Okay, so I got a new flashdrive, and everything but we're moving so this may be a little short because I'm at the mall because our house no longer has wi-fi, and it sucks. A lot. I'm hoping that my return will bring a lot more reviews… -hint hint- and stuff. So please enjoy.

Max P.O.V

Chapter 7: Breathing.

Ever since the day in my room with Fang, things between us have been nice. Sweet. Almost like he thinks of me as a friend. I hope he does because I want him to be my friend, like, that's all I think about at night. I hope he can look past my crazy and love me.

I mean, like.

I mean, want to be around me?

Does that make any sense? Does it make sense for me to want him to want to know me, to want to be around me, but for me to already breathe him? Is it weird that I know how he smells right after he gets out of the shower? Is it weird for me to know that he has a smoking habit, is it weird for me to love the way his breath smells after a cigarette? I don't even like the way smoke smells. I was actually pretty sure that I hated it but whatever.

He keeps my attention away from mirrors. Every time I look into one it shatter and stabs me in the face 1000 times. Or I see the Woman's face in it. Her dark hair tangled and matted by blood. Or I see y mother's baby blues and they crack and turn into stone and she drops dead.

He keeps me singing. He's stepped away from his stupid rock music, and started listening to that Fiona Apple, and stopped claiming that it's only on there for the girls.

"Do you like Mr. Nickolas?" a little girl asks me. I am at work, at the theater, and out of the 3 weeks it will take, we are 2 weeks of the way done with our production of the Pied Piper. Her name is Lisa, and she plays a dance teacher.

"Of course, we're really good friends."

"But he said you just met, right before we all got here." she says innocently, and looks up at me.

"Of course. But that doesn't mean we cant be good friends, does it?" she shrugs and walks away to talk to her other little friends. I don't actually have anything to do, because Nudge is taking over, doing some last minute acting coaching.

I walk over to Fang, sitting behind his piano, texting away on his phone. It's cute, because he claims he's not normal, but he sure as hell looks like he is.

"Hiya Fangy." I say sweetly, and his head whips up. His eyes are wide and feral for a second, but I've gotten used to it.

"Don't call me that Maxie." He sneers and I laugh at his lame attempt to make me angry.

"Whatever Fang. Who ya textin'?" I say. He told me a while ago that he loved the way I talk, because I sound like a 'Southern Belle'. I mean, compared to Nudge, who was living in New York going to a design school, and himself, who lived in Phoenix, Arizona, of course I sound country, even though I'm from the city myself.

"Iggy. He got a job here. Which is good, I'm tired of texting, it hurts."

"Oh you're a wimp." We laugh, and I swat his arm.

Just then, a girl walks into the theater. Don Martin isn't here today, he had some 'C.E.O Business' to handle (meaning he and his secretary went to rent out a hotel room for a few hours), so I wouldn't know why she's here.

"Can I help you?" I shout from the piano. The auditorium is very big, so my voice echoes.

She flips her fiery locks over her shoulder and picks up her pace, making it over to me faster than I would've thought possible in the heels she's wearing.

"Yeah, is Nicko- Nicky!" she shrieks, and walks over to him. I don't know how she didn't see him, considering he was sitting basically right next to me.

So.

She goes over to Nickolas, tottering in her 7 inch heels, and I admire her balance, because Lord knows I would've face planted already. She's wearing a skirt, but it's not too short, and it matches nicely with her pink lacy top. She has the word 'Love' scrawled on it, and she looks like a model.

"Oh. Lissa!" Fang says with false cheer, she doesn't notice though at I want to laugh because she didn't see it. I saw it. I know him. He's as easy as breathing.

Fang P.O.V

Oh.

No.

I hadn't been expecting this. No. No. No. This is bad. Lissa is bad.

After hanging out with Max for two weeks, seeing Lissa was a surprise. Her loudness, not only her voice, but the colors she wears was blinding, annoying. I will admit she's pretty but there is nothing else there. She's shallow, I don't want her.

