…and I spread out my wings.
For a while, they just stared, and I let them. A few minutes went by, and then I was a bit uncomfortable from being stared at like a museum exhibit.
Edward was the first to recover of the two. "Are they real?"
I snorted. "Do they look real?" He stared at me, indicating that he didn't know, hence why he asked the question. "Yes, they are real," I sighed.
"Can I… touch them?" he asked, uncertain.
"Oh, yeah, of course. Be my guest." I turned around, and felt his ice cold hands brushed against my wings.
"Can you fly?" Edward pondered.
"No they're just for decoration," I said sarcastically.
He ignored the tone of my voice. "Are we allowed to see?"
"Sure." I slowly flapped my large, thirteen feet long wings, trying not to rise up too high and knock the ceiling fan over.
"Wow," Bella whispered.
I landed back on the ground, and both of them seemed to have remained conscious and calm.
"You guys take this stuff pretty well," I said.
"Well, living in a town with vampires and wolves have something to do with it," she said. "And now, birds."
"Actually, it's not just birds." They watched me curiously. "This is kind of hard to say, but I have… been experimented on."
"Meaning?" Edward said.
"So from a young age, I was forced to live in a place called the School," I started. "With a capital 'S'," I added. "The School was full of children and teens of all ages, and there were these adults in white jackets, and we called them the Whitecoats. They took the DNA of animals and injected them into our bodies, transfiguring us into either having some kind of power or strength." I lowered my eyes. "While some of the experiments, like me, ended up as something they accepted as a pass, others were not so lucky."
"What happened to them?" Bella asked, voice wavering.
"They were killed, or beatened to death." Her eyes were large, wide open with fear.
"There are people like me, part avian, and there are others. Perhaps had the fish gene, giving them the ability to swim and hold their breath underwater. Others might have the ox gene, giving them incredible strength."
"So where are the rest of them?" Edward asked.
"Who knows," I said. "They could be anywhere, since I freed them all. But since then, the Whitecoats haven't given up. They're sending out these things called Flyboys to come get me and all of the experiments back."
"They're trying to round you all up again?" Bella cried. "How awful."
"That's the life of an experiment," I smiled. "I'm used to it. I hesitated to tell you guys so much because-"
Edward interrupted. "So did you free them all by yourself?"
I froze. This is going to lead to the Flock. "No," I said. He raised his eyebrows for more. I sighed. "I had a group of other avian-human hybrids, and we were called, well, the Flock. I was the leader, so a lot of scientists were after me, also because I could fly the fastest, and I was one of the strongest."
"So are they in Forks? Or are they in another town nearby?"
"Actually," I said. "They didn't come with me. They left me. I wish I could say it was the other way around, but it wasn't."
"But- why?" Bella asked.
"Well, I have this voice inside of my head. It's not my voice- it's someone else's. It's my dad's, actually. He's a Whitecoat."
"What does this have to do with anything?"
"My Flock didn't really trust it at first, they thought it would lead us to danger. It might have, a few times, but generally it just helped us. Jeb wasn't really a good person to trust."
"Isn't Jeb your father?" Edward asked.
"Yes, he is. Remember, my dad's a Whitecoat. He's a scientist that our whole Flock despises. He even helped make a clone of me."
"There's really something called cloning?" Bella asked, shocked.
"Yeah," I said. "It's annoying, though. You see yourself doing these awful things, but it's not really you. So because of my clone and my Voice and everything else, my Flock decided to ditch me."
Bella was livid. "How could they? You said that the voice didn't lead you to any danger, right?"
"Well, it did," I said. "Not enough danger to kill us, but still danger nonetheless."
"This- I- I mean- aren't you guys supposed to be a flock? A group? How could they?" She sputtered.
I sighed again. "That's what I thought."
I went home, after denying Bella and Edward many times that I did not want to stay for dinner or anything. I was exhausted, and telling them all about my secret may or may not have been the biggest mistake of my life.
"Max?" My mom called through my door. "Do you have any dirty clothes in your hamper? I'm doing laundry."
"Yeah," I called back. "Hold on." I dog-flapped As I Lay Dying and threw it on the bed. It was an awful book. If only I could lay dying. I snatched up my light gray hamper and opened the door.
"Thank you," my mom said as I handed her the hamper. I nodded and turned to go back into my room, but she stopped me.
"Yeah?"
