Sorry it took me so long to update. I have a good reason. Finish reading this little chappie and you will find out.
Imagine there is a disclaimer here.
Chapter eight- Max
I shot up and hold a hand to my chest. My heart is beating faster than normal. I don't remember ever dreaming like that, or really dreaming at all. I blink rapidly, trying to focus on where I am. Black spots fill my vision. When it clears I sigh when I see I am in my room.
I get up and walk out to the balcony and look up at the still dark sky. The dram must have gotten me up earlier than normal. As I look at the sky I see it is the same as it was in my dream. I shake my head. It must be a coincidence.
I lean on the railing and take a deep breath. I can't let a dream freak me out. I have worse things to worry about.
Jeb is still on the one-week-plan a week and a half in. There is no beer or anything. I don't get it and it worries me. Why is he doing this. I almost prefer him starting on time than later and me not knowing when. I have Angel and Gazzy to protect, and my job gets harder if the thing I'm protecting them from isn't giving me the normal heads up of a few cases of beer.
Plus I have to go too my fights and I don't feel safe with leaving them there alone when I don't know how Jeb will be acting.
I can find a way to get the Martinez's to watch them without getting suspicious. I know Fang would do it. He loves them, even if he won't admit to it. He can't resist Angel's Bambi eyes. I'll have to go with that. Until ii get an idea of what Jeb is doing at least.
I glance at the sky and see the pink tint. I walk back into my room and quickly get dressed, making sure my wings are good and hidden.
I check the clock. Our school starts at eight so I have a good amount of time to get Angel and Gazzy ready.
As I walk around the house making sure everything is good I notice my ribs and shoulder are feeling better. I don't need to be as careful but I still am. I don't know who I'm fighting tonight and if it's anyone like last time I need to be good.
I go and get Angel and Gazzy up, making sure they are dressed and wings well hidden before we grab our bags and walk downstairs to get breakfast. We all eat our bacon quickly and leave at 7:30. A perfect time for a 15 minute walk to school.
As we walk out of the house the Martinez's also do and hurry to catch up with us. "Hey guys. Ready for your first day?" Iggy ask with fake enthusiasm.
"You know it. I can't wait to get picked on in the halls. It's the best." I say, mimicking Iggy. They all laugh and Fang cracks his normal smirk.
As we all start to get in smaller groups to talk I hang back and walk Next to Fang. I lift my hat and run my fingers through my hair before putting the cap back.
"Hey Fang?" I ask
"Yeah?"
"Could you... maybe watch Angel and Gazzy for me tonight? I need to... go to work and Je- Dad, won't be home from work till later." I tell him my lie.
"I guess. Where do you work?" He ask me and I mentally curse. Of course he had to ask.
"I got a job at the convenience store we went to that one time." He nods and we walk the rest of the time in silence.
When we reach the school I realize that it is a complex. The elementary, middle, and high school are all in the same area. I walk Angel, and Gazzy to there teachers and once they are good I walk out and find Iggy and Fang waiting for me.
"You guys didn't have to wait for me. I can handle myself you know." I tell them as we walk up to the high school.
"We couldn't leave you. It would be mean of us. And it won't be that bad showing you around." Iggy tells me.
We enter the building and they lead me to the office where I get my schedule. I have algebra with both of them, history with Iggy, lunch with both of them, chemistry with both of them, writing with Fang, gym with both, a free period with with Fang. So I won't be alone, which is good I guess.
They show me where my lockers are and we head off to algebra. I have never liked numbers and numbers never really liked me. Number are money and numbers shows me everyday how little money I have to get Angel and Gazzy the things they need.
I get though that class and head off to history with Iggy. The teacher sits me next to Iggy since he is the only one here that I know, then heads to the board and starts to write.
'Today I want all of you to writ to 3 page essay on what history is and means to you. Do you believe that in learning history we are not doomed to repeat it. Add anything you can. It is due in two weeks'
"You'll want to write that down," Iggy tells me. "He only writes and reminds you once." I nod and quickly jot it down in my binder. Then class begins.
I sigh in relief as we exit history. Sitting there and learning about stuff that happened a long time ago is no fun, but now is lunch. Yay.
I have food right now so I follow Iggy and we sit down at a table in the cafeteria. I watch as Fang walks by us and heads out the door and sits down with the redhead I had seen in my classes.
"Who is Fang with?" I ask Iggy.
"What does she look like? Is it the redhead?"
I nod but then say, "Yeah. Who is she?"
"That's Lissa," Iggy says with disgust in his voice. "Fangs girlfriend." I start to open my mouth but Iggy holds up a hand. "Don't say anything about it. I really don't want to talk about it."
"Okay," I say before taking a bite of my sandwich. It doesn't take long for our table to get some people. It seems as if Iggy has some friends.
