Max didn't like me, that I was sure of. Even from the get-go I was perfectly nice to her, and despite everything I had heard and seen about her I was going to give her a chance. But nooo, she wanted to be all "let's be mean to the new girl just because I don't want her to join my family because I'm the leader and we don't have room for her here and she might like Fang and the truth is that I'm secretly in love with him so she can't be allowed near him and the kids like her and I might lose them and she doesn't have wings which just makes a big complication for us ecetra, ecetra..." for no apparent reason.
Well, actually, if we were getting technical, I just gave a super long reason. But you know what I'm getting at, right?
"Don't worry, she'll come around." next to me, little Angel patted my knee soothingly. I smiled down at her sadly. I had almost forgotten that the six-year old could read minds, a fact that wasn't as freaky as it should be. But really, people. I see the future. I'm used to the weirdness.
I nodded at her and leaned back in my seat. We were all crammed into a tiny jet plane, heading toward Arizona. Why six kids who had wings and were perfectly capable of flying there were on a plane was a mystery to me. But whatever floats their boat, I guess.
I turned to look out into the two-foot wide isle, scooping out the rest of the kids just to see what was going on. That's me, nosy to the extreme but always in the know. It's a win-win. Anyway, there were only two seats in the entire passenger area and they held three each, though we had cramped four into mine. I was sitting with little Angel, Nudge and the Gasman, who was currently sound asleep against the circular window. Across from us was Iggy, Fang and Max. I didn't see the point of the three biggest kids jammed into one seat, but Max had been head of that decision and was adamant that Fang was to sit with her, since she was super protective of her not-so lover, and that Iggy was there because he had spent the thirty minutes prior to the flight being quite friendly. To say it in a nice way.
And of course Max didn't even want to breath the same air as me, so that was a done deal before she had even thought it over. I sighed softly and layed my head back against the black leather. My hand automatically went the small, black bundle in my lap and I stroked the soft fur more to comfort myself than anything else. Total stretched out his legs and yawned, and then went straight back to sleep.
Without warning, my vision began to shimmer around the edges, blurring everything around me until it was nothing but complete blackness. As soon my sight disappeared, another image appeared. It was a grassy area somewhere, like a backyard of a suburban house. Trees lined the edge of the yard, and the sun was casting their long shadows across the yard; it was about five o'clock, then. Front and center were two people, very familiar although we had just met. One was tall and lean in stature, and the other just as well of if not a little more soft. The first one, I recognized from the striking looks and dark hair, was saying something with a slight upturn of his lips. Across from him, a scowling blonde made an angry face, squared off, and punched him smack in the nose.
Everything shimmered again, and I could make out the shapes of the interior of the plane again. I blinked once to clear my eyes and then furrowed my brows. I heard Angel giggle into her palm quietly; she had surely seen everything, since she was more focused on my mind than the others. I smiled at her, just because she found humor in the situation.
"Um, Max?" I turned toward the other seat with questioning eyes. Three sets of eyes stared back at me: calm, dark ones; milky gray ones; and irritated brown ones. "Is there any reason you would be punching Fang anytime soon?" I asked sincerely. I was fighting to keep my face straight, but then Iggy burst into laughter and I lost it along with him.
