are right," I tell him as we enter the double doors and almost run right into Jeb's back. Damn it. I have to start looking out for where I was going.

The common room was pretty big and well decorated. There was a bar at the far end and to the right a dance floor with a pretty sleek stereo surround sound system. Damn. Mr. Vonderhaar really wanted to make sure his employees were taken care of. I looked to my left and saw the rest of the flock playing video games that were set up across the left wall. Angel saw me looking and gave me a huge smile and waved then continued talking to Nudge who was stuffing pizza slices in her mouth like there was no tomorrow. Directly to my right were a bunch of chairs and couches facing a flat screen television. I could get use to this.

"Hallie, nice to see you." I heard Jeb tell a petite curly blond haired woman who gave Jeb a look of 'Well, it's not nice seeing you here'.

Huh. I like this girl.

"I wish I could say the same," she gave a Jeb a look of disgust. Jeb's face grew even more sad looking and I was about to feel pity for the guy but then I remembered what he told me in the hall and I stopped that feeling.

"Can't we be civil?" Jeb asks the woman.

Her hazel eyes tightened and she whispered in a harsh voice, "Do you really think that we would forget about the past?" I think she was completely oblivious to Fang and me standing behind Jeb taking all this in.

Whoa, what?! I was about to interrupt when a look alike of Matt Damon stepped in and did it for me. But much sturdier looking than dear Matt. His shoulders were broader and he looked like he could fight his way through anything.

"Sorry about my sister," he said looking more at Fang and me than Jeb. His sister looked up to him when he grabbed her arms and started to drag her away.

"But…but Tristan!!" She said to her brother as they walked away toward the bar. I watched them head over a woman with shoulder length light brown hair looking at Hallie with shocked eyes but she shook her head as she approached and they started what looked like a heated discussion.

"Uh, Jeb," I said looking at him, "Care to explain?"

He looked at me and said, "Maybe later." And he walked away from us with slumped shoulders.

Fang and I look at each other. "That was weird." He commented.

"Yeah, I want to know what's going on." He nods his head agreeing with me and we head over to the rest of the flock and the pizza.

Third Person POV

"Sorry, Alyson," Hallie told her friend as she sat down at the bar, "but...ugh after what he has done to you and then to us…and he had the nerve to talk to me like nothing had happened!"

Hallie looked at Alyson her wide blue eyes understanding, her light brown hair in layers circling her face. "Don't worry about him Hallie. Let me take care of it." Alyson said looking grim.

"No." Tristan told Alyson looking at her with a worried expression on his handsome face.

"No?" Alyson said stubbornly. "I will let you know Tristan Cooper that I can take care of myself."

"Oh I know that," Tristan said smiling, "I just want you all to myself tonight."

Tristan wrapped his arms around Alyson's slim waist and inhaled the pleasant scent of her hair. Alyson leaned into him, completely forgetting what it was they were just talking about. Tristan had that affect on her and she could tell she had the same affect on him sometimes.

"Ugh," Hallie said looking at the couple. "I'm going to get some pizza and then find Alec."

They watched Hallie go, her blond curls bouncing as she walked away.

"I don't want you to go," Alyson told Tristan in a whispered plea.

"I have to," he simply answered, "besides I will be fine. This shouldn't be anything hard to handle, especially with Alec there too."

Alyson nodded and then turned around to face him. "You promise me you will come back to me." She commanded, her eyes pleading his golden ones.

"I promise," he told her.

Max's POV

Fang and I grabbed a few slices of pizza and went to go watch Gazzy play a video game along with the rest of the flock. It was one of the video games that you were driving a car racing the person beside you. Not exactly the best way to learn how to drive. I should know.

"Man, you're pretty good for an old guy," Gazzy told his racing buddy, jokily. I was about to tell Gazzy to apologize for being rude but the guy smiled.

"Yeah, and you're pretty good for a squirt," he replied focusing on driving the animated car through a dirt road on the screen. And then I gasped. Not because of what the guy said to Gazzy but because of how big this guy was. And I mean huge.

