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-wise_yet_harmless

MAX'S POINT OF VIEW

It took me a week, but I got a job. It's nothing special, really. I wash dishes at a restaurant downtown, where I basically get to be soaked for six hours straight. It's not a bad job-I don't have to do complicated work, I'm by myself and I get paid pretty well, but I'm there most days of the week. I think my poor siblings are going mad with boredom at home. They can't be driven anywhere and they have to do the chores and such themselves, poor wimps.

But I would like to see them more often. Plus, now every time I do have free time, I spend it catching up on homework. I'm classy that way. I am getting less sleep, more stressed, but hey. I'm getting paid.

On the other side of the spectrum, I have become an actual member of Fang's little group. Ella has become like, my best friend, if you can believe that. Like we're sisters or something. Iggy likes to try and freak me out with his advanced knowledge of explosives, but I hardly ever fall for it. Iggy is pretty full of himself, but he has enough knowledge and skill it almost seems warranted-not that I would ever admit that to him.

Fang though…don't get me wrong, he seems to be doing great on the outside. He always half smiles/smirks at me when he sees me and I'm getting tons better at reading his 'almost-but-not-quite-impossible-to-read-expressions'. But physically, he's not as well as he should be. I think he was even wearing Ella's makeup the other day to cover a black eye. It was really starting to worry me. But what could I do? I couldn't retaliate, as I didn't know where Fang lived and wouldn't do that without either Fang or Ella's permission. I couldn't tell someone, as I knew that Fang would have years ago if he thought it would help. I couldn't even offer my place as a haven, like Iggy's. I tried, but Ella politely refused, not wanting to 'upset my parents and trouble my siblings'.

Like my 'parent' was ever around and like my siblings gave a crap. It was all so frustrating. I did my best to help Fang recover-like snatching his books when his arm was badly bruised; though he insisted it didn't hurt, as if. He also leaned on me a lot, something I was getting fairly used to, actually. I know it killed him to need help from me. Either because he felt bad for needing it, like he owed me, or he just hated having to suck up his pride and let me help. In any case, he got over it and let me in.

I was growing more and more fond of him, as well. At first, when we first met, I just felt horrible for his situation, especially right after I found out he was being abused. Then I was angry he had to be subject to such…brutality. Next, I felt determined. I was starting to see who he was underneath all the stoic, emotionless bit. He wasn't like, happy or just chalk full of pent up emotions, but he had stuff he did want to say. Like how he wanted to be a mechanic, and how weird it was to see Ella and Iggy together, and just normal stuff like that.

I couldn't change his situation, at least not at home, right now. But I could try to make his life as a whole, more bearable. I'm not trying to be sappy folks, I'm just saying the kid could really use someone who doesn't totally suck! And well, I'm not sayin' I'm the best person on the planet, but I don't think I totally suck! So there!

FANG'S POINT OF VIEW

I walked into school, my head hanging low and my hands at my sides. I had been up all night, defending Ella in her room. My father has gotten so aggressive lately I've been hit almost every night. The last few days were so bad, I let Ella sleep over at Iggy's twice, only after I made Iggy swear on his cooking hands and best supplies he would be nowhere near my sister when she went to bed. It's not that I was suspicious they'd do something, I just needed to be sure.

Last night Ella came back home, which was both a relief since I needed her company and terrifying because my father was angry. I kept watch over her all night just in case, something I've never had to do before. I've slept on her floor when she would get night terrors, since I needed to comfort her and I didn't want her to wake up my Father, but this was different. This was much worse.

If it wasn't for my friends, I would have given up by now. Max especially. She never pushed me for details like Iggy sometimes did, and she never cried like Ella sometimes did. She was just there, which could be totally annoying and totally reassuring at the same time. She had a witty, no-nonsense kind of attitude. It was refreshing.

I could almost always tell how she felt. She had a fake smile that didn't reach her eyes that would set me off immediately. She had a dry, bored look when she was trying to contain her anger. She had a loud, unfiltered laugh when she was caught off guard, and a mean glare anytime someone really ticked her off, which happened more frequently than it probably should have. She was opinionated and a know-it-all at times, and a quiet, thoughtful person at others.

As I zoned out in thought, managing to walk past my locker. I sighed, turned around and headed back. I found Max at my locker, waiting, like she had done for the last few days.

"Hey," I said, greeting her. She looked up and smiled at me. I noticed dark circles under her eyes and her tired smile.

"Hey dude."

"You ready for Health?"

"To get it over with, maybe. Do you know what we're doing today?"

"No clue."

She groaned. Today was the last day for our team thing in Health. We have been doing a variety of tasks, some longer than others. Today was supposed to be the hardest one. Max and I were in second place, not that I cared much. Max was competitive and she demanded that we win.

