I kinda just realized I haven't done any disclaimers for this story...
So yeah.
Gazzy: TMI DON'T OWN US.
;_; I should though. Dontcha think? Lol. Oh! And someone asked me what my penname means. It's text talk for
Too
Much
Information

Some people thought it was The Mortal Instruments, and it's really funny cause I see people saying I LOVE TMI and I'm like awwww and then others are all Disclaimer: I don't own TMI and I'm all HELL NO YOU DON'T.

Then I realized that they meant The Mortal Instruments.

…

THANK YOU TO MY BEAUTIFUL REVIEWERS! You all inspire me to greater heights than I can imagine possible.

FPOV
I wandered in from the soccer field with Gazzy, bruised and muddy from our pre-school scrimmage. I brushed the sweat off my forehead, flipping my bangs over my eyes to cool them off further. Gazzy laughed at my behavior, pointing towards my head. "You look like a big black dog with your fur over your face, Fang. You even have a doggy name! Ruff, ruff!" Gazzy playfully bumped me with his shoulder. I quirked one side of my mouth up in a half-smile at him.

"Thanks," I muttered. Gazzy laughed again, and we continued to the front of the school. I sat down on our usual bench, and Gazzy plopped beside me as I began to strip off my-

No, not my shirt. My shinguards.

Jeez.

I stuffed the sweaty equipment in the outer pocket of my backpack to air out, and began to put my shoes back on. The guys who played soccer with me before school didn't wear cleats, just our normal shoes. However, if we didn't wear shinguards during our matches, we would have bruises the size of mangoes all over our legs. Gazzy never hesitated to slide tackle our legs if he thought we were getting away with the ball. True, that move was illegal, but Gaz didn't care when he played with us. He was a rule breaker, born and bred.

Gazzy and I stood up to head to our lockers before homeroom. Gazzy was still hurriedly stuffing his nauseatingly smelly shinguards in his bag, but I was ready to go. "See you, Fang," Gazzy mumbled, focused on the zipper of his backpack. I nodded in reply and turned to head to my locker. However, before I had taken two steps, an abrupt shriek split the air.

"ZOMG FANG GAZZY GUESS WHAAAAAAT!" Nudge's voice echoed loudly in the hallway, and at least thirty heads turned at the shrill squeal she was exhibiting. Nudge raced down the hallway to me, her cheeks pink and her eyes bright. Gazzy turned to me with a question in his eyes, but I simply shrugged in response. I didn't know why Nudge was going ballistic.

"Yeah Nudge?" Gazzy ventured, looking resigned. Nudge wrinkled her nose at the scent of Gazzy's odorous shinguards, but didn't say anything about them. Instead she started spouting gossip about something else.

"ZOMG GUESS WHAT?" she shrieked. Half the hallway was still watching her antics. I put my hands firmly on her shoulders, looking seriously in her eyes. Nudge calmed down noticeably, but she still fidgeted with excitement. She must have some big news to share.

"What is it?" I sighed, slightly curious. Nudge giggled loudly, her smile as wide as the Pacific Ocean.

"Max II asked Max I to the dance this Friday! Isn't that adorable? Max and Max! They'll look so freaking cute together!" Nudge babbled excitedly. Her eyes were trained on mine, as if she was waiting specifically for my reaction to her news. Gazzy smiled at Nudge, but I froze.

"Did she accept?" I asked, unable to stop myself. Nudge nodded, bouncing up and down with excitement. My head felt a bit peculiar at her confirmation.

"That's great, Nudge," Gazzy told her enthusiastically. "Max II has been mooning over her since she first arrived."

At Gazzy's words, Nudge's eyes flickered over to me again. I stared back, my face masked with indifference as usual. Why should I care if Max II asked Max to the dance? He had every right to. Just because I didn't particularly like him and he wasn't that great of a soccer player didn't mean he was a bad person. Gazzy was friends with him, so he obviously wasn't awful. I would just have to... get used to the idea. Right, I would just have to let Max II prove himself. I opened my mouth to tell Nudge what I thought about her news. "That's-"

Suddenly, the warning bell rang. Its shrill resonance interrupted me mid-sentence, and I spun around to head in the right direction. "Catch you later," I murmured to Nudge and Gazzy, heading towards my locker. When I glanced back over my shoulder, they had their heads together, and were whispering feverishly.

