I felt a cool breeze wash over my body and struggled to open my eyes, feeling as if I'd has part of my memory totally wiped away. Then, as I wrestled away the dragging weariness, I realized that I was surrounded.

Jerking out of my trance, I clumsily rose to my feet, scrambling away from the strange people and placing my fists in a defensive position that I had learned from Kartik.

Then it hit me and sent my brain spinning. Where was Kartik?

I glanced around wildly and managed to ask the staring minors where my partner had gone, and the oldest girl, who was obviously the leader of the group, anwered unhelpfully, "He's coming."

I started at her American accent, finding that I was starting to remember what had happened before I fainted. This led me all the way from suddenly being transported from the realms to a strange cave, all the way up to.... 2009?!

I felt panic rising in my chest and pushed it back down, telling myself that I would be trully pathetic if I passed out twice from the same news. Recapping from the beginning, I tried to figure out what had happened.

I had finally persuaded Kartik to come with me into the realms, using the slightly weak logic of his rebellion from the Rakshana. Though any member of the organization could not enter the realms, Kartik was no longer part of their secretive mission. He was at first absolutely set in his beliefs, but then became more susceptible to my... charm. Eventually, a reluctant Indian had entered the beautiful garden with me.

I'd looked around at the awesome scene before me and then turned to Kartik, who stood awe-struck a few steps behind me. "This.. this is the garden?"

I had raised an eyebrow at him and smartly replied, "I should hope so, for if not, I'm afraid we've stumbled into an identical magic garden."

He had glanced at the smirk that had laid itself on my lips and smiled too.

We began to walk along the river, and in what seemed like seconds we were locked together on the riverbanks, lips raging passionately. My body began to heat quickly as I recounted the way we had eventually fallen to the earth, kissing vigourously. My hands had roamed to his chest as his travelled hungrily down my sides, fingering the hem of my chemise. His shirt was shed quickly and my nightgown began to ride up my leg until parts of myself still unknown to me were nearly exposed.

Our indecency was terrible, though none of that had even brushed my conciousness as I boldly pushed my tongue into his mouth, engaging us both in a hidden battle for dominance. We rolled and twisted in the thick grass, the sun beating down upon our backs with just enough warmth as my fingers wrapped around the waistband of his trousers...

My erotic daydream was interrupted by a almost silent brush of leaves from the forest, and I looked towards the trees at the same time as the strange children that stood warily in front of me. Out of the greenery came the very same person who I had been thinking of only a second before, half running towards the mis-matched group on the sand.

Kartik reached us quickly, rushing to me and glancing around at our unwanted company. Making sure that he was touching me in some way, I trully observed the people for the first time. At least three of them were taller than me, which was surprising seeing as I was quite tall and I had a feeling that they were younger than us.

The other three probably stood around my shoulders, though they had a child-like light in their eyes that betrayed their adolescence. The genders were evenly balanced, I saw, glancing at the three boys and three young ladies standing all together.

I glanced at the leader and saw that she was ready to speak, but avoided her glance and continued to scrutinize the children. She was flanked by two men taller than her, one dark and foreboding and one that somehow seemed lighter. His icy eyes wandered around before locking on Kartik and I, standing with our arms protectively around each other. I realized how pathetic I was, relying totally on a man to keep me safe, and broke away stubbornly, addressing the rather arrogant looking girl.

"I am Gemma Doyle. This is Kartik."

She nodded and returned the gesture without taking her eyes off of me. "Maximum Ride. This is my family."

Immediately I scoured the group for any sort of resemblance, finding nothing but a small similarity between the two shortest members.

"You are not related." I blurted out before I could stop myself. Maximum lifted her head and spoke with sincerity.

"We're family enough." It took me a moment to translate her sentence into proper English, then I did away with the formalities.

"Where are we?"

She gave me a slightly incredulous look and then spoke carefreely, with a spike of pity in her voice. "We're near Disneyland.'' All I could do was stare at her and open and close my mouth a few times.

"Ah..." There was no point in trying to pronounce the rediculous word, so I nodded again. Kartik suddenly spoke, sounding less lost than I did.

