Authors Note: I'M BACK. Did you miss me? Yeah, I know you did. No need to be modest or anything.

Ahem. Well, here you go.

Chapter Twenty

Insatiable

I loved Arizona.

As much as I missed home, and wished more than anything that I could return and resume my life at a somewhat peaceful semblance, there was just something so endearing about it all. The blistering heat at this time of year. The abundance of wildlife. The sky, so clear and crystalline blue. The way colors melded together, so unlike the concrete jungle I was used to. It wasn't particularly lush by any means, but it was certainly a step up from nothing but stone from every angle.

So . . . I loved Arizona.

Of course I wasn't completely happy. How could I be? My life was anything but whole at the moment. Considering how many pieces were lost from the bigger picture, it was a miracle I was even holding on as well as I was.

Sure, my blood-related family was together after so long a struggle. It was great not only to have Angel and Gazzy back in my safe sight . . . but also the inclusion of Ella and Aunt Valencia, too. Not to forget my mother, who I was slowly beginning to warm up to; though if you imagine I trusted her, you'd be dead wrong.

But blood ties didn't make a family. It's the people you love that make your life bearable . . . and the simple fact was, I had left a lot of them behind in my dash to escape the biggest heartbreak of my existence thus far.

It was hard keeping contact with Iggy and Nudge. We shared phone calls and e-mails, but it just wasn't the same. Hearing Nudge babble endlessly and actually seeing her doing it were two very different things, and the longing to see that frenzied look in her eyes physically hurt sometimes. Just the same with Iggy. It seemed the more he related his tales of explosives, the more I yearned to witness them in person.

They were both deranged, but I missed them. So much.

And if you think my heart didn't still ache at the mere thought of Fang or anything Fang-like . . . well, you'd have a problem. No matter how far the distance separating us, or the time that stretched between us, nothing could erase the pain he caused me. A huge part of me chided myself for my rash actions. Was moving halfway across the country really any better? I still missed him with a overbearing force that overshadowed any common sense. That wouldn't be any different here or there.

But the simple truth was, he had been the only thing holding me back; tying me to the city . . . and now what I once thought were the impenetrable steel cables between us had broken, leaving me stranded and feeling empty and alone.

As I was saying though . . . Arizona, not too bad.

It had been incredibly tough at first, just simply adjusting to such enormous changes. I was good at adapting though, and I felt as comfortable as humanely possible in this new place within no time. All in all, my transition wasn't as rocky as I had anticipated.

School was the number one thing I had been dreading, but even that had been made bearable within days of my arrival. Usually, I was the one to steer clear and keep to myself. Some say I have trust issues . . . I say I'm just careful. Or paranoid. Whichever works for you. There was one person though, that made it very clear that they weren't going to allow that, even before truly knowing me at all.

"Hey Max," the smooth, now familiar voice said from over my shoulder. I hummed a response, not bothering to turn from where I was rummaging for my math book in the cluttered depths of my locker. How could it already be so messy?

"Yeah, I'm great. Thanks for asking. Really. I'm so grateful for the attention you give me. Some people wouldn't even give me the time of day," they continued pointedly, not missing a beat.

I rolled my eyes, fingers clutching the thick spine of my book as I plucked it from the wreckage; crumpled papers creating an avalanche into the space it had once occupied. Triumphant now that my mission was succeeded, I finally turned on my heel to raise an eyebrow at my companion.

"Hi Zach," I greeted him contemptuously, before facing the gaping door of my locker once more. Now for that homework assignment . . .

Out of my peripheral vision I saw him lean a shoulder against the wall of metal beside me, smiling lazily as he watched my scavenging. It only took me a second to recognize the amused, knowing look in his open, deep green eyes.

"What?" I demanded accusingly, crossing my arms as I squared off to him. He only shook his head at my position, clearly not bothered by my forceful attitude. That was one of the many reasons we clicked so easily. He thought my gruff, slightly mean persona was funny. Consequentially, I made a new friend.

He took a languid step towards me, so that our chests were only centimeters apart. His head bent slowly down, but not by much. He was only a few inches taller than me. The movement caused a strand of his glossy brown hair to fall into his eyes; obscuring the glowing green they emanated. My breath caught in my throat, and I'm sure my own irises were wider than saucers. Every one of my limbs tensed up as he reached around my torso, sliding a hand into the back pocket of my slightly worn jeans.

"Looking for this?" he inquired arrogantly, cocking his head to the side as he stepped back, giving me some room to breathe. I did so gratefully, exhaling as discreetly as possible. With a huff I snatched the folded piece of paper he had retrieved, shooting him a stinging glare. He, typically, grinned amiably and quite cheekily. There was no mistaking his gloating.

