Fang

I walk to the bus stop early, hoping I'll get to talk to Max alone for a couple of extra minutes but when I get there I see a man harassing Max. He grabs her arm and attempts to drag her away but I start running over to them and scream, "Leave her alone!"

The guy stops for a second to look at me and Max seizes the opportunity to yank her arm away from the man's grasp and jump a few steps away from him. The man lunges for her again but I jump on him, knocking him down. I've been fighting for years so even though the man is bigger than me and outweighs me by at least fifty pounds (probably more), I have just as much chance at winning the fight as he does. The man pushes me off him and punches me in the stomach. My breath leaves and I think I make a sound like, "oof!" as I double-over in pain.

"Fang!" Max screams.

Max

I leave for the bus earlier than Ella does as usual because I want to finally give Fang his notebook back. I've had it for nearly a month but I keep forgetting to give it to him. Plus, I like talking to Fang so I'm hoping he comes as early as he usually does. Then I see my dad's car. I blink, sure that I must be imagining it. Then of course my dad parks the car in front of me and walks to me.

"Come with me Maximum." My father orders.

I just stare, my eyes wide. How did he get out of prison? I wonder, frozen in place.

"Maximum this is no time for games. We are leaving now." He says.

He tries to grab my arm to drag me away when I hear a voice screaming, "Leave her alone!"

My dad looks at the source of the voice and relaxes his grip for a moment which is all I need. I yank my arm away and move away from my dad. My dad lunges at me but then I see Fang jump on him, knocking him down. My dad pushes Fang off him and punches Fang in the stomach, causing Fang to double-over in pain.

"Fang!" I scream.

My dad punches Fang over and over until Fang falls down. Then he looks at me. "See what you did Maximum? This is your fault." He sneers.

Fang jumps up and punches my dad in the face. My dad tries to fight back but Fang is relentless this time. It's like Fang had been waiting for the right time to attack or something. I can't do anything except watch.

Where did Fang learn how to fight? Will he teach me? Or will he even want to speak to me after this? Why is he defending me? I can't help but wonder.

When my dad gets a punch in, he plants it on Fang's nose. Blood squirts everywhere. It's awful. Fang keeps hitting at my dad but then my dad kicks Fang's feet out from under him and Fang falls down, hitting his head. My dad hits Fang in the head over and over and over.

"Fang!" I scream. Then I blindly lunge at my dad, pushing him away from Fang. "Enough is enough! You're mad at me, not him! Leave him alone!" I yell.

My dad looks at me, face full of fury and says, "Maximum, how dare you yell at me and tell me what to do. You have no right to do that. You are a failure. You were a failure when your brother died and you're a failure now."

"Ari's death wasn't my fault! Sorry I wasn't the son you wanted to replace him! Sorry I'm the daughter you never wanted! Now leave before I call the cops!" I scream, grabbing my cellphone out of my pocket.

My dad turns pale and says, "You would turn your own father in?"

"I've done it once, I'll do it again." I growl.

"Fine. I'll leave, but mark my words Maximum. I will be back and you will not like it. Nor will he." He gestures to Fang who's still unconscious, lying on his back on the sidewalk. "Neither of you will like what happens when I come back." My dad says.

"Go…now…" I say through gritted teeth.

My father gets in his car, gives me a rude hand gesture which I want to return but decide against it since that would just make it worse and then he drives away. I wait until he's out of sight and then I look at Fang. He's got a broken nose and some nasty cuts and bruises on his face. I can't help but wonder why nobody came to help. Is it normal for teenagers to get beaten to a pulp here?

"Fang?" I ask, sitting on the ground beside him.

He doesn't move.

"What happened to him?" a voice asks behind me.

I whirl around to see Iggy standing behind me, looking at both of us. I can't find any words to say.

"What happened to your arm?" Iggy asks.

I look at my arm; it's bruising already. "Long story." I manage to say.

"We need to get Fang to a hospital." Iggy says.

"No hospal." Fang slurs, stirring slightly.

"Fang?" I ask.

"Max?" He asks, opening his eyes.

