I'm so sorry, angelfaces! I was so busy this last week, I had no time at all to write! I've also been procrastinating a tiny bit on my summer assignments.. But! I wrote half the chapter in the middle of the week so I finished it today. Please forgive me!
City of Love
"What exactly is this place?" I whispered, too scared to talk normally. I was officially creeped out. We were dress shopping of course, but I had a picture in my head of glossy pink walls, and dresses all over the place. Not this.
It was a small shop, with black walls and smelled of incense. There was a younger looking woman at the front counter, with an older lady, probably her mom, sitting in the corner on a chair.
The younger woman had short blonde hair, and big green eyes. Her smile was big, making her eyes crinkle at the corners. She looked sweet.
The older lady on the other hand, had long black hair, and black eyes. She was focusing on her book, but she hasn't turned a page in 20 minutes.
"Guys, can we please just leave?" I said, grabbing Ella's sleeve and tugging on it like a toddler. This place was giving me goosebumps. "Max, not yet!" Nudge said. "I haven't found them!" She said again, looking stressed.
"Maybe the lady lied?" I said, trying any tacktick to get us out of here. I spotted a spiderweb next to a box of old looking earrings. Nudge was searching all over France for a pair of lacy gloves. 'They matched her dress perfectly!' Not my words, Nudge's.
An elegant dress shop we were at before was mainly filled with jewelery. The counter lady told Nudge to come to this wonderful place to find her so needed gloves.
Nudge stood up after bending over to look under a few dust covered boxes. She blew out a big sigh and said "Maybe you're right.", clearly sad about not finding them.
A pang of guilt hit my gut for rushing us. I walked over to where she was standing and rubbed her shoulder. "We'll find them, I promise." I said, looking her straight in the eyes.
"I just want to look perfect. Not for myself. More for Iggy than anything." She said, on the verge of tears. It was just gloves, I thought to myself. But dismissed it as fast as it came. Nudge has always been the one shooting for perfect, even if it was impossible.
Iggy was with us in the beggining, but he ended up getting a call and had to leave urgently. He looked pissed but he hid it well.
"Iggy is the most gentlemen like man I've ever met. If you showed up in a trashbag he'd probably say you were the most beautiful girl in the room." I said with confidence. I couldn't help but remember Fang from the taxi the other day.
There was something about him that I couldn't exactly pin point. The feeling he gave me was a mix of fear and enchantment. I wanted more or him but at the same time my senses were telling me to stay away. It was like being in the middle of a tug-of-war competition.
I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She squeezed back and gave me a weak smile. "Thanks, Max." I winked at her and asked "Can we please get out of here now?" She laughed and grabbed Ella by the arm.
"I just noticed how creepy it looks in here." She said. I put my hand to my face and sighed into it.
I wiped a sweat bead off of my forehead. "Is it just me or is it hotter than normal?" I said looking up into the sky. Paris's normal temperature in the summer was 85 degrees. It felt well over 90, which was strange.
Ella and Nudge looked up in unison and shrugged their shoulders. We were on an outdoor porch of a starbucks, drinking our different flavors of coffee.
Ella had a Mocha Coconut, only for the summer season. Nudge's favorite was the Cookie Crumble and mine of course, was the Carmel Frap.
I slurrpled the last couple drinks of my coffee and threw it in the trash can near by. I sat there, finally getting the axious feeling of the ball coming.
Ella and Nudge each had their dresses picked out, bought and ready. Me on the other hand, couldn't find a single thing. They either looked too sparkly, or too.. Girly.
Was is so bad to want to wear a dress that is just perfect for me? I don't want to wear something that will show way too much or be covered in so much spandex I can't walk properly.
As you can probably already tell, I haven't found one of those dresses yet. Close, but not quite. I snapped out of my own thoughts when Nudge and Ella stood up to leave.
I got up with them and walked out the small gate. "Max, can you please pick a dress already?" Nudge said walking next to me, on our way to the next dress shop in Paris.