"Thank you for... flying, her down here." I whipped my head around to look at him, to the amusement of everyone that stood on the beach except for me.

"What?!" Maximum smiled and wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, giving a rather short explanation. "We brought you down here after you fainted."

Now she glanced at the dark boy, who nodded almost inperceptibly.

"Well, we actually flew you down." At this she stretched her shoulders and suddenly a pair of magnificent wings stretched forth from her back, fanning out into a beautiful array of golden brown feathers flecked occasionally with white. Kartik gasped and I looked at him with a sudden realization.

"Kartik! We must have ventured even further into the realms!" He stared at me and I continued, oblivious to the gazes that lingered curiously on my face.

"These must be creatures, like the Untouchables, and the gorgon!" He seemed to accept this easily, and I suddenly felt glad that I had told him all about my adventures in the realms with Felicity and Ann. The six magical beings were staring at us with eyes wide as dinner plates.

It was my turn to laugh, looking at their bewildered expressions. This time it was only my voice that rang out over the water. Suddenly Maximum interrupted.

"Okay. I think it's time for you two to get talkin'."

I sighed and looked at the solemn people around me, feeling awfully alone in my bubble of understanding. Looking around, they were all staring at me with different feelings layed out of their faces. Disbelief, anger, amusement, and.... admiration?

I saw that the dark one, the light one and the little exotic one all seemed to approve of something I had said or done. But it was the dark one that made me wonder. He looked amazed at my image, and wasn't even attempting to cover it up with a smooth mask like Kartik did so often. Maximum followed my gaze and saw him ogling me strangly.

Her face turned red and she glared menacingly at him, with an overall appearance that even I was scared of. He turned his gaze from me and flinced as he met hers, then struggled not to look at either of us, instead focusing on the sand under his futuristic footwear. I giggled suddenly and doubled over, looking up at them between bouts of laughter.

The dark one (I decided to dub him Ink) was grinning as well, getting the untold joke. I couldn't help but think that the two acted like an old, married couple. I let the laughter slip away and found that I was quite enjoying this new part of the realms; it was much more amusing than the ruins, or even the garden. Even the light one (Feather) was smiling softly.

I had managed to break the tension, and uttered a short sentence in place of the giggling. "I guess we had better explain, though I don't see how it's necessary."

Everyone agreed, but suddenly Maximum's leadership instincts kicked in. "We better find a place to stay first; I think we all need some rest."

Kartik and I agreed eagerly. In moments, she had come up with a plan to enter the nearby town and rent some sort of sleeping area. Given that we did not have wings and that these people could not fly in broad daylight, we decided to walk into town as a group of travelling protesters for some world cause or other. At least, that was how Maximum explained it.

I followed along and promised to try to behave like a futuristic American. We fell into groups as we walked, and I eventually drifted from Kartik to Maximum, seeing that she was walking solo at the front of the little group. I drew up beside her and paused for a second.

"Well..."

She smiled a bit and answered. "Yeah...."

We laughed a little bit and I found that she wasn't quite as tightly bound as she seemed. She asked me about Kartik, and I replied slowly, "Er, he's just a close aquaintance of mine."

She snorted and turned her eyeballs momentarily to the sky. "Sure."

I detected a strong dose a sarcasm injected into her one syllable answer, and whined back haughtily.

"I am being absolutely honest. Really, I am." She flicked her hand and dismissed the excuse.

"Then where did those ever-so-interesting marks on your neck come from?"

I struggled to snap back with a retort, but nothing came to mind. She smiled triumphantly. "You two are obviously a little bit more than aquaintances, Gemma."

With this sentence she reminded me greatly of Fee, but I saw that she was in fact a better person than my self-absorbed friend. Maximum cared for her family and looked after them. Felicity would sacrifice me any day for a new pair of kid gloves.

I found eventually that Maximum was not a creature from the realms, but a person, one whose existence I could no longer explain. I shrugged those thoughts away and told myself that all would be revealed in less than half of an hour. Meanwhile we chatted on, somehow developing a bond in the short walk. Something told me that we were actually similar people, the sort that got along with each other quite easily.

