I like this chapter. I got to do a little bit of FAX. YAY! Anywho… Review, review, review!

KarleeRay

As I walk down the hallway, I begin to pick up bits and pieces of people's conversations. I know, I know, it's wrong to eavesdrop, but they were just talking so loud and my raptor hearing couldn't help but pick out a few things…. Things that made my blood boil.

"Oh my gosh! That Fang kid is like so hot!" "I would do ungodly things to that bird kid, Fang." "OMG! He makes me melt! He's all dark and mysterious… Are he and that Maximum Ride chick dating? Because like he could have any girl with the snap of his fingers and she's like all boyish…"

I glare daggers at them all, but they don't even seem to notice. Then, as I walk past a group of muscular jock looking dudes, I pick up something even more interesting… my name.

"How much you wanna bet I can get that Maximum Ride chick to bang me before the end of this year?"

"I don't think she's like that…. Besides, even if she was you wouldn't stand a chance."

"Yeah I would. It's common knowledge that hot people attract each other. I'm hot and she's hot so, it makes perfect since."

Okay. Enough is enough. I turn on my heel and march back towards the sexist pigs. I can only hold my tongue for so long.

"Actually," I say, snidely. "It's common knowledge that stupid people attract each other. I mean, look at you guys. You seem practically attached at the hip."

They stare at me, slack jawed. With that, I stalk away.

"Told you she wouldn't go for you….. She's even hotter when she's mad."

I resist the urge to scream in frustration and continue stomping down the hall.

"That's your boyfriend, isn't it? The one all the girls are dying over?" I look to my right, startled to see a girl with beautiful jet black hair trotting along at my side.

"I, umm, yeah. Fang is… he's my boyfriend, yeah," I say stumbling over my words, still confused by her abruptness.

"Well you'll be happy to know that I, at least, can respect boundaries. I think it's really not cool how they're all going on about him right in front of your face. I'd hold him tight if I were you. Alexandra's already plotting against you," She says, referring to that awful red head.

I grin at her, liking how straight up she was with everything. She seemed like a cool girl. "I mean yeah it's really annoying," I admit. "But I'm not too worried about it. I'm pretty confident that I can hold on to him. After everything we've endured together, it's gonna take more than just some dumb swooning high school girls to break us apart. And as for Alexandra, well, I can handle her."

"I have no doubt that you can," She says, smirking. "I've heard a lot of stories about you, Maximum Ride."

I give an exasperated sigh. "Is there anyone who doesn't know who I am?"

"Sure. There are some, but you're practically legend. I pity the fool who messes with you."

A feeling of pride surges through me. Dang right. I have got one sick reputation and by sick I mean totally awesome. Yeah… you can't mess with Max.

"I think we should be friends."

I do a double take. Say what? This girl has no filter. She just blurts out whatever she's thinking.

Upon seeing my bewildered and confused expression, she decides to elaborate. "You're like one of the only girls in this place that I can respect. I respect who you are Max. You stand up for yourself, you're not afraid of anything, and you can kick some serious butt. You're a real person. Real people are hard to come by," she sighs. "Everyone is so fake these days, being nice to you to your face and then waiting till you're out of earshot to slander everything about you. I had real friends… before the apocalypse. They were hard to find, but I had them. They're all dead now…. Anyway, that leads me to think that if you find a genuine, real person, you should hold onto them you know?… So what do you think? Wanna be my friend Max?"

I'm still in a slight state of shock, but I figure that this girl seems cool enough and everything she said, I agree with. Eh, what the heck. If I don't like her, I'll drop her.

"Yeah… sure. That'd be cool," I say and she grins.

"I'm Carter, by the way."

"Cool name," I comment.

She shrugs. "Can I see your schedule?"

I hand it to her and then glance ahead while she studies it. I see Fang at the same time she does, waiting for me at the end of the main hallway. I hesitate, not wanting to just leave her but desperately wanting to talk to Fang. She laughs and hands me back my schedule. "Go. I'll see you in class. We have English together this period."

I send her a grateful smile and then hurry over to Fang. His face is impassive as always, but I like to hope that he was as happy to see me as I was to see him. I bound into his waiting arms and he tucks me tightly into his chest. That's one thing that I just love. You see, I told you Fang wasn't the huggiest person and you were lucky to be able to get one arm out of him. That used to apply to me, but now it doesn't. Now, he holds me just as tightly as I hold him. It makes me feel good, needed, special.

"Who's your new friend?" He asks, curiously.

I pull out of his arms and we begin to walk to English. "Oh, that girl? That's Carter. She's cool. I like her. I think you'll like her too."

Not surprisingly, he says nothing. We pass by a group of girls and they instantly start whispering and batting their eyes at Fang, who completely ignores them.

"God don't they have anything better to do?" I rant to Fang.

He smiles and throws an arm around my shoulder. "Aww is Max feeling a little jealous?"

"Oh you wish I was jealous!" I retort, throwing his arm off my shoulder. "I just think that they're ridiculous."

His smile grows and I resist the urge to hit him. He throws his arm back around my shoulder and pulls me closer to him as we walk. "Max, you know they have nothing on you…" He whispers into my hair, making me snort. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" He stops walking, turns me to look at him, and takes my face into his hands. "Do you have any idea the affect you have on me? On most of the freaking male population? Do you know how many times I've heard your name mentioned in a crowd of guys who haven't even talked to you yet? Trust me… You have nothing to worry about."

I give him a half smile, deciding not to have this fight. Leaning up on my tiptoes, I give him a peck on the lips.

"Come on… we're gonna be late."