DEDICATED TO: Lilac Rose6 and Iggy, who made me fall out of my chair laughing when I read their review. Thanks guys!
MPOV
I watched Fang walking ahead of us out of my left eye, keeping a ginger hold on my throbbing right eye with both of my hands. I could still feel Fang's fingers gently touching my face, could still see his eyes inches away from mine.
I could still see him punching Jose in the jaw with enough force to send him crashing backwards into the fence.
He had done that for me.
Nudge and Ella were being unusually silent, probably because of the spectacle they had just witnessed. Gazzy was also quiet, his eyes trained straight ahead as we walked to Nudge's house. Fang was as wordless as usual, and I felt no need to speak, seeing that all I could really comprehend at the moment was the pain pulsing in my right eye.
Altogether, our group was a very subdued one.
Finally, we made it to Nudge's house, and Fang stepped back to let Nudge open the door. "Mom? I'm home!" Nudge called, dropping her backpack just inside the door and walking in. We followed her in, dumping our bags beside Nudge's.
A petite lady with hair that exactly matched Nudge's popped out of a doorway to the right. "Nudge! I see you've brought your friends over!" the lady exclaimed, smiling. She bustled over, examining us each in turn. "Fang and Gazzy, I know of course, and Ella, we took you to the mall last Sunday, correct?" Ella nodded and smiled brightly, as if remembering the shopping trip. Nudge's mom turned to me, her eyebrows raising almost imperceptibly when she caught sight of my black eye. "And you are?" she asked, almost primly.
I smiled hesitantly at her, a bit dismayed by her sudden change of attitude. I wanted to make a good impression on Nudge's mom, and my stupid black eye was ruining it. "I'm Max Ride, Mrs. Yolinta, pleased to meet you," I told her, making doubly sure I was polite after her frostier mood swing.
Instantly, though, she was all smiles again. "Oh, is this the Max I've been hearing so much about?" Nudge's mom asked, almost squealing in a way that was very akin to her daughter. Her brown eyes flickered almost unnoticeably towards Fang for a moment, before shooting back to me.i didn't miss the look, although I didn't really understand it. "Nudge has told me all about how nice you are, how cool, how good at soccer… I'm very excited to finally meet you! You can call me Tanya, dear, Mrs. Yolinta is too formal!"
I smiled, now fully convinced that this was where Nudge has received her ranting skills from. "Okay," I replied happily.
"But, Max dear, what happened to your eye?" Tanya asked, wringing her hands. "That looks painful!"
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Fang tensing up at the mention of my black eye. "No worries, Tanya," I tried to assure her. "I got hit with a locker door at school today."
"Ouch!" Tanya winced sympathetically. "Would you like some ice for that?"
"I think I'm oka-"
"Ice would be great," Fang interrupted me, his voice calm and stoic. "Thanks, Tanya."
Tanya looked slightly bemused, but nonetheless nodded and went off towards the kitchen to get an ice pack.
"Ella, come up to my room and see the swimsuit I bought!" Nudge squealed suddenly, tugging Ella up the staircase and disappearing around a corner. "Max, grab your bag and come change in my room! Gazzy can change in the downstairs bathroom! Fang, use the upstairs one!" Nudge added in a yell. Gazzy nodded, grabbing his backpack and hurrying away. The bathroom door shut behind him with a soft click.
I turned to glare at Fang, who was standing calmly in the middle of the entrance hall with his hands in his pockets. "What was that for?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips. "I don't need any ice."
Fang stared calmly back at me, his expression unreadable. "Ice will take the swelling down," he replied, his black eyes boring into me.
"What if I don't want the swelling to go down?" I demanded childishly. I was being silly, I knew that, but I really didn't like other people making decisions for me.
Suddenly, Fang was standing right in front of me, his hands cradling my face again. My eyes were level with his mouth, so I could watch every word he spoke being formed on his lips. "I don't want you to be in any more pain, Max," Fang murmured, his breath warm against my skin. I struggled to focus on what he was saying, instead of on our very close proximity. Was this how all the other girls at school always felt around Fang?
"Fine," I muttered, swatting his hands away from my face to stop myself from blushing again. I absolutely hated blushing, and Fang seemed to have immense talent for making me do so. It was so annoying! At my actions, Fang smirked at me and dropped his hands back into his pockets.