"Hey Iggster. How's it going? Who's this?" A guy with shaggy brown hair and blue eyes ask as he sits down. (tell me if this is wrong. I don't want to look at the book. It's midnight)
"Hey, Dylan. I'm good. This is Max. She just moved here." The guy smiles at me.
"It's nice to meet you, Max. How do you like it here so far?" I smile.
"It's nice to meet you to, Dylan. It's not bad." I can't figure out what it is but Dylan seems pretty familiar, but I know I would remember him if it was important.
"How did you like that Voltage?" He ask and it suddenly clicks. Dylan is...
"Your the guy from the store." I say.
Dylan nods. "I thought you would have remembered."
I shrug. "I'm not good with faces," I lie. He nods taking my answer and another person, a girl this time, comes and sits on the other side of Iggy. Before she even speaks Iggy reaches over and takes her hand.
"Hey Tess." He says.
"Hey Iggy." She says back. "So who's your friend?" Tess ask, nodding to me.
"This is my neighbor, Max. She's new." He tells Tess.
"It's nice to meet you Max. I'm Tess."
"Dido Tess." I say before finishing off my bag of chips. Another person comes over, filling our table.
"Hey guys. How's it going?" He ask, flipping his blonde hair out of his eyes.
"Good," They all reply to Blondie.
"How are you, Sam?" Tess ask. Okay, not Blondie, but hey, what can I say?
"I'm good. So who is this?" Sam ask, pointing to me.
"I'm Max," I tell him, introducing myself this time.
"It's nice to meet you, Max." I nod and eat the cookie I had swiped from Ella while walking here. I silently moan at it's enticing taste and eat it quickly.
We all have small talk until the bell rings. I get up and throw away my trash before meeting up with Iggy. We head off to chemistry with Dylan, because apparently he, Iggy, Fang, and I share this class. Iggy, Dylan and I walk together. I don't know where Fang is. I sit down on the end with Dylan on my left and Iggy next to Dylan.
Soon Fang enters with his Redheaded Wonder, as I have so kindly decided to call her, and they sit together in the back table next to us. He doesn't even glance at us as he walked by. I roll my eyes and get my binder out. The class flies by and I am thankful.
I get out of my chair and start to head for my next class, writing, when I realize Fang is supposed to show me where it is. I turn and start to head back when I see Fang moving through the throng of people and stops next to me.
"Ready?" He ask and I nod. We head into writing and I quickly sit down. Fang sits next to me and the class flies.
We head to gym and I go to the girls room to get dressed and realize I have a very big problem. I can't change in here. My wings will kinda show. I slip my hoodie on and hope the cold will be a good excuse for wearing it. When I walk out I see other people have on hoddies, including Fang and Iggy, so I relax and sit down, waiting for us to start.
"Okay team. We're gonna play some gotcha. Go and get into lines. Boys on this side and girls on this side." He blows the whistle and everyone scrambles to their lines. I follow them and quickly get out so I don't have to play. The game is slow anyways because the girls just want to talk and keep cheating.
A girl comes and sits next to me. "Hey, I'm JJ. Your Max right?"
I nod.
"That's cool. What is it short for?"
"Maximum." I tell her.
"Awesome. My real name is Jennifer Joy, but I go by JJ. I know, what we're my parents thinking right?" I laugh. I like this girl. "So what class do you have next?"
"I have a free period. What about you?" I ask.
"I have geometry." The bell rings and I go to find Fang so we can go to our our free period. "I'll see you later, Max," JJ yells as she heads for geometry.
Fang and I walk into the library and sit down to do our homework. I will need to take care of Angel and Gazzy and go to my fight tonight so I won't have time to do homework. I finish all but the last half of the algebra sheet.
I pack my bag and walk to go get Angel and Gazzy. They are both waiting for me at the front of the building like I told them to.
"How was your first day?" I ask them.
"It was great, Max. the teacher is really nice and gave me candy!," Gazzy says excitedly, probably the candy talking.
"What about you, sweetie?" I ask Angel.
"It was fun, Max. All the kids are really nice."
"That's good. Come on lets get home." As we walk home I wonder if I should tell them that they are staying with the Martinez's, or more specifiably, Fang. Yeah, I should, I have told them everything before and won't stop now. "Hey guys, I want you to know you will be staying at the the Martinez's while I'm busy okay. I'll come and get you when I'm done. Okay?" I know they won't be okay with it but I would rather them be okay and not okay with it then them okay with it but not okay.
"Do we have to, Max?" Gazzy ask. "Why can't we stay in the closet?"
"Because I don't know what Jeb is doing and I don't want you guys there alone until I do. Please, I need to know your okay." They both nod reluctantly and we enter the house. I send them upstairs to finish their homework and get some crackers and cheese for snacks ready.
They both enjoy the crackers and time slowly slips by. I help them with their homework until 4:30. All the crackers are gone at 5:02. We watch TV and Angel draws until 7:00. A bulb blows and I finish fixing it at 7:12. I run upstairs and get dressed at 7:13 and come down at 7:24.
