So the chapter is up and ready. Obviously.
One year ago (14 years old)
"Shh, he'll hear us!" I hiss at my best girl friend. Another giggle escapes from between her closed fingers. I slap my own hand over her's as well as extra reinforcement as I try to quench my own helpless snickers.
I smooth my hair after I manage the laughter, and straighten my hat and glasses that is my disguise. Another small bubble of giggles sounds beside me and I fight down the urge to grin. I take a deep, calming breath before peaking my head over the hedge we are crouched behind.
I duck back down immediately and whisper into my hand.
"Feather 1 to Feather 2, do you copy?"
"Copy that Feather 1, what's the status?"
My voice becomes somber as I stare into her big doe eyes. "I've lost sight of targets Jaybird and Date. How do we proceed Feather 2?"
"Damn... Run through the street and look in all the windows until you spot the targets. Go, go, go!"
She runs around the side of the hedge and into the street while I easily hop over the over grown bush and streak towards the first window I come to. Pressing my back into the brick, I lean my head around to peer through the clear glass.
Tch. Not there.
I run to the next window in a crouch ignoring all the stares from random passerby's, and glance in. My heart thumps in excitement when I catch sight of a black head of hair. I stand up on my tippy toes, to catch sight of the face I suspect it's attached to.
As I realize the hair isn't long enough to be him and disappointment floods though my blood, a loud shrill bursts from my pocket.
"Eek!" I fall in surprise and face plant the concrete.
I turn my head to rest my cheek against the gravel as I fish my phone out of my pocket.
"Hello?" I groan as I dab at my bleeding nose. I grimace but am grateful that it's just a trickle.
"The target has been spotted, I repeat, Jaybird and Date have been spotted!"
"Where?" I hiss as the excitement makes my heart hammer again.
"Heading towards a weirdo laying on the ground outside the coffee shop." I face plant again before I can fully make it to my feet.
"Feather 1?... Max?"
A hand snags the collar of my shirt and lifts me effortlessly. I cross my arms instead of struggling and glower up at Fang as he sets me down with an expression mixed with amusement and annoyance.
His amusement seems to win out as he chuckles down at me.
Like always, a shock of irritation go through me at how much taller he is than me.
"Have you been following me Maxie?"
"Abort mission! I repeat, Abort mission!" Comes Nudges shrill voice from the tinny speaker that still lays at my feet.
"Tch."
Now
"I'm not going." I sigh.
"Why." Fang asks, the slightest note of irritation in his voice.
A light blush colors my cheeks. "I've got a date." I square my shoulders, ready for the teasing.
"Again?" His face goes completely blank. "This would be the third one this week. Who is it this time?"
"His name is Tyler."
"What's his last name, do you know that at least."
"..." I bite my lip and look away.
"Max." He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose.
I feel shame. Then anger burns through me and my hands tighten into fists.
"Why can't I go on a date? You go on dates."
"You make me. Why are you suddenly wanting to go out every night? Did you get brain damage in the hospital, you've just been released last week."
"Maybe having a near death experience made me realize I want more from life than an over protective, annoying jerk as a best friend." I'm lying through my teeth but he doesn't have to know. "I'm not always going to have you, you'll eventually leave me too."
"Fine. Go. Like I care anyway. I'll be right here when you get back. I always seem to be waiting for you." He mumbles the last sentence.
I shuffle through the drawers in the hotel we're staying and pull on some boy shorts, to pissy to care what I look like. I grab a random t-shirt only to throw it away angrily when I see it's Fang's, and grab a shirt of my own.
After jamming on converse, I push past Fang, who hasn't moved, and slam the door behind me.
I take a deep calming breath and sigh out. When the anger leaves my veins and my fists unclench, I'm suddenly exhausted and very tempted to go back to my very comfy bed.
Instead, I push off the door and head toward the elevator.
I meet Tyler at some restaurant he suggested and inwardly groan. I'm unredressed. By a lot. It's a very fancy restaurant, one that girls wear elegant dresses and have frilly tablecloths.
I look completely out-of-place just standing next to it. It's something Fang would never dream of taking anyone to.
A queasy feeling enters my stomach as I take Tyler's arm and we enter the palace of a restaurant.
Even wearing a dress shirt and slacks, Tyler stands out.
A waitress, with a look of irritation, sits us at a table. She leaves and I fiddle with the hem of my shorts uncomfortably.
If if it were Fang, we would have ordered pizza, had a tub of ice cream each (me- cookie dough, Fang- mint chocolate chip) and watched our favorite child hood movies like Lion King or Nimo.