His upper body probably weighed more than Fang, and that was saying something, Fang was pretty big too but this guy was gigantic. He had his dark brown hair grown out to where it met at his chin combine that with the tanned complexion he had; and this guy was intimidating. The only thing that wasn't scary was the fact that he was smiling and he looked as though he was enjoying himself, a lot.

'Angel, can you get a read on this guy?' I asked her.

'Yeah,' she sounded worried, 'but it's a little fuzzy like a radio station that you just can't find, you know?'

'That's not good.'

'Well, the thoughts I am getting aren't bad.' Angel sounded indecisive which was a little rare. Much of the time she was so sure.

"You know you aren't ten years old anymore," a woman told the man racing Gazzy looking at him amused.

She was the same woman who had confronted Jeb, I realized and then I nudged Fang. But he already was focusing on the situation and he grabbed my hand for comfort.

"So," he replied to her, "doesn't mean I still can't act it." He smirked at her and then went back to the race.

Fang looked at me and raised his eyebrows with a little smirk as in saying 'Maybe they aren't bad.'

I gave him an incredulous look saying, 'You don't know that for sure.'

He just shrugged his shoulders and continued watching the interactions taking place.

'Okay Max, now I am really worried!' Angel tells me and my heart sinks.

'What?'

'I can't get anything from this woman! Nothing!' She sounds extremely scared.

'How can that be?' I asked her focusing my attention on the women. She looks normal besides the fact that she knew Jeb and hated him for an unknown reason. This is odd.

'I agree, Max, and I have no idea.' Angel started to mentally doubt herself and I quickly gave her a hug.

"Don't you dare start to doubt yourself, Angel. We will figure this out together." I whisper to her and she, in turn, hugged me tighter.

We were interrupted by whoops of cheer by Gazzy. Obliviously he won the race. He faced his opponent and gave his hand for a shake.

"Good game, old man." Gazzy congratulated the giant.

The giant gave a booming laugh and shook Gazzy's hand. "Same to you, kiddo, and the name's Alec and this here is Hallie," he jerked his thumb toward Hallie who gave Gazzy a small smile.

"I'm glad you put him in his place," she told Gazzy jokily.

"I'm Gazzy, and this here is Angel, Nudge, Iggy, Fang, and Max." He pointed to each one of us individually and I was shocked at how mature the Gasman was acting. I gave a fake smile and faced Hallie.

"I believe we already met when you threatened Jeb." I told her sternly.

She gave me a genuine smile and said, "I believe you know as well as I do that Jeb can be slippery."

I narrowed my eyes at her as everybody around me tensed. "Okay, well how do you know me?"

"Hallie, enough of this, not tonight." Alec growled at her. She looked at him and her face softened.

"You're right, sorry," she told him and then she turned back to me, "I'm sorry too, it's nothing against you I just don't trust that man."

Relief flooded through me. I actually understood this girl. The only thing that was brothering me was why she didn't trust him? What happened between them?

"I completely understand," I told her truthfully and her face brightened at me.

"I'm glad, just be careful around him." She gave me her piece of advice and then she and Alec walked away with their arms linked.

"What the hell was that all about?" Iggy asked with a confused look on his face.

"Iggy..," Max chided him for swearing.

"What?! Oh, whatever," he rolled his eyes, "I want to know what that was all about."

"Me too," Gazzy said a little hurt that his new friend left.

I sighed. "I'm sorry guys," I said and then I proceeded to explain to them the confrontation Hallie had with Jeb.

"Oh, well that explains it," Nudge said shrugging her shoulders.

"But it's not just that," Angel said, "I can't read her thoughts!"

As expected everybody gaped at her. The only other person able to completely block her out was Jeb. And since Jeb's history with us isn't so great everybody took this news as bad and when I say 'bad' I mean end to us all.

A/N: Yeah I know this took way too long to get out but I have been having minor problems but I will continue the story. Patience.