A/N: Get ready for the long-ness! Happy reading, my muffins.
I wasn't at all sure we were doing the right thing—staying at the beach, I mean—until we went swimming. Of course we'd been swimming before, but this was…something else.
Now, you all need to know this: I am not a shy person. I am loud and obnoxious, and honestly don't care what other people think. That has come in handy, what with all the wolf-men turning up wherever the flock is and scaring everyone in the immediate area out of their pants. And the fighting. That doesn't help my social reputation much.
But in any case, we were at the beach, about to take a dip in salty brine. Do you think broke mutants like us can afford bathing suits? I answer myself: No. Do you think we were going to waste time thinking about how we look in our underwear? Again, I say: No.
So don't go off thinking about us like we're uncivilized creatures, swimming nude. I don't think so.
Plus, the whole thing with Fang was uncomfortable. But I was not letting it get to me. He was not going to get to me. No matter what, he was not going to know that I was uncomfortable. Me, uncomfortable? Psh. As if.
Which is why his little smirk meant nothing. I had gracefully stepped out of my clothes and walked toward the ocean, nose up, dignified and queenlike.
Iggy and Total stayed at camp, which was on the beach anyways, so we could see them from the water. Iggy was there mostly for Total, because we didn't want him to complain too much. Not that it helped. ("Why did we have to come to the beach? It's germy and sandy and wet. Let's go to a park! Then we could complete the happy family picture.") I pointed out that if we were a 'happy family', he wouldn't be talking. And the beach was more of a stereotypical family place than a park. He just grumbled after that.
I saw the upward tilt of Fang's mouth, daring and insulting. But did it get to me? No way, José. Cool as a cucumber, that's me.
I brushed past him and dove into the ocean. It was crazily hot. I'm talking fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk, melt-the-living-flesh-off-your-bones hot. Ugh.
Totally not thinking about Fang, I splashed around with the younger kids for a bit, watching Gazzy do cannonballs from mid-air and Angel convince a dolphin to come closer. It got scared off before Nudge could touch it, though.
"His name was Phil," Angel said sadly. "He was so close! And he was always the scared one of the pack—that's why he wanted to do something daring, to show the rest of his family."
Nudge patted her arm consolingly. "That's okay, Angel. Maybe dolphins just don't like humans. Or birds," she added. "Whichever he thinks we are. Let's go show Gazzy how it's done."
They flew up to him, laughing and shoving. I smiled, letting myself float up onto my back, watching the single white puff pass by overhead. It was so tranquil here…so…so…
Something cold touched my ankle. I jumped, inhaled about a gallon of salt water, and paddled water to see what it was. I couldn't see a thing. Above me, the flock was looking down at me and smiling. Mischievously.
Then I realized. It was the flock except for—
"Fang!" I shrieked. I spun around in the water, livid. "Stop it!"
Then I saw him, twenty feet away, grinning infuriatingly.
"What?" he said innocently.
"You don't fool me, slick! Get—over—here—"
I swam towards him, spitting out words between strokes, but he didn't move, still grinning. I was pleased to see that his face had lost some color, though.
"I don't know who you think you are—I'll show—"
He was only a few feet away now, and my brain was debating between two things—beating him in the water or beating him on land.
"It must have been a fish," he said, smiling evilly. "There are all sorts in these waters, you know."
I glared unmercifully at him. "A fish, huh?" I was almost able to touch him. The flock watched on, giggling. Iggy was with them now, Total chuckling on the sand.
I lunged at him just as he paddled swiftly away. Of course.
"So that's how you want to play, is it?" I said, half-meanly half-joking.
"Yup," he said cheerfully.
Make that three-quarters meanly. It irritated me more than I can say to have him be so calm, but I thought about my choices.
A: Attack him. Give in to violence and make me feel good. (I like this option.)
B: Don't attack him, act unaffected and superior and ignore his childish games.
C: Find a way to get back at him later.
Being myself, I decided to go with A and C, cuz I'm just cool that way.
I got one good whack in before he disappeared underwater. I sank down after him. If he got away, I would have to revert to option B, and I really didn't want to.
I couldn't see anything, but my paranoid body registered every little bit of seaweed as Fang's finger. Usually the jumpiness is saved for Eraser attacks. But Eraser attacks are generally a whole lot more noisy than this eerie silence.
When his finger really did touch me, so lightly, I didn't feel it at first. Blocking out all sorts of confusing feelings, I pretended not to notice. He tried again, on my wrist, and I struck with cobra-lightning speed.
I grabbed and twisted his own wrist, and while he cringed into the motion, I snagged his other.
Goner, I thought triumphantly. My hold was unbreakable from years of battling superstrong freaks like myself.
Fighting uselessly, he finally gave up. My lungs were beginning to burn. I tugged him after me to the surface.
"Your struggles are valiant, but of no use against one as strong as I," I said in my best evil villain tone. "Surrender now or be defeated."
He glared at me, and suddenly I was underwater again. That little…
Fang was holding my ankles, and even though my legs are incredibly strong, trying to kick his face did not help. Unfortunately.
