Fang POV:
Why was I acting like this? What the heck is she doing to me? I must be going crazy or something to think those things that I thought. It's just plain creepy from that coming from me. I almost shuddered at the thought of that.
I waited for only five minutes or so before Max came down with a new set of clothes. This time it was a pair of regular jeans and a shirt with a design of a red skull with a heart in the background and a knife going through it. She did wear her same black windbreaker. I think she has an attachment to it or something.
"Are you ready?" I asked her a little wary but I still sounded like I didn't have a care in the world.
"Yeah. Let's just hurry up and get there before I change my mind." She said grabbing her black and red backpack. We had got her supplies and everything a day before. She absolutely hated it. She loathes shopping and frankly I don't blame her. I hate it too, especially if you have to go with Nudge and Angel. They love shopping and would make you go all around the mall a hundred times before they get what they want. It's very annoying.
We got into my black Porsche and drove to school without another word.
I parked in my regular spot and as soon as the car was off, Max burst out of the doors with her backpack hanging behind her. I got out quickly and locked the doors and was going after her. After a few seconds I realized she was running to a girl with brown hair and brown eyes and freckles. She was walking to the school with her binder and papers in hand when she heard Max and mine's footsteps coming toward her.
"MAX!" The girl yelled and she dropped her stuff and ran to Max with a huge grin on her face. Max ditched her backpack and threw it to the ground and ran to the girl faster.
"Ella." Max breathed before they collided in a bear hug.
I stepped towards Max's backpack and slung it on my left shoulder. My backpack was already occupying my right shoulder. I watched in confusion as I saw the others react. Never in the whole time Max was here did she wear a small smile on her face as she was now. It was so nice to see her opening up.
I just have a feeling this isn't going to go so well for both Max and Ella.
Max's POV:
I can't believe it. Ella's here. My friend from the orphanage. I wonder how she got here. We were such good friends back then. She was so nice to me. She was the only one that I opened up to.
The only one I showed my wings to.
"How did you get here, Max?" Ella asked excitedly as we started to pick up the stuff she dropped.
"I got adopted by this woman named Dr. Martinez. I just call her Val." I replied smoothly. "What are YOU doing here? I thought you were going to live in Chicago what are you doing in Arizona?"
"It turns out those people were abusive and I got back. Now I'm adopted to this really nice couple." Ella said. She had a look of memory in her eyes as she said that her adoptive parents were abusive.
I stiffened. "You got sent to an abusive family?" I asked. My voice filled with steel. She laughed. We picked up the last of her stuff and stood up.
"Don't worry Max. It was just one time. Besides if anything you're the one who attracts abusive people like a moth to a light. How many abusive homes have you gone to?" She asked teasing me. I looked down and mumbled an answer.
She put a hand to her ear in a I-can't-hear-you gesture. "What was that? What? I couldn't hear?" She said in a sing-song voice.
I mumbled the answer a bit louder but it was unintelligible.
"Come on Max just blurt out the question already." Ella said annoyed and put a hand to her hip.
"Fine." I said after a while of her glare. "73. There? I said it. I've been to 73 abusive homes and I have so many scars I can't count." I said and we started to walk toward the school.
"Yeah and I only have one thank you very much." Ella said proudly. I scoffed at her.
"What's there to be proud about it? I certainly don't feel happy about it."
"A scar is like a memory, Max. To me it's like a memory saying that you've been through that. What was the worse one or the most deadly scar you have?"
"The one at the bottom front of my neck that runs a couple of inches to my shoulder, why?" I said without a seconds delay.
"Well see a NORMAL person would have died from that. Now you have a memory saying that you've been through that and SURVIVED. That's what's so great about it. How would you feel if you got into a fight and didn't go out of there with a nothing? It would feel like a waste or energy to not get anything out of it. You know what I mean?" She said looking at me with sad eyes. I sighed, but nodded.
"Yeah so now I have more then 100 scars to remind me how I survived many things from being thrown out a window to being burned alive. Yeah…that's a lot to be proud of." I said sarcastically. Ella rolled her eyes and we continued to walked to school.
"Hey Max?" Ella whispered to me. Her mouth barely moving.
"Yeah?" I asked in the same quietness and "stealthiness".
"Do you still have the wings?" She said sounding more quiet.
"Yeah. Do you?" She made a nod that no other human could see but I could see. "Hey."
"What?" She said so quiet I could barely hear her.
"Want to go for a fly?"
"Sure. I needed an excuse to get out of school. But I need to get rid of my stuff." She said louder and more excited.
"Okay. I can put it with my stuff." I said louder like her. She looked around her. She looked at me confused.
"Um…where's your stuff?" She asked slowly still looking around. I rolled my eyes at her and we looked around us. Far off to the left, there was Fang holding his and mine backpack.
