Okay, this is the last one. Now you people can go back to whatever you were doing that was probably way less interesting than reading this AMAZING story.

No! No! Not you guys! The guys who came back to reread these chapters since I edited them!

Kay, good. You keep reading while they go back to their less interesting lives.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Fang

I stared down Max. She looked embarrassed. I could tell by the way her cheeks turned an adorable pink. I felt sort of bad for being pissed at her. It was hard to stay mad at Max for very long. Usually because she out-madded you within a few seconds. But she wasn't fighting. That wasn't very Max-like of her. I let my head fall back on my neck and stared at the ceiling.

Remember, Ella's voice from this morning repeated in my head, her head's really screwed up right now. Go easy on her.

I sighed and sat down at the island, motioning for her to sit next to me.

"Hey," I said when she sat. "What's up?"

"Not a lot," she said. I peered though her shoulder-length hair to look at her face. Tears were dripping down her cheeks and onto what I'd expected to be her lap, but turned out to be her stomach. My God. That kid had kicked into over-drive.

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "What's wrong?" I asked her as Iggy discretely left the room.

"You're mad at me," she told me.

"I'm not mad at you," I said. I wasn't mad at her. I was mad at the school or whatever had come last night to blow us up, but I wasn't mad at her.

"You're gonna break up with me," she sniffled, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"Why would I break up with you?" I asked gently.

"Because I'm a big, fat, bitch."

I raised my eyebrows. "You're not a bitch," I told her. "And you're not fat, either."

She jumped off the stood and stared at me. "What are you talking about?" she shrieked. "Look at me, Fang! Look at this!" She put her hands on her really big stomach. "What is this, Fang?"

"A baby," I said honestly. "You're not fat."

"Don't lie to me to make me feel better!" she said and she raced out of the room. Down the hall, a door slammed shut. I turned back to the island and dropped my head hard on the countertop.

"Women," I moaned. They were sure to be the death of me.

"Wow," Iggy said, deeming the room safe again. "What'd you do to her? She hasn't been this mad in almost a week."

"Piss off," I mumbled. I could feel Iggy's sightless eyes burning my head.

"Fine," he said. "But you better go apologize to Max, or she'll be pissed at you forever."

Apologize for what? I wanted to ask, but it wasn't worth it. He was right, anyway. It's better to just humour her most of the time. I headed down the hall, but hesitated right before I knocked on the door.

Oh, my God, I thought. I am totally whipped.

At least you actually have a girlfriend, another part of me said.

"Max?" I called.

"Go away, you stupid jerk!" she shouted though the wood. My lips pressed into a thin line.

"Max," I said reasonably. "Please let me in. I'm sorry I…" What had I done, anyway? Never mind. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. Please let me see you."

"No!" she shouted.

"Please, Max? I missed you so much in Colorado. I just want to see you again."

"I don't want to talk to you, Fang!"

"But I want to talk to you," I said before turning the knob and coming in anyway.

"Why are you bothering me?" she asked me. She was lying on her side away from the door.

"Max, do you know why I came here even when didn't ask me to?" I asked her, closing the door and sitting on the edge of her bed. Other than the fact that some crazy scientists were trying to blow us up again, I added silently. I'd tell her about that later. Maybe.

"Because you wanted to ignore me and make me annoyed."

"No," I said. "I did it because I love you and I couldn't wait any longer to see you." I stroked her hair. "Didn't you want to see me?"

"Of course," she said. "But I was afraid that you wouldn't like me as much because I'm not as…thin anymore."

"I don't care whether or not your thin," I told her. "I love you cause your amazing, inside and out, no matter what."

"But you like me better when I was thin, didn't you?" she said. I ruffled her hair.

"No way," I said. "I love you more than ever now. I'll never love anyone more than I love you."

She nodded and I lied down next to her and pulled her against me. "Promise you'll always love me?" she said.

"I'll always love you," I said easily. "Promise."

"I love you, too," she said before drifting off to sleep. I fell asleep next to her. Not surprising, considering Gazzy, Angel, and I hadn't stopped to rest once last night. The little troopers.