A/N: Hey guys! I realize that my updates for this story are anything but consistent, but I just want to say thanks for keeping up with it and adding this to your story alert subscriptions and whatnot. It really means alot to me that you like this enough to do that. I know it's not exactly hard to click a button or whatever, but still...it's the thought that counts. So I thank all of you from the bottom of my black little heart. :)

Chapter 17: The Best Things In Life Are Free...Or Less Than Five Dollars

Max's POV

The morning after my session with the punching bag, I woke up to find that my hands and wrists were a bit swollen from all the impact. That, and the rest of my body ached like someone had been punching my bones in the middle of the night. My head seemed unnaturally heavy, and when I sat up to rub my scratchy eyes, I found that I had the uncomfortable feeling of dried tears all over my cheeks. If not for all the physical evidence, I would've been half convinced that the whole phone call with my father had been some really twisted night terror dream.

I scrubbed at the salty residue on my face as I made my way down the stairs with a dismal posture. Glancing out of the front windows, I saw that it was a bright and sunny day with hardly any clouds in the sky and I swear I could almost hear fucking birds chirping happily in the breeze. It made me grind my teeth together irately. If life was going to go ahead and bitch-slap me by tearing me away from everything I knew, the least it could do would be to let me wallow in my misery in proper, rainy weather.

Ella was already in the kitchen when I walked in. She was cheerfully peeling an orange while she flipped through the pages of some magazine I'd seen lying around for a few days now. "Hey Max. You slept in late." she said, smiling at me. I resisted the urge to throw something at her for her chipper tones and instead flipped my gaze to the clock on the microwave. It was 12:28. I could see Ella watching me curiously while I poured myself a bowl of cereal and wondered bitterly why she was suddenly so interested in my breakfast. It might have something to do with the fact that I was clenching my jaw angrily while I made it and that I practically ripped the cereal box in half when it wouldn't fit back in the cupboard.

I realized that I was acting very morosely, but trust me...if you were in my situation, you'd be pissed at the world too. And even though Ella didn't have the slightest idea what was going on (so I couldn't really blame her), I still wanted to punch something everytime she hummed bouyantly under her breath. I sat down at the table, but I couldn't bring myself to pick up my spoon and start eating, even though my stomach was growling. I just glared daggers at the bowl of Frosted Flakes in front of me and sat slumped in my chair. Ella finally cleared her throat. I lifted my eyes to see her staring at me with slight concern.

"Ummm...is everything okay?" she asked tentatively. I bit back the stream of words I wanted to say. Fought not to tell her that my stupid father was tearing me away from the only place I'd ever really felt I belonged. But I didn't want to ruin her mood. It was the first day of summer break, and all.

"Yeah, why?" I said. It came out sounding kind of sulky, but it was the best I could do.

"Uh, because if you glare any harder at that bowl of cereal, I think it's going to catch on fire." she said, nodding at the Frosted Flakes. I snorted and picked up my spoon to start eating. I WISHED it would start on fire. The flames would accent my gloomy, pissed-at-the-world attitude. My mind wandered to various places while I ate. I thought about all the shit I'd have to fit in my suitcase, and about the long plane ride I'd have to endure. But even though those thoughts weren't exactly pleasant, it kept me from thinking about what was really knawing at the threshold of my mind. The fact that I would have to say goodbye to everybody. I tried to snap myself out of my thoughts, as I was starting to think about how JJ's face would look when I told her the news, and I found myself staring quite blankly at a confused looking Ella.

"Sorry. Must've zoned out there." I apologized, returning to my breakfast. After a few moments of silence, I cleared my throat and spoke. "Where's your mom?" Ella shrugged without looking up from her magazine.

"Upstairs somewhere." She paused for a minute and then looked up at me. "She's YOUR mom, too, ya know. You can call her 'Mom'. You always say 'Mrs. Martinez'." I bit my lip, trying not to say what I was thinking.

"Well, it really doesn't matter, either way, because I'm leaving in like...two days or something, so..." But I forced myself to act nonchalant.

"Eh...I guess it's just a habit." I stood up to take my cereal over to the sink, but was interrupted in my path by the shrill ring of the telephone. I tossed my bowl on a counter when Ella made no movement to answer and picked up reluctantly. "Hello." My voice came out sounding rather morose.

