Me: SORRY FOR THE WAIT GUYS!!! My week has been packed with stalkers, drama, and mid-terms. (sighs) Now time for the chapter. I don't own Maximum Ride.

Shadow: But she owns me, Hunter, Ghost, Annabell, Chris, Cass, and Lies. That's it, right?

Hunter: Yep. Now, thanks to all 38 people who reviewed for the last chapter. You guys keep the story running! Now, on with the chap!

Chapter 17: The Book and his Cover

Max's POV

I'll admit, my jaw dropped.

"What?" I asked, incredulous. How the heck can he be so casual?! Fang gave me a long look and sighed.

"We don't need to do the whole spy routine here. It's just you and me. Hunter's not behind with chloroform, and I hope Shadow's not pointing a gun at my head right now," Fang said. I looked behind me, just to make sure.

Then, there was a silence.

And not one of those awkward silences, where you stare desperately at the person to say something, but a nice, comfortable one.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" I finally asked, breaking the silence. I crossed my arms and leaned against the tree, casually. I probably should get comfortable.

"Why? Should I not want to?" Fang mocked. I glared at him and he smirked.

"You're such a comedian," I said. His smirk grew wider and I narrowed my eyes.

"Alright, alright...sorry, jeez Max," Fang said. I stopped glaring at him and looked away. Wait, why was I still here?

Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer... Jeb's old lesson popped into my head. So...if I get close to Fang then...

No, Max. I thought to myself. It's bad to play with people like that.

But what if he tries to play with me like that? I thought back furiously.

Great, I'm arguing with myself.

Then you'll know what he's pulling. And anyways, would you like that to happen to you?

I'm losing my internal argument.

And I thought Shadow was going crazy.

"Max? Are you okay?" Fang asked cautiously.

"Yeah, fine," I dismissed it. I'm just arguing with myself and losing, no biggie, I mentally added.

"The last time you assured me that you were okay, you fell to the floor screaming," I heard him mutter darkly under his breath.

And why was he so concerned?

He doesn't care. Of course not. Why would he?

"Why are you here?" I said, annoyed at how confused I felt.

"Car," Fang said calmly, gesturing to the car. "You?"

"Same," I said, using the same one word annoyances that he used.

"Cool." Another silence. Then...

"What's the difference between an Angel and a Fallen?" Fang asked, looking straight at me. I was a bit surprised at the question. Doesn't he know?

"Well, we don't do anything to get what we want. Like kill innocent people," I said. His eyes showed genuine confusion. That or he was a really good actor.

"We don't kill innocent people," he said, his tone truthful. I'm sure the look on my face showed that I was very skeptical.

"Oh yeah. Well, what about the incident at the Hilton Hotels?" I countered.

"It was either them or us. Would you let your group die because you didn't want to hurt the other side?" Fang retorted. I bit my lip. He had cornered me with that one.

"No, I wouldn't," I said.

"Why'd you think that we kill innocent people anyways?" Fang asked.

"J-Our Head told us this," I said, crossing my arms. I'm not going to reveal Jeb, no matter how much of an ass he is sometimes.

"Your Head? Hm...the person sounds...interesting," Fang said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, sure, he's very interesting," I said, rolling my eyes. This guy is something else...

"He? It's a guy?" Fang asked.

"Yes, you thought it was a girl?" Fang didn't respond, just looked away.

Silence again.

"You had said before that your 'No memory story' was another story for another time. Here's another time," Fang said, shuffling his feet.

Crap.

He just had to remember that.

Just had to.

"I don't think this is a good place to discuss this," I said, shifting my stance.

"I think it's perfect. Secluded, no one listening in, no one to disturb us." No one to hear me calling for help...no one to hear you trying to kidnap me...it's the dream spot.

"Yeah, well, I have to get home before the others start to worry," I answered. I turned around and started to walk off and someone grabbed my wrist.

I'll give you a few seconds to guess who that someone was.

Done yet?

Still? Okay, a few more seconds...

