"Hey, um can we talk Max," Gordon and I were walking around downtown. It was the day after Christmas, but because of the stupid Chicago weather, there was no snow. But lucky me, there would be tons of snow because I was going to Utah! But anyway, back to my current disaster of a social situation. Have I mentioned that I have about zero social skills? Zippo. None.
"Yeah, sure. What's up?" I asked trying to remain calm, even though I had a feeling I knew where this was going.
"Okay, well I really like you Max," he began. Here we go. How much do you wanna bet that he was gonna say how much he liked me, but that stuff wasn't working out. That's what they always say, but I don't understand why. "I really really like you Max, you know that right? I just feel that if it came down to Fang or me, you'd choose Fang in a heartbeat." He paused, and I realized he was spot on. Depending on circumstances, Fang could come equal or above some family. "I mean, I hate being the bad guy here, and it doesn't bother me that you and Fang are such good friends, but I think you like Fang more than you like me. Don't get me wrong, I still like you but I'm just not sure that we were meant to be more than friends. I think that's more where Fang comes in. He also seems to need you more than I do. He's clearly happier when you're around, and he's been a different person since you've moved here. But I still like you, and I still wanna be friends, is that right? Just be honest, what exactly are you feeling?"
I took a deep breath, and thought about it for a while. "Okay, well I was gonna tell you this today anyway because I didn't think you'd like it, but my dad got tickets for Fang, Iggy and I to go and ski at Utah, and stay with a friend of his. I'm sorry Gordon. I hate doing this to you, but I'm not sure about my feelings for Fang. But I think we, us, are better off as friends. We can still hang out sometime and talk though. It doesn't need to be like most breakups where we erase each other," I replied. I realized this was the right thing to do, especially considering that I had sort of lost my feelings for Gordon.
He nodded, accepting everything. "Thanks for being honest Max. We can always be friends. I think this way is just easier for both of us, and Fang too."
"What do you mean easier for Fang too?" I asked, growing curious.
"He needs you Max. And every second Gordon's with you that takes you away from him. Not necessarily jealousy, but him needing you and not being able to have you is hard on him," he explained.
"He told you this?" I asked confused, pushing a piece of stray hair behind my ear.
"No. But I can tell. We're both guys. I know he's not exactly emotional, and doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, but I can still tell. The way he acts when you're around, it's just clear to me."
"I'm sorry Gordon. You're still a great guy," I stuttered taking it all in, and he nodded. We were walking through the park now, and he kissed my cheek.
"Bye Max," he said looking at me.
"Bye Gordon. See you around," I replied and we both turned to walk our separate ways. Somehow I knew this was coming, but not in the way I expected. I thought it would be more of him being jealous and angry that I spent more time with Fang than him. But it was almost the opposite. He broke up with me to spare Fang the hurt he would feel if we stayed together. He was really sweet, and it was just cute the way he cared about the people I cared about. I also felt way relieved, and lots of guilt flooded out of me, knowing that I wouldn't be responsible for explaining the Utah trip with Fang to Gordon.
But did Fang really need me? As a friend or as something more? Speaking of something more, I wasn't sure where my current feelings for Fang were at the moment. Yeah, he was still my best friend, and I knew nothing would change that, but that little thrill I had been getting as we hugged, what was that about? Sometimes the way he looked at me, as though he could read my thoughts, sent chills through me. Gave me goose bumps. Maybe I could talk to Iggy about it in Utah.
(-LINE BREAK-)
I opened my mouth a bunch of times, trying to unpop my ears. Unfortunately, Iggy saw me making that oh-so-attractive-fish-out-of-water-face and snickered.
"You're lucky we're still taking off and we can't use electronics. Otherwise I'd have a scrapbook of those hot faces your making," Iggy said imitating me.
"Shut up Ig," I said smirking. "You're lucky I'm bringing you on this trip as it is," I replied jokingly.
"Who else were you gonna bring? Gordon?" I rolled my eyes, but then I decided I would ask Iggy if he knew anything. Fang was sitting next to me on one side, but he was out cold. He looked so calm as he slept, different from his awake self where he seemed tense all the time. Except for those few times when he fully relaxed. Sometimes when he was holding Angel, or that time when we were in the tree talking.
"Gordon and I broke up," I informed him with a slight smirk. Iggy's eyes widened a tiny bit as he gained this knowledge, but he didn't seem surprised. He almost seemed to have known it was coming. "Did you know?"
"Sorta. Well, I knew Gordon from way back when we all started going to the same school. He's always been one of those guys that would put everyone before himself. But Fang's kinda like that too. Except when Gordon realized that Fang was starting to change because of you, and like you; he felt he needed to back off," Iggy explained. I double-checked a few times to make sure that Fang was still asleep, but he was like rock. Solid, steady and unmoving.
"Gordon said that Fang needed me. Well he said it a few times. Is that true or was he just exaggerating to make it seem less awkward and weird? Well as breakups go," I asked curious.
"No. I'm pretty sure he was right about that. Before you came here, Fang was even more closed off and shut out than he is now. Way more. But then he met you, and he's opened up. To everyone. Especially you though. You guys have this level of friendship that he's never had with anyone, nowhere near what we have and I've known him for years. You met him months ago, and already you understand each other on this whole other level. It's a bit weird in some ways, but you guys just like fit together or something. I'm not even sure what it is. It's a lot of the reason why Ella keeps ranting about how you should get together. But that's beside the point." Iggy popped a handful of white tic-tacs in his mouth.
"Yeah. But the problem is I'm not sure how I feel. I mean yeah I love him as a brother. And you too of course, you guys are both like brothers to me, but I don't know if there would be something more?" I responded unwrapping a new piece of gum since mine had long lost its flavor.
"Do you want it to?" Iggy asked. Now that was the golden question. Did I want to have something more with Fang? I mean it wouldn't ruin our friendship. I was sure of that. Nothing could really ruin our friendship, but did I want to go past it?
"I don't know. Does Fang want it to?" I wondered somewhat aloud.
"I think he does more than he'll admit maybe even to himself. I know for a fact he needs you as a friend. That much is crystal clear, but if he needs you more than that would be if he wanted it to. But I'm confident he does want it to move on." Iggy shifted his weight around so he could avoid the Sun. It was early, around 6 or so in the morning, and the Sun was just rising, and we'd had to get to the airport at 4:10 so we could make it through security and baggage checking before our 5:45 flight.
This whole conversation would've been weird if it was anyone but Iggy. We were like brother and sister and could talk about anything. He'd asked my permission on dating Ella, which I thought was really sweet. He was also Fang's best guy friend and knew him longest so it helped me figure out Fang, which was somewhat of a difficult process.
I nodded, but we both noticed Fang stir in his sleep, and we exchanged looks to drop the conversation for now.
I watched as Iggy plugged earphones in and leaned against the window, closing his pale blue eyes. The rising Sun reflected off his shimmery light blond hair. Fang stirred in his sleep some more, and his eyes fluttered open.
"Morning sunshine," I mocked with a grin as he awoke. He smirked, and then sat up fully as he leaned back and stretched. Lucky for us, we were able to be in first-class since my new BFF father had bought us all this great stuff.
"We're going to watch a movie," Fang announced and I nodded, pulling out my laptop with a selection of movies.
"Dark Knight, this is the one you're supposed to pick. Batman Begins. Dark Knight Rises. Pitch Perfect, get ready to get pitch slapped. Elf. Harry Potter 7. Or finally Monsters Inc."
"Dark Knight," Fang said almost immediately. "Best villain of all time."
"Agreed, too bad Heath Ledger died of drug overdose," I replied grabbing a pair of ear buds and popping the DVD in the holder on my laptop. We shared the headphones, watching as the intense movie was underway. Now this was my kinda movie. It was the first 30 seconds and there was already guys with guns.
I know I'm a girl, so I'm supposed to watch like romantic love stories and all that crap, but frankly they're just long and boring, so I stick to action movies as much as possible. Yup, that's me. A little dollop of sunshine, can't you tell? But okay realistically, how many of you suckers watch those love stories because you deeply have affection for the characters? If any of you nodded, I highly doubt that and I wouldn't be surprised if you only watch those movies to see hot guys, acting all gentlemen-y who steal the girl of their dreams. Honestly, I'm pretty sure that the Joker is going to destroy Chicago just because he wanted to, before all the girls in the world instantly meet their dream boys, but that's just my cynical self talking.
