A/N: Okay. –sniff- I wuv my reviewers. If I could marry every one of you, I would. Except, you know, I'm not a guy. Or a girl who's ready for marriage. Whichever, depending on what you are.
In any case, you people are the greatest humans ever to walk to the earth. Or aliens to walk the non-earth. Whichever, depending on what you are.
Special thanks to Katherine, who finally read [kind of my stuff. And reviewed. That's the kind of behavior I like. Everybody look at Katherine and see how she does it. -points-
One other thing: I'm so sorry this took so long to post. I've been in the Outer Banks for a week, and there was no internet connection. And I was getting burned [I'm wicked tan now! YES! in the sun with my toes in the sand. [Okay, so it's not super tan. But it is for practically albino freaks like me. My hair got a lot blonder. Woot!
I wuv my reviewers. –sniff sniff-
Of course, control would be just too good to be true. This fact made itself known very clearly when I woke up to Ari's face.
Yeah. Ari. The one who'd died in my arms. My half-brother.
"What's wrong with you, Max?" he whispered, anguished. "Why would you leave me?"
I wanted to say something brilliant to defend myself, like, "You're dead, idiot!" or "What the hell?" but no words came out. I just stared at him.
"Why?" he asked again. The expression on his face couldn't have been any more heartrending and miserable. I couldn't move my eyes from him, as if they were glued to his own.
But then he changed.
"How can you be my sister?!" he half-screamed at me. "My sister would have at least moved my body. My sister would have saved me..."
This was not the Ari I knew. This was the enraged Eraser who I'd known before really knowing Ari. He stared, horrorstruck and trembling, away from me, and I finally found my voice.
"Like Jeb saved you, Ari?"
He whipped his head back around to glare into my face. The power of his eyes surprised me—he was more than furious. He was livid.
His mouth twisted into a sneer, growling and snarling at me. Then I realized what I had failed to before—that he was coming closer to me, ready to attack.
That's when I woke up.
It was still dark. Iggy was watching the ocean, listening to waves and wind and God knows what else.
"Max?" he said softly. "Are you okay?"
I was breathing heavily, sweating, and Ari's fuming expression was swirling around in my head. Okay? Not quite.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I had a dream, that's all. You want me to take over watch?"
"Nope," he said. "Not tired."
We both fell silent, not wanting to wake the flock. Well, I didn't want to wake them up. He might have just been thinking.
God. What was wrong with me? It was just a dream. And Jeb must have been able to handle getting his only son buried. He knew he was dead, didn't he? I saw him with Ari's body. I was getting ahead of myself, as always.
But Ari looked so real...It's nothing, I told myself. A dream. Stupid subconscious wanderings. Just a dream.
Out of nowhere, Iggy said, not too quietly, "So, what's going on with Fang and you?"
Whaaaat?? I scooted closer to him so I wouldn't be yelling my feelings over everyone's heads. If—key word, if—I said any more. Which wasn't looking too likely at the moment.
"Your subtlety amazes me," I muttered. Louder, I said, "Don't hold back, now. Just be blunt. Don't try to spare my feelings. Please."
He rolled his eyes, just barely visible in the moonlight. "Answer the question."
How much did I want to really tell Iggy? He'd probably just report back to Fang, and then Fang would have more embarrassing stuff on me. Embarrassing stuff which I was sadly lacking on him.
"And no, I'm not going to tell Fang," he said, still quietly, as if reading my mind.
"Why should I believe you? Who knows what goes on between you guys—you could have a secret boys-only gang going on and I wouldn't know."
Now that I said that, I wondered if it were true. They were guys, and being separated from all female influence for a week couldn't have helped. That included being separated from me, freaking sexist pigs, but that was a totally different story.
"Max," he said darkly. "Answer. The. Question."
"Let me ask you this," I stalled. "What has Fang said to you?"
"Let's not get out of control here," he said. "This is Fang we're talking about. We don't exactly brush each other's hair and gab about celebrity break-ups every night."
I snorted. Then I actually thought about it. How I felt about Fang, I mean.
"He can be a total bleeping donkey sometimes," I said slowly, thinking. "Well, most of the time," I added.
Iggy waited.
"But he's like the co-leader to the flock, and my best friend." I winced. I didn't want Iggy to think that he wasn't appreciated.
He didn't seem to mind. I stopped. Here's where it got tricky.
"Go on," he said.
I didn't say anything. I could not believe that I was having this conversation. With Iggy, no less. The bluntest of the blunt.
He groaned. "Come on, Max. The suspense is killing me." Note the sarcasm. I rolled my eyes stoically and didn't respond.
"Do you like him?"
I blushed fiercely, not saying anything.
"Okay," he sighed. "It seemed like you liked him when you two were kissing, by the revolting sounds I heard. And the way Gazzy tells it"— he winced—"you weren't exactly backing away. So, either I go more in detail with the noises, or you—"
"Okay, okay!" I whisper-yelled. "I'll tell."
"Good," he said, pleased, and waited.
Crap. I was not getting out of this one.
"I swear to whatever is up there, if you repeat one word of what I'm about to say to anyone you ever meet, or even pass by on the street—"
I realized he was laughing, shoulders shaking silently. The glare I sent him would have shut him up, if it were translated into physical torture. And if he cared.
I gritted my teeth. "I like him," I choked out.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked innocently.
I hit him, hard, on the shoulder. He held up his hands in defeat, still shaking with laughter.
"Alright," he said, grinning. "How much do you like him?"
"I like him, okay? That's all you need to know." Had I ever been this flushed before? Thank God it was night, and Iggy couldn't see me.
Correction: Thank God Fang couldn't see me. Or hear me. I imagined telling him how I felt, and my stomach twisted uncomfortably.
I wasn't totally sure if the blush was more from anger or embarrassment, although I had a pretty good idea.
"But really," he protested. "Are you...you know...involved?"
My mouth was open. I shut it quickly.
"No! No, Iggy, we are definitely not involved."
"Okay, I was just checking. If there are going to be any surprises, I want to be warned. Like, little baby birds running around..."
Hitting him again didn't seem to express one hundredth of the emotions I was feeling. He got the message, though. I think.
"I'm going to bed," I muttered under my breath.
He just chuckled. "Tweet-tweet," he chirped, like a chick. "Tweet!"
I ground my teeth and closed my eyes, breathing loudly through my nose. Boys.
A/N NUMERO SWI: Kind of a filler chapter. Sorry about the shortness. Better stuff coming! Also, I just got a myspace. Anyone from VA who wants to be my friend? Or even not from VA? I know this is risky and strange, but I want to have some friends on my list. I haven't had time to ask any of my real, live, in-person friends yet.
And if I say that I don't want to be your friend because I think you're creepy, don't take it personally. I inherited my paranoia of rapists from my mother, who drilled it into my head at a very young age that strangers and dangers. [Ha! I wish that was a bumper sticker. But yeah. Sorry if I reject you.
One last thing: I don't know why, but whenever I do perenthesis or the boxy-ones that I love, Fanfiction deletes the second one, the one that closes it off. I am conducting a test. Here is a sentence that I will say with normal perenthesis and boxy perenthesis. I'm seeing which one works, if any.
[Hi there! This is a test.
(Hi there! This is test number DOS. Buh-bye!)
I'm talking quite a lot tonight, aren't I? You don't have to pay any attention. Just review.
-evil cackle-