By the way...I'm working on another story at the moment. It kind of has a complicated story plot, so I probably won't post it for a while. But I just wanted to let everyone know that I have a better story on the way! ^_^

Back to the story!

CHAPTER 8

Max POV

Around lunchtime, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and I were flying around the house. Ella and Mom watched us, captivated. Fang and Iggy were still inside, though.

Either they were up to something, or they were having "guy talk." It was probably not the first one, because they know better. Well, at least Fang does…most of the time. If it was the second one, I was glad to not be part of it.

I landed a few feet from my mom and sister, who both had wide eyes and grins. It always made me smile to know that others thought our wings were beyond cool. I shook out my wings and sat down on the ground. Leaning back on my hands, I watched the other three do tricks and practice techniques from the hawks from way-back-when.

"Max, you guys are amazing!" Ella stated in awe as she sat down next to me.

"Thanks," I said with a slight blush.

"All of you are," she continued, shifting her gaze to the sky. "It's so…so…fascinating! Especially Iggy! I mean, he does it all blind!"

She was definitely hanging out with Nudge a lot. And did she have a thing for Iggy or something?

"He's blind unless everything in the background is white," I corrected her.

"Still," she sighed. "It's incredible."

I was about to ask her if she had feelings for Iggy, when Fang and Iggy came outside. Fang gave me a strange look, then, looked to the sky to see the others. A look of joy crossed his face and my heart skipped a beat.

"Cool," Iggy grinned, knowing what everyone was doing already. "I love free-flying!"

With that, he unfurled his wings, ran a few feet, and launched himself into the air.

Fang remained standing there for a moment until, finally, he snapped his dark wings out and took one bounding leap, flapping down hard. He dropped a few feet, but quickly gained altitude with each stroke. Suddenly, I felt like Ella when she watched us. I felt awed by the way Fang flew across the sky.

A very small, very young, very girly giggle slipped into my thoughts. Angel…

Fang POV

After lunch, everyone began heading outside. Before I followed the others, Iggy said, "Hey, Fang."

"Yo," I answered.

"Do you think you could try out that new ability now?" he asked quietly.

I let out a sigh and said, "We can try, but I'm not making any promises."

"Thanks," Iggy replied smiling.

I began concentrating; eyes squeezed shut and fists clenched. We were silent for a few minutes, and I started thinking it was a lost cause. Then, I felt something.

I felt Ella's emotions! At least, that's what I assumed. Anyway, the emotions I got from her were astonished, fascinated, and a little jealous.

"Whoa," I breathed.

"Did it work?" Iggy whispered curiously and impatiently.

"Yea," I replied and relaxed a bit. "She's fascinated right now. And a little jealous."

"Anything about me?" He already sounded disappointed.

"I'm only feeling her current emotions," I stated. "Maybe we should wait until she's thinking about you or talking to you."

"Alright," he said. "Thanks again, man."

I slapped him on the back, and we walked out the back door to join the others. When I stepped into the yard, I noticed Max sitting on the ground with Ella. I wondered where the others were and realized they were flying freely above us. We all enjoyed getting the chance to fly for fun.

I looked up at the others and felt pure joy wash over me. I was pretty sure that feeling was a combination of Nudge, Gasman, Angel, Max, and my feelings all wrapped together.

"Cool. I love free-flying!" Iggy said and opened his wings.

After a running start, he took off into the air with the others.

With that joyful feeling, I shot my wings out and jumped into the sky without a running start. I fell a few feet at first, so I stroked down hard a few times until I reached the others.

Flying in a wide arc, I glanced back to the ground to see Max. She was watching us with a beautiful smile on her lips.

I wished she would join us. Watching Max fly was a breath-taking sight.

That was the exact emotion I was getting from her for three seconds. Then, something clicked: She wasn't just watching "us"…she was watching me.

"Come on, Max!" Angel shouted to the ground. She read my thoughts again, no doubt.

'Thanks, Angel,' I thought to her, and she smiled to me in return.