Her face became beet red. "I'm just telling you that I'm going out for dinner tonight."
"With?" I waited for her to continue.
"Mr. Newton," she said. I could tell she was trying to sound like a mother figure, but I knew she wanted to scream and jump up and down with joy like a sixth grader getting asked to go watch a movie with her crush.
"Um, that's gross, but have fun."
Her eyes widened. "You're okay with it?"
"I guess," I replied. Sure, I think Mr. Newton is a weird old dude, but knowing that my mother got together with Jeb (of all people) and had me, I wasn't too surprised.
"Ooh, thank you Max!"
"Yeah, yeah, okay Mom. See ya." I closed the door and I could practically see the smile that could split her face in two through the door.
My mother has weird taste in men.
Knowing my mom, even though she is a very responsible woman, her mind would be wrapped around her date with Mr. Newton (insert disgusting barf noises here), so she would not be leaving me any dinner.
"Hey mom, is there any stuff I can have for dinner?" I called up the stairs.
"Um, check the freezer for any frozen foods." I did what she told me to, and there was only ice cream, ice, and corn in a bag.
"There's corn," I said, holding the bag.
"Oh, don't eat that corn, it's been in there for a few months too long." I quickly dropped the bag, conveniently into the trashcan.
My mother rushed down the stairs, wearing a fitting black dress with pearls and black pumps. I raised my eyebrows in approval.
"Is it good?" she asked, a worried look on her face. She kept a foot on the bottom step, just in case I threw up in disapproval and she had to sprint back up the stairs to find something else to wear.
"It's perfect," I said, a genuine smile on my face. She grinned back.
"Sorry there isn't anything in the fridge," she apologized. "I haven't gone to Marsh in a while. You can head out to a nearby Subway and get something if you want," she suggested.
"I'll find something. What time's your date?"
"Eight," she responded, digging through the bottom half of the refrigerator in hopes of finding something fit for a meal.
"It's seven forty-five," I informed, looking at the digital clock on the oven. She looked up, eyes panicked.
"Are you joking?" I made a face. "Oh, I got to go!" She grabbed a coat and her purse, which she had switched out into a cream colored one to match her jewelry. "I'll call someone from work to bring some food over!"
I was about to tell her she didn't need to do that, but she was out the door before the words got out. I laughed silently to myself. I really did love my mom.
Well, since dinner wasn't a problem anymore, I jumped onto the sofa and turned on the television. Pretty Little Liars was on, and I just settled on watching it. Normally Ella watches it, but she's at a friend's house, studying. She didn't need to though; she was a straight A student. It looked interesting enough, and I was (unfortunately) pulled in.
Just as Spencer grabbed a knife and walked slowly towards the mystery person in her house, the doorbell rang. I groaned. I ignored it for a second, just to see who the person was. Turns out, it was- the doorbell rang again, impatient. Frustrated, I got up and went to the door, watching as I went.
Opening the door, I was surprised to find Jacob Black, holding a bag of what I assumed was my dinner, looking really cold. I could see why, it was snowing out. "This weather's crazy," I said.
"Yeah it is," Jake responded, his teeth chattering. "Can you hurry and let me in?"
I was thinking of an excuse to make him stand out there longer, but since he was holding my food, I did not oblige. I stepped to the side, making room for him to come in. He stomped the snow off his shoes, leaving white on the rug.
"It's really coming down, isn't it?" I stated, hoping that my mom was alright.
"I guess," he said. "You ready to eat?"
I nodded eagerly, snatching the plastic bag from him. "Did my mom call you?"
"Yeah, she said that she didn't want you to starve, and I guess it would be bad for me if you starved too, so I just brought some stuff from home over."
"Why would it affect you if I died?" I asked, pulling out two bottles of water, then two bottles of Diet Coke.
"Well, you're the other half of my imprint, so generally, it wouldn't go too good for me if you died."
Ugh. The "imprint" stuff again. I reached my hand into the bag and revealed a salad and a sandwich. All that remained was some fruit.
"That's it?" I asked, looking at Jake expectantly.
"Yes," he said slowly. "Do you expect me to have more in my pockets or something?"
"I'm a growing girl, I need more food than this."
"Max, you're in high school, and looking at your height, I think you're done growing."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Fine, I guess I'm just going to have to eat ice cream after dinner then."
"You make it sound like a bad thing," he snorted. "Anyways, don't you have Dr. Martinez's cookies?" I averted his eyes. "Did you eat them all?"
