Wingless – Chapter 3

By MyNameIsCAL

The pain was all in my head. And yet I let it get to me. I was letting it eat me up from inside out. Max had gone out grocery shopping with Dylan, insisting I sat behind to rest and that she would grab me some Advil.

"Here, have a cookie." Gazzy held out a container to me.

I took one reluctantly and sunk into the arm chair.

"You know, Dylan's not so bad." Gazzy ate a cookie thoughtfully.

"Max loves you, Fang." Angel cut in quickly. "Dylan's just a little lost, still believing in the things Jeb told and promised him."

I took a small bite out of my cookie. They had all accepted him in already. I couldn't forget he had saved me though. It made me feel ungrateful.

You should give him a chance, Angel's voice cut through my thoughts. We need him as leverage for Jeb.

I said nothing in response, taking a larger bite out of my cookie. Unfortunately she was right. We needed Dylan.

And still, I was relieved when they returned.

"How're you feeling?" Max gave me a hug. "I got your Advil."

"Okay, thanks."

"What's wrong?"

"Just…I don't know." I let out a breath.

"Let me unpack the groceries with Dylan and then we'll get some air, okay?"

I released her, watching her interact with Dylan. She was comfortable around him now, no longer fighting like they had been before when he first came around with Jeb. Maybe it made me jealous. Max and I only became friends because our situation forced us to. She could have kicked Dylan out, but she was choosing to be nice to him.

And yet all that anger melted away when Max was by my side.

She held my hand as we walked along the bushes. In her other hand was a blanket, and she stopped in a shady area, spreading it out. We sat, staring out, the smog a little too thick to see the outskirts of the city.

"Mom said she'd get us a car," Max told me. "Maybe we can drive out to the city, you and me, and we can do something nice."

I lay back on the blanket, staring up at the clouds. "I'd like that."

She gave me a smile. "I thought you were feeling a little cooped up."

"I was," I admitted, pulling her down next to me. "Thanks."

She rested her hand against my cheek, lip quavering as her eyes met mine.

"Hey, what's the matter?" I rested my hand on top of hers. "Max…"

"You've been taking this a lot better than I have." She shook her head. "I…I feel like I've lost something too."

"Max…" I squeezed her hand. "I don't want you to suffer for me. I don't want to see you cry anymore. The only thing I want is for you to be happy."

"H-How can you just accept this all so easily?" She shut her eyes, face against my chest as I felt it had been over the past few days.

"Because I saved all of you. I told you, Max. We're alive and we're together." I drew my arm around her. "I can deal with the pain, I can deal without being able to fly because I have you, and the rest of the flock, to keep me going."

"I know…"

"Shh…Max, it's okay." I rubbed her back between her wings, my chin resting on her shoulder.

"I promise not to cry anymore after this," she told me.

We stayed like that for a while until she pulled away, her hand slipping back into mine.

"Better now?" I asked, brushing the hair out of her face.

"How bad is the pain?"

I let out a sigh. "It's alright. I don't want you to worry about me though."

"I-I know…" And then she leaned forward and kissed me.

The pain seemed nonexistent for a moment. I pushed myself on top of her, feeling her fingers through my hair. Whatever tension there had been between us was gone now, and I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in this moment. Max's ragged breathing edged me on, and I moved my mouth to her neck, her fingers gripping onto the back of my shirt.

Her hands danced around. Through my shirt, she traced the scars on my back, making me shiver. I slipped my hand under her shirt, my hand making its way up. And then her hands played with my buttons, urging me, driving me…

Suddenly I felt myself get yanked up off of the grown. The pain rushed back to me as I skidded across rocks and sand, my shirt half unbuttoned.

Dylan stood in front of me, his wings spread out. "What the hell are you thinking?"

"What the hell are you doing?" I snapped.

He snarled at me and I staggered to my feet, but before I could counter, Max's voice came through.

"You followed us here, Dylan?" Max frowned.

"I would hurt you like that, Max." Dylan turned to her. "He's not thinking straight, not after all he's been through."

"That doesn't change the fact that you stalked us here!" Max threw up her hands. "We're not stupid, Dylan!"

He grabbed her by the hand. "C'mon, Max, let's go home."

Dylan started to take off, dragging Max into the air. They disappeared in the distance.

I sat back down on the blanket, expecting Max to return, but she didn't. The sun was starting to go down already, and if it weren't for the pain in my back, I would have already started walking home.

"Fang, c'mon, if we start walking now, we'll make it back for dinner."

I looked up to see Angel standing over me.

"She's sorry, by the way, but she doesn't want to upset Dylan," she told me. "Dylan sincerely believes he's meant for Max, and so the only reason he's got anything against you is because you stand in his way. Besides, that's why he was created. I know you're upset and you're jealous, but Max knows he's not you. To be honest, I don't think they'll work out anyway. He doesn't really know what he's getting himself into."

I wanted to punch something. This was all my fault. If I hadn't gotten carried away, Max wouldn't have to put up with Dylan.

"You have to play fair even if he's not. Max will see through it all eventually." Angel patted my arm. "C'mon, I can smell Iggy's cooking from here."

Alright, this has probably been a long awaited update. Thanks for reading everyone! More as soon as I can. Been very busy.

}MyNameIsCAL{