I began telling her about how Kartik and I had developed a secret relationship despite society's boundaries, sneaking off into the forest every second night to talk and, more often, engage in most disgraceful and pleasantly horrible carnal activities. I could still recall our first time, writhing in passion on the forest floor...

Maximum pushed on my shoulder.

"So you two have...?"

My ever glowing cheeks reddened even further, and I nodded sharply, hoping that she didn't turn on us suddenly. Everything else had not bothered her, but surely losing my purity to an Indian, willingly, was at least a small felony. Apparently not.

Maximum blushed slightly as well and swallowed, looking embarrassed.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question." With a start I realized that she was embarrassed to even have asked about sex. Maybe this strong leader wasn't as totally matured as she seemed. I contemplated relieving her of the uncomfortable pause, but resolved to let her change the subject. If she really was anything like me, she would want to save her own dignity, not let me spare it.

Maximum coughed and then spoke again, having recovered. "How old are you two?"

I nearly smiled; I had been waiting to know if Maximum was older or younger than I'd thought. "I am sixteen. Kartik is approaching eighteen."

I saw her glance at me with stark surprise. "Really? You're pretty tall."

I shook my head. "Not nearly as tall as you! What is your age?"

"Fourteen." I almost stopped in my tracks. Fourteen?!

Bloody hell, this girl was just full of surprises. Managing to keep my stride, I only allowed for my eyes to widen.

"You are not serious." She looked almost humble as we walked.

"Yeah, I am. Iggy and Fang are younger than me." I cocked my head slightly, seeing Ink eyeing me mysteriously out of the corner of my eye.

"The tall ones." I realized that she was speaking of Ink and Feather, who both stood at least five inches taller than Maximum, and probably a whole head larger than me. Again I was amazed, and even started to believe Maximum's story about their illegal creation. Animal genes would explain a lot, though if not for the wings I would have brushed the ridiculous tale aside.

"Criminy..." She chuckled and nodded, and I got the impression that she felt sorry for me.

Just as me feet were going numb from the painful grit road, a town came into view. We were quite close, and I guessed that if we increased our pace a little bit we would arrive in time for my soles to be spared from shredding. I began to walk faster, and Maximum matched my pace. Soon we were all jogging, and suddenly the hybrids decided that we should run, and I was passed off to Ink.

Maximum gave him orders to carry me as they ran, explaining that because of their engineered DNA they could run faster than any human. I blinked and reluctantly allowed Ink to pick me up, bridal style. For some reason Maximum's eyes flashed suspicion, then she turned and gave the signal for her family to begin running.

Kartik ran behind, insisting that he would not be carried like a child. I would have stayed back with him, but my stomach was twisting in painful knots of hunger and Feather promised me that there was food in town. His voice was soft, like his name, and I found that it soothed me some, however apprehensive I was about being hauled like luggage by Ink, would somehow managed not to look either happy nor sad that he was to be burdened with me.

Maximum had suggested that we go 'piggyback', as she called it. Fang simply shrugged and I stayed in his arms, one behind my back and one in the crook of my knees. His skin was unnaturally hot against my exposed skin, and I found myself wishing that I had been transported here with proper clothing on, though that would have made me look even more out of place.

The girls were all wearing strange trousers made of a grained blue material. Maximum had explained that they were called 'genes', though I had trouble understanding that they were not considered the same thing as the genes that I knew of. They all wore men's shirts as well, worn and faded. My white dress must have looked quite out of place, however undecent to me.

The smallest one, who I named Angel, was wearing genes as well, but they were very short, almost as short as my dress, which had ridden up past the mid-thigh area. I didn't want to seem self-concious by pulling at it, and simply did not look, though Ink most certainly was.

I wished I could slap the pervert, but I would most definitely by dropped, and after that probably attacked by the whole group, even Maximum, who I suppose could be considered my friend of sorts. Instead I glanced sheepishly up at him and saw that he was actually looking down at my face now.

Maybe the boy was not as sly and wanting as I had thought. I smiled at him and he stared back for a split second before jerking his head away, his jaw twitching ever-so-slightly.

What did that mean?