"You're the one making me do this. If I'm going, I'm going to be wearing something that I want. Not what you want." I said, looking in my purse that Nudge made me bring along.
I was missing my wallet. I stopped and looked back. "I must have forgotten my wallet at the coffee shop. You two go right ahead, I'll catch you in five minutes." They both smiled and walked off.
I jogged back to the shop, nearly taking out a pedestrian on my way. I opened the small gate and looked around the tabel we were sitting at. "Maximum Ride." Said a voice that brought shivers up my spine.
I straightend and turned around to see Fang reading my ID in my wallet. He looked much taller than when we first met in the taxi cab. "Definitely not what I was expecting." He said again, smirking.
"And what exactly were you expecting?" I said, raising an eyebrow in challenge. "You look more like a Beth or Brittany. Not a Maximum." He said, looking through my wallet now.
"I'm not sure if I should take that as an insult or a compliment. And I do believe going through peoples' personal items is an invasion of privacy." I said through clenched teeth, grabbing my wallet out of his hands only for him to snatch it away from my grasp at the last second.
I blew my bangs out of my eyes in frustration. "Can I please have that back?" I said, trying so hard not to make a scene.
"Uhm," He said tapping his chin with his finger and looking up at the sky, appearing to be in deep thought. "No." He smiled at me, looking down. He was at least a head taller than me.
"What are you, four? Give it." I said, holding out my hand. "On one condition." He said, with that same stupid smile.
I sighed. Is he really doing this? "I don't have time for conditions. There's somewhere I have to be." I said, crossing my arms and glaring at him.
"Well, then I'll just keep this lovely wallet of yours." He said, looking through it. All my things were in there. Money, plane tickets to get back home, my drivers license. He pulled a plane ticket out.
"Oregon. You live in Oregon?" He said, holding back a chuckle. "Yes, I do. Now give it!" I said, finally raising my voice. "Ah, Ah, Ah. Only one condition." He said, wagging a finger in my direction.
I slapped his hand away in annoyance. "Fine. What is the condition?" I asked, finally letting defeat settle in. I hate losing, it never sets well with me, and on top of that I'm the biggest poor sport.
"Come with me to the ball?" He asked, looking down at me with pleading eyes. He actually wants to go to the ball with.. Me. Me, of all people.
I gave him a disbelieving glance. "You want to go with me?" I said, not quite believing it. He nodded his head yes, and said "Please?" He looked at me with those dark dangerous eyes.
I looked back at him with my boring, light brown eyes. Before I could register what I was saying I said "Yes."
Fangs point of view;
"Iggy, I don't care what you're doing. This is important!" I said in an hushed tone. "Wait. What are you doing?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
"I'm dress shopping with my date, man. C'mon. This is important too." Iggy said through the phone. What was wrong with him? He never ditches me for some girl.
"You never skip out on me like this man, please? It's Lissa. I have no idea what to do with her." I said, running a hand through my hair.
"Ugh. Fine, man. Fine. But you owe me. Big." Iggy said, hanging up right after.
I punched the air. Thank God Ig is coming.
Ten minutes later the doorbell rang. I got up just as Justin opened the door. Man, Ig is pissed. He walked over to me in three big steps. "What the hell is this for, Fang?" He said, pushing my chest.
I rubbed the spot that he pushed me. "Man, don't be mad. I needed some help!" I said.
"For who? For you? Again? Do you ever think about other people besides yourself? No. You don't. Don't even try to deny it, Fang." Iggy said, letting out a big breath. Damn. I messed it up this time.
"Yes, for me. But I'll make it up to you, I swear!" I said hurridly before he walked out.
"Fine. What do you need?" Iggy said, having his shoulders drop. The anger washed out of his face, it was just replaced with curiosity.
"It's Lissa. She attacked me, demanding why I hadden't hasked her to the Ball yet. I didn't know what to say to her. I just left her in a room until you came to give me idea's. So. Any idea's?" I said, raising my eyebrows and smiling.
