Hey guys, sorry for the really long wait. Finals have started and all the teachers have been piling reviews and stuff on us, so yeah... BUT THEN, WHEN I GOT THE WHOLE CHAPTER READY, MY INTERNET DECIDED TO EXPLODE. There's my excuse. xP

Thank you so much for all of the reviews! I can't believe I've gotten to 40 already. Okay, so I'll just reply to reviews in a PM from now on to limit the length of the author's note :)

Also, I wanted to give a shout-out to Faxlastsforever and Fax is forever! They both confuse me to no end with their names xD You two are so fun to talk to, and motivate me to update! Thank you! Please check out their stories, Supernatural Love and The Renegade, which are both really good but in need of reviews.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Maximum Ride. Thanks to Fluffy. Bunnies. Are. So. Cute for being my amazing beta! Onto the story~

Max POV:

Wait. What the heck am I saying? I love Fang, sure, but just as a friend. It's always been just as a friend, nothing more. Besides, he doesn't date — he's established that ever since our first day at junior high, when every girl started gushing over him. So why would I ever consider the fact that I might have those kinds of feelings for him?

Shaking my head slightly, I push these thoughts away to the back of my mind. Then I realize that my phone is still buzzing angrily. Um. Oops. Wiping my tears away — why in the world was I crying, anyway? The great Max does not cry. Not since last year — I flip open my phone and press it to my ear.

"MAXIMUM RIDE!" Oh crap, I think, swallowing hard. "WHERE ON EARTH ARE YOU? COME BACK HOME THIS INSTANT!"

"Yes, Mom," I reply meekly.

There was a loud, angry huff on the other end. "DON'T 'YES MOM' ME!" Well, I just did. Obviously I don't say this aloud; I'm not that stupid. "JUST GET YOUR REAR END OVER HERE, MISSY!" She hangs up on me and I sigh, rising to my feet. I feel kind of numb for some reason. My mom is mad at me, but I don't think that's why I'm upset… I am upset, right? Something I was thinking about earlier?

I don't remember and I don't really want to think about it. Doesn't thinking about upsetting things make you upset? Yeah. I don't want to be upset. Feeling hazy and confused, I head home, ready for whatever Mom has in store for me.

(A/N: If you're confused, Max built up a habit of being able to shut out things she doesn't want to think about…I guess you could also say she's kinda delirious. Whatever. xD)

So now I'm grounded for a month. Which I don't really care about, 'cause I can just use the project as an excuse to go over to Fang's or Iggy's. (The upsetting feeling gets worse when I think about Fang, for some reason, but I force myself not to think about it.) The other part of my punishment is what really upsets me, though. No dessert for the rest of the month.

Which means…no homemade chocolate chip cookies.

(A/N: This next part will probably sound familiar to some of you, 'cause I was rereading Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports and went OMG! THIS WOULD FIT PERFECTLY IN MY STORY IF I ALTERED IT A LITTLE! So yeah, this is almost the same as that one chapter.

Oh, and also Fang has a blog. Forgot to mention that earlier, hehe.)

Fang POV

What am I going to do, blog about Max running away from me just so I won't try to kiss her again? No! Instead I smash my fist against the wall of my room, then grimace from the pain and stupidity. The almost instance swelling, and bruised knuckles make me wince, but I don't care.

I straighten the mess of papers, arranging them into a neat pile in case she comes back and wants the brainstorming stuff. Neither is likely.

Brushing aside her bag – which she has forgotten in her mad-dash away from me – I make a Fang-sized area on my bed. I lay down where she had been laying down earlier, seeking comfort in my fluffy pillow. I don't want to check my blog — I'd had almost eight hundred thousand hits earlier — and I don't want to do anything except lie still and think.

Max.

She's so stubborn. And tough. And closed in. No, closed off. Except when she's comforting Ella, or ruffling the Gasman's hair, or pushing something closer to Iggy's hand so he can find it easily without knowing anyone had helped him. Or when she is trying to untangle Nudge's mane of hair. Or — sometimes — when she is looking at me.

