Behold my loves! The update you've all waited for has arrived! I hope you enjoy, and I apologize if it's poorly written! I only had time to write this between my piano lesson and basketball practice! So I did the best I could, knowing that you all were waiting! Review if you have any questions. CAUTION: Things get a little... hot, in this chapter.
Reviews are love.
KarleeRay
"No you kids go ahead while I pay," Mom says, stopping at the booth they have set up for people to pay entry fee.
"You sure you don't want us to wait?" I ask.
"No, no, go on my little athletes." She beams while I roll my eyes, and then Nudge, Fang, Iggy, Ella, and I go on ahead, leaving Mom to pay for herself and Angel and Gazzy, since they aren't athletes at the high school.
"Do you think we have to sit with our teams?" Nudge asks, peeking her head inside the gym where all the announcing was going to happen. I try not to balk when I see that both sides of the stands are filled to almost maximum capacity. I glance down at my outfit, suddenly thankful that Mom hadn't allowed me to just wear a T and jeans.
"Nah," I say, looking around, taking in all the people swarming about, and trying not to feel claustrophobic. My eyes meet Fang's out of habit, knowing he feels the same. I swallow hard when he doesn't look away, just stares right into my eyes. "Look, the concession stand is serving food," I announce, jerking my gaze away from Fang's.
We begin to walk down the main hall, weaving through people, to get to the food.
I come to a standstill, though, when I see one of the only people I had hoped to avoid at this thing, standing on the other side of the main hall, clad in her tiny cheer uniform, red hair flashing. She spots me almost at the same time as I spot her. A smirk settles onto her lips, and it's everything I can do not to get to her in .3 seconds and beat the you-know-what out of her. But I have to remind myself, it takes two to tango. Alexandra wasn't standing in the hall kissing air. She was kissing Fang, and Fang was kissing her back. Which meant she wasn't the only one to blame here.
So instead of rearranging her perfect little features with my fist, I stride on ahead, sticking my middle finger in the air, so that it could be directed at, not just Alexandra, but Fang too. Screw both of them.
At the concession stand, I find that they aren't just selling the normal snacks and candies they sell at basketball games or other sports events. No, they've kicked this baby up just a notch, and my stomach is very happy with them as it begins to growl when the smell of pizza and chicken and hamburgers fills my nostrils.
The long line takes absolutely forever, and by the time we order our massive amount of food, the banquet is beginning. We hook back up with Mom, Angel, and Gazzy, and then thankfully find some spots high up in the stands where we can sit together as a family.
I devour my pizza as Mister Jordons, our athletic director, begins to call teams out onto the court to be announced, stiffening when he calls for Varsity Cheerleaders to make their way down. I watch Alexandra walk on by, giggling with her entourage as if she doesn't have a care in the world. Add in that, and the teeny tiny cheerleading uniforms they were all sporting, and suddenly, my pizza didn't look so appetizing.
I set it to the side.
"You should eat," Fang murmurs into my ear, having somehow gotten the seat right next to mine.
I look him straight in the eye, and suddenly it's just the two of us. There's no crowd cheering, there's no Coach announcing her way too perky cheerleaders, it's just Fang and I, and he's giving me that look. I swear, I could live and die in that single look.
But instead of pouring out my pathetic, obviously unrequited emotions, I say to him, "Yeah? Well people don't do what they're supposed to do all the time. You, of all people, should know that." I give him a pointed look before turning my attention back to where it should be.
Next, they call golf, and then swim team, and then volleyball, and I make sure to cheer loud for my sisters, both clad in dresses, beaming and waving as their names are announced.
And when they call for Varsity Girls Basketball, I get up without a second glance back at Fang and start down the stairs and out into the middle of the basketball court. If Carter had never gone to rehab, I would be standing beside her. Instead, I'm content with my place mixed in between my teammates.
Our coach comes out and takes the microphone from Mister Jordons. "Hello, Everyone," he addresses the crowd. "So tonight I just wanted to recognize the fact that I was blessed this year with an amazing group of girls," He gestures to us, all lined up in a horizontal line behind him. "They work harder than any group I've ever coached, and really that's all a coach can ask for. We're in the middle of our season, and it's going great. They play with passion, and they play with heart, and they leave everything out on the court. And I'm just so proud to call myself their coach. Ahhh… I'm going to start with my starters. We have our starting Posts, Jessie Goodman and Chrissa Mallot. And then we have our Wings, Lexi Portman and Destiny Fuller, and last but not least, our Varsity starting point guard, Miss Maximum Ride." The crowd goes wild for us starters, especially when they announce my own name, which was surprising, but I guess it shouldn't have been. I hear numerous cat calls and whistles though, and that makes me grimace. Like uh, gross.
Our coach finishes announcing us and then announcing the JV girls, and we make our way back to our seats.
And the rest of the night goes like so. Pretty boring if you ask me. Except for when they called out Fang's name. Now, that got my attention, partly because it was Fang and partly because of the screeching of these stupid girls all around me. It was enough to make me want to vomit.
After we're dismissed, everyone makes their way into the main hall, and there's so many people weaving this way and that, making their way to the exit, that I lose sight of my family. I take deep breaths and try to keep my patience as I push through people stopping to have conversations and other people who look just as lost as I do.
Finally, I come upon one of my flock members, standing at the far end of the main hall, where there aren't near as many people. And she isn't alone. And when I see who she is with, I can't help but cringe as I stride toward them, putting my shoulders back and tilting my chin up, exuding arrogance that I don't really feel at the moment.