"Why don't you just tell her you want to go by yourself?" He said, shrugging his shoulders.
I looked at him with a 'you're an idiot' stare. "Really, Ig? You know that's never enough for Lissa." I said, runnning a hand through my hair once again.
He scratched the back of his neck. His head snapped up and he smiled. "Just tell her you already asked someone!" He said, clearly excited with his idea.
It could work, I guess. "But she'd be expecting to see me with that someone at the ball." I said, confused on what to do.
"Then ask someone, use them shamelessly, and get over it. You do it all the time." He said, sitting down on a couch. "Oh." I said. Weighing my options. It could work.
I can't go with Lissa. My father doesn't approve. Whatever that means. He says that 'I need to start acting like an adult, not use women as toys. Blahblahblah. ' Normally, that wouldn't have effected me.
But when he said "Your mother would be so disappointed in you." That's what brought me to my senses. I just needed to use one last girl to get rid of Lissa.
"Hey Fang, you remember that big ass favor you owe me?" Ig said, smiling in my direction. "Mhm." I mumbled to him, still lost in thought.
"I have thought of something you can do for me." Oh no, this isn't going to be good. "What is it?" I said, not sure of the favor he's asking.
"Go get me a coffee from that tiny shop around the corner. Oh! And a big box of dounuts. And maybe a gallon of milk. Yeah, that will do." He said, giggling at the sound of food.
"You're just a tiny bit hungry, huh?" I said looking at him and shaking my head.
He pointed to the door and said "Now, go." Without looking away from the TV.
"You disgust me." I said, wanting to punch him in the gut as hard as I can, but knowing better. It'll only get me more favors for him.
I grabbed my keys and opened up the door. "Fang?" Iggy said, looking at me. "What are you going to do, though?" I looked at the bright blue sky.
"Pick up some useless girl at the coffee shop of course." I said, smirking. I'm a professional at this stuff. It's just too easy.
- Coffee Shop -
I walked up to the small gate, inspecting the girls. I needed someone nice looking enough to pass as a "Well mannered girl, someone that could keep me out of trouble." As my father likes to say.
I walked through the gate, looking around slowly. There was no one of that type in this place. I shook my head, seeing something in the corner of my eye.
I stopped and walked over to one of the tables. I picked the object up, looking at it and flipping it over. It looked to be some kind of wallet.
I opened it up and inspected the ID. My eyes widdened, i looked at it for a minute longer before closing it and looking around.
My thoughts were racing. It's her! That one in the taxi cab. I looked and saw her jogging up to the gate and opening it as if she lost something important.
Oh. Of course she did. She's missing her wallet. I moved to the side, pretending to be in deep thought, while looking at the rose bush in front of me.
She searched rapidly through the tables and chairs. Inspecting the ground, determinded to find it.
I walked up to her and said "Maximum Ride."
She stiffened and turned slowly around to face me. I opened her wallet to look at it again. "Definitely not what I was expecting." I said with a small smirk.
"And what exactly were you expecting?" She said, arching an eyebrow. "You look more like a Beth or Brittany. Not a Maximum." I said, lying my way through.
The truth was, she did look like a Maximum. It read all over her features. From her small hands to her lovely brown eyes, her tiny nose and laugh. All of it.
"I'm not sure if I should take that as an insult or a compliment. And I do believe going through peoples' personal items is an invasion of privacy." She said, obviously annoyed. She grabbed at the wallet, just as I pulled away.
I'm not sure why I did it. It was childish, of course. But I was not above childish behavior. Suddenly, an idea occured to me.
"Can I please have that back?" She said, blowing her bangs out of her eyes.
"Uhm," I said, tapping my finger on my chin, pretending I was in thought. I didn't need to think anymore, I made up my mind. "No." I said, smiling at her. Hoping it would make her less tense. I was wrong.
"What are you, four? Give it." She said, not wanting to play my games. Too bad for her. When it comes to my games, everybody plays. Weither they'd like to or not, they're going to play.