I grinned warmly at him for moment and then turned my eyes to the strange building we had slowed at. I saw that everyone was settling into smooth walks as we approached the little station. There were strange contraptions outside of it, with large metal objects sitting by them. I saw that these colourful things had wheels, and blinked. Those were automobiles?

We did not stop at the building but continued into town, Kartik and I straining our necks to look back at the colourful objects that sat by the building, humming softly.

Finally Maximum snorted and I realized that I was acting rather conspicuous. A blush rose to my cheeks as I turned my head away, hoping that Kartik followed suit.

We approached the town.

We met a large, paved road, on top of which the strange vehicles were zooming past each other at different speeds. To our right was a shabby old restaurant, judging by the smells coming out of a vent in the wall. And beside it was a longer building that sported no decoration other than a blinking sign that announced "MOTEL" to the world. Spotting it, Maximum angled our course.

I began to feel nervous as we approached the indecent little place, and the disgusting man that sat behind a pane of cracked glass. He was surveying our group as we approached, his eyes lingering on my body far too long. This reminded me once again of my clothing, and the heat returned to my cheeks.

I gave him a hard glare at the same time that Maximum grunted unhappily, apparently just as frustrated with the man as I was. She came right up to his booth and said rudely, "Listen, we need about two rooms, and quick."

The man squinted at her and began to speak in a drowned tone.

"Just how ol-"

"No questions, please," interrupted Maximum as she slid a few papers through the round hole in the glass. A curt nod from the man and silence fell as he dug out two rusty old keys, passing them through the glass with a bored expression.

Without even a good-bye, Maximum led us towards the very end of the motel. She stood in front of two doors and thought for a moment. Then she janded one key to Feather, and kept one for herself.

"Ig, you take the little guys. Us four'll take the other room." Feather just nodded and brushed past Maximum, pushing the key into the lock. Maximum turned and opened our room, entering first with a wary gait. She checked every room and returned looking slightly more relaxed.

"All clear." Taking this as I signal to enter as well, I walked into the room and looked around. It was a small space with a tiny bathroom over at the far wall. Two small beds seperated us from it, and a landscape painting was hung precariously on one wall. There was a shiny box sitting on a low table across from the beds, with little strings snaking from it the the wall. I stepped daintily forwards.

"What is this?" Ink looked at me skeptically, then smiled as if thinking I was cute somehow. I pouted at him and he explained softly.

"It's a TV. Probably doesn't work." Ink strode over to the contraption and pressed a button. It didn't respond. He shook his head.

"Nope."

I sighed and decided to ignore it, instead opting to sit heavily on the closest bed. I felt more than ready to lay down and rest my mind and body for a few hours. Kartik joined me silently. We sat in silence and eventually I wormed my hand into his, seeking comfort in the cramped, unfamiliar space. He squeezed lightly, letting me know that he was there.

Suddenly, Maximum coughed loudly. "So, um.... I guess two people sleep on the floor."

I glanced at Kartik and he looked as confused as I was. I shrugged.

"Why, Maximum?" She looked at me and a blush crept up from her neck.

"Oh, well, I guess you two could share, then. Um, I'll just make myself a bed on the, er- floor."

Katrik looked at me, most likely thinking that I would be able to explain Maximum's behaviour better than he could. I shrugged again. Finally, Kartik spoke up.

"Aren't you two, ah, aquainted?" Maximum opened her mouth to speak, glancing sheepishly at Ink, who was staring at us impassively.

"No," she said. "Fang and I are siblings. Just siblings."

I suddenly felt embarrassed for my mistake, while Kartik was simply confused. It was true, I had sensed that something was going on between the two... something more than friendship. But apparently these two were determined to keep those feelings at bay. I felt a smile coming on and rushed to wipe my face clean, realizing what Felicity was feeling as she forced timid girls to tell her of scandalous happenings and figured out the secrets of others.

I had been right to keep my relationship with Kartik from her, and decided to let this particular mystery alone for the time being. I forced a wide yawn and crawled into bed, hoping that the others would follow my example and forget about the awkward conversation for the time being. Kartik caught a whiff of what I was up to and joined me.

"Well," he said sleepily, "I suppose we should be getting to bed now." Maximum nodded over-enthusiastically and began to search the tiny bathroom for supplies that she could make a sleeping area out of.

