Hello, people of the world! I am not dead. I can not begin to tell you how sorry I am. I suck. Honestly, I have no idea if any of you have been wondering when I am gonna update but I used to wait forever for my favorite stories to be updated so please understand the pain I feel that I have done it to my readers. I am a hypocrite and I apologize.

If I'm being entirely honest I forget about this story. I just reread it because I forgot what I even wrote about. I also apologize for all the mistakes because that is just not ok ;( I do not have a beta reader and am trying to find a friend who can help me out but I am struggling. Also I am a senior now and I have less than 30 school days until graduation so it has been a little hectic. That was sarcasm. I'm hella stressed.

But anyways. Here is a new chapter. I really hope you like it.

"I call bullshit."

"You don't believe me?"

"Not even a little. I refuse to believe you, perfect prince Fang, did something illegal."

"I have no idea where you got this ridiculous notion that I'm perfect. I'm not."

"You're telling me that you expect me to believe the motorcycle that you have now, you stole?"

"I did."

"Why did you steal it?!"

"Believe it or not, my beauty was once trash. Total junk. I was looking for some parts for one of my science experiments, so I dropped by some junkyard two towns over for some scraps. I saw it half buried under mud and spare parts from other trashed cars. It was pretty rusted up but I could tell it was once a beauty and it could be again. But the guy who ran the place? Total asshole. From the second I walked in, he was glaring at me. He saw me looking towards the pile and around it and just went off on me."

"What did he say?!" I laughed.

"Some trash about our generation and our lack or respect. I only looked around."

"He obviously thought your resting bitch face was you being judgemental." He pushed me over the bed onto the floor.

"Ow!" I sat up in a huff and glared at him through strands of my hair.

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Well, I thought I'd offer it anyway." I warily slid back onto the bed and next to Fang. This time I sat facing him, criss cross applesauce, face propped up on my hands.

"So how'd you get it out?"

"The bike?" He asked.

"No, the genie out of the lamp. Of course I'm talking about the bike!"

"After that, I left to go back home. I waited until that Friday night before I snuck out at around midnight to drive all the way back. It was pitch black. He had the whole place gated off and chained so I drove up right in front of the entrance and popped the trunk. I hopped the fence and went for it."

"That easy?"

"No. Turns out the guy lived there."

I rolled over laughing. I choked out through my laughter. "PLEASE tell me he had a bat."

He reluctantly nodded and I burst into a fit of giggles again. "I'd dragged the bike halfway across the dirt, when I heard yelling. I panicked and grabbed the motorcycle to try and carry it but my shirt snagged on all the rust and the handle sliced my stomach." He lifted the bottom of his t-shirt and showed me a scar about as long as my index finger right above his left hipbone.

"He came swinging around the corner right as I was breaking the chain open. I'd tugged the chain free and was hauling the motorcycle into the trunk when he swung at me. I managed to duck, so he hit the car instead. He got in one more swing before I peeled out of there."

"How do your parents not know?!"

"He was so wasted, he barely left a dent. I doubt he remembers what happened or would be able to tell what I took. If he had been sober, I'd likely have a criminal record."

"Thank god for alcohol." He chuckled as I laughed.

"Can I see your scar again?" He nodded before lifting his shirt. The scar sliced diagonally above his hip. The skin was slightly puckered and looked like it was deep. I gingerly reached out to gently touch the skin. My fingertips brushed his scar and goosebumps erupted over his stomach. I snatched my hand back the same time he slightly flinched away. I glanced at him, before averting my eyes.

"Sorry."

"You're hands are cold."

I awkwardly sat back next to him.

It was the Sunday before I had school. He was leaving tomorrow with his parents while I'd be in school so we decided we would spend his last day together. We'd been in his room, laying around on his bed and only leaving for food or to use the bathroom. It was bright out, the sun shining in from the open window the only indication it was afternoon; already past noon. It was peacefully silent except for the melodic chirping flowing from outside.

I decided to break the ice. "Never expected you to have a story like that in your back pocket."

"I don't have very many."

"You have others?"

