AHM SO SORRY. I SUCK FOR NOT WRITING. THAT IS ALL.

Love you!

wise_yet_harmless

MAX'S POINT OF VIEW

Suspension. The air was still and silent, miles and miles of land stretched out before me. My hair was lifted slightly, looking alive. I couldn't breath in or out, couldn't make a sound. I was hundreds of feet in the air, looking out. The buildings look like tiny dollhouses, cars like ants. The mountains beyond me didn't seem so tall anymore, as I could almost see over them. The clouds looked close enough that I could reach out and touch them.

But I didn't move.

It was only a moment. A split second, where I stood paralyzed in mid air.

Then it was over.

And I fell. My hair whipped up above me, flipping wildly. A scream sat in my throat, waiting to be released. I didn't let it out, instead bunching my fists tightly as the ground came closer and closer to me. I fell for what seemed like an eternity, the wind howling in my ears like a strange sort of music. The once beautiful landscape blurred as I fell. The concrete became more and more in focus until I could clearly see a coin laying-

BOING!

"AAAAIIEEEEEE!" Ella screamed next to me as we shot back up again, bouncing a few times before coming to a full stop. When our restraints were lifted, Ella turned to me, her face glowing with barely contained excitement. She bounced with uncharacteristic childish joy.

"Wasn't that great, Max?" She asked me. I shrugged, feigning boredom. She didn't seem to notice as she pulled me down the ramp and through the exit gate, grinning. When we reached Fang and Iggy waiting for us, I managed to keep a straight face, like I was bored. Ella skipped up to Iggy and sat delicately in his lap. He looked surprised a moment before grinning and wrapping his arms around her waist. Fang lifted an eyebrow.

"Was that you I heard screaming, El?"

"It wasn't Max!"

I shrugged, not looking at them.

"Amusement parks just aren't my things, I guess," I confessed, trying not to feel guilty about the lie. Ella looked shocked.

"Surely you enjoy them, Max."

"Nah. Not that much. In fact, why don't you just go with Iggy? I'll hang with Fangles here."

Ella's smile was almost contagious as she beamed at me. She grabbed Iggy's hand and ran off, practically skipping. I plopped next to Fang, letting out a breath.

"I'm calling BS."

"Huh?" I asked, my face burning.

"You love roller-coasters."

"Do not!" I said, turning away from him. My face was probably as red as could be.

"Don't lie."

I sighed.

"Fine. I like em. I just figured Ella would have more fun with Iggy, and I wanted to make sure you had someone to hang out with. That's all," I confessed, looking at my hands.

"So just tell them that."

I stuck out my tongue, realizing that probably would have worked fine. I didn't want to admit I really did want to hang out with Fang-that would have been super embarrassing.

"You sure you don't want to go on the rides?" Fang asked calmly.

I did, a little. Our school was celebrating our last week by going to the local amusement park for the day. Thanks to a certain someone, Fang had a pretty busted knee and he didn't want to risk going on rides. I loved amusement parks, but I figured I could go next year. I didn't want to leave all by himself, and honestly I wanted to spend some time with him. We hadn't really talked about what happened a few nights ago, and it was driving me crazy.

But I digress.

"I'm okay. Besides, wouldn't want you getting into trouble, would we?"

Fang put a hand on his chest in mock offense, like excuse me? I laughed at his reaction. I helped him stand and swung his arm around my shoulder while he limped slightly. We joked about the other high schoolers roaming the place like we were. After a few minutes, I got an idea.

"Hey! You can't go on like rides, but can you go on that one thing that goes across the park? The one with the ski lift things?"

Fang gave me a look that said you really need a better vocabulary.

"Wanna go or not?" I asked dryly. Fang looked out towards the park, considering. I could feel the weight and heat of his arm on my shoulders, and I could feel his hand underneath mine. I squeezed his fingers lightly, smiling encouragingly.

"Fine."

"Awesome!" I said, steering us towards the ride. We stood a really long line for a few minutes, admiring the flowers that grew near the ride. The ride was called the 'sky railway', and I learned the ski lift seats were called gondolas. We got a black one, which seemed fitting. We sat on a flat bench inside the gondola, our feet dangling. We were enveloped in the black walls, making us only visible from the front.

It was a lot cooler inside the metal cocoon, making me shiver a little. We sat close enough that our shoulders rubbed together. We could see the park from below us, the people looking like little dolls.

"Look at em, Fang. They're so teeny tiny," I said, laughing. Fang put an elbow on the railing, looking down with me. Fang' eyes glazed over as he watched, losing himself in thought. I shiver involuntarily again, and his eyes focused again. He snuck a glance at my arms, goosebumps rising slightly off my skin.

"You're cold?" he asked, sounding a little bewildered. I rubbed my hands over my arms, feeling even more embarrassed.

"Yeah, so? Big deal," I said defensively. I lay my chin on my forearms, not looking at him. I heard him move, and the next thing I knew his arm was laying across my shoulders. I sat up quickly, startled, effectively cradling myself in the crook of his arm. I opened my mouth to apologize, but he only smirked, using his hand to rub my arm.

"There," he said, "all better."

I smiled at him, feeling a little awkward and a little comfortable. Fang did actually help me warm up; though it may have just been my utter humiliation warming me. Either way, we spent the rest of the ride like that. I eventually relaxed in his embrace, my cheek plastered on his chest where I could hear his heartbeat. When we got off I still had his arm on me so I could give him support to walk, but I still felt a little...I don't know, alone?