I shook my head, hurrying to my locker. My friends were acting so weird lately. First Max had a mood swing a couple weeks ago, then Iggy started PMS-ing, then Max II went emo because he didn't make the school soccer team. Now Nudge and Gazzy were conspiring? I shuddered. Their alliance would be very powerful. I didn't need the stress. Really, I didn't.

After I had stuffed my backpack in my locker, I made my way through the crowds to homeroom. Ms James smiled at me as I walked in through the door, and I nodded back to her. I walked up the aisle between the desks slowly, wondering what I could possibly say to Max. What was I supposed to say? Good luck with Max II, watch where his hands roam?

I mentally groaned, hoping I could just avoid the subject. I would just talk with Max about soccer, like I usually did in homeroom. Resolutely, I hurried the rest of the way to my seat. I was about to sit down when I saw Max. Her fists were clenched so tight that her knuckles were turning white, and her whole body language was tense and rigid. The thing that shell-shocked me though, was her expression. She looked absolutely heartbroken, her eyes filled with pain. I hadn't seen Max ever look this way before, and frankly, it scared me. She hadn't looked like this when she hurt her foot, or even when I ate her last Swedish Fish last weekend. Then I saw something even more shocking.

There were tears running down Max's face.

"Max?" I heard myself ask. My voice sounded as shocked as I felt. "Max, are you crying?"

Max's head jerked slightly, and her eyes focused on me. She sniffed slightly, her forehead crinkling in slight confusion. "What? Why would I be crying?" she asked.

I raised an eyebrow at her. Max was so weird. Did she even realize she was crying?

Oh no. Was this another creepy mood swing like last week? I hoped not. I had discovered that Moody Max was not a pleasant person to have around. Maybe I could snap her out of it somehow... "Oh, sorry, I must be mistaken," I replied, shifting my books to my left hand. "These are from your eyes sweating." Gently, I leaned over and brushed away one of the tears tracking water stains over Max's face. Her cheek was surprisingly soft. For some reason, I didn't think Max's face would be soft, since she acted so tough all the time.

Max relaxed a tiny bit, and I noticed that her hands had unfolded. There were small crescents imprinted into Max's palms from where her fingernails had dug into her skin. I was slightly alarmed at the sight, but managed to keep my calm mask intact. I retracted my hand from Max's face, watching her smile slightly. "Right, Fang," she teased. "My eyes are sweating."

"Are you okay?" The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. Max nodded hesitantly, rubbing the rest of the tears off her face. Suddenly, an idea came to me. "Is it about Max II?" I asked dully, dreading her answer for some reason. I didn't like the idea that Max II was making Max cry, but I had to ask.

Max looked surprised. "What? No, it was-" Max paused, hesitating before saying something. What wasn't she telling me? Well, at least she wasn't crying over Max II. "Why would you think it'd be Max II?"

Dammit. I forgot I wasn't supposed to know about their date yet. Hopefully Max wouldn't be miffed that I had heard about it through the school gossip. Or, more correctly, the Nudge gossip. "Oh, I just thought- nevermind," I mumbled.

Max looked interested though, which had me mentally cursing. "No, what is it?"

Think, Fang, think! What's something you can say that isn't too embarrassing and jealous-sounding? Cause I'm not jealous, nuh uh. I'm just experiencing a healthy concern about my new friend going on a date with my less-than-friend. Right. That's it. "i thought that maybe Max had done something, since, you know, he asked you out and all," I blurted out quickly, internally commanding my face to stay calm and impassive. I've never liked emotions. They're too hard to control. I averted my gaze from Max at that thought. She seemed to read me better than most people, and I didn't want her to somehow understand that thought.