Just when he wasn't expecting it, I tackled him in a hug, carefully lodging the left side of my face in the crook of his neck, so that my black eye wasn't being touched. "Thank you, for dealing with Jose, and earlier with those other guys who were staring at me, and for everything you've done, Fang. I really appreciate it," I told him in one rapid string of words. I just had to get that out of my system.
Fang somehow understood my embarrassing babbles, and gently wrapped his arms around me. "No problem, Max," he replied soothingly. "I'm here for you."
"Because we're besties?" I asked, pulling away and smiling at him.
Fang smiled slightly back, but his eyes were subtly more guarded. "Not only because of that," he hedged.
"What kind of cryptic crap is that?" I demanded, confused by his vagueness.
Fang laughed, a real laugh that made me forget some of my annoyance. "It's my kind of cryptic crap," he informed me, ruffling my hair and grabbing his backpack. Fang pulled his bag on over one shoulder, then tossed me mine. I caught it mainly out of instinct, staring at him questioningly. "Swimming?" he reminded me, smirking in the most infuriating way. "Swim suits?"
"I get it, I get it," I grumbled, following Fang up the cream carpeted stairs. "But would it kill you to speak in full sentences?"
Fang stopped at the third door along the hallway, which was bedecked with posters, feathers and glitter of every color in the rainbow. "That's Nudge's room," he announced.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I muttered, shouldering him out of the way. Fang just smiled, heading further down the hall and disappearing through another door, presumably the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, I opened Nudge's door and stepped inside.
As I had predicted by Nudge's door and the very experience of knowing her, Nudge's room was an explosion of pink, purple, neon green, and silver, with glitter pretty much everywhere, and multicolored fluffy pillows battling for space with an army of stuffed animals on a hot pink, zebra-striped counterpane. Countless posters of shirtless movie stars boasting eight packs adorned the walls, sharing space with JB and Taylor Swift.
"Max! Max! Max!" Nudge squealed. She ran over to me from her huge, mirror-doored closet, where she had been conferring with Ells on something. "Maaaax!" Nudge repeated excitedly, bouncing up and down.
"Nuuuuudge!" I teased, dropping my backpack on the green carpet. "What is it?"
"Can I see your swimsuit? Thanks!" Nudge sang, diving for my backpack.
I rolled my eyes, walking over to her bed and plopping down next to a powder blue teddy bear and a bright purple snake. Kneeling beside the closet, Ella was meticulously going through a teetering stack of swimsuits, which I assumed all belonged to Nudge. Nudge herself was digging through my backpack, attempting to find my swimsuit in all the clutter.
"ZOMG Max, how do you keep your binders and backpack so disorganized, and you're still getting A's and B's? That's just unfair I keep such great order of my stuff and I still have a C+ in history. Dad said it's okay though, because I got A pluses all year in Tech so it evens out! Don't you just love logic? ZOMG Max is this your swimsuit?"
Nudge was holding up my swimsuit with so much obvious repulsion that it was as if it carried the plague in its innocent blue folds. "What's wrong with it?" I demanded, feeling slightly hurt by her blatant disgust with my swim suit. It wasn't that awful!
Nudge just stared at me. "It's a one piece," she explained, as if that made things clear.
She said 'one piece' the way most people say 'dog poop' or 'Lissa Rift'.
"Yes, I know that it's a one piece," I replied patiently. "Your point is?"
Nudge shook her head slowly at me, staring at me like I was a particularly revolting species of slug. "Max, Max, Max. What am I going to do with you?"
"Let me wear my swimsuit and go swimming?" I suggested hopefully.
Nudge smiled suddenly, the evil type of smile that makes me want to hide under a rock for a few centuries. "No, I think you're going to wear one of my swimsuits. I'll see if I have one that will fit you. You're like, five inches taller than me, but we're about the same body type and you're really slender, so you could probably wear one of mine!" Nudge ran back over to the closet and started digging through the stack Ella had been inspecting. I could've sworn I heard her mutter, "One piece, ughhh," under her breath.
That's Nudgekins for you.
I sat cross-legged on the bed as I waited for my doom, tapping my hands absentmindedly on my knees. I was thinking about our amazing game earlier, and how great we had played together as a team. Fang's goals were amazing, as were Gazzy's, and my goal was pretty beautiful too, if I do say so myself. The Mustang defense just couldn't handle us.
