A/N: I have changed the rating just for safety reasons. I'm a bit paranoid after I read the ratings guide. lol.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride.

Chapter Four – Under Thunder

Fang's POV

"Iggy, what the hell is wrong with you?" Fang asked in frustration.

"Huh?" Iggy asked belatedly.

Fang raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, nothing: just thinking."

"Why do you sound like such a girl?"

"Well…"

"This is about a girl, isn't it?" Fang stated.

Iggy's cheeks turned pink in response.

"Who is she?" Fang demanded.

"Umm…"

Fang watched Iggy silently, with a hint of menace.

"Okay… Her name is Ella Martinez."

"That girl in the year below us that always moons over you?" Fang asked. "She seems sweet. Too bad you're not."

"Hey! She said she really likes me and that…" He seemed uncomfortable.

"So you want to date now?" Fang was getting sick of asking questions. In fact, he was sick of talking. But talking seemed the only way to get anything done these days.

"Well, she's really pretty, and you know that Nudge never even looks at me unless she wants something…"

"Dude, I hope this isn't some ploy to make Nudge jealous."

"I've known Nudge for so long and we've been really good friends. But I doubt she'd ever feel anything more. This way, I have a healthy distraction and I can try and get over her."

Fang was silent.

"Plus, Ella is really nice and everything. It's not like I don't want to date her."

"…"

"She's pretty too," Iggy added.

"…"

"She's exactly what I need."

"…"

"Dude, you're making me nervous. Obviously you've used up your quota of talking for the day. Man, it creeps me out when you do this. It makes me feel like I have to talk enough for the two of us."

Fang laughed then, breaking Iggy's tension.

"We're going out tonight." Iggy checked his watch and blanched. "Speaking of which, I'm going to be late. I'll see you later."

Iggy took off before Fang could force himself to say something. He watched his friend depart with a fondness that surprised him. Iggy was like a brother to him, but he seldom thought about the deep friendship they shared.

"Where have you been?" Roxy, Fang's mother, demanded.

"Out."

"You were supposed to come home an hour ago! Your father has been waiting for you. You better go and see him." Roxy was scary when she was mad; but not as scary as Fang's father, Rex. Luckily, Fang was perfectly accustomed to his parents' wrath. He'd stopped being scared of them a long time ago and learned to just put up with his mother's verbal abuse and his father's physical abuse. He'd crafted the perfect emotional shield to deal with their 'parenting'.

"Fang," Rex said coldly as Fang entered his father's study. Rex was a man of business –illegal business. He'd built quite a nest egg, but he never spent a dime on Fang. In fact, he never spent any money to fix up their rickety house, either. Rex believed that secrecy was the key to his business. So he never let any of his contacts know his real name or identity and he kept their house dirty and dilapidated so that no one got suspicious. Instead, he spent his money on whores and god knew what else. He also kept his wife happy with promises that one day they would move into a mansion and he'd never have to work again. Fang suspected that he already had a house on the cliffs and was just waiting for the right time to take Roxy and leave Fang to his own devices. Fang had never been a part of the plan, and he doubted that he would be part of any future plan either.

He was just glad they hadn't named him Rufus, like they'd planned. He could barely deal with Rex and Roxy -let alone Rex, Roxy and Rufus.

"Father," Fang finally replied.

"I asked you to be home an hour ago. I have an important business meeting and I need someone home to insure that this isn't a set-up." Rex's reasoning never made sense to Fang, but he pretended like it did.

"Well, I'm home now, so why don't you just run along to your meeting." Fang's voice was perfectly emotionless.

"You disobeyed an order, Fang."

Fang knew when to stay silent.

The fist came out of nowhere and landed just below Fang's eye socket. He staggered, wincing, and then forced himself not to react any further.

"I hope you understand why you deserved that. Now, I have a meeting to get to. If anyone asks, you got into a fight with some gang or something, understood?"

Fang's mind was filled with a long string of profanities.

Rex left the room, unfazed by the violence he'd just delivered to his son. Fang touched the tender skin under his eye and knew that it would be completely black by morning. With a sigh, he got some ice from the freezer and went to his room. He lay on his bed, staring at the roof and wondering what it would be like if he had a normal family; or maybe if he had no family at all.

