Hey!

This is chapter six! :D

Thanks for the reviews! It helps a lot. :) But do I really deserve it? Hmm.

So do me a favor and leave one after this!

Sorry it took long, though..

My mouth fell open when I saw who was outside. He looked clean, neat and dashing. His face was familiar - it brought me fear and sympathy. I knew him, yes, I did, I just couldn't exactly pinpoint who he was.

"May I come in, Max?" he asked. I definitely knew him. From his large features and husky voice, a bell rings in my head. Then it struck me.

"Jeb?" I asked nervously. He chuckled. My eyes widened. Why is he in my apartment?

"No." he said. I could've sworn that he was Jeb. A younger version though..

"Oh my God, Ari?!" I asked, awestruck. He smiled at me. God, he looked a lot like Jeb, his father, the traitor. Yeah, I guess I couldn't get over that.

My eyes looked like it was about to fall out. He was giggling in satisfaction, I guess.

"Yeah, it's me." he said normally, as if we were both normal. Then I remembered : Ari?!

I suddenly went into my fighting stance, ready to knock him down. I haven't gotten much practice ever since I started living the life the flock wanted. I narrowed my eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I asked icily. He raised his hands in innocence and said, "I - I'm not here to hurt you." he said, sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry." he said.

I didn't relax from my position. Who knows what he has in mind? Oh right. Angel does. But she's not here in the moment. I'll have to make use of what I can.

"I - I'm really sorry. I want us to be.. friends again." he said. There was something about his voice that crept me out when he said "friends". Suspicion was crawling all over me. I didn't know whether to trust him or not. He did really bad things to us before. A simple apology just couldn't make up for that. Still..

As if reading my mind, Ari asked me, "Do you want to have lunch together? I hope that'll make up for what I did to you before.." he asked me. I raised my eyebrow in suspicion. "You want to have lunch with me?" I asked in shock. "First, you want to kill me. Then you want to have a normal lunch with me?" I asked. He looked down in embarrassment. "I guess. I told you - I'm really sorry." He said, his eyes pleading.

I looked at him and saw his childhood - full of torture and neglect. If you thought my life was horrible, wait till you know how Ari's life had been.

I now relaxed myself and looked at him in sympathy. "Fine. But you promise not to kill me?" I asked jokingly. Although it could happen. He nodded.

"How'd you know where I lived anyway?" I asked. He blushed. "Oh. Well. When you and your flock destroyed Itex, my dad left and headed for you. I wanted to come with him, but he said no. He didn't find you, so I wandered around this little town and saw you, seven years ago. I was um, following you the whole time. I didn't think that you'd even talk to me." he said. I felt guilty - he didn't have proper shelter for the past seven years because Jeb left him and he was too frightened of me. I'm not scary - am I?

"Look. I know that Jeb loved you and I bet that he still does." I said, trying my best to convince him. It wasn't a lie though. He didn't look convinced even one bit. "No he doesn't. All he cares about is his precious flock this, precious flock that! He cares about you more than he cares about me! He never saw the good things I have done, only the bad ones! He doesn't even want me in his life!" he yelled, his eyes full of rage and jealousy. He was fourteen, I guess, but he looked more vulnerable now. His eyes began to fill with tears and he looked really hurt. His whole childhood was full of violence, anger and neglect. It made me feel horrible. I took a deep breath, regaining my courage. He scared me a bit. What if he gets really mad and morphs? He's a lot bigger now.

"I'm quite sure that Jeb lo -" he cut me off and yelled in my face, "do NOT say that! It's not true! It never was, never will! If he did, he would've taken me in! If he did, he would've put posters around looking for me! But did he?! NO!" he yelled. I was frightened now. Ari and I were fighting - not the usual one, but by words. You should know by now that he's winning. I gave up.

"Alright.." I said in a hushed tone. "I'm sorry too." I said. He looked at me and saw what he did to me. His eyes suddenly looked softer and calm and then he said, "Oh. I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to scare you.." he said in a tone just as hushed as mine. This was something I never expected to happen in my life. Ari was saying sorry to me and I was saying sorry to him too. I never knew it was possible. He took a deep breath and suddenly hugged me. Words cannot describe how weird I feel right now. Shocked? Awestruck? Dumbfounded? Put it all together and it still wouldn't be complete. "I'm so sorry, Max." he whispered in my hair. This has to be a dream.

But it wasn't.

I sat on the soft, luxurious chair in a fancy restaurant I never knew existed.

It was so weird. I'm in a restaurant, not a diner.

Weirder, I'm eating something French.

Weirdest, I was eating normal lunch across from Ari.

Am I crazy or does this seem like a date?

I kept quiet while I ate this something-ala-french and Ari ate his food too. We were still mutants, so we ate like mutants. "Fancy" people around us were staring at us, making disgusted faces at how we ate. I felt embarrassed, so I put the napkin on my lap and ate slower.

NOT.

Instead, I ate faster and more.. disgusting, if you may. The people around us were so grossed out that some of them left without finishing their food. The manager glared daggers at me. I smiled and waved with something in my mouth.

"I have to leave in a few minutes. I'm still looking for another job." I took a deep breath, remembering that this new life I chose was not all about flying, eating, sleeping and surviving. I was about to say something about work when Ari said, "Fang is not your boyfriend, is he?" he asked curiously. What was he up to?! I thought suspiciously. "Umm, I don't know?" I said, unsure of the answer. I really didn't know though. He mouthed the word "Oh." then said, "So is it alright if we have dinner tonight?" he asked me uneasily. "Isn't this lunch enough? Plus, you're probably spending a fortune. How'd you even get the money?" I asked. He smiled dopily. "Well. I'm actually the head of this restaurant." he said. My eyes widened. Then why the heck was that guy giving me look that meant, "Get out" when he knew I was eating with his "boss"? And I thought he was poor! Yay, more confusions. I shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think Fang has- " he cut me off again and said, "Max, you're the most beautiful and amazing person I have ever known." he said, a weird smile on his face. Shocked, awestruck, dumbfounded, surprised - whatever.

All I know was that brothers don't say that to sisters.

So, are we still in that category?

Yay! Chapter Six is done.. kind of short, but I liked it. Not sure if you would, too.

Anyways. Review!

BTW.

In my fanfic, the third book never happened and Ari doesn't have that expiration date anymore.

If there's any confusions, please ask! Thanks.

Hope you enjoyed! :)