DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride.

Chapter Sixteen – Could Would Should

Iggy's POV

It wasn't usual for Max to run late to school. Sure, Iggy could never tell if Fang was going to turn up for school or not. But Max? They had a test today!

Iggy started to sweat as the teacher began handing out test papers. His perfectly sharpened pencil was slippery. He couldn't help but inch forward in his seat to get a better view of the classroom door.

The door swung open and Max and Fang burst through the doors, panting. "Oh, thank God!" Max said with relief as they noticed the test hadn't started yet.

The teacher shook his head at them and gave them a test paper. He was old and didn't particularly care about whether his students were on time for tests. Iggy had a theory that Mr Bingham hid liquor somewhere on school grounds. Iggy might need some hard liquor after this morning.

Fang and Max sat down in seats next to each other. They kept sharing these weird little looks, like they had an inside joke. Iggy was still twitchy from worrying about them. Now he felt left out on top of that. What on Earth was going on between those two?

"Eyes forward. You can begin now," Mr Bingham instructed.

Iggy glanced at Max and Fang before he hurriedly started his test.

"How'd you guys go?" Iggy asked as they filed out of the classroom together. Everyone was comparing answers and making heaps of noise.

"Probably failed," they both said at the same time.

Iggy eyed them as they shared a glance and smiled.

"How 'bout you?" Max asked, tearing her eyes away from Fang's.

"I was so worried about you two that I couldn't concentrate! I probably failed. Do you know how important that test was to me? I'm going to fail now! And all because you guys are making googly-eyes at each other! What the hell is going on between you two?"

"Relax," Fang said, which just infuriated him that much more.

"What's going on?" he yelled.

Everyone turned to look at him with strange looks. He resisted the urge to hit his head against the wall.

Whispering, everyone started to turn away from Iggy. They obviously thought he was a whackjob.

"Nothing's going on," Max said soothingly, as if she thought he was going to attack at any moment.

"Don't lie to me! I deserve to know the truth!"

There was a silence that stretched for a long time.

"…Okay," Fang said. Then he grabbed Max and kissed her! Now everyone's attention was on them again.

Iggy couldn't draw his eyes away from the two of them kissing, even though he felt a little perverse. Fang was holding her like she was the most delicate thing in the world, but the kiss didn't lack any passion, that was for sure. Finally, he understood what was going on. They were in love.

He turned away and closed his eyes. It figured that Max and Fang could get together just as he'd dumped Ella. He wasn't stupid enough to think that he could just get together with Nudge. Ella would be heartbroken. It would take time.

At that moment, he couldn't stand the sight of Max and Fang.

They had everything he didn't.

Max's POV

"Everyone's staring at us," Max whispered to Fang. She didn't really need to whisper, but she liked having an excuse to be close to Fang.

"What'd you expect? I all but molested you after that test," he said with a smirk.

"A test that we probably failed," she said pointedly.

"It was worth it," he said, kissing her temple. She didn't know what to do with this new affectionate Fang. He would hold her hand now, and kiss her in public. As they spoke, his hand was on her thigh underneath the table. It was a thrill to know that everyone who was eating lunch could see them.

It felt nice to be loved. She liked the little things as well, like the looks they would share. Sex had really changed everything. They were comfortable around each other, because seriously? - they'd already been naked together. You kind of had to be comfortable after something like that.

"I rang my father before. He's willing to interview you this afternoon," she told him.

He cringed. "I'm going to feel guilty the whole time," he admitted.

"Just don't blurt out that you slept with his daughter," she whispered, holding back laughter.

He groaned.

There was a shriek from across the room and Max and Fang jerked their heads up. Lissa was sitting at her usual table, yelling at Sam for spilling his drink on her. Max snickered.

"This is the worst day ever!" she screeched.

Sam was running about, trying to appease her. Angel was rolling her eyes and surreptitiously blocking her ears. Julia just smothered her giggles.

Suddenly, Lissa was looking over at Max with a glare meant to kill. Max stiffened, ready for a confrontation.

"It isn't supposed to be like this!" she screamed. "I'm supposed to get the guy. I'm supposed to be happy! You have no idea what you've started. I'll get you Maxine Ride! I swear it."