"I'll tell you some other time." I decided to keep my doubts of there being a next time to myself.

"Have you talked to your parents about Parker?"

I flashed him a smile. "Yup. I told her in the car on the way home and she hit the brakes so hard, I think I have a bruise on my neck. She cried. She knows this has been our dream since day one."

"The others?"

"It's the same for us all. We've been really lucky when it comes to support from family and friends even if wasn't from the beginning."

Fang's forehead creased in confusion. "What do you mean?"

I sighed. "At first Gazzy's mom wasn't… approving. She felt Iggy and I were a bad influence on him and Angel and refused to let him join the band. Their mother was and still is very religious. She didn't appreciate Iggy's candor or my attitude. She has very strict morals and old fashioned views."

"Old fashioned how?"

"Women stay home and take care of the kids while the men make all the decisions type of old fashioned."

"How'd that work out?"

I snorted sarcastically. "I was basically everything she hated. It took months of him sneaking out and begging for her to come around. And it wasn't until we were at Iggy's practicing when she barged in like a bat outta hell. Gazzy was supposed to be home in his room studying for a test first thing on Monday morning. I guess she went into his room to ask if he was hungry but found an empty room instead of her son. She was livid and yelled at Angel until she caved and told her. She stormed over to Iggy's and screamed at all of us for "corrupting" her son."

Fang whistled. "What happened?"

"Gazzy happened. Until then, he'd never yelled, only pleaded and begged. But that day he lost it. He started screaming at her for disrespecting us. He was yelling everything at her. It was one of the few times we've seen him cry. He just wanted her to be happy for him, ya know? As soon as he started to tear up, he started throwing things everywhere until he was sobbing. Dylan ran to shield Gazzy's mom and Iggy wrestled the chair out of his arms. As soon as it was free, I hugged him from behind. Partially, to hold his arms but really it just hurt to see him like that and I didn't know what else to do. I think it was when she saw Iggy and I wiping his tears away and telling him no matter what happens, he'd always be a part of the band, a part of us, that I think it finally sank in for her.

"Her son was happy. Playing music, performing with us, it made him happy. She called his name and he looked up at her, with this hopelessly broken look on his face and she started crying. She held her hand out to him and the next thing I knew, he was in her arms crying over her apologies.

"Then the rest was history." I finished.

"Wow."

"Yeah, now she has to keep her insults to herself." I joked. He rolled his eyes at me before rolling over to lay on his back. I looked at him thoughtfully. I couldn't help but wonder why Fang hadn't told his family that he could sing or play.

"Fang, why didn't your parents know that you could sing?"

He tilted his head at my question. "I didn't think it mattered."

I scoffed. "You're amazing. How could you not think a voice like yours didn't matter?!"

Fang shrugged. "I lived in a mostly academic setting. Most of my time was spent on school."

"Did anybody know?"

"No."

I leaned back in disbelief. "I can't wrap my head around that. When did you sing?"

"Usually in my room. It wasn't really a secret, it just never came up. Didn't seem important."

"Well, if anybody needed a perfect example of stupidity that's it."

He nudged me with his foot. "Jerk."

"Fight me."

"You're ridiculous." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I know you don't need any increase in your ego, but you really are talented. I'm glad people know you can sing, because it would be a waste of talent if it went unnoticed." I stretched out next to him.

"My ego is not big."

"Ok, Mr. I-Can-Get-Any-Girl-I-Want-Because-I-Can-Sing-Like-An-Angel."

"I have never said that."

"But you were thinking it," I countered.

He shrugged. "I probably could."

I glared at him before pushing him off the bed. I laughed evilly before folding my arms behind my head.

Too easy.

"You do realize that is my bed."

"Is it? I thought it was mine." I said sarcastically.

"Get your facts straight. You live across the street."

"Get your facts straight. You don't even live here."

He slid back onto the bed next to me. "True."

"So, why'd you get into it? Music, I mean."