I frowned as I thought of Jose. That jerk was psycho, to be so convinced that girls shouldn't be playing school soccer. Hello, twenty-first century here! Equal rights are in action!
"Maaaax try on this one!" Nudge commanded, throwing a dark green bundle at me and snapping me out of my thoughts. I held up one hand to shield my black eye, catching the swim suit at the same time.
I warily unfolded the bundle, regarding it with the utmost of extreme caution. It was a two piece, of course, as Nudge had just demonstrated her passionate hatred for one pieces. The swimsuit was dark green with lighter green and yellow streaks and designs scattered all over. A yellow string tied around the neck, and another string secured it around the back.
The thing I actually liked about it was that it was kind of like a bikini, but it had a sort of short drapey thing hanging down the front half to cover my stomach, still leaving my back bare. It was a compromise, and I knew Nudge had picked it partially for that reason. She knew me well enough to realize I wouldn't allow her to dress me in a bikini, and especially not in front of our guy friends.
"Try it on," Nudge urged me. "I'm locking the door, and Ella and I won't look."
Ella and Nudge faced the closet and chatted about the swimsuits they were going to wear while I quickly stripped and tried on the swimsuit. It fit perfectly, which was slightly surprising, but nonetheless welcome. I pulled on my black board shorts over the bottoms, like I always did. The shorts were very short, barely shorts at all. However, I just didn't like wearing swimsuit bottoms by themselves. The board shorts just made me feel more comfortable, for some reason, even though I would never wear shorts this tiny for any event other than swimming. I would leave that for Lissa to do.
My mind works in strange ways.
"The suit fits," I announced, toying with the drapey sheet on the top part.
Instantly, Ella and Nudge whirled around to inspect and critique. "ZOMG that swimsuit looks like it was made for you!" Nudge squealed, jumping up and down. "You have to wear it! Scratch that, you should keep it! Yeah, totally, 'cause it doesn't even fit me right anyway! ZOMG Fang isn't gonna be-"
Ella abruptly elbowed Nudge, causing her to fall silent. Both of them looked suspiciously guilty.
"What? Fang isn't gonna what?" I demanded, crossing my arms.
"Fang isn't gonna be happy that we're taking so long! He's probably really hungry by now, and Gazzy too! They always are after soccer games, you know. We should get changed quickly and go eat something" Ella explained quickly, with the air of someone making something up on the spot.
"Don't lie! Tell me what you were gonna say!" I ordered. "Or, I won't wear this swimsuit! I'll wear my one piece!"
Nudge's eyes widened. She looked literally torn by the idea I would wear the one piece rather than her swimsuit.
It was kind of sad, but mostly amusing.
"Fine," Nudge sighed, looking defeated. "I was just gonna say Fang isn't gonna be able to take his eyes off you when he sees you wearing that."
I bolted upright, feeling instantly alert. "What? Why would you- why would he- that doesn't even- oh crap, I have to take this off!" I sputtered, fumbling with the ties to the swimsuit top. My mind was a mess of urgency and confusion, and I could barely think straight all of a sudden.
"Max! Stop that! Calm down!" Ella ordered, running over and slapping my hands away from the swimsuit ties. "Why are you so flustered by Nudge's teasing? She's just kidding!" Ella studied me for a moment, before a slow grin split her face. "Unless you actually likey Fang?" she asked impishly.
I stared at the carpet as if it would give me answers. "No, I don't," I said quietly. "I'm sorry, I just overreacted. Can you guys get dressed already?"
Ella and Nudge looked at me like they wanted to say something else, but thankfully held their tongues and changed clothes, Nudge into a white bikini, and Ella into a silver and blue one. They each wrapped a towel around themselves while I waited impatiently, cracking my knuckles avd trying to ignore my throbbing right eye.
When they were finally ready, we set off through the hallway and ran down the stairs, following the smell of food and the sound of talking to Nudge's kitchen. Inside the brightly colored, cheerful room, Tanya was talking to Gazzy and Fang about the soccer game, while the boys scarfed down ridiculous amounts of pizza at the wooden table.
"Careful, you'll sink if you eat too much," Ella warned them, plopping into the chair beside Gazzy and grabbing a slice of pizza out of one of the boxes. Gazzy just grinned at her and kept eating.