The room was deathly silent as everyone took in Lissa's words. She turned with a flick of her red hair and stormed out of the room, leaving a bunch of gaping teenagers behind her.

"What the…?" Max whispered.

The room burst into whispered conversations all at once, as if there had been some kind of silent signal.

"Apparently it's all your fault that Lissa's unhappy," Fang told her.

"What was that all about?" Nudge asked as she joined their table. Instead of taking the spare seat next to Iggy, she sat next to Max.

"I'm starting to wonder about her sanity," Max replied.

"So, what's with you two anyway?" Nudge demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

The warm feeling that shot through Max's chest was surprising. Even the thought of what was happening between her and Fang made her giddy. She was turning into a regular teenage girl! Next she'd be braiding Nudge's hair and painting her toes!

"They're in love," Iggy said quietly.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

He looked so forlorn that Max immediately felt bad. They'd been ignoring him all day, too caught up in their new romance.

"Are you okay?" Max asked.

"Yeah," he said with a world-weary sigh.

"Iggy, you can tell us," Fang prompted.

"I broke up with Ella," he said, not meeting anyone's eyes.

Nudge stiffened and gazed intently at Iggy, but he still wasn't meeting anyone's eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Max offered sincerely. She felt so ashamed of her and Fang's behaviour.

"It's okay, I just need some time," he said, angling his words at Nudge. Max watched to two of them with confusion, but decided to let it go.

Fang's POV

Oh God, he's going to know I've slept with his daughter. He'll know straight away, Fang thought. He was a nervous wreck.

"Deep breaths," Max coached from the seat next to him. They were outside Jeb's office, waiting near his secretary's desk. Max was clasping his hand, which made him feel like everyone was staring at him. That was insane, however, because the only other person in the room was the secretary, and she was on the phone.

Why was Jeb so intimidating?

Jeb's door opened and Fang ripped his hand out of Max's, in case this angered Jeb.

"Fang?" he called, not looking happy at all. Fang gulped and received a reassuring nod from Max.

The office was large, with nice furnishings and an even nicer view. Jeb sat down behind his desk and gestured to a comfy looking seat for Fang.

"Do you have any experience with business?" Jeb asked, getting straight to the point.

"My father runs a business of sorts. I've witnessed how he manages things," Fang replied, only lying a little. He didn't know if his father's illegal business was what Jeb would consider as work experience.

"Are you hard working?"

"Absolutely, sir," he replied automatically.

Jeb continued to ask a series of questions. Fang could see by the look in his eyes that it was all routine. Fang wasn't standing out, which could either be a good thing or a bad thing. Jeb was blank, no doubt disinterested in the whole ordeal.

Every now and again, Fang would panic. He was sure that Jeb would find out that he'd taken his daughter's virginity.

Finally, Jeb started shuffling his papers, obviously drawing near to the end of his questioning. Suddenly, his eyes turned sharp and locked onto Fang. It was quite unnerving.

At that moment, Fang could understand exactly how Jeb was so successful. That look was the look of an amazing businessman. Jeb was smart. He could tell an asset from a drawback. With eyes like that, Fang could believe that his whole soul was being scrutinized.

He lifted his chin and met Jeb's gaze. Fang wasn't scared. He wasn't intimidated. If his father couldn't intimidate him, then Jeb Ride definitely couldn't.

The corners of Jeb's mouth lifted up approvingly.

"I'll let you know what I decide," Jeb said as a dismissal. Obviously, the most important part of the interview was Jeb's opinion of him.

"Thank you, sir," he said politely as he left the office. He made sure his back was straight and his head was high.

Max practically pounced on him as soon as he was out of the office.

"How'd it go?" she demanded.

Fang shrugged, but he couldn't help feeling proud of himself. Max saw the look on his face and smiled. She kissed his cheek and led him towards the elevator. She was proud too.

A/N: Sometimes I think I write too quickly. Like, the whole scene doesn't take very long. However, I think this is a good thing. I've read so many stories that drag out a scene until I just end up skipping half of it and getting to the good bits. That boring factor probably influences me a lot in my writing. It's also because of how badly I wanted to finish this chapter and get it out to you guys. Tell me your opinions anyway.

Also, this story is going to pick up again with Lissa. Mwahaha. The things I could do to her.