Max

The weeks after the dance drive by without much action-minds out of the gutter people-I simply mean that nothing much has happened lately. It's been the same repeating schedule over and over: talk to Fang at the bus stop, go to school, get stared at by everyone when Fang and I walk down the halls, go to lunch, sit by Fang, endure more stares, walk to the bus at the end of the day with Fang, sit by Fang on the bus, and go hang out with Fang at his house because that's the only place we don't get stared at constantly. Then of course there's Iggy who is convinced that Fang and I spend every second we have alone making out. Funny enough we've actually never kissed at all so no one's ever seen it, so we're stared at all the time and it's really creeping me out. Even Fang notices after a while and he doesn't give a crap about what other people think about him so he must be equally disturbed by the staring.

I find this out when Fang and I are at his house and he asks, "For the act, do you think we need to kiss or something to make it seem more convincing?"

I can feel my face turn red enough to put a cherry tomato to shame and shrug as I stare at my shoes, not daring to look at Fang.

"Fang! I have something to tell you!" Ms. Monroe says, opening Fang's door to see us sitting together in an awkward silence on the chairs on his balcony. She stops short when she sees me. "Oh, hi Max." She says, smiling at me.

"Hi Ms. Monroe." I smile.

"Sweetie, can you go downstairs for a little bit so I can tell Fang something. Okay dear? It's really important." Ms. Monroe says.

I glance at Fang who meets my eyes with a blank expression, then a confused expression a moment later, then a tad bit of fear and then the blank expression quickly replaces it. He does this at school when he doesn't want anyone but me to know what he's feeling.

"Okay, I should probably get home and do homework anyway. See ya Fang. Have a good day Ms. Monroe." I say, getting up to leave.

Fang

Ms. Monroe makes Max leave and I stare at the floor. Important things told to me by an adult are never good things-or at least for me they're not. They're good things for the adult usually because they mean the adults get to get rid of me. I have this annoying, uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that makes me want to throw up but I can't because Ms. Monroe would be mad if I puked on the balcony's nice tile floor.

"Fang, your mom called. She wants you to stay with her." Ms. Monroe tells me.

What? I think, utterly shocked even though I don't show it on the outside. I glance at Ms. Monroe; her expression is solemn. In the time I've been around her, she's never looked so serious about anything before-except when she was telling me to be careful around Dylan-but that doesn't really count. I grit my teeth and continue to stare at the black tile floor. Why does my mom want me to stay with her? We've never met! Why now? She could've kept me before but she chose not to. I think, really not understanding. I think Ms. Monroe wants me to say something but I can't think of anything to say so I stay in safe silence. Silence is always safe, no matter whom I'm with even with Max-we can talk with facial expressions alone therefore words are not needed.

"Fang?" Ms. Monroe asks.

I refuse to look at her. Does she want me to go live with my mom? She does; doesn't she? She doesn't want me either. I can't believe I ever thought she gave a crap about me. I think bitterly.

I refuse to say anything. I'm moving again; there's nothing to say.

"She's really nice. She looks like you. She said her parents forced her to give you up. She told me she didn't want to do it." Ms. Monroe tells me.

I still don't know what to say so I duck my head and bury my face in my hands. I want Max. I want to talk to her about this.

Ms. Monroe

Fang's reaction to his mom wanting him to stay with her surprises me a little. I thought he might be at least a little excited about it-maybe or he might be annoyed that I interrupted his conversation with Max but I didn't expect him to shut down like this and I definitely didn't expect him to cry. Maybe his mom calling wasn't such a good thing after all.

I love this poor, sweet boy as much as I would love a son but I never know how to comfort him. I try to hug him but he flinches and lets out a small, frightened sound. Then he surprises me by hugging me back tightly.

"It's okay Fang. It's okay." I tell him in a gentle voice.

Poor Fang. I think as I rub his back. He's such a good kid and he shouldn't have to go through all this heart-ache all the time. I guess his tears make sense. His mom put him and his sister up for adoption when he was a baby so he always assumed that she never wanted him and he must be scared since the last time he was found by a parent he ended up in the emergency room, nearly dead. Oh, I don't want him to go through that again and I know he doesn't want to go through that again either.

