Max

The bus stop has become really awkward over the past few weeks between Fang and me. It's especially awkward at lunch. Not to mention the dirty look Lissa gives me whenever I'm walking to class with Fang. It's like she thinks I'm trying to steal her boyfriend or something. Well, I'm not trying to steal anyone; he was my best friend before he was her boyfriend. In fact, I'm going to try to make it less awkward between everyone by telling Fang that he can bring Lissa to our table today since he always sits with her and her friends at lunch. See? If I were trying to steal Fang away from Lissa then I would not be inviting him and her to sit with everyone at lunch.

"Hey." I say with a smile when Fang finally gets to the bus stop.

Fang has his hood up again and he's walking stiffly. Oh crap, not again. I think.

"What happened?" I ask quietly.

He shrugs stiffly. I go to lift his hood but he goes rigid and says, "Please don't."

His voice sounds strangled. There must be something really wrong.

"Why not?" I ask. Did he just sniffle? That can't be good.

Fang shakes his head and I gently remove his hood. He's bleeding-from cuts-that are from a knife-on his face. Fang's body is starting to shake a little as I reach into my bag and get out the first-aid kit. I put disinfectant on a rag and begin to gently dab at his cuts on his face. I look at his eyes, they're full of tears and he's trembling-everywhere. He's scared. He's so scared. I know why he's scared; I hate that he's scared and I especially hate the reason why he's so scared. I don't know the full story, but I know enough of it to hate it. The knife or knives remind him of his foster dad. The one who hurt Fang. The one who killed his sister.

I gently hug him. "Shh, shh, you're safe with me. It's all right. You're gonna be okay." I promise, carefully having us sit together on the sidewalk.

Fang's hyperventilating into my shoulder, shaking really hard.

"Shh, shh, it's all right. It's all right Fang." I tell him, rocking him. "It's all right." I repeat.

He isn't calming down any.

I gently take his face in my hands and look him in the eyes. "Fang, you need to calm down. Okay? It was Dylan who hurt you; not your foster dad. He isn't here. You're with me now Fang." I tell him in the gentlest voice that I can muster. "You're safe with me Fang. I won't let anyone hurt you. Not if I'm around. I know you've protected me before but now I'll protect you. It's your turn to be taken care of. Okay Fang?" I tell him in a soft, gentle voice.

He nods and a strangled whimper escapes his throat as tears begin to roll down his cheeks.

I hug Fang tightly and he clings to me for dear life, shaking everywhere, crying silently into my shoulder.

"You're okay. You're safe. I promise Fang, I promise you you're okay. I promise; you're safe. You're okay. It's okay. It's okay." I soothe, gently stroking his hair as I begin to rock him again. "Shh, shh, it's okay. You're safe." I repeat in his ear, rocking with him on the sidewalk.

Fang

Max holds me in her arms and lets me sob into her shoulder as she rocks with me on the sidewalk, saying soothing things into my ear, gently stroking my hair-no one has ever done that before. No one has ever really comforted me. I always comforted Maya when we were kids so nobody has ever been there to comfort me. Why on earth is Max doing it?

I hate crying but I can't help it. Knives scare me-scratch that-knives terrify me. Dylan had a knife, he cut me, just like my foster dad-just like my actual dad-only Max doesn't know that part. All Max knows is that my foster dad used knives to hurt me and kill my twin, that Dylan used one on my face today, and that she's holding a very terrified, sobbing Fang in her arms. I hate the fact that I'm the very terrified, sobbing Fang but I can't help it. I'm scared.

Max just told me that she would protect me. I'm supposed to protect her! Not the other way around! It was so kind of her to say that though. So kind and thoughtful, so...Max. If all she sees me as is a friend then that's okay. At least she cares at all.

I pull away and wipe my eyes with the heel of my hand. Then I see the blood which means...I look at Max's hoody. Stupid blood. I think.

"Sorry." I apologize. "For your hoody and for the mental breakdown."

"It's fine; it's just a hoody. I can buy another. You're a person and you were scared. It's not like I can be a bad friend and then go buy another one of you." Max says, poking me in the stomach to silently say she's kidding.