"Woah..." said a familiar voice on the other end. "Why the glum voice, Max? It's the first day of summer vacation!" JJ was squealing excitedly into the receiver, and I had to hold the phone slightly away from me in an effort to protect my eardrums. "Anywho..." she went on, "Me and Caitlyn and everyone were thinking about getting together and going over to the pool. I was just wondering if you wanted to tag along." Her voice sounded so hopeful. It was crushing me. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to have to see everyone so happy and smiley. I would just start imagining them crying while I waved to them from a plane that was going to take me far, far away. And never seeing them again.

Or maybe, I thought fearfully, maybe they wouldn't care at all. Maybe they wouldn't cry or anything. Not even come to the airport to say goodbye. That would be about a million times worse. "Hold on one second." I said to stall. "Let me ask Mrs. Martinez." I slid my thumb over the part you were supposed to talk into and wandered into the living room. I took a deep breath. "Relax, Max. You can just hang out. You just won't mention it, that's all."

"You can't avoid telling them forever. You can't just leave with no explanation." said an annoying little voice in my head. I grimaced, and placed the phone back up towards my mouth.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure, that sounds like fun." I said forcedly, trying to convince myself that it WOULD be fun and not torture. JJ squealed happily.

"Great! Hey listen, would you mind if we all met at your house to grab some lunch. I'd say we could meet at my place, but we have like ZERO food." she laughed.

"Uh...sure, I guess." I said, not really sure what else to say.

"Okay, we'll be there in a little bit. Caitlyn's gonna pick everyone up. See ya!" And with that, she hung up. I dropped the phone on the couch and massaged my throbbing temples. I felt like my world was slowly crumbling down around me, but yet I was still trying to function like nothing was even happening. I walked gingerly back into the kitchen to put the phone back on the hook. Ella was looking at me from across the room, still seated at the kitchen table.

"You having friends over?" she asked casually. I just nodded. I had a pounding headache. "Okay, but it's gonna be kinda crowded in here. I'm having Nudge over to help me babysit Angel and Gazzy." I paused to gape at her, open-mouthed.

"Angel and Gazzy...and Nudge...over HERE?" I sputtered. "Along with ALL my friends, you, and Fang?" Ella raised her eyebrows.

"Uh huh."

"Oh...great..." I said weakly. Now not only would I have to keep my secret from all of my friends, but also from the Nudge Channel, and two adorable little kids. I wandered out of the kitchen, looking for a solid surface to throw myself into repeatedly.

"Caitlyn, did you remember to pack the sunscreen?" JJ, along with me, Caitlyn, Michael, Iggy, and Fang were all either standing or sitting somewhere in the kitchen vicinity, eating. Caitlyn paused with a chip halfway to her mouth, and her face pulled into a thinking expression.

"Oh, shoot." she finally said, facepalming. "I totatlly forgot." JJ rolled her eyes knowingly.

"Figures. Oh well. Max, do you have any around the house?" I hopped up immediately.

"Yep! I'll go get it!" I said before darting out of the kitchen and upstairs as fast as my feet could carry me. I was desperate to take any chance I could to get out of the room. I'd spent the last half an hour looking anywhere but at my friend's cheery faces, and especially not at Fang. I felt like if he glanced at me, I would immediately burst out that I was leaving. I didn't even know WHEN I was supposed to be leaving, for Christ's sake. I still hadn't asked Mrs. Martinez about anything Jeb had told her about the plans.

Rummaging through a cupboard in the bathroom, I heard the front door open downstairs, and then the babble of Nudge's non-stop voice. I sighed heavily. That meant Angel and Gazzy would be here any time now. I didn't think I could stand looking into Angel's big blue eyes and not let something slip. Everything I wanted to say to everyone was positively boiling away inside of me. I'd been trying to keep my mouth shut as much as possible, for fear that I would lose control of what exactly started coming out of it. I located the little blue bottle of sunblock and then took my time going down the stairs. I was in no hurry to get back to the hub of people in my kitchen.

But just as I was walking as slow as I possibly could down the hallway, the front door flew open, and the front hall was filled with the sounds of shrill giggles. Spinning in surprise, I saw a blur of blonde curls, and then Angel had practically tackled me around the middle. I stumbled back a little, but regained my balance by bracing my hand against the wall. "Max!" Angel said in glee, her voice burbling over the din of people in the kitchen. She was smiling up at me with the sweetest little smile like...EVER.

"Hey, sweetie." I said, trying to keep grinning and not let my eyes go all misty. Gazzy casually walked past us, giving a wave in my direction.

"Hey, Max." he said distractedly. I noticed that he was carrying a large bundle of wires and several boxes of Jell-O mix in his arms. I raised my eyebrows slightly, but even the concern that my house might be in danger of exploding couldn't rid the thoughts of my imminent departure from my mind. Angel unwound herself from my waist and hurried into the kitchen.

I heard her squeal "Hey, JJ! Hey, Caitlyn! Hey, Fang!" excitedly, and there were many amused-sounding responses. Angel was sitting on Fang's lap when I walked in, looking pleased. Fang was looking...tolerant. His expression made me want to laugh, but it also made me want to cry at the same time. I was really on quite the emotional rollercoaster today. I saw Nudge raiding the refrigerator for something to eat, and Ella talking cheerfully to her. Gazzy had gone over by Iggy.

"Jeese, did you go all the way to Florida to get the sunscreen, or what?" Iggy asked sarcastically from where he was bent over Gazzy's pile of wires on the counter. I cleared my throat to get rid of the lump forming there, and forced a short laugh.

"Nope, just took me awhile to find it." I sat down gingerly on one of the stools at the island and became very interested in the countertop on purpose.

"Well, anyways..." JJ said, "We were just talking about how sweet that new movie looked like it was gonna be. The one with all the cars and machine guns, and the hot army general guy. Yeah, I think we're all gonna go see it when it comes out next weekend. You should totally come with us." My first thought was to say "Hell yeah!". Any movie with fast automobiles, rapid-fire weapons, and attractive soldiers sounded like my kind of movie. But then it struck me that I wouldn't be AROUND to go see it with them. I would be back at my father's house, locked in my room and being pissed. I felt a tear roll down my cheek and I fiercly wiped it away before anyone could see.

"Umm...yeah...maybe. What is that thing, anyway?" I asked, pointing to all the wires Iggy and Gazzy were fiddling with. I just wanted to change the subject. JJ rose her eyebrows.

"Did you just change the subject on me, Maximum Ride?" she asked jokingly. "If you don't wanna go, we can
go-"

"It's not that I don't want to go!" I snapped defensively. "Who said anything about not wanting to go?" JJ and the others all looked taken aback. I huffed in frustration.

"Max, is everything okay?" Fang asked tentatively? He was looking at me with concern, and so was Angel. And everyone else in the room.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said shortly. But just as I was denying that there was anything wrong, another tear started trailing down my face. I swiped it away, but not before somebody took notice.

"Max, you're crying..." Angel said, hopping off of Fang's lap to come over to me. I backed away.

"Angel, I'm fine! I just...I just!" I didn't know what. I could feel myself crumbling away. Tears were slipping out freely now. I saw everyone in the room take a half-step toward me as though to help. They all looked so worried. That's when I snapped. All of my friends were here, fretting about what was going on, and I just couldn't keep it from them any longer. "I'm leaving!" I shouted. It felt almost like I was vomitting my words. And now there was no stopping what came up. "I'm leaving..." I said again, this time slightly quieter, but with an equal amount of dejectedness. Everyone just stared at me. Finally, Fang stepped forward, reaching out a calloused hand to touch my elbow tentatively.

"What are you talking about?" he asked gently. I sucked in a shaky breath.

"I'm leaving Sierra Vista. I'm going home. To my dad's." I said tearfully. No one said anything, so I just continued. "He called last night, and he wants me to come home. So I have to leave." There was a long pause.

"Well...but you'll come back. Right?" JJ asked, frowning. I shook my head.

"N-no." I said, trying to keep my voice from breaking. "I was only supposed to be here for a little while so that I could straighten some things out, and I guess...I guess my little while is up." Fang's hand on my arm felt like it was burning hot and almost too heavy to bear. I didn't move away, though. "I'm sorry..." I spilled out, "I'm so sorry."

And the kitchen fell into an immesurable, heavy silence.

As it turned out, my flight was scheduled to leave from the Tucson airport at 3:40 in the afternoon the day after I'd told my friends I was leaving. I wasn't even mad that it was so soon. Partly because there was just no more room in me to be pissed at Jeb about anything else, and also because the less time I had to wait to leave, the less time I had to grieve. At least in Sierra Vista, anyways. Shortly after I'd let the cat out of the bag, I'd wandered off to the living room and laid down on the couch. When I got up a little while later and wandered back to the kitchen, most everybody had left.

Angel and Gazzy had been sitting forlornly at the kitchen table and Ella and Nudge were there with them. They informed me that my friends had been at a loss for what to do, hadn't wanted to bother me, and had decided to all just go home. And I hadn't spoken to any of them since. Mrs. Martinez had told me later in the day when my flight was scheduled to leave, and I hadn't even complained. I didn't have the energy to. I just went straight up to my room and started stripping it of my possesions, stuffing them into my suitcases and duffle bag.

I was doing the same thing now. I'd gotten all of my clothes stored away, and most of my toiletries. Now I was just gathering up some random trinkety things that I'd had around the house and in my closet. Grabbing a couple of books off of my floor that Mrs. Martinez had picked up for me over the last few months, I spotted the dark red corner of something poking out from under a stray t-shirt in my closet. Tossing the shirt aside, I discovered that it was the photo album Fang had given me for Christmas. Flipping open to a random page, I was greeted with the sight of me, Fang, and JJ laughing around Iggy, who we had burried in a pile of dead leaves.

I had been fighting tears all day, and this did nothing to help. The salty water was running down my face before I could do anything to stop it. Thankfully, I was interrupted before this turned into to a full on crying session. Crying was one thing I tried to avoid at all costs. It made me feel vulnerable, like a deer running through a shooting range. "Max?" Mrs. Martinez was standing in the doorway to my room, which would technically only be my room for approximately another twenty minutes or so. It was nearly time for us to head to the airport.

I quickly wiped my face free of tears and straightened myself up, shoving the photo album into the duffle bag by my side. "Hey..." I said awkwardly, standing to hoist the bag onto my shoulders and carrying it over to the bed. "I-I'm almost finished. I've just got a few more things to put away." I tried to meet Mrs. Martinez's concerned gaze with an assuring one, but something in my eyes must've given me away. She crossed the room wordlessly and wrapped her arms around me in a tender hug. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my face into her shoulder. She patted the back of my head, and I heard her give a small sniffle of her own.

"It's gonna be okay, sweetie. It'll all work out somehow." And even though I knew she was probably just saying that to make me feel better, it actually did help a little bit. Enough so that I could pull myself together, anyhow. I cleared my throat and pulled out of the hug.

"Meet you downstairs in ten minutes?" I said, starting to pick up some things off of my night stand. She gave me a watery smile and nodded before exiting the room. I sighed as I finally managed to cram all of my stuff into place. Looking around the room, I felt a twinge of nostalgia already. It looked just like it had on the first day I got here. All plain and empty of personal items. I bit my lip to hold back any emotions and grabbed all of my luggage, heading for the door.

The airport was just as I remembered it. It still seemed extremely white and very sunny inside. The Starbucks I had ordered that oversized muffin from was still there, and I swear it was the exact same cashier as well. It felt sort of like extreme De Ja Vu, but at the same time it was still completely weird. My insides were crawling with thoughts. Especially thoughts about how I hadn't had time to say goodbye to anyone. I mean, sure...Ella and Mrs. Martinez were here, but that left...a VERY big blank space where other people should be. I was sure I was going to be sick.

Then Ella tapped me on the shoulder. I turned my head halfheartedly to show I was listening. To my surprise she was sort of...smiling. "I didn't figure you'd want to leave without saying goodbye to everybody. I hope my assumption was right." She was pointing to a spot a ways ahead of me. My gaze followed her finger, and what I saw made the luggage I was carrying drop to the floor with a clatter. Standing by a large, potted plant was all of my friends. JJ, Caitlyn, Nudge, Iggy, Michael, Angel, Gazzy...Fang. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of him standing there. Even Shayla had tagged along. She was standing next to her brother, looking slightly distressed, but healthy. They were all wearing expressions mixed between being happy to see me, and being extremely sad that I was going to be leaving.

I felt suddenly lighter. Like a huge burden had been lifted off of my shoulders. They were going to miss me after all. It seemed like such a stupid thing to doubt now. I picked my bags back up and hurried over towards them. JJ, Caitlyn, Nudge, and Angel all came running and we met midway in a kind of gigantic group hug/football tackle that left all of my bags on the floor again. I saw tears running down every single one of their faces, and knew that my eyes would soon spill over as well. After we'd straightened ourselves out a little bit, JJ came over and wrapped me in a singular hug. When she pulled back, she sniffled and squeaked out "Oh my god, I'm going to miss you so much." And she burst into tears. I just kind of patted her back for a minute.

"JJ, don't cry." I finally pleaded with her. She sucked in a long breath and then wiped her eyes.

"Sorry...I'm just really gonna miss you. You're one of my best friends." I smiled and pulled her in for another quick embrace.

"I'm gonna miss you too." She released me to go blow her nose, and Caitlyn stepped over to say HER goodbyes.

"Girl, you HAVE to keep in touch." she said, sounding almost threatening. I just laughed.

"I promise I'll give you guys a call as soon as I get in. And you have to send me more pictures of you guys. Keep-keep me updated, okay?" It felt weird to be asking her to make sure I stayed somewhat connected with the town I'd thought I'd never want to live in. Before I'd come out here, I NEVER, not in a million years, would EVER have wanted to live in a town like Sierra Vista. Now I was crying because I didn't want to LEAVE it. But Caitlyn just nodded eagerly and promised that she would take hundreds of photos and send them all over.

The next thing I knew, Nudge was smothering me in this incredibly tight hug and babbling shakily in my ear about all sorts of things. "Oh my God, this is like...the saddest thing I have ever had to do. I don't want you to leave! You're the most awesome person ever! There was so much stuff I wanted to do with you! And I was gonna force you to go shopping, and you said I could do your hair sometime, and-" I placed a hand on her shoulder firmly to shut her up.

"I'm gonna miss you, too, Nudge." She squealed and then crushed me again. I hadn't noticed, but Iggy and Michael had stepped forward as well. I wrapped them in semi-awkward hugs, and Michael made a few good-hearted jokes about me "being on the run again". I was chuckling when I noticed that Iggy's eyes were a little shinier than usual. "Awww, Iggy! Are you crying!" I said loudly, trying to embarrass him.

"Shut the fuck up." he said quietly to me, but I saw him rubbing his eyes when he turned away. "Have a nice life, Ride!" he called over his shoulder as he was walking back to join the growing group of people who had already said their goodbyes. I rolled my eyes, but found myself smiling. Then I had the wind knocked out of me as Angel jumped ontop of me and wrapped all of her limbs around my body like vice-grips. I staggered a bit. She was crying heavily into the crook of my neck. My smile was instantly gone and I felt agony shredding my insides.

"I don't want you to go." she said quietly. I pressed her face into my shoulder by the back of her head and stroked her blonde locks.

"I know, sweetie. I don't want to go either, but..." I heaved a defeated sigh. She pulled back to look at me with large, sweet, watery blue eyes.

"It's okay. I know you have to. I still don't want you to go, though." I smiled proudly.

"You are too mature for your age, kid." I said, kissing the top of her head and setting her down. "Now stay out of trouble while I'm gone, okay? Promise me that." She just giggled and gave me one of those I'll-say-anything-just-to-get-you-off-my-case answers. Gazzy trailed over to give me a quick, embarrassed hug. "YOU, mister." I said in a jokingly stern voice. "If I hear that you've gone and blown up Mrs. Martinez's house or something, don't think I can't still come and kick your butt, okay?" I warned. He laughed. Then I saw Fang and Shayla still standing quietly by the potted plant. I patted Angel's head once more and punched Gazzy playfully in the shoulder before wandering over in their direction.

I opened my mouth to say something (though I wasn't quite sure what to say at a moment like this), but Shayla beat me to the punch. "Max..." she said quietly. "I just wanted to say thank you. For everything." She pulled me into a hug and my nose was filled with the scent of her shampoo because her voluminous, black hair was like...trying to eat me or something. I sneezed a little bit and she pulled away, giggling. That left...gulp. Fang was just looking at me, and even his eyes didn't betray his emotions this time. I bit my lip against my tears and started to play with my hands.

"So...I guess...Thanks for coming and all? I'm gonna miss you and everything." I paused to look back up at him. He was still just standing there with the exact same expression. "Oh, fuck it." I said determindly, and I launched myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck and pulling him into a BIG hug. He didn't even tense for once, he just hugged back and let me bury my face in shoulder. "Don't you ever fucking forget me." I said fiercly when I pulled away. He just smirked a little bit.

