I wrote this chapter at midnight, so please excuse any mistakes that I made! And, as always, please REVIEW! I want to know how you guys are liking the story line… Again, I am totally open to criticism and your ideas! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

KarleeRay

I swear my jaw almost hits the floor. Am I dreaming? PLEASE, tell me I'm dreaming. This has got to be a nightmare. What else could possibly explain what she is doing here?

"Oh my gosh! Max! Hi! I haven't seen you in forever!" Lisa squeals and pulls me into a hug. My body goes rigid and I make absolutely no move to hug her back. "I heard rumors that you guys were here but I wasn't sure! Well now I know!" She laughs and the sound is like nails stabbing into my ears.

I hate this girl. I hate her. I hate her so much. I thought I hated Alexandra. Uh-uh. That was nothing compared to what I felt right now. She smiles brightly at me and I flashback to when I walked in on her and Fang making out in the hallway…. the way he held her, tilted his head to kiss her better, ran his hands up and down her back like he did to me all the time now. God, what did he see in her?!

"Max… are you okay?" she asks, her forehead crinkling.

I straighten up, pulling my jaw off the floor and do my best not to give her a death glare.

"Yeah. Fine," I growl. "What are you doing here?" I was so not in the mood for small talk.

"Oh my Dad is good friends with Dr. Relaine. He used to work with him," she explains. "Dr. Relaine warned my dad about the apocalypse and said he would be more than happy to send us down here to safety…. I wanted to bring all my friends, but my father wouldn't allow it…." She trails off softly, her eyes taking on a far away look. "It really sucks what happened. I think I'm still in a state of shock. I miss everyone so much…"

I stare at her as if she has the plague. "Yeah, it does," I manage through gritted teeth. Of all people! Seriously of all the people on this planet to survive, she just had to be one of them! My life was just getting way too easy to be my life. They had to throw in some turmoil.

"Oh Max! Tell me the rest of the flock is okay! Are they here? Is Fang here?"

My stomach clenches.

"What's it to you?" I challenge, a hint of a snarl in my voice. "You didn't even know them."

"Well not for long," Lisa admits. "But there was something special about that Fang. He's so gorgeous… But you probably don't want to hear that about your own brother." She smiles, embarrassed, and my blood boils.

"Actually," I say, tightly. "Fang is not my brother…. He's my boyfriend."

Lisa recoils, shocked. "Really? I thought you were siblings!"

"Siblings that stick their tongues down each other's throats? Yeahh, not so much… We're not related in any way by blood," I tell her, starting to feel a bit defensive.

"Well, I'm happy for you then," she states, but it's clear that she doesn't really mean it….at all. "Well, I'll see you around, Max….Maybe we'll have some classes together." With that, she turns and walks away.

I watch her go, my stomach churning. Turning on my heel, I head straight to the bathroom to get a grip on myself. Relax Max. Fang loves you! Not her! He tells you this everyday…. But what if he changes his mind when he sees that Lisa's back? What if he realizes he can do so much better than me?

Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick! I can't lose Fang. I can't and especially not to her.

You are pathetic, Max. You're being ridiculous.

Taking a deep breath, I leave the bathroom.

My day only gets worse as it goes on. Between second and third period, I catch Fang and Lisa walking side by side through the main hallway. I stay quiet through both the periods I have with Fang, consumed with my thoughts. He asks me what's wrong but doesn't press the matter when I tell him nothing. I gave him a tight lipped smile, but I wasn't sure if he bought it or not. During fifth period, I am also quiet and Carter practically jumps me as we walk to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Max, tell me what's wrong. You know you can tell me anything. Come on! It's not good to hold stuff in, "she coaxes, trotting by my side.

Almost against my will, I find myself explaining everything to her. "You know that new girl Lisa?"

She nods, confused.

"Well I knew her, before the apocalypse, I mean….. Like last year, I think, the flock and I got into some trouble and we had to stay with this woman in Virginia. She enrolled us in the school that Lisa went to. By the way, this was all before Fang and I got together. Anyway one day I was just roaming the halls, waiting for my next class to start and I walked in on them making out in the hallway," I tell her, quickly, struggling to keep a whine out of my voice.

Carter's eyes widen. "Fang and Lisa?"

I nod, reluctantly. "I don't know. I guess I'm just trippin out because I don't know if Fang's feelings for her will come back."

"Oh Max! You know Fang loves you…. He's smitten with you. Trust me, I've seen the way he looks at you. Lisa was probably just a fling. She doesn't mean anything to him. You're being ridiculous, so snap out of it. Don't you trust Fang?"

"Of course!" I exclaim, exasperated. "It's her I don't trust."

Carter giggles, opening the door to the lunch room. "Don't be a jealous head. Guys don't like that."

I shut up as we walk over to our table. Fang isn't there yet, but I hope he gets here soon so I can make up for the way I acted earlier.

"You feeling better?" Ella asks me.

Iggy sits up, alert. "What was wrong with her?"

"Just a bad mood," I tell him, taking a big bite of my sandwich. "Better now."

He visibly relaxes and I smile, happy to know that he cares.

"Guys this is Lisa. She's new and she's going to be sitting with us today since she hardly knows anyone."

My head snaps up. Fang. What was he thinking? Wait. Be cool, Max! You're not jealous. This doesn't bother you at all.

Fang sits down beside me and Lisa takes a seat diagonal from us. "Here," I say, pushing him the three sub sandwiches that I got him.

"Thanks," he murmurs and kisses my cheek. He looks me in the eye. "Better?" Knowing he is referring to my earlier mood, I nod, smiling, and he seems to buy it because he goes back to his food.

"We'll talk later," He says, simply after a moment of silence. Dang it. He knows me way too well.

I sigh. "Sure."

"Alright spill," Fang orders. It's about 7 at night and Fang and I are sprawled across my bed. I'm sitting up, flicking through the channels while his head rests in my lap. I softly stoke his hair away from his face.

"It was nothing Fang. Honest." Suddenly, my earlier fears seem to be very ridiculous. Sure, I don't like Lisa, but that doesn't mean she's going to steal Fang away from me. Besides…. Fang is lying in bed with whom? That's right. Me.

"I thought we were past this, Max. I don't like it when you keep secrets from me."

"It's not a secret," I insist. "It was just a bad mood, just one of those days."

"Fine." He murmurs, defeated. He closes his eyes, leaning into the hand that is stroking his hair.

"So that whole Lisa thing was weird right? What are the odds?" He muses.

My hand stops mid stroke and my body tenses. I quickly relax it though, and continue stroking, hoping that he didn't notice.

"It is weird," I mutter, but my voice comes out sounding slightly strangled.

Fang opens one eye and stares up at me. He studies me quietly and then quickly sits up. "If this has anything to do with Lisa, Max, I swear to God I-"

"It doesn't!" I snap, cutting him off. His expression softens and I pray that he isn't seeing right through me.

"You know I love you right?" He murmurs, planting a long kiss on my lips. "More than anything."

I sigh. "I know."