"We could leave it with him." I said pointing to Fang. I could see him raise an eyebrow but I ignored him. I looked back at Ella. She was visibly stiffened. "Don't worry Ella. He's my new neighbor for now. My new family hasn't shown any signs of abuse, yet." I said laying a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. She nodded but still wasn't relaxed.
"Promise me that even if one person, I don't care if it's not in your family but your neighborhood that you'll leave." She said looking up at me with sad eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt." I smiled at her, showing off my pearly white teeth.
"I promise, Ella. Cross my heart and hope to die." I said crossing my heart. She smiled at me and relaxed.
"Don't talk like that, Max, or that might actually happen." She muttered. I scoffed at her.
"Yeah, right. I'm the invincible Maximum Ride. No one can kill me." I said proudly, walking a bit straighter as we headed toward Fang. She rolled her eyes at me and laughed but it was humorless. She knew that I knew that, that wasn't true. I'm not invincible. No one can ever be.
"Whatever Max." She said and we were right in front of Fang.
"Hey, Fang, can you hold Ella's stuff for her? You can put it in my backpack if you want." I asked sweetly. He looked at me and blinked. He nodded shortly and grabbed Ella's stuff. He took off my backpack from his shoulder and put it on the ground so he could put Ella's stuff in it better.
"Thanks." Ella said shyly. He shrugged. "Do you ever speak?" She asked getting a little annoyed. He shrugged again and Ella's face went a little red in anger. "Wow. Your so talkative. You should be quiet more often." She said crossing her arms.
"Okay." Fang said and started walking towards the school without another word or shrug.
"Ugh!" Ella sighed in frustration as we started to walk away from the school to a more secluded area. I burst into laughter as I saw her face redden in a violet purple look.
"You look so funny, Ella." I said putting a hand to my mouth trying to contain my fits of giggles. She pushed me playfully the red going away a bit. I pushed her back and she looked at me in mock hurt. I laughed and she pushed me back, and we just leaned on each other laughing.
"You know Max…" Ella trailed off. She looked at me with a genuine smile. "You're the best friend I ever had and ever will have." She said proudly. I beamed down at her.
"You're my best friend. You're practically my sister and I love you." I said with a smile.
(A/N: No Max is not gay. She's just saying that she loves Ella like a sister. Not in that way. NO ONE IN THIS STORY IS GAY. THIS IS PLAIN SISTERLY LOVE. NOTHING MORE.)
"Your like my sister too, Max. I love you too." Ella said hugging my side. I hugged her back.
"Let's hurry up and find a closed off spot. I want to show you something over the days that I've been here." I said running a bit towards my new house that was in the distance pulling her along with me.
"You know I can't run as fast as you." Ella huffed at me trying to keep up. I looked back at her with a smirk.
"Oh? Really, I couldn't tell." I said in mock confusion. She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Hold on will you?" I asked letting go of her hand. She looked at me with a really obvious clueless expression. We were now three houses away.
"Hold on to what?" She asked annoyed still trying to keep up with me. I put on a smug smile and grabbed her hand and pulled up and her feet left the ground and she went soaring forward. She screamed as she went almost above my head. I laughed at her and grabbed her foot. I pulled down and soon she was on my back holding my neck with both her hands and her legs wrapped around my torso trying to hold on for dear life.
"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" She yelled at me while I tried to laugh. It was cut off from her squeezing my neck a little hard. I tugged on her hands. "Oh." I rolled my eyes at her genius answer. Her hold on my neck and torso loosened but not enough for her to fall off. I gasped in a breath of pure oxygen. We were now in front of my house.
"Just hold on and don't let go until I say so. And you probably want to stand up straighter." I added after a thought.
"Why?" She asked slowly, cautiously, but did what I "asked". I looked around me. No one was around. There was nothing that could have memory of what I'm about to do.
"Because." I said simply and started running at full speed ahead. After the second house I snapped out my 15 foot long wings and Ella gasped in surprise. My wings went out and surprisingly didn't knock Ella off. I must be smarter then I thought. I flapped them once…twice…thrice…and we were now more then a hundred feet in the air. Ella held on tighter, but not so tight I get suffocated.
"Okay. Ella. What ever you do, do NOT let go of me until I say so. Got it?" I warned her. She nodded scarred a bit. Her legs wrapped around my torso tighter and with one more powerful flap of my wings we were flying at 80 miles an hour. I could go faster but that would make Ella lose her grip on me and probably die. I NEVER want that to happen.
If anything happens to Ella I will personally see to it that whoever hurt her will pay.
For the last time.
(A/N: Okay that was a little longer then usual and I'm sorry if it feels like I just put Ella in there without a second thought but she actually plays a big part in Max's life. They'll tell their story soon enough don't worry. And PLEASE tell me how long you want a chapter to be. Or you're just fine with whatever I come up with.
Read and Review people! That's what every author wants!)