Jeez. What's wrong with meeee? Heaven forbid.

We walked around, talking about everything and nothing. Fang kept his arm on me the whole time, even when we sat down to let his knee rest. I heard him laugh more than I ever had. I noticed when we neared other kids form out school, Fang's smile dimmed a little and he got quieter. After it happened a few times, I cocked my head.

"Why do you do that?"

Fang just looked at me.

"You get shy around our classmates."

"I guess."

"Oh like you don't notice. Do they make you nervous?"

"Nah."

"Then why do you do it?"

We sat on the edge a bench located in the shade on the far end of the park were few people roamed. The slight breeze was the only noise we heard this far out, making it seem like another world. Fang took his arm off me for the first time, his hand slipping out of mine. He put his hands behind him and leaned back a little, relaxing.

"It's just a habit."

"Why?"

"I don't like people overhearing my conversations." Fang scowled slightly, looking out over the park in front of him. I could tell there was more to the story, but I wasn't about to ask. He was a man full of secrets. Even now, he sat here in a t-shirt that showed an array of scars that I knew were spattered all over him. There were a few that really stuck out, like one that seemed to snake from his elbow to his neck. I stared at the various scars, wondering what caused each one.

Unfortunately, Fang was aware of my unabashed study. He smirked, lifting an arm, inspecting it before lowering it again.

"People think I did them myself."

"You could defend yourself, you know."

"Then I would be doing exactly what they want. Fighting would get me nowhere. Besides, I don't care."

"Are you saying that because you want to convince me, or because you want to convince yourself?"

FANG'S POINT OF VIEW

I whipped my head towards Max, her eyes leveled at mine. She looked much older in that moment, a wiser version of herself. It was strange and curious, but weird too. I wasn't sure how to respond. Of course I didn't care. I never had. Why would I? What would be the point?

I spent too much time thinking about it, because Max's face showed concern.

"Sorry," she said, waving her hand dismissively, "I shouldn't have brought it up. But hey, they make you look pretty tough! Like, bad-a!"

That did it. It was so stupid, so ridiculous, because I was just so not tough and I got them in the least bad-a way and yet I laughed aloud, my shoulders shaking with chuckles.

I laughed so hard with the irony that my eyes watered and I leaned forward, holding my stomach.

"Ahahaha!"

"Fang...?"

"Hahaha...tough...hahaha!"

"...pffft...hahaha!"

We leaned agaisnt each other, laughing until tears streamed down our cheeks. It was just so not funny, it was amazing. And yet, minutes later, we were barely able to contain our grins.

It felt weird to laugh like that.

I liked it.

When we finally stopped laughing, Max leaned back onto me, my arm instinctively going around her. I had held her like this so many times, it only seemed right to do. I almost cracked up again when I realized that only a couple months ago I couldn't stand this much personal contact. Now I waited for it to happen. I don't know how it could have changed, but suddenly I was becoming more and more open with Max. It was one part freaking me out and one part making me happy.

I could feel Max's hair tickling my arm, her bright blonde hair looking shiny in the sun. She had been pretty animated all day and seemed happy, especially for Max. It was contagious and I had caught myself grinning on more than one occasion today.

"Yknow, I think today was perfect," Max said, echoing my thoughts.

"Why's that?"

"I have no idea. You're pretty annoying, so I it probably has nothing to do with you."

"Oh yeah?" I challenged, suddenly getting an idea. I pulled my other arm to wrap around Max and begun tickling her, catching her by surprise. She was completely defenseless, squirming in my grasp and laughing.

"Ah-Fang! Stahp, oh Gandhi, haha! Stop, you're-hahahaha! I'll get you, haha!"

Max fought back, not getting very far. When I finally released her, she wrapped her arms around her waist and fake glared at me.

"You're going to regret that decision, sir."

"I doubt it."

She leaned in close to me, her nose inches from mine as she smiled evilly.

"Trust me. You will."

Maybe it was the fact she was totally in my face. Maybe I was high on something. Maybe I just lost my mind for a moment.

I leaned even closer, giving her my best wicked smile.

"Like I said, I doubt it."

Max didn't seem to have a sarcastic answer this time. Instead she froze, her eyes wide. After a few tense moments, she ducked her head, her cheeks flushed.

"Ha. I win," I claimed, though I wasn't sure exactly what I won.

"It wasn't a staring contest, you dunce," she cracked back, her tone chalk full of sarcasm. She leaned away from me, not looking at me. She seemed upset, though I had no idea why. She had rested one hand on her knee, while holding her chin in her other hand, leaning on her other knee. I took her resting hand and turned it over. She looked back at me, confused.

"I have training in palm reading," I said, explaining.

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope," I said seriously. "Let's see here. Yes, yes. Oh my. Look at this."

"What? What is it?"Max asked, leaning in to see her own palm. I traced a small crease in her palm, showing her.

"This here? It means you're a sarcastic know-it-all. Yes, very interesting indeed," I said, lifting my head to meet her eyes. She lifted her head and glared back. She pulled back and whacked me in the head with the palm I had just 'read'.

"You're so full of it! I can't believe I was going along with that!" she cried, throwing fake punches at my chest. I just laughed, taking them all.

"You fell for it."

"Oh Gandhi- I totally did. Jerk."

"Hey hey, who knows. I could be right."

"Whatever. C'mon, oh wise palm reader," she coaxed, holding out her hand to me. I took it, letting her help me stand. All day I had winced at the sharp pain in my knee.

Yknow what? I didn't feel a thing.