I seized some sand from the ocean floor on an impulse and pushed off from the bottom. He staggered, not expecting that, and I broke the surface while simultaneously throwing the sand in his eyes.
Or, where his eyes should have been if he hadn't disappeared again.
"D'you think they're okay?" Nudge asked curiously. "Max didn't look very happy."
Iggy laughed. "Someone has got to tell me what is happening."
"They're fine, Nudge. Max is just trying to find him."
Angel's hair was frizzy from the humidity, bleached from the sun. The ocean was starting to look better and better in this heat.
Gazzy snorted, flapping closer in the salty air. The little heads (or, at the moment, head) in the water below were amusing.
"I'd be more afraid for Fang than Max," he said.
"Oh, look, Max got him!" Nudge suddenly exclaimed. "Ooh, I wouldn't like to be Fang right now."
"Finally," Iggy muttered. "Now will someone tell me what is going on?"
Ha! Finally, sweet revenge. What a true, true phrase.
I held his head underwater for a few more seconds, then pulled it up. His hair was plastered to his glaring face. He shook it out of his eyes.
I could tell by the way his eyes were set—kind of crinkly, kind of stare-y—that he was joking.
Heh. If he knew that I was or wasn't, he didn't let on. Heck, I didn't even know if I was or wasn't.
"Had enough yet?" I asked him sweetly.
He didn't answer, but his fists unclenched. I let go of his hair anyways. It was time to—
Wham! My legs were no longer under me. And I'm guessing it's because Fang decided he indeed had had enough.
"Now, now, Fang," I gasped, upon returning to the surface. "You know violence is not the answer. Find a more natural and non-physical outlet to express"—
I was under the water again, but I pulled him down with me.
His hair streamed from his head like Einstein. Or maybe someone who had been electrocuted. More like both.
I smiled as well as I could while being a human submarine. He did the same.
Flapping my hands on the side of my neck like gills, I sucked in my cheeks, trying to look like a fish. He imitated me, achieving 'idiot psychopath' but not quite 'aquatic sea-creature.'
I knew there was irony somehow in what we were doing (Birds imitating fish? I don't know. I've never taken comprehensive reading classes.) but all I could think of was how stupid we must look to someone else. I started laughing. Not a good idea while swimming in wet, possibly fatal liquid.
I spluttered my way to the surface and lost myself to hysteria.
"You should have seen the look on your face…!" I trailed off because laughing used up all my air.
Fang was laughing, too. I know, shocking.
"I should have? You looked like a drunk chipmunk!"
I shot him a look, still cracking up. "Oh, so this is what we've come to? Cheap insults and physical trickery? You should definitely try out for a Jackie Chan movie. You'd be just what they wanted."
He snorted, and I moved to float on my back. The flock still watched us.
"Are you guys all done beating each other up now?" Gazzy called warily.
Well, that just started the laughter all over again. They got the message, though, and dive-bombed, one at a time, back into the ocean.
Angel swam up to me. "I'm hungry," she said.
How long did that one last? A few hours? Well, it was nice while it existed. The lack of complaining about food, I mean.
"Okay. We'll go back soon. But hang on a sec, I want to try"—I shot Gazzy a look—"to relax a bit."
"What? Why is everyone looking at me!" the Gasman said innocently.
I went back to floating on my back, watching the clouds roll past. As cheesy and overdone as it was, I did try to make shapes out of them.
They all looked like pillows. So much for that idea.
Something bumped my head. "See anything?" Fang's voice asked.
I kept looking up at the sky, smiling. "Nope."
"Hey look, a flying bird kid!" he said.
I rolled my eyes, but he couldn't see. "Real witty."
The little shore was heaven. Possibly as close to heaven as we would get. Do mutants go to heaven? Is there a heaven? Does it matter? Why was I bothering myself with pointless questions?
Sighing, I drifted with the waves until they rolled me into shore, trying desperately to forget, enjoy, and relax.
A/N: End chapter three. Or four. Whatever. This was originally chapter three, but then I started another one in the middle of writing this by mistake. Whoops.
AND it's uber long. Be happy, young rabbits! The gods have graced you once again! Run free in the clover and flowers, frolic in the natural beauty of the earth! Rejoice, fair rabbits, rejoice!
Things to ponder: Should I re-write the first chapter? I reread it recently and thought it was horrible. I want to make the kissing scene more Max-y and not so Me-y. Would everyone hate me if I did that? And should I make this first version of Chapter numero uno a totally separate oneshot, and the new and improved second-version the one for this fic?
I think that's what I'm gonna do, but I'd love some input. At least let me know (in a review, of course—wink-wink—) if you made it through this discombobulating A/N. (Grrr. I hate that word.Dis-com-bob-u-lat-ing. Blegh.)
I really do feel bad that this is so long. Ah, well.
Thank you to all my amazing reviewers! I really, really, really REALLY appreciate you reviewing and making me inspired to write the next chapter. And it makes me update faster. It's a win-win situation, see?
...That being said, I was kind of bummed that not many people reviewed last chapter. Is my writing boring? I'd love comments and suggestions and anything you'd like to say in response to this chapter.
I'm off to do Algebra homework. Welcome back to school, if you go!