"Oh. Lissa." I say. I try to keep my dejectedness out of my voice but it's hard. I think. I also try to keep up my badboy façade, but it's hard. I just smirk at her throughout the whole conversation and call her 'babe' when she needs an answer. She giggles the whole time and it's annoying, it's not like with Max, who just laughs or snorts.

Lissa invites me over to her house, and I have to go, even though she says I don't, because if I don't go, her mom will tell Marge who will, and I quote 'Skin my hide' I don't even know what the heck that means.

"Who was that?" Max asks after she leaves. I roll my eyes, trying to get ride of 'Fang' and bring out 'Nick', but it's always a really hard transition, because I'm only 'Nick' for Max.

"This girl, Lissa. I met her when I first got here." I say. She doesn't know that my mother died, she just knows I cam for a funeral, and didn't leave. I'll never really leave. I'll always leave this one big huge broken piece of me in that casket with my mom. Because she didn't deserve this. She never will.

"Oh are you guys dating? She's so pretty Fang!" she says loudly, and she laughs, sitting next to me on the bench. It's weird having her act like this, and I know she's not faking because I know her.

When we leave, 2 hours later, Nudge and Max get into my Mustang and we drive off to the town square, and walk around the little stalls. Max sees her little cousins and they come over to us.

"Have you guys properly met?" she asks us, and Nudge and I say no.

"I'm the Gasman." The little blonde boy says. He's the one I saw in here in the square, 'Gazzy'.

"I'm Ariel." The little girl says. They're like little angels, and it's incredible to be staring at them.

Until…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Gazzy!" Max shrieks, staring down at him. Across the square, in an empty field, there is sitting a flaming junk car, and wlaking down the hill, towards us is-

"Iggy! That was so boss wasn't it?" The Gasman questions, looking up at Iggy.

"Iggy? What the hell man, you taught my little cousin how to blow up freaking car? What the fuck you dipshit? I should kick your ass?" Max rants. And she rarely curses, so I know she's angry. We all know she's angry.

"What's a dipshit?" Ariel whispers to the Gasman. He shrugs and looks at Max, fuming, and walking up quickly to Iggy.

"Iggy, don't listen to Max she's just jealous!" The Gasman shouts, and Nudge rolls her eyes.

"Kick his butt Max, he deserves it!"

"No Max, that's bad!" Ariel shouts.

"Let's go Iggy!"

"No Max!"

"Kkjfkj kanjkfa abbf Max! JJHVHla Iggyjkfjjbf! The;nfjafjaljfkbdkf fuck?jkaffajfklbjfbalb The Gasmanjjabfjabfjabfafhabfkajf!"

"Everyone shut the hell up!" I scream. Nudge and the Gasman have started to argue, and Ariel was trying to get everyone to calm down along with cheering Max on to 'pound the hell out of Iggy', and I was really trying to not make a scene and-

"Don't say that word Ariel!" Max shrieks.

Max's face is red, and she's still mad, and that car is still flaming (someone should seriously call 911) and Ariel looks confused, as does Gazzy and Nudge is still whispering into the kid's ear at a mile a minute.

"We're all going home. Now!" I shout, and herd the kids into my car. Ariel has to sit in between Gazzy and Nudge because they are just horrible with each other.

What's with everyone's weird nicknames?

The Gasman? Iggy? Fang? Nudge?

Anyway… Max sits next to me in the passenger seat, and I tell Iggy I'll see him later. We fist bump and I ride off. Max is still angry and I can tell because I know her, though she keeps telling Ariel that she's fine and to never use any of the new words she heard. At least, not around her parents or teachers.

"Everyone, stay calm, breathe." Nudge says, even though she and Max re the only ones still worked up.

I drop Max and the kids at their place, hug Max on the front steps. I yell at Nudge for standing on my seats to get to the front, and we drive the 30 feet to our Aunt's house.

Just breathing here is so weird.