Hi everybody! Sorry for the long update, I've been busy with other stuffs.
To: cat musketeer – I think that is so cool you sat in the same spot as my characters did in the 9th chapter. So weird but awesome!
To: Serenaisbestezrq387 – your review made me laugh so hard, well the first sentence! :) Haha, thanks for that funny mental picture!
To: HeadOverHeelsInHate – I LOVED your review, it was hilarious! Thanks so much for all of your… input :D and I love your picture profile by the way!
To: vampirevampirevampire – thanks for being my 300th reviewer! And hope you like my story so far!
To: BOOKi – I kind of LOVE my Dylan as well, hehe. He is just such a sweet guy that will always be there for Max, AS A FRIEND, nothing more. Promise.
But here is the chapter that we have all been waiting for! :D
Enjoy!
Chapter 33 – The Talent Show
There was a light knock on my door, "Max, Dylan's here. Hurry up." I sighed loudly, running the brush through my tangled hair once more. It got stuck about half way down and I yanked it out, making my hair look like a crazy afro on steroids. Useless piece of poop.
"Max, did you hear me?" Iggy sounded annoyed, and I heard the thump his muscular body made as he leaned onto my door.
"Coming Ig, just give me a second." He also sighed loudly, but I heard his footsteps leave my door. Brothers…
I quickly threw my hair into a messy ponytail, the tips of my hair brushing just below my shoulders. I stood up and walked to my mirror, grabbing my UGG boots in the process. I slipped on my warm, chestnut boots and adjusted the crème colored hoodie I had on.
I looked fairly decent; my hair was somewhat well kept, my hoodie and boots popped from the contrast of my black skinny jeans. Alright, I'm all set to go.
I passed my desk and grabbed my shoulder bag with my money and entry ticket for the show. Walking down the stairs and into the living room, I heard Dylan talking to Iggy about football stuff. Of course.
"Jesus Max, you take forever. It's not a date, you are just going to the Talent Show." Iggy's comment made me blush slightly, but I stood next to Dylan.
"It's not a date, right?" Iggy looked at Dylan suddenly, his eyebrows rising in question. Dylan chuckled and shook his head. "No Igs, it's not a date. We are just going as friends, right Max?" He looked down at me, his bright blue eyes looking into mine.
"Yep, just as friends Iggy. Don't worry, we'll be fine." I smiled brightly at my older brother, he smirked back.
"Alright, get outta here, you're going to be late." We laughed and Iggy led us to the door. "Don't bring her home too late Dylan, she needs to study for her Spanish test tomorrow." I rolled my eyes, but started walking next to Dylan down the sidewalk.
We were about to turn the corner when I faced Iggy one last time. "And Iggy," he turned and tilted his head to the side. "Tomorrow is Saturday."
His face turned a shade redder, and then he quickly slammed the door, muttering something about being a 'smart-arse.'
Dylan and I chuckled, "He's a great brother Max. You're really lucky." I nodded my head and crunched on a giant leaf lying on the sidewalk. Its' broken, shattered pieces floating away behind us.
"I know I'm lucky, that's why I'm scared." He looked down at me with a funny face. "I have no clue what I'm going to do without him when he goes away to college." I shoved my hands in my pockets as Dylan's arm came over shoulders, pulling me into his warm side.
"Well, you know you still have a very handsome football player as well." I smirked, looking up at his face. His lips tugged at the corners, but he kept walking, ignoring the smile dancing on his lips.
I chuckled and shook my head, "Great, that makes me feel waay better now."
He laughed too, his side rumbling against my head. "But really, I'm here for you too; I always will be."
I smiled to myself and wrapped my arms around his waist. "Thanks Dylan, that really means a lot."
If only I knew that from someone else…
When we finally reached the school grounds, there was already a huge line forming outside of the gym.
"Damn, we should have come sooner. If only someone didn't take forever to change." Dylan mumbled, dropping his arm and walking toward the back of the line.
"Ex-cuse me? I do not take forever! You're the one who checks your hair every five seconds." I defended, jogging to keep up with Dylan.
I heard his low chuckle, when suddenly I was bombarded with a blur of blonde.
"MAX!" I stumbled back, trying to regain my balance as I looked down at my attackers. Four blue eyes looked back at me, each one a twinkle in their eyes.
"Hi Angel, Gazzy! I didn't know you guys were coming." Angel was hugging my leg, and Gazzy had his arms wrapped around my torso.
"I'm so happy you are here Max! I didn't know if you were coming, you know with Fang and all…" Angel finally let go, and was staring at me. I looked down and noticed her voice became lower as she trailed off.
"Nice move Ang, now you got her sad! Poop head." Gazzy complained; I looked back up at Angel, her eyes now sad and forgiving.
"Oh Max, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to – I was just trying to – I should just shut up." Angel ran up to me again and hugged my stomach.
"It's fine Angel, don't worry about it. Why don't we just enjoy the night, okay." I patted her back comfortingly and she smiled up at me.