"Who told you that?" Max demanded, sounding slightly upset. Was she even planning on telling me about Max II? She must have known I would hear about it eventually.

"Nudge," I admitted, feeling slightly sheepish for overreacting.

Max was silent for a moment, and I looked back at her face. I hoped I hadn't made her upset. That was all I needed, an upset Maximum Ride. I had quickly learned that it was in everybody's best interest if Max was happy. If she wasn't, she tended to hurt people more often...

"Are you okay with that?" Max asked suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts. "I know you don't really like Max II."

I felt a tint bit of my surprise leak into my expression, and hastened to smooth it out. Was I really that obvious in my slight dislike for Max II? I thought I was being fairly subtle...

But this is where Max's odd ability to read me well comes into play.

"Are you really asking me for my approval?" I asked slowly, looking into Max's eyes for confirmation.

"Your opinion means a lot to me," Max replied with a nod.

That felt... good, to know she wanted me to be happy with the guy she was going to that dance with. A lot of girls I know wouldn't bother to be that nice.

"...I would hate that you didn't like Max taking me to that dance," Max admitted.

"Really?" The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"Really," Max told me, smiling slightly. "You could say we're besties!"

Where did this girl come from? Why hadn't she moved here sooner?

"I don't remember agreeing to be besties," I pointed out quietly, smirking at her. Max promptly elbowed me in the ribs as a way of response. Ow! Max really had some intense violence issues. I swear I had gained double the bruises I usually obtained since I met her.

"Too bad," Max growled. "We're now officially besties."

Fine, Commander Ride. No need to get huffy. "Okay then, bestie," I said aloud, smirking as the strange word slid off my tongue.

Max looked at me hesitantly again, as if she wanted to say something else. I waited patiently for her to speak again, watching her thoughts flicker across her face. "So are you fine with Max II then?" she finally asked, sounding as if she was waiting solely for my confirmation.

I could say no. I could tell her it would make me miserable if they went out on Friday, and Max would probably ditch their date. After all, we were besties.

But... I couldn't do that to her. I'd feel too guilty about it. I took a deep breath, and looked back at Max. "If he makes you happy," I told her seriously. After all, that was what mattered most- if Max herself was happy about the date.

Max nodded slowly, looking far away. She settled back in her chair as the announcements crackled on, and we sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of homeroom. That was that. The Max II complication had been resolved.

Classes flew by quickly until lunch, and I breezed through them all. The teachers at Cromwell were pretty cool as a whole, and I'd been lucky enough this year to be seated with Gazzy as a desk mate in history. Mrs. Hell, as Iggy had nicknamed her, made history even more boring for me than it normally was. Gazzy felt the same way, luckily, so we spent her class period discussing soccer most of the time. After all, soccer is a very interesting subject. I could talk about it for hours. I'm fact, I've been known to babble like Nudge on a good day, which is very strange for most people to witness. As a rule, I don't like to talk much. It wastes time.

Unless it's concerning soccer. Then, there's plenty of time. Always.

I have PE right before lunch, so I was still changing into my normal clothes when the loudspeaker came to life, making everyone in the locker room wince at the noise. "Will all members of the soccer team please check the bulletin board outside the locker rooms during the lunch period. That is all, thank you."

I looked over at Devon, who had also made the team. He caught my eye and shrugged. "I dunno what it's for either," he told me, answering my unspoken question. "Let's go check."

Devon and I quickly finished changing and headed outside to scrutinize the bulletin board. Elizabeth Valencia and Sadie Davis were also peering at the board, and I remembered that they had also made the team. "What's up there?" Devon asked casually, coming up behind Sadie. Sadie didn't spare him a glance as she pored over one of the sheets of paper pinned to the board.

"Practice and game schedules," she replied. "Practice starts immediately, and games start next week."

Devon nodded, moving to get a closer look at the board. "Is there a way to get a copy of those?" he murmured, half to himself.

Elizabeth turned to look at him, and smiled shyly. "First practice is today, so you can ask Coach Walker about it," she recommended.