For a second I felt bad for her, having to scavenge for a bed. But then I thought of the perfectly sharable bed that she was refusing because she was in denial of her feelings for Ink, and the pity passed straight through. I watched as Ink climbed into bed, looking guilty. It had been rather ungentlemanly not to insist that Maximum took the bed.

His eyes met mine and I saw the strange look there as he gazed at me. It was a bit unnerving, and I turned over, curling into Kartik's arms. Sleep did not come, though. I was too well aware of Maximum shifting about in the dark as she completed her bed, then rearranged it over and over, in vain, it seemed. She did not become truly quiet for the better part of an hour.

Finally, smooth, deep breathing was the only sound keeping me awake. I stretched out a bit and Kartik's arms tightened around me slightly. I could not tell if he was awake, but all the same I snuggled in, feeling pathetic in a way. I shut my eyes though sleep would not take me, and wished it all away.

The comfort of Kartik's embrace helped me pretend we were back in London, using what time we could find alone to love each other. This had been rather successful until my holiday ended, and I was shipped back to Spence, where I was forced to escape most nights in order to meet him. This was becoming an increasingly regular routine, one that flowed smoothly like a well oiled machine.

I was beginning to believe that it could go on forever, when we were shot through time and space to this strange land. I was even beginning to lose faith in the realms transporting us back, after a tiring and rather hopeless afternoon. I struggled to drown my sadness and daydreamed of my coming season, which did help some, surprisingly.

Just then, I heard a sound coming through the walls. Whispers seeped through the strange building material and met my ears. An occassional moan erupted from the quietness. My lips curled upwards as I realized that Maximum and Ink were not the only secret lovebirds in their group.

I could guess easily who it was: Feather and the tallest girl other than Max. The others could not be over the age of ten. The moans stopped abruptly and the whispering resumed, even louder and more urgent than before. Their hushed conversation suddenly made me feel lonely, and I wondered if the sounds had awakened Kartik as well.

I was answered as Kartik whispered in my ear, "Looks like these people have more secrets than we originally thought."

"Apparently, yes," I answered, and tilted my head to kiss his lips softly. He responded, kissing me back passionately as his hands moved to press against my back. I slipped my tongue into his mouth daringly, and we were ingaged in a battle suddenly. An involuntary moan escaped my lips, embarrassingly loud.

Blush heated my cheeks and I froze for a moment, but Kartik urged me on.

"They're asleep anyway," he said huskily. I nodded and resumed my former actions, moving my hands to his neck. His weight was on top of me now, and I welcomed it greedily, wrapping my arms about his neck and kissing him harder. I could feel my lips bruising already. His mouth moved to my neck, kissing and sucking at the untarnished skin. I moaned again, arched my back slightly. I knew that we were becoming rather loud, enough to risk waking either Ink or Maximum, but my whole body was enveloped in a warmness that kept me going.

I rid him quickly of the cotton shirt that separated my fingers from his body, throwing it over the side of the bed. My hands enjoyed their new freedom sliding up and down his toned chest, taking in the sensation of his body.

He grunted as I grasped his shoulder tightly, and in an unspoken consensus, we worked together to slide me out of my nightgown. Kartik tossed it as well, then his hands cupped my breasts as I began inching his trousers down with my heels, unable to take my hands from his body.

I'd nearly ridden him of them when, jarringly, a voice spoke loudly just across from us.

"Will you two just quit it? I'm about to puke!" I jolted upwards, holding the sheets to my body as shock registered. Maximum's voice sounded angry, and for some reason, embarrassed. I felt incredibly shameful as well as I thought of how loud we must have been. Kartik sat up as well beside me, and I felt him pulling his pants back up from his knees and I fumbled for my chemise, which he had carelessly thrown.

I let the sheets fall off of my body, realizing that no one could make anything out in the unbroken darkness. A sharp intake of breath came from Ink's bed and I swallowed tightly and said, "Um, s-sorry."

"You better be. That was disgusting."

I blushed furiously as Ink's rarely heard voice came from the same direction, sounding nearly the same as Max's, and even a bit.... jealous?!

