Max's POV
"Ahem." Someone clears their throat from the doorway.
Fang and I, both caught off guard, jump up and face the doorway in a fighting stance. A middle aged man with blondish hair, wearing glasses and a lab coat is standing there. He looks like a geeky scientist.
I relax my stance a little, but sort of blush because I'm embarrassed at being caught 'mid-embrace' with Fang.
The ever composed Fang however just says, "Hello."
The scientist guy responds,"Well hello, isn't this a surprise? Maximum and Nicholas. It's nice to finally meet you both."
Fang blinks then looks at me with surprise in his eyes. I turn back to the guy and demand, "Who are you? And how do you know us?"
The scientist guy chuckles and answers, "I am Jeb Batchelder and I am the director of Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel. As to how I know you? Well…let's just say I have been following the progress of you both closely. I have plans. Big plans. Especially for you Maximum."
Well, talk about a crappy first impression."My name is Max." I tell him stonily.
"It makes no difference to me what you call yourself. I believe my time here is up. I'll be seeing the both of you again soon," he says and walks away.
"Talk about super creepy." I say to Fang once Jeb is gone.
He nods to me and says, "I don't like him."
"So you wanna call this a tie and go tell everyone about our little run in?" I ask him and turn to head out the door."
He grabs my arm and says, "Actually Max, I think we should keep this to ourselves."
"Why?" I ask him.
He just shakes his head in an 'I can't tell you' way. I yank my arm out of his grip and put my hands on my hips. "You need to give me a pretty good excuse if you want me to keep my mouth shut." I say.
Fang sighs and says, "It's about why Iggy is here now." I nod at him to go on. "The reason Iggy is here is because he got a list of agents, scientists, who might be doing separate experimentation on people. Against our organizations will. Jeb Batchelder's name is on the list."
My eyes widen at this. "So would this have to do with the people that have gone missing in the last two weeks?" I ask and he nods yes.
"So Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge don't know about this?" I ask and he nods no.
"And you want to keep it that way?" I ask and he nods yes.
"Oh." I say.
"So you won't say anything?" he asks. Now it's my turn to nod.
"Good. Do you want to go up now?" he asks.
"Sure." I say and we walk to the elevator together.
We don't say anything. We just think. I think about the ominous tone in Jeb's voice when he was speaking to me. As if I didn't have a choice but to go along with his 'Plans'. Whatever those are. I just know he better not mess with any of my family. Ashley, Dreslin, Fang. I glance at him. He's in his own world. Not even talkative Nudge, sorta sweet Angel, and gross but funny Gazzy. Maybe he can mess with Iggy. Anyway when we get to the top floor, everyone is sitting on or off the sofa and they all look at us when we walk in. I see Dreslin and Nudge smirk at each other so I assume they're the reason Fang showed up in the first place.
"So who won?" Dreslin asks.
I think back to why we stopped in the first place and mumble, "It was a tie."
Iggy laughs at my tone. "Not happy about that Max?" he asks.
I go along with it and say, "No. Especially when I know I can beat him." I say.
"In your dreams." Fang says from beside me and goes to sit beside Angel on the couch.
I fake a gasp and ask, "How'd you know?"
Suddenly Gazzy pipes up, "I want pizza."
"You know what? I wouldn't mind pizza either. Anyone else hungry?" Dreslin asks.
"I am."
"Me too."
"Sure, why not?"
"Yeah."
Fang just nods. "Okay then." I say. I call Pizza Hut and order five pizzas. Two pepperoni, two supremes, and a cheese.
"Iggy, you're the designated driver for this one. You can go pick 'em up." I say.
I still wonder how he drives, but that's one of those 'the world may never know' type things.
"I'll go with you Iggy." Nudge says and jumps up.
"Soooo…?" I say into the silence that follows their leaving.
"Something wrong Max?" Angel looks at me and asks sweetly.
"Yeah something's wrong. I'm bored!" I whine.
I see Fang shake his head at me out the corner of my eye.
"Someone entertain me." I command.
They all just laugh at me, but I was being completely serious! I glare at them.
"Ok then, how about we play charades?" Ashley suggests.
So we play until Nudge and Iggy get back with the pizza. What I never knew is that Ashley is AMAZING at playing charades. She kicked our butts. When Nudge and Iggy walk in, I notice Nudge's face is flushed and Iggy's hair is messed up. What is goin' on between those two? Anyway, we had all just given up on whatever Ashley is trying to be.
"So what are you?" I exclaim.
"A flying squirrel," she says with a grin.
We all complain when at that.