"That's a good idea. Thanks Liz," Devon told her with a smile. Elizabeth nodded wordlessly, turning back to study the papers.

I moved to get a closer look at them, already anticipating playing with the team. It promised to be a talented group this year, judging from tryouts. The papers stated what Sadie had said before about the practices and games. I nodded slowly, memorizing the words on the pages. I could manage the schedule without too much trouble. My club soccer team's practices were on Wednesday and Friday nights, and I could probably get out of a few of them for the school games if I had to. My coach loved me, so it wouldn't be too difficult.

The rest of the soccer team eventually filtered in from the rest of the school to take a look at the bulletin board. I waited as people came and left, knowing that my friends would show up eventually.

Exactly four minutes later, Gazzy, Max, Ella, Nudge, Matt, and Lucas came walking up, laughing and talking among themselves. I waited silently by the board, my eyes shifting from friend to friend.

I was secretly glad Max II wasn't among them. It may be mean, but I was suddenly thankful he hadn't made the Cromwell team.

"Hey Fang!" Max chirped, noticing me first. Everyone added in their greetings, and I nodded in reply.

Predictably, Nudge ran to the bulletin board first. She always had to know everything first, which could be cute at times, and annoying at others. Thankfully, right now was one of the cute times, and everyone crowded around Nudge to read over shoulders. "This says we have practices Monday, Wednesday, and some Fridays every week from three fifteen to five," Nudge reported. "And then there's games every Tuesday and Thursday, and on the Fridays when we don't have practice! Whew!" Nudge paused, turning to glance at us. "We aren't going to have much free time for awhile," she remarked.

"When do practices start?" Gazzy asked, craning his neck to try to see over Nudge's shoulder.

"Today," she replied. "Except that this week, since we don't have any games, practices are going to be held from five to nine so we can get a head start. That is a looooooong practice!"

"Eh, it's not that unusual," Gazzy replied, ruffling his hair with one stray hand. "I've had practices like that before on certain club teams. And this is only for this week."

"Yeah, but I have tons of homework this week! When are we going to have time to do it?" Lucas demanded, looking slightly peeved.

"Chill, Luke. We'll find some way," Matt reasoned. Lucas rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything else.

Suddenly, Nudge's eyes widened, and she flew over to Max. "Max! Max!" she shrieked, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her violently. Nudge was much stronger than most people gave her credit for, so Max was being jerked around quite effectively.

Max looked alarmed as she was shaken back and forth in Nudge's firm grasp. "What, Nudge?" she cried, tearing herself out of Nudge's firm grip.

Nudge looked positively distressed. "We have soccer practice this Friday from five to nine!" she screamed, like it was the end of the world.

Now I like a good apocalypse theory as much as the next guy, but I hadn't heard anything recently. What was Nudge going on about?

Apparently Max didn't understand what was happening either, because her face was blank. "I'm lost," she admitted. "Why is that bad again?"

Nudge looked at Max like the poor, confused girl had lost her mind. "The dance is this Friday, from seven to nine!" she screeched. "You won't be able to go with Max II if we have practice!"

"Oh," Max realized. She shrugged. "That's too bad, I guess."

"Too bad!" Nudge shrieked, still worked up. "Don't you care at all? Aren't you upset?"

"I guess so," Max hedged, sounding hesitant. "I mean, I feel bad about ditching on Max II."

"He'll understand," I assured Max, clapping her on the shoulder as I walked past. "I'm hungry." I headed over towards the cafeteria, and eventually everyone else followed.

Iggy, Terra, Jake, Vlasis, and Max II were already sitting at the lunch table when we arrived. I sat down next to Iggy and immediately started to eat. "So, my dear soccer fanatics," Iggy drawled. "What was that about?"

"Schedule for the season, games and practices," Matt informed him, unwrapping his sandwich.

"Oh, that's cool," Max II remarked, obviously trying to be nice about the whole thing, even though he hadn't made the team. "I guess you guys are gonna be really busy for awhile, am I right?"