Max's POV

When I'd finally managed to arrange some kind of beddish thing, I settled in and closed my eyes, begging for sleep to just come already. It didn't.

Partially because of the sounds coming from the other side of the room. I knew that it must be Gemma and her boyfriend talking (I couldn't remember the guy's name for the life of me), but it sounded like it was coming through the wall.

Listening closer, I realized that it was Iggy's voice, joined by Nudge's. What were they talking about?

A couple moans came too, and I immediately stiffened. What the hell were those two doing? They began to quiet down, but then started talking more loudly, as if arguing. Finally, Ig and Nudge fell totally silent, and I eased myself down from my propped up position, leaning on my elbows. Eventually I laid down again, just as the murmurs started up again.

But these were closer. And it was definitely not Iggy's or Nudge's voice this time. Now it really was Gemma and her boyfriend. I relaxed a bit, but then the noises started.

They were more intense than whatever the kid's next door had been doing, and a great deal more frequent. I began to blush as they grew louder. Gemma's soft voice was gasping slightly, almost sounding out of breath. And then, ah, Kartik (that's his name!) was groaning too, a guttural and low sound.

I was getting extremely uncomfortably by the time I thought of a good word to describe the noises they were making.

Horny.

I shivered and my ears began to burn as I heard fabric rustling. Maybe I should get up and tell them I was awake. But what would I say?

"Um, hey there! You know you guys were being awfully loud, and I'd really prefer it if you didn't have sex within hearing range of me and my flock. Thanks!"

No, thank you. I decided to wait for them to quiet down, but it just got worse and worse. I was tensing up, trying to cover my ears without much success. I threw my pillow down and laid back again, squeezing my eyes shut.

They'll stop in a second, Max. They'll think of the children sleeping next door and give it up.

Give it up.

Give it up.

Give it-

That was when something landed in my face. I felt it warily, my eyes widening with shock as I identified a thin cotton shirt, the one that Kartik had been wearing today. I got up and walked over, bumping into Fang's bed as I did so.

"Max?"

"Yeah," I whispered. "You hear that?"

I guessed that he was nodded as he pushed a balled up piece of cloth into my stomach. I took it, already having guessed what it was. Yep. I was holding Gemma's dress, her only piece of clothing.

"Will you two just quit it?" I yelled. "I'm about to puke!"

Thankfully, they stopped right away and I heard them sitting up, no doubt feeling a teensy bit embarrassed. I was too, thinking of what could have happened. Gemma started stammering out an apology, sounding a bit shell shocked. Fang answered her.

"You better be." I nodded in the dark. "That was disgusting," he added, and I caught something in his voice that definitely should not have been there. Was Fang jealous?! Jealous of what?

I could feel rage boiling up as I remembered the looks he kept giving Gemma, with her beautiful red hair and glittering green eyes. Even her skin was perfect, porcelain coloured with little freckles everywhere. I kicked Fang in punishment.

"Ow! What was that for?" I didn't bother to reply, because he had probably guessed already.

"You know," I said, going back on my decision ot give him the cold shoulder. "We need to talk. Now."

Without another word I walked to the door and shoved it open, emerging into the cool night air. Jeez. That room had been hot, like how a car got fogged up when the two people inside were... yeah.

I unfolded my wings and took a running start, sailing upwards until I was gliding over the motel. I turned and headed into town, scanning for a rooftop to land on. I was fully aware of Fang following behind, knowing that approaching me right now would earn him a kick in the groin. I began to circled downwards, land softly on a roof.

Stubbornly, I turned away from Fang's approaching shape and stood there waiting for him. After a while, I was sure that he had turned and gone back, but then he tapped my shoulder. I spun around, raising my fists in a threat that wasn't really needed.

Fang smirked at me, standing with his hand in the pocket of the bunnyhug he had slipped on.

"So... what did you want to talk about?" I glared at him, turned slightly away and moving my hands to cross them over my chest.

"Why do you have to chase after every pretty redhead that you see?" I blurted out. "Huh? Give it a break already!"

Fang stared at me. "I don't know what you mean."

I snorted, jabbing my finger accusingly into his chest.