"There you guys are, you got me so scared… Oh, hi Max." The twins' dad walked up from the behind the line. "Hi Mr. Harding." Angel had let go and stepped off to the side with Gazzy.
"Were you waiting in line already?" He asked, looking at the end of the line that was getting longer by the second.
"Um yeah, my friend went to save a spot. Did you guys want to sit with us?" He opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off. "YES! We want to sit with you, please dad!" The twins stood in front of their dad, giving him Bambi eyes. I knew he couldn't say no.
"Alright fine, but Gazzy, keep your, um, stomach under control. Got it? Don't need to have a stampede in there." Gazzy blushed, and then laughed evilly as he and Angel went to find Dylan.
Jeb and I followed, finding the twins already pestering Dylan. We waited another fifteen minutes when the gym doors finally opened the line moved forward. We found seats in some-what the middle, at the end of the aisle.
"I call the seat next to Max!" Angel yelled.
"Aww, but I want to sit next to her too! No fair." Gazzy crossed his arms and glared at his sister. I laughed at the two, "Angel, how about you sit on my lap and Gazzy can sit next to me. Deal?" They both smiled and nodded their head.
Jeb went in first next Gazzy, then me with Angel sitting on my lap and lastly Dylan. People were still bustling around, trying to find seats when I heard an all too familiar squeal and giggle.
"OMG, there's Max! And there are seats open right behind her!" I rolled my eyes and turned around, seeing Nudge dragging Ella and Logan to the aisle behind us.
"Hey guys, didn't know if you were going to make it." I smiled as Ella sat in between Logan and Nudge. Sitting at the edge, Nudge's smile kept getting wider and wider.
"Of course we came silly, why would we miss this? I hear there is a super cute boy band that's gunna sing! ZOMG, isn't that amazing, do you think it would be weird if I ask them for their numbers? Like, what if they fight for me, and then they end up breaking up? No, I would feel so horrible! But then it would be cu –mprh."
Ella clasped her hand over the motor mouth, an annoyed look on her face. Angel giggled in my arms, clearly amused by my friends. "Nudge, we came to a Talent Show, do you think people would appreciate it if you were talking the whole time?"
Logan snickered next to Ella. She finally let go, and Nudge glared at Ella. "I don't know Ella, do you think people would appreciate if someone slapped a hand on their face while they were talking?" She sounded angry, and some of her lip-gloss smeared to the side of her lip.
Angel and I giggled, as Ella rolled her eyes again. "I didn't slap you Nudge, I simply shut you up before someone's ears started bleeding." Nudged huffed loudly, bringing out a compact mirror to fix her lip-gloss.
I turned around as the lights dimmed, people hushing and settling into their seats. "Ladies and gentlemen, our annual Talent Show will begin shortly. Please enjoy yourselves and the acts for tonight."
Fang's POV
"Yo, emo boy, move outta the way!" I glanced up and saw some seniors come racing down the end of the stage pushing a huge box on a cart. I sidestepped quickly, just dodging the on-coming box of the death.
The back of the stage was crazy, frantic, and unnerving. People were running around everywhere, calling across the stage and practicing their act.
It reminded me of the circus, minus the animals. Oh wait, there's a pig…
"Fang, Lissa! Where are you guys?" I heard Mr. Griffin's voice above the annoying buzz in the air.
"Over here Mr. Griffin!" I waved my hand, careful not to drop the guitar in my hands. My teacher pushed his way past the traffic, stopping in front of me. His glasses were about to fall off his nose, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead.
"It's like a mad house! Have you seen Lissa?" His voice was rushed, and he searched frantically for my 'partner.' I shook my head, wondering the same thing.
He groaned and continued looking around, "Well when you find her, you guys are ninth up. Right after the girl with a puppet." I nodded my head and looked after he walked away, almost getting hit with a board from the stage.
Where the heck was Lissa anyway? She should have been here by now…
"Fangy! I'm here!" Ugh, spoke too soon.
"Sorry, my friends took me to get Starbucks, and then there were these really cute guys! But I'm here now, aren't you happy?" She had a bright smile and a Starbucks cup in her right hand.
"Sure. Let's just practice, we're ninth up." We quickly walked off to the side and started our warm-ups. I strummed a few notes on my guitar, slightly twisting the tuners.
"Ok, so remember, skip the second verse, and add the last line twice for the ending. Got it?" She nodded quickly and suddenly went to the curtains.
"I wonder if my brother is here…" She peaked through the thick curtains, and quietly gasped. "Why is he sitting with her?"
I followed Lissa and looked out above her head. The gym was already crowded, and people still filing in from the back doors. That's when I spotted Angel and Gazzy, Angel was sitting on someone's lap with Dylan next to her.
She suddenly turned around and that's when I saw Max. She also turned and they both started laughing at Ella and Nudge who were behind them. My dad was also there, chatting with Gazzy who had a mischievous smile on his face.
"He shouldn't be sitting with her, I saved him a seat in the front row." Lissa sounded slightly mad, she was glaring at Max. I closed the curtain and faced Lissa.
