Thunder: Back Through the Rain-Chapter 6

By MyNameIsCAL

---Iggy's POV---

Max clung to me like I was Fang or something. It deeply depressed her when she was alone, yet no one else except me could fill that emptiness for her. If anyone need psychological help, it was Max, not Fang. Fang was getting by on his own well. Being separated from Max was probably killing him slowly on the inside, but by the time it escaladed he would have already taken her back, probably.

"I'm going to Ella's school dance tomorrow tonight," I told Max. "Behave yourself when I'm gone."

We were lying in her bed, in the dark, waiting for slumber to consume us. She didn't say anything at first, and then, "Oh that's cool. You should have fun."

That relieved me. She hadn't totally lost it yet. I wanted to desperately tell her to talk to Fang, but I knew that wasn't a good idea if I wasn't around. Deep in thought, I wrapped my arms around her. Her head rested on my arm.

"Goodnight, Ig," she whispered.

"Night, Max," I replied.

And she was out in the next few minutes.

---Fang's POV---

Tonight is Iggy's big night. I've promised myself that I wasn't going to ruin this for him. This was his night with Ella. And god knows how much he loved her. If Iggy could see the way his smile lit up the room, he's only smile more. Ella. Oh gosh how beautiful Ella looked in that dress, especially next to Iggy. The two of them together seemed to make me forget my pain for a while and smile. Mom took a couple of pictures and went to drop them off.

"They're so cute together," Angel gushed.

I rolled my eyes.

"No they're not." Nudge took a seat at the kitchen table.

"You're just jealous," Angle remarked. "It's ok, Nudge."

Nudge frowned. "Ella is human. What makes her better?"

"Nudge, Iggy was also trying to be nice," I said. "He's doing Mom a favor too."

"Yeah, I guess so," Nudge replied before she sprung off her chair. "I'm going to watch TV. Anyone coming?"

Angel followed her, leaving me alone in the kitchen.

---Iggy's POV---

I've been introduced to all of Ella's friends. They seem pretty nice. I'm sure she talks to them about me. They were all like it's so nice to meet you. I must be like that mystery guy that no one believes is around until you meet them.

We're sitting at a small table, eating food, waiting for the band to finish setting up and playing. Everyone is just arriving. Crowds made me uncomfortable, but I wasn't going to panic. The chances of Itex putting regular humans in danger were unlikely. And the fact that I even weigh those chances is unneeded.

"So Jeff," one of Ella's friends began. "Where do you live?"

Oh I hated that name Jeff now. But we can't tell them my real name.

"I live a couple towns away," I answered.

Ell rambled off some town name. "He's like a family friend."

Because saying I lived with Ella would obviously be weird. Not many people live with the people they like as more than friends. Although Ella was practically family.

"So you were born blind?" Ella's other friend questioned me.

"Yeah, pretty much," I replied.

They're all very interested in me. By the time the band started to play, they had asked half a dozen questions already.

"Hey, Ella." I heard someone say.

"Oh, hey, Joe," Ella said.

"Who's your friend?" Joe sounded a little defensive.

"This is Jeff," Ella told him.

"Oh, I see." This didn't seem to thrill Joe. It made me wonder.

The band starts out with jazz. According to Ella, the beginning half of the dance is all jazz. Then they have a student rock band play for the last half. That was an interesting combination. Apparently the school had been doing this for years.

"Joe, this is Jeff," Ella finally said to break the silence.

There's more silence after that. The Joe spoke.

"Ain't you gonna shake my hand?"

I stick my hand out, managing to grasp his. Joe made me nervous. I hoped Ella would make him go away soon.

"He's blind, Joe," one of Ella's friends said. I think her name is Jen.

"Ah." I can't tell if Joe is surprised or disgusted.

"Don't you have your own date, Joe?" Jen frowned.

"Yeah." And then Joe is gone.

"Don't mind Joe," Jen told me. "He likes Ella."

That explained a lot.

---Fang's POV---

I lay in bed, tossing a tennis ball up in the air. Iggy would still be gone for another two hours. I figured I should stay up and wait for him. He'd probably ramble about Ella for another hour before going to be. I wouldn't be surprised. Whenever I tried to sleep, the pain flared up. Even lying down made it worse. Maybe I just needed to let the blood circulate a certain way. But sitting to me was tiring. And there would be pain elsewhere.

Eventually I got out of bed again. I figured by the next time I went to the hospital, the bone would be all healed already. I wasn't going to take any chances though. The less pain I was in, the better. Although it was healing a lot slower than normal. I didn't understand how humans could endure breaking a bone. It made me wonder if Ella ever broke a bone.

My thoughts drifted away from Max as I wondered about human pain. I was pretty sure that few humans could endure what I was going through right now. At least the average human couldn't. The next two hours are going to be the longest two hours of my life.