"I'm so sorry." I whisper, feeling like I could cry but trying my hardest not to.

"Not your fault." Fang tells me, sitting up. He grimaces and rubs his head.

"Do you want us to call an ambulance for you?" I ask.

Fang shakes his head.

"But you might have a concussion." I argue.

"I'll just go to the school nurse." Fang shrugs.

"Dude, they'll just take you to the hospital." Iggy tells him.

"Sure, but this way I'll still have gone to school." Fang mutters.

"Max! The bus is here!" I hear Ella calls.

I look and sure enough the bus is here. How long was I trying to wake Fang up before Iggy got here? I wonder. It felt like only a few seconds but it must have been a few minutes. I look at Fang. "Can you walk?" I ask.

Fang stands up and says, "Yeah, I'm good."

Iggy laughs at me. "Oh Max, you're so worried about him. It's kinda sweet." He says.

I glare at Iggy and glance at Fang who smirks at tiny bit.

"Let's just go to the bus before they leave us." I sigh, rolling my eyes.

Fang sits by me on the bus. "Why did you apologize?" He asks.

"That was my dad." I say, trying hard to keep my voice free of emotion.

"What was going on before I got there?" Fang asks.

"He was trying to make me go with him." I say quietly.

"Why?" Fang asks in an equally quiet voice.

"I turned him in for child abuse." I whisper, trying not to think about that terrifying day.

"Where did he go before I woke up?" He asks.

"He left in his car after threatening to do something really bad when he returns." I whisper.

"What's he going to do?" He whispers.

"I don't know; he just said that you and I won't like it."

"Are you going to tell someone?"

"I should probably tell my mom but I don't want to worry her."

"You need to tell your mom. Otherwise, he might hurt you again."

I look at Fang; it's like his dark eyes are looking directly into my soul. "Why did you save me?" I ask in a tiny voice.

"You're my friend and he had no right to treat you like that. Nobody does." He says.

"Thank you." I whisper, looking him in the eyes. "Nobody has ever helped me before."

"They should have and you're welcome." He replies.

"Do you want me to walk you to the nurse when we get to school?" I ask.

"No thanks. I'm going to class. I'll deal with myself later. What are you doing today after school?"

"Fang, that's dangerous. You need to get your head checked."

Fang smirks. "That would have sounded like an insult had you not sounded so concerned."

"Fine; don't get your head checked. See if I care." I say, unable to keep from blushing as I cross my arms over my chest.

"What are you doing today after school?" Fang asks.

Now it's my turn to smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Fang frowns at me. "Well that wasn't very mature." He comments.

"That's what I was going for." I grin.

Fang

Max explains the situation with her dad and I feel kind of bad for her but I also relate a bit with the dad being abusive part. She seems pretty shaken up from her dad trying to kidnap her only a few minutes ago. She thanks me for saving her and asks why I saved her, (it was like she didn't think she was worth saving.) Then she asks if I want her to walk me to the nurse's office but I tell her that I'm not going to the nurse. I try to ask her what she's doing today after school but then she smirks at me and says, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Well that wasn't very mature." I comment, frowning at her, pretending to be mad.

"That's what I was going for." She grins up at me.

I just shake my head, smiling a little. I've never had a friend like Max. The closest thing I've ever had to a friend was my twin sister, Maya. Of course my dad had to destroy that one bit of light in my life. Now Max's dad is trying to destroy Max's life. Even though I've only known Max for a little less than a month, I still want to stop her dad from making that happen.

Well, that's it for this chapter. Sorry it took so long to write it but here it is at last.

Please review and thank you for reading!:)

Preview for Chapter 4:

Fang

Max looks serious for a moment and I raise an eyebrow.

"Can you teach me how to fight?" She whispers.

Her question surprises me. "Why do you want to know how to fight?" I whisper.

"So I can protect myself from him when he comes back." She whispers, a little fear in her eyes that I don't want to ever have to see again.

"I'll teach you how to fight." I promise.

"Thank you." Max says, looking relieved.

"There's also something you should know." I tell her.

"What's that?" She asks.

"I'll also be there to protect you." I promise.