"So what if he sits with her, this is a free country Lissa." She groaned and walked past me, "I hate her for taking him away from me. It's always Max this, Max that! It's not always about stupid Max!" I raised my eyebrows, locking with her eyes.
"Let me guess it's always about you? Well guess what Lissa, it's not always about you. Maybe someone else needs the spotlight for once." Her eyes turned cold, her hands on her hips and her lips in a tight line.
"Well, if someone is going to take the spotlight, at least someone better should take it. Not someone like Maximum Ride. What a waste…" she mumbled.
My fists clenched and unclenched, she was really pushing my buttons. But I evened my breathing and got it together.
"Whatever, let's just practice quickly and get it over with." She sighed loudly, acting so dramatic. But we continued practicing as the first act began. Everything was going smoothly, until act number seven.
There was intense, dramatic music playing when suddenly there was a loud BOOM! and the ground slightly shook. We all quickly rushed to the curtains, peeking over the side.
In this act, there were four juniors; all doing different magic tricks using science. Their table consisted of different beakers and glass containers, each holding brightly colored liquids that were bubbling and producing smoke.
Once you got past the horrible smell and dense cloud of smoke, you saw all the juniors. They were all standing still, their hair looked like if they got electrocuted, and their white coats stained with blues, oranges and reds.
It was a funny sight, although they all looked like they peed their pants. The audience was deathly silent, taking in the sight before them. And that's when a small laugh erupted from the crowd, and I knew it all too well.
"Idiots! You're not supposed to add the sulfuric acid until after you mix the base solution!" Only the Gasman would know what went wrong in this act.
He continued laughing until some teachers helped clean up the mess and clear the smoke. I'm sure that was going to be the talk of school for the next couple of weeks.
Once the stage was cleared, act number eight went out. The freshmen girl with the talking Chihuahua puppet. I think we could hear the snores from the back of stage.
Once the freshmen girl came back, looking quiet proud, Lissa looked out of the curtains, "God, now she's laughing with him! Who the hell does she think she is talking to my brother! That stupid slut!"
By the time she was done saying that, I was seeing red. She closed the curtain and flipped her hair, smiling at me. "You ready Fangy-poo?" I clenched my teeth and stared at her, my knuckled turning white at my sides.
"No Lissa! I am not ready to go out on that stage with you! I never was, so I am just going by myself, I probably will have a better chance winning without you!" I was shouting and everyone was staring.
But I didn't care, I had finally had enough.
"But Fang… what am I supposed to do?" Her voice sounded near tears, and her lip trembled.
"That is not my problem, figure it out yourself." I grabbed my guitar and walked to the edge of the curtain. I turned and saw all eyes were on me, all waiting to see what I would do next.
What am I going to do next…?
I breathed in and out, closed my eyes and split the curtain, revealing myself. I stepped in the middle and opened my eyes out to the crowd. I blinked from the bright light in front of my face and saw my dad.
He had a puzzled look on his face, as did everyone else. I quickly found Max, her head poking out from behind Angel's blond curls. Her eyebrows were crinkled together, yet she looked so cute. Cute? What are you talking about Fang, you do not say cute!
I adjusted the microphone to my height and put the guitar strap over my shoulder, my fingers itching to play. I sighed slowly and leaned into the microphone.
"Hi everyone, my name is Fang. I know this isn't on the program, but just bear with me. This song goes out to a special friend of mine named Max."
It was totally silent and all eyes were on me when I started.
Would you dance
If I asked you to dance?
Would you run
And never look back?
Would you cry
If you saw me crying?
And would you save my soul, tonight?
Would you tremble
If I touched your lips?
Would you laugh?
Oh please tell me this.
Now would you die
For the one you loved?
Hold me in your arms, tonight.
I can be your hero, baby.
I can kiss away the pain.
I would stand by you forever.
You can take my breath away.
Would you swear
That you'll always be mine?
Or would you lie?
Would you run and hide?
Am I in too deep?
Have I lost my mind?
I don't care
You're here tonight.
I can be your hero, baby.
I can kiss away the pain.
I would stand by you forever.
You can take my breath away.
Oh, I just want to hold you.
I just want to hold you.
Am I in too deep?
Have I lost my mind?
I don't care
You're here tonight.
I can be your hero, baby.
I can kiss away the pain.
I will stand by your forever.
You can take my breath away.
I can be your hero.
I can kiss away the pain.
And I will stand by you forever.
You can take my breath away.
You can take my breath away.
I can be your hero.
I looked out, seeing Max's face deep in thought. I really hope she knows that is exactly what I will do for her.
I will be a hero.
Just for my Max.
Finally I finished! Woot woot! :D
Hope you guys liked it, and I didn't sound cheesy or sorry if Fang was too mean/rough on Lissa. And I hope you liked the song (Hero – Enrique Iglesias)
So yep, hope you all enjoyed and please don't forget to leave me a review. Can we get to 320? Purty please? :)