I reached over Fang's shoulder and swiped a couple pieces of pepperoni from the box to munch on. Nudge headed straight for the veggie pizza, which had been left untouched just for her. She was the only one who could stomach the stuff out of all of our friends. "So are we going swimming after we eat?" I asked through a mouthful of pizza. Everyone nodded, their own mouths too full to voice their answers.
"Max, here's your ice," Tanya said, handing me a blue cold pack. "I hope your eye gets better soon."
"Thank you, Tanya," I replied, gingerly pressing the ice pack to my black eye. It tingled and pulsed in the sudden cold, aching slightly. I knew the ice would make it better, but I still didn't like it. I never did like the cold, even if it was just an ice pack.
"That swimsuit looks very pretty on you, Max! It's really your color," Tanya complimented me with a smile. "Is it new?"
Everyone turned to look at me at Tanya's comment, and I could feel every one of their gazes on me, especially Fang's. Why did Nudge HAVE to tease me so much about him? Her remarks about Fang were wrecking my peace of mind.
It was a huge effort to rein in that horrible blushing effect with everybody scrutinizing me in the stupid swim suit, but I managed it. "Thank you," I repeated, smiling at Tanya again. "Actually, it's your daughter's suit. She declared mine unwearable, and forced this on me."
Tanya laughed at my description of Nudge's actions. "Sounds like my daughter," she replied, smiling at Nudge. "She made a good choice on that suit though, didn't she?"
Before anybody could answer, the sound of the front door flying open was heard, followed by a loud, "I am here! Your lives just got better!"
"Terra's here," Gazzy said calmly, taking a sip of his water.
Tanya seemed unperturbed by her house being invaded by a certain Terra Cliffe, so I assumed that this scenario occurred often. As it was, Terra bounced happily into the kitchen like she owned the place, wearing jean shorts and a white jacket over a zebra-striped bikini. "Hi Tanya! Hi guys!" Terra chirped, then stopped short when she caught sight of me. "Max! Did you re-bust your eye? How? When? Nice swimsuit, by the way."
I rolled my eyes (well, technically singular eye, since my right one was being frozen behind an ice pack) at Terra. "I'm fine, don't worry," I assured her. "Pizza?"
Terra waved her hands at it. "I already ate! I heard you guys won your game, congrats on that! So do you want to go swimming now?"
Terra pestered us continually about swimming until we all finally left our pizza and trooped out into Nudge's backyard. It was a big area, mostly taken up by the oval swimming pool and the hot tub further out by the fence. As soon as we were outside, Terra kicked away her flip flops, tore off her jacket and shorts, and leaped into the pool.
"Someone was eager to get in," Fang murmured, sounding slightly amused. He pulled off his shirt, leaving him only in his black (of course they were black, do I really need to tell you?) swim trunks.
I stared at Fang for a moment, my eyes locked on his abdomen.
"Checking Fang out, are you Max? He is rather ripped though, isn't he? Fang the stud, ooh!" Ella teased, suddenly appearing next to me to whisper in my ear.
I jumped, instantly tearing my eyes away from Fang. "No!" I started blushing, to my dismay, and attempted to stomp on the horrible reaction. "I was looking at his stomach! See, there's a weird scratch or something on it!" I pointed subtly towards Fang's stomach as he waded into Nudge's pool.
Ella just smirked at me. "Whatever you say, sister dearest! I know better than that!" she sang, skipping away and jumping into the pool. I sighed, walking over to one of the white lawn chairs and sitting down.
"Come into the water, Max," Gazzy urged me, pulling himself out and sitting at the edge. "It's not cold or anything- the pool is heated!"
"I'm gonna ice my eye for a few more minutes," I explained, gesturing to my ice pack. Gazzy nodded in understanding before diving back into the pool.
I leaned back, closing my good eye and relaxing into soft white fabric of the chair. My eye was throbbing still, but the pain was muted by the icing. Fang had been right about icing it, of course. He was more logical than me, but I wouldn't ever admit that to him. No sirree.
Just as I was getting comfortable, or as comfortable as I can get in a swim suit, something disturbed my tranquility. Someone ripped my ice pack off my eye and gathered me up in their arms, whisking me recklessly off of the chair. I shrieked before I could stop myself, reaching to clobber my attacker. Before I could land a hit, however, the assassin threw me out into open air. I flew for a moment, hanging midair, before crashing butt-first into the pool.
