I just can't dedicate chapters to just one or a few reviewers! From here on out, every chapter is dedicated to every single one of you!

Onward with chapter 13, however long it may be!

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That night, I fell asleep on Fang's bed. And I had an insanely weird dream.

Fang picked me up, bridal style, and carried me to my room. And left me alone.

He wouldn't leave me alone, especially if he even suspected what was going to happen to me. It just wasn't like him, so I knew I was dreaming.

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I woke up in my own bed, cold, and alone.

So last night's dream wasn't really a dream.

I sighed and got dressed, going downstairs in to the kitchen, following the very promising smells of breakfast.

"Hey! Iggy's not a pink marshmallow anymore!" I said with a snicker. He rolled his eyes. My morning was looking brighter.

But then it went downhill when Fang hadn't shown up by the time we were about to leave.

At one point, I looked up, feeling someone staring at me, and met my mom's gaze. She gave a bright and hopeful smile. I just blinked, showing no emotions, and looked away. I still caught her hurt look out the corner of my eye.

"Hey, Ig, where's Fang?" I asked as we all piled into the car.

"Dunno. I heard him leave last night. He hasn't shown himself since. He'll probably ditch school, or be a good boy and show up." I rolled my eyes at Iggy's remarks, but, as usual, the effect was lost on him.

I just made a noise of acknowledgement, and stared out the window.

But when we got to school, Fang was nowhere to be seen.

I felt alone without him.

At lunch, with Brandon still talking my ear off (he was almost as bad as Nudge), Fang still hadn't shown.

"So, you excited about the dance?" Brandon asked as I sat down with my tray. I gritted my teeth so I wouldn't punch him. Iggy snickered from my right side.

"Not really. In fact, I'm not going. And if I did go, it wouldn't be with you." I snarled.

Brandon just smiled lazily.

"Suuuure." He drawled out sarcastically.

I made a threatening noise in the back of my throat, standing up.

Iggy stopped laughing.

"Uh, dude, you don't wanna mess with her. She'll kick your butt." Iggy said, standing up beside me. We were in our own little two-person formation.

Brandon raised his hands in mock surrender, still smiling that stupid smile of his.

My fist snapped forward and hit him in the nose, a very satisfying crunch reaching my ears.

Brandon howled and clutched his bleeding nose.

"Brian, dude, why'd you hit me?" he demanded. Iggy laughed.

"I didn't hit you. She did."

I narrowed my eyes.

"You sexist pig!" I shouted, then punched him again.

Brandon was howling in pain, and Iggy was with laughter.

Most of the cafeteria had gone silent, then a few people started laughing, then the whole cafeteria had joined in.

When an adult finally showed up, I got sent to the principal's office. Brandon went to the nurse.

I slumped in the chair outside the office. A few students at the table nest to ours had been brought in as well, as 'witnesses'. None of them said I'd hit him. They all said that he fell and hit his nose on the chair.

Then Brandon was sent in.

I snarled at him as he smiled at me.

Finally, they sent me in, and I got a couple big surprises. First, the principal was Anne. From Virginia.

I lunged at her, my hands curling into claws, immediately going for her throat.

"You traitor!" I yelled. "I can't believe you would show your face after what you did to us!"

Someone pulled my away.

"Max, you shouldn't attack your principal." That person said.

I recognized that voice, if only vaguely….

Ms. Campbell. So she was in on it too.

"We're just here to see that you didn't fight with Mr. Johnson here." Anne nodded to Brandon.

"Maybe I did." I said, calming down just a bit, slipping into my usual routine of defying authority.

"He says you did. But nobody else does." Ms. Campbell butted in.

"That's because he's a freaking man whore that everybody hates." I said matter-of-factly, sending a steely glare in Brandon's direction.

He just smiled. Lazily. Which is what he always did.

I could've busted all three of them up, and blown that popsicle stand, but I decided that I didn't want to disappoint my mom even more, despite her recent betrayal.

And then the biggest surprise of all came. At least for that day.

Iggy ran in, with Fang and Nudge, and then Gazzy and Angel.

"We need to go now." Fang said, breathlessly. I was about to ask him where he'd been when the shooting started.

"M-Geeks are everywhere!" Gazzy yelled over the noise.

We broke out of the closest window and did what I'd wanted to do earlier—Get the heck outta Dodge.

The usual happened. We took off, people oohed and aahed at our wings, Gazzy and Iggy wiped out all of the M-Geeks with their endless stash of bombs. That sort of thing.

We flew around super high for a while, laughing and playing tag, dipping low over the ocean occasionally. We finally headed home, convinced that nobody was after us.

It was actually pretty boring that the M-Geeks had attacked.

That, and the fact I knew that they were just there to tell me what I already knew—I had four days. It was Tuesday, and I'd be taken on Saturday.

The flock went inside, but Fang and I landed a little ways down the beach, deciding with only a glance. There were clouds, lots of gray clouds, and the wind was getting faster and stronger.

"Where were you?" I demanded, pulling my wings in once I'd landed.

A big, huge, happy grin broke out on his face. A smile I'd only seen once or twice.

"Fang…Why the heck are you looking at me like that?" I asked cautiously. My heart was thumping like crazy at his smile, but something was up. He never acted like this, not even on his best days.

"It's gone, Max!" His voice was so happy, I smiled, not even knowing yet what he meant.

"Wait, what's gone?" I asked, my smile disappearing.

He turned and yanked down his shirt collar.

Nothing. Nada. Zip.

There wasn't a trace of anything there. I ran my finger over his neck, just to be sure.

That meant one thing to me:

Fang wasn't dying.

Fang wasn't dying!

I laughed, tears bubbling over and onto my cheeks. He grabbed me by the waist and we both laughed.

His lips crushed against mine with a hungry passion.

When we pulled away, both of us were grinning stupidly and panting.

He cradled me against his chest.

"I love you, Max. I love you so much." He whispered, not sounding like himself at all.

"I love you, too." I whispered, looking up at his face, which was streaked with tears.

Yeah, happiness does that sometimes.

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I love Faxy cliffys! And I love the fact that Brandon is—I should just wait until chapter fourteen! Haha! I almost told you! That was close.

I'm off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!

RRRREEEEVVVVIIIIEEEEWWWWSSSS!!!!