Anyway I focused in on the Joker's grand plan to take over Gotham and take down the Batman. Even in this amazing, might I add action paced movie, there were still some stupid lovey dovey scenes between Rachel and Harvey and Rachel and Bruce. But okay, I mean Rachel's seriously gotta make up her mind on who she actually loves because it was really driving me crazy.
3 hours later, our plane touched down in Salt Lake, and we hurried ourselves to the baggage claim, grabbing the few small suitcases we had.
"Now what?" Fang asked, suddenly appearing out of nowhere, as he did all the time. I swear he had just been with Iggy looking for his other suitcase, but apparently not.
I dug through my little box that held the lift tickets, return plane tickets and the travel vouchers. Shuttle service: to resort- PARK CITY AIRPORT SERVICE. Well now that wasn't too difficult and we scanned the road for a shuttle with the same name. We found it giving our names because my wonderfully rich father had prepaid for our unlimited service throughout Utah basically. We sat down in 3 seats towards the back, and Iggy was almost bouncing up and down in his seat in excitement. I'd known Fang skied, and I heard he was a pretty badass skier, but I didn't know about Iggy.
"Yo Ig, how much have you even skied anyway? Are we gonna have to put you in the magic carpet daycare?" I asked teasingly. He rolled his eyes.
"You wish Max. But I've been skiing with Fang since we were like 8 or something."
"That doesn't mean you're as skilled and good as me," Fang replied with a smirk jokingly.
"Okay well not everyone is just naturally gifted at skiing and singing and like everything in the world, as you are," Iggy replied, but still wearing his happy little smile. "Well except getting a girlfriend that is." He gave me a small little wink out of the corner of his eye, and I wasn't sure if Fang had seen it. Probably though, considering he picked up on almost everything.
"At least the girl I like isn't a year younger than me," Fang joked back. Iggy smiled, probably daydreaming about my crazy little sister or something.
"Don't worry you're not the only single one here," Iggy hinted.
"You and Gordon broke up?" Fang asked obviously surprised. He seemed a little, okay a lot, happy but was trying really hard not to show it.
"Yeah, stuff just wasn't really working out between us. We're still friends though," I explained and I could tell Fang was trying really hard to stay looking neutral.
"That's what they all say," Iggy chimed in. "Oh I really like you, but I just don't wanna have to see you anymore. We can be friends though," Iggy imitated sitting up really straight and pretending to look fancy.
I rolled my eyes, "Yup that's exactly what I said. It was honestly pretty mutual though."
"That's what they all say," Iggy snorted. He was trying to act as though we hadn't had our little heart to heart earlier.
"Aren't you upset Max?" Fang asked the way he cared how I felt.
I shrugged my shoulders, "We're actually gonna be friends though. We're cool." I decided that I was gonna go to sleep so I'd be ready for our first day of kickass skiing.
FPOV-
I watched as Max closed her eyes, almost immediately drifting to sleep. Her breathing was steady and quiet, and she looked so peaceful as she slept. "Gordon and Max really broke up, huh?" I mused aloud, not to anyone in particular.
"Yes Romeo, now you have your chance to get Max. Before someone else beats you to it again," Iggy replied not looking up from the magazine he was flipping through.
"Who says I want Max?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.
Iggy looked up. "You've got to be kidding me." I looked up, smirking and he rolled his eyes.
"Maybe I wanna just be friends," I said again. I'd been having a hard time admitting to myself how much I needed Max, let alone Iggy. Besides Iggy would most likely just use it against me.
"Yeah right," Iggy muttered giving me a how-stupid-do-you-think-I-am look. I rolled my eyes finally deciding to give in.
"Okay fine, maybe I like her a little."
"A little?" Iggy gaped.
"Shut up. I'm done having this conversation with you. You're no help," I insisted.
"Look I probably know more than you think…" he trailed off leaving me wondering if he'd had a conversation with Max.