Fang tucked an arm behind his head. "It'd always called out to me. At my school there was this shopping center I'd have to pass on my way home. There was this music store called Music Maxima. They had these guitars always hanging in the window and they looked really cool. It was actually where I bought my first guitar. I started with an acoustic, then built up to an electric."

I grinned. "When did you buy them?"

"I bought the acoustic just after I came to visit, the year before freshman year. I practiced all year and the next summer I bought an electric."

I whistled. "Wow. You've only had it for about a year or two. Dylan had his electric since he was little. It was his dad's and I guess it passed on to him. He's been practicing over the years but you're still better than him. How often did you practice?"

"Almost everyday before I would go to bed. Jonathan, the guy who owned the store, would give me lessons whenever we both had time to kill. Usually every other Saturday, I'd drop by the store and we'd play for a few hours and he's give me tips and pointers. He always said I was good but I guess I never believed it."

"Until we showered you with compliments?" I batted my eyelashes at him sarcastically.

He chuckled. "Pretty much."

An idea started to form in my head and I sat up eagerly. I turned to face and him and was almost jumping up and down from excitement.

"We should write a song together. As a going away present for me. Have you ever written a song?" He shook his head no.

"How about we write one together? As a parting gift for me?"

He raised any eyebrow. "How long does it take to write a song?"

"It depends."

"On?"

"How smooth the process goes. I've written songs in less than an hour. And it's barely noon we have the rest of the day to perfect the music. You in?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

(This isn't Goodbye, it's BRB by We Are the In Crowd)

(Max, Fang, Both)

This isn't me
And I hate what we've become
This isn't my life
And I don't know where it went wrong

Wait and see
We'll figure it out
Then we'll skip this town
You know you're better off with me
We've been broken for so long

So we will drive as far as we know
We've got but one mile to go
This is our fight
We can't break this time
We've got all night

Well giving up is easy, you play it safe
You'll be a memory reminding me to learn from my mistakes
Slow down keep an eye on what you're after
Face down with your back to the disaster
No one said we ever had to change

So we will drive as far as we know
We've got but one mile to go
This is our fight
We can't break this time
We've got all night

So we will drive as far as we know
We've got but one mile to go
This is our fight
We can't break this time
We've got all night

I take back everything
This isn't what you think
We'll go right back to how we were
You've got me in knots
(This isn't easy)
Thinking that this is all you'd hope for.
I'd take it all back.
(There's nothing left to say)
I'd take it all back.
I'd take it all back.

So we will drive as far as we know
We've got but one mile to go
This our fight
We can't break this time
We've got all night
All night, whoa

So we will drive as far as we know
We've got but one mile to go
This is our fight
We can't break this time
We've got all night
Yeah!
We'll never know

(End of Song)

We sat facing each other, panting from the song, staring into each other's eyes. From this close, I could see his eyes were actually brown and had flecks of golden scattered throughout them. His expression was somber, but contemplative. His expression shifted slightly, his eyes lighting with some unseen emotion. My throat suddenly dried, and my tongue darted out to lick my lips.

I tilted my head, eyes remaining locked with his. "Have you ever wondered what things would be like if you had never moved?"

He nodded slowly. "Things would be different."

I smiled softly. "Understatement."

I ripped my eyes from his and nervously clutched the guitar between my sweaty palms. "Well, for starters, we would probably be best friends."

"We're best friends now," Fang said. I looked up shyly and smiled in agreement.

"We'd go to the same school. Maybe you would have helped me with my homework, because we all know science is the bane of my existence but the boon of yours. Oh! Maybe you would have prevented me from thinking baggy jeans like Avril Lavigne were so in and wearing them in middle school."

He laughed, his body shaking with laughter. "Oh, keep going."

"You probably would be friends with almost everybody because for some weird reason people seem to think you're likeable. Everybody would have known what an amazing singer you are earlier on, because of course I'd know and there is no way I would have kept my mouth shut about that. Maybe you would have been Nevermore's guitarist from day one."

"Maybe pigs fly." Fang offered. I laughed loudly before leaning back against the wall.

"Maybe a lot of things would be different." I whispered. But they'd never be different because this was reality and reality happened to be a stone cold bitch. The reality was that Fang was going back home tomorrow morning when I would remain here.