"I mean Gemma. Not only is she from the 1800's, but she's with someone! Those should be good enough reasons to stay away, but no.... you have to moon after her anyway!"

Fang frowned.

"Max, I don't see how that's any of your business."

He ignored my gaping mouth and went on casually. "I mean, I know you're the leader of the flock, but you're not my mother, and I'm not a little kid any more. Besides, I saw how you looked at her boyfriend!"

I blushed a little bit. "I only looked at him like that once! And it was just because I was shocked that he was even here!"

Fang shook his head.

"Yeah, right."

I glared at him in the dark, wishing that I could just plant my fist in the middle of his face.

"I'm not lying! It's not every day that a giant Indian gets poofed up right in front of your face!"

Fang snorted and looked stubbornly away. "He's not giant."

I smiled rested my hands on my hips in victory. A smug expression spread across my face as I drank in the feeling of righteousness that my competetive nature was giving me. Fang's dark eyebrows pulled together as he glowered at me.

"Whatever, Max. I haven't even done anything exept look at her, and you can't deny that."

I tossed my head in annoyance. "But you will, and I'm telling you to just give it up before you scar the poor girl for life."

"Give it a rest. I know it's just cause you're jealous."

"What?!"

My mouth dropped open again and I fought the urge to throw him off of the roof, not that it would do much damage with the wings.

"How could you even think that? You're my brother, and besides, you've been a total jerk lately!"

Fang stepped closer, mesmerizing me with his dark eyes. "I'm sorry."

I moved towards him, so that our toes were touching. I puffed up my chest, blushing as it brushed against his.

"You're sorry?!"

"Yeah."

I was about ready to deliver a roundhouse kick to his gut, but I settled for giving him a tongue lashing.

"Fang, you need a serious-"

That was when he kissed me. For a second, all that I could think about was his warm lips pushing against mine, and all I wanted to do was kiss him back. His body would feel so good beneath my hands, and I could-

Then, I jerked myself back to reality and pulled away, staring at him incredulously. We were still only a couple of inches apart from eachother, our lips closer than necessary.

"Fang, what the hell was that?" I wanted to kiss him again, more than anything. To feel his full mouth working against mine would be heaven- stop it!!

We were still so close, though.... his sweet breath was on my cheeks and I could feel the heat radiating off of him with even more intensity than usual. He looked embarrased and avoided my gaze.

"Max," he started uneasily. "I-I just-"

"Save it, asshole."

I backed away from him and towards the edge of the roof. He looked like he was just going to stand there and let me go when suddenly a blaring light flickered on beneath us.

"Hey!" shouted a voice. "What're you friggin' idiots doin' on my roof?!"

My heart skyrocketed and I reached the edge of the roof, looking downwards at the hazy shape that was shining a flashlight up at us. We decided on a course of action at the same time, taking a running leap off of the roof and back in the direction of the motel. Our wings snapped open at the same time and we soared upwards and away from the light and angry shouts that followed us half the way back the the room.

I stayed a good deal ahead of him the whole flight, letting him know how mad I was by the violent strokes that I took, forcing me upwards in bursts of power. His presence only a few hundred yards behind me was still unnerving, so I poured on some super-speed and sighed as I felt the world blurring around me. I peaked at about 250 miles per hour and came to a stop in front the of the motel.

I tucked my wings in as I walked up to the door, trying to make my pulse come down a few hundred beats. My face was so flushed I probably looked like a tomato.

Oh, well. I stuck the key in and we pushed inside, remembering to straighten my shirt just in time. I walked into a fully lit apartment, with Kartik and Gemma sitting together on the bed. She jolted as I came within hearing range and Kartik broke away from her hurriedly. I glanced at their swollen lips and guessed what had been going on before we'd walked in.

"Hey," I said casually. "You didn't have to wait up."

They both shrugged and Gemma offered an explanation. "We couldn't sleep."

I wondered if that sentence had a hidden meaning to it and brushed it away, sitting down on what had been Fang's bed.

"So..."

Gemma cocked her head at me and Kartik looked sort of amused. I felt my face reddening as I realized that they must have picked up something from my appearance.

