A/N: Ahh! I am back! Finally. I was dragged awayon some unplanned holiday to Rome, which was interesting and all, BUT I HAD NO WIFI! The pain that caused what incrediable. Withdrawl symptoms, probably. Heh. Anyway! This is the new chapter (state the obvious why don't ya..).

As always, please read and reveiw! (I'm writing this on a broken laptop, I can only see half the screen so please excuse any spelling/punctuation/grammatical errors!)

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Max POV:

Fang lay on the white bed in the sick bay. His eyes were open, and he was staring blankly at the ceiling. I don't think he'd noticed me yet. It was liek he was in some sort of trace, but instead of the deep inhales and exhales you'd imagine, his breath was coming in sharp, short pants. There were tear streaks down his cheeks, and he was muttering something under his breath.

"Just a dream, Fang. It's not real. It's dream. Not real. Not real," he whispered, but his voice sounded so broken, it made me want to cry.

"..Fang?" I whispered. His head whipped around so fast I'm surprised he didn't get whiplash.

"Max?" He sat up, and I felt a something tug in my stomach - he recognized me!

"Are you okay?" I asked, exactly the same time as Fang said, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here because-" Oh god. Should I tell him I saw him in that state? "-I saw you in the hallway just outside the bathroom, with the staff.."

He visibly bristled. "You saw that?"

"Yeah," I said quietly.

"Max," he said suddenly, sounding desperate. "That- That wasn't me, okay? I'm not usually like that. I'm not usually that weak."

I stared at him. "You weren't being weak," I said gently. "How can you think that?"

He just let his head fall back and looked at the ceiling.

"What time is it?" His voice was so quiet, I barely heard him.

"Er.." I glanced at my watch. "Wow. It's five past two."

He turned his head slightly, and studied me. "Go to bed," he told me, more than asked. "You look exhausted." I blushed slightly.

"I'm not. Are you okay, though? When you woke up, I thought maybe-"

"Don't," he said, his voice sounding pained. I looked at him for an explanation, but clearly I wasn't getting one. Normally this would annoy me, but I didn't. Maybe just because he sounded so sad, so.. helpless.

God, I sound like such a sop. Which am I not. At all.

I got up reluctantly and headed for the door, but suddenly a voice stopped me. And it wasn't Fang.

"Excuse me? May I ask why you are here when you appear fine, and it's 2:15am?" I slowly turned to see a slightly chubby woman in light blue dress with a white apron. Standard nurse uniform.

"Er.."

"She came to see me." Fang's voice cut through the uneasy silence like a knife, and the nurse's head turned to look at him.

"Ah. Actually, you need some more headache pills. Give me two seconds." She turned to me. "Follow me, please. I need help with the boxes."

I nodded. She was letting me stay. I followed her into the storage room, and she starting looking through boxes.

"Do you know Nick?" She asked. Huh? Who's Nick?

"Nick? Oh, you mean Fang. Yes. I know him, kind of."

"Fang?"

"Nobody calls him Nick. He introduced himself as Fang." I explained, and she nodded in understanding.

"Ah, I see. Well. I think there's something wrong with Ni- Fang, something he doesn't want to tell me. You don't know anything, do you?"

I shook my head. "No. But he had a nightmare on the coach, and reacted when I tried to wake him up. Strange thing was, I don't think he did it on purpose. It looked like reflexes."

"How did he react?"

"Er, he pinned me to the seat. I couldn't move. At all."

She looked at me, her broiw furrowed slightly. "Do you think he's dangerous?"

"No! I mean, I don't think he would intentionally hurt me."

"So, what's your relationship with him?"

I stared. "What?"

"On his file, it says he rarely talks, or at least initiates a conversation. Yet you two were chatting fine."

"..You were spying on us?"

She looked mildly embarrased. "No. I just overheard. Sorry."

Surprised she was apologising, I shrugged, then remembered her original question. "And I don't have any relationship with him. I mean, I'm not like his girlfriend or anything. We just me on the coach here." She nodded.

"Can I ask your name?"

"Maximum Ride, but if you call me anything other than Max I will snap your neck."

She chuckled. "Maybe you're the dangerous one, hm?"

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Fang POV:

Max and Ms Fisher were still having their little chat in the storage room. I wasn't stupid. I knew the nurse was questioning Max about what she knew of me. Luckily, she didn't know much. But how close had I been to spilling? Pretty damn close. I'd have to be more careful. She made me feel safe, and that was deadly.

Finally, the two walked back into the ward. "I couldn't find them," Ms Fisher said apologetically, and I snorted disbelievingly, but said nothing. My head was still pounding. I really wanted those pills.

I held my hand out for the pills. She gave me them, then walked back into her office with a smile and a wave.

I dry swallowed them, then turned to Max. She was staring at me.

"What?" I asked. God, my head felt better already.

"Y-your arm.." she stammered. I looked down at it.

Shit. Fucking shit.

My hoodie sleeve had slipped. My scars were in plain sight.

They weren't the ones the man had put there. Several pinky white lines laced my wrist in ruler straight lines.

I hadn't touched a blade for months. But looking at them almost brought the urge back.

"Fang-" she murmured. I looked down at the bed.

"Get out," I whispered harshly.

"Fang, please-"

"Get out."

She turned and walked out, not even glancing over her shoulder. I took a deep breath, suppressing tears.

Now she thought I was disgusting. She'd seen what I really was. A monster. I was a monster. Not worthy or life. Definitely not worthy of Max.

Fuck, I really needed a blade. Damn you, Max.

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A/N: Unexpected twist! Kind of. Not really that unexpected. Oh well.

Max: Fang thinks I hate him!

Me: Stop complaining. You had a proper conversation, didn't you?

Max: Urgh! You're impossible!

Me: It's one of my many charms ;)

As always, please reveiw! I love reading what you have to say :)

~ LightningEagle ~