"…and?" I inquired. I wasn't much of a talker and Iggy was lucky I was giving away this much.
"Well," he paused thinking of how to word something, "let's just say Max may be interested."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked clearly frustrated. Why couldn't he just give me a stupid straight out answer? I mean how difficult was that?
He shrugged his shoulders, and I rolled my eyes. What a helpful friend he was. "It just means that maybe you can be the Romeo to her Juliet."
"You're an idiot Ig," I muttered but smirking slightly. If he was telling the truth, then maybe he meant Max and Gordon broke up for more than Max was letting on. But I didn't want to get my hopes up. I plugged headphones into my ears, and closed my eyes letting the music play.
- (LINE BREAK) -MPOV (**assume it's always returning to Max POV unless it says Fang or Iggy)
As fearless as I am about pretty much everything, I was having a few doubts about this. My doubts are few and far between, I assure you, but on this rare occasion I was having a few doubts. Now if you think that means I'm scared, and just too stubborn to admit it you're 100% wrong. I wasn't scared at all. I'm Max. I don't get scared. Ever. There is a world of difference between having a few doubts and being scared. It wasn't even my idea to begin with, so I could only blame Fang. Well and Iggy of course. When in doubt, blame Iggy, was the motto adopted since I'd moved here. But back to the point. The reason of my few doubts was that we were taking a chairlift up to Jupiter Peak. Jupiter Peak, for those of you losers who can't and don't ski in Utah, is the highest peak of the resort and the only way down from the top is a series of bowls. Trees surround the bowls, and intersperse themselves into the bowls so there is basically no way but through the trees. Sounds incredibly exciting right? My only doubts were the huge cliff that we might possibly have to go over.
I was sitting in between Fang and Iggy on this 3 person chairlift and we all skied off gracefully. It was already our last day of skiing, and the first two days we'd skied some easy double blacks, and a variety of blues and blacks to warm-up. Then we hit the harder runs towards the end of the week. We'd even gone to Canyons, a neighboring ski resort to mix it up. It was awesome there too, and we stayed mostly on one lift called Ninety-Nine 90. It took you up 9990 feet, to the peak which was only 10 feet short of 10,000. See, you can learn stuff by hanging with us! Surprisingly, we were all about the same skill level which was super convenient. Did I mention we all have no fear of crashing, falling or basically anything when it came to skiing? We were set to go, and Iggy took off first and went flying between the BMW sized moguls that lined the mountain. This part wasn't as steep, but the huge bumps made it hard yet insanely fun. I followed Iggy, with Fang close on my tail.
Iggy was pretty fast, but not as fast as Fang. Or me. He seemed to have so much fun when he skied though, and his carefree little smile was always plastered on his face. Fang had such natural talent, it was breathtaking. He was graceful, but quick with his turns and stops. He was honestly beautiful to watch. I'd stopped halfway down by Iggy and I'd let my mouth hang open in awe as he swiftly flew down the hill.
He smirked when he got to us. "Nice drool, Max. Glad to know you think I look good."
Iggy clapped me on the back, "Smooth," he whispered and I just rolled my eyes at them both.
We all took off, and then stopped short when we got to the area where the trees started to fill in more. Iggy went first, narrowly avoiding tree after tree. I followed Iggy, making sure I turned quick enough leaving enough room to spare my arms from getting scraped. I made it through fine, grinning as the adrenaline rushed through me. I had to admit, if I could fly, I'm sure that's what flying would kinda feel like. The way you glide over the snow, and get a great adrenaline rush made me feel like I could fly. It was so incredibly cool. Fang made it out as well, spraying me with snow as he hockey-stopped, and then gracefully falling on his butt.
"Smooth move, Romeo" Iggy said laughing as Fang slid a few more feet due to the steepness of the hill. Fang rolled his eyes, but couldn't help laughing a little. I pulled him back up and we finished the rest of the bowl injury and fall-free. I'm sure you were just so worried. But because we're just a crazy couple of kids, we got back on the lift to do it again. We did a bunch of different double black bowls off this lift until around 3:15, when the lift closed. It got dark here so early; we headed back to the house where we were staying.