Water swirled around me in a flurry of tiny tickling bubbles, tugging at my hair and slightly stinging my black eye. I let myself sink to the bottom, my toes meeting concrete, before pushing off and rocketing towards the surface.
As my head broke the water, I gasped for air, the first sounds I heard being laughter. I shook my sopping hair out of my face and started treading water as I searched for my attacker.
The source was Gazzy, who stood laughing his ass off at me. Apparently he had been the one who had thrown me in. "GAZZY!" I screamed, paddling furiously for the edge of the pool.
Gazzy stopped laughing, looking instantly alarmed by my threatening tone of voice. He started to run, but before he could get very far, I had latched firmly onto his ankle. Gazzy yelped as I tugged viciously on his leg, pulling him backwards. He teetered on one leg for a moment before Terra ran over and pushed him firmly on the chest, causing him to flip over my head and into the water, arms and legs flailing. Instantly, I stopped feeling murderous, and started laughing. "Thanks Terra!" I called to her, grinning at my helper.
Terra grinned back at me, waving her hands and bowing mockingly to me. "Αny time, your majesty," she replied. With that note, Terra dove back into the water with a huge splash.
"That was entertaining."
I whirled around in the water, clinging to the edge and biting my lip in an effort not to voice my surprise. Fang was latched onto the edge behind me, smirking relentlessly at my reaction to him talking suddenly. That boy was even quieter in the water than he was on land. "Fang!" I scolded "You… you're a jerk," I finished weakly, glaring at him out of my good eye.
Fang laughed. "That's it? I'm just a jerk?"
I shoved him in reply, causing him to simply smile at me. "You're a horrible bestie," I informed him. "Good besties don't let their besties get thrown into swimming pools by mean old soccer stars."
Fang shrugged. "I guess I didn't read the Bestie Handbook thoroughly enough."
"That's right," I replied imperiously.
"Okay."
"Yeah, I know it's okay."
"I know."
"Are you trying to mess with me?"
"No, I'm simply watching as you mess with yourself."
"Shut up, you awful excuse for a bestie."
"Oh, that hurts, Ride."
"It should, Rianild."
"One, two, three, four! I declare a chicken fight!" Terra crowed from the other side of the pool, interrupting our vey mature argument.
"That doesn't rhyme, Terry dearest," I called to her helpfully.
Terra shrugged. "Do I care? It gets the point across! Three way chicken fight! Now!"
Instantly, Ella and I swam for each other. We were the ultimate chicken fight team, our tactics perfected by so many years of sisterly bonding in the pool. Every one of our cousins and friends from each of the many places we had lives in knew not to dare to chicken fight with us. We were that good.
I waded over to a shallower place where I could stand, then hunched down as Ella jumped onto my shoulders. She hooked her legs around my torso, and I reached up to steady her back.
Nudge and Fang had paired up, along with Gazzy and Terra, who were bickering over who got to be on top.
"I wanna be on top! I'm a girl!" Terra wailed.
"How is that a good argument?" Gazzy retorted. "I should go on top 'cause I'm amazing!"
"That isn't a good argument either, hypocrite!
"Fatty!"
"Jerk!"
"Lame-o!"
"Stop flirting with each other already!" Nudge ordered from her perch on Fang's shoulders. "Terra will be on top because she's shorter and lighter than you, dearest Gazzyfuls. You'll crush her if you're on top!"
Gazzy and Terra ignored Nudge's comment about flirting, instead carrying on normally. Gazzy pinched Terra's leg as she climbed onto his shoulders, making her shriek and slap his head in retaliation.
"Go," Ella whispered, digging her left heel softly into my ribs. I surged forward suddenly, rushing through the water and towards Gazzy and Terra. With expert precision, my sister hooked her foot around one of Terra's knees and shoved it off Gazzy's shoulder while I held her steady. Simultaneously, Ella leaned forward and roughly pushed Terra's shoulders backward, causing her to fall flailing into the water. "GO US!" Ella yelled victoriously, pumping her fist up as Terra surfaced again and started pouting. I grinned and high fived Ella in celebration. That was too easy.