"On one condition." I said. She sighed. "I don't have time for conditions. There's somewhere I have to be." She said, crossing her arms. She attempted to glare at me, but it just bounced right off. Glaring has absolutely no effect on me, especially when I see something that I want.
"Well, then I'll just keep this lovely wallet of yours." I said, looking through her wallet once again. I pulled out a plane ticket and looked it up and down.
"Oregon. You live in Oregon?" I said. She was so.. Normal. From a normal city, in a normal state, in a normal part of the world. I tried my best to suppress a smile.
"Yes, I do. Now give it!" She said, yelling. She was acting like I had insulted her. "Ah, Ah, Ah. Only one condition." I said, shaking my finger in her direction, hoping to annoy her enough. She's close to caving, I know it. She was stubborn. But I've always liked stubborn.
She slapped my hand away. "Fine. What is the condition?" She asked. Her shoulders falling. She's a poor sport. How cute.
In the begging, I was going to convince her to introduce me to one of her friends. I could easily use one of them. But without thinking, the words "Will you come with me to the ball?" Slipped out.
What? Where the hell did that come from?
She looked at me as if I was joking. "You want to go with me?" She said, as if she didn't hear me right. I nodded my head yes. To convince her further I said "Please?" With pleading eyes.
I held my breath. A million doubts were going through my mind. What if she says no. What if she already has a date. What if she laughs?
The word "Yes" went through my head, stopping all the thoughts completely.
She said yes.
I rushed back home to tell Iggy the news. I didn't bother getting the things he asked. I was too busy thinking.
Maximum Ride said yes. I've never been so happy, or so relieved to hear the word yes in my life.
Girls say yes all the time. It's just the same. Why was it so different with Maximum? I didn't have feelings for her, of course not.
I walked through the front door and threw my keys on the table. I walked into the room Iggy was in last.
"Iggy, change in plans. This is so much better than what we had before." I looked around. "Iggy?" I said.
"Oh, Iggy left baby." I looked around again. That was way too feminine to be Iggy.
I looked, and looked but couldn't find anyone. Then, out of no where Lissa was sitting in the chair.
"Lissa, I don't have time for this. Where'd Ig go?" I said, running a hand through my hair.
"I told Iggy to leave. He was just annoying me. As for you, I think we should talk." She said, pulling lint off her purple spandex skirt.
"Talk? Since when do you want to talk?" I said, almost chuckling. The look on her face made me stop. That was the look that you don't want to mess with.
"I heard you guys. What your guys' plan was." She said. I stopped breathing. She couldn't have. There was no one in the room. The thought passed as I remembered I had nothing to worry about.
I wasn't shamelessly going to use Maximum. I wanted to go with her. And as weird as it sounds, I think by the look on her face, she might have actually wanted to go with me too.
"There isn't a plan. I'm actually going with someone. Someone that I like." I said, confused. I don't like Maximum. I said it to get Lissa off my back.
"Oh, baby. You don't like her." She said, looking at me with a smile. "Yes I do, Lissa." I said with more determination in my voice.
"'Ask someone, use them shamelessly, and get over it. You do it all the time'" She said, saying Iggy's words to me.
"Lissa, there isn't a plan anymore. I told you. I like this girl. I'm not going to use her shamelessly." I said, trying to figure out where she's going with this.
She pulled out her cellphone. She pushed and jabbed at the touch screen for a few seconds, then it played.
She had a recording of mine and Iggy's conversation. All of it, right from the beggining.
"I'm not sure you like this girl, Fang. Not by this conversation." She said "Liss-" I tried saying, but she cut me off with a wave of her hand.
"I'm simply saying, Fang, your girl better watch her back."
I hope you guys liked it! Listen, I spend a lot of time on these chapters. I don't mean to beg for reviews, I would just really appreciate it if you guys tell me how I did. Good or bad, I don't care. Tell me. I'm desperately trying to get better, and it's hard if I don't get reviews from my lovely readers.
Byebye. c: