This chapter's song is Too Much by All Time Low

"You say that I'm messing with your head

All 'cus I was making out with your friend

Love hurts whether it's right or wrong

I can't stop, 'cus I'm having too much fun

You're on your knees, begging please,"

I groaned, as Avril Lavigne blasted from my cell phone. Jason. I just was not in any mood to talk to him after what happened last night with Fang. But then Nudge was bursting through my door with a scowl on her features. "Jesus, Max," she said, yanking the covers off me. "Answer it already!" I glared at her for a long moment, and then reached over to grab it.

"All my life, I've been good, but now-"

"What Jason?" I hissed, as I pressed my phone to my ear. "Don't be so rude," he snapped. "Sorry," I mumbled, swinging my feet around and sitting up. I flicked my eyes up at Nudge, and then glanced at the door. With an eye roll, she, thankfully, left the room. "But you woke me up."

"Max, it's almost ten; you should be out of bed by now." I gritted my teeth, and a scowl weaseled its way onto my face. "Who are you, my father?" I snapped, crossing my arms. "Max!" Jason exclaimed, sounding very annoyed. I resisted the urge to hang up on him. I couldn't remember a time that he'd gotten on my nerves like this. Something about him was just really pissing me off today. "What?" I yelled back, and the line was silent for a moment. "I was going to see if you wanted to go out to lunch or something today, but it's obvious you're in a bad mood, so I'll leave you alone." The tell-tale beeping informed me that he'd hung up, and instantly, I felt guilty. I could never figure out how he did that. He just had a way of making me feel bad.

I threw my phone down on the bed with an angry snarl. "Violent much?" a smooth voice quipped from the doorway. My head snapped up to see Fang, leaning against the door frame, a very cocky smile on his face. "What do you want?" I snapped. Because I wasn't mad enough. And then stupid Fang with his stupid voice and his stupid heart throbbing smile and his stupid sexy hair had to come in and make it worse.

Very mature, yes I know.

Fang's smile grew wider, and his eyebrows shot into his hairline, which only succeeded in infuriating me more. A small part of my mind told me that this was exactly his intention. "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed," he sang mockingly, and my jaw clenched. "Look, Fang," I said darkly, glaring at him for all he was worth. "I am so not in the mood for you and all your bullshit so get out!" My voice went up an octave, as I yelled the last part, and Fang's cocky smirk fell, only to be replaced by a look of anger. And for a sick, twisted moment, I was proud of myself. "Fine," he said flatly, and then disappeared. And again, the guilt washed over me like a tidal wave. It was turning into a game.

"Step right up and have your patience tested! The longer it takes for Max to push you away, the bigger prize you get!"

I let the shame settle, and then I stood and headed downstairs "What did Jason want?" Nudge asked nonchalantly as I took my place at the table. I shrugged, "I don't know. He hung up on me." Nudge looked at me with surprise written plainly on her face. "Why?" she pressed, eyes wide. I shrugged again. "Because I pissed him off, I guess." Now, Nudge looked pleased. "Are you guys going to break up?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

I stared at her.

"I don't know," I snapped, and instantly Nudge looked down and I felt bad. "Sorry," she squeaked, fiddling with her fork. I sighed. "No, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just in a bad mood." Silence. "It's okay, Max," Nudge finally sighed. It was silent again.

Slowly, the rest of the flock trickled in. Angel, Gazzy, Fang, and Dylan. Nudge happily engaged in a conversation, but I kept my mouth shut, afraid I'd lash out again. Iggy came into the dining room, balancing a bowl of eggs, plate of bacon, and two casserole dishes of cinnamon rolls.

Noiselessly, I served myself, and ate in mild tranquility. I didn't want to disturb the peace that had been formerly disrupted by yours truly. Slowly, everyone finished, and headed into other parts of the house, leaving me by myself. I was zoned out, staring blankly at the corner of the table, as my thoughts hummed uselessly.

The sound of the garage door opening made me break my stare and look up. My mother, followed by Ella, walked into the kitchen. "Hi, Max," mom sad as she passed, pausing to touch the top of my head lightly. "Hey, Maxie-Poo," Ella cooed, plopping herself down in my lap goofily as she wrapped her arms around my neck. She leaned against me, a silly smile on her face. "How old are you?" I asked, laughing as I shoved her. "I-" she began, and then, "OW!" interjected her sentence as she crashed into the tiled floor.

"Oopsies," I said, matching her childish tone. She glared at me, and stood slowly, rubbing her back. My mother had watched the whole exchange with a rather amused smile, and she finally said, "If you two are finished," and set down her purse and keys on the counter.

I grinned wolfishly at mom, and Ella pulled out a chair and sat down. "Who's screaming?" Dylan asked breathlessly, appearing in the doorway breathlessly. I rolled my eyes, "Ella tripped," I said, winking at my half-sister, who scowled. "Go get everyone else Wonderboy," Dylan smiled, saluted me, then headed back into the living room.

In two minutes, everyone was seated at the table again, except for my mother, who remained at her post leaning on the counter. A quick glare silenced my chattering flock and I slumped back against my chair, pulling my knees up against my chest. "Good morning," mom said cheerfully, the crows' feet at her eyes crinkling as she smiled at us. I watched as her eyes landed on Fang and her smile faltered. Fang noticed too, guilt flashing in his eyes momentarily and the tension between his shoulder blades strengthened.

And then Fang's head turned, looking at me head-on from the other end of the table. My breath caught at the intensity in those gold-flecked eyes that never failed to make my heart pound. I saw the message so clearly in his eyes and I felt tears pricking at the back of my eyes. I'm sorry his orbs spoke, so clear like daylight, like he hadn't been gone for so long. Like we were one person again.

Lip between my teeth, I turned away, my heart still pounding painfully and my eyes still stinging. I saw Fang turn away in my peripheral but the pricking on the back of my neck told me someone else was staring at me. I dropped my eyes down to Angel who was seated next to me, her big blue eyes wide with questions and her fair eyebrows raised. I smiled wanly at her, feeling great relief as the tears subsided.

I didn't even try to hide it from Angel. There was no point. I knew she'd seen the whole exchange, and in any case, there was no hiding anything from a mind-reading fourteen-year-old. I shrugged nonchalantly and Angel looked away, reminding me that my mother was here and talking to us, and I'd ignored the whole thing.

"…I've decided that we're going to take a family trip to California for a week. All you guys do is home school, sports, eating, and sleeping. We need a break." My mom said happily, and suddenly, the kitchen went up in excited bird-kid yells.