I shift on my bed, a half-dozen flashes of memory cycling through my brain.

Max, looking at me and laughing.

Max, leaping forward from her starting position, extending her long legs, running off, so incredibly powerful and graceful that it takes my breath away.

Max hissing threats at Lissa, her face like stone.

Max kissing that weiner Dylan in front of our school.

Gritting my teeth, I roll onto my side.

Just now, her warm body pressed against mine.

I wish she were here, if not next to me, then somewhere in the room, so I can hear her breathing. Sighing, I reach over and grab my sketchbook, as well as my laptop. Might as well, right?

(A/N: Okay, the next part might be a little confusing but I think you'll figure it out. If not, it'll all make sense eventually. ;) ALRIGHT I'LL STOP WITH THE AUTHOR'S NOTES I PROMISE.)

He smiled at me, holding out his arms. Grinning, I leaped into his embrace, enjoying the feel of his warm body against mine. "Hey," he murmured into my hair.

"Hey," I replied, craning my head to look at his beautiful, deep turquoise eyes. They softened as I continued to gaze at him.

"You're beautiful," he whispered before he leaned in. His lips met mine, his arms curling around my waist, and I smiled happily. I was so lucky to have him. He was adorable, kind, loving, sweet, and just the best boyfriend a girl could hope to have.

"Tonight. My house?" he asked as he pulled away. Alright, before you start thinking pervertedly, I trusted him. Like, a lot. He wouldn't let anything like that happen to me — I mean, we were in middle school! It was just nice to hang out together, you know. And yeah, sure, make out. But hey, can you blame me? He was amazing.

"Yeah, sure," I breathed. His warm breath fanned my face as he gently brushed aside my hair and leaned in for another kiss.

Max POV

"Where in the world is my backpack?" I hiss. Ella shrugs, her eyes glued to the computer. What is she doing anyway? I peer over her shoulder.

EllaNutella: so i heard u were sick?

TheIgster: yeah… it sux

EllaNutella: o. srry at least u get to skip school, rite?

TheIgster: i guess

Ohmygoodness! This is too cute. "He misses you," I croon, and Ella jumps in surprise. She swivels around in the chair and glares at me. Well, I couldn't exactly pass up the opportunity.

"Max, seriously." Ella rolls her eyes. "And uh, maybe you left your backpack at Fang's?"

Fang?

Oh. Fang. I blink a few times, then nod slowly. "Yeah… you're probably right. I'll go over right now." I walk away, not noticing the look of confusion on her face or even realizing that she had just been changing the subject.

"Hey, Mrs. Collins," I greet Fang's mom.

"Oh, hey, Max." She nods at me and goes back to the magazine she was reading, munching on an apple. Mrs. Collins is seriously so cool; she doesn't care if I just run around her house as I please. Sure, she may be called strange by some people — I mean, who names their kids Fang and Nudge? — but I love her.

"If you're looking for Fang, I think he's still in his room," Fang's mom says pointedly, and I realize that I've been standing here for a while without saying anything. Oops. I thank her and head for his room, taking the steps two at a time as usual. For some reason there's a strange feeling in my stomach that I can't seem to place.

Deciding to ignore it, I raise my hand and knock gently on the door. Once, twice. There's no answer, so I rap it again. Wait, why am I even bothering? The many times I've been over to Fang's, I've never knocked before. What made this time different?

Something had happened. Knowing me, I'd probably pushed it out of my mind, so I decide not to think about it and walk on in. "Hey, Fa —," I say, then stop mid-sentence.

He's stretched out on the bed, sleeping deeply. Soft snores fill the room and I don't have the heart to disturb him. Fang's face is so peaceful when he sleeps; so open, instead of closed off like he usually is. Hardly knowing what I'm doing, I reach out one hand and gently brush aside a stray lock of ebony hair.

My gaze travels to his arm, which is wrapped around a sketchbook. Like I said, he's the artistic type, although he never likes anyone to see his drawings. I wonder why. Curiosity overcomes me and I pry aside his arm, gently easing the sketchbook from his grasp.