Ella and I turned to look over at Max, who avoided our gazes. Nudge nudged Max none-too-gently, and gave a pointed look towards Max II that I'm pretty sure everyone at the table saw. Subtlety isn't Nudge's strong point. Never was, never will be.

"Umm, yeah, about that Max II," Max began hesitantly. She set her lunch bag down on the table, an uncharacteristic emotion on her face- was she nervous? Max didn't get nervous. It just didn't happen. "Can I talk with you outside for a moment?"

"Sure," Max II complied, obviously confused. He stood up from the table and followed Max out of the cafeteria.

Nudge sighed loudly, plopping down heavily in her seat next to Terra. "Oh high school drama, we meet again," Nudge commented theatrically. I rolled my eyes and continued to eat. There was still no apocalypse probability, in my opinion. It was a dance, no big deal.

"What's the sitch?" Terra asked, eager for the latest gossip scoop.

"We have soccer practice this Friday from five to nine, so Max can't go to the dance with Max!" Nudge exclaimed. "It's so aggravating!"

"Oh no, Nudge, your matchmaking has failed yet again. What a tragedy," Iggy teased. Nudge huffed in return.

"I wasn't matchmaking," she protested. "I was just trying to gently push them together-"

"Max II doesn't need much pushing," I commented casually, taking another bite of my sandwich.

Instantly, Gazzy and Nudge were riveted on me. "Why do you say that, Fang?" Gazzy asked immediately. "Jealous?"

I was so surprised by his question that I actually started choking on my sandwich. Everyone at the table laughed at my predicament, instead of helping me, and I nearly suffocated on that bite of sandwich. I swear I was starting to black out when someone started forcefully clapping me on the back, and I coughed out the food blocking my esophagus.

When I turned to see my rescuer, I wasn't surprised in the least to see Max standing there, surveying me worriedly. "You okay?" she asked, sitting down on my other side. I nodded in reply, rubbing my burning throat and shooting glares at the other people at our table.

"No thanks to them," I muttered, jerking my head in their general direction. Nudge giggled again, and ms everybody else snickered loudly.

"Jeez, Fang, what awful friends you have," Max tsked, grinning widely. I nodded emphatically.

"Tell me about it," I mumbled, taking a very careful bite of my sandwich.

"So how'd it go with Max II?" Terra asked sympathetically. Max grimaced, and everyone winced in reply.

"Not so good," Max summarized, looking uncomfortable. "As you can tell, he was disinclined to continue eating lunch with us today after I told him I couldn't go to the dance with him. I feel so bad." Max rubbed her forehead, not touching her food.

"If he's so mad about that, and you don't think it's a big deal, your relationship is doomed," Ella predicted. Max looked like she was in agreement with Ella, and there was a resigned expression on her face.

"Why don't you just go out for ice cream or something like that instead?" Gazzy suggested, waving his apple around to emphasize his point. "Then you still have a date, just not at the dance."

Max shook her head. "That wouldn't work. We have soccer practice and games everyday of the week, and I'm looking around for a club soccer team to play on also, which would take up my weekends," Max reasoned. "I'm no good with boys," she sighed. "My heart belongs to soccer."

"Fanatic," Ella coughed loudly. Max glared at her sister, but made no comment. I nudged Max gently with my elbow, half-smiling.

"You know she speaks the truth," I whispered. Max shrugged.

"No reason to tell her that," Max replied quietly. I nodded in understanding, and Max laughed. "Thank you Fang, for understanding me," she proclaimed suddenly, dropping her sandwich and throwing her arms around me again. I was startled by her sudden hug, but wrapped my arm around her anyway. "Unlike my dearest sister," Max added, shooting a glare at Ella from under my arm. Ella rolled her eyes and started whispering with Nudge and Gazzy. Max disentangled herself from me, moving casually back to her seat and starting to eat her lunch. I shook my head at her antics, and continued eating my own food.

Max really was something else.