Suddenly, my senses prickled, and I pivoted in the water just in time to see Nudge and Fang trying to sneak-attack us while we were gloating over Gazzy and Terra's defeat. Ella steadied herself on my shoulders, hooking herself firmly onto me with her legs. "FOR NARNIA!" Ella shrieked, lunging forward and pushing at Nudge.
"FOR NARNIA AND ASLAN!" I added, pumping one fist in the air.
Nudge dodged Ella's thrust, grabbing my sister's arm and pulling her roughly forward. Nudge was stronger than she looked, and Ells was caught firmly in her grip. Nudge grinned, it looked like Ella was going to fall forward off my shoulders.
But I wasn't about to lose that easily.
As Ella teetered precariously forward on my shoulders, struggling to maintain her balance, I rushed forward in the water. She regained her balance as soon as I was directly under her again, yanking her arm from Nudge's grip. Ella grabbed Nudge's arm instead, pulling her forward in an exact copy of the move Nudge had tried to use just a second ago. Nudge shrieked and flew forward, her legs almost completely off Fang's shoulders. We were so close to victory!
Just as Nudge was falling forward, though, Fang surged towards us in a kamikaze act, slamming straight into me and taking Ella and I down with them.
Ella flipped off my shoulders and took the brunt of the impact, slapping the water on her back, but she didn't have a very solid boy weighing her down like I did, and seemed to be okay. Nudge had catapulted over my head and landed next to Ella in the water.
Just as I submerged fully underwater, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me back up to the air. I choked out some of the water I had inhaled, leaning forward and resting my chin on Fang's shoulder. My body was buzzing strangely from the full on contact with him, but I didn't have time to ponder the phenomena, considering that I was busy coughing up my lungs.
"Are you okay, Max?" Fang asked, holding me forward so he could look at me.
I nodded, and he dropped his hands from my torso, letting me stand up by myself. "Good fight," I rasped, grinning at Fang. "Usually no one can beat Ella and me."
"I think it was a tie," Fang replied, flashing me a smile. "Are you guys okay?" he asked, looking over my shoulder.
I turned around just in time to see Nudge and Ella pop up from the water, sputtering wildly and coughing up chlorine. "Whew!" Ella wheezed, rubbing her throat. "Nudge, you elbowed me in the neck!"
"Sorry Ells," Nudge gasped, pushing her soaked curls out of her eyes. "But in my defense, you were the one who pulled me off of Fang's shoulders."
"Oh, come on! That's the whole point of the game! And Fang cheated, anyway," Ella retorted.
Fang blinked innocently. "Me? Cheat? Never," he declared, his face completely blank. Ella crossed her arms, rolling her eyes at him.
"Whatever you say, Fang," Ella sighed doubtfully.
Gazzy popped up beside Nudge, his normally spiky blonde hair slicked to his forehead by the water. "Personally, I think Fang did that purely to get to Max in her swim suit," Gazzy remarked casually, his eyes brimming with mischief.
"Gazzy!" I yelled, splashing water into his eyes. He sputtered and coughed at the onslaught, but nevertheless started cackling wildly, as he was wont to do.
"Can we fight again?" Terra begged, her eyes wide and imploring. "Gazzy is a bad partner! I want Ella this time!" Ella promptly swam over and slung her arm around Terra's shoulders.
"Gee, thanks," Gazzy muttered, tugging a wet lock of Terra's hair in retaliation. She laughed, swatting his hand away playfully. "Well, if you get Ella, then I call Max!" Gazzy decided.
"No way, Gazzy! I want Max!" Nudge argued, splashing him again.
"She's my bestie," Fang informed us calmly, paddling up and clapping his hand over my shoulder. "I get dibs."
"I feel special," I joked, grinning up at Fang. "So many people want me!"
"I think Fang wants you all the time," Terra coughed, her voice low so only I could hear her.
I pretended not to notice.
"Well Gazzy, if Fang has dibs on Max, then that leaves you and me," Nudge drawled, paddling over to Gazzy. "Give me a lift onto your shoulders. There's no way I'm carrying you."
We kept playing chicken-fight for awhile, switching partners every round. I was with Terra once, Gazzy and Nudge twice each, and with Ella and Fang three more times. However, after Gazzy almost cracked his head open falling off of my shoulders, we decided to stop playing. Instead, we all got out and trooped over to the hot tub in the far corner of Nudge's spacious backyard, where we sat and talked for another hour or so. It was around seven o' clock now, and the sun was setting, leaving us in a dim twilight. Nudge pressed a button on the edge of the hot tub, and suddenly multi-colored lights flickered on under the water.
"Ooh, pretty!" Terra sighed. I had to agree with her. The lights danced on the water, shifting around and lighting up our faces.
"Nudge, your house is amazing," I informed her quietly, watching the light shimmer on the water. "Thank you so much for having us over."
"No prob," Nudge replied happily, sinking into the water up to her chin. "I'm just glad you could all come. This was so much fun."
Everyone murmured in agreement, drowsily watching the bubbles steam and pop on the water, the colored lights highlighting each one. It was almost magical.
"Terra! Your mom is here!" Tanya called from the back door. Grumbling, Terra rose out of the water, adjusted her bikini, and stepped out. We all stood and followed her out of the hot tub, and Nudge switched off the bubbles and lights.
The spell was broken.
I shivered slightly in the light breeze, wrapping my arms around myself. Someone set a towel over my shoulders, and I knew instinctively that it was Fang. "Thanks," I told him, tugging the cloth tightly around me.
"Sure," Fang replied. He walked over to one of the lawn chairs and dried himself off before pulling his shirt on. I squeezed most of the water out of my hair, rubbing my arms and legs dry too so I wouldn't drip in Nudge's house.
A blonde lady in tailored capris and a neat pink blouse stood talking to Tanya inside the house. She smiled at us as we all walked in, but I didn't miss the skeptical look she cast at my black eye.
I was just getting a bad rep from this stupid bruise. Feeling slightly annoyed, I brushed some of my wet hair over my right eye to cover it. If Tanya and this lady, who I assumed was Terra's mom, reacted this way to my black eye, I felt that I could wait to hear my own mother's views on it.
Wouldn't she be pleased?
"Terrs, we need to get going now. I left dinner in the oven, and your father and sister insist they aren't leaving the couch until they personally witness Barcelona beating Manchester United." Terra's mom sighed. "The house could burn down and they wouldn't care, not as long as Barcelona wins."
Terra rolled her eyes. "Jessie and my dad are even more obsessed with soccer than Gazzy," she whispered to me.
"Is that possible?" I replied, raising an eyebrow.
Terra looked solemn. "Unfortunately, it is. My sister and dad have proven it. We better go." Terra pulled on her flip flops and jacket, stuck her cell phone in the back pocket of her shorts, and followed her mom out the door.
"We should go soon too," I decided, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. "Mom said to be back by seven thirty. Come on Ells, let's get dressed."
Nudge and Ella followed me up the stairs to Nudge's room, leaving Gazzy and Fang with Tanya in the kitchen. "So Max, are you ready to admit your undying love for Fang yet?" Nudge asked casually as she closed her door behind us.
"No," I replied, just as casually. I had been expecting that question. "Pass me my backpack, will you?"
Nudge handed me my backpack, and I started changing back into my normal clothes.
"So when you realize that you love him, you'll tell us, right?" Ella asked sweetly.
I tried to ignore the giggles coming from behind me. "Of course, Ells," I told her, my voice dripping with sarcasm just as much as my hair was dripping with water.
"Promise?" Nudge sang, prompting Ella to giggle again.
"Sure, whatever will make you leave me alone," I sang back, pulling on my jacket. "Ells, are you done dressing yet?"
"Yeah," Ella confirmed. I turned around to see her slipping on her flip flops. "Let's go."
Nudge followed us down the stairs again, wrapping us in tight hugs at the door. "Thanks for inviting us," I repeated, smiling as she squeezed my lungs out.
"You're welcome already!" Nudge retorted teasingly, finally releasing me from her bone-crushing hug. "Do me a favor and stop saying thanks, Max. It's getting on my nerves!"
I rolled my eyes at her, opening the door and getting ready to step outside. "Wait," a voice called behind me. "I'm leaving too. Thanks Nudge."
"No problem, Fang," Nudge sang, shooing us out the door. "Get Ella and Max home safely!"
"Au contraire, I'll get Ella and Fang home safely, Nudge," I replied airily. "All will cower in fear before Maximum Ride."
Nudge laughed, waving good bye again before shutting the door behind us. Ella set off briskly down the sidewalk, Fang and I following behind her. "That was fun," I remarked to no one in particular. "Do you guys do that often?"
"All the time," Fang replied, shifting his backpack on his shoulders. "Tanya loves us."
"Nudge told me she's planning a huge pool party soon," Ella chimed in, turning her head to look at us. "She's inviting the entire soccer team, plus a few extras, like Iggy, Terra, and JJ."
"Cool."
We walked in companionable silence for a few more minutes, the only sound a faint cricket concert in the background. It was only a ten minute walk from Nudge's house to ours, and it was exactly seven thirty when we arrived in our yard. Ella went immediately inside, saying something about a lot of extra chemistry homework. I was about to follow her when Fang laid a hand on my arm. I turned to look at him quizzically. "Yeah?" I prompted, seeing as Fang didn't look like he was about to speak.
"Max, I…" Fang trailed off, as if the words he was about to say had suddenly flown off.
"Yeah?" I repeated, pushing my hair out of my eyes.
Fang immediately locked onto my black eye again. He raised one hand to my face, his fingers gently touching my bruise with all the weight of a feather. "Is your eye okay?" he asked quietly, his finger tracing around the edge of the bruise.
"I'll be fine. It's no problem," I assured him, my voice coming out more softly than usual. Fang was issuing a calming effect on me. I felt ready to fall asleep right there in my front yard.
"Why did Max II hit you anyway?" Fang asked, drawing his hand back.
I took in a deep breath, looking down at my feet. "He was being rude and very insulting, so I yelled at him, and he hit me," I explained quietly, linking my hands together behind my back.
"Why does he keep bothering you?" Fang demanded. "Why doesn't Max II just get a life instead of persisting in pestering you?"
"He wasn't insulting me," I admitted, twisting the hem of my shirt between my fingers.
"Who was he insulting then?"
I looked back up at Fang. "You," I whispered, feeling suddenly small. "I didn't like that."
"Max," Fang murmured, stepping closer. "You got hurt for no reason."
"What do you mean?" I demanded, staring defiantly at him. "I was defending you!"
Fang shook his head. "I don't care what Max II says about me, but it's my fault that you've got a black eye."
I tossed my hair back, setting my hands stubbornly on my hips. "If Max hadn't hit me, Jose still did," I retorted. "That wasn't your fault."
Fang shrugged. "Maybe it was."
"No," I replied bluntly, so forcefully that I surprised myself with my own vehemence.
Fang looked surprised too, but he managed a slight smile. "Whatever you say, Max. I hope you're feeling better tomorrow." Fang stepped forward and pulled me into him. My nose bumped gently into his chest, and the top of my head fitted snugly under his chin. I froze at first, surprised by his actions. Fang had never initiated a hug before, and when I hugged him, he tended to be a little unresponsive, so this was unexpected. After a second though, I wrapped my arms around him, reveling in the strange yet comfortable sense of security that Fang provided for me.
Then, suddenly, Fang shifted his head to look down at me. I tilted my head up and stared right back at him, examining again his extraordinary black eyes. Fang leaned in a little closer, his eyes locked with mine. I subconsciously stood up taller, watching as his face came closer and closer to mine. Our noses touched, and Fang pulled back slightly, brushing his lips softly against the closed lids of my black eye. "Feel better, Max," Fang whispered, releasing me and stepping away. I stood there, feeling dazed, as Fang walked out of my yard and hopped the fence into his.
"Good night," I murmured, mostly to myself. I turned around and headed back into my house, shutting the door quietly behind me.
Now what the hell was that?
This chapter kinda seems like filler, but it's important! =D
Gazzy: you enjoy messing with Max, don't you TMI?
Heck yeah I do! And it's really funny for me to reread this story, because I never swear worse than 'crap' usually with an occasional 'hell', but here I don't think Max or Fang are very conservative with language, so I swear a lot more. XD
Oh, and to those of you who asked, I play trumpet in school, I sing, and I've played piano for eight years. My jazz audition was for trumpet, and I got first chair! Yay!
This chapter was really easy to write, hence the quick update! Do you think we could get near 500 reviews with this chapter? If everyone who just alerts or favorites it spares a moment to review, I think we could get there!
So review please! =D
~TMI~