So, 23 left a cliffhanger...so I posted this one, too! :)

I'll post 25 later because I hate leaving it at a weird number.

I may post 26, too. We'll see.

CHAPTER 24

Max POV

"Sam?" I asked in shock.

Sure enough, Sam was standing behind us.

The Sam from the actual school we went to in Virginia.

The Sam that I went on a date with and kissed!

The Sam that I ran over when we were trying to escape.

"What are you doing here?" he asked confused. "Last time I saw you, you knocked me over and literally flew away from 'school.'"

He made air-quotes when he said "school."

I blushed, slightly embarrassed, and replied, "Um, yea. Sorry about that. Let's keep the flying thing quiet, 'kay?"

"Sure, but you guys are becoming pretty famous," he stated with the warm smile I remembered from him.

I sighed and tried to think of something to say.

"We should get our food and head out," Fang said.

Fang's words sounded normal to anyone who hadn't known him all their lives, but, since I did, I heard the anger behind his statement.

"Couldn't you all stay a little longer?" Sam asked. "You know, to catch up?"

I didn't really see any harm in staying for a little while. We had to wait until tomorrow to do anything at the Lerner's School anyway.

"I guess," I shrugged. "We'll order our food and join you in a second."

"Great," Sam smiled.

Sam hadn't changed much, but something felt different. I could tell that we'd only be friends and nothing more, but that didn't bother me.

Gee, that was easy. Why can't I just decide that easily with Fang?

Are you seriously asking that? the Voice chimed in, making me mentally groan.

"Max," Fang said quietly but sternly. "Do you think this is such a great idea?"

Fang POV

"Max, do you think this is such a great idea?" I asked harshly.

Did she really want to just sit down and enjoy a pleasant lunch with someone she once thought was an Eraser?! I mean, he didn't look like the Eraser type, but you never can tell.

"What are you talking about?" Max asked, becoming angrier.

"What about him possibly being an Eraser?" I retorted.

"Relax, Fang," she demanded. "We can handle it if he is one."

I rolled my eyes at her and turned back to the menu.

At that point, I was starting to hope Sam was an Eraser just so I could kick his—

"Fang, you…" Angel began in my mind.

"Angel, please," I mentally sighed in frustration. "You know better."

She gave me a small smile before turning her attention back to the counter.

We finally got our orders, which, individually, was enough food for at least four teenagers. Well, I think it would be. Point aside; it was more food than your average person would order.

Sam was seated at a table with, I presume, his family. Max led us to a table next to his, and she sat in the seat nearest to him. I sat across from her, Iggy next to me, and the Gasman next to him. Nudge was across from the Gasman, leaving Angel between Nudge and Max.

Sam's family told him they'd meet him at the car while they went to the store next door to the restaurant.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked Sam after his family left. "I thought you lived on the other side of Virginia."

Sam chuckled a little and said, "I did, but after our school closed, my parents thought it would be best for us to move away from that place."

Max smiled and laughed, too. What was with her? That wasn't funny. Or something to smile about. So the kid moved. Big deal!

"What about everyone else?" Max asked.

Sam shrugged, "Don't really know."

I was finished playing her game. It was time to change it up a bit…

Max POV

Here I was, having a simple, polite conversation with a friend, when Fang decided to open his big mouth.

"What happened to Lissa?" Fang asked curiously.

Without even meaning to, I started glaring at him. Why did he ask about her? Did he still have feelings for the Red-Haired Wonder or something? What about everything he's done for me lately?

Dang it! I sound like a jealous idiot! Ugh!

"Well…" Sam began, sounding a little nervous. Maybe it was from the death glare Fang was still giving him. "Actually, when you guys took off and didn't come back, she and I…sort of started…dating."

"Really?" Fang asked in disbelief.

"Yea," Sam said, scratching the back of his head. "I'm really sorry. We waited for you guys to return, but you never did. No one knew where to find you or how to reach you, so we started talking and…"

"It's okay, Sam," I interrupted him with a slight laugh. "You don't have to apologize."

I was actually fine with it. No more Red-Haired Wonder for Fang to drool over.

"Where's she at, now?" Fang continued.

Persistent, wasn't he?!

"Visiting family in Florida," Sam replied politely.

Fang actually looked disappointed, which, for some reason, surprised me. Maybe he really did have feelings for her still. I didn't really want to think about it.

Sam's cell phone rang, snapping me back to the conversation. When he finished on the phone, he frowned and said, "Sorry, but I have to go. My family is ready to go."

"Alright," I replied. "It was cool seeing you again."

"Yea," he smiled. "It was great seeing you all again, too. Take care of yourselves."

After he left, Fang and I remained quiet, finishing our food. The tension between us kept the others quiet, too, so dinner was silent for everyone.

About half an hour later, we found a motel, and got two rooms for the night.

Maybe tomorrow would be better…

Alright, before someone goes crazy about that Sam/Lissa thing…here's my reasoning:

A lot of people write about Sam and Lissa being mean or whatever, but they didn't really seem like totally "mean" people to me.

I don't know, maybe I need to go back and reread the second book or something, but Lissa was just acting like a girl with a crush. Sure, the kiss thing was kind of weird, but when she saw Max and stuff, she was never mean about it. She thought they were brother and sister, ya know?

Anyway, I decided to throw Sam in to show a little bit of jealousy from Fang's side. And, of course, more jealousy from Max. ^_^

Sorry about the rant. I just wanted to throw that out there before someone started asking if they were going to come back and try to steal Max and Fang away or something…

The answer: no. Sorry. Maybe next time.