"Just keep your hands out of my pants from now on," I commanded, hostility lacing my tone as I smoothed the creases down on the sheet of complicated looking equations, most of which I'm sure I got wrong.

"Whoah, whoah, whoah. What did I just walk into?" Ella stared between the two of us, wide eyed. "Scratch that. I probably don't want to know."

"Hey Els. Where have you been?" That super cousin of mine had ditched me as soon as I became buddy-buddy with Zach. I'm sure he was quite happy with her leaving me in his hands (sarcasm). We still came to school together and everything, but she generally disappeared upon arrival. After all, she had her whole posse of friends at the school already, that were more than ecstatic to have her back.

"I was headed to class," she said vaguely, pointing down the hall. "I thought I'd stop and say hi, but apparently that was the wrong decision."

I rolled my eyes, and Zach and I shared an amused look. As if.

You see, Zach knew nothing was ever going to blossom between us. Sure he was majorly cute, and we got along great . . . but he wasn't Fang. Yes, I know that sounds incredibly bad. I mean, I should be moving on and getting over that lying bastard, right? Right. But not so soon. I wasn't going to be thrusting my heart at another boy anytime in the near future. I was far too guarded for that, and it really wouldn't be fair to that someone either. Not that I had personally confided with Zach about this or anything. Somehow, he just seemed to sense that romance was not important to me at the moment.

The same with him. He was too involved with everything else on this planet to worry about having a girlfriend. Or so he says. I didn't judge him on that, nor did I ask questions. It wasn't my space to pry.

We had a very agreeable, complacent friendship. That was it. I really didn't need the added drama in my life, that was for sure.

"Oh my gosh, ELLA!"

I had to force myself not to visibly cringe at the outlandish screech, leaning up against the row of lockers beside Zach. A fair haired girl in Ella's grade skidded to a halt in front of her, her lips stretched back in the biggest smile possible. I wasn't sure if they were friends, and by the barely concealed distaste on Ella's face, I was betting they weren't.

"Jenna," Ella stated with false enthusiasm. "What's up?"

"You haven't heard the news?" she squealed, clapping her hands while simultaneously hopping from foot to foot. I had to bite down on my tongue to stop from asking her if she had to use the restroom.

"What news?" That seemed to spark Ella's interest, if only just a little.

"Everybody's talking about it," the girl, Jenna, breathed; acting like it was a scandal not to have known. "It's only the biggest thing to have happened since you came back!"

Which was only a few months, mind you. How tragically boring that time had been!

"Can you just spit it out already?" I demanded, my eyes narrowing as my patience thinned. It's not my fault I had a low tolerance for annoying, preppy girls who often speak in a voice ten octaves too high.

"Now Max, don't be grumpy," Zach reprimanded me, slinging an arm around my shoulders. He pulled me tightly to him, shaking my entire frame. In response I elbowed him in the gut.

He let me go.

Ella gave me a look too, though the mixture of anger and impatience made me think she was more grateful for my interruption than she was able to let on. Blinking slowly, like she was gathering her wits, she turned back to Jenna, who looked slightly disgruntled herself. "You were saying?"

"Uhm . . . yeah. Well, there's a new kid. A boy!" Yup. The insatiable (and more than a little crazed) excitement was back in a flash. "I mean, he doesn't go to school here or anything. He's just visiting I guess. But apparently he was in the parking lot this morning, just chilling, you know? And well, he's SO gorgeous. Like, really. At least that's what I've heard. I didn't actually see him or anything."

Ah, great. The dreamy sigh. Never fails.

"Obviously they mistook me for a stranger," Zach muttered under his breath, shooting me a wicked grin. I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time, punching him in the shoulder. He gritted his teeth, wincing. Oops.

"As much as I would love to stay and chat, I should probably get to class," I announced, directing this more towards Ella. "Come on Zachykins."

"Anything you say Maxiepie," he retorted instantly, his tone taunting.

"Me calling you a horribly mushy pet name was not invitation for you to do the same," I insisted, putting one hand on my hip while I cradled my load of books in the other arm. It didn't really complete the overall look I was going for, especially since we were steadily making our way down the hall.

"Good thing I didn't ask for your permission then."

Screw logic. It always did me wrong in the end.

Authors Note: I'm hoping you get the point of this chapter without me explaining why it's necessary. If you don't . . . ask your neighbor! Good thing we have that settled then.

P.S. If someone were to, say: totally annhilate your trust and make you all crycry depressed and stuff . . . should you take the chance and assume they're capable of changing?

REVIEW! Review, review, review, review! Pretty pretty PRETTY please? I'm sure you have something to predict about Zach? Mhm? (: