Derek POV
"So you're Derek?" A small vampire asked me, bouncing up and down excitedly. I put on an innocent expression and blinked.
"Yeah, I am," I smiled. Max looked at me strangely, as if she'd seen me before.
The school probably did something... showed her images of me during brain attacks... Maybe.... What do I care, anyway?
"Hey..." Max murmured, staring at me strangely. "Have I seen you before somewhere?" Bingo. The School is becoming unhealthily predictable...
I shrugged and smiled my most dazzeling smile. "I'm not sure," I laughed sheepishly. "My memory isn't very, um, reliable."
Max almost cracked a smile. I noticed the whole gang of her's there, too. The gothic one, the blind one, the mind-reading one (The school made shure she couldn't read my mind, but she wasn't looking happy about it), the African American one, and the, erm, digestive one.
All the vampires were here as well. The muscular one, the angry blonde one, the bronze haired mind reader (who also couldn't read my mind and was looking as unhappy as the other young mind reader), the motherly and fatherly figures, the small pixie-like one, the anxious looking blonde boy, and one girl who wasn't a vampire, but her skin was pale. That must have been Isabella Swan.
They were all here. Perfect.
"So..." I smiled politely. "Who exactly are you guys?"
The pixie-like one laughed. "I'm Alice Cullen." She smiled at the blonde boy expectantly. He stiffly spoke.
"I am Jasper Hale."
I almost raised my eyebrows absently. No one told me they were different families.... Oh well. Better to know it now than later.
"I'm Emmett Cullen." The muscular one smirked as my eyes sized him up. He probably thought I couldn't take him down. Boy, was he wrong.
"Rosalie Hale." The other blonde said curtly. I raised an eyebrow.
"Esme Cullen," The motherly figure smiled warmly at me and jumped forward to shake my hand. My reaction must have not been the right one when I felt how cold her hand was, because she gave me an odd, confused look.
"I'm Carlisle Culle." The fatherly figure smiled, but his eyes held the same feeling his wife had.
"Edward Cullen," The bronze haired one murmured confusidly, staring at me through narrowed eyes. I averted my eyes to Max's flock.
"You are?"
Max stepped forward and said in a somewhat triuphant way, "I'm Maximum Ride. Max for short."
I smiled and noticed a light, almost invisible, blush tinging Max's cheeks. "Nice to meet you."
"Fang," The gothic one said almost curtly as Rosalie, slightly leaning toward Max in a protective way.
"Hey," The blind one sighed, looking at me even though he was deprieved of sight. That made my skin crawl slightly. "I'm Iggy."
The digestive eight year old grinned and stuck out his hand. "I'm the Gasman! But call me Gazzy. Everyone does."
I shook his hand, my fake smile never dimming. But I thought, 'Everyone does'? Who does he know other than these people? Being a delinquant at the school doesn't exactly make you popular in the real world... Although, the real world seems to have vampires and werewolves. Eh, fair enough...
"Hi!" The African American girl squeaked happily and I jumped, being thrown out of my thoughts by her overly hyper attitude. "I'm Nudge! You said you're name was Derek?" I nodded. She squealed slightly. "Oh, my gosh! I love you're name! But... how do you spell it? I mean, some people spell it like D-e-r-r-i-k or D-e-r-r-e-k or even D-a-r-r-i-c-k! How do you spell your's?"
Wow, I was surprised by her talking skills. She'd said that all in one breathe. Impressive....
"I'll give you a hint," I smiled, kneeling down to her level. She was only about a foot shorter than me, though. "You were closer on the second guess."
She blinked and flushed, making her face red beyond imaginable. I didn't mean to do that. Eh, whatever.
"I'm Angel." A small voice said from behind me. I turned and looked at Angel. I had a feeling she meant buisness. "I have a question for you, Derek."
I smiled and knelt to look in her eyes. "Shoot." But I knew what she was going to ask.
While she took a dramatic breath I was thinking of what to reply.
Ah! I got it!
"Why can't I read you're mind?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. The room went silent and Edward butted in. Max looked stricken and I shook my head.
"Don't worry; I knew you guys were from the school, too." I smiled reasurringly but Max's jaw dropped. She was about to say something but Edward cut in.
"I can't, either." He said. Eyeryone looked at me suspiciously and skeptically. I shrugged.
"I'm sorry." I sighed. "I honestly don't know why you can't. Are you normally able to read everyone's minds? Like, everyone you've ever met?"
Angel and Edward frowned. I knew Edward couldn't read Isabella's mind and Angel couldn't read Jeb's mind, either.
"Yes." They both answered in unision. I raised my eye brows. Max and Isabella turned to them strictly.
"Don't lie!" Max and Isabella shook their heads at them.
Max turned to me. "Angel can't read my father's mind."
"And Edward can't read my mind." Isabella turned to me with a hesitant smile.
"I didn't get you're name." I smiled and she nodded.
"I'm Bella."
Oh, I thought somewhat sheepishly. So she calls herself Bella. I see. She seems nice. But my mission isn't to make friends. It's to eleminate Maximum Ride.
"Hello Bella," I smiled. I looked around and sighed. "Its getting late- I've got to get home."
The Cullens and the flock nodded, but the indian-like people exchanged curious and wary glances.
Seth prodded my arm with his index finger. "Hey- Derek?"
I looked up. "Hm?"
"Um..." He murmured nervously. "Where are you going to go, exactly?"
"I think I'm going to go home...?" I said in a questioning tone, wondering what he meant.
"Do you, you know, have a home to go home to?"
I froze. Hadn't been expecting this... Crap. What am I going to say?
I cleared my throat. "Well... Of course I do." Technically, we just claim land and call it home, so if I camp out in the woods, I'm not lying to the kid. Right?
"You... sure?" He eyed me, and the other indian-like people did, too.
I smiled warmly. "I'm positive." I stood and ignored the curious glances from the flock and the Cullen Clan as I walked out. I turned and waved before walking down the gravel road that led Emily's house out of the woods. I had the feeling someone was watching me, but shrugged it off. Paranoia was never my thing.
"Huh..." I murmured, staring at a large paw print about a mile away from Emily's home. "Odd... too big to be a wolf... too small to be a bear... cougar, maybe? Nah... what cougar would be here?" I gestured around to the wet and driping brances of the cold forest. "Ugh... Now I'm talking to myself... that's great, Derek. Real professional."
"Yeah, I suppose it is." A voice –which sounded like it was grinning- said from behind me. I didn't freak out. I knew who it was. I smiled.
"Yo, Gideon," I turned as I heard him walking closer.
"Hey, man! I heard about you're mission!" He held a hand up to high five but I raised an eye brow. He slowly lowered his hand. "What?"
I kneaded my head with my knuckles. "I dunno, really. All this green is getting to me."
He eyed me. "Hey, you need a place to crash?" He'd always looked out for me- I was the little brother he never had and he was the big brother I never had. It sort of just... played out that way. We met at the school and have been practically inseperable ever since.
"That'd be great."
His face split into another grin. "Cool. C'mon, I found an empty little cottage somewhere." (A/N: No, it isn't Edward and Bella's cottage. If you actually pay attention, Bella isn't a vampire yet, so Esme and Alice and them haven't built it, yet.)
"Seriously?" I cocked my head to the side. "Empty when you got there? Or did you scare 'em all off?"
He punched my arm and I grinned.
He huffed slightly and started walking away. I watched, wondering if I was still welcome at that rude remark. After he got pretty far away –but still in eye sight- he turned and laughed. "Aren't you coming? C'mon, I don't got all night, squirt!"
I rolled my eyes and started to run to catch up. This was playing out nicely, I had to admit.