It's flipped open to a page with a very detailed drawing of… an angel? Gentle curves make an oval-shaped face, framed with long wavy hair. The eyes are carefully drawn, a warm look in them. There's a pair of beautiful, feathery wings sprouting from her back and her body is slim and lithe. There is a pair of running shoes on her feet.

It's the shoes that make me realize…it's me: Maximum Ride, the angel.

Wait, what the heck? Why would he be drawing me as an angel? Maybe I've misinterpreted the drawing… but no, those shoes are definitely mine. I place the sketchbook beside the sleeping Fang's head and walk over to the desk, where I see a sheet of paper with my handwriting on it.

Poem Brainstorming List. My eyes travel down the page and they reach 'Avian/human hybrids.' Ah, so that would explain the wings and stuff. He must have drawn me because he was bored, and probably wanted to please me or something. I'm satisfied that I've figured out the whole situation until my gaze falls on his laptop, which is open to a page titled "Fang's Blog." What the heck? He never told me that he had a blog!

Being the nosy person that I am — well, okay, I probably wouldn't be doing this if he weren't my best friend — I reach over and grab the laptop. The heading of his new post confuses me.

"Am I in Love?"

Why is Fang asking about love? He already has many girls swooning over him, yet he's chosen to be single. It's pretty simple. If he wants a girlfriend, he has dozens of options. Who can refuse those deep eyes of his, that husky voice? If he wants to stay single, no biggie, right? Except for maybe Lissa. Oh, gosh, I hope he hasn't fallen in love with her. That would be…horrible, to say the least.

Worried, I scan through his old posts.

"Today, she did the funniest thing…"

"Gosh, she's so amazing I can't…"

"Is this normal? To be thinking about someone this much, I mean?"

"How is it possible for someone so perfect to exist…"

I'm freaking out right now. Fang never told me he was in love. Well, then again, he never told me he had a blog either… I scroll and scroll until I reach the one that I seem to be looking for.

"So, guys, say there was this girl. You've been friends for a really long time, and you tell each other everything. (Well, I didn't tell her about this blog, because I pretty much spill everything I think about in here. If anyone that actually knows me finds this… well, I'm screwed.) Anyway, so all of a sudden, she's running and you realize…

"She's freaking beautiful.

"And amazing. And funny. And perfect. And just everything that you've said you were waiting for your whole life.

"Okay, so I'm not exactly good with girls. I don't date, even though there's dozens of girls who would kill for a chance to go out with me. I've never been interested in anyone before, never had a plan to be. Until I realized, well, I might have a crush on this one girl.

"I've tried my best to make it sort of obvious, hoping she'd get a hint, but I think I really should give up. She's not going to ever think of me as more than a best friend. I mean, she's perfect and amazing, and I'm just… me. I've had to watch her date a couple of guys, and believe me, I wanted to punch the lights out of them sooo bad.

"I guess I'm not really her type. But she's still my best friend, and she always will be. I guess that's what matters, right guys?"

Oh. Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap… everything comes crashing down on me. I remember everything. Everything. What happened today, what happened a year ago, how I'd thought Fang had been joking around but really was his attempt at flirting— which really was pathetic, by the way – but that's beside the point.

I want to scroll through his other posts but then a sleepy voice says, "Max?"

Crap.

Fang POV

So, I wake up, and I see:

My best friend and my crush, reading my blog posts about her, my sketchbook not where I remember putting it before I fell asleep, and her eyes wide with shock. Wait, is she crying? Maximum Ride? For the second time in a day?

Max looks at me for a split second before running out the door.

Not again.

Okay uh they definitely should be in high school. But I don't really want to change that now, so just deal with me for this story, k? I'm sorry. xP

Also, did you notice how both of them described each other as closed off? But when they're around each other, they really aren't. So cute! :3

Check out Supernatural Love and The Renegade! And please review, for this story and those two! Hopefully this chapter satisfies you, it took me a while to write but I don't like it that much… but please tell me your thoughts (:

Later,

Stunningfire