I love you guys :) So here's a fast-update present for you. –grin– So for those few who didn't get it, at the pot hole, Fang "accidentally groped her", to quote Someoneyoudontknowprobably. Haha. And no, I'm not some weird pervert. :D

Oh and did anyone notice, what the heck happened to Gazzy? Haha I totally forgot about him until I re-read chapter 13. My bad! Let's just say he happily skipped back and continued "enjoying nature". Oh and LovelyNBlue, Natalie & Zelda aren't witches. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or any characters associated with the story.

Chapter 14: The Deep Dark Secrets Some Teachers Keep

"Ew."

"This is just plain gross," I said, looking at the fishballs in the fridge. Flies were buzzing around the leftover food – you name it, Mr. Danny's got it. Fishballs, chicken wings, ribs, sausages. Geez. And I don't even know how the flies could have gotten into the fridge.

"I'm not eating that," Fang said, a horrified expression on his face.

"But you've been groaning about fish balls!" I protested, smirking.

"You know I was just pretending," he said. I used a fork and dug a fishball out. A few flies followed it. I put on my best serious look, and looked at Fang.

"Come on, be a good boy," I said. I was laughing hysterically inside at the expression on his face. And you know Fang doesn't usually show emotion, so he was obviously pretty terrified.

"No," he said and covered his mouth with his hand. I smiled the most wicked smile I could muster (being with Iggy has its perks) and brandished the fork with the fishball on it. Fang gave it one look, locked eyes with me, and dashed up the stairs.

Laughing, I chased him.

Once I was upstairs, I met a shut door. I hammered on it.

"Fang, open the door!" I said.

Silence.

"Fang!" I shouted. "Open up!"

Silence.

"Alright, I won't make you eat the fishball! Now will you please open the door and let me in?" I said.

Still no response.

"I'm going down!" I shouted and walked away.

Silence.

I wonder what he was doing.

I trooped down the stairs, letting Fang be. Boys will be boys, after all. Weird, alien creatures. I threw the rotten fishball into the dustbin and washed the fork. Then I switched on the television. I wonder when Fang would decide to come down.

However, after half an hour of waiting and no Fang showing up, I reached the decision that something must definitely be wrong.

"Fang! You open this door right now, you hear me!" I shouted, hammering on the door as loudly as I could. Maybe he had fallen asleep. What if he fainted? Oh gosh no, please no.

I heard some movement in the room and heaved a sigh of relief. After a while, the door creaked open.

"Yo," Fang said. I rolled my eyes at him.

"What've you been doing in there?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Really?" I asked, incredulous. Can't be. "Then what have you been doing for the past thirty three minutes and – " I looked at my watch. " – twenty eight seconds? Definitely not sleeping!"

Oh shit.

I did not just say that.

"Thirty three minutes and twenty eight seconds?" Fang repeated, eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Um. Nothing," I said and flushed. The sides of Fang's lips twitched, and he finally smiled.

"Alright, I'll show you," he finally stated and pulled me into the room which I finally realized was Mr. Danny's. It was full of things. Jeez, for a four-day chalet, this guy sure brought a whole lot of stuff.

"Look at that," Fang said and pointed to a pile of books in a corner.

"What's that?" I asked. Then, a horrifying thought crossed my mind. "Wait, Mr. Danny reads porn?!"

"No, silly," he said and pulled me there. I saw a pile of romance novels. Actually, I didn't even know what those books were about until I saw the top of the pile, which was a book called Crockett's Seduction. (A/N: Thank Google. I have nothing to do with it!) And then it was pretty obvious what those books were.

"Ew. Ew ew ew ew ew!" I said, grossed out. "Mr. Danny reads these kind of books?! EW!"

I picked it up and rifled through the pages. Some pages were crinkled and folded. I read one, wondering why, and immediately regretted that decision.

"Ew," I said and threw the book back onto the pile. Fang was laughing silently to himself.

"Look at that," he said and pointed to a photo on the bedside. That certainly made me curious, and I walked to the bedside table and examined the framed photograph.

It was a picture of Mr. Danny and a bald guy. They were both grinning from ear to ear and had their arms around each other. I had a bad feeling about this, but maybe they were good friends?

There was another photo behind it and I picked it up.

The sight of it made me gag.

It was a picture of Mr. Danny and that same baldie kissing.

ZOMG! – to quote Nudge.

"H – h – he – he's – he's GAY!" I managed.

I heard Fang chuckle.

"Oh my GOSH, I never knew. No wonder he's so weird! But, I still can't believe it. Mr. Danny's GAY!"

Fang chortled.

"Priceless," he said.

"What is?"

"Your expression," he said.

I scowled. I probed the room for any more pictures of the couple. Not that I was curious or anything.. I just wanted to know, you know. Ugh. Never mind.

A book nestled under the pillows on the bed caught my attention.

"What's that?" I asked and reached over to pull the book out. It was a copy of Pride and Prejudice.

The book was opened to the twenty-ninth page. What was the book doing there?

Fang shifted his weight uneasily from one leg to the other.

Then it clicked.

"You've been reading Pride and Prejudice, haven't you?" I accused.

"No!" he replied, a little too quickly and a little too loudly, if you ask me.

"Fang, Fang, Fang." Oh gosh I love saying his name. "Why would you be reading romance books?"

Fang

I sighed as Max asked me that question.

It was the stupidest question she had ever asked. For someone so intelligent, she could be an idiot sometimes. The answer was just so freaking obvious! I groaned inwardly. I should have found a better hiding place for the book.

The answer, Max was because of you. How else was I going to know what girls like? How else could I learn about how to win your heart, Max?

Fang was silent for a while.

"Idiot," he mumbled and pulled me into a tight embrace. Idiot? I tried to comprehend his actions while I stared at his shoulder.

I used to remember the time when I had been taller than him. Ha-ha. And now – BAM – Fang's grown as tall as a giraffe.

But I digress.

I felt his hand pull my face upward and saw the softened expression on his face. The way he was looking at me reminded me of how Angel looked at Celeste. And you know how much that kid loves her bear. She'd die, no she'd kill, for it. But I shouldn't flatter myself. Fang, loving me?

"Weirdo in love," he whispered and pulled me into a warm embrace.

His voice rang in my head, like a bell. I hadn't given that much thought then, but now?

"What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly.

"You," I muttered and looked down. I looked up to see him grinning like a maniac.

This guy was definitely becoming some emotional ball of yarn during these few days. Few strings running loose. Or was it screws? Dang, why does Fang keep muddling my thoughts up?

"Max," he said in a weird voice. He leaned down and kissed me, softly and sweetly.

"I love you."