My heart stutters for an odd moment. I meet Tyler's eyes, blue not black, and smile tentatively, embarrassed. I didn't dress very lady like tonight.
The waitress returns, irritation no longer rolling off her in waves, and hands us menus and asks our drinks. She leaves with a curious look directed at me.
Before either of us gets a chance to say anything, she's setting our beverages in front of us, and gone as quick as she came.
"So um..."
I shoot a spit ball at him and it hits his neck. He looks at me in surprise and I can't help but laugh. I put one hand over my mouth to stop but it just turns into a giggle.
He smiles after a second. After a moment of silence and nothing to say, I lean my elbow on the table with my cheek on my fist. I let out a sigh.
The uncomfortable feeling returns and again, I wish I were back at the hotel watching old movies with Fang. And the flock. Them too...
I open a pack of sugar, empty it in my mouth and lean forward across the table with my arms folded under me.
"I'm bored." Tyler blushes at my bluntness and scratches the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. It was kind of cute.
"Do you want to leave?"
I nod my head and perk up. "How 'bout we go work up a sweat."
"W-what?" For some reason his face lights up like the paint job on a fire truck.
I tilt my head slightly, letting my bangs fall in front of one eye.
"You. Me. Gym. You know, work out? I know this cool place Fang and I went to yesterday to get some hours in. It's not even crowded, which is a plus for me. I hate crowded areas, I get claustrophobic, not to mention, lost."
I sigh remembering this one time I tripped over someones feet at an amusement park and when I looked back up, not a single face was familiar. My face was in flame when they had to call me over the speaker.
"Oh." He sounded kind of disappointed, but relieved at the same time. Odd. "Okay."
We stand up to leave and he throws a ten-dollar bill onto the table. After a moment's pause, I grab a hand full of sugar packets from the tray, effectively emptying it.
Tyler gives me a bewildered look, but doesn't say anything. I grin at him as I fill my mouth with the sweet crystals.
It takes only ten minutes to walk to the small dojo I had been talking about. I didn't lie, Fang and I went here just yesterday. Our spar ended with both of us on the ground panting, trying to catch our breath.
A smile tugs at my lips. Suddenly something warm envelops my hand and I glance up. Tyler blushes and looks away, his grip slacking just the tiniest bit. His hand radiates heat through mine, warming my air-conditioned chilled fingers.
His hand is slightly damp from sweat, but oddly human. It feels awkward and causes me to blush, but I tighten my grip on his hand. He's the first person, out of the three people I went on a date with, that acted nervous and self-conscious. It was kind of cute, like the way Fang acts when my mother scolds him for leaving his dirty underwear around the house.
The dojo is open, though no one is inside, leaving it barren and silent. No one, that I could see, was at the counter.
"Come on." I pull Tyler into the changing room and toss him some work out cloths the gym provides. (I took them out of a random locker) Then I slip out onto the mat to warm up.
He comes out a few minutes later looking awkward in his too big outfit. Heh. He looks funny.
"Come on."
He steps out onto the mat.
I raise my hands and lower myself into a defensive stance. "Don't go easy on me." I warn with a slight smirk.
He hesitantly raises his fists as well. I start to get annoyed when he only throws a few hesitant jabs. I easily dodge them with a slight step to the side.
Either this guy as never spared before, or he is seriously going easy. It's obvious by his stance that it can't be the first. He's not even trying to hit me. Fang would get this odd look in his eyes and come down on me hard, making me use all my strength to just get a hit in or block.
I sigh in frustration at his obvious holding back and nail him hard in the stomach with my foot.
He grunts and stumbles a step back. "Don't hold back." I say again and punch him hard in the jaw. (I don't want to break his nose on our date.) Some resolve enters his eyes and he falls into a more suitable fighting stance. Another smirk flashes across my face.
He throws some punches at me and a few kicks, all easily blocked or dodged.
I duck as he does a spinning kick and sweep his supporting leg as his other goes above my head. He falls hard onto his back. I place my knee on his chest to keep him from getting up, a scowl on my face.
"You're still holding back." He grimaces.
When I get back to the hotel room, I sigh as the door clicks shut behind me. I kick something on my way to the bed and it groans. I squint into the darkness trying to make out a shape.
Fang's outline appears, curled up, asleep, with a crumpled bag of chips beside him, in the same place I left him on my way out.
He really did wait right there. I smile slightly, go to the bed, strip the covers, and throw them over Fang. I curl up on the floor beside him, pressing my back against his.
Thanks for read, and please leave a review. Info on Ari next chapter. Warning though: it's kind of sad.
-Fantasy