AN: I know it took me ages to post this, and I'm sorry. I really am. But my mom's traveling and I'm staying at my dad's, so I try to spend as much time as possible going out and I don't always have access to a computer. Also, one of my best friends had the swine flu (or whatever it's called now) and was getting lonely at home, so he'd keep calling me. Then he got better, and first thing he did when he went out was to break his leg playing soccer. Tough luck.
Btw, I'm going to Chicago on Friday and I don't know if I'll be able to post from there, so I'll try to post something before then. Key word being try.
Disclaimer: I have now decided to kidnap Angel and use her creepy powers to make JP give me MR. Thank you WingedJay13 for this brilliant idea.
Max's POV
Fang led me in comfortable silence towards the park near Mom's house. Not even ten minutes later, we were already there, sitting next to each other still holding hands on a bench close to a pond. It was a perfect night out, complete with a full moon and all.
"It's beautiful," I whispered, slightly awed.
"Not nearly as much as you are," Fang said. He placed a hand on the back of my neck, pulling me closer, then kissed me gently. I kissed him back, lightly wrapping my arms around his neck, while he put his other hand on my waist.
He pulled back after a couple of minutes, eyes locked on mine. "Max," he began, but his other words were cut off. No, we weren't interrupted or anything. What happened was that, even though his lips were moving, no sound was coming out.
"What were you saying?" I tried to ask, but no sound came out of my lips.
Looking around for anything unusual, I realized everything was silent. There was absolutely no sound whatsoever, not even the low rush of our breathing. Weird.
Bothered by the quiet, I picked up a stone and threw it into the pond. Nothing. Not even a splash. Ok, so this is new. And creepy, very creepy.
I turned back to Fang, who had a puzzled expression on his face. What the hell is going on?
Fang has a new power, said the Voice, being useful for once. He can control sound.
My jaw dropped. He can control sound?
Yes, Maximum, that is what I said.
I know, I thought back angrily, I was shocked, that's all. You can leave now.
It didn't respond.
Meanwhile, Fang was looking at me expectantly. He must've noticed me talking to the Voice and wanted an explanation.
"You've got a new power," I mouthed to him, hoping he would understand. He did, and frowned.
Suddenly, the sound came back – the chirping of the insects, our breathing and the distant noise of cars and people on the streets. After the utter silence, the smallest noise seemed loud.
"How did you do that?" I demanded, not even attempting to hide my curiosity.
"It's kind of like flipping a switch," he explained, shrugging.
"Can you only turn it on and off, or can you shut off some things and keep the rest on?"
"Don't know, let me try."
He concentrated for a minute, and then everything went silent again. "Can you hear me?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, I let us both on, but turned the rest off."
"Come on, let's go back home and show the Flock what you can do. Maybe we can try out some other things with it too," I said, standing and all but running back to the house with Fang hot on my heels.
As soon as we entered the living room, the Flock, mom and Ella stopped whatever they were doing to stare at us. "How was it?" asked Iggy.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fang barely shake his head, and everyone's previously excited faces became instantly disappointed. Huh, wonder what that's about.
"Fang's got a new power," I announced cheerfully, and everyone immediately bombarded us with questions, making it impossible to distinguish what they were saying. I glanced at Fang, who nodded to show he understood, and then used his new power to make them all shut up.
"He can control sound," I continued, and he smirked. "Ok, so, Fang, you can let them talk again, but please guys, only one at a time."
"How does it work?" asked Gazzy.
"Like a switch. It turns on and off. Don't know what else," replied Fang.
Of course we decided to try out every possibility right then. Apparently, he can choose what is switched on and off, and who can hear what. For example, if he wants to, he can make it so that we are able to hear everything, while others can't hear us. Very useful power if you live with Nudge.
"So you could, like, lock yourselves in a room, and do whatever you want without anyone hearing it?" asked Iggy.
"Yeah, I guess," I said, not knowing where he was going with this.
He grinned mischievously. "I bet you and Fang will be making good use of this new power, then."
I thumped him on the back of his head. "Sexist pig! We do not, and will not, do that! Get your mind out of the gutter."
"You don't do what, Max?" questioned Angel, innocently.
"Uh, nothing, sweetie. It doesn't matter 'cause we don't do it anyway. Iggy's being a pig."
She nodded, but mom narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Oh man, now she thinks we're having sex. Great.
"It's late, we'd better go to sleep," I said before things could get any worse. We stacked and tapped, then headed to each of our rooms. I lay down on my bed after changing into my PJs, and a couple of minutes later someone knocked on my door. "Come in."
Mom walked in. She sat next to me on my bed. "Max, about what Iggy was implying earlier… You and Fang… You don't do that, do you?"
"What?!" I shrieked, bolting upright. "Mom, no! That's not how things are between us!"
"Ok then. But if it happened, would you talk to me about it?"
"I guess… I don't really know, mom. I haven't thought about it."
"Oh. I want you to know that if you ever need anything, whether it's advice or someone to talk to, you can always come to me. Goodnight, Max," she said, looking and sounding very relieved.
"Night mom," I said as she left my room.
That was one awkward conversation, I thought drowsily before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
AN: I know everyone wanted Fang to just tell her, but I really wanted to do this. Please don't kill me! Review!