Angel stands in the middle of the hallway, glaring angrily up at Alexandra, tiny hands on her hips, a fierce look on her face, one I know way too well, one I've used on her more times than I can count.
There's tension in Alexandra's body, but she seems to be maintaining a fairly normal expression on her face, well normal for her, which is snooty and arrogant.
"You just can't stay away from my family members, can you?" I hiss, striding up beside Angel, wondering what the hell she was doing talking to Alexandra, but wanting to have her back anyway.
Alexandra smiles a smile that lacks any type of warmth. "I think you have it twisted, Max. They come to me. But I'm sure you already know that. I mean, that wasn't the type of kiss that you just forget."
I take a threatening step towards her, feeling my patience run thin, feeling my self control make its way out the window. Who cares if Fang kissed her back? Who cares if it's not entirely her fault? She deserves to be taught a lesson. My hands curl into lethal fists. It's been too damn long since I've knocked someone's lights out, and here was the perfect opportunity. I open my mouth snarl at her, when Angel puts a hand on my arm.
"She's lying!" She says urgently. "I told you, Max! I told you something wasn't right!"
But I can barely hear her. I take another step towards Alexandra backing her up against the wall, as her smirk starts to fade.
"Max!" Angel cries, wanting my attention, but I just can't seem to give it to her. "She lied! She is enhanced!"
Whaaaaa? My head swivels to Angel, my sweet little Angel, who's managing to glare at Alexandra and reach out to me at the same time.
Her blue orbs meet mine. "She controlled him. It wasn't his fault. She has mind control." Angel spits her words, livid on mine and Fang's behalf.
"What?" I ask, my mind whirring, unable to process this. I think back to the first day of school in first period math when we had to introduce ourselves. I remember how Alexandra had claimed that her only enhancement was her stunning beauty, and she had her parents, not scientists, to thank for that. She lied. She had us all fooled. Who woulda thought? The bitch was smart.
"She has mind control," Angel repeats, icicles dripping off her words, matching a steely tone that she could only have learned from me. "But she's weak. Way weaker than me. She can only do it for short bursts of time, and even then she has to be looking into the person's eyes for a few minutes. And it's not even exactly mind control. It's mind control mixed with the ability to control emotions. Weak on either side of the spectrum." Angel laughs. "And once she's used it once on a person, it's almost impossible for her to get back inside that person's mind. Pathetic, really."
Alexandra's eyes flash, and she takes a step toward Angel. "You shut up, you little-"
But I cut her off. She's done messing with my family. I take my own step forward, putting us chest to chest. "You take a step back," I hiss.
And she does, looking slightly afraid before she smiles again. "Maybe I did control him just a tad, but that doesn't mean he didn't like it." She turns to walk away, but that last remark did me in.
I grab her shoulder, spin her around, and smash my fist into her face. She goes down immediately, and I instantly become aware of shrieking around me as I jump on top of her and land as many blows as I can. It's like I'm not even myself. So much stress, and worry, and heartbreak, this one girl has caused me. I put that all into my head and let fly. She deserves this. She deserves to be punished.
I do what I can before strong arms are pulling me off of her, a soothing voice murmuring in my ear, the only voice I would ever listen to in such a distraught mood.
"Let her go," Fang murmurs. "Let's go home. Just let her go."
And so I do, turning around and addressing him. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough," He mutters, sending a glare full of hostility towards Alexandra, who is being helped up off the ground by one of her cheerleaders who just happened to be standing around to see all the action.
He looks me in the eye, and that's when I know that he knows it wasn't his fault either. He was mind controlled, by Alexandra of all people.
He cups my face, as if he can't see that I'm all sweaty, that I'm breathing hard, that my hair is a mess. He looks at me as if I'm the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, as if I'm a hidden treasure that he's been searching for and has finally found.
He hugs me hard to his chest, and I can hear my mother and teachers in the background. I know I'm going to be in major trouble. But none of that matters. The only thing that matters is that I have Fang back. That he never turned his back on me. That he never cheated on me. That he never stopped loving me.
"I told you," Fang grunts into my mouth as he rolls on top of me in his bed.
"Yeah you can stop rubbing it in already," I tell him, barely able to get my sentence out before his hungry lips find mine again. His tongue slips into my mouth, and I can't help but whimper. God, I missed him.
He smirks smugly, but I don't care. All my mind can focus on is the way he feels, the way his hands are running up and down my body. He nips at my jaw bone and my neck, stopping only so that I can tug his t shirt over his head.
"A little rough tonight, are we?" He all but moans, low in his throat, baiting me, but I know he feels the same urgency that I do. "Your turn." He grabs the hem of my tank and yanks it over my head, popping the clasp on my bra off as if he's been doing it his whole life before trailing kisses from my neck all the way down to my bare stomach. I gasp, and he smiles into my skin. He stops at the waistline of my jeans, looking up at me for permission that I immediately grant. I can't stop. Not now. I need him.
He unbuttons my jeans, and I look down at him when a sudden thought strikes me. "Please tell me you-"
He gets up, and I immediately feel the absence of his body. I watch him, wanting him so bad that it hurts, as he goes over to his dresser and opens up a drawer, pulling out the one thing that can make this night possible.
And before I know it, he's back on top of me, kissing me fiercely, as if he's a starved man who's eating a five course meal.
And I have absolutely no doubts, as I give myself to Fang once again, as he showers me with love and affection, and takes me to heights not even a bird kid has seen before.