Quote #8: Embrace the dork in you, life is too short. Thanks missmary312!

Fang POV

The second I saw Max jump in front of me, I knew it was too late. I couldn't push her away or use myself as a shield for her. I heard oof! when the knife was plunged into her stomach. I looked down and saw the tip of the dagger poking out of Max's back. The second the knife entered Max's body, it was gone. Dylan looked at me, horrified. It's almost like he cared about Max.

"This is your fault!" He screamed at me as Max fell into my arms. My knees buckled from under me, not because of Max falling into my arms, but because I saw the wound. Blood was pouring out of her stomach. "If you and Max weren't in love, she wouldn't have cared about this stupid flock and she would be working with me! She would be alive!"

I nestled my head into the crook between Max's neck and shoulder. I was whispering something, but it was all a blur. I have no idea what I was saying. I felt hot tears pouring down my cheeks. Out in the distance I heard someone saying Max's name over and over, I soon realized it was me who was saying it.

"Max," I lifted her into a sitting position on my lap. More blood started pouring out of her stomach so I lay her back down. "You can't die. Everyone else will die without you. Please, I—I can't afford to lose you. I love you." I bent down and kissed her. I don't know why I did. Maybe I was hoping for some Sleeping Beauty miracle or something? Or maybe I was in the moment? I have no idea. I just needed to kiss her. To get one last kiss before she—no. Max isn't going to die.

"This is your fault!" Dylan screamed at me again. I laid Max's head down on the grass and stood up to Dylan.

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." Dylan looked surprised that I cursed at him like that. I've never said the "F" word before in my life, and it caught Dylan by surprise. He paused for a split second. I ran over and punched him. "Get your little dogs and yourself out of here." I grabbed the collar of his shirt and glared at him. "Now."

Dylan just stared at me. We stood in that position for moments; me holding him by his shirt collar and him just staring at me, our faces inches from each others.

"Fang," Said Travis, breaking me out of my Little Moment of Hatred. "We need to get Max to her mother. Dr. Martinez can save her." I let Dylan go and he snapped out his wings and jumped into the sky. I bent down and picked Max up. I looked around and saw the damage.

Iggy had a bloody nose, Kris's arm was twisted at an odd angle, Travis had a black eye, Josh had scratches and bruises but seemed fine. I didn't care if I was fine or not. I really didn't notice I was hurt either. I ran to the front door and stopped in the doorway.

It looked like a tornado suddenly ripped through the Martinez house. Shards of glass were spread out on the floor. It reeked of Eraser. A bunch of unconscious or dead Erasers were on the floor. But no one from the flocks. I ran into the hallway that lead to the bedrooms. I kicked open the door to the guest bedroom and was relieved to see everyone sitting on the beds. Dr. Martinez looked horrified.

"Fang! We meant to come outside and help you guys, but Dr. Martinez wouldn't—Oh my God… MAX?" Nudge went frantic as I laid Max down on the twin size bed.

Dr. Martinez pushed everyone away and looked at Max's wound. Her face fell and she felt Max's neck for a pulse. She sighed in relief and a weight felt like it was lifted off of my shoulders. At least she was alive. For now.

"I have to get her to a hospital. Fang. Hawk. Travis. Fly everyone somewhere safe. Someone will have to carry Ella, but—" Dr. Martinez was cut off.

"We aren't going anywhere. We will be in the woods out back." Gazzy said. Dr. Martinez shot him a look, but Gazzy shrugged it off. Slowly, everyone started agreeing with him.

"I'm going with you." I said to Dr. Martinez. "Don't even try to fight me on it. I'm going. It's final. Hawk, Travis, and everyone else over the age of sixteen, take the little kids to the woods next to the house. Hide in trees. Don't go flying. Just lay low." With that said, I picked Max up off of the bed and was happy to hear her groan in pain. Well, I wasn't happy to hear her in pain, but at least it was some small sign that she was alive.

The ride to the hospital felt like forever. I sat in the back with Max's head in my lap. I smoothed out her hair and was silently praying. I'm not much of a God believer, but I felt that I needed someone's help. I kissed Max's cheek as we pulled into the lot of the emergency room.

I cradled Max in my arms and jumped out of the car. I ran into the emergency room, not even bothering to wait for Dr. Martinez, and screamed for help. Nurses came rushing towards me and tried to take Max out of my arms. I struggled against them but finally gave in. I had to let them take her if they were going to help her.

Reluctantly, I let the doctors take her and lay her out on a gurney. It was after watching Max being rolled through the OR room of the emergency room that the smell hit me like a slap in the face. The antiseptic smell practically strangled me and I backed away and sat down in a seat in the waiting room, covering my nose and mouth with my hands. Dr. Martinez was up at the front desk, talking to a nurse and filling out papers.

After a few hours, I was practically gagging on the scent, but even that couldn't stop me from thinking about Max. Was she okay? What would they think about the wings? What if some of those doctors were Erasers? No. Fang, calm down. You can't be thinking like this.

A doctor came into the waiting room and looked at me, "Are you Nick Ride?" I looked up at him. He seemed like an average guy, not an Eraser. He looked—hey, wait, I never told anyone my name.