He'd never told anyone about his home life. Iggy was suspicious, but he never mentioned it. For that, Fang was thankful. The closest he'd ever come to telling someone the whole truth was with Max. But he'd baulked then and only told her that he had a pretty rough home life. He'd wanted to tell her so much, but he'd known that she couldn't help him. No one could. Max had money. She wouldn't have a clue what it was like to be abused and to live in a shitty home that barely had any food. His parents always ate out, so he was left to his own devices – scavenging food from his kind neighbours, eating leftovers at school. Until he'd gotten a job, he'd had it pretty bad. But now he could provide for himself. His dad never asked for Fang's money. He rather liked that his son was so independent. It meant he could run away with his wife all the sooner.

He was still awake when he heard Rex and Roxy come home. Roxy was giggling and making suggestions that he assumed his father couldn't refuse. When he heard their door slam and the bed begin to creak, he knew he had to get out of there.

He was still dressed in jeans and a hoodie, so he grabbed his wallet and shoes and made his way downstairs. His parents weren't the type to check up on him. And if they did, he doubted they'd care.

He got in his car and started it up, not caring if his parents heard or not. It wasn't the first time he'd snuck out and it wasn't like his parents cared.

He drove around town for a while and finally decided on his destination when tiny drops of water started to land on his windscreen. He pulled up into a car park near the beach and pulled his hoodie up. The sand was wet and soggy – but he put up with it. The cave was well hidden behind an arrangement of rocks. Few people knew about its existence, which he was grateful for.

Lightning cracked over the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder. At exactly the same moment the rain started bucketing down, drenching him within seconds.

He made it inside the cave and took off his soaking wet hoodie and shook out his hair. Hiss shirt was plastered to his skin, so he took that off as well and threw over a rock to dry. Shirtless, he took in the cave and couldn't help the memories that overcame him.

"I haven't showed anyone else this place before," Fang said with a smirk as he led Max into the hidden cave. It was fairly big with plenty of room to move around. The roof was high above them, making the space less claustrophobic. He'd spent hours making this cave his second home. In the corner was a chair he'd snuck in from his dingy room. There was also a mattress pushed up against the wall and a table he'd made in his woodwork class standing in the middle of the cave. It was quite cosy, if he did say so himself.

"What do you think?" he asked in an uncharacteristic display of emotion.

"It's beautiful," Max said with a smile.

"We can hang out here whenever you want. We can even meet up here when you get angry at your parents," Fang suggested.

Max was grinning. She plopped herself down on the mattress and patted the spot next to her. Fang joined her and placed his arm around her shoulder in a display of friendship.

When he looked at her, something was different. She had always been beautiful, but that night she looked absolutely magnificent. Irresistable. Her skin glowed in the dim lighting of the candle he'd lit. Her hair was shining with something that obviously wasn't hair product. Her lips were slightly parted in the most seductive way he could have ever imagined. Her eyes were dancing with joy and some other emotion he couldn't place.

He did the only thing his brain could understand at that moment. He kissed her.

She gave a startled cry when his lips touched hers, but then she let out the cutest sound he'd ever heard and started to kiss him back. Her lips parted in invitation and he eagerly delved his tongue into the unknown depths of her mouth. She tasted like everything wonderful in the world.

Her hand went to the back of his neck as his tangled in her hair. He'd never known that kissing Max could have been so amazing. Every one of his senses was on fire. When he finally pulled away for air, his breath was ragged. So was hers.

He studied her for a moment, sure that she would run away any second. But she didn't. Instead, she pulled him in for another kiss.

They must have kissed for hours. Sometimes, fast and furious with so much passion that it was a wonder they didn't spontaneously combust. Other times, they went slowly and languidly. They explored each others mouths until both of their lips were tender and raw.

Slowly, he trailed his fingers down her side until they were under her shirt. Looking into her eyes for permission, he tugged the piece of fabric up until it was over her head. She didn't stop him.