"Do flying squirrels even exist?" I hear Gazzy ask Angel.
"Now how were we even supposed to get that?" I ask.
Ashley just shrugs and says, "I thought I made it pretty obvious."
"This game was so rigged." I say.
"How was it rigged?" she asks.
"Do you mean to tell me that you didn't know how awesome you are at charades?" I ask back.
She shrugs at me. In response, I roll my eyes at her and say, "Let's eat!"
Iggy and Nudge scramble to set the pizza down before we attack them. Once that's done, Iggy says to me, "The things you do when you're bored."
I just stick my tongue out at him even though he doesn't see and go back to chomping on my slice of pepperoni pizza.
"mmmm" I say.(AN: is that a word or a sound?)
I don't notice Fang silently creep up behind me. "Is it good?" he asks into my ear.
I whirl around and glare at him and his slice of supreme in his hand.
"Yes it is thank you for asking." I say and take another bite.
Then without any warning, he leans forward and takes a bite out of my pizza. "Hey!" I exclaim and I aim to smack him on the head with my free hand, but he jumps back with a smirk.
"Sharing is caring," he says to me.
"Bullcrap. Get your own." I say.
I don't share food. Not even when Fang is giving me that cute half smile. When he sees that I'm serious, he goes to get his own slice.
Angel takes his place beside me in the next second, "He really loves you, you know," she says seriously and I sigh. I just can't get a break can I?
"And how would you know that?" I ask her.
"I know a lot of things Max," she says somberly.
"So have you been reading through our files too?" I ask her and she shakes her head no then says, "I just know things. They come to me Max."
I look at her and ask, "How?"
"I can't explain it, but just trust me when I tell you stuff," she says and moves to walk away, but then turns back and says, "Oh and danger is coming. Watch your back," then goes to talk to her brother like nothing happened.
What is with today? Nudge and Dreslin, Fang, Jeb, and now Angel? Why do I always get the crazies?
"You ok?" Ashley comes up to me and asks.
"Yeah, I'm just thinking." I reply.
She nods in understanding and walks away. I don't want to bother her with my troubles. This is just so much more than even I expected. So the rest of my pizza was eaten in a brooding silence while everyone else happily talked and laughed. Not knowing that everything could possibly fall apart in front of their faces without them even realizing what's happening.
After all the pizza is eaten, Fang, Dreslin, Ashley, and I say our goodbyes and leave. The drive to our headquarters is just filled with random conversation provided by Dreslin and Ashley. Mostly Dreslin. I think Fang figured out something is up with me because he kept stealing glances at me while he was driving. Which I wouldn't know if I hadn't been stealing glances at him too, but that's a whole different matter. Anyway when we get to the headquarters, Fang keeps me behind just like he did last night except this time for a more serious matter.
"Max, what's wrong?" he asks.
"Nothing." I say.
His eyes are filled with genuine concern when he says, "You and I both know that's a lie. I know you better than that." I look away.
"Max tell me," he says and reaches out his hand to turn my face so I have to look him in the eyes.
"It's something Angel said to me. She said, 'danger is coming'" I finally say.
"And you believe her?" he asks me.
I nod my head. "You haven't talked to her like I have. She knows a lot. And after our run-in with Jeb, I'm starting to feel like maybe something is going to happen. Something we can't stop." I say.
When he hears me say this he gets a protective look in his eyes and says, "No matter what happens, I'll always be here with you Max. Whether it's fighting for you or beside you. I promise."
"What if you can't keep your promise?" I ask in a low voice.
His fierce gaze saddens a bit as he says, "Then I'd have to be dead."
I nod my head slowly and say, "We should go inside and get some sleep."
He leans forward and kisses me on the forehead. "Ok," he whispers.
Did my heart just skip a beat? I think it did. We walk inside together. He hugs me tight and says "goodnight" when the elevator stops on his floor. When I get to the top floor, Dreslin and Ashley are sitting on the couch waiting for me.
"Weeelll?" Dreslin asks when she sees me.
"Well what?" I ask back.
"What did he want? Did he confess his undying love for you? Did you confess yours?" she rants.
I glare at her and say, "No, he just wanted to know if something was wrong."
"Aaaw he cares!" Dreslin exclaims.
I just roll my eyes at her and say, "I'm going to bed. Night."
"Night," they both say. Before I leave, I see Ashley give me another worried look. I try to reassure her with my eyes that everything will be fine. At least I hope.
AN: here's the next chapter. It would've been up yesterday, but I got extremely stuck. Hope this is okay. REVIEW!