I didn't want to think about him leaving, but it was all I could seem to think about. I felt frustrated with myself and this whole situation. I didn't realize how much I had missed him. When he was gone, as horrible as it sounds, it gave me an excuse to not think about him. I pushed him into the corner of my mind where it didn't hurt that he wasn't here.

We'd been such good friends because we clicked. He understood me and I understood him. It wasn't hard to guess what the other was thinking and when we were younger we often had silent conversations in our heads as if we could communicate telepathically. We had so much in common, we could talk for hours on end about anything and everything. And when we didn't we'd debate until we eventually met in the middle.

You don't meet people like that everywhere.

"I wish things were different."

"Me too." I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I wonder why it's harder this time around." He whispered into my hair.

"It's probably because we haven't seen each other in so long." It had never been easy but now it felt like he was taking my leg with him. I could learn to live without it again, I just didn't want to.

"It's selfish of me to want you to stay." I sighed and reached down to grab my songbook again.

"Is it selfish of me to want to stay?" I paused at his words. I gently shook my head no.

"It's getting late." Fang turned to look at the clock on his nightstand. It read eleven thirty.

"I know. I was waiting for your parents to come kick me out because I have school tomorrow but I guess they're being merciful and letting us have as much time as we can."

I sighed before sitting up on his bed. "I should go. Walk me out?"

He nodded before standing himself. We slowly trudged down the stairs and I waved to his parents before exiting the house. I breathed the night air in quiet contentedness. The only light that disturbed the darkness was the faint glow from the moon. I slowly turned to face him.

"So this is it, huh?" I kicked the toe of my shoe into the porch distractedly. I looked at him through my hair.

"It is." He gently brushed my hair out of my face before sliding it down around my neck to pull me into a hug.

"It was really nice to see you, Fangtard."

"I'll miss you." He held me for a second longer before stepping back.

The screen door opened. We both turned to see Fang's mom in the doorway

"Nick? Can you come in please? We want to talk to you."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I knew this was the time to say good-bye. I slowly stood, preparing for a quick getaway.

"Max, you can stay for this." She smiled at me before returning into the house. I stopped in surprise, looking at Fang.

He shrugged. I don't know.

They're your parents! I narrowed my eyes at him.

Doesn't mean I know everything in their heads. His brows scrunched together slightly, like he thought I was stupid.

But-

Just shut up and get inside. He pushed me through the doorway.

His parents sat waiting together on the couch, faces unreadable.

Well, I know where Fang got it, I thought dryly.

"We have some news for you. We haven't told you yet, because we weren't sure how you would take it… but now we are both sure, that this is the right choice."

"Your dad got another transfer."

You could hear a pin drop. "What?" Fang's eyebrows furrowed.

"Your dad was transferred."

"Where to?" Fang looked back and forth between them, confused.

"Here."

My heart stopped.

"H-Here?" I choked. They nodded.

"Yes. We weren't sure how you would take it. We know you loved this place as a kid, but we've made a new life in Arizona. You might not have grown up there, but you made friends and joined clubs, really settled. We didn't want to uproot you again." His mom looked to Mr. Ride.

"But...we've only been here a day and we can see how well you fit in. You made friends in Arizona, but what took you months there, took days here."

"Seeing you perform last night...Fang, you've looked the happiest we've seen you in ages. We didn't even know you could sing. Honey, you're amazing." His mom beamed at him, taking hold of her husband's hand.

"We couldn't take this from you."

"You start at Faireford High School tomorrow."

I was frozen in shock, until their words truly sank in. I burst to my feet, jumping up and down. I was yelling and shouting not entirely sure on what I was saying other than thank you, thank you, thank you. Fang was standing up with a big, full, smile with teeth and I jumped on him. His arms encircled my waist and lifted me into the air. I laughed in disbelief and sliding my hand up to cup the back of his head. I could feel my eyes watering and I squeezed them shut tightly.

Fang spun me around before gently setting me down.

My best friend wasn't leaving.