His fingers traced the lace of her white bra with the inexperience of someone who'd never seen a real life girl shirtless before. He gingerly unclasped the bra at the back and let his lips travel down to the never before explored region.

Within moments, his shirt was removed as well. They slowly explored each others bodies, enjoying the reactions that a certain gesture elicited. He was fascinated by every sound Max made. He was fascinated by everything about Max.

When his hands fumbled with her pants, though, Max pulled away so that she was out of arms reach.

"Fang, I don't think I'm ready to go all the way," she admitted timidly.

"Okay, sure," he said, squashing his disappointment. He knew that they were moving way too fast. But it was hard for his overheated body to accept that.

"I just think that this was really sudden. I mean, we haven't even kissed before tonight," she elaborated.

"I know. We were moving too fast. I understand."

She swallowed, studying his body with half lidded eyes. He looked at her swollen lips and smirked. He had waited far too long to kiss Maxine Ride.

"I don't know if I can be anything more than friends with you, Fang," she said, her eyes beginning to water. "My parents would never approve and I can't afford to get disowned or anything."

Fang frowned. "Then we won't tell your parents," he said, passing Max her bra. She quickly put it back on and threw her shirt on over it. He slowly put his shirt on as well.

"I can't lie to my parents, Fang."

"Why not? They're always trying to control everything you do. Why should you care if you lie to them or not? I'm sure they lie to you!"

"Fang! I said I can't lie to them. I would feel so guilty."

He smirked. "I could take your guilt away." She didn't look impressed and he sobered up. "Max, I just want to be with you."

"Fang, we're from totally different worlds. Even if we were together that way, it wouldn't last."

"I can't believe you!" Fang exclaimed uncharacteristically.

"What? What can't you believe, Fang?" Max yelled.

"I can't believe you would buy into your parent's bullshit about how you can only marry someone rich! You can be with whoever you want, Max. You just have to want to be with him," Fang stated.

"I want to believe you. But I wouldn't have a family if I disobeyed them in this regard. They strictly told me not to date anyone that doesn't live on the cliffs. They made me swear it."

"This is about the money, isn't it? You're just scared that your parents will disown you and that you'll have no inheritance. When Jeb dies, he's going to leave his business and his fortune to you. I didn't think you were that…greedy."

"What's wrong with wanting some security? I would like to know that when I get older I have a house and a job and a family. I don't want to end up in a shabby hut with no food and barely any running water! I don't want to scrounge for a living. I don't want to be poor."

Fang glared at her with fury. He was burning inside. She'd just described his life as if she would rather kill herself than live like him.

"Oh, Fang!" Max gasped after she'd realised exactly what she'd just described. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"I thought that you were different, Max. I thought that you were stronger than this. I thought you would believe in what we have. You're my best friend. You've been everything to me. But obviously I have nothing to lose and you do. Maybe you're not strong enough for my friendship. So, let's just cut our losses right now. We can't have a friendship with this between us. We can't have a relationship when you obviously won't make the sacrifices necessary. And if you're wondering, I've made plenty of sacrifices for you."

Fang had let his shield down around Max for years. He'd trusted her with his friendship and with his heart. And now she'd shattered it. He'd trusted her, and she'd just thrown it right back in his face. He'd have to rebuild his emotional shield and make sure he never let it down for anyone ever again.

"Fang…" Max was crying now, clutching her chest and wondering if the pain she felt there would ever go away.

"Please leave, Max. I think I've talked enough for one night. I don't think I'll have any words left after this."

She let out a loud keening that nearly shattered his heart all over again.

"Please don't do this, Fang. I need you!"

"Obviously not enough," he said as he picked up the lonely candle and blew it out. Now the only illumination came from the full moon outside. He placed the candle back down and left Max sobbing. He walked all the way to the other end of the long beach and sat, watching the water and the moon and specifically not thinking about the beautiful girl he'd just left.

He'd trusted her. But perhaps she needed to trust herself as well.

Fang looked up from his musing to see a figure standing at the entrance of the cave. The girl was looking at him with shock and mortification. She was soaked through and trembling.

"Max?" he asked, staring at the beautiful girl before him.

A/N: Have you ever trusted somebody you shouldn't have?