"How do you know my name?" I looked up at him; not letting my face dare show any emotion.

"Your girlfriend's mother, Mrs. Martinez, told me. I'm here to tell you about Max's condition." I looked away from his face. The doctor looked like he had seen a ghost, or maybe worse. Wings. "She has suffered some internal bleeding from the stab. She also lost a significant amount of blood. The problem is… she is different than most people. Are you like her?" I nodded, still not looking at him. "Then we are going to need you to give her blood immediately. You should have similar DNA, and she needs blood."

I stood up and the doctor gave a small, grim smile. "This way." He led me into a room and I made sure to make an escape route out of here in my mind, just in case. It was the room that Max was in. She has cords hooded up to her and a tube down her throat. I forced myself to look away and sat down in the chair he gave me.

I was nervous about the blood being taken from me. I haven't had very good experiences with needles before. But I would do anything for Max. When he was done taking my blood, I felt dizzy. Nurses tried to redirect me out of the room, but I refused. I stayed at Max's bedside for hours. After a few minutes, a nurse came in to remove the tube in her throat.

"She is healing miraculously fast. She is breathing on her own again." The nurse said. She tried to get a look at Max's wings, but I glared at her and she left quietly.

Max's hand was in mine the whole entire time. It pained me to see so many wires attached to her.

I lifted up her hand and kissed it. The heart monitor started beating faster and when I lowered her hand from my mouth, it returned to normal. I lifted it back up and kissed it again. The monitor beeped faster and when I put it back down it returned to normal again. Well, not the normal heart beat humans would have, but normal for a human-avian hybrid. There's a lot of normal in that mix!

I smiled at the fact that her heart fluttered at my kisses. I stood up and kissed her on the mouth this time and the monitor went out of control. I was about to end the kiss when a hand pressed me closer to her. I realized it was Max's hand. Her other hand came up and rested on the back of my neck. Her mouth opened and mine did too. Max pulled me onto the bed and I cradled her head in my hand. I pulled out of the kiss and looked into her brown eyes.

"I take it you're feeling better?" I tried to keep my voice from cracking in joy. She smiled and pulled me down into another kiss. I loved the feel of her lips against mine. It's amazing how close I came to never feeling them on mine again. I rolled over so that I wasn't on top of her anymore and that I was laying next to her. Max rolled on top of me and I pulled her closer and we were in another kiss.

It wasn't until we heard someone clear their throat that we both stopped kissing and Max jumped off of me immediately. I sat up and wiped the emotions clear off of my face. At least tried to. My face was flushed like nobody's business.

"Well," Dr. Martinez said, looking back at the doctors and nurses that stood behind her. "I take it you are feeling better."

Max POV

I was in a daze. I seriously though I was dead. I heard a faint beeping in the background and thought, If that beeps the whole entire time I'm dead, I will go mad. But then I felt someone's hand squeezing mine. I felt the rough skin and calluses and immediately knew it was Fang. He lifted my hand and kissed it. My heart fluttered. I was horrified when I heard my heart beat go faster on the monitor. Fang must have heard the change of my heart pace, too, because he kissed my hand again.

I couldn't help it! And when Fang bent over and kissed me on the lips, it was like I woke from a trance. I was in a hospital room, but that wasn't what I cared about right now. Fang was kissing me. I put my hands on the back of his head and neck and pulled him closer to me. If Fang was surprised that I woke up, he didn't show it. I pulled him onto the bed and we just sat there kissing like that. Then I rolled out from underneath my sheet and ended up on top of him.

Thank God that this hospital didn't dress its patients in those disgusting nightgowns that show your butt in the back. Instead I was in blue pajama pants and a white t-shirt. There were slits that were cut in the back for my wings.

When I rolled on top of Fang, I felt the wires in my arms being pulled out, but I didn't care. All I wanted was Fang. I felt pain in my stomach, but I ignored it. Fang's hands were on my hips and both of mine we on his chest. I felt strips of muscle under his skin. I was pressed so close to Fang. I loved it. This moment was perfect. We were perfectly alone and nothing could ruin this moment.

Until someone cleared their throat from the doorway. I leapt off of Fang and he stood up, looking at my mom awkwardly.

"Well, I can see you're feeling better." My mom said to me, a smirk obviously being fought off of her face.

"Lift up your shirt please." A doctor said to me.

I raised my eyebrows at him and laughed, "I can kick your ass, perv—"

"MAX!" My mom yelled at me.

Then I realized that he was talking about the stab I had received nine or ten hours ago. I lifted the hem of my shirt up, showing a white scar on my stomach. I guess I healed already.

"But that's impossible. She just got out of surgery to fix the wound five hours ago. This would take days or weeks for a person to heal." He looked astonished. I read the doctors nametag and saw Dr. Needle. You've got to be kidding me?

"Dr. Needle," I tried not to laugh, "I'm not normal, if you haven't noticed." I extended my wings and felt relief flood over me at stretching them out. "And I'm going home. I feel fine." Fang walked over to the window and opened it. He perched on the sill and jumped out. The nurses gasped, but when he shot his wings out and started flying, they looked at him in awe.

I waved at my mom, "See you at home." I ran to the window and jumped out, feeling the cool fall air beneath my wings.