Disclaimer: I am not a slave master; so, no I do not own any of these characters. Duh.

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Ari lead me to the house, and just walked right in. No need to lock a door if you're on a deserted island, right? Right.

"So, you like it?" Ari asked as we walked in. I had to admit, it was big and pretty. I might not be so miserable here after all.

"I love it, Ari. Thank you." I said, but my voice sounded off. Did he notice? He would wonder why. didn't even know why myself.

"Is something wrong? You don't sound very happy." He said, looking down at my with concerned puppy-dog eyes. They were really cute. And that hair… I just wanted to run my finger through it. Wait! Did I just say that! Well, pretend I didn't.

"This all just seems too good to be true… the island, the whole being safe idea, he house… I'm just waiting for something bad to happen and ruin it. Something always does. Like when me and Fang where out on a date…" I said, but broke off.

"That's the thing, Max; I'm not Fang, or the Flock, or Jeb. I'm Ari. Nothing bad has happened when I was with you, besides, well, me." He looked embarrassed and ashamed of himself. I don't know why, but I think I felt sorry for him.

"It's not your fault. I'm very happy here. Now why don't you show me the room?" I said, trying to distract him from feeling guilty. We walked up a flight of stairs, and turned left into the room. It was just as amazing as the hotel room, but bigger and better. It even had two glass walls overlooking the ocean.

"Ari, can I go walk around in the forest? I won't try to escape, because I know I'd be sleeping with the fishes before I reached land." I said, quoting what he told me earlier.

"Sure. I brought you here for you and me to be happy, not just me. Knock your socks off." He smiled that beautiful smile of his, and I smiled back.

"I'll be back in a little bit." I said on my way out. I walked down the stairs and out the door. As soon as go to the right of the house, there's a forest. I went into it and found a tree in the middle to sit on. I leaped onto it, and sat in the middle of the branch. I was staring off into space, thinking. Thinking about Fang, the flock, Jeb, the Voice, Ari, Ari, and Ari. Hmm…

All of a sudden, something dropped down onto my branch behind me. I had been facing the trunk, so I turned around. It was just Ari. Ari, Ari, Ari…

"Did I interrupt your daydreams, Maxie?" He asked, obviously already knowing the answer. What was it about his voice, it made me…want him…

"Yes, but I forgive you." I said in a sweet-and-sour voice. He apparently liked it, because he smiled a tempting smile. He was sort of…what's the word…bad. Well, I always did like bad boys, because I hate mushy, smushy feelings, and stuff like that, but I didn't know I liked wolf-boys. Wait! What was I saying! I don't like Ari!

Yes you do, Max. You always have, you just never knew it. Give him a chance. It was the voice. Of course, the voice inside my head. You don't have one? Well, they might have some left at Nut-Mart!

"Well, I'm glad you forgave me." Then, to my complete shock, he leaned in and kissed me. I pulled away, but he pushed me back against the trunk of the tree, and held my face to his so that I couldn't pull away. In my mind, I was fighting to stop him, but in reality, I was kissing back. I thought I was kicking and screaming, but really, I had turned my head so that we could kiss better, and was entwining my fingers in his hair.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of making out-maybe it was- Ari gently pulled away. Actually, until then, I hadn't noticed how gentle Ari had been. Now, you were probably thinking that Ari was hurting me, and forcing me to kiss him, and blah, blah, blah, but he wasn't. He was gentle, and kind. Actually, we fit together-physically and mentally- like two puzzle pieces.

"You kissed me back!" Ari said, smirking. He was right. I did kiss him back. I was falling for Ari! No, I couldn't be. I'd hated Ari, and he'd hated me.

You are falling for him. You're falling for each other. You love each other. It's meant to be. Ugh, the voice and his stupid fortune cookie crap.

"You're falling for me." He said tauntingly, but irresistibly. How did he do that?

"I am not!" I said, so embarrassed that I could feel my face turn red.

"But you are, Maximum. You're falling for me, I'm falling for you. It's all working out." He said. I couldn't even find something to say in argument. For one of the first times, I had nothing to say. So what did I do? I hopped off the tree branch, landing perfectly on my feat, and stormed off. I was working, until I realized Ari was walking right next to me.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Maxie." He said. I was silent. I couldn't find any words. I was losing. And, the worst part was, I think he's right. I loved him.

See, Max. You just had to admit it to yourself, now admit it to Ari.

I think the voice is having too much fun with this. But maybe he was right. Or maybe not. By now we were in the bedroom. I went and sat down on the bed. Wow, it really was comfy! Of course, Ari came and sat next to me.

"Come on Maxie, don't block me out like this. I love you. See, I admitted it, now you." Silence. "Fine. If you won't admit it verbally, admit it physically." He leaned in and gently pressed his lips against mine. Usually, I would still block him out, or if it were Fang or Iggy, slap them. What was it about Ari…?

I couldn't help myself. I leaned in closer and kissed more passionately. I turned my head so we could kiss better, a parted my lips slightly. Then we were tongue kissing. We got onto the bed a little better-we were basically falling off- and I ran my fingers through his hair. He put his hands around my waist and pulled me closer, then onto his lap. Now I was on his lap, facing him, making out, and entwining my fingers with his hair. It was great.

"See, Max. See how great it is to be open to each other? I don't know about you, but I think it's great." He went back to making out with me.

I pulled away a little, and said, "I know what you mean. Now that we're open to each other, we get to do this," I gestured to us, sitting on the bed, making out, "And now, I can admit it verbally. I love you, Ari Batchelder!" I said, and was glad to get it out. The voice was right.

Of course I was. You've been locking up these feelings for so long, it's good to get them out.

"And I love you, Maximum Ride." More making out, but more passionately. Eventually, we calmed it down, and stopped. "Wow." Ari said, and I realized that he'd probably never kissed anyone before me, so this was a new experience. For me, at least, I'd kissed Fang. Now I knew he really, truly loved me.

Ari went and pulled a small dark-brown box out of a dresser drawer, and kneeled next to the bed. He got on one knee and said, "Maximum Ride, will you marry me?" He asked genuinely. This was not happening…