"I don't think I could forget you even if I wanted to, Maximum Ride." he said. Then he reached behind him into his back pocket and pulled out a small package, slipping it to me discreetly. "Don't open it until you're on the plane." he hissed to me. I looked down at it for a moment and then stuffed it into the pocket of my shorts. Now we were just staring at eachother. Then he smirked again. "Call me, okay? That way you can at least be a stubborn, nagging, narcissist over the phone." I rolled my eyes and hugged him again quickly. Then Ella was calling to me from a few feet away.

"I don't mean to interrupt anything, but you're supposed to be getting on the plane really soon, Max!" I nodded in her direction, and me and Fang both started walking over towards everybody else. It took a little while for security to check all my bags, and get all my ticket info in order, but I was soon just waiting for the call to board the plane that was going to take me back to my father's. I had a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't get rid of no matter how hard I tried. I was sitting with my eyes closed in a chair, trying to ignore it. Ella and Fang were sitting on either side of me. Ella squeezed my arm in a comforting way. "You'll be okay, Max. We'll still keep in touch." I just nodded, but kept my eyes closed.

"Flight 406 is now departing. Flight 406. Will all passengers please board the plane." said a friendly voice over the intercom. Flight 406. I glanced wearily at the ticket I was clutching. Yup...406 was my flight. I stood up slowly and picked my luggage up from the floor. I spotted where I was supposed to be heading to get on the plane, but didn't move just yet. Mrs. Martinez came over and put her hands on my shoulders.

"If you EVER need ANYTHING, you just give me a call, alright?" She placed a kiss on my cheek. "And don't let your father get you down. I know he can be controlling, and sometimes just a downright jerk, but...he means well, okay?" I just nodded, feeling a little lightheaded. Mrs. Martinez handed me a twenty dollar bill. "Just in case you get hungry on the plane." The woman on the intercom started to repeat her message about Flight 406. "Okay, well, you better get going, honey." She squeezed my shoulders maternally, and then started to walk with me in the direction of the boarding tunnel where a man was waiting to take my ticket. All of my friends followed.

I stopped to give everyone last minute hugs (I had a hard time getting Ella to release me), and then handed the man my ticket. He scanned it quickly and gestured down the tunnel, indicating that I could go now. I turned back once more took look sadly at all of the people I was going to miss SOOO much. I gave a watery smile and wave and started walking down the hallway, followed by calls of "We'll miss you, Max!" and "We love you!" and "Call me!" The kind stewardess waiting at the entrance to the plane helped me find my seat, and put my carry-on bag up in the holding compartments above my head.

"Can I get you anything else, Miss?" she asked me, smiling. I felt my stomach growl, and was immediately thankfull that Mrs. Martinez had remembered to give me money. In all of my nervousness and busyness packing, I hadn't eaten any lunch and had hardly eaten much of anything for breakfast.

"Do you have anything to eat around here? I'm REALLY hungry." I said, praying that they had something more satiating than mini bags of peanuts.

"We have a really good bagel plate. It comes with a bagel, cream cheese, grapes, and walnuts." My mouth had been watering since she said the word 'bagel'.

"Yeah, that sounds amazing. Thanks." She smiled and said she'd be right back. I hoped she wasn't just saying that. When I moved to sit down in my seat, I felt something odd in my pocket. Fishing my hand around, I discovered it was the package Fang had slipped to me. I'd almost forgotten about it. My stomach did a back flip as I thought of him while I slid back the paper. A little note fluttered out and landed in my lap. I picked it up to read it.

I know it's not QUITE as good as the last one, but...I thought you might like this one better anyways.

Fang

Wondering what that meant, I tucked the note back inside my pocket and pulled away the rest of the thin wrapping paper. It revealed a little swatch of cotton. Underneath it was something that made my eyes prick for about the thousandth time today. It was the fang necklace that I'd gotten his nickname from. I picked it up with shaky fingers, and laughed to myself. Then I clipped it around my neck and felt it's light weight settle on me.

Oh yeah...a MILLION times better than any necklace money could buy.

A/N: Aww...Forgive me, but I thought that was cute. Don't worry...

THIS ISN'T THE LAST CHAPTER!

I have one more to go. Hehehe...