Okay, poll's closed.

Now, if you guessed Fang then you're correct. Go reward yourself with a cookie.

Anyways...

"Let go," I growled.

"Max, I want to know. I want to know my past," Fang said calmly but forcefully.

"Well, good for you," I said. He glared at me.

"Lets help each other. There's no harm done in that," He said. I sighed, feeling overwhelmed at the minute.

Should I do this?

The Fallen would love having the Leader of the Angels captured.

The others would love to know their past.

Angel and Total would be happy. Nudge would be overjoyed. Shadow would be...

Shadow wouldn't go crazy.

"Alright Fang, fine," I sighed. "But not now. Where and when?"

I cannot believe that I'm doing this. Giving in to the enemy, on his terms.

I must be out of touch.

But it's for the Flock.

Wait...there's that word again. Flock. Flock.

Why do I keep thinking that?

"That club where you and Shadow had sung that song, at eleven, tonight."

"Fine," I said. I snatched my wrist back. "But don't try and pull anything funny." Fang shot me an innocent look that seemed sincere. Keyword: Seemed.

"And why would I do that?"

"Well-"

"MAX!?" Shadow's shouting cut me off. My eyes widened.

What would she think? Would she think I'm a double-agent, talking to the enemy so casually like this?

Or would she think it was a capture attempt and try to kill him?

I looked back at Fang, who was tense, waved goodbye to him and ran in the direction of her voice.

"SHADOW!" I screamed. Keep running...lead her away from him...run into her...

"MAX?" she yelled again. I slowed down.

"HERE!" I hollered back. I heard things snapping and Shadow ran in. She stopped and leaned against a tree.

"Where-you? Worried," She breathed.

"It's okay. I just went to get the car and the motorcycle, that's all," I assured her. Shadow breathed out and nodded.

"Ok-" She froze and her eyes narrowed. Uh-oh...

"What?" I asked casually.

"Someone else is here," She said. My blood ran cold.

"I don't think so, I just looked through here because of that. There's nothing." I shut my mouth before I turned into Nudge. That's when Shadow knows something's wrong with me. She was looking suspiciously. Great.

"Max? What did you see in the forest?" She asked.

"Nothing of extreme importance," I said. Well, at least to her...don't want to give another thing to worry about...

"Max, ar-" she stopped again and I started wonder what she was hearing that I wasn't.

"You're just paranoid," I said, trying to distract her. It worked. She turned and glared at me.

"And look who's talking," she countered.

"Hey!" I pretended to look offended. She looked in Fang's direction one last time and walked back to the car. I sighed in relief and followed.

"This time, I'm driving the motorcycle," I called. She shrugged in front of me.

"Go ahead," she said. We entered the side of the road where the cars were parked. I threw the car keys at her and she slipped into the car.

I smiled as I got onto the motorcycle. See, I have my baby back.

I revved the engine and the result made me smile. The growl of it was exhilarating. Oh, how I loved my motorcycle.

Okay, not totally mine but still.

The motor of the car started and Shadow drove onto the road. I started to drive of after her when a flash of black caught my eye.

I looked in the direction and saw Fang standing there. His arms were crossed and he was staring directly at me. I met his eyes and we held each others eyes for what seemed like a lifetime, but what could've only been a few seconds.

Now, I know where Hollywood gets this stuff from.

Fang's POV

I watched Max's hair whip around her face as she drove off on her motorcycle. I sighed and shook my head. That was close...how did Shadow know that I was right behind Max. She looked directly at me.

Whatever.

"Fang." I whirled around, going straight into a fighter's stance.

"Jeez Fang. Calm down," Hunter said, putting his hands up. I relaxed out of my stance.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. It was a innocent question. Especially since he left Iggy and Gazzy alone. They could "accidentally" blow up the house.

"Well, we need the car," Hunter said, avoiding my eyes. A cold feeling went down my back.

"Why?"

"Jeb's sending us on another mission," Hunter said.

Crap.

Me: I'm just going to remind you to review...