"Yo Max, where do you wanna go for dinner?" Fang asked from his spot on the couch.
I was grabbing a sweatshirt from upstairs, and called back, "Let's order a pizza in and watch a movie or something. Not sure how much money we have left to spend on dinners and stuff." The boys both agreed with me, and we had the local pizza place deliver a 16" bacon pizza. As soon as it came, we all sat down in the living room and used paper plates, and stuffed ourselves with pizza.
"That so hit the spot," Iggy crooned, leaning back against the pillow in his recliner.
Fang and I were sitting together on the couch, and our feet were up on the coffee table in front of us.
"What movie would you like?" I asked Iggy, as he flicked through movie choices on Demand.
"21 Jump Street." I put my plate on top of Fang's on the table, as I announced what movie we're going to watch.
"Back to the Max dictatorship it is," Iggy joked and I pretended to glare at him. "Just kidding. This is a Max fantasy."
"That's better," I added and pushed play. But how could you not like 21 Jump Street, it's hilarious and not all girly and gross. Plus, it has Channing Tatum, and even I thought he had a pretty nice looking face. And abs. Just saying.
I settled back into the couch, totally at ease with my two best friends in the whole world, in my favorite place in the whole world, doing what I loved. What more could a girl even ask for?
FPOV
We were watching the movie, and Max had started to fall asleep. Her eyes drifted shut, and her head rolled to one side and she laid her head on my shoulder. I was pretty sure she was asleep, but I couldn't be positive. But either way she was curled up against my side. Her head was leaning on my shoulder, and her hand was on my chest. Somehow she had managed to be in a position where she was holding me, but it was pretty gosh darn cute.
Iggy noticed her and mouthed silently across the room, "Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone! I love you and that's all I really know! It's a love story, baby just say yes!" The lyrics to Taylor Swift. I rolled my eyes.
"It's sad that you know Taylor Swift songs. Unless you serenade Ella with them," I whispered back at him and he smirked.
He pointed to Max, "Juliet." Then pointed to me, "Romeo." Then he formed a heart with his hands and pretended to look dreamy and lost in the clouds. Except there were no clouds since it was nighttime, so the affect was kinda lost.
"You. Are. A. Loser." I silently shouted, aka whispered (just trying to change things up here) back to him. He nodded and pretended he was holding an invisible dream girl next to him. I rolled my eyes, and then looked down at Max, and thought about how pretty she looked when she slept. So calm and peaceful and relaxed. It made me smile just thinking about that.
"Well you two lovebirds can stay here, I'm going to sleep," Iggy quietly announced, as not to wake Max. She would probably be so embarrassed if she found out how she was sleeping. I decided to try and carry her up to her room, without waking her. As strong as she is, Max was lighter than I expected. I scooped her up, her legs and upper back in my arms. She hadn't woken so I didn't think she would. I tiptoed across the hardwood floor, and placed her in her bed, after pulling the sheets back. I pulled the covers back up around her, then left to go back to my room. I needed to sleep before our early flight tomorrow. I also had some things to think about. It was Max's birthday in a few weeks, and I had to do something awesome. And I sorta wanted to see if she wanted to like, you know, be more than friends. I'd figure something out, I am Fang after all.
- (LINE BREAK) -
FPOV (still)
"Have a nice sleep last night?" Iggy snickered to Max, and I glared at him.
Max looked up from her cereal bowl, confused. "Um it was fine."
I rolled my eyes, but Max was too concentrated on finishing the last of her Cocoa Krispies to notice, but Iggy did and it made him smirk. Thankfully, he decided to drop it after that, and that basically concluded our morning conversations. We were all sitting on the plane, when I decided that Iggy and I would plan Max's party now. But she couldn't know, so I convinced her to watch some movie, as Iggy and I worked things out.
To my relief, she didn't question us at all as Iggy and I bent our heads together trying to come up with something clever to do for Max. Wait, you really think I'm gonna tell you? Not yet, sucker. You can wait just like Max. It'll be a surprise for Max and for you.
Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming, you guys have great ideas! Well I'm starting the FAX now, so here you go! It'll be a lot better next chapter I think. RnR!