"Ella had some too," I said stubbornly.
Jake sighed. "Alright, if the snow lets up by the time we're done, we can run over to Marsh and pick something up, okay?"
My eyes immediately brightened. "Yes!"
I had finished my salad, my Coke, along with all of the fruit, and half of my water.
Jake had eaten half of his sandwich, drank all of his water, and an unopened soda.
"You make me feel fat," I said.
He laughed, and I felt my face rush with heat. I wasn't blushing because his laugh was a hot, low and sexy- no, I was blushing because his laugh was stupid.
"Are you still wanting to go to Marsh?" I looked out the window and saw that the snow was still coming down, harsher than before.
"I guess not," I said, disappointed.
"Maybe you could start dieting today," Jacob suggested. I gave him a look that could have cut glass. "Or not," he added reluctantly.
"Do you think I need to diet?"
"No, I mean, your body is fine," he said. I raised my eyebrows. "Well, your body is more than fine, it's toned and sleek, and it's-" my look cut him off. "Okay, well never mind."
I always kind of feel bad arguing with him, but I can't let him know that I'm starting to feel less hostile towards him and more comfortable.
I mentally slapped myself. I think he's awful, he's the worst. He's just so weird, and not the slightest bit attractive, except he is, and well I- I stopped right there. Did I just think that Jacob Black was attractive?
"Max?" his voice interrupted.
"Sorry, I didn't hear the question."
"No, I just said your name because you seemed to be in a daze."
"Oh," I responded. "I was."
"Are you alright?" Jake's chocolate eyes bored into mine.
"I'm fine," I said, jerking my eyes from his lock. "I'm perfectly fine, I'm good. I'm perfectly perfect, I'm fantastic!" He looked at me strangely. Damn, I was starting to sound like Jessica. "I'm gonna grab that ice cream," I said, jumping out of my chair.
"Can I have some?" he asked. I said okay, and grabbed the carton, two bowls and two forks.
I handed him a bowl with his fork in it. He looked at me. I looked at him. "What?"
"Did you grab a fork instead of a spoon?"
"No," I said. "Why would I grab a spoon?"
"Because you eat ice cream with a spoon?"
"Why would you eat ice cream with a spoon? I eat ice cream with a fork."
"Why?"
"I don't know, I just always have." I just realized now that we never had any spoons in our E-shaped house. We ate everything with a fork. Even soup. Now that I think about it, what kind of sorcery did we do to manage to drink soup with a fork?
Jacob shrugged, and started eating his share of cookies and cream ice cream. "You're an interesting girl, Maximum Ride."
"How do you know that my full name is Maximum?" I never told anyone.
"Your mom said it once."
I laughed. "She says it when she's mad. She thinks I get offended, but I don't really care."
Jake smiled at me. His eye twitched when his fork hit an empty bowl. "Oh, I'm done."
"So am I," I said, taking his bowl and fork. "I'll wash the dishes."
"I'll help," he said, standing up.
"It's two bowls and two forks, I can handle it."
"I'll help," he repeated. That boy was a stubborn one.
"Fine," I grunted, and took the bowls to the sink. I pumped some soap onto a sponge and eased it over the forks. Jacob worked on washing the bowls, and before I was done, he had opened the dryer and stacked the bowls in. "How are you done so fast?"
"I do the dishes at home," he explained. Right, his dad's in a wheelchair.
"I see," I said. "I do too. I try to get Ella to help me sometimes, and she says she will, but she never "gets around to it"." Laughing softly, I smiled at the memory, soaping the last fork.
"Max," Jacob said.
I turned my head, and Jacob had pressed his lips to my mouth. I dropped the fork, and it clattered to the ground. My instincts told me to push him away, but my body told me not to. And for once in my life, my instincts lost to my body.
My hands went up his back, pulling his body closer to mine. My mind was blank, I just went with my gut. I kissed him back, and I could tell he was shocked, but his lips never left mine. Kissing him was- it was amazing. Unlike any other kiss I've ever had with Fang. Fang's kisses were rough, seeking passion. Jacob's kisses were gentle, full of love and tenderness. His strong arms went around my waist, hoisting me onto the counter.
"I really like you, Maximum Ride," Jacob whispered, before kissing me again.
I couldn't say anything to that, but in my heart, deep, deep down, so small it was barely microscopic, I knew something was there.