I got my stuff out of my locker and we headed down the hall, arm in arm. Max never knew when I was going to need a hand- or, in my case, an arm- so she almost always had her arm linked with mine. People had gone nuts over it and my own sister thought we were together until I explained the purpose behind our physical contact. She believed me, but I doubted anyone else would. Not that I cared, especially.

Once we reached our classroom, we found a pair seats and set down next to each other, bracing for what was coming.

"Alright class! Today is the last day for our couples' teamwork activities! Today we're going to do an extra fun challenge. The first day of these tasks, we tied your ankles together, right? Well, today we'll be tying your elbows together so you'll be back to back! You'll go through another obstacle course, this time without a blind fold. Good luck!"

Max gave me a 'you've got to be kidding me' look and we stood up, making our way to the front of the room for, wait, zip ties? Is that even legal?

Max grabbed a couple and we headed out together, arm in arm. Max looked down at the zip ties and sighed.

"I can't even imagine where our teacher came up with this BS," she remarked, and I nodded in agreement. At the top of the hill was the field, now hosting our 'obstacle course'. I could see a risen platform that I was sure we were going to have to cross. It was about thirty feet long and three feet off the ground and two feet wide. Max and I approached with the other students, most of them grimacing.

"Alright, champ. Let's get this over with," Max demanded, turning to face away from me. We linked arms and Max tied us together just above our elbows, per the teacher's instructions. We ended up being first and we started the awkward climb to get to the balance beam. I was the one facing forward and I sighed, noticing that the beam wasn't perfectly flat, but rounded just a little to make it more difficult.

"Alright, Max. The beam is rounded off, so watch your step," I warned. I felt her brown locks move as she nodded. I took a hesitant step forward, not being able to bend down and look at my feet. After that I took another, and another. It was an incredibly slow process, but we seemed to be doing fine.

But it hurt. Everything hurt. I could barely keep from gasping every time I took a step. Max seemed to notice and was incredibly cautious, knowing that if we slipped up we'd go crashing down. Even so, at one point Max's foot slipped, and she cried out, leaning precariously to one side. I gritted my teeth, pulling as hard as I could to right her. She found her footing and stood up straight before letting me lean on her.

"Sorry sorry sorry. We're good now. We're good," she whispered to me. We continued on, finishing without another problem. Once we were safely on the other side, we were allowed to cut the zip ties. There were small cuts on both of us, and mine were bleeding slightly. I shrugged it off and sat down in the grass to wait for everyone else to finish. Max sat next to me, crossing her legs and smiling in my direction.

"Now we get to watch 'em all biff it," she remarked mischievously. I smirked back, though my eyelids felt heavy. I was completely exhausted. I hung my head, yawning.

"Aww, is Fangy tired?" Max asked, laughing.

"Shut up. Wake me when it's over," I said, laying down in the grass and covering my head with my arm. Max eased back next to me, stretching her arms above her head before laying her head in her hands.

"Sure dude. Sure."

MAX'S POINT OF VIEW

I could feel something on my arm, something wrong. I couldn't tell what it was for a minute, my head was fuzzy and spinning. I groaned, turning, feeling…grass? I sat up, gasping. I was out in the field, a field? The thing fell from my arm and I looked down. Fang was lying next to me, his hand outstretched in sleep. I shook my head , trying to wake myself up. Where was everyone? I pulled my phone out of my pocket, checking the time. Holy crap, we've been here for an hour! It's lunch time! I turned to yell at Fang before stopping abruptly, looking at him.

He just looked so darn…peaceful. He was usually calm, but this was different. He was completely off guard, completely at ease. I knew I needed to wake him up, but I didn't want to disturb him. I figured I could wait until the end of lunch to wake him.

But I was curious-why hadn't the class woken us up? That's when I noticed there was a large tree blocking most of the obstacle course. They couldn't see us.

I sat there, waiting for the end of the lunch period when Fang started breathing heavily. He was shaking, his arms wrapped tightly around himself, his eyes shut firmly as he whimpered softly. His teeth were clenched, like he was hurting.

I leaned over him, lightly rubbing his arm.

"Fang. Fang, wake up. Fang, come on," I said quietly. Fang gasped, opening his eyes wide. He looked around, his eyes finally settling on mine.

"What?"

"We fell asleep. It's lunch time," I explained as he sat up. He ran a hand through his hair and groaned.

"Oh great."

I laughed, helping him to stand. We made our way back into the building, arm in arm.

"What were you dreaming about?" I asked. Fang wouldn't look at me.

"Nothing," he replied. Something told me that wasn't true. But I didn't push it.

We had other problems.