I crack a smile. Max always has that affect on me. Lissa doesn't. I hate sitting at that table with her and all her conceited friends. That just doesn't seem like a good reason to break up with someone though. I don't know how to break up with her. I've never broken up with someone before. I still haven't ever been kissed. Lissa has tried but I won't kiss her on the lips. I've kissed her cheek but not her lips. I don't know why, I just can't bring myself to do it. I think it's because I'm still hoping to save my first kiss for someone special, someone I can love, someone like Max...or hopefully Max herself. Pfft, I wish. She'd never like me that way, not in a million years-especially not after this.

"Here, take mine instead." I tell her, taking my hoody off.

"No, Fang, it's fine." Max starts, looking uncomfortable.

"Max, please take the hoody. Let me repay you in this way." I insist.

"You don't need to repay me." Max says.

"Let's just trade for the day. I'll wash yours and bring it back to school tomorrow." I suggest.

"Okay." She relents.

She takes her hoody off and I put mine one her. She looks beautiful. I want to let her keep it. She always looks beautiful, it's just the fact that she can look gorgeous in something that has to do with me that makes me want her to keep the hoody. Seeing her wear it makes me smile.

Max

I look at Fang, I'm glad he's smiling. I don't know why he's smiling at me but I'm still glad he's smiling. I haven't seen him smile in a long time. Maybe he smiles when I'm not around but I still haven't seen it in a while until now and I've been concerned for quite some time. I'd always steal glances of Fang and Lissa together at lunch. Lissa's always laughing and chattering away with her friends but Fang's just kinda beside Lissa, looking uncomfortable. That's how he looks every time I steal a glance.

"Hey Fang, how about you ask Lissa if she wants to sit with Gazzy, Iggy, Ella, Nudge and me?" I ask.

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea." Fang says.

I grab some bandages from the first-aid kit and gently place them on Fang's face.

"There you go, you're all patched up. Maybe you can even get Lissa to kiss them better." I joke, smiling so he doesn't know how much I truly hate the idea.

"If you're so concerned, why don't you kiss them better?" Fang jokes.

My eyes widen and I focus on putting away the first-aid kit so Fang doesn't notice my blush.

Although, I admit there's a small part of me that is tempted to kiss his cheek just to see what he would do. No! Bad Max! Bad! I scream in my head.

"The bus is here." Fang tells me.

I stand up and walk with Fang to the bus. Is it just me or his face flushed? It must be from him crying but it wasn't like that before.

Fang

After I get off the bus I say bye to Max and find Lissa at her locker just like I always do. "Hi Lissa." I say.

"Hi Fangy-poo." Lissa smiles.

I still don't get the Fangy-poo thing. Is she trying to tell me something or is it really just a stupid nickname? Also, how did she not notice my face covered in bandages? Does that not matter? Oh well.

I kiss Lissa on the cheek and hold her hand as we walk to my locker so I can throw my stuff in. "Hey, I was wondering if we could sit with my friends at lunch today. Does that sound okay?" I say.

"Why?" She asks, pouting. "Don't you like my friends?"

"They seem nice but that's exactly it. I've met your friends but you haven't met my friends." I say.

"Sure. That sounds fun. See you at lunch." Lissa says, planting a kiss on my cheek. She sounds so fake when she says it. So not real, so reluctant to compromise. She clearly doesn't care. I don't understand why she wanted to go out with me in the first place if she was just going to do this. Sure my conscience isn't exactly clear either but I just don't understand this girl. She's so fake; it makes me sick.

I walk to class and am grateful to sit by Max and attempt to concentrate while Iggy cracks jokes the whole time in Spanish 3.

"How'd it go?" Max whispers.

"She's coming." I shrug.

"Didn't she want to?" Max whispers.

"I don't think so." I whisper.

"Why not?" Max whispers.

"I don't know." I whisper.

"Sorry." She apologizes.

"Don't be." I whisper.

"I just thought it might lessen the tension; you know?" She whispers.

"I know. It's not your fault Max." I whisper back.

Well, that's it for this chapter. Lunch will probably get its own chapter. I hope you all liked this chapter. Thank you for reading my fanfic!:D Special thanks to those of you who have reviewed my fanfic!:D

Please review and tell me what you thought about it!:D