Slipped Away
A/N: Well, I am a very happy author today! It is really pathetic when five reviews make you really happy. It's because of those reviews that I'm updating now. My algebra teacher will probably hate me for not getting my homework done, but I'll live! You guys rock!
Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or Slipped Away or anything recognizable, okay? Don't sue me.
SLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAW
Recap:
"I remember it clearly," says Iggy. "She needs you man. You have to come back."
"I don't think that I can."
"The day you slipped away was the day I found it won't be the same. Max fell apart without you. The sad part is that she keeps trying to care for the Flock. We all need you, but Max more than anyone else. Please come back, if only to tell her why you left."
"Did she really? She's so strong." Fang was really worried now. He was glad that Iggy couldn't see his expression.
"She loved you. She loves all of us, but she loved you differently. She was in love with you," Iggy states. Fang's eyebrows raise almost to his hairline.
"B-But…that day in the cave…she flew out on me…" This was so unlike him. Fang never stutters. Never.
"She was scared." No matter how well she pretended, Iggy knew. Iggy is now the one who holds her when she cries, the one who dissuades some of her stupider plans, and the one who she puts full confidence in. But he knows that it is only because he is know the second oldest.
"Why did you leave anyway? You know what happened the last time the Flock split up," he continued.
"I don't know," Fang simply says. It's Iggy's turn to raise his eyebrows.
"Well, then come back."
"That's what I came to do."
SLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAW
"Nudge, did you hear Iggy say how long he was going to be in there?" asks Max eyeing the woods nervously.
"He said he was going to "take care of some business." And don't worry, he'll be fine," Angel says sweetly with a smile.
Max smiles back appreciatively, and goes back to trying to get the semi-wet wood to light.
"Where's Iggy when you need him," she mutters.
"Iggy's right here and I'll go get some new wood. Gazzy, Angel, Nudge, and Total, you guys come too."
Max turns around to make sure that Iggy is alright, asking three other people and a mutant dog to come with him to get firewood. What she sees makes her breath catch.
"Now," Iggy says a little more forcefully. The others follow him bewildered. Fang stays behind.
He can't believe how Max looks. She's still beautiful, but she has dark, almost purple shadows underneath her eyes, as if she hasn't been sleeping well. Her hair was lank and dirty, but then when was any of their hair clean? But she was also thinner than when he had seen her last. When was the last time she ate?
"Max…" he begins, but she cuts him off.
"Why?"
When he doesn't answer, she asks a different question.
"How could you leave the Flock like that? How could you leave me?" her voice cracked on me.
I've had my wakeup
Won't you wakeup?
I keep asking why
"I don't know, Max."
"You don't know," she repeats like a curse. "You don't know why you left. You don't know why you caused the Flock—why you caused me—a year of not knowing if you were alive or not? My God! It was Jeb all over again!" Max was shouting now, but she didn't care. He deserves to know all he put her through over this past year.
He watches her rant. His heart drops with every word that she speaks. Because every word is true. Well, not all of it.
And I can't take it
It wasn't faking
It happened you passed by
"Max," he starts. This is going to be hard. "I do know why I left. I'm sorry, but please, hear me out."
Now you're gone
Now you're gone
Somewhere I can't bring you back
Now you're gone
Now you're gone
Somewhere you're not coming back
She stares at him for a moment, open mouthed. She closes it quickly, and says, "Well then by all means. Indulge me in this excellent reason of why you left." Even though, she is so angry with him that she feels ready to roundhouse kick him into the nearest tree, the old Max is starting to come back. She can't remember the last time she had used sarcasm.
It feels good.
"I—you're going to laugh—I was afraid. I was afraid that you didn't love me. I was afraid that you were going to find another Sam. And this time, it was going to be permanent, and I'd have to watch that. I'd have to pretend like I was happy for you while I was ready to tear his guts ou--"
Out of nowhere Max's fist shoots out and makes solid contact with Fang's jaw.
"That's the reason? That's the reason you left me! That's the most half-ass excuse I've ever heard!" Then, she turned Fang into a human punching bag. Fang stands there and takes most of it, only knocking away the worst of the blows.
When Max finally stops trying to punch his lights out, Fang asks, "Are you done yet?"
"Yes."
"Wow, it's usually me with the one word replies," he says with a smirk.
"Do you want me to hit you again?" she threatens.
"No."
"All right then."
They stare at each other in shock, both realizing how this conversation sounds as if they'd never been apart.
"Do you want to stay?" she finally asks.
The day you slipped away was the day I found it won't be the same
He frowns. He had told Iggy that he wanted to stay, but he had lied. But from her reaction, clearly Max loves him back, and Iggy hadn't been lying to get him to stay. What should he do?
"Fang…please. I don't think I could stand it if you left again." She was making this harder than it had to be.
"Fang, before you got a chance to leave me again, I have to say something. Oh, don't look at me like that! I know what you're going to do! I see it all over your face! Before you go, I just have one thing to say. I love you.
When you left, one thing I regretted was that you left without me getting to say how I felt about you. So there it is."
He stares at her in shock. Any thoughts of leaving had just left his mind.
So he does the only thing fitting for the moment. He kisses her.
And she kisses him right back, but only for a minute.
She pulls away and laughs at the face he makes.
"You're not forgiven yet."
SLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAWAYSLIPPEDAW
Two months later the Flyboys attacked. I will never forget that fight. I had noticed that they had guns welded to where their arm should be, and my heard had dropped. This had been on a whole new level of dangerous. One Flyboy had its gun pointed right at me.
Fang had flown in front of the bullet. He had died in my arms.
And so goes my happy ending.
A/N: screams I can't believe I just killed off my favorite character! Ahhh! Oh, yeah. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. I hope y'all'll do the same for this chapter. You guys are awesome. Thanks for reading my story. I hope you guys enjoyed it!
P.S. I live in the South. Y'all'll is a perfectly acceptable word. It is short for "you all will"