"I thought you two weren't together," said Gemma. "Was I correct in my original assumption?"

I was too tired to laugh at her old-timey speech and just replied pathetically.

"We're not."

"Seems like you just were," she said disapprovingly, gesturing to my overall appearance. I glanced down at myself and sighed.

"I suppose it's best if we don't press you for details," intoned Kartik. I nodded and looked at him gratefully.

"Thanks." He inclined his head and I saw Gemma gazing at him with a weird, dreamy look on her face. I tried to see if he was making a face or something, but his dark curls were falling in front of those big chocolate eyes.

Whoa... chocolate eyes? Where did that come from???

I made myself look away from them and glanced at the door, where Fang was standing. How did he always manage to get around without me noticing?

I shot him a look, but he was already glaring at me accusingly.

Great. I'd just proved him right about the moony-eyed-staring-at-Kartik thing.

I gave him a desperate look and then saw that his eyes had focused on Gemma hungrily.

"Fang..." I warned, much to Gemma's surprise.

"What's going on?"

I shrugged it off and gave her a smile, my gaze darting from her to Kartik to Fang and back.

"Nothing." She seemed really confused, and I didn't blame her. The poor girl just got transported through time and space and now she was getting all tangled up in some teen sitcom.

"We're just having some flock problems."

It took Gemma a moment to remember what the flock was, then she nodded skeptically with a knowing glance at me and Fang.

"I don't see why you deny it. That you have feelings for each other, I mean."

My face turned beet red and Fang looked down at the floor, his eyes wide.

"We don't have feelings for eachother," I argued weakly.

"Yes, you do." Gemma's voice was matter-of-fact. "I'm not trying to lecture you, but you're lucky enough to be allowed to be together."

She glanced at Kartik, who seemed guilty all of a sudden. She shook her head at him and he smiled.

"You should take advantage of that."

I could feel a frown twisting my face already as I wondered what the hell had gotten in in their way. They sure weren't related. "You don't get it," I said wearily, keeping my eyes from wandering to Fang, who had taken a seat on my bed.

"You guys have had it easy, compared to us, I'll bet." Kartik snorted and chuckled quietly while Gemma joined him and looked at us like we were stupid.

"Ignorance at it's best," I heard Kartik mutter, and Gemma giggled loosely, with a sigh.

"Let me put it simply," started Gemma with exaggerated slowness. "Kartik is Indian. I am English."

She looked at me as I stared.

"So?" I said. She shook her head in frustration. "We. Can't. Be. Together. He would be killed."

"And she would be ruined," Kartik added. "It's basically against the law."

I stared at them in astonishment. "Are you kidding me?"

They looked back as if I was the weird one.

"We're serious." Gemma's voice was flat. "Isn't that the way here?"

"No," I said. "You can be with each other, no problem."

They both looked like deer in the headlights, eyes wider than softballs.

"Criminy...." whispered Gemma.

"Bloody hell..." Kartik agreed.

Then Gemma turned to Kartik, her face lighting up with a huge grin. "This is great!"

He smiled, too, and I got the feeling that this was a pretty big deal, easpecially when they started making out again right in front of us.

"Hey!" I said sharply, waving my arms. "We're here too, remember?"

Gemma blushed shyly and I saw Fang's admiring smile as she broke away and fiddled with her dress.

"Sorry, it's just...."

"Incredible." Kartik finished for her.

"Yeah, whatever," I said bitterly. "Just quit with the fuckin' make-out fests."

Again, they didn't get it.

"The kissing!" I said loudly, and they snapped to attention.

"Right."

I rolled my eyes and started digging under the covers of Fang's bed, which I was taking over.

"You get the floor, Fnick." He didn't argue, but I could tell he knew it was a punishment for being all weird with Gemma and being such an asshole in general. I reached over and yanked the lamp chain, plunging us all into darkness, but not before I saw Gemma and Kartik all curled up together in the next bed.

It sort of made me wonder. Did I want that sort of thing with Fang? Probably, since the thought of his toned muscles and warm hands lulled me to sleep some nights. Tonight happened to be one of those, and I could only pray that I wasn't muttering his name in my sleep all night long.

Like praying would help. Ugh.