"Come on guys. It's time to go." I tell them and we walk over to the Martinez's. I knock on the door and wait for someone to come to the door. Preferably Fang, so I don't have to explain why I need them to watch them. Fang answers the door with a cocky smile on his face until he sees me. His eyes flicker to Angel and Gazzy and he frowns. "Is there a problem?" I ask.
Fang blinks. "No, so what time will you be coming to get them?" He ask, in a smooth voice, the surprise that was momentarily in his eyes gone and they are back to the blank orbs they are.
"Around ten-ish. Thanks so much for doing this, it means a lot. You guys be good okay?" I tell Angel and Gazzy before turning to go to my next fight. Fun...
The long awaited...
FANG!
I shut the door as Max walks away and look down at the little kids Max has left with me. This really leaves a damper in things. I glance at the clock. I have 10 minutes until Lissa will get here. And I had totally forgotten about my promise to Max. I was gonna tell her I couldn't but the look in here eye... I just couldn't.
I fell a tug on my shirt and look at the two kids. I can't just leave them. "What are we gonna do, Fang?" Gazzy ask me with excitement in his voice.
"I dunno. Give me a sec." I tell them and run upstairs to get my cell. I need to cancel with Lissa.
(Underline Fang. Italics Lissa)
Hey, Babe. I gotta cancel.
Why? :(
I forgot to do a project. If I don't turn it in tomorrow I fail the class.
Fine. But only so we stay in the same grade. See you tomorrow.
I sigh and set my cell down. That taken care of, on to my next problem. I don't know what to do with Angel and Gazzy. I try to think back to what I did with nudge when she was their age. Of course this is the night when she and Ella go to the mall with friends. We watched movies a lot. That will do.
I run down the stairs and find Angel and Gazzy sitting on the couch. "Movie good?" I ask them as I head to the entertainment center. They both nod and jump up and down. I grab "Finding Nemo" and put it in.
"Can we have popcorn?" Angel ask and I head into the kitchen. This might not be too bad. Max will be back around the time the movie is over so I won't have to do much. I get the popcorn and sit down and we all chomp on it as the movie starts.
I was wrong when I thought this would be easy. I have to get up to get refills multiple time and candy at one point too. I wish Iggy was here to help me out, but he is out with Tess, so I'm on my own with snacks, which I never knew can be complicated. I hand them both the popcorn and we watch with last part of the movie with only a few interruptions.
The movie finishes and I glance at the clock. 9:43. Max still has some time left. I look over at Angel and Gazzy. They are both practically asleep on the couch, slumped together. I grab the quilt on the couch and cover them both. I head up to my room and grab my laptop and check my blog. "Fang's Blog" has done really well and a lot of people look at it. I go through my reviews until 10:15 and Max has still not shown up. I push down the worry starting to creep up down. She said ten-ish. And it is still ten-ish so I don't need to worry. I quickly check on Angel and Gazzy before getting back on my blog and going though the rest of the reviews.
My cell beeps and I pick it up.
Nudge. -Hey. When Dr. M gets home tell her we are going to the movies and will be home around 12.
I sigh. Not from Max, not that she has my number, or that I have hers. I check the time. Eleven. Where is she. I walk out to my balcony and look at their house All the lights are off. I look at the balcony on their house. Is that room Max's? I wonder. I pick up my cell and then remember I can't call her. I'll have to wait for her to come here. I hope she's okay. But she's just at her job at the convenience store, so how bad can it be?
I lied earlier, about being sorry. Kinda. I'm just sad. I only got 8 reviews for the last chappie and only one or two votes on my poll. There used to be so many of you. Did i start to suck at writing? Cause if i did tell me and i will fix it. So take this as my way of asking nicely with a chainsaw and my pony to review and do the poll if you can.
I sorry if you didn't want Fang's POV. It just fit so perfectly. I don't think it was bad but he might have been a tad OOC. Sorry 'bout that.
So tell me how this chappie was. I think it was my longest one yet, it that counts for anything. It could be worse.
Know we know who 'the guy behind the counter is'! Dylan. The choices were Sam, Dylan, Ari, Random Dude, or Beca in disguise. The results were, Ari 5, Dylan 4, Sam 2, Random Dude 1, Beca in disguise 1. For you guys who went for Dylan, good for you. I was thinking you guys would say Sam. IDK why.
My pairing is still up their. I will say Iggy is not in it. I will keep telling you who is not in it until one of you guys either gets it or they are the only two left.
If Lissa was a bit OOC for what we think of her... Think about her reason. It will get better. Trust me.
I'll try to be more regular. School starts on the 1st (i live in the south, don't blame me. My school is weird) And it will be my first year of high school so i can use my experiences in this. Fun!...
I think that's all. Sorry for the longness of this. I had to get it out of my system. I had 5 sleepovers in a row... Wow i have problems.
R&R
Read on