After probably two or three minutes Fang lets go and rubs his eyes.

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to." I tell him.

"I think I want to see her but…will you come and…can I bring Max?" He asks, almost silently.

"I'm sure that can be arranged." I smile at Fang. "And if you do decide that you want to stay you can visit as much as you want. Okay?"

For just the tiniest moment, I see a small glint of happiness in his eyes but then it's gone as soon as if came.

"C-can I go to Max's house? To tell her? Please?" Fang asks quietly.

"Of course, but don't forget to bring your phone and be safe. Make sure you look both ways before you cross the street. Stay away from Dylan and his gang. Don't go into a stranger's house. Be polite. Say 'Ms.' and 'Mr." with Max's mom and boyfriend. Be nice to Max." I say but then realize I'm babbling when I see Fang's crooked half-smile. "Just go." I laugh.

Fang salutes and jumps off the balcony, onto the first-floor roof and then he jumps off the roof, lands in the grass, nearly giving me a heart-attack. Then of course he looks up at me and flashes a cheeky grin and waves before he runs across the grass, looks both ways and then runs across the street on his way to Max's house. I shake my head and laugh to myself. Although quiet, Fang is a comedian and I'll be sad to see him go.

Max

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock! Knock-knock! I hear from my balcony window. That's Fang's knock so I open the door and smile at him. My smile disappears when I see his eyes: they're puffy and red-he's been crying. What did she tell him?

"What happened?" I ask.

"My mom called Ms. Monroe. She wants me to stay with her." Fang says softly.

I'm shocked; his mom gave him and his twin sister Maya up for adoption when they were babies. "Are you gonna?" I ask.

He nods and whispers, "Can you come?"

"Of course but, why do you want me to come?" I ask.

"Scared." He whispers, sitting on the black balcony bench Mom bought me a few days ago.

"Why?" I ask, sitting beside him.

"Last time one of my parents found me was horrible. What makes this time any different?" He asks softly.

"You can't think like that though." I tell him. "She's probably different."

"What if I have to move?" He asks quietly.

"I'll visit you and I'm sure Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, Ella, and Angel will come too." I reassure him, trying to keep my emotions in check. I can't break in front of him; he clearly feels awful enough already. I don't need to make it worse, but what am I gonna do without my rock?

"We won't have any more bus-stop talks." He says quietly, looking at me sadly.

"We can text from our separate bus-stops if it comes down to that." I tell him.

"But then I can't hear your voice." Fang whispers almost inaudibly.

"We could call each other from the bus-stops." I tell him, rubbing his shoulder.

He nods silently.

"It's gonna be okay Fang." I promise him.

Fang hugs me and I hug him back.

"I'll miss you if I have to move." Fang whispers into my hair.

"I'm gonna miss you too." I tell him, hugging him tighter.

We just sit here for a while, hugging each other tightly. I stroke his hair without really thinking about it while I keep my face buried in the safety of his shoulder, inhaling his scent. I can feel Fang rubbing my back by my shoulders and it feels so good. Then he starts stroking my hair and I have to force myself not to shiver as I feel chills go up my spine (in the best way possible). Then of course Iggy has to ruin it.

"Hey Max! Open up!" He calls, pounding on the door.

I groan and reluctantly pull away from Fang.

"Remember, you can't kill the guy your sister likes." Fang chuckles.

"Sure I can, she's pretty. She'll find someone else." I reply.

Fang laughs and I grin, I love the sound of his laugh, just like I love the way his smile lights up his face.

"I gotta go Max. I'll see you tomorrow." Fang says, standing on the balcony-railing.

"See ya." I smile, waving at him.

Fang jumps off the railing and lands perfectly in the grass as usual, then he looks both ways before he darts across the street. I'm gonna miss him doing that when he leaves. I think as I walk across the room to go find out what Iggy wants.