Part 2 of the party! And we start in, Fang's POV? What? He's not at the party... And this one's long! Be excited!

Chapter 14

FANG POV

I rang the doorbell at the Batchelder residence. I heard footsteps racing down the stairs. The door was already open, for guests, I assumed. Then I saw her. She was more beautiful than even the first time I saw her, and every time I'd pictured her in my head since then. Her eyes were still as gorgeous as ever, but Ella had enhanced them to make them pop more, so everyone would be drawn to them. When she saw me looking, she blushed, but just slightly, under the make-up. Ella did a brilliant job with the 'natural' look. Then I scanned her, up and down. Yes, I checked her out. What would you do if you saw the person you were falling for in the best way they could possibly look? Her dress hugged her curves, which were all in the perfect places, and just the perfect size. The dress wasn't too short, but it wasn't too long, either. At least I wouldn't have to deal with grown men looking at her like that. Then Ella said something I didn't even comprehend, I was still working on comprehending Max. Max responded, and I didn't understand that, either, except the ending.

"Bye, Fang." No, I couldn't leave her now! How did they expect me to see her like this and then leave?!

"Max..." Ella interrupted me by turning her back on Max, saying something else, grabbing my arm and almost dragging me back to my car.

When we got into the car, Ella spoke again. "Fang, what the hell? We have to stick to the plan!"

"Ella, you can't do that to me. I can't see her like that and then have you expect me to walk away willingly!"

"Just drive. We have to pick up Iggy and get you home to Nudge. You still have to get ready for the party. I'm pretty sure Max will be pretty much done, but still expected to be present, by 8 or 8:30. You will get there at 9, and you will be out the front door by midnight. Shortly after, if you do your job correctly, she will be in the basement, in a dreamy state. At 12:45, you can tap on her window and she'll let you in, but you have to be on alert until 1 or 1:15, then you can leave, back out the window, and to your car, which will still be where you left it. You saw what she looked like, right? Tonight, she will have a mask on."

"Yes, how could I forget?" I said, as the three of us got out of my car and walked up to the front door. Somewhere in the midst of Ella's speech, Iggy got in the car. "I am not ready for this at all."

"Oh, you'll be fine. She will fall under you spell just like she did while you were on the front step."

"I didn't mean that, I meant Nudge's makeover."

"I can't prepare you for that one!" She started laughing as I opened the door and let her walk in.

"What's so funny?" Nudge asked.

"Fang is scared of you making him look pretty." Iggy said.

"Nonsense. Max won't know what hit her, and Lissa and Brigid won't either!" Nudge said, as she and Ella pulled me towards her room. There's a reason I don't go in their often. It's all pretty and pink and girly. I much prefer my black room to hers.

"I'm blinded!" Iggy shouted from behind me. He had just stepped into the pink room of doom for the first time.

"Oh, suck it up. You know you love it." Ella said in response. And then the girls set to work. I'm not really sure what Iggy did with his time, but they were done by 7. "Okay, we aren't going to let you get dressed until after you've eaten, we don't want you spilling on yourself." We all walked downstairs to where Melanie was cooking.

"Hey, Melanie. When is food going to be ready?"

"Soon, are you going to introduce me to your friends? Nick? Monique?"

"This is Ella Batchelder, Max's sister, and this is James Griffiths, but he goes by Iggy. Why do you go by Iggy anyways?" Nudge asked.

"My middle name is Ignacio, and it's a lot cooler than Jim, Jimmy, or Jamie." He said. Ella giggled.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Ella, I had the pleasure to meet your sister on Wednesday. She hasn't been over since. Nick, what did you do?"

I just gaped at her. "F-Nick didn't do anything. Honest, she's been sick, but she should be over later tonight." Ella saved me. How could my own mom think I messed things up with Max?

"Okay, if you're sure Nick didn't do anything wrong..."

"No, he didn't, Mrs. Veleno. I promise." Iggy said.

"Oh, please! You kids and your names for me! Please, just call me Melanie. Just like Nick and Monique do. Ella, do you call your mother by name? Iggy?"

"No, ma'am." Iggy said.

"Yes, well. I wouldn't, if I were to ever meet my mother. She left me at my dad's when I was just a few months old. And now, since he's gone, all I have left is Anne, and she's no mother, not to me, and certainly not to Max."

Melanie didn't say anything to that. I just looked at her. When is she going to realize that talking to my friends about their mothers isn't such a good idea.

"She didn't mean to bring up old burdens, honest Ella. She really does mean well." Nudge said.

"It's fine, really. I never knew her. Talking about dad makes me sad, though." Iggy put an arm around her and pulled her close.

"It's okay, Ells."

"Okay, time to eat! I know you kids have a lot planned for tonight!" Melanie said, turning back around.

"We sure do! Fang, you only have about an hour and a half before you need to be there." Nudge said. We all dug into the pasta that Melanie made. After we were all done, we all thanked her and ran up the stairs. "Here's your outfit, go change in your room." Nudge said, handing me a garment bag. I did as she said. When I pulled it out, it was a white suit. Not a tux, but still, a suit. I quickly changed. Luckily, there was still a black tie. It wouldn't be that bad, right? At least Lissa and Brigid wouldn't actually be able to recognize me.

When I walked back into the room Nudge gasped and Ella almost fainted. Iggy had to catch her as she fell back. "Fang, dude. You look good!" Iggy said, and fist bumped me after he had Ella sitting on Nudge's bed.

I whispered to him, "Well your girl, at least, thinks so." Then I winked at him as I dodged a fist.

"No fighting! We can't have pretty boy getting a black eye before tonight!" Nudge said. Ella just nodded, seeing as she was still recovering from my entrance. Nudge handed me shoes, which I put on and tied. Then she handed me my mask. It was black, and it just covered the top part of my face. It had two holes for my eyes, and lifted a little for the bridge of my nose. I put it on.

"Can you tell I'm me?" I asked the three of them.

Ella and Nudge shook their heads. "No way, Max may not even know who you are!"

This made Ella perk up a bit. "That reminds me. I have a few more things to tell you, before you leave. First of all, you have to make sure not to take the mask off, until you are safely in your car. And you have to make sure no one follows you. Hopefully, someone will catch the twins before they try and follow you, but if not, you'll have to drive someplace before taking it off. Second, Iggy is going to be driving you, and will be parked where he drops you off.

"What?! Why can't I drive myself?"

"Do you really want Lissa or Brigid recognizing your Audi?" Nudge asked.

I shook my head. "Good, now. You have to make sure Max realizes who you are, but only after 11:30, and you have to stay with her after you tell her, until you have to leave. Like I said, she's not a good actress."

"She's not that bad, Ella."

"Yes, she is. You also have to go in through the window, I made sure it was propped open just a little bit before we left, and she shouldn't be going down their until after you get in, and you have to make sure it gets closed all the way behind you. And don't get dirty, please. Leave through the front door no later than midnight. There's a big clock on the wall in the dining room, so you have no excuses. There are also plenty of clocks in the house, so don't try to say you and Max snuck around to a room that didn't have a clock, this is my house we are talking about here. Lastly, when you go back down the window well, after you've changed in the car, you will have to knock. If she doesn't acknowledge you, knock again, a bit louder. Everyone else will be in rooms two floors above you and shouldn't be able to hear you. If she doesn't let you in, run. Run as fast as you can back to the car and get home. Also, if she's not in a dreamy state and looks upset, don't even knock, just get out. Otherwise, it won't end well for you."

"I don't think that will be a problem if you do what we planned, though." Iggy said with an eyebrow wiggle. Iggy and I planned a little bit beyond what the girls knew. His best friend insight was a big help to me.

"Okay, I think I got it all."

"If not, I'll be right outside. I know you'll do fine, man." Iggy said. "Should we head out?" Nudge and Ella came over and checked me over, making sure I was spotless. Once they said I was good, I started downstairs with Nudge right behind me, Iggy and Ella behind her. When I glanced over, I saw them whispering, and as I got the keys and opened the door, I'm pretty sure I saw her give him a peck on the cheek before he followed me. I threw him the keys and we both got into my car. It was 8:52, we had 8 minutes before I needed to be in.

"So, what just happened with you and Ella?" I asked Iggy.

"Oh, nothing. She just wished me good luck, when dealing with Max, you need as much as you can get."

"Okay, but that seemed a little more than just good luck. What's up with the two of you? I promise, I won't tell Max."

"I swear, there is nothing going on, not yet at least. She just kissed me on the cheek as I was leaving. I think we are both just getting tired of waiting. We know about the other ones feelings, we just aren't really allowed to act upon them."

"Oh, so you are still waiting for her birthday?"

"Yeah, I'm not willing to die at this young age." I laughed.

"Let me know, when the time comes, if you need anything. I got you, man."

"Thanks, Fang. Here we are, I wish you luck. Just, don't blow it, kay? I'll wait for you at the street corner. If you aren't out here by 12:15, I'm gone. I will assume you took the plan into your own hands and don't need me for anything anymore. Just," He started grinning. "Use protection if it goes in that direction, you feel me?" I rolled my eyes.

"Bye, Ig. Thanks for all your help, but not for that last comment."

"That was me looking out for my best friend. But seriously, if you fuck up, you will have to deal with me. Don't you dare hurt her."

"I won't. And if I do, I'll probably kill myself before you can. See you later." I closed the door and walked up to the side of the house. I climbed into the well and pushed the window open.

Okay, that was part 2. Now on to part 3! This is getting monotonous, I really forgot I split these all up... Sorry, I don't have any life stories for you this week. See you next week my pretties!