Inexplicably, I felt much more at peace now that I knew Max wasn't going to that dance with Max II. I wondered vaguely why that was, but no plausible solution came to mind, so I abandoned the train of thought. No need to pursue it now. There was plenty of time for philosophical brooding later, when I wasn't enjoying the delicious homemade cookie Ella had given me earlier. I bit onto the simple, ordinary chocolate chip cookie, and experienced heaven.

Hot damn, Dr Martinez was an amazing baker. I'd have to get more of these somehow. They'd sell for millions on eBay.

While I was busy contemplating the values of Dr Martinez's delectable cookies, the rest of the table had drifted away to their lockers and such. Only Max and I were left, still chewing away. I noticed that she was also holding one of her mother's cookies and observed with amusement the expression of ecstasy written all over her face. "Enjoying that?" I inquired, watching Max's eyes fly open. She glanced around our table confusedly, then looked back at me.

"Where did everyone go?" she asked, her expression changing to a completely confused, innocent one.

"They were jealous of your cookie, so they went off to raid your house and hold Ella for ransom to get more for themselves," I explained seriously.

Max nodded slowly, processing my statement. "They can keep Ells," she decided nonchalantly. "And they'll never find our cookies. I hide them everyday in a new spot."

We stood up from the lunch table with our cookies, walking with unspoken agreement towards our art class. "That is dedication," I remarked. "Don't you ever run out of hiding places?"

"Well, now we have a whole new house, so I can start over again," Max reasoned seriously. "I haven't even used some of my favorite spots yet. Ella's underwear drawer is one particularly hilarious one."

"Thank you for those mental images of your sister's underwear," I grumbled. Max snickered, so I elbowed her in the ribs. "Not funny, Maxi," I muttered.

Immediately, Max stopped walking. I stopped too, wondering why she had halted in the middle of the hallway. "Never," she breathed, somehow looking furious and very far away at the same time. "Never, ever, ever call me Maxi. Just don't."

"Okay," I agreed awkwardly, wondering what was so bad about the nickname. She called me Fangy all the time, but I never got seriously angry at her for it. In my opinion, Fangy was worse than Maxi.

As soon as I agreed, Max was happy again, continuing on our way to art class as if nothing had happened. "Sorry about that," she apologized cheerfully. "My ex-boyfriend from Nevada called me Maxi, and I have some very horrible and scarring memories from our relationship that I would love to forget about."

"Sorry," I murmured, feeling bad about making her remember the unpleasant memories.

"No problem," Max assured me. She turned to look at me, making a very solemn face. "Just don't do it again, or I'll have to maim you, and you wouldn't ever play soccer again. We wouldn't want that, would we now, Fangy?"

"So I can't call you Maxi, but you can call me Fangy?" I asked indignantly as we entered art class. "How fair is that?"

"Scarring ex-boyfriend problems," Max reminded me, flipping her long hair over her shoulder with a bright flick. "I don't think you have any of those."

"I have scarring ex-girlfriend problems," I offered. "Lissa always called me Fangy."

Max was silent for a moment, settling into her seat. I watched as she slowly appraised my argument, her forehead wrinkled slightly. "Good point," she admitted finally. "I won't call you Fangy." I nodded triumphantly, happy with my achievement. "I'll just call you Fangles instead," Max added wickedly.

Max cackled happily, but I groaned and set my head on the desk. Stupid girls. They all seemed intent on ruining my life.

Suddenly, Max tapped gently on my shoulder, and I turned my head on my desk to face her. "What do you want?" I groaned, feeling immensely tired all of a sudden. Max smiled, putting her head down on the desk a foot away from me. "Thanks Fang, for everything," she told me happily, closing her eyes.

I was startled by Max's words, but I didn't show any change of facial expression. "Your welcome," I replied simply.

Maybe girls weren't so bad after all. Especially not Max.

Edited as of 2/10/12

N'awwww... I love Fax. Even if neither characters realize it's Fax, like right now.

I was gonna say something… But I can't remember what…

… whatevaz. LOVE YOU ALL!

And if anyone has time, I'd be honored if you read my other fic Storytime. I put a lot of work into it, especially the